"la Farmáfia O El Arte Biotecnologico"

InfoPlus+ June 09 The ISTC is the United Kingdom’s professional association for technical authors, technical illustrators, and information designers. ISTC Office: Airport House, Purley Way, Croydon, Surrey CR0 0XZ Tel: +44 (0)20 8253 4506 Fax: +44 (0)20 8253 4510 Email: [email protected] Web: www.istc.org.uk This monthly Newsletter is emailed to about 1500 people. As well as ISTC news, InfoPlus+ aims to cover anything of interest to the profession. To subscribe, contact the office. Advertising: Felicity Davie or phone 01344 466600 Editorial: Newsletter Editor Letters: Letters Editor Events: Events Editor Blogs: Blogs Editor If you’re reading a printed copy of this newsletter, go to www.istc.org.uk/ Publications/Newsletter/ newsletter.htm and open it online to explore the links mentioned. © ISTC June 2009

ISTC news New meeting format for ISTC Council By Marian Newell, FISTC Over the past year, I’ve been approaching corporate members (that’s Member and Fellow grades) to serve on Council. We need more people to progress initiatives and, just as important, we need our governing body to be truly representative.

Contents ISTC news......................... 1 Affiliate news..................... 4 Industry news.................... 5 Blog news.......................... 7 Software news................... 8 Science communications news.................................. 9 Training courses.............. 10 Events news.................... 14 Events listings................. 15 Back page....................... 18

I’ve found more willingness to stand for election than I perhaps expected, with the main obstacles being lack of time to take on the role and lack of availability to attend the quarterly meetings in London. We can’t give people more time but we can do something about the meetings. At our May meeting, we voted to adopt a new approach from this year’s AGM, which will be held in September near Nottingham. The November meeting will remain a face-to-face meeting in London, although This is the Newsletter for technical authors, technical illustrators and information designers. InfoPlus+ is posted at www.istc.org.uk/Publications/Newsletter/newsletter.htm.

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attendance won’t be mandatory and it may be possible for some people to phone in for parts of the meeting. The intention is to give newly elected Council members the opportunity to meet the team and to facilitate detailed discussions of the strategy and budgets for the coming year. After that, meetings will be held online on a weekday evening every two months (January, March, May, July, September). We hope that this will open up Council membership to all corporate members who are interested, irrespective of their locations. You’ll receive nomination forms with the preliminary AGM papers soon. Do contact me, Marian Newell, if you would like to know more about serving on Council or about finding supporters and getting elected. We hope you’ll join us in developing the ISTC for the future.

Local area groups

Spread the word!

By Rachel Potts, MISTC

By Rachel Potts, MISTC

A recent consultation on ISTC membership benefits highlighted local area groups as very popular, where they exist. I’m looking at what we can do to help get local groups started, and support them once they’re up and running, and I’d really like to hear about your experiences:

Putting on a successful conference isn’t all about the speakers and the workshops. Delegates tell us every year that one of the great things about the conference is the people they meet.

■■ Have you tried to start a local group, but had trouble getting it off the ground? ■■ Were you a member of a group which has now disbanded? ■■ Have you started a group, but you’re not sure how to keep the momentum going? Whatever your experience — success or disaster — I’d love to hear from you: rachel. [email protected].

People attend from a range of industries, and from all sectors of technical communication — including permanent employees, contractors, and small businesses. We think that the broader the range of delegates, the more successful the conference will be. So please help by spreading the word as much as possible. If you are attending or running an event over the summer, you could promote the conference by distributing flyers. Contact Rachel: rachel. [email protected].

Hyperlinks disclaimer The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the ISTC of the linked websites, or the information, products or services contained on those sites. All external hyperlinks were accurate and working at the time of writing. However, the ISTC does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations, so the ISTC cannot be responsible for changes to content found at these locations or any material on those sites that may be inaccurate, misleading or offensive to you. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the ISTC and its Newsletter, and the ISTC disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness and availability of any linked site. Please let us know about existing external links which you believe are inappropriate or inaccurate and about specific additional external links which you believe ought to be included.

© ISTC June 2009

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Technical Communication UK – latest By Paul Ballard, Technical Communication UK Team The Technical Communication UK Team has now selected all 41 presentations for the Wednesday and Thursday, across three streams, including one stream dedicated to XML- and CMS-related topics. In the next few weeks we will be firming up the Tuesday pre-conference tools workshops. The range of topics reflects the breadth of

technical communication in the UK. By far, the majority would be useful and relevant no matter what tools you use or what you write about. This is what this new conference is all about: what we have in common as professional communicators, the shared challenges, frustrations and opportunities we face.

■■ Matthew Ellison will be discussing pattern language for information architecture ■■ Andrew Marlow will be providing practical guidelines about how to start your own technical authoring business

A few of the highlights:

■■ Justin Collinge, who was the highestscoring presenter from last year’s conference

■■ Peter Anghelides of IBM is our Keynote Speaker

■■ Adrian Morse who presents MadCap Flare from a user’s perspective

■■ David MacKay of Cambridge University who was been invited to describe the approach he took to writing the critically acclaimed and influential book ‘Sustainable Energy — without the hot air’

■■ Noz Urbina on XML: It’s 2009 and We Still Don’t Get It ■■ Chris Hadley who will be presenting ‘Flipping the switch’— going live with a CMS and DITA. The Technical Communication UK team would like to thank all of this year’s sponsors and exhibitors for supporting the launch of this new event; for committing their resources in a tough economic climate and for demonstrating their confidence in the future of technical communication in the UK. We are also pleased to announce the first of our Platinum-level sponsors SDL and the final list of our Gold-level sponsors: 3di, ITR, DDC Systems, Mekon and Ovidius.

Eastwood Hall, the venue for Technical Communication UK © ISTC June 2009

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Affiliate news

the stress out of complicated international technical writing projects.’

TechComm Alliance

‘We are delighted to join the TechComm Alliance as a founding member with two other outstanding organisations. Our customers are global companies that need support worldwide,’ said Sarah O’Keefe, President, Scriptorium Publishing. ‘The TechComm Alliance gives us a trusted network of partners with whom we can provide technical communication services around the world.’

ISTC Business Affiliate Cherryleaf Ltd is joining with Scriptorium Publishing (United States of America) and HyperWrite (Australia) to create the TechComm Alliance. Ellis Pratt, Sales and Marketing Director at Cherryleaf Ltd, commented: ‘Working with TechComm Alliance means that you’re working with technical communicators who are experts in developing large and complex user assistance projects and content management solutions. We can take

One major advantage to the consortium is in providing local resources for training. Tony Self, Founder of HyperWrite, says: ‘We have

TechComm Alliance is an international consortium of technical communication service providers, www.techcommalliance.com. Scriptorium Publishing provides expert advice on how to develop, deploy, and manage content. The company is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA; www. scriptorium.com. Cherryleaf Limited is a technical communication company based in the United Kingdom. The company has expertise in single sourcing (reusing content) and online Help with locations in Brighton, Heathrow (London) and Oxford (Thame); www.cherryleaf.com. HyperWrite is an Australian hypertext solution company, founded in 1993. The company provides specialized hypertext and Web consultancy services, training, and produces the very successful annual Australasian Online Documentation and Content (AODC) Conference, now in its eleventh year; www.hyperwrite.com.

© ISTC June 2009

clients in the USA, Europe and New Zealand. Although we can and will travel to our customer sites, TechComm Alliance gives us the option to work with a local partner to provide on-site support. Our customers benefit from faster support and lower travel costs.’

Donovan Data Systems: New Business Affiliate The ISTC is pleased to welcome a new business affiliate. Donovan Data Systems (DDS) creates media buying, digital advertising and agency workflow services, systems and software for the world’s most successful agencies. DDS work with clients every step of the way, from creative brief to billing and paying. For more information, visit www.dds.co.uk.

For a full list of the ISTC’s current Business Affiliates, see www.istc.org.uk/Business_affiliates/ba_home.htm. You can read more about the scheme at www.istc.org.uk/Membership/business_affiliates.htm.

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Industry news

skills, and also in raising the perceived skill level within the current workforce.

AMEC announces its 2009 Awards Programme

Government publishing consultation described as ‘inadequate’

The SfEP’s principal criticism of the consultation concerned the lack of data. Skillset had:

The Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), has announced the categories for its Communication Effectiveness Awards programme for 2009.

A new report to improve skills for the publishing industry was described by a major professional organisation as ‘inadequate’. The Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) criticised in detail Skillset’s consultation process 12 months after the Publishing Skills Council was launched. Katharine Timberlake, SfEP’s marketing and PR director, said: ‘Questions were not asked, answers were not given and the evidence was patchy and poorly presented. Important issues and valuable opportunities are in danger of being overlooked because the strategy is based on an ill-prepared consultation paper.’ Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media, was given responsibility for publishing skills in April 2008, to consult on training and recruitment needs across the industry. The resulting consultation focused on both the demand for and investment in

© ISTC June 2009

■■ not consulted the self-employed even though they are a significant part of the workforce ■■ no knowledge of current training provision ■■ ignored public information publishers ■■ displayed low standards of research and publishing protocols. Gerard Hill, SfEP’s mentoring director, said: ‘Our suggestions for the strategy are based on experience of the changes and challenges facing the publishing sector.’ Kersti Wagstaff, an advanced SfEP member, says: ‘Government policy is barely conscious of publishing other than newspapers and magazines.’ The SfEP reported that it was waiting to see whether the final strategy had incorporated its ideas.

A new category is Student of the Year, eligible to any student of the online AMEC College judged on a 2000 word essay on ‘Why Communication Evaluation is important during an economic downturn.’ Barry Leggetter, Executive Director of AMEC, said: ‘In a recession our members are doing important work in demonstrating to corporate teams and PR consultancies that their campaigns are working. I am confident we are going to get some strong entries this year.’ Now in their eighth year, the objective of the Awards is to recognise and promote best practice in communication planning, research and measurement. The programme is open to in-house and consultancy practitioners across the PR and communication industry as well as AMEC members.

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The Awards will be judged by an independent panel of communication professionals from academic, consultancy and in-house backgrounds. The Chairman of the Judges is Trevor Morris, Visiting Professor, University of Westminster, London and former head of the QBO agency and CEO of Chime’s PR division. The final closing deadline for entries is 8 July 2009. The Awards Ceremony will be held in London on Wednesday 18 November 2009. More information is available at: www. amecorg.com. Winning Documentation Project Management Solutions 3di has the expertise to scope, resource, manage and deliver documentation projects to meet your time, budget and quality targets. �

�

�

�

Reliable in-house project management skills Access to leading UK and offshorebased resources ensuring the best mix of expertise to meet your project needs Commitment to implement proven methods and communicate regularly Tools-independent - best of breed technical solutions

Call us: 01483 211533 High Street, Ripley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6AF

www.3di-info.com

© ISTC June 2009

International Development Journalism Competition 2009 Launched

Leading global family planning organisation, Marie Stopes International (MSI), has joined The Guardian and the Department for International Development (DFID) to launch the second annual The Guardian International Development Journalism Competition.

‘Marie Stopes International is proud to continue its support this innovative competition,’ said Michael Holscher, MSI Director of External Affairs. ‘Good journalism is one of the most compelling ways to draw attention to international development stories that otherwise struggle to be heard.’

The success of this unique competition last year prompted the co-sponsors MSI, the Guardian, DFID and GlaxoSmithKline to renew their support for the competition, which encourages journalists and amateur writers to write about some of the most important issues facing the developing world today.

According to Holscher, MSI was amazed by the number of entries last year for such a demanding competition: ‘We hope and expect we will get even more entrants this year.’

Last year, the competition attracted over 400 entrants, generating unprecedented news coverage for some key development issues. Topics ranged from reproductive health challenges in the slums of Dhaka and Mumbai, to older people murdered for witchcraft in Tanzania, to one of the winning articles on young people’s response to climate change in the Philippines.

The other international development NGOs supporting the project this year are British Red Cross, African Medical and Research Foundation, Farm Africa, Find Your Feet International Childcare Trust, One World Action and Panos London. For details of the competition, visit: www. guardian.co.uk/developmentcompetition. The deadline for entries is 30 June 2009. For further information, contact: Diana Thomas, Communications Manager, Marie Stopes International. Tel: 020 7034 2317 Email: [email protected].

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Blog news Experience, trends and techniques By Gordon McLean, MISTC Halfway through the year already, and many bloggers are taking stock of what they’ve accomplished so far before looking forward to the challenges ahead. A lot of that thinking is centred around the position that technical documentation occupies and how best to shift to position it for the future. Louis Marascio writes about Documentation as a Point of Experience and how in the current climate, with the focus on building customer loyalty, we should ‘Understand that your users ultimately want answers and give them a way to build a community without jumping through hoops. Use your documentation as a seed to grow happy users and I think you’ll find that the return on your documentation investment will increase dramatically.’ Paul Mueller picks up on various trends in his post about Technical Communication Trends and Ideas. With talk of Wikis and conversations, personalised content, and the delivery of technical information via social media channels, there does seem

© ISTC June 2009

momentum building around these areas. I recently had a developer ask why our documentation wasn’t published to a Wiki. Ever had to tackle writing up best practice guidelines? If so I’m sure you’ll have asked the same question that Amy Blankenship asks, Who Decides? ‘How does one join this group of highly advanced people that are so much more knowing than us mere mortals about best practices?’ Thankfully Amy provides five ways to join that group. How you present information is important, and in his post The Proximity Effect, Eddie Vanarsdall discusses how small improvements in presentation can make your information far more usable: ‘Proximity may seem like a small, insignificant design aspect, but it is a key principle for structuring information and promoting comprehension. When you are creating content for print or the Web, pay attention to how you block the information.’ On to more practical matters and Jennie Ruby offers a guide to Editing With MS Word 2007: Plan the Track Changes Workflow something which has vexed me in the past, Anne Wayman provides 6 Tips for Proofreading Your Own Writing (it’s not aimed at technical writing but some good

Quick links to the bloggers and their blogs Louis Marascio: http://blog.lugiron.com/2009/05/documentationpoint-of-experience. Paul Mueller: http://www.useraid.com/blog/2009/05/13/trendsand-ideas . Amy Blankenship: http://www.insideria.com/2009/05/who-decides. html. Eddie Vanarsdall: http://www.vanarsdall-infodesign. com/2009/05/08/the-proximity-effect. Jennie Ruby: http://iconlogic.blogs.com/weblog/2009/05/ editing-with-ms-word-2007-plan-the-trackchanges-workflow.html . Anne Wayman: http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/2009/05/6tips-for-proofreading-your-own-writing. Rhonda Bracey: http://www.cybertext.com.au/10353.htm . Sarah Maddox: http://en.wordpress.com/tag/aodc.

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ideas there), and Rhonda Bracey offers her slides for a presentation titled Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface, useful if you’ve ever been asked to provide feedback on a user interface.

Software news Serif launches PhotoPlus X3 Digital Studio

■■ High Dynamic Range imaging – combine shots with different exposures for stunning HDR photos

And finally Sarah Maddox has been writing up her notes from the recent Australasian Online Documentation and Content Conference, many of which talk about improving the Point of Experience provided by technical documentation and online help.

UK-based design, publishing, and creative software developer, Serif (Europe) Ltd, has released a new version of its digital photo editing software. PhotoPlus X3 Digital Studio offers highend image editing capabilities and enhanced ease of use, aimed at making advanced photo editing more accessible and affordable.

■■ High Colour Images – work with 48-bit colour photos for the highest quality results

Sophisticated features such as High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, Raw Photo Studio and 48-bit image editing are included, while the QuickFix, Makeover and other task-focused studios are designed to offer professional quality fixes.

‘Serif is thrilled to announce the release of PhotoPlus X3 which makes it even easier to fix photos and add professional effects to images,’ says Gary Bates, Managing Director of Serif. ‘PhotoPlus X3 offers an unsurpassed combination of usable features and high-end digital darkroom power making it the ideal choice for anyone looking to get the most from their digital photos.’

If you are toying with setting up your own technical writing blog, or if you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. Similarly if you have a technical writing blog that you think should be featured here, do let me know. Contact: [email protected]. A technical writer for almost 15 years, Gordon has been blogging for about 10 of those. He monitors a large breadth of blogs covering most aspects of both technical communications and software development. You can download the full list of RSS feeds from his blog at www.onemanwrites.co.uk.

Key new features and benefits include: ■■ Raw image processing – process and fix Raw images from digital cameras at

© ISTC June 2009

the highest quality using the Raw Photo Studio

■■ Quick and easy image correction and enhancement with the addition of more Studios ■■ New effects such as realistic metal and glass effects add subtle reflections to create eye-catching special effects ■■ Microsoft HD Photo support – open and save in this new format which offers significantly better compression efficiency.

For more information, visit: www.serif.com.

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FatWire ranks as top software solution for web experience optimisation Leveraging the certified assessment methodology of the worldwide quality standard ISO 9001:2000, the Yphise Award ranks software solutions in more than 170 technical or functional assessment categories. FatWire Content Server earned high marks in the assessment for increasing the agility of businesses in setting up and managing websites, optimising web content to support corporate objectives, increasing business activity on the web, and facilitating website deployment.

‘Web experience management and optimisation are critical drivers for marketing success and business efficiency,’ said Loren Weinberg, FatWire Vice President of Marketing and Product Management. ‘This award is an important testament to the high quality of FatWire’s products, as well as the completeness of our vision and our commitment to helping customers achieve their goals online.’ About FatWire For more information about FatWire Software, visit: www.fatwire.com. About Yphise Yphise is an independent company that conducts ongoing research to help business and IT executives make sound IT investment decisions. For more information, visit: www.yphise.com.

Science communications news Euroscience Media Awards Euroscience has announced that its existing journalism awards will, from 2009, be expanded to include awards for popular television and research media relations. Original sponsors, Euroscience Stiftung have been joined by Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, Europe, and the AlphaGalileo Foundation to provide an opportunity for everyone involved in securing more and better media coverage for European research to showcase their work. The journalistic awards have the support of the European Union of Science Journalists Associations.

Fatwire Content Server © ISTC June 2009

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The awards will be presented annually: in the autumn of 2009 in Hannover and in July 2010 at the Euroscience Open Forum Torino. The awards are: ■■ 
The Euroscience Stiftung Young Journalists Award ■■ The Euroscience Stiftung Lifetime Journalism Award ■■ The Johnson and Johnson Award for R&D/Science TV journalism Award ■■ The AlphaGalileo Award for Research Public Relations Award. The closing date for the competitive awards (television and public relations) is 30 June 2009. Applications for the TV and media relations awards must be made via the website. 
Awards will be worth €5,000 each apart from the Young Journalist category where the sponsors reserve the right to award one award of €5,000 or two awards of €2,500. 
Additional sponsors of new or existing awards will be welcome in future years. For further information, visit: www.eurosciencemediaawards.org.

© ISTC June 2009

Training courses

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June 5

Introduction to Technical Authoring This is an intensive one-day course ideal for people who are not career technical authors. It covers project planning, writing from a design, structuring documents, good writing practice, punctuation and grammar, navigation techniques, proofreading and standards. 10% discount for ISTC members.

Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm

Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands. www.armadaonline.co.uk/ techauthortraining Listings are restricted to scheduled courses that are low cost or are in some way unusual. Listings are a service to members. A listing does not imply ISTC endorsement. If you hear of any training courses that you think might be of interest to InfoPlus+ readers, please contact the Newsletter copyeditor newsletter.editor@ istc.org.uk. If you would like to promote your course or event to ISTC members, why not consider giving ISTC members a discount for courses and events listed in our newsletter. For more information, please email [email protected].

Adobe Dreamweaver Training Course — Introduction This two-day training course is suitable for those about to use Adobe Dreamweaver for creating and managing web pages. The course includes understanding the development process, creating and laying out a new site, adding content, understanding and authoring cascading style sheets (CSS), adding and editing graphics, building navigation and creating jump menus, designing web forms, and publishing, testing and maintaining your site.

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This is the Newsletter for technical authors, technical illustrators and information designers. InfoPlus+ is posted at www.istc.org.uk/Publications/Newsletter/newsletter.htm.

Advanced Technical Authoring Techniques This is an intensive course for career technical authors who want to improve their skill set and the quality and effectiveness of the documentation they produce. 10% discount for ISTC members. Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands. www.armadaonline.co.uk techauthortraining 10

...June 11

15 Adobe Photoshop Training Course - Intermediate This one-day course is aimed at delegates with previous experience of Photoshop. The course will take a look at Photoshop tools, shortcuts and techniques which will maximise productivity and save you from hours of experimentation and exploration. Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm

11-12 Introduction to Adobe RoboHelp 8 This is a course for beginners that teaches how to use RoboHelp to create online help in most popular formats and produce hard copy guides in Word and PDF format from the same project. It covers the use of advanced features including templates, and stylesheets, etc. 10% discount for ISTC members.

Adobe InDesign Training Course — Tips & Tricks This one-day course is designed for people who have previous experience of the InDesign software. You will learn how to use the software to streamline day-today production.

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10% discount for ISTC members. Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands.

Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm 22-23 Basic/Intermediate Adobe FrameMaker 9 This course provides beginners with a thorough grounding in FrameMaker. Starting from first principles, delegates learn how to create new documents, modify existing ones and use FrameMaker’s most popular features.

Advanced Adobe FrameMaker 9 This course teaches FrameMaker’s advanced features when working in unstructured mode. Covers variables, books, contents, index and cross-references.

www.armadaonline.co.uk/ adobetraining 25-26 Introduction to Adobe Captivate 4 This course for beginners teaches how to create software simulations, demos and tutorials for your application. 10% discount for ISTC members.

10% discount for ISTC members.

10% discount for ISTC members. Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands. www.armadaonline.co.uk/ adobetraining

Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands. www.armadaonline.co.uk/ adobetraining

Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands. www.armadaonline.co.uk/ techauthortraining © ISTC June 2009

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>THINK DIFFERENTLY >THINK COMMUNICATION Course starting in September 2009 via e-learning in

• • • • •

MA Technical Communication MA e-Communication MA Corporate Communication MA Professional Communication MA Communication and Media

PART-TIME COURSES THAT WORK FOR YOU For more information please visit www.shu.ac.uk/media/mapipc

© ISTC June 2009

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...June 22-23 Adobe Flash Training Course — ActionScript Advanced This two-day course is intended for the intermediate to advanced Adobe Flash animator who wants to learn ActionScript programming to add more complex interactivity to their movies than simple navigation. Familiarity with Mac or Windows operating system and some previous experience of Adobe Flash is recommended.

Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm 26

Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm 23-24 Adobe InDesign Training Course — Introduction This two-day course is suitable for those with no previous experience of Adobe InDesign or those who are self taught. You will learn how to produce documentation from design concept right through to output. Practical projects will range from creating single sided literature to longer publications incorporating text and graphic elements to achieve appropriate layouts. © ISTC June 2009

Adobe Acrobat 8 This one-day course is aimed at completely new Adobe Acrobat 8 users. On successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Access information in a PDF document; create PDF documents; modify PDF documents; add PDF navigation aids; work with multiple PDF documents and review PDF documents. Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm

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29-30 Adobe Photoshop Training Course — Introduction This two-day course enables delegates with no previous experience of Photoshop or those with a repro background, and an understanding of related theory, to acquire a level of theoretical and practical proficiency and to adapt it their personal expertise. Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm 30

Adobe InDesign Training Course — Migration Course This one-day course is designed for experienced users of any version of QuarkXPress to make an effortless transition to Adobe InDesign. It will take your existing QuarkXPress skills and convert them to the InDesign equivalents.

Adobe InDesign Training Course — Advanced This one-day course is suitable for those have attended the introductory level course, or have an equivalent level of knowledge. The course is designed to expand your InDesign skill set with new techniques for applying master pages, styles, text control, sectioning, and XML. Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm

Mekon Creatives, Sutton, Surrey. www.mekon-creatives.com/ courses.cfm

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July 9-10

Introduction to Adobe InDesign This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the powerful capabilities of InDesign, including setting up new documents, shapes, frames and using InDesign’s most popular features. 10% discount for ISTC members. Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands. www.armadaonline.co.uk/ printdesigntraining

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Introduction to Technical Authoring This intensive one-day course is ideal for people who are not career technical authors, but who need to carry out such work. It covers project planning, writing from a design, structuring documents, good writing practice, punctuation and grammar, navigation techniques, proofreading and standards. 10% discount for ISTC members. Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands. www.armadaonline.co.uk/ techauthortraining

© ISTC June 2009

29-31 Advanced Technical Authoring Techniques This intensive course is designed for career technical authors who want to improve their skill set and the quality and effectiveness of the documentation they produce.

Events news

10% discount for ISTC members. Armada, Bromsgrove, Midlands. www.armadaonline.co.uk/ techauthortraining

‘8x8 London’: Live design event to inspire designers ilovedesign.com in association with Quark and Design Week magazine has announced a new live design event in London. Following the sell-out David Carson event last summer, 8x8 London will feature eight highly talented designers that have just eight minutes each to share what inspires them, where they get their ideas from and what motivates them to create exceptional designs. ‘The event will be fast paced, packed with interesting thoughts and ideas with plenty of time for a drink and a chance to network afterwards.’ said Sarah Harwood, ilovedesign.com manager. 8x8 London takes place at 7:30pm on Wednesday 1 July, at Imperial College, London. Tickets are priced at £15 each with a student concession price of £10 (students should bring their student ID with them). To

This is the Newsletter for technical authors, technical illustrators and information designers. InfoPlus+ is posted at www.istc.org.uk/Publications/Newsletter/newsletter.htm.

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purchase a ticket and find out more, visit: ilovedesign.eventbrite.com.

Events listings

For more information about Quark Inc., visit: www.quark.com/en.

June 4

Conference: Accessibility in Technical Communication and the Workplace The Society for Technical Communication (STC) UK and Ireland chapter has announced a major event in Cambridge for 13 and 14 June 2009. Designed to give practical information, the conference presents quality speakers to help you gain a competitive edge for your products and services. The training and lecture programme is designed to be useful and insightful as well as affordable and will include workshops on website design and accessibility standards in the USA and EU. Full details of the conference are on the STC UK and Ireland Chapters web site at: www. stcuk.org/index.php. Online bookings can be made by visiting: accessibilitytechcomms.eventbrite.com.

© ISTC June 2009

SDS June talk. The London Underground Map: Design Challenges and Challenging Designs A talk by Maxwell Roberts. Sometimes called a design classic, the London Underground map has been a part of London for decades. With more and more additions, the challenge to produce clear, attractive maps places increasing demands on its designers. Max Roberts, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex, asks why maps based on Henry Beck’s design principles help us to plan journeys; does following the rules always guarantee the best possible design; and what happens when we break the rules? London, UK. www.signdesignsociety.co.uk/ content.php?folder_id=21

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Localization World 2009 Dr. Norbert Walter, Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Group, will be the keynote speaker. Berlin, Germany. www.localizationworld.com/ lwber2009/program.php

13-14 Accessibility in Technical Communication and the Workplace Conference organised by the STC UK and Ireland Chapters. See Event news for more details. Cambridge, UK. www.stcuk.org/index.php

This section introduces new events and reminders of the most relevant events in the coming months. ISTC events are highlighted. You can view previous events listings on the ISTC website’s Newsletter archive at www.istc.org.uk/ Publications/Newsletter/newsletter.htm To include an event in the listings, please email [email protected]

This is the Newsletter for technical authors, technical illustrators and information designers. InfoPlus+ is posted at www.istc.org.uk/Publications/Newsletter/newsletter.htm.

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...June 9-19 & 23 Tcworld roadshows A series of one-day events planned by tekom with the aim of promoting technical communication as an industry and to draw attention to the upcoming tcworld conference in November. The roadshows will deal with the main topics of the conference: information development, content management, terminology, translation and localization, visual communication, standards and guidelines, technical authoring, process optimization and quality management. 9th in Prague, 18th in Moscow, 19th in Milan, and 23rd in Barcelona. www.tekom.de/index_neu.jsp?url=/ servlet/ControllerGUI?action=voll&i d=2698

© ISTC June 2009

10-12 AMEC/IPR 1st European Summit on Measurement The International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication’s (AMEC) first summit on measurement.

15-16 Web Content 2009 Chicago: Delivering Personalized Dynamic Web Content Call for presentations is open as of 27 January. Chicago, Illinois.

Berlin, Germany.

www.webcontentconferences. com/2009/news/call_ for_presentations_open_ january_27_2009/

www.amecorg.com 13-14 Accessibility in technical communication and the workplace The UK and Ireland Chapter of the STC is running a two day event in Cambridge. There is a discount for ISTC and tekom members.

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How to reduce technical documentation costs and add value for your customers Seminar held at Hilton Puckrup Hall Hotel.

Cambridge, UK.

Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

www.stcuk.org/content/view/118/13

www.techdocseminars.info

This is the Newsletter for technical authors, technical illustrators and information designers. InfoPlus+ is posted at www.istc.org.uk/Publications/Newsletter/newsletter.htm.

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July

September

13-15 Association Congress 09 The Association Congress is a key event for executives concerned with providing a high-value service to members in the area of events, membership, education, online services, publishing and networking; as well as the strategic development of their organisation.

13-15 SfEP AGM and 20th annual conference: Editing in the 21st century The Society for Editors and Proofreaders will hold its 20th annual conference at the University of York.

London, UK.

York, UK. sfep.org.uk/pub/confs/conferences. asp

www.associationcongress.com/ 27-28 The Summer XML 2009 Conference Presentation submissions are now being accepted for this XML conference. Raleigh, North Carolina USA. www.aboveandbeyondlearning. com/xmlconference.html

14-16 The RealWorld DITA 2009 Conference Presentation submissions are now being accepted for this DITA conference.

22-24 Technical Communication UK Technical Communication UK is the new annual conference that aims to meet the needs of technical communicators, their managers and clients, from every corner of the industry. It will deliver more than 30 sessions over the three days, with presentations, workshops, case studies, and hands-on product demonstrations from experts in their field. Call for papers is currently open (visit the web site).

Raleigh, North Carolina USA.

Nottingham, UK. www.technicalcommunicationuk. com

www.aboveandbeyondlearning. com/ditaconference.html 16-19 EASE Conference 2009: Integrity in Science Communication The tenth EASE general assembly and conference. Pisa, Italy. www.ease.org.uk/con/index.shtml

© ISTC June 2009

This is the Newsletter for technical authors, technical illustrators and information designers. InfoPlus+ is posted at www.istc.org.uk/Publications/Newsletter/newsletter.htm.

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Back page

Well, that’s clear then! Charles White, of Craigton Technical Services Ltd, had the following as a translation from Japanese when he was carrying out some work for a major shipping company. This is verbatim:

Sir Tim Berners-Lee to receive webby lifetime achievement award It might seem like the most obvious person to be the recipient of an award for his contribution to the World Wide Web, but at the 13th Annual Webby Awards, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, is to be honoured with the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award. Berners-Lee created the first versions of the technologies – including HTML, URL, and HTTP – that turned the Internet, previously a domain of scientists and researchers only, into a mass medium. Since he invented the Web twenty years ago, Berners-Lee has remained its most active and passionate advocate, working tirelessly to ensure that it remains open, free, and a tool for helping humankind. He founded the World Wide Web Consortium in 1994 and currently serves as director of the World Wide Web Foundation and co-director of the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI). He was knighted in 2004 and was elected as a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this year.

© ISTC June 2009

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

‘Sir Tim Berners-Lee sealed his place in history with the creation of the Web, but more importantly, he guided its development as a tool for promoting creativity and humanitarian values,’ said DavidMichel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. ‘It is an honour to pay tribute to a brilliant pioneer responsible for creating the most influential mass medium the world has seen.’ The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include David Bowie, Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington, Matt Groening, Vinton Cerf, and Richard Branson. You can find out more about this at www.webbyawards.com.

This is the Newsletter for technical authors, technical illustrators and information designers. InfoPlus+ is posted at www.istc.org.uk/Publications/Newsletter/newsletter.htm.

‘When the pressure of the main hydraulic line came down bellow set value or in case of fire or in an emergency, the ESDS valve of shore connection switches the solenoid valve for use of ESDS valve in the I.S. solenoid valve box installed on the upper deck owing to signals (OFF) from cargo console, and be closed urgently owing to the pressure oil collected in the accumulator for exclusive use of the ESDS valve.’ It took a long time poring over drawings and speaking to the Japanese supplier to get a proper understanding of the Emergency Shut Down System. If you have any material suitable for the back page, please submit it to: newsletter.editor@ istc.org.uk.

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