Comstock & Hocks discuss voice.
Also, like a fingerprint, each voice carries its own inflection, its own texture and grain. In writing, voice acts as a metaphor for how a persona created in the text "sounds," with elements of diction, tone, and style informing this written voice (Comstock & Hocks).
Back in the 70s, when Rich Little was on the variety show circuit, people were fascinated with the way that he could imitate voices or do impressions. Someone took "voiceprints" (and no, I do not know how that works) of Little and the celebrities that he was imitating. The "prints" were not at all similar, even though they sounded similar to an average listener. Of course, when I saw Little on The Muppet Show (season 2), I didn't think that he sounded much like anyone other than Rich Little. So it seems that voice is less quantifiable.
Hayhoe, George, F. "Inside Out/Outside In: Transcending the Boundaries that Divide the Academy and Industry: Volume I: The Historical and Contemporary Struggle for Professional Status." Power and Legitimacy in Technical Communication. Ed. Teresa Kynell-Hunt and Gerald Savage J. Vol. I. Baywood's Technical Communication Series. Amityville, NY: Baywood, 2003. 101-13.
Hayhoe, who has spent significant time working in both academe and industry. He taught for seven years, worked in industry for 11, then went back into teaching. He argues that there is "misunderstanding, distrust, and sometimes downright animosity that exists between those who teach technical communication and those who are technical communicators in industry" (101). One reason for this is the lack of professionalization of faculty when professional and technical writing began appearing in academic programs. Another is, despite professionalization of faculty in recent times, funding is not sufficient to allow programs to teach students using up to date technology and software. He offers ten steps for building bridges between industry and academy.
Mehlenbacher, Brad. Triangulating Communication Design: Emerging Models for Theory and Practice. SIGDOC'07: The 25th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication Proceedings. El Paso, TX: ACM, 87-94.
Mehlenbacher argues that science and non-science represent a dichotomy that "serves as a backdrop for current divisions between theory and practice," (87) even within the humanities. This division is happening between disciplines as well as within disciplines.
Miller, Paul, D. Rhythm Science. Mediawork. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004.
Conceptual piece composed by Paul D. Miller, a DJ also known as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid. It explores the power of remix, and remediation. Miller's work is very unusual. It plays with the expectations of "text" and "book" to create a fascinating account of DJ Spooky's remix capabilities sampled with Miller's autobiography. The layout of the text is unconventional, playing with layered images and text. On every other set of facing pages, is a pull quote fused with an image. Despite this making me sound a bit too much like a soccer mom, this word collage style is one I am familiar with though scrapbooking. This kind of layered text and illustrated quotes often appears on scrappers pages.
Sound as mix and remix is important to Miller. He sees himself as drawing on the past and on voices that he hears around him to create a new message. The medium is, of course, part of the message, but the message is the message. It is, as he says, (and I paraphrase) hard to play the same piece twice for the same audience. Thus, the remix.
Snow, C.P. "The Two Cultures." The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. 1-22.
Snow's class essay outlines his argument that animosity exists between humanities scholars and scientists. This division can be traced back to the Oxford and Cambridge scholarship examinations, which require specialization to the degree that scholars must focus on humanities or sciences. While Snow published this in 1961, it still feels relevant. This division still exists. Today, though, the division is sharper because the scope of communication has changed to encompass electronic communication which utilizes technology. The "two cultures" distinction is apparent with some English departments with a division between literature scholars and people who study rhetoric and new media.
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