Graduation Party videos, part 2

... and the hits just keep coming from the big graduation party roast of yours truly.

Mike Reino from SC6 believes that I won't campaign for candidates in dry locales:

Department of Communication Chair Brian McGee, who I had for an Executive Speechwriting course, looks back on his experience of dealing with me:

Terry Hardesty, serving on the Berkeley County School Board, complained about the late hours which I returned his calls when I ran his school board race:




State Representative Carl Gullick takes us back to 1992, when I was helping him during my aborted first attempt at college. Fortunately his first attempt at running for office was a lot more succesful:

Graduation Party videos

Ok everyone ... we spent weeks telling you about the big Blogland Graduation Fest, inviting you and hoping you'd make it. Some of you did, others didn't - those that didn't make it, missed a really great time ... and free beer as well.

We told you it would be a party, but we didn't tell most that the event would include a roast of yours truly. We could tell you about it, and we did try, but when all is said and done, nothing does it better than video. The videos from this occasion, which we'll be putting out on a piecemeal basis for our readers, will share some of the good, bad, and ugly from this event.

Gary Stroble, my company's operations manager, marvels at how well I used school to avoid work, and used work to avoid school:

Fellow blogger Mike Reino of SC6 fame, talks about my efforts to fit in with younger college students, using my love for heavy metal:



Britton Pruett, who I'll be helping in her challenge of Clarendon Rep. Cathy Harvin, admits she was never so afraid of someone wearing a plaid shirt (correction - I don't own plaid shirts, but I do have a lot of beach shirts):



Mike Reino breaks the news that Rick Beltram couldn't make it:



Be sure to check back daily as we roll out more clips from the event

Graduation party report

Moncks Corner, South Carolina, was ground zero for a good time today as the Blogland Graduation Party rocked and rolled the packed-to-the-walls Train Depot. Those of you who missed it ... missed a truly great time with great people.

But we're still trying to figure out who invited the riot squad.

While we were disappointed not to see big-time GOP leaders like Rick Beltram and Wade Arnette take time out of their busy schedules to join us, a lot of others did come - from work, academia, family, church ... and of course, plenty of politicos.

We were especially surprised, and appreciative, at the company of those who traveled from the Upstate to join us - longtime SCFRW leader LaDonna Ryggs and her husband Robert from Spartanburg County, our long-time friend Rep. Carl Gullick and GOP National Commmitteeman candidate Glenn McCall (who we support) from York County, and Dan Rushing of TELICS (not a politico-just a swell guy we've worked with a lot over the years on a professional basis).

We did receive an offer from the legendary FITSnews girls to do a strip show. We hated to do this, since we knew Moye was coming with great BBQ from three different counties (really Moye - THANKS!!!), but since there were kids there, we had to turn that one down. Darnit.

Fellow bloggers Mike Reino and Joshua Gross made it. Mike's already sounded off on the event, and Joshua did one as well. The problem with bloggers is that you just can't keep a secret once guys like these show up.

Of course, the event wouldn't have gone down without mom, along with a few aunts and cousins.

The highlight of the event was clearly the roast. Indeed, we were roasted ... after years of dishing it out, an evening of taking it was ... well, better handled after downing a few beers. With Charles Schuster, the leader of the Berkeley County Republican Breakfast Club serving as emcee, it was full of non-stop laughs and some moments that I'll never forget. In a couple of days, we're going to share the video footage of the roast with our viewers, along with memorable quotes, so stay tuned.

Thanks again for all of you who showed up - and those who were invited but didn't show ... your loss.

The Blogland Graduation Party:This Saturday - don't miss it!

We’re having a graduation party to mark the end of graduate school and you, our readers, are invited to come join us. It’ll be this Saturday, at 3pm, near Summerville down here in the Lowcountry.

Even if you’re one of those people who read, but never post, and would like to help us mark the end of this ordeal, drop us an email and let us know you’d like to attend. We’ll give you the lowdown on the location and directions to show you how to get there.

For those of you who miss it, you'll have to settle for photos and small You Tube videos whenever we get around to posting them ... but why settle for rehashed digital photos, when you can be there, live and in person?

Drinks and lots of little edible things will be provided. We’ve even got beer, but it’s a kid-friendly event, so don’t think it’s gonna be one of those wild, drunken things … that was last weekend.

For those of you who don't wanna come out and have a little fun … remember that you’ve gotta fight for your right to party.

John Land to address the Blogland and CofC Graduate Students on May 9

This year’s speaker for the Spring 2008 graduation ceremony for Master’s graduates at the College of Charleston is long-time Senate Democratic Leader John Land. In attendance, as a graduating Master's candidate, is the Blogland’s own Earl Capps.

Believe it or not, this is purely coincidence.

We first met John Land a couple of years back, at the event marking the completion of work on the four-laning of U.S. 521 in Manning. His efforts to prioritize the widening of U.S. 521 from Sumter to the coast have borne considerable fruit, with nearly half that section of the highway widened since 2000. It’ll be a major asset for economic development in that region, not to mention a great help for hurricane evacuation for the booming Georgetown County portion of the Grand Strand.

Agree with the guy or not, he’s survived over three decades of South Carolina politics and come out on top of a lot of scraps and feuds. His wife is passionate about the College and we know he takes her concerns to the General Assembly, and we appreciate that.

While CofC doesn’t have the volume of alumni in the General Assembly that USC and Clemson does, having the Senate Democratic Leader’s wife on the college's board and Glenn McConnell as an active alumni (we talk with him every year at the big graduation week Alumni social) makes a big difference. Until this state gets a Board of Regents system for its colleges to rationalize the allocation of higher ed resources, Senators Land and McConnell go a long way to helping CofC offset the political muscle that backs Clemson and USC.

On May 9th, we promise to behave while he’s speaking, listen politely, and clap with everyone else. So if you want to see him interrupted by yelling, air horns, or the squeal of pigs, don't ask us to do it.

We’ll leave that to the Governor and his cohorts.

The end of the line (I passed)

Even though the title of this Judas Priest album is "Point of Entry, whenever I see this album cover, it seems more like "the end of the line" to me.

It's official - my thesis was reviewed, defended, and accepted. Having successfully defended my thesis, as well as paid $6.50 in library late fines, I'll get to graduate in two weeks.

My eight-and-a-half-year academic journey reached the end of the line, so perhaps it was fitting that I would think of this album today. Perhaps the end of the line, as the album cover says, is just the "Point of Entry" for whatever is to come next.

.... I want to thank my thesis committee members:

• Dr. Amanda Ruth, my graduate program advisor,
• Dr. Vince Benigni, who also supervised my senior project in '04, and
• Dr. Elena Strauman, who (as expected) came up with some of the most insightful comments and recommendations.

Even though he was unable to participate in the thesis committee due to his usual overload of academic duties, thanks also go out to Dr. Robert Westerfelhaus, who has been a true friend and mentor through years of undergraduate and graduate work. He's been a real source of inspiration, a deliverer of torment and pain, and one of the people most responsible for how I've come as far as I have.

Thanks to them, as well as everyone else for the encouragement, patience, and prayers along the way.

The last stop before graduation - defending my thesis

Tomorrow morning (Wednesday), I'll be defending my thesis. This takes place in front of a committee of three, including my advisor. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, here's how it works:

The oral defense ordinarily will not exceed 60 minutes in length. Refreshments of any sort should not be provided by the student to the Thesis Committee.

The Thesis Advisor shall serve as chair of the thesis defense meeting. At the thesis defense, the student should prepare and deliver an opening statement summarizing the most significant findings of the research project. The opening statement should not exceed 10 minutes in length. All members of the Thesis Committee shall have the opportunity to ask questions on any topic relevant to the execution of the thesis project or the student’s program of study.

After approximately 60 minutes, the student will be asked to leave the examination room at the conclusion of the oral defense to allow for faculty discussion of the oral defense. Immediately following this discussion, all Thesis Committee members must cast a “yes” or “no” vote regarding the approval of the thesis. Students do not pass a thesis defense if more than one “no” vote is received.

The student will be notified of the results of the oral defense within 24 hours of the completion of that defense.

Sounds like a lot fun, doesn't it?

By Friday, I'll know if it's all over - just in time for the weekend. If I make it, I'll see y'all at the graduation party in a couple of weeks.

Stay tuned ...

Help a fellow graduate student

For what is probably the very last time, I'm asking my readers to help out a fellow graduate student. Anna-Fiona is working on a project on environmental marketing for a Quantitative Research methods course.

She's got a survey on survey monkey. It takes five to ten minutes to complete, with multiple choice questions. If you've got a little time on your hands, follow the link and help her out:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=DYX9QaKYlEIhItxxV0miTQ_3d_3d

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to help out my fellow students over the last few semesters in response to my appeals for help.

Thesis update: Do you trust your co-workers? Managers?

... as my all-consuming thesis project continues, I've been tabulating survey responses from work crews. The results have produced rather interesting data with regard to how much workers trust one another and management when it comes to priortizing safety in their jobs.

Safety or production: What's important?

The workers were asked to choose to assess the priority given to safety and production - they could say safety was more important, production, or they were roughly equal in priority:

• Nearly 63% of workers said they priortized safety over production, 33% balanced it with productivity, and the remaining four percent prioritized productivity.
  
  
• Just over half of them (53%) felt their co-workers prioritized safety, 13% put production first and 34% balanced the two.
  
  
• Just over half of them (54%) felt management balanced the two interests, almost a third (29%) felt management prioritized production, and the remaining 17% believed management put safety over production.

Compliance with safe work practices

When asked how well to rate their own compliance with safe work practices as "good", "marginal" or "poor", workers again showed a higher level of confidence in themselves than others.

• Roughly 50% of those surveyed believed they had a good level of compliance, and 46% assessed their level of compliance as marginal.
  
  
• None of those surveyed assessed their co-workers had a good level of compliance, 83% believed they had a marginal level of compliance, and the remaining 17% believed their co-workers had a poor level of compliance.

Probably not the kind of stuff you political hacks would find interesting, but for those of you who work in "real" jobs which include hazardous environments, or have employees who work in hazardous conditions, it's certainly something to think about.

For those of y'all who don't know, my job includes HR and Safety administration, so my academic work has some very practical value for my day job.

Cultivation Theory and Political TV advertising

If you're really, really bored on Friday, April 4, come on down to Savannah, where I'll be presenting on a panel at the Southern States Communication Association's annual conference, discussing my research into cultivation theory:

ANALYZING THE POLITICAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS
10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m., Percival Room

“News Media Bias: A Review of Sources and Type”
Robert E. Denton, Jr., Virginia Tech

“Cultivation Effects of Political Television Advertising in Influencing and Persuading Voters”
W. Earl Capps, College of Charleston,
Douglas A. Ferguson, College of Charleston

“An Analysis of Politeness Theory: Instances in Political Debates”
Lance Latham, Creshema Murray, University of Alabama
Carly Timmons-McKenzie, University of Alabama

“Determining Dialogic Spirit and Dialogic Practice: A Communication Perspective on Symbolic Non-violent Action”
Sarah T. McGhee, University of South Florida

RESPONDENT: BARRY P. SMITH, MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN

My last exam

Today (Wednesday) is my final exam of graduate school - a two-hour oral comprehensive exam, with just me and three professors. No study guide, no review notes ... nothing but me, my scrambled wits and my big mouth.

Y'all wish me luck and say a prayer for me.

Class is over

Last night, after nearly eight years of college, was my last night of class as a student. While I seem to have picked up a bit of a bug from somewhere over the weekend, it cleared up enough for me to get to class, where I presented my research findings and wished my friends good luck in their studies.

The only thing left to complete is my thesis, and that's already underway. That should be done by March.

I'm tired, exhausted, worn out ... but in some ways, I'm gonna miss it. I won't lie. My time at the College of Charleston has changed me, pushed me, and helped me be who I could be - once I had the courage to stop holding myself back.

In January 2000, my goal to complete a Bachelor's degree of a yet-to-be-determined major. I just wanted the paper on the wall to qualify me for a better job. Back then, I had no idea I was going to graduate with a long list of honors, much less go on to graduate school.

It's been a long journey, and one that didn't do it all by myself. My thanks go out to all of you who've been a part of this long and arduous journey.

I'm also thankful for having had the opportunity to do more than just work for myself. I've spent a lot of these last few days of school helping other students with their work, and frankly, it's been far more enjoyable to help with their work than do my own.

As a tribute to those long eight years, here's a video of GWAR re-doing the Alice Cooper classic "School's Out":

Don't worry ... plans for a big Blogland graduation party in the spring are already in the works. Stay tuned ....

Academic fruit loops

In academia, one finds a wide range of divergent opinions, but sometimes, one finds some really out-there stuff, including this article in a recent e-digest of Communication Currents:

Fighting the Prison-Industrial Complex with Communication Activism

The United States incarcerates more than 2 million people and monitors another five million persons who are on probation or parole. These numbers represent a ten-fold increase in the prison population over the past 30 years. This historically-unprecedented expansion of the U.S. prison system has taken place with little public conversation and debate. How have Americans come to accept the imprisonment of more than two million as justifiable? How has this happened with so little resistance and discussion?

PCARE (Prison Communication, Activism, Research, and Education), a group of communication scholars and activists, is committed to fighting against the prison-industrial complex by teaching, writing about, and both supporting and participating in activism regarding America’s crisis with crime, violence, and prison. We believe that the drive to incarcerate millions of Americans is a tragic waste of our national resources. For example, California spends more money on its prison system than on its college and university systems combined. While funding for education declines, the state is building 53,000 new prison and jail beds. As a result of this shifting of resources from education to imprisonment, California has more young black men in prison than in college.

Pretty far out-there stuff, ain't it? A few thoughts that occurred to me...

• If we wanted more resistance, then maybe more law-abiding citizens should be fighting back?
  
• Last time I looked, we accepted it because it's better their asses be locked up than allowed to roam the streets ... at least for a few months.
  
• They "believe that the drive to incarcerate millions of Americans is a tragic waste of our national resources" ... as compared to doing what with them? Reducing waiting periods for executions?

Anyone else wanna share some thoughts ...

Shirley Hinson: Thank You & Good Luck

Since Shirley Hinson’s post-Thanksgiving retirement announcement, a number of people in the blogosphere have asked me for my take on things. So, I'll set aside the books, research journals, and academic writing and get it off my chest ...

My involvement with Shirley goes back quite a while. In 2000, I ran the campaign for her opponent in the GOP run-off. Understandably, she and I were not on good terms for several years afterwards. However, she was gracious and when we were on the same side of an issue, we were able to put first things first and work together. I truly appreciate her willingness to do so.

There are some issues that surround her 2000 race. Those who wish to continue to dwell upon those old issues should take note that she supported Jimmy Hinson for the school board last year, and he supported her for the Senate this year. If they can move on, then so should everyone else.

In recent years, her and I were on the same side in a number of efforts and I’ve been grateful for her assistance. This includes my work last fall to oust several members of the Berkeley County school board who had embraced “alternative funding”, and the Lowcountry Graduate Center.

When she saw an open seat in the Senate as an opportunity to take on a new challenge, she may have been surprised to find me among one of her first and most outspoken supporters, but I was proud to do so. The outcome of that campaign may not have been what she deserved, but I was proud to support her in what has turned out to be her final legislative campaign.

Shirley’s new role at the Lowcountry Graduate Center offers her a great new opportunity. As I am the Vice-Chair of the Communication Department’s Alumni Council at the College of Charleston, which relies on the LGC/North Campus to host our undergrad Corporate Communication major and Master of the Arts program, I can tell you firsthand she’s been a great partner.

Shirley’s new role will allow her to be an even greater asset to the LGC, as well as to better serve the needs of the workforce and business community of the Lowcountry. In this new venture, she can again count on my full support, as well as my best wishes and prayers for success.

Graduate school survey on CNN & Fox

A fellow graduate student is doing a survey of news media consumers for her class in Media Management. Bryn is a hard-working student that I have enjoyed working with, so if you could take a few minutes to respond to this survey and email the results to her at bryn_burkard@yahoo.com, I'd greatly appreciate it:

COMM 507: News Survey

1.) Age: ____________

2.) Gender: ____________


3.) Annual Household Income: (Please Select One)
Less than $25,000
$25,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $149,999
$150,000 - $199,999
More than $200,000
Prefer Not to Disclose

4.) Please indicate your Political Party Affiliation (if any). Please Select the Best Option.
Republican
Democrat
Independent
Libertarian
Green
Constitution
Don’t Know/Don’t Care
Not a Registered Voter

5.) Please indicate if you participated/voted in the last General Election: YES NO

6.) Please indicate how likely you are to vote in the upcoming National Election:
(1=definitely will not; 7=definitely will)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7.) Approximately how much time (minutes/day) do you typically spend following National News? _______

8.) How frequently do you obtain news from the following source(s):

Internet News sites Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Newspaper Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Television Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Radio Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Other Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always

9.) Do you watch FOX News, or read FOX News on-line? YES NO

If yes, please indicate how frequently:
Several Times/Day Daily Occasionally (once/week) Rarely (once/month)

10.) Do you associate FOX NEWS with a specific political party affiliation? YES NO

If yes, please indicate the political party: ______________________

On a scale of 1 - 7, how strongly do you associate FOX News with this political party?
(1=weakly; 7=extremely strong)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

11.) Do you watch CNN, or read CNN News on line? YES NO

If yes, please indicate how frequently:
Several Times/Day Daily Occasionally (once/week) Rarely (once/month)

12.) Do you associate CNN with a specific political party affiliation? YES NO

If yes, please indicate the political party: ______________________

On a scale of 1 - 7, how strongly do you associate CNN News with this political party?
(1=weakly; 7=extremely strong)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

All survey responses will be kept confidential. Thanks again for helping her out!

Breaking news/Cultivation update #4

My paper on my recent research on Cultivation Theory , which examined how television advertising influenced the beliefs and behaviors of audiences, was accepted for presentation at an upcoming academic conference:

I'm pleased to inform you that your Political Communication paper has been accepted for presentation at the Southern States Communication Association's 78th Annual Convention in Savannah, Ga. The convention will be held April 2 - 6, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency Savannah.

Registration and attendance is expected for all presenting authors and panelists. For more information about registration, membership, hotel rates, and other convention information, please visit the SSCA Web site at http://ssca.net.

A tentative convention schedule should be available at the upcoming NCA convention.

Thanks for your participation.

We look forward to seeing you in Savannah!

This makes my Monday a rather good day!

Cultivating relationships between risk communicators and news media

For something different, here is an excerpt from a paper I wrote which examined the ability of news media to disseminate messages related to risks and hazards ...

By allowing communication professionals to disseminate their messages to large audiences with a minimum of effort, news media can play a vital and indispensable role in the process of risk and hazard communication. The relatively high levels of credibility of news media, compared to those of communication professionals and corporate executives (Budd, 2000), suggest the presentation of risk communication messages by news media would also add a degree of increased credibility to those messages. While this would suggest there is considerable value in the development and maintenance of close relationships between communicators and those who work in news media, this does not guarantee that those relationships are easy to develop.

The Public Relations Society of America’s National Credibility Index assesses the levels of credibility of various public figures (Budd, 2000). This index showed notable differences in the levels of credibility between key figures in news media and those who may be responsible for communicating messages related to risks or hazards on behalf of corporate or governmental organizations:

Official Rating (out of 100)
Network TV News Anchor 69.2
Local TV/Newspaper reporter 65.8
Head of State Dep’t/Agency 63.1
Head of Local Dep’t/Agency 62.9
Corporate President 61.6
Wall Street Executive 57.9
Public Relations Specialist 47.6

These findings are consistent with research which shows that people will turn to alternative information sources, such as news media, when they do not trust official messages which originate from risk communicators (Fessenden-Raden, et al, 1987; Fischoff, 1987). The need to rely on other parties with higher levels of credibility, such as the news media, is even greater in situations when an organization may already be viewed in a bad light by the public and audiences (Frewer, 2000).

WORKS CITED
Budd, J. (2000). The Incredible Credibility Dilemma. Public Relations Quarterly, 45(3), 22-26.
Fessenden-Raden, J., Fitchen, J., & Heath, J. (1987). Providing Risk Information in Communities: Factors Influencing What Is Heard and Accepted. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 12(3 & 4), 94-101.
Frewer, L. (2000). Risk perception and risk communication about food safety issues. British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin, 25, 31-33.
Lundgren, R., & McMakin, A. (2004). Understanding Risk Communication. In Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental Safety, and Health Risks (pp. 13-28). Columbus, OH: Batelle Press.
Young, S. (1990). Combatting NIMBY with Risk Communication. Public Relations Quarterly.

Risk Communication: Understanding the difference between Hazard and Outrage

An excerpt from a risk communication paper I wrote. Lundgren and McMakin's findings about Hazard and Outrage are considered key fundamental points in this field of research:

One of the challenges faced by risk communication is in how risks are perceived by target audiences. The perception of risk plays a major role in how well, or how poorly, messages which communicate risks and hazards are received by those the messages are intended for. This perception process can produce a wide range of outcomes from risk communication efforts, some of which may not have been intended by those who craft and disseminate those messages.

According to Lundgren and McMakin (2004), one approach to risk communication, known as the Hazard plus Outrage Approach, considers how messages related to risk are perceived. This process defined two separate measures of how risks are perceived and communicated:
Hazard, a technical and objective measure of risk which examined the possibility of the occurrence of a potential hazard, the potential consequences should it occur, how to manage the risk, as well as how to respond to an incident. This measure is primarily determined by experts who are knowledgeable about risks, and
Outrage, a subjective measure of risk which looks at how risks are perceived by those who are, or could be, exposed to them. While this method of assessment can involve factual information which has been presented by risk communicators, it is also influenced by more subjective measures, such as informal communication processes, social networks, and personal and cultural values.

Lundgren and McMakin (2004) believed the consideration of both was key in the effective transmission of messages related to risk communication, and that the larger the difference between hazards being communicated and outrage by the recipients of those messages, the greater the potential for controversy and ineffective communication.

One example of the disconnect between Hazard and Outrage, and its potential consequences, can be found in the examination of a fire-fighting department in the south-western United States by Scott and Tretheway (2005). They found that the perception of risk sometimes nullifies efforts to communicate objective information about the degree of risks faced by firefighters:

As might be expected of an organization situated in a high risk occupation, members often acted on attenuated notions of risk that minimized the dangers of hazards. In their attempts to resolve insecurities, members produced attenuated risk appraisals that were counterproductive to the extent that they enabled modes of risk management that ultimately heightened risks to self (p.19).

WORKS CITED

• Lundgren, R., & McMakin, A. (2004). Understanding Risk Communication. In Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental Safety, and Health Risks (pp. 13-28). Columbus, OH: Batelle Press.
  
• Scott, C., &. Trethewey, A. (2005, October). The Discursive Organization of Risk and Safety: How Firefighters Define and Appraise Occupational Hazards. Presented at the Carolinas Communication Association, University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Risk Communication and the Blogland

One of the new twists in the Blogland that you'll notice is some sharing of my research and related information in the field of risk communication. Risk communication explores how risks are communicated, and how such messages are received and understood by the intended audiences. This can include safety, public safety, hurricanes, and all sorts of risks and hazards.

Risk communication is a branch of the communication discipline which I've become drawn to. Why? Because it has direct applications in my work, and allows me to take my research from academia and use it for the direct benefit of those who work with me in the construction industry.

... and because understanding problems, and working towards solving them, is such a refreshing change from the BS that is commonly associated with the political process.

Risk communication draws from a lot of areas of communication research, including organizational communication, intercultural and interpersonal communication, as well as public relations. It goes beyond the scientific assessment of risks (much of which we already know) and asks how to promote the kind of true understanding which can help to diminish the threats posed by hazards.

In fact, not only have I enjoyed my explorations into this field, but I've gotten some attention for my research and this may be the area which I draw upon for my thesis work. For which I must thank Dr. Amanda Ruth at the college for introducing me to this area in her Risk Communication class from this spring.

Watch for me to share research and findings, both from myself and others, in this field here on this blog. For those of you who may work in hazardous occupations, you are certainly welcome to take my work and apply it to your workplace. I'll have several postings on this and related subject material over the next few Wednesdays, so please stay tuned ...

Back to grad school

This week, the last semester of coursework for my Master's degree begins ... thank God I've made it this far. It's been a long road, and for those around me who've suffered as I've struggled with managing time and stress from my studies, one that has been rough on a lot of people.

Those who've stuck by me, put up with the continual re-shuffling of lunch appointments or evenings or weekends, THANK YOU!!!

But now, for a little fun, the Carl and Alfred Sigmund blog provides us with a list of academic phrases and their definitions to help you understand the mysterious language of science and medicine (special thanks to my advisor, Dr. Robert Westerfelhaus, who forwarded this link to me). These special phrases are also applicable to anyone reading a Ph.D. dissertation or academic paper:

“IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN”…
I didn’t look up the original reference.

“A DEFINITE TREND IS EVIDENT”…
These data are practically meaningless.

“WHILE IT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE DEFINITE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS”…
An unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it published.

“THREE OF THE SAMPLES WERE CHOSEN FOR DETAILED STUDY”…
The other results didn’t make any sense.

“TYPICAL RESULTS ARE SHOWN”…
This is the prettiest graph.

“IN MY EXPERIENCE”…
Once

“IN CASE AFTER CASE”…
Twice

“IN A SERIES OF CASES”…
Thrice

“IT IS BELIEVED THAT”…
I think.

“IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT”…
A couple of others think so, too.

“CORRECT WITHIN AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE”…
Wrong.

“ACCORDING TO STATISTICAL ANALYSIS”…
Rumor has it.

“A STATISTICALLY-ORIENTED PROJECTION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE FINDINGS”…
A wild guess.

“A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF OBTAINABLE DATA”…
Three pages of notes were obliterated when I knocked over a glass of soda.

“IT IS CLEAR THAT MUCH ADDITIONAL WORK WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PHENOMENON OCCURS”…
I don’t understand it.

“AFTER ADDITIONAL STUDY BY MY COLLEAGUES”…
They don’t understand it either.

“THANKS ARE DUE TO JOE BLOTZ FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THE EXPERIMENT AND TO CINDY ADAMS FOR VALUABLE DISCUSSIONS”…
Mr. Blotz did the work and Ms. Adams did me.

“A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT AREA FOR EXPLORATORY STUDY”…
A totally useless topic selected by my committee.

“IT IS HOPED THAT THIS STUDY WILL STIMULATE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN THIS FIELD”…
I quit.