February 2000
Happy Anniversary STC Alberta!
In the Beginning . . .
- by Doug Hare, Senior Member
A number of people have asked
We’re celebrating STC Alberta’s 20th Anniversary!
recently just how our chapter
started and for some informa- If you were there, we want to hear from you.
tion about the technical com-
For the next few issues of SuperScript, we’d like to publish your insights about STC
municators who brought it to-
Alberta’s past, present, and future. Compare the technologies you’ve used, changes
gether.
in the industry, training and certification requirements, trends you’ve witnessed and
Late in 1979, I received a call from Marion predict — whatever turns your crank. Just send your submissions to the SuperScript
White, a technical editor for the ERCB editors (email addresses on last page of newsletter).
(Energy Resources Conservation Board—
now the EUB) about meeting with some
other editors, writers, and educators to see if
we would like to form a professional asso- Capune, Sheila Ward, Virginia Mackay, J. tions to the field of technical communica-
ciation under the umbrella of STC. LaPoint, Bruce Irons, Lionel Munn, Alex tion in Alberta.
Rankin, Les Rowland, Randy Scotland,
Shortly, six of us began meeting and on As far as I can tell, of those initial 18 pio-
Jennifer Spencer, and Tom Sigurdson.
January 30, 1980, we applied for and re- neers in 1980, only one has continued with
ceived branch status (membership under We set out to establish a bank account the chapter for the entire 20 years. As I
15). The other four members were Susan (annual dues were $25.00US), hold noted earlier, change was the steady con-
Noble, a freelance technical editor, Maria monthly business meetings, invite speak- stant with our chapter. Fortunately, new
Fogarasi, an instructor in Chemical Engi- ers to talk about a variety of new areas (to members kept appearing and we carried on.
neering at the University of Calgary, Vic us in 1980) such as the use of SI in Cana- We have seen great changes occur in our
Humphreys, editor of Oilweek, and Marten dian documents and the new world of chosen field during these 20 years, and I an-
Bot, President of his own company special- word processing. We also set up an em- ticipate that the next 20 year will continue to
izing in industrial photography. ployment referral service and of course demonstrate further advances along with the
started SuperScript. The newsletter was continued growth of the Alberta chapter.
We limited our membership to southern Al- initially typed, then printed offset and pho-
berta, started to hold monthly programs and tocopied at SAIT for distribution. It was
by early April 1980, had added 12 more exhilarating to know that we were now
members and applied for full chapter status. part of an organization of 5500 members
The new members were Judy Arnett, Anne and several of us made plans to travel to
Minneapolis for our first convention on
technical communications. We weren’t
alone anymore.
Our first annual meeting disclosed
$116.11 in operating funds and also the
knowledge that ours was a transient occu-
pation, as many of our charter members
either moved on, changed occupations, or
retired. However, our hopes for a vibrant
chapter remained and although there were
some low spots during the turbulent eight-
ies, the Calgary Chapter (now Alberta)
continued to make significant contribu-
S
A Word from our Director-Sponsor—Board of Directors Winter Meeting
- by Ellen Fenwick, Director-Sponsor for Region 7
No hurricanes in the state of Arizona, USA, • Appointments of Diane Feldman and USD for the Manitoba chapter in Can-
I'm happy to report! The STC Board of Di- Patricia Tierney as comanagers of the ada to develop its public relations pro-
rectors meeting was hosted by the Phoenix Technical Editing SIG (Special Interest gram. The program will increase mem-
chapter on 13-15 January 2000. The chapter Group), Carol Luttrell as manager of bership as well as raise the awareness
promised no natural disasters that would the International Technical Communi- of community businesses to the impor-
cancel the meeting. As you might recall, the cation SIG, and Brian Follas as man- tance and availability of professional
fall Board meeting was overruled by hurri- ager of the Illustrators and Visual De- technical communicators in that area.
cane Floyd. signers SIG. • Approval of three Special Opportuni-
Space doesn't permit detailed explanations • Appointment of Peggy Malecki as ties Grants in the amount of $10,000
of the actions and activities reported in this manager of the Conference Support USD each: Technological Literacy in
article. If you have questions or would like Committee for STC’s 48th Annual America, 1978-2000: A Project to Im-
more information, feel free to contact me at Conference in 2001 in Chicago, Illi- prove Technical Communication Edu-
fenwick@cyberhighway.net. nois, USA. cation in the New Millennium to Cyn-
• Appointment of Ernie Mazzatenta as thia L. Self and Gail E. Hawisher; Web-
Actions Taken at the Meeting manager of the STC Nominating Com- site Materials Development for Careers
• Formation of the James Madison Uni- mittee for 2000-2001. in Technical Communication to
versity student chapter (Harrisonburg, Stephen Bernhardt; and Develop and
• Approval of a merit grant of $3,000 Direct a Technical Writing Institute for
Virginia, USA) with a $150 USD
USD for the Boston chapter Teachers in China to Carol M. Bar-
startup grant.
(Massachusetts, USA) to serve as seed num.
• Formation of the Illinois Heartland money for the Carol Landers Spirit of
chapter (Bloomington/Normal, Illinois, Volunteerism Fund. This is a unique • Approval of the STC Intellectual Prop-
USA) and the concurrent dissolution of program among STC chapters, but one erty Statement (copy available from the
the Illinois State University student that may be of interest to many. Carol Assistant to the President for Profes-
chapter. Landers was a consistent, active, and sional Development, Carolyn Watt,
cwatt@carolynwatt.com).
• Formation of the Edison College stu- some might say essential member of
dent chapter of STC (Piqua/Greenville, the Boston chapter who passed away • Approval of $7,500 USD as startup
Ohio, USA) with a $150 USD startup very suddenly last year at the age of 42. funds for the Journal Editor Fellowship
grant. This grant, along with funds raised by Program. This program is aimed at pro-
the Boston chapter, will support an an- viding training to people interested in
• Recognition of STC as a cooperating editing scholarly journals.
nual award to a chapter member, aimed
society in the Association for Comput-
at assisting that member in attending a
ing Machinery (ACM) Conference on Other Items of Interest
professional conference, training
Universal Usability: Solutions, Sys- Membership: STC continues to grow at a
course, or similar program. In essence,
tems, and Methods (to be held 16-17 steady rate, with membership projected to
this is a “scholarship” program for ex-
November 2000 in Washington, DC, peak at more than 25,000 by the end of
perienced members who have contrib-
USA), and designation of Dr. Janice C. March. The percentage of Canadian and
uted their time, effort, and energies to
(Ginny) Redish as the STC liaison. non-North American members is increasing
the Boston chapter, as Carol Landers
• Appointment of Lottie Applewhite as more rapidly than the percentage of US
did, unstintingly.
the manager of the Journal Editor Fel- members.
• Approval of a merit grant of $3,000
lowship Committee. (Continued on page 4)
Al b er ta S T C E xe cu t i ve C o unc il 199 9-2 000
L e i l a M e ye r Caroline Kutschke Marty Steadman Ian Hawkins Marie Frison Klassen
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Past President
leila.meyer@olantra.com 01071298@3web.net msteadman@siwrites.com ihawkins@telusplanet.net mariefk@home.com
Lisa Brent Suzanne Scott Nancy Sequeira L a u r a H a r vi e Gillian Ward
Membership Programs Hospitality Competitions Webmaster
lisa@lions.com suescott@telusplanet.net Nancy_Sequeira@hotmail.com laura@siwrites.com gillian.ward@nrginfo.com
Lucinda Yaworski Fena Maucieri Brian O’Malle y Darren Tenor Angela Wiens
Jobline Mentorship Membership Directory Archivist Liaison, Edmonton
yaworskl@cadvision.com fena@audesi.com omalley@nucleus.com tenor@nucleus.com awiens@telusplanet.net
Richard Blitz Ken Schatzke D i a n e L a ve r t y Ken Schmaltz
Liaison, Red Deer Mount Royal College Public Relations Public Relations
blitz@home.com kschatzke@hotmail.com dlaverty@home.com pwp@cadvision.com
M a i - An n S p r u n g A l ys s a R e n n i e Michael Trumper Don Harman
SuperScript Editor SuperScript Editor SuperScript Editor SuperScript Editor
maianns@merak.com alyssar@merak.com michaelt@merak.com donaldh@merak.com
Page 2 SuperScript
The Future of Information: A Digital Renaissance
Part II—A Paradigm Shift
- by Robin Etherington
This article is Part II of a three-part article. Please those in traditional oral societies, i.e. face-
refer to the December/January issue of SuperScript for
T.V.'d" or "well-Internet-ed" to characterize
Part I. and define our new paradigm concept of to-face, immediate, simultaneous.
knowledgeable? It is critical for us as communication profes-
Paradigm Shift! What does that mean? What
does it entail? Other aspects of how we approach each sionals to be aware of this, both in terms of
other and issues and problem solving in to- how and why our work relationships are
We have heard time and again that we are day's information society are experienced by changing, and more importantly, how and
now an ‘Information Society,’ rather than an us daily - at home and at work. At home, we why people are either physically visiting
Industrial one. It means that material prod- experience changing expectations about in- information sites or intellectually accessing/
ucts and manufacturing are not the issue or formation and where or how to obtain it. creating/sharing/creating/accessing informa-
of central value, but rather ‘information and Also, we watch our children, brought up tion via the Internet/www/CDs, and, in the
information exchange’ are now central to with computers and telecommunication near future, the new television-computer
our society and economy and values. You technologies, approach interpreting, creat- technology.
see it in new businesses that specialize in ing, sharing, and re-creating information
information exchange and ‘high tech’ tele- Apart from our use of computers in admini-
effortlessly and very differently than we did stration and physical writing (articles, bro-
communication technologies, as well as in at their ages. At work, writing increasingly
courses that teach people how to manage chures, reports, documents), and with regard
becomes an issue of navigating and manag- to storing what we administer and write,
information and how to use computer- ing several modes of information, and con-
telecommunication and information tech- there is a fundamental effect of computer-
veying information in ways requested by telecommunication technologies on commu-
nologies. and required by people specific to their cur- nication (conventional writing of words or
We are no longer only literate in the ‘text- rent projects. In other words, our writing is text, plus oral/aural, visual, numerical infor-
based’ way. We are an "oral soci- much more fluid, modular and inherently mation).
ety" (McLuhan: 1964: 40) in the McLuhan multi-information mode. It does not follow
sense, yet even more so. We are now a the previously prescribed format or any pre- Today, people access information and data
‘visual-oral’ society, both in terms of our scribed format necessarily. It is ever chang- via the Internet, interactive multimedia
emphasis on visuals and visual information, ing. Access to new information and/or indi- CD's, and virtual reality courses. These ve-
and of our social organization. We may vidual requirements change the ‘write.’ hicles of information access are fundamen-
even consider ourselves to be a ‘multi- tally re-defining people's expectations about
Let us broaden our definition and applica- information and about their access to infor-
information mode’ society, with our techno- tion of writing to think of writing as
logical capabilities to integrate text, num- mation.
‘information design’ - designing communi-
bers, oral/aural and visual information si- cation with words, visuals, animation, sound This presents a challenge for communica-
multaneously (which is the definition of hy- and numbers. Design theory and principles tion professionals that entails technology
permedia/multimedia). are increasingly important for us. Even more changing their mandate from preservation
In turn, we are integrating and merging our radical thinking is to consider our readers/ and interpretation of data and information to
societal institutions and social functions that users as co-designers of every communica- one of navigating and managing informa-
were formerly separate. That is, we are cre- tion vehicle we write/create. tion, and of even greater importance and
ating new ways of addressing our needs that excitement, to one of guiding and encourag-
In a text literate society, the knower and the ing people to access the information, see
reflect and respond to our technological ac- known were separated; pieces of data and
cess to and use of information. and understand patterns in the information
information were divided, which lead to an accessed, and innovatively create new
Our concept of time - space has changed analytical and linear approach to society and knowledge.
(Davis, 1987), which is a major component communication. With our current multi-
of our cognition and epistemology. By information and multimedia technologies, In other words, we are information and
means of information technologies we write we take a more holistic and synthesis ap- communication experts, and our future is
or email around the world to several people proach to information and creating new pat- wide open and challenging and very differ-
simultaneously and instantaneously; we ac- terns of information, which in turn creates ent from how we conventionally consider
cess a multitude of information types from new knowledge. our roles to be.
several sources simultaneously and instanta- In a text literate society, the individual was Next Issue:
neously. all-important. Today, the individual remains Part III — The Changing Roles of Techni-
As literate people, we consider a knowl- important, but the orientation both socially cal Communicators
edgeable person to be "well read." This and work-wise, is toward 'group-work,' col-
lective memory and knowledge. Computer- Robin Etherington currently works as an Information
sums up our idea of 'knowledgeable,' our Developer for Nortel Networks, in the Training and
epistemology. Today, we are increasingly ized "group-ware" represents this orienta- Documentation Department of the Wireless Division.
becoming visually focused or gaining com- tion, and is being played out in computer Before moving from Winnipeg a year ago, she worked
prehension of the world around us (our software and network systems (LAN, intra- for BNI and then Nortel Networks, and was an active
net and Internet). Via computer- member of STC Manitoba.
worldview) via visual information and
means, as opposed to solely text sources. Do telecommunication technologies, people are Over the course of her career, Robin took multimedia
we say that we are "well video-ed" or "well communicating much in the same manner as classes and has worked in Mexico. She is thrilled to be
in Calgary and a member of STC Alberta.
SuperScript Page 3
STC Winter Board Meeting
(Continued from page 2)
deal of interest has been expressed in the In the market for Advanced
new Teaching Fellowships for Practicing
Professionals. This is the program that pro-
FrameMaker training?
Email Addresses/Membership Lists: STC
vides stipends to practitioners wishing to STC Alberta would like to offer an Ad-
does NOT rent or release email addresses
teach a course in technical communication. vanced FrameMaker training workshop. If
to third-party vendors. The “spam” you
For more information, see the STC website. you would be interested in attending this
may be receiving from third-party vendors
course, please let us know by leaving your
does not emanate from the STC office. In- Conferences: The 47th Annual Conference
name, phone number, and email address on
deed, for the first time this year, the Society in Orlando (Florida, USA) has received
the main STC phone line after the program
office released the STC Membership Direc- more proposals than any previous confer-
listing. Refer to page 8 for instructions.
tory under license, instructing recipients ence. Approximately 260 technical sessions
about restrictions on personal and commer- are planned, a 20% increase over last year. Date is still to be confirmed.
cial use. When third-party vendors
External Relations: A public relations
(including STC members) violate the license
firm, Parker LePla, is conducting a
agreement, and the STC office receives Technical Communication: STC's journal
“branding” study for the Society. The pur-
complaints, the third-party vendors are goes online and searchable at the end of
pose of the study is to understand the values
alerted and requested to cooperate with the January 2000. Two years of issues (Feb
and services that are important to STC
terms of the license agreement. If you know 1998 - Feb 2000) will initially be available,
members. The results will help STC develop
of misuses of the STC Membership Direc- with other issues to follow.
a consistent focus and direction at all levels.
tory, please let the STC office know
The will also help STC evaluate the effec-
(membership@stc-va.org). Upcoming Conferences
tiveness of its visual identity.
Pilot Telephone Seminar: The first tele- For more information about the conferences
Professional Development: The Special and seminars listed below, visit the listed
phone seminar, available to all STC mem-
Needs Committee is working on a brochure site or access the information via regional
bers regardless of geographical location,
and web page about its services. Addition- websites (www.stc.org) or the STC office
was held 12 and 26 January 2000. This pilot
ally, the Core Competencies Committee (www.stc-va.org).
project had "Indexing Technical Documen-
continues its work on specifically identify-
tation" as its first seminar. The seminar was
ing the requirements of a professional tech- • From Region 3: The “Currents”
very successful, with 48 sites signing up and conference will be held 3-4 March 2000
nical communicator in today’s markets,
more than 300 participants. at Mercer University (Macon, Georgia,
based on interviews with people with hiring
Academic and Research Programs: A great authority, educators, and practitioners. USA).
• From Region 4: The Bowling Green
State University student chapter
Highlights from Region 7 Conference presented in (Bowling Green, Ohio, USA) is
planning a student conference on 8
Edmonton’s December Coffee Night April; the Central Ohio chapter
(Columbus, Ohio, USA) is planning a
- by Angela Wiens
seminar on 18 March and a Leadership
Edmonton’s December meeting at Chapters continued the presentation of highlights from the Workshop on 7 October; the
Region 7 conference in Bellevue, WA, held in October. Joanne McLernon discussed two web Southwestern Ohio chapter (Cincinnati,
design sessions to the great interest of all attending. Ohio, USA) is planning a seminar with
JoAnn Hackos on "Managing
Roger C. Parker, the conference’s keynote speaker, pointed out how designing for print and Documentation" on 6 March.
designing for online are not so very different. Joanne presented many examples of both good • From Region 6: “New Frontiers in
and bad web pages that had the Edmonton members of STC Alberta chapter convinced as Communication,” a student/
well. The basic premise is one we are all familiar with: focus on your reader. To create reader- professional STC conference, will be
friendly design, keep it simple, use contrast for emphasis, organize well, and use images to held in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA, on
enhance your message. Give the reader the required information in a friendly and accessible 25 March.
manner, and the world will beat a path to your web site.
• From Regions 7 and 8: A joint
The second session, by David and Jean Farkas, focused on navigation design. Using three ba- conference will be held on 19-21
sic principles allows for easy and functional navigation. October 19-21 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
USA. Conference website: www.pan-
1. Build effective links. Visitors should always know where they are going when they leave
pacific.org.
a page, and should be able to orient themselves easily when they arrive.
2. Coordinate navigation devices. Hierarchies, secondary links, search boxes, and indices From INTECOM: FORUM 2000, an inter-
should all work together to help visitors find what they want. national conference sponsored every five
years by INTECOM in a different country
3. Provide a global view. Use site maps and current locations to help visitors know their po- will be held in June in London, England.
sition in relation to the entire site. INTECOM is an umbrella organization of
To most, it comes as no surprise that concentrating on reader-friendly design is key for both technical communications organizations
print and online media. worldwide. Conference website: www.
commonwealth.org.uk.
Page 4 SuperScript
He Said/She Said
From Here to the Future—and Everything In-Between
- by Alan Yamada
December 14th’s coffee night gathering attracted a small group and generated lively discussion. Heavy topics like the problems with educa-
tion contrasted with light ones like space travel. Surprisingly, the future of technical communicating, ostensibly the evening’s actual topic,
was even touched on, if only tangentially.
The future of technical writing (I have reverted to my specialty, please extrapolate to communicating where applicable) is a very timely
concern, and not only because of the new millennium. Business seems to have figured out that there is value in employing documentation
professionals, and job seekers have discovered another potentially lucrative career.
It was the oft-heated discussion of the English language that generated the most interesting point for the future of technical writing. Tech-
nical writers, it seems, are universally frustrated by the state of modern English usage, which can be blamed on everything from the educa-
tion system to engineers who would rather speak in techno-mumbo-jumbo. This is interesting because technical writers would not be very
busy if everyone in business could use English efficiently to communicate.
The future of technical writing, as I see it, depends on our ability to convince others that English skills are valuable. If employers see how
comprehensible manuals and useful help sys-
tems add value to their product, they will no - by Suzanne Scott
longer view documenting as simply a contrac- I have been to a few coffee nights and the one last December was by far the best one I've
tual requirement. If computer programmers ever attended. The topic was the future of technical writing, but our discussion was not
know that it is not a criticism of their commu- limited to that. To predict what the next millennium might be like for technical communi-
nication skills when a technical writer comes cators, we deliberated past and present technological and cultural trends. In the process,
in, then dialogue benefiting the programmer as we opened a Pandora’s Box of theories, and even had a few laughs.
well as the writer can exist.
The beauty of coffee nights is that in the casual setting, all opinions are welcome. For
Who knows, if the “English is important” gos- those of you who also enjoy sharing ideas with others, I encourage you to come out to one
pel works, techie-types may even consider the of these STC events. Coffee nights are a great opportunity to take a step back from our
documentation job with as much respect as everyday routines and examine our industry from a new perspective, as well as to meet
their own. Or would that be a future too interesting people. For details on future coffee nights, check the events listings for times,
strange to imagine? dates, and topics.
STC Members! Come to TRACS for all your computer needs!
Call and ask about our special rates for STC members.
We offer a full range of computer services, including:
Repairs Sales Service
• Hardware (computers, • Custom-made Tracs • Preventive On-site
printers, monitors & computers. maintenance. or depot
peripherals). • Software. • Application software
repair service
• Operating system • Service contracts. installation and
corruption. • Computer peripherals configuration.
• Network troubleshooting. and supplies. • Data recovery and
• Brand-name busi- virus removal.
ness-class notebooks • Operating system
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Calgary, Alberta
Tel.: (403) 234-8784 · Fax: (403) 234-8795
SuperScript Page 5
Employment Information at the STC Conference
- by Roger E. Masse, Manager, STC Employment Information Committee
Looking for a job? Looking for technical com-
municators? If you are, take advantage of the Employment Information Booth at the 47th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida in May 2000.
If you are looking for a job, send your resume for employers to examine at the booth. If you have job positions and are looking for employees,
advertise your jobs and pick up resumes of job candidates. Whether you come to the conference or not, your resume or job posting can be in-
cluded in the Employment Information Booth and you can receive job postings after the conference.
Resume Books
Resumes from job seekers will be organized into binders for the following US and Canadian regions and for countries outside of North Amer-
ica:
Region 1: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Rhode Island,
Vermont
Region 2: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia
Region 3: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee
Region 4: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio
Region 5: Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Region 6: Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Region 7: Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Region 8: California, Hawaii, Nevada,
Countries outside of North America: Countries outside of North America, regardless of STC region, are placed in the same employment
binder.
To have your resume included in the binders, do the following:
1. Print your resume on one sheet of paper, double sided for more than one page. Resumes printed on more than one sheet are difficult for
employers to see in the binders.
2. On the top right corner of the page, note the regions or country Edmonton coffee group discusses
where you would consider accepting employment. Use the
numbers from the list of regions. If you are interested in work- International Technical Communication
ing outside of North America, write the country name that inter- - by Caroline Smith
ests you.
If you are involved in creating manuals and on-line help for clients in
3. Make six copies of your resume for each region. For example, other countries, should you aim for globalization or localization? Glob-
if you want your resume included in two regions, make twelve alization is the effort to make standard materials that can be easily un-
copies (six for each region). derstood and are culturally acceptable to a variety of audiences. A local-
ized product more successfully addresses the needs of a specific culture,
4. Place six copies in one plastic sheet protector that is punched
for three-hole binders. If you are interested in more than one but because it involves translation, is more expensive and time-
consuming to prepare.
region, place six copies in one plastic sheet protector for each
region. (Visualize employers looking at the front and back of At Chapters Southpoint on January 17, 2000, the Edmonton members
your resume in the plastic sheet protector and slipping a copy met and discussed some issues that companies have dealt with when
from the plastic sheet protector without having to open the localizing their products, such as the choice of appropriate tools, the
binder.) challenge of finding qualified reviewers, and the role that the Internet
5. Mail the resume packets to the address at the end of this article can play in translation. This led to a discussion of controlled language,
also known as simplified English, an area where globalization and local-
on or before April 25. (Or bring your resume packet to the
Employment Information Booth at the conference.) ization overlap. Both advantages and disadvantages come with the use
of a controlled language; for example, gains in understandability can be
Job Postings offset by the loss of power of expression. We also touched on the impli-
cations of providing user training to non-North American audiences.
The Employment Information Booth at STC's 47th Annual Confer-
Other cultures are often less individualistic than is standard here, or ap-
ence offers employers an excellent opportunity to advertise jobs and
proach the student-teacher relationship differently.
find qualified, professional people.
We finished off by looking at some case studies that Nancy Hoft pub-
To post a job opening at the Employment Information Booth, do the
lishes as part of an on-line tutorial program on her website, www.world-
following:
ready.com. As will be known to STC members who belong to the spe-
1. Print your job posting on one sheet of paper. If a representative cial interest group that concerns itself with international technical com-
of your company will be at the conference to conduct inter- munication, Ms. Hoft is a leading figure in this area and her website
(Continued on page 7) contains valuable information on the subject as well as links to many
other interesting sites.
Page 6 SuperScript
STC Employment Information ITC Special Interest Group (SIG) now under new
(Continued from page 6)
management
views, state that information on the job posting. Dear STC Members:
2. Make 100 copies of the job opening to be posted at the employment This letter is to let you know that the International Technical Com-
booth and to be distributed to job seekers. munication SIG is now under new management. As the new SIG
manager, I am asking you to notify us if you or your chapter have
3. Send the copies to the address at the end of this article on or before
international communications issues that could be addressed by the
April 25. (Or bring the copies to the Employment Booth on the first
ITC SIG. We are also planning the following:
day of the conference.)
• Re-design of our SIG web site — please forward the URLs of
Job seekers will pick up your job posting at the Employment Information
web sites or Internet newsgroup that might be of interest to the
Booth or have the postings mailed to them after the conference.
SIG (email address below).
Booth Services
• Hyperlinks to chapter-based international communications
The Employment Information Booth is a self-service operation. Employ- SIG — please let me know if you would like us to establish a
ers can take resumes from the binders. Job seekers can read the job post- hyperlink to your site from our SIG's Society web site.
ings and take copies of the ones that interest them. Job seekers and em-
• Mentoring/resources — if you or your chapter members have
ployers can contact one another through a message board. Volunteers
any specific area of expertise (e.g., translations, industry-
monitor the booth to replenish popular job postings or resumes.
specific international experience) and would be willing to help
Job Postings Available after the Conference other members who have general inquiries, please let me know.
If you want copies of the job postings mailed to you after the conference, • Re-launch our newsletter — we need volunteer acquisitions
please send a stamped ($3.20 in U.S. postage), self-addressed, large (9 editors, copy editors, contributors, etc. Please have anyone in-
1/2 x 12 1/2) envelope to the address below. terested in working on this contact me.
Roger E. Masse, Manager Thanks very much for your help.
STC Employment Information Committee
Carol Luttrell c/o Independence Blue Cross
3750 Benton Street
ITC SIG Manager 1901 Market Street
Santa Clara, CA 95051
Carol.luttrell@ibx.com Philadelphia, PA 19103-1480 USA
1-215-241-9242 (voicemail)
1-215-241-4809 (fax)
SuperScript Page 7
Executive Meeting
STC Alberta’s Year-At-A-Glance
February 28, 6 pm
#1400, 505 - 3 St SW (Dates and locations subject to change)
All members are welcome. February 17 (Thurs) Program (Indexing Tips) ***
Mark Your Calendars!
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!"""!"""!" February 19 (Sat) RoboHelp course at MRC
To register for Courses and
Programs, call the Hospital-
ity Coordinator at 230-6072,
February 28
March 14
(Mon)
(Tues)
Executive meeting **
Coffee night * ! NOTIC
listen to the message, then March 16 (Thurs) Program (Project Management) *** E:
press “2”. March 20 (Mon) Executive meeting ** Progra
m Fees
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!"""!"""!" April 11 (Tues) Coffee night * Advanc
e Regis
tration
Programs April 17 (Mon) Executive meeting **
$5 stud
en
MacDougall Centre
April 20 (Thurs) Program *** $7 mem ts
$10 non b er s
May 9 (Tues) Coffee night * -membe
455 - 6 Street SW rs
Thursday, Feb. 17, 7 pm May 13 (Sat) Advanced RoboHelp course at MRC
Drop-I
nF
Indexing Tips May 15 (Mon) Executive meeting ** $8 stud ees
e
Presented by Fena Maucieri May 18 (Thurs) Program *** $10 me nts
$13 non mbers
Join us for this program to get June 13 (Tues) Coffee night * -membe
rs
tips on how to improve your June 19 (Mon) Executive meeting **
indexing. June 24 (Sat) AGM
Thursday, March 16, 7 pm Locations and deta ils
Scoping a Project * 7 pm at Annie's Books, 912 - 16 Avenue NW in the literary salon. Parking behind Tim Horton's.
Presented by Laura Harvie ** 6 pm at 1400, 505 - 3 Street SW. Parking available on the street and is free after 6 pm
The Design & Analysis phase *** 7 pm at MacDougall Center, 455 - 6 Street SW.
is the cornerstone of any pro-
ject. During this phase, you’ll **** 9 am to 4 pm at Mount Royal College main campus, lab E141, with coffee and lunch provided.
define the needs of the project Advance registration is required. Visitor parking is available through the security desk at the west gate
and make the guiding decisions of the campus.
about the project.
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Advance Registration
Coffee Nights How to RSVP t o the STC message l ine
Annie’s Books
912 - 16 Ave. NW. Free. 1. Read the newsletter.
Tuesday, March 14th, 7pm 2. Think to yourself “I’d like to know more about topic XYZ.”
3. Check your calendar for conflicts.
Humour and 4. Grab a coffee and think about how nice it’ll be to get away from work and kids.
Technical Communications 5. Mentally plan a solo vacation to Aruba.
No registration necessary. 6. After reality sets in, decide that an evening for yourself is in order.
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!"""!"""!" 7. Go to the phone. Dial 230-6072.
8. After the recorded message, press 2.
Workshop 9. Leave a message for our congenial hospitality coordinator stating:
Saturday, Feb 19, 9-4pm • your name,
Introduction to RoboHelp • your phone number, and
Presented by Walter • the Program you’d like to attend.
Clendenning 10. Mark the day and time in your daytimer.
Mount Royal College, lab 11. Return to your coffee and dream about Aruba some more.
E141. See page 1 for details.
SuperScript is the official newsletter of the Alberta Chapter of STC, the Society for Advertising: SuperScript accepts advertising of interest to our readership, and which
Technical Communication, and is published 10 times annually, including double is- furthers professional development. We reserve the right to limit or refuse advertising.
sues in July-August, and December-January. Rates: Full page $160.00 Quarter page $50.00
Half page $100.00 Business card $20.00.
Submissions: The Editors invite readers to submit articles, news, reviews, and
Editors: To place an advertisement: Send your cheque, payable in advance to Society of Techni-
other items of interest. Articles may be edited for size.
cal Communication, Alberta Chapter, Attn: Treasurer, at:
Reprints: Original articles appearing in SuperScript may be freely reprinted, pro-
Don Harman donaldh@merak.com STC Alberta Chapter
vided that the author and source are acknowledged, and a copy of the reprint is
Box 2947, Station M
Alyssa Rennie alyssar@merak.com promptly sent to the Editors. Reprints may not be edited for content, or used for
Calgary AB T2P 3C3
commercial or morally repugnant purposes.
Mai-Ann Sprung maianns@merak.com Website: http://stc.org/region7/alb
Distribution: SuperScript is distributed to members in Alberta, and Northwest Terri- E-mail: albwww@stc.org
Michael Trumper michaelt@merak.com tories, to all Canadian chapters of the STC, and to interested companies and indi- Phone. (403) 230-6072
viduals upon request. Circulation is 200.
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