Routledge Academy-Industry Relationships and Partnerships: Perspectives for Technical Communicators (Baywood's Technical Communications)

In the field of technical communication, academics and industry practitioners alike regularly encounter the same question: "What exactly is it you do?" Their responses often reveal a fundamental difference of perspective on what the field is and how it operates. For example, academics might discuss ideas in terms of rhetorical theory, while practitioners might explain concepts through more practical approaches involving best business practices. And such differences can have important implications for how the field, as a whole, moves forward over time.  This collection explores ideas related to forging effective academia-industry relationships and partnerships so members of the field can begin a dialogue designed to foster communication and collaboration among academics and industry practitioners in technical communication. To address the various factors that can affect such interactions, the contributions in this collection represent a broad range of approaches that technical communicators can use to establish effective academy-industry partnerships and relationships in relation to an area of central interest to both: education. The 11 chapters thus present different perspectives on and ideas for achieving this goal. In so doing, the contributors discuss programmatic concerns, workplace contexts, outreach programs, and research and writing. The result is a text that examines different general contexts in which academia-industry relationships and partnerships can be established and maintained. It also provides readers with a reference for exploring such interactions. About the Author Tracy Bridgeford is an associate professor of technical communication at the University of Nebraska Omaha, USA where she directs the Technical Communication program and the English Master’s program. She is coeditor of Programmatic Perspectives, the journal of the Council for Program in Technical and Scientific Communication, and serves on its executive committee as information officer. She has contributed chapters to Resources in Technical Communication: Outcomes and Approaches, Teaching Writing with Computers: An Introduction, and Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication, which she also coedited. She has also published in Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy. She coedited a special issue of Technical Communication Quarterly, “Techne and Technical Communication” (2002). Kirk St.Amant is a professor of technical and professional communication and of international studies at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.