Dr. Christopher Y. Lam
University of North Texas
Technical Communication
Email:

Education

PhD, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2009.
Major: Technical Communication
Degree Specialization: Applied Linguistics; computer-mediated communication
Dissertation Title: The linguistic patterns that lead to rapport management, trust, interactional justice, support, and leader-member exchange.
MS, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2006.
Major: Technical Communication and Information Design
Dissertation Title: Humanities Course Audit and Instructional Design for Workplace Learning and Performance Institute
BA, University of Illinois- Urbana Champaign, 2004.
Major: History
Dissertation Title: History of 19th Century British Women in Higher Education

Professional Positions

Academic - Post-Secondary
Associate Professor, University of North Texas. (2017 – Present).
Assistant Professor, University of North Texas. (2011 – 2017).

Professional Memberships

Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. (2016 – Present).

Member, Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication. (2015 – Present).

Member, Association for Business Communication. (2011 – Present).

Advisory Committee Member, IEEE Professional Communication Society. (2007 – Present).

Awards and Honors

Nomination: Outstanding Faculty, Interprofessional Projects Program, Illinois Intitute of Technology. (2010 – 2010).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

University of North Texas
TECM 2700, Technical Writing, 5 courses.
TECM 3200, Information Design for Electronic Media, 21 courses.
TECM 4180, Advanced Technical Communication, 10 courses.
TECM 4190, Technical Editing, 4 courses.
TECM 4250, Writing Technical Procedures and Manuals, 3 courses.
TECM 4400, Advanced Information Design in Technical Communication, 7 courses.
TECM 4800, Topics in Technical and Professional Communication, 1 course.
TECM 4900, Special Problems, 4 courses.
TECM 5180, Professional Writing, 1 course.
TECM 5191, Digital Literacies for Professional Communicators, 6 courses.
TECM 5195, Editing Technical Documents, 4 courses.
TECM 5290, Design and Development of High Tech Training Materials, 2 courses.
TECM 5550, Studies in the Teaching of Technical Communication, 2 courses.
TECM 5900, Special Problems, 4 courses.

Directed Student Learning

Other,"UX Design and Development of Artists' Collective App," Technical Communication. (2017).

Other,"UX Design and Development of UNT Safe App," Technical Communication. (2016).

Other,"Building an online corpus of technical communication work," Technical Communication. (2015).

Awards and Honors

Nominated for: Nominated for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in CLASS, UNT Class. (2020 – 2020).

Nominated for: Nominated for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in CLASS, UNT CLASS. (2019 – 2019).

Nominated for: Nominated for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in CLASS, CLASS. (2018 – 2018).

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

Abstracts and Proceedings
Lam, C. Y. (2008). Incorporating experimental designs in business communication research. Proceedings of the 73rd Annual Convention of the Association for Business Communication.Related Links:http://tinyurl.com/8mcd972.
Lam, C. Y. (2007). A case study of coherence in workplace instant messages. Proceedings of the 2007 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference.Related Links:http://tinyurl.com/92zshfg.
Lam, C. Y. (2006). Applying the spatial-contiguity effect to software manuals. Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference.Related Links:http://tinyurl.com/8dlcg4v.
Book Chapter
Lam, C. Y. (2023). Functional Flexibility: Cultivating a Culture of Adaptability for the Work of Professional Writing. WAC Clearinghouse.
Lam, C. Y. (2023). Research in Keywords in Technical and Professional Communication. WAC Clearinghouse.
Conference Proceeding
Lam, C. Y., Boettger, R. K. (2017). An overview of research methods in technical communication journals (2012–2016). Other. 4. IEEE.
Friess, E., Campbell, K. S., Boettger, R. K., Lam, C. Y. (2017). Are we missing the boat? A roundtable discussion on research methods and how they define the field. IEEE International Professional Communication Society (ProComm).
Boettger, R. K., Lam, C. Y., Palmer, L. (2017). Improving the data information literacies of technical communication undergraduates. Other. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Lam, C. Y. (2017). Transforming Your Conference Paper into an Article for the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication.
Lam, C. Y. (2016). Can slack curb slacking?: Examining the importance of team communication in reducing social loafing. IEEE Professional Communication Society.
Lam, C. Y. (2014). Visualizing Categorical Data: An Introduction to Correspondence Analysis for Technical Communication Researchers. Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE Professional Communication Society Conference..
Journal Article
Lam, C., Wolfe, J. (2023). An Introduction to Quasi-Experimental Research for Technical and Professional Communication Instructors. Journal of Business and Technical Communication. 37(2), . Iowa State, Iowa: Sage.
Lam, C., Campbell, K. (2021). Follow the leader? The Impact of Leader Rapport Management on Social Loafing. Business Communication Quarterly. Association of Business Communication.
Lam, C. (2021). Hashtag #TechComm: An Overview of Members, Networks, and Themes from 2016-2019. Technical Communication. STC. stc.org/techcomm/2021/04/29/hashtag-techcomm-an-overview-of-members-networks-and-themes-from-2016-2019/
Friess, E., Lam, C. Y., (2021). "Dude, that sucks": Examining Scrum's Influence on Empathy in Student Teams. Technical Communication Quarterly. 30(2), 189-203. Taylor and Francis.
Lam, C., Biggerstaff, E. (2019). Finding Stories in the Threads: Can Technical Communication Students Leverage User-Generated Content to Gain Subject-Matter Familiarity?. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 62(4), . IEEE.
Campbell, K. S., Lam, C. Y. (2019). The Effect of Leader Rapport-Management Feedback on Leader–Member Relationship Quality and Perceived Group Effectiveness in Student Teams. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 62(3), . IEEE.
Friess, E., Lam, C. Y. (2018). Cultivating a sense of belonging: Using Twitter to Establish a Community in an Introductory Technical Communication Classroom. Technical Communication Quarterly. 27(4), 343-361.
Lam, C. Y. (2018). More than a feeling: Applying a data-driven framework in the technical and professional communication team project. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 61(4), 409-427. IEEE.
Hannah, M. A., Lam, C. Y. (2017). Drawing From Available Means Assessing the Rhetorical Dimensions of Facebook Practice. International Journal of Business Communication. 54(3), . Sage. http://job.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/02/17/2329488415572788
Lam, C. Y., Hannah, M. A., Friess, (2016). Connecting programmatic research with social media: Using data from Twitter to inform programmatic decisions. Programmatic Perspectives. 8(2), 47-71.
Lam, C. (2016). Correspondence analysis: A statistical technique ripe for technical and professional communication researchers. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 59(3), . IEEE.
Lam, C. (2016). Improving technical communication group projects: An experimental study of media synchronicity theory training on communication outcomes. Journal of Business and Technical Communication. 30(1), . Sage.
Hannah, M. A., Lam, C. Y. (2016). Patterns of Dissemination: Examining and Documenting Practitioner Knowledge Sharing Practices on Blogs. Technical Communication. 63(4), . STC.
Lam, C., Hannah, M. A. (2016). The Social Help Desk: Examining How Twitter is Used As a Technical Support Tool. 4(2), . ACM.
Lam, C. Y., Hannah, M. A. (2016). Flipping the Audience Script: An Activity That Integrates Research and Audience Analysis. 79(1), . Sage. http://bcq.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/08/03/2329490615593372.abstract
Lam, C. Y. (2015). The Role of Communication and Cohesion in Reducing Social Loafing in Group Projects. 78(4), . Sage. http://bcq.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/07/29/2329490615596417.abstract
Lam, C. Y. (2014). Where did we come from and where are we going?: Examining authorship characteristics in technical communication research. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=6977987
Boettger, R. K., Lam, C. Y. (2013). An Overview of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research in Technical Communication Journals (1992–2011). IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 56(4), 272-293. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/tpc.2013.2287570
Lam, C. Y. (2013). The efficacy of text messaging to improve connectedness and team attitude in student technical communication projects: An experimental study. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 27(2), 180-208. Related Links:http://jbt.sagepub.com/content/27/2/180.abstract. http://jbt.sagepub.com/content/27/2/180.abstract
Lam, C. Y. (2011). Linguistic politeness in student-team Emails: Its impact on trust between leaders and members. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 54 , 360-375. Related Links: http://tinyurl.com/97muyy3. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=6087245&tag=1
Lam, C. Y. (2009). Coherence in workplace instant messages. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication, 39, 417-431. Related Links: http://tinyurl.com/9w2vpx6 http://baywood.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer. http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?id=k48g72153027pxr1

Presentations Given

Keynote/Plenary Address

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), UCF Symposium on Writing and Rhetoric, Everything is not as it seems: Can critical data literacy solve the world's problems?, University of Central Florida, United States of America. (2018).

Lecture

Lam, C. Y. (Other), ACM Symposium of E-Learning and Technical Communication, Computer-Mediated Communication and Teamwork, Japan. (2014 – 2014).

Oral Presentation

Lam, C. Y. (Author & Presenter), ACM SigDOC Annual Meeting, Are you assigning the right “kinds” of group projects?: Examining how project tasks influence project outcomes., Association for Computing Machinery - Special Interest Group for the Design of Communication, Boston, MA, United States of America. (2022 – ).

Campbell, K. S. (Author & Presenter), Boettger, R. K. (Author), Smith, J. (Author & Presenter), Lam, C. Y. (Author), Association of Business Communication Conference, Exploring how AI writing tool instruction shapes attitudes, Denver, CO, United States of America. (2023).

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), Association for Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW), Teaching Citizenship in Group Projects: Practical Insights from Three Studies of Technical Communication Group Projects, Houston, TX, United States of America. (2016).

Friess, E. (Panelist), Lam, C. Y. (Panelist), Hannah, M. (Panelist), Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication 2015 Conference, Using Twitter data to attract students to technical communication programs, Logan, UT, United States of America. (2015).

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), Association for Business Communication Annual Conference, Text messaging in student teams, Association for Business Communication, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (2013 – 2013).

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), Association for Business Communication Annual Conference, Conducting sustainable human subjects research, Association for Business Communication, Honolulu, HI, United States of America. (2012 – 2012).

Panel Presentation

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), IEEE Professional Communication Society, ​ Are we missing the boat? A roundtable discussion on research methods and how they define our field, IEEE, Madison, Wi, United States of America. (2017).

Friess, E. (Author & Presenter), Boettger, R. K. (Author & Presenter), Campbell, K. S. (Author & Presenter), Lam, C. Y. (Author & Presenter), IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm) 2017, Are we missing the boat? A roundtable discussion on research methods and how they define our field, IEEE ProComm, Madison, WI, United States of America. (2017 – 2017).

Paper

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), Hayhoe, G. (Presenter), Roundtree, A. (Presenter), Baehr, C. (Presenter), Anderson, R. (Presenter), Brewer, P. (Presenter), IEEE Professional Communication Society, Transforming Your Conference Paper into an Article for the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, IEEE, Toronto, CA, United States of America. (2018).

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), IEEE Professional Communication Society Annual Conference, An Overview of Research Methods in Technical Communication Journals (2012–2016), IEEE, Madison, Wi, United States of America. (2017).

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), IEEE Professional Communication Society, Improving the data information literacies of technical communication undergraduates, IEEE, Madison, Wi, United States of America. (2017).

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), Hayhoe, G. (Presenter), Brewer, P. (Presenter), IEEE Professional Communication Society, Transforming Your Conference Paper into an Article for the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, IEEE, Madison, Wi, United States of America. (2017).

Lam, C. Y. (Author & Presenter), IEEE Professional Communication Society, Can slack curb slacking?: Examining the importance of team communication in reducing social loafing, Austin, TX, United States of America. (2016).

Lam, C. (Author & Presenter), Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC),, Using Twitter Data to Inform Programmatic Directions by Bridging the Academy and Industry, United States of America. (2015 – 2015).

Lam, C. Y. (Author & Presenter), IEEE Professional Communication Society, Visualizing Categorical Data: An Introduction to Correspondence Analysis for Technical Communicators, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America. (2014 – 2014).

Roundtable

Lam, C. Y. (Presenter), College of Arts and Sciences at UNT, "I wish I had known", College of Arts and Sciences at UNT, United States of America. (2013 – 2013).

Media Contributions

Internet
"How to Get Your Slacker Co-Workers to Pull Their Weight," Time Magazine. (January 15, 2016).

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

Grant - Research
Lam, C., "External Consultant," Sponsored by National Science Foundation, International, $599301 Funded. (September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2025).
Lam, C. Y., "An investigation of the STEM Team Writing Process," Sponsored by UNT, University of North Texas, $4250 Funded. (2019 – 2019).
Lam, C. Y., "Small Grant," Sponsored by UNT, University of North Texas, $1000 Funded. (2017 – 2017).
Lam, C. Y. (Principal), "The role of media choice training on social loafing in student team projects," Sponsored by Scholarly and Creative Activity Grant (SCA), University of North Texas, $5000 Funded. (2014 – 2014).
Lam, C. Y. (Principal), "Comprehensively examining research in technical communication scholarship: A two-part empirical study," Sponsored by Research Initiative Grant (RIG), University of North Texas, $4300 Funded. (2013 – 2014).
Lam, C. Y. (Principal), "The impact of media choice training on communication and task performance in student projects: An experimental study," Sponsored by Junior Faculty Summer Research Fellowship, University of North Texas, $5000 Funded. (2013 – 2013).
Lam, C. Y. (Principal), "The Efficacy of Text Messaging in Collaborative Writing Projects: An Experimental Study," Sponsored by Junior Faculty Summer Research Fellowship, University of North Texas, $5000 Funded. (2012 – 2012).
Lam, C. Y. (Principal), "Dissertation Grant," Sponsored by Illinois Institute of Technology- Interprofessional Projects, Other, $1300 Funded. (2008 – 2008).

Awards and Honors

Nominated for: CCCC Best Article on Pedagogy or Curriculum in Technical or Scientific Communication, CCCC. (2018 – Present).

Nominated for: CCCC Best Article on Pedagogy or Curriculum in Technical or Scientific Communication, CCCC. (2020 – 2020).

Nominated for: CCCC Best Article on Pedagogy or Curriculum in Technical or Scientific Communication, CCCC. (2017 – 2017).

Service

University Service

Director, Graduate Studies. (August 2023 – Present).

Member, Executive Committee. (2015 – Present).

Committee Member, Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of People of Color. (February 22, 2021 – 2023).

Director, Department of Technical Communication Lower Division Courses. (August 2020 – August 2023).

Committee Member, Dean Search Committee. (November 2022 – January 2023).

Committee Chair, Faculty Senate Committee on Committees. (June 1, 2021 – December 2022).

Member, Faculty Senate. (August 8, 2019 – 2022).

Member, Faculty Senate Committee on Committees. (September 9, 2020 – June 1, 2021).

Chairperson, Teaching Methods Roundtable. (2018 – 2020).

Other, Web Developer for TC Teaching Repository. (2018 – 2020).

Faculty Mentor, Faculty Mentor for Vince Robles. (2017 – 2020).

Member, Graduate Curriculum Committee. (2014 – 2020).

Chairperson, Personnel Affairs Committee. (2019 – 2019).

Faculty Advisor, Eagle Technical Communication. (2017 – 2019).

Member, Personnel Affairs Committee. (2015 – 2019).

Member, Special Committee for the Provost. (2018 – 2018).

Committee Chair, Search Committee for Assistant Professor. (2017 – 2017).

Committee Chair, Search Committee for Assistant Professor. (2016).

Member, Search Committee for Department Chair. (2015 – 2016).

Other, Website administrator - Technical communication. (2014 – 2016).

Member, College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Council. (August 1, 2016 – December 30, 2016).

Committee Chair, Lecturer Search Committee. (2015).

Member, Writing Committee for the Policy on Distributed Learning-Creation, Use, Ownership, Royalties, Revision and Distribution of Electronically Developed Course Materials. (2014 – 2015).

Member, CAS Computing Committee. (2012 – 2015).

Other, Department of Technical Communication. (2014 – 2014).

Member, LTC Search Committee for Lecturer in Technical Communication and Science Writing. (2014 – 2014).

Member, LTC Search Committee for Lecturer in Technical Communication. (2013 – 2013).

Member, LTC Senior Lecturer in Tech Comm Search Committee. (2012 – 2012).

Professional Service

Editor, Associate Editor, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Ames, IA. (September 2022 – Present).

Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Business and Technical Communication. (2020 – Present).

Editorial Review Board Member, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. (2015 – Present).

Reviewer, Journal Article, Journal of Business and Technical Communication. (2012 – Present).

Reviewer, Journal Article, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. (2009 – Present).

Other, Kennesaw State University Department of Technical Communication, Kennesaw, GA. (March 2024 – April 2024).

Editor, Associate Editor, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. (October 11, 2019 – 2022).

Committee Chair, ACM SigDoc 2020 International Conference. (2019 – October 2020).

Other, CPTSC. (2018 – 2019).

Board of Advisors, Advisory Committee of IEEE Professional Communication Society. (January 1, 2017 – December 2019).

Committee Chair, Member Engagement Sub-Committee for AdCOM. (2017 – 2019).

Editor, Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. (2016 – 2019).

Reviewer, Book, Taylor and Francis. (2018 – 2018).

Reviewer, Journal Article, Technical Communication Quarterly. (2018).

Guest Speaker, University of Central Florida Department of Writing and Rhetoric. (2018).

Reviewer, Journal Article, Communication Design Quarterly. (2017).

Reviewer, Book, Routledge Press. (2017 – 2017).

Chairperson, IEEE Professional Communication Society Conference Publications Co-Chair. (2015 – 2016).

Reviewer, Book, IEEE/Wiley Press. (2015).