Defence

Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group

Dictionary goes online

By Cheryle Marriner

Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group (CSIG) continues to lead business improvements and the provision of services across Defence, with the January 2006 launch of the Macquarie Online Dictionary and Thesaurus on the Defence Intranet.

This new service has been acquired by the Defence Library Service, reflecting the Library's ongoing commitment to providing Defence with the key information resources it needs to conduct its business.

Being internet-based, Macquarie Online is continuously updated with new words and definitions, so it is always current, unlike any print versions, including the recently released 4th Edition.

Macquarie Online is available to all Defence personnel when logged on to the Defence Restricted Network. Users don't need to register or remember another logon-id and password. However, Defence users do need to have internet access to reach Macquarie's website.

Macquarie Online is both a dictionary (for when you need to check a word's spelling and/or its meaning) and a thesaurus (for when you want to find other similar concepts or synonyms).

But most people use a dictionary to check the spelling of a word. The Macquarie Online does this using either "Fuzzy Search" or wildcards. After trying both, you'll know which one works better for you.

For example, searching for 'refered' without "fuzzy search" won't find any hits (the correct spelling is 'referred'). Searching with fuzzy searching turned on (you need to click the 'Fuzzy' check box at each search to turn it on), will find several hits. It also activates the Thesaurus component, giving you alternative concepts to review.

Wildcards are specific characters used to substitute for "I don't know" within the spelling 'guess' you enter for your chosen word. A question mark - ? - matches zero or more "I don't know" characters. A question mark followed by a number - ?n - matches zero to n characters. A hash - # - matches exactly one character. For example, searching for split? will find split, splitter, splitting, etc.

Easy access to the Macquarie supports the current Defence Writing Standards, and in particular paragraph 1.9 which states:

The Macquarie has been accepted as the standard for Australian language. Except for Defence-specific instances outlined in part 1, chapter 3 - 'Presenting words', the Macquarie is to be used by writers as the primary spelling and linguistic reference when preparing material for the Defence Organisation; other government departments, agencies and statutory authorities; and the general public.

The easiest way to access Macquarie Online is to select the 'Defence Writing' link from the left-hand navigation bar on the Defence Intranet home page, and then select 'Macquarie Dictionary and Thesaurus'.

Alternatively, go to the Defence Library Service home page http://library.defence.gov.au/ and select the "Macquarie Dictionary" link from the left-hand navigation bar.

The Defence Writing website also contains several other valuable writing tools: the Defence Writing Manual, which is currently being re-written and expanded, and the developing Defence Glossary, which will contain the authorised terms used within Defence. Collectively, they present a significant improvement to Defence's communication standards and support.

With the Macquarie Dictionary and Thesaurus now readily available online, procurement officers should be able to contribute to a reduction in Defence expenditure on hardcopy dictionaries and thesauruses.

Cheryle Marriner is Assistant Director Service Development in Defence Library Services Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group

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