'Malware'* - you won't find it in The Macquarie, but it might find you. Viruses, trojans, worms: it's a dangerous world out there. Have you got protection?
These days, according to Anne Greiner, having an email address is a lot like having unprotected sex with strangers-both invite nasty infections that can get participants into a lot of trouble.
Come along and get the lowdown on protecting your vital assets as Anne expands on her popular session at Ed-Ex, 'Save it and secure it'.
Friends Lounge, National Library of Australia, 6 for 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 25 August.
* ' ... malware (geekspeak for internet nasties) ...' Garry Barker, 'macman', The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 Jul. - 1 Aug. 2004, Icon p. 9.
- Annual General Meeting sees rush to volunteer
- President's column
- Word lovers beware!
- From the Editor's desk
- A little of what you fancy
- More AGM reports
- The paomnnehal pweor of the hmuan mnid
- Financial statements
- Catering - a delicious way to get involved
- Subscription due?
- Copyright and deadline
The Annual General Meeting of the Canberra Society of Editors was held on Wednesday, 28 July 2004. Were members carried away by the heady show-biz atmosphere of Teatro Vivaldi or by the free glass of champagne at the beginning of the meeting? Whatever the reason, this AGM saw a veritable stampede of willing workers volunteering to labour on behalf of the membership - or at least, what passes for a stampede in the measured and precise world of editing.
The number of positions vacant was due both to constitutional limits on length of service and to people moving on. Up for grabs were the roles of Secretary, Treasurer, Training Coordinator, Publicity and Hospitality Coordinator, Newsletter Production Manager and Vice President, and all were filled. Several members also volunteered to be 'committee members without portfolio', willing to work on sub-committees or to lend a hand where needed (see the Society's website for a full committee list).
The meeting was well attended by members old and new who enjoyed the warmth, the enthusiasm, the Turkish food, and the movie-themed games and quizzes ably run by Helen Topor, Cathy Nicoll and Jenny Cook. The 'toot-toots' scooped the pool ... well, you had to be there. But if you weren't, don't despair!
The Society has plenty of good stuff lined up for the general meetings (held on the last Wednesday of each month at the National Library) - see the notice above for August's offering. See you there.
Lucy Tylman & Jenny Cook
Below is a copy of the speech the Canberra Society of Editors' President, Claudia Marchesi, gave at this year's AGM.
Good evening and welcome to the 2004 Annual General Meeting of the Canberra Society of Editors.
Just briefly, I would like to remind you of some of the highlights of our year. Obviously Ed-Ex, but I'll come to that in a minute. We have had interesting speakers: Dr Robert Nicholls on the moral dimensions of writing and editing, David Whitbread's deliberations on an editors' conference by a graphic designer, Paul Hetherington and the Donald Friend diaries, Gabby Lhuede and Indigenous publishing. We had discussion sessions on the direction of our Society and on accreditation, and we left the National Library venue for a general dinner and a visit to Pirion Printers. Our end-of-year dinner was at RockSalt, and the speaker was Jack Waterford. And here we are at Teatro Vivaldi for this year's AGM.
One of the most pleasant features of the meetings is of course the snacks and treats. Lucy Tylman has been Catering Coordinator as well as chief cook and bottlewasher. Thank you, Lucy! Lucy is moving on to work on the newsletter so we need another inspired chef (or not) to take on this role on the committee.
Let me clarify at this point a slightly misleading line on the website that says you need to be a full member to be on the committee. This restriction only applies to office holders on the committee (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer). There are about twelve other functions on the committee and anyone is welcome to nominate, whether for a specific role or as an ad hoc member.
Our attempt last year to award a prize for the best edited annual report was frustrated by the low number of entries (two) and the short timeframe we had set. Thanks to Ed Highley and Cathy Nicoll for the time and energy they put into the task. The committee agreed that we would review the idea of using the Society's funds to encourage excellence in editing in a broader context. We also plan to develop a statement of defined outcomes and targeted benefits on which the Society can spend its financial reserves to benefit members directly. If any of you wishes to contribute ideas, please email me.
Towards the end of last year we also ran a members' survey to seek your suggestions and opinions. Like other surveys we carried out, this one was inconclusive. The responses were relatively few and comments tended to cancel each other out. Some people liked the time and structure of general meetings and others complained about them.
Another initiative the committee took was to arrange for our historical records to be sorted and archived. This has been done by Peter Judge, who now would like one copy of any material relevant to these archives to be sent to him as Keeper.
Again thanks go to Cathy Nicoll for her sterling performance as Training Coordinator. She was assisted by Jenny Cook.
During the year we had a number of training courses: Clive Huggan on using Word, and copyediting and proofreading workshops led by Helen Topor.
Ed-Ex was a great success. I don't propose to revisit the details-we all know that it went very well-but suffice it to say that we will do it again. We ended up with around $2000 profit.
The committee thought it would be useful to schedule future seminar days for the years when there is no national conference, so the next one would be in 2006. In the meantime, the information from Ed-Ex04 will form the basis for the training program for the next twelve months. Thank you again Cathy and Jenny! Cathy is now taking a well-earned break from the committee.
We had some difficulties earlier in the year with the timing of our newsletters, but the system is now working well. Ara Nalbandian, Editor, and Greg Baker, Production Manager, have done a sterling job, with support from Lucy Tylman and some other committee members. Peter Judge has continued to handle the mailing, including marathon efforts at refolding and sticking down when the printers boo-booed. Greg has now resigned from his position, so we bid him farewell from the committee and wish him good luck. His position is one we are looking to fill this evening, so get ready to nominate if you haven't already done so.
As a final comment on the newsletter, let me urge you to contribute articles and information to it. It is our newsletter, and I'm sure I speak for our editor in urging you to support it.
Throughout the year the Council for Australian Societies of Editors (CASE) has continued to consult and develop ideas for national initiatives. Our own CASE representative, Ed Highley, organised the website for CASE. The Accreditation subcommittee ran consultations in each state on its draft proposal and is collating the responses to prepare a revised proposal, which we will be asked to comment on in due course. There is now a policy for editing theses, which you can find on our website.
We have been asked to comment on a proposal for CASE to be allocated a proportion of profits from activities such as conferences so it can have its own funding. Your committee currently does not see the necessity for this kind of structure, although we continue to support CASE through the current proportional reimbursement system. We will review this if a national body is formally set up which may need seeding money from each state society.
The Publicity/Promotions subcommittee is proposing to develop a bookmark, although how this would be distributed is not clear.
Through CASE we have also had advance notice that the Victorian Society of Editors is planning the next national conference in October 2005 to coincide with Moomba. I understand we will be asking for the timing to be changed as many of our members will be chained to their computers and up to their menus in annual reports. We'll keep you posted.
We have about 188 members, many more than at this time last year-a very reassuring thing in that the Society obviously has quite a high profile. One of the disappointing aspects is that we are still getting only 20-30 people to the general meetings.
To encourage attendance we have instituted a lucky door prize-generally a book on editing or a related subject. Last month we were fortunate enough to be able to distribute a copy of goodreading magazine to everyone who attended, compliments of the publishers.
Our website goes from strength to strength thanks entirely to the continued efforts of Peter Judge. What more can I say? All the news that is the news is up on the Web as soon as we get it to him.
Over the next twelve months the committee is going to work on a strategy paper to outline our goals and specify activities. We will consider support for members such as awards, mentoring schemes and specific activities for new members, especially those new to editing.
We will have developments in accreditation, and the Victorian conference to look forward to, and possibly Ed-Ex in 2006. None of the activities we plan can happen without your agreement and support, so keep coming to the monthly meetings and keep in touch with the committee, giving us feedback, ideas, and support.
I thank the committee for their hard work and support throughout this year. I look forward to the next 12 months. Thank you.
Claudia Marchesi
Here are some gems from the mouth of George W. Bush - tautologies at best, nonsense at worst. Ed.
'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.''If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is "to be prepared''.'
'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
'The future will be better tomorrow.'
'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe.'
'Public speaking is very easy.'
'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.'
'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
'For NASA, space is still a high priority.'
'Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.'
'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
'It's time for the human race to enter the solar system.'
It was exciting to see so many people at the Society's AGM, which was held at Teatro Vivaldi on Wednesday, 28 July. Helen Topor's superior organisational skills made the night a great success. After the serious business of discussing the Society's activities in the past year and selecting the new committee, ably chaired by our President, Claudia Marchesi, the merriment started. The food was delicious and plentiful, and the various quizzes on movie stars and films were good fun. The Christmas decorations left over from Christmas in July celebrations at the restaurant gave the night a festive feel, adding to the enjoyment-and judging from the boisterous participation in the night's activities, there was plenty of that. Thank you, Helen!
That was Helen's last effort as the Publicity and Hospitality Coordinator-and what an exit! Helen has decided to join the editorial team and will be working on the newsletter with me. Those of you who attended the AGM will know that Lucy Tylman has given up her role as Catering Coordinator to join the editorial team as the Newsletter Production Editor. I look forward to working with both Helen and Lucy. It was encouraging to see new members at the AGM volunteering to join the committee. We welcome in particular Elysebeth Fraser-Price as Secretary, Megan Cook as Treasurer and Shirley Dyson as Training Coordinator. For a full list of committee members-old and new-see the box on p. 2.
And please keep those contributions to the newsletter coming in! I would like to thank everyone who has contributed articles and titbits for inclusion in the newsletter. I would especially like to thank Elizabeth Murphy for her series of interesting articles, which she always submits well before the due date! Over the past year, Elizabeth has given us a lot to think about in 'A little of what you fancy', and I'm sure that I can speak on the readership's behalf when I say that we look forward to more fancies from Elizabeth.
In the last newsletter I asked for feedback on the contents of The Canberra Editor. To date I've had only one response -fortunately a favourable one. Please do let me know what you think of the newsletter-it is your newsletter after all.
Ara Nalbandian
... if you'll permit my fancying possessives before gerunds
Or would you prefer it if I wrote '... if you'll permit me fancying x'?
Debate has raged for many years over whether to use the possessive form before gerunds (verbal nouns using the present participle of the verb), and there are good reasons for doing it and equally good reasons for not doing it. A lot depends on what you mean.
Take these two sentences:
In (c), it's the running that is the cause for concern. In (d) I am concerned about you-I wouldn't want you to risk danger by going out into a dark place at night.
Those examples are after the verb - they are in object position in the sentences. What happens in subject position?
No contest! We don't have to think whether we prefer (e) or (f)-clearly, (e) is correct. Why is that? In (e) there is one clear subject of the verb caused-singing; it is modified by the possessive personal pronoun his so that we know whose singing it was. In (f) there is confusion: is he or singing the subject?
How about this construction:
- compared with
In (h) the words his daughter's boy modify the noun before the gerund winning, so the regular form of grandson is used, not the possessive. This is an exception to the convention of using the possessive before a gerund.
Other exceptions are when the noun before the gerund is abstract or collective:
When the preceding noun is plural, there is some debate over whether the possessive should be used or not.
What do you think?
And could you put an apostrophe in this?
(m) I am tired of the neighbour from hell complaining about my cat to pay me back for my complaining about her dog howling all night.
It makes sense without any apostrophe, and I would hesitate to put any in. The feeling is that noun phrases like the neighbour from hell and her dog would be made awkward with apostrophes. (Of course, my was put there to trap you!)
It is always possible to recast a sentence if the use of the possessive would make a sentence seem awkward, even when it seems grammatically correct. This is particularly so when indefinite pronouns (someone, anyone, somebody etc.) precede the gerund:
As the Fowlers (H.W. and F.G.) said: '... when this subject is itself a number of words, the possessive sign cannot, except rarely, be used. Thus we can say The explanation of his failing to please was so-and-so; his, not him; ... but we cannot go so far as to write The explanation of a-man-who-had-so-often-pleased-the-populace's failing this time to please ...1
And the high priest of public service writing, Sir Ernest Gowers, wrote this about the 'fused participle': 'All authorities agree that it is idiomatic English to write the Bill's getting a second reading surprised everyone ...[treating getting as a gerund] ... [and that it may also be correct] to treat getting as a participle, and write the Bill getting a second reading surprised everyone.' Gowers argues that neither Bill by itself, nor getting by itself, is the subject of the sentence, but that the subject is a fusion of the two. He advocates satisfying both the purists who would stickle for the possessive and those who find the possessive odd by recasting the sentence to 'Everyone was surprised that the Bill got a second reading'.2
I personally go for the possessive with the gerund unless it seems awkward.
Elizabeth M. Murphy
- 1 H.W. and F.G. Fowler, The King's English, OUP, Oxford, 1924.
- 2 Sir Ernest Gowers, The Complete Plain Words (rev. Sir Bruce Fraser), HMSO, London, 1973.
- Other references:
- Capital Community College, Hartford, Connecticut, Guide to grammar and writing. <www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar>, viewed 3 July 2004.
- D. Hacker, A Writer's Reference, 5th edn, Bedford St Martin's, <www.dianahacker.com/writersref>, viewed 3 July 2004.
Cathy Nicoll reported that Helen Topor ran very successful proofreading and copyediting courses, and Clive Huggan ran a workshop on using Word.
Most of our training effort went into Ed-Ex, which made about $2000 profit and which we will make a biennial event (in the years where there isn't a national conference). Cathy thanked Jenny Cook, Ann Parkinson, Tracy Harwood and all the presenters for their contribution to the success of Ed-Ex.
The material from Ed-Ex will form the basis of our workshop program over the next year.
Claudia presented the Treasurer's report on behalf of the Treasurer, Louise Oliver. She highlighted some points:
• Income for the year was $27 913, and expenditure was $21 640. The comparable figures for last year were $24 828 and $15 742. Most of our income came from Ed-Ex ($13 730). Most of the expenditure also went on Ed-Ex ($13 262).
• On 30 June, the Society held $9732 in a CPS account and $17 000 in a Colonial First State investment account. This account provides the Society with regular investment income.
• The committee is keen to use the Society's funds to benefit members and would welcome any suggestions from members.
A summary of the income and expenditure for the year is included below.
Cathy Nicoll clarified that the major source for the money in our investment account was the joint Editors-Indexers conference in 2001.
Virginia Wilton asked why the expenditure on training fees was considerably lower than in the previous year. Cathy Nicoll explained that in the previous year we paid for airfares for several presenters, whereas this year we had used local presenters only.
Peter Judge moved that the Treasurer's Report be accepted. Jenny Cook seconded the motion.
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Thanks to Claudia Marchesi for her kind words at the AGM, but as the Catering Coordinator's team of volunteers knows, catering for meetings was only occasionally a solo effort.
I'd like to thank the talented editors who proved they're as handy with a menu as with a manuscript: Jenny Cook, Ann Parkinson, Elizabeth Murphy and Claudia herself. Cooking for meetings and working with these lovely people was a great way for this new member to get involved in the work of the Society and I'd heartily recommend it to other new members interested in being part of the action.
The approachable Cathy Nicoll is the Society's new Catering Coordinator; give Cathy a call if you'd like to know more. (And a special thanks to Cathy for prodding me into the job in the first place!)
Lucy Tylman
Thank you for forwarding your subscription promptly to the Treasurer at the address below.
The Canberra Editor is published by
Canberra Society of Editors,
PO Box 3222, Manuka ACT 2603.
© Canberra Society of Editors 2004. ISSN 1039-3358
Email contributions, using Word for Windows (essential), to: ara.nalbandian@defence.gov.au
If by snail mail, then send them on a 3.5 inch disk, to Canberra Society of Editors, PO Box 3222, Manuka ACT 2603. If mailing, always provide a printout as well.
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