Amber Burg's Blog

This story I thought was interesting. The person that is telling the story is framed as a little guilty and I think not an entirely great person. I think the girl who was kidnapped and survived is an amazing strong person who had a lot of hope and strength to keep going everyday in captivity. It made me feel bad for the girl and wonder how in the world did she do that. The person who was telling the story, just their comments made me dislike them. For example, the comment ‘by the end of the month she would be dead’ and ‘why bother going up to speak to raise money for her’. That just created a negative impression of that person to me.

The way it was written made me have a positive impression of the girl and what she went through. They did not include the horrible parts she went through but it still made you feel bad for the girl and happy that she was alright. The beginning made me think the girl was not going to make it and then towards the end it just surprised me that she did. Just though all the parts about what she did in captivity and the comment about her being determined to make it out alive. Also, the fact that she was not mad at her kidnappers. It makes you feel for her though when she says her kidnappers still call her.

The pictures just gave me what the person looked like. Also, the one with the girl and the children made it to where you could see what kind of a person she was. Any picture with kids is going to make you more able to like them I think. It made me see her more positively. The layout just went in with the introduction to what was happening, the background story and ended with the  conclusion of what the outcome was.

I would like to know more of what happened to her in captivity and more about how they treated her. Knowing a little of what  the people who took her looked like would be nice to know. How are they still reaching her? Why hasn’t she switched her phone number or block their calls?

Read it here

The name of the article caught my attention. I have never heard of brain fever before and the line underneath it said 15,000 children dead. I was curious after that and why I have not heard of it before if so many have died.

I like how they told where it effected people at, asia, islands, and near rice paddies. They said where it comes from and how the animals got it. I like how they have who gave the funding for the group who developed the vaccine. It gave a general overview of bits and pieces of the important stuff but left out a lot I think.

I want to know why it is just those locations, what specifically attracts the virus there. How does it transfer to the children from the animals? Are they working for a cure? Do they have any lead or just no clue what to do? I want to know what the vaccine is suppose to help with? Does it prevent the virus or slow it down? Why does it need approval from W.H.O.? What does the approval from them need and how were they able to give the vaccine without approval?

Read it here.

Classes and Professors are being forced to move out of the southern library area. The cause of this: construction.

The main concern for everyone is safety. Offices and the classroom 111 have windows on the outside wall. The school is concerned with something from the construction site coming through the windows and injuring someone. Offices are being located to different rooms inside the building that are away from windows and outside walls. The new room set for classroom 111 is set to be Roadman Hall’s ICN room.

With this change coming to campus some students have concerns about this new move and how it will affect the classes and the Mass Communications Department. Hannah Hecht voices her concerns. “I think the move to the ICN room might be a little bit more difficult for the Mass Communications Department to deal with because its not as close to the T.V. and radio stations and all of the offices.”

The Fundamentals of Journalism class is one of the classes that is held in room 111. Its students took the news rough at first but started to warm up to it.

This new change was broke to them, Thursday October 24. After the new was broke, the room sounded and looked like chaos. Everyone was talking at once. With everyone trying to speak at once, the words blended together to create a loud murmuring sound.

The walk to the new classroom was cold, windy and slightly wet. The sprinklers were blowing water out creating fog in front of Roadman Hall. The mist hit some of the students, which did not go over well.

Inside Roadman, the voices of the students quieted down. Most were trying to taking in where they would have to go to find this room for the rest of the semester.

When the door to the new room opened not many people were still talking. Some students were even happy now because of the giant plush desk chairs. This was an upgrade from classroom 111’s hard plastic chairs.

Kelsey Ahart shared her opinion of the new classroom. “I like it because there’s a lot more room in the Roadman ICN room and the chairs are very comfortable. And there is two screens instead of one.”

While this move is a big change for students and professors on campus, it is done for everyone’s safety.

Audio

This drew me in mostly because I have Adobe software. I wanted to know what happened and if it was going to effect me.

It gets right to the point, somethings been stolen, here is what it is. It goes on to tell what the company says and what happened. It mentions what programs were hacked and what might be stolen from them. I like how it continues on with what hackers do with this information and how much they can make off it. I also like how it says that just because it is encrypted does not mean it will stop them. It will just slow them down. It also mentions how the hackers hack, to a certain extent, which was interesting to read about.

I wish they added more on why the investigation was incomplete. Did they lose the trail of the hackers or did they just call it quits after no new leads? I also want to know how these hackers are able to hack Adobe and get millions of peoples’ information and if the company is doing anything about it or going to. Knowing who did this would be good too but I think that the hackers are still unknown. What is Adobe doing for customers who had their information stolen. Are they letting them know or getting them their programs back?

Read it here. 

This article caught my attention with its picture and the caption. It just made me want to know more about it, like how this is possible and why someone would want to pay that much to see the earth.

It covers everything it needs to. It tells what companies are going to be doing this, in what year, how much it costs, the where is yet to be determined, and what it is. It gets the important information out and leaves the least important for last.

It could add more on why people want to do this besides drink in a balloon and view the earth. I would like to focus more on the view you get to see and how the science behind the balloon makes this possible. A later story could possible be where it is happening and how the first trip went. I think they focus too much on drinking in a balloon, its funny at times but what you actually get to see would be cooler to read about.

Read about it here.

Three hours after the ‘I do’s’ and these newly weds are fighting.

The groom, Richard Brunson, shot his bride, Laurette Kenny Brunson, in the abdomen. The bullet was fired at their home located at 617 Black Street. The bride is currently at St.Luke’s Hospital and is in satisfactory condition.

Sargent Mann recaps what happened after the wedding.

SgtMann.

The bride had three children who were present during the incident. Many of their neighbors and friends were also present. Neighbor Walter Corse  tells what he saw and hear.

WCorse.

The couple had been living together for four to five months prier to this event.

The article is about a new clinical trial happening in Africa against hookworm. I thought it was interesting and the picture was intriguing to know more about.

I like the lead it brings the story into to focus right away and sets it up. They give the background of the problem. This is important for them to write first to let the readers know the background of the parasites. It tells us what it does, how it effects the people and where it sucks the blood in the body. It then goes on to tell how the treatment proposed will help the people and what it does to the parasites. I like the way it ends with when it will start and the timeline for how long it will take to do the trial.

I would like an update after the trial has started or when it has finished to see how it went. I think they hit all the main who, what, when, where, why and how.

Read it here.

“Can a robot be built to behave like an octopus?”

That’s just the question that engineers and the group OCTOPUS Integrated Project have been trying to answer.

The latest “Octobot” has a soft body, four arms and can squirt water. Its four arms are built to curl around objects just like a real octopus. The “Octobot” can also crawl and change colors.

The octopus is ideal for this job because of how they act in their habitat. They can squeeze through tiny holes and adapt to their surroundings. Researchers are hoping this new robot can help uncover more about the life of an octopus.

Here is the story.

The organization of the leads for the broadcasting video has almost the same lead as the print but the print includes more information and facts at the end of it.

The print contains more information and facts. They both hit the main points of the story but the video gives the fast what you need to know points. The article goes more in depth of what they did and what they plan on using this for. The story talks more on what the navy wants to use it for. I think they were about the same length. The article may have been a little longer.

The video had sources listed at the end of if. The article quotes from Dr. Gemmell throughout it.

The person who narrated the video was also the person who wrote the article. The video also listed people who did the photos and video.

I found the video more interesting because while the person was talking I got to watch the movement of the jellyfish. That also helped when they were explaining how they move and what movements save energy. However, I found it interesting to read what the navy wanted to do with the research.

Watch and read it here.

According to students and a professor at Morningside College the keys to surviving a May Term are knowledge, behavior, and preparation.

One May Term is required to graduate from Morningside. Every student has the opportunity to travel or stay on campus. May Term classes and trips are three weeks long. They happen a week after the spring semester finishes. Subjects of classes and trip locations vary every year.

For students traveling, gathering advice would be a wise idea. Every place is different. The culture, language and beliefs can be different from what students are used to. Being unfamiliar with a culture can create conflict with the local people. Getting advice from other students and faculty that have traveled there or on a May Term before can help make the trip go smooth and easy.

Visiting a country for May Term needs preparations to be planned and done. Start saving up money for trip payments and expenses. “Be prepared to spend money,” says Katie Schiltz, Morningside student. Check the economy in the country to see how much price differences are.

According to Steve Coyne, Morningside professor and a May Term leader, you’re going over there to see what their culture is about.” Learn about the place being visited. Read about the area’s history, the informational guides and the culture. “They know about our culture but we don’t theirs. Put your own view on life to the back of your head and try understanding theirs.”

Students are going to a country that has a culture and views on life that may differ from theirs. It is important to remember to be respectful. Some countries have a bad image or interpretation of America. Do not fight or defend the America, it creates friction and fights. Discussing it in a curious way of exchanging views is acceptable. Remember it is their country, a May Term is just a visit.

When preparing for the trip, relax. Stressing over what needs to be done and when will cause something to be forgotten. Check the country’s electric outlet. They do not always use ones that match American electronics. There are converters that can be purchased to make electronics work. Do not wait until the night before to pack. “Remember underwear, toothbrush, and comfy shoes. Don’t pack to the maximum luggage weight limit, you are going to want to bring things back, save room for it,” says Ashleigh Starr, Morningside Student who went to Australia last year for May Term.

Be prepared not to be able to use phones to text and call. They do not always work. Wi-Fi is also not free everywhere. It can be found at most Starbucks and McDonalds. Go out and enjoy the culture and put all free time to use. According to Katie, “Its a once in a lifetime thing.”