Write Stripes

After having spoken with a fraternity brother, a first-year law student in Cincinnati, I was suprised by the amount of reading he had to do. Most of work came from reading outside of class, rather than writing papers. He told me he was taking a Legal Writing course, but he only had a few, shorter length papers to write. Most of his work, he said, came in the form of in class notes and reading outside of class. He didnt have time to get into greater detail, but he said he would respond to the email questionaire I sent him. The most interesting thing he told me was that he was in the minority of students who went straight from undergraduate to law school.

Some possible topics for our discussion could include education (because we are students- no child left behind from last election), terrorism and the war in Iraq, and divorce rates (lowering by making it harder to get a divorce).

Three current election topics I am interested in are Medicare reform, Education, and Homeland Security.
I don't think enough is being done to ensure fair and affordable medical treatment for every American. Although we just passed a new Medicare reform bill, it is important that the Democrats address this issue in the upcoming election. It is a primary concern of our seniors and the new bill has significant shortcomings.
Secondly, public education in our country is at an unacceptably low state. The No Child Left Behind Act demands that public schools show increases in test scores, but our legislators grant them no money to show these results. When schools fail to meet these new higher standards that will find themselves without the funding the would have otherwise received.
Lastly, Homeland Security is an important topic for discussion. Facing various threats, like chemical, biological, nuclear, and radioactive weapons of mass destruction, the United States must remain aware of these threats and take the necessary steps to prepare for a catastrophic event, should it occur. There is no doubt that we will be attacked again. Our success will depend on our preparation and prevention of such an incidence.

I think three issues that will be important to this campaign are education, homosexual marriage, and health care. South Carolina has always been viewed as a state that did not place much emphasis on education. Since I have lived in South Carolina my whole life, the education issue if very important to me. I also think homosexual marriage will be a key issue, because it is so controversial. Though the candidates who are supporting homosexual marriage will draw the votes of homosexuals, they will risk losing many other voters. Health care, as in every election, will be important. Though there are not many college students who are concerned with health care at this point.

I think three issues that will be important to this campaign are education, homosexual marriage, and health care. South Carolina has always been viewed as a state that did not place much emphasis on education. Since I have lived in South Carolina my whole life, the education issue if very important to me. I also think homosexual marriage will be a key issue, because it is so controversial. Though the canidates who are supporting homosexual marriage will draw the votes of homosexuals, they will risk losing many other voters. Health care, as in every election, will be important. Though there are not many college students who are concerned with health care at this point.

Three election issues that I would like to investigate as a class are the Patriot act, corporate crimes, and the No Child Left Behind Act. I would like to learn more about the Patriot Act, because from my very surface view of it now (I don't know too much about it right now), it seems like it is invovling some serious enfringements on personal liberties, and I would like to study it more in-depth to see if that is actually the case. I am also interesting in corporate crimes because I saw Ralph Nader speak recently, and his speech focused alot on the injustice of what big corporations do, and I would like to learn more about that as well. As for the No Child Left Behind Act, I think superior education is VERY importany for our further development as a society, and I would just like to find out if this act is really doing something to help out our current education system (which needs a big boast).

The three major issues in the upcoming election that I find most interesting are medicare, social security, and the DMCA. Medicare and Social security are important to me because I really feel that out country is getting so indebted to this entitlement system that is hard to defeat because people tend to think of it more as a pension than what it really is -- an entitlement. The effect is that because of this general impression, and because of the disproportionate power of the AARP voter block that the younger poplulation is being saddled will be saddled with further taxes into a "pension system" from which they will never reasonably be able to collect, much the same with Medicare. The only way I see to defeat this is if young professionals stand up and say that they refuse to forfeit their future for the comfort of those who are retiring and failed to plan.

The DMCA is much like the patriot act in that to me it represents a huge challenge to basic civil liberties -- it's vague wording and broad powers has given a tremendous amount of power to those desiring to protect copyrights, but to a point of absurdity, e.g. some interpret this law to mean that it is illegal to open an electronic product, not even to alter or reverse-engineer it. As a campus full of people who stand to gain from enforced copyrights but also enjoy our freedoms the Clemson electorate stands in a unique position to view both sides of the issue.

By reading blogs posted by others on the issues that they are most interested in with regards to the presidential campaign, I would have to say that mine are pretty much along the same lines. I would like to find out where the candidates stand on health care issues, same-sex marriages, and education. All of these topics, most of which were mentioned by everyone else as well, are issues that I prioritize as being important. I also think that the majority of college students, which is our target audience with this assignment, hold strong opinions on these subjects and would like to be educated on the candidates' stances before making their final decision. I have to admit that I am fairly ignorant when it comes to politics, seeing as I was too young to vote the last time around, but I am very interested in researching all aspects of the candidates' agendas, specifically these topics, so that I will be able to make an informed decision.

In the 2004 election, there are several issues that will be a factor in my decision. One is the issue of same-sex marriage. If a candidate opposes it, I oppose that candidate. Simple as that.

An issue I'ld like to look more into is that of health care. Bush has tried to make this one of his strong points with the signing of the recent drug benefit package, but will the weaknesses of the bill be enough to make this issue up for debate?

Another issue is likely to be the voting records of the candidates. While Bush is clear of this one, always being an executive, a clear indication of the character of almost all the Democratic candidates will be how they've voted on bill throughout their career.

Social security should turn out to be another hot button topic. It seems to some that Bush is trying to lead it to disaster, but he has plans to privitize the system. This move is called by some genious, and by others madness. I think we should research the pros and cons and present it in our package, since this issue is vital to all Americans, young and old, healthy and ill.

What surprised me was the aparant evaporation of the job market for computer scientist. Since my sister was 5 years older than me, I was able to interview a few of her friends who have been going from job to job with their B.S.s in computer science, only to have it outsourced overseas. One of them is working at a radioshack after nabbing a degree from Winthrop, and the other happened to be independantly wealthy, gave up, and went to Japan. The only person I got good information from was a current clemson senior who is co-oping.

He said everything I had hoped for. Unless you're in an administrative position, memos and progress reports are fairly rare. The bane of computer scientist (at least myself), the organizational chart, or flow chart, for how a program works is generally not made until after the program is done. In that regard, I am relieved. Now I just have to find out if vast technical writing skills can make procuring a long term job more viable.

In the 2004 election, a few issues I would like find more out about include tax cuts/increases, same-sex marriages, and health care initiatives. Both parties now have and historically have had different ideas about how much taxes and for whom. Same-sex marriage is a more recent issue and probably draws the strongest emotions from the general public. Many of the democratic candidates have made reference to health-care improvement during this campaign and I will be interested to find out exactly how the candidates from both parties stand on this issue.

In the 2004 election, three issues, amongst others, will be important for the candidates to cover. First of all, health care is a concern that has been troubling the United States for many years. Each candidate will need to outline a tentative plan to fix the problems with the current system. Also, the state and future of the economy is a perpetual issue. Candidates will announce their plans for tax cuts and such to improve the economy for all economic brackets in the States. Finally, candidates should focus on the environment since the United States's energy dependence is key in the war on terror. These three issues should be discussed by all candidates and therefore our class should research their plans.

In the 2004 election, three issues, amongst others, will be important for the candidates to cover. First of all, health care is a concern that has been troubling the United States for many years. Each candidate will need to outline a tentative plan to fix the problems with the current system. Also, the state and future of the economy is a perpetual issue. Candidates will announce their plans for tax cuts and such to improve the economy for all economic brackets in the States. Finally, candidates should focus on the environment since the United States's energy dependence is key in the war on terror. These three issues should be discussed by all candidates and therefore our class should research their plans.

After interviewing Dr. Joel Greenstein, a professor at Clemson who has spent numerous years in the work force for sewer systems, BMW, and Michelin as a mechanical and industrial engineer, I thought it was interesting how important technical writing is as an engineer. Dr. Greenstein suggested that the ideas of an engineer are only as good as means by which they are presented. This constraint also forces industrial engineers to be well versed in technical writing. Not only do actual engineers have practical technical writing skills, the professors who teach aspiring industrial engineers also have a decent grasp on the subject. Overall, technical writing is something that industrial engineers already incorporate into their field, but it is still something that can be improved upon.

There are many campaign topics I'm interested in (especially being a poly sci major) but the three that grab my attention most are 1) homosexual marriages, 2) health care, and 3) steroids.... just kidding! (did anyone watch the State of the Union last night?) and 3) the war on Iraq. I believe homosexual marriage is not something to be constitutionally outlawed as President Bush implied last night in his speech. I feel the health care system needs to be revamped to broaden its general coverage and I am opposed to the war on Iraq, not completely, but to the the unilateral action taken by the US.

The most surprising thing I found when interviewing John Marino, the director of a non-profit organization in DC, was that he wished he had taken a journalism class or two while at Clemson. He now finds himself writing multiple columns for Newspapers and Journals in his field and spent much time learning the best process for writing these pieces. John said that communication classes would have helped him immensely in this area, as well as in communicating daily in emails and informal letters with colleagues. A concise mastery of language and the ability to communicate ideas clearly and quickly seem to be skills that are necessary to have.

The three election issues I would like to investigate for the class project are education (primary and secondary, universities and technical colleges), health benefits, and the war on Iraq. These issues are important to me because I am a student with many health issues, and because I would like for the world to be somewhat at peace by the time I have a family of my own.

There are many current election issues that are recently receiving lots of press. I think that one main issue is health care coverage. Health care coverage has become a continuing problem in America that seems only to be getting worse. Cost, access, and quality of care are all issues that must be addressed in order to help solve the current problem. Another issue is education. This issue is especially important to us here at Clemson, due to the budget cuts we have recently been experiencing. Finally, another controversial issue is the current spending on the war in Iraq. Are we spending too much money, or could we be spending the money more wisely? These are hot topics that the candidates have been recently discussing. Overall, I think that the issues of 1)health care, 2)education, and 3)the war in Iraq are key issues throughout this political debate.

I interviewed Dr. Murray Thompson, a pediatrician and general family practitioner. At first, he was very glad that such a project had been assigned, because he feels that many people enter the medical profession without having the proper skills in technical writing. As a doctor, he told me about the many forms of writing he does on a daily basis. His main example was the assesment of patients during their visits. He talked about the difficulties of writing exactly what was wrong with the patient in a concise and easy to understand manner. Dr. Thompson also pointed out the importance of technical writing in referring a patient. He often refers patients to specialists when they have a particular problem. Usually, he then must send his thoughts in the form of "technical writing" to the specialist who the patient is being referred to. Often times he says this can be a difficult task due to the complexity of a patient's condition. For these reasons, Dr. Thompson pointed out that technical writing is a critical step in becoming a doctor, and he suggests that schools should require more out of students when it comes to this.

After watching the state of the union address last night, I would like to research the candidate's stances on gay marriages, the war on iraq (with an emphasis on the patriot act and just what exactly it says), and education. All of these issues are not only interesting, but very hotly argued.

Today, I interviewed Dr. Roy Pargas, the best teacher I have had so far at Clemson. He not only teaches in the computer science department here, but he conducts research. More so for graduate school graduates than for those with just a B.S. in computer science, research is also a viable career future just as much as programming. In direct contrast to what we read in the online articles, Dr. Pargas said that 99.9 percent of the technical writing he does is written NOT for laypeople, but for the computer science professionals, the hard-core nerds. He told me that he often has to write papers for conferences, articles for journals, chapters for books, and proposals for funding.

He feels that tech writing is extremely important, and not emphasized as much as it should be in the computer science departement. His example was if a professional aims to present a new idea to the computing world, and cannot express his idea effectively (through technical writing) to others, no one is going to take him seriously. So technical writing is really a big deal.

I have to be honest and say that I am not well informed on many of the issues that will be debated in the upcoming elections. I do, however, know about the issues that are important to me as an individual. I think these issues concern many young people today and would be worth looking into. The first obvious subject is the war on terrorism. I would like to know the official stance that the candidates are taking for the record. This is important for obvious reasons. The regulation of progressing science also needs to be addressed. I know that currently individual states are allowing stem cell research, but eventually the issue will become a federal concern. I would like to know how the candidates feel about these issues and what the plans are for the future. The last topic is also obvious. I would like to know the plans that each candidate is making for the economy. How do they propose to keep the economy going in the right direction? These three issues are important to me as a youth and are important to the nation as a whole. These issues should be included in our research.

I didn't get to interview Dr. Rick Banks until this afternoon. He is a very busy man and it was rather difficult to find him at a convenient time. I learned many things about being a physician that I was not aware of before I talked to Dr. Banks. The most frequent type of technical writing that he uses on a daily basis is used in the process of diagnosis. He said that the most difficult part of this process is being able to recognize what is important enough to write down for later use. It is just not feasible to write down every detail about every patient so this skill is very important. Dr. Banks said he also uses technical writing in other ways. I was not aware that physicians routinely present data to large groups of people. Banks said that he writes large reports that are very lengthy and then creates powerpoint presentations in order to convey the information in the reports in a condensed fashion. The biggest problem that doctors have is the inability to effectively communicate to one another and the patients. Dr. Banks convinced me that I need to have a strong background in writing because I will need it in the future. I was not expecting this result, but technical writing is applicable to me.

I also watched the State of the Union Address last night and I feel that three election issues I would like to research and write about are: 1) Education 2) Homosexual Marriage 3) Iraqi War Spending. I know that all of the students at Clemson have been burdened by the SC governments cuts in education spending. However, such spending should take priority in SC, as it does in other parts of the country. This topic has a place very close to all of us. A second topic choice is homosexual marriages. I was raised in a household that was both liberal and religious. I was also raised to feel that a person should not be judged based on their sexual orientation. I think that it should be a persons choice as to what they do with their own life and that two people should be able to publicly commit themselves to one another. I think that this topic would be interesting to further explore. Finally, I feel that the Democratic party made a valiant statement about the way the Bush administration has been going about the war in Iraq. While many great things have been accomplished and an international threat has been taken down, it may be time to look at gaining more respect and help from other nations in our war on terrorism.

I interviewed Dr. William Fintel. He is my uncle and an oncologist in Virginia. He is currently writing his third book. His first two books focus on cancer patients and survivors and the spiritual and emotional aspects of their healing, as well as the medical treatment. There are not too many surprises about technical writing in my field. As a little girl, I would go on rounds with my uncle and take very close note of what he did. Dr. Fintel said that most of his day-to-day technical writing involves progress notes for his patients charts and information to help the nurses. He also noted that most of his communication is written, even though verbal communication is important. One surprising thing about writing in my field is that a doctor can be sued for what they do, what they don't do, and for people that they have never even met. The thing that I found most interesting in my interview was that my uncle said after writing a book everything is different. People consider you to be smarter, even though your level of knowledge has not changed. He said that after his first book was published people wanted him to do TV and radio interviews and speak before groups. He said he never realized the influence that authors have, and how much people want to hear things straight from an authors mouth.

After watching the preliminary debates, the Iowa Caucus, and President Bush's State of the Union Address I believe it would be interesting to investigate 1) Homosexual Marriages, 2) Education, and 3) Health Care. Although Clemson is an extremely conservative campus, in retrospect, I believe the current campaign for legalizing gay marriages for tax benefits is stifling. Living so close to Vermont, a state that recognizes gay marriages, I have been surrounded by the issue for years. In a nation where we recognize the freedom of speech, religion, and choice I believe that we are hypocritically shunning gay marriages I believe that religion determines the course in which the government guides the idea of legalizing gay marriage. Secondly, education in America widely varies from state to state. Growing up in New York I was given the opportunity to graduate from one of the most rigorous secondary education systems in the United States. After graduating and moving down to South Carolina for a post-secondary education I was rudely awakened to a "southern" education. Being in a school district where the spent $11,000 on EACH student and rooming with a South Carolinian where her school district spent $900 on EACH student, I was made aware of the disparities that the national government has neglected to attend to. Finally, with Medical School and research in the near future, I am interested in what insurance coverage and payments are going to be, restrictions that will be put on me as a doctor/researcher, and the government's funding for public health. With issues, such as stem cell research, surfacing on the floor of the Capitol, I worry about the limitations the government will put on doctors, researchers and the patients in the near future.

I just conducted my interview with Dr. Cary E. Stroud, a practicing Pediatric Hematologist and Oncologist at Greenville's Children's Hospital, on Tuesday. Dr. Cary E. Stroud, a practicing physician for the past 25 years and the Medical Director of the Pediatric HemOnc Center, was able to comment on the doctor's responsibilities in medicine, administration, and academics. Although I had already covered most of the examples that Dr. Cary E. Stroud presented, he told me that out of all of his manuscripts written for journals, only 25% were accepted as final manuscripts. Out of the 25% published, every single one was returned for editing and Dr. Stroud turned to a technical writer supplied by the hospital to correct syntax, style, and repleted jargon. The most interesting aspect of the interview was when Dr. Stroud pointed out the prevalence of abbreviations in the medical world and how hackneyed the "code" language has become in the day-to-day world, for example DNA and "sed rate." Dr. Stroud also commented on the link between technology and the increase in a need for technical writers. He suggested an increase in writing for your field in undergraduate years, because Medical School does not reinstitute the art of writing in your four short years.

The issues I would like to research and write about for the election guide are (in order) health care access, prescription drug coverage, and education.
1) Access to Health Care: As a current medical professional and a future physician, this issue is of prime importance to me. While there are many premeds in the class, I am the only one in our class who will graduate from medical school while the next president is still in office. Whoever is chosen in the next election will be the president when I graduate in May 2008 and begin my residency. I have seen firsthand the need for better access to health care while working as an EMT and at the Free Medical Clinic in Greenville County. There are way too many people who cannot afford even basic primary health care, and as a result end up in worse shape, causing the government more money in the long run. Also, the emergency departments are being overloaded by patients using it as primary care, which takes away from its original goal and best use, as an emergencies-only facility.
2) Prescription Drug Coverage: My main interest in prescription drug coverage is in prescriptions for children. Again, we can save ourselves and the government a great deal of money in the long run if children are treated adequately and provided the medicines they need as children. By not having access to the prescriptions they need, they end up with further health problems throughout childhood and their adult life. While it is also important to have prescription drug coverage for the elderly, I believe it is more important to focus on the children because they have their entire lives (much longer than the elderly) left to live and are the future of the nation.
3) Education: Having attended a public and a private school in the 48th state in education, I have seen the way education should and should not be. Action needs to be taken to ensure that children get the education they need, no matter what their socioeconomic status is. It is absurd that children such as myself should have to spend more time at school worried about having another desk thrown at them or another gun found in the locker next to theirs than on learning and getting a good education. Every child should be able to receive a good education in this country, but it is not currently happening.

I interviewed Captain Bill Marcley, coordinator of public relations for Greenville County EMS. Bill has been a paramedic for over twenty-five years and is a professor of emergency medicine. We spent the first part of the interview debating whether EMT's and paramedics really did any technical writing. It was his view that they did not, but I convinced him that they do write some, mostly in the form of patient care reports (PCR's). I was surprised, however, by the ongoing disappearance of technical writing in the field. Greenville County EMS recently went to a computerized PCR system, which eliminates a great deal of the technical writing previously done. While many EMS squads use computers for their reports, GCEMS's system is unique in that it prompts responses for everything. Rather than having a large blank space to type in the complete patient report and narrative, it has forced- entry fields for every aspect of the history and exam. The most the EMT's write is a few sentences. Otherwise, it has blanks for all parts of the PCR, including for example, abdominal findings, left lower extremity findings, right lower extremity findings, etc. However, most facilities, including the Clemson Fire/EMS, still use conventional PCR's. Bill sees more and more systems going to the GCEMS approach over time, though, because it decreases risk of leaving out a part of the exam. According to Bill, even administration does very little technical writing (or writing at all) these days thanks to technology. In the past, the administration would have to compile a report (mostly tables and data) of calls for DHEC and the hospitals each month. Now, the computers automatically compile these so all that has to be done at the end of each month is to email them out. Data and reports can be generated in the click of a few buttons rather than having to do an investigative report and write out the findings. Bill is pleased with the decrease in technical writing in EMS because it leaves more time to focus on more important aspects of the job, such as patient care, continued training, and actually reading the data. There is less "paper-pushing" now and the focus is returning to the actual patient care of the job.

Nice job on the interview posts. It sounds like you have the info you need to talk about the writing that is done in your field and discuss the preparation that you will need to do that writing.
For this week's second post, we're going to switch gears. I'd like you each to list three current election issues that you would like to investigate and then write about as part of the large class project (the online voter guide targeted at Clemson students). See you Thursday!

After conducting my interview, I was very surprised by the amount of writing that is often required in my field. In my interview I found out that writing can constitute as much as half of a typical work week for someone working in information systems management. I figured that email correspondence and memos were a necessity, but I was surprised by how often formal writing is used to document ideas, proposals, project plans, and testing. Not only is a lot of writing often required but there are strict formats to follow often. Even testing code involves a written report before and after the testing is done. One of the most interesting things I learned is that the documentation for any particular project proposal is often 40 to 50 pages and can take three weeks to create. I knew that documentation in computer fields was important, but not nearly to such an extent.

I chose to interview one of my best math professors here at Clemson, Dr. Peterson. He teaches senior and graduate level math classes. One thing that surprised me in the interview was about how all mathematical technical writing should not be exactly technical, but instead mostly visual. His exact quote was, "Since the output of my work
can be video game like, writing a report using static illustrations is not very convincing to reviewers!" One thing I think will surprise others about the communication in my profession is that there is more communication than people think. Most people think that mathematicians sit in an office and come up with proofs of equations that students will forever hate them for. However, there is a lot of communication between math professionals, such as the the exchange of information on new technology. The most interesting thing I learned in my interview was that there is more technical writing in my undergraduate program than what I thought. The theoretical math courses have a serious "write a proof" character where the professors really insist on good english and so forth. So in a sense, there is a writing component in most of the senior and grad level math classes. I have written these proofs for a long time and wondered why proper english was so important. Now I know.

I interviewed by aunt, who is a doctor in Virginia. The thing that surprised me the most about the interview was the wide variety and diversity of technical writing that she has to do in a given day. For instance, she said that on a typical day, she writes many patient assessments and other notes on patients that have to be done in medical terminology, and also have to be very brief, but still contain all of the pertinent information. She also does alot of oral presentations on the same topics for her daily conferences, and said that she utilizes power point alot as well for presentations to residents and medical students. That sounds like a pretty diverse range of technical writing in one day for me! I guess the most interesting thing I learned (that other people in this class might find useful as well since there are so many pre-meds) is that patient notes are called "soap notes" by doctors, which stands for Subjective Objective Assessment Plan. Pretty neat, huh?

After conducting my interview of a second year law student, I was surprised to see that most of the writing that law students do is note-taking. Notes from class, texts and supplementary readings are most of the work that a student does. There are only three to four papers a semester and they can be relatively short. I expected there to be several papers a semester and many of them ten or more pages. Also, I learned that even if a student thinks that they are prepared for writing in law school, the first papers are going to take a long time to write even if they are only 4 pages maximum. This is because it is hard to get a lot of analysis and detail into such a small amount of space while still including everything that you need.

For my interview, I interviewed Rebecca Karchmar (MPH, RD, LD). Something that surprised me about my interview with Ms. Karchmar was that I found out that a registered dietitian doesn't really do that much of a variety of daily writing. The writing that registered dietitians do on a day-to-day basis is pretty narrow, including only medical charting in the form of nutritional assessments and correspondence with other health care professionals. Of course, the correspondence with other health care professionals occurs in a variety of forms, but mainly through the use of email and memos. From what I found out in my interview, although writing skills are very important and a big factor in being successful, oral communication is probably 10 times as important because the registered dietitian job is so patient and people oriented. I think that is probably the most interesting thing that I learned from my interview. I had been thinking that registered dietitians did a lot more writing than they actually do, and even though I knew that oral communication skills were important, I don't think that I realized how important they really are at being successful within my field.