Great valentine’s gift–Personalized romance novel!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This Valentine’s Any Couple Can Star in yournovel.com’s Personalized Romance Novels and Add Their Photo on the Cover

“Novel” Gift Idea Comes in “Wild” or “Mild”

January 23, 2007 – RALEIGH, NC — This Valentine’s, any couple can star in their own personalized romance novel in either a “wild” or “mild” version.

These customized capers – 21 paperback or hardback titles to choose from – are offered in both huggy-kissy “mild” or sexy-sweaty “wild” with more than 20 details about the starring couple crafted from an online questionnaire. The company also lets couples upload their own photo to add to the book’s cover.

Here are a few of the ways the books are customized:

• Names

• Hometown

• Places of work

• Eye and hair color

• Best friends’ names

• Favorite perfume and cologne

• Favorite music

• Affectionate nicknames for one another

• How long they’ve been a couple.

Depending on the title selected, the starring couple finds themselves skinny-dipping in the Caribbean, frolicking under a waterfall, or making love none-too-easily in a swinging hammock. And, because these novels are adventure romances, the couple also find themselves chasing bad guys on wave runners off the North Carolina coast, foiling a stalker on a luxury cruise ship, tangling with a cougar in the wild or fighting off bad guys near Rome’s Coliseum.

Yournovel.com’s founders, Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher, who form the husband/wife writing team Fletcher Newbern, have been penning the novels since they met and fell in love in 1992. This marks their 15th year in business, and together they’ve written 15 of the 21 titles
available. They’ve been featured in hundreds of radio, TV and newspaper interviews Last year, the company sold more than 6,000 customized novels.

Settings for their personalized novels range from exotic Caribbean islands and cruise ships to dude ranches or ski lodges.The latest novel in their lineup is set on a barge cruise aboard the Magna Carta on England’s River Thames and is called “Holiday on Thames.”

“We’ve been dubbed computerized cupids.What a great job title,” states J.S. Fletcher. “Doing the undercover research is half the fun,” adds Newbern.

Yournovel.com’s books range from 150-190 pages and paperbacks cost $49.95 plus $6.00 priority shipping and handling in the U.S. (out of country is $15 shipping/handling). Hardbacks are $94.95, and couple canupload their photo to be added to the cover of the paperback or hardback for $25 more. The fastest way to order is on the web at www.yournovel.com. Those without Internet access can call (800) 444-3356 to have information faxed or mailed. Valentine’s orders should be received no later Jan. 31 for hardbacks; Feb. 7 for paperbacks.

###

For photos, author interviews, more info:

Kathy M. Newbern

(800) 444-3356

knewbern@yournovel.com

Final revisions

Original Piece Final Revision

A (Purple and Gold) Pirate Among Us

By Cop E. Riter

Christy Kinnion, one of Wake Tech’s newest English Instructors, hails from the Emerald City (a.k.a. Greenville, NC), home of the East Carolina Pirates. Christy, who joined our faculty in August 2005 is an alumna of ECU. She received a BA in English in 2000 followed by an MA in 2001 in English with a concentration in Technical and Professional Communication.    

Christy got her start teaching at Beaufort Community College in Washington, NC while she was in graduate school and was simultaneously putting her skills to use as a technical writer for a forklift manufacturing company. After two years working for corporate America, Christy decided to pursue a teaching career full-time. She has taught at a variety of community colleges in the state, including Lenoir, Pitt, and Craven. In addition to teaching business writing and journalism here at Wake, Christy teaches online literature courses for Elizabeth City State University. 

Christy speaks highly of online classes both from a teaching perspective and as a veteran online student. She says, “Students can flourish in an online environment if the instructor is proactive and communicates often—by sending email, posting announcements, and staying involved on the discussion boards. I like the freedom of online classes, and using technology breaks the routine of classes that meet face-to-face for fifty minutes.” She strongly recommends the online experience to other instructors and students. “If you’ve never done it,” she suggests, “it’s a real learning experience—but ultimately, a positive one.”

Christy isn’t teaching online classes for Wake Tech, but she hopes to do so in the coming year. She is, however, developing a new journalism course, Intro to Multimedia, which will be offered in 2007. She is also busy finishing 18 graduate hours in Mass Communication at UNC Chapel Hill, where she recently received a certificate in Technology & Communication. Christy’s next goal is to obtain 18 gradate hours in Communication Studies from NCSU. Completion of these hours will fufill SACS requirements, thus allowing her to teach Public Speaking and making her triple-credentialed in the community college system.

In addition to her teaching duties, Christy is a faculty representative for C-Step and also the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship program. It seems that Christy is a very busy employee at Wake Tech, and we appreciate her efforts.

 

When asked whether she is homesick for Pirate country, Christy said, “I miss Greenville, my family and friends, but Raleigh is a great city too. I’m too swamped to be homesick anyway!”

We plan to keep Christy busy for a long time to come. Her outgoing personality, experience, and love of teaching make her a great addition to the Wake Tech family.  Welcome aboard, Christy!     

Christy can be contacted at 919-662-3221 or by email at clkinnion@waketech.edu.

Press Release Final Revision

Assignment: Draft a press release on behalf of your organization or publication.I chose to promote an event at East Carolina University, my alma mater. Though the newspapers publicized the event, I could not find a press release on the subject. Here is my version.

East Carolina University
East Fifth Street
Greenville, NC 27858
ckinnion@gmail.com For Immediate Release     Contact: Christy Kinnion 252-758-7777

East Carolina to Honor Marshall Football Team
ECU to Unveil Memorial Plaque Saturday Morning

GREENVILLE, N.C. (November 10, 2006) — East Carolina University will hold an unveiling ceremony memorializing the 1970 Marshall University football team on Saturday morning at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium before the game between ECU and Marshall.

The ceremony will honor the 75 people who lost their lives on November 14, 1970 when a jet carrying the Marshall team, coaching staff, administrators, and fans crashed on their way home from a game against the East Carolina Pirates.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was the descent below Minimum Descent Altitude during a non-precision approach under adverse weather conditions, without visual contact with the runway environment. The jet jet crashed into a hill near the Tri-State Airport in Ceredo, West Virginia. All passengers on the flight were killed. The plane was carrying the 37 members of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football squad, eight members of the coaching staff, and 25 boosters, and five crew members. Sadly, they were nearly home when the tragic accident occurred.

Featured speakers at the ceremony will be Chancellor Steve Ballard, Athletic Director Terry Holland, Pirates’ broadcaster Jeff Charles, and Marshall President Stephen Kopp. Admission is free and open to the public. Everyone is invited to attend the ceremony which will begin at 10:30 a.m. outside the visiting team entrance. Stadium gates open at 11:00 a.m., and the football game’s kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Each year on the anniversary of the crash, those who died are still mourned in a ceremony on the Marshall University campus. On the same day that ECU dedicates the plaque in Greenville, a memorial plaque will be dedicated at the plane crash site in Huntington, West Virginia. Guest speakers will be Red Dawson, one of the original football coaching staff who was not on the flight, and Jack Hardin, the first reporter on the crash scene. Archived articles about the crash are available on the West Virginia Archives and History website.

About East Carolina University:

East Carolina is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina and offers 106 bachelor’s degree programs, 71 master’s degree programs, four specialist degree programs, one first-professional MD program, and 16 doctoral programs in professional colleges and schools, the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, and the Brody School of Medicine. With a mission of teaching, research, and service, East Carolina University is a dynamic institution connecting people and ideas, finding solutions to problems, and seeking challenges of the future.

For more information, please visit www.ecu.edu.

(end)

Theory post

Increasing Readability on Educational Websites

Two things writers must first consider when creating a document whether for print or online publishing—audience and purpose. As an adult educator who helps write and edit portions of my employer’s website, it is important that I consider who is going to accessing the information, what they expect to find, and what they will be doing with the information gathered.

Students are the primary audience for college websites; this is because faculty and staff have access to an intranet and do not often go to the website “looking for answers.” For that reason, it is imperative that a web designer and author writing for students make their needs top priority when planning navigation and content. Questions to consider:

• Where do students go first?
• What do they use the website for?
• What capabilities are needed?
• What links or icons would be most used on the homepage? On the department homepages?
• How can I keep navigation simple?
• How can I make it easily accessible regardless of connection speed, hardware, etc.?

Students usually go to the homepage first. Perhaps this is because it is easier for them to remember the domain name as opposed to a lengthy URL used for Blackboard, campus email, or other links. The homepage should have icons to frequently accessed pages such as those.

Other common items retrieved by students include registration information and schedules, course descriptions, and the faculty/staff directory. Popular resources that should be easily accessible include the library, the financial aid office, and technology services. A drop-down menu or quick links will help cut down on a user’s navigation and search time.Remember that students don’t go to the college website looking for pictures or fancy graphics, especially if these take a long time to download. Use them sparingly and only where appropriate. Some large items are necessary, however, like campus maps. These are required not only for new students but other visitors to campus.

Readability and Scanability

Once you’ve decided what text you want on the page, you have to design it in such a way that the readers find what they are looking for right away and without delving too deep into the website. Mindy McAdams, author of It’s All in the Links: Readying Publications for the Web, suggests enhancing the reader’s ability to scan text quickly. This is a great idea when creating online content for students. Students, busy and often distracted, will be aided by text that is simple and useful. Other recommendations by McAdams to improve readability are:

• Chunking and keep paragraphs short
• Headings as clear predictors of content
• Boldface to emphasize key phrases (and to avoid too many headings on pages with less content).

Another important feature of writing for the web is hypertext linking. This type of linking, unique to electronic publishing, can be a title, person’s name, or any word, phrase, or clause that can open to a desired page—one that provides additional information that the reader wants or needs. And remember the cardinal sin of linking, of which McAdams reminds us; never link the words “click here” because links are made to be clicked, and to tell the reader to do so would be irritatingly redundant. Tips for linking include:

• Use strong link text (a reasonable expectation of information linked)
• Don’t go overboard! (Excessive linking suggests your page doesn’t have a lot to offer of its own)
• Avoid links that don’t offer something new. (Links should provide info that cannot be found on your site)

Incorporating these methods when creating and editing your college or school website will dramatically increase the usefulness of the site. Students will return to your website for the information they need and will hopefully use the help desk and tech support numbers less and less.

711 Reflection

Assignment: Write an end-of-semester blog post discussing how your writing has changed, what you’ve learned, unanswered questions, changes/improvements, and instructor suggestions.

Considerations and roles
How has my writing changed? I’m not so sure that my writing has changed a great deal. My style is the same, though I am more careful about inserting humor…or rather what I find humorous. Writing for a diverse (and even global) audience requires that writers consider all readers, many of whom have different ideas regarding what is funny and what is offensive. The safe bet is to avoid any content that may be misinterpreted. Because of this course, I now consider my audience more carefully. There is more to writing than just readability and putting the punctuation in the right place.

I think I’m a decent writer. Am I a better editor? Perhaps. Sometimes I write too quickly–on the fly without the appropriate research. A tech writer and editor by trade, I sometimes assume my work is good and correct. I don’t comb through my own work as carefully as I do others’. In this business, both of those characteristics are negative ones. Don’t assume anything. And spend as much time on your own editing and revisions as you would if working for someone else. I often tell my students, “It’s hard to see whats been right under your nose for the last two hours.” Some tips:

• Step away for a few minutes.
• Have someone else (a fresh set of eyes) look over your work.
• Come back to it tomorrow.

The latter requires that you allow yourself enough time to do so. If you’re racing to meet a deadline, you may not have the luxury of looking at it again the next day. This is something I’m working on. Consider it a New Year’s resolution.

The future
The only questions that remain for me are those that cannot be answered accurately, though many speculate. What’s the next innovation that will affect me as a writer, editor, and adult educator? How can I better prepare professionally when this field is ever-changing? What is new will soon be obsolete, and the cycle will continue until I’m too old to get a job or even care. My suggestion to anyone wondering the same is LIFELONG EDUCATION. There is always much to be learned. Mia Hamm, female soccer legend, says that to be great in soccer, you should watch the best players. Learn the techniques of those you admire and wish to emulate. The same applies to arenas outside of sports. I respect my professors. I respect classic authors. I respect technologists ahead of their time. I have learned to ask for feedback and to accept criticism and be better for it.

Enhancements and suggestions

JoMC 711, the sixth class I’ve taken from UNC and the fifth in the certificate program, is what I expected it to be. I expected it to be hard work and time consuming. I expected my instructor to be critical of my work. That is an instructor’s job. We (students) don’t pay for A’s. We pay for someone to teach us, critique us, and tell us our work stinks when it does. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time. This class is anything but that. Writing for Digital Media is a class that not only helped me see my writing differently, but it has provided me skills usable in the real world.

My suggestions to BC: keep doing what you’re doing. You ask students for feedback on how you teach the class, what you can do to make it better. Not many instructors do that. You have a way of making students feel comfortable. I don’t think any of us felt like you were ever authoritative or treated us in a demeaning manner. We flourished because we received top notch instruction.

British journalist, Russell H. Ewing once said, “A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting.”

FAQ assignment

Assignment: Create an interactive FAQ help page for your entity. It should anticipate common problems and questions users might have. The page should have:

• Clear, comprehensible instructions
• Clear organization
• Thorough consideration/anticipation of user questions
• Informative, helpful answers to FAQ questions
• Design that promotes page usability

Wake Tech Community College English Department FAQ

Listed below are questions most frequently asked by students.

1. Where is the English department located?
2. Whom do I contact with problems?
3. How do I contact my instructor?
4. Will my courses transfer?
5. What courses are offered?
6. What classes are offered next semester?
7. Can I take English courses online?
8. Where is the writing center?
9. What degree path should I pursue?

1. Where is the English department located?
   The English department is located on Main Campus at 9101 Fayetteville Rd., Raleigh, NC. The office is in TE 238 (Technology Education Bldg., Room 238). See campus map for printable version.
2. Whom do I contact with problems regarding my English classes or instructors?
   If problems arise that cannot be resolved by your instructor, please contact Bob Ruth, Department Head at bgruth@waketech.edu or phone 919-662-3481.
3. How do I contact my English instructor or contact an instructor with questions about a course I’m interested in?
   To contact an instructor or staff, use the Faculty and Staff Directory.
4. Will the English courses at Wake Tech transfer to a university?
   In North Carolina, the universities and community colleges have a Comprehensive Transfer Agreement that ensures that students do not lose credits when they transfer. (Note that only courses with a grade of “C” or better transfer). Most curriculum courses will transfer, but check with your advisor to make sure the courses you choose are on the transferable course list. Approved schools include North Carolina State, UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central, and Meredith College. You may also contact the College Transfer Advising Center for more information.
5. What courses are offered?
   The English department offers a wide variety of courses ranging from developmental to 200-level literature courses. Please download the course catalog for a full list of course descriptions.
6. What English classes are being offered next semester?
   You may view or print the 2007 course schedules. Please note this is a very large PDF file and may require several minutes to download depending on the speed of your connection to your ISP and other factors.
7. Can I take English courses online?
   Yes. Login to WebAdvisor or print the course schedule for a complete list of Internet classes.
8. Where is the writing center on campus?
   The Individualized Learning Center is located in the Engineering Technology Annex behind Holding Hall on main campus. The ILC is a free tutorial support service offered by Wake Tech to assist all registered students in their courses of study. Assistance is offered in Basic Skills, Writing and Study Skills, Math and Computers, and Foreign Languages.
9. My plan is to transfer to a university and major in English. What degree path should I pursue at Wake Tech?
   Students planning to major in English, Journalism, or Communication should pursue an Associate of Arts. Students planning to major in Science or Math should pursue an Associate of Science. For a full listing of majors and degrees, download the Major Paths PDF.

If you have further questions, please email the English department secretary, Peggy Britt at pbritt@waketech.edu.

Was this page helpful? Please send comments to clkinnion@waketech.edu.

Revised Original Piece

A (Purple and Gold) Pirate Among Us

By Cop E. Riter

Christy Kinnion, one of Wake Tech’s newest English Instructors, hails from the Emerald City (a.k.a. Greenville, NC), home of the East Carolina Pirates. Christy, who joined our faculty in August 2005, is a 2000, 2001 alumna of ECU.      

Christy got her start teaching at Beaufort Community College in Washington, NC while she was in graduate school and was simultaneously putting her skills to use as a technical writer for a forklift manufacturing company. After two years working for corporate America, Christy decided to pursue a teaching career full-time. She has taught at a variety of community colleges in the state, including Lenoir, Pitt, and Craven. In addition to teaching business writing and journalism here at Wake, Christy teaches online literature courses for Elizabeth City State University.

Christy speaks highly of online classes both from a teaching perspective and as a veteran online student. She says, “Students can flourish in an online environment if the instructor is proactive and communicates often—by sending email, posting announcements, and staying involved on the discussion boards. I like the freedom of online classes, and using technology breaks the routine of classes that meet face-to-face for fifty minutes.” She strongly recommends the online experience to other instructors and students. “If you’ve never done it,” she suggests, “it’s a real learning experience—but ultimately, a positive one.”

 

Christy isn’t teaching online classes for Wake Tech, but she hopes to do so in the coming year. She is, however, developing a new journalism course, Intro to Multimedia, which will be offered in 2007. She is also busy finishing 18 graduate hours in Mass Communication at UNC Chapel Hill, where she recently received a certificate in Technology & Communication.

 

When asked whether she is homesick for Pirate country, Christy said, “I miss Greenville, my family and friends, but Raleigh is a great city too. I’m too busy to be homesick anyway!”

 

We plan to keep Christy busy for a long time to come. Her outgoing personality, experience, and love of teaching make her a great addition to the Wake Tech family.  Welcome aboard, Christy!     

Christy can be contacted at 919-662-3221 or by email at clkinnion@waketech.edu.

Press Release

Assignment: Draft a press release on behalf of your organization or publication.

I chose to promote an event at East Carolina University, my alma mater. Though the newspapers publicized the event, I could not find a press release on the subject. Here is my version.

Wk 11 Citizen Reporting

Assignment: Blog something–an event, trip, conference or meeting.

Note to readers: This is entirely my take on a seminar and not intended for my organization. It is not a professional critique but a personal one.

Thank you, Sir. May I have another?

On Friday, October 27th at 11 am, I was subjected to a most horrendous form of torture–mandatory sexual harassment training for a certain unnamed community college. Upon receiving the email some days earlier that stated “all employees are required to attend,” I immediately felt the need to purge my stomach of its contents. Sexual harassment training? You must be kidding, I thought. Aren’t we all adults here? Excuse the cliche, but this was beating a dead horse. Of course, something must have occurred to send human resources into such a frenzy.

From the very start–choosing a time and location–this training was difficult. As an instructor, my schedule is a busy one. Between classes, holding office hours, and tutoring in the learning center, finding a time that would fit was near impossible. In fact, it was impossible. We were given four options, and the only one that worked for me was on a distant campus. Luckily, I was able to juggle commitments and attended the Friday morning session. I say luckily because if my name wasn’t on one of those “attended” lists, then my name would’ve been on my department head’s list. I wasn’t going to tempt the Gods.

Nothing comes between me and my Calvins

Upon entering the conference room, on the verge of late as is my style, I walked in and signed the sheet in front of what must have been at least a hundred or more other employees. All eyes on me, I immediately realized my jeans were too tight, and I was the poster child for what not to wear at work. Oh well, I thought and found a seat. So much for sitting in the back and grading papers. All the seats were taken, so I found a spot in the middle.

Barbara Kenyon (no relation), head of Human Resources, introduced herself and the purpose of our gathering–sexual harassment training. Poor Barbara…this was the last seminar of the week, and one could tell that she was tired of the reiteration. Nonetheless, she walked us through the definition of the term and provided examples of what might be deemed sexual harassment as she paced back and forth in front of her audience. So far, I heard nothing new. Anyone with any common sense knew this stuff already. Catcalls, touching, pornography, repeated requests for dates–obviously harassment. But then she goes on to say that anything can be considered harassment if it is perceived that way regardless of intention. For example, Joe Schmo can hug Cindy at work, and if it’s okay with Cindy, then it’s not harassment. However, if Sam Schmo sees this display of affection and tries it on Cindy and she is repulsed, then it’s harassment. In a nutshell, it’s all about perception. How about let’s call it a day and say, “no affection or touching at work!” Then we can all go home.

To make matters worse, we were then shown a video that just went over the same information again but with an even more monotonous narrator. The only highlight was that the scenes showing us what not to do were hilarious; however, I don’t think we were supposed to be laughing during our training. In that case, weren’t we already guilty of harassment? After the clips, the video narrator again summarized what was considered sexual harassment. This was at least the third time we had to hear it. Was the point just to beat it into us? As if telling us once just couldn’t possibly be enough?

What did she say? 

Looking around, I could see people chatting, grading, sleeping–you name it. Typical meeting behavior. Does that say our employees do not take sexual harassment seriously? No, that says that the method which they were using to convey the information was ineffective. This information could’ve been presented via email. Each employee could be asked to sign a form saying he or she understood the term and were agreeing to the terms outlined. If a face-to-face meeting was the only option, then this should’ve been handled by department heads or deans. Employees should’ve been split into groups, specifically faculty and staff and supervisors and deans.

Faculty interact primarily with students and other faculty; yet, there was little talk of student relationships. The video was really more applicable to a corporate or office environment and didn’t truly address very many of the issues seen in an academic environment. The last fifteen minutes of the video and meeting focused on how supervisors should investigate and handle sexual harassment issues. This portion was useless to those of us who are not decision makers.

Sexual harassment is a very important issue in the workplace, but hours of training and drills are simply not necessary. The things to remember about sexual harassment:

1. Harassment is any unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
2. Actions are considered harassment when they are made a term or condition of employment or employment decisions, and anytime these actions create a hostile work environment.
3. Anything can be considered harassment if perceived that way. Perception supercedes intention!

Tips to avoid a sexual harassment inquiry or lawsuit:

1. Do not engage in any behavior or conversation that could be considered inappropriate. If you have to wonder if it is inappropriate, then it probably is.
2. Always be respectful and sensitive to others’ feelings and concerns.
3. If you feel harassed or see someone else being harassed, contact Human Resources. Don’t wait for a situation to get out of control.

For more information on sexual harassment, view the facts at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website.

Notes for Wk 11

Mandatory Sexual Harassment “Training” for ALL Wake Tech employees

First response(s)–training for what? How to sexually harass? When am I going to find the time to do this?

Times:
Tuesday Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. in Holding Hall, Room 105
Thursday October 26 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Student Services 212 and 213
Friday October 27 at 8 a.m. in Student Services 212 and 213
Friday October 27 at 11 a.m. at AEC, Room 115

Frank Horton Associates, LLC. Who is Frank Horton? Who are his associates? The only speaker was Barbara Kenyon, head of HR.

• Sex. Har. violates Title VII of the Civ. Rights Act of 64 which applies to all employers with 15+ emp.
• Co. and individual mgrs. can be held legally resp. if harass. occurs and nothing is done
• Cost
  • reduced prod.
  • reduced co. loyalty
  • increased absent. and turnover
  • increased $$
• definition: unwelcome sex. advances, requests for sex. favors, and other verbal or phys conduct of sex. nature
  • if condition of emp
  • used as basis for emp. decisions
  • creates hostile work environ.
• Quid Pro Quo–most over form of harass. When subission to or rejection of, a sex. advance is used for decisions like raises, promos, projects, etc.
• When is it hostile?
  • trivial/isolated incidents are not hostile but can be disciplined by the org. as inappopriate behavior for ex: occasional teasing or isolated remark, one or two requests for dates by coworker who ceased to ask when requested.
• how is hostility determined?
  • courts recognize that men and women have diff. levels of sensitivity
  • reasonable woman’s standard
• Unwelcome conduct
  • is considered sex. har. if unwelcome. Harassed party must reject the behavior.
  • outright rejection (no), ambiguous rejection (not now or another time or does not respond) out of fear or politeness.
• forms include verbal
  • sexual jokes, teasing, innuendos and off color remarks, comments about looks, catcalls, whistles, forms of address (honey, babe, etc.), repeated requests for dates
• forms include visual
  • sex. explilcit material, written material (emails, notes, etc.), staring, leering, hand gestures.
• physical
  • unwelcome hugging, touching, etc., pinching, patting, personal space, criminal (assault, fondling, attempted rape)
• is the conduct sex. har.? answer yes to any of the following and it can be.
  • REDUNDANT questions. See above.
• Intent vs. perception
  • sex. har. can occur even if the harrasser did not intend
• Be sensitive. Be observant.
  • does that person consistently walk away from you when the conv. turns to jokes?
  • do employees of one gender seem to stop part. in meetings when others make gender related comments?
  • has individual perf. seemed to decline since supervisor asked him/her for a date?
• your role: follow co. policy, refer every complaint, maintain objectivity, be prepared to discipline, eliminate offensive conditions, lead by ex., accept personal responsibility, dont laugh or make comments that are gender related, encourage mutual respect, share your knowledge, take all complaints seriously
• pitfalls include taking the “its not my problem” approach, having no policy, failing to provide training, breaching conf., delaying investigation or resolution
• indicators of success include providing positive ex., your work unit conforms to policy, your employees feel free to talk to you, your standards and expectations are clear.

Form was handed out asking for feedback. My feedback:

• group too large.
• should’ve been departmental or at the very least separated into faculty and staff
• video was just plain funny
• overall info was serious and needed but seemed for applicable to staff rather than faculty. We do not supervise anyone except for students, and that wasn’t even addressed.

Addition to original piece

One of the ideas I have for the English department homepage is to periodically write short articles introducing new staff or faculty in English (or Arts & Sciences). Articles could also be written FYI. For example, each month (if there are no new faculty members), someone could post a feature piece on any faculty member. Because Wake Tech employs many instructors on various campuses, it is difficult to get to know everyone. Below is an example of an introduction. I’ve taken the liberty of writing about myself!

A Pirate Among Us

By Cop E. Riter

Christy Kinnion, one of Wake Tech’s newest English Instructors, hails from the Emerald City (a.k.a. Greenville, NC), home of the East Carolina Pirates. Christy, who joined our faculty in August 2005, is a 2000, 2001 alumna of ECU.      

Christy got her start teaching at Beaufort Community College in Washington, NC while she was in graduate school. Surprisingly, she was simultaneously employed as a technical writer for a forklift manufacturing company. After two years in corporate America, Christy decided to leave the office and pursue a teaching career full-time. She has taught at a variety of community colleges in the state including Lenoir, Pitt, and Craven. In addition to her workload teaching business writing and journalism here at Wake, Christy teaches online literature courses for Elizabeth City State University.

When asked to compare teaching online classes to the traditional, seated method, Christy said, “Students can flourish in an online environment if the instructor is proactive and communicates often—by sending email, posting announcements, and staying involved on the discussion boards. I like the freedom of online classes, and using technology breaks the routine of classes that meet face-to-face for fifty minutes.” She highly recommends the online experience to other instructors and students. “If you’ve never done it,” she suggests, “it’s a real learning experience—but ultimately, a positive one.”

 

Christy isn’t teaching online classes for Wake Tech presently, but she hopes to do so in the coming year. She is, however, developing a new Journalism course, Intro to Multimedia, which will be offered in 2007. When asked whether she is homesick for Pirate country, Christy said, “I miss Greenville, my family and friends, but Raleigh is a great city too. I’m too busy to be homesick anyway!”

 

We plan to keep Christy busy for a long time to come. Her outgoing personality, experience, and love of teaching make her a great addition to the Wake Tech family.  Welcome aboard, Christy!