Week 13 - Blog 9 - Outline of Group Project Presentation

It's all about preparation. We, at the Golden Eagle Research team, petitioned the Forrest County Public Safety Department to allow us to create a Facebook page to raise public awareness of an imminent invasion of the walking dead. We chose this medium because Facebook is such a universal technological tool and is used so widespread in our times. Almost everyone we know has a Facebook so what better way to get through to people.

Our page is named Zombie Apocalypse Awareness: Forrest County Division. With the page we hoped to do just what the name implies. Raise awareness. We began by titling things properly in order to get the right amount attention. We created the page and added pictures we thought helped drive the point home and a few recognizable pictures from media or other sources that would help people understand what they are dealing with. We created a video that is slightly humorous, but under the right circumstances could be informative. Humor is a big part of media and advertising these days so we decided to use what works. The video is posted as a status update from GER, as if there were late breaking news that required immediate attention.

Under the notes section of the page we've included various resources that will help the general public with anything from stocking a safe haven with supplies to what kind of tactics to use in offense and defense against a zombie. Under the notes about supplies we explain how best to stock up on items that will help you survive in the event that a person would have to wait out an invasion in a shelter or similar place. Under the note about Offense and Defense we specific strategies for fighting zombies with both Ranged and Melee weapons. Also under that note is a small guide for preparing your house or shelter to be safe and some of the best methods and practices for someone to take during the invasion.

Our very own GER member Sarah wrote a song about being prepared for a zombie attack and it was also added to our page. This medium may reach other people that notes or status updates previously couldn't. Certain people may not be inclined to read a lot of tactics and advice but would be fine with watching a video. The video isn't so much informative as it was just a medium to help raise awareness and attract people to the page

With more time our page could have reached more people but I believe the overall look and feel accurately relays the point we wanted to get across. Be prepared.

Week 9 - Blog 6 - Individual Progress Report

We at Golden Eagle Research have decided to take on the task of making sure the public is adequately prepared for the upcoming inevitable zombie apocalypse. We’ve petitioned and were accepted by the Forrest County Public Safety Department to spread awareness and knowledge through the implementation of a page on the well known and extremely trafficked Facebook medium. The page will create general awareness of how to tell if a particular situation could turn into a zombie attack and on completion should be able to adequately prepare anyone from the general public in the art of surviving, defending oneself, and handling any zombie threat to themselves or family members. The page will include many helpful sections such as a place where questions can be asked by the public, descriptions of what to look for to spot infected individuals, and a complete guide to correctly handling an attack from an infected subject.

After completing the group proposal and getting the green light we at Golden Eagle Research have hit the ground running in getting the project started and up and running. We created the Facebook page as discussed and named it appropriately. We’ve already added pictures that fit well with the project and overall message of the Facebook page. We’ve also created a color coded warning system similar to the color coded system of the department of defense in the United States. This was a little extra feature that we decided to add and I believe it adds a great touch to the effectiveness of the page as whole. We are currently on schedule with our projected time span and it does not seem like we will have any problems arise that will compromise the project being completed in the projected time. In the near future you can expect a few helpful additions to our page including a video to help raise awareness, A general defense and survival guide geared towards helping any individual defend themselves from infected humanoids, and as discussed earlier a section where a visitor on the page can ask and have their questions addressed by a professional.

In conclusion I believe the Golden Eagle Research team works amazingly well together. We’ve had no problems meeting the assigned deadlines and dividing up the work amongst the group with respects to each person’s strong points. Our work is on schedule and progressing nicely. We will see a better example of each member’s skills being utilized as we approach preparing the media to add to the Facebook page. We have not had any problems coordinating meetings and workload and do not foresee any of that nature in the near future.

We are quickly approaching the scheduled time to complete our videos and other media to add to the Facebook page. We will need to have access to the use of video recording equipment, preferably with some sort of night vision. We will also need makeup and zombie type modifications so we are not putting any of our members in real danger when recording our message on video.

Week 7 - Beginning the Job Search

Job # 1

Company: Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service

Job Title: Information Technology Specialist (Customer Support)

http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?OPMControl=2212047&caller=ftva.asp

Job # 2

Company: Deaconess Home Care

Job Title: PC-LAN Analyst

http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?IPath=JRGCM0E&ff=21&APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=J8E3HY6WGX1NMXJ3G5V

Job # 3

Company: Capitol Staffing, Inc.

Job Title: IT Manager

http://information-technology.jobs.net/j/it-manager_J8C1C66TDG55Q4BX69H.aspx

Job #4

Company: Landers Auto Group Memphis

Job Title: Information Technology Assistant

http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?IPath=JRGCM0U&ff=21&APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=J8B4R978ZG4KT4JBYTY

Desired skills, that are the same or similar between all four companies:

1.       All four jobs require a degree in Information Technology or closely related field. Three out of the four specify that it must be a four year degree or higher

2.       All four of the jobs require the applicant to have some experience in Information Technology or related field. The level of experience required ranges from no specific time frame, to a minimum of 4 years.

3.       Though worded differently all of the jobs place an emphasis on customer service / communication skills. I.E.

a.       Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.

b.      Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

4.       Then of course, Being that all of the jobs are Information Technology related they have many similar technical skill set requirements such as

a.       Installs and identifies computer hardware, software, and network problems and develops solutions in conjunction with users, vendors, and other IT Community personnel.

I currently have my Associates degree in Computer Networking Technology. It’s closely related to the four year degree in Information technology that I am currently working on. The full label of the degree that I’m working on now is Information Technology – Local Area Networking focus. When I graduate from USM I will have the higher education jobs requirement met. Another great thing about a degree in Information Technology is that it’s very flexible as far as a requirement for a job in technology. It could be sufficient to get a job as a Network Administrator, Systems Administrator, Information Technology Specialist, and many other related professions.

With my current job as an Information Technology Specialist at Chain Electric Company, I have right about three years of work experience in my field. Next may when I graduate I will hopefully then be at four years of experience therefore meeting that particular requirement for many of the jobs I apply for. My experience is very important to how I present myself and how a potential employer judges me. I believe it gives me a great initial advantage as opposed to many of the students that just went to school and weren’t gaining valuable experience in this profession while they were doing so.

My customer service and communication skills are something that I pride myself on. Every job that I’ve had required me to be in constant contact with customers, clients, as co-workers. In my opinion I’ve become skilled at communicating with people in almost every aspect of my jobs. I’ve learned how to write professional and proposal emails to supervisors or the companies CFO. I’ve learned how to explain problems and help clients without drowning them in technical language or making them feel like the problem is their fault. This is also a skill that I usually hope to demonstrate during the interview process at first by being well spoken and polite and then later with some technical knowledge.

This is kind of tough because I actually really like both the first and the second jobs. The first job seems like it would be something I could enjoy and not be immediately overwhelmed with. It also appears to be a government job judging from the GS job scale. Government jobs tend to have great benefits and opportunities to advance and those are two very important aspects of my future career that I want to make sure of before making a final choice.

Week 6 - Improving Professional Correspondence

To: T. Leoni, Manager, Personnel Department 
From: Donald Pryzblo, Manager, Data Processing Department 
Subject: Incorrect Payroll Checks 
               
Mr. Leoni,


I have been reviewing the  previously discussed errors in the computer files.


After further investigating the errors, I have the necessary documents to show that they did not originate from the source you may have previously suspected. It seems the majority of the errors were made by your clerks. I can show you the documents necessary to prove that the majority of the errors did not originate from my people. It would seem that upon receipt of the time tickets by my people, previous errors had already been made.


You and I discussed requiring my computer operators to perform the very time-consuming task of comparing their entries against the time sheets from which your clerks are miscopying.


This is a very labor intensive task and I feel it is unnecessary. All of our resources are being used at the moment, but if we can arrange a meeting I can show you the documents which note the source of the errors and we can avoid the hassle of putting in the work to compare the entries when, as I said before, I feel it is without a doubt not necessary.


After our meeting I believe you will feel confident that the source of the errors lie with your clerks and I can help you decide how best to handle the situation.


I recommend that you tell your clerks to review their work carefully before giving it to the computer operators.


Thank you for your time sir
Donald Pryzblo, Manager, Data Processing Department


Summary of changes:

The first change I made to the email was the subject line. In my opinion it is not very professional to write the subject in all capital letters as it was previously. It can also set the wrong tone before the recipient even begins to read the email.

It is important to address the recipient in the beginning of the email so I added a salutation with his name in the beginning.

I removed the quotes from "errors" as again it may give off the wrong impression or imply that you're purposely being sarcastic.

I completely reworded the body to have less of an angry inflection or an email meant to place blame and more of a let me explain the reasons and give you proof of the errors source so we can get the problem taken care of feel.

I added a professional closing and signature.

In closing I feel that my edited version of the email will be much more effective in aiding the recipient to see my point of view. The original email was quite hostile and you could tell the preparer was probably frustrated or angry. Allowing your personal feelings to take control of you in a professional situation like the above is never a good idea. I made the email more professional in general and removed the blame placing angry feel. I'm quite sure the revised email will achieve the desired results. 

Week 4 - Brochure Objectives

Site with great setup:

University of Southern California

IT Program - http://itp.usc.edu/

In my opinion this university’s IT Website is excellently laid out. It’s entertaining, engaging, and instantly grabs your attention. One of the first things you notice when going to the page is a large video player that grabs your attention and entices you. It has the text “Are you ready for tomorrow… Today?” That may seem a little cliché but it does its job in rousing your curiosity so you click to play the video. Another thing about the site that I feel works really well is the placing of the large buttons that would appear helpful to someone possibly looking to attend USC. The first button “Academic programs” is right up front so first time visitors can explore all of the university’s programs without having to do a lot of searching. Along with that another useful button “Courses” and one of the things I found most interesting, a button for “Jobs” To let potential applicants into the field explore jobs and internships to help their decision. In summary the website has a great layout that’s not hard to navigate and accurately serves its purpose.

Site that could use some work:

University of Maryland

IT Program - http://www.oit.umd.edu/

The layout of this university’s IT site isn’t particularly bad, but it’s not nearly as engaging as the previous site I discussed. It does have some well placed graphics but navigation of the website is so much more challenging and obscure. Something we discussed in class comes to mind, It seems like the layout of the site is geared more towards current students or students that know their way around rather than geared towards attracting the attention of new visitors. The links to attract new students, such as programs and courses isn’t immediately apparent. It’s a waste of time to go to a website to check out a program you’re thinking about joining and not be able to find your way around. In summary this website isn’t bad but the layout and many of the other things I discussed here could be changed and be much more appealing.

Overall Purpose

1. What are you writing? A brochure meant to entice the reader into joining the academic field of Information Technology

2. What prompts you to write? The desire to exceed

3. What outcome do you desire? That my point is accurately relayed and the reader might possibly be persuaded to really think about becoming an IT Major.

4. What outcome does your reader desire? For the reading to interesting and informative about the field.

Reader Profile

1. Who is your primary reader? My instructor and classmates

2. What is your reader’s relationship to you? Academic

3. What are your reader’s job title and responsibilities? Answered in question one

4. Who else might read your communication? Students from other classes, friends, or whoever I decide to show it to.

5. How familiar is your reader with your subject? That could range from slightly knowledgeable to no former knowledge of the subject.

6. How familiar is your reader with your specialty? Same

7. Does your reader have any communication preferences you should take into account? No

8. Should you take into account any other things about your reader when writing? Yes. For example I should probably not include too many terms pertaining to IT that the reader may not understand because their knowledge of this field may not be extensive.

Situational Analysis

1. What events and circumstances influence the way you should write? Taking into consideration different readers opinions or preconceived notions about IT.

Usability Objectives (Reader’s Tasks)

1. What are the key questions your reader will ask while reading? Questions could include; Why should I pursue a career in this field? How much is the general salary? Are the requirements particularly taxing? What are some other things to gain from this choice?

2. How will your reader search for the answer?

_X_ Sequential reading from beginning to end

3. How will your reader use the information you provide?

_X__ Attempt to determine how the information you provide will affect

1. What is your reader’s attitude toward your subject? Why? What do you want it to be? They may be slightly interested or something along those lines. That is probably a good attitude for them to start with. After reading the brochure I’d hope they were a lot more interested in this field than when they started.

2. What is your reader’s attitude toward you? Why? What do you want it to be? They may not know much about me. An introduction with a few things about myself that explain my knowledge in the field would probably help them feel they can trust the information I provide a little more.

Week 2 - Rhetorical Analysis

In my business ethics class I had to read an article titled “The Fourth wave: The Ethics of Corporate Downsizing” Written by John Orlando. The piece was particularly interesting to me because I went in to the reading as most do, with an opinion already formulated about whether corporate downsizing is a morally wrong or right decision. Although I had not done much research or reading on the topic before so I went in with an open mind that allowed me to look objectively at facts and different arguments rather than criticizing every view based on an already tight formulated opinion.

The context of this particular article is that the writer feels compelled to enter his logical arguments and opinions into a topic that has previously been talked about but never looked at from all sides. He mentions in the writing how the issue has come up many times but is often dismissed by fellow philosophers and never completely thought out, well prepared, and argued completely from all points of view. Therefore he felt it was his calling to explain his ruling out of other arguments such as one that states business owners have a fiduciary responsibility, only to the shareholders and not the workers as well. Which if were true would mean that corporate downsizing is not a moral issue but rather a financial or dutiful one. He argues that it is indeed a moral issue, gives all sides and arguments for or against the claims that it isn’t or can’t possibly be, and logically explains why his point of view should be adopted by the reader.

Going into the assignment I didn’t know much about the writer of the article. The professor just assigned us the article to read without really elaborating on any of the writer’s credentials or achievements. I was, however, able to form what I felt was a solid opinion of the writers knowledge on the topic by observing how well thought out, explained, and prepared the writer was for every side of each argument.

Not only does the article discuss whether or not corporate downsizing should be considered a moral issue, but it also discusses the place of this issue in business ethics classes. The writer imparts his opinion on the reader from all aspects of the arguments at hand successfully quelling any doubts you may have about a particular side of an argument. I think the writers intended audience is not only fellow philosophers or people with moral questions about corporate downsizing but also students like me who may have opinions on the matter but haven’t full thought the issue out.

In my opinion the writer did an extremely good job at conveying his view on the argument accurately and intelligently. When I finished reading the article I not only felt more informed about the subject as a whole but I felt that I could more confidently back my opinion knowing many more sides of the argument and having more faith in my knowledge on the subject. I did feel that the article could have been improved in certain ways. For instance; while I do believe a large part of the writers intended audience is fellow philosophers, I also believe it was also meant to inform students like me. In that light I believe the writer used many words and terms that were obscure and uncommon, such as the word “fiduciary”, which I used earlier in this blog, making comprehension and little tough at times. I also believe the writer’s style was a little hard to follow. For example, his Kafkaesque usage of dashes,  to insert thoughts in the middle of sentences.

All in all I believe the writer accurately and intelligently conveyed his view on the issue. Minor improvements aside, I think he did an excellent job of showing all sides to the reader, and persuading the audience to see the issue from his point of view.

Week 1 - About Me

My name is Adam Viescas. I’m 25 years old and I was born in Bogalusa LA but have lived in the Bay Saint Louis / Waveland area of Mississippi from a very young age. I’m currently working towards my Bachelors degree in Information Technology. I graduated from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College – Jefferson Davis, with my Associates degree in May of 2007. After working for a few years and gaining more experience and knowledge in my field I decided that continuing my education at USM was the correct path for me. I moved to Hattiesburg in August of 2009 and personally I love it up here. I’m classified as a senior and if things go according to plan I should be graduating from The University of Southern Mississippi in May of 2012. I currently hold a job in my field of study. I’m an Information Technology Specialist at Chain Electric Company. I started working for the company in July of 2010. I could not have asked for a better opportunity for work at this time. They work well with my school schedule and the experience and knowledge I am gaining at Chain Electric will be invaluable to my future career. There is a possibility that I may have a career opportunity with this company after graduation. Honestly the job I have right now is extremely similar to one I aspire to have in the not so distant future. 

Thinking back on documents I’ve written for my major, it’s hard for me to come up with a solid example. For the most part, the majority of academic writing I’ve done has been for core classes or classes I’ve taken that are mostly unrelated to Information Technology. As for professional writing, I do it every day and will continue to do so in the future. Communication is a very important part of my job. When there is a piece of equipment or software I need to perform my job or possibly something a client has asked me to attain, I usually have to write a well organized email with a proposal to our CFO explaining why we would benefit from purchasing said equipment, and what the total costs will be. Also communication between me and the client is extremely important. It’s part of my job to be courteous to them and explain the process I went through to resolve their issue.

This semester I hope to hone my current writing skills, both professionally and academically. Writing is something that I enjoy doing and I don’t foresee myself having too much trouble completing the assigned work. I wish that I was half as good at Calculus as I am at writing in any form. If there is one sole thing that worries me most about making it through this semester it’s making it through calculus. They usually say that people who excel at writing tend to lack in mathematical skills. Unfortunately in my case that holds quite true.