atw: Re: Structured authoring: just how new is it?

Geoff

In the Swinburne piece, the intention was to highlight the fact that =
Swinburne University was the first university to offer a subject in =
Structured Authoring with DITA. The words "in DITA" were lost somewhere =
along the line, although the article (and even the title) makes very clear =
that the focus is structured authoring with DITA. As far as I am aware =
(and I'm happy to be corrected) Swinburne was the first university to =
offer a subject in Structured Authoring with DITA. The University of =
California Santa Clara ran a short course in Authoring with DITA at the =
start of 2008.=20

While it is not uncommon for universities to cover structured authoring as =
a component of a subject, it is quite rare for it to be the focus of an =
entire subject. It is also significant that universities have start =
teaching DITA techniques, bearing in mind that DITA is not just an XML =
schema, but also an information architecture and methodology.

I agree with Scott Abel that it's not particularly important who was =
first, but that Swinburne is preparing students for real world tech comm =
jobs, and that Australian technical communicators have access to post-gradu=
ate studies in technical communication.

Tony Self
Lecturer - Technical Communication=20
Swinburne University of Technology




On Jul 6, 2008, at 3:53 PM, Geoffrey Marnell <geoffrey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> =20
wrote:

> Hi austechies,
>
> I am sure I am not the only reader of the latest issue of Southern
> Communicator to be struck by the claim in an advertorial that =20
> "Swinburne
> University [is] the first university in the world to offer a subject =20
> in
> Structured Authoring" (see page 20).
>
> It may come as a surprise to some members of our profession to learn =20
> that
> structured authoring has been around for a very long time. As far =20
> back as
> 1992, I was using FrameMaker to author structured documents for a =20
> client
> (using a version of Framemaker called "FrameMaker+SGML"). The =20
> documents were
> SGML documents. SGML is the parent of both HTML and XML, and SGML =20
> documents
> look just like XML documents: text tagged with elements qualified by
> attributes and controlled by a DTD. It was even called structured =20
> authoring
> back then. Indeed, every version of FrameMaker since at least then has
> offered a structured authoring environment (either as a separate =20
> module or
> integrated, as is now the case). And FrameMaker gave the author the =20
> ability
> to generate structured XML well before DITA had been thought up.
>
> So, given the relatively long history of structured authoring, how =20
> does the
> claim that "Swinburne University [is] the first university in the =20
> world to
> offer a subject in Structured Authoring" stack up?  Well, a minute =20
> or two of
> Googling will give you the answer. It doesn't. Other universities have
> offered technical writing courses with SGML publishing and XML =20
> publishing as
> subjects (such as York University in Toronto, and as far back as =20
> 1999-2000).
> And SGML publishing and XML publishing are, quite simply, =20
> applications of
> structured authoring.
>
> I hasten to add that pointing out the falsehood of Swinburne's claim =20
> in no
> way belittles the course or the subject. But the claim does raise =20
> certain
> issues (not least of which is the intrinsic moral value of truth in
> advertising). Whether it emanates from historical ignorance or =20
> marketing
> puffery, the falsehood of the claim, so easily seen, risks sowing =20
> the seeds
> of reluctance in those who might otherwise be inclined to recommend =20
> the
> subject and the course. Obviously, this is the exact opposite of =20
> what the
> University was hoping to achieve by placing the advertorial in the =20
> ASTC's
> journal. And this is a worrying matter. Given the good that the =20
> Swinburne
> technical communications course is doing for our profession (both in =20
> raising
> the profession's profile and in providing industry with a steady =20
> stream of
> knowledgeable writers) it is in our profession's interest to see the =20
> course
> succeed, indeed flourish. But that will be less likely if the claims =20
> it
> makes about itself are so blatantly false, and its reputation =20
> tarnishes as a
> result.
>
> Put another way: Swinburne, you're shooting yourself in the foot.
>
> Cheers
>
> Geoffrey Marnell
> Principal Consultant
> Abelard Consulting Pty Ltd
> T: (+61 3) 9596 3456
> F: (+61 3) 9596 3625
> W: http://www.abelard.com.au <http://www.abelard.com.au/><~!B*+R^&>><~!B*=
+R^&>><~!B*+R^&>><~!B*+R^&>><~!B*+R^&>><~!B*+R^&>><~!B*+R^&>> *************=
*************************************
> To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/aust=
echwriter
>
> To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-=20
> request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field =20
> (without quotes).
>
> To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION =20
> modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter
>
> To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins=
@freelists.org
> **************************************************
**************************************************
To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austec=
hwriter

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with =
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes).

To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION =
modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@f=
reelists.org
**************************************************

-----
Swinburne University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code: 00111D

NOTICE
This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended only for the =
use of the addressee. They may contain information that is privileged or =
protected by copyright. If you are not the intended recipient, any =
dissemination, distribution, printing, copying or use is strictly =
prohibited. The University does not warrant that this e-mail and any =
attachments are secure and there is also a risk that it may be corrupted =
in transmission. It is your responsibility to check any attachments for =
viruses or defects before opening them. If you have received this =
transmission in error, please contact us on +61 3 9214 8000 and delete it =
immediately from your system. We do not accept liability in connection =
with computer virus, data corruption, delay, interruption, unauthorised =
access or unauthorised amendment.

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

**************************************************
To view the austechwriter archives, go to 
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes).

To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go 
to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to 
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

Other related posts: