CREATE! by Robert Miller for ITED 8200, VSU, EdS, SP09, Dr. Leader

Scientific Games in Alpharetta

2011-03-02T10:29:00.001-08:00

When I first interviewed at Scientific Games I was told that it would take me six months to one year to become fully acclimated to the position. I honestly, but erroneously, believed that it would not take me that long. The job proved to be much more difficult than I had expected.

My initial problems, immediately after being hired, were dramatic and numerous. The training program provided to me (and the two other two new hires I had been trained with) was sorely lacking in the proper substance one would need to sufficiently acclimate to rigors of the position. Before coming to work, I had to sign an agreement stating I would not play the lottery because, in the event that I might win, such a win would give the appearance of a gross lack of fairness. Ironically, my entire eight months of work experience with Scientific Games shows that the company is already rife with inequity and unfair practices.

The initial training consisted of almost entirely of boring, tedious, and overly technical lectures about printer capabilities, printer inks, and printing processes; however, to my shock and surprise there was absolutely no hands-on training in the routine day-to-day activities / operations of the job. My past employment experiences have been markedly, if not drastically, different. I am used to companies providing learning facilitator led training or instructor-led learning at individual computer workstations in a new employee learning commons or computer training lab. I was anxiously awaiting the point in which the hands-on training would begin. Shockingly, alarmingly, no such training / learning facilities, or training materials were ever provided.

Another troubling discovery I made early on was that I saw many instances in which artists were responsible for keying in information and generating proofs in a production process in which automated systems could have more than easily - and very much more effectively - produced the same type of proofs and documents. When I asked about why automated systems were not put in place, during my training, I was told that the company was always open to new systematic or system-wide improvements; however, no further inquiry was made regarding improvements to the proof production process with respect to automated systems. I also soon discovered that the food being served in the employee cafeteria was shockingly substandard; the food was mostly unhealthy, often poorly prepared, and sometimes inedible

During the interview process, I was told there was almost no turnover in the Creative Services department; however, I quickly learned, after being hired, that the opposite was true. There were at least five artists in my department who had quit, who had transferred to another department or who were summarily dismissed for no apparent reason. The rationale for why they had left or quit was not clear (other than that they just did not fit in well). I realized only after my initial training period, that there was high turnover rate of employment in the Creative Department. I learned this fact only after being hired; and this fact was kept somewhat of a dark, unspoken secret.

I also gradually learned more about the people who quit or were fired; the information was disheartening. One artist had been dismissed over rebellious conduct in response to drastic office environment changes (George Ferrer) while another (Pansey Sapp Kirksey ) had quit due to wide ranging departmental changes she found to be unbearable. Next I found out about two additional artists who had been summarily dismissed (Alex and B.J.) for reasons that were not clear; either not fitting in well or perhaps some other vague reason under the thinly veiled guise of departmental payroll budgeting cuts.

These facts regarding high turnover among the art department were not disclosed to me during the interview process even though I had pointedly and specifically asked why the company was hiring in that department. I had pointedly inquired about turnover rate; if it was high or low. I was not given truth responses to those questions. Had I known the real truth about the job versus the pretty painted picture I had given, during the interview process, then I probably would have not accepted position of employment with Scientific Games.

I certainly would have accepted other offers of employment (which I did get after being hired by Scientific Games). Shortly after being hired, I was told, by the person that hired me (and later fired me), Rick Tidwell, that the job was “a pressure cooker.” This was something I would have liked to have been told before being hired. Mr. Tidwell even asked me, at one point shortly after being hired and “trained,” if I found the job to be true to the way he had described it in the interview process. I either avoided giving an answer or changed the subject for fear my honest answer would jeopardize my position with the company.

When I was hired I had been told that medical coverage was available but would be provided after one month of service; however, when I tried to register for health benefits I was told I had missed the one month window of opportunity. I was never warned about the one month window with respect to receiving benefits, Apparently a new hire has one month, or 30 days, from the hire date with which to register for benefits (medical, dental and vision). If one misses the window then he she is forced to wait until the following October during open enrollment; however, that person will not have medical coverage until January of the following year. I learned this terrible fact the hard way. Basically I was told that I would be given benefits, during the interview and again during initial training, but then was promptly denied them.

Even though I was told it would take six months to a year to become fully acclimated to the position I was told, after a mere two months (in a surprise meeting with Clay Henss, Rick Tidwell and Rhonda Gillen), that I was not making sufficient forward progress. I was shown a negative appraisal form, already typed out and signed. I was told to read it and instructed to give my take on it. I was then given the management interpretation of what it meant and the gravity of it. I was asked if I had understood it and I was told to sign it. I was asked if I had been surprised by it (in which I had answered in the affirmative) to which my answer received no reply. The remediation in which it contained and I was prescribed, at that time, was a list of online training courses offered through an online / web-based software training site called Lynda.com.

I expressed some initial trepidation (given my dissatisfaction with the initial “training”) that the prescribed remedial “training courses” might be insufficient for my needs with respect to the job. I voiced my preference for a more “hands-on” type of training (perhaps only available in a real classroom setting); however, I was told that online training would be the only option for me. I completed the remedial training; however, there was no follow-up with management on whether or not I had progressed sufficiently.

I often, to my shock and dismay, sat at my desk during my first couple months on the job (after training) with virtually no work being assigned even though co-workers were overloaded or inundated with work. Once I did get to the point in which I was deemed sufficiently acclimated or trained (which occurred perhaps a few weeks past the initial training period) I quickly learned that I was doing the workload of three or four people during the busiest periods while having almost nothing to do during the slow periods. I also learned that asking questions about certain key production issues was generally discouraged or frowned upon.

Low level managers were often unwilling or fearful in confiding about issues or problems with upper level managers. As a result, certain problems, issues, and inconsistencies in the work flow process were ignored or avoided. In many instances, to clarify an unclear art / print production issue, I would ask my immediate supervisor if I should direct a clarifying question to his supervisor regarding a confusing / perplexing issue. My immediate supervisor advised me to not proceed (in asking the senior-level supervisor the question about the issue). My immediate manager suggested it would be more prudent to find out the answer by talking to the Account Executive instead of the senior manager.

During my eight months of employment at Scientific Games, in addition to rampant ineffective management if not outright gross mismanagement, I saw numerous, and often glaring, instances of unethical behavior, unfair employee treatment, and inequitable / arbitrary rule enforcement, and staggering mismanagement practices. When I was first hired, during my initial training period, I observed that certain employees were allowed to come and go as they pleased while others had to adhere to strict working hours. Other employees observed this and were unhappy about this; though nothing was done to correct this. Some employees were allowed to work less than the allotted required 40 hours while others had to work significantly more than 40 hours. Some employees were allowed to work from home or completely off-site (out of region) while others were required to be on site and at their desks at all times.

Email addresses for people on the account profiles were inaccurate or in need of being updated. Email recipients, of internal and external customers, often responded with angry emails requesting to be removed from the email lists. When these issues were brought up with management (Rick Tidwell), I and other employees were told to ignore these requests. The rationale was that if they were on the email recipient list then we were to keep emailing the files and updates until Ms. Gillen gave the order to do otherwise.

There was a constant disconnect between Account Executives, Artists and Vendors with respect to the successful upload of files to certain completed art file repository servers. In many instances the artist would upload the completed art files to a certain file server destination and the customers would claim the files were not there or were corrupted or unable to be opened. Account executives and artists often complained to management (Jim Ferrell) and were often ignored. The most common response was to try the reload again (and again) to see if the subsequent attempt was successful. Solving the root of the “upload problem” was often mostly or drastically delayed. I was likely blamed as a culprit or made to be a scapegoat of such technology problems. If I was at fault it was because of improper or inadequate training.

During a period in which Scientific Games was trying to secure a bid with the Texas Lottery, an outside contractor (I believe his names was Graham) was brought in to produce a multimedia presentation. The contractor was isolated and kept in a room away from the other artists. The contractor was told to only speak with one particular supervising artist. Other artists were discouraged or outright prohibited from talking to or having any contact at all with the contractor. The contractor seemed to be constantly lacking the proper direction he needed in order to move forward with his particular project. The supervising artist (Clay Henss) that the contractor was frequently conferring with seemed to be completely stressed out because he did not the have the time allotted in his schedule to help the outside contractor.

Rhonda Gillen, the managerial head of the department, often talked down and was frequently condescending to other managers and to certain subordinate employees - especially during her lengthy long-winded periodic production department meetings. There was a general consensus that Ms. Gillen would not listen to the needs and concerns of subordinates. There was also the perception that Ms. Gillen not allow - or would routinely block - subordinates from transferring out of her department into another departments (or areas) of the company.

Recently, during the month of December, employees were told by Ms. Gillen in a meeting that we were going to have an employee creative conference for three days. We told that other artists from far away offices were being flown in and lodged in nearby hotels. Because of the time, planning and expenses involved, we were told that no one would be allowed to schedule vacation during that time. We were also told to cancel or reschedule doctor appointments, hospital visits or medical procedures.

On the last day of the Creative Conference, we were to be surprised with a special field trip outing, which would be kept secret or confidential until the very moment in which we were to embark to the destination. Oddly enough the field trip turned out to be a visit to a glass blowing foundry and the trip would include a hands-on glass blowing class in which each artist was being made to produce glass paperweights and glass beads. The field trip was arguably an enjoyable respite from the norm but certainly it was not what I had expected. Nor was it even remotely related to the Creative Services job function. From what I could see there was no justifiable reason to bring all the artists together from all the various remote locations, completely halting production within the department, for the three full days. A Christmas party, for all the artists in all the various locations / departments, held on a Saturday would have been a more viable alternative rather than conducting the dog and pony show fiasco that was held for three full days during the work week.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect to the field trip was, at the moment the secret off-campus excursion location was revealed, employees were told that we had only a few minutes to drive to the field trip destination. We all were expected to transport ourselves from the remote North Suburbs of Atlanta (where Scientific Games is located in Alpharetta) to an unknown destination in a somewhat dangerous neighborhood in the downtown Atlanta neighborhood known as Grant Park.

Aside from the sketchiness of the field trip destination neighborhood, such a car trip could be considered a daunting task in the middle of a busy work day right at the start of the lunchtime rush hour –particularly hazardous for out-of-town guests. Even for those who know Atlanta roads well, given the tight time frame and being put in a position of having to race against the clock, one could surmise that such a trip by car could be hazardous for everybody but particularly dicey for those folks who flew in from out of town. Why a bus was not provided to transport everyone in the department was a mystery. One employee (Lela Scarborough), on the following day or two after the field trip on their own personal time, was even assigned the task of going back to the glass blowing studio to retrieve the glass paperweights.

The conference turned out to be mostly a waste of time with respect to relevant issues related to the needs of the business. The conference was an odd jumble of exercises consisting of irrelevant team building, bizarre product ad campaigns, and esoteric trivia game exercises that had absolutely nothing to do with the general operations of the business or needs of the company. A Christmas party held on a Saturday would have made more sense.

Employees within the Creative Services Department were routinely not treated equally or equitably by management. Some employees were made members of “Dream Teams” and were afforded company paid lunches and other perks while others were not invited to participate, ignored, or excluded entirely. Some employees, low-level managers or team leaders in particular, were given proofreading duties in addition to production duties while others were either exempted from proofreading or perhaps not trusted to properly handle the task.

Some employees were given colossal production work loads while others were routinely assigned light work loads (Fernando Aguilar). Other employees expressed the opinion that they were constantly being forced to work (productively or creatively), “with a gun held to their heads.” Some artists were assigned training lead duties whiles others were either exempted (or not trusted). Those that were exempted were reluctant or unable to provide assistance or advice whenever I needed help. In the event my immediate supervisor was unavailable, it was often a struggle to find a sufficient replacement, substitute or proxy. Other supervisors and especially other employees were often unwilling or unsure about providing needed assistance. When I would ask help from one person I was often instructed to seek the need assistance for someone else.

The management structure was decidedly much more favorable to Account Executives over Artists. Artists were frequently being badgered by account executives and account managers for (allegedly) not following instructions; however, account executives were routinely exempted from having to provide legible or properly discernable instructions. Clear concise instructions from the Account Executives were necessary but often absent. Clear concise instructions were crucial for artists to proceed with respect to producing correct initial artwork or making necessary corrections. Mostly the onus was on the artist with respect to getting the job done right; however, artists had little control in the workflow process.

There circumstances, manner and timing in which I was dismissed was a disgrace. It was done with many coworkers watching and listening. It was done with no warning. I was humiliating. Why couldn’t it have been done during lunch when no one was around? I was told it was done in the manner it was so as to make an example of me. I can not think of any reason why it was done that way. I had always been a pleasant and respectful employee. I certainly tried my best to do well in my job in spite of all the challenges, pitfalls and hurdles. The purpose of this letter is to inform.

Perhaps I only have myself to blame. Maybe I did not try hard enough with respect to acclimating to a new and difficult employment position. Or perhaps my failure is due to gross mismanagement on the part of managers, namely Rhonda Gillen, Rick Tidwell and Jim Ferrell. Whether or not incompetent management made me lose my job is irrelevant. My hope is that things will change within the Creative Services department of the company (the sooner the better) and I hope that no one has to experience what I did at Scientific Games. The bottom line was made to be some sort of departmental scapegoat.

I will send a copy of this letter to the local chapters of the CWA or AFL-CIO along with strong recommendations that certain departments or divisions of Scientific Games be unionized. I don’t exactly love what unions do for companies; however, in my experience unions do seem to ensure that non-managerial employees get treated with more fairness and equity by corporations that only care about profits and stock share holders.

2009-10-01T11:19:00.001-07:00

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As it turns out Verizon Wireless also sucks (suck donkey dicks) with respect to being dishonest and shady if not outright shitty. The monthly phone bill they initially "sold" me on turned out to be far less than what I actually started getting billed. I was supposed to be paying like 50 or 60 bucks a month but bills were more like 150 or 200 per month. Somehow in only 5 or so months I started falling behind and began running up a 5 or 6 hundred dollar bill.

I tried to switch to pre-pay and they let me stand around in one of heir store for over an hour until they decided to up-sell me to some other plan to avoid overages. That didn't work too well. So I switched to T-Mobile. The jury is still out on T-Mobile; however, I love my Google phone. So far it is way, way better than the Palm Centro. If T-Mobile pisses me off I will drop them too and switch to one of the new upstarts like Boost, Cricket or Clear.

Stop giving business to AT&T

2009-08-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

I love the iPhone but I refuse to get one as long as AT&T is the sole provider of the iPhone in Atlanta. I carry a Palm centro and I plan on getting the next incarnation of the Palm phone from Verizon in a few weeks. AT&T in their quest to monopolize the iPhone market, continues to prove themselves to be an evil entity in the telecomm world and for that I refuse to give them the business they clearly do not deserve.

Class Action Suit

2009-03-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

I am interested in getting together a group - or in joining a group - interested in pursuing a class action lawsuit against AT&T / BAPCO / CWA LOCAL ____ for unlawful / wrongful termination of employment. I was an employee of this company for 15 years and my job came screeching to a halt in early March of 2009. Please read my earlier post for further information. I may be contacted at 678-372-0000.

2009-03-11T08:32:00.001-07:00

Sometime on or before November 7th I got an official AT&T email regarding SIPP / ESIPP offers. The letter referred to an electronic file, folder or document I had accessed on or after November 7th regarding SIPP / ESIPP offers / packages. I think SIPP is an acronym for Supplemental Income Protection Plan; however, AT&T uses it as an “early retirement incentive’ type of plan for high seniority any level employee. The aforementioned electronic file, folder or document had been sent to me, unsolicited, via company email. Something piqued my interest, as I had been considering a leave of absence to attend school full-time for the fulltime residence segment of a PhD program. I opened the document and, in the process of examining the document in detail for crucial information, clicked “interested” on a question & answer “radio” button. My clicking “interested” I inadvertently set forth a process in motion, unbeknownst to me.

The process, unbeknownst to me, put my job security in jeopardy without my realizing. A few days later, while discussing the email with coworkers, I wondered if I had made a mistake by clicking “interested.” I tried to re-examine the document but was unable to access the file or page in question for some reason. I next began to examine paperwork (given to me by another fellow employee) connected to the original email; however, the paperwork led me to believe that I had until December 31st to go back in and re-examine the electronic document and click “not interested.” I set aside my concern in the contents of the letter that day because thought, at the time, that I had some time to think about it.

On Wednesday December 17th at 5:18 PM I received a letter from AT&T secretary Donna King (on behalf of managers Angelia Sweat and Kim Coan) informed me that my SIPP acceptance had been granted. The letter mentioned a specific date, “off payroll” (March 5th, 2009) and asked me to reply to the letter choosing an option (lump sump or 48 months of payments) regarding a certain SIPP payment. The letter stated that I needed to reply to them that day (TODAY). I was confused and unclear about the meaning of the letter and responded with a simple, brief, but vague response / answer – “48 months.”

When I returned to work the next morning I, in a state of concern, decided to discuss the matter further with a union representative. I immediately voiced my concern regarding the email with Suzanne Lang-Carter, a Union representative, and was advised to formally state that I would like to decline / retract my expression of interest / acceptance. Ms. Lang-Carter, a Union representative, asked me right up front if I had signed anything. I stated that I had not; I further explained that all I had done - or thought I had done - was merely express an interest in SIPP/ESIPP and would welcome the opportunity to explore the terms / details further. Suzanne wrote an email to Union Boss, Karen Carr, stating that I had been offered a SIPP package, that I had not signed the final paperwork, and that I declined the offer. Suzanne asked Karen to provide advice regarding further action or follow-up. Susanne forwarded a copy of the email to manager Kim Coan.

Kim Coan, in an email to Suzanee Lang-Carter (a copy of the email was forwarded to me [by Ms. Coan]) stated that there was no paperwork for me to sign. She went on to further explain that I had “locked in” in an “online submission.” Ms. Coan stated that, “The only way (he/I) can not be held to their “Acceptance” is if (I) go back into the system and unlock or if (I) submitted under the time, or window of time after, from the time the initial email went out notifying of additional SIPP/ESIPP offers. At that point (I) would have needed to send another email back during that window to cancel the acceptance.” The letter went on further to explain that I had been matched up with a surplus employee and (I) would not be able to rescind (my) acceptance at that point.

I next sent an email to Ms. Coan stating that according to my paperwork entitled, Information on First-quarter SIPP Offers I have until December 31st to cancel / rescind my SIPP request. I further stated that this email should serve as my request to cancel; however, in the event that does not suffice, I stated that I would like to be shown the link to the web page that I needed to access in order to officially cancel my SIPP request. The reply to this letter by Ms. Coan was brief and merely stated that she had spoken with Karen Carr and that Ms. Carter-Land would call me. Ms. Lang-Carter advised me to begin looking for other employment; however, she stated that I should also submit a letter of grievance to the union hall so that someone else may examine my case to determine further action.

On Monday, December 22nd at 3:58 PM, I wrote an email to Ms. Coan stating that I had tried to go in several times during the ten day window to re-examine the SIPP information but was unable to do so for some reason. I referred back to the paperwork that came with the initial email and it clearly stated that I had until December 31st to make a final decision on whether or not I was interest in SIPP. I did not get an answer back from Ms. Coan.

I interpreted the paperwork in my possession and the inability to access the web page regarding SIPP as an indication that some sort of maintenance / update was being performed to the system / database during the crucial time window in question and that I was being given an extension of time with which to go back into the system and unlock / cancel my existing expression of interest. Ms.Coan wrote a reply to my email later that day stating that she had spoken with Karen Carr; that I may follow up with Ms. Carr; and that there was not a way to decline at that time. I replied to that email stating that I intended to decline SIPP at some point before or after the critical date of December 31. Immediately after replying to Ms. Coan’s email, I faxed a grievance letter to the Union office stating my case and asking for assistance in declining the SIPP/ESIPP “exit package.”

On 12-30-2009, I received a response to the Union office, stating that my grievance will be handled in a timely matter in accordance to the working agreement. The letter stated that I would be receiving further instructions from the Union and that if I have not heard from a union representative by January 9th 2009 that I should contact Karen Carr. I did not hear from the union on the aforementioned date of 1-9-09; however, my manager informed me sometime during the week of January 5th or 9th that the company position on my case is that I would be leaving the company effective March 4th. On February 20th, 2009, I received word from Karen Carr regarding their position. She stated that we would need to met at the Union Hall on Thursday, February 26th regarding my case and that, as of that day, pertinent documents the company had related to my case were missing.

I did some research and determined that is a clear-cut case of unfair Digital Access. AT&T Associate Process Owner, Angelia Sweatt, and SIPP / ESIPP Coordinator Kim Coan implemented plans to reduce payroll by ramping up their SIPP / ESIPP package offers to Publishing Artists and Clerical personnel in their unit. They requested (demanded) that all artists and art clerks complete SIPP / ESIPP offer / request forms online.

My research suggested that making the forms only accessible / online is a clear-cut case of bad policy. Ms. Sweatt and Ms. Coan had, sometime before November 7th, sent the new policy mandates to all Art Managers and Clerical Managers, notifying them that paper format SIPP / ESIPP offer / request submissions requiring employee agreement / acknowledgement signatures will no longer be acceptable. They explained that paper submissions will not be accepted because the new and improved / required forms must be submitted electronically and had to be accessed and filled out on the company’s ESIPP / SIPP package dedicated intranet site. They made it sound like it was not an optional request, but more of a command. I was not seeking a SIPP / ESIPP package at that time. The letter came to me unsolicited. A number of artists and clerks complained because they did not have proper or reliable access to the pertinent information pages or the relevant (binding) forms in the place they are purportedly located in order to review key information or to make key changes. This happens often at AT&T with mandatory rules coverage online documents and online training documents.

The clear cut case of good policy (versus the aforementioned bad policy) in this situation would have been as follows: Ms. Sweatt and Ms. Coan discuss new policies requiring employees to complete SIPP / ESIPP offer / request forms on-line. They conduct a formal or informal survey, via all unit managers, to determine how many employees will handle SIPP / ESIPP offers. Employees must have all the proper access / permissions to access all pertinent documents, files and folders on the corporate intranet site. Employees must also have all the pertinent financial information unique to each employee readily available to them so as to see the benefit / drawbacks of committing to a SIPP package.

When viewing the results, it is clear that employees in certain work groups have restricted or limited permissions / access compared to employees in other work groups who have unlimited access and fully granted permissions to access all files and folders containing SIPP / ESIPP offers, requests and other pertinent information. Ms. Sweatt and Ms. Coan conclude that making forms available for those who have electronic access is a positive step in forward progress and making a paper-free / green workplace; however, keeping forms available in both paper and electronic formats would offset potential issues relating to unfair access or disparity of treatment in the workplace with respect to equal access to information among all employees. The managers devise ways to better make electronic information easily accessible and readily available to all employees without jeopardizing fairness and equal / equitable treatment.

Additional efforts: When using technology, managers should think about all various employee knowledge, judgment, skills and concerns with respect to managing, navigating, and accessing certain key documents, files and folders. Some work groups appear to have a large population of knowledgeable and technology savvy employees whereas others do not. Upper-level managers should not forget to consult work group managers, systems administrators and union stewards about access to key forms before requiring that something be done exclusively online or electronically.

On Thursday, February 26th, at 5:00pm, I met with Karen Carr (and unbeknownst to me) Suzanne Lang Carter at the CWA Union Hall on Logan Street. Karen Carr did not have the crucial documents (or any copies of any documents to give me) solidifying the company’s case against my appeal. According to the Union, the company’s case hinged on three points: 1) The blurb containing the words “irrevocable interest” from one page of a document 2) My confusing the “quarter” SIPP/ESIPP offers went out versus the “quarter” SIPP/ESIPP offers were accepted by employees / accepted by me 3)I did not submit my offer to cancel within the number of days time window of opportunity. Ms Carr would not or could not state or otherwise specify whether or not (or otherwise define) my window as being ten days, fifteen days or thirty days.

I stated that I felt the company or the Union should have come to me laying out all the particulars with respect to the terms of my departure. I stated that I did not get the terms until it was (allegedly) too late too back out. I had to be the one to seek out all the information, in what I can only describe as a frustrating, depressing, time-consuming investigation, as neither the company nor the Union were willing to spell out the terms of the departure; both parties seemed content to leave me in the dark regarding crucial details. I further learned that the Union negotiated “ex parte” on my behalf with the company regarding my case.

I left the meeting feeling cheated because the Union never did not prove or dispute my case and did not show me any crucial pages solidifying the company’s claim. My job of almost fifteen years had come to a close.

2009-01-09T15:04:00.000-08:00

post deleted by request of party involved

2008-08-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

From: Miller, Robert D [mailto:rx5538@att.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 2:15 PM
To: Apply
Subject: Records Administrator/Archivist
Human Resources Department
careers@auctr.edu.

August 20th, 2008

Dear Human Resources Manager or Coordinator
,

I noticed that you had openings for Records Administrator/Archivist posted on the board in the jobs section of the American Library Association website; I would be more than qualified to teach in the posted position based upon my education and qualifications.
I have over fourteen years of experience working with AT&T / BellSouth. My present job title is east publishing artist; however, I am responsible for managing and navigating through a complex electronic art database. I have some experience with employee training / instructional technology in my present position and I am presently enrolled in a Educational Specialist degree program in Instructional Technology, part-time / online, at Valdosta State University. Perhaps most importantly, I have recently completed a Master of Arts degree in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida
Additionally, I also hold a Masters of Science degree program in Information Design and Communication, completed in 2004, at Southern Polytechnic State University. I am fully cognizant of what Atlanta University Center has to offer and, more importantly, I firmly believe in the concept of promoting only that in which I truly believe in (e.g. products, services, and educational institutions).

I am very much interested in pursuing a part-time library position at an academic institution and am presently evaluating a number of doctoral degree programs; my goal is to earn a Ph.D. degree in Library and Information Science.

Although I am content with my present position, I am currently seeking a part-time opening with an educational institution where my combined work experience, educational background, and communication skills can be best utilized. I would love to jump right into a part-time library position in order to test my recent graduate education in an actual working academic library environment.
I believe that I possess both the expertise and the knowledge that would make me perhaps the best candidate for the positions that are posted. I am especially interested in a position in which I will be putting my education to work helping others in an academic setting as well as helping advance the goals of Atlanta University Center.
I have enclosed is a resume detailing my work experience, job knowledge, and education. I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

Robert D. Miller

Encl.
Robert D. Miller
Digital Pre-Press Specialist
AT&T Advertising & Publishing
678-406-3503
rx5538@att.com
2245 Northlake Pkwy • 340 South
Tucker, GA 30084

____________________________
RÉSUMÉ
Robert D. Miller
950 Saint Charles Ave., NE APT 10
Atlanta, Georgia 30306
w * 678 * 406 * 3503
f * 404 * 228 * 4719
c * 678 * 372 * 0000
e * rdm1129@hotmail.com
Objective:
I am seeking an entry-level teaching position in a community college setting.
Professional Experience:
Nov 94-present
AT&T Advertising & Publishing * Tucker, GA.
Responsible for print production & design of yellow page directory
advertising.
Duties include:

* Operating a Windows OS computer and associated hardware/software.
* Composing text (copy) for yellow page ads; reviewing artwork and
previous ads for type styles, spacing and all factors affecting total ad composition.
* Determining type style/size to produce aesthetically pleasing ads.
* Designing Logos.
* Manipulating photos digitally for proper print production.
* Communicating in person and/or over the telephone with customers,
sales personnel and vendors.
* Assisting with/giving technical advice concerning artwork and/or copy
in the preparation and sale of print advertising.
* Creating high volume / highly accurate work.
* Determining priorities & processing work to meet tight deadlines.

Post-Graduate Study:
Valdosta State University
EdS in Instructional Technology (In Progress)
Aug 08 - Present
The University of South Florida
MA in Library & Information Science
Jan 05 - Aug 08
Southern Polytechnic State University
MS in Information Design and Communication
Jan 02 - Dec 04

Undergraduate Study:
The University of Georgia
BFA in Graphic Design
Jan 92 - Jun 94
BA in Art History
Sep 84 - Aug 88

Areas of Practice:
Brand Experience
>brand management
>brand identity
>brand strategy
>package design
>brand design
>advertising
>marketing
Management
>production management
>project management
>art direction
Experience Design
>info architecture
>interface design
>information design
>interaction design
>interface design
Print Design
>corporate reports
>annual reports
>publications
>type design
>book design
>brochures
>editorial
>catalogs
Editorial
>content development
>professional editing
>applied writing
Related Industries
>printing
>framing
>laminating
Research
>usability research
>market research
Planning & Strategy
>marketing communications
>communications strategy
>product strategy
>design strategy
Illustration & Photography
>computerized illustration
>digital photography
3D Design
>environmental design
>industrial design
>interior design
>product design
Identity Design
>corporate identity
>public relations
>strategic design

Affiliations * Honors:
American Institute of Graphic Artists
www.aiga.org
American Library Association
www.ala.org
The National Scholars honor Society
www.magna-cum-laude.org
Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society
www.PhiSigmaTheta.org
The National Deans List
www.thenationaldeanslist.com
Global Register’s Who’s Who In Executives and Professionals www.globalregisterswhoswho.com
The Chancellor’s List
www.chancellorslist.com
American Mensa
www.us.mensa.org

References & Portfolio:
Available Upon Request
REFERENCES: Robert D. Miller

Name Address Email address Telephone #
R. Jeanine Jackson,
Supervisor 2245 Northlake Pkwy
340 S
Tucker, GA 30084 jj2991@att.com
(678) 406-3488
Alvin Villard,
Supervisor 2245 Northlake Pkwy
340 S
Tucker, GA 30084 av0057@att.com
(678) 406-3444
Walter Heape,
Former Supervisor 2245 Northlake Pkwy
340 S
Tucker, GA 30084 wh5014@att.com
(678) 406-3075

Robert D. Miller
Digital Pre-Press Specialist
AT&T Advertising & Publishing
678-406-3503
rx5538@att.com
2245 Northlake Pkwy • 340 South
Tucker, GA 30084

2008-08-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

RÉSUMÉ

Robert D. Miller

950 Saint Charles Ave., NE APT 10
Atlanta, Georgia 30306
h * 404 *634 * 7998
w * 678 * 406 * 3503
f * 404 * 228 * 4719
c * 678 * 372 * 0000
e * rdm1129@hotmail.com

Objective:

I am seeking an entry level position in an public library.

Professional Experience:

Nov 94-present
AT&T Advertising & Publishing * Tucker, GA.
Responsible for print production & design of yellow page directory
advertising.

Duties include:

* Operating a Windows OS computer and associated hardware/software.
* Composing text (copy) for yellow page ads; reviewing artwork and
previous ads for type styles, spacing and all factors affecting total ad composition.
* Determining type style/size to produce aesthetically pleasing ads.
* Designing Logos.
* Manipulating photos digitally for proper print production.
* Communicating in person and/or over the telephone with customers,
sales personnel and vendors.
* Assisting with/giving technical advice concerning artwork and/or copy
in the preparation and sale of print advertising.
* Creating high volume / highly accurate work.
* Determining priorities & processing work to meet tight deadlines.

Post-Graduate Study:

Valdosta State University

EdS in Instructional Technology (In Progress)

Aug 08 - Now

The University of South Florida

MA in Library & Information Science
Jan 05 - August 08

Southern Polytechnic State University
MS in Information Design and Communication
Jan 02 - Dec 04

Undergraduate Study:

The University of Georgia
BFA in Graphic Design
Jan 92 - Jun 94
BA in Art History
Sep 84 - Aug 88

Areas of Practice:

Brand Experience
>brand management
>brand identity
>brand strategy
>package design
>brand design
>advertising
>marketing

Management
>production management
>project management
>art direction

Experience Design
>info architecture
>interface design
>information design
>interaction design
>interface design

Print Design
>corporate reports
>annual reports
>publications
>type design
>book design
>brochures
>editorial
>catalogs

Editorial
>content development
>professional editing
>applied writing

Related Industries
>printing
>framing
>laminating

Research
>usability research
>market research

Planning & Strategy
>marketing communications
>communications strategy
>product strategy
>design strategy

Illustration & Photography
>computerized illustration
>digital photography

3D Design
>environmental design
>industrial design
>interior design
>product design

Identity Design
>corporate identity
>public relations
>strategic design

Affiliations * Honors:

American Institute of Graphic Artists
www.aiga.org

American Library Association
www.ala.org

The National Scholars honor Society
www.magna-cum-laude.org

Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society
www.PhiSigmaTheta.org

The National Deans List
www.thenationaldeanslist.com

Global Register’s Who’s Who In Executives and Professionals www.globalregisterswhoswho.com

The Chancellor’s List
www.chancellorslist.com

American Mensa
www.us.mensa.org

References & Portfolio:

Available Upon Request

_________________________________________________________________________________
RÉSUMÉ

Robert D. Miller

950 Saint Charles Ave., NE APT 10
Atlanta, Georgia 30306
w * 678 * 406 * 3503
f * 404 * 228 * 4719
c * 678 * 372 * 0000
e * rdm1129@hotmail.com

Objective:

Instructor position in an Art School, Community College or Technical College teaching environment.

Professional Experience:

October 07-present
Art Institute of Atlanta * Atlanta, GA.
Responsible for teaching Adobe Create Suite 3 for the McIntosh Operating System to undergraduate
students in a private art college teaching environment.

Duties include:

* Providing an introduction to the industry-standard graphics
applications currently used in the design professions - notably Adobe
Create Suite 3.
* Instructing students on functioning in a cross-platform network
computer environment.
* Making sure students demonstrate an understanding of vector-based,
raster-based, and page layout applications.
* Establishing that students will demonstrate an ability to import
vector-based and raster-based images into page layout applications.
* Teaching students how to use Adobe Graphics software programs -
notably Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign.
* Instructing students on proper file saving formats / conventions;
subtle differences / similarities between navigating the MAC
operating system versus navigating the more familiar Windows
operating system; and how to operate a personal computer in
a serious computer lab environment in an organized /
professional manner.
* Administering tests and quizzes to properly assessing students’
knowledge and comprehension of course topics and materials.
* Grading students on their professionalism, comprehension and craft.

Nov 94-present
AT&T(formerly BellSouth)Advertising & Publishing * Tucker, GA.
Responsible for print production & design of yellow page directory
advertising.

Duties include:

* Operating a Windows OS computer and associated hardware/software.
* Composing text (copy) for yellow page ads; reviewing artwork and
previous ads for type styles, spacing and all factors affecting total
ad composition.
* Determining type style/size to produce aesthetically pleasing ads.
* Designing Logos.
* Manipulating photos digitally for proper print production.
* Communicating in person and/or over the telephone with customers,
sales personnel and vendors.
* Assisting with/giving technical advice concerning artwork and/or copy
in the preparation and sale of print advertising.
* Creating high volume / highly accurate work.
* Determining priorities & processing work to meet tight deadlines.

Post-Graduate Study:

Valdosta State University
EdS in Instructional Technology (In Progress)
August 08 – present

The University of South Florida
MA in Library & Information Science
Jan 05 – August 08

Southern Polytechnic State University
MS in Information Design and Communication
Jan 02 - Dec 04

Undergraduate Study:

The University of Georgia
BFA in Graphic Design
Jan 92 - Jun 94
BA in Art History
Sep 84 - Aug 88

Areas of Professional Practice:

Teaching & Instruction
>Computer Graphics
>Information Design
>Design Concepts
>Visual Thinking
>Graphic Design
>Design History

Brand Experience
>brand management
>brand identity
>brand strategy
>package design
>brand design
>advertising
>marketing

Management
>production management
>project management
>art direction

Experience Design
>info architecture
>interface design
>information design
>interaction design
>interface design

Print Design
>corporate reports
>annual reports
>publications
>type design
>book design
>brochures
>editorial
>catalogs

Editorial
>content development
>professional editing
>applied writing

Related Industries
>printing
>framing

Research
>usability research
>market research

Planning & Strategy
>marketing communications
>communications strategy
>product strategy
>design strategy

Illustration & Photography
>computerized illustration
>digital photography

3D Design
>environmental design
>industrial design
>interior design
>product design

Identity Design
>corporate identity
>public relations
>strategic design

Affiliations * Honors:

1993 to present
American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) * Atlanta Chapter

2004 to present
American Library Association

1993 to present
Mensa

References & Portfolio:

Available Upon Request

2008-08-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

ATTN: Human Resources
Educational Management Corporation
210 Sixth Avenue
33rd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

August 14th, 2008

Dear Human Resources Coordinator,

As of yesterday evening, August 14th, at the end of my Thursday evening class (my last class for this week), I was told by Linda W. Wood, in an unannounced, late-night meeting, that I would be relieved of my teaching position with The Art institute of Atlanta, Dunwoody effective immediately. I was told this would also include the class I had been teaching on the satellite campus in Decatur.

This statement was made without proper notice, justification, or adequate opportunity for remediation. Just as I would normally resign from a work position with the typical two weeks notice, I would expect the same consideration and respect in a proper dismissal.

I had expected to be paid for the full term. I had an agreement (in essence a verbal contract) that I would be teaching from the beginning of the quarter (July 15th) up until the last day of the quarter (September 12th). I would have been willing and able to fulfill my obligation to work the term from start to finish and expect to be compensated accordingly. I had even been recently informed by the Lead Faculty member, Kat Hagan, that I was scheduled to teach in the Fall Term, two nights per week.

In the aforementioned surprise late night meeting, I was also told by Linda W. Wood that if - on the condition that I turned in my midterm grades on the following Monday by 12 noon - then I would receive my last payment of compensation for the week of August 18th – 22nd. Such a demand would circumvent the original agreement / assignment and is therefore unacceptable. I expect to be paid for each week that I worked - or was expected to work - up to and including September 8th – 12th. Even more troubling, there is no indication of severance pay of any sort listed in the specified section of my hand-delivered separation notice.

The circumstances for my early dismissal are perhaps too complicated and varied; however, I do not agree with or understand the department chair’s hasty assessment - “Performance” as per the reason listed for dismissal in the separation notice. From my perspective I found myself suddenly - without proper warning, justification or remediation – having been forced to change my teaching routine. According to my recollections, I had been doing fine since I started in October of 2007 (Fall Term 2007). I had even recently applied to (and got accepted to) an Educational Specialist degree program at a nearby University because I felt teaching was my new chosen calling. Suddenly everything came crashing to a halt.

I found myself struggling to reformat / re-tool my teaching technique without any proper assistance or guidance in an ever-increasingly hostile / unfair teaching environment. From the beginning I was faced with professional obstacles and those were further aggravated by the introduction of crippling new personal obstacles.

The professional obstacles I faced, from the beginning, were my being hired with no technical / educational training or input other than being given syllabi from other instructors; I was also given a poorly written textbook that students complained contained unclear sections, poor instructions and illogical entries.

I soon learned that complaints from other instructor’s regarding the textbook’s much-needed changes, edits and alterations went ignored / unanswered / unfulfilled. Furthermore, I also learned students were not being given (supplied with) required materials in their school kit (e.g. textbook & USB drive); and instructors (such as myself) were being forced to randomly create projects with no guidance / direction / input. Complaints about these learning hurdles were voiced to the Department Chair, Linda W. Wood, by other instructors; however, no remediation was given.

The personal obstacles I faced were recent and devastating. The problems began at the beginning of the Spring quarter when I was trying to deal with one particularly unruly student in my Monday night class. I reported the incident, via email, to the lead faculty member, Ms. Kat Hagan, who, at the time, stated she would inform the department chair, Ms. Linda Wood. No intervention or remediation was given.

Sometime after the Spring term had ended and right as Summer term began (either July 16th or 17th), I was summoned to a meeting with Ms. Wood and Ms. Hagan. I was shown bad reviews by two students– presumably the unruly student’s comrades from the Monday night Spring 2008 class.

Ms. Wood and Ms. Hagan stated they would assist in distributing and organizing my future class evaluations. I was so sufficiently shocked that I was permitted to take home copies of allegedly confidential student evaluations, that I failed to inquire as to why my desk had been moved to another floor without my being informed.

On the Friday before Summer term began, I learned that my desk had been moved to another floor without my being informed which caused my syllabi to be misplaced / lost. The lost / misplaced syllabi brought about un-needed distractions / problems in my first week of class.

The aforementioned distractions presumably resulted in a poor reflection of my abilities in the eyes of my students. After the first meeting on July 16 or 17th, the problems I faced were then further aggravated with the addition of new complaints lodged against me at the beginning of the Summer term by two new students.

A second meeting was called on July 30th; this time with Dan Garland, Linda Wood and Kat Hagan in attendance. I found myself suddenly - and very late into the teaching assignment – being commanded, by Linda W. Wood, to teach in a very certain, specified way heretofore unannounced.

I explained that the new way was analogous to being forced to drive a car to a destination (that I knew well) while several carloads of other people - who didn’t know the way - attempted to follow behind in heavy traffic. I voiced this concern and received no remediation or other alternative solution.

I soon learned that spies or agents had been inserted in my classroom – one in particular was a known school employee (a graphic design department employee and subordinate to Ms. Wood), one Mr. Willis Ponder, Jr., - to disclose and report my teaching progress and class activities. Additionally, the lead faculty member, Ms. Hagan, dropped in frequently and unannounced in order to watch over my shoulder and take copious notes.

On the night of August 14th, a surprise late night meeting was called. This was the third and what I was soon to learn (and quite honestly had expected) was a final meeting. As my Thursday evening class was ending, sometime around 9:40 PM, I was informed about said meeting by Ms. Hagan.

Ms. Hagan, who had been present the entire time in class watching over my shoulder and taking copious notes, waited until the very end of my class to inform me that I was being summoned by Ms. Wood.

I was subsequently led by Ms. Hagan to darkened, locked 3rd floor office which - at the time - seemed completely out of the ordinary if not outright inappropriate. It was in this manner that I was told by Ms. Wood, in front of Ms. Hagan, that I would be relieved of my teaching position with The Art institute of Atlanta effective immediately.

Based upon my observations and experiences with Linda W. Wood in her present position with The Art Institute of Atlanta, Ms. Wood lacks the necessary competence and qualifications required to chair one academic department, much less two. I would recommend placing someone else - someone more tactful, competent and sufficiently qualified - in the Graphic Design / Photographic Imaging Chairperson position before Ms. Wood continues making further questionable decisions which can only serve to damage the institute’s reputation and educational integrity.

I would welcome the opportunity to further discuss the nature and circumstances of my departure in an exit interview by phone or in person. As soon as possible, I will return any remaining keys and / or security passes (for both campuses I am employed) to the appropriate persons. Please contact me should you have questions or concerns in this matter. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Robert D. Miller

2008-08-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday evening, at the end of my Thursday evening class (my last class for this week), I was told, in an unannounced, late-night meeting, that I would be relieved of my teaching position with The Art institute of Atlanta effective immediately.

This statement was made without proper notice or adequate opportunity for remediation. Just as I would normally resign from a work position with the typical two weeks notice, I would expect the same consideration and respect in a proper dismissal.

I expected to be paid for the full term. I had an agreement (in essence a verbal contract) that I would be teaching from the beginning of the quarter (July 15th) up until the last day of the quarter (September 12th). I would have been willing and able to fulfill my obligation to work the term from start to finish and expect to be compensated accordingly.

In said meeting I was told that I would receive my last payment of compensation for the week of August 18th – 22nd – this goes against our agreement and is therefore unacceptable. I expect to be paid for each week I worked - or was expected to work - up to and including September 8th – 12th.

The circumstances for my early dismissal are perhaps too complicated and varied; however, I did not agree with the department chair’s hasty assessment. From my perspective I found myself suddenly - without proper warning or remediation – having been forced to change my teaching routine. According to my recollections, I had been doing fine since I started in October of 2007 (Fall Term 2007). Suddenly that came crashing to a halt. I even subsequently applied to (and got accepted to) an Educational Specialist degree program at a nearby University because I felt teaching was my new chosen calling.

Suddenly I now found myself struggling to reformat / re-tool my teaching technique without any proper assistance or guidance in an ever-increasingly hostile / unfair teaching environment. From the beginning I was faced with professional obstacles and those were further aggravated by the introduction of crippling personal obstacles.

The professional obstacles I faced, from the beginning, were my being hired with no technical / educational training or input other than being given syllabi from other instructors; I was also given a poorly written textbook that students complained about containing unclear sections, poor instructions and illogical entries.

I soon learned that complaints from other instructor’s regarding textbook much-needed changes, edits and alterations went ignored / unanswered / unfulfilled. Furthermore, students were not being given (supplied with) required materials in their school kit (e.g. textbook & USB drive); and instructors (such as myself) were being forced to randomly create projects with no guidance / direction / input.

The personal obstacles I faced were recent and devastating. The problems began at the beginning of the Spring quarter when I was trying to deal with one particularly unruly student in my Monday night class. I reported the incident, via email, to the lead faculty member who, at the time, stated she would inform the department chair. No intervention or remediation was given.

After the term had ended, I was summoned to a meeting with the department chair and the lead faculty member. I was shown bad reviews by two students in the class – presumably the unruly student’s comrades from the Monday night class. I was permitted to leave with / take home allegedly confidential bad reviews / reports. Early in the Summer term, I learned that my desk had been moved to another floor without my being informed which caused my syllabi to be misplaced / lost.

The lost / misplaced syllabi brought about un-needed distractions / problems in my first week of class and this presumably resulted in a poor reflection of my abilities in the eyes of my students. The problems I faced were further aggravated with the addition of new complaints lodged at the beginning of the Summer term by two new students.

A second meeting was held; this time with the dean, the department chair and the lead faculty member. I found myself suddenly - and very late into the teaching assignment – being commanded to teach in a very certain, specified way. I complained that the new way was analogous to being forced to drive a car to a destination (that I knew well) while several carloads of other people, who didn’t know the way, attempted to follow behind in heavy traffic. I voiced this concern and received no remediation or other alternative solution.

I soon learned that spies or agents had been inserted in my classroom – one in particular was a known school (graphic design department) employee - to disclose / report my progress / activities. Additionally, the lead faculty member dropped in frequently and unannounced in order to watch over my shoulder and take copious notes.

Recently a surprise late night meeting was called. This was a third and what I was to learn - and quite honestly had expected - was a final meeting; as my Thursday evening class was ending, around 9:40 PM, I was informed about said meeting by the lead faculty member. The lead faculty member, who had been present the entire time in class watching over my shoulder and taking copious notes, waited until the very end of class to tell me that I was being summoned by the department head.

I was subsequently led to darkened, locked 3rd floor office which - at the time - seemed completely out of the ordinary if not outright inappropriate. It was in this manner that I was told I would be relieved of my teaching position with The Art institute of Atlanta effective immediately.

2008-07-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

WEEK 10
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 10 Blog Entry
July 14th, 2008

TOPIC: CASE STUDIES & WEB THEORY

ABSTRACT
Munro, R.A., Rice-Munro, E.J. (2004). Learning styles, teaching approaches, and technology. Blog for Quality and Participation, 27(1), 26-32.

Making E-Learning Sites Work
This interesting article entitled Learning Styles, Teaching Approaches, and Technology presents details about how to deliver effective training via e-learning. The authors discuss the problems of providing effective e-learning, which includes designing instruction that appeals to all the learning styles in a cost-effective manner. They believe that successful e-learning can be created if you employ the skills of instructional design, content expertise, and programming or technology expertise.

Managers also believe that e-learning can be a better solution for training because it can give learners the ability to learn at their own pace and assess their performance, all while not neglecting their everyday jobs. If the learners can take in the instruction in smaller chunks, the authors argue that they can more quickly and easily apply it to their jobs. I think e-learning makes a lot of sense for some training needs, but there is still some training that is best delivered in an instructor-led format, as the authors point out.

REFLECTION
When e-learning sites are done well, it can fit nicely into the busy schedules of most employees and meet their training needs. I think the hard part is developing really good effective e-learning in a cost- and time- effective manner. As the authors mention, you need resources from people who know how to design good instruction, resources from people who know the subject matter, and resources from people who know the technology.

All of these resources have to work together to find the right balance of material presented in a variety of ways so that it appeals to the different learning styles in the audience. In a perfect world, all companies could bring these resources together to create really great e-learning. In the real world, most companies do not have the budget or the time to design such a thing.

Often, e-learning consists of an online PowerPoint presentation, which is not really effective instruction. Many companies still cling to instructor-led training because it seems more cost-effective than developing good e-learning. In the long run, designing good e-learning can be more cost effective because employees can work the training into their daily schedules instead of having to stop everything to go to training. I think this may be why so many people have such a negative impression of training.

Workers are forced to stop their regular jobs for a few days and go to training to improve something about their office, but because they have to catch up when they get back on the job, this can make it difficult to apply or even remember anything about their training. While effective e-learning is still cost- and time- prohibitive for most companies, as new technology emerges and off-the-shelf training solutions become available, companies will be able to offer e-learning as a training option to their employees. I think this will help employees balance their regular workload and still make time to learn.

WEEK 11
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 11 Blog Entry
July 21st, 2008

TOPIC: WEB THEORY

ABSTRACT

Pan, C., Deets, J., Phillips, W., Cornell, R. (2003). Pulling tigers’ teeth without getting bitten: instructional designers and faculty [Electronic version]. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 4, 289-302.

The article I read originally appeared in The Quarterly Review of Distance Education in 2003. An engaging and enlightening article, it reports on a research project undertaken by a group of faculty members and graduate students at the University of Central Florida to explore the reasons for the success of one member of an instructional design team hired by UCF to assist faculty in the implementation of WebCT instruction.

The gentleman in question obviously possessed impressive interpersonal qualities, technological mastery, as well pedagogical talents that all instructional designers could do well to emulate. The team sought answers to the following questions: What is the nature of the role(s) played by the instructional designer?; What is the relationship of the instructional designer’s role to interpersonal dynamics with faculty?; and How do the instructional designer’s basic and growth needs interrelate with his personal practical theories?

The answers to these questions were gathered through monitoring and transcription of e-mails, telephone calls, and meetings, and personal observations and interviews with the instructional designer. His primary strengths were his professional qualifications as a Blogist and educator, his personal beliefs and traits, his work ethic and energy, and most importantly, I think – his impressive skill at interpersonal relationships with the faculty he assisted.

This instructional designer’s willingness to work collaboratively with faculty members at the point he found them, whether they were technologically skilled or almost techno-phobic, made him a great asset to the faculty. He showed an uncanny ability to be neither subordinate nor superior, to be a leader as well as a collaborator, and to be simultaneously intimate and professional. He was described as humorous, organized, and responsive to their needs.

The authors compared the instructional designer’s relationship with the faculty whom he assisted in developing their courses for online instruction to the relationship between a baseball pitcher and catcher – strong and interdependent. He made himself available at times that suited the faculty members, listened to their needs, and responded appropriately to their skill levels. One faculty member reported, “He never brushes me off – even when I’ve done something stupid.”

REFLECTION

This persona of approachability without judgment is an enormous asset for anyone in the workplace. These attributes are also ones that editors and technical writers should aspire to, as their skills are often grudgingly sought out either on the orders of superiors or as part of a process of review and revision that most authors detest. In my experience, these are also skills that company IT staff should cultivate, as the archetypal “company computer guy” is so often the person everyone dreads visiting because they never seem to fail to make you feel stupid, inadequate, and unskilled.

Of course, it goes without saying that technical skills are paramount. A person with sketchy credentials, inadequate training, and sub-par experience can only go so far, even if they are smooth operators. But the most highly qualified professionals in the world – whether they are instructional designers, editors, librarians, doctors, or computer technicians – cannot truly succeed in their profession without the personality traits and interpersonal skills that will allow them to interact with the people with whom they must assist and collaborate.

The article mentions that the instructional designers at UCF will gradually become “field independent.” As it relates to the relationship between instructional designer and faculty, there are three roles: the instructional designer being subordinate to faculty, the faculty being subordinate to the instructional designer, and finally, balance, or partnership. In functioning as an agent of change, the instructional designer must represent the change as being beneficial. The only danger that the authors expressed is a result of too much success, in that each of his relationships had become so productive, that even years after working with a faculty member, they still turned to him for help. This increased his workload continually, reducing the amount of time he could devote to them.

I will keep this article and re-read it regularly to remind myself that maintaining a professional, collegial attitude is the best way to be recognized for the good work one can do. I have read on more than one occasion the quote that goes something like this: “There is nothing you can’t accomplish if you don’t worry about taking credit for it.” It can be painful to help someone find an answer and leave them thinking that they did it themselves.

Creating something unique as a collaborative effort is, however, the essence of teamwork, and that is the key of information design.

Week Nine Blog Post

2008-07-08T00:06:00.001-07:00

WEEK 9
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 9 Blog Entry
July 7th, 2008

TOPIC: SELLING INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Selling & Business Strategy

ABSTRACT

Selling

Design: The New Advertising
Neil Powell, co-founder, WeAreGigantic
For most of his career as a graphic designer, Neil Powell has challenged the conventions of the advertising industry. Unwavering in his belief that most traditional forms of advertising are a waste of money, Powell has introduced his clients to the notion that brand design and grassroots/guerilla communications can yield much more effective results. In this session, Powell will discuss his approach to creating holistic brand stories and why he believes that, in today's disposable media world, design is the real key to successful marketing.

Music Packaging in the iPod Age
Neal Ashby, principal, Ashby Design and Matthew Curry, principal, ImageFed
Neal Ashby and Matthew Curry, two Grammy®-nominated designers discuss what’s next for graphic design in the evolving recording industry. The future of music packaging will be addressed and how designers can best prepare themselves for the next wave of music packaging and marketing in the iPod age. The merging of the illustration and design disciplines as a growing trend will be discussed, along with a presentation of the mammoth creative process that produced Grammy®-nominated package designs for the last two years running.

Building a Breakthrough In-house Agency
Jim Hauptman, creative director and managing editor, L.L. Bean and Ed Krug, vice president, Aquent Consulting
More and more leading design-focused corporations are finding that building a better internal creative services “agency” is the ideal way to get control of the brand experience and to produce breakthrough work more efficiently and more consistently. So how do you get there?

Join Ed Krug and Jim Hauptman for an informative discussion on how best in class organizations have gone about it—and how you can too. Specifically, you’ll learn how to: Establish a vision for your in house agency; “Sell” management on the benefits of in–house creative; Optimize your processes to enable greater efficiency; Inspire your in-house team to raise the bar and do better work; Utilize tools in measuring performance and success. Whether you’re thinking of creating an in house agency, or looking for tips to energize your present team by attracting better work, this session is for you!

Business Strategy

House of Bumble
Alexander Brebner, creative vice president, Bumble & bumble
This session will discuss the issues in-house designers face—the pros and cons, how to keep things fresh, and the virtues and challenges of being one’s own client. Alexander Brebner has been on both sides of the design “divide,” spending half of his 25-year career working in firms with every imaginable client, and the other half devoted to one—the hairdressing company Bumble and Bumble. He started their in-house design group with two people, grew it to more than a dozen, and guided the development of the brand identity, copywriting, packaging, collateral and interiors. Get on board for the tour through the “House of Bumble.”

Designer/Client Contracts: An Introduction to the New AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services
Shel Perkins, chairman, AIGA Center for Practice Management, and author, Talent Is Not Enough: Business Secrets For Designers, and Linda Joy Kattwinkel, Esq., attorney and mediator, Owen, Wickersham & Erickson
Every time you perform services for a client, you have a contract whether you know it or not! You need to make sure that it’s fair. In this workshop, Linda Joy Kattwinkel and Shel Perkins explain what constitutes a legally binding contract, review the most common problems caused by oral agreements and describe the vital role a well-written document can play in keeping client relationships on track. To help you accomplish this, Kattwinkel and Perkins will examine the new AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services. It contains recommended terms and conditions, explanations of the key legal concepts involved and suggestions for incorporating smart contracts into your own design practice.

Creativity and Risk
Paul Budnitz, founder, Kidrobot
Paul Budnitz, founder of Kidrobot, the world’s premier creator and retailer of limited-edition toys and apparel, will talk about creativity, sacrifice and abundance. One of the great struggles is to be perpetually creative—to find a way to create just what is needed, on call, without letting our personalities and individual feelings get in the way. Writer’s block, getting stuck, running out of ideas—these are not natural parts of the creative process. These are specific symptoms of an unbalanced and unconscious approach to creativity. Budnitz will reveal how to evoke abundant creativity, and the attention and sacrifice that are necessary to make that possible.

Design as a Force for Development: An Investment in Design
Robin Edman, chief executive, Swedish Industrial Design Foundation (SVID)
Sweden is a prosperous country, boasting a highly productive and well-educated workforce. Swedish companies, however, are facing increasing competition on both the national and international levels. This is where the role of design proves essential. Design delivers a good return on investment and is an important and necessary development force for both businesses and public organizations. At SVID, Edman and his team initiated the program “Design as a Force for Development,” inspiring 10 national design projects and a number of regional projects and activities. Over three years it evaluated 498 businesses, 66 municipalities or municipality-owned businesses and 150 designers. Edman will discuss the results of the program—including where it is now and where it’s going in the future.

Using Technology to Manage Your Creative Team: Trends and Tips
Chris Moody, president, Aquent On Demand
How do you make sure your team is fully productive? The needs of creative organizations are unique, and technologies to manage creative projects and teams continue to evolve. In this session, Chris Moody will discuss emerging technology trends that can help you run your team more efficiently and effectively. Chris will emphasize tips for implementing creative workflow, project management and digital asset management solutions.

REFLECTION

Several of the above programs and lectures really hit home with me because I’m constantly dealing with Quality Issues, Productivity Issues, and Management / Labor Issues on a day-to-day basis at my job. Management has their agenda regarding the tasks / workflow of the workgroup; managers feel they are constantly being pushed by their superiors (and ultimately the stockholders) to always be mindful of “big picture,” and protect “the bottom line.”

At the same time Non-management feels constant pressure and added stress in the working environment due to managers routinely adding new tasks to the rapidly expanding list of duties that workers are responsible for performing. Managers are routinely raising work quotas in addition to adding new tasks while workers complain that managers are unreasonable in their expectations and do not fully understand the job procedures.

The resulting “tug-of-war” creates a rivalry, generates mutual distrust, and fosters resentment between managers and employees. One remedy I have seen put into action are Quality Action Teams; the teams are composed of equal parts managers and senior-level craft employees. These QATs help to bridge the gap; however, the teams usually function as a remedy and do not offer much real hope in permanently solving the persistent and recurring problems.

Workers feel that if they find themselves unhappy with their present tasking system, that it is being improperly or unfairly administered, the only thing to do is hope for a management regime change in the no-so-distant future; it always seems to come at just the right time.

CAA106 syllabus

2008-07-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

WEEK 8
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 8 Blog Entry
July 1st, 2008

TOPIC: ETHICS, TEAMS, TOOLS

Ethics

ABSTRACT

http://designconference2007.aiga.org/

The above conference in Denver Colorado addresses many ethical issues related to the field of Visual Communication and Graphic Design. These are the speakers of note that I want to see lecture and that relate to this topic:

Set the Backstory Free!
Alex Steffen, founder, Worldchanging
Designers have a crucial role to play in the transition to a sustainable society. People need their help understanding the hidden and often complex environmental and social impacts of their lives. They also need to be shown how to embrace better alternatives. Great design can make visible the invisible and empower the previously clueless...but it won't be easy. Here is an overview of both the problems and the possibilities of using design to build a better future.

Failing Object Lessons: Design’s Green Limits and Our Collective Potential to Make a Difference
Valerie Casey, co-head, software experience, IDEO
Why has traditional product design failed to substantively advance the green movement? While green products have influenced market and consumer behavior, the impact has been less than we might have hoped. Methods of green adaptation have some benefits, but designers must move beyond object-based solutions to effect real change. Because “green” has entered the cultural vernacular and because its economic benefit has been justified, we are at a crucial inflection point. Discussion will focus on how designers can gauge and motivate the client’s propensity to embrace principles of sustainability.

In addition, this panel will be the launch pad for a “Kyoto Treaty” for design. What would be the core principles and goals of such a treaty? How would asking for a commitment to sustainability for every product design firm in our community change the landscape of design? We are prepared to ask consumers to buy green and our clients to commit to sustainability, yet what deliberate actions will we commit to in our own practices?

From the Forest Floor to the Customer’s Door
Lewis Fix, senior director, business development, Domtar EarthChoice; Laura Latham, senior design director, Gensler Design; Chip Stine, Sandy Alexander, Inc.; moderated by Melinda Head, president, Head Research
How can you be sure that your paper choices are truly sustainable? Does the paper you use for your daily designs come from responsibly managed forests? This session will provide concrete answers. You will learn about the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), recognized as the benchmark in environmental and social responsibility for forest management practices, and its chain-of-custody that provides the assurance you need to ensure the materials you use are socially and environmentally sustainable. Plus, you will learn about the path a printed piece travels from mill to printer to end user.

Substance: Design for Social Responsibility
Bryan Bell, founder and executive director, Design Corps; Patricia Moore, principal, MooreDesign Associates; and Timothy Prestero, CEO and co-founder, Design that Matters; moderated by Lisa Abendroth, curator, Substance: Diverse Practices from the Periphery and associate professor, Communication Design, Metropolitan State College of Denver
From the other side of consumer culture, this session focuses on design that addresses the needs of underserved people, places and problems. The panel includes exhibition curator and participants featured in “Substance: Diverse Practices from the Periphery,” an international multidisciplinary design exhibition on display at the Center for Visual Art in Denver. They operate in the margins where their designs can have a high impact on quality of life. The projects presented demonstrate the rich possibilities that result from embracing community as client, where working across socio-economic borders and cultural divides reveal the depth of aligned design disciplines. Featured projects include Architecture for Humanity’s Biloxi Model Home Program; AeroVironment’s Architectural Wind Turbine; contributions by Continuum and Fuse Project for Nicolas Negroponte’s One Laptop per Child project; Design Corps’ Farmworker Housing Program; Imvubu Projects’ Hippo Water Roller; and Empathic Elder Research by Patricia Moore. Learn how these diverse professionals are defining a frontier of multidisciplinary design while working passionately on behalf of life’s necessities and requirements.

Acceleration of Consumption
Stephen Wahl, senior design lead, IDEO
Humans are social beings—the need to share is inherent to our existence. One might say we share information, tasks, ideas and experiences with others in an effort to create a harmonious existence with our surroundings. In fewer than 40 years, the human population has doubled from three billion to more than six billion. With the convergence of information, communication and technology there are endless ways of sharing knowledge, often resulting in a blurring of information and disinformation. Designers are the creators of experiences. Design decisions are increasingly being influenced by potential impacts beyond the moment-of-use consumer experience. Historically, the challenge for the designer has been to envision the future as if it were the present. With a greater appreciation of design decisions and the resulting impact on the planet, can the designer challenge the present to see the future by looking at the past?

Paper in Design: How to Make Informed Environmental Choices
Lewis Fix, senior director, business development, Domtar EarthChoice; David Ford, president and chief executive officer, Metafore; and Tom Pollock, project manager, Metafore; moderated by Anthony Russell, president, Russell Design
Your paper’s footprint extends far beyond the forest. How it is made, what it is used for and where it goes after it is used also determine the environmental impacts of paper. This session will explore what these impacts are, as well as key questions graphic designers are asking about the papers they choose. It will profile several labels and tools in the marketplace for evaluating your paper choices, including the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool®. The EPAT® was developed by 11 corporations and Metafore with a common interest in making environmentally preferable papers more widely available and affordable

REFLECTION
At my office we are either very busy to the point of being frantic or we are bored and listless due to little or no work being available (due to a lull in the selling activity). Both situations can be stressful. It is quite easy to abide by the mindset of doing exactly what is being asked and "biting one's lip" during the slow periods.
Conversely, during the frantic periods when everyone's "hackles are up," and "fangs are sharpened and at the ready," that the tempers of those around me inevitably flare up (as does mine). I always respond to the question “Do you like your job?” with the following answer: I enjoy what I do very much; however, I mostly do not like the people that I work with. They don’t understand what I do; however, they know they need me to do the work that allows them to keep their jobs.
To attempt to answer your question, I would venture to say that being servile is often unpleasant yet mostly necessary. Having said that, I would also add that there are many instances in which certain people (particularly those who all too often ask for favors) need to be told, in no uncertain terms, that they have “used up all their favors.”

Ode to My Dad...

2008-07-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is for my hero, my Dad
The best father a guy could ever have;
You made me wear a jacket when the weather was chilly
You laughed at my goofy antics when others thought I was being silly.

When punished for my stubborn indignation,
you cooked me eggs & toast to curb my starvation
because I was sent to bed without any dinner;
In my eyes, Dad, you are always a winner.

From skinned knees to a broken transmission
You helped me out through all life’s transitions
As I grew older, I knew it was hard for you
But your love for me kept shining through.

You were always there to calm all my fears
Even through times when you found me in tears
During my many crises, you knew what to do
Ultimately, I learned you were a human being too.

Unrelated to the topic but on a sad note....

2008-07-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

Tommy Miller
Family-Placed Death Notice
MILLER,
Tommy
Tommy C. Miller, age 76, of Atlanta, died Tuesday, July 1, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Beverly Miller, son, Robert Miller, grandchildren, Jessica and Clark Miller, all of Atlanta. Also surviving are numerous other relatives. Mr. Miller was preceded in death by his daughter, Sherry Miller. In lieu of flowers please make memorial contributions to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Please sign online guest book at www.edressler.com.
A private graveside service will be held. Arrangements by Dressler's Jewish Funeral Care, Atlanta, 770-451-4999 Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on 7/3/2008.

2008-07-01T13:10:00.001-07:00

WEEK 7
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 7 Blog Entry
June30th, 2008

TOPIC: CREATE, DOCUMENT & EDUCATION > CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
Whether you're searching for a quick introduction or an in-depth study, you'll find all sorts of courses, workshops, and seminars offered by universities, conferences, and consulting firms. If you have to choose just one, we recommend the annual ASIS&T Summit (http://iasummit.org/).

ABSTRACT

http://designconference2007.aiga.org/

Last year I went to the above conference in Denver Colorado. These are the speakers of note (that I went to see give lectures) and that relate to this class:

Information Architecture > Acceleration of Consumption
Stephen Wahl, senior design lead, IDEO
Humans are social beings—the need to share is inherent to our existence. One might say we share information, tasks, ideas and experiences with others in an effort to create a harmonious existence with our surroundings. In fewer than 40 years, the human population has doubled from three billion to more than six billion. With the convergence of information, communication and technology there are endless ways of sharing knowledge, often resulting in a blurring of information and disinformation. Designers are the creators of experiences. Design decisions are increasingly being influenced by potential impacts beyond the moment-of-use consumer experience. Historically, the challenge for the designer has been to envision the future as if it were the present. With a greater appreciation of design decisions and the resulting impact on the planet, can the designer challenge the present to see the future by looking at the past?

Designing for Multiple Devices: Theory and Practice
Adam Pratt, senior systems engineer, Creative Suite, Adobe Systems; and David Womack, writer, editor of Adobe ThinkTank
This session will bring together the theory and practice of designing for multiple devices. First, David Womack will take you on a journey to the outer reaches of digital design, exploring trends in digital technology that are bridging disciplines and opening new territories to designers. Following Womack’s presentation, Adobe’s Adam Pratt will demonstrate how Creative Suite 3 Premium provides tools to match these opportunities, allowing designers to move seamlessly between mediums and engage with an environment in which information is constantly reinterpreted. Join in this inspiring discussion about what’s now and what’s next.

Thursday night, October 11th
Daniel Libeskind: Architectural Language
Daniel Libeskind, founder, Studio Daniel Libeskind
Visionary architect Daniel Libeskind is the man behind the Denver Art Museum’s widely acclaimed new Frederic C. Hamilton Building, as well as the adjacent Museum Condominiums. Libeskind developed his radically poetic architectural language for decades through highly influential drawings and models that influenced a generation of architectural students. His Jewish Museum in Berlin and New York’s Freedom Tower concept applied these ideas, and began an outpouring of eloquent and provocative buildings that challenge boundaries and preconceptions. High-profile commissions now take him to Asia, Europe and across the Americas. Libeskind will discuss how he brought his architectural and urban vision to Denver in the context of his past and his next work. “Architecture is language,” Libeskind says, and he is an architect who explores relationships between visual communication and architecture.

Friday night, October 12th
Brainstorming with Belugas: Biomimicry and the Art of Well-Adapted Design
Janine Benyus, author, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature and founder, Biomimicry Institute
In a world that needs one brilliant idea after another, it’s good to be surrounded by genius. Biomimicry—the process of finding sustainable ideas by echoing nature—is finding a home in commercial innovation labs throughout the world. Janine Benyus will describe how companies like GE, Qualcomm and Lucent are developing bio-inspired innovations, including a wind turbine that pirouettes like a whale, a low-MPG Mercedes that flows like a fish, a sunlight-readable display that bends light like a butterfly and a fern-inspired capsule that stores vaccines without refrigeration. Our ability to borrow nature’s blueprints and recipes is on the rise, says Benyus, and so is the need for energy-sipping, nontoxic designs. It’s no wonder that companies are “inviting biologists to the design table,” and biomimicry studios in universities are giving the next generation of designers and engineers a new place to look for answers. The breathtaking beauty and diversity of life on earth arose from a simple and consistent set of biological design rules. Benyus will explore with us how these very same rules could spark a no-excuses design revolution.

Saturday night, October 13th
The Prehistory of the Metaverse
Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Microsoft Live Labs
Blaise Agüera y Arcas reveals two innovative technologies: Seadragon and Photosynth. Both are about how we and our computers mutually produce, consume and interact with visual information. Both technologies are also suggestive of sweeping changes in our “visual ecosystem” over the next several years. The prerequisites for these changes—inexpensive CCDs, multiresolution, powerful computer vision algorithms, better bandwidth and processing power, graphics acceleration—have been steadily building up for many years. Here we will explore what can happen when these new capabilities converge with the collective effects of Web 2.0.

Education

How Does Design Research Impact Design Practice?
Sharon Poggenpohl, professor of design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University; and Liz Sanders, president, MakeTools, LLC; moderated by Meredith Davis, director, graduate and PhD programs, North Carolina State University
What is the role of design research, and of university design programs, in the evolving profession of the 21st century? How is research different from creative practice? And what is “worth doing” among all the possible areas for investigation in the emerging design research culture? This panel will address the growing need for new knowledge as the design profession matures and seeks new areas of influence.

K-12: Where Design Thinking Begins
Daarina Abdus-Samad, teacher, Norma Coombs Middle School in Pasadena, CA; Meredith Davis, director, graduate and PhD programs, North Carolina State University; and Doreen Nelson, director, Center for City Building Education (CBE) and professor, California State Polytechnic University; moderated by Steve Hartman, president, Creativille
The education that produces a designer is well-matched to the demands on all adults in the 21st century: creative thinking, problem solving, seeing things in the mind’s eye, and the effective use of technology, resources and information. Design education can provide a roadmap for K-12 curricula that leads to essential competencies and thinking skills, regardless of the subject area.

Venture Criticism: Floating the SVA MFA in Design Criticism
Alice Twemlow, chair, MFA in Design Criticism, School of Visual Arts
Building a graduate program from scratch is a challenge in itself, but what if it’s also the first of its kind in the United States? With no existing models to refer to, such an endeavor epitomizes the phrase “blank slate.” This session reveals the inspiration, strategy and guesswork behind the creation of the School of Visual Arts’ MFA in Design Criticism, which opens its doors in Fall 2008. It discusses approaches to designing course curricula, recruiting faculty and students, and generating a humanities-based intellectual culture in a studio-oriented art school. More specifically it deals with essential questions such as: what exactly is design criticism, how should it be taught and is there anybody out there who wants to learn it?

Letting Go of 20th Century Models for Design Education
Rafael Fajardo, director, digital dedia studies, University of Denver; Santiago Piedrafita, chair, Department of Graphic Design, North Carolina State University; and Holly Willis, associate director, Institute for Multimedia Literacy, University of Southern California; moderated by Barbara Sudick, associate professor, communication design, California State University
Design is becoming increasingly complex. Is it time to let go of curricular and pedagogical models that begin with simple concepts and to build slowly and progressively towards new models? This session will examine what’s next for design education in the 21st century, including cross-disciplinary and collaborative work.

How Should Design Education Prepare Students for a Future of Change
Bill Buxton, researcher and designer, Microsoft; and Hugh Dubberly, founder, Dubberly Design office
During the last 30 years, the growing presence of computers and the
internet has changed the context of design. New types of jobs have emerged as designers reinvent practice. Both how we design and what we design are substantially different than they were a generation ago. What will the next generation’s designers face over the course of their working lives? Today’s trends will continue. Processors are still getting smaller and faster. Computers and sensors are included in more and more products. And soon, almost everything will be on the network, while the network itself gets faster. In addition to the changes we can predict, we should expect some we cannot imagine yet. How should we respond to the changes of the last generation and those of the next? What does preparation for practice mean in a world where the future constantly changes? What can a design education provide that will endure?

REFLECTION

Several selected student attendees were chosen to solve a series of design problems during the conference and at the end of the conference the students presented solutions on the main stage. A panel of seven esteemed designers judged the concepts the students came up with and eventually narrowed down the pool to one winner. The contest was done in front of 2,000 peers, heroes and potential bosses.

The winner, Nichelle Narcisi, took home the Command X title of “the next great designer” along with these fabulous prizes:
$1000 in cash (actually a check); Adobe CS3 (an actual licensed copy!); ITC Type Library (1,500 fonts, a $6,000 value); A spread in STEP Inside Design magazine; A complete set of limited edition Punc't posters (all of them signed!); and lastly, glory

For their hardwork and dedication, the 1st runner up received $500, the 2nd runner up received $250 and the four eliminated contestants all received iPod Nanos. All contestants were mentioned in an upcoming STEP Inside Design magazine.

Contestants and their challenges
Nichelle Narcisi, Lancaster, PA [Winner]
Assignment 1, redesign the Denver Broncos logo
Assignment 2, redesign the Jimmy Dean Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick packaging
Assignment 3, design a voting campaign targeting your age group

Kelly Dorsey, Chardon, OH [1st runner up]
Assignment 1, redesign the Denver Broncos logo
Assignment 2, redesign the Jimmy Dean Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick packaging
Assignment 3, design a voting campaign targeting your age group

Matthew Muñoz, Raleigh, NC
Assignment 1, redesign the Denver Broncos logo
Assignment 2, redesign the Jimmy Dean Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick packaging
Assignment 3, design a voting campaign targeting your age group

Elaine Chernov, Long Beach, CA
Assignment 1, redesign the Denver Broncos logo
Assignment 2, redesign the Jimmy Dean Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick packaging

Ryan Smoker, Lancaster, PA
Assignment 1, redesign the Denver Broncos logo
Assignment 2, redesign the Jimmy Dean Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick packaging

Mike Burton, Cleveland, OH
Assignment 1, redesign the Denver Broncos logo (PDF, 652 KB)

Scott Gunderson, Atlanta, GA
Assignment 1, redesign the Denver Broncos logo (PDF, 300 KB)

Who were the judges?
Command X was hosted by Pentagram partner, Michael Bierut, and judged by Emily Oberman and Bonnie Siegler of Number Seventeen, Noreen Morioka of AdamsMorioka, and Brian Collins, Ogilvy & Mather.

Command X recap
On Day One of the conference, the super seven presented the results of their premiere challenge: to redesign the Denver Broncos logo. Annie Hellerstein, creative director for the Broncos, served as a guest judge. Scott Gunderson and Mike Burton were eliminated while the remaining five were assigned the next challenge, due the following day.

The Day Two challenge had the fantastic five redesigning the packaging for Jimmy Dean Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick. On the panel, Michael Vanderbyl served as a stellar substitute for Brian Collins, who had to leave Denver for the day for a very important meeting with Nobel Prize–winner Al Gore. The judges narrowed the contestants down to just three, eliminating Elaine Chernov and Ryan Smoker. And things took a more serious turn when the next and final challenge was presented: to get people ages 18 to 24 to vote.

All the original jurors were back on Day Three, as the entire conference buzzed in anticipation of the final Command X presentations. The thrilling three didn’t disappoint. While all three voting campaigns showed admirable effort and stood out for their strengths, Nichelle Narcisi was unanimously declared the winner by both the audience (measured by applause) and the jury. Kelly Dorsey took the first runner-up prize, while Matthew Muñoz was named second runner-up.

Only one designer walked away the champion, but seven up-and-coming designers were discovered at Next.

2008-07-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

WEEK 6
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 7 Blog Entry
June 23rd, 2008

TOPIC: INFORMATION SCIENCE, INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN & EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/35

Roadmap to Success: A Curriculum Mapping Primer
Central office personnel, building administrators, teachers, and parents are all interested in understanding the content, skills, and assessments addressed in classrooms throughout a school or district. While the questions offered by all aspects of an educational system are important, perhaps none drive the curriculum more so than the questions classroom teachers ask of themselves and their colleagues.

What do my students know? What did they study last year? What are they studying in the classrooms throughout the school? Is my colleague across the hall, who works with students in the same grade and level as students I teach, covering similar content? Where do I begin, and how do I help my students understand the connections between my subject and others? School districts as well as individual schools are turning to curriculum mapping as a method to quickly and accurately answer many of these questions.

What is a curriculum map?
Curriculum maps cover a wide range of important curricular activities. Typically, they attempt to: address the total education of the students in a building; create a "word snapshot" of the educational activities of every classroom within a building or district; capture the content, skills, and assessments taught or administered by every teacher within a school building or district; organize this information into an easily accessed visual that presents a timeline of instruction by teacher and course.

One example is the database curricular map organized by the teachers of Louisa County High School. Depending on available technology, curricular maps can be simple or elaborate, and can encompass individual schools or complete systems, such as the curriculum map organized by Spotsylvania County Public Schools. Information can even be entered into a purchased software package that organizes the data and provides keyword searches to locate specific curricular information.

Regardless of the organization method, curriculum maps address the major ideas and projects that drive a class, as opposed to attempting to map every topic of discussion in classrooms, which would unnecessarily consume time and energy. One of the most important features of curriculum maps is that they are geared to the school calendar, and each teacher's time line is precisely displayed on the map.

Who creates the curriculum map?
There are two groups of people crucial to the creation of a curriculum map: the teachers who provide the information and the curriculum team who organize the information. The curriculum team begins working before asking teachers to become involved. This group creates a vision of the curriculum map and investigates whether school or district resources permit such a vision to become reality. This organizational hub should be comprised of educational leaders within the school or system, and might include central office personnel, instructional leaders, and department chairpersons.

Once a vision of the curriculum map is clear, the data collection process begins. Mandatory participation of all teachers is essential, as each provides information about the content, skills, and assessments administered in his/her class. The inclusion of every teacher's information determines the development of a comprehensive curriculum map that will eventually promote higher achievement. Teachers are requested to chronologically map important skills, content, and assessments addressed in each class taught. The information is then submitted to the organization team.

Why create a curriculum map?
Questions regarding what is taught in the classroom are an intrinsic and useful part of formal education. Curriculum maps lead educators and their community to ask and answer the provoking questions that improve instruction and promote achievement.

For example, parents of students in the same grade might ask "Why is my friend's son studying decimals in Mr. J's class and my own son is not studying decimals in Mr. C's class?" Teachers might inquire, "Why do some of my students recognize the parts of speech while others are totally lost?" Parents, students, and educators ask these questions when pacing is not evident in common courses.

Members of an educational community can look at the school's curriculum map to discover when and if specific content is covered. This helps to reassure interested parents when specific information will be taught. It can also serve as the impetus to align courses horizontally. A curriculum map provides insight into the big picture, and responsible use of the information contained by a curriculum map can strengthen instruction school wide.

Most teachers, department chairs, and supervisors for curriculum agree that the creation of pacing guides and course outlines is easy; convincing skeptics to accomplish the goals mandated by such documents often requires proof that following prescriptive curricula best serves the students.

These skeptics are usually convinced when reviews of the curriculum map clearly magnify problem areas in instruction, such as redundancy, inconsistencies, and misalignment. A faculty or department review of a curriculum map is designed to motivate teachers to correct such problems, bringing their instruction into line with prescriptive curricula.

What happens to the completed curriculum map? Once teacher data is organized, the labor-intensive portion of curriculum mapping is complete and the review process begins. Once the review is complete, the benefits of curriculum mapping are apparent: issues in sequencing of instruction become obvious and easily correctable. While review teams should be comprised of any combination of administrators and educators, subject review by department is a logical beginning point. Departments can investigate the map to identify gaps in the vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.

Courses that are correctly aligned permit teachers to quickly assess what students mastered in the preceding grade and to focus on building skills and knowledge, as opposed to consuming valuable time with unnecessary reviewing and re-teaching.

Horizontal Alignment is often referred to as "pacing guides," assures that all teachers of a common grade level address specific subject matter following the same time line. Such alignment is crucial in school systems dealing with state-mandated, standards-based assessments. Initial review of the completed map by each department assures vertical and horizontal alignment and segues into a broader review of the map.

After vertical and horizontal corrections have been made, a different review team comprised of instructional leaders from throughout the school reviews the map in search of common points of instruction. This team of reviewers informs teachers of overlaps in content or major assignments to promote interdisciplinary connections. As teachers begin to build on interdisciplinary connections, students naturally begin to link information between and among courses, increasing the relevancy of skills and content in such courses. Additionally, teachers can verify skills or content addressed in other courses and alter their unit plans to a higher level, making learning more relevant.

While curriculum mapping is an intense and time-consuming undertaking, improvements to instruction such as vertical alignment, horizontal alignment, elimination of redundancies, and facilitation of interdisciplinary linking builds stronger curricula and improves instruction throughout a building.

When is the curriculum mapping finished?
"A work in progress quickly becomes feral. It reverts to a wild state overnight. It is barely domesticated, a mustang on which you one day fastened a halter, but which now you cannot catch. . . . As the work grows, it gets harder to control." -Annie Dillard, The Writing Life. This description, although meant to describe the writing process, is certainly applicable to a curriculum map. The addition of new teachers, alterations to the program of studies, changes to state standards—the factors that affect instruction within a building are manifest.

A curriculum map is a work in progress and schools that view it as such create and recreate review teams for it, always looking for ways to build bridges among curricula. Schools with established review teams are keenly aware of the changes within the building that impact instruction and assure that such changes are reflected on the curriculum map in use.

Review teams work regularly to maintain an up-to-date curriculum map that can be reviewed quickly and efficiently by novice and veteran teachers alike. These regularly scheduled reviews preserve an on-the-same-page mindset among educators, asking and answering the questions that drive effective instruction.

REFLECTION
Next week I start my first Summer School term teaching at the art Institute of Atlanta. My teaching gig is perhaps my “dream job;” the culminating reward for all of the school I have undergone in my educational career up to this point. A friend of mine had asked me if I had researched curriculum maps for the subject I am teaching (Adobe Creative Suite 3 for the McIntosh Operating System). I said I had not; however, assured him I would at my earliest convenience.

So I offered up the topic to some friends. Does anyone have a curriculum map (what units they teach and when they teach it)? I know that classroom teachers use them to plan out what they want to teach for each month (i.e. 4th grade students study explorers this month). I am especially interested in any maps that incorporate science and technology.

When I re-read the article on Rapid Prototyping by Tripp and Bichelmeyer, on the subject of the similarities between software design and instructional design, I decided that Instructional Design, though costly, will never be replaced by Rapid Prototyping. That having been said that, I believe that because of its effectiveness in and relevance to computer-based instructional training, Rapid Prototyping has its rightful place within the in the realm of Instructional Design.

The Rapid Prototyping methodology, like Systematic ID, is systematic and scientific; however, the development process is mostly circular or spiral. Moreover, Rapid Prototyping is an inexpensive quick fix when compared to Traditional ID. The Rapid Prototyping approach has its roots in the Software Development Industry whereas the Traditional ID has its roots in military training.

Both methods seem to have a common bond in that specific learning goals are accomplished. The RP ID method is a repetitive process that requires ongoing evaluation and feedback. The Traditional or Systematic instructional design approach, being a more methodical linear process, is more aligned with the traditional theories of education and training.

RP is on the opposite end of the traditional learning spectrum; it is a circular process and appears to evolve more rapidly and with considerably less methodology. So much so in that it has a tendency to encourage informal design methods which may introduce more problems than it fixes. The primary benefits to the “fast and dirty” circular nature of RP is that it saves money and time. Having spent ten years in a sales driven-driven business environment, I can understand completely how this benefits and is supremely attractive to the Software Development firms; for them, “time is money” and “time is of the essence.”

There seems to be a myriad of Systematic ID theories (and models) that are historically viable. Rapid Prototyping is not very new. As many of the traditional previous ID theories have proven themselves to be “tried and true;” they have served to pave the way for Rapid Prototyping. Yet, troubling for some, only a few of the “old traditional standby theories” (inherent in Traditional / Systematic ID) have been empirically validated in the RP process.

2008-06-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

WEEK 5
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 5 Blog Entry
June 19, 2008

"My Definition of interactive includes not just the ability to choose, but also the ability to CREATE. We ought to be able not only to find any kind of document on the web, but also to CREATE any kind of document, easily. We should be able not only to follow links, but to CREATE them - between all sorts of media. We should be able not only to interact with other people, but to CREATE with other people. Interactivity is the process of making things or solving problems together. If interactivity is not just sitting there passively in front of a display screen, then interCREATivity is not just sitting there in front of something 'interactive'.."
(Tim Berners-Lee) 1999: 182)

Burnett, R., and Marshall, P. D. 2003. Web Theory: An Introduction. New York, NY: Routledge / Taylor & Francis Group.

2008-06-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

COURSE BLOG: LIS6260 - WEEKS ONE - FOUR

Date: May 12th, 2008

To: Dr. Slone

From: Robert D. Miller

Re: Abstract and Reflection of each week’s blog topic

WEEK 1
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 1 Blog Entry
May 12, 2008

TOPIC: CREATE - INFORMATION SCIENCE & INFORMATION ARCHTECTURE

ABSTRACT
Info taken from: http://iainstitute.org/en/about/our_mission.php

Our Mission
The Information Architecture Institute (formerly The Asilomar Institute for Information Architecture “AIfIA”) is a global organization that supports individuals and organizations specializing in the design and construction of shared information environments. Through education, advocacy, services, and social networking, the Institute will lead the way in demonstrating the value of information architecture to the world at large, and provide a framework for members to improve their skills and enhance their professional standing.

Information Science & Information Architecture
AIA defines information architecture as the structural design of shared information environments; the art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and search ability; and an emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape. The craft is new and still taking shape. The general populace is clear on the center but fuzzy at the boundaries. This inherent ambiguity challenges us to think deeply and seek diverse perspectives.

The Value of Information Architecture
Because information architecture is relatively intangible, behind the scenes work is often misunderstood and undervalued. The Institute recognizes the importance of defining metrics and showing value, particularly in unsupportive environments.

IAI efforts are focused around the following cost and value propositions: The cost of finding information; The cost of not finding information ; The cost of using information ; The cost of building and managing information systems; The value of educating employees and customers; The value of creating knowledge networks; The value of strengthening brand ; The value of fostering innovation. IAI encourages researchers and practitioners to share experiences and data, so they may build a more convincing case for the value of information architecture.

Who Benefits?
IAI has identified several groups of individuals who benefit directly from the organizations Information Architecture resources: Designers and technologists who practice information architecture; Colleagues in the design and technology fields; Businesses, government agencies, and organizations that need information architecture; and media professionals seeing to characterize various aspects of the IA field.

REFLECTION

The AIA site attempts to promote IA and shows who benefits from it. Perhaps most significantly, computer industry companies create end-user documentation and training materials, and how they measure productivity.

Conventional research projects seem to have two primary goals: first, to create a better understanding of the working environments and procedures within documentation and training groups that support computer workstation and network products; and second, to determine how (or if) these groups measure their productivity.

With respect to the working environment, procedures in the computer workstation, and network companies interviewed, the “average” documentation and training group supports software products with user, reference, and installation manuals for a technically educated / trained audience; hires experienced writers and provides them worth small amounts of editing, art, and text production support; uses a formal documentation-planning process to define projects which average 200 pages for a user manual and 600 pages for a reference manual; routinely performs limited quality assurance checking, and occasionally performs documentation usability testing; and finds schedule demands a higher priority, although also concerned with quality.

WEEK 2
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 2 Blog Entry
May 26th, 2008

ABSTRACT
TOPIC: CREATE - INFORMATION SCIENCE AND INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Info taken from: http://www.semanticstudios.com/ -

And

http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000179.php

User Experience Strategy

In recent years, the consulting process has become T-shaped, in part due to the gentle jabs of Peter Boersma, but mostly as a result of the fit between my expertise and the needs of my clients.

In the first phase, research is conducted (the three circles) and enough work is generated for a client to define a user experience strategy. The resulting narrative expression provides a necessary but insufficient platform for design.

In the second phase, information architecture is developed and this requires specifying the structure and behavior of a web site, software product, or interactive service, so that users can achieve goals, complete tasks, and find what they need. It is the tangible expression of strategy, in the form of wireframes, sketches, and prototypes. All this reliably translates an abstract vision into a well-grounded, actionable blueprint for design. Without the structural formulation and foundation, the strategy just hangs in space.

Frame Analysis
This article is not solely about information architecture. Rather, it’s an investigation of user experience strategy, a novel phrase that’s crept into our vocabulary and is shaping our future.
The words we use to describe or frame our roles, our teams, and ourselves influence our own perceptions and the ways we are perceived by others. As George Lakoff explains in Don’t Think of an Elephant:

Frames are mental structures that shape the way we see the world. As a result, they shape the goals we seek, the plans we make, the way we act, and what counts as a good or bad outcome of our actions. Because language activates frames, new language is required for new frames. Thinking differently requires speaking differently. In other words, user experience strategy is a term whose time has come, and while it leads us to better design, it also obscures our vision.

Don’t Think of an Experience
As an information architect, I’m sensitive to the fact that quite often the last thing users want is an experience. In many contexts, usability and search ability simply outweighs desirability. Users want to find it, use it, and move on. The best experience is invisible. In other contexts, we must beware the lure of end-to-end control invoked by user experience design. As Mark Weiser forewarned, seamlessness impedes invention. It’s tight seam design that affords appropriation, co-creation, mashing, swarming, and other elegant hacks.

Of course, all terms have limits. Information architects must stay social and be wary of info prefix context. And, interaction designers must heed the hyperbole that in design, interaction is the last resort. But these dangers don’t negate the real value that new terms deliver by helping us to think and act differently in unfamiliar terrain.

From Design to Strategy
Jesse James Garrett famously defined user experience design in a great diagram and an even better book. Businesses have now come to recognize that providing a quality user experience is an essential, sustainable competitive advantage. It is user experience that forms the customer’s impression of the company’s offerings, it is user experience that differentiates the company from its competitors, and it is user experience that determines whether your customer will ever come back.

Similarly, Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman explain that user experience design "encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products." And, Nathan Shedroff positions user experience design as "an approach to creating successful experiences for people in any medium."

A great deal has been written about user experience design but only recently has much ink been spilled on the subject of user experience strategy. I suspect there are a couple of reasons for the new focus. The elevated stature of user experience and design thinking in the business world has opened doors in the executive suite. Designers have a real opportunity to influence strategy. Second, we’re nearing an inflection point in an expanding set of markets, beyond which traditional product design is rendered obsolete.

Experience Ecologies
As we’re increasingly able to embed information and intelligence in physical objects connected via ubiquitous wireless networks, such concepts as open source, open APIs, mashing, co-creation, and search ability are rapidly and irrevocably escaping the confines of the Web. Adam Greenfield encapsulates the ensuing erosion of distinctions between "product" and "service" and the importance of "beautiful seams" in On the Ground Running, a brilliant piece that explores and eviscerates the iPod, Nike+, and Amtrak Acela ecologies.

Peter Merholz offers a valuable and complementary perspective in Experience IS the Product, and his partner Jesse James Garret, in a mesmerizing podcast on Experience Strategies, drives home the absolute imperative of designing from the outside-in. Jared Spool positions what’s going on as a simple progression toward market maturity from technology to features to experience to integration. I’m sure Jared’s right, but this framing misses the real story. The way we conceptualize products, services, and brands is changing. We can glimpse the destination in Bruce Sterling’s spime and Julian Bleecker’s blogjects, but the journey has already begun, which is why we’re talking so much about user experience strategy.

Experience Executives
In the past, I’ve used the following quote to introduce the complex, intimate relationship between strategy and tactics, “In strategy, surprise becomes more feasible the closer it occurs to the tactical realm.” - Carl von Clausewitz, 1832. Good strategy requires awareness of the full range of possible tactics. Richard Dalton captures this nicely in the Forces of User Experience, though I’ll never know why he chose a rainbow over a honeycomb.

The key point is that within an increasing number of markets, executives can no longer afford to formulate strategy without embracing user experience, and to the extent their offerings include web sites, software products, and interactive services, these leaders (or their successors) must understand the complex interplay between strategy, scope, structure, semantics, skeleton, and surface. They must become experience executives, in concept if not in name.

REFLECTION

As Michael Raynor explains in The Strategy Paradox, strategy and futurity are inextricably bound together. Most strategies are built on specific beliefs about the future. Unfortunately, the future is deeply unpredictable. Worse, the requirements of breakthrough success demand implementing strategy in ways that make it impossible to adapt should the future not turn out as expected. The result is the Strategy Paradox: strategies with the greatest possibility of success also have the greatest possibility of failure. Resolving this paradox requires a new way of thinking about strategy and uncertainty.

Raynor argues that to manage uncertainty, companies must build scenarios of the future, and identify strategies and strategic options for each possible future. I’d argue that those who develop user experience strategy would do well to embrace this framing in futurity.

For while our work certainly supports incremental progress towards better usability, and credibility, user experience methods are equally well-suited to disruptive innovation. In the deep dives of design research, we gain insight into the latent needs of users, and with our sketches, mental models, and prototypes we bring greater richness and depth to the exploration of possible, probable, and preferable futures. In short, we are futurists. So, what about that empty cell in the honeycomb? Well, like our understanding of user experience strategy, the hive remains unfinished. We don’t have all the answers, at least not individually. Perhaps we can fill in the gaps.

WEEK 3
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 3 Blog Entry
June 2nd, 2008

Week 3
TOPIC: CREATE - NEEDS AND COMPONENTS

ABSTRACT

Bioinformatics in the Human Genome Project: Combining Information Architecture and Genetic Athropology:

https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html

What is the Genographic Project?
National Geographic and IBM are leading this landmark anthropological five-year research study to answer the oldest questions we have about ourselves: Who are we and where did we come from? In doing so the project will also create the world's largest survey of DNA samples to map how humankind populated the planet.

The Genographic Project uses sophisticated computer analysis of DNA voluntarily contributed by hundreds of thousands of people—including indigenous and traditional populations and the general public—to reveal man's migratory history and to better understand the connections and differences that make up humankind.

The Genographic Project has three core components:
Field Research: The core of the project is the collection of genetic samples from collaborations with indigenous and traditional populations; the DNA contains key genetic markers that have remained relatively unaltered over hundreds of generations, making these peoples' genetic histories reliable indicators of ancient migratory patterns. Dr. Spencer Wells and a globally located team of scientists from ten prominent international institutions are conducting the ethically driven fieldwork and laboratory research.

One additional research center will focus on analyzing DNA from ancient remains. The Waitt Family Foundation is funding this component of the Genographic Project. An international advisory board oversees the selection of indigenous and traditional populations for testing as well as adherence to strict sampling and ethical research protocols. See ethical framework at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/pdf/Genographic-Project-Ethics-Overview.pdf

Public Participation and Awareness Campaign: Members of the general public are taking part in the project by purchasing a Genographic Project Public Participation Kit and submitting their own cheek-swab sample. This allows them to learn about their own migratory history, as well as, if they wish, contribute to the overall progress of the project. These personal results are stored anonymously to protect the privacy of participants. As scientific papers from the research are published in peer-reviewed Blogs, the Genographic Project will regularly update on project findings online through its Web site and other media outlets.

Genographic Legacy Fund: Proceeds from the sale of the Genographic Project Public Participation Kits help fund future field research and the Genographic Legacy Fund, which builds on National Geographic's 119-year-long focus on world cultures. The Genographic Legacy Fund supports education initiatives, cultural conservation projects, and language preservation programs among participating and other indigenous and traditional groups.

The ten research centers are located around the world and represent their respective regions. The centers are located in Australia (Australia/Pacific), Brazil (South America), China (East/Southeast Asia), France (Western/Central Europe), India, Lebanon (Middle East/North Africa), Russia (North Eurasia), South Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa), Spain (Western/Central Europe), and the United States (North America).

What makes this project so different?
Most of what we know about anthropological genetics is based on DNA samples donated by approximately 10,000 indigenous and traditional people from around the world. While this has given us a broad view of the patterns of human migration, it represents just a small sample of humanity's genetic diversity. The Genographic Project aims to collect and analyze DNA samples from over 100,000 indigenous and traditional people, making it the world's largest survey of its kind in the field of anthropological genetics, driven by an ethical framework and locally accountable review boards and protocols. The resulting data, we hope, will map world migratory patterns dating back some 150,000 years and will fill in the huge gaps in our knowledge of humankind's migratory history.

The general public worldwide is invited to participate in the study by purchasing a Genographic Project Public Participation Kit. By sending in a simple cheek-swab sample, a participant can learn about his or her own deep ancestry while—if they wish—contributing to the overall project by adding their results.

How long will the project last?
The Genographic Project is a five year "real-time" research effort, beginning April 2005. The goal is to collect and genotype at least 100,000 DNA samples from indigenous and traditional people from around the world over that time.

What will the end result be?
In essence, a zoom lens on who we are and how we moved around the world. The Genographic Project will result in the creation of a global database of human genetic variation and associated anthropological data (language, social customs, etc.). This database will serve as an invaluable scientific resource for the research community. Many indigenous and traditional populations around the world are facing strong challenges to their cultural identities. The Genographic Project will provide a snapshot of human genetic variation before we lose the cultural context necessary to make sense of the genetic data. Ultimately, we hope that the findings from the project will underscore how closely related we are to one another as part of the extended human family.

Why is the focus on human migratory patterns?
Scientific evidence suggests that the human species ultimately traces back to Africa. But other questions remain. For example, how did we migrate and populate the world? The Genographic Project aims to uncover some of these mysteries and discover the details of how we journeyed around the world. What impact has culture had on human genetic variation and how have cultural practices affected our patterns of genetic diversity? If we share a recent common ancestry, why do we look different from each other? At the moment, little is known about these topics.

What is the purpose of collecting DNA for the Genographic Project?
DNA samples are being collected to analyze specific "markers of descent" in order to probe questions about deep ancestry and historical human migration.

REFLECTION

The Genographic Project has been designed from inception to consider the limitations of other studies such as HGDP—especially in terms of objectives, approach, and methodology. The Genographic Project is studying the human journey—how we are all related and how we arrived at where we live today. There is no medical research of any kind in the Genographic Project. It is nonprofit, nongovernmental, nonpolitical, and noncommercial. No cell lines will be created, and we will not patent any genetic data resulting from the project.

All the information belongs to the global community and will be released into the public domain. The scientific consortium comprised of the ten regional research centers will author scientific papers based on their analysis. At the time of publication, the data associated with the research will be made public. At the end of the project, the findings will be released into the public domain. The Genographic Project is a nonprofit effort, and its noncommercial focus is fully supported by all its partners.

Before any fieldwork begins, we have been seeking and will continue to seek advice and counsel from leaders and members of indigenous and traditional communities about their voluntary participation in the project. Ours is a true collaboration between indigenous and traditional populations and scientists. Helping communicate their stories and promoting preservation of their languages and cultures is integral.

In addition to answering questions of scientific interest to indigenous and traditional populations and the general public, we have established the Genographic Legacy Fund to provide some way of giving back something tangible to both participating and non-participating indigenous and traditional peoples in support of their aspirations to promote and protect their cultures.

The fund will be directed primarily toward education initiatives, cultural conservation, and linguistic preservation and revitalization efforts. It is our hope that the Genographic Legacy Fund, funded by net proceeds from the sale of the Genographic Project Public Participation Kits, will establish a positive and ongoing legacy for the Genographic Project that will help indigenous and traditional peoples—those participating in the project, as well as others.

Also, the Genographic Project will actively involve the public in this real-time effort, which underscores the broad appeal and universal story we are trying to tell. We want to be as transparent as possible and want everyone to understand our goals, methods, and results.

Finally, when the HGDP was first discussed over a decade ago, the language of DNA and genetic anthropology was foreign to all but a few scientists. Discussion and third party review was less open and frank. Today that language is more familiar to many of us, and many of the ethical and privacy issues are more clearly understood by the global community. Our methodologies and protocols are open for review and we welcome further suggestions for improvement and best practices.

WEEK 4
Robert D. Miller
LIS 6260: Week 4 Blog Entry
June 9th, 2008

TOPIC: CREATE - ORGANIZATION & LABELING

ABSTRACT

Helvetica > http://www.aiga-atl.org/

Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.

Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day. The film was shot in high-definition on location in the United States, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium. It is currently screening at film festivals and special events worldwide.

Interviewees in Helvetica include some of the most illustrious and innovative names in the design world, including Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Wim Crouwel, Hermann Zapf, Neville Brody, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut, David Carson, Paula Scher, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones, Experimental Jetset, Michael C. Place, Norm, Alfred Hoffmann, Mike Parker, Bruno Steinert, Otmar Hoefer, Leslie Savan, Rick Poynor, Lars Müller, and many more.

Gaide, S. (2004). “Reusing learning objects: Improving instructional design, reducing
costs at Athabasca U.” Distance Education Report, 8(13), 8.

REFLECTION:

This is a short but poignant article about online courses and how to best deal with their content, whether as a student or instructor. Based on principles of instructional design, this article theorizes that through the customization of objects, the accessibility of repositories, metadata tagging, creation of e-portfolios, and interoperability of learning objects, the online learning process can be greatly improved.

I chose this article because it particularly appealed to me as a student familiar with the process of online learning. The article tackled some of the difficult issues I encountered as an online learner, particularly the inability to access material once a class is over. This annoyance arose in my first online class at USF. I had compiled messages full of valuable information, used course references, and posted documents. I suppose I thought this material would be accessible to me at any time while I was in school at USF, but given constraints of memory and money, I learned this just isn’t so.

Once I was finished with the course, the material would remain for a time, but eventually I would be cut off. For many people, being able to print and download material is sufficient, but because everything is mostly online, I find the design is very different and doesn’t always translate to paper. For example, a PowerPoint slide presentation of links was provided for research in LIS. I thought this was a great resource, but I forgot to download and print this resource before the class was over. When the occasion arose that I needed such information, I remembered the presentation, but I could not access it. It was a resource I considered valuable for many other LIS classes, but I was left feeling frustrated and a little dumbfounded for not having it.

After reading this article, I realize I am not alone. Many students find valuable resources in foundation classes but by the time they can apply and use these sources, they are unable to access them because that class is over and so is their access to it. A solution to this issue is for students to form a virtual library database of their own, known as e-portfolios. This seems very obvious as a solution, but for students who have taken many course and accumulated massive amounts of material, this is no simple task. The key to simplification may lie in metadata tags, so that information can be easily located.

These tags provide direct paths to the information. Similar to XML tagging, metadata tags would link you to information quickly and easily. Metadata tagging sounds great for those who can do it, but for those who don’t know how, creating a simple e-portfolio file for each class may be a viable alternative. If information is dated and logged in with appropriate file names, information can be stored and accessed when needed later on. Again, this seems simple, but the key is to do it as the course goes along. Waiting until the end of the course will not allow you to log things as effectively because resources that worked from one project maybe misplaced or forgotten.

Metadata tags may offer instructors and universities the ability to find, exchange, and offer better information and instruction methods. If objects for online learning are based on a similar design objects, they will be able to be used over and over again and offer instructors time saving methods to design their instruction. Tagging seems like an ideal fix; however, it is extremely time consuming to do so and usually that eliminates it as an option for many busy professors.

In a perfect world, where there were time enough and people enough, problems like accessing data and storing it would be no problem. However, create online learning objects is costly and time-consuming. USF professors are currently facing an online technology crunch. Specifically, the issue is a change from WebCT to BlackBoard. If WebCT and BlackBoard were more interchangeable, USF instructors would not dread the switchover nor would they need to spend their time redesigning things they had already designed.

The ideas of the article are interesting. Whether is tagging material or organizing documents, online learning is a new world for many students and professors. It is a learning curve. I feel that finding ways to work with technology instead of letting its constraints work against you is the key to learning the most online.

2008-06-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

DEFINING the word "create"
View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web

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Blog Posts Weeks 1 - 5

2008-06-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

DEFINING the word "create"
View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web

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Links to other classmate's blogs

2008-05-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

2008-02-26T16:25:00.000-08:00