Bronwyn's Blog: July 2006

.From the nfp Good Practice Guide

Make sure that each staff and board member understands and is comfortable delivering your message; use every external interaction to convey information about your organization and to gain information about your audience and market.

Williams Group, a strategic communications resource

More on marketing

More on growing your organisation

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Whizz Kids Web pages Updated

I have updated the Whizz Kids web pages. The new material is in

Books
Arts, Craft and Activities
Fun and Games
Jokes and riddles

kids, craft activities

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions

by Craig A. Anderson

After 40+ years of research, one might think that debate about media violence effects would be over. An historical examination of the research reveals that debate concerning whether such exposure is a significant risk factor for aggressive and violent behavior should have been over years ago (Bushman & Anderson, 2001).

Four types of media violence studies provide converging evidence of such effects: laboratory experiments, field experiments, cross-sectional correlation studies, and longitudinal studies (Anderson & Bushman, 2002a; Bushman & Huesmann, 2000).

But the development of a new genre—electronic video games—reinvigorated the debate.

Two features of video games fuel renewed interest by researchers, public policy makers, and the general public. First, the active role required by video games is a double-edged sword. It helps educational video games be excellent teaching tools for motivational and learning process reasons. But, it also may make violent video games even more hazardous than violent television or cinema. Second, the arrival of a new generation of ultraviolent video games beginning in the early 1990s and continuing unabated to the present resulted in large numbers of children and youths actively participating in entertainment violence that went way beyond anything available to them on television or in movies. Recent video games reward players for killing innocent bystanders, police, and prostitutes, using a wide range of weapons including guns, knives, flame throwers, swords, baseball bats, cars, hands, and feet.

Some include cut scenes (i.e., brief movie clips supposedly designed to move the story forward) of strippers. In some, the player assumes the role of hero, whereas in others the player is a criminal. Read on ...

More resources for families at

The Resources for families blog

The Resources for Families web pages

video game violence

Sunday, July 16, 2006

WRB

I have started a new blog at Wordpress. I called it WRB which stands for Words, Reading and Books. Check it out.... language, words, reading, books

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Guide to a healthy heart

This is a visually exciting, interactive website which gives information about the heart, how it works and why it fails. Explore the Invision Guide to a healthy heart.

heart health

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Who invented the smiley face?

I couldn't resist sharing this. I have to admit, I've never given a thought to the who where or when of the ubiquitous smiley face.

"Dear Cecil:Who invented the smiley face, that obnoxious little design you see plastered on stickers everywhere? Some anonymous hero lost in the quagmire of Commercial Art History? A team of dedicated iconographers hoping to devise the perfect expression of mindless optimism? Will we ever know? Hey, this is what we pay you big money for.

--Ivan Brunetti, Lansing, Illinois

Cecil replies:

Oh? Guess your check got lost in the mail. A few weeks ago, my usual sources having come up dry, I convinced a reporter to post this question in USA Today. Overcome by wickedness, however, I phrased it, "who invented the smiley face, and did he do time for it?" Not that I actually thought the responsible party should be imprisoned, of course; I'd settle for 20 years' house arrest in a room wallpapered with smileys. Be that as it may, I got a few calls, made a few more, and now can confidently assign credit and/or blame.

The smiley face craze, if not necessarily the smiley face itself, was the work of two brothers in Philadelphia, Bernard and Murray Spain, who were in the business of making would-be fad items." Read on ...

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Public Speaking Web update

I have updated the Public Speaking pages of Pivotal Points

I added a Success Tip and 2 new articles ...

My Best Presentation Tricks and

Why (Teleclass) Audiences Won't Speak: And How To Get Them To Respond
Pivotal Public Speaking ezine

You can also visit the Pivotal Public Speaking blog for more tips, articles and links.

public speaking, presentations

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Self Improvement Web Update

I have updated the Self improvement pages at Pivotal Points.

New articles:

Business :Plan today for your most prosperous tomorrow! A 4-step blue print for success.

Motivation: Bringing Yourself Out of a Slump

Words of encouragement

email: The Secrets To E-Mail Nirvana

Computer corner:
20 Things They Don't Want You to Know

Workplace success: Success Secrets for Telephone Interviews

Marketing: "Keep Your Marketing Simple and More Effective With This 6-Step Model"

Improve Your Website's Reputation

marketing, career, email, motivation, business, self improvement, success

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Speech making success Tip:

If you want to get a message across, people need to be able to hear it, to be able to hear each word. That means articulating every word very clearly. So pay particular attention to beginnings and especially endings. Then there can be no confusion between similar words such as taken and taking, or pass and past.

More on public speaking

Pivotal Public Speaking blog
Public speaking web pages

Subscribe to the Pivotal Public Speaking ezine for free fortnightly tips and articles. Read the latest edition

Tags: public speaking, impromptu speech, speech

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Communication Update

I have just updated the Communication web pages at Pivotal Points.

The new Success Tips are in Public Speaking and Communication.

The new articles are Practicing Servant-Leadership and What You Can Accomplish in 6 Minutes.

You can also visit the Communication Blog for more ideas on reading, writing, conversation and more ...

communication, public speaking, leadership, meetings

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Impromptu speeches

"The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance."
- Ruth Gordon

More on public speaking

Pivotal Public Speaking blog
Public speaking web pages

Subscribe to the Pivotal Public Speaking ezine for free fortnightly tips and articles. Read the latest edition

Tags: public speaking, impromptu speech, speech

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Monitor Children on the Internet Tips

Monitoring your children on the Internet can be difficult just as monitoring your children in everything else they do in life. I’ll be discussing two simple steps you can take to help you ease the burden, time and energy it takes to monitor your children.