Russ Van Natta

Here at CICS, we strive to expand our knowledge and know the happenings in our field on a global level as well as domestic. Something that we should all pay close attention to is the Mobile Congress that is taking place in Barcelona, Spain.

The Mobile Congress is currently meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Exhibitors from around the globe have convened in order to showcase new app stores and operating platforms. This convention seems to be a great opportunity for ICT managers to expand their arsenals, and improve/update their systems.

However, some critique the event as having too many choices. Fritz Nelson of Information Week says, “Make no mistake: The platform wars will rage for years, and the corporate IT manager could suffer the casualties. Not only must IT choose a platform its user base will be happy with, and that it can adequately support and manage (securely), but it must also choose based on the company's overall mobile strategy” (Nelson, 2010).

Fritz explains that while having a diverse spectrum of choices is helpful for a company’s mobile strategy, its current state is too vast.

Other interesting news coming out of the Mobile Congress is the shift in trends amongst smart phones. Research in Motion is the company that has developed the BlackBerry and it is currently the consumer’s choice (61% deployment in corporate settings); however application developers are shifting their efforts more towards the iPhone (27% deployment in corporate settings). Executives in RIM attribute this to Apple’s easy to use development kit for apps, as well as apps serving as more of a hobby than all business tools.

Check out more information on the Mobile Congress via YouTube!

BlackBerry

Dell Mini

More YouTube Videos on Mobile Congress 2010

Source Links:

Information Week

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 10:16 AM | Permalink

Here I am sitting in my office reading the New York Times Business Section, and what do I find? Google has announced on its corporate blog that they will begin building and testing a fiber optic broadband network. The blog also said that Google will potentially make the network available to some 500,000 people.

“Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone,” two Google product managers, Minnie Ingersoll and James Kelly, wrote in the blog post.

And if you know anything about Google, this will be no simple network, Google is already coming up with applications that will become available on the networking including Hi-Def Movie Downloads, and 3-D Medical Images.

With this very aggressive move, Google is once again repositioning itself to be a Telecommunications GIANT! With Applications like G-mail, Google Wave, Google Maps, Google Voice, Google Docs, Google Books, among others, this Google Fiber Network on top if its new Android Phone will once again put them in a very powerful position.

See Google's Corporate Blog

See this article in the NY Times

Other Google Apps

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 02:16 PM | Permalink

Here's what I've been looking into for my CICS International Regulatory Class this week: Australia's Broadband Plan, and more specifically their new fiber optic backbone.

Australia is currently revamping their national backbone with fiber optics. According to an article in The Australian, the plan is to start laying fiber in rural areas first to help overcome local carrier issues. This is no small undertaking for the country however. The entire project is looking to spend $31 Billion on its national network, laying over 3728 miles of fiber.

National authorities hope to increase competition among local carriers and lower costs nationwide once the backbone is in place. Construction is expected to be completed within 18 months, a major feat considering the harsh desert elements over which much of the lines must be laid.

Officials expect 400,000 people to gain access to high-speed internet, and over 1,000 full time jobs to be created with the project.

This move to significantly increase the power of the backbone to the rural areas is not necessarily a surprise given Australia’s stance on technological improvements. Australia is a fairly progressive member in the International Telecommunications Union. They are considered to consistently support the expansion of ITU’s roles when it comes to increasing technological advancements to developing countries.

Australia hopes to lessen the large margin of prosperity between its urban and rural areas by starting with rural areas first. It will be interesting to see how the newly formed backbone will bring support and development to small/medium businesses.

MORE INFORMATION ON AUSTRALIA'S BROADBAND AND BACKBONE:

RELATED ARTICLES IN:

The Australian

Benton Foundation

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Congress has requested that the FCC develop a National Broadband Plan as part of last year’s economic stimulus packages. However, the FCC is having problems meeting its deadline. “The Federal Communications Commission recently told Congress that it will miss a February deadline for delivering a "national broadband plan" and requested a one-month extension. If it keeps missing deadlines, nearly everyone in the U.S. might soon have high-speed Internet” (Wall Street Journal, 2010).

Many believed that a National Broadband Plan would be a vital stimulation to our economy. However, this was due to the belief that the growth of broadband was slowing throughout the country. Surveys and new data shows that this is not the case in fact. “Between 2000 and 2008, residential broadband subscribers grew to 80 million from five million, according to a study by Bret Swanson of Entropy Economics. Broadband penetration among active Internet users at home is 94%, and nearly 99% of U.S. workers connect to the Internet with broadband” (Wall Street Journal, np).

With such growth and progress due to the private sector, is a national plan really necessary. The question must be asked: Is a government controlled Internet really going to be more successful than one driven by the market?

There is another side to the coin though. Better security and creation of jobs are two major benefits of a National Broadband plan. “The National Broadband Plan that the Federal Communications Commission is readying for Congress could include programs to ensure greater reliability and visibility into IP networks on which the nation’s public safety agencies increasingly depend, the chief of the FCC’s Communications Systems Analysis Division said Tuesday” (Jackson, 2010).

We all need to watch carefully how the FCC plans to develop and implement a nation wide broadband plan. This will have a major impact on information and communication technology professionals.

Check out CSPAN's discussion on YouTube!

Works Cited

Editor. (2010, January 20). A National Broadband Plan: One more solution in search of a problem. The New York Times , p. OpEd.

Jackson, W. (2010, January 19). Will FCC's National Broadband Plan address reliability? Retrieved January 25, 2010, from Federal Computer Week: http://benton.org/outgoingframe/31460?utm_campaign=Benton%27s+Headlines&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2010/01/21/nid-31481&

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 09:26 AM | Permalink

Over the past month, more and more issues are arising between two giants: Google and China. Between cyber attacks and censorship issues, these two just can’t seem to find a happy balance. When Google first moved into the Chinese search engine market, it seemed like they had the world on a string. However, now it seems that Google will be following the same path as Yahoo did…an expensive one.

“Google entered China in 2006, agreeing to enforce Chinese government censorship by filtering out material on the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Human Rights Watch, the Dalai Lama and other topics deemed taboo by Beijing censors” (Dickson, np). Now however, Google is refusing to censor its search results, and that is causing a lot of tension between the two groups. "‘We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results’…the company's chief legal officer, David Drummond, said. ‘We recognize this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn and, potentially, our offices in China’" (Dickson, np).

Google’s possible decision to leave China leaves many Chinese nationals worried, particularly the nations younger and highly educated demographics. Small business owners and college students voiced their concerns of ‘How will I live without Google?’ to New York Times reporter Sharon LaFraniere.

“China’s Communist leaders have long tried to balance their desire for a thriving Internet and the economic growth it promotes with their demands for political control. The alarm over Google among Beijing’s younger, better-educated and more Internet savvy citizens — China’s future elite — shows how wobbly that balancing act can be” (LaFraniere, A12).

It is yet to be seen what the future holds for Google and China. If Google decides to leave, it will have strong repercussions financially with all that has been invested. In addition, Chinese citizens that use Google (30% of Chinese Internet users) will start to strongly question their government’s regulation. “Google may rank a distant second to the Baidu search engine, but its estimated 80 million users are comparatively better educated and wealthier. Surveys show that roughly two-thirds are college educated” (LaFraniere, A12).

Watch this YouTube clip for more info!

Works Cited

Dickson, D. M. (2010, January 25). Google weighs leaving China. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from The Washington Times: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/25/google-weighs-leaving-china/

LaFraniere, S. (2010, January 17). China at Odds With Future in Internet Fight. The New York Times , pp. A-12.

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 09:24 AM | Permalink

Throughout the semester Dr. Gillette has taught us that information is wealth. We signify this by giving a penny to someone who teaches us things. Here is a list of major things that I have learned throughout the semester and the pennies that are owed because of them.

The following is a list of pennies owed to Dr. Gillette, and are key teachings that I have taken from each week:

A bas le Roi!

Chief goal of technical writing: clarity
Chief goal of creative writing: entertainment

None of us is as smart as all of us!

A bad manager says that nothing gets done unless they do it. The manager is in charge of training their employees
• Workers job to do the work
• Managers job is to manage the work

If you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it.

Amateurs talk about strategy, Professionals talk about logistics.

“I don’t think you can be unbiased all the time, but you can be fair.” - Gillettism

No such thing as good writing, only good re-writing.

Pedantic ~ someone who parades/shows off their knowledge annoyingly

Define your terms
• Finis in Latin means to finish; boundary; end
• In in Latin means in;
• Define means set limits to meanings to enhance understanding

3 Enemies That Rise on the Path of Mastery: (Jay Gillette)
• Fear
• Complacency
• Arrogance
(They will come back at various periods of your life)

A way to build energy in a room is to host a meeting in a room that’s too small.

5 O’clock News Test ~ Sure it may not be illegal but how would it look if it ran on the news?

Anti-Diarrheal medicine is a MUST HAVE for international trips!

Undergraduate → asks What and How
Graduate → asks Why

Gillette’s Essential teachings:
• Analyze the Problems
• Synthesize the Solutions
• Add knowledge value
• Differentiate through leadership

“The army will advance 100 paces to the rear” – re-framing order from the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo.

If you would like to owe Dr. Gillette some pennies visit his blog.

Other great resources to owe people pennies:

Tom Peters Blog
Harvard Business Review
CICS
CICS Blogs
New York Times Business Section
Engadget
Wikipedia (maybe just half a penny until you verify the sources)
Google (probably 2 or 3 pennies)
Benton's Headlines

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 02:28 PM | Permalink

For our informal exercise in ICS 602, Human Communication, from Ball State's CICS program, we were required to compose a list of our Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes related to those skills.

My knowledge of Communication leads to Interpersonal Skills. This allows me to successfully work with groups.

My knowledge of Persuasion leads to my Sales Skills. This is vital when trying to make successful recommendations for my business and my clients.

My knowledge of Technology has led to my Problem Solving skills (with regards to technology). This allows me to make educated solutions for my professional career.

My knowledge of Group Performance leads to my Project Management Skills. This is an endlessly useful skill to have when enhancing your workplace productivity.

My knowledge of thought organization leads to my strong Writing Skills. This is a must have skill set to be successful in almost any field.

My knowledge of efficiency leads to my Productivity Skills. This allows me to increase the success of my endeavors and my future employers' endeavors.

My knowledge in Organization Communication leads to my Training/Consulting Skills. This is for the betterment of my subordinates.

I also have knowledge in Human Emotional Responses. This leads me to have a strong skill set in Conflict Resolution.

Also I have worked on expanding my knowledge of business trends in order to enhance my marketing skills.

Resources I use to enhance my knowledge and skill sets:

The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
Benton's Headlines
CNN.com
CICS Blogs

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 11:08 AM | Permalink

Last Night in our CICS class ICS 602 in the lovely David Letterman Building on Ball State's Campus, we discussed several "Characteristics of a Master."

Here is my personal list of what the Characteristics of a Master are:

A Master is scrupulous

A Master is diligent

A Master is insightful

A Master is coordinated

A Master is confident

A Master is revolutionary

A Master is dynamic

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 08:44 AM | Permalink

I've decided to publish our informal assignments for ICS 602 as blogs. While they are informal, I think it is still appropriate to have them out there for the betterment of my fellow CICS Masters Candidates at Ball State.

Our first Informal Assignment was to evaluate our note taking abilities and here is what I wrote on that first day of class:

"I feel that I am a Competent Note Taker, I feel that I get enough of the information to successfully review the information, but the nuances and extremely detailed information can get lost. I give myself a 'C'. "

Note Taking can be broken down as follows:

Note comes from the Latin nota or notare which means to mark.

Taking comes from Old English tacan which means to capture. Tacan comes from Old Norse taka which means to grasp, lay hold of.

Combining the origins of these words we can infer that Note Taking means to mark that which we grasp (or understand).

After having spent an entire semester working to improve my note taking abilities I have come up with the following qualities of good notetaking:

Write MORE than just the basic information
Keep track of any quotes given (this leads to a nice understanding of details later on)
Clarify with others if you don't understand
Share notes with others in order to enhance both parties notes
Constantly document what is being said AKA write ALL the time

Attention to detail is the essence of note taking. Anyone can remember the basics off the top of their head, but the attention to details are what really bring you to the next level of strong note taking.

Having evaluated my progress over the semester, I would say that I have moved from an Adequate note taker to a Good note taker, so I would give myself a B.

Here are some helpful links and software solutions to improve note taking:

University of Cornell Mini Lecture

Professor Cole at UT Arlington

GSNotes

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 08:10 AM | Permalink

In today's society it is easy to be overwhelmed by the masses of information that have become available via the internet and 24-hour News Stations. We as individuals are merely rowboats drifting in the sea of information on any plausible idea.

The most interesting aspect however is that we create the sea in which we are afloat.

While there are obvious benefits to the Internet's resources like:
WebMD
Google
MapQuest
CNET.com

These are just an infantile sampling of the resources available, however there are two sides to every coin.

What about the harmful hate websites, misquoted/sloppy journalism, inaccurate postings, and morally questionable sites that are out there too?

What sort of impact are these aspects of the Internet going to have on our future generations. Even the sites that try to promote positive ideas, can have adverse affects on future learners.

For example, I am a COMM 210 Graduate Teaching Assistant here at Ball State. I work with students everyday for this Intro to Public Speaking/Fundamentals of Communication class. My students are required to give several informative speeches and must research and share sources with the class in their speeches. I would say that as they have become more accustomed to using the Internet as their primary source of research and less concerned with the library, actual books, and periodicals, quality of research has somewhat declined.

When the first choice off of a Google or Yahoo search is the first source a student goes with, without regard for the credibility or validity of the site, there is a serious error occurring.

This great resource that has jump started the Information Renaissance, is something that needs to be taught carefully. As one superhero has so aptly said, "With great power, comes great responsibility."

So yes, embrace this wondrous tool. But remember, that it is not one stop shopping for academic purposes.

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 03:07 PM | Permalink

This is a re-writing of a previous blog that got lost in transfer from one server to another. It’s orginial date published was 11/23/09 and it was over the group work that my group (Group 5 Mondays) did on our case study paper for HFI.

Today my group worked on our case study on DCC platforms for HFI. We met on Ball State’s Campus, at Bracken Library from 3:30 to 7:00. During this work session we were able to successfully merge and review our research on 6 platforms for Distributed Collaborative Communities.

We looked at the following areas:

Blogger
Word Press
Groove Networks
SharePoint
Movable Type
Blog Formatt
Google Wave

I have really enjoyed working on this project, we have a top notch team and a KILLER group theory on Human Communication.

Ultimately we are recommending that CICS’s Human Factors Institute stay with Movable Type, but that they do upgrade it to the current software.

Other aspects that we talked about was the incorporation of microblogging (Twitter, Facebook Status, Google Chat Away Messages, etc.)

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 07:54 AM | Permalink

In today’s global community it is easy to see how intricate and complex our communication has become. While technologies have encouraged global communication, they have still added another piece to the puzzle for us to consider. We also have to consider the levels of communication and how they affect the process. In addition, the vast social complexities need to be taken into account as well. These three concepts are all interwoven to make human communication what we know it as today. Let us first examine the levels of communication.

LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Intrapersonal Communication – self-talk, or the recognition of your own feelings.
2. Interpersonal Communication – dyadic communication between two people.
3. Group Communication – generally refers to three or more people, working together with a common interest
4. Public Communication – centered on a single person communicating with an audience.
5. Mass-mediated Communication – similar to public communication, yet it involves broadcasting technology
(Nitcavic, 2009, pg. )

“All five of these levels share a common process: a source attempting to influence a receiver through the creation of appropriate messages” (Nitcavic, 1999, pg. ). How do we create these “appropriate messages?” That is based on our perceptions and the use of technology.

SOCIAL COMPLEXITIES OF COMMUNICATION

With our global community widening every day through technological advances. It is imperative that individuals recognize the different experiences, expectations, considerations, and perceptions that others from around the world and down the street bring to the table. Social perceptions are perhaps the single greatest driving force behind today’s communication’s complexity! People’s perceptions of right and wrong, appropriate vs. inappropriate, etc. are all based upon their experiences; and senders/receivers alike bring them into every interaction they have. We see technical definitions of this phenomena in Nitcavic’s book when he talks about the belief-attitude-value (BAV) system. This concept, in short, discusses how an attitude is a person’s emotional reaction to an idea, object, etc. The way a person feels about something determines the way they act towards it. A belief is something that a person believes to be a fact or statement about reality. Attitudes form beliefs, and beliefs define our values (Nitcavic, 2009, pg. ).

A more real world example of social complexities was observed by CICS Masters Candidate, Kream Panasoot, in her blog “Living in a Different World.” Kream writes, “Rais[ed] from the unique background of Thai culture, I , my sister, and cousin found many differences and conflicts between American and Thai societ[ies]. International students need to learn cross-cultural adaptation as soon as possible to survive” (Panasoot, 2009).

While this statement is true, it also applies to the domestic students too, if they are to survive expanding worldwide communications. We must take on Tom Peter’s approach to revolutionize and thrive on chaos when he talks about new ideas. “It challenges everything we thought we knew about managing, and often challenges over a hundred years of American tradition” (Peters, 1987, pg. ). The idea of not focusing on ourselves’ but others’ social complexity is a major part of creating total customer responsiveness.

TECHNICAL COMPLEXITIES OF COMMUNICATION

The technical complexities of communication have become staples in our communication today. Web 2.0 is a perfect example of the blend of these two ideas. Tim O’Reilly writes about Web 2.0 saying, “One of the most highly touted features of the Web 2.0 era is the rise of blogging” (O’Reilly, 2005). Through this new era of technology we can learn even more about communication technologies, as I did from CICS Masters Candidate, Matt Drummond. He discussed a brand new communication community being developed by Google called Google Wave. “A wave is, in its [most] simple form, a real-time conversation among any number of participants” (Drummond, 2009). Google Wave includes: “Documents (word processor, spreadsheet, slide show presentation, and forms developer), Chat (both text and voice/video), SMS texting, and Calendar to name a few” (Drummond, 2009). (Read this blog)

Our Littlejohn text also describes the importance of technology and its compexities in communication when it discusses Classical Medium Theory. It says, “Marshal McLuhan is probably best known for calling our attention to the importance of media as media…Television affects you regardless of what you watch. The Internet affects you regardless of what sites people visit” (Littlejohn, 2008, pg. ).

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 11:13 AM | Permalink

It is hard to imagine where we would be today if the European Renaissance had never occurred. This movement was literally an intellectual revolution. It makes sense that we look into this topic closely for our Human Communication ICS 602 class. The minds responsible for bringing about this change definitely embraced the concept of thriving on chaos.

According to my dictionary, Renaissance is defined as “the revival of art and literature under the influence of classic models in the 14th-16th centuries…a revival of or renewed interest in something.” It goes on to give the etymology of the word which is “from French renaissance, from re-‘back, again’ + naissance ‘birth’ (from Latin nascentia, from nasci ‘be born’).

You have probably heard of the major players in the Renaissance (especially if you were a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan). Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello were all influential artists, sculptors, inventors, and men with strong political influence.

A textbook that covers the Renaissance well I think is Humanities in Western Tradition, by Marvin Perry, J. Wayne Baker, and Pamela Pfiefer Hollinger. It says,

“The Renaissance revived classical learning in a way that broke with the medieval Christian outlook. Though not anti-Christian, Renaissance individuals embraced the possibilities of this life rather than focusing on the hereafter. Further, instead of renouncing earthly endeavors for contemplation of God, these elites cultivated personal excellence, sought the recognition of their achievements, and explored their own personalities. This individualism was expressed through mastery of the classics. Like the thinkers of the Twelfth-Century Awakening, Renaissance scholars valued classical learning. However, unlike their medieval precursors, these scholars delved more deeply into classical texts and appreciated them for their own sake. Renaissance scholars assumed that classical authors could teach them much about life, civic duty, and graceful self-expression. However, these thinkers, unlike their medieval forebears, did not take the classics as timeless wisdom, but studied them critically in their historical context.” (Perry, Chapter 13)

I think that with this outlook, we as Grad Students are undertaking our own personal renaissance through our growth and exploration in CICS. We apply the same attitude and fervor to learning, otherwise we would not be here.

Helpful Links on understanding the general aspects of the Renaissance:

Humanities in Western Tradition
Wikipedia

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 02:27 PM | Permalink

“There is much difference between imitating a man and counterfeiting him.”
-Benjamin Franklin

In today’s academic society, there is never a lack of talk about plagiarism. Is this because plagiarism is on the rise, or that as Academics we are concerned about our intellectual property? I think that it is a combination of the two

I hypothesize that plagiarism is on the rise at the High School and Undergraduate Level. However, I do not believe that the majority of the occurrences are malicious. I think that in many instances it occurs out of ignorance of what plagiarism is.

While we do not excuse this behavior I do think that it raises a valuable question: What are we doing to increase knowledge on plagiarism at the lower levels of schooling?

I think that this is a topic that is not sufficiently covered at the High School level, and then trickles into Undergraduate level.

Colleges and Universities across the country have policies regarding Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism, but these policies are rarely shared with students beyond mentioning it in the class syllabus.

Perhaps these policies, being as important as they are, be directly taught to incoming freshmen in the orientation programs?

Here are some resources for you to be able to inform yourselves on what plagiarism is (beyond just not citing a source in a paper) AND ways to check against inadvertent plagiarism:

Plagiarism.org
Wikipedia ~ Plagiarism
Ball State’s Academic Policies
Quotes on Plagiarism

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 10:37 AM | Permalink

We all know that life only travels in the fast lane here at CICS. With this fast paced work environment, comes a lot of benefits like:

Great Experience
Self Discovery
Improved Work Skills
Having a CICS Master’s Degree

However, there are two sides to the coin. There are also some negative affects that need to be addressed like:

Stress, Stress, and more Stress

BUT, you do not have to let this stress get the upper hand! Stress can be a powerful motivator, and is good in small amounts. It is the excess of stress that can be detrimental to your physical and mental health.

What can we do to deal with the excess?

Having a regular workout program can go a long way in dealing with this! I’m not saying training for an Iron Man Competition or even the Mini Marathon (though if you can do either of them, I’ve got a lot of respect for you, because its better than most).

Your workout regiment should include at least 20 minutes of Cardiovascular/Arobic exercise. This is ideal for a healthy heart. You should also work out at least 3 days a week. This means that the minimum you need to do is an hour a week. The hardest part is setting up the routine not the workout itself.

Here are some basic guidelines depending on your goals:

20 Min. Cardio, 3X a week ~ Stress Management
40 – 60 Min. Cardio 3X a week ~ Stress Management and Mild Weight Loss
40 – 60 Min. Cardio & Light Weights 3X a week ~ Stress Management, Weight Loss, Body Toning
40 – 60 Min. Cardio, Heavy Weights 3X a week ~ Stress Management, Muscle Building.

You can see that the constants in all of these workout regiments are cardiovascular exercise and stress management. Working out not only helps you fight of stress, but it bolsters your immune system to help you keep from getting sick; and it also is a great way to stay fit or get fit.

So try it out, you’ve got nothing to lose (except stress)!

Helpful Websites:
Men's Health
Women's Health

Posted by Russell Van Natta at 11:18 AM | Permalink