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Informationen zum Autor JUDITH B. STROTHER, PhD, is Chair of the Graduate Program in Global Strategic Communication and Professor of Communication at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida. She has written three books and several book chapters, in addition to journal articles and conference proceedings. JAN M. ULIJN, PhD, is an early emeritus of the endowed Jean Monnet Chair in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Culture at Eindhoven University of Technology, and currently Professor of the Open University School of Management in the Netherlands. He has written numerous journal articles and book chapters and has authored or edited several books. ZOHRA FAZAL is Instructor of Humanities and Communication and a founding member of the Center for Communication Excellence at Florida Institute of Technology. She is currently pursuing her PhD in science education. Klappentext A unique approach to information overload, combining theory and practical solutionsWritten and edited by an international group of experts from academia and industry, Information Overload clearly links academic theory to real-world practice, providing a truly global and interdisciplinary treatment of this important topic.Emphasizing the role of engineers and technical communicators, the book discusses the root causes and costs of information overload within organizations and introduces strategies and proven techniques for reducing information overload and minimizing its negative impact. It offers a theoretical framework and ideas for future research, and features special chapter 'insight boxes' that recount different approaches to problems from various multinational corporations.Information Overload:* Focuses on key definitions and challenges of information overload for both communicators and organizations* Details a variety of technical and human-centered strategies for addressing the deluge of data* Presents effective solutions tried at IBM, Xerox, and Harris Corporation* Examines the effects of culture as well as that of color, visual form, text, and end-user documentation* Offers an engineering perspective on the technologies available for dealing with information overloadInformation Overload also serves as a first-rate survival manual for researchers in academia, practicing engineers, technical communicators, and managers and professionals at all levels of profit and nonprofit organizations. Zusammenfassung This book covers the ever-increasing problem of information overload from both the professional and academic perspectives. Focusing on the needs of practicing engineers and professional communicators, it addresses the causes and costs of information overload, along with strategies and techniques for reducing and minimizing its negative effects. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of Practical Insights from Corporations xv List of Figures xvii List of Tables xix Foreword xxi Preface xxvii Acknowledgments xxix A Note from the Series Editor xxxi Contributors xxxiii About the Editors xxxvii 1 INFORMATION OVERLOAD: AN INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE TO PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS 1 Judith B. Strother, Jan M. Ulijn, and Zohra Fazal 1.1 Definitions, Causes, and Consequences of Information Overload 1 1.1.1 Definitions of Information Overload 1 1.1.2 Causes of Information Overload 2 1.1.3 Consequences of Information Overload 3 1.2 Perspectives on the Concept of Information Overload 4 1.2.1 An Information and Time-Management Perspective 5 1.2.2 A Supplier/Producer/Writer and Client/User/Reader Perspective 5 1.2.3 An International/Intercultural Perspective 7 1.2.4 An Innovation Perspective 7 1.3 Readers of this Book 7 1.4 Structure of this Book 8 1.4.1 Section I: Causes and Costs of Informatio...
List of contents
List of Practical Insights from Corporations xv
List of Figures xvii
List of Tables xix
Foreword xxi
Preface xxvii
Acknowledgments xxix
A Note from the Series Editor xxxi
Contributors xxxiii
About the Editors xxxvii
1 INFORMATION OVERLOAD: AN INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE TO PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS 1
Judith B. Strother, Jan M. Ulijn, and Zohra Fazal
1.1 Definitions, Causes, and Consequences of Information Overload 1
1.2 Perspectives on the Concept of Information Overload 4
1.3 Readers of this Book 7
1.4 Structure of this Book 8
References 11
SECTION I. CAUSES AND COSTS OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD
2 OF TIME MAGAZINE, 24/7 MEDIA, AND DATA DELUGE: THE EVOLUTION OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD THEORIES AND CONCEPTS 15
Debashis "Deb" Aikat and David Remund
2.1 Introduction 16
2.2 Theory and Concept of Information Overload 16
2.3 Information Overload as a Twentieth Century Phenomenon 17
2.4 Evolution of Information and Its Proliferation in Society 21
2.5 Information Overload Concepts 29
2.6 Conclusion and Four Lessons Learned 32
Acknowledgment 33
References 33
PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM IBM 39
3 THE CHALLENGE OF INFORMATION BALANCE IN THE AGE OF AFFLUENT COMMUNICATION 41
Paulus Hubert Vossen
3.1 Introduction 42
3.2 Quantitative Aspects of Information Overload 43
3.3 Qualitative Aspects of Information Overload 45
3.4 Conclusion 51
3.5 A Call for Fundamental Research 52
References 53
PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM XEROX 55
Xerox Takes on Information Overload 55
Identifying the Problem 55
Sharing Information 56
Sorting Information 57
Cutting Through the Clutter 57
Life-Saving Software 58
Urban Central Nervous System 58
4 FROM CAVE WALL TO TWITTER: ENGINEERS AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS AS INFORMATION SHAMAN FOR DIGITAL TRIBES 61
Anne Caborn and Cary L. Cooper
4.1 Introduction: The Dawn of the Information Shaman 62
4.2 The Magic of Metaphor 64
4.3 The Audience: The Emergence of Digital Tribes 65
4.4 Quill to Keyboard: The Writer and New Media 66
4.5 Helping the Reader: Techniques for the Information Shaman 68
4.6 The Magic of Hypertext Techniques: Journeys at the Speed of Thought 70
4.7 Conclusion: The Responsibilities of the Information Shaman 72
References 73
PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE LIMBURG MEDIA GROUP 75
Newspaper Position in The Netherlands 76
Managing Information Overload Using an Evolutionary Approach 76
A Revolutionary Perspective 77
5 THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON INFORMATION OVERLOAD 79
Jan M. Ulijn and Judith B. Strother
5.1 Introduction 80
5.2 Levels of Culture 81
5.3 Cultural Patterns of Discourse Organization 82
5.4 High Context Versus Low Context 83
5.5 Internationalization Versus Localization 85
5.6 The Effect of Professional Culture 88
5.7 Japan and U.S. Discourse Structures 91
5.8 Cultural Issues in Reader Versus Writer Responsibility 92
5.9 Implications for Engineers and Technical Communicators and Their Corporations 93
5.10 Conclusion 95
References 95
PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM A2Z GLOBAL LANGUAGES 99
6 EFFECT OF COLOR, VISUAL FORM, AND TEXTUAL INFORMATION ON INFORMATION OVERLOAD 103
NoEURel T. Alton and Alan Manning
6.1 Introduction 10
