In the Spring 2012 semester I am teaching the following courses:

• Professional Writing
• Writing for the Web

• With Matt Sharp, I will be presenting at the Computers and Writing conference in May 2012. Our presentation will be about strategies for teaching the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) in technical writing courses.
• With Tim Lockridge, I will be presenting at the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing conference in March 2012. Our presentation will be about the development of an XML grammar to archive web comics developed for instructional purposes.
• With Ashley Patriarca, I wrote the paper "Beyond Compliance: Participatory Translation of Safety Communication for Latino Construction Workers," to be published by the Journal of Business and Technical Communication in June, 2012.
• My paper "Localizing and Designing Computer-Based Safety Training Solutions for Hispanic Construction Workers" was published in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management in the summer of 2011. It is posted online.
• 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).

• Alex McCarthy (English), master's final project on online identity creation (committee chair).
• Ashley Patriarca (Rhetoric and Writing), "Articulating Risk Communication: Assessing the User Experience of OSHA Grantee-Produced Training Materials." Doctoral dissertation (committee chair).
• Ben Hanrahan (Computer Science), untitled project on email meta-context and interruptions (committee member).
• Evan Snider (Rhetoric and Writing), untitled project on web templates. Doctoral dissertation (committee member).
• Matthew Sharp (Rhetoric and Writing), untitled project on branding and rhetoric. Doctoral dissertation (committee member).
• Tim Lockridge (Rhetoric and Writing), "Beyond Invention: How Hackers Challenge Memory and Disrupt Delivery." Doctoral dissertation (committee member).
• Anthony Allevato (Computer Science), untitled project on analyzing reports from an online grading community. Doctoral dissertation (committee member).
• Chris Carroll (English), thesis on updating content about intercultural ethics in business and technical writing courses. Master's thesis (committee chair). Graduated August, 2010.
• 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.

"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. Joyce Locke Carter.
• Dr. Ken Baake.