georgia
we made it here relatively safe and sound, driving in traffic around Little Rock, and Memphis and Atlanta was quite exciting, probably more so from my wife's perspective,(darn backseat drivers) but we made it through. Lots of trees and hills here, and the weather is lovely. Seeing our new grandson is wonderful, and it is nice to see my son and daughter in law. Battery getting low, gotta go.....
online research exploration
Three subjects I chose for research are: Nebraska groundwater, cruise ships, and volunteer ems. I searched the groundwater subject in the magazine database (Wilson) and received only 1 result that did not apply, this article was about surface runoff and leaching nitrogen. I then run the business info database and received 4 results that also did not apply, and were somewhat old,(1999-2003). Next, I ran the magazine eLibrary database and received several good results that I would be looking for. These are some of the links:
http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/libweb/elib/do/document?set=search&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=1&edition=&ts=7876818ABAB67FF2BF2E8FA80AC4AFE6_1140193096423&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B116674197http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthgwquality.htmlhttp://elibrary.bigchalk.com/libweb/elib/do/document?set=search&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=5&edition=&ts=7876818ABAB67FF2BF2E8FA80AC4AFE6_1140194206853&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B117854087Next, I ran volunteer ems through the Magazine(Wilson) database and received no results, then through the Books database, and received ok results, then through the Kiplinger database with no results. When I used eLibrary database I received good results. Two examples are:
http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/libweb/elib/do/document?set=search&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=3&edition=&ts=7876818ABAB67FF2BF2E8FA80AC4AFE6_1140195302959&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B29026223http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/libweb/elib/do/document?set=search&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=7&edition=&ts=7876818ABAB67FF2BF2E8FA80AC4AFE6_1140195302959&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B75310029
When I used the google news and google uncle sam searches on my subjects I had many options to pick from, for example, volunteer ems on uncle sam had 170,000 results, and cruise ships on uncle sam had 297,000 results. If and when I do research, I will have to narrow down my subject drastically. I also ran volunteer ems through the google blog ssearch and became distracted for an hour or so reading misc. blogs. I also found a local blog here, I think it originated from York, Ne.
I had the best results with the FirstSearch database with my subjects, and will be most likely to use that for research. During my last class, English comp, last semester, that instructor also introduced us to Nebraska access, and I did not have much luck with the Wilson magazine database for the subjects I chose at that time.
speaking event Mod 6
On Feb 15, I attended a workplace meeting for nursing assistants. The meeting was a mandatory event for employees, the speaker was the director of nursing, the event was attended by about 10 people in a quiet room, with no interference.
Organization: She used notes that organized her thoughts so the flow of her presentation seemed to follow a natural pattern, moving from one thought to the next.
Transitions:The speaker had a number of points that she brought up, some were workplace problems that had arisen, others were situations that were handled well. She used transitions effectively to move from one point to another. For example, she stated a problem about getting patients sufficiently covered while transporting them to a shower from their room, then discussed ideas to alleviate this problem, asked if we had any other ideas, then summarized the solutions, and moved onto the next point.
Language:The speaker expressed her ideas and thoughts effectively, without clutter, at an appropriate level for the audience. For example, being a medical professional, she could have spoke with terms that we would not understand at our level of training.Her language was appropriate for the occasion, (bimonthly CNA staff meeting), the audience (nursing assistants), the topic (patient care and assistance of activities of daily living), and the speaker (director of nursing, very professional and without drama, criticism and compliments were both given).
Delivery:This presentation was mostly impromptu with notes about the points she wanted to bring up. Due to the size of the room and the audience, her voice was at a natural conversation level, she was dressed in professional business attire, she used gestures to emphasize her points, and maintained eye contact with us. She allowed us to ask questions, and asked for input to her points throughout the presentation, listened carefully to our questions and points, and responded appropriately.
self-inventory worksheet
As I began this assignment, not much came to mind about what I would want to develop a speech about, but as I began listing things, the list grew longer. Travel: cruise ship to Jamaica and Cayman Island, and ski resorts in Colorado; Winterpark, Sunlight, Aspen and Snowmass for family vacations. Values:children and grandchildren, compassionate people; Dream job: flight nurse/paramedic, or busy ER nurse; Issues I care about: groundwater and irrigation in our area, all things related to small town rescue squads (EMS); Author: Steven Spielberg intrigues me; I read the Hastings Triune and EMS magazines; Volunteer as: firefighter and EMT; Jobs held: Deere dealership mechanic, service manager, parts manager, nursing assistant, EMT. My experience and knowledge of these subjects should allow me to research and develop a speech about any of these various subjects.
"SHOT DOWN"????????
I'll probably get shot down like a Mig 29 flying over our capital, and my age will surely show through bigtime, but here goes anyway...Perhaps this will qualify as an issue I feel strongly about. As I was reading class blogs, I became interested in Andrea's blog. I sincerely hope she doesn't take me wrong and feel I'm picking on her. Background: I have helped my lovely wife raise 3 boys and 2 girls. The issue I am going to discuss is why do young people want to be involved in very serious relationships?? Both my daughters seemed to go through this, the youngest got married at age 18, the older one broke up with her longtime boyfriend, finished nursing school, then they got back together and married. They are both happily married now, or so it seems, but I think the one who was single longer is probably better off. Serious relationships have their place, but in lots of ways, they limit the things a person can experience. I feel young people need to experience life on their own for a few years before they commit to a serious relationship. It helps them to understand and deal with situations, feelings, etc, that come up in later life in committed relationships. I know a person can be lonely, we have a friend who is a single mother, approx. 30 yo, who wants to find Mr. Right, but what I want to know is "should a person in their teens or early 20's even have time for, let alone, be committed to a serious relationship???"
attending a public speaking event
Yesterday evening, I attended a speaking event presented at our church.Rev. Billie Jo Watts spoke about marriage and communication within the marriage.
Situation: the presentation was at 8:00 p.m. after a 7:00 banquet style meal.The type of speech was fitting for the location, was tailored to enhance valentine's day, and was applicable to the crowd in attendance.
Speaker: the speaker was knowledgeable about the subject, (married for 20 plus years), well prepared, and enthusiastic. At times , it seemed he was talking to fast. One thing that bothered me was that he seemed to be gazing out above the crowd, instead of maintaining eye contaact.
Message: His message was sincere, he had several humorous comments, and was not too long.
Channel: The channel he used was just speaking loud; he didn't use any electronic aids; the room was the correct size for the size of the crowd and his speaking style.
Listener: The audience was a group of married couples, the range of marriage was from a few weeks to more than 55 years.
Feedback: The audience applauded some of the speakers points, and laughed at his humorous comments. I did not see anyone who was bored or preoccupied. I even managed to stay awake throughout the entire pressentation, after working a 12 hour shift that day. (and I once slept through a Quiet Riot concert.)
Interference: There was very little interference, only the catering people were seen occasionally behind the speaker cleaning up. The room was quiet, with no windows, not even a clock.
Conclusion: I would have tried to maintain more eye contact, rather than gazing above the audience, and spoken slower, had I been in his shoes delivering this presentation.
experiencing the speech of self introduction
The subject of my speech was going to be about the importance of being a good grandparent, however, after working about 6 hours trying to make it not seem like "another speech about grandkids", I threw the whole thing in the trash and decided to start again another day. I formatted the speech with the 1) introduction, 2) body, and 3) conclusion, but it just wasn't working. The speech just didn't make the point of the topic I wanted to present, and it turned out way to long. Today, I picked a topic that I am passionate about, a topic that has changed my life, and the speech was written in about 30 minutes. The topic is Emergency Medical Services. Now, if I can just get it on tape, without losing the excitement factor.
