The technical communication practices of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

Abstract

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace culture. organization, and communications at the national and Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were con-international levels, this article presents results of the project's ducted that investigated the technical communication practices most recent undertaking. a study of the views of aerospace of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions engineers and scientists at three similar research organizations of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance in Russia and the United States (U.S.). of technical communication to their professions: second, to de-Phase 1 of the larger project investigates the informationtermine the use and production of technical communication by seeking behavior of U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists, aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about with particular emphasis on their use of federally funded the appropriate content of the undergraduate course in technical communication; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and aerospace research and development and of U.S. government scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and technical reports. Phase 2 examines the industry-government on-line databases; and fifth, to determine the use and impor-interface and emphasizes the role of information intermeditance of computer and information technology to them. A self-aries in the aerospace knowledge diffusion process. Phase administered questionnaire was distributed to Russian aerospace 3 concerns the academic-government interface and focuses engineers and scientists at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) and to their U.S. counterparts at the NASA Ames on the relationships between and among the information Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center. The intermediary, faculty, and students. Phase 4. of which the completion rates for the Russian and U.S. surveys were 64 and current study is a part, explores patterns of technical commu-61%, respectively. Responses of the Russian and U.S. participants nication among non-U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists to selected questions are presented in this paper. in selected countries. Thus far we have completed studies of technical communication practices among aerospace engineers INTRODUCTION and scientists in Israel [2], Japan [3], and selected western Emerging patterns of multinational cooperation and collabo-European countries [4]. The Russian/U.S. study reported on ration in various industries, growing recognition of the impor-here included the following objectives: tance of global economic factors, and revolutionary changes 1) To solicit t' ! opinions of aerospace engineers and sciin computer and communications technology are combining entists regarding the importance of technical communito influence and transform the international communication cation to their profession, of scientific and technical information (STI). N...

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