While I have yet to begin direct research on my PhD dissertation, I have begun to contemplate many of the facets of podcasting and the potential issues and opportunities that it creates for (and within) the field of technical communication. Below I have posted links to two papers that I have written in the general area of podcasting and handheld devices in technical communication, which I would like to expand upon and study further.
The Return of Oral Communication
This paper looks at the Theory of Transformative Technologies and its concept of orality present in modern communication. Looking back to traditional forms and uses of oral communication, I show how there are many examples of such orality present in current communication that suggest a return to these earlier forms. Additionally, I consider what the future of oral communication may be. This is relevant to my larger topic in that with the widespread use of podcasting in such a vast number of areas, we are experiencing a return to the oral forms of communication that were once the sole means for communicating.
Podcasting and the Use of Handheld Devices in Technical Communication
This paper presents general overview of my intended dissertation topic up to this point. I am also shaping it for publication in an academic journal sometime in early 2006. While this paper is far from exhaustive of the topic in general, or of the facets of my own interest and intended research, it does present a solid foundation for expansion and further study.