In the past, I’ve written lots of system/software documentation/specification and project plans etc. but today I really feel a different sense of achievement.
My article “Electronic Discovery/Disclosure: From Litigation to International Commercial Arbitration” appeared in The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management, V 74, N 4, Nov 2008 (The Arbitration Journal by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators).
Just want to pass on my acknowledgement here (which appeared in the footnote in my article):
The author (me) would like to thank Martin Goodman and Roger Clough for their individual reviews. This essay is based on the author’s dissertation for a post-graduate diploma in International Commercial Arbitration. The author also wishes to thank Angie Raymond and Stavros Brekoulakis, Queen Mary College, London for their support. Also, many thanks to those who kindly provided access to their articles on their websites/blogs, e.g. Ken Withers.
However, the source of the inspiration for doing my dissertation on ediscovery/edisclosure started when I was involved in a document management programme with a major subprime mortgage company, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers (yeah!). Companies and all the system documentation (many versions/iterations – which I considered unnecessary but then…that’s another story) disintegrated and perished.
Well, nothing beats experience and I’ve certainly been fortunate to have the opportunity to be involved in exciting software/technological projects. Experience itself though is rather like a piece of paper stored in a cupboard (or rather in the mind). By writing my dissertation and having my article published (reviewed and critic) serves to remind myself the power of sharing/collaborating one’s experience with others. A piece of paper written (like the many documentation I’ve produced) and never opened and shared with others is akin to creating and building junk instead of building one’s knowledge with self and others.
I hope I will continue to learn more by sharing with others. I also hope that others will open up and share their experience. Many thanks to others who have shared their experience with me in many unconscious and conscious ways.
One Comment
Congratulations on having your article published. I agree that when one has done a good piece of academic research, it is a shame if all that exists is a few bound copies. Much nicer to think of your work being out there and making a contribution to a community of knowledge.
Of course, there are dilemmas in engaging with the world of commercial scholarly publishing. For many researchers, the author’s contract with the publisher feels somewhat like the one between Faust and Mephistopheles. Which is one of the reasons why some go for the Open Access publishing model. But I’m glad you are pleased with the result and the process, and you are right to regard it as a vote of confidence!
— Conrad