This article interprets technical communication research about sex differences according to social role theory, which argues that sex differences are enculturated through experiences associated with social positions in the family and the workplace. It reevaluates technical communication research about sex differences in communicative and…

Finds that communication tasks assigned in veterinary medical courses accord well with the communication tasks expected to be performed by practicing veterinarians. Concludes that the merging of research and practice in the education of veterinary medical students may offer lessons for the education of professional practitioners in technical…

Discusses a theoretical framework for situating interpretations of textual data collected during research. Describes the framework as consisting of a continuum representing the range of interpretative assumptions (stances) researchers can bring to their reading of textual data. Presents the boundaries of the continuum to be the two most extreme…

Explores context in technical communication through the speech community. Asks what the relationship is among language, culture, and thought, and what knowledge is needed for effective communication. Argues that the Whorfian hypothesis answers the first question, whereas Chomsky's work on grammatical competence and Flower and Hayes' investigations…