Hackin’, cheatin’, and Time for Change

WFOR-TV reports Jose Bautista, 18, allegedly jacked his high school’s computer systems to change grades. Friday, he was charged with multiple count including intellectual property offense and offense against computer users. This incident is a scary prodrome of the ability of teenagers and technology. Of course, Bautista was indeed caught, but if a student was able to successfully pull off stunts involving grades schools will be facing even bigger issues than now. Technology in general is a prodrome to these types of crimes happening, but schools need to be proactive in the battle of technology, and implement better security systems to protect their integrity, and the students.

While this is the first incident, I believe it’s the first of many. Not all crimes will include grades, they could involve pranks and harmless activity, but needless to say, the system is flawed. The time has come to improve upon the computer systems in place through schools in the U.S. Teenagers have officially become more intelligent than technology security systems at their high schools. I believe the time has actually come and pass, but schools do not need to wait. The problem could quickly get out of hand, but I fear they will overlook, yet another, prodrome.

Jose Bautista, 18, was charged Friday with multiple counts including intellectual property offence and offense against computer users. According to WFOR-TV, Bautista was able to hack into the school computers and change the grades for himself and four other students.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/miami-teen-arrested-hacking-computers-change-grades/story?id=23577368

Sexual Relations: A Student Teacher Affair

Assistant football coach Luke Edward Parks, 26, is charged with felony sexual exploitation of children and sexual assault.

Assistant girls soccer coach Jeffery Tyler Crowder, 25, was jailed Wednesday on a felony sexual assault charge stemming from alleged sexual contact with a 16-year-old student.

School violence isn’t the only problem high schools are facing. Statesboro High School, SHS, and other Bulloch County school, are examples of poor judgement of teachers, and possibly students.

SHS has handled the situation well thus far by, removing the employees from the school, keep the identities of the students private, including investigations reaching into the cyber side of communication between the students and accused coaches, have tip lines set up for students to report details of the cases, and offering counsellors and psychologists for students.

SHS is handling the PR details well. By remaining open to the public, and involving them as the investigation begins will build trust in the administration of the school. SHS is keeping their students in the forefront of their minds by offering them ways to help with the investigation; as well as, providing them with on site counsellors and psychologists. The school has also worked to protect the identity of any of their students involved, and the locations of the possible inappropriate behaviors between the coaches and students.

By continuing to keep an open policy with the public, parent/guardians, and press they will be of fording themselves the opportunity to rebuild trust. Keeping a learning environment safe for students is obvious a priority of SHS, but they were unfortunately unable to prevent misjudged of their employes and students. SHS as apologized, but did not accepted any blame, and has made commitments to work with law enforcement to find out the truth behind these allegations.

 

 

Student Slasher Crisis at Pennsylvania High School

Four counts of attempted homicide, 21 counts of aggravated assault are facing Alex Hribal, 16, after he went through classrooms and hallways at his Pennsylvania high school stabbing fellow classmates. Twenty-one students and a security guard were all injured during the attack. Hribal is now in custody after Assistant Principal Sam King tackled the armed student. Hribal is being held without bail. Hribal’s is reportedly not cooperating with authorities. Reports are leading the public to believe bullying did not cause Hribal’s outburst. According to the police, and Hribal’s lawyer, there are no known motives at this time. The school hopes to reopen as soon as the end of the week, but they will be facing many difficulties, not limited to students.

Parents and student have lost trust in the school’s ability to keep the students safe. The school should apologize for tragedy, but celebrate the fact that no lives were lost. School violence is an obvious problem within the U.S. As I look into the problem deeper for my CCP class project I’m understanding the issues are complicated and unnerving. The school will need to offer counsellors for students, faculty, and staff as they deal with these frightening events and heal together. Counseling might even need to be mandatory for perhaps one or two secessions per student. Understandably, parents will be over protective of their children during the school day, and may be calling or attempting to visit their children to check in on them. Parents should also be allowed to see these counsellors. Winning back the trust of parents should be the priority of the school as they move forward.

From my personal understanding from various news reports Hribal did not exhibit any of the prodromes one might expect from an emotionally distressed young man, but of course, no one knows what happens behind closed doors. As the school works toward healing students should feel as if they are being cared for and protected. Hopefully, the school system will learn from these tragedy and move forward with better programs for students whom may be struggling with life issues, or just stressing over a big test. Overall, I believe this is a successful outcomes I the crisis due to no lose of life, and strong support systems between the community, school, and students during these troubling times.

 

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/national_world&id=9501542

At Least 22 Injured in Mass Stabbing at Pa. High School

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/11/no-known-target-in-pennsylvania-high-school-stabbing-rampage-police-say/

America the Brave…

Military men and women deserve nothing other than respect and gratitude, but they are now facing more stressful issues than ever before adding ample pressure to these heroes. The shooting at Fort Hood is, unfortunately, probably not seen as much of a crisis because it was an isolated incident involving a disgruntled soldier. Reports say the shooter, Ivan Lopez, was told to come back later to request a day of leave, and following this, Lopez was involved in an altercation with fellow soldiers. Officials on the base are blaming the quarrel as the “stressor” leading Lopez opening fire, but the men in the altercation were not the target of Lopez.

In 2009 Fort Hood had a similar store involving a soldier, Nidal Hasan, killing 13 and injuring 30 others.

 Prodromes:
The 2009 shooting at Fort Hood
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Weapons being readily available
The “stressor”

If someone had been able to take notice of Lopez’s unstable state of mind, perhaps families would not be grieving the loss of their loved ones taken from them in the shooting.

Now what?
Two shootings within six years should be worrisome to Fort Hood’s PR department, if they have one, but there is little being done besides a criminal investigation. The military’s focus seems to be on finding the “stressor” for the tragedy, and making sure they aren’t to blame; not making an effort to ensure a disaster of this magnitude never happens again. At this point, there is not much the military can do other than apologize for the horrid shooting, but they should be proactive in preventing future events.

Using the image restoration theory the military has potential for improvements. I highly doubt there is money in the budget for it, but I believe there is a way for military bases to have required therapy sessions of all soldiers. This gives a greater chance to identifying high risk soldiers, and prevent them from acting out. Of course, there would be resistance to this idea, probably from multiple groups, but I just do not believe it’s worth losing any more lives over.

Being in the armed forces is stressful, demanding, and intense-and that’s from an outsiders point of view. Obviously, there are times when these men and women need assistance with mental stability-midterms, finals, and Dr. Geyerman papers are enough to send me over the edge a few times a year. The stigma accompanying mental health has lessened, due to efforts put forth by many including Former President Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter, and would continue to decrease once the benefits are seen by officials of these military bases.

The military has been afforded the opportunity to change this path of internal violence, this is a rare chance I fear they will not take. Being proactive in saving lives always seems worth it to me, hopefully the military will agree. Implementing some kind of program offers less violence among the soldiers, and overall, better mental and emotional health.

 

Resources

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Fort_Hood_shooting

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Fort_Hood_shooting

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/04/us/fort-hood-shooting/

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/military-mental-health-issues

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/fort-hood.html

http://www.cartercenter.org/health/mental_health/index.html

AIDS aren’t as bad as Ebola, right?? Oh wait…

Due to recent interest in the crises facing African nations I have found that there has been an outbreak of Ebola within Africa. As of on I believe the Ebola outbreak is still in the pre-crisis phase. There have been 63 deaths, a few including medical personal.

Ebola is hard to control, but with proper per cautions it is possible to deal with the virus. Many of the African nations infected, and probably soon to be infected, do not have the means to protect themselves. With some financial backing it will be simple to control the issue. The virus is still under control in Africa. There is no cure for the virus as of now, so containment and comfort are the issues. A proactive tactic to take would be the donation of fund to stop the spread, and to send extra health care professionals. Abola is by no means a crisis in Africa yet, but it has great potential to become a serious one.

This virus also has the potential to easily spread throughout the world. It could be as simple as an infected business man, missionary, etc. to get on a plane and bring the virus back to any, and maybe, of other countries. For once let us be extra proactive in fighting a potentially devastating virus. If we attack this virus as it becomes a problem containment will be much easier, but I am fearful Ebola will be overlooked as much of Africa is in modern times.

The point of PR is not never have to use it, but sadly many do not grasp that idea. with more proactive PR there would be less crises, and less money spend of solving problems.

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/03/fear-guinea-capital-as-ebola-virus-spreads-2014329164141638415.html

Doctor Daddy-PR crisis communication blog 1

Baby Aaliyah couldn’t wait on the doctors any longer, she was coming into the world, and no one was going to slow her down.  Zaheer and Indira Ali were abandoned by their O.B.G.Y.N., Dr. Elana Deutsch, in the delivery room, due to another patient in need of an emergency C-section.  Zaheer, father of Aaliyah, delivered his daughter without any doctors or nurses in the room with him and his wife.

Zaheer was quoted in the Palm Beach Post saying, “My wife was screaming.  The nurse says ‘You have to wait.’’  Personally, I have never given birth, nor do I have any specific expertise in the delivery practice, but I am aware that is it not a process in which time of birth is controlled, and “waiting” isn’t an option.  The Boynton Beach, Fl. hospital is keeping quiet on the topic, and only acknowledged the incident publicly by saying, “Sorry”.  According to ABC News Dr. Deutsch was quoted in the Post saying, “‘It must have happened very rapidly, because I was only in the C-section for 30 minutes,’ obstetrician Dr. Elana Deutsch told the Post, adding that a nurse should have stayed with the couple but was likely ‘nervous’ about being there alone. “By the time she [the nurse] was back in the room, the baby was in the bed,”’

Obviously, the hospital staff could be charged with malpractice, and could be faced a lawsuit from the new parents, but, in reality, I am unaware if they will be filing and lawsuits against the hospital.  The safety of the mother and baby should have been of primary concern to the doctors and nurses involved in baby Aaliyah’s delivery.  Even if the nurse was “nervous” about being alone, she/he should have remained in the room to assist in the delivery, or retrieved a nurse whom did feel comfortable being in the delivery room.

Because hospital are continuously needed stopping their normal flow of business is almost impossible, and they may have escaped this crisis due to mom and baby being healthy, but the implications could have been very costly to the hospital, and damaging their reputation, as well as career ending for Dr. Deutsch if the story gained popularity among social media.

Fortunately this was not the case, but if complications had occurred during the birth of Aaliyah leading to any harm of mom or baby, a crisis could have developed involving a negative impact on the hospital and the labor and delivery staff. It could have caused Dr. Deutsch’s reputation to suffer, and depending in the hypothetical harm of mom or baby, would have determined the amount of damage to her career. The blame would also have to fall on the shoulders of the nurse that left the Alis alone in the delivery room.

This type of crisis has a huge potential for turning into a birthday crisis for the hospital and Dr. Deutsch, due to baby Aaliyah’s birthday being the anniversary of the event. The hospital has issued an apology, but Zaheer implied the family does not feel the hospital has been sincere. If this event had lead to a crisis for the Florida hospital, they could have applied the image restoration theory in order to save face during the conflict with their public(s). Hospitals are always needed, and when a human error occurs leading to a crisis the normal flow of business cannot stop, but if the crisis is threatening enough the public will lose trust in the organization, thus no longer seek medical treatment there. Thankfully, there was not a major crisis following the birth of Aaliyah, but the hospital still needs to make attempts at rebuilding some lost of face.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/02/25/dad-delivers-baby-after-doctor-nurse-flee/

A#4 September 11

     I don’t believe it is possible to pinpoint what it is that makes you an American anymore.  We are much too diverse to narrow it down, but one thing I do think we as a country unify over on September 11 is respect.  Respect for those innocent men and women at work and flying that lost their lives. Respect for the fearless fire fighters, cops, military personnel, and first responders that selflessly ran toward the burning World Trade Centers to save lives when the didn’t know if they would make it themselves.  Also, respect for all the people around the nation and world that had heavy hearts thinking about everyone who were directly involved that awful day.

     Days like 9/11 should never happen, but it did and so many people lost their lives.  If it’s possible to see a silver lining on a day like that I believe it’s in the stories of the men and women that survived, the husbands and wives that never got to say goodbye, and the children that lost their mommies and daddies.  Of course, no one wished them to have to deal with the lose of loved ones, but the unbelievably inspiring lives these people lead should remind us all how truly blessed we are to be able to hug and kiss our family.

     I always fine it hard to watch the news on September 11.  I had the Today show on as I was getting ready for classes, and they were showing the reading of the names of the victims.  It was difficult to listen to but I it was worth it.  I also watched the ABC Nightly News.  It is continually a humbling thought to think back to that day, and it reminds me to be grateful for everyone I love.

     I heard many inspiring stories from September, 11, but the one that really got to me was a picture of a woman with a short description.  She was crying as she stood looking at the name of her fiancé on the Ground Zero Memorial.  I did not learn her name or his.  I didn’t hear any other details.  But, somehow, in that moment my heart broke for her and a tear ran down my cheek.

     September 11 was one of the biggest global events I have personally lived through.  It not only reminds me to show my respect and appreciation for everyone involved that day, but also for the men and women before me that protected my life, my family, my friends, and everything I love.

A#3 GSU Mag Review

Article 1

Georgia Southern University alumnus Dustin Evans made it to the big leagues! Well, kind of.  No, he is not a professional baseball player, but he could be the key to you becoming one.

Road Warrior, Georgia Southern magazine, by Mary Beth Spence

The subject of this article is Dustin Evans becoming a major league scout for the Seattle Mariners.  Evans is an alumnus of Georgia Southern University.  Personally, I chose to write about Evans because I am a baseball fan and I love to hear about GSU alumni getting awesome jobs!  We all know the workforce is a tough world these days, but hearing about Evans’s success is extremely encouraging and exciting!  I believe unusualness and human interest.  It’s not everyday that a GSU grad gets a job with a major league baseball team, and what makes Evans more unusual is his young age of 28.  Human interest comes in because it is a GSU magazine and, obviously, written for a GSU audience.  The audience for this article would be anyone who likes to keep up with GSU and what is going on with the current and past students.

 

Article 2

 It’s not everyday that you are given the opportunity to spend the evening with a former president and his wife, but that was exactly what Georgia Southern students were able to do!

A Conversation with the Carters, Georgia Southern magazine, by Mary Beth Spence

President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter visiting Georgia Southern University.  They do not have a specific connection other than coming to speak to our campus and community.  Hearing about a former president coming to speak at a university is always interesting to me.  They spoke about their efforts to better the world and they are true inspirations.  I believe students were about to connect to them about these projects and motivated them to learn more about the Carter Center and all the amazing work they do for others.  This story made the cut because it is unusual.  How often does the opportunity present itself to hear a former president and his lovely wife speak?  The audience for this article is large.  It is interesting to both political parties and anyone interested in humanitarian efforts.

These Blogs Rock!

           I recently had the pleasure of visiting the blogs A Shell of My Former Self by Shel Holts, 6AM by Richard Edelman, and Spin Sucks by Gina Dietrich.  These blogs all offer a different view of the PR world and how to become a successful PR professional.

            Holtz expertise and years of experience speak for themselves.  What I was most interested in was Holtz’s drive to help organizations communicate online.  Online communication is by no means new anymore, but using it correctly is not only tricky to navigate, but extremely easy to make huge, embarrassing mistakes with.  Having a communication plan seems silly because we all know how to communicate with each other, although if you think about it can you honestly say you know exactly how to communicate with everyone you interact with online?  The answer is probably no, and that’s why I found Holtz noteworthy.

            6AM caught my attention because of the awesome advice they give you about becoming a PR professional.  Some of the tips they give are common sense, but they go below the surface.  Edelman doesn’t leave anything out, but that wasn’t what I liked the most.  What really drew me in was the inspiration.  It was a lot to take in and I kind of realized I am most definitely not ready for the work force, but Edelman made me feel like I am more than able to accomplish all my goals.

            Spin Sucks was the third blog I looked at.  It was different from the other two and that was what made me enjoy looking around.  They seemed more focused on feedback and made it easy to talk to them.  This blog pulled me in the most because of the open feel.  They made it seem like they wanted to hear your opinion and they cared about what you have to say.

Mrs. Andrews blog comments

Mrs. Andrews’ blogs

1.  Discussing fundraising events with Alex Grovenstein

http://practicalissues.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/discussing-fundraising-events-with-alex-grovenstein/#comment-1315

I liked this because of his advice.

(1) Get use to not getting public credit

We all love getting praised for what we have done, specially when people like what you’ve done and it has gone over well with the public, but PR people are behind the scenes more than you realize.  We, PR people, keep things running but, a lot of the time, we are not seen so others don’t realize how hard we work.

(2) Events don’t always go as planned

I think the better advice would be, events never go as planned.  Ever when the event goes perfectly and everyone loves the event, something always happens that you don’t plan for.  I am a high stress person and if things are thrown at me unexpectedly I tend to have a panic moment, but I can honestly say that I have always been able to work through whatever the problem was, and managed to keep my sanity.

(3) Sometimes you have to do it all yourself.

This is something I already do and am very good at.  I HATE group projects in college because there is always the people that done work and want the grade and the people who will work but they don’t do their work well and settle for Cs and Bs.  I take charge in group projects, do all or most of the work, and then if others do actually do part of the work I always have them send it to me so I can make sure it is A worthy work.

2.  5 Take-aways from the PR Internship Meeting

http://practicalissues.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/5-take-aways-from-the-pr-internship-meeting/#comment-1316

From all of this I focused in on “If you don’t know, ask”.  I have been bad about this in the past.  I just try to figure out on my own what I don’t know.  Recently, I have become a lot better about it.  I have caused problems for myself in the past because I haven’t asked.  Now, if I don’t know something I will make someone explain it to me 5 times, 5 different ways until I fully understand what I need to know to complete whatever task has been assigned to me.  People feel like this makes them look dumb, but in the end when you have the final product and you have completed it well and everyone is happy with it makes all those questions wroth it.

3.  Are you the next “Public Relations Student of the Year?”

http://practicalissues.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/are-you-the-next-public-relations-student-of-the-year/#comment-1321

I am definitely, unfortunately, am not the PR student of the year.  With this only being my second semester as a PR major I was still getting the feel for everything and trying to find my niche.  It is nice to know what I would have to do in the future to receive this honor.  Now, that I am more comfortable with PR as a whole and I feel as if I am able to grasp what it is and what I want to do with my degree it is a real possibility that I will strive for this in the upcoming school year!

4.  Local crisis brewing? A health employee uses racial slur

http://practicalissues.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/local-crisis-brewing-a-health-employee-uses-racial-slur/#comment-1319

The beauty of this great country is that we have freedom of speech, the sad part of it is that people are ignorant enough to say things like this “lady” did. (And I’m using the term “lady” lightly.)

Because I am from the Statesboro area I recall when this happened and I know of, NOT friends with, the person that said it.  No one thought it was expectable, but the sad truth is, no one expected anything less from someone of her standing.

Having freedom is essential, but unfortunately, these are people out there that use it to bash our nation.  Personally, I don’t support Obama’s political party, but I do support Obama as our president because no matter what he is our leader, and we should always stand behind him, as long as he is upholding is duties as commander and chief.