Blog Assign 8: Outline of Grp Project Presentation

Introduction

·         The Welcome to our “Care Giver hunger-relief Association" video podcast (NPR’s Spotlight edition, “Taking it to the streets.”

·         The Introductions of ourselves Valencia Hopkins, Kristen Bolton and Derek Mitchell.

·         Our Focus: To pursue a hunger-free community.

Body

·         Care Giver Association (CGA) is a nonprofit hunger relief organization that distributes donated, purchased and prepared foods through a network of programs in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

·         Food distribute: Each month our agency pantries distribute food to more than 1,000 families and on-site meal programs. Each year Care Giver Association distributes over a million pounds of food and grocery products to hungry and needy Americans in communities across the country.

·         Reason for Donating: One in six Americans is fighting hunger, donations are always used efficiently, safely and effectively to help those in need. Each dollar you give helps provide 7 meals to people in need. raise public awareness of hunger in our country, and promote viable solutions to the problems of hunger and waste.

·         Type of donors: legacy giving is the perfect way to express support for our hunger-relief efforts. Legacy gifts help us to secure and distribute food and groceries to those in need, Whether you are interested in donating a truckload of cans goods, or cases of can goods– we make sure your donation gets to the millions of Americans in need that our network serves each year.

·         The efforts and generosity of our organization:.

Conclusion

·         Benefits from donating: To make a difference in the lives of families, students, patients, and communities around the world. You are able to help people who need help the most. Donating gives provides a chance to give back to the community. Also, by donating a child will not have to go to bed hungry. The number of malnourished people and children will decrease. Always remember that donating not only helps you feel good, but also saves lives.

·         We are working to educate new volunteers about the fight against world hunger. 

·         Education is very important, because when people understand why there is world hunger, the problem can be solved much faster and quicker.  Education also lets people know that there are local families who cannot afford a healthy meal.

·         The right steps that need to be taken towards eliminating world hunger.  How will you donate to the fight against world hunger.

http://www.worldhunger.org/

http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/stats.htm

http://www.stophungernow.org/site/PageServer

Blog Assignment 7: Editorial

CELLPHONES AND DRIVING.  http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/cellphones.  Driving while using your cell phone increases risk of many accidents. The rapid expansion in the use of cell phones and other mobile technology has led to concerns that their use in motor vehicles constitutes a growing highway safety threat. Using Cell phones while driving is a distraction, that raises the odds of many vehicle accidents. These distractions are the cause accidents extending from minor every day fender bender to fatal crashes. It is stated that while cell phone use raises the risk of an automobile driver getting into an accident, texting raises these risks even more. Every year tens of thousands of people are hurt or killed as a result of talking on their cell phone while driving or being hit by someone also talking on their cell phone. People driving while on their cell phones cannot pay the needed attention to the road which increases the amount of people getting hurt. Drivers take their eyes off of the road when they attempt to dial which is an accident waiting to happen, and they lose their concentration so they become focused and engaged in the conversation rather than what is going on around them http://youtu.be/aPlnNaHGZY8.  All drivers, not just teens, who use a cell phone while driving, are said by studies to be at least four times more likely to have an accident than drivers who don't use a cell phone while driving. A study in which both the participants and the scientists got sloshed has shown that motorists who talk on cell phones while driving are as impaired as drunk drivers. The real issues are focused on handheld phones, younger drivers, texting, people driving city vehicle such as school buses and people driving mass transit. Some law prohibits the driver of any motor vehicle from using a hand-held cell phone while the vehicle is in motion. However, the use of a hands-free cell phone is allowed.

I've actually seen people swerving as if they were drunk but then when I got close enough to their car I could see they were talking on their cell phone with one hand while driving with the other hand. If I can save one life, it's worth it! There was a story of a young woman who was injured and her parents killed when their car was hit by a driver who ran a red light while talking on a cellphone.  People like this would love to speak out in favor of a ban on handheld cellphone use while driving. Texting while driving is very dangerous; but it is still socially acceptable, at least in some social circles. I think highlighting the problem shows the tone for what’s ‘cool’ and what’s not is the best way to adjust the behavior of the crowds. Lifestyle media can paint certain behaviors in a negative light and help change behavior. I feel like the only exceptions, where even a hand-held cell phone is allowed while driving is when there is a purpose such as communicating in an emergency situation, such as with an emergency response operator, a hospital or doctor office, an ambulance company, a fire department, or a police department and the operators of any other authorized emergency vehicle while in the performance of their official duties; and the exception of a situation where you are expecting to receive a call due to an emergency of a love one or family member. However, studies have shown that it is the phone conversation itself that is most distracting rather than the act of holding it to one's ear. Therefore, even though it is legal to drive and talk on a hands-free phone, I feel like a person should pull over to the side of the road and stop, and then carry on their conversation. I think texting a talking on a cellphone while driving should be illegal. A driver should be in violation of the law if he or she is holding a cellphone while texting, viewing and taking pictures, or playing games.

New Website Address

http://vivabuswmen.webs.com/index.htm 

Blog Assingment 5: Beginning the Job Search

Here I have a master list of all the qualifications, skills and experience from four openings/opportunities that I have chosen as a potentially interest to me. The jobs/websites are: Triumph Healthcare - Houston - Houston, Texas http://www.triumph-healthcare.com/careers/ ; M. D. Anderson Cancer Center – Houston, Texas, http://sh.webhire.com ; Forrest General Hospital- Hattiesburg, MS, http://www.forrestgeneral.com, and University Of Southern Miss, http://www.usm.edu/cs/student_employment/student_empl.html

Master List of qualifications, skills and experiences:

Qualifications:

·         Bachelor’s degree

·         Masters preferred

·         Associate's degree in Business Administration or related field.

·         Bachelor of Science Degree or Associate degree in Health Information Management or Information Systems Degree

·         Associate Degree in appropriate discipline or a High School Diploma plus a minimum of two

·         Related experience may be substituted for an Associate’s degree

·         Must pass pre-employment skills test as required and administered by Human Resources

·         Current Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) or Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) credential.

Skills:

·         Ability to communicate effectively (written and verbal) in an effort to motivate and direct actions of others. 

·         Current knowledge of trends in health care. 

·         Understanding of financial reports. 

·         Detail oriented with the ability to train.

·         Strong leadership and interpersonal skills. 

·         Excellent analytical, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills

Experiences:

·         Experience in conducting meetings of the Medical Staff and Governing Board.

·         Working knowledge of Medicare, OSHA, JCAHO, CMS and state guidelines.

·         Working knowledge of computers with good word processing skills. 

·         Proven experience with development of positive relationships with senior staff, co-workers, and customers. 

·         Minimum experience of at least 5 years in hospital management

·         Would consider RHIA, RHIT eligible.

·         2 years’ experience in upper level administrative support role.

·         Microsoft Office applications are required in order to provide the level of support necessary including Word, Power Point, and Excel.

·         Excellent written and oral communication skills.

·         Exceptional interpersonal skills.

·         Must be able to work with others in a team atmosphere in order to contribute to the goals and objectives of the 12 GeV Upgrade and Jefferson Lab.

·         Highly organized and the ability to represent administrative functions appropriately in an executive environment.

·         Three or more year’s customer service experience in healthcare, insurance or related field. One year of related experience with preferred degree.

·         Experience with Adobe Acrobat and office software for travel, calendars, and room scheduling. Experience providing administrative support and identifying priorities in a fast paced office environment.

·         Three (3) years’ experience in hospital computerized HIM Department setting or hospital Information Systems Department as a Project/Application Specialist or Analyst.

·         Experience in and understanding of computerized record/data systems.

I have had many job skills and experience similar to the career that I am interesting in. I am currently working at The University of Southern Miss where I Assist and Register students for academic classes, Data entry, answering multi-phone line and filing, Scheduling room assignment for events and academic classes ,Process Add/Drop and withdrawal forms and Generate class reports/roster. The skill I have are being detail oriented with the ability to train, knowledge of computers with good word processing skills, knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Word, Power Point, and Excel. I have exceptional interpersonal skills.

Forrest General Hospital was another facility where I had much experience in the medical field. I was responsible for systematic approach to scheduling procedures, preparing patients surgery charts, data entry, analyzing/entering physician orders, admitting and discharging patients, as well as scheduling appointments. I manage the nurse’s station, collaborate with hospital managers, staff, and physicians, Taking messages and interact/assist with patient, and their family, filed, pre-certification and verifying patient insurance, collection of fees, and financial counseling.

I had some experience in working in a laboratory in the Toxicology department at as medical lab assistant and receptionist. I duties and experiences where Data entry, order entry, faxing, coding, reporting drug screening results and medical billing.

In These jobs, I have had many computer software skills such as Proficient in all Microsoft Operating Systems including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook Express, PeopleSoft, Blackboard, Adobe Acrobat, Spreadsheets.

I would choose the Administrative Assistant position with Jefferson Lab through The University of Southern Miss’ career services. I feel like this job is suited for me. I meet majority of the requirements and I have the skills and experience. I have the knowledge of documentation development and control procedures, the skills in using Microsoft Office software applications, Adobe Acrobat, Word, Excel, and Power Point to generate and maintain document graphics, spreadsheets, and databases.  I have exceptional interpersonal skills and I work well with others in a team atmosphere in order to contribute to the goals and objectives. I also meet their requirement as being highly organized and the ability to represent administrative functions appropriately.

Improving Professional Correspondence

A letter of complaint is an opportunity to alert someone who may be familiar or unfamiliar with a problem with the fact necessary to investigate. In the beginning you have to make sure you are clear, concise, and persuasive. State the facts and how you would like the situation resolved. Lastly, provide a timeline for their expected response before you forward the matter onto a higher authority. In order to communicate well, there are some guidelines to that you might want to use for example: An introduction that clearly identifies the subject of the complaint; A body paragraph that clearly and specifically explains the nature of the complaint, and provides the reader with all of the information needed to provide an appropriate response; A conclusion that clearly states what actions are needed to resolve the problem.

When you are writing to communicate make sure the result is clear communication that will be understood by your intended audience. In the beginning make sure the subject line state the main point of the email. Next I revised the recommendation sentence. Instead of stating, “I have been reviewing the “errors” in the computer files”, I used the statement, “I strongly recommend that we review the “errors” in the computer files.” I changed it to reflect the writers’ tone as if this is a serious matter. People react to what they read on a moment by moment base and their reaction at that given moment tells how their reaction will follow throughout reading the memo. I also kept paragraphs short and separated by blank spaces which promote readers easier. In the first paragraph I state the main point of the email to help the reader to know the key of the information. In the original memo, Pryzblo used the word(s) “my people”, “Your people” repeatedly, so I replaced the word, “people” with “staff”; furthermore deleted unnecessary words.

In the revised document I hope to things would be different by being positive and helpful rather than a negative and critical. It helps for your complaint to be seen as an opportunity to improve things, rather than an arena for confrontation. If the situation is not resolved, I suggested in the third paragraph another means of solving the issue to continue in helping to arrive at a positive outcome. So it helps to be seen as a positive person.

EXAMPLE OF THE REVISE MEMO's BODY:

I strongly recommend that we review the “errors” in the computer files

I really need your help in this matter. The majority of your clerks were making these errors, as you mentioned in our meeting. There has been 37 incorrect  payroll checks; in 35 cases that are assoicated with time sheet, time tickets and computer files.

I do not feel that my staff should be blamed for any of the errors. They are doing their job correctly as far as copying the time tickets that your clerks prepare. 

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

My staff does not have the allotted time to correct the errors that are made by your staff and we do not have it in our budget to hire additional help. May be there is some sort of system that you and your staff can come up with in solving the problem. . I am willing to listen to any other suggestion that you and your clerks might to help improved your errors

I Can I ask that you look into this to ensure that your staff will review their work carefully before giving it to the computer operators? If you would like to discuss this matter further, please contact me at (601-555-7272).

I would greatly appreciate your help.

Blog Assignment 3: Defining Your Website's Objectives

Searching for information on the web can be very difficult for some readers. The website’s attraction is sometimes the primary reason that readers approach the Web sites in the beginning. The next thing is the web sites are supposed be design for persuasion and while usability is still a primary requirement for successful web site design. The interactive online environment offers far more opportunities to influence customers’ decision-making than advertising or marketing channels do.

I visited a few university websites. There were two that stood out to me. The websites is also an important means of communication was one that seems to be particular effective and engaging and the other was so effective and engaging. The one that see more appealing to me was Alcorn State University www.alcorn.edu and the less appealing one was Jackson State University www.jsums.edu  On Alcorn university site, the use of the bright color, animation, graphics, and text enlighten me to look further on the website. The website was very user friendly. The heading structure was a clear visually to the web page. The structure of Alcorn State University structure made it easy to scan the web page contents. The Jackson State University’s website seems to be very small in structure. The website was not as user friendly. The reading of the website was very small and hard to read.

 Web graphics play an important part in the presentation of a website. The graphic on Alcorn State University’s websites was very interesting. Jackson State was very dual and boring. Both Universities has a flash based website, which is a fancy feature that gets the reader’s attention. The logo and colors that both schools choose directly to fit the school schools. Sometimes choosing colors and images says a lot about the school’s personality. Also the information in the site has to reflect what they are offering, with an appropriate, understandable language suitable to visitors. I notice on Alcorn State university website that they have in advance the calendar for the next two terms and Jackson State has not recently updated their websites for the upcoming semesters.

Periodically the sites change information and updates. This is very important to visitors how are interested attending the college. Sustaining webpage and making it productive has a big impact on visitors. Also additional features that might be helpful to display and illustrate may be necessary. Alcorn has many did features and illustration, and Jackson State university has them too, but less. Alcorn State University Business Administration Dept quotes, “The nucleus for this environment is a small class size, dedicated teaching faculty, innovative teaching methodologies and technology, all enhanced through intellectual development”, This statement would get my attention, because it tells me that the class aren’t that big, to where you feel that are almost getting that one-on-one attention from the instructor. JSU doesn’t give any feedback about the environment

My purpose of my website to recruit students in Business Administration major is to provide opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to learn business principles and techniques, economic theories and policies and to acquire a well-rounded general education. Next I would plan a user friendly map path which my readers could easily find their designation from my home page. Then I would gather information that to create my web and graphic that will catch my readers’ attention, and provide respectful and valid information and making sure my designs have a simplistic approach. Last but not least, draft the designs were the Logos and sites titles stands out.  The one thing that I think that might be useful when creating a website is Persuasive, because what you tell people in writing influences the readers.

Analyzing a Rhetorical Situation

 In ENG 203 there was a particular writing that I had to read. It was “Coming of Age in Mississippi” by Anna Moody. In “Coming of Age in Mississippi” Anne Moody, an activist in the civil rights movement in Mississippi. Coming of Age in Mississippi is a stark testimony to the racial injustice that characterized the southern United States until the civil rights movements of the 1960s brought lasting changes to the region. The southern world into which Moody was born in 1940 was one ruled by whites.I do not think Anna Moody’s though where to become a writer. Anna Moody wanted her readers to understanding the racial situation that went on during the century when she was a child. According to Moody, she experiences growing up poor and black in rural Mississippi, joining the Civil Rights Movement, and fighting racism against blacks in the United States. She wanted to take authority from the whites and she wanted to encourage other members of the black community to do the same. She tells the story of how she faced male control and terror from white supremacists during her days in the struggle, and that she refused the idea of being sheltered and wanted to work as hard as any man did for their independence. Moody fought for the freedom of her race demonstrating that freedom was as important to black women as it was to black men. She made herself known as an activist and stood out as a woman who had her own voice.

Moody’s description of her own leadership positions in the movement provide readers with a detailed historical record of the happenings of the movement as they occurred in  Mississippi “Coming of Age” gives view of the central role of Mississippian politic and activism in the

 national struggle of Civil Rights. Author, Linda Pierce stated, “As Prior to the Civil Rights Movement, almost 90% of African Americans in Mississippi were living below the poverty line; moreover, 45% - 55% of state was comprised of African American citizens, yet only 5% to 6 % were registered voters.”

Anne Moody, over all purpose was to fight for human rights, dignity, justice, equality, and freedom.” As a direct result of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American boy who was brutally murdered in 1955, she decided to joined many civil rights groups. Moody worked in many dangerous areas in Mississippi and as reputation grew, the more her work became threatening. Moody, however, eventually grew frustrated with the movement’s lack of progress and began writing about the civil rights. She understood though that male supremacy was common in the Black Power Movement which would not have allowed her to take part as much as she would have liked.

As Moody’s life pass from childhood to high school and college, there were several changes in the writing. Her language/voice became more angry and frustrated. When the news of Emmett Till was announced her voice became strong adult language. Her childhood was being replaced with adult anger. Her strong language make readers realize she is going through very troubling adult situations and conflict. The adult language helps readers realize her growing frustration.

Readers view Moody’s “Coming of Age” memories, which include the development of her awareness of social construction of race, the phenomenon of “white privilege.” And the process involved in building movements for social change. Moody is one of the many voices of the Civil Rights movement, one of the unsung heroes bravely following in the steps of Martin Luther King, Jr. Moody ended her story in a confusing way, as if she had doubts whether black will ever overcome, but in all Her autobiography “Coming of Age” in Mississippi is highly praised for its realistic.