The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
(Vol. 19 No. 40)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
A few years back, I took a training with several of you at Rock Springs. It was "Clarity, Focus, Action: Coaching tools and tactics to move forward" presented by the training team from University of Nebraska Extension. Since that time, Keith Niemann and Deanna Vansickel have continued to provide monthly coaching tips. Following is this month's coaching tip. I share it, in that most all the tips are relevant to all of us in both professional and personal relationships. Clarity in communication is critical in our work. Please take a moment to read and reflect on your communication and times when clarity may have been lacking. How might you change that situation through tips offered here?
Have
you ever had a moment during a conversation when you just couldn't
describe or explain clearly what you were trying to say? That happens to
most of us. And it certainly can happen to our 'client' during a
coaching conversation. The coaching skill of Clarifying
can help both the coach and client stay on course. We define Clarifying
as a skill that uses the application of questioning, and re-framing
when a client is unable to clearly communicate what they want or where
they are going.
If either party is confused about what is being said, questions that
bring the client closer to the topic being discussed can often bring
clarity. Repeating what you just heard verbatim can give the client an
opportunity to reflect on what they said. This provides
a pause that gives them a chance to understand what they were
trying to say and either correct their statement, or give you the "you
understand" response. And sometimes the simple "I don't understand what
you just said. Will you try again?" can be just
what's needed. Many times an attempt at re-framing what you think you
have heard will give the client a different perspective (or look) at
what they said and can quickly lead to movement. In our experience
working with each other, a clarifying question (or
re-framing what was just said) can move us more rapidly toward solving
the issue.
Remember, both parties in the conversation need to understand what is
being said, so Clarifying can provide the nudge that’s needed to move
into action.
As leaders and educators, it is our responsibility to be certain we understand the issues coming from our clients and stakeholders, and we need to be certain our communication is received with full understanding by those we are working to reach. Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
HELP WANTED AT THE KSRE AND COA STATE FAIR BOOTHS
The College of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension will once
again have booths in the Pride of Kansas building at the Kansas State
Fair in Hutchinson. The Kansas State Fair runs from Friday, September 6,
through Sunday, September 15. We are celebrating 150 years of
K-State history and 100 years of the Kansas State Fair. An exciting year
for all of us.
We would appreciate
faculty and staff from campus, area offices, counties/districts,
Agronomy Fields, and Research-Extension Centers coming to the fair and
working a few hours in one or both of the booths. Also, we would really
appreciate agents and/or faculty, who are coming to the fair anyway,
signing up to work a couple of hours in the booth before or after your
activities.
Days and times that our KSRE/COA fair booths are open are:
Friday, September 6 - 11 a.m.-9 p.m.Saturday, September 7 - (KFMA taking this entire day)
Sunday, September 8 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Monday, September 9 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Tuesday, September 10 – 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Wednesday, September 11 - (SG Co taking this entire day)
Thursday, September 12 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday, September 13 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday, September 14 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday, September 15 - 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
If you would like to work in the K-State Research and Extension booth, please contact Maria Sweet, marswe@ksu.edu, by August 27.
If you would like to work in the College of Agriculture booth, please contact Sandy Klein, sandy@ksu.edu, by August 27.
We
will be in touch in late August/early September to finalize days,
times, entrance tickets, etc. --Sandy Klein and Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
WEBINAR: ETHANOL USE IN LEGACY ENGINES
There are a lot of old vehicles around that people care very much about. It may be grandpa’s old tractor, the car they learned to drive in, or the first car they purchased new. Many people have an old something that they keep around to drive occasionally. These vehicles have old or “legacy” engines in them that were designed for use with fuels of the time. Like modern vehicles, modern fuels are much different.
This webinar will discuss one aspect of modern fuels in legacy engines - ethanol. This webinar considers the interaction of ethanol with different materials found in older engines. It will also consider the combustion process and what that may mean for the operation of an older engine. Participants should come away with a better understanding of the care and maintenance of an older engine using ethanol containing fuels.
The webinar, “Ethanol Use in Legacy Engines,” will be Friday, August 30, 10 a.m. CDT. It will be presented by Edwin Brokesh, PE.
How To Connect:
Start connecting five minutes prior to the start time. You need a computer with Internet access and speakers. At the meeting time, copy and paste this URL into your browser to enter the meeting: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/agenergy/. At that URL you will find a login page. “Enter as a Guest” with your name, and business or institution and click “Enter Room.” The audio portion of the meeting will come through your computer speakers.
Any time before the meeting you can visit the following URL to confirm your ability to connect: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/testconnect/
Past web seminars on bioenergy topics are archived at http://farmenergymedia.extension.org/videos or http://bioenergy.unl.edu. --Ed Brokesh ebrokesh@ksu.edu
REMINDER - TIME TO UPGRADE OR REPLACE YOUR WINDOWS XP MACHINE
Just a reminder that Microsoft has announced that it will no longer
offer support for the Windows XP operating system and Office 2003 after
April 2014.
What does that mean? Although you can continue to use
the operating system and the Office 2003 Suite, Microsoft will not push
out new security patches, which could leave your computer vulnerable to
viruses and other malware. It also means that manufacturers of devices
such as printers and copiers may discontinue drivers for Windows XP on
newer devices.
You can tell if you’re running the XP operating
system by doing one of two things. Look for the My Computer icon on your
desktop or on the Start Menu. If you see the icon for My Computer
(Windows 7 and up the icon is labeled Computer) then you are running XP.
The second is to Click Start, Click Run, and type winver in the
run line. A window will appear and list the operating system. If you
have determined your computer is running Windows XP and would like help
in determining if the computer can be upgraded or should be replaced,
please contact Technology Services (formerly IET) at (785) 532-6270 or ksresupport@ksu.edu.
If you're beginning to look at budgets for this year and next, now may
be the best time to start planning for upgrade and replacement costs.
To
avoid potential problems, we recommend upgrading compatible systems to
Windows 7 and Office 2010 by February 15, 2014. Systems not able to be
upgraded need to be replaced or retired. As part of this upgrade
process, we will standardize our support on the Office 2010, Office 2011
(for Mac) and Office 2013 suites. Windows 7 will be our supported
operating system for PCs until we have fully investigated Windows 8.1,
which will be available at the end of this year.
Although some
expenditure may be necessary to make a computer upgradeable to Windows 7
and Office 2010 (such as memory or a hard drive), there is no cost for
the Windows 7 operating system or the Office 2010 Suite. The operating
system and Office 2010 are covered as part of a licensing agreement
through campus. The upgrade is for computers purchased by the counties,
districts, and departments.
For a machine to be upgraded, it
needs a minimum of a Pentium D processor, 2 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and an
80-GB hard drive. To find information about your system, click the
Start Button, click Control Panel, then double-click System. The General
tab under the computer section will have information about the computer
processor and available memory. Most of the computers purchased in the
last four to six years should be capable of being upgraded to Windows 7.
Drive
size can be determined by double-clicking My Computer, right-clicking
on C: Drive, and clicking Properties. You’ll need to look at total drive
size and free space on the drive. You’ll need 20 GB of free space on
the drive to handle the new operating system as well as your data and
software. If you have less than that, contact Technology Services, and
we can help you determine what to do about freeing up space on the
drive.
Again, if you need help determining whether a computer can
be upgraded or pricing computers for replacement, please contact
Technology Services at 785-532-6270 or email us at ksresupport@ksu.edu. --Joe Lear learj@ksu.edu
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