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The profession of technical communication is undergoing fundamental changes due to automation, digitalization, and globalization. The working practices of technical writers have shifted considerably; communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing are highly relevant today. As a result, technical writers typically work in integrated agile teams. The content of technical writers’ work has changed as well, due to technological advances and a more prominent role of end users in the design process. These developments imply that technical writers need to acquire more and different competencies than before. A recent competence framework for technical communication (TecCOMFrame) is evaluated, and suggestions are made for updating this framework.

Participants in this workshop will be acquainted with five feedback mechanisms that are proven to enhance students’ learning experiences and their performance: peer feedback, 360-degree feedback, feedback for self-regulated learners, feedback for multidisciplinary groups and co-creation of assessment rubrics. Interviews with teachers were held to get more insight in their ideas about these mechanisms. Student opinions were collected by means of a survey. The results showed that teachers and students consider feedback as important, and that they are interested in different feedback mechanisms. However, the feedback mechanisms are not often used. In the workshop, we will discuss possibilities for the implementation of the mechanisms in education.

Purpose: Although various researchers have paid attention to differences in the way Chinese and Western documents are structured, only few have investigated how Chinese and Western users differ in their way of using instructions. This study experimentally investigates the effects Chinese and Western manual structures have on Chinese and Western users, in terms of task performance, user satisfaction, and information selection. Method: A 3x2 randomized experiment (N = 127) was conducted, with participants’ cultural background (Chinese living in China, Chinese living in the Netherlands, and Westerners) and manual structure (Chinese versus Western) as independent variables and task performance, user satisfaction, and information selection as dependent variables. Supported by a manual, participants performed tasks with Excel and afterwards filled out a satisfaction questionnaire. To investigate information selection, eye-tracking data were collected. Results: Regarding task performance and user satisfaction, no significant main and interaction effects were found. Regarding information selection, our research confirmed some of the hypothesized differences between Chinese and Western users: Chinese users pay less attention to structuring elements (table of contents and headings) and more attention to visuals. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that cultural adaptations of the structure of manuals do not really matter: Chinese and Western users perform equally well and have similar satisfaction scores with Western and Chinese manual structures. Paradoxically, the differences found in users’ information selection behaviors provided some support for the differences in document design practices. However, users of both cultures appear to be sufficiently flexible in using instructions that are not culturally adapted.

In deze vernieuwde, achtste editie is veel van de vertrouwde opzet en inhoud van Leren Communiceren te herkennen. Maar er zijn ook belangrijke verbeteringen. Zo is er veel aandacht voor strategieën om te overtuigen zonder dat er meteen een beroep op de logica wordt gedaan. Het hoofdstuk over formuleren bevat concrete handvatten voor stijlkeuzes die optimaal aansluiten bij de communicatieve situatie. Nieuw is ook het uitgewerkte voorbeeld van een communicatieplan als een mogelijk beroepsproduct. In het hoofdstuk over tweegesprekken is er speciale aandacht voor het sollicitatiegesprek en voor technieken uit de motiverende gespreksvoering. Opvallend zijn de verwijzingen naar de klassieke retorica. Veel van de adviezen van de toenmalige communicatie-experts, de Griekse en Romeinse retorici, hebben nog niets van hun betekenis verloren. Vanzelfsprekend worden de adviezen van toen steeds toegepast op de communicatie van nu.