Vol. 24 Iss. 04

Volume 24 Issue 4 - 01/29/2016

Meeting the Minds – Dr. William Diehl-Jones

Dr. William Diehl-Jones is an associate professor of nursing with AU’s Faculty of Health Disciplines, and sits on the research committee for the children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. Recently, he took time out of his busy schedule to do this two-part interview for The Voice Magazine by Marie Well. You can find the first… Read more »

The Study Dude – On Writing Well, Part III

There is nothing more that The Study Dude wants for you than to get out of your comfort zone and imitate the writers whose works you enjoy reading the most. Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll… Read more »

The Writer’s Toolbox – Oh No! Part II

In last week’s Toolbox installment, we looked at when to add a comma after the exclamatory oh or ah, as in “Oh no!” (no comma) and “Oh, come on” (comma required). The general rule, according to The Chicago Manual of Style, is to use the comma unless the oh or ah forms part of a… Read more »

In Conversation with El Tryptophan’s Gryphon Rue

Gryphon Rue is the singer and songwriter behind El Tryptophan, a highly musically and verbally literate alternative music act from New York. Growing up in a community that is rich with accomplished musicians of varying genres granted Rue a kind of “old soul” perspective on music that somehow enabled him to create remarkably new and… Read more »

Music Review – Omega Diatribe

Band: Omega Diatribe Album: Abstract Ritual I’ve always been a huge fan of hard rock, metal, battle metal, and heavy metal, specifically music of those genres that comes from Eastern and Northern Europe. The first time I was introduced to this style of music was in Vocal Music class in high school when our teacher… Read more »

The Mindful Bard – Kind of Blue

Album: Kind of Blue Artists: Miles Davis, with Bill Evans, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, and Julian “Cannonball” Adderley “I think a movement in jazz is beginning away from the conventional string of chords . . . there will be fewer chords but infinite possibilities as to what to do with them.” – Miles… Read more »

Citing and Plagiarism – Whose Responsibility?

Learning the various rules to citing work can be daunting, though necessary. In my studies I have encountered three different citation methods: American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), and Modern Language Association (MLA). Each varies from each other. While, I find APA and MLA to be close in style there are subtle,… Read more »

From Where I Sit – Great Attributes

When you look around your home or apartment do you like what you see? For this exercise let’s assume we all live where our circumstances and current means dictate. I might want a brand new two thousand square foot house closer to services and amenities. But that just isn’t possible as long as we’re committed… Read more »

Dear Barb – Making Peace

Dear Barb: A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. We have been friends for many years and I was devastated by this diagnosis and didn’t know what to say to her. She and her husband seem to be handling it well. I feel so awful for them. The only thing I… Read more »

Editorial – Survey Asks!

Excuse me if this seems terse this week, there’s currently a chinook coming into Calgary, and, like almost every time there’s a chinook, It’s accompanied by a nasty head-ache. Every year, I try to get out at least one survey so that I have a little guidance as to what you, the students, think of… Read more »

Presidential Interview – AUSU

The last time we talked to the AUSU President was just before the Council held its by-election. This week, Scott Jacobsen has a more personal interview into what makes AUSU President Shawna Wasylyshyn tick. What is the story prior to becoming an Athabasca University (AU) student? I had a successful career as a District Sales… Read more »

Athabasca U-Tube

When I was in elementary school years?okay, decades?ago, there was one sure way teachers could persuade students to stay quiet for an extended period: show a film. Since it was school, the films we saw were educational and relevant to whatever subject we were studying. We did not watch feature-length movies?except for Shakespeare’s Romeo and… Read more »

Fly on the Wall – This Thing Called Boredom

Boredom: what is its substance? Poring over schoolwork on dark January days can easily bring about this question. Last decade one answer presented itself as I was visiting some relatives out in the Maritimes. While they discussed their newly-acquired farmhouse I sat sequestered in a corner with my binder full of readings for SOCI335. “That… Read more »

Why The Voice Matters

Just as Athabasca University is unique among Canadian universities because of its distance learning format, The Voice is unique among university publications. There is no reporting of campus concerts or sports teams, and no opportunities to take photos of students just hanging out in campus gathering spaces because those just don’t exist with the AU… Read more »

Insights on AU

When I originally came into AU, I expected a moderate-involvement university and a distance-based online community. I had false premises for my inferences about the nature of online education. I derived false conclusions in the tacit argument. At the time, two important questions to me were “what provisions exist in contrast to in-class universities?” and… Read more »

Click of the Wrist – Protect Your Privacy

You might have missed Data Privacy Day (January 28) this year, but It’s never too late to evaluate how well You’re protecting your personal information. Click through this week’s links for some ideas on keeping your data safe and secure. Take Small Steps Yes, you can go high-tech, but before you do, start out with… Read more »

Women of Interest – Marguerite Pitre

Marguerite Pitre: (September 4, 1908 – January 9, 1953) Born in Saint-Octave-de-Metis, Quebec, Marguerite was the thirteenth, and last, woman hanged in Canada. She was known as “Madame Raven” as she always wore black clothing. Marguerite Ruest-Pitre had the unfortunate luck of meeting Joseph Guay through her brother who worked for Guay. Guay was married… Read more »

Student Sizzle! – Following What’s Hot

AthaU Facebook Group Sahar asks for advice on which courses to take first for his management program. Lindsey seeks survival tips for course PHIL 231. Nicole is trying to track down a hard copy of the ANTH 277 textbook. Other posts include courses ACCT 253, EDPY 471, HRMT 301, LGST 369, and PHIL 333. Twitter… Read more »

AUSU Update!

This space is provided free to AUSU: The Voice does not create or edit this content. Contact ausu@ausu.org with questions or comments about this page. IMPORTANT DATES – Feb 10: Deadline to register in a course starting Mar 1 – Feb 10: Call for Nominations for 2016 General Election – Feb 11: AUSU Council Meeting… Read more »