This document provides information about the STC-PMC 2003 Online Communication Competition. It describes what the competition is, why members should enter, how to enter, and important deadlines. It also announces upcoming chapter meetings on effective XML and usability case studies.
The document summarizes the history of the Philadelphia Metro Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). It discusses how the chapter celebrated its history at a June 2004 meeting, with commentary from long-time member John Simons. Simons noted that in the 1970s, the chapter (then called the Delaware Valley Chapter) had low attendance and was in financial trouble. This changed after hosting the 1988 International Technical Communications Conference, which increased member participation and brought in income. The document also provides brief details on long-time chapter members who have received STC honors, and conferences and job resources that the chapter has hosted over the years.
This document discusses differences between British and American English, noting variations in spelling, vocabulary, idioms, and meanings of certain words. It also notes that English is spoken in over 50 countries and territories, with many variations between regions. While English has no official status in countries like the US and UK, it is an official language or co-official language in some countries where few people speak it as their native language, such as India. Globally, about 375 million people speak English as a first language.
This document provides a summary of Edward Tufte's criticisms of PowerPoint presentations as outlined in his book "The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint". Tufte argues that PowerPoint encourages simplistic bullet points that do not show relationships between ideas and limits content to around 40 words per slide. This "PowerPoint style" conceals the structure and assumptions of an argument. Tufte cites the Columbia shuttle disaster reports as an example where PowerPoint may have obscured important technical details. He believes presentations should provide more context and detail to enhance understanding, rather than focusing on minimalism and decoration. The article recommends Tufte's book for further discussion of his views on optimally presenting information graphically.
This document summarizes the April/May/June 2008 newsletter of the Philadelphia Metro Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. It includes the following key information:
- Winners were announced of a drawing held at the May chapter meeting to award cash prizes to help offset costs for members attending the STC Summit conference.
- The newsletter provides officer and committee member contact information and recaps the previous chapter meeting on career progression.
- The president's article encourages members to volunteer their time and expertise to help other technical communicators, as mentoring helped him in his career.
- A book on managing technical teams is reviewed, exploring concepts like "Putt's Law" about the dynamics of technical and manager
The document summarizes the March/April 2005 issue of the STC-PMC newsletter. It discusses the upcoming annual conference, including the keynote speakers. It also provides candidate profiles for the administrative board election and recaps the January TW support group meeting. The newsletter staff and submission guidelines are listed.
The document summarizes the recent activities and upcoming events of the STC-PMC chapter. It discusses the September meeting, deadlines for submissions to the chapter competition in October, and upcoming meetings in October and November featuring presentations on member-selected topics and localizing content. It also advertises training through Brookwood on Adobe software and references a recent lecture on public speaking techniques.
An Introduction to Usability
Testing—Karen Schriver
October 25, 2006. The
Fundamentals of Information
Architecture—Karen Schriver
November 8, 2006. Writing for
the Web: An Introduction—Karen
Schriver
November 29, 2006. The
Fundamentals of Usability Testing—
Karen Schriver
December 13, 2006. The
Fundamentals of Information
Architecture—Karen Schriver
BOOK REVIEW
The STC-PMC Bookshelf
Summer Reading List
By Mary Shaw
ummer is winding down, but
there's still time for a few more
good reads before the busy fall
season kicks in. Here are some
The STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter newsletter provides updates on recent and upcoming events. Highlights from the May chapter meeting will be shared and executive positions are accepting nominations. The April meeting featured a presentation by Nad Rosenberg on visual principles. Active member awards were given to recognize top volunteers over the past year. The next chapter meeting will be in June.
The document summarizes the history of the Philadelphia Metro Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). It discusses how the chapter celebrated its history at a June 2004 meeting, with commentary from long-time member John Simons. Simons noted that in the 1970s, the chapter (then called the Delaware Valley Chapter) had low attendance and was in financial trouble. This changed after hosting the 1988 International Technical Communications Conference, which increased member participation and brought in income. The document also provides brief details on long-time chapter members who have received STC honors, and conferences and job resources that the chapter has hosted over the years.
This document discusses differences between British and American English, noting variations in spelling, vocabulary, idioms, and meanings of certain words. It also notes that English is spoken in over 50 countries and territories, with many variations between regions. While English has no official status in countries like the US and UK, it is an official language or co-official language in some countries where few people speak it as their native language, such as India. Globally, about 375 million people speak English as a first language.
This document provides a summary of Edward Tufte's criticisms of PowerPoint presentations as outlined in his book "The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint". Tufte argues that PowerPoint encourages simplistic bullet points that do not show relationships between ideas and limits content to around 40 words per slide. This "PowerPoint style" conceals the structure and assumptions of an argument. Tufte cites the Columbia shuttle disaster reports as an example where PowerPoint may have obscured important technical details. He believes presentations should provide more context and detail to enhance understanding, rather than focusing on minimalism and decoration. The article recommends Tufte's book for further discussion of his views on optimally presenting information graphically.
This document summarizes the April/May/June 2008 newsletter of the Philadelphia Metro Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. It includes the following key information:
- Winners were announced of a drawing held at the May chapter meeting to award cash prizes to help offset costs for members attending the STC Summit conference.
- The newsletter provides officer and committee member contact information and recaps the previous chapter meeting on career progression.
- The president's article encourages members to volunteer their time and expertise to help other technical communicators, as mentoring helped him in his career.
- A book on managing technical teams is reviewed, exploring concepts like "Putt's Law" about the dynamics of technical and manager
The document summarizes the March/April 2005 issue of the STC-PMC newsletter. It discusses the upcoming annual conference, including the keynote speakers. It also provides candidate profiles for the administrative board election and recaps the January TW support group meeting. The newsletter staff and submission guidelines are listed.
The document summarizes the recent activities and upcoming events of the STC-PMC chapter. It discusses the September meeting, deadlines for submissions to the chapter competition in October, and upcoming meetings in October and November featuring presentations on member-selected topics and localizing content. It also advertises training through Brookwood on Adobe software and references a recent lecture on public speaking techniques.
An Introduction to Usability
Testing—Karen Schriver
October 25, 2006. The
Fundamentals of Information
Architecture—Karen Schriver
November 8, 2006. Writing for
the Web: An Introduction—Karen
Schriver
November 29, 2006. The
Fundamentals of Usability Testing—
Karen Schriver
December 13, 2006. The
Fundamentals of Information
Architecture—Karen Schriver
BOOK REVIEW
The STC-PMC Bookshelf
Summer Reading List
By Mary Shaw
ummer is winding down, but
there's still time for a few more
good reads before the busy fall
season kicks in. Here are some
The STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter newsletter provides updates on recent and upcoming events. Highlights from the May chapter meeting will be shared and executive positions are accepting nominations. The April meeting featured a presentation by Nad Rosenberg on visual principles. Active member awards were given to recognize top volunteers over the past year. The next chapter meeting will be in June.
The document introduces the STC-PMC Employment Committee, which aims to facilitate job placement for chapter members. It discusses how the committee collects and shares job postings with chapter members via email and its website. It encourages both job seekers and employers to utilize the committee's free job posting service. The committee also provides some career advising support to unemployed or underemployed members.
The document summarizes the results of a membership survey conducted by the STC-PMC in August 2003. Key findings from the survey include:
- Location and distance to meetings were the top criteria members consider when deciding whether to attend, with 41 responses mentioning these factors.
- 77% of respondents said they would not be willing to pay for a full meal at meetings. Most said they would pay $15-25 for a meal or $5-10 for coffee/dessert.
- Common comments and concerns from members included a desire for more networking time at meetings, more interesting and cutting-edge topics, and meetings held closer to home for those with families.
The document discusses upcoming events for the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter, including a summer social BBQ in August and a chapter meeting in September. It also summarizes highlights from the recent STC Summit, such as a new social network for members and certification programs now being offered. Local member Matt Harris attended a technical writing conference and said it provided practical information. Membership offers benefits like learning opportunities through conferences, monthly meetings, and resources on the STC website.
The document summarizes recent and upcoming events for the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter. It discusses a past presentation by Brookwood and Joe Welinske, an upcoming talk by Theo Landgren on localization, and thanks the newsletter editor Edna Smith. It also provides updates on the 2011 technical writing competitions and the October chapter meeting featuring Joe Welinske. Details are given on the next newsletter publication and the November chapter meeting featuring Theo Landgren.
The document discusses upcoming events for the Society for Technical Communication's (STC) Philadelphia Metro Chapter, including their annual technical communication conference on March 26th. It introduces the keynote speaker Don Moyer and several other presenters. It also welcomes new members to the chapter and announces they received a 2010 Community of Excellence award. Members are encouraged to attend events and renew their membership.
The document summarizes recent events from the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter (STC-PMC). It thanks volunteers for their contributions to the chapter's success in 2011 and reminds members that STC membership expires at the end of the year. It also announces the chapter's holiday social in December and upcoming events in early 2012, including a chapter meeting in February and the annual conference in March.
The newsletter summarizes recent activities of the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter, including being honored as a 2010 Chapter of Excellence. It announces upcoming events like the annual STC Summit and a presentation on preparing for localization. It also provides feedback from attendees of the recent Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference, and encourages members to get more involved and consider presenting at future conferences.
The document is the August 2011 newsletter for the STC-PMC (Society for Technical Communication Philadelphia Metro Chapter). It announces an upcoming free summer potluck social event on August 13th co-sponsored with UsabilityNJ. It also provides information about upcoming chapter meetings in September and October. Additionally, it includes job listings and opportunities as well as the publication schedule for the newsletter.
This article discusses strategies for technical writers to gain more respect and recognition from coworkers who may see them as "glorified typists." It recommends that technical writers demonstrate their value through initiatives that improve business outcomes, such as developing a company website or sharing product information across departments. The article also suggests technical writers teach colleagues how to properly use templates and styles rather than simply reformatting poorly formatted documents. This can establish technical writers as experts who effectively use writing and design tools to communicate technical information.
The document summarizes a chapter meeting of the STC-PMC that featured presentations from three local universities on their master's and certificate programs in technical writing. Representatives from Philadelphia University, Drexel University, and Penn State discussed their programs, including required courses, costs, and areas of focus. The meeting was well-attended and provided information to chapter members about further educational opportunities in technical communication in the local area.
The document discusses scholarships available through the Society for Technical Communication (STC). It states that STC provides four $1000 scholarships annually, with two awarded to graduate students and two to undergraduates. To be eligible, applicants must have completed at least one year of post-secondary education, be a full-time student studying technical communication, and have at least one year remaining in their degree program. The deadline to apply is February 15. The document provides contact information for more scholarship details on the STC website.
The document announces a conference that will look at leveraging visual communication. The conference will include a keynote speech from an expert in visual communications who will discuss principles for designing effective visual communication. There will then be over a dozen presentations on topics like career development, instructional design, and improving writing and design skills. The conference will also feature workshops on visual communication and instructional design led by experts, with opportunities for hands-on exploration of concepts through case studies and group exercises. The conference and workshops will be held at the Penn State Great Valley Conference Center in March 2009.
This document provides an agenda for the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter (PMC) 2015 conference. The one-day conference will include keynote speeches, sessions on topics related to technical communication such as content strategy, accessibility, and the future of mobile learning. Speakers will discuss user experience design, writing documentation, localization, and becoming a manager. The conference will be held at the Giant Community Center and is sponsored by Adobe. Attendees are asked to complete an online survey after the event.
The document introduces concepts and benefits of web-based publishing compared to traditional static documentation systems. It demonstrates how to set up a basic web server using Apache Tomcat, deliver simple static content, and add more advanced features like server-side processing of XML files with XSLT to dynamically generate HTML. This allows filtering content based on user input or profiles. The presentation concludes by showcasing a mature system deployed at Spirent Communications that provides substantial benefits over traditional documentation approaches.
The document provides details about the agenda for a presentation including sessions, speakers, and topics. Some of the session topics include responsive design, leadership for introverts, scenario-based design, blogging, multi-channel content publishing, volunteering to advance your career, making products interesting, the future of knowledge transfer, using cloud technology, the role of technical writers, managing client expectations, using plain language, HTML5, CSS, mobile outputs, and responsive design. The closing session will include a lightning talk on happiness and well-being and a session on technical writing for FDA-regulated industries.
Donn DeBoard presented at the STC-PMC Annual Conference on March 27, 2010. He has 24 years of experience in software documentation. The presentation covered how technology trends like social media, user-generated content, and personalization are changing how information is created and consumed. It discussed the evolution from traditional documentation to personalized content delivered through social networks and clouds. The presentation also examined how metadata and tagging are important for discoverability and personalization of information going forward.
The document summarizes the key points from the Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association's 21st annual conference. Judy Jenner was the keynote speaker and discussed strategies for direct client acquisition and using online tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook as part of a professional presence and marketing strategy. She emphasized the importance of an online reputation and professionalism. Jenner also provided tips for elevator pitches, promotional materials, and networking to find new clients.
FPC Jobs Network celebrates its one-year anniversary of providing employment support and networking opportunities to members of the community. The group has grown from 6 initial members to over 211 members currently, though 40 members have found employment. The newsletter provides updates on membership status and useful online resources for job searching, and encourages members to connect on LinkedIn for additional networking and job opportunities. Meetings are held weekly to assist members with job searches through self-assessments, resume and interview preparation, and networking.
The document summarizes a presentation about using personas to design engaging content for customer intimacy. It discusses what personas are, how they can be used throughout the documentation development lifecycle, and how they promote shared understanding across organizations. Personas help technical communicators understand users beyond just their tasks, to include the context and motivation for users' "day-in-the-life." This allows the creation of more focused content that enhances customer success.
The document provides information on using social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook for online networking and creating an online presence to help with career development and job searching. It discusses creating profiles on these sites, joining relevant groups, and using them to expand your professional network. It also covers tips for online networking etiquette and recommendations for an effective online portfolio.
The document summarizes the key points from an international workshop organized by WUSME on waste to energy. It provides an overview of the workshop agenda with presentations on waste management issues and solutions, case studies from different countries, and technologies for converting waste to energy. The workshop aimed to discuss turning waste from a problem into a resource and promote the role of SMEs in sustainable waste management and clean energy generation.
The document introduces the STC-PMC Employment Committee, which aims to facilitate job placement for chapter members. It discusses how the committee collects and shares job postings with chapter members via email and its website. It encourages both job seekers and employers to utilize the committee's free job posting service. The committee also provides some career advising support to unemployed or underemployed members.
The document summarizes the results of a membership survey conducted by the STC-PMC in August 2003. Key findings from the survey include:
- Location and distance to meetings were the top criteria members consider when deciding whether to attend, with 41 responses mentioning these factors.
- 77% of respondents said they would not be willing to pay for a full meal at meetings. Most said they would pay $15-25 for a meal or $5-10 for coffee/dessert.
- Common comments and concerns from members included a desire for more networking time at meetings, more interesting and cutting-edge topics, and meetings held closer to home for those with families.
The document discusses upcoming events for the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter, including a summer social BBQ in August and a chapter meeting in September. It also summarizes highlights from the recent STC Summit, such as a new social network for members and certification programs now being offered. Local member Matt Harris attended a technical writing conference and said it provided practical information. Membership offers benefits like learning opportunities through conferences, monthly meetings, and resources on the STC website.
The document summarizes recent and upcoming events for the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter. It discusses a past presentation by Brookwood and Joe Welinske, an upcoming talk by Theo Landgren on localization, and thanks the newsletter editor Edna Smith. It also provides updates on the 2011 technical writing competitions and the October chapter meeting featuring Joe Welinske. Details are given on the next newsletter publication and the November chapter meeting featuring Theo Landgren.
The document discusses upcoming events for the Society for Technical Communication's (STC) Philadelphia Metro Chapter, including their annual technical communication conference on March 26th. It introduces the keynote speaker Don Moyer and several other presenters. It also welcomes new members to the chapter and announces they received a 2010 Community of Excellence award. Members are encouraged to attend events and renew their membership.
The document summarizes recent events from the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter (STC-PMC). It thanks volunteers for their contributions to the chapter's success in 2011 and reminds members that STC membership expires at the end of the year. It also announces the chapter's holiday social in December and upcoming events in early 2012, including a chapter meeting in February and the annual conference in March.
The newsletter summarizes recent activities of the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter, including being honored as a 2010 Chapter of Excellence. It announces upcoming events like the annual STC Summit and a presentation on preparing for localization. It also provides feedback from attendees of the recent Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference, and encourages members to get more involved and consider presenting at future conferences.
The document is the August 2011 newsletter for the STC-PMC (Society for Technical Communication Philadelphia Metro Chapter). It announces an upcoming free summer potluck social event on August 13th co-sponsored with UsabilityNJ. It also provides information about upcoming chapter meetings in September and October. Additionally, it includes job listings and opportunities as well as the publication schedule for the newsletter.
This article discusses strategies for technical writers to gain more respect and recognition from coworkers who may see them as "glorified typists." It recommends that technical writers demonstrate their value through initiatives that improve business outcomes, such as developing a company website or sharing product information across departments. The article also suggests technical writers teach colleagues how to properly use templates and styles rather than simply reformatting poorly formatted documents. This can establish technical writers as experts who effectively use writing and design tools to communicate technical information.
The document summarizes a chapter meeting of the STC-PMC that featured presentations from three local universities on their master's and certificate programs in technical writing. Representatives from Philadelphia University, Drexel University, and Penn State discussed their programs, including required courses, costs, and areas of focus. The meeting was well-attended and provided information to chapter members about further educational opportunities in technical communication in the local area.
The document discusses scholarships available through the Society for Technical Communication (STC). It states that STC provides four $1000 scholarships annually, with two awarded to graduate students and two to undergraduates. To be eligible, applicants must have completed at least one year of post-secondary education, be a full-time student studying technical communication, and have at least one year remaining in their degree program. The deadline to apply is February 15. The document provides contact information for more scholarship details on the STC website.
The document announces a conference that will look at leveraging visual communication. The conference will include a keynote speech from an expert in visual communications who will discuss principles for designing effective visual communication. There will then be over a dozen presentations on topics like career development, instructional design, and improving writing and design skills. The conference will also feature workshops on visual communication and instructional design led by experts, with opportunities for hands-on exploration of concepts through case studies and group exercises. The conference and workshops will be held at the Penn State Great Valley Conference Center in March 2009.
This document provides an agenda for the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter (PMC) 2015 conference. The one-day conference will include keynote speeches, sessions on topics related to technical communication such as content strategy, accessibility, and the future of mobile learning. Speakers will discuss user experience design, writing documentation, localization, and becoming a manager. The conference will be held at the Giant Community Center and is sponsored by Adobe. Attendees are asked to complete an online survey after the event.
The document introduces concepts and benefits of web-based publishing compared to traditional static documentation systems. It demonstrates how to set up a basic web server using Apache Tomcat, deliver simple static content, and add more advanced features like server-side processing of XML files with XSLT to dynamically generate HTML. This allows filtering content based on user input or profiles. The presentation concludes by showcasing a mature system deployed at Spirent Communications that provides substantial benefits over traditional documentation approaches.
The document provides details about the agenda for a presentation including sessions, speakers, and topics. Some of the session topics include responsive design, leadership for introverts, scenario-based design, blogging, multi-channel content publishing, volunteering to advance your career, making products interesting, the future of knowledge transfer, using cloud technology, the role of technical writers, managing client expectations, using plain language, HTML5, CSS, mobile outputs, and responsive design. The closing session will include a lightning talk on happiness and well-being and a session on technical writing for FDA-regulated industries.
Donn DeBoard presented at the STC-PMC Annual Conference on March 27, 2010. He has 24 years of experience in software documentation. The presentation covered how technology trends like social media, user-generated content, and personalization are changing how information is created and consumed. It discussed the evolution from traditional documentation to personalized content delivered through social networks and clouds. The presentation also examined how metadata and tagging are important for discoverability and personalization of information going forward.
The document summarizes the key points from the Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association's 21st annual conference. Judy Jenner was the keynote speaker and discussed strategies for direct client acquisition and using online tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook as part of a professional presence and marketing strategy. She emphasized the importance of an online reputation and professionalism. Jenner also provided tips for elevator pitches, promotional materials, and networking to find new clients.
FPC Jobs Network celebrates its one-year anniversary of providing employment support and networking opportunities to members of the community. The group has grown from 6 initial members to over 211 members currently, though 40 members have found employment. The newsletter provides updates on membership status and useful online resources for job searching, and encourages members to connect on LinkedIn for additional networking and job opportunities. Meetings are held weekly to assist members with job searches through self-assessments, resume and interview preparation, and networking.
The document summarizes a presentation about using personas to design engaging content for customer intimacy. It discusses what personas are, how they can be used throughout the documentation development lifecycle, and how they promote shared understanding across organizations. Personas help technical communicators understand users beyond just their tasks, to include the context and motivation for users' "day-in-the-life." This allows the creation of more focused content that enhances customer success.
The document provides information on using social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook for online networking and creating an online presence to help with career development and job searching. It discusses creating profiles on these sites, joining relevant groups, and using them to expand your professional network. It also covers tips for online networking etiquette and recommendations for an effective online portfolio.
The document summarizes the key points from an international workshop organized by WUSME on waste to energy. It provides an overview of the workshop agenda with presentations on waste management issues and solutions, case studies from different countries, and technologies for converting waste to energy. The workshop aimed to discuss turning waste from a problem into a resource and promote the role of SMEs in sustainable waste management and clean energy generation.
The document discusses Louisiana's oil and gas industry, with three key points:
1) Louisiana has large oil and gas resources, especially from unconventional sources like the Haynesville Shale, which is one of the largest natural gas fields in the US.
2) Advanced technologies like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have revolutionized the domestic oil and gas industry and greatly increased production from shale and other tight rock formations.
3) Louisiana's oil and gas industry has had a significant economic impact, supporting thousands of jobs and billions in annual economic activity through development of resources like the Haynesville Shale.
Building capability for effective portfolio management 1.1Maven
The document discusses building effective portfolio management capabilities. It outlines the benefits of portfolio management, which include reducing costs by stopping low-value initiatives, increasing resources for high-priority projects, and better realizing benefits. The document also describes Maven's approach to portfolio management, which involves defining a portfolio that prioritizes all organizational initiatives, and using a methodology to deliver projects and implement changes. Portfolio definition includes summarizing, categorizing, prioritizing all initiatives to create a balanced portfolio.
2013 Talk on Informatics tools for public transport re cities and healthPatrick Sunter
A presentation at the 2013 meeting of the UniMelb-based "Transport, Health & Chronic Diseases Research Network", on 13 Nov, 2013 (See http://cwhgs.unimelb.edu.au/knowledge/knowledge
). Talk title:- 'Some Remarks on Issues around Data and Tools for Understanding Public Transport Networks from My PhD Work'.
This document introduces Monleigh, a 12-year-old student from New Zealand. She lives with her family which includes her parents and two siblings. Monleigh enjoys activities like anime, music, reading and using the computer. She describes some of her favorite foods, books, TV shows and musicians. The document provides details about Monleigh's personality, hobbies, zodiac sign and favorite author James Patterson.
Tech Mentro offers 6 months live Project based Industrial Training in Java, Android, Microsoft .Net & PHP technologies for MCA/BCA/BE/B.Tech/MSc(CS and IT ) Students & professionals. This 6 months Industrial Training is part of curriculum of the most of the technical universities to enhance the industry specific skills in latest technologies and to learn corporate structure.
1) Millennial students at Southern Methodist University evaluated news apps on the iPad during its first year, rating them on immediacy, non-linear presentation, multimedia, and interactivity.
2) The findings showed that most first generation news apps lacked immediacy, had awkward navigation, and were disappointing in interactivity. However, some apps like The Daily and ESPN ScoreCenter were standouts.
3) The students generally concluded that first year iPad news apps were not immediate or interactive enough, and that most resembled "shovelware". Students preferred accessing news through websites rather than apps.
This document discusses targets and criteria for biofuels and bioenergy in the Netherlands. It outlines the Netherlands' commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and details current bioenergy usage. Concerns about the sustainability of biofuels production are addressed through EU and national certification requirements. The Netherlands aims to source 10% of transport energy from renewable sources by 2020 through increased electric vehicles, biogas, and sustainable first and second generation biofuels.
Small businesses can start retirement plans to attract and retain quality employees. A 401k plan allows employees to save pre-tax dollars for retirement while also providing tax benefits to the business. Setting up a 401k is simple, requiring only basic decisions around employer matching contributions and investment options. Paychex makes starting and managing a 401k easy and affordable for small businesses.
This document contains personal identification information for I Wayan Subagia Arimbawa including his name, date of birth, gender, religion, physical description, contact information, education background, and work experience history. It details his educational background including computer studies from 1993-1996 and lists his various roles working in information technology, computer instruction, and hotel management from 1989-present. It also provides details of his current freelance work in online marketing, private instruction, consulting, and development.
This document outlines UniMAP's strategic goal to be ranked among the top 500 universities globally by 2020. It presents UniMAP's progress in increasing research quality and quantity between 2003-2014, including rising publication and citation numbers. UniMAP's current rankings by various metrics are provided, along with key performance criteria and focus areas to improve reputation in teaching, research, and internationalization by 2020.
Change management involves controlling how an organization moves from its current state to a new state through effective communication, influencing skills, and breaking change down into prioritized activities. It differs from project management by focusing on adoption of new processes rather than delivery. Benefits include reduced failed initiatives and duplication through clarified roles and responsibilities. The course teaches change management principles, models, and applying skills to practical scenarios to obtain a Foundation or Practitioner qualification recognized as demonstrating change leadership abilities. Maven Training is an accredited provider known for high pass rates and experienced trainers.
El documento habla sobre las características de un ciudadano digital y sus derechos y deberes. Explica que un ciudadano digital es aquel que usa internet y debe conocer tanto sus derechos como sus deberes, entre los que se encuentra ser consciente de los riesgos de internet y comportarse de forma responsable.
El documento describe la civilización bizantina desde su origen en el año 476 d.C. hasta su caída en 1453 a manos del Imperio Otomano. El Imperio Bizantino se expandió hasta el año 1000 pero luego enfrentó amenazas de los eslavos, persas, árabes musulmanes y los turcos otomanos, quienes finalmente conquistaron Constantinopla en 1453 poniendo fin al imperio. La sociedad bizantina estaba jerarquizada con el emperador al frente del poder político, militar y religioso
Tech Mentro is a best IT Training Center in Noida, Delhi-NCR, which provides Core PHP Training, Advance PHP Training, CMS Training, Smarty,Joomla, Ajax, CAKEPHP Framework Training, 6 Weeks Industrial Training and 6 Months Project Training for engineering students and professionals.
This document summarizes the challenges of managing content across multiple documents using traditional word processing or XML authoring tools. It describes how a single instruction needed to be updated in documentation for 10 camera models would require manually searching and replacing the instruction in all documents. Content management systems allow centralized storage of content in a database, making it easier to consistently update content reused in multiple documents. However, there are different types of content management systems that vary in their capabilities for web content, documents, digital assets and granular content management. Choosing the right system requires understanding these differences.
This document provides information about an upcoming webinar, membership discounts, upcoming programs, resume review and advertising services, special interest groups, volunteer opportunities, and ways to support the chapter. It also provides an overview of section 508 compliance and accessibility best practices for digital materials.
This article provides career advice for technical communicators based on their age and career stage:
- For those in their 20s just graduating, it recommends gaining experience through volunteering and networking to enhance skills for future leadership roles.
- Those in their 30s are encouraged to decide whether to stay in their current role, pursue further education, or change to a management or technical track based on their goals and priorities.
- Technical communicators in their 40s may find themselves seen as experts and get more opportunities, so the article advises balancing pro bono with paid work to build their reputation.
- For those in their 50s, a career or life change may prompt redefining one's self and passions to find
The document summarizes upcoming events for the STC-PMC chapter, including a February meeting featuring a presentation on software user assistance trends and the annual Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference in March. It encourages renewing or joining the STC membership and chapter to receive discounts on events and be eligible for prizes in a drawing. It also profiles chapter member Karen Flam and her career experiences in technical communication.
The commissioning agent as anthropologist: part 1Marcel Harmon
"If the goals of the commissioning process are to ensure that a building and its systems provide a quality environment and meet the owner’s operational needs, including adequately preparing operations and maintenance staff and occupants, then the commissioning agent must adequately account for human factors and interactions throughout the commissioning process. It would seem, then, that anthropology—the comparative study of human societies and cultures in all their various manifestations now and in the past, might have something to offer commissioning."
Thank you for taking part in the 2013 STC Washington, DC - Baltimore Chapter's Super Power survey.
We want to make sure we provide the highest quality and most targeted events and services to Technical Communicators in the Washington DC, Metro Baltimore, and Northern Virginia area. We want to find out where you are, what you think about, and what you need from STC. We want to put together events and services that will meet your needs and showcase your talents. You can help us out by telling us about yourself in this survey.
We'd like to thank you for participating by offering a 20% discount on your next STC WDCB event. Just use the promo code "survey20" the next time you register.
All questions are optional and all answers are confidential so feel free to answer as many or as few as time allows and don't be shy about telling us what you really think.
This document summarizes Stantec's employee magazine from Autumn 2015. It includes the following articles:
- 4 employees share their career adventures using Stantec's Career Development Program.
- Stories and photos from Stantec's third annual Community Day, where employees volunteered across various communities.
- An article on the Commercial Real Estate Women's Network and how it is advancing women's roles in commercial real estate.
- How Stantec's Human Resources department is evolving its services to provide employees with the information and support they need.
The document provides information about the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA), including its mission to exchange information between technology councils, conduct industry research, and advocate for policies promoting technology-based economic growth. It summarizes TECNA membership benefits like networking events, best practices, advocacy resources, and industry surveys. It also outlines membership costs on a sliding scale based on organization budget size and describes opportunities for international affiliate members.
The newsletter provides updates from the Chair of the Customer-Supplier Division on recent accomplishments and opportunities for members. Key points include:
- The division achieved milestones in 2016 related to the new CSQP certification and member leader training goals.
- An article encourages members to get involved in upcoming division activities at the World Conference on Quality and Improvement in May and the ASQ Audit Conference in October.
- A featured article discusses how brands should analyze social media data from customers to better understand them and provide more personalized experiences and offers.
None
Key Responsibilities:
- Preside over board meetings and executive committee meetings
- Set meeting agendas and ensure meetings are productive and on track
- Represent the chapter at external events and meetings
- Serve as a liaison between the chapter and ASTD National
- Ensure chapter goals and objectives are being met
- Oversee the general operations of the chapter
- Act as a spokesperson for the chapter
- Mentor and support the President-Elect
- Appoint committee chairs and oversee their work
- Review and approve committee reports
- Review and approve the annual budget
- Review and approve contracts and agreements
- Ensure compliance with chapter bylaws and policies
- Delegate tasks and responsibilities as needed
The document discusses how writing styles have adapted to the digital age. For writing online, it is important to get straight to the point in the first few sentences due to short attention spans. Details and anecdotes work better in print where readers have more time. Both media require understanding the intended audience and how they consume information. The language of digital communication has also evolved, requiring communicators to learn new terms to effectively engage online audiences.
This document provides information about the ASQ Automotive Division, including its vision, mission, customers, and upcoming events. The vision is to be the worldwide automotive industry's leader on quality issues. The mission is to facilitate continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. Primary customers include automotive division members and suppliers. Upcoming events include conferences in Iowa and Michigan from March to June 2004.
The document summarizes the softball team's accomplishments, including winning their first conference tournament game and having 5 players honored in the all-conference selections. Haley Miller was named first team all-conference utility player. Freshman Wendy Gillet was named second team first baseman. Freshman Nichole Aldridge, sophomore Michelle Tasin, and senior Emily Sexton received honorable mentions. The team will continue play in the conference tournament on Saturday.
This document discusses criminal justice jobs and duties, focusing on three positions: police officers, detectives, and parole officers. It provides information on the education, skills, and requirements needed for each role, as well as average annual salaries in Ohio. Police officers enforce laws and protect citizens, requiring a high school diploma and police academy training. Detectives investigate crimes using observation, investigation, and reasoning skills, typically requiring a bachelor's degree. Parole officers help reintegrate former prisoners into society, needing a bachelor's degree and skills in social work and counseling. Annual salaries provided are approximately $55,000 for police officers, $80,000 for detectives, and $48,000 for parole officers in Ohio.
This document provides instructions for submitting a scholarship essay on the topic of health care to the website HelpWriting.net. It outlines a 5-step process: 1) Create an account with a password and email; 2) Complete a 10-minute order form with instructions, sources, and deadline; 3) Review writer bids and choose one to start the assignment; 4) Review the completed paper and authorize payment if satisfied; 5) Request revisions until fully satisfied, with the guarantee of a refund for plagiarized work.
The document lists the benefits of membership for various SIGs (Special Interest Groups) within the Society for Technical Communication. Key benefits include access to newsletters, discussion lists, webinars and discounts on conferences. SIGs allow members to network with peers, learn best practices, and get involved in leadership opportunities. Examples provided show benefits like free training workshops, mentoring, scholarships and presenting research. SIGs give members a community of practitioners within their specialized technical communication fields.
The document lists the benefits of membership for various SIGs (Special Interest Groups) within the Society for Technical Communication. Key benefits include access to newsletters, discussion lists, webinars and discounted events to share knowledge and expertise with peers; opportunities for leadership roles, volunteering, publishing and presenting; and resources on SIG websites, Twitter and LinkedIn. Membership provides professional development and networking opportunities for technical communicators with specialized interests such as accessibility, instructional design, marketing, quality improvement and usability.
This newsletter provides information about the upcoming February meeting of the Palisades-New Jersey Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers. The main speaker will be Geoff Giordano, who will discuss using websites and social media effectively. Information is also provided about scholarships available through the section for students studying plastics-related fields. Sponsor advertisements are included from various companies that produce additives and materials for the plastics industry.
Matt Birch provides advice for breaking into online media and journalism. He recommends (1) starting with online media to gain experience, (2) establishing a strong portfolio of writing clips through blogging or contributing work, and (3) using social media like Twitter to build your personal brand and stay informed on news. Birch also suggests (3) starting in copy editing or news desk roles and working your way up at a media company.
This document summarizes a panel discussion on "Pulling Shadow IT Out of the Shadows" hosted by the Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP) Dallas chapter. The panelists include CIOs from various companies who will discuss their experiences with shadow IT, how they address security risks, and ways they have redirected shadow IT for success. The document also provides information about AITP Dallas chapter events and benefits of joining for executives, professionals, students, and sponsors.
From Multimedia to Social Media to Augmented and Virtual Reality: Changing Technologies and their Use in Technical Communication presented by Jeremy Merritt on 24 April 2019
Content creation has always been about understanding your audience. But what if your audience belongs to a constantly evolving demographic, largely driven by impressions and gratifications? In this session, take a look at how the circuitary of "seeking" and "liking", and impulse control is impacting the always-connected generation. Discover what it takes to give people the content that deeply excites their brain and influences their behavior. The session is based on a content-experiment conducted by Pooja Vijay Kumar on around 3000 millennials across Asia for one year.
Session Takeaways:
1. Meet the evasive beast called Gratification
2. Discover the 5 rules of thumb in learning to write with your user’s needs and expectations experience in mind.
3. Learn how to develop archetypes and construct personas for your content
As a student of Design Strategy and an advocate of Content Experience, Pooja Vijay Kumar serves the academic community at California College of the Arts, San Francisco. Previously, Pooja spent a great part of her career at Oracle, where she championed the content strategy for enterprise applications. Pooja has delivered sessions at the Write the Docs meetup in the Bay Area, and spoken on minimalism and conversational UIs at the Big Design Conference, Texas; STC India Chapter regional conferences; and has conducted workshops and learning sessions for young women on pursuing offbeat content design careers through initiatives led by ITU, United Nations. In the past year, Pooja served as the Editor-in- Chief at a global nonprofit, where she drove the content strategy of web and print experiences for communication leaders and was recognized for bringing about an 80% boost to ROI through content. Pooja takes deep interest in understanding audience engagement. When she’s not writing or speaking at an event, Pooja can be found running a marathon, baking a tray of cup cakes, or photographing street food.
Hate networking? Me too. This session offers practical tips for how introverts (and extraverts, too) can change the game of networking to make it more effective for us, and maybe even enjoyable. Build partnerships, connect with opportunities, and achieve vast riches and legendary glory.* We’ll cover how to get started, networking strategies, and techniques for creating genuine connections versus just making “small talk.”
* Your mileage may vary.
Brian Winter is an experienced do-er and leader of all kinds of business communication. He’s done project leadership / project management, technical writing, websites, social media, multimedia and e-Learning, brochures, newsletters, white papers, proposal management, and video production (script-to-screen writing, producing, directing, editing). “Other duties as assigned” include leading a task force for sustainability, developing strategy and programs to spark and reward innovation, UI design and usability, requirements analysis, process improvement, and being an embarrassment to his daughter.
The document discusses the cost of doing nothing versus making changes or improvements. It argues that doing nothing is not actually free, as there are current state costs as well as future state costs if improvements are not made. To calculate the cost of doing nothing, one should estimate the future state costs if no changes are made and subtract the current state costs to get the total cost of inaction. Areas that contribute to the costs include software, services, staff time and productivity losses, tools, and downtime from older systems. Tracking both hard costs like licenses and soft costs like salaries and benefits over time can help demonstrate that improvements will save money in the long run despite any initial expenses.
By now, you have heard how important structured content is. But, maybe you poked around with something like DITA and were baffled by the complexity. Or, maybe you still aren’t sure what XSLT stands for. This workshop will take participants back to the basics, to provide a foundation for higher-level concepts that have taken hold of our industry. Topics will include:
- What XML looks like, what it does, and how to create it.
- How to define a structure model, including whether to use a - DTD, Schema, etc.
- What XSLT looks like, what it does, and how to make it work.
- What DITA and DocBook really are and whether one is right for you.
Russell Ward is an experienced technical writer and structured technologies developer. He has spent many years working with structured content to maximize efficiency in the techcomm environment, both as an employee and as an independent consultant. He is also an experienced trainer and speaks periodically at conferences and other peer events.
The prevalence of virtual-based teams have increased significantly within recent decades as a result of expanding corporate globalization. This rapid growth has exacerbated communication issues within the global virtual team setting. Issues related to poor work-life balance due to variance in work time zones, poor dissemination of team decisions and discussions, and insufficient use of collaborative tools, are common issues within the global diverse virtual team. Challenges exist even in virtual teams that are based in a single region, as differences in functional backgrounds and departmental cultures create challenges which are difficult to address within their virtual setting. Although interdependent constructs appear to be straight-forward and clear, the challenges teams face in accomplishing a shared goal is complex. Research in the area of team dynamics has provided support and guidance on improving interpersonal relationships, communications, and planning; thereby, enhancing team efficiencies. This presentation will review emotional intelligence (EI) and how it relates to the current team efficacy research. The related attributes and challenges at the individual, team, leadership, and organizational level will be reviewed with a focus on enabling the virtual-based team to succeed.
With over 16 years of experience as a virtual team member, Christine Loch brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the science of team dynamics. She is currently completing her PhD in organizational leadership at Northeastern University, Boston MA, with a research focus on team dynamics in the virtual-setting. As a past presenter at the national Drug Information Association Conference, and several times a presenter at the national Oncology Nursing Society Congress, Christine brings an engaging presence on this captivating topic, which will leave the audience with at least one new pearl of wisdom to try out on their own virtual-based teams at home.
The past decade has seen seismic shifts in how we create and consume content. Think Company’s Principal and Senior Experience Designer David Dylan Thomas illuminates 7 key aspects of those shifts and how they enable previously under-served voices to be heard. We’ll learn how emerging business models make it both more AND less problematic for content creators to make a living. We’ll learn which stories can be told that could never be told before and how mass participation births new art forms. Examples from the worlds of film, television, music, social, transmedia, and areas we don’t really have a word for yet will help content creators, strategists, and those who build platforms for them understand how to prepare for and profit from the future. We’ll also discuss the following questions: How has the lowered cost of technology been good and bad for creators? How can new business models completely change the game for diversity in content creation? Why do you need to learn everything you can right now about participatory culture?
David Dylan Thomas has developed digital strategies for major clients in entertainment, healthcare, publishing, finance, and retail. A senior experience designer at Think Company, he serves as programmer for Content Strategy Philly, founder of Content Camp, a content strategy instructor at Girl Develop It, and previously consulted at the Corzo Center for the Creative Economy. He is the creator, director, and co-producer of Developing Philly, a web series about the rise of the Philadelphia tech community. He is the creator and host of the Cognitive Bias Podcast and has given standing-room-only presentations at TEDNYC, SXSW Interactive, and the Wharton Web Conference on content strategy and emerging content trends.
This document is a resource list for content marketing compiled by Cheryl Landes. It includes over 50 links to articles, websites and books on topics like developing a content strategy, different types of content, and content marketing examples from top brands. The list serves as a guide for those interested in learning more about content marketing and how to implement an effective content strategy. It provides definitions and explanations of content marketing from various thought leaders and covers how to plan strategies, create content calendars, and break into content writing as a freelancer.
Speaker: Marilyn Woelk
Presentation Description
How do you create marketing materials for technical products or services while considering the normal technical communications mantra to avoid the soft, flashy advertising approach? If you work in a job where the marketing team and the technical communicators are often at odds or where most marketing materials are viewed as "not intended for technical audiences," then join us to talk about how the "Technical Communicator and Marketer Can Be Friends," or in some cases, how one person can take on both communication roles. We will discuss cases scenarios and your questions about how technical information can be wrapped in "marketing packages" such business case documents, sales materials, newsletters, and websites. We will also discuss how to write technical marketing pieces that don't scare technical audiences.
Promoting products and services through content marketing has been a growing trend for the past five years. Content marketing is also a great method for sharing your company’s mission and goals. In this session, you’ll learn what content marketing is, how it is useful in communicating your story, the types of marketing methods for sharing your story (such as blog posts, white papers, case studies, social media, and many more), and how to identify your target audiences, and tips for creating a content marketing plan.
Presented by Cheryl Landes
This document discusses how technical writers can expand their roles beyond just writing content. It suggests that technical writers learn about the wider organization, identify connections between content and users, and solve other teams' problems. The document provides examples of new areas for technical writers, such as content quality, customer experience, analytics, and strategy. It advises technical writers to determine their interests and skills gaps, build relationships, and get support to develop a new vision for their role within the organization.
So your company has decided to take its documentation mobile. Great!
But just saying “go mobile” is too vague. Is it an app? Responsively designed online help? A mobilized web site? Something else? What effect might going mobile have on your documentation efforts? That’s the subject of this presentation.
We’ll first look at various definitions of “mobile” including apps, responsive design, mobilized web sites, and more – their pros and cons, and tools you can use to create them. We’ll then look at how you might have to change your documentation practices in order to move to mobile, such as requiring greater syntactical rigor, eliminating local formatting, using relative fonts and media queries to create resizable tables and content, and more.
You’ll leave this presentation with a solid understanding of options for going mobile and how your work may have to change to stay on the cutting edge of technical communication.
GitHub is a web-based repository for software projects that allows users to collaborate on projects using version control and track issues. It provides options for project documentation like readmes, wikis, and GitHub pages. Users can work together using features like branches, commits, pull requests, and merges. Integrations with tools like GitBook and Slack extend its functionality. GitHub's social features allow users to follow projects and people.
In November 2016, Liz Russell and Ksenia Dynkin of Bluecadet presented the STC-PMC with a case study about best practices learned from a project their company did for the Hoover Mason Trestle, a historical landmark inBethlehem, Pennsylvania. They spoke about the research that needed to be done, the content development process, the storytelling strategy and framework they devised, and how they translated the content strategy for user-friendly kiosks and apps for visitors' mobile devices when visiting the Hoover Mason Trestle.
In October 2016, Theodora Landgren of A2Z Global gave a presentation to the STC-PMC about best practices and common issues regarding global translation, localization, and cultural consideration practices with corporate clients. It's not just about words, but images, colors, and other UX considerations as well! She detailed various processes and answered questions at the live presentation.
Presented by Don Wolf
This session will demonstrate the reasoning and techniques of using digital video media as a tool while working with subject matter experts and applying it to the knowledge transfer disciplines of your projects. The attendees will see the efficiency and accuracy of using such tools when acquiring your data. Video medium is the fastest growing segment in marketing today and after attending this session you will be able to use your acquired resources to leverage additional revenue streams for you and your clients in the bold new world of social media and digital deliverables.
Presented by Cory Burnett
With the increasing load of information passing through our senses, we need to be mindful in minimizing the cognitive load of our audience when communicating with them. In this talk, we’ll explore what cognitive load is, what it means to our audience and how we can be mindful in minimizing it in our communications.
Presented by David Zimmer
As project managers, we spend 90% of our time communicating: writing, talking, presenting or reporting to our stakeholders. One of the most influential forms of communicating with our audiences is in a public setting, whether it be a formal presentation, meeting, a gathering of people around the coffee machine or wherever more than two people congregate. Public speaking done well enhances our credibility, leadership, influence and reputation. Public speaking done poorly puts us back in the pack of the other average people.
David has learned over the years that simple tips and tricks used by some of the best speakers work for him, whether he was with an informal group of colleagues, in tense meetings with stakeholders, or as a keynote presenter at large industry conferences or as the invited speaker for the CIO briefings of executives from the leading companies in Australia.
In this session, David helps you understand critical aspects of public speaking and provides his secret tips and tricks making you a more influential speaker.
The document discusses 9 thinking modalities: visionary, strategic, systems, analytic/critical, creative, lateral, structured, conceptual, and visual/spatial. For each modality, it provides 2-4 pages describing components of effective thinking for that modality. Some examples of modalities and components discussed include visionary thinking involving being futuristic and building value, strategic thinking combining creative and analytical sides of the brain, systems thinking viewing problems holistically and understanding interrelationships, and visual/spatial thinking recognizing patterns and asking probing questions. The document aims to provide frameworks for applying different thinking approaches.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of technologies, XML continues to play a vital role in structuring, storing, and transporting data across diverse systems. The recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) present new methodologies for enhancing XML development workflows, introducing efficiency, automation, and intelligent capabilities. This presentation will outline the scope and perspective of utilizing AI in XML development. The potential benefits and the possible pitfalls will be highlighted, providing a balanced view of the subject.
We will explore the capabilities of AI in understanding XML markup languages and autonomously creating structured XML content. Additionally, we will examine the capacity of AI to enrich plain text with appropriate XML markup. Practical examples and methodological guidelines will be provided to elucidate how AI can be effectively prompted to interpret and generate accurate XML markup.
Further emphasis will be placed on the role of AI in developing XSLT, or schemas such as XSD and Schematron. We will address the techniques and strategies adopted to create prompts for generating code, explaining code, or refactoring the code, and the results achieved.
The discussion will extend to how AI can be used to transform XML content. In particular, the focus will be on the use of AI XPath extension functions in XSLT, Schematron, Schematron Quick Fixes, or for XML content refactoring.
The presentation aims to deliver a comprehensive overview of AI usage in XML development, providing attendees with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. Whether you’re at the early stages of adopting AI or considering integrating it in advanced XML development, this presentation will cover all levels of expertise.
By highlighting the potential advantages and challenges of integrating AI with XML development tools and languages, the presentation seeks to inspire thoughtful conversation around the future of XML development. We’ll not only delve into the technical aspects of AI-powered XML development but also discuss practical implications and possible future directions.
Why You Should Replace Windows 11 with Nitrux Linux 3.5.0 for enhanced perfor...SOFTTECHHUB
The choice of an operating system plays a pivotal role in shaping our computing experience. For decades, Microsoft's Windows has dominated the market, offering a familiar and widely adopted platform for personal and professional use. However, as technological advancements continue to push the boundaries of innovation, alternative operating systems have emerged, challenging the status quo and offering users a fresh perspective on computing.
One such alternative that has garnered significant attention and acclaim is Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, a sleek, powerful, and user-friendly Linux distribution that promises to redefine the way we interact with our devices. With its focus on performance, security, and customization, Nitrux Linux presents a compelling case for those seeking to break free from the constraints of proprietary software and embrace the freedom and flexibility of open-source computing.
“An Outlook of the Ongoing and Future Relationship between Blockchain Technologies and Process-aware Information Systems.” Invited talk at the joint workshop on Blockchain for Information Systems (BC4IS) and Blockchain for Trusted Data Sharing (B4TDS), co-located with with the 36th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE), 3 June 2024, Limassol, Cyprus.
Communications Mining Series - Zero to Hero - Session 1DianaGray10
This session provides introduction to UiPath Communication Mining, importance and platform overview. You will acquire a good understand of the phases in Communication Mining as we go over the platform with you. Topics covered:
• Communication Mining Overview
• Why is it important?
• How can it help today’s business and the benefits
• Phases in Communication Mining
• Demo on Platform overview
• Q/A
Let's Integrate MuleSoft RPA, COMPOSER, APM with AWS IDP along with Slackshyamraj55
Discover the seamless integration of RPA (Robotic Process Automation), COMPOSER, and APM with AWS IDP enhanced with Slack notifications. Explore how these technologies converge to streamline workflows, optimize performance, and ensure secure access, all while leveraging the power of AWS IDP and real-time communication via Slack notifications.
Full-RAG: A modern architecture for hyper-personalizationZilliz
Mike Del Balso, CEO & Co-Founder at Tecton, presents "Full RAG," a novel approach to AI recommendation systems, aiming to push beyond the limitations of traditional models through a deep integration of contextual insights and real-time data, leveraging the Retrieval-Augmented Generation architecture. This talk will outline Full RAG's potential to significantly enhance personalization, address engineering challenges such as data management and model training, and introduce data enrichment with reranking as a key solution. Attendees will gain crucial insights into the importance of hyperpersonalization in AI, the capabilities of Full RAG for advanced personalization, and strategies for managing complex data integrations for deploying cutting-edge AI solutions.
20 Comprehensive Checklist of Designing and Developing a WebsitePixlogix Infotech
Dive into the world of Website Designing and Developing with Pixlogix! Looking to create a stunning online presence? Look no further! Our comprehensive checklist covers everything you need to know to craft a website that stands out. From user-friendly design to seamless functionality, we've got you covered. Don't miss out on this invaluable resource! Check out our checklist now at Pixlogix and start your journey towards a captivating online presence today.
Unlocking Productivity: Leveraging the Potential of Copilot in Microsoft 365, a presentation by Christoforos Vlachos, Senior Solutions Manager – Modern Workplace, Uni Systems
Essentials of Automations: The Art of Triggers and Actions in FMESafe Software
In this second installment of our Essentials of Automations webinar series, we’ll explore the landscape of triggers and actions, guiding you through the nuances of authoring and adapting workspaces for seamless automations. Gain an understanding of the full spectrum of triggers and actions available in FME, empowering you to enhance your workspaces for efficient automation.
We’ll kick things off by showcasing the most commonly used event-based triggers, introducing you to various automation workflows like manual triggers, schedules, directory watchers, and more. Plus, see how these elements play out in real scenarios.
Whether you’re tweaking your current setup or building from the ground up, this session will arm you with the tools and insights needed to transform your FME usage into a powerhouse of productivity. Join us to discover effective strategies that simplify complex processes, enhancing your productivity and transforming your data management practices with FME. Let’s turn complexity into clarity and make your workspaces work wonders!
Cosa hanno in comune un mattoncino Lego e la backdoor XZ?Speck&Tech
ABSTRACT: A prima vista, un mattoncino Lego e la backdoor XZ potrebbero avere in comune il fatto di essere entrambi blocchi di costruzione, o dipendenze di progetti creativi e software. La realtà è che un mattoncino Lego e il caso della backdoor XZ hanno molto di più di tutto ciò in comune.
Partecipate alla presentazione per immergervi in una storia di interoperabilità, standard e formati aperti, per poi discutere del ruolo importante che i contributori hanno in una comunità open source sostenibile.
BIO: Sostenitrice del software libero e dei formati standard e aperti. È stata un membro attivo dei progetti Fedora e openSUSE e ha co-fondato l'Associazione LibreItalia dove è stata coinvolta in diversi eventi, migrazioni e formazione relativi a LibreOffice. In precedenza ha lavorato a migrazioni e corsi di formazione su LibreOffice per diverse amministrazioni pubbliche e privati. Da gennaio 2020 lavora in SUSE come Software Release Engineer per Uyuni e SUSE Manager e quando non segue la sua passione per i computer e per Geeko coltiva la sua curiosità per l'astronomia (da cui deriva il suo nickname deneb_alpha).
Removing Uninteresting Bytes in Software FuzzingAftab Hussain
Imagine a world where software fuzzing, the process of mutating bytes in test seeds to uncover hidden and erroneous program behaviors, becomes faster and more effective. A lot depends on the initial seeds, which can significantly dictate the trajectory of a fuzzing campaign, particularly in terms of how long it takes to uncover interesting behaviour in your code. We introduce DIAR, a technique designed to speedup fuzzing campaigns by pinpointing and eliminating those uninteresting bytes in the seeds. Picture this: instead of wasting valuable resources on meaningless mutations in large, bloated seeds, DIAR removes the unnecessary bytes, streamlining the entire process.
In this work, we equipped AFL, a popular fuzzer, with DIAR and examined two critical Linux libraries -- Libxml's xmllint, a tool for parsing xml documents, and Binutil's readelf, an essential debugging and security analysis command-line tool used to display detailed information about ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). Our preliminary results show that AFL+DIAR does not only discover new paths more quickly but also achieves higher coverage overall. This work thus showcases how starting with lean and optimized seeds can lead to faster, more comprehensive fuzzing campaigns -- and DIAR helps you find such seeds.
- These are slides of the talk given at IEEE International Conference on Software Testing Verification and Validation Workshop, ICSTW 2022.
Goodbye Windows 11: Make Way for Nitrux Linux 3.5.0!SOFTTECHHUB
As the digital landscape continually evolves, operating systems play a critical role in shaping user experiences and productivity. The launch of Nitrux Linux 3.5.0 marks a significant milestone, offering a robust alternative to traditional systems such as Windows 11. This article delves into the essence of Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, exploring its unique features, advantages, and how it stands as a compelling choice for both casual users and tech enthusiasts.
TrustArc Webinar - 2024 Global Privacy SurveyTrustArc
How does your privacy program stack up against your peers? What challenges are privacy teams tackling and prioritizing in 2024?
In the fifth annual Global Privacy Benchmarks Survey, we asked over 1,800 global privacy professionals and business executives to share their perspectives on the current state of privacy inside and outside of their organizations. This year’s report focused on emerging areas of importance for privacy and compliance professionals, including considerations and implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, building brand trust, and different approaches for achieving higher privacy competence scores.
See how organizational priorities and strategic approaches to data security and privacy are evolving around the globe.
This webinar will review:
- The top 10 privacy insights from the fifth annual Global Privacy Benchmarks Survey
- The top challenges for privacy leaders, practitioners, and organizations in 2024
- Key themes to consider in developing and maintaining your privacy program
1. August/September 2003 Vol. 38, No. 1
by Brian Winter, Marc Green, and Donn DeBoard
Online Competition
In This Issue…
Features
1 Online Competition
5 Dinner at the Diner
6 Introducing the New Web Site
8 Where Oh Where Can We Meet?
Columns
2 Editor’s Voice
3 President’s Podium
4 From the Director-Sponsor
9 Membership Update
10 Book Review
11 Member Spotlight
12 Meeting Calendar
continued page 8
STC-PMC 2003 Online Communication Competition
Just Around the Corner
hat is the Online
Communication
Competition?
STC’s annual
Online Communi-
cation Competi-
tion recognizes the outstanding
accomplishments and innovations of
technical communicators who design
and develop online information.
Online information development
presents a unique challenge to technical
communicators who employ quickly
changing technologies to deliver infor-
mation to their audience. This competi-
tion honors those technical
communicators whose online docu-
ments clearly fulfill the intended pur-
pose, possess superior quality,
successfully integrate and organize con-
tent, and use the available media and
technologies of the platform to the best
advantage.
A panel of judges reviews each entry
and determines whether the entry wins
one of three levels of award (or no
award):
❏ DISTINGUISHED: Clearly superior
in all areas—an outstanding entry that
anticipates and fulfills the needs of its
audience
❏ EXCELLENCE: Meets high stan-
dards in all areas—the entry demon-
strates an exceptional understanding
of technical communication principles
❏ MERIT: Meets high standards in
most areas—the entry applies technical
communication principles in a highly
proficient manner
Why Should I Enter?
You’ll obtain review comments on
your entry from a panel of experienced
online documentation, help, and train-
ing authors. This competition provides
a unique opportunity to get valuable
constructive feedback on your project
from fellow technical communication
professionals. The panel of judges in the
STC-PMC competition has included
local technical communication leaders,
STC Distinguished Award winning
authors, and internationally recognized
online help gurus.
Distinguished award winners go on
to represent STC-PMC in
the Society's Interna-
tional Online Communi-
cation Competition
(IOCC). Award winners
in the IOCC obtain
national exposure in STC’s Intercom
magazine and at the national STC Con-
ference.
Entering the Competition
Anyone is eligible to submit entries.
You do not need to be an STC member
to submit an entry. You may submit
work as an individual or group or on
behalf of a colleague or department.
The deadline for submitting entries is
October 1, 2003. The entry fee for each
submittal is $60 for STC members, $80
for non-STC members. Detailed
instructions and entry forms will be
available either at the STC-PMC web
site (www.stcpmc.org) or the national
STC site at (www.stc.org).
If you have any questions, send an
email to Donn DeBoard
(donn.deboard@vertexinc.com).
2. Editor’s Voice
NEWS & VIEWS 2 August/September 2003
by Lori Corbett
Newsletter Staff
Managing Editor
Lori Corbett (610) 382-8683
Layout Editor
Open ????
Associate Editors
Al Brown (856) 222-7427
Jill Cassidy Rolette (215) 590-9815
Open ????
Contributing to this Issue
JX Bell jx@jxconsulting.com
Cheryl Cherry (215) 723-8316
Submissions and Reprints
ISSN 1078-9952. News & Views, published six
times per year, is the official publication of the
Philadelphia Metro Chapter of STC. We
encourage letters, articles, and other items for
publication.
Note: By submitting an article, you implicitly
grant a license to this newsletter to run the
article and for other STC publications to reprint
it without permission. Unless otherwise noted,
copyrights for all newsletter articles belong to
the authors. The design and layout of this
newsletter are copyright STC, 2003.
Address submissions or comments to Lori Cor-
bett, Managing Editor, News & Views,
834 Westridge Drive, Phoenixville, PA, 19087,
phone (610) 382-8683;
email stcmember@comcast.net.
You may reprint original material appearing in
News & Views, as long as you acknowledge
the source and author and send us a copy of
the publication containing the reprint.
Toolbox
We produce News & Views with Frame-
Maker 6.0 and Adobe Acrobat 6.0 on various
Pentium computers.
News & Views
t has been quite a while
since News & Views was
last published. I’ve
attempted to remain
faithful to the excellent
layout design developed
by previous newsletter editorial teams.
Hopefully, the publication of this news-
letter will engender a reinvigorated
vitality for our chapter.
Introducing Me
Many of you probably don’t know
me, but I’ve been around the Society for
more than 15 years. When I first joined
STC in 1988, I was a fledgling technical
writer in Charlotte, NC. I quickly
became active in the Metrolina chapter,
serving in various capacities (including
newsletter editor, secretary, and trea-
surer) during the next 5
years. In 1994, I moved
to the Orlando area and
quickly got involved in
the local chapter there.
My involvement was
even more extensive in
the Orlando Chapter, as
I served as newsletter
editor, vice president/
programs manager, and president.
Finally, in 1990, I was the support com-
mittee manager for the 47th Annual
STC Conference, held at DisneyWorld
in Orlando.
In August, 2000, I moved to New
Jersey on a temporary basis to fulfill a
contract assignment at Telcordia Tele-
communications in Piscataway. After
that contract, I developed a training
class for Computer Associates, based
out of Princeton.
The events on September 11, 2001,
affected my world when all contractors
were terminated at Computer Associ-
ates by the middle of October. Yes,
there definitely was a recession out
there. For the first time in my working
career, I had difficulty finding employ-
ment.
I was extremely happy to start work
at PFPC, Inc. in King of Prussia on May
20, 2002. I had never even considered
moving to Pennsylvania, but since I’ve
been here, I’ve enjoyed the work, loca-
tion, and people I’ve met.
Whether I’ve been working as a con-
tractor/consultant or a direct
employee, STC helps me expand my
network, learn new tools, and become
aware of industry trends. I truly feel
that I’ve received more from STC than
I’ve given to it.
Consider Volunteering to Work on
News & Views
Publishing a newsletter is quite a
large task. I hope
you’ve noticed the
open positions in the
column to the left Even
more importantly, I
hope you’re moved to
volunteer for one of
these positions.
First and foremost,
we need a Layout Edi-
tor. This task involves approximately
12-16 hours of work every other
month. Although I used to be a typeset-
ter, my skills in this arena have gotten
extremely rusty. If you could possible
bail me out by taking on this responsi-
bility, I will be extremely grateful.
Can’t contribute quite that much
time? How about becoming a Column
Editor? Maybe you’d like to write an
article for inclusion in the newsletter as
a Contributor. Any topic related to
technical communication is acceptable.
I look forward to working with
YOU to help make the Philadelphia
Metro chapter shine! ■
A New Editor
3. President’s Podium
August/September 2003 3 NEWS & VIEWS
Chapter Officers
President
Nad Rosenberg (856) 848-6593
Vice President
Sheila Marshall (610) 933-9573
Treasurer
Steve Lungren (267) 620-2421
Secretary
Jill Cassidy Rolette (215) 590-9815
Immediate Past President
Jeff Stein (856) 728-1254
Region 1 Director/Sponsor
Jon Baker (978) 443-3049
Chapter Committee Managers
Employment
Giacomo DeAnnuntis (215) 482-1255
Hayden Rochester (856) 429-7512
Programs
Gloria Reisman (610) 660-5118
Julia Margulies (610) 397-2448
Membership
Mike Sharp (856) 854-2141
News & Views
Lori Corbett (610) 382-8683
Nominating
Mike Sharp (856) 854-2141
Web Site
Lois Shank lbshank@ptd.net
Online Competition
Donn DeBoard (484) 595-6216
Marc Green (610) 358-0631
Brian Winter (610) 640-4200
Address correspondence for the
Philadelphia Metro chapter of STC to
STC-PMC, P.O. Box 60069,
Philadelphia, PA 19102-0069.
by Nad Rosenberg
Mission Statement: Designing the Future of
Technical Communication.
The Society for Technical Communication
(STC) is an organization dedicated to advanc-
ing technical communication. Membership is
open to those employed in, interested in, or
concerned with the profession of technical
writing, publishing, or associated disciplines.
Contact STC at 901 N. Stuart St., Suite 904,
Arlington, VA 22203, (703) 522-4114 or http://
www.stc.org.
STC-PMC Leadership
Society for Technical
Communication
About Goals
ne of my goals for
2003 was to become
more active in the
local STC. I thought I
could start with some-
thing sort of non-tax-
ing, like working on
one of the committees. Then Mike
Sharp pitched the idea of running for
president. After some hemming and
hawing (and the results of the election),
here I am writing from the President's
Podium. Now that I’m settling into the
role, I’m really excited about the things
we can do together this year.
For those of you who don’t know
me, I’ve been an STC member for more
years than I care to remember (some-
time in the mid-80s). Throughout the
years, I’ve given presentations at chap-
ter meetings and at national confer-
ences. And during this time, I’ve gone
from working as a technical writer to
managing technical writing depart-
ments to owning my own technical
writing company (techw.com). Basi-
cally I’ve experienced our craft from
many points on the professional com-
pass—and I’m now hoping to give back
a little of what I’ve learned to the orga-
nization. That’s why I find myself here,
today, writing this column.
But enough about me and my goals,
how about the chapter and its goals?
I’ve put together a list of goals I feel
we should work toward in the upcom-
ing year. As usual, it’s difficult to prior-
itize these goals—I would like them all
to be “number one.” With that said,
here’s the list:
1) Improve meeting attendance and
participation. To implement this goal,
we can establish less expensive meet-
ings, ensure meeting communication is
handled effectively, reach out to mem-
bers to become involved, and to non-
members to join the organization. For
more on the task of establishing less
expensive meetings, see the article enti-
tled Where Oh Where Can We Meet?
2) Improve communications. This
means getting the new STCPMC web
site up and running and re-starting the
newsletter. I’m happy to report that
we’re making progress on both fronts.
We had a meeting in mid-July about
the new web site, and thanks to the
continued on page 6
Advertise in News & Views
Reach more than 400 technical communicators through one of STC's top chapter
newsletters
Advertise to really get the word out!
Advertising Policy
News & Views accepts advertisements that promote products or
services of professional interest and/or benefit to professional
communicators. The editors reserve the right to reject any advertis-
ing that does not meet this standard.
For information, contact the Managing Editor, Lori Corbett, at (610)
382-8683 or stcmember@comcast.net.
4. From the Director-Sponsor
NEWS & VIEWS 4 August/September 2003
by Linda Oestreich, Director-Sponsor Region 5
Report on the Spring 2003 STC
Board of Directors Meeting
ow! What a confer-
ence, and what a
board meeting
(held on Saturday,
May 17, in Dallas,
Texas) to precede
it! The general topics of discussion
included the upcoming retirement of
STC executive director, Bill Stolgitis,
and the selection of Peter Herbst as his
successor, realignment of membership
dues and rebate structure, chapter loans
and grants, and the state of the Society
in relation to the changing world we
live in.
Ed See, our immediate past presi-
dent, shared his thoughts about the past
year and extended his heartfelt thanks
to the board for successfully navigating
a tough year that included budgetary
reductions, decreases in expected con-
ference attendance, and the selection of
a new executive director for the Society.
The following actions were taken at
the May board meeting:
❏ Approved the minutes from the pre-
vious two board meetings.
❏ Approved chapter rebates as fol-
lows: Each chapter will receive $30.00
USD per member for the first 150
members on their rosters; $20.00 USD
per member for each member over
150; $13.50 USD per member for stu-
dent members, and $100 USD per sus-
taining member.
❏ Approved membership dues as fol-
lows: regular membership per year will
be $140; student membership dues will
be 40% of regular membership dues;
and retired membership dues will be
50% of regular membership dues,
effective with the dues for the year
beginning January 1, 2004.
❏ Approved a chapter loan in the
amount of $3,000 to the Alberta chap-
ter for the 2003 Region 7 conference,
with repayment to begin no more than
60 days after the conference.
❏ Accepted the Society treasurer’s
financial report.
❏ Approved the formation of a special
committee to recommend to the board
a means of transforming STC’s opera-
tional model so that the Society can
better support its many communities
of practice, enable growth, and stabi-
lize revenue. This ad hoc “transforma-
tion committee” is managed by Mary
Jo Stark, STC treasurer.
❏ In addition, the board selected
recipients of Chapter of Distinction
and Chapter Pacesetter Awards.
The following items were discussed
at the board meeting:
❏ During the discussion that led to the
appointment of the transformation
committee, the board insisted that the
foremost principle of any new
approach to STC governance would be
to “do no harm” to current processes
and entities. Rather, the objective is to
look at ways to strengthen the commu-
nities of practice within STC and
explore how the Society can respond
to and support those communities,
including the geographical communi-
ties represented by STC chapters.
❏ Because of the present global econ-
omy and the importance of member-
ship growth to the Society’s strength
and stability, the Board discussed sev-
eral tactics for increasing member-
ship—both on the Society level and by
helping chapters work toward that
goal locally.
❏ If you have questions or comments
about the STC board of directors or
any of the items mentioned in this arti-
cle, please contact your director-spon-
sor or the STC office.■
Editor’s Note: The Philadelphia Metro
chapter is in Region 1. Our director-
sponsor is Jon Baker
(jbaker2525@earthlink.net).
September 18
Effective XML:
Leveraging Structure-
Based Markup at
Bentley Systems in
Exton, PA.
October 17
Usability Case
Studies: Turning Usability Findings into
Design Solutions
For location and reservation details see the
STCPMC website (www.stcpmc.org)
Aug 20. STC Telephone Seminar: Winning
New Business: Preparing the Proposal 101 to
be presented by
Judith Herr.
October 2-4.
Region 7 Annual
Conference, hosted
by the Alberta
chapter at the Delta
Bow Valley in Calgary, Alberta. For
information, contact Brian O’Mally,
Conference Manager: manager@
region7conference. com or visit
www.region7conference.com.
October 9-12. Region 5 Conference, “Tech
Comm Stampede,” hosted by the Austin
Chapter at the Omni Austin Hotel. For more
information, contact Diana Barkley (512)
239-6642, dbarkley@tceq.state.tx.us, or visit
www. stcaustin.org/confregion5.
October 11-13. Region 5 Conference,
“Invention, Innovation, and Ingenuity.” In
Houston, TX. For information, contact
nicole@verb1.com or visit www.stc-
houston.org/r5conference.
May 9-12, 2004. 51st Annual Conference.
in Baltimore, MD.
STC-PMC 2003-2004
Calendar
STC Around the World
5. August/September 2003 5 NEWS & VIEWS
by Cheryl Cherry
COST: $599 for both days (includes 32
sessions, 2 keynotes, foot/receiption,
materials)
TRAVEL: Conference hotel rooms avail-
able at $99/night (register early)
DATES: October 6-7, 2003
WEB: www.doctrain.com
PDF: www.doctrain.com/pdf/
doctrain2003.pdf
Keynote Speaker
David Pogue:
New York Times
technology col-
umnist and one of
the world’s best-
selling technical
how-to authors, with over 2.5 million
books in print. David’s topic is “Interface
Design: The Last Stumbling Block.”
Vincent Flanders: Author of two best-
selling books on Web design. Vincent’s
topic is “Web Design for Online Learn-
ing and Training.”
Sessions:
❏ Content Management
❏ Content Design
❏ Content Development
❏ e-Learning
❏ Simulations
❏ Globalization
❏ Multimedia
❏ .NET
Documentation and Training
Conference at
Boston University
Allentown Dinner at the Diner
A subset of our chapter
meets occasionally at a
dinerneartheAllentown
exit of the NE extension
of the PA turnpike. We
eat dinner, network, and
discuss work-related topics.
Our next informal get-together is
Wednesday 24 September 2003. All tech
writers are welcome!
If you can’t join us on
the24thofSeptember,
but would like to be
added to
the list for future
emailed
announcements,
contactCherylCherry
(cacherry@
comcast.net).
What: Tech writers' informal get-
together over dinner
When: Wednesday 24 September 2003,
6:15 PM
Where: Chris's Family Restaurant, 5635
W. Tilghman St., Allentown (near exit
33 of PA Turnpike and the Route 22 exit
of Route 309)
Who: All tech writers are welcome. If
you have colleagues who are not mem-
bers of STC, bring them along!
Cost: We’ll order from the regular menu
(separate checks). Most entrees at
Chris’s are under $10.
RSVP: If you plan to attend, please email
or phone Cheryl Cherry by noon on the
24th of September . My email address is
cacherry@comcast.net and my phone
number is (215) 723-8316 For direc-
tions, go to http://www.stcpmc.org or
ask Cheryl.
Start Your Own Dinner at the Diner
If you live far from the sites of
monthly chapter meetings, but also far
from Allentown, consider starting your
own informal get-togethers with other
tech writers in your area. It is so easy to
get started. Just pick a date, time, and
casual restaurant at which to meet. Send
the info to the Lois Shank, the STC-
PMC Webmaster at lbshank@ptd.net-
and Lori Corbett, the News & Views
Editor at stcmember@comcast.net.
These sessions are a fun way to meet
your fellow writers who don’t have time
to travel to chapter meetings. Chatting
with a small group in an informal setting
gives everyone a chance to exchange
ideas with other local writers. ■
STC meeting event receipts, for all
events, are self-serve from the
chapter’s web site
http://www.stcpmc.org/pdf/
receipt.pdf
6. STC-PMC Technology Update
NEWS & VIEWS 6 August/September 2003
by JX Bell
arlier this year, the
STC-PMC leadership
met to discuss ways to
make our chapter
more vibrant and ful-
fill the needs of our
members. We decided a revamped web
site would better suit our needs. Not
only was the current design out of touch
with web navigation and user interface
standards of 2003, it required central
coordination and web development
knowledge to
add or delete
new articles or
calendar infor-
mation.
Although I
work full-time
as a technical
writer for
MapQuest, I
have experience
in web develop-
ment. I volun-
teered some
time to create a
web site for
STC-PMC.
Because of the
organization’s
use of articles
on different topics (such as from past
“newsletters”),events,announcements,
and a desire to add more information
quickly, I researched free content man-
agement systems that don't require
HTML and web development knowl-
edge to extend the site on a day-by-day
basis.
Introducing Postnuke
The new site is based on Postnuke, a
free web application framework. Post-
nuke displays all web pages and solicits
the help (when needed) of software
plug-ins called modules. Unlike most
traditional web sites, most of the data
(like articles and events) are stored in a
database, not in files. For those who are
familiar with web tools, I should men-
tion that Postnuke is built on top of the
PHP webdevelopmentlanguage. Check
out the Postnuke site at www.post-
nuke.org for more information.
Compared to other (free) competi-
tors that met STC-PMC’s needs, Post-
nuke has the most active developer
community and user community.
New Site Features
Thanks to the built-in rich content
editor in Windows Internet Explorer,
users can create rich content (HTML)
with no need for the chapter to have
multiple licenses to Dreamweaver or
other HTML editors. (Although you
could use such things if you want to.)
Here are some of the new features
you’ll find on our revamped web site:
❏ Basic site navigation (navigation
bar, appropriate links to the STC).
❏ The ability to post “articles” that
provide useful information and/or
show off the writing skills of members.
❏ The full-featured calendar lets you
browse events and automatically show
current and upcoming events. Events
that have already occurred are auto-
matically removed from the front page
when they are no longer relevant.
❏ News items appear on the front
page until more
current news
replaces it.
❏ The site is
upgradeable. In
the future, our
chapter will be
able to integrate
software that other
people (or other
STC chapters)
have written. Also
STC-PMC could
upgrade the fea-
ture set when the
next version of
Postnuke or its
modules are avail-
able.
❏ Site-wide search
engine.
❏ An optional
sophisticated privi-
leges model. For instance, we can
define user access so that many people
can create articles or events, but only
one person can approve things for
posting.
❏ Password-protected “Job Board” so
that only STC-PMC members can
access it.
❏ All the software is free!
Where Is the Data?
For the geeks who are interested, the
data is stored in the open source
MySQL database hosted by the same
Announcing the New STP-PMC Web Site
continued on page 7
7. August/September 2003 7 NEWS & VIEWS
web hosting ISP.
New Internet Service Provider
We’ve also changed Internet Service
Providers (ISP). Although it isn’t strictly
a web issue, the system at the new ISP
features a sophisticated mailing list
manager that enables us to provide our
mailing lists in the intuitive format
newsletter@stcpmc.org, as well as pro-
vide key officers or offices have their
own mailing address. The mailing list
server (called Mailman) has a nice web
interface and has been thoroughly
tested by thousands of web sites. The
STC-PMC leadership identified the
effective use of mailing lists as a require-
ment for the organization, which was
too expensive and awkward at our old
ISP. Stay tuned for more announce-
ments about STC-PMC mailing lists
during the next few months.
Volunteer Opportunity
Some chapter members have already
expressed a desire to help, and have
been partially trained on the system.
My personal interest is to get the system
up and running and then step aside so
that people could add articles, news,
FAQs, events, etc. If you would like to
help with the web site or add content to
it, contact Lois Shank at
lbshank@ptd.net.
By the time you read this article, the
revamped site should be live.
The STC-PMC leadership hopes you
enjoy the improved appearance and
new features as they are incorporated
into the site during the next few
months. Be sure to keep checking the
site (www.stcpmc.org) as we add to our
site! ■
STC-PMC Technology Update
continued from previous page
8. NEWS & VIEWS 8 August/September2003
President’s Podium
continued from page 3
hard work of JX Bell, we should be
making the cutover to the new site this
summer. As far as the newsletter goes,
you're probably reading this article in
the newsletter, which has just been re-
energized by Lori Corbett.
3) Manage the chapter more effec-
tively. This means holding monthly
“leaders” meetings before the “real”
meetings (and in the summer), evaluat-
ing decisions based on financial data,
and getting more people involved.
4) Improve professionalism. This
means re-establishing the pubs compe-
tition and expanding the roles of com-
mittees so that they interpret their
roles with a focus on this goal. For
example, Employment will now han-
dle more than just posting jobs-this
committee will now be responsible for
handling all career-related issues such
as: presenting at the chapter's annual
conference on employment-related
issues, providing outreach and support
for unemployed and underemployed
chapter members, etc.
What Do You Think?
I’d like to get your feedback-and,
hopefully, your involvement in meeting
these goals. If you would like to add to
or modify items on my list, please drop
me a line (twnad@techw.com). But
what’s more, I hope I can count on you
to help make this chapter a robust pro-
fessional resource for all of us during
the upcoming year. ■
Judging the competition
Being a judge is a great experience.
It’s a great chance to mingle with fellow
seasoned professionals and talk shop
about design and development con-
cerns. It’s also an excellent opportunity
to see a broad sampling of work being
done by your fellow professionals.
Being an online competition judge
requires a commitment of time and
energy, but it’s more than worthwhile
for the experience of coming together
with fellow authors, learning from their
collective wit and wisdom, and sharing
constructive feedback to help the
entrants and each other produce even
better work in the future.
If you’d like to join us, send an email
to Brian Winter (brian.winter@
vertexinc.com) by September 19, 2003
to let us know you’re interested. ■
Online Competition
continued from page 1
Where Oh Where Can We Meet?
his is a question for all Philadelphia Metro
STC members and nonmembers.
One of our goals this year is to lower the
cost of meetings in order to boost attendance
and participation. Essentially, we're looking
for free or inexpensive places to hold meetings.
As you know, we typically hold meetings at
hotels, which give us the room for free if we guarantee a cer-
tain number of dinners. These dinners tend be in the $25 to
$30 range. If we have the meetings at venues where we can
bring in our own food (for example, trays of cold cuts or
snacks), the cost of the meetings will be much lower ($5 to
$10), and hopefully more of you will be able to attend.
So the issue is ... do you know of any locations into that
fit into this category? Some possible options are: company
meeting rooms, educational institutions, public buildings, etc.
If you have any suggestions, please contact Sheila Marshall
(sheilam@mindspring.com) or Gloria Reisman
(greisman@netaxs.com). ■
9. August/September 2003 9 NEWS & VIEWS
Membership Update
September 18, 2003
Effective XML -- Leveraging Structure-Based Markup
Presented by Melissa Kenig, Building Documentation Manager, Bentley Systems, Inc., Exton, PA
Learn how to use XML effectively by creating new documentation deliverables without modifying content. XML is a highly
organized markup language that provides valuable metadata for documentation reuse. Melissa Kenig from Bentley Systems, Inc.
will show how her department enriched and embellished their documentation deliverables by manipulating existing content.
Melissa Kenig is the Building Documentation Manager for Bentley Systems, Inc. based in Exton, PA. During her nine years
there, Melissa has seen the department move from a desktop-based system to an advanced-markup system. Melissa was one of the
chief architects of their current XML system.
Location: Bentley, 685 Stockton Drive, Exton PA 19341
Fee: $15 for all
Directions: http://www.bentley.com
Times: Networking and Hors d’oevres: 6:30; Program: 7:30
October 16, 2003
Usability Case Studies: Turning Usability Findings into Design Solutions
Presented by Robert Tannen, Director Human Factors, Electronic Ink, Philadelphia, PA
The corporate web site of ISI was redesigned annually for three years. Usability studies conducted on each design produced
interesting insights into the ever-changing web world and the adaptation to these changes by our users. What were originally con-
sidered unacceptable “all the way back” in 1998 were simply non-issues in 1999. And by 2000, users had come full circle—
requesting features that users of the original site had wanted removed!
What can we glean from these studies? Are our users really that fickle? We find that as technology changes, so do our users and
their expectations. Come hear what our users thought worked, as well as what didn’t. You may be surprised by our findings.
Location: Doubletree Guest Suites, 640 West Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting PA 19462
Directions: http://www.doubletree.com/en/dt/hotels/directions.jhtml?ctyhocn=PHLGHDT
Fee: Member: Dinner and Program $20, Program Only $10 (remainder subsidized by chapter)
Nonmember: Dinner and Program $30, Program Only $15
Times: Networking and Dinner: 6:30; Program: 7:30 ■
September and October Meetings
ongratulations to the
following members of
the Philadelphia
Metro chapter, who
have achieved senior
membership status:
❏ Joe Dawson
❏ Marcia A. Jacquette
❏ Mark R. Myers
❏ Barbara R. Green
❏ Drew Knox
Welcome to our new members for
the month of July (and their employers
as available) are:
❏ Marian Hall
❏ Robert Christian Hudson
❏ Rick R. Miller, Verizon
❏ Anne L. Schier
❏ Emily M. Shoup
Also welcome the following mem-
bers who have transfered to our chapter
from other chapters:
❏ Susan E. DeSerio
❏ Criag E. Laird
❏ Natosha L. Morris. ■
Congratulations and Welcome
10. Book Review
NEWS & VIEWS 10 August/September 2003
by Al Brown
have to say up front that,
the titles aside, I’m partial
to the Dummies books.
Usuallythey’repragmatic
and objective, and serve
as a good place to start if
you want to find out about a topic. And
the touch of humor keeps things from
being too intimidating.
I’m not a snob: I’ll take good infor-
mation wherever I can find it, even with
a cover that pretends to insult my intel-
ligence.
So we should be flattered, I suppose,
that our profession is considered impor-
tant enough to merit a new title in the
catalogue. Unfortunately, Sheryl Lind-
sell-Roberts’ Technical Writing for
Dummies will reinforce the prejudice of
those who refuse to go near any book in
this series.
Why read the book? “Learn about
the red-hot market of technical writing
and how masterful technical writing
will enhance your career....” It covers a
variety of document types, from user
manuals and specifications to presenta-
tions, in print and electronic formats.
Interestingly enough, Ms. Lindsell-
Roberts doesn’t seem too comfortable
with technology. Her section on presen-
tations doesn’t even mention Power
Point. The chapter on online help, argu-
ably the core of contemporary technical
communication, lacks coherence; it
doesn’t clarify the difference between
online help and online documentation,
and contains several misleading defini-
tions. And when was the last time you
were in a library with a card catalogue?
The author centers her method
around a two-page “Technical Brief,”
which itemizes the content require-
ments; audience information; and time,
budgetary, and production constraints.
The Dummies books
make effective use of
informal diction and
humor to take the
edge off of technical
complexity.
This is standard stuff—know your
audience, know your company, know
your SMEs—that’s more useful for an
engineer or a novice tech writer than for
a veteran. The chapter on style, “Going
In for a Tone Up,” has something useful
for everyone, regardless of experience.
This is one of the few books I’ve seen
that takes a realistic view of the passive
voice; the two appropriate uses are
when “you want to place the focus on
the action, not the actor,” and when
“you’re hiding something.”
The Dummies books make effective
use of informal diction and humor to
take the edge off of technical complex-
ity. As the chapter title cited above indi-
cates, this volume takes that idea over
the top. Even captions are all puns and
no information. The normally desirable
personal tone becomes self promotion.
Judging from her biography, Ms Lind-
sell-Roberts concentrates on writing
seminars and business writing. This
may explain why some of the analogies
are slightly off kilter. She introduces the
section on parallel constructions by
talking about parallel bars in gymnas-
tics. It doesn’t quite make sense, but in a
seminar the presenter is on to some-
thing else before you’ve had a chance to
think about it; on the page it’s another
matter.
Aside from the odd structure—and a
chapter on applying for patents that
seems to have wandered in from a dif-
ferent book—there’s nothing wrong
with the content in broad outline. It’s in
the details that the author goes astray,
with results ranging from misleading to
absurdly wrong. Lindsell-Roberts
traces the origins of technical writing all
the way back to World War II, for
example, and distinguishes serif from
sans serif type by the presence or
absence of ascenders and descenders.
These bits of trivia, along with a num-
ber of key typographical errors in
examples, this makes me wonder where
the editor was.
It may be unfair for an experienced
person (i.e., someone who’s belonged to
the STC for a year or more) to criticize a
book like this. Even so, the negatives of
Technical Writing for Dummies far out-
weigh the positives. There are too many
other good books aimed at different
skill levels to justify adding this one to
anyone’s library. ■
Lindsell-Roberts, Sheryl, Technical Writing for Dummies®.
New York: Hungry Minds, Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-7645-5308-
9 (paper). $19.99.
Technical Writing for Dummies®
by Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts
11. Member Spotlight
August/September 2003 11 NEWS & VIEWS
by Jill Cassidy Rolette
s we resume the activi-
ties associated with the
newsletter, we look for-
ward to the opportunity
to introduce you to
some more members of
our chapter. How do we decide on
whom to turn the “spotlight”? Well, it’s
not a very scientific selection process,
that is for certain! Often times the spot-
light tends to shine on those who return
my emails requesting an interview! If
you know someone that we should
introduce to the chapter through the
“Member Spotlight,” or if you would
be willing to play “Twenty Questions”
with me yourself, please contact me at
jcassidy@nbme.org. I thoroughly enjoy
the process of highlighting the achieve-
ments and aspirations of our members,
and I look forward to meeting many of
you as the result.
Meet Lois Shank
We begin this year by introducing
you to Lois Shank, our new website
administrator, as well as program and
brochure designer. While Lois has been
in the field of technical communication
for ten years, she has been an STC mem-
ber for three years, just long enough to
find her niche in the volunteer network
that keeps the chapter running
smoothly.
Lois found herself in the world of
technical communication after spend-
ing some time serving in support roles.
She was drawn to our field by a love of
learning new things and translating
them for others to learn. Not that she
views our field through rose-colored
glasses; Lois identifies her biggest fault
with the field as being “other depart-
ments ‘hoarding’ information and
access to new software for political rea-
sons.” A common complaint for all of
us at times!
Even after ten years, Lois is eager to
learn, and hopes to continue to take on
the new challenges of single-sourcing
and other new technology. She encour-
ages others in the field to never “stop
learning, even after you get your first
job. You never know when you might
have a chance to use it later. User assis-
tance is as important as the code itself.
The software is useless if no one can fig-
ure out how to use it.”
Lois defined some of the most signif-
icant changes in the dynamic world of
technical communication as both tech-
nical and non-technical. She sites the
technical changes as being the push to
be “more” than a technical writer and
knowing at least three different field-
specific tools. Non-technically she sees
the field “expanding in several different
directions. Many companies are look-
ing for writers with dual majors; (for
example, writers/QAers, writers/train-
ers, and writers/validation analysts.”
Along with the growing list of
responsibilities a technical writer now
has in the workplace, Lois notes that
the workplace itself appears to be shift-
ing. Her most recent job search yielded
more contract openings than perma-
nent job opportunities. She envisions
that the changing face of the technical
communicator’s job market to be a hall-
mark of how people desire to work in
the future.
Lois has extensive background in
technical communication, which has
made her an ideal volunteer within our
chapter. She identifies the benefits of
STC membership to include the access
to information and presentations by
writers on topics outside [her] experi-
ence. She also appreciates the opportu-
nity to tackle new responsibilities that
wouldn’t normally be a part of her daily
workload. She is excited about the
growth and changes our chapter has
experienced recently, and she encour-
ages other members to find a way to get
involved. She suggests “if you are an
expert at something, or even just know
something that might be useful, con-
sider doing a presentation to share your
knowledge, or write an article for the
newsletter.” Our chapter is beginning a
“new chapter” in its history and now is
one of the most exciting times to
become a part of the significant changes
and growth we will experience.
Just as Lois culti-
vates the many
(around 45!) different
varieties of old-fash-
ioned roses (many
with origins in Victo-
rian and Medieval gar-
dens), she has become a vital part of the
new growth of our chapter. Introduce
yourself to our website administrator at
our next chapter meeting…and ask
yourself how you can join our happy
team of volunteers.
It’s good to be back! ■
Lois Shank - Helping Us Grow
12. Newsletter Address
News & Views
Lori Corbett
834 Westridge Dr.
Phoenixville, PA 19460
stcmember@comcast.net
First Class Mail
NEWS & VIEWS 12 August/September 2003
Upcoming Meetings
DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE:
September 15, 2003
The information in the following table was correct at the time News & Views was published. Be sure to check the web site
(www.stcpmc.org) for details and to check for late-breaking updates to the schedule. For all Thursday meetings, reservations are
due by the Monday before the meeting. Note that the Workshop and Conference in March will require special registrations.
Date Meeting Topic Location
September 18, 2003 Effective XML: Leveraging Structure-Based Markup (details on page 9) Bentley System, Exton PA
October 16, 2003 Usability Case Studies: Turning Usability Findings into Design Solutions
(details on page 9)
Doubletree, Plymouth Meeting, PA
November 20, 2003 Managing Remote Employees / Telecommuting /
Preview of Annual Conference in Baltimore
Siemens, Malvern, PA
January 15, 2004 eLearning TBD
February 19, 2004 Back to School: Local Area Technical Writing Programs Philadelphia University
March 19, 2004 Jared Spool Usability Workshop University of Pennsylvania,
Great Valley, PA
March 20, 2004 Second Annual Philadelphia Metro Conference University of Pennsylvania,
Great Valley, PA
April 15, 2004 Contracting Panel TBD
May 20, 2004 Content Management presented by Cheryl Lockett Zubak Doubletree, Plymouth Meeting, PA
A Look Inside...
❏ Get ready for the Online Communication
Competition. (p. 1)
❏ Managing editor Lori Corbett introduces
herself. (p. 2)
❏ Meet the chapter’s new president in Nad
Rosenberg’s first President’s Podium. (p. 3)
❏ Learn about the Board of Directors meet-
ing in the month’s Director-Sponsor article.
(p. 4)
❏ Cheryl Cherry discusses Dinner at the
Diner for members near Allentown (p. 5)
❏ Learn all about the revised STC-PMC web
site in JX Bell’s article. (p. 6)
❏ Do you know about a great place we can
meet? (p. 8)
❏ Meet our newest senior members and
newest members (p. 9)
❏ Get the scoop about the September and
October meetings (p. 9)
❏ Is the latest Dummies book on technical
writing worth your investment? Find out in Al
Brown’s review. (p. 10)
❏ Jill Rollette spotlights webmistress Lois
Shank in the Member Spotlight. (p. 11)