[Yr11 Information Technology] Study Design Glossary's punctuation

[Mark KELLY]

Sorry for the X-posts, but this might be relevant to everyone.  I have a
niggle about the the glossary definition of Design Elements, which says in
part:

*In this study the elements related to functionality are structure,
usability and accessibility, including navigation and load time,
appropriateness and relevance.
*
Punctuation can make a big difference to the interpretation of a term.
When it says "usability and accessibility, including navigation and load
time," it makes it sound as if navigation and load time *both* refer to
usability and accessibility, whereas I believe navigation and load time
only relate to *usability*.

I can't see a strong connection between navigation and accessibility
(except maybe if nav buttons were so small that they were hard for some
disabled people to see or click on).
I can't see any connection between load time and accessibility.

The other matter is the lack of an Oxford comma (see below) before the last
item in the list.

Without the comma it is ambiguous whether "appropriateness and relevance"
are meant to be read as a joined pair, or whether they are separate. I'd
advocate using the Oxford comma to make it clearer in such lists in the
study design.

In the next edition, I'd like VCAA to use some less ambiguous punctuation,
such as jolly useful colons and semicolons.  e.g.

*In this study the elements related to functionality are: structure;
usability, including navigation and load time; accessibility;
appropriateness, and relevance.
*
By using semicolons to demarcate list items, commas can be used within list
items to do their proper job.

One more nit picked - but it was an important nit.  My work here is done.

-----

The Oxford Comma's Role in Preventing Ambiguity - actual examples, thanks
to Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma>.

>From a book dedication: To my parents, Ayn Rand and God.  Quite different
to "To my parents, Ayn Rand, and God."

>From a documentary about Merle Haggard: Among those interviewed were his
two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall.


--
Mark Kelly
Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253
kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
VCE IT Lecture Notes: http://vceit.com
Moderator: IT Applications Edulist

--
Grammar for the 21st century...
Infinitive: I sync my phone.
Past tense: I sanc my phone.
Past participle: I have sunc my phone.
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