Thursday, March 29, 2012
What I’m doing to prevent Alzheimer’s
This essay is not designed to be self-serving, egotistical, or self-absorbed, but if you read it that way, that’s okay. More than anything, if you take away from this essay some things you can do to help ward off or prevent Alzheimer’s disease, then it has served its purpose.
Let me set the stage for what you’re about to read. I am reading the book, 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s: And Age-Related Memory Loss (Little, Brown, 2010). In this excellent, well-researched book by medical journalist Jean Carper, she spends about one or two pages on each of the 100 items, so reading the book moves very fast.
The only reason I am making an essay out of this information is that I feel this is a must-read book for everyone — everyone! Why? Because it is precisely the material in this book that contributes to good health (vigor, strength, and wellness), a healthy lifestyle, and healthful living.
One other thing about making an essay out of this information. Seldom do you find a book that reinforces most of the things you do or have chosen to do in your life. For me, this one did.
I am simply going to go through her suggestions and mention only those that apply to me. After all, it’s my essay — my choices! For example, “Get smart about alcohol” is her first suggestion, and having just one beer a day for medicinal reasons satisfies that suggestion. (I’ve never been drunk in my life!)
Eat antioxidant-rich foods. The ones I enjoy are raisins, blueberries, artichokes, garlic, strawberries, dates, cherries, figs, apples with peel, pears with peel, sweet potatoes, broccoli florets, oranges, red grapes, and spinach.
Beware of bad fats by avoiding fatty meats, eating fat-free dairy products, cheese, and ice cream, trimming skin from poultry, and avoiding processed foods such as chips, doughnuts, cookies, crackers, stick margarine, solid baking fats, and salad oils. Also, I avoid deep-fried foods.
Keep your balance. I checked it this morning just to make sure I could follow Marilyn Moffat’s, (Ph.D. and a professor of physical therapy at New York University) directive: “stand on one foot, [arms across your chest] eyes open for at least 30 seconds.” I had no trouble doing it using either foot for a full minute and could have easily continued much longer.
Carper says you can grow a bigger brain (to help you survive Alzheimer’s damage) by avoiding a lifestyle and activities “that shrink your brain — those that may lead to excessive alcohol, stress, overweight, nutritional deficiencies, and loss of sleep” (p. 48).
I keep my blood pressure down by cutting salt intake, following the DASH diet [grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, nuts, legumes and seeds], exercising, avoiding all sugary soft drinks, and taking appropriate blood-pressure-lowering drugs.
I am, indeed, a busy body. I keep my foot jiggling and my fingers fidgeting. I use the stairs whenever I can, and I move my muscles whenever and wherever. When I’m sitting at the computer (or even on the toilet), I strengthen my upper-body muscles by moving one shoulder forward and then the other — over and over.
Carper writes, “If you feel comfortable with high doses of caffeine, you may want to consider getting 400 or 500 mg a day to help ward off memory loss and Alzheimer’s” (p. 57). I have never suffered any caffeine drawbacks “such as anxiety, jitters, insomnia, headaches, and increased blood pressure” (p. 58). I have said yes to a “moderate daily intake of coffee” (p. 75).
I treat myself to chocolate, control bad cholesterol (through appropriate cholesterol lowering drugs), and, by “being responsible, honest, and hardworking” (p. 81), I “buck up [my] resistance to Alzheimer’s” (p. 81), and demonstrate my conscientiousness. “Being disciplined and responsible,” claims Carper, “lessens Alzheimer’s risk” (p. 80).
I control diabetes (I don’t have it!), but I keep my blood sugar levels low, and “Critically important are,” writes Carper, “a low-saturated fat, low-sugar diet, regular exercise, and keeping [my] weight normal” (p. 94). In addition, I try to be easygoing and upbeat, avoid environmental toxins (to the extent that I can), enjoy exercise (“It’s like Miracle-Gro for aging brain cells,” writes Carper), socialize regularly (I am an extrovert!), have my eyes checked regularly, avoid all fast foods, eat fatty fish regularly, surf the Internet constantly, guard against head injuries, avoid inactivity, try to keep infections away, fight inflamation, and find good information (how I discovered this book!), have an interesting job (looked forward to writing all my life!), drink juice every day, and have never been lonely.
There are two suggestions that Carper makes where I absolutely excel. The first is to “Learn to Love Language.” She says, “Linguistic skills build bigger, smarter, stronger brains” (p. 168). The second suggestion where I excel is “Build ‘Cognitive Reserve’” (p. 77). Carper says that you should “Fill up your brain with lots of fascinating stuff” (p. 77). If you “Keep your brain busy throughout your life,” Carper writes, “having greater cognitive reserve may enable you to cope with the damage [of Alzheimer’s pathology], postponing the real tragedy of Alzheimer’s . . .” (P. 79).
Other things I have done which conform to Carper’s suggestions include embracing marriage (“Staying coupled makes your brain happier,” she writes.), knowing the dangers of meat, following the Mediterranean diet [green leafy vegetables, fish, fruits, nuts, legumes, and a little vino — I drink no wine], keeping mentally active, taking multivitamins, building strong muscles, taking nature hikes, doing new things, getting enough niacin, taking one baby-aspirin a day, having nuts, avoiding obesity, using olive oil, having a purpose in life, getting a good night’s sleep, avoiding smoking, having a big social circle, loving spinach, using statins, dealing with stress, cutting down on sugar, taking care of my teeth, watching my weight, and walking whenever I can.
I know this is a lot, but you get an idea of 1) what this wonderful book is all about, 2) what you can do to help prevent Alzheimer’s, and 3) how simple, straightforward, and practical Carper’s book is. What writing this essay did for me was underscore my lifestyle, reinforce my wellness, and fortify the choices I have made thus far. Although I could still get Alzheimer’s, I think my chances are less just because of all of the above.
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At Helpguide.org there is a thorough, practical, and informative essay, “Alzheimer’s Treatment and Prevention: How to Prevent or Slow Alzheimer’s Disease” (April, 2009), by Melissa Wayne MA, Jeanne Segal PhD, and Robert Segal MA. The suggestions offered in this essay include exercise, good diet, build brain reserves, sufficient sleep, relaxation, management of stress, and protecting your brain.
4 Mind 4 Life: Good Health Tips, “30 Ways To Prevent Alzheimers Disease,” offers short, practical methods that echo most of those in Carper’s book. The discussions are short, and the essay is easy-to-read and easy-to-digest.
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Copyright March, 2012, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Resolving conflicts: Essential elements
by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
It came as a surprise, but once I digested the request, it was understandable. Several of the reviewer-critic-users of the ninth edition of my textbook, Communicating Effectively (McGraw-Hill, 2009) said that their students wanted more on resolving conflicts in the next edition. I thought about the request and how best to respond to it.
How to deal with conflict was included in several chapters of the ninth edition. I discussed it under the topic “Evaluating and Improving Relationships,” in “Small-group Leadership,” and in my chapter, “Communicating Professionally.” After a great deal of thought, because it is not a small decision when you decide to change the order of chapters or add a new chapter to a well-received, heavily-used, popular college textbook, I decided to add a new chapter to the tenth edition titled, “Conflict Management.” This would synthesize and unify my overall approach by drawing together all of the scattered elements.
Even the placement of the new chapter was important since it contained elements that had been part of three different chapters in the previous edition. Once again, after a great deal of thought, I decided to make it the eighth chapter in the book just after discussing “Evaluating and Improving Relationships,” and before discussing professional and small-group communication in the next part of the book.
Also, in trying to satisfy the requests of my reviewer-critic-users, I had to decide what were the essential elements to be contained in the new chapter. That is, how could I best supply exactly what my freshmen and sophomore readers wanted and needed.
One of the biggest challenges I have faced during my 35+ years of writing college textbooks is trying to satisfy my multiple audiences. The first audience, of course, is always my editors and their judgment of what works and what doesn’t. The second audience is my adopters — those teachers, instructors, and professors (my colleagues) — who must decide whether or not they want to teach from the book (whether or not they want their students to learn the material in the book). The third audience is the students themselves. For the most part, this is a silent audience, because I don’t hear directly from them at all. Their wants, needs, wishes, and desires are filtered through the reviewer-critic-users’ heads; however, if I don’t satisfy them (as determined, of course, by the adopters), I don’t sell books. You can see the challenge.
My goal was to give students tools to use when they faced conflicts; thus, on the second page of text in the new chapter on “Conflict Management,” I placed a marginal box, “Six Steps for Resolving Conflicts,” which listed them: 1) Cool off. 2) Tell what’s bothering you using owned messages. [This means taking responsibility for what is bothering you rather than blaming the other person. It is thoroughly explained earlier in the book.] 3) Restate what you heard the other person say. [This helps avoid misunderstandings and makes certain that a conflict doesn’t occur just because one partner did not correctly hear what the other said.]
There are three additional steps as well. 4) Take responsibility. [You could say something like, “I’m probably getting too upset about this issue, but that’s me!”] 5) Brainstorm solutions looking for one that satisfies both parties. [Brainstorming is simply a method for generating a large number of alternatives without judgment or criticism.] 6) Affirm, forgive, or thank. (An affirming response might be, “Okay, I didn’t let you explain your position. Now, that I hear what you mean, you’re right. It’s a great idea.” A forgiving response might be, “Hey, I make a lot of mistakes, too. I guess we all do. Let’s just forgive and forget and move on. What d’ya say?” And a thanking response might be, “I’m so glad you pointed that out. Thank you. I just had never thought about it in this way before.”)
Within the text of the chapter, and in the section, “Resolving Conflict,” I offer readers a longer discussion about a conflict-resolution strategy that researchers in the field discovered. After a thorough explanation of the six stages, there is a “Consider This” box inserted that quotes from a book, Feeling Good Together (Broadway Books, 2008) by David D. Burns, M.D. The essential piece of advice (from a study he conducted of more than 1,200 individuals) regarding whether or not you will have a happy marriage can be determined from the answer to a single question: “Do you blame your partner for the problems in your relationship?”
Within my chapter on “Conflict Management,” I offer readers 13 specific techniques for resolving conflicts online, and there is a complete discussion of defensive communication and how readers can offset or counter a defensive climate with supportive strategies. There is, too, a section of “Dealing with rejection.” The marginal box in the section on “rejection” summarizes the section in four aspects: 1) avoid self-defeating assumptions, 2) don’t magnify its impact, 3) don’t let it compromise or derail your dreams, and 4) learn from it.
My chapter on “Conflict Management” also has sections on “Dealing with conflict at work,” “Conflict in groups,” and “Managing Group Conflict.” Much of what is said within these sections is summarized in yet another marginal box. One of the purposes of the marginal boxes is to highlight essential material that readers might not choose nor have time to read. If readers are simply skimming a chapter to pick up some of the content (as opposed to all of the content), the marginal boxes might be something they would attend to.
One of the essential marginal boxes is labeled, “Nine Steps for Seeking Productive Solutions.” These steps include: 1) Plan, prepare, and rehearse. 2) Set an appropriate climate. 3) Adopt a constructive attitude. 4) Assertively state the message. 5) All your message to sink in. 6) Listen carefully to the response. 7) Restate, clarify, and recycle. 8) Focus on solutions not on personalities. And, 9) Plan to evaluate solutions.
If you have, or can adopt or assume, the following personality traits, you are best equipped to handle conflict situations. Revealing maturity and wisdom rank first. Consideration of and an ability to empathize with others rank second. The third characteristic, but no less important than the first two, is the ability to remain open-minded, objective, tolerant, and flexible. In addition to these important traits, your ability to see things in shades of gray rather than in black-and-white, a positive attitude toward conflict and its benefits, and the ability to offer options, alternatives, and choices.
- - - - - - - - -
At the Free Management Library website, there is an excellent resource, by Carter McNamara titled, “Basics of Conflict Management.” McNamara discusses the topics, 1) Clarifying Confusion about Conflict, 2) Types of Managerial Actions that Cause Workplace Conflicts, 3) Key Managerial Actions / Structures to Minimize Conflicts, 4) Ways People Deal With Conflict, 5) To Manage a Conflict Within Yourself - "Core Process," and, 6) To Manage a Conflict With Another - "Core Process." This is an excellent resource with a great deal of information.
At eHow, the essay is titled, “How to deal with conflict in relationships,” and there are five suggestions: 1) Respect the other person, 2) acknowledge the issue, 3) discuss the problem, 4) compromise, and 5) renegotiate if necessary.
- - - - - - - - -
Copyright March, 2012, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.
It came as a surprise, but once I digested the request, it was understandable. Several of the reviewer-critic-users of the ninth edition of my textbook, Communicating Effectively (McGraw-Hill, 2009) said that their students wanted more on resolving conflicts in the next edition. I thought about the request and how best to respond to it.
How to deal with conflict was included in several chapters of the ninth edition. I discussed it under the topic “Evaluating and Improving Relationships,” in “Small-group Leadership,” and in my chapter, “Communicating Professionally.” After a great deal of thought, because it is not a small decision when you decide to change the order of chapters or add a new chapter to a well-received, heavily-used, popular college textbook, I decided to add a new chapter to the tenth edition titled, “Conflict Management.” This would synthesize and unify my overall approach by drawing together all of the scattered elements.
Even the placement of the new chapter was important since it contained elements that had been part of three different chapters in the previous edition. Once again, after a great deal of thought, I decided to make it the eighth chapter in the book just after discussing “Evaluating and Improving Relationships,” and before discussing professional and small-group communication in the next part of the book.
Also, in trying to satisfy the requests of my reviewer-critic-users, I had to decide what were the essential elements to be contained in the new chapter. That is, how could I best supply exactly what my freshmen and sophomore readers wanted and needed.
One of the biggest challenges I have faced during my 35+ years of writing college textbooks is trying to satisfy my multiple audiences. The first audience, of course, is always my editors and their judgment of what works and what doesn’t. The second audience is my adopters — those teachers, instructors, and professors (my colleagues) — who must decide whether or not they want to teach from the book (whether or not they want their students to learn the material in the book). The third audience is the students themselves. For the most part, this is a silent audience, because I don’t hear directly from them at all. Their wants, needs, wishes, and desires are filtered through the reviewer-critic-users’ heads; however, if I don’t satisfy them (as determined, of course, by the adopters), I don’t sell books. You can see the challenge.
My goal was to give students tools to use when they faced conflicts; thus, on the second page of text in the new chapter on “Conflict Management,” I placed a marginal box, “Six Steps for Resolving Conflicts,” which listed them: 1) Cool off. 2) Tell what’s bothering you using owned messages. [This means taking responsibility for what is bothering you rather than blaming the other person. It is thoroughly explained earlier in the book.] 3) Restate what you heard the other person say. [This helps avoid misunderstandings and makes certain that a conflict doesn’t occur just because one partner did not correctly hear what the other said.]
There are three additional steps as well. 4) Take responsibility. [You could say something like, “I’m probably getting too upset about this issue, but that’s me!”] 5) Brainstorm solutions looking for one that satisfies both parties. [Brainstorming is simply a method for generating a large number of alternatives without judgment or criticism.] 6) Affirm, forgive, or thank. (An affirming response might be, “Okay, I didn’t let you explain your position. Now, that I hear what you mean, you’re right. It’s a great idea.” A forgiving response might be, “Hey, I make a lot of mistakes, too. I guess we all do. Let’s just forgive and forget and move on. What d’ya say?” And a thanking response might be, “I’m so glad you pointed that out. Thank you. I just had never thought about it in this way before.”)
Within the text of the chapter, and in the section, “Resolving Conflict,” I offer readers a longer discussion about a conflict-resolution strategy that researchers in the field discovered. After a thorough explanation of the six stages, there is a “Consider This” box inserted that quotes from a book, Feeling Good Together (Broadway Books, 2008) by David D. Burns, M.D. The essential piece of advice (from a study he conducted of more than 1,200 individuals) regarding whether or not you will have a happy marriage can be determined from the answer to a single question: “Do you blame your partner for the problems in your relationship?”
Within my chapter on “Conflict Management,” I offer readers 13 specific techniques for resolving conflicts online, and there is a complete discussion of defensive communication and how readers can offset or counter a defensive climate with supportive strategies. There is, too, a section of “Dealing with rejection.” The marginal box in the section on “rejection” summarizes the section in four aspects: 1) avoid self-defeating assumptions, 2) don’t magnify its impact, 3) don’t let it compromise or derail your dreams, and 4) learn from it.
My chapter on “Conflict Management” also has sections on “Dealing with conflict at work,” “Conflict in groups,” and “Managing Group Conflict.” Much of what is said within these sections is summarized in yet another marginal box. One of the purposes of the marginal boxes is to highlight essential material that readers might not choose nor have time to read. If readers are simply skimming a chapter to pick up some of the content (as opposed to all of the content), the marginal boxes might be something they would attend to.
One of the essential marginal boxes is labeled, “Nine Steps for Seeking Productive Solutions.” These steps include: 1) Plan, prepare, and rehearse. 2) Set an appropriate climate. 3) Adopt a constructive attitude. 4) Assertively state the message. 5) All your message to sink in. 6) Listen carefully to the response. 7) Restate, clarify, and recycle. 8) Focus on solutions not on personalities. And, 9) Plan to evaluate solutions.
If you have, or can adopt or assume, the following personality traits, you are best equipped to handle conflict situations. Revealing maturity and wisdom rank first. Consideration of and an ability to empathize with others rank second. The third characteristic, but no less important than the first two, is the ability to remain open-minded, objective, tolerant, and flexible. In addition to these important traits, your ability to see things in shades of gray rather than in black-and-white, a positive attitude toward conflict and its benefits, and the ability to offer options, alternatives, and choices.
- - - - - - - - -
At the Free Management Library website, there is an excellent resource, by Carter McNamara titled, “Basics of Conflict Management.” McNamara discusses the topics, 1) Clarifying Confusion about Conflict, 2) Types of Managerial Actions that Cause Workplace Conflicts, 3) Key Managerial Actions / Structures to Minimize Conflicts, 4) Ways People Deal With Conflict, 5) To Manage a Conflict Within Yourself - "Core Process," and, 6) To Manage a Conflict With Another - "Core Process." This is an excellent resource with a great deal of information.
At eHow, the essay is titled, “How to deal with conflict in relationships,” and there are five suggestions: 1) Respect the other person, 2) acknowledge the issue, 3) discuss the problem, 4) compromise, and 5) renegotiate if necessary.
- - - - - - - - -
Copyright March, 2012, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Drinking jokes
by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
*A man is sitting in a bar drinking a beer when a young lady walks up and says "So what are you drinking?" The man replies casually "Magic beer" and the lady asks "What kind of magic beer?" "What's so special about it?!?" says the man. He proceeds to get up and flies around the room 3 times and sits back down. The lady snaps "I bet you couldn't do that again even if your life depended on it!" So he gets up and flies around the room 3 more times. The lady says "I'll have what he's having!" She chugs it down and goes to the roof and jumps - falling to her death. The bartender looks at the man sitting at the bar and says "Superman, you're a jerk when your drunk."
*A black, a Rabbi, a Pollock, a blonde, a Russian, a priest, and a nun walk into the bar. The bartender says "What is this? Some kind of joke?"
*A man stomps into a bar, obviously angry. He growls at the bartender, "Gimme a beer", takes a slug, and shouts out, "All lawyers are assholes!" A guy at the other end of the bar retorts, "You take that back!" The angry man snarls, "Why? Are you a lawyer?" The guy replies, "No, I'm an asshole!"
*An American walks into an Irish pub and says, "I'll give anyone $100 if they can drink 10 Guinness's in 10 minutes."
Most people just ignore the absurd bet and go back to their conversations.
One guy even leaves the bar. A little while later that guy comes back and asks the American, "Is that bet still on?"
"Sure."
So the bartender lines 10 Guinness's up on the bar the Irishman drinks them all in less than 10 minutes.
As the American hands over the money he asks, "Where did you go when you left?"
The Irishman answers, "I went next door to the other pub to see if I could do it."
*A drunken man staggers in to a Catholic church and sits down in a confession box and says nothing. The bewildered priest coughs to attract his attention, but still the man says nothing. The priest then knocks on the wall three times in a final attempt to get the man to speak.
Finally, the drunk replies: "No use knocking' mate, there's no paper in this one either."
*There is a great fruitcake recipe that goes like this: You'll need the following: A cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large brown eggs, two cups of dried fruit, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a bottle of whiskey.
1. Sample the whiskey to check for quality.
2. Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again. To be sure it's the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.
3. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.
4. Make sure the whiskey is still okay. Cry another cup.
5. Turn off the mixer.
6. Beat two eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
7. Mix on the tuner.
8. If the fired druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
9. Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of saltm or something. Who cares?
10. Check the whiskey.
11. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
12. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
13. Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner.
14. Throw the bowl out of the window.
15. Check the whiskey.
16. Check the oven and wishkey every 5 doneness for minutes.
*A couple of drinking buddies who are airplane mechanics are in a hangar at JFK New York. It’s fogged in and they have nothing to do. One of them says to the other, “Man, have you got anything to drink?”
The other one says, “No, but I hear you can drink jet fuel, and it will kinda give you a buzz.”
So they do drink it, get smashed and have a great time, like only drinking buddies can.
The following morning, one of the men wakes up and he just knows his head will explode if he gets up, but it doesn’t. He gets up and feels good. In fact, he feels great! No hangover!
The phone rings. It’s his buddy. The buddy says, “Hey, how do you feel?”
“Great”, he said! “Just great”! The buddy says, “Yeah, I feel great too, and no hangover. That jet fuel stuff is great. We should do this more often!
“Yeah, we could, but there’s just one thing . . ”
“What’s that?”
“Did you fart yet?”
“No . . . ”
“Well, DON’T, ’cause I’m in Phoenix”
*A real woman is a man's best friend. She will never stand him up and never let him down. She will reassure him when he feels insecure and comfort him after a bad day. She will inspire him to do things he never thought he could do; to live without fear and forget regret. She will enable him to express his deepest emotions and give in to his most intimate desires. She will make sure he always feels as though he's the most handsome man in the room and will enable him to be the most confident, sexy, seductive and invincible...
No wait . . .sorry. . . .
I'm thinking of whiskey. It's whiskey that does all that shit. Never mind.
*Pat and Mike had been drinking buddies and friends for years.
After having a few drinks in a bar, Mike said to Pat -
"We have been friends for years and years and if I should die before you do would you do me a favor? Get the best bottle of Irish whiskey you can find and pour it over my grave."
Pat replied, "I would be glad to do that for you my old friend. But would you mind if I passed it through my bladder first?"
- - - - - - - - - -
At HELPGUIDE.org , there is an essay titled “Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter,” (May, 2010), by Melinda Smith, M.A., Gina Kemp, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., that explains how laughter is good for your health, the link between laughter and mental health, the social benefits of humor and laughter, how to bring more laughter and humor into your life, and ways to help yourself see the lighter side of life. This is a serious article with a great deal of practical advice.
At About.com: Stress Management, the essay there is titled, “The Stress Management and Health Benefits of Laughter,” by Elizabeth Scott, offers this information in her first paragraph: “. . . studies so far have shown that laughter can help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity. Positive psychology names the propensity for laughter and sense of humor as one of the 24 main signature strengths one can possess, and laughter yoga clubs are springing up across the country.” She offers specific stress management benefits of humor and the social benefits of laughter. In addition, she discusses how to use laughter.
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Copyright March, 2012, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.
*A man is sitting in a bar drinking a beer when a young lady walks up and says "So what are you drinking?" The man replies casually "Magic beer" and the lady asks "What kind of magic beer?" "What's so special about it?!?" says the man. He proceeds to get up and flies around the room 3 times and sits back down. The lady snaps "I bet you couldn't do that again even if your life depended on it!" So he gets up and flies around the room 3 more times. The lady says "I'll have what he's having!" She chugs it down and goes to the roof and jumps - falling to her death. The bartender looks at the man sitting at the bar and says "Superman, you're a jerk when your drunk."
*A black, a Rabbi, a Pollock, a blonde, a Russian, a priest, and a nun walk into the bar. The bartender says "What is this? Some kind of joke?"
*A man stomps into a bar, obviously angry. He growls at the bartender, "Gimme a beer", takes a slug, and shouts out, "All lawyers are assholes!" A guy at the other end of the bar retorts, "You take that back!" The angry man snarls, "Why? Are you a lawyer?" The guy replies, "No, I'm an asshole!"
*An American walks into an Irish pub and says, "I'll give anyone $100 if they can drink 10 Guinness's in 10 minutes."
Most people just ignore the absurd bet and go back to their conversations.
One guy even leaves the bar. A little while later that guy comes back and asks the American, "Is that bet still on?"
"Sure."
So the bartender lines 10 Guinness's up on the bar the Irishman drinks them all in less than 10 minutes.
As the American hands over the money he asks, "Where did you go when you left?"
The Irishman answers, "I went next door to the other pub to see if I could do it."
*A drunken man staggers in to a Catholic church and sits down in a confession box and says nothing. The bewildered priest coughs to attract his attention, but still the man says nothing. The priest then knocks on the wall three times in a final attempt to get the man to speak.
Finally, the drunk replies: "No use knocking' mate, there's no paper in this one either."
*There is a great fruitcake recipe that goes like this: You'll need the following: A cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large brown eggs, two cups of dried fruit, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a bottle of whiskey.
1. Sample the whiskey to check for quality.
2. Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again. To be sure it's the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.
3. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.
4. Make sure the whiskey is still okay. Cry another cup.
5. Turn off the mixer.
6. Beat two eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
7. Mix on the tuner.
8. If the fired druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
9. Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of saltm or something. Who cares?
10. Check the whiskey.
11. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
12. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
13. Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner.
14. Throw the bowl out of the window.
15. Check the whiskey.
16. Check the oven and wishkey every 5 doneness for minutes.
*A couple of drinking buddies who are airplane mechanics are in a hangar at JFK New York. It’s fogged in and they have nothing to do. One of them says to the other, “Man, have you got anything to drink?”
The other one says, “No, but I hear you can drink jet fuel, and it will kinda give you a buzz.”
So they do drink it, get smashed and have a great time, like only drinking buddies can.
The following morning, one of the men wakes up and he just knows his head will explode if he gets up, but it doesn’t. He gets up and feels good. In fact, he feels great! No hangover!
The phone rings. It’s his buddy. The buddy says, “Hey, how do you feel?”
“Great”, he said! “Just great”! The buddy says, “Yeah, I feel great too, and no hangover. That jet fuel stuff is great. We should do this more often!
“Yeah, we could, but there’s just one thing . . ”
“What’s that?”
“Did you fart yet?”
“No . . . ”
“Well, DON’T, ’cause I’m in Phoenix”
*A real woman is a man's best friend. She will never stand him up and never let him down. She will reassure him when he feels insecure and comfort him after a bad day. She will inspire him to do things he never thought he could do; to live without fear and forget regret. She will enable him to express his deepest emotions and give in to his most intimate desires. She will make sure he always feels as though he's the most handsome man in the room and will enable him to be the most confident, sexy, seductive and invincible...
No wait . . .sorry. . . .
I'm thinking of whiskey. It's whiskey that does all that shit. Never mind.
*Pat and Mike had been drinking buddies and friends for years.
After having a few drinks in a bar, Mike said to Pat -
"We have been friends for years and years and if I should die before you do would you do me a favor? Get the best bottle of Irish whiskey you can find and pour it over my grave."
Pat replied, "I would be glad to do that for you my old friend. But would you mind if I passed it through my bladder first?"
- - - - - - - - - -
At HELPGUIDE.org , there is an essay titled “Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter,” (May, 2010), by Melinda Smith, M.A., Gina Kemp, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., that explains how laughter is good for your health, the link between laughter and mental health, the social benefits of humor and laughter, how to bring more laughter and humor into your life, and ways to help yourself see the lighter side of life. This is a serious article with a great deal of practical advice.
At About.com: Stress Management, the essay there is titled, “The Stress Management and Health Benefits of Laughter,” by Elizabeth Scott, offers this information in her first paragraph: “. . . studies so far have shown that laughter can help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity. Positive psychology names the propensity for laughter and sense of humor as one of the 24 main signature strengths one can possess, and laughter yoga clubs are springing up across the country.” She offers specific stress management benefits of humor and the social benefits of laughter. In addition, she discusses how to use laughter.
- - - - - - - -
Copyright March, 2012, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The bus to Paradise Island
by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
It was an excursion — a specially arranged trip — for those attending the convention, and the arrangements for and cost of this event were paid well in advance. The time of the meeting place for the luxury buses that were to transport us to the ferry that would take us across the water to Paradise Island was clarified and continually reinforced by the tour directors (and the convention hosts) who had arranged for this adventure, so nobody could claim (or complain) after the fact, that they did not know where to meet.
I was outside on the sidewalk in front of our convention hotel as the people who were going on the tour passed me by to get to the meeting place. Many of those who passed even greeted me as they hurried on so as not to be late getting to the meeting place and the buses.
Knowing that tour buses seldom leave on time, I decided to go back to the hotel room to pick up some last-minute items (a hat, snacks, and some suntan lotion) to take with me to the Island. I moved quickly even though I had a short wait for the elevator, and my room was at the end of the hallway on floor nine, but I knew I had plenty of time for seldom do tours begin exactly on time.
I picked up what I needed from the room knowing that time was ticking away now, decided to go down the stairs rather than waiting for the elevator, then ran rapidly toward the meeting place. I had to wait for two traffic lights, but the wait in each case was short, and I still believed I had plenty of time to spare.
When I arrived at the meeting place, a bit out of breath I have to admit, there was noone there except one woman in uniform. I approached her, my chest heaving slightly from the run, and I asked her where the busses were located. She looked at me with shock on her face, and her reply was short and to the point: “I’m sorry, they have all left. You’re ten minutes late.”
I missed the bus. I couldn’t believe it, because I had never missed a bus in my life. As-a-matter-of-fact, my tendency throughout my life was to arrive early. Often, I was the first one at the meeting place. I was surprised, to say the very least.
This wasn’t the first dream I had like that — especially when I was teaching at the university. More on those in a moment.
In college, as a student, I would have nightmares about not showing up for an examination. They were especially vivid and convincing around final-exam time. It was that I would oversleep, get the location or time wrong, or just go along with my daily activities without even thinking I had an exam. I think these nightmares occurred for three reasons. First, in school I was always under a great deal of stress. Most of this was self-inflicted. Second, I have always been extremely time conscious, and being places on time was always a high, and important priority. Third, I always did well in school; thus, I was grade-oriented, grade-conscious, even grade-obsessed. Anything that might interfere, interrupt, or otherwise disrupt my quest for outstanding grades was of grave concern to me.
Panic over missing a final exam (even being late for one) created enormous emotions and stirred up fierce nightmares.
When I became a large-group lecturer at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), I took the job of teaching thousands of first- and second-year students incredibly seriously. Over my 22 years in that position I taught nearly 80,000 students. Because BGSU did not have a lecture venue for the number of students enrolled in my course in any given term, I gave the same lecture 5 times to approximately 300 students per lecture. This, as you might expect, added increased pressure to my job since I had to keep all students current with both the information and with the syllabus.
Talk about adding stress to my large-group lecturing responsibilities, there was nobody who could substitute, replace, or stand-in for me in my absence. Besides directing the course, lectures were my sole duty. For this reason alone, I never missed or was even late to one of them. Nightmares about missing one increased substantially.
In an Ezine article, by Trevor Johnson titled, “What are the effects of nightmares?” Johnson mentions five negative effects: 1) It makes you lack sleep. 2) It leaves a very heavy feeling. 3) It brings you back to the past. 4) It can cause heart attack. 5) It may cause anxiety attack.
Fortunately, for me, the fourth and fifth effects never occurred, but the vividness and intensity of the nightmares suggested that that potential was always present.
There were solutions even though my nightmare experiences have never been chronic. The best solutions I discovered on the Internet were at WebMD-Sleep Disorders Guide, in an essay titled, “Nightmares in Adults,” that reported; “There are a number of . . . steps you can take on your own that may help reduce your nightmare frequency. Keeping a regular wake-sleep schedule is important. So is engaging in regular exercise, which will help alleviate nightmare-causing anxiety and stress. You may find that yoga and meditation are also helpful.
“Remember to practice good sleep hygiene, which will help prevent the sleep deprivation that can bring on nightmares in adults. Make your bedroom a relaxing, tranquil place that is reserved for sleep and sex, so that you don't associate it with stressful activities. Also, be cautious about the use of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine, which can remain in your system for more than 12 hours and often disrupt sleep patterns.” Most of these are precisely the solutions I used.
Looking back at the nightmare that I described at the beginning of this essay, “The bus to Paradise Island,” I decided that it was more like a dream than a nightmare, even though it mimicked in many respects those I had as a large-group lecturer.
It occurred on January 22, 2011 — recently — so I did some self-analysis. What I discovered was that I was putting a great deal of stress on myself just as I had done in college. In this case, however, it was trying to produce a large number of these essays in the free time I had between finishing proofreading the tenth edition of my textbook, Communicating Effectively, and beginning work on the instructor’s manual and test bank for the book — which was likely to begin soon after. For me, pressure/stress produces these vivid, intense nightmares/dreams that disturb my sleep and cause heaviness the following day. My workaholic schedule, of course, isn’t a positive contributor!
- - - - - - - - -
At Sleepeducation.com, the essay, “Nightmares,” (October 21, 2005), by Donald R. Townsend, PhD, is excellent, thorough, and informative. Among the many other things in the essay, Townsend says, “Managing stress in your life is an important way to help manage nightmares. Relaxation training may also help. It can assist you when the nightmares keep you from being able to go back to sleep. This method helps you reduce the anxiety or tension that keeps you from falling asleep.”
At suite101.com, Rebecca Turner has a terrific essay, “How to Stop Nightmares: Two Easy Ways to End Nightmares in Children and Adults,” (July 28, 2008), in which Turner says, “To look beyond fear, there needs to be some kind of conscious recognition of the dream state. As it happens, people already practice this state of awareness all over the world. It is known as lucid dreaming.
“Lucid dreams occur when the dreamer recognizes they are in a dream. This causes the conscious brain to wake up in the dream and all sensory systems are switched on. The dream becomes as vivid as real life, in the complete control of the dreamer.” To interrupt/stop a nightmare, either wake up or look beyond fear.
- - - - - - - -
Copyright March, 2012, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.
It was an excursion — a specially arranged trip — for those attending the convention, and the arrangements for and cost of this event were paid well in advance. The time of the meeting place for the luxury buses that were to transport us to the ferry that would take us across the water to Paradise Island was clarified and continually reinforced by the tour directors (and the convention hosts) who had arranged for this adventure, so nobody could claim (or complain) after the fact, that they did not know where to meet.
I was outside on the sidewalk in front of our convention hotel as the people who were going on the tour passed me by to get to the meeting place. Many of those who passed even greeted me as they hurried on so as not to be late getting to the meeting place and the buses.
Knowing that tour buses seldom leave on time, I decided to go back to the hotel room to pick up some last-minute items (a hat, snacks, and some suntan lotion) to take with me to the Island. I moved quickly even though I had a short wait for the elevator, and my room was at the end of the hallway on floor nine, but I knew I had plenty of time for seldom do tours begin exactly on time.
I picked up what I needed from the room knowing that time was ticking away now, decided to go down the stairs rather than waiting for the elevator, then ran rapidly toward the meeting place. I had to wait for two traffic lights, but the wait in each case was short, and I still believed I had plenty of time to spare.
When I arrived at the meeting place, a bit out of breath I have to admit, there was noone there except one woman in uniform. I approached her, my chest heaving slightly from the run, and I asked her where the busses were located. She looked at me with shock on her face, and her reply was short and to the point: “I’m sorry, they have all left. You’re ten minutes late.”
I missed the bus. I couldn’t believe it, because I had never missed a bus in my life. As-a-matter-of-fact, my tendency throughout my life was to arrive early. Often, I was the first one at the meeting place. I was surprised, to say the very least.
This wasn’t the first dream I had like that — especially when I was teaching at the university. More on those in a moment.
In college, as a student, I would have nightmares about not showing up for an examination. They were especially vivid and convincing around final-exam time. It was that I would oversleep, get the location or time wrong, or just go along with my daily activities without even thinking I had an exam. I think these nightmares occurred for three reasons. First, in school I was always under a great deal of stress. Most of this was self-inflicted. Second, I have always been extremely time conscious, and being places on time was always a high, and important priority. Third, I always did well in school; thus, I was grade-oriented, grade-conscious, even grade-obsessed. Anything that might interfere, interrupt, or otherwise disrupt my quest for outstanding grades was of grave concern to me.
Panic over missing a final exam (even being late for one) created enormous emotions and stirred up fierce nightmares.
When I became a large-group lecturer at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), I took the job of teaching thousands of first- and second-year students incredibly seriously. Over my 22 years in that position I taught nearly 80,000 students. Because BGSU did not have a lecture venue for the number of students enrolled in my course in any given term, I gave the same lecture 5 times to approximately 300 students per lecture. This, as you might expect, added increased pressure to my job since I had to keep all students current with both the information and with the syllabus.
Talk about adding stress to my large-group lecturing responsibilities, there was nobody who could substitute, replace, or stand-in for me in my absence. Besides directing the course, lectures were my sole duty. For this reason alone, I never missed or was even late to one of them. Nightmares about missing one increased substantially.
In an Ezine article, by Trevor Johnson titled, “What are the effects of nightmares?” Johnson mentions five negative effects: 1) It makes you lack sleep. 2) It leaves a very heavy feeling. 3) It brings you back to the past. 4) It can cause heart attack. 5) It may cause anxiety attack.
Fortunately, for me, the fourth and fifth effects never occurred, but the vividness and intensity of the nightmares suggested that that potential was always present.
There were solutions even though my nightmare experiences have never been chronic. The best solutions I discovered on the Internet were at WebMD-Sleep Disorders Guide, in an essay titled, “Nightmares in Adults,” that reported; “There are a number of . . . steps you can take on your own that may help reduce your nightmare frequency. Keeping a regular wake-sleep schedule is important. So is engaging in regular exercise, which will help alleviate nightmare-causing anxiety and stress. You may find that yoga and meditation are also helpful.
“Remember to practice good sleep hygiene, which will help prevent the sleep deprivation that can bring on nightmares in adults. Make your bedroom a relaxing, tranquil place that is reserved for sleep and sex, so that you don't associate it with stressful activities. Also, be cautious about the use of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine, which can remain in your system for more than 12 hours and often disrupt sleep patterns.” Most of these are precisely the solutions I used.
Looking back at the nightmare that I described at the beginning of this essay, “The bus to Paradise Island,” I decided that it was more like a dream than a nightmare, even though it mimicked in many respects those I had as a large-group lecturer.
It occurred on January 22, 2011 — recently — so I did some self-analysis. What I discovered was that I was putting a great deal of stress on myself just as I had done in college. In this case, however, it was trying to produce a large number of these essays in the free time I had between finishing proofreading the tenth edition of my textbook, Communicating Effectively, and beginning work on the instructor’s manual and test bank for the book — which was likely to begin soon after. For me, pressure/stress produces these vivid, intense nightmares/dreams that disturb my sleep and cause heaviness the following day. My workaholic schedule, of course, isn’t a positive contributor!
- - - - - - - - -
At Sleepeducation.com, the essay, “Nightmares,” (October 21, 2005), by Donald R. Townsend, PhD, is excellent, thorough, and informative. Among the many other things in the essay, Townsend says, “Managing stress in your life is an important way to help manage nightmares. Relaxation training may also help. It can assist you when the nightmares keep you from being able to go back to sleep. This method helps you reduce the anxiety or tension that keeps you from falling asleep.”
At suite101.com, Rebecca Turner has a terrific essay, “How to Stop Nightmares: Two Easy Ways to End Nightmares in Children and Adults,” (July 28, 2008), in which Turner says, “To look beyond fear, there needs to be some kind of conscious recognition of the dream state. As it happens, people already practice this state of awareness all over the world. It is known as lucid dreaming.
“Lucid dreams occur when the dreamer recognizes they are in a dream. This causes the conscious brain to wake up in the dream and all sensory systems are switched on. The dream becomes as vivid as real life, in the complete control of the dreamer.” To interrupt/stop a nightmare, either wake up or look beyond fear.
- - - - - - - -
Copyright March, 2012, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The tenth edition of a college textbook
by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
It was never a dream of mine, and it was never even on my radar screen at all—at any point in my life. The possibility of writing a college textbook came to me without asking for it, soliciting it, or even thinking about it. And yet I feel fortunate and, indeed, lucky.
To have the privilege of writing a tenth edition of a college textbook is not completely under an author’s control. That is, it is a choice made for authors. First, it must be adopted by a sufficient number of professional colleagues. Second, for them to make the decision to adopt, it has to be liked by student readers of the book. Third, the number of adoptions must be ample enough to make it worthwhile for the publishing company—in this case McGraw-Hill—to invest its resources in a new edition. Of course, the author must agree to write it; however, if an author were to say no, many contracts allow publishing companies to carry on without them—adding another author to the mast head.
The only reason I began writing college textbooks is because my co-author, Saundra Hybels, whom I had met in a college course at the University of Michigan, asked me to co-author one with her. She knew the president of a small publishing company—D. Van Nostrand (which has since gone out of business)—and her connection permitted us (maybe even encouraged her!) to write a book entitled Speech/Communication. Its popularity and success led to a second edition, and when Random House bought out the Van Nostrand list, we became Random House authors, and at that time we changed the name of the textbook—even though it was exactly the same book—to Communicating Effectively.
That was in 1984. (Our first edition of Communicating Effectively carried a copyright date of 1986.) Saundra died in 1999, and I finished the 1998 edition and then wrote the last five editions (including the 10th) as a sole author. Previously we had divided the task with Saundra writing the first half of the book, and with me writing the second half including all the chapters on public speaking.
Who knew (or could accurately predict) that the book would continue through a tenth edition? When I mentioned that I had been asked to write a tenth edition, my father-in-law, also a college textbook author, said to me, “Do you know how many people in the world have ever been asked to write a tenth edition?” (The answer, of course, is very, very few.)
The first thing I did when asked to write the new edition was to request from my editor at McGraw-Hill, Nicole Bridge, reviews of the ninth edition. I suggested some of the areas that needed to be covered, and she proceeded to get 20 reviews using an online form reviewers filled out and sent to her. It is those 20 reviews that shaped and guided my work. I took those reviews on a long summer vacation in our fifth wheel, and I worked on them diligently for well over a month—organizing the ideas and suggestions by chapter, highlighting those that demanded my attention, noting those on which a future decision (whether to make the change or not) would have to be made, and listing all those that would affect the book as a whole rather than individual chapters throughout.
With the organization of the reviewers’ comments complete, I created a chapter-by-chapter revision plan which incorporated (prior to my doing anything about the comments) all the reviewers’ ideas. This revision plan became my precise and exacting blueprint for the ninth-edition changes. It governed how I proceeded, which chapters needed the most attention, and where additional research and investigation was necessary. The revision plan grew as the actual changes were inserted with page and paragraph numbers and whether permission would be necessary to use the information.
Now I must pause and explain a couple of items. First, I always anticipate writing a new edition. This is important because I begin collecting new and relevant information immediately after completing the last edition. You cannot wait simply because important information may be overlooked; thus, the search for information is an ongoing and unrelenting task. Books, newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, other textbooks, and any other available resources (like the Internet) must be carefully and thoroughly canvassed along the way.
The second item that needs explanation at this point is a new adventure I began with this edition. Because I blog, and because my five-day-a-week blog entries are posted on Facebook as well as on my web site http://www.andthensomeworks.com, I decided to chronicle the process of writing the tenth edition in blogs, and the Facebook entries that include the steps could be viewed there — but are likely to be deleted now because of time. This was an enjoyable exercise, and for those who have never written a textbook, I hope it offered interesting, informative insights.
Once the revision plan was complete—using the reviewers’ comments organized by chapter—I began my work by following the blueprint. This is a tedious, time-consuming, and challenging job that requires patience, extraordinary insight, and close attention to detail.
Another job I performed immediately when asked to write a tenth edition was to write an “active open-mindedness” (or AOM) box for each of the 16 chapters. Most of the previous editions offered adopters a new and unique “selling point.” These included, “Consider This” boxes, “Another Point of View” boxes, as well as “Working Together,” “Reality Check,” and “Strategic Flexibility” boxes. The AOM boxes were a new selling point for the tenth edition.
Just as an aside here, every one of the AOM boxes I wrote at this early stage appears in the completed tenth edition, and all appear without a single change from when originally written.
There was another important discovery, however, based on the reviews. Several reviewers noted the short attention spans of students and offered suggestions for breaking up large bodies of text material. It is precisely for that reason that I added over 75 new marginal boxes designed to offer specific instructions regarding text material, provide examples of text information, or furnish a quick summary. Many appear simply to break up long sections of textbook material.
Reviewer comments suggested, too, that I combine my two chapters on group communication into one, pull out all my sections on dealing with conflict in the three chapters where they occurred and make a single new one entitled, “Conflict and Conflict Management,” and reorder the contents in a more meaningful and logical manner. These are major changes in a new edition because you don’t want to lose adopters; however, to make such changes requires great thought, careful organization, and much justification (to self and others).
Many changes follow when the main text is changed. There are organizational changes in the instructor’s manual, new activities that must be organized for instructors, new review and quiz questions, new items to support instructor lectures, and creative web site and web work. The tenth edition is a lot of work—especially when I began with a goal of increased usefulness, improved structure, and more supporting information and material.
------
Writing and Developing Your College Textbook by Mary Ellen Lepionka is a valuable resource. Anthony Haynes of the UK, wrote this review of Lepionka’s book at Amazon.com: “There aren't many books about textbooks and the ones that do exist tend to be rather theoretical. This one is very practical. You can tell it isn't written by a hack: the book is full of concrete details based on experience. As a textbook publisher myself, I feel confident in saying that no prospective textbook authors could read this without profit - and I doubt any experienced authors could either.”
The other six reviews were favorable as well. Another said, Mary Ellen Lepionka’s (a veteran development editor in higher education publishing for more than twenty years) publication, “is a straightforward guide to creating an easy-to-understand, comprehensive, well-thought-out, accessibly organized textbook for college-level courses. Individual chapters cover how to publish the text manuscript, as well as the importance of structure, ways to make drafting and revising easier, the right way to acquire permissions when needed, and much, much more. Writing And Developing Your College Textbook is very highly recommended for aspiring textbook writers regardless of the subject matter of the book itself.”
Jennifer Burns has a delightful and insightful essay, “Key to Successful Writing,” at the web site Cheap College Textbooks. If you are interested in getting started as a writer, this essay offers a useful starting point.
-----
Copyright March 2012 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
It was never a dream of mine, and it was never even on my radar screen at all—at any point in my life. The possibility of writing a college textbook came to me without asking for it, soliciting it, or even thinking about it. And yet I feel fortunate and, indeed, lucky.
To have the privilege of writing a tenth edition of a college textbook is not completely under an author’s control. That is, it is a choice made for authors. First, it must be adopted by a sufficient number of professional colleagues. Second, for them to make the decision to adopt, it has to be liked by student readers of the book. Third, the number of adoptions must be ample enough to make it worthwhile for the publishing company—in this case McGraw-Hill—to invest its resources in a new edition. Of course, the author must agree to write it; however, if an author were to say no, many contracts allow publishing companies to carry on without them—adding another author to the mast head.
The only reason I began writing college textbooks is because my co-author, Saundra Hybels, whom I had met in a college course at the University of Michigan, asked me to co-author one with her. She knew the president of a small publishing company—D. Van Nostrand (which has since gone out of business)—and her connection permitted us (maybe even encouraged her!) to write a book entitled Speech/Communication. Its popularity and success led to a second edition, and when Random House bought out the Van Nostrand list, we became Random House authors, and at that time we changed the name of the textbook—even though it was exactly the same book—to Communicating Effectively.
That was in 1984. (Our first edition of Communicating Effectively carried a copyright date of 1986.) Saundra died in 1999, and I finished the 1998 edition and then wrote the last five editions (including the 10th) as a sole author. Previously we had divided the task with Saundra writing the first half of the book, and with me writing the second half including all the chapters on public speaking.
Who knew (or could accurately predict) that the book would continue through a tenth edition? When I mentioned that I had been asked to write a tenth edition, my father-in-law, also a college textbook author, said to me, “Do you know how many people in the world have ever been asked to write a tenth edition?” (The answer, of course, is very, very few.)
The first thing I did when asked to write the new edition was to request from my editor at McGraw-Hill, Nicole Bridge, reviews of the ninth edition. I suggested some of the areas that needed to be covered, and she proceeded to get 20 reviews using an online form reviewers filled out and sent to her. It is those 20 reviews that shaped and guided my work. I took those reviews on a long summer vacation in our fifth wheel, and I worked on them diligently for well over a month—organizing the ideas and suggestions by chapter, highlighting those that demanded my attention, noting those on which a future decision (whether to make the change or not) would have to be made, and listing all those that would affect the book as a whole rather than individual chapters throughout.
With the organization of the reviewers’ comments complete, I created a chapter-by-chapter revision plan which incorporated (prior to my doing anything about the comments) all the reviewers’ ideas. This revision plan became my precise and exacting blueprint for the ninth-edition changes. It governed how I proceeded, which chapters needed the most attention, and where additional research and investigation was necessary. The revision plan grew as the actual changes were inserted with page and paragraph numbers and whether permission would be necessary to use the information.
Now I must pause and explain a couple of items. First, I always anticipate writing a new edition. This is important because I begin collecting new and relevant information immediately after completing the last edition. You cannot wait simply because important information may be overlooked; thus, the search for information is an ongoing and unrelenting task. Books, newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, other textbooks, and any other available resources (like the Internet) must be carefully and thoroughly canvassed along the way.
The second item that needs explanation at this point is a new adventure I began with this edition. Because I blog, and because my five-day-a-week blog entries are posted on Facebook as well as on my web site http://www.andthensomeworks.com, I decided to chronicle the process of writing the tenth edition in blogs, and the Facebook entries that include the steps could be viewed there — but are likely to be deleted now because of time. This was an enjoyable exercise, and for those who have never written a textbook, I hope it offered interesting, informative insights.
Once the revision plan was complete—using the reviewers’ comments organized by chapter—I began my work by following the blueprint. This is a tedious, time-consuming, and challenging job that requires patience, extraordinary insight, and close attention to detail.
Another job I performed immediately when asked to write a tenth edition was to write an “active open-mindedness” (or AOM) box for each of the 16 chapters. Most of the previous editions offered adopters a new and unique “selling point.” These included, “Consider This” boxes, “Another Point of View” boxes, as well as “Working Together,” “Reality Check,” and “Strategic Flexibility” boxes. The AOM boxes were a new selling point for the tenth edition.
Just as an aside here, every one of the AOM boxes I wrote at this early stage appears in the completed tenth edition, and all appear without a single change from when originally written.
There was another important discovery, however, based on the reviews. Several reviewers noted the short attention spans of students and offered suggestions for breaking up large bodies of text material. It is precisely for that reason that I added over 75 new marginal boxes designed to offer specific instructions regarding text material, provide examples of text information, or furnish a quick summary. Many appear simply to break up long sections of textbook material.
Reviewer comments suggested, too, that I combine my two chapters on group communication into one, pull out all my sections on dealing with conflict in the three chapters where they occurred and make a single new one entitled, “Conflict and Conflict Management,” and reorder the contents in a more meaningful and logical manner. These are major changes in a new edition because you don’t want to lose adopters; however, to make such changes requires great thought, careful organization, and much justification (to self and others).
Many changes follow when the main text is changed. There are organizational changes in the instructor’s manual, new activities that must be organized for instructors, new review and quiz questions, new items to support instructor lectures, and creative web site and web work. The tenth edition is a lot of work—especially when I began with a goal of increased usefulness, improved structure, and more supporting information and material.
------
Writing and Developing Your College Textbook by Mary Ellen Lepionka is a valuable resource. Anthony Haynes of the UK, wrote this review of Lepionka’s book at Amazon.com: “There aren't many books about textbooks and the ones that do exist tend to be rather theoretical. This one is very practical. You can tell it isn't written by a hack: the book is full of concrete details based on experience. As a textbook publisher myself, I feel confident in saying that no prospective textbook authors could read this without profit - and I doubt any experienced authors could either.”
The other six reviews were favorable as well. Another said, Mary Ellen Lepionka’s (a veteran development editor in higher education publishing for more than twenty years) publication, “is a straightforward guide to creating an easy-to-understand, comprehensive, well-thought-out, accessibly organized textbook for college-level courses. Individual chapters cover how to publish the text manuscript, as well as the importance of structure, ways to make drafting and revising easier, the right way to acquire permissions when needed, and much, much more. Writing And Developing Your College Textbook is very highly recommended for aspiring textbook writers regardless of the subject matter of the book itself.”
Jennifer Burns has a delightful and insightful essay, “Key to Successful Writing,” at the web site Cheap College Textbooks. If you are interested in getting started as a writer, this essay offers a useful starting point.
-----
Copyright March 2012 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
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