Technical communication in english

Ping Dunn Technical Communication – definition ETC is the theory and practice of effective info exchange at work- working communication ETC is a sub-discipline of communication studies (CSS) that deal with the processes of transmitting or exchanging info other sub-dish. Mass communication, mass media com, business com, health com, etc. ETC Is more general In theory than other sub-disciplines of CSS mass, health and business com deal with only one profession ETC is widely applied to the com. Activities In many professions except literature The reminisces and skills of ETC Is also applicable In other languages, not only English The purposes: 2 major – to inform- enables audience to understand info -to persuade – to convince audience to accept Idea ETC is not for the purpose to appreciate art or literature or drama What is effective communication? II. Features of modern communication Our age is the age of info. No technology – no work, life.Typical features o f MS – we have too much Info to deal with – we have to handle multidisciplinary info that we do not understand We cannot hanged the features in modern communication But we can change out language to make it work for us. We can make It simpler and easier. How to improve our language for effective communication? Ill. Pragmatic rules In ETC Deft: Rules of Language in use concerning the application of language audiences – in specific contexts – for particular purposes These rules work In specific conditions – to intend Rule 1: Follow the time order in process description: what happens first, comes first. OFF There exist different pragmatic rules of language in specific contexts. Sentences of he same meaning but different structures may affect the efficiency of communication. The objective of ETC is to put the pragmatic rules into practice so as to increase the efficiency of communication at work. IV. Three Essential Criteria of ETC 1. Comprehensibility 2. Usability 3. Accessibility 1 .Comprehensibility (easy to understand) Expressing info so the audience can understand it quickly and accurately English thinking process is lenient – like a line – easier to understand the Active better than the Passive Passive voice slows down thinking process and decreases efficiency Rule 1: Avoid using passive voice whenever possible Rule 2: Avoid using the â€Å"weak-verb + multinational† structure Rule 3: Avoid using noun-string pre-modifiers To increase comprehensibility of info you should learn technical rhetoric in writing. . Usability (Easy to use) Definition: Expressing your idea in a way that the audience can follow it to complete the task. Readers of MAT fall into three categories – professionals of the discipline – professionals of related disciplines – general readers or average people Technical writing is a writer-responsible writing It is the writers' responsibility to make their writing easy for all readers to use.To make your writing useful to the reader, you should conduct audience analysis: audience's education: write according to the lowest level education of your predicted audience; professional experience, cultural background, emotion and motivation: be reader-friendly, know your audience 3. Acceptability (Easy to find) Definition: Enabling your audience to find what they want quickly and accurately from large amounts of info. 1. A world-wall writing 2. A structured-writing or info-map

Geo100 Brisbane Floods

ESSAY As natural disasters are inevitable, it is essential that we as humans mitigate the potential outcomes caused by these disasters. This essay will explore the 2011 floods of Brisbane and whether proper planning and preparation could have minimised the outcome. It will further explore the impact the Wivenhoe Dam had on the floods and discuss whether dam maintenance; level supplies and warnings could have helped. December 2010 and January 2011 saw Queensland experience record-breaking rainfall that has not been seen since 1960.Approximately 1 000 millimetres of rainfall was recorded in January alone, which caused the second biggest flood Brisbane has experienced since 1974 (Hornet & McAneney, 2011:1150). The 2011 floods caused severe devastation throughout Brisbane with over 26 000 people loosing their homes and over 5 000 businesses around the city either partially or completely flooded. It further caused around ninety kindergartens and sixty schools to be affected and unusable. However the greatest devastation was the loss of twenty-three people’s lives as a direct result of the floods (Calligeros, 2011:4).The Queensland Government also suffered a major financial repercussion from the floods. Over 440 million dollars was spent in repairing roads, bridges, power poles and other public facilities that were destroyed (PM With Mark Colvin 2011). This kind of spending by the Government caused speculation that if proper planning and preparation been implemented, the Brisbane floods could have been mitigated. This speculation further lead to the investigating of whether the Wivenhoe Dam helped or hindered the floods.The Wivenhoe Dam opened in 1985 after the great Brisbane floods of 1974 occurred and was seen as a solution to prevent further floods from happening again. All the dams, creeks and rivers surrounding the Wivenhoe Dam were connected that any potential overflow could run straight into the Wivenhoe and therefore have minimal risk of overflowing. H owever what occurred in 2011 was not what was planned when building Wivenhoe many years earlier. Wivenhoe Dam was built to hold a water supply of 1. 5 million millilitres of water, with a capacity to hold 1. 45 million millilitres at Full Supply Level or FSL. The 30 million-millilitre difference was allocated as a reserve for floodwaters to help mitigate flooding (Honert & McAneney, 2011:1152). Although a reserve level had been allocated in the dam, the issue was that there had been constant and heavy rainfall in the previous spring months. This led to the Wivenhoe catchments being relatively full prior to the downpour that occurred in the December 2010 and January 2011.This rain further caused the surrounding rivers and creeks to overflow causing minor river flooding, with water then starting to flow into Wivenhoe to help prevent major flooding. Leading up to the floods Wivenhoe peaked at 1. 50pm on Wednesday 12th of January reaching an astounding 2. 29 million millilitres. (See Ap pendix 1 – Table 1. 0). A day later Brisbane River peaked at 4. 46 metres at 2. 57am on Thursday 13th of January, causing major flooding to begin. (See Appendix 2 – Graph 2. 0).It was during these two days that the role the SEQWater played was questioned, as they were aware that the dams were high enough to overflow. This speculation was further fuelled when it was made known that SEQWater only released 60% of the dam’s water, moments before the flood engulfed Brisbane (See Appendix 3 – Table 3. 0). SEQWater is the company in charge of the Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams and have three simple operating guidelines that they must follow (See Appendix 4 – Guidelines 4. 0).It was apparent that none of the guidelines were followed for a number of reasons. Firstly this was evident as when the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams began filling up as a result of the severe wet weather, SEQWater did not release any water from either dam until Tuesday 11th of January. As t hey had left the water idling for too long they had no other choice but to release the water at once instead of gradually releasing water like they were advised to do from the Senior Flood Operations Engineer.After the flood occurred SEQWater stated back, â€Å"The flood compartments of the dams were filled to a high level by the first flood that there was not sufficient time to release this water prior to the second flood arriving,† (Water, 2011:1158). So although the SEQWater tried to justify their actions, it can be argued that the SEQWater company and the employees were warned a few days in advance that by releasing a small amount of water at different times during the day would help minimise the amount of flooding that could have potentially occurred.Once it was discovered that the SEQWater had received numerous warning of potential warnings, the issue was studied and analysed. It was estimated that between 11:00 Tuesday 11th of January and 19:09 Wednesday 12th of Januar y that 518,000 millilitres of water was released from Wivenhoe dam making around a 60% contribution to the already rising water around the Brisbane area. (See Appendix 3 – Table 3. 0). By 6:09pm Thursday the 13th of January the water flowing past the City Gauge was estimated to be around 866,000 millilitres and was still continuing to rise. See Appendix 5 – Table 5. 0). The final detailed analysis sent out to SEQWater by the Senior Floods Operation Engineer it was analysed that if releases from the Wivenhoe dam were timed appropriately it could have minimised the flooding that occurred. (See Appendix 6 – Analysis 6. 0). The Bureau of Meteorology proved to be helpful through the disaster, by providing warnings through their rainfall data. Day-to-day rainfall charts and rainfall maps were updated online and made easily accessible to the public and those affected. See Appendix 7 and 8 – Graph and Chart 7. 0). The BOM also released a clear warning to both the government and the public that the amount of rain that was coming would have the likely strength of a La Nina event. As the information was made available to anyone with Internet access, SEQWater and the Government could have easily accessed this information. By doing so they would have been able to see the potential threat the approaching heavy rainfall could have and in turn should have helped them make a wiser decision.By choosing to ignore any sort of warning sign provided by the BOM, SEQWater and their employee’s did nothing about the almost full catchment even though more heavy rain was approaching. Leading to the conclusion that by ignoring the warnings they demonstrated poor planning and ignorance to the information provided. Throughout this essay is has been concluded that through proper planning and preparation the Brisbane Floods of 2011 could have been mitigated. Evidence and research shown throughout this essay evidently points unfavourably to the SEQWater compa ny and its team.It concluded that although many warnings were issued, the SEQWater and government chose to ignore them and therefore resulting in all the water being released at once. Even though this natural disaster could not have been prevented through proper planning and preparation it definitely could have been mitigated which would in turn also result in minimal devastation and destruction. This flood has also been dubbed a â€Å"dam release flood† by hydrologists that were appointed with the Insurance Council of Australia.Again as the evidence and research implies, with proper planning and preparation yes, the Brisbane flood of 2011 could have been mitigated. APPENDIX 1 TABLE 1. 0 – WIVENHOE APPENDIX 2 GRAPH 1. 0 – CITY GAUGE APPENDIX 3 TABLE 1. 1 – RELAEASE FROM WIVENHOE PLUS CITY GAUGE APPENDIX 4 GUIDELINES 3. 0 – OPERATING GUIDELINES * The flood storage (or catchments) should generally be kept empty by releasing all the water flowing into the flood storage system until the defined downstream flood event is reached. Releases from the storage system should then be selected to remain below the defined downstream flood event until the flood event has passed or the storage system becomes full. * If the flood storage system becomes full, the storage system must then release all the inflows but releases should never exceed inflows. APPENDIX 5 TABLE 1. 2 – ESTIMATED FLOW PAST CITY GAUGE APPENDIX 6 ANALYSIS 6. 0 – DETAILED ANALYSIS 123,000 millilitres was discharged either earlier than 11. 00 Tuesday 11th or ater than 19:00 Wednesday 12th rather than during this period, the flood level at the Brisbane City Gauge would not have exceeded the Major flood level, or if 335,000 millilitres was discharged outside the period 02:00 Tuesday 10th to 08:00 Thursday 13th rather then during the period, the flood level at the Brisbane City Gauge would not have exceeded the Moderate flood level, or if 623,000 millilitres was d ischarged outside of the period 13:00 Monday 10th to 21:00 Thursday 13th rather than during the period, there would not have been a flood at the Brisbane City Gauge. O’Brien, 2011:9) APPENDIX 7 AND 8 DAILY RAINFALL GRAPH AND CHART 7. 0 REFEERNCE LIST Apelt, Mar 2011, Joint Flood Taskforce Report March 2011, viewed 19 April 2012, Himsley, May 2011, Dams and Flood Mitigation, viewed 19 April 2012, Honert, R & McAneney J 2011, ‘The 2011 Brisbane Floods: Causes, Impacts and Implications’, Water Journal, Vol. , Iss. 4, pp 1149 – 1173, viewed 19 April 2012, < http://www. mdpi. com/2073-4441/3/4/1149/> Calligeros, M 2011, ‘Wivenhoe Dam release caused Brisbane flood: report,’ The Brisbane Times, 11 March, viewed 19 April 2012, < http://www. brisbanetimes. com. au/environment/weather/wivenhoe-dam-release-caused-brisbane-flood-report-20110311-1bqk7. html> Calligeros, M 2011, ‘Brisbane flood victims to confront the destruction,’ The Brisba ne Times, 14 January, viewed 21 April 2012, < http://www. risbanetimes. com. au/environment/weather/brisbane-flood-victims-to-confront-the-destruction-20110113-19q04. html> Seqwater, 2011, The January 2011 Flood Event, viewed 19 April 2012, Bureau of Meteorology, Feb 2011, Brisbane Metro in January 2011: A major rain event and severe flooding, viewed 21 April 2012, O’Brien, Mar 2011, Brisbane Flooding January 2011 An Avoidable Disaster, viewed 19 April 2012, Bureau of Meteorology, Jan 2011, Monthly Weather Review Queensland January 2011, viewed 21 April 2012, PM With Mark Colvin, ABC, 8 February 2011, ABC Australia, Brisbane. (Also a radio broadcast of it on < http://www. abc. net. au/pm/content/2011/s3133417. htm>)

Global Business Essay

Today 6e by Charles W. L. Hill Chapter 1 Globalization Introduction In the world economy today, we see †¢ fewer self-contained national economies with high barriers to cross-border trade and investment †¢ a more integrated global economic system with lower barriers to trade and investment †¢ about $4 trillion in foreign exchange transactions taking place everyday †¢ (in 2012) over $18. 2 trillion of goods and some $3. 5 trillion of services being sold across national borders †¢ the establishment of international institutions ttp://www. ge. com/ http://www. ikea. com/ Chapter 1: Globalization Effects of globalization can be seen everywhere: †¢ the cars people drive †¢ the food people eat †¢ the jobs where people work †¢ the clothes people wear †¢ Chapter 1: Globalization WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION? †¢ Globalization refers to the shift towards a more integrated and interdependent world economy. Two key facets: †¢ the globalization of markets †¢ the globalization of production Chapter 1: Globalization The Globalization of Markets /14/2013 1 7 8 9 Globalization of markets: the fact that in many industries historically distinct and separate national markets are merging into one huge global marketplace in which the tastes and preferences of consumers in different nations are beginning to converge upon some global norm. Examples: – Smart Phones (iPhone, Android, etc. ) + Apps – Coca-Cola/ Starbucks- McDonald’s hamburgers – Apple iPad/ Samsung Tablet- IKEA furniture Chapter 1: Globalization The Globalization of Production Globalization of production: the tendency among many firms to source goods and services from different locations around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production (such as land, labor, capital, and energy), thereby allowing them to compete more effectively against their rivals. Examples:http://www. vizio. com/ BoeingLenovoVizio (B787: 65% outsourced) (design: US; case, keyboard, HD: Thailand; http://www. oeing. com/newairplane/display, memory: S. Korea; Wi-Fi: Malaysia; ass’y: Mex. ) http://www. lenovo. com/planetwide/select/selector. html Chapter 1: Globalization THE EMERGENCE OF GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS Global institutions: †¢ help manage, regulate, and police the global market place †¢ promote the establishment of multinational treaties to govern the global business system General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) after WWII Chapter 1: Globalization 2/14/2013 2

B2B VS B2C

Business to business can be defined as business that is involved in selling products to other businesses. In reality business-to-business (B2B) exist both online and offline but the B2B acronym has mainly been used to describe the online variety which has become common in the world today. Business-to-consumer (B2C) can be described as businesses that are concerned in selling products or providing services to end-user consumers.Business-to-consumer exist both online and offline but the acronym B2C has been used to describe business online (Kinder, 2001; Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002). B2B is mainly concerned in selling its products to another company that then sell to the final consumers. Business-to-business operates large number of transactions as compared to business-to-consumer and hence the transactions are mainly dealt with using electronic media. Business-to-business has adopted electronic commerce to enhance efficiency and reliability (Kinder, 2001).B2B is complicated with many employees while B2C is simpler and consist of fewer employees as compared to B2B. Business-to-business involves transactions between buyers and suppliers at organizational level. While business-to-consumers represent interaction between buyer and seller at individual level (Kinder, 2001; Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002). Business-to-business seems to do well online while business-to-consumer has lost fame due to loss of large sums of money when it was first inverted hence not widely used by many companies.Markets that are concerned by B2B are comparatively larger and overcrowded than B2C (Kinder, 2001; Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002). B2B email marketing has differences with B2C. In email marketing B2B has other major objectives other than sale objective, for example marketing the products available in the said company and hence it takes long before one land to the page that directs you to the purchase page. B2C primary objective in email marketing is sales and hence the initial click take s one to landing, page and then after few seconds to shopping cart.In a B2B the buyer is provided with the necessary logistics and then follow a series of steps in the email campaign which include both online and offline procedures before getting the to the last step which include phone call an employee representative of the company, a PDF document may then be attached to the email by the representative and for high-end products and services, a face-to-face meeting may be more efficient. In both B2B and B2C, there is limited permission in regard to email marketing with the consumer/buyers to obtain information require a longer process in B2B to ensure seriousness and reliability of the exchange.The buyers are assured of confidentiality of the information they give while in B2C there are no such services. In B2C, once the customer has entered the required information than include name, phone and mailing address, one expects to be handed in the purchased product immediately (Kinder, 2 001). In both B2B and B2C, there is the challenge of copywriting. It’s argued that in email marketing, it’s hard to tell whether the words or voice used compels the consumer well. However B2B is said to be more efficient in compelling buyers than B2C which uses a subject line to capture attention of the buyer (Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002).B2B which deal with large volumes of transactions is more likely to incur the problem of outdated email addresses especially when people change email address unless the marketer signs up with email change of address (ECOA) service like Return Path. B2C hardly incurs the problem because the list of email addresses provided is updated. Moreover B2C deal with small number of transactions hence it’s easy to trace the buyer’s addresses and verify their reliability (Kinder, 2001; Fang, Milena and Norm, 2002). It’s argued that B2B email marketing is more interesting than B2C.B2B involves moving back and forth, side to si de and numerous interesting information is provided which attract attention of the buyer but the B2C only provide one leading page which doesn’t have much information and hence not adventurous (Kinder, 2001). References Fang, W. Milena, H. and Norm, A. â€Å"E-Tailing: An Analysis of Web Impacts on Retail Market’’. Journal of Business Strategies 19. 2002, 34-89. Kinder, T. â€Å"The Use of Call Centers by Local Public Administrators’’. Marketing Journal 33, 2001, 45-88.

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Project Management - Essay Example The Belgian biscuit launch shall be used as the take-off point for revitaliseing sales and marketing efforts, in order to help assure a business turnaround for BIX-FIX. Determine the final version of the new product through product development processes, including test marketing, in terms of standardisation of ingredients, product shape, packaging, and packaged quantities Several mechanisms need to be in place to successfully manage the project and help ensure its success. Project management needs careful planning and organising in order to achieve objectives. Aside from defining goals and objectives, there is a need to identify the various tasks needed to be accomplished to achieve the goals, quantifying the resources needed, determining the budget, and defining the schedule for completion. Upon completion of the plan, implementation, evaluation and maintenance follow (Free Mgt Lib 2009). In the area of Product Development, the proposed new Belgian biscuit will need to undergo a series of trial production runs to be able to standardise quality and quantity of ingredients, biscuit shape and other considerations for packaged food products. In coordination with Marketing, trial production with different specifications for packaging and size also need to be tested. The final product version that will pass the test will also need to be tested to confirm that the design of the new product is compatible with mass production. In the area of Production, as was decided by the board of directors, a new production machine shall be installed to handle increased production arising from the introduction of the new product. The ordering, delivery and installation time of this new equipment should be considered in the Project Schedule, as this is projected to be needed from Year 2 onwards after launch. A new 2-shift working system will need to be adopted compared with the current day only working pattern. This

Leadership of Richard Branson Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership of Richard Branson - Assignment Example Actually, most likely, the Virgin Group may be the only brand globally that transcends such a big range of services and products. The important feature to note is that the Virgin brand with its assorted businesses has grown to be stronger on embracing diversification instead of being diluted. In fact, Virgin is referred to as the inexpensive, innovative, cool option to the rest of the key players. At present, more than just a businessperson who is a successful, Branson is the symbolic leader especially for startup entrepreneurs. Branson’s cheeky attitude, innovative methods as well as multi-colored advertising concepts aimed at attracting the masses, makes him stand out like a corporate champion with popularity akin to that of a super star. Although, Branson has experienced failures numerous times, his endeavors, to overcome them have grabbed the attention of people at all times. From such events as those pertaining his pitfalls and success while establishing his brand, a lot can be learnt about his leadership style. Although other entrepreneurs might get entangled in corporate wrangles, Branson takes his challenges in business as a campaign. Branson takes pride in himself by challenging big companies to provide his customers better value for their money. For example, the moment Virgin ventured the market, people already were feeling that they were not being treated fairly and his offerings of better value placed Virgin steadfastly on the side of customers. Thus, whereas some entrepreneurs may look at the strength of market players and think otherwise, Branson is a firm believer in taking on the main players and succeeding. In addition, the unconventional attitude and informal style of Branson has made him famous with his attraction to the hippie movement, especially of the 60s, basically shows his affinity for being in sync with the mood of the times. In fact, this is amongst

Gangsters Paradise jerusalema, Broken BRICS, The Fall and Rise of the Essay

Gangsters Paradise jerusalema, Broken BRICS, The Fall and Rise of the West - Essay Example Smuggling and all types of antisocial activities were common in America before the development of its economy. According to some social science theories, antisocial activities in a country have direct relations with its economic growth. In other words, when a country develops rapidly, antisocial activities may come down whereas such things will be increased when the country fails to develop properly. Poverty, unemployment and uncontrolled inflation are the major reasons behind antisocial activities. For example, majority of the African countries are underdeveloped. Antisocial activities, internal clashes and ethnic violence are common in these countries. On the other hand South Africa is the most developed country in Africa. Antisocial activities and ethnic violence are less in South Africa compared to other African nations. In short, economic progress has direct connections with antisocial activities like smuggling and internal conflicts. America was once a victim of antisocial acti vities like smuggling because of the underdevelopment of economic growth. However, America was able to become the number fighter against smuggling now since the country was able to develop rapidly in recent times. It should be noted that America is the richest country in the world at present. As a result of that people in America are not much interested in encouraging antisocial activities like smuggling. Andreas argues these lessons from America tell us many things about the current international political economy (IPE) and the future of emerging economies.