Discussing Discussion Questions.

In the big 1 case, Frank Page takes a very authoritative point of view in this situation. As manager, he took a terrible stance and was inconsiderate by letting his emotions get the better of him. So what if some Japanese people had to ride in a cold car, you have to deal with it, make modifications, and improve your business for next time. He should have offered a more productive analysis to the person assigned to write the draft letter. Thus I think it would be better to suggest another strategy and work with Mr. Page, trying to get him to see another solution to this dilemma. It would be ethically wrong not to contact the airport manager, therefore contacting them and yet again asking for another solution to this problem might not be a bad idea. They might be able to serve you better than Mr. Page anyway as your role of Assistant Director and offer a better solution. Mr. Page seems to think the airport manager as incompetent, but he deserves to at least defend himself and offer advice so contacting him would be a good idea. As for why Mr. Page asked someone else to write this draft letter - well it is probably because he is incompetent. He has bigger ideas than he is actually able to produce. That and he is manager so he has the final say over an assistant director.

Usability Assessment & Divorce

As for why individuals would most likely visit divorce websites, the first thing that comes to mind is that those individuals are struggling living alone or in the absence of their significant other. Maybe things ended unfavorably or with one spouse getting more out of the divorce than the other. Maybe that same spouse 'juked' their partner so that they purposefully would gain more assets through the court system. They probably also visit these types of divorce websites to see how they can help their children who will most likely be affected because of the separation. Additionally, they might be seeking information on how to improve their future relationships or seek information on how to improve their relationship techniques and habits.

My first bout through dadsdivorce.com, I felt compelled to visit the ask a lawyer link. After all, if I was to have a divorce right now as a 20 year old male (which is completely ridiculous) I would want to know what my lawyer could and couldn't do in order to help me through the divorce. I then clicked on the FAQ section to wee what other 'dads' were thinking. I figured that being able to identify with a group dealing with similar problems would best help me If I were to be a divorced dad. I lost interest after I saw that they had a link for how divorce impacts the military man: this is completely ridiculous - I don't feel that military men are impacted more than any other man who happens to be going through a divorce. What a shame that the army has to leave their stain on a website like this. The title should read: How Divorce Impacts the Common Man. That way every man feels included. The army can rot in hell. Sure military men might be more effected in the sense that they will be away at war and have no spouse to return to upon their end of duty, but I don't feel that this should be a section all to its self. Put it within the Common Man article as a sub section - for christs sake!

Next I viewed the Podcasts link because it is something which I am not very familiar with and I found it interesting that divorced men are speaking their mind of radio through itunes and ipods. This world truly is embracing convergence. Dadsdivorce.com also had a store section which is absolutely a meaningless place; t-shirts, hoodies, calendars, help cd's...what a bunch of crap. I'm sorry but this website started to annoy me. If I was ever in a divorce, I do not feel like I would ever even consider buying any of this junk. A divorce calendar? You've got to be kidding me.

I suppose I should have looked through the Dadsdivorce website a little more in depth, but I was starting to get angry with the site. Usually, I am one to have patience, but this website tested my limits. The way I went about interacting with the website only ended up upsetting me: the army, calendars, hoodies...what a waste. This website should focus more on the helping aspects of going through a divorce and less on merchandise and army recruitment. Oh your divorced? Well we've got the solution for you, join the army! Although, in retrospect, I do believe that the podcast section is a beneficial idea for the age in which we live in. Listening to other divorced dads talk about how they handled these pressing times etc is most likely a helpful thing for other dads looking for help and encouragement.

Response to Principles and SEND

I am not so sure that an argumentative style of writing would best suit the air bag case. The small statured woman in the complaint lady is already mad at her predicament, and taking up an argument with her, or addressing her problem verbatim to her is not helpful. Rather, I agree that reasoning skills are what truly would help this woman. It is silly that in the reading they call it an 'argument' when reasoning is what they really mean. Thus, acknowledging to this lady that she should take other safety precautions, Vanguard is in her best interest, and that we want her not to be harmed should be a top priority for the response letter. A good, well thought out opening sentence for this letter should reflect this 'priority' as I described above. As far as shaping texts, bolding certain words for emphasis is a little excessive for an assignment like this. Fancy indentations and alignments would most likely cause more harm than good. The purpose of a response to a complaint letter is to comfort or address the persons dilemma. Indentations and such would confuse the reader. Normal text indentations, and the text itself should remain conservative so that it is easy to read and understand.

Whoopah! I'm not done yet...

Email's are a great thing, and to most of us, it is a basic form of computing nowadays. However, the book has some good points to offer. What struck me the most was that you can actually get in a lot of trouble for writing something as simple as an email. This is an important chapter in SEND because many people forget that you represent the organization you work for and if you're caught writing an incriminating email (even if it was meant to be a joke) you can find yourself up shits creek. An immediate level of professionalism must be met once an individual has entered the work force. This is important to certain college students especially: those who like to 'goof' off. Goofing off in work is not viewed lightly - it's a situation in which one must act appropriate. You wouldn't be rude, obnoxious, or inconsiderate at a funeral, and the same should go for your job. This includes all aspects of you job, including using email. So don't even begin to write that message to Suzie Cutie telling her that her ass looks fine Bobby Graduate, you may just find yourself in a whirl of trouble.

Observations on My Group Work

Working today in the dregs of Hopwood (the bottom floor) I noticed that working with a stranger proved to be a bit of a challenge. Never before have I seen the man I was paired with, but that was ok because you do not choose who you want to work with out in the real world. Unfriendly on my part, I never asked or found out the name of the guy I worked with. Why didn't I ask his name? Anyway, most importantly, I learned that my partner and I weren't well suited for each other. We both did not step up and lead. As a result we did not accomplish much feasible work for our assignment of writing a definition about character in the Lynchburg College mission statement. We eventually cracked down and got to work, but I believe the unfamiliarity of the new classroom setting, brought over laziness from winter break, and a little shyness prevented us from fully achieving our work. Now as a result, I have calculated this mistake and am prepared to step up to the plate and get this simple task completed. Effective communication will be met between us and we will finish our assignment. I just need to get over the fact that my vacation in Hawaii is over and accept that it is time to work my ass off.

Implied in this course, and in the handout given out today in class, I need to learn this semester about effective business and real-world writing. There are forms, sets of rules, and rhetoric's that must me learned and applied in order for me to do well in this class. As much as I would rather sit in a hammock in Oahu and read a good novel, I must 'get down' with English and read about technical writing this time around. Until next time Hawaii, I await you like a koala waits for the early morning to eat the nutritious eucalyptus leaves. Structured, refined writing is what I need to work at, and I believe that completing this course will help me achieve this goal.