Academic Information/Información Académica
I received my Ph.D. in Technical Communication and Rhetoric from the Department of English at Texas Tech University in May 2004. I also hold a Master's in Computer Systems from Universidad La Salle, in Mexico City, and an B.A. in Communication from the Instituto de Ciencias Sociales de Mérida, in Yucatan, Mexico.
Courses
In the Fall 2009 semester I am teaching the following courses:
- Writing for the Web
- Issues in Professional and Public Discourse: Outsourcing Technical Communication
Projects
- My book Outsourcing Technical Communication (co-edited with Barry Thatcher) is now available from Baywood Publishing.
- I am co-PI in a team with researchers from Virginia Tech and Wake Forest University that received an R21 award from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Our project is titled "Micro-processes of Latino Construction Workers' Health: Feasibility of CATS." Other co-PIs are Joseph Grzywacz, Thomas Arcury, and Sara Quandt (Wake Forest), and Thom Mills (VT Building Construction) and Manuel Perez-Quiñones (VT Computer Science).
- I presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society on the topic of developing training materials for Hispanic construction workers.
- I presented at CCCC 2009 in San Francisco. My topic was "Developing Creative User Documentation for Very Young Audiences."
- I presented at the 2009 conference of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing on the topic of integrating elements of Critical Race Theory into intercultural technical communication analysis.
- With Manuel Perez-Quinones (VT Computer Science), I received a grant from the Virginia Tech Office of Multicultural Affairs and Equity to fund the project Understanding the Latino College Experience.
- I presented at the 2008 conference of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing on the topic of localizing online training tools for Hispanic construction workers.
- I am co-PI (with Ed Fox, Steve Sheetz, Patrick Fan, and Chris Zobel) in a recently awarded grant from the National Science Foundation for the project Collaborative Research: CPATH CB: Living In the KnowlEdge Society (LIKES).
- As PI, I received a grant from the Virginia Tech Institute for Society, Culture, and the Environment to support the interdisciplinary project Synergistic Approach to Applying Rhetoric, Creative Writing, and Music for Teaching Science and Mathematics Concepts to Young Children.
- I recently received (with Steve Edwards and Manuel Perez-Quiñones) a grant from the National Science Foundation for the project "Community Resources for Automated Grading."
- I received a grant from the Virginia Tech Center for the Study of Rhetoric in Society to support my project "Contrasting Jobsite Rhetoric and Safety Training from Construction Workers in the United States and Mexico."
- I am working as Principal Investigator on two pilot projects for the Virginia Tech Center for Innovation in Construction Safety and Health:
- Improving jobsite communication for Hispanic construction workers.
- Localizing online training tools for Hispanic construction workers.
- I presented at CCCC New York in March 2007. My topic was "Reusing Website Design Knowledge through Rhetorical Claims."
- I presented at the STC conference in May 2007. My topic was "Improving Workplace Communication for Hispanic Construction Workers."
Thesis and dissertation committees
- Chris Carroll (English), thesis on updating content about intercultural ethics in business and technical writing courses. Master's thesis (committee chair).
- Ashley Patriarca (Rhetoric and Writing), untitled project on risk communication. Doctoral dissertation (committee member).
- Anthony Allevato (Computer Science), untitled project on analyzing reports from an online grading community. Doctoral dissertation (committee member).
- Chad Wingrave (Computer Science). "A Reflection-Inspired and Language-Derived Formalism for Overcoming 3D Interface Design Complexity." Doctoral dissertation (committee member). Graduated August, 2008.
- Emily Davis (English). "XML Version of the Dictionary of Love." Master's independent study (second reader). Graduated May, 2007.
- Olgamary Rivera-Marrero (Mathematics). "The Place of Discrete Mathematics in the School Curriculum." Doctoral dissertation (committee member). Graduated May, 2007.
- Miranda Jones (English). "Basic Writing and Computers." Master's independent study (second reader). Graduated May, 2005.
My dissertation
"Technical Communication Learning on the U.S.-Mexico Border: Factors Affecting Cross-Cultural Competence in Globalized Settings."My dissertation studied the way in which instructors and students in border universities deal with multiculturalism in the technical writing service course. I conducted my research in two American universities with prominent Hispanic student population, and analyzed how individuals and groups of different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities understand and master the most common genres of technical writing.
Committee:Dr. Sam Dragga (Chair).
Dr. Locke Carter.
Dr. Ken Baake.