Advice for the future

Erin and Chris’ Letter of Advice 

          My dearest little sister to whom I would travel around the world for in order to keep safe ,and whom I consider more of a best friend that is always there to help pick up the pieces of so many other people’s lives. Chris, the one person to whom I can see as always being there to take the place of guardian, protector and friend for several years.  I am writing this letter in the hopes that your engagement and future marriage is one filled not only with love, caring and the future of nieces and/nephews, but with an understanding of how to break down the barriers of effective interpersonal interactions, finding the perfect strategy for active, critical, and empathic listening along with knowing that words can be powerful in creating and affecting attitudes, behavior even perception. Also, how important it is to have some kind of strategy to manage any interpersonal conflicts as well as gaining an understanding of the impact of gender and culture in interpersonal communication.

         It is my hope and prayer that you both find this letter full of good advice as well as helpful in avoiding any communication problems that arise now and in the future between you both at home or in the work place.

Barriers of effective interpersonal interactions

      Erin and Chris, as you embark on this new journey of your lives you will both need to understand that communication is not just for group discussions, but also for those times when you want or feel you need to share information. By breaking down the barriers that affect your interpersonal communication, you both will open a passageway to “setting a great example for talking to one another, family members at home, new neighbors, co-workers in the office, by working on this you both will be able to communicate or interact and affect each other in positive ways with dyadic communication since it involves two people.” (Sole, K.2011)    By having this dyadic communication you will be able to avoid the common obstacles or psychological factors that contribute to the disruptive effects on interpersonal communication.  By avoiding such obstacles such as defensiveness- an excessive concern with protecting yourself from being hurt, motivational distortion-wanting to hear only certain parts of what is being discussed, self-preoccupation-also known as one upping and not realizing that this has a negative effect on the other person, and game playing- the manipulative interactions with foreseen outcomes, that you or someone else hides the true intentions of the conversation that is being had.    Having these barriers broken down and avoiding or being prepared for any of the obstacles that may disrupt your interpersonal communication will help in setting up a strategy for active, critical and empathic listening skills.

Strategies for active, critical and empathic listening skills

        As H. Norman Wright put it so bluntly, “One of the greatest gifts you can give to your spouse is the gift of listening. It can be an act of connection and caring. Often when two people are talking, to one another their conversations and dialogues fall on that of the deaf. Basically, they are talking at one another instead of to one another. Listen to your spouse, he or she feels;” I must be worth hearing.” If, you ignore your spouse, the thought could be one;” What I said was not important or “He or She does not care about me!” Understand listening is much different than hearing.  Listening is that you are trying to understand the other person’s feelings. Hearing is passive, while listening is active. By sitting silently and, shutting your mouth you might find that not only does it provide quiet, but it allows you to reflect, and think about the day’s events and how you want to express them to the listener. Basically, listening can be defined in three parts. The first part is to concentrate on what you or the other person is saying and absorbing it when most people are not listening to what is being said to them but are already listening to what they are going to say in response. Too often you might think you know what your partner is going to say, so you put our minds on hold and tune each other out.      Second, is accepting what each other is saying without even judging what is being said or how it is being said. By accepting what is being said you are not agreeing , it just means that you understand that what the other person is saying is something that person feels strongly about. Finally, try repeating what your partner is saying and what you think they might be feeling while they spoke to you. Real listening signals an obvious interest in the other person’s feelings and opinions as well as an attempt in understanding each other from one another’s perspective. I know it may sound strange, but even just sitting there quietly and just listening to what each of you is saying can be a major step in strengthening your relationship with each other and in your corporate lives.  Kenny Moore found that “silence is golden” when you stop and listen to what is being said at work after he left his monastery. By just sitting and listening to what was being said at his own job he found that it improved the morale of the workers and corporate staff.  Just remember that your words hold a certain amount of power too.

Preventing Teenage Suicide

     

         With so many of today’s youth facing problems in their lives and not wanting to talk to family, friends, and teachers, counselors. Schools are making sure that they have some teenage suicide prevention program(s) in place. However even with these programs they do not always work, resulting in the death of a classmate, hospitalization, or admission to a physiological problem.

      Teenage suicide has several reasons for being committed or attempted and those reasons can be complex. For people in the age range of 15-24 suicide is the third-leading cause of death according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention Not to mention that for every completed teen suicide at least 25 attempts made. (kidsnation.com, 2014). Knowing that “every week twelve young men kill themselves (Samaritans, 1999 & Day, 2004); and men are four times more likely to kill themselves than girls (Garland & Zigler, 1993 & Day, 2004) and they are more likely to hang themselves while girls typically overdose (Madge and Harvey, 1999 & Day, 2004).” In her article, Patricia Day” Is teaching problem solving to young people a way of preventing teenage suicide?” mentions; “The Samaritans estimate that 19,000 adolescents attempt suicide every year and 700 succeed (Kenny, 2002). The reasons for the increase in young male suicide are difficult to pinpoint (Laurent, 2000). For females, they are much better at using social support when they have problems and accepting therapeutic help (Seiffge-Krenke, 2000)."

     Adolescence is when teenagers are going through changes, emotionally, cognitively and socially, sexual orientation, wanting of independence, conflicts with rules, as well as the expectations of others around them academically and physically. It is through these changes, that adolescence, can and does have an impact on the emotional well-being (Seiffge-Krenke, 2000). The results of these changes can cause risk-taking resulting in life-threatening behavior.    

     According to kidsnation.com suicide among teens usually happens after a stressful life changing event, problems at school, and a breakup, death of a family member, divorce, or a major family conflict. Low self-esteem also discriminates suicidal teens. Self-esteem can influence the actions and having the correct amount is associated with being able to ‘control one's actions’ and cope with stress. High self –esteem can be seen as a factor of resilience (Sandin et al. 1999 p.423). Should a person have low self-esteem it can interfere with the construction of self-confirmation and adversely affects the chances for establishing the supportive interpersonal relations that can be highly protective in stress (Tomori and Zalar, 2000 p. 232)?  

     In Day’s paper, she goes on to mention to several programs that are in effect to help prevent/reduce the number of male suicides. However, these programs might work for females too. These programs include suicide education programs (which are not effective and even have negative effects according to Garland and Ziger in 1993 and Ploeg et al. in 1996). Programs aimed at enhancing problem solving, the stop, think, do program from Australia using traffic signals to help solve situations.  

     
Sure the United States has similar programs in place for teenage suicide prevention, however many of them do not work or are being taught at the wrong age. Parents also need to be aware of what is going on with their teenager, ask questions, and be nosey by looking through their backpacks and rooms. Watch for warning signs, depression, self-inflicted cutting, the pulling away from friends or family, changes in eating or sleeping habits, the giving away of ‘prized’ possessions, writing of songs, letters, poems mentioning death, separation and loss just to name a few. Educators also need to be on their toes for warning signs from their students such as; talk of suicide or death in general, hints of not being around, not wanting to play sports anymore, a lack of concentration, or thinking clearly, the writing of poems, letters, songs mentioning separation, loss, or death in them.

      In conclusion, teenage suicide is not something that can just be brushed under the mat. The prevention is a group project that must be done by everyone. In order to solve the problem, more programs that are productive need to be taught to children not just within a certain age group, but to all soon-to-be teenagers in order for them to understand what they are going to face once they get older and more to a new school. Using the Australian program stop, think do the United States and other countries have a good chance at reducing the rate of teenage attempts and suicides.

                                                                   References

About Teen Suicide. (2014). Kidsnation.com Pg.1-4

Day, P. (2004). Is teaching problem solving to young people a way of preventing teenage

     Suicide? Practice Development in Health Care, 3(3), 158-178.

http://ww.search.ebscohost.comproxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspxdirect=true&db=a9h&AN=14952633&site=eds-live

13 Ghosts Film Review

Thirteen Ghosts

     After countless hours of debate over which version of Thirteen Ghosts I was going to do my review on, I finally picked the remake of the 1960’s version. My main reason for this choice of picture was the ghosts themselves and the use of computer graphics to enhance each ones checkered pasts and ability to appear and disappear throughout the film. Director Steve Beck’s ability to draw the audience into the terror/suspense of the film from the beginning to the climax is a sure fire example of how a horror picture was made in 2001.

Story telling

       The story telling for this film was well written and easy to follow even with the flashbacks and forwards that we see through Dennis Rafkin’s eyes played by Matthew Lillard. The film starts off with a shot of an abandoned junkyard covered in crime scene tape, suddenly there is a large crash of cars as a tanker truck plows its way into the yard followed by three S.U.V.s and a vintage Rolls Royce carrying two passengers. The camera closes in to show one of the two men getting out the Rolls as a well dressed gentleman, and the other looks to be suffering from a rather bad headache, dressed in a sweater and jeans with a plastic jacket over his clothes. By having the camera jump around the yard we see that the other members of this crew are setting up speakers and a large, clear cube with wires and tubes attached to it being lowered into a makeshift pathway.  Once, everything is set up, the order is given to start this weird medieval chant as the tanker truck drives down the pathway spraying blood on the pathway leading to the cube.

     The scene itself gives you part of the back story as to how this well dressed gentle who we find out is named Cyrus and played by F. Murray Abrahams is killed while capturing his twelfth ghost as well as some idea of what he had in store later on had he survived.  The film then jumps forward to a 360 degree shot of a gentleman sitting in a chair looking out a window, with laughter and conversations with a female. The scene then changes and the feel of the surroundings when the sound of a fire alarm blares in the background and the audience hears what has happened to this once happy family as a fire has caused the death of the mother/wife of this family. As, the camera finishes its pan of the room it too changes from white walls and bookshelves filled with books and family pictures sitting on a desk to dark and empty walls with boxes stacked in a corner of a small dimly lighted room we see the same man sitting in a chair looking out a window with a view of bricks on the other side of the glass.  There a sudden knock on the door and the camera pans over to it where the audience sees a wall filled with past due notices and a teenage girl telling the gentleman who is her father that he needs to get a move on or he will be late for work. The audience is then taken to a small kitchen where we see the teenage girl ( Shannon Elizabeth) cooking what is to be breakfast, a small boy( Alec Roberts) reading the morning papers current obituary into a tape recorder as an African American woman (Rah Diggs)  corrects him on the pronunciation of decapitation. It is here that we gain an understanding of the changes that the family had to go through after the loss of the mother/wife and that things are about to change with the approach of a dark figure in the hallway outside the apartment they now live in.  From this point on the film starts to gain a type of this is too good to be true feel when the family is shown the last will and testament of Uncle Cyrus (the well dressed man from the junkyard) and are given a key to a house that is completely furnished and made out of what looks like glass by the lawyer Ben Moss (J.R. Bourne).  After, seeing the video of Cyrus’ will the family drives to the house to see it up close and discover the house is off the beaten path of civilization and see a repair guy trying to get into the house which he claims is causing a power outage.  Unknown to the family this is Rafkin trying to figure out what Cyrus was up to with capturing of the ghosts. Arthur (Tony Shalhoub) notices that the glass walls are etched in Latin and the rooms are filled with priceless artifacts. While the family looks around Rafkin goes down to the basement of the house where he notices the containment cubes holding the ghosts he helped capture.    

Official Language Battle

    

        The topic of this posting is designating an official language of the United States.  The reasoning behind this choice of topic is to make an argument that there are good points and bad ones even with the current bills in both the House of Representatives (H.R. 997) and the United States Senate (S.503) to make English the official language of the United States. What both of these pieces of paper are trying to do is to unify the United States into a non diversified country of ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds in which we continue to benefit from the rich diversity. Should these bills pass in both the House and Senate it would mean that all official matters would be written and spoken in nothing, but English. For over 30 years both the Senate and House of Representatives have been trying to make English the official language of the United States. Therefore, I hypothesize that should these bills pass they will effect more than just what language we speak, but also how English learners will be taught in the United States and cause a sever conflict for those trying and wanting to become United States citizens.  

Facts about the language barrier in the United States.

     Looking back in history the founding fathers never would have thought make a law to have English has the official language of the United States, since when they wrote the Constitution it was done in English. The interesting part of this history is that of the fifty-five members of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, only eight were not born in the United States. Even though no information has been found about what language the others spoke it is safe to assume that English was their main language. The only exemptions to the colonies being all English were the few German areas in Pennsylvania and Virginia.(U.S.-English.org, Census 2000) With 322 languages spoken at homes in the United States, the most common of these languages being spoken are as follows: Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Russian, Korean, and Vietnamese to name some of them. Even with the possible passing of the English Language Unity Act of 2011, and the amended National Language Act of 2011, sure it would not only help cut down on the cost of printing bilingual voting ballots and pamphlets, and encourage new immigrants to learn English, (U.S. English.org) stop all of the mixed messages that government is sending, and making it almost impossible to file tax returns, vote, and become U.S. citizens and receive a host of other services in a variety of languages, immigrants will understand that they must have knowledge of English to fully participate in the process of the government. (U.S.English.org) Effective English language instruction is an essential anti poverty tool for working immigrant families. Poverty and the need for public benefits, such as food stamps, are more closely related to limited English proficiency than with citizenship or legal status. According to research done by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute in April of 2002, the number one excuse for not gaining college level knowledge is the current language barrier. 96 percent of Spanish speaking parents asked in the three biggest cities hope their own children will further their education by attending college.     

Introduction about the Bills

            If, the English Language Unity Act of 2011(H.R. 997 and S. 503) passes in both the House and the Senate, not only will it make English the official language of the United States, but it will hamper the education of dual language learners even with Senate bill 1158 introduced to help educators come up with clever ways to teach English learners and to aid States and local

schools with the continual growth of non-English speaking students, seeking an academic education of a high-quality that meets State college and career ready standards.   Under this bill it describes a possible way that teachers will be able to teach students in their own languages. Thanks to the following section of H.R. 1164.  (English Learning and Innovation Act of 2011, pg.15 line 24-pg16 line 11) “DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM- the term ‘dual language program’ means an instructional strategy for English learners in which students are taught literacy and content in English and another language, and use the other language for at least half of the instructional day, and that foster is bilingualism, dual literacy, awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and high levels of academic achievement through instruction in two languages.” Thus, with the passing of H.R. 1158 it would make it difficult for non English speaking people to vote with the loss of this program and not having dual language ballots. 

            Under the amended bill H.R. 1164 written by the Congressional Research Service- The National Act of 2011 would make English the official language of the U.S. Government. Meaning that all business conducted  in Congress would have to be done in English, all paperwork, pamphlets, and  any information, in order to help make English the official language. (H.R.1164 pg.3, line 8-17) “It means that other languages can be used for religious purposes, for training in foreign languages for international communications, or in school programs designed to encourage students to learn another language. It does however; allow the government to provide interpreters for persons over age 62. “(H.R.1164 pg.3 line 21-pg.5 line 16) Although this sounds like a good thing, it rebuts the Voting Rights Act of 1965 concerning bilingual election conditions and findings from Congress of voting discrimination against language minorities,and the banning of English-only elections, and other remedial measures. As of right now the Voting Rights Act of 1965, says that all states or governmental subdivisions have to have some kind of help for voters, if over five percent of the citizens that are of voting age do not speak or understand English well enough to partake in the electoral process, also that the amount of people who did not complete the fifth grade is higher than the national amount of age appropriate citizens voting that have finished fifth grade. This means that 335 jurisdictions in 30 of the states have to have signs, ballots, and registration forms and information in several languages. While, this improves the Immigration and Nationality Act to require that public ceremonies in which the oath of allegiance is allocated to the pursuant to such Act is administered solely in English. The impact of this change will, have a large effect on those learning to speak English in all of the public or private schools. 

Learning Enrichment and Accelerated Program

Cheyenne during a Lego League competition.

   With so many schools cutting after school programs in order to gain funding for other “more important things,” it seems even harder for those parents with “gifted” students to find activities that interest and keep their children engaged in the learning environment.” It is imperative that parents and educators provide academic and social support to high-potential students from low-income families. Out-of-school enrichment programs like Saturday programs are suggested for high-potential students from low-income families due to these experiences positively influencing students’ achievement levels, in advanced courses, and decisions to pursue a college degree” (Gentry & Miller, 2010).

     The purpose behind writing this proposal is to shine a spotlight on the need for Learning Enrichment and Accelerated Programs (LEAP) in every school. So that “gifted” children have other facets that allow them to put what they learn in classes to use in the outside world and future, and provide a reason(s) why gifted education, the Learning Enrichment and Accelerated program should not get their funding cut.

     “The goal of LEAP is to nurture the gifts and abilities of our academically talented students.

      In 1973, the General Assembly recognized a limited number of academically advanced students whose mental capacity and learning potential is advanced. They need services beyond the level of those ordinarily provided” (Waynesville R-VI, 2014). “The attendance of gifted is a challenge for many schools. The inclusion of these children is very difficult because many teachers are not prepared to develop an interesting and creative teaching to attend their special needs. It is important to consider "every human being as an integral and different individual because each person has his/her unique characteristics of personality" (Piske, Stoltz, & Machado, 2014: p. 348).

    “The intent was to increase the educational opportunities available for students identified as gifted. In 1979, the Waynesville School District initiated LEAP (Learning Enrichment and Acceleration Program) for identified gifted students. The first year 35 students were educated in grades one through six. The district continued to expand the program and currently serves students K-12. For instructional and personal purposes LEAP split into five components: grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12” (Waynesville R-VI, 2014). “According to Piske & Stoltz (2013), it is important that schools know how to provide for gifted students an education that enables a good social and emotional development respecting their limits, their capabilities and their feelings. Each student is different and has many singularities. It is essential to accept their differences and allow their progress in the school context” (Piske & Stoltz, 2012, 2013).

Hypothetical Question

Background Information: “You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support service. You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service.”

Dilemma: One of your employees who has been with the company for two years,is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and co-workers. In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment.

Action: You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.

Requirements: Explain how you would approach this employee. Anticipate the employee’s response.

Analyze which conflict resolution techniques you would use.






Introduction: ”An ethical dilemma can be defined as an undesirable or unpleasant choice relating to a moral principle or practice”(Maxwell,J. 2003).

Conflict of any type in the workplace leads to costing the company both financially and reputation. Conflict can also be used positively to enhance relationships and build trust with co-workers. There is a balance that needs to be a combination of support and following of company rules.

By using conflict resolution techniques such as balance this can be achieved. Conflict resolution techniques need to be employed to increase understanding, group cohesion and self-knowledge(Atlanta Premiere Research).

The Approach: In dealing with this situation, personally I would take the employee somewhere private and out of “earshot” of the others. Calmly begin by asking if, there is a reason for the sudden change in how the employee is acting. Trying not to get too personal ask about the home environment, job environment in order to find out why the change. Listen to the employee and talk to them, not down to him or her. Once, done offer advice on how to solve the conflict so,as not to affect the “relationship” between the employee and self. Discuss how the current behavior has impacted not just him/her but, those around who are working to make their goal of high levels of technical expertise and excellent customer service. Explaining how the confrontational behavior and complaints are not acceptable nor the low quality of work being done.

Employee’s Response: As the Atlanta Premiere Research explains it there are three possible ways that he/she could respond. He/she might respond positively, negatively or passively. The response all depends on the approach of the meeting and how it is handled (Atlanta Premiere Research.com). For instance, the employee could become irate and storm out of the meeting, and storm out giving no notice of leaving the job.(negative response) A positive response would be to talk to the employee would be to talking privately with the employee offering support in getting behavioral help. A passive /neutral response would be to put the employee on notice and agree that a break is needed to figure out where things will go and discuss possible outcomes.


The Preferred Conflict Resolution Technique(s): The logical resolution technique for this conflict would be to have the employee comeback to the way they were as a hard worker with a positive attitude. Therefore, a collaboration would be best. As the department manager the collaboration should represent “a cooperation with the other party to understand their concerns and expressing my own concerns in an effort to find a mutually and completely satisfactory solution (win-win)”(Williams,2003). Offer positive reinforcement for improvement of the attitude and elimination of the customer complaints and confrontational behavior.

By doing this it will allow both parties to express their concerns and be ready for new ones that may arise. It provides an open communication process and silently allows for possibly other forms of conflict resolution techniques to be used. 

Conclusion: To conclude by collaborating with the employee it shows that while the employee has displayed negative behavior that as a department manager, I am willing to establish an open line of communication to help in solving the conflict through the use of private conversation, the positive reinforcement for the discontinuation of the negative behavior in the workplace, as well as the offering of morale support in seeking behavioral help should the change be more than just due to the workplace.




                                                                      References


 https://atlantapremieresearch.wordpress.com/




Maxwell, J.C. (2003). Ethics 101: What Every Leader needs to Know. Hachette Book Group USA


New York, NY




Williams, Dr. S. (2003). Conflict Management: Style and Strategy. Wright State University

Dayton, Ohio. Retrieved March 6, 2015


http://www.wright.edu/~scott.williams/LeaderLetter/conflict.html

What Media means to me.

 

When figuring out four different media technologies, the use and the target audiences they are intended for the following come to mind with all of the changes that have happened throughout history.

The one that means the most to me is print media, that got its start with the "innovative metal alphabet that made the printing press an agent for mass communication”(Vivian, J. ,2013). Hard to believe but, "more than 500 newspapers and magazines are joining Journalism Online,as the advertising-starved news business seeks refuge in charging for content” (Li, K. 2009). According to Li some 176 daily newspapers and 330 non-dailies, as well as “leading global news websites,” will begin testing 16 different forms of payment schemes, according to Journalism Online. Aimed at those who love to read, but mostly targeting the older generation that like the feel of pages being turned, dog earring their place, and the smell of fresh ink from the local newspaper.

         

“Sound is immaterial and evanescent. You can not grasp and posses it only experience and remember it (Leeuwen, T.,2007).” Sound connects. It asks us to surrender ourselves and to immerse ourselves in the sensory world and in participatory experience. It incorporates and creates communion. "It is communion with each other" (De Buffon,1971:199 & Li, K. 2009). Both radio and music industry rely on one another. Radio, broadcasts music that started out as vinyl records and as technology changed became compact discs and recorded music sites, however there is a downside to this media is that while radio stations get free music from promoters who have been known to bribe radio personnel to play only certain types of music. Aimed at all generations and ages radio is media that also, can be tied to the other two medias motion media and new media.

Motion media is aimed at all generations and all ages depending on the type of movie or television program a person is interested in. No longer are movies black and white with no sound or pipe organ music being played for each scene. Now, they are digitized with high definition sound and special effects that are bypassing some movie theaters and going straight to on-demand. New media technology is actually aimed at the 70’s generation with generation x, y and z’s who are helping the baby-boomers become part of constant changes in how music, television and print media have become digital and easier to store. (Socha, B. & Eber-Schmid, B.,2014)

    Visual technology is increasingly modelled on hearing .Today we share experiences through the exchanging of photographs on our cell phones. No longer, are today’s youth using pictures printed on photo paper to hold onto important experiences, things of importance have become nothing but, pixels and digital programming put all together to form a picture after hitting the send button on the cell phone or computer.  

 http://www.newmedia.org/what-is-new-media.html

Li, K.(2009,Aug.14).Journalism online to build subscription walls for news.Financial Times.

http://search.proquest.com/docview/250228760?accountid=32521

    

Socha, B. & Eber-Schmid. B. (2014).What is New Media.

Van Leeuwen, T.(2007).Sound and Vision. Visual Communication,6 (2),136-145.

http://vcj.sagepub.com.proxy-library.ashford/edu/content/6/2/136.full.pdf+html

Vivian, J. (2013).The Media of Mass Communication.(11th Ed.) Pearson Education, Inc.