Jennifer Stone

Jennifer Stone graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010 with a double major in Biology and Spanish.  She is currently working as an associate research specialist in the Pathology Unit at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center with the plan of applying to Medical School in the future.  This research project was done as part of an English Composition course taught by Rebecca Lorimer who also advised Jennifer throughout the course of the project. 

Contents

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Resources

Introduction

According to the Encyclopedia of Spanish in the United States, as of 2008, there were 45 million Spanish-speakers in the United States, demonstrating that the United States has the second highest concentration of Spanish-speakers in the world (right after Mexico).  By 2050, the United States is projected to take over the number one spot if trends continue as they are currently (Toca, 2008).  There are also estimated to be 45.4 million Hispanics in the United States, of which 20 percent are monolingual Spanish speakers, 25 percent are monolingual English speakers, and 55 percent are to some degree bilingual (U.S. Census Bureau Detailed Table, 2008; Aguilar, 1998).  While a large number of people in the United States are either Spanish-speakers and/or Hispanic, a relatively small amount of healthcare resources and information are available to them.  Hispanics are also one of the most vulnerable populations when it comes to having poor health literacy.  

In the report Healthy People 2010 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, health literacy was defined as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” (2000).  As its definition shows, health literacy means more than just being able to read health-related documents.  The definition of health literacy also varies depending on the situation.  Some aspects of health literacy include but are not limited to being able to find health information, being able to understand diagnoses, test results and treatment options, being able to decide on treatment options, being able to follow treatment instructions, and being able to effectively communicate questions and concerns with healthcare professionals.  There are also cultural barriers, educational barriers, language barriers, and so much more that affects a person’s health literacy.

Hispanics are not only vulnerable to poor health literacy; they actually have the lowest health literacy among ethnic groups.  In 2003, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy found that 41 percent of Hispanics had below basic levels of health literacy and that 65 percent of Hispanics had basic to below basic levels of health literacy.  This assessment determined subject’s health literacy levels by evaluating if they could do real-world tasks with health information including medication information, insurance information, and preventative care information.  In this test, the 65 percent who tested at basic to below basic could not even read the label on a prescription and determine when to take a medication.  While as a whole 35 percent of the adult population of the United States (77 million adults) has health literacy levels that are basic to below basic (America’s Health Literacy, 2008), the large percentage of Hispanics with basic to below basic health literacy is quite disconcerting and in need of examination in order to find solutions.  

Because of the prevalence of Hispanics in the United States, healthcare should be made much more accessible to them.  The healthcare system should take into consideration both the culture and language of Hispanic patients.  By understanding the accessibility and availability of health information, the health literacy of the Hispanic population, and the impact of poor health literacy on Hispanics, the healthcare system will better be able to understand what changes need to be made in order to improve the health literacy of Hispanics as well as the importance of these changes.  Improving the health literacy of Hispanics can not only increase their access to healthcare but also the success of their treatments and therefore their health and quality of life here in the United States.  While there are many different aspects that affect the health literacy of Hispanics, this study is only a small step towards understanding the accessibility and availability of health information resources in an effort to understand what is affecting the poor health literacy of Hispanics.

About the Author

Kelly Shackelford was home educated. She graduated with highest honors from Cedarville University, Cedarville Ohio, in 2010 with a degree in Technical Writing and Editing. While tutoring in the campus writing center, she became interested in the relationship between editors and authors and how they resolve power struggles. She now works for the Air Force and hopes to improve communication between the government and contractors.

Contents

Introduction

Literature Review

Editorial Techniques

Editorial Techniques (continued)

The Responsibility of Editors

Scenarios

 The Benefits of Editors Taking Responsibility

Conclusion

Works Cited

Introduction

The stereotypical relationship between editors and authors is one of antagonism. Editing seems to naturally produce conflict between editors and authors as they vie for authority over each piece of writing. Often, editors feel unappreciated and believe that authors are over-sensitive to changes, while authors feel threatened and believe that editors are taking away ownership of their writing. No one is surprised when the two sides disagree, and their conflicts have become a source of humor.

Editor/author conflict raises the question of how exactly editors should respond to problems with authors. How far should editors go to appease authorial feelings when authors seem to assume that editorial improvements trample on their intellectual rights? The tensions between editors and authors have forced the former to develop many coping strategies to help them achieve and maintain harmony with authors.

Research indicates that the often antagonistic relationship between editors and authors arises from their differing expectations of the editing process and their different levels of power within their organizations. The editors intend to comprehensively edit the authors’ work, whereas authors merely want the editors to make them look competent. And in the tug-of-war between who gets the final say, do the editors win as those hired with an eye for detail, or the authors as the originators of the writing?  From a "power" standpoint, it would appear that a powerful editor makes for a weak author, and vice versa.

Research also describes the different techniques editors have developed for dealing with authors so that both sides are happy with the process and can work together peacefully. Strategies range from focusing on relationships and collaboration to actual actions editors take to ensure that authors retain control of their writing and trust the actions of editors.

In this article, I examine the reasons for editor/author conflict, mainly in the scientific and technical worlds, and the coping mechanisms editors have developed to improve the process. After researching work conducted by editors and authors among other editors and authors, I describe two issues between the opposing sides and then five editorial strategies for developing harmony. After reviewing the literature relating to the relationship between editors and authors, I suggest that contrary to stereotype, the editor/author relationship should be collaborative instead of antagonistic, and also that editors are responsible for developing and maintaining good relationships with authors.

About the Author

Taylor Quimby graduated from Keene State College in 2010 with an individualized major in Aesthetic Studies. He currently works as a board operator and afternoon host for New Hampshire Public Radio.  An avid reader of both comics and philosophy, Taylor also enjoys spending his time playing the ukulele, video games, and writing plays.  Taylor lives in Hooksett, New Hampshire, with his family.

Contents

Introduction

Defining the Comic

The Speech Balloon...

Consider the speech...

Literacy and content

Literacy events    

Other Representations

Conclusion

Works Cited

Comic books have a history of controversy.  Twenty years after their successful introduction to newsstands everywhere, American McCarthyism was in full swing. As part of the national landscape of censorship, the U.S. Senate investigated the role of comic books in connection to rising rates of juvenile delinquency.  As Paul Lopes observes, it was the crusade against comics in the 1950s that led to “the perception of the comic book as a subliterate, children’s medium” (31). Shedding this perception has been the struggle of many fans and creators ever since.

For a long time, moral concerns about whether or not comic content should be regulated and censored prevented the medium from being given serious consideration as an aesthetic form.  Are comic books worth evaluating as art?  In recent years, this debate has covered both the content and structure of comics and ranges from criticism of the speech balloon to the tendency for superhero narratives to wallow in repetitive, didactic plots. It has become increasingly clear that within the context of their controversial history, it is impossible to write about comic books without explicitly, or inadvertently, defending or condemning their reputation.

Meanwhile, as comic books have struggled to be considered seriously alongside more conventional forms of literature, the nature of literacy itself has changed.  In recent decades, theorists like Gee, Brandt, and Heath have steered away from notions of literacy as a set of fixed skills and proposed an alternative view: literacy as a culturally and contextually situated set of multimodal practices. What complicates our concept of literacy necessarily complicates our concept of literature.  A reevaluation of the comic book in relation to new literacy studies is long overdue.    

My intention in this paper is to investigate the role of literacy in comic books, both in content and form. Specifically, I want to better understand how we read comics. How do we make meaning from the combination of text and illustrations?  Secondly, I want to investigate how literacy practices and values are represented within the pages of comics. Williams and Zengar theorized that, “If we watch films carefully for who reads and writes, in what settings, and for what social goals, we can see a reflection of the dominant functions and perceptions that shape our conceptions of literacy in our culture” (18).  Using similar methodology, I hope to reveal some ways in which the comic subculture perceives literacy, and how this relates to or contrasts with the historical understanding of comic books as a sub-literate medium.

About the Author

Joseph Friedman was born and raised in Los Lunas, New Mexico. He graduated from New Mexico Tech in 2010. He now works doing freelance marketing for local Albuquerque rock bands.

Contents

Introduction

Literature Review

Documentation...

Screencasting Today

Elements of Effective...

Novel Ideas and...

Works Cited

Abstract

A screencast is a video of a computer screen combined with narration that compliments the video. This paper seeks to understand the common elements shared by all effective screencasts. First, I explore what a screencast is, why screencasting is important, and some applications of screencasting. Then current multimedia literature is studied and applied to screencasting. A list of the common elements of effective screencasts is proposed, using current screencasting knowledge, cognitive psychology, and multimedia documentation as a basis. The applications and genres of screencasting, as well as novel approaches, techniques, and shortcomings are discussed as well.

Introduction

A screencast is a form of media that combines video of a computer screen with a narration. "Screencast" is a relatively new term, coined in late 2004, and recently the idea and uses of screen capture movies has grown. Screencasts can be created easily, using freeware like Screenr, and shared via YouTube or RSS feed. This makes screencasts a low-cost and effective medium for sharing tutorials and how-to materials.

However, screencasts are not limited to software tutorials. This genre is as versatile as it is powerful because screencasts can demonstrate abstract concepts in a virtual space by both showing and telling simultaneously. Screencasts can be adapted for differing audiences, content, or general purpose and they can convey credibility, transparency, and authenticity if created correctly. A screencast can be a personal experience, more akin to a one-on-one between the user and the creator. Screencasts can also become a polished, professional marketing tool. Screencasts are versatile; they can be used effectively by individuals, companies, and in education.

Individuals can use screencasts to their advantage in several different ways. Screencasts can be used to present knowledge, create a personal brand, and share one's experiences. A screencast can be easily created and uploaded to a personal blog. An individual’s screencast can demonstrate experience with a particular program or process, share opinions, and more.

Companies can use screencasts for both external and internal communications. Large companies, such as Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe have extensive libraries of how-to screencasts. The Adobe Video Workshop is especially impressive; it has hundreds of professional screencasts that are searchable by specific product and/or topic. Screencasts can provide a dual role as support for users and as a marketing tool (Falaschi and Athey). Internally, screencasts can be used for training or perhaps as a method of capturing and sharing subject matter expert knowledge within the company.

Screencasts are also used in the classroom, both in distance education and as supplemental material for traditional courses. They can be utilized as learning resources, learning tasks, and learning support (Garner). They are used to illustrate abstract concepts and provide examples and support at the student’s pace. Screencasts are also used in libraries to help people learn how to use directories and other library resources.

The screencasting genre is so wide and its applications so versatile that it is challenging to understand overarching guidelines for effective screencasts. It is important to understand the context in which screencasts can be applied, but it is doubly important to understand the separate media elements and how they can effectively interact together to form a superb screencast.

Screencasting falls under the general category of linear multimedia, because it is a combination of different media (graphics, text, and narration). A screencast is considered a linear form of multimedia because it offers only linear interactivity: fast forward, rewind, play, or pause. Multimedia has been studied in depth over the years, especially in its efficacy as a learning tool and its use in documentation. I will draw on these studies to form guidelines for effective screencasts in the areas of learning and documentation.

Some general multimedia guidelines can be easily applied to screencasting, yet some are not applicable at all. It is important to look at these areas of literature and see what aspects can apply to screencasting.  Plenty of information about screencasts can be found in blogs, forums, and magazine articles (Andrus; Hay; Kanter; Skibell; Tietjen; Udell). These articles can be helpful in offering practical guidelines for screencast creation, new ideas for screencast applications, or a comparison of screencasting software.  These guidelines are based on experienced judgment, not empirical study and relevant theory. This fact does not mean that these articles should be ignored or devalued; it just means that other areas of research must also be applied to formulate guidelines for screencasting.

It is difficult to glean guidelines for all screencasts using current information on screencasts alone. That is why it is necessary to study and understand its underlying foundation: multimedia. How has multimedia been studied and used effectively over the years? I will start by exploring how and why multimedia is an effective learning tool, and then move into electronic documentation and the idea of using multimedia as documentation. Following that will be a list of common screencasting genres and a list of elements of effective screencasts. Then I will discuss novel ideas, techniques, applications and shortcomings of screencasting.