STC Region IV Conference Announcement & Registration

[Suzanne Williams <sdwill -at- MCS -dot- COM>]

                "New Frontiers in Technical Communication"
            STC Region IV Conference, October 6&7, 1995, Chicago

Where Is It?
"New Frontiers in Technical Communication" will be held at the Allerton
Hotel, 701 North Michigan Avenue at Huron, in the heart of Chicago's Gold
Coast. =20

Accommodations
A Chicago landmark, the Allerton Hotel is on the Magnificent Mile, just
steps from Water Tower Place, the Hancock Center, art museums, fine dining,
the 900 North building, Rush Street, and miles of lakefront.  The Allerton
offers a wide range of room accommodations and dining options.  The
Allerton's telephone number is (312) 440-1500 or 1-(800) 621-8311. When you
call for reservations, mention the Chicago STC conference and you will
receive a suite for the $89 room rate.=20

What is Included?
Your registration fee includes continental breakfast and a sit-down luncheon
on both Friday and Saturday. You are also invited to the Welcome Reception
Thursday evening.  From the keynote speaker, William Horton, through 2 days
jam-packed with 28 presentations, panel discussions, and workshops, you can
choose from 3 concurrent sessions to fit your own professional interests and
needs.  You will also receive "Conference Proceedings," a summary of each
session/paper submitted.  We're also planning a vendor display so you can
peruse the latest products and services available to technical=
 communicators.

What is the Second City?
See Chicago's oldest and greatest improvisational comedy troupe. This is
where it all began for John and Jim Belushi, Elaine May, George Wendt, Tim
Kazurinski, and Bonnie Hunt, to name just a few.  Before the show, feast at
Un Di Amo, and select from their menu of authentic Italian delicacies,
including tiramisu!  Dinner, theater tickets, and transportation to and from
the hotel are included for $45.

                        About our Featured Speakers

William Horton
Our keynote speaker is William Horton, author of Designing and Writing
Online Documentation, Secrets of User-Seductive Documents, Illustrating
Computer Documentation, The Icon Book, co-author of the Writer's Pocket
Almanack, and contributor to Science and Technical Writing and Techniques
for Technical Communicators. Horton has devoted most of his career to
applying ergonomics and human factors to find better ways to communicate
technical and business information. He is a fellow of the Society for
Technical Communication, a registered professional engineer, a graduate of
MIT, and founder of William Horton Consulting.=20

O Brave New Media will be Horton's topic (or how not to become roadkill on
the Information Superhypeway).  The way we communicate is about to change.
What do these changes mean for you? This presentation offers an irreverent
look at the digital this, the electronic that, the Internet, multimedia, and
the Information Superhypeway. It offers advice on how technical
communicators can keep their sanity, their jobs, and their sense of humor
amid these tumultuous changes.

Marilyn Moats Kennedy
Our Saturday luncheon speaker is Marilyn Moats Kennedy, author of six books,
founder of Career Strategies, a 20-year-old career consulting firm based in
Wilmette, IL and publisher of Kennedy's Career Strategist, a 16-page
subscription newsletter about career planning, job hunting and office
politics. Kennedy was the "Job Strategies" editor for Glamour magazine and a
frequent contributor to Across The Board, Boardroom Reports, Modern
Maturity, and Working Woman. =20

Virtual Career Management:  Career Planning for the 90s will be Kennedy's
topic. She defines virtual career management as employing different skills
(or core competencies) at different times to exploit specific opportunities.
Career management in the 90s involves your entrepreneurial and leadership
skills, with an emphasis on satisfaction and value added. Where are you?
What's the next step?=20

                        New Frontiers at a Glance

Multimedia/The Internet

M101  Surfing the Internet: Surfin' safari - Susan D. Archer, Frontier
Technologies Corporation, Mequon, WI

M102  Multimedia: Process, promise, problems - Ralph Metzner, Hartley
Metzner and Huenink Communications Inc., New Berlin, WI

M103  Designing the user interface: From CD-ROM to the Internet - Part 1
"Using the Beta Test to Improve Documentation on CD-ROM," Dr. Susan
Feinberg, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. "Developing Home Pages
on the World Wide Web:  A Case Study," Stephanie Ascencio, PLATINUM
technology inc., Oakbrook Terrace, IL. Moderator:  Carol Carlson.

M104  Designing the user interface: From CD-ROM to the Internet - Part 2
"Designing Hypertexts: What We Can Learn from Linguistics and Discourse
Research," Dr. Mary Ann Eiler, American Medical Association and IIT.
"Interactions of Traditional Media in Multimedia Applications," Matthew
Bailey, Andersen Consulting, Chicago, IL. Moderator:  Carol Carlson.

M105  Publishing a medical database on the Internet - Carolyn Boiarsky,
Ph.D., Effective Communication Associates, Peoria, IL and Purdue Univ.

M106  Technical communicators answer the call to service:  Building a
community services information system - Randy Brooks, Ph.D., Millikin
University, Decatur, IL

Technical Communication

T201  Process mapping: The new way to document automation and business
processes (Workshop) - Mike Tillmans, VASCO Corporation, Lombard, IL

T202  Keeping pace with innovation: Updating your communications strategy -
Chris Moreci, Moore Business Forms and Systems, Northbrook, IL

T203  Applying conflict management skills to interaction with content
specialists - Mary Ryba Knepper, Ryba Associates, Inc., Naperville, IL

T204  Usability, technical communication, and business performance - David
Orr, Orr and Associates, Evanston, IL and Dave Rinehart, Usability
Management, Inc., Atlanta.

T205  Interpersonal communication and overall production: Oh, how they
relate! - Richard G. Shrubb, Ph.D., MBA, Milwaukee School of Engineering

T206  Hard copy: Using journalistic techniques in technical writing - Andr=
=E9s
Tapia, To The Point, Highland Park, IL

Online Documentation

O401  Online documentation and complex texts: A case in point - Roger
Graves, Ph.D., DePaul Univ., Chicago and H. Lewis Ulman, Ohio State Univ.

O402  Effective online help: A consideration of learning styles, usability,
and accessibility - Cecelia Carlson and Ken Schneider, Strategic Technology
Resources, Chicago

O403  Indexing considerations: Converting printed documents to online
documents with hypertext links - Lori Lathrop, Lathrop Media Services, Idaho
Springs, CO

Design/Graphics/Desktop Publishing

D501  Why no one reads the manual: Emotional usability and a new approach to
instruction book design - Scott Woolgar, Thomson Consumer Electronics,
Indianapolis

D502  Producing 40 newsletters a year: Case studies in desktop publishing
(Panel Discussion) - Panel Moderator:  Barbara Simmons, Society of
Actuaries, Schaumburg, IL

D503  Focusing on performance: Making procedures graphic (Workshop) - Beth
Conney Lisberg, Beginnings, Chicago

D504  Effective visual thinking: How to convey information visually
(Workshop) - Susan Wascher-Kumar, design consultant, Skokie, IL

Project Management

P301  Ten+ secrets of successful documentation projects - C.J. Metschke and
Jan Johansen Maher, The Tuscany Group, Inc., Naperville, IL

P302  Managing documentation projects: No news is not  good news - Ellen
Smatlak, Wauconda, IL

P303  Conducting a competitive analysis - Linda Pratt and Rosemary Austin,
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, IL

P304  Improving project management skills: Build an estimating, scheduling
and tracking system - Maureen McGurn Lilleeng, Fox Lake, IL and Terri
Thomas, Chicago STC

P305  In other words: Getting the best translation of your documentation -
Andr=E9s Tapia, To The Point, Highland Park, IL

P306  Instructional system development, quality control, and technical
writing - Bruce McDonald, VASCO Corporation, Lombard, IL

Career Management/Consulting

C601  Casting your line: The ins and outs of outsourcing documentation
projects - Donna Roberts-Luttrell, PlainTech, Chicago, and Elizabeth
Hennessey, Whittman-Hart, Chicago  =20

C602  Finding the right job: The view from the hiring manager - Maureen
McGurn Lilleeng, Fox Lake, IL

C603  Volunteering: What it can do for you (and your skill set) - Elsie
Norberg, Institute for Positive Mental Health, Chicago and Michael Fountain,
Sunrise Communication, Chicago.

STC101  STC Chapter Leaders' Workshop - Carol Carlson, Manager, STC
Leadership Training & Development Committee, Chicago


                                Conference Schedule

Specific session schedules will be available at the conference registration
table.

Thursday, October 5
6:00 p.m.       Welcome Reception (hors d'oeuvres and cash bar)

Friday, October 6
8:00 a.m.       Registration opens - Continental Breakfast
8:45 a.m.       Welcome, Introductions, Logistics
9:00 a.m.       Keynote address by William Horton=20
10:45 a.m.      Session One (3 concurrent sessions)
11:45 p.m.      Lunch
1:00 p.m.       Session Two (4 concurrent sessions)
2:15 p.m.       Session Three (3 concurrent sessions)
3:30 p.m.       Session Four (3 concurrent sessions)
4:30 p.m.       Chapter Leaders' Workshop
6:00 p.m.       Second City outing (dinner/theater)

Saturday, October 7
8:00 a.m.       Continental Breakfast opens
8:30  a.m.      Session Five (3 concurrent sessions)
9:45  a.m.      Session Six (3 concurrent sessions)
11:00 p.m.      Session Seven (3 concurrent sessions)
12:00 p.m.      Luncheon with Marilyn Moats Kennedy=20
1:45 p.m.       Session Eight  (3 concurrent sessions)
3:00 p.m.       Session Nine (3 concurrent sessions)
4:00 p.m.       Conference Conclusion

                                Registration

Please complete the registration form and check the appropriate lines below.

STC Member or Presenter - $149 before 9/1; $159 after 9/1       ____________
=20
Non-STC member - $199 before 9/1; $209 after 9/1                ____________

Full-time student STC members - $99                             ____________

Conference Activities
Yes, I would like to attend the Welcome Reception=20
Thursday evening (no charge).                                   ____________
Yes, I would like to attend the Second City outing=20
Friday evening - $45 (add in column at right).                  ____________
Yes, I would like to attend the STC Chapter Leaders'=20
Workshop (no charge).                                           ____________

Please register no later than October 1         TOTAL           ____________

Name________________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________________________

City__________________________________State________ ZIP_____________________

Day Phone________________________Eve. Phone_________________________________

Employer/School_____________________________________________________________

Payment may be made by check or credit card. All major credit cards=
 accepted.

Credit Card Number__________________________________ Exp. Date _______

Signature_____________________________________________________________

To receive the early registration discount, please complete this form and
send a check payable to Chicago STC (or include your credit card number
above) and mail by September 1, 1995 to:  Joy Mason, Region IV Conference,
8040 N. Overhill, Niles, IL 60714.  You may also fax this form to
708.698.6061 to reserve your space (include credit card numbers). If you
have questions, you may call the Chicago STC office anytime at 312.630.0110,
and leave a message.  Your call will be returned within 24 hours.

Just a few notes
We need your help to schedule the rooms according to the expected
attendance.  Please take a moment and choose the 9 sessions that you think
you would like to attend at the conference by indicating the session numbers
in the space provided below.  You may change your mind before the=
 conference. =20
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Also, please indicate if you prefer vegetarian meals or require any special
accommodations due to physical=
 needs._________________________________________