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.

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 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 ...

Autorentext

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 solutions Written 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 overload Information 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.

Inhalt

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 Inf…