一、參加會議經過
2011 年夏威夷社會科學國際研討會是以社會科學為研究主題的學術研討 會，可以見到各式各樣與社會、人相關的研究議題。參與此次研討會的學 者大約有 150 多人。
本人的發表被安排在 6/3 下午 1:00 - 2:30，在發表期間有多位與會學者對本 人的發表主題及內容感到興趣，並加以詢問和討論，也交換了些彼此的研 究心得。圖一、圖二為參加此次研討會之留影。
二、參加會議心得
此次研討會除了發表自己的研究成果之外，也藉此機會觀摩其他國家 的學者專家所發表的研究主題與方法，而從觀摩他人的發表中也發現有趣 的議題。對於個人日後的研究方向多所啟發，參與此次研討會個人收穫頗 豐。
同時，感謝國科會及本校對於本人參加此次研討會在經費上的補助，
讓本人有此次的學習之旅。
三、建議事項 無。
四、攜回資料
研討會論文集光碟一片。
五、論文內容
The Study of the Hierarchical Competencies Required for the Digital Publishing Professionals
Shin Liao, Professor, Department of Graphic Arts Communication, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
Chui-Chu Yang, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Study, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
Abstract
The purposes of this research is to explore what competency required for Digital Publishing professionals and to rank identified competencies into hierarchy. Through literature review, the study identified 4 types of competencies that guided the
development of the questionnaire. Companies listed on the “2007 Publication Annual”
were selected as the survey samples. Total 46 questionnaires were delivered and 34 out of them (74%) were returned and valid. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS statistic software. The results indicated that required competency for Digital Publishing professionals could be categorized into 4 constructs, 7 dimensions and 32 indicators. “Able to do computer programming” was rated as the most important among the 4 constructs and “the ability of processing data security” was ranked as the most important among the 32 indicators
Introduction
A survey by the U.S. publishing and printing adviser Andrew Tribute (2006) revealed that global sales of e-books have reached 400,000 copies per month, soaring at a rate of 5 to 7 percent a month. It is anticipated the output of digital data will catch up with that of printed data in 2010, and the market share of digital data will reach 65% in 2020. A report by Frank Romano (2006) predicted that digital printing would make up approximately 30% of the global printing volume from 2005 to 2015.
By 2015, China will become the most important printing market in the world, and its market value will rise to EUR2.7 billion, and also by that time, 48% of the books will be printed on demand digitally. Furthermore, the ratio of income from product authorization, sales of peripheral products, revenue from virtual products, etc. will rise, leading to immense changes to the traditional way of operation.
In the “Challenge 2008: National Development Plan” (Ministry of Economic Affairs, 2008) report, it was stated there was no cultivation of core talents for digital content in Taiwan in 2002, and there was a manpower shortage for the industry.
Most of the talents were raided from competitors in the industry, and most were engaged in the development of local market or international subcontracting projects.
To date, training of talents has become pressing issue of the industry; more effort should be put on identifying and pooling together creative talents, advisory service of commoditization of creativity, as well as cultivation of talents of originality.
In view of the aforesaid background, it follows that digital publishing work has to be done by teams of professionally trained talents with professional knowledge (Kenney, 2000). However, people currently engaging in the digital publishing work have been trained by the traditional communication faculty of various universities and colleges. Thus, the relevance of their abilities to the needs of the digital publishing industry is an issue yet to be discussed.
Schmidt (2008) expressed that the industry’s requirement of the workplace manpower and the abilities they should possess may be assessed by probing into the new technology and new workflow. Therefore, the study started off by an industry survey. An exploration of the current digital publishing industry’s needs of
professional abilities may shed light on the direction to which traditional publishing workers may go for transformation, and provide a reference for the cultivation of publishing talents and the design of training programs. The purposes of the study are as follows:
(1) Discuss the work content of digital publishing industry.
(2) Discuss the digital publishing industry’s requirements on professional abilities.
(3) Develop professional ability indicators that meet the digital publishing
Literature Review
Digital Publishing
The prominent difference between digital publishing and traditional publishing is not about the physical nature of the content, but the way in which information is transmitted to the users. The greatest difference lies in the different possibilities that digital publications may offer in terms of the demand-oriented output format, the provision of custom-made or personalized service based on consumers’ preference (Yang, 2007), and the facilitation of readers’ interaction with the images and text content of the book. With the features of being large in volume and easy to circulate, digital publications are more easily accessible than traditional publications, and such regrets as books being out of print or out of stock will not occur.
All forms of digital publications outperform the same-size paper-back books in terms of both data capacity and transmission speed. The digitizing process makes the content small in volume; for example, an 80G hard disk may save nearly 100,000 copies of e-books. It is also easier to carry and transmit than traditional books.
And on top of the text, it also allows interactive multimedia and hyperlink for linking up with relevant information, so as to enrich the content and improve the logical flow.
E-books, being readable online or downloadable, represent an information media made for the modern life (Heilmann & Linna, 2001). Table 1 shows an overview of the characteristics of digital publishing and traditional publishing.
Table 1 Differences of traditional publishing and digital publishing
Item Traditional publishing Digital publishing Carrier/
Device
Presented on paper after printing
May be transferred and published in different formats, and read via a reader.
Presentation 2D layout, emphasis is on the refinement of layout.
With graphics, text, audio and visual effect.
Portability Paper is large in volume, and not much can be carried.
Electronic files are small in volume, easy to carry, but have to be read through a reader.
Production time
Longer production time, and low immediacy
May be printed and published provided the electronic file, higher immediacy
Costs Need to consider the costs of paper and printing.
No output cost if the book is to be read through a reader.
Deadline restriction
Under pressure of publication deadline.
May update information at any time through the network.
Interaction
1. Poor interaction between author and readers.
2. No interaction between the publication and readers.
1. Interaction between author and readers is enabled through the network.
2. Digital publications may interact with readers by taking a multimedia format.
Layout Restricted by the paper size. Restricted by the size of the screen.
As technology advances, the digital publishing workflow has undergone great changes. In order to make digital publications more interactive and diversified, the script and image elements of the e-books should be considered during the planning stage, and there are additional procedures for the production of audio/visual
information and system programming, etc. As a contrast to traditional publishing, it saves the proofing and editing procedures before printing. Overall speaking, digital publishing work requires the combination of much more diversified professional abilities than traditional publishing. Table 2 shows the similarities and differences of traditional publishing and digital publishing workflow.
Table 2 A comparison of the current and past workflow
Task Traditional publishing Digital publishing
Planning
1. Select options
2. Project content planning 3. Establish specifications 4. Invite articles
1. Select options
2. Decide product strategy 3. Set down outline flow 4. Script design
5. Interface design 6. Graphic design
Data collection
1. Manuscript or text file from author
2. Collect graphic information
1. Negotiate for copyrights 2. Writing
3. Computer graphics 4. Animation design and
production
5. Collect and produce video, audio information, etc.
Data integration
1. Finish writing or use page-making software to integrate graphics and text.
1. Integrate information with editing software or programming languages.
Testing
1. Produce blueprint 2. Proofing and editing
1. Program and system test 2. Functions test
3. User test Production
1. Printing, binding, and book published.
1. Package design and printing 2. Production of master copy and
CD/DVD replication Source: Similarities and Differences of Traditional Publishing and Digital Publishing
Workflow, Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (2004a), Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei.
The working contents of Digital Publishing
publishing talents?” co-organized by the Book Publishing Association of Taiwan and the online UDN digital reading network, speakers believed that digital publishing talents should not only possess professional skills, have passion and be well-versed in the new network media and new technology, but also have to possess the ability to create reading (on different forms of carriers), imagination and the ability to communicate across different areas of specialties.
In the forum, Du (2008a) from Yuan-Liou Publishing Co., Ltd. pointed out from her observation that digital publishing talents had to possess such abilities as
intellectual property rights negotiation, products planning and production, and information security management skills for product circulation, etc. In the talk on
“Demand on Digital Publishing Talents＂, Du (2008b) listed six basic abilities of digital publishing talents based on the development of Yuan-Liou Publishing Co., Ltd., which were: digital application ability, text/image/video/audio appreciation ability, logical organization ability, problem solving ability, self-learning ability, and communication ability. Among these, the “digital application ability＂ is of primary importance in the required abilities of digital publishing workers.
The Technical Consultation Group from Printing Technology Research Institute (2005) stated that the printing industry needed to train technicians in printing,
information, network technology, etc., in order to ensure sustainable development, as well as to accumulate domain knowledge, know-hows, information integration and network technology in the printing industry.
A study by Chen (2004) revealed that professional techniques and skills required for network editing were familiarity with e-commerce technology, cash flow and logistics ability and web-page editing ability. Web-page editing ability includes the use of web-page editing software, possession of the concept of web-page visual arrangement, and knowledge about the habits of network users, etc.
When conducting a survey on the current status of digital publishing industry and the clustering needs, the Magazine Business Association of Taipei (2006) found that planners were the most highly demanded digital publishing talents by the industry, seconded by information research and development, and art editing and design talents.
Hong (2006) found in her study on professional abilities of art editing for Taiwan’s book publishing industry that “editing and design execution” was the most important ability, followed by the “arrangement and design creativity” and “application of computer graphics and page making software”.
Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 2004) listed out five stages of the digital publishing workflow in the report of “Survey on Digital Content Institute’s Curriculum and Training Needs”, which were pre-production stage, production stage,
By summarizing the above information, the five stages of digital publishing workflow and the respective work content, as well as the manpower needed are sorted out in Figure 1:
Figure 1 Digital publishing workflow and corresponding talents
Source: Adapted from the Survey Report on Curriculum and Training Needs, Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (2004), Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei
After reviewing different countries’ requirements on publishing workers and the work content of digital publishing workers, the abilities of digital publishing workers are categorized into 7 dimensions in this study, namely the text editing ability, art and design ability, digital design ability, audio/video production ability, digital circulation ability, digital rights management ability, and programming ability.
Professional competency
The scholar Chia (1979) made a definition of profession which should covers abundant knowledge, excellent capability, service and devotion. Lee (1999) also explained that the competency is the performance of personal knowledge, operation skill and good attitude to execute the job effectively. Wu (2006) quoting from Darlling-Hammond, stated that the profession is composed of expertise, technique, Pre-production
1. Topic planning
2. Plot and script design
3. Creating original materials (text, video/audio)
Production 1. Integrated
editing of text, video/audio materials (e-Editor) 2. Carrier design 3. Digital printing 4. Digital rights management (DRM)
Publication and circulation 1. E-books 2. E-magazines 3. E-newspaper 4. Others 3. Constructing
website 4. Others
1. Marketing 2. Product release
1. Producer 2. Creator
1. Art Director 2. Executive Producer 3. Animator 4. Photographer 5. Audio Specialist 6. Multimedia
Engineer
1. Publisher 2. Network
Service Provider 3. Application
Software Provider (ASP) 4. Government
Agency 5. Individual
1. R&D Engineer 2. Web Designer 3. Web Engineer 4. Testing Specialist 5. Multimedia
Engineer
1. Marketing Planner
2. Salespersons 3. Customer Service Specialist 4. Legal Specialist
mission and responsibility. Professionalism is the process of enhancing those elements to be qualified with service, independence, and uniqueness. Chen(2001) defined that the competency is the behavior or real performance of implementing a job through the personal knowledge, skill, and goodwill. Hong(1997) divided the competency into the dominant and recessive ability. Generally speaking, profession, management, and personal relationship are relevant to dominant abilities. Intellectual wisdom and personal value belong to recessive abilities.
According to above statements, this research generalized that the competency for the professional is the condition and quality of utilizing knowledge, technique, and goodwill for someone who is devoted to a special-trained job. As a result, professionals with the competency will be highly respected in society through their join into the group, service and independence.
Research Design
Framework of the study
To achieve the objectives of the study, literature review, and Fuzzy Analysis Hierarchical Process (FAHP) were adopted as the basis for the design of the study framework, as shown in Figure 2. First of all, the current status of digital publishing industry was explored through literature review, and with the understanding of the industry’s current status, the work content and ability dimensions of digital publishing industry was identified. Then, the industry’s needs of digital publishing workers’
abilities and the relative weights of various indicators were found by the FAHP.
Finally, the relative importance of digital publishing workers’ abilities was established.
Dimensions of professional abilities
Current status of digital publishing industry Professional ability indicators
Items of professional abilities
Publishing planning ability Text/image creation ability Interface design ability Multimedia production ability
Programming ability Digital circulation ability DRM ability
Editing and planning
Content production
System development
Integrated circulation
Research method
Questionnaire survey is the major research method of the study. Based on literature review and expert review of a questionnaire, the indicator dimensions and items were obtained and adjusted for developing the structural hierarchical questionnaire on the “Professional abilities of digital publishing workers”, and the hierarchy of their professional abilities was shown in Figure 3.
The questionnaire used a 9-point scale for comparison (9:1 to 1:9), in which paired comparisons of two same-level indicators were made in sequence. A pairwise comparison matrix was then established with the acquired data. The concept of fuzzy number, etc. was also introduced for processing the data, and finally the relative weights of various factors were obtained, thus establishing the hierarchical analysis of the professional abilities of digital publishing workers.
Figure 3 Overall hierarchical structure of professional abilities of digital publishing Workers
Subjects
The chief executives of the companies “actually engaged in the production of
Professional abilities of digital publishing workers
Understand digital photography
Understand image scanning
Understand audio/video editing
Understand audio/video recording
Understand print media production
Content production Integrated circulation
Ability items
Text/image creation ability
Web design software application
Design integration
Understand the design principles of “user interface”
Understand the interfaces of different readers
Page layout (e.g., tool bar, buttons) design
Digital circulation ability
Multimedia production ability
Understand intellectual property right regulations
Understand the encryption techniques for digital files
Understand digital rights management Digital rights
management ability Publishing planning ability
Understand R&D platform software
Understand multimedia programming languages
Database system management
Metadata design Programming ability
Ability indicators
Interface design ability
Editing and planningSystem development
Understand the specifications of various electronic publications
Publication carrier planning
Font planning
Layout planning
Product outsourcing
Product innovation ability
Storyboard drawing
Computer graphics software application
Flash making software application
Understand format transformation of digital files
Understand pre-printing operation specifications
Colors management
Understand the circulation channels
Understand the e-commerce system for digital publishing
File management for digital publications Ability dimensions
companies listed under the “digital publishing” category in the “2007 Publication Annual” were chosen. A total of 46 questionnaires were sent, and 34 were returned, representing a response rate of 74%. Deducting 4 invalid responses, 30 valid responses were received. In order to ensure a higher response rate and make it more convenient for the subjects, the questionnaires were sent out both as printed copy by post and via the Internet at the same time. The questionnaire survey was carried out from March 22, 2009 to April 10, 2009.
Results
Description data
According to the returned questionnaires, most of the respondents are male (60%), and aged between 30 and 40 (57%); most are university graduates or above (90%), and most of them have about 5 years’ experience in the publishing industry.
As for the company category, since it is a question that allows more than one choice, the percentage may be overlapped. The majority are in the category of e-book production (25%), e-journal production (23%), and digital publishing value-added services (23%). The basic information is summarized in Table 3:
Table 3 Analysis of basic information of questionnaire respondents
Category N Percentage
Sex Male 18 60%
Traditional publishing experience
Less than 3 years 5 17%
3 to 5 years 11 37%
5 to 10 years 13 43%
Over 10 years 1 3%
Digital publishing experience
Less than 3 years 5 17%
3 to 5 years 6 20%
5 to 10 years 8 27%
Over 10 years 11 37%
Company category
E-book production 19 25%
E-journal production 18 23%
Multimedia publication 11 14%
E-database 11 14%
Digital publishing
value-added services 18 23%
FAHP analysis
professional abilities were revised based on the opinions obtained from expert review of questionnaires, and paired comparisons of various indicators were made with the
professional abilities were revised based on the opinions obtained from expert review of questionnaires, and paired comparisons of various indicators were made with the