Blind Typing

Touch-Typing Lessons
· Basic rules
· How to stay healthy
· Methodology
· First steps
· All keyboard
Touch-Typing Lessons
· Keyboard simulator Key o'key
· Introduction
· Beginning
· Lesson
· Statistics
· Skins
· Purchase
· Download
Know Your Typing Speed (FREE)
· Speed ok
· Speed-Typing
· Download
Touch-Typing game (FREE)
· TypingBubble
· Touch-type car-racing
· Download
Online Typing Tutor (FREE)
· Introduction
· Basic hand position
· Finger operations areas
· Hitting Technique
· Tutor review
· Basic Concept
· Animation
INTERSTENO
· Regulations for the World Championships in Text Production, Text Correction and Professional Word Processing

Blue sky

Regulations for the World Championships in Text Production, Text Correction and Professional Word Processing

The general regulations are valid for the competitions:

- Text Production
- Text correction with PC
- Professional Word Processing
- Combination Shorthand / Text Production The peculiarities of the individual competitions are subtitled.


§1 - Organization

§2 - Participation

§3 - Types of Competitions

§4 - Applications and Fees

§5 - Material

§6 - Execution of Competitions

§7 - Evaluation of Competition Work

§8 - Jury

§9 - Preparation of Texts

§10 - Duties of the Organizing Committee

§11 - Competitors' Ranking and Certificates Text production

§12 - Presentation of Awards and Certificates

§13 - Preservation of Competition Work

§14 - Unforeseen Circumstances


§1 - Organization

The International Federation for Information Processing (INTERSTENO) may, within the framework of its Congresses, hold world championships in text production, Text correction with PC and professional word processing. These competitions are held in the languages of their member countries.

§2 - Participation

The competitions are open to everyone meeting the requirements laid down in these Regulations. Participants should carry a piece of photo identification. Members of the Central Committee, the Organizing Committee, and the jury, as well as the examiners, are not eligible to participate in the competitions.

§3 - Types of Competitions

All competitions are organized in three groups, divided by age, each group having its own (World) Champion based on the individual ranking points:

- Seniors: participants beyond the age of 20 years in the year of the competition
- Juniors: participants not beyond the age of 20 years in the year of the competition
- Pupils: participants not beyond the age of 16 years in the year of the competition

Text Production

The competition consists of 30-minute copying of a typed text of approximately 30,000 strokes. Competitors produce the text without separating the text in paragraphs by returns.


Category Minimum characters/minute Maximum errors allowed

Seniors

360

0,25%

Juniors

300

0,25%

Pupils

280

0,25%


Competitors can use all technical software possibilities to produce with one keyboard-hit more than one character.

This competition is split up in three subgroups:
- Competitors using a 'normal' keyboard, without possibility to hit more than one key at the same moment. The winner is nominated as World Champion.
- Competitors using keyboards where more than one key can be hit at the same moment (e.g. Shorthand machines). The winner is nominated as international champion.
- Competitors using voice recognition. These competitors should use a stenomask. The winner is nominated as international champion.

Text correction

A text of approximately 12,000 characters registered on a floppy-disk or cd-rom provided by the president of the international jury has to be corrected with the aid of a common word-processing program according to a correction sheet of 250 text corrections. At least 60, in the order presented on the sheet, must be executed. Competitors should also have successfully participated in the 30-minute text production competition.

On the task sheet for text corrections, the correction signs approved by the International Federation must be adapted. Corrections which may be foreseen are: delete, replace, reorder, insert text parts, emphasize by bold printing, underline, center, indent, text structure.

Corrections should be executed in the order in which they are foreseen on the task sheet. Correction work will start for all participants at the same moment. Time allowed: 10 minutes.

After the final whistle, five returns have to be made. The result must be saved.

Professional Word Processing

The competition consists of the professional treatment of texts delivered on an external data medium (floppy-disk or cd-rom). Additionally, competitors will receive a printout of the most important pages of the texts.

Time allowed: 75 minutes.

The jobs to be carried out may consist of:
- Input from an external data medium
- Output to an external data medium
- Choice of paper sizes
- Setting of margins (left, right, top, bottom)
- Setting and modifying of TAB stops
- Interchange of paragraphs
- Setting and changing of line spacing
- Bold face, underlining, italics
- Use of different fonts and sizes in the same document
- Adjusting of paragraphs (center, left, right, block)
- Insertion of footnotes, headers/footers, and page numbering
- Use of columns and tabular forms
- Use of forms
- Junction of documents (for example, Mail Merge)
- Working out a table of contents
- Selecting and sorting of text elements
- Automatic numbering on different levels (arrangement of a text)
- Use of illustrations in documents, delivered in GIF or JPEG format
- Use of macros in order to automate tasks with repetitive character

Combined Competition

A combined ranking list on the basis of both the text production competition and the shorthand competition will be established. Participants are automatically ranked in the combined list, if they participate in both competitions.

§4 - Applications and Fees

Competitors should send in their applications on an official form, available via the Internet, to the Organizing Committee by the given deadline. Applications received after this date can be refused.

The fees involved are stated on the form and must be paid to the Organizing Committee within the foreseen deadline. The fees are not refundable even if the competitor withdraws from the competitions.

§5 - Material

Personal computers with word-processing programs noted on the jury president's list are permitted. Competitors are obliged to procure their own personal computers with software.

It is the responsibility of the competitors to make any necessary repairs to their equipment during the competition. The time spent on repairs is at the expense of the competitor. No help from third persons is allowed. The work done by the competitors is the property of the jury, and the material must be handed in to the jury even if the competitor withdraws from the competition.

§6 - Execution of Competitions

As needed, participants at the competitions are grouped according to member countries and kind of competitions. Competitors must strictly obey the instructions issued by both the jury and the Organizing Committee.

Competitors are allowed to enter the competition hall for practicing one hour before the beginning of the competitions.

The competitions are open to the public, provided that spectators can be seated so as not to disturb the competitors. The Organizing Committee may decide otherwise if these requirements are not met. Photographs and recording for radio and television purposes may be taken only after the competitions.

After the final whistle, all competitors must stand up and lift their hands. The typed text will be stored on the hard disk as well as on two floppy-disks or cd-roms provided by the Organizing Committee. Competitors who do not comply with this regulation and who alter their documents after the final whistle will be disqualified.

Smoking, the use of cellular phones or recording equipment is not allowed in the competition hall.

§7 - Execution of Competitions

The competition work is evaluated by the international jury. The number of characters in the copied text is determined on the basis of the counted original text.

Text production

For words or lines that are omitted, the corresponding number of strokes will be deducted.

One hundred penalty points will be calculated for each of the following errors:
- missing, additional, or modified characters (maximum one error per word is counted)
- transposition of two characters or two words
- missing or additional words or word groups
- missing or extra spacing
- missing, twice typed, and transposed lines

Errors in the final ten characters are not counted; the counting ends with the last correct character.

Text correction

500 penalty points will be calculated for each of the following errors:
- wrong, additional, missing, or transposed letters (maximum one error per word is counted)
- additional, missing, or transposed words or word groups
- twice typed, missing, or transposed lines

Additionally, one error will be counted for each of the following:
- imperfect correction
- not executed correction
- additional correction

Professional Word Processing

Work is evaluated by the international jury according to the list of penalty points.

Before the evaluation of work, the jury president provides to the jury members a sheet itemizing the correct order of jobs and the applicable ranking points, explaining its content.

§8 - Jury

The president of the international jury is in charge of the competitions and will make any decisions, after consultation with the jury members present, to allow a smooth proceeding. He is responsible for the evaluation and examination of the work and for the ranking. He is elected by the INTERSTENO Central Committee.

The international jury consists of two representatives per national group. If such a group consists of more than 50 participants, the number of jury members may be increased up to four according to the number of participants. The national groups are committed to delegate two representatives, including in the case that there are no competitors from their country. The names and full addresses of the jury members must be sent to the jury president immediately after the deadline for applications.

The Jury president can form a Task Force with 10 to 15 persons, having specific tasks.

Complaints regarding organization or carrying out of the competitions (texts or hall) must be addressed immediately to the jury president by the representative of the particular national group in the Central Committee or by a jury member of the national group concerned. The jury president will make the decision immediately in order to allow the jury members of the national group concerned to prepare the necessary steps. The jury president must give a written motivation for his decision to the representative of the national group in the Central Committee.

Competitors and members of their families cannot be members of the jury, but can function as helpers in the evaluation only when the jury president agrees.

The members of the international jury evaluate the competition work without knowing the names of the competitors. The jury president makes up the ranking. The decisions of the jury are taken by majority.

Expenses of jury members are paid either by their national group or by the individual jury members.

Expenses for competition texts are paid by the national groups. Expenses for competition material and certificates are covered by entry fees.

Expenses incurred by the president of the international jury are borne by the Organizing Committee.

§9 - Preparation of Texts

Text production

The jury president prepares a basic text for the competition. The Central Committee fixes the language of the basic text for each Congress. This text must deal with a subject of international economy and should be neutral regarding politics and terminology.

The national groups appoint a translator and provide his name and correct and complete address to the jury president by November 30 of the year preceding the Congress.

The translator must not be a member of a competitor's family nor his trainer. He has to assure the jury president in writing that he will keep the competition text strictly secret.

The translation of the basic text must reproduce its content completely and maintain its general sense as closely as possible, although some deviation is allowed as necessary in regard to the particularities in structure, style, and idioms of the target language.

Upon providing the basic text for translation, the jury president informs the translator of the deadline for receiving the translation (printed and on disk, specifying the program used).

The translated texts should consist of at least 30,000 characters. Texts must be prepared without syllabication, with a maximum of 65 strokes per line.

The texts for the tests are typed on white paper, 210 x 297 mm in size, in black print, without syllabication, in Courier 12 pt., line spacing 1 1/2; the lines form six paragraphs of five lines each. These texts will be distributed by the jury.

The texts are printed on only one side of the paper.

Text correction

The text, chosen by each national group, should consist of approximately 12,000 characters, divided in six blocks of five lines each, with a maximum of 50 characters per line. Linespace: 1,5. The number and art of corrections per page must follow the correction scheme established by the jury president.

Upon providing the correction scheme, the jury president informs the national groups of the deadline for receiving the texts (basic text printed and on disk, specifying the program used).

Professional Word Processing

The national groups translate the instructions for the competitors, received by the jury president. The jury president informs the translator of the deadline for receiving the translation (printed and on disk).

§10 - Duties of the Organizing Committee

The Organizing Committee should place at the disposal of the international jury:
- a large hall for the competitions, with good lighting, guaranteeing equal conditions for each competitor. It must have both microphones and loudspeakers, proper desks and chairs, and two electrical plugs for each desk.
- for jury members: special premises with good lighting for night work.
- a lockable room for the jury president, equipped with a sufficient number of tables for text sheets and competitors' work.

The Organizing Committee must require the approval of the jury president for all measures to be taken for the technical procedure of the competitions.

§11 - Competitors' Ranking and Certificates Text production

The ranking lists include the name, country, number of characters per minute, percentage of errors, and number of ranking points.

Candidates will be ranked upon a deduction of 100 penalty points for every error from the entire number of characters.

The certificates include the following data:
- the actual number of characters produced per minute and the percentage of errors
- the rank

In the category with 'normal' keyboards, a World Champion will be declared only if the following minimum ranking points have been achieved: seniors 15,000 points juniors 12,000 points pupils 8,000 points

Text correction

The ranking order is determined by the addition of the points reached in the corrections task: the total of corrections carried out properly x 100. For each error, 500 strokes will be deducted.

In the case of a tie, the points of the text production competition determine the ranking. The ranking lists include the name, country, number of corrections, number of errors, and total number of points.

The certificates include the following data:
- the total corrections made and the total errors made
- the total ranking points and the rank For each age-group (seniors, juniors, pupils) a world champion will be nominated.

Professional Word Processing

The ranking list will include only competitors reaching at least 50% of possible points.

The brands of the Software packages used and the Operating System should be noted. Ranking points result from the number of required jobs minus the calculated penalty points. In the case of a tie, the time used will determine the ranking.

The certificates include the following data:
- the number of ranking points
- the rank

Combination Text Production / Shorthand

For the combination ranking the following formula is used: Points Text Production + Basic Points Shorthand (see table) - (Penalty points Shorthand x 100)

Competition     1st Minute  2nd Minute  3rd Minute  4th Minute  5th Minute 
A               6 000       7 000       8 000       9 000       10 000 
B               11 000      12 000      13 000      14 000      15 000 
C               16 000      17 000      18 000      19 000      20 000 
§12 - Presentation of Awards and Certificates

The awards presented to the competitors by the Organizing Committee are given in consultation with the jury president. The awards and certificates are distributed at the proclamation of results.

§13 - Preservation of Competition Work

The competition work is preserved by the organizers for one year after the competitions and may be destroyed thereafter.

§14 - Unforeseen Circumstances

In unforeseen circumstances the jury is authorized to interpret these Regulations logically. The Regulations may not be altered. The decisions of the jury are irrevocable. The official Regulations are those drafted in German.

These Regulations approved by the Central Committee of INTERSTENO, September 6, 2004, in Helsinki.


President: Marlis Kulb (Austria)

Secretary Treasurer: Danny Devriendt (Belgium)

Top ⇑