Taran March @ Quality Digest

Editorial director

Taran March is a retired editor for Quality Digest. A 35-year veteran of publishing, she has written and edited for newspapers, magazines, book publishers, and universities. 

Wed, 04/05/2017 - 12:03
Don’t Call Them DronesFeatherless friends coming to an airspace near you
Thu, 08/17/2017 - 12:03
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), those gadflies of airborne technology, are poised to sweep into our day-to-day lives. Does this take you by surprise? Like the lawn needing mowing (again), or your kid suddenly old enough for college, a swarm of…
Nothing to Wear in Space?Send in the Paris designers
Thu, 05/25/2017 - 12:03
My eye was caught recently by a gossipy article concerning NASA’s suit situation. Spacesuits, that is, not the standard-issue coat and trousers worn by many earthbound employees at the agency. It seems its Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a…
Manufacturing Without BordersOne person’s bribe is another’s quality headache
Thu, 04/06/2017 - 12:03
As manufacturing becomes increasingly oblivious of where one country stops and another begins, the responsibilities of quality managers have extended beyond the safely measurable and into the loosely regulated wilds of global competition. Quality…
AI and the Little GuyOut of step and out of luck with Industry 4.0
Thu, 02/16/2017 - 12:03
Before my bosses get wind of the artificial intelligence (AI) platform Quill (“perfectly written, meaningful narratives indistinguishable from a human-written one”) and decide its 18-month ROI would be a great exchange for my pay and complaining, I…
Making News in the Facebook AgeSeems you <em>can</em> teach a new dog old tricks
Thu, 01/12/2017 - 12:00
There’s a lot of power and even nobility in the word “resolution.” But when it shows up accompanied by the trickster phrase “new year’s,” it's like a solemn king preceded by a capering jester. With every step we and our resolutions take into the…
Mr. Stumpf Goes to WashingtonWells Fargo wagon arrives on Capitol Hill, but cash boxes prove empty
Tue, 10/11/2016 - 00:00
I hate banks. I’ve hated them since I was a drifty teenager who had a volatile relationship with math and trouble coming up with the required documents proving my adultness. My first checking account had less to do with the paltry sum I owned than…
When Chemistry Meets MarketingThe curious logic behind prescription drug names
Tue, 05/17/2016 - 00:00
They sound like words and have a mysterious dignity rolling off the tongue. Their meanings seem both apparent and elusive. If an alien delegation landed on Earth, words like these might feature in their formal greetings. They are the most…
The Oracle at IBMBrainstorming process improvement with Watson
Mon, 02/08/2016 - 17:00
For those awake enough to respond, please supply the Jeopardy question to this answer: “A computer system that won a million dollars in 2011 with access to 200 million pages of content, including the full text of Wikipedia.” If you thought, “What…
Last Chance to WinWhy is my health insurer acting like a bookie?
Tue, 10/20/2015 - 12:47
As a sort of character-building exercise, I recently opened an unsolicited email from my health insurance provider. I was intent on doing a quick purge of sham, spam, and flimflam, and I figured this one would be no different. But I also know I’m…
A Square Deal in a Round WorldAre new car dealerships a rusty link in the supply chain?
Wed, 05/27/2015 - 10:22
In an era when every square foot and extra minute along a supply chain mean dollars saved or squandered, it’s not surprising that auto dealerships have been facing uncomfortable scrutiny. Protected by franchise laws, these icons of American…