=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= EDline Vol. 3, no. 35 (30 August 1998) Editorial mailing list Published by the Electric Editors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Contents: Q & A---previous queries [2eu] Idle curiosity [2ew] Dictionaries [2ex] Patent References [2ey] Newspaper titles Q & A---new queries [2ez] Differences in US and British terminology [2fa] Jimmy Savile [2fb] Reference sites for audio books FYI [3cz] Langscape Survey---interim report Business matters---previous postings [4ba] Hourly versus fixed rates of pay [4bf] Insurance [5] Bookmarks [6] Just for fun [8] Administration =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ---[2] Q & A --------------------------------------------------- ** [2eu] Idle curiosity Date: Tues, 25 Aug 1998 From: Shena Deuchars, sdeuchar@uk.oracle.com Mandy Macdonald asked: > What's a methodology? Oracle has been very involved over many years in devising METHODS for developing computer systems. One of the main 'gurus' in this field emphatically insisted on the correct use of the terms METHOD and METHODOLOGY. However, I fear that he fought a losing battle (as are we) - METHODOLOGY sounds much more important than METHOD - after all every recipe has a method. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ew] Dictionaries Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 From: David Price, dprice@nccnet.co.uk Thanks to everyone who replied to my query about the word "scopophilia". The suggestion in the Oxford definition that "scopophilia" can be regarded as simply a synonym for "voyeurism" is, I think, wrong. Jane Lyle referred to its use in film studies in connection with the "male gaze" and the "objectification of women". I had the impression that there was some rather confusing notion attached to it of taking vicarious pleasure in someone else's voyeurism e.g. an actor's in a film. I don't think I'm much nearer choosing my dictionary, although I should probably reject the Oxford. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ex] Patent References Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 From: Norman Grossblatt, NGrossbl@nas.edu Lane Lester asked how references to US patents should be formatted. I don't know about "should", but _The Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents_ (by Diane L. Garner and Diane H. Smith; published in 1984 by Congressional Information Service, Inc., in Bethesda, Maryland, USA) gives this format-- "Implement Wheel" by William Schumacher. U.S. Patent 4,376,554 (15 Mar. 1983). --and says that "a citation to the abstract will also include a citation into the correct volume of the _Official Gazette_ and then gives this format-- "Implement Wheel" by William Schumacher. U.S. Patent 4,376,554 (15 Mar. 1983), _Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office_ 1028:3(15 Mar. 1983) p. 517. The Council of Biology Editors _Scientific Style and Format_ (1994) suggests these formats: For citation-sequence system: Harred JF, Knight AR, McIntyre JS, inventors. Epoxidation process. US patent 3,654,317. 1972 Apr 4. For name-year system: Harred JF, Knight AR, McIntyre JS, inventors. 1972 Apr 4. Epoxidation process. US patent 3,654,317. [Form of citation: (Harred and others 1972).] It gives this example of citation by patent number with either system: US patent 3,654,317. 1972 Apr 4. [Form of citation in name-year format: (US patent 3,654,317 1972).] +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ey] Newspaper titles Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 From: Ian Kingston, ian@ikingston.demon.co.uk Roger Jones asked: > Can someone explain to me why the conventional treatment of > newspaper titles renders the article as if it were not part of > the proper name, with the exception of The Times? The _Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors_ has this to say on the subject of titles of periodicals: when cited, to be italic; as a rule, the definite article should be in roman lower case, except in _The Economist_ and _The Times_ I *think* _The Times_ was felt to merit its exception through being the official 'newspaper of record' (can anyone explain that term?), but _The Independent_ took over that role some years ago - hardly surprising given the present state of _The Times_. I have no idea why _The Economist_ is similarly excepted. Personally, in the absence of a specified form in a publisher's house style I think one should follow the newspaper's masthead - if 'The' is present and has the same weight of type as the rest of the title, then use '_The_'; otherwise, use 'the'. If in doubt, make a decision and stick to it. ---------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 From: Susan Kruss, sueperr@deakin.edu.au I believe the article is generally omitted in citations and reference lists so that all newspapers and journals in a list do not appear under 'The'. This is then carried over into text, where it is common to omit 'The' from titles, though, interestingly, when citing French newspapers and journals in English texts, the article is more commonly left in. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ez] Differences in US and British terminology Date: Tues, 25 Aug 1998 From: Tony Caruso, tcaruso@rwd.com I work as an editor for a high-tech consulting company in the U.S. One of our groups consists of writers in the U.S. and the U.K. I was asked to help this group with its editing work. Is there a good resource -- reference book, web site, etc -- that has info about the difference in U.S. and British terminology? I have my own reference book; however, I need something else that will be a quick resources for these ever- changing teams. I don't want to "preach" to one group about the other. Instead, I want to build our own reference using our own examples -- but first with some good background from another source. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2fa] Jimmy Savile Date: Thurs, 27 Aug 1998 From: Anne Waddingham, Waddingham@compuserve.com This query is along the lines of the Domestos/Dettol one: older UK TV viewers will remember 'Jim'll Fix It' back in the 70s(?) hosted by the inimitable (now Sir) Jimmy Savile. Of course one of the things he was known for was his trademark cigar. Do I remember him waving that cigar about on his show? It seems surprising that he set such a bad example to the nation's kids which is why I wonder if my memory is playing tricks on me. It certainly would be frowned on now. Can anyone confirm a definite sighting of the Savile cigar on the children's programme? My American editor is about to quote Savile's defence of cigars (published recently in the Independent) in the journal Tobacco Control and I'd hate to have misinformed him on this point. PS Did anyone reading this get 'fixed' by Jim? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2fb] Reference sites for audio books Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 From: Richard E. Benskin, Rebeni@msn.com I am a book narrator. I have been narrating all types of books for blind students at some local colleges on a voluntary basis, and now plan to expand my talent to full-time as a business. Are there any reference sites your contributors know of to assist me in getting my demo tapes to the right production people? Also, are there agents who specialize in talent, other than authors? You assistance would be appreciated. ---[3] FYI ----------------------------------------------------- ** [3cz] Langscape Survey---interim report Date: Thurs, 25 Aug 1998 From: Joy Burrough, burrough@bos.nl The July issue of _English Today_ (p. 5) has an interim report on the Langscape Survey, headed "Responses 'flooding in'" . It notes that by the end of March there had been almost 700 responses, and that a website had been set up to speed up the process of participating in the survey and processing the results. Pam Peters and Tom McArthur go on to say: Complementing the educational groups are those composed of professional editors, notably 'Electric Editors 'and the 'Society for (sic) English Native-Speaker (sic) Editors ... To participate in the latest survey, which is about singular and plural agreement ("The government is/are aware of the problem" type of thing), check out the website: < http://www.shlrc.mq.edu.au/langques/ > (Note: that's sh ELL rc *not* sh ONE rc. Also, contrary to what the _English Today_ article says, the URL has a final slash) You too can help the Macquarie University team get an idea of "the richness and variety of English in its global setting". Joy Burrough (also a member of the Society of English-Native- Speaking Editors; please note SENSE's correct name, which _English Today_ also got wrong). ---[4] Business matters ---------------------------------------- ** [4ba] Hourly versus fixed rates of pay Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 From: Katie Lewis, katie@farnfilm.demon.co.uk On the subject of PAYE deductions: I've recently had a similar experience to C.K. Thomas's. I've edited a book for an author and am producing his camera-ready copy for him. He passed my invoice to his employer, Middlesex University. When I insisted they pay without deducting tax or NI (their standard procedure) they asked me to provide a letter from the Inland Revenue confirming my self-employed status. When I asked for this, I was told it wasn't that simple any more - the transaction would have to undergo a "status enquiry" to confirm that it was indeed being done on a self-employed basis, a process that would take up my time in sending all the relevant details and was likely to delay payment by six to eight weeks. In the end the University consented to make a one-off payment in full, but said any future payments would be have to be subject to a status enquiry. The author tells me they have a number of part-time workers at the university who also take on "freelance" jobs, and it is this situation that muddies the waters. Some of my clients do ask for my tax number and seem satisfied with that. (The new one no longer has a D in the middle; I have been told that Schedule D taxpayers have ten-digit numbers, which is presumably different to PAYE payers.) My husband runs a small company which uses freelances, and he has to send in a report annually of anyone to whom he has paid more than 350 pounds during the year. If companies do this, surely they should be protected from Inland Revenue fines? (And we should be aware that we can't get away with not declaring our earnings.) The man I spoke to at Inland Revenue (who was quite sympathetic and just as fed up about the extra work caused by status enquiries) did point out that the reduction in my gross income occasioned by the deductions would reduce the Class 4 contributions I'd have to make, so that would probably cancel itself out, and of course you can knock the tax paid off a future tax bill - but in the meantime you don't have that money in your bank account earning interest or paying your bills so that you don't run up interest on them. On the other hand payment of tax in arrears is in effect a privilege staffers don't have, so perhaps we shouldn't complain too much about not always getting it. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [4bf] Insurance Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 From: Josephine Bacon, Langservice@compuserve.com David Kerr wrote: > In my experience, what clients seem to value most (well, next > to price anyway) is reliability and if you produce good work > and are reliable they're not going to go off with the first > unknown translator who comes along offering a lower rate. > > But to answer the question, I am also a translator and I do > have professional indemnity insurance. I don't really know > whether it's worthwhile but it did pay out once, to my > complete surprise. > ... > However, this is true of most types of insurance. It seems like > a waste of money when you're paying the premiums but if you > ever have a claim you're glad you've got it. Yes, I *do* thnk that clients are so disloyal they will go elsewhere at the drop of a hat, especially if they know your rates. After all, I am not an individual I am a translation company. If it were just me as an individual, I would not care. In any case, in the case of Hebrew to English technical there are not a lot of places they can go! I am delighted and astonished that someone finally paid up! You can tell David Kerr it has given me a whole new outlook on professional indemnity insurance! ---[5] Bookmarks ----------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 From: Iain Brown, i_brown@compuserve.com Internet Public Library: < http://www.ipl.org/ > The (American) Internet Public Library aims to "serve the public by finding, evaluating, selecting, organizing, describing, and creating quality information resources..." [Cross-posted from Humanist Discussion List] Manuscript trackers: < http://www.inkspot.com/other/software.html > ---[6] Just for fun ------------------------------------------- Run that by me again? Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 From: Mandy Macdonald, 100754.3643@compuserve.com I propose a new occasional series called 'Run that by me again?', kicking off with this from the Diary column of the Guardian, 14 August: Provocatively referring to Scotland as "a small country in which most of us are little interested" [note the fashionably split infinitive] ... +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "Beguiling ideas about science", no. 20 We say the cause of perfume disappearing is evaporation. Evaporation gets blamed for a lot of things people forget to put the top on. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "It CAN be done", no. 4 Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value. --- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Double dactyls Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 From: Jane Kerr, bywater@zetnet.co.uk By way of explanation, a double dactyl is a poem in two stanzas of four lines each. Lines 1, 2 and 3 of each stanza consist of six syllables, stressed on the 1st and 4th, as in the phrase "ART-i-choke MAR-ma-lade". Line 4 of each stanza omits the last two syllables, as in the phrase "COT-tle-ston PIE". The 2nd line must consist wholly of a proper name in the correct rhythm. This may be a real person (O-lin S. PET-tin-gill), one in literature (LIT-tle-red-RID-ing-hood), or a scientific name (SOR-ex-cin-E-reus). Titles, if legitimate, may be used (GEN-er-al WASH-ing-ton). The 2nd line of the 2nd stanza must be a single six-syllable word in double dactyl rhythm (HET-er-o-SEX-ual). Rutherford Pocketa-pocketa Ernest Lord Rutherford Blushed to confess, as he Stared at the floor: "Protons are vast, glory Infinitesimal; Sharing one's fame with a Dane is a bore!" Guggenheim Higgledy piggledy Edwin* A. Guggenheim Thermodynamicist, Said, "Don't you see? All you need know is im- plied by dU equals T times dS minus P times dV." *Edwin? Well I don't know. Berzelius Higgledy piggledy Jons J. Berzelius, Tired of "Wasser" and "Water" and "l'eau," Said "I'm replacing this Multilinguistical Crap by the elegant Name, H2O." Struthio camelus Zippety zappity Struthio camelus Taxied along at the Speed of a jet Something was wrong with it Aerodynamically; Sixty-five miles and it's Taxiing yet. Bartholomew Brewster Award Winner George H. Bartholomew Studying temperatures, Found, so I hear, Speaking entirely Physiologically, Nothing replaces a Cold can of beer. [Source: _Droll Science_, an anthology compiled by Robert L. Weber] ---[8] Administration ------------------------------------------ EDline provides the opportunity for a weekly online discussion of matters editorial and editorial business. * POSTING MESSAGES TO THE LIST All messages to be posted to the list should be sent to Iain Brown, at: i_brown@compuserve.com Include as the subject line, "EDline [topic]", where [topic] is the subject under discussion. Topics might include areas such as Grammar, Spelling, American English or Punctuation. Messages should be pertinent to the basic premise of the list; they may be withheld, or redirected if more pertinent to one of the other mailing lists. The spelling and grammar of messages will *not* be corrected, but some editing of length may be undertaken. Quoting from previous messages: quote as much as you need to make the context of your reply clear, but no more. The sections of EDline are as follows: [2] Q & A -- questions and answers [3] FYI -- items of general interest [4] Business matters -- items of a business nature [5] Bookmarks -- useful Web pages [6] Just for fun -- time for letting hair down! 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