United Kingdom

UXBrighton

There are a multitude of digital media companies in Brighton and many different networking groups. However there are very few opportunities to talk in detail about design both theory and practice. Let’s see how many people we can get together to form an informal group of user experience / interaction / web designers. The aim would be to meet on a semi regular basis maybe using the 20×20 Pecha Kucha presentation format maybe just bringing in problems / concepts or whatever to discuss in an atmosphere of open collaboration.

The Changing Nature of Commercial Research

In this article, Nigel Spencer compares and contrasts his experience of delivering fee-based business information research from 1987 to 2008. Although the article is written from the perspective of the British Library priced research services, many points made could also apply to the changing role of the business information professional.

A Phenomenographic Study of English Faculty's Conceptions of Information Literacy

The purpose of this research is to identify UK English academics' conceptions of information literacy and compare those conceptions with current information literacy standards and frameworks.

Alternative Business Models for HCI

It is easy to be complacent about the future in this climate and to forget the lessons of the dotcom crash of a few years ago. At that time, usability professionals struggled in a market that was dominated by cost-cutting. The problem then was that usability had a limited business offering that focused on optimisation.

'Read Rage' Over Instruction Books

"Read rage" is sweeping the UK - as consumers become fed up with the often incomprehensible language used in many of the instruction manuals produced by manufacturers.

Salary Survey

This year, for the fi rst time, we've included results by employer as well as information on the types of technique in use today and a breakdown of salary by experience. Members of the Usability Professionals Association are, of course, entitled to the raw data so that they can conduct their own analysis.

Salary Survey Reveals Truth About UK Usability Market

Most people looking for the first time at the results of the UK Chapter's recent salary survey will rush to find out where they come on the overall pay scale. But the survey asked far more than just 'how much do you make' and because it was widely publicised and open to all, the results have some interesting things to say about the state of our industry.

UPA UK Salary Survey shows £38,000 Mean

The first UPA UK salary survey results show a range of £18,500 to £90,000 paid to British usability specialists, with a mean of £37,801 and a median of £35,000.

In a Downturn, Is It Better to Use Contractors, Permanent Staff or an Outsourcing Company?

In a downturn, priorities in a business often change, and these changes can affect technical authors as much as others. At the London Connections event earlier this week, where I was promoting Cherryleaf's technical writing services, I was chatting to Mike Southon about business strategies in a downturn. Mike is Visiting Fellow in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at London South Bank University, amongst other things, so I value his judgement. He said, in a downturn, businesses should focus on its Return on Investment, minimising risk and watching its cashflow. So, does this mean you should favour contract technical authors over permanent staff, or vice versa? Should you outsource technical writing work instead? Actually, each option has its merits.

How Will the New Disability Standards for Education Affect What Universities Do on the Web?

On August 18, 2005 new Disability Standards for Education came into effect in Australia. Questions have been raised about how they may impact on the way universities publish resources on the web. In this article, I provide an overview of the new Standards, their general impact, and conclude that if organisations are already following the advice of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (on how to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 in relation to the web), the introduction of the Standards should make no appreciable difference.

Manchester United: Top of the Web Accessibility League?

Manchester United have received a lot of press coverage for the separate accessible version of their website. They've probably invested a lot of time and effort to make this separate website, which according to Trenton Moss is totally unnecessary.

Separated by a Common Language

Observations on British and American English by an American linguist in the UK.

From an Employer's Wish-List to Your CV

In this column I'll give you my strategy for preparing a CV and point you towards useful resources, but first of all let me assume that you are planning to start your career within the UK job market. CV styles vary across the world.

Investigating Presentational Change in U.K. Annual Reports

This article examines structural and format changes in annual reports of U.K. listed companies from 1965 to 2004 with a particular focus on graph use. The article compares a new sample of 2004 annual reports with preexisting samples by Lee and by Beattie and Jones. Lee's identified trends continue. There has been a sharp increase in page length, voluntary information, and narrative information, particularly among large listed companies. A detailed analysis of voluntary disclosure indicates changes in the incidence and pattern of generic sections. Graph usage is now universal. However, key financial graph use has slightly declined, replaced by graphs depicting other operating issues. Impression management through selectivity, graphical measurement distortion, and manipulation of the length of time series graphed are common. Overall, annual reports continue to exhibit many features of public relations documents rather than financially driven, statutory documents, and the analysis of graph usage suggests a need for policy guidelines to protect users.

Graduate-Level Technical Communication Instruction in the United Kingdon

This paper describes the results of a study of graduate technical communication programs in the United Kingdom begun in the Fall of 1998. The study intended to 1) describe the general structure of graduate instruction in technical communication, and 2) to analyze the field according to 3 key topics in technical education in the UK: What is the international orientation of programs? What are the subject-matter components of technical communication programs? What delivery methods and other classroom practices do the programs embody The formation in these four areas can be useful to a number of readers. Those in the education can benefit by comparing practices in the U. S. A. to those in the UK, especially comparing delivery methods and subject matter. Practitioners of technical communication seeking employment in the UK or European Union markets can benefit by learning the requirements of work in these areas. Members of professional societies such as the Society for Technical Communication can benefit by learning about the state of the profession of technical writing in the UK as it is supported by and reflected in the education of advanced practitioners.

Technical Writing in Seventeenth-Century England: The Flowering of a Tradition

English technical writing clearly emerged during the Renaissance and the first decades of printing, but during the 1641-1700 period technical writing gained credibility and prestige. It was a valued tool for achieving the utilitarian ends of an age in which practical goals were valued more than aesthetic ones. Technical writing can be found in a range of disciplines, such as agriculture, medicine, science, as well as the major English trades and crafts. As a valued form of discourse, it illuminates the world of work in seventeenth-century England and the problems faced by the early experimenters of the Royal Society who sought to use science to solve major human, military, and economic problems while seeking to expand understanding of nature. Studying technical writing of this period allows us to track the continued development of technical writing as a distinct form of discourse.

Commonwealth Fellowship on Education and Technology: A Program Supporting Sustainable Professional Development in the Open Access Era

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission encourages mid-career professionals to update their knowledge in sectors regarded as making an important contribution to the development of Commonwealth countries. The programs are very intensive and challenging, and demand very hard work to complete successfully the varieties of activities within the time limit. This paper describes the program and activities of a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship (CPF) in the United Kingdom in education and technology and its contribution towards sustainable professional development undertaken between 1 November and 31 January 2006.

Reflective Radical

Margaret Richardson on British designer Jonathan Barnbrook’s latest work.

无障碍性网站的益处 – 第一部分

残障人士法案要求所提供的服务不得歧视残障人士。一个网站被认为是一种服务，因而受这一法案约束，所以必须对每个人具备无障碍性。一些团体正在对他们的网站进行无障碍性改进，但是许多团体看起来没有采取行动。残障人士不会进入他们的网站，他们说，那为什么要在乎这些。

British HCI Group

A selection of HCI-related publications, standards, organisations and on-line resources which complement the work of the British HCI Group.

Disability Discrimination Act: An Update for 2005

Many organisations are confused and concerned about the latest requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), which came into effect on 1st October 2004. Failure to make reasonable adjustments may mean that organisations are discriminating against disabled people. Yet what does 'reasonable adjustments' mean and what exactly do organisations need to put in place?

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property is the area of law that enables designers, innovators and other creative people to protect and exploit their work and to prevent misappropriation by others. It is concerned with the legal protection of 'the good idea'. Failure to obtain such protection can have serious economic and operational consequences.

Web Accessibility and UK Law: Telling It Like It Is

Debunks four myths about web accessibility and the law for those involved in the design and development of UK-based websites.

The Typographic Circle

The Typographic Circle was formed about thirty years ago by a group of advertising typographers as the Type Directors Club, to bring together anyone with an interest in type.

Science Communication Group

Basic information about Science Communication Group: what we do and who we are.

The Economist Style Guide

This guide is based on the style book which is given to all journalists at The Economist.

The DRC Blew It

Review of the DRC's report into web accessibility.

Accessibility of UK Government Web Sites Investigated

The UK’s first e-Minister, Patricia Hewitt, gave a commitment in February 2001 that all new government websites should be accessible. Two years later, UK government sites are a long way from being accessible.

DRC Briefing Report

A write-up of the first briefing from the DRC about a forthcoming formal investigation into the accessibility of 1,000 web sites in the UK.

Most Recent Job Vacancies

Job vacancies that the STC UK Chapter has been notified are currently available.

The Benefits of an Accessible Website - Part 2: the Business Case

The Disability Discrimination Act states that service providers must not discriminate against disabled people. A website is regarded as a service and therefore falls under this law. Some organisations are changing their websites, but many are seemingly not making the adjustments. Disabled people don't access their website, they say, so why should they care? There are, however, two very good reasons as to why businesses should start taking these issues seriously: an accessible website will make you more money; an accessible website will save you money.

Risk Communication: A Guide to Regulatory Practice

Risk communication is central to making decisions. It enables people to participate in deciding how risks should be managed.

The Benefits of an Accessible Website - Part 1: Increase in Reach

Web Accessibility and the Law in the UK: Is Your Website Legal?

Under the Disability Discrimination Act websites have to be accessible to disabled people. Read about your obligations.

Going Solo

These workshop notes list many of the things that you will need to consider if you intend to become a freelance technical communicator in the UK. The main topics are: your motivation; getting help with your business; legal and administrative issues; business infrastructure; working practices; advertising and publicity; office environment. The workshop was presented at the ISTC Conference, Bosworth, 2002.

UK 2003 Usability Salary Survey

It’s human nature to believe that ‘others may be overpaid, but I never am’. Sure enough, about half of the survey respondents said that they were underpaid and about half said that their pay was ‘fair’. Only one person was said he was ‘overpaid’.

Usability Views

A collection of over 6,000 articles about usability, accessibility and user interface design in general.

Technical Illustration Jobs

A directory of positions for technical illustrators in Great Britain.

Access All Sights

If your company has a public website, it needs to be accessible - and that's the law.

Web Accessibility and the DDA

There are many legal issues currently raised by the growth in e-commerce and e-learning, but one of the least discussed is that of Web accessibility. As a result of the increased use of proprietary technologies and a failure to follow guidelines when designing Web sites a large percentage of the Internet remains inaccessible to many parts of the disabled community. As a result, the effect has been to exclude a significant section of the population from fully benefiting and participating in the increased use and reliance on e-commerce and e-learning. The purpose of this paper is to explore, in light of events and experiences elsewhere in the world, whether and to what extent the disability rights legislation in the UK might apply in such a scenario. It also considers the effect of the recent Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 on the previously excluded area of education.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act was given Royal Assent on 11 May, and will begin to come into effect from 1 September 2002. The Act removes the previous exemption of education from the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), ensuring that discrimination against disabled students will be unlawful. Institutions will incur additional responsibilities in 2003, with the final sections of legislation coming into effect in 2005. The legislation will apply to the UK, with the exception, at the moment, of Northern Ireland. As the Act is an amendment to the existing Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), it only protects people defined as disabled according to that legislation. This definition is based on an individual's ability to carry out 'normal day-to-day' activities, and so may exclude some students who are usually considered disabled by the support systems within their institutions. Under the new law all publicly-funded further and higher education institutions, schools with post-16 provision, and local authorities when they provide further, adult or continuing education or training will have responsibilities.

Towards Accessible Virtual Learning Environments

With the increasing use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in further and higher education, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) which comes into force in September 2002 has particular relevance to developers and providers of VLEs. Developers and vendors can also help to ensure that VLEs are inclusive learning media by understanding the barriers that individuals face (whether or not they use assistive technology) and creating hardware and software designed to be accessible to all users. They should also understand the importance of designing accessible VLE content in order to provide guidance for users.

The Information Design Association

The Information Design Association (IDA) was founded in the UK in 1991, to bring together practitioners, users and anyone else with an interest in information design.

Analysis of Tools Used in the UK by Technical Communicators

During March and April 2003, Cherryleaf carried out an online survey into the current trends in technical communication. One of the questions we asked was: Which software tools do you personally use to do your job? The respondents were able to select more than one tool from the list provided. We filtered our results to find the most popular software tools used by technical communicators in the UK.

E-Education in the UK

The paper outlines the results of a survey, by the EBONI project, of lecturers’ use of and attitudes to electronic teaching and learning material, providing a snapshot of the current situation in UK higher education. Differences in the extent and type of e-content usage between academic disciplines, and lecturers’ intentions for the future, are discussed. Based on an analysis of their hopes and concerns, recommendations are made for increasing the development, usage and effectiveness of electronic content.

Cherryleaf News and Information

Contains news and information on software and documentation issues, reports on survey into the current trends in technical communication, the future of Help / trends in user assistance, which Help authoring tool to buy, an introduction to single-sourcing, career advice, etc.

When English Isn't English

Describes experiences creating documents for a company based in the United Kingdom. Some of the adjustments she had to make included spelling, paper sizes, date formatting, and delivery.

Association of British Science Writers: Members' E-Mail Directory

This page lists freelance and staff writers who have their own web pages. there is a separate page for members you can reach by email. Members: fill in this form to get into the directory.

Association of British Science Writers: Members' Websites Directory

This page lists freelance and staff writers who have their own web pages. there is a separate page for members you can reach by email. Members: fill in this form to get into the directory.

Society of Freelance Editors and Proofreaders

The SFEP is a non-profit-distributing organization with the twin aims of: promoting high editorial standards; achieving recognition of the professional status of its members. There are currently around 1400 members (mostly in the UK), providing a wide range of freelance editorial services to the publishing community and beyond. Corporate membership is also available to publishing companies.

British HCI Group

The British HCI Group is the longest-established and largest national group in Europe devoted to HCI. The British HCI Group was set up in 1984 as a Specialist Group of the British Computer Society, to provide an umbrella organisation for all those working on the requirements analysis, design, implementation and evaluation of technology for human use.

Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators

A UK organization (member of Intecom) that allows members to exchange views and information with other technical communicators. Offers book reviews on various subjects (e.g. editing, writing, indexing, web design, user interface design, and programming and mark-up languages). It also offers information on training and education for technical communicators.