Iwebkit Youtube tutorials

Render pages as they'll appear on an Ipad.

Web Design for iPad – WTF or FTW? | Template Monster Blog

iPhone Web Page Template

TSA revenge screenings | MetaFilter

TSA revenge screenings | MetaFilter: "The TSA procedures are not a side-effect of the attacks, or a response to the attack, or (God knows) a defence against the attacks. They are the intended effect of the attacks..

America is essentially being trolled. All the so-called terrorists have to do is think up increasingly absurd forms of attack and without fail, watch the US rise to the bait, chasing its own tail as it sacrifices the very qualities on which its supposed exceptionalism is based on the altar of an entirely fake sense of security."

Lulu.com Lets You Create eBooks for the iPhone | Apple iPhone Information

Lulu.com Lets You Create eBooks for the iPhone | Apple iPhone Information: "Lulu's eBook Optimization service enables individual publishers to format existing PDF files for viewing on an iPhone or Sony Reader. The service is available for $25 per project and the publisher can then set the price and advertise his or her work as they see fit."

WWW FAQs: How do I design web pages for the iPhone?

Write Web Pages for the iPhone - Tips to Design Web Pages that Work on Small Screen Mobile Devices

Creating Passionate Users: How to get users to RTFM

U.S. Military Deaths in the Conquest of Iraq

YouTube - apache takes out insurgent van over afghanistan

YouTube - Insurgents Getting Wasted Compilation

Iraq War Coalition Fatalities

Blackjack Counting Cards

Card counting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

How To Count Cards | eHow.com

Kodak EasyShare 5300 Ink Yield Test Report

ze's page :: zefrank.com: little homunculi

ze's page :: zefrank.com: little homunculi

Memos and audience.

Links -- Eng. 413 -- Dr. Jablonski, UNLV

The Writing Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Complaint Letters: How To Launch An Executive Email Carpet Bomb

Color Pencils Reviewed

MPEG - VideoLAN Wiki

MPEG - VideoLAN Wiki

creating an mpeg file with VLC--from the VLC wiki

How Hot Did The Jet Fuel Heat The World Trade Center?

How Hot Did The Jet Fuel Heat The World Trade Center?: "'In the mid-1990s British Steel and the Building Research Establishment performed a series of six experiments at Cardington to investigate the behavior of steel frame buildings. These experiments were conducted in a simulated, eight-story building. Secondary steel beams were not protected. Despite the temperature of the steel beams reaching 800-900� C (1,500-1,700� F) in three of the tests (well above the traditionally assumed critical temperature of 600� C (1,100� F), no collapse was observed in any of the six experiments.'"

Open Clip Art Library SteveLambert

flightthruinstr08.jpg (JPEG Image, 800x624 pixels)

Gates bids farewell to tech gathering - MarketWatch

Gates bids farewell to tech gathering - MarketWatch: "In particular, he predicted that a key element in the next decade will be 'natural-user interface,' in which consumers interface with their devices in more natural ways. He even mentioned the iPhone - the iconic touch-screen wireless phone introduced last year by longtime Microsoft rival Apple Inc. (AAPL:
Apple Inc
News, chart, profile, more
Last: 177.64-2.41-1.34%
4:00pm 01/07/2008
Delayed quote data
Add to portfolio
Analyst
Create alert
Insider
Discuss
Financials
Sponsored by:
AAPL 177.64, -2.41, -1.3%) - as a key development in that area, and predicted that touch-screen and voice commands will play a much larger role in future electronics devices."

Graphviz Utility.

Grid Layout

Charts | Worth a thousand words | Economist.com

TheDataWeb Information Page

1197585593806.jpg 791�1024 pixels

1197585593806.jpg 791�1024 pixels

bacon flowchart

Naming Names - The New York Times

Naming Names - The New York Times

Very cool interactive infochart.

cool chart tool using google api

Developer's Guide - Google Chart API - Google Code

Developer's Guide - Google Chart API - Google Code

Google's new chart API

flare | visualization on the web

flare | visualization on the web

Flash data visualization tools

Comparative Data - WRCC

Utah Monthly Average Temperatures

Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, DEA Home Page

N C H S Home

N C H S Home

Data showing obesity rates are falling.

Visual Dictionary Online

elzr: Infodesign challenge

Landmarks for Schools: Raw Data

Landmarks for Schools: Raw Data

Looks like a great resource!

CDC - Data & Statistics

Graphviz

Graphviz

A wonderful visualization tool. Check this out Chase!

[1.0] A Guided Tour Of Awk

[1.0] A Guided Tour Of Awk

Awk is awesome for manipulating tabular data.

Windfalls of War II - The Center for Public Integrity

Windfalls of War II - The Center for Public Integrity

The document warehouse.

Windfalls of War II - The Center for Public Integrity

Ouch.

FARK.com: (3209999) Five myths about $3 gas

Deseret Morning News | Utah adds 10 people per hour

The death of e-mail. - By Chad Lorenz - Slate Magazine

Olympics Map

Facebook: More Popular Than Porn - TIME

Ask E.T.: Megan Jaegerman's brilliant news graphics

UnusualMaps.com

Boardgamers’ Pastime � Blog Archive � Power Grid: Rules, Second Draft

ExtremePumpkins.com - Extreme Pumpkin Carving

Simbo

KENMORE WATER SOFTENERS

How-to: Working wonders with OpenOffice 2.0's Web Wizard

How-to: Working wonders with OpenOffice 2.0's Web Wizard: "I can't believe nobody told me about the Web Wizard in OpenOffice.org 2.0. Why haven't I been reading about it on all the blogs? It's one of the coolest new features in 2.0."

Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger

Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger: "Ray’s speech spreading

I watch how fast news spreads and the words that bloggers use to describe things. Ray’s speech has been spreading slowly in this week of Origami interest. But, look at the language:"

Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger

Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger: "Ray’s speech spreading

I watch how fast news spreads and the words that bloggers use to describe things. Ray’s speech has been spreading slowly in this week of Origami interest. But, look at the language:"

2 e-mailers get testy, and hundreds readevery word - The Boston Globe

2 e-mailers get testy, and hundreds readevery word - The Boston Globe: "Korman was miffed that Abdala notified him by e-mail this month that, after tentatively agreeing to work at his law firm, she changed her mind. Her reason: ''The pay you are offering would neither fulfill me nor support the lifestyle I am living.'"

TechCommWiki | Main / Grammar Diagnostics

TechCommWiki | Main / Grammar Diagnostics: "For the second half of class, I want you to work on your drafts and upload them to the prenhall site. To do so, login, and then click on"

adbusters

news @ nature.com?-?Web users judge sites in the blink of an eye?-?Potential readers can make snap decisions in just 50 milliseconds.

news @ nature.com?-?Web users judge sites in the blink of an eye?-?Potential readers can make snap decisions in just 50 milliseconds.: "Like the look of our website? Whatever the answer (and hopefully it was yes), the chances are you made your mind up within the first twentieth of a second. A study by researchers in Canada has shown that the snap decisions Internet users make about the quality of a web page have a lasting impact on their opinions."

ODQ 2.6

CWRQ 4.6

lushlush: Bizarre sign

RESUME WRITING | How to write a masterpiece of a resume

RESUME WRITING | How to write a masterpiece of a resume: "Writing a great resume does not necessarily mean you should follow the rules you hear through the grapevine. It does not have to be one page or follow a specific resume format. Every resume is a one-of-a-kind marketing communication. It should be appropriate to your situation and do exactly what you want it to do. Instead of a bunch of rules and tips, we are going to cut to the chase in this brief guide and offer you the most basic principles of writing a highly effective guide to overthrowing south american governments."

readings

readings in environmental psychology

Look in to information architecture/ecology, intersections.

GeekList: Your Favorite Rule

GeekList: Your Favorite Rule: "2.2401 GUN DUELS: Vs a non-concealed, non-Aerial DEFENDER's declared Defensive First Fire attack on it, a vehicle may attempt to Bounding First Fire (D3.3) its MA (/other-FP, including Passenger FP/SW) at that DEFENDER first, provided the vehicle need not change CA, is not conducting OVR (D7.1), its total Gun Duel DRM (i.e., its total Firer-Based [5.] and Acquisition [6.5] TH DRM for its potential shot) is < that of the DEFENDER, and the DEFENDER's attack is not Reaction Fire (D7.2). Neither the 1 DRM for a Gyrostabilizer nor the doubling of the lower dr for other ordnance in TH Case C4 (5.35) is included in the Gun Duel DRM calculation. The order of fire for non-ordnance/SW is determined as if it were ordnance [EXC: TH Case A can apply only if this unit/weapon is mounted-on/aboard a vehicle that is changing CA; all such non-turret-mounted fire is considered NT for purposes of TH Case C, and; A.5 applies to any type of FG]. If the ATTACKER's and DEFENDER's total Gun Duel DRM are equal, the lower Final TH (or non-ordnance IFT) DR fires first - and voids the opponent's return shot by eliminating, breaking, stunning, or shocking it. If those two Final DR are equal, both shots are resolved simultaneously. Any CA change the DEFENDER requires in order to shoot (5.11) is made before the ATTACKER's shot if the DEFENDER's total Gun Duel DRM <= the ATTACKER's; otherwise its CA changes (if still able to) after the ATTACKER's shot. After the initial Gun Duel had been fully resolved, and if otherwise able and allowed to, that DEFENDER may announce another attack vs that ATTACKER who in turn may declare another Gun Duel; this time the printed ROF of one firing weapon on each side may be included as a -DRM in that side's Gun Duel DRM calculation. Only the ATTACKER may declare a Gun Duel [EXC: not if the DEFENDER has done so per 5.33].
"

Technical Writing | Syllabus

Technical Writing | Syllabus: "'... I worked for three years in an environmental engineering firm. When I joined the firm (part-time) I was changing careers, and working in an office environment for a large company was totally different than working in a small service-oriented business - the environment in which I had worked for the previous 20 years. I vividly remember the first time that I was assigned to write a brief technical report (about two pages). My exposure to technical writing, prior to that assignment, was to proof read documents before they were delivered to the client. I had begun to feel some level of comfort about how a technical document should be constructed. However, reading a document and writing a document are two very different processes, as I soon found out. After diligently working on the report for at least three hours, I turned it in to the project manager. About an hour later, he returned the document to me, and I honestly thought he had used it as a bandage to stop someone from bleeding. There was so much red ink from his corrections, the paper was literally red ... I have heard you comment during your lectures that many students do not consider technical writing to be an important course, or that it is perceived as a 'secondary course' to the main body of their educational experience ... I agree with you that some students have this attitude ... However, I would like to stress the following to some of the younger students who have no experience in a professional work environment. A significant amount of how an employee is evaluated by an employer is based on how well they can write. This is particularly true with a consulting firm or any scientific company that has to provide technical reports and other technical deliverables to their clients, regulatory agencies, or to the general public. If you cannot write clearly, concisely and in a manner that is understandable to the client and other lay-readers, you will not be successful in your professional career.'

-R. Michael Lowe (December 1995)"

R/C Tank Combat - The Ultimate Tactical Warfare Game

CIA training manual

Here's some technical writing produced by the CIA:

Of course, don't ever try this at home.

Grade Survey

Please fill out this grade self-survey before the end of the semester, thanks.

http://complicity.uvsc.edu/clipboard/survey.php?surveyid=10

Another link to the syllabus

David G. Willey: Physics Behind Four Amazing Demonstrations (Skeptical Inquirer November 1999)

David G. Willey: Physics Behind Four Amazing Demonstrations (Skeptical Inquirer November 1999): "How to Dip Your Fingers in Molten Lead"

complete, rough draft due on Nov. 21

A rough draft of your entire project is due on Nov. 21, Monday at the beginning of class.

Also, please remember to annotate each section in some way, preferably with a header or footer, so I know who the author is.

frontmatter/endmatter requirements

Here are the frontmatter/endmatter requirements for your draft which is due on Monday, November 21st. See chapter 12, page 268 for descriptions of each:

Letter of transmittal: Not needed
Cover: not needed until the final draft
Title page: yes
200 word abstract: Yes, make it a descriptive abstract. It can be shorter than 200 words, actually.
Table of Contents: Yes.
List of Illustrations: save it for the final draft, you don't have time
Executive summary: Not needed.

Backmatter:

Glossary (list of definitions): include if needed
References/documentation: You'll need this in the final draft
Appendices (page 281): yes, if needed.
See the revision checklist on page 282

Instructables: step-by-step collaboration

today in class

Today in class we'll be talking about using templates to standardize styles across documents. *Everyone* will have to create a template, email it to someone else in the room not on your team, and have them duplicate your style, print it out, and submit it.

For class on Friday, November 4th:

1. Bring your 75% draft and have it submitted to webct.
2. in class we will assemble these disparate sections into single manuals, which you will submit to me, and we will do some peer feedback! Come to class!

using diagrams and graphics to chart suicides

How would you improve this graphic?

: "4310: schedule for remainder of semester.

Week of:

October 31: Chapter 4 (writing collaboratively), Chapter 14 (graphics, revisited), lecture on document management.

November 2: 75% due, with layout. Chapter 11 (revisited) Chapter 6 (communicating persuasively), Chapter 7 (researching your subject)

November:

7: Chapter 8 (organizing your information), Chapter 9 (definitions and descriptions), Chapter 10 (revising for coherence),

14: Templates and style guides revisited. Chapter 11 (sentence style, revisited)

21: Full draft due.

28: Peer feedback workshops. Intensive editing workshop this week.

December:

5: Catchup week. Topics vary depending upon current state of projects.

7: Final draft due."

A List Apart: Articles: Attack of the Zombie Copy

Computational Visual Cognition Laboratory @ MIT

chapter 14:

Please carefully study chapter 14 for class on Wednesday.

Refreshments will be provided.

Please read

chapter 13

for Monday, October 24th.

unformatted_data.txt

Word Templates -- Introduction to Word Templates

Word Templates -- Introduction to Word Templates: "If you frequently create documents that contain a lot of specialized formatting but don't always contain the same text, you can save yourself a considerable amount of time if you create Word templates to use as the basis of future documents. By using Word’s template feature, you can focus your concentration on the content of the document and leave the formatting up to the template."

upcoming assignments:

For today, Monday: Just come to class.

For Wednesday and Friday: Chapter 13: Designing the document.

due on Friday: A style guide for your document. 2-4 pages, details in class.

00010

resources for chapter 11

We'll be working out of chapter 11 every day this week, so please read it closely

SAFETY SIGN BUILDER

Chapter 20 due this week

Just a reminder that chapter 20 is going to be discussed this week, October 3-7 and it would behoove you to have it read!

Re: Writing

Re: Writing: ">If technical writing (and/or on-line documentation) is becoming more
>colloquial in an attempt to be more easily understood, are editors letting
>mistakes slide? Are there types of documentation wherein editors/employers
>would be less likely to worry about mistakes like these?

Linguists know that no language has rules, merely conventions. What we call
'rules' are actually just mutually acceptable things that we've agreed to do
in common. 'Its' vs. 'it's' is only a common distinction, not natural law.

Thus, editors, especially in an era when 'high' (Latinate) English in
documentation is being gradually replaced by 'low,' or vernacular English,
are in a bind. On the one hand, any good editor wants to preserve the
language as a tool. Who wants chaos in letters? On the other hand,
vernacular is much livelier than Latinate English, more prone to shift and
change. A valid and defensible usage this year becomes next year's
stodginess. For example, I've been using contractions in this message, while
several years ago I'd be brought to book for it. (Notice how I've changed
construction in that last sentence. Is it permissible? Well...)
"

Career Guide

Career Guide: "What is the relevance of all this to a B-school student? Writing is a skill that goes a long way in helping one achieve success. Many successful people have acknowledged this fact. As part of their work, managers have to prepare a lot of reports, lay down policies and procedures, and prepare proposals and plans. Today technology is overriding and there is hardly a company that is untouched by it. So somewhere along the way their will always be an interface with technology. Hence Technical Writing becomes relevant for them. This has also become more relevant as the medium of information distribution has evolved. Says Guru,' Today the delivery medium is Net-based or through CD-ROMS. The manager has to take full advantage of the benefits offered by these mediums in terms of audio as well as visual aspects of the presentation. So what the manager is doing is performing the role of a technical communicator'. He further emphasises, ' Knowledge Management and Knowledge Distribution are some of the hottest emerging areas. It is a little far away in India. But it will soon descend on us. Management graduates with knowledge of Technical Writing will be hot property'."

Career Guide

Career Guide: "At the other end of the spectrum a lot of software is being localised too. The most famous example is of Microsoft having a Hindi version of Office-2000. This will throw up lot of opportunities to vernacular technical writers. Agrees Guru, ' These people will be one of the hottest things in times to come'."

Career Guide

Career Guide: "There are no formal channels of entry into this profession through a university degree or certification of any kind. To become a good technical writer one must possess good technical skill as well as communication skills. As Mr. Guru Kamath, a renowned technical writer and founder of Technical Writers of India (TWIN) puts it, ' One should be a good writer with an ability to grasp technology. The people on this profession are from different backgrounds. You have both people who have an arts background and a flair for technology as well as engineers who have a flair for writing'. Other important traits that a technical writer must possess apart from written skills are verbal and presentation skills."

ACCO

ACCO: "Technical Assistance:

Phone: 800.820.6220
(please have the product information available)
Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm Central Time "

Bedford, Freeman, Worth Publishers - Technical Communication

Bedford, Freeman, Worth Publishers - Technical Communication: "Technical Communication
Sixth Edition
Mike Markel (Boise State U.)"

No class on Monday

Hi,
Because you have a rough draft due in class on Wednesday the 21st, I want you to take Monday to meet as a group and take care of business, i.e. make sure everyone is on task and knows what they are writing. Your draft should be 2-4 pages per person.

In addition to meeting with your group, you need to start getting used to working as a team online, or collaborating. To that end, I would like you to do the following:

1. post your working draft to your group page in webct.

2. read and respond to each team member's draft before class on Wednesday. By respond, I mean:

a. look for any obvious problems or gaps
b. ask for definitions of key terms
c. point out where illustrations might be appropriate
d. point out any sentences that sound painful.
e. check if instructions are being provided in a logical sequence with no omissions
f. make the document as visually professional as you can. Start talking as a team about what your document should look like.
g. report on what your class accomplished and upload the resulting memo to your group files. Label it: distance collab. memo

Please contact me with any questions. You are welcome to use the class computers during the class hour. I will check your work Monday evening.

Ethics Memo

Carson Groff

I used to work for a home security company in Chicago. It was one of those summer jobs that you can do and make a ton of money. As a technician, my job was to install the security systems that the salesmen sold. One of the problems that I faced was that the salesmen would lie all the time. They would either tell the people that it was going to be a law to have to own a security system so they should get one now, or they would say that the system could do all this fancy stuff that it really could not do. So when I went to the customer's house to install it, they would ask me questions about things the salesman told them and I was faced with the dilemma of telling the the truth and not getting paid for the install, or going along with the lie and getting paid.

I talked to the salesmen all the time about not telling the customers false info, but they got more sales with the lies. The company knew about it too, but they wouldn't do anything either because they got more money too.

I think the company should have done something to stop it. It not only makes the company look bad, but people like me don't want to work for them. I ended up quitting before the summer was out.

Im writing a note fo

I’m writing a note for class. It has no purpose.

Amazon.com: Books: Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading

Amazon.com: Books: Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading: "Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading (Hardcover)"

Ethical Racing

Memo:

This article is interesting because it deals with something that we hear a lot about in sports. Each individual athlete has the right to train harder and eat better than the next. But in today?s world of athletics athletes are trying to take their ?game? to the next level. This is another case where and athlete has tired to give him self the advantage by making himself taller in order to win the sprint

In this case Postorius (the 17 year old runner) was using a prosthetic in a Paralympic game. The argument was that he was using prosthetic legs that made him unnaturally tall and gave him an unfair advantage. He has the rights to wear these however it violates the rules that would enable him to race fairly. This puts a negative view publicly on not only himself but the Paralympic games. It shows that Postorius like many major league baseball players who are under investigation do not care about their fellow athletes.

Go to: www. slate . msn .com

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Memo

Alexis Bucceri

Engl 4310

MWF 12-1250pm

Memo

Are you a human experiment? Close to forty years ago approximately 399 black male members of a poor Alabama community were. It was believed that the way the sexually transmitted disease syphilis affected black and white men differed. The researchers (doctors) conducting this study believed that in white men it affected them neurologically while in black men it affected their cardiovascular system.

These doctors took it upon themselves to conduct this study on these poor men, without informing them just what was happening. These Alabama men were told there was something wrong with their blood and these doctors provided free medical treatment to help fix this problem. Most of these men had never even visited a doctor before and so free treatment to them was a blessing.

Not once were these human experiments told of the consequences their disease would have and not only consequences on themselves but also on their spouses and children. They never knew that they were not being treated for their illness; they just appreciated the free treatment from a doctor, a doctor who should have been trustworthy.

This study was completely unethical. It completely violates ethical rights. In a community people should have concern for their neighbor, their friends. A doctor takes an oath, he is supposed to save lives, not induce death. These doctors not only lied to their patients, they caused their death and possibly the death of the patient? spouses and children.

Regardless of this medical treatment being free to these men, they still had a right to honest treatment. Every man has the right to have their basic needs met in their community. These doctors were a part of this community and so they too should have cared for their patients, their neighbor. The most unethical part of this study was that the results would not alter any of the treatments for syphilis. After the loss of these lives, the loss of trust in a community and the loss of the trust in a country there was no advance for the treatment of syphilis. The study was therefore futile.

Unethical Conduct by Check City

By just paying $25 and canceling a lost check you would assume that you are protected. However a recent experience that a Draper business man had suggests the opposite. A check was dropped off at an employees' house and not delivered personally. The employee then claimed he never received the check. A new check was written and the old check was cancelled through the bank. When the worker cashed the original check at check city, the business man was required to pay the check.

Check City should have gone after the worker for the payment of the check that was cashed, not after the business man who had cancelled the check. They shouldn't have allowed the transaction to go through if the check wasn't valid and since they did it they should pay the price and try to get the money back from the employee who received double pay. It is not just for Check City to require the business man to pay for the check that was cancelled. He lost money paying for the cancellation of the lost check and then lost the full amount of the check in addition to that. Check city should right the problem by taking a loss for their mistake or regaining their loss from the unethical employee that cashed both checks.

David Miller

Ethic Problems

From: Marina Daghouz
To: Mark Crane
English 4310
Sept. 12, 2005

With each passing day every individual is faced with ethical problems
which one must employ his/her personal beliefs and values to answer
and overcome. All too often, in a society driven by the allure of
money, the decisions that are made are not necessarily the best
decisions. Case in point is a former employment situation I was not
particularly fond of; in so much I consider it to be my greatest
ethical dilemma.
Several years ago I was given an opportunity to work for a certain
individual who had been running her own business ventures for a brief
period of time. She needed some additional assistance to enable more
free time on her part as well as overall management of a handful of
these ventures. Unfortunately, I was to learn the hard way concerning
money and business ethics. The specific industry I was to be involved
in was that of network marketing or, less glamorously, pyramid
schemes. Included in these schemes were health food products,
internet-based learning "educational" opportunities and so forth. How
they were to be handled and managed was, both then and now, beyond my
personal code of ethics.
For the internet-based scheme, I was assigned to contact people
personally and convince them to purchase a package of investment and
business oriented material at the fine fee of roughly $2500.00. To
contact these individuals I had to purchase lists of names from
clandestine sources, not accredited or filtered by the Federal Do Not
Call List or any other regulatory firm, and continuously call them via
telephone and persuade them into believing this was a "once in a
lifetime event." Coupled with the calling approach, a man who was
deeply seeped in the industry taught me, at the behest of my boss, how
to "spam" people with multiple emails to thousands of individuals.
Spamming on such a grand scale had been deemed illegal, making it
necessary to go through a middle internet server.
Besides the spamming and illegal phone solicitations, the majority of
people I interviewed and presented my spiel to were generally
under-educated and financially challenged, seeking any get-rich-quick
schemes or impressionable enough to be contacted and convinced of this
necessity. I became Robin Hood in reverse, preying off the
ill-informed poor to the benefit of the wealthy. I was able to
accumulate 3-4 sales on this particular account on any given week.
The techniques and methods I used to accomplish my task were
extremely immoral and unethical. First and foremost, I lied in
multiple ways: pricing, false advertrsing, false product information,
unwilling to inform and filed questions, etc… The elements of
avaricious and greed continues to bring a disheartening feeling, even
presently. Deriving personal information on people and knowing how
this information would be used was also a great dilemma in dealing
with my position.
I had originally been hired and informed my job function would be
that of office manager, simply organizing the office, placing
legitimate phone calls, and keeping accounting records up-to-date.
Had I known the larger extent to which my skills would be used I would
have never dealt with such individuals. Like most ethical cases you
allow yourself to manipulated and gradually eased in with each new
situation. Seldom is it the case that you thrust yourself into a
situation and rob the entire bank, for instance. One must learn to
steal small things, meaningless things to aspire and justify the next
progressive step in the degradation of morals. In retrospect, I
should have recognized these patterns and terminated my employment
immediately; however, no such action was taken on my part, to great
remorse.
The purposeful intention my boss and other close associates of hers
had, in regards to their business practices, been well too much for my
moral and ethical disposition. To resolve matters, I made a sincere
personal pledge to never allow myself to be manipulated in any similar
way to this and to ensure all relations I engage into, whether
business or other, are honest and truthful. I was able to obtain
enough information and paper evidence to turn her, and a group closely
associated to her, into the IRS. There were many other dealings that
I was not directly or even indirectly involved with but, with how I
was used for deceitful purposes, I thought it imperative the business
dealings of these individuals should be brought to the appropriate
light.
If given the chance to repeat my actions I have deep, mixed feelings.
I definitely would would not perform the job and its actions ever
again, ensuring my ethics are upheld. The fact that I was able to put
an end to some very malicious business dealings seemed to have
justified my role, in the grand scope of things. However, I believe
overall that I would not repeat my actions, even if a descent amount
of good was the result. To compromise one's ethics is one of the
greatest ways of wronging one's self.

English 4310

DATE: September 12, 2005

TO: Professor Mark Crane

FROM: Todd Mickelson

SUBJECT: English 4310

I read an article about on November 17, 2003 that American Airlines
allowed a jet to fly that wasn't airworthy, apperantly the airplane had
leaky fuel tank.

Rights: Every passenger has the right to fly on an airplane that is
airworthy and also that the pilots and flight attendents work in an
airplane that is airworthy.

Justice: The passengers pay through their plane tickets to help pay
for the maintenance of the airplane, the company has the duty to keep
their planes in an airworthy status.

Utility: If the company doesn't keep their airplanes in an airworthy
condition then they will like to have a airplane crash, which would
potientaly hurt or even kill their passengers.

Care: Keeping an airplane in unairworthy condition disregards the care
for everyone. and will hurt the relationship that they have with
passengers.

4morals standards

Todd Petersen
Mike Stentzel
Sept. 12, 05
Send to- mecran01.4310@blogger.com

This is a good one to know. If you write a check and send it out to a
person or a company, and then cancel the check. There is still a chance
that you have to pay for the check you wrote out and you also paid the
25 dollar stop payment process.

Ethics

From: Dave Linton
To: Mark Crane
September 12, 2005
English 4310

My wife is a third grade teacher in Pleasant Grove.
Last school year was her second year
of teaching. The principal of this particular school
was growing more and more power
hungry. Each teacher was noticing that she was
apparently putting certain teachers on
her chopping block and trying to find anyway of
getting rid of them.

One fifth grade teacher, who somehow got on her bad
list, was fired, or rather,
his "contract was not renewed" because of an apparent
sexual remark he made towards
another teacher. This teacher however was not aware of
any remarks he made that
could have been construed as such. Moreover, the
complaint was not made by the
teacher who was the recipient of the remark, but
rather from a disgruntled student who
told her parents and they in turn told the principal.
With no questions asked he was fired
on the spot.

Naturally any person who actually makes such remarks
should be fired, but at least
some sort of investigation should be conducted to see
if the allegation is correct. The
teacher who was fired was not told who made the
complaint and also did not know who
the other teacher was of whom he supposedly insulted.
(the indentity of the student who
made the initial complaint came out later but the
teacher was not informed who that was
until he had already been fired). He strongly denies
that any situation took place or
remarks were said that could have been misunderstood
to such a severe degree.

He definately had the right to know who was accusing
him and also the right to defend
himself before he gets fired. The principle told him
that this situation would not appear on
his record and would not affect him being able to get
a job at another school. This
happened seven months and he still has not been able
to find a job. All the other
teachers were on his side and wanted to see him stay
at the school. They all knew he
was innocent of the charges but no one wanted to come
forward because of fear that
they would be next on the principal's chopping block.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

memo

Memo: from Ken Senzig
To: mecran01.4310@blogger.com

Due to the unethical activity of Jet blue your personal information has
been given away. In September of 2002, JetBlue Airways secretly gave
the Transportation Security Administration and Torch Concepts (now
doing business as Torch Technologies) the Social Security number, date
of birth, and associated credit histories of many of the 5 million
passengers in the JetBlue database. Some of this information,
including SSNs, was posted by Torch Concepts to the Internet. The
document was freely available for download on the Internet for over six
months and was taken down on the 17th of September, 2003. This
sensitive travel data was then turned-over to a private security
contractor for analysis, the results of which were presented at a
security conference earlier this year and then posted on the Internet.
Let’s look at the rights of the individuals to be secure in private
information. This information could be damaging if it fell into the
wrong hands. This violated the welfare of the individual.
Utility is concerned with the effects on the public and this info can
have a harmful effect on individuals
Care is the relationship we have to other individuals and this creates
a negative relationship with Jet blue
I have traveled JetBlue from phoenix to John Wayne airport so I have
better watch my credit info.

ethical problem

from: Aric Hawkins

To: Mark Crane

English 4310

Sept. 12, 2005

The ethical problem i have encountered that i choose to discuss is one dealing with the UVSC parking enforcement. I recently recieved a parking pass on a car i just bought and it was not yet titled in my name. I asked a friend what i could do to get out of paying the ticket he told me to write a fake name and address for the car. Another friend told me to ignore the ticket and hope it ges away because the parking people couldnt run a licence plate number and track me down.

As I sat and thought about what i could do to get the ticket dismissed a large range of questions bombarded my mind. i thought about my right as a student being able to drive my car to school and having a few days inwhich i had time to find my classes and figure where the best place to park would be so i could minimize the time i wasted walking to my classes.

Another thought that came to mind was that it is not fair to students that have not had time to get a parking pass get ticketed within the first week of school. Most of the conversations i heard in the halls were that of the parking enforcement lack of care that it is the first week of school. I can understand if it was in January after half of the school year has gone by.

If the parking enforcement people are going to give out tickets on the first week of school they should at least post something around the whole school rather than just in the office area. some students do all of their registration stuff on line and forget to go to the one stop service desk in the administration building to get that taken care of.

After sorting through all my thoughts and advice I decided to go ask the parking people what i should do because i just purchased my car. They (for once) were friendly enough to tell me that i could go to the Utah State Tax Commission and get a form stating that i registered my car and had to change the title after the school year started.

Aric Hawkins

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Moral Memo

One issue I deal with at work constantly relates to dealing with
customers. I work as a piano mover for a piano retail store. Many
times a piano may be damaged or have a defect or may even be a gray
market piano and the customer does not know. I am asked usually by the
saleperson or owner of the company to either ommit information or just
lie about the situation.
On the side of Rights, I think of my right to refuse to lie and
risk being reprimanded or disliked by my co-workers or supervisors.
On the justice side, the salesperson should be the one to disclose
the proper information regarding the piano to the customer. Also the
problem should be resolved in a just way. for example, if the piano is
damaged the company should pay to have it fixed or replaced.
at a Utility aspect, I look at the idea of the cost that the
company saves in leaving the customer with a defective piano as long as
the customer doesn't know. but the company also needs to realized the
moral standards they are imposing on their employees, and also the
effects their actions are going to have on a cusomer if they do find
out they have been lied to. also they may loose the customers trust.
as far as care is concerned, the salespeople especially, try to
say what the customer wants to here just to close the sale, when in
reality they only care about themselves and making money, even if this
means covering up their mistakes. I have a resposibility to myself and
my family to do what is right and being asked to lie to a customer
imposes on my rights.
I'm sure this is the same in many sales situations and is a
dilemma for many people.

ethics in work

From: Chris Near
To: Mark Crane
English 4310
September 12, 2005

A situation that comes up commonly in the workforce is whether or not
to hire illegal immigrants. It is against state laws to do so, but
still many companies do it. This event is very common in construction
because companies can hire the immigrants to work for cheap with few if
any benefits.

State wide enforcement of this law is fairly relaxed at this time. Most
employers, if they want to, can get away with hiring illegal immigrants
with no visible consequences. The dillema then becomes one of rights,
justice, race, and ethics.

Many legal immigrants complain that employers should not higher illegal
immigrants because they are taking the jobs of the legal citizens who
feel that it is their right to have those jobs. Giving jobs to illegal
immigrants also causes racial tensions to rise even more. Look at the
wall of any urinal on a construction job sight and you are bound to see
how the white workers view their dark skinned, illegal immigrant
counterparts.

This issue also deals with the relationship between justice and
economics. Employers can argue that they are not at fault, but that in
fact it is the consumer that demands they higher cheaper labor in order
to keep costs low. If only legal citizens are hired then higher wages
are demanded along with insurance benefits. This caused the employer to
raise his prices which can lead to less work for him.

In the end it has become a tangled web with no clear answer in sight.

Chris Near
email: 10256178@uvlink.uvsc.edu

Ethic Problems

From: Ryan Buelo
To: Class
9-12-05

There is a current problem at work that deals with nepotism. The unfair
favoring of a family member at the work place. A new policy needs to be set
in place so that raises and promotions are due to work done and not who you
are related to.

The rights of the employees demand that this stop and is fixed so that
family members are not promoted over more deserving employees. an

another aspect of this problem is the justice of this would be to fire those
members of family that don't complete the tasks necessary so that some more
deserving receives that job. justice demands that employees are promoted
fairly and through a rating system that rates everyone fairly.

it is necessary that the company hire family members because of the
difficulty in finding worthy employees. the family members know what they
are doing and deserve a job.
The problem is that family members care about one another and help each
other along. this isn't a bad thing care is important in the work place but
if it interferes with the promotion of worthy candidates it is unfair and
unjust.

Ryan Buelo

unethical practice

Jeff Baumann
baumannjeff@hotmail.com

Checker auto is the first company that comes to mind when it comes to
dealings with the company i work for. i work for a general contractor out of
salt lake. checker auto had our company and several others bid to remodel
several stores. they then gathered all the bids and instead of awarding the
bid to one of the companies they took the oweest sub contractor form each
bid and called them directly to have them come do the job. so they made the
generals get all the bids and do all the work and then bypassed them saying
they where the general contractors. i would say that this practice falls
under the area of justice. they have made it so that they save the expense
fo gathering subs and putting timetables together and shifted the cost on to
the generals who they had no intention of using to do the work only to put
information together at no cost.

Center for Studies of Ethics - Case Studies: "Case Prepared by Jerry, a Graphic Arts student

I was asked by my boss to prepare some government reports about how we dispose of waste products--specifically, how we discard paper and the used oil from our presses. I was told that we recycled our paper and that we had the oil picked up by a truck. I knew that wasn't true. The boss doesn't like to discuss anything, especially something like that. I did some asking around and found out that we used to do proper disposal, but it cost $714 to have the truck come and get the oil and grease, and that the person responsible before I got the job had decided it wasn't worth it because we had to pay the inspector $220 to come out and look at what we did, so he was taking the oil to the dump himself. I decided that I should ask the boss about it. It was an awful meeting. He told me that it was my responsibility to get rid of it, and I could either take it myself or take the money out of my salary. I knew that his decision wasn't a good decision, but I didn't want to lose my job. I decided to talk about it in one of our ethics discussions at College. The class was divided on whether I should blow the whistle on the boss; if I should haul the waste myself; or if I should fill out the papers as I had been told. After a lot of thought, I decided to haul it to a recycle place myself. It only took one Saturday morning every four months or so, but I think it isn't part of my responsibility. The company is still in business, which is the most good for the most people, and I am thinking right now that is the best decision. At least the oil is getting to the right place, and I do have my job. Before this class I probably would have just lied on the report. In a two page argument answer the following questions:

1. What are the ethical responsibilities of the company? What harms are being caused by the company?
2. What are the ethical responsibilities of Jerry's boss? What harms are being caused by Jerry's boss?
3. What are Jerry's ethical responsibilities?
4. Jerry selects a utilitarian argument with this case. Explain how this is an appropriate or inappropriate ethics justification."

To post things to this blog, email to the following address:

mecran01.4310@blogger.com

For Friday, September 9th:

Please read pages 1-52 in our text and prepare for a "surprise" quiz.

Using the New UV Link Email System

All UVSC students now have an email address in the new UV Link system. Because most of you have multiple email accounts (UVSC Groupwise, WebCT, UV Link, and at least one personal account), some clarification probably is in order. Please review the following information, and let me know if you have questions.

You can access this new email account through the UV Link portal by clicking on the Email icon in the upper-right corner of the UV Link main page.

Your address is your student (or Banner) ID number @uvlink.uvsc.edu (so mine, for example, would be 10004785@uvlink.uvsc.edu).

Because this address is highly impersonal, and because you have to log into the UV Link portal to check it, most of you probably will not opt to use it regularly.

It does, however, provide me with a quick and convenient way to email you, both individually and as a class, without having to gather and record students' addresses at the beginning of each semester. I do plan on making periodic use of this feature.
What I would ask you to do, then, is to turn on the Auto Forward feature in your UV Link email account, so that I can send messages to your UV Link address, and you can receive them in whichever email account you actually use.

To turn on Auto Forward:

Log into the UV Link portal
Click on the Email icon
Click on the Options tab
Click on the Auto Forward link
Type your preferred email address in the box
Click OK

I have turned on Auto Forward for my UV Link account. So if you forget the address that I actually use (youraddress@uvsc.edu), you can always contact me by clicking on the linked address next to our course in the My Courses area of the UV Link portal (the same place you go to enter WebCT).

design in-flight: DIY Photography on the cheap

Hi, please fill out the following short grade survey as soon as possible:

http://complicity.uvsc.edu/clipboard/survey.php?surveyid=9

If you can't make it to class this Friday, be sure to submit your assignment on webct. I'll drop the lowest-scored assignment before completing final grades, but all work should be submitted.

Cool Tools

Just a great site.

Memo Assignment
English 4310

I am writing this memo for the company I work for, which is a general contractor. The reason for this memo is that a sheetrock subcontractor is trying to collect their total bill on a $400,000 home that we are working on. The company is called Ross Sheetrock and they have so called completed their work. For this reason they are trying to collect the remaining balance of $8,000 for the total job. The reason for the memo is to let them know that we are very unpleased with the final sanding job they did and the delay they have put on the finish work, which we are doing.

Dear Jorge,
We regret to inform you of the poor job that we found as we tried to begin finish work last Wednesday. We found that very little sanding had been done as well as absolutely no clean-up had been performed. As a result we were forced to start cleaning up so that we could begin our finish work. That afternoon three individuals came to sand and clean-up but only were there for a total of three hours and did hardly anything. The following day one of them returned with his girlfriend present and began to spot sand a few spots to whom we expressed our dissatisfaction in the sanding that had been performed. He was not very happy with our expressing this and became irritated. He did have his girlfriend leave and continued to sand some areas but he didn’t stay very long. On Friday one of your supervisors came to talk with us and to see what had happened with the sanding and to find out why we got upset with the sanding crew. He was in total agreement of the poor job that was done and assured us that the sanding would be redone. He then showed the sanding crew, who showed backup later that morning, what they needed to do. The sanding crew stayed for a few hours and left. We would like a thorough inspection done on the sanding job at this time before any money is paid. We were very pleased with the hanging and texturing of the walls however, for a job of this size and price the teenage workers used for sanding were very unprofessional with the ending portion of the job. We look forward to an inspection so that we can get this problem resolved and behind us.

Sincerely,
Fait Construction

superior railing instructions.pdf

installing a vinyl railing

Paper airplane - The best paper airplane in the world!

swanksigns - dedicated to the art of mocking public works

cool graphic of shuttle damage

Hi, sorry about the delay in posting Friday's assignment, I went out of town for the weekend. Here is what I need you to do:

1. Read the chapter I handed out in class on Wednesday on revising for readability.

2. Go through your existing drafts and find 10 sentences that need revising

3. Post them to the discussion area under "revising for readability"

4. Identify by name recurring problems that you see in your writing, based on the included sentences

5. revise the affected sentences.

Thanks!

Ask E.T.: Rhetorical ploys in evidence presentations: "Rhetorical ploys in evidence presentations
Here is the beginning of a collection of rhetorical ploys in evidence presentations, verbal moves that replace real evidence.

FAUX CONSERVATISM This takes the form of 'Our results are conservative; we made conservative assumptions about the model.' The claim is that possible biases in assumptions work against the view advanced by the researcher. This is in fact an implicit error statement. Such claims are sometimes a rhetorical tactic that substitutes verbal fudge factors for quantitative assessments of error. See for example the Boeing/Columbia slide with the headline: Review of test data indicates conservatism for tile penetration

IGNORING SELF-CONTRADICTION See the Boeing slide. See also Richard Feynman's example in his Challenger report at page 137 of 'What do you care what other people think?':"

For this Friday's online class I'd like you to do peer review. Your response should be at least 150 words, and detailed.

1. Post your current draft AS AN ATTACHMENT with the subject:

DRAFT: [your last name]

2. Respond to any draft that hasn't gotten a response yet, but only after you have posted your own draft. In the response message, (R)eply to the original with the subject:

RESPONSE: [your last name]

Hopefully this will be less confusing than the last time we tried this!

Attack of the Weasel Words - Newsweek Entertainment - MSNBC.com: "What are the “weasel words” you dislike most?
'Implemented.' You'll see implemented everywhere. In this language, you “implement” rather than speak or do. And then there is enhanced. Everything is being enhanced. That word is being used in place of other more precise and descriptive words. You can enhance your marriage or your job. You can even implement your enhancements. And 'input' is another good one. Companies talk about “input into our people.” This reflects technology and accounting [ideas]. It all has to do with input and outcomes."

For today's online class (Friday, July 8th) I'd like you to do two thing:

1. Discuss the recent readings on usability, and usability in general, on the discussion board. Post at least a paragraph discussing the readings, and respond with at least a paragraph to someone else's posting. Some questions you might consider answering:

a. Can Neilsen's web criteria be effectively applied to paper documentation?

b. Does "usability" really matter, or is it just an annoying piece of jargon?

c. How on earth could this possibly apply to your jobs in the real world, if you don't become a technical writer?

You can probably come up with better questions on your own.

Ok, the second thing I need from you is to take that article on applying Neilsen's criteria to paper docs, and, using that checklist, design a simple usability form that your test subjects can use to evaluate the documentation you are bringing to class on Monday. Post your form to the discussion area for other class member's to get ideas from. It's ok if you plagiarize each other like crazy in this assignment, and you can post multiple drafts if you take an idea from someone and improve your original. try to keep it to one page, if possible.

Heuristic Inspections for Documentation: "We all are familiar with Jakob Nielsen's heuristics for evaluating the usability of interfaces. When I was conducting a study on documentation usability, I started wondering if there existed a similar set of heuristics for evaluating the usability of documentation. The natural place to pose such a question was the STC Usability SIG mailing list. The response was that there was no heuristics set available although someone had tried to open the discussion in the mailing list some time ago. An answer, which led to the list of heuristics presented below, was something along the line 'Well, now that you asked, why don't you put the heuristics together' and so I did.

Guardian Unlimited | Online | Lazy, stupid and evil design: "Lazy, stupid and evil design "

Dear students,

I have lots of students right now, and I get tons of email. It would be really helpful if, when sending me a message, you put your course in the subject heading, like this:

Subject: [1010] Question about final paper

Of course, if you're in 2020 or 4310, you would put [2020] or [4310] respectively.

I'm filtering my email now, so if you *don't* follow that example I'll probably lose your note, or not get to it for several days.

Thanks!

About section page template: "The Usability Toolkit is a collection of forms, checklists and other useful documents for conducting usability tests and user interviews."

Heuristic Inspections for Documentation: "We all are familiar with Jakob Nielsen's heuristics for evaluating the usability of interfaces. When I was conducting a study on documentation usability, I started wondering if there existed a similar set of heuristics for evaluating the usability of documentation. The natural place to pose such a question was the STC Usability SIG mailing list. The response was that there was no heuristics set available although someone had tried to open the discussion in the mailing list some time ago. An answer, which led to the list of heuristics presented below, was something along the line 'Well, now that you asked, why don't you put the heuristics together' and so I did.

"

Improving User Documentation and Customer Care: "Improving User Documentation and Customer Care

by Cem Kaner, Ph.D., J.D. & David Pels, B.A.

In recent years, the Customer Care Survey of Service and Support Practices in the Software Industry has consistently reported that only about half of software publishers put their documentation through a formal test. We thought that these numbers were low, so we checked them at the Software Testing, Analysis & Review (STAR) conference (Orlando, May 16, 1996).

During a plenary session, Kaner asked attendees (software testers) whether their groups tested their companies’ user manuals. Confirming the Customer Care data, at least half the room stood up to signify that their companies did not. This means that reputable companies are not testing their manuals – companies who don’t care about quality don’t spend money to send testers to STAR."

Post your truly mangled sentences here.

Exchange: "cKDCgSNTgH"

this is the course id that we will be using in the http://www.prenhall.com/exchange space.

Beginners Guides: USB Memory Drive Projects - PCStats.com: "The USB memory key appears
well on its way to replacing the floppy drive completely; as flash memory prices
have dropped, these devices have become cheap enough that anyone can afford
them. This, coupled with the easy support of such drives in Windows XP, has made
them an extremely attractive device for anyone that needs to move files from
place to place. USB memory drives are not just geek toys anymore!
As you will see here though,
there's a lot more you can do with your USB memory key than just transfer files.
These flexible miniature storage devices can put a whole range of portable
applications, and even operating systems in your pocket.
"

Cold remedies that really work.- update - Share The Wealth

Class: I'm kinda sick right now and behind on the grading. My lungs are trying to meet their yearly phlegm production quota in 24 hours. I will get caught up soon, hang in there. And send me your favorite cold remedies.

For this Friday I want you to go to http://www.prenhall.com/exchange and try logging in with the second set of codes I gave you. That will be your assignment in lieu of reading.

Overcoming Procrastination Through the Pull Method

Investing - Gates and Ozzie: How to Escape E-Mail Hell - FORTUNE - Page 2: "ill, you have been nailed in court through e-mail that was found in legal discovery. Has that changed the way you use it?Gates: No. I live the examined life. Basically every e-mail that I've ever sent has been looked at by something like 30 or 40 lawyers to see if there's any way it can be misconstrued. I don't put any notes at the bottom where I say, 'Note to lawyer: When I say 'Beat the competition,' I mean in the nice friendly way we always do.' [laughter] So look, the idea that everything you're doing can be examined%u2014there's nothing really wrong with that. Voicemail is like that too. People just should get used to the idea that there's going to be some visibility for things. I don't think we're all going to just go down to the local pay phone or something."

Ok, I think the accounts we set up the second time are working, but you have to login here:

http://exch.pearsoned.com/exchange/prenhallLogin.jsp

AAAAAARrrrrrrggggghhhh!!!

CourseCompass

Hi,

I haven't yet heard back from Prentice Hall about the peer feedback glitch, so here's what I need you to do:

1. go to the "discussions" link in webct
2. click on "peer feedback"
3. click on "instructions draft" and read my instructions there.

Basically, I need you to post a message to the peer response topic, attach your current draft as a document, and then respond to the next draft in the message thread, i.e. whoever has posted after you.

Let's give it a shot, and email me if you have any questions.

craniac@gmail.com

Main Page - wikiHow

an entire website dedicated to "how to" writing, i.e. technical writing. It includes such topics as "How to Start a Rock Band."

our course id:

Bb6myCG37G

Crash Testing: MINI Cooper vs Ford F150

Interesting use of illustrations.

Writing Instructions

Tools for technical writers

-->read these for Friday's discussion.

Please post your response in the "discussions" area in webct, under the "reading responses" link. Thanks!

IGDA - Articles - Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work: 6 Lessons: "Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work: 6 Lessons"

https://onaccess3.uvsc.edu/oaweb/WebCT.aspx

The Graphing Calculator Story: " view the events as an experiment in subverting power structures. I had none of the traditional power over others that is inherent to the structure of corporations and bureaucracies. I had neither budget nor headcount. I answered to no one, and no one had to do anything I asked. Dozens of people collaborated spontaneously, motivated by loyalty, friendship, or the love of craftsmanship. We were hackers, creating something for the sheer joy of making it work."

I need the following from everyone today or when your final project is due, 12/10/04 at noon in the box outside my office.

Please write a brief memo detailing the following:

- a description of your role(s) in your group project

- a description of how you did or did not fulfill that role

- an estimate of your total contribution to the project, expressed as a percentage

- A description of how you revised or changed your writing based on feedback from the class, the book, or any other source

- Tell me what you would do differently in terms of group work or the project as a whole

- What was the most useful thing you learned about technical communication?

From the New York Times of December 7th:

December 7, 2004

What Corporate America Can't Build: A Sentence
By SAM DILLON

LOOMINGTON, Ill. - R. Craig Hogan, a former university professor who heads an online school for business writing here, received an anguished e-mail message recently from a prospective student.

"i need help," said the message, which was devoid of punctuation. "i am writing a essay on writing i work for this company and my boss want me to help improve the workers writing skills can yall help me with some information thank you".

Hundreds of inquiries from managers and executives seeking to improve their own or their workers' writing pop into Dr. Hogan's computer in-basket each month, he says, describing a number that has surged as e-mail has replaced the phone for much workplace communication. Millions of employees must write more frequently on the job than previously. And many are making a hash of it.

"E-mail is a party to which English teachers have not been invited," Dr. Hogan said. "It has companies tearing their hair out."

A recent survey of 120 American corporations reached a similar conclusion. The study, by the National Commission on Writing, a panel established by the College Board, concluded that a third of employees in the nation's blue-chip companies wrote poorly and that businesses were spending as much as $3.1 billion annually on remedial training.

The problem shows up not only in e-mail but also in reports and other texts, the commission said.

"It's not that companies want to hire Tolstoy," said Susan Traiman, a director at the Business Roundtable, an association of leading chief executives whose corporations were surveyed in the study. "But they need people who can write clearly, and many employees and applicants fall short of that standard."

Millions of inscrutable e-mail messages are clogging corporate computers by setting off requests for clarification, and many of the requests, in turn, are also chaotically written, resulting in whole cycles of confusion.

Here is one from a systems analyst to her supervisor at a high-tech corporation based in Palo Alto, Calif.: "I updated the Status report for the four discrepancies Lennie forward us via e-mail (they in Barry file).. to make sure my logic was correct It seems we provide Murray with incorrect information ... However after verifying controls on JBL - JBL has the indicator as B ???? - I wanted to make sure with the recent changes - I processed today - before Murray make the changes again on the mainframe to 'C'."

The incoherence of that message persuaded the analyst's employers that she needed remedial training.

"The more electronic and global we get, the less important the spoken word has become, and in e-mail clarity is critical," said Sean Phillips, recruitment director at another Silicon Valley corporation, Applera, a supplier of equipment for life science research, where most employees have advanced degrees. "Considering how highly educated our people are, many can't write clearly in their day-to-day work."

Some $2.9 billion of the $3.1 billion the National Commission on Writing estimates that corporations spend each year on remedial training goes to help current employees, with the rest spent on new hires. The corporations surveyed were in the mining, construction, manufacturing, transportation, finance, insurance, real estate and service industries, but not in wholesale, retail, agriculture, forestry or fishing, the commission said. Nor did the estimate include spending by government agencies to improve the writing of public servants.

An entire educational industry has developed to offer remedial writing instruction to adults, with hundreds of public and private universities, for-profit schools and freelance teachers offering evening classes as well as workshops, video and online courses in business and technical writing.

Kathy Keenan, a onetime legal proofreader who teaches business writing at the University of California Extension, Santa Cruz, said she sought to dissuade students from sending business messages in the crude shorthand they learned to tap out on their pagers as teenagers.

"hI KATHY i am sending u the assignmnet again," one student wrote to her recently. "i had sent you the assignment earlier but i didnt get a respond. If u get this assgnment could u please respond . thanking u for ur cooperation."

Most of her students are midcareer professionals in high-tech industries, Ms. Keenan said.

The Sharonview Federal Credit Union in Charlotte, N.C., asked about 15 employees to take a remedial writing course. Angela Tate, a mortgage processor, said the course eventually bolstered her confidence in composing e-mail, which has replaced much work she previously did by phone, but it was a daunting experience, since she had been out of school for years. "It was a challenge all the way through," Ms. Tate said.

Even C.E.O.'s need writing help, said Roger S. Peterson, a freelance writer in Rocklin, Calif., who frequently coaches executives. "Many of these guys write in inflated language that desperately needs a laxative," Mr. Peterson said, and not a few are defensive. "They're in denial, and who's going to argue with the boss?"

But some realize their shortcomings and pay Mr. Peterson to help them improve. Don Morrison, a onetime auditor at Deloitte & Touche who has built a successful consulting business, is among them.

"I was too wordy," Mr. Morrison said. "I liked long, convoluted passages rather than simple four-word sentences. And I had a predilection for underlining words and throwing in multiple exclamation points. Finally Roger threatened to rip the exclamation key off my keyboard."

Exclamation points were an issue when Linda Landis Andrews, who teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago, led a workshop in May for midcareer executives at an automotive corporation based in the Midwest. Their exasperated supervisor had insisted that the men improve their writing.

"I get a memo from them and cannot figure out what they're trying to say," the supervisor wrote Ms. Andrews.

When at her request the executives produced letters they had written to a supplier who had failed to deliver parts on time, she was horrified to see that tone-deaf writing had turned a minor business snarl into a corporate confrontation moving toward litigation.

"They had allowed a hostile tone to creep into the letters," she said. "They didn't seem to understand that those letters were just toxic."

"People think that throwing multiple exclamation points into a business letter will make their point forcefully," Ms. Andrews said. "I tell them they're allowed two exclamation points in their whole life."

Not everyone agrees. Kaitlin Duck Sherwood of San Francisco, author of a popular how-to manual on effective e-mail, argued in an interview that exclamation points could help convey intonation, thereby avoiding confusion in some e-mail.

"If you want to indicate stronger emphasis, use all capital letters and toss in some extra exclamation points," Ms. Sherwood advises in her guide, available at www.webfoot.com, where she offers a vivid example:

">Should I boost the power on the thrombo?

"NO!!!! If you turn it up to eleven, you'll overheat the motors, and IT MIGHT EXPLODE!!"

Dr. Hogan, who founded his online Business Writing Center a decade ago after years of teaching composition at Illinois State University here, says that the use of multiple exclamation points and other nonstandard punctuation like the :-) symbol, are fine for personal e-mail but that companies have erred by allowing experimental writing devices to flood into business writing.

He scrolled through his computer, calling up examples of incoherent correspondence sent to him by prospective students.

"E-mails - that are received from Jim and I are not either getting open or not being responded to," the purchasing manager at a construction company in Virginia wrote in one memorandum that Dr. Hogan called to his screen. "I wanted to let everyone know that when Jim and I are sending out e-mails (example- who is to be picking up parcels) I am wanting for who ever the e-mail goes to to respond back to the e-mail. Its important that Jim and I knows that the person, intended, had read the e-mail. This gives an acknowledgment that the task is being completed. I am asking for a simple little 2 sec. Note that says "ok", "I got it", or Alright."

The construction company's human resources director forwarded the memorandum to Dr. Hogan while enrolling the purchasing manager in a writing course.

"E-mail has just erupted like a weed, and instead of considering what to say when they write, people now just let thoughts drool out onto the screen," Dr. Hogan said. "It has companies at their wits' end."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top

Microsoft Word Tips and Tutorials: "Microsoft Word Tips and Tutorials
Tech support, tips, and tutorials for Microsoft Word software especially instructions for doing fancy or complex layouts and desktop publishing with Word."

AskIT: IT Answers: Microsoft Office: Word: Images and Graphics

Google Search: autoshapes microsoft word

Today in class we will review requirements for the final project, and look at several case studies of student projects that will help you as you complete your final assignment. These case studies will examine design and language choices.

Design as Communication: "Later, as I thought back about that morning shower, I realized I had been communicating with the designers. 'Grab here,' the bar was telling me. 'Put the soap on me,' the wire rack soap dish screamed. 'Here are your towels,' said the horizontal bars at the rear wall, at the end of the tub, conveniently stocked with towels. 'Thank you, yes, and no, not for the soap,' I was replying. I even spoke some of these comments aloud. To whom was I speaking?"

Chapter 1: October 27

50% complete: November 23rd

Rough draft: December 8

Final draft: December 16th.

Election result maps

Google Job Opportunities: Technical Writing: "Associate Technical Writer
Position available in Mountain View, CA.

Bring your editing/writing and organizational skills to Google and help us revolutionize search technology! Working in Software Engineering, you will edit Google's internal documentation efforts and assist with documentation processes and organization. "

Election 2004 Results

Another fascinating election graphic.

Stick Figure Warning Signs

The New Yorker

A case study of technical writing gone awry. We'll look at it after the break.

Replacing A Toilet Wax Bowl Ring

An excellent piece of technical writing.

Customer Service

Salt Lake Tribune - Business: " Hazelbaker said the Escalade EXT has a standard anti-theft ignition immobilizer, which prevents the vehicle from being started without the right key, but it may not be as effective as newer systems. General Motors Corp. spokeswoman Kelly Wysocki confirmed that the Pass-lock system, which is on all current Escalades as well as 2005 models, is aging and said

Advertisement

GM is considering a change soon."

TechComm - Main.Schedule4310

I've put our weekly schedule and topics on the wiki. There are still some details left to fill in, but it should give you an idea of where we're headed.

IrfanView - one of the most popular viewers worldwide

This program will let you easily resize and crop images.

Ambiguous: "Unfortunately, if a person who already has a human flu virus swimming around in them gets the bird flu as well, they could easily swap a few genes and start doing something Ebola will almost certainly never do; hang around on kitchen counters and doorknobs and in hugs and kisses. Then we have a problem . The SARS experience taught us that our current medical system is less protection than we thought it was, in fact it doesn't matter if you are going to Asia or staying home, we're all pretty much screwed at that point. To put more perspective on this potential danger the flu we're looking at could, with a few lucky mutations , start acting more like the 1918 Spanish Flu, which killed 20 million people and sickened 1 billion. According to my handy dandy 8th grade percentage figuring technique, that's over 60 million dead and 4 billion sickened within the space of about 10 months. Stats like that don't fit comfortably in the mind, especially in the modern world, where able bodied people are needed to baby sit electrical grids and nuclear weapon that didn't exist in 1918. But surely our modern medical can protect us better than the bloodletting barbers of the 1918? Well, maybe. I'd have a lot more confidence in it if we hadn't just canceled half of our nation's flu shots. "

Boing Boing: Bird Flu risk extremely low

Mankato, MN Home Page

The beautiful city of Mankato.

ACC: shuttle tile risk analysis

Mankato, MN Home Page

The beautiful city of Mankato.

Jeffrey Veen: On Writing Short: "Yesterday at the conference table with a new client, we talked about their frustration with a classic problem. 'Users just won't read the instructions on our forms,' they complained. 'It really couldn't be simpler if they would just read the three sentences at the top!'
But of course we don't read instructions. It's a matter of context. When trying to get through an interaction, we're not in 'reading mode' ... we're in 'doing mode.' "

For class on Friday and Monday (depending on how much ground we cover)

1. Read chapters 7,8,9 (we've already discussed #7, but will revisit it briefly).

I asked you to do two other things: attach your current files to your wiki page, and discuss your research strategy on your wiki page, but we'll do these in class on Friday.

And, realisitically, we may not get to chapter nine until Monday.

For Wednesday's class, please read pg. 116, "The Research Process." There will be a fun surprise quiz connected with this reading. Just so you know.

TechComm Wiki

lihjljk;

Some deadlines:

Chapter 1: October 27

50% complete: November 23rd

Rough draft: December 8

Final draft: December 16th.

We'll talk about these in class.

Microsoft Office Assistance: Create a Gantt chart in Excel: "here are many ways to create a Gantt chart. For example, Microsoft Project, a task-planning program, makes it easy to track and chart project timelines with a built-in Gantt chart view. Another option is to use Excel. Excel does not contain a built-in Gantt chart format; however, you can create a Gantt chart in Excel by customizing the stacked bar chart type.

This article shows you how to create a Gantt chart like the following example."

Boing Boing: Worst interface ever: car self-destruct switch

Mind Tools - Critical Path Analysis and PERT: "Drawing a Critical Path Analysis Chart
Use the following steps to draw a CPA Chart:

1. List all activities in the plan
For each activity, show the earliest start date, estimated length of time it will take, and whether it is parallel or sequential. If tasks are sequential, show which stage they depend on."

Sample PERT chart

A sample pert chart.

PERT

What is Gantt chart - a definition from the leading computer technical encyclopedia, dictionary and glossary

Blogger Help : Can I have a blog to which more than one person posts?

Post your possible paper topics below.

Rumsfeld memo

Post your secret memo in the comments below:

Codebase : Articles: "Wrangling OS X Permissions for a Workgroup"

Revise this memo for extra credit. Post your response in the comments below:


Hi,



I currently administer two networked classrooms for the English

department, located in LA 27 and LA 29.  It was brought to my

attention that at some point these rooms were mistakenly classified as

"open labs" which led to the decision to not install touchpads to

control the already installed audiovisual equipment.  Unfortunately,

these rooms are used for almost 12 hours a day to teach writing

courses, but the instructors can't use the equipment because the rooms

were left incomplete.  In essence, they are broken.



I'm writing to determine if there is a mechanism in place to have

these classrooms institutionally defined as classrooms, and if there

is a source of funding available to repair these rooms.



thanks for your suggestions,

4310--Advanced Technical Writing

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Iwebkit Youtube tutorials

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Friday, March 28, 2008

Friday, March 21, 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Friday, March 07, 2008

Monday, March 03, 2008

Friday, February 22, 2008

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Monday, January 28, 2008

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Monday, January 07, 2008

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Friday, December 21, 2007

Friday, December 07, 2007

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Monday, November 26, 2007

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Monday, November 19, 2007

Ouch.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Monday, October 15, 2007

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Monday, January 16, 2006

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Monday, January 02, 2006

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Friday, December 02, 2005

Monday, November 21, 2005

Friday, November 18, 2005

complete, rough draft due on Nov. 21

A rough draft of your entire project is due on Nov. 21, Monday at the beginning of class.

frontmatter/endmatter requirements

See the revision checklist on page 282

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

today in class

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Friday, October 28, 2005

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Monday, October 24, 2005

chapter 14:

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

chapter 13

Monday, October 17, 2005

upcoming assignments:

Monday, October 10, 2005

We'll be working out of chapter 11 every day this week, so please read it closely

Monday, October 03, 2005