Keywords

Army technical communication, Historical research, Interactive electronic technical manuals, Rhetoric of technology, Technical manuals, Technical writing

Abstract

This dissertation examines the historical technical publications of the United States Army from 1775-2004. Historical research in Army technical communication reveals the persuasive characteristics of its technical publications. Elements of narrative, storytelling, and anthropomorphism are techniques writers used to help deliver information to readers. Research also reveals the design techniques writers adopted to unite the situated literacies of the troops. Analyses of print, comic, and digital media expose the increasing visualization of information since the eighteenth century. The results of such historical research can be applied to new media designs. Automating processes captured in paper-based technical manuals and adding intelligent functionality to these designs are two of many possible design options. Research also dispels a myth concerning the history of modern technical communication and illustrates the development of many genres and subgenres. Modern technical communication was not born of World War II as many scholars suggest, but was a legitimate field in eighteenth-century America. Finally, historical research in Army technical communication shows the systematic progression of a technological society and our increasing dependence on machine intelligence.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2004

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Jones, Daniel

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

English

Degree Program

Texts and Technology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0000060

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0000060

Language

English

Release Date

January 2006

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Army technical communication; Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences

Download

Share

COinS