Global Talk

25th Practical Conference on Communication
 
October 10 - 11, 2008
 
The Chattanoogan Hotel and Conference Center
Chattanooga, Tennessee

Call for Papers
 
“Technical Communication in a Global Economy” is the theme for the Practical Conference on Communication this year.
 
You are invited to submit a proposal for a workshop, discussion, or presentation on practical strategies for effective international technical communication.
 
For sample topics, submission details, and more, please visit http://stc-etc.org/pcoc_call.asp.
 
The deadline for submissions is July 7, 2008.

The 2008 STC Annual Conference featured a panel on international collaboration. Anne Gentle has posted her notes.

Menno D.T. de Jong, PhD has been selected as the new Editor-in-Chief of Technical Communication, the quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Technical Communication. De Jong is currently the director of undergraduate and masters programs in communication at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, where he earned his doctorate.    

“We are extremely pleased to have a man of his global reputation to lead the journal to the next level,” said Susan Burton, STC executive director. De Jong has been guest editor for IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication as well as two Dutch academic journals of communication, and a member of seven editorial boards. He has been both a reviewer and prolific author of more than 100 papers for journals and edited books.

De Jong’s vision for Technical Communication is to strengthen the journal’s identity as an outlet for high quality research articles and to be an intermediary between academics and practitioners. He is a strong believer that journal articles must have a clear relevance for technical communicators. De Jong will be in the STC booth with Intercom Editor Ed Rutkowski during STC’s Technical Communication Summit in Philadelphia as part of “Meet the Editors,” an opportunity to discuss ideas for articles, learn more about contributing to the publications, or to simply provide feedback.

De Jong succeeds long-time editor George Hayhoe and was selected after an intensive search by STC.

Originally posted in Tieline.  Posted here with permission.

As the STC conference approaches, you will be seeing more communication notices from the ITC Leadership Board. General information of ITC-based activities at the conference can be seen below by date.

INTERNATIONAL PAVILION (ITC AND GALA)
We are very excited about our main activity for the year: the International Pavilion, inside of the Exhibit Hall at the conference. We have nine sponsors this year, along with GALA and support from STC! During the conference, sponsors will have speakers talking at the Pavilion at various times along with other activities, like the Passport activity, detailed below.

PASSPORT ACTIVITY
ITC and GALA are sponsoring the Passport to International Technical Communication activity. With a grand prize of a $500 airline voucher, we hope that this activity will pull STC conference attendees to the International Pavilion to learn more about international tech comm while also pushing traffic to our sponsors in the Exhibit Hall. The Passport will be in every attendee conference bag, so there will be a good amount of exposure for the Pavilion, ITC, GALA, and international tech comm overall.

PAVILION HOSTS NEEDED
The International Pavilion could use some help in staffing the hours open.
Pavilion hosts are asked to:
–arrive at the time committed
–greet passers-by with info about ITC, GALA, and the Pavilion Passport Activity
–announce any sponsor speakers that may be presenting during your shift

Pavilion hosts will not:
–be speakers themselves (unless they are with a Pavilion sponsor). We are only looking for hosts to be a presence in the International Pavilion. There is no prep needed.
–have to do any clean up.
–leave the Pavilion unattended (we will have some expensive equipment there…).

If you are interested, please email Traci Nathans-Kelly (ITC manager) . For the most part, we need Pavilion hosts during Monday and Tuesday from 9am to 4pm, usually in half hour or 1hour shifts. You are welcome to pair up with a friend!

We also try to have ITC folks identify themselves as possible language translators for any conference attendees that may need additional support. We provide buttons to ITC members that they can wear on their conference badges that identify them as a translator. If you are interested, again, please let me know by May 5, 2008.

OTHER WAYS TO VOLUNTEER
We would love to be able to provide to ITC members a targeted list of session that may be of interest to ITC members. If you would be interested in creating this list, please return an email to Traci Nathans-Kelly. As well, if you are presenting at the conferemce, let me know and I will start a listing, too, to send around to ITC membership.

——————–

SCHEDULE (not complete, but a good start)
STC Annual Summit: ITC activities and opportunities for ITC SIG members

June 1
–Welcome Reception (for all STC members) 7-8:15pm in the Convention Center
–Leadership Day 8am-5pm (see STC website)
–Set up for International Pavilion, time tbd

June 2
–International Pavilion (ITC and GALA) opens in Exhibit Hall, 10:30am-6pm
–International Reception 6pm-7pm, Exhibit Hall (tentative)

June 3
–7:30am to 8:30am: ITC SIG meeting, Marriott room 302, for ITC Leadership Board
–International Pavilion in Exhibit hall open 9am-6pm
–ITC Progression, 1:30-2:30, room TBD
–ITC SIG luncheon at 12pm-1pm

June 4
–International Pavilion in Exhibit Hall open 9am-1:15pm
–ITC/GALA Pavilion Passport activity due at Intl Pavilion at 10am
–Drawing for Passport winner at 11am
–Break down of Pavilion structures, etc.

The Bangalore Technical Writers Meetup, supported by STC India, was held at Continuous Computing on September 29, 2007. Over 25 people from various companies- ranging from Huawei to Infosys -attended. There were two sessions: ”Programming Concepts for Writers on C++” by Rajeev Jain of Zilog and “Introduction to Structured Writing and Structured FrameMaker” by Makarand Pandit of Technowrites.

Rajeev Jain started his presentation by stating “Concepts are important, not language.” He then explained the basics of C++, concentrating on the API/ SDK documentation. He also provided an API template, which is the first step towards API Reference Guide documentation. The training material is available at the following link:  http://techwriter.meetup.com/2/files

Makarand Pandit covered “Structured Writing & Structured FrameMaker.”  Mak provided a demonstration of Adobe FrameMaker 8.0. He explained what Element Definition Document (EDD) and Document Type Definition (DTD) are, and he showed how to edit an EDD, importing a DTD, and all the other tricks that will come handy to the naïve user of FrameMaker 8.0. Pandit was asked questions on all the recent developments in Information Development field. One such question was on DITA. He then explained, in brief, what DITA is and how it has evolved over the years.

You can view the photos of the meetup by clicking the following URL: http://techwriter.meetup.com/2/photos/?photoAlbumId=225090 (requires sign up).
Report submitted by Rajdeep Gupta

UK Chapter of STC. 10/11 November 2007, Manchester, England. Details on the STC Forum: http://stcforum.org/viewtopic.php?pid=4163#p4163

The Bangalore Technical Writers Meetup –supported by the Society for Technical Communication India Chapter- is pleased to conduct two sessions on September 29 at Continous Computing. This event starts at 10:30am sharp with a welcoming note by Rajdeep Gupta, followed by our guest speakers’ presentations. The venue for the sessions is at Continuous Computing India Pvt Ltd, 4th Floor, Pine Valley, (above Mcaffee and Daimler Chrysler) Embassy Golf Links Business Park, Intermediate Ring Road, Koramangala, Bangalore, India and the contact no. is 9900-171161.

Rajiv Jain, Documentation Manager of Zilog Systems, will present the first of the sessions on “Programming Concepts for Writers (with C++).” The session is intended for writers involved in API/SDK documentation or those who want to learn fundamental Programming concepts. This presentation provides high level overview of programming concepts (sequence, selection, and iteration) with C++ as example. This is helpful to all those who are involved in API/SDK related documentation irrespective of programming language used by them, as concepts remain the same for all the languages. This presentation will help participants to understand the programming concepts, read the APIs, and contribute as writers in APD guides. It also helps us to understand what parameters are and to return values which will help to add value in content and decrease the dependency on SMEs. You will definitely add value in the content instead of just cutting, pasting, formatting, or implementing the style guide.

Next, we have the veteran and the versatile Makrand Pandit providing ”An Introduction to Structured Writing and Structured FrameMaker.” During the course of the presentation, learn about the advantages and disadvantages of structured writing; in addition, there will be more insights on EDD and SFM files. 

If this interests you, please feel free to an email to rguptaz@gmail.com . The session is open and FREE to all. Further updates on the group’s website at http://techwriter.meetup.com/2/calendar/6200981/

The STC France Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication is starting off the season on September 24 with ”Saveurs et Savoirs “. This evening meeting will start with a buffet cocktail followed by our guest speaker’s presentation.

Karen Schriver will present, ”If You’re So Smart, Why Does Your Writing Suck? ”

Subject-matter experts often have trouble writing for general audiences. Experts may fail to understand what audiences need to know and create texts permeated with insider jargon and content that is too difficult, too complex, and not focused on what readers expect. It may be easy to attribute experts’ problem to arrogance and cluelessness, but this interpretation is too simple. Research into the cognition of expertise offers insights into why subject-matter experts have trouble transforming their knowledge for audiences. This work suggests that sophisticated subject-matter knowledge can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Come learn about domain experts writing for smart people outside of their field. Get ideas for working with people who may believe that clear writing waters down their thinking.

Dr. Karen Schriver is a researcher, consultant, and educator in information design. Her early work at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) charted new territory in understanding the integration of word and image, audience analysis, and people-centered design. Her book, Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Texts for Readers (Wiley & Sons), now in its 9th printing, is regarded as an essential work in the field. Winner of nine awards for research, Karen has made a significant impact on how information designers around the world think about their work. Karen is a Fellow of STC and a frequent keynote speaker. She has taught at universities in the US, Holland and South Africa, and is on the board of directors for the Communications Research Institute (Australia) and the Center for Plain Language (Washington, DC).

Karen will speak in English. The meeting takes place Monday, September 24 19:00 - 21:30, at FIAP Jean Monnet, 1st floor 30 rue Cabanis 75014 Paris Métro: Glacière (line 6) or Denfert-Rochereau (lines 4, 6, RER B)

Space is limited. Register before 15/Sept/2007 by sending an e-mail with your name and membership number (members of STC, IABC, or CRT) to secretary@stcfrance.org. Payment at the door, cash or check: 10 euros students or members of STC, CRT, or IABC 25 euros non-members .

The August, 2007 STC France Chapter newsletter has a calendar of technical communication events in Europe coming up this fall. The issue has just been posted at http://www.stcfrance.org/node/2405 Download the PDF for the calendar.

We welcome to the SIG family the Europe SIG, newly approved by the STC Board. We look forward to working with them! Below, find their Welcome message to all of STC. –Traci Kelly

Welcome! Bienvenue ! Willkommen! Welkom! Benvenuto!

The challenges faced by technical communicators in Europe, which include meeting the imperatives of multi-language publications, ensuring conformity with a changing regulatory environment, and working in diverse cultures and languages (and perhaps different versions of English), are often greater than those felt by their colleagues in other regions. But dealing with Europe-specific issues is also increasingly important for technical communicators outside Europe due to the advancing globalisation of industries, technologies, and marketplaces. The STC Europe SIG is one of the ways in which these challenges can be addressed.

The Europe SIG seeks to advance the purposes of the Society by working with individuals and groups across Europe to promote technical communication. The Europe SIG can give STC members who are based in Europe a collective voice in what happens in their region and will seek to establish a dialogue with existing organisations, such as TC-Europe, in a spirit of sharing and co-operation and not as a competitor.

Establishment of the Europe SIG also creates an enduring framework for trans-European initiatives such as conferences and the Europe-wide technical communications competition. It aims to help share information among members on dealing with the challenges and opportunities of working across Europe. The Europe SIG’s goal is to complement, not compete with, the activities of geographical communities in the region.

If you’re interested in joining a team focussed on European issues related to technical communication, then join the Europe SIG. Membership in the Europe SIG is open to all STC members who are interested in European technical communications issues, irrespective of where they are based.

Membership in the STC Europe SIG will be available from the 2008 membership year. In the meantime if you are interested in becoming involved with the Europe SIG, please let one of the Interim Co-Managers know by emailing them directly. They are: Jennifer O Neill (France Chapter), Jennifer O Neill (France Chapter) writer@jennifer-oneill.eu  and David Farbey (UK Chapter) david@farbey.co.uk