Re: Examination for Japanese tech communicators

[Marc Santacroce <santa -at- TFS -dot- COM>]

Will you please clarify something for me? I have been told that in Japan
there is no concept of user documentation; rather the documentation belongs
to the developer and it is not delivered with the product. Is this true?
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At  8:47 AM 3/7/95 -0600, Noriko Yotsuyanagi wrote:
>I did not follow all the discussions on testing for technical writers, but I
>have found the topic interesting, because I (a Japanese student of TC) am now
>conducting research on the profile of Japanese technical communicators. In
>Japan, one of the professional TC organizations is trying to establish a
>technical communicator certification examination, which contents seem to
>include
>Japanese technical writing skill, visual and other communiation skills,
>knowledge on PL, ISO, etc., documentation planning and management, and so on.
>One of the reasons is that (they hope) this kind of examination can help
>enhance
>the status of technical communicators, whose profession is almost unknown to
>the
>general public in Japan, and help make tech communicators/writers more visible
>specialists in companies (manufacturers).  I hear tech communicators are often
>regarded as second-class citizens by engineers in Japan.  Does this make sense?

==================

=======================
Regards,

Marc



M_a_r_c_ A. _S_a_n_t_a_c_r_o_c_e_________________________
Technical Writer/Trainer
TRW Financial Systems, Inc.
300 Lakeside Dr.
Oakland, CA 94612-3540
santa -at- tfs -dot- com     santacroce -at- aol -dot- com

"An idiot with a computer is a faster, better idiot"
                                       - Rich Julius