So I already ordered one book....

There was a little bit of confusion as to what editions I was supposed to get, because the syllabus said one edition, and the announcements had another. I guess my Soc410 professor fixed the link, because now the syllabus and the announcements have the same information printed. But I did get my Finance book ordered. I would've ordered the Sociology book already, but I lost my password for the Berkeley Online Bookstore, and I requested it be sent to my email address, and it never appeared. But alas, I can order it from amazon.com with expedited shipping, and it'll be at my location in a couple of days. So I can keep up with the notes and discussion boards, in the meantime.

Also, looking at Blackboard, I noticed that this quarter's Virtual Job Fair is November 7, 2008. I'm going to try and send my e-mail via the Internet for some of the companies that looked pretty interesting. I'm also going to make it a point to look more at the Career Services board this quarter.

So far, I haven't really been keeping up with the water-drinking challenge from the Healthy Cafe Club. I will make a more earnest effort, though, because I know how important water intake is. Water makes up about 65% of one's body, blood being the other 35%. It also flushes out the impurities in our system, so that we can be healthy and productive. I'm also going to see how I can spend more wisely on foods and link that with the project that I'll be doing for Finance 305.

Next week starts a new term...

I've already started reading some of the work we're doing for Finance305; we're to keep a weekly log of our spending (what we spend our money on daily, such water, coffee, candy, etc.), as well as come up with a financial plan for ourselves. This looks like it will be a pretty interesting class, not to mention an interesting semester. I'm gonna order the books this week, as well, soon that I'll have what I need next week.

For the Healthy Cafe club, Professor Cohen also wants us to do something; she wants us to wear seven bangles and for each glass of water we drink per day, we're to move one bangle to the other arm. In that way, we'll see how much water we really take in per day and see if we can increase our water intake. Smart, fun, and innovative--not to mention promoting healthy habits.

But getting back to finance for a while, I wonder if we'll ever be asked to do fun projects like the one in Finance305 for the Finance and Accounting Club? Because when I think of finance, I think of ways to save and grow money. So that was a thought that had occurred to me. Time will tell as we go forward in the quarter(s).

So the quarter's over for me....

I'm just waiting for the new quarter to start. Well, as it turns out, I have to take statistics over. I'll admit it, I didn't do as well as I would've liked this semester, but I didn't think I was doing that badly. But I won't cower in embarrassment. I'll just use this opportunity to learn from my past mistakes so that I can avoid repeating them. While I wouldn't say I slacked off this term, I would say that I didn't give it my usual attention, and my grades reflected that. At the same time, I was also thinking that I probably wouldn't be able to attend school this quarter and have to wait for the fall, anyway (long story), so when I found out that I was able to attend school, I was already a week or two behind. And with math classes, once you fall behind, it's a little harder to catch up. This is a temporary setback that I mean to correct. I want to show the professors--and the staff in general--at Berkeley that I do take my education very seriously.

On a lighter note, I am still going to pose my idea to the Finance and Accounting Club for a mixer for the club members to get to know each other and come up with some interesting ideas for each quarter or each meeting. I also want to come up with some ideas for the Healthy Cafe club, such as a healthy mixer for all of the students of Berkeley College (maybe even from different Berkeley campuses).

A close call....

Well, as it turns out yesterday, I had saved my final GHA to Content Collection in Blackboard, but for some reason, the library computer wouldn't allow me to upload the file (my local library's computer, that is). Thank God I had the presence of mind to print out a copy of the final GHA; I was able to re-type it up and answer the questions in the format that the professor required. I thought I was sunk, for sure.

But the last two weeks have been pretty interesting, as far as topics for discussion were concerned. We talked about employment-at-will, unionization in jobs (and how to avoid it), and electronic monitoring of employees (for purposes of curtailing inappropriate Internet use and misuse of other electronic equipment such as e-mail or voicemail).

Employment-at-will is a rather controversial subject; it states that either the employer or the employee can terminate the business relationship with or without reason. Well, some employers have taken liberties with this approach, firing individuals for whatever reasons they see fit that are not always related to job performance; it could be due to economic downturn. This is what I believe I was a victim of when I worked for Lord & Taylor; they never talked to me about my performance, so as far as I knew, I was doing a great job. I was never later and never had a discipline problem. And then, all of a sudden, I got called into the office and was told I was being fired. If I'd known then what I know now, I would've fought them on it. But it was very interesting to note that I could apply almost every aspect of this class to some part of my work life.

Electronic monitoring of employee use of the Internet is also a controversial topic, because it touches on employee rights. But at the same time, employees using company time for personal means is inappropriate, so these things must be dealt with, as well.

Unionization is another touchy subject; employees want to feel protected and secure in their jobs, and sometimes they feel like the best way to do that is to form a union. But unionization can be avoided if the employer makes sure labor laws are followed to the "T" and that employees are earning a competitive rate compared with similar organizations in the city in which they operate.

I have my final statistics exam soon....

I'll admit it, I'm a bit nervous about it, as the past few weeks have been particularly challenging with regard to the topics covered in class. While I've been practicing over and over using Excel, I keep making some mistakes that I'm afraid may cost me on the last two assignments I have due. But I'm gonna make it my aim this weekend to study, study, study. As we know, prior proper planning prevents poor performance.

With regard to this week's GHA for Human Resource Management, I have a feeling that I did really well. I'm less confident about my discussion board grade this week, however, because I tried to post to Blackboard several times this week, and for some reason, it wouldn't take. I finally submitted my original post via email to my instructor. But as it turned out, there were other students who were having the same trouble, so maybe I won't be penalized.

Once again, I am looking forward to the new quarter, particularly Soc410. I really feel that it will touch on many of the topics we covered in Human Resource Management this quarter, but with a particular focus on how it affects women. Being an African American female, I'm sure that I will have PLENTY to contribute to the discussion boards--at the same time, being courteous and respectful of all of my fellow students.

The official winding down process begins...

So, this is the next to last week of classes for the summer session, and I'm anxious to begin the new term. I want to order my books as soon as possible so that I'm not waiting for them after the new term has already begun. I have three more exams to take, as well as some posting to the message boards that I have to complete by late tonight/early tomorrow. I also want to peruse the Healthy Cafe and Finance and Accounting message boards, as well as Career Services. I specifically want to peruse Career Services so that I can keep an eye on upcoming events at Berkeley College, like the Job Fairs that we have periodically. Even if I can't attend, I can at least see which companies will be there, and I can contact them, telling them that I'm a student at Berkeley College and would very much like the opportunity to interview with them.

Speaking of the Healthy Cafe, I notice that sometimes the other online clubs have such activities as mixers and parties for the members to reunite and discuss business, as well as meet new and prospective members. I haven't seen that for the Healthy Cafe, and maybe I could suggest that to the professor. And we'll have healthy food, drink, and snacks for all in attendance as we discuss ways to be physically and mentally healthy, as this would go a long way in our being productive students.

This week's statistics....

This week, we learned about correction of continuity and approximating the binomial distribution by using the norma distribution. You use the normal distribution by following these steps:

Verify that the binomial distribution applies
Determine if you can use the normal distribution to approximate X, the binomial variable.
Find the mean and standard deviation for the distribution.
Apply the appropriate continuity correction. Shade the corresponding area under the normal curve.
Find the corresponding z-scores.
Find the probability.

Do I know what all of this means? I'm still working on it, but I have tried out some of the problems using Excel, and this week I used it on my homework. It worked out exactly as it should, although I'm still trying to understand the concept of it all. I did take this point away, however: approximating a binomial distribution is concerned with finding the approximate number; it either has to be greater than/equal to or less than/equal to the number to its left or right.

So I finally got my grade for my Human Resource Management class...

While I got a good grade, I did get some feedback from the teacher on how she wants me to submit my tests (format, etc.). This is probably the difference between my 80's and the 100's that I'd prefer. But I am really learning a lot, and it will definitely help out when I take my Soc410 class this coming quarter. We will most likely delve deeper into topics dealing with race, class, and gender. And again, I look forward to well-thought-out responses to the professors' discussion board questions from our bright, intelligent student body.

And speaking of student bodies, I wonder when we will have new messages on our discussion board on the Healthy Cafe discussion board? I really enjoyed what I read in the past, but I look forward to reading more of what insights the professor has to offer as far as healthy tips that can not only slim our waistlines, but fatten our pockets (i.e., not spending so much money on junk food, but using that money to buy our lunch items for the week).

I also plan to make more use of the Career Services section, as well as get more prospective students interested in Berkeley by talking about all the activities there, as well as pointing out the benefits and challenges of online/distance learning vs. classroom learning. With Berkeley, you're sure to get a superior education, either way. However, what works for one student may not necessarily work for the other.