Search
Loading
October 27th, 2022
Humanities, Social Science and Education Library’s Featured Database will give you a brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring Oxford Art Online database.
Link: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/oxfordart
Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue login and password.
Focus: Oxford Art Online is an innovative gateway that offers users the ability to access and search the vast content of Grove Art Online and Oxford art reference in one location. With the 2008 complete redesign of Grove Art Online, as well as the addition of substantial new Oxford reference content, Oxford Art Online offers the most extensive and easily searchable online art resource available today, a virtual art reference library of unparalleled scope and depth.
Tutorial: Click here see the basics of using the Drama Online database.
Why you should know this database: This database combines the Grove Dictionary of Art and Benezit Dictionary of Artists into an innovative gateway that offers users the ability to access and search the vast content. It is regularly updated and includes over 200,000 articles that span ancient to contemporary art and architecture.
Quick tip: At the bottom of the article, there is a section called Bibliography. This lists the source where the information from the article was obtained. You can click on the link beneath the citation to see if the item is available at our library. This can help expand the resources for your research.
Related Resources:
Other databases you might want to explore are:
Art Full-Text: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/aft
Gale OneFile – Fine Arts: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/gppfa
October 4th, 2022
Parrish Library’s Featured Database will give you a very brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring Frost & Sullivan brought to you by the global research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
Frost & Sullivan’s business intelligence portfolio provides practical industry insights and analysis with real-world statistics and research results. Industries covered include communications and IT, transportation, consumer products, healthcare, environment and energy, aerospace and defense, electronics and semiconductors, chemicals, materials, and food.
The List of Business Databases is the alphabetical list of the databases specially selected for those in a business program of study. Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue Career Account.
Click Getting Started with Frost & Sullivan to see the basics of using this database.
Some other resources you might want to explore are:
Featured Database comes to you from the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management & Economics. If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact parrlib@purdue.edu. Also let us know if you know of a colleague who would benefit from this, or future Featured Databases.
Since usage statistics are an important barometer when databases are up for renewal, tell us your favorite database, and we will gladly promote it. Send an email to parrlib@purdue.edu.
Filed under: database, MGMT, UncategorizedSeptember 15th, 2022
Purdue University Press spoke with author Charles J. Murray about his new book, Long Hard Road: The Lithium-Ion Battery and the Electric Car.
Q: Could you give a brief description of your book?
The first half of the book takes the reader through the piece-by-piece invention of the lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion had many inventors around the world, but mostly in the US, UK, France, and Japan. The inventors in those countries are profiled, and the book details their contributions between 1972 and 1991. The second half of the book is about the electric car, and the auto industry’s adoption of lithium-ion. It describes all the different chemistries that automotive engineers tried before they settled on lithium-ion. The consistent thread to this story is the battery. There is no single main character in this book; the lithium-ion battery is really the star.
Q: What is the goal of your book? What motivated you to write it?
I wanted to write this because I thought the electric car and the lithium-ion battery were misunderstood. In popular culture, the electric car is a new idea. But in truth the manufacturable electric car is 138 years old. And the rechargeable lithium battery is 50 years old this year. This isn’t a story about a new idea. It’s a story about an old, failed idea that was successfully brought back to life.
Q: What are a few things that are being studied for the first time in this book?
The biggest thing is the contribution by Japanese companies. If not for two companies, Asahi Chemical and Sony Corporation, we might not have a lithium-ion battery today. During the 1970s and ‘80s, critical concepts were invented and patented in the US and UK. And then they were ignored. Scientists in the UK were shocked when Sony came along and wanted to license a British patent for lithium-ion that had been gathering dust for eight years. The Japanese companies used that patented technology, then added their own inventions, and created a commercial product. This turns out to have been a critical moment in technological history.
The other unknown story was the creation of the first pre-production battery in Boston. It turns out that Asahi Chemical had a working prototype battery in its lab, but its scientists didn’t know how to build a commercial cell, like the kind you might buy at a grocery store. And they didn’t want to ask for help in Japan because they feared their idea would be stolen. So in 1986 they flew out to Boston with three jars of slurry and asked a company there to turn their slurry into 200 working cells. The whole affair was so secret that even some of the scientists who worked on it in Boston were unaware that they had participated in the creation of the first lithium-ion production batteries. The owner of the company in Boston never divulged the secret until recently, and the story hasn’t been told until now.
Q: Is there anything that shocked or surprised you while working on this project?
I never knew that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford partnered on an electric car in 1913. Ford seldom gets credit for his efforts in this area. It’s often assumed that he disliked electric cars. But he wanted to build and sell electric cars; he even planned to have his son, Edsel Ford, serve as head of manufacturing. But the partnership flopped when Edison’s nickel-iron battery performed poorly in Michigan’s cold winter climate.
The other thing that surprised me was the role of a company called AC Propulsion in the development of Tesla’s first electric car, the Roadster. AC Propulsion created the powertrain that served as the model for the Roadster, which came out in 2009. The Roadster’s powertrain was very similar to AC Propulsion’s, but was redesigned so it could be manufactured in large volumes. Obviously, Tesla deserves enormous credit for what it did. But the initial spark of genius really came from AC Propulsion.
You can get 30% off Long Hard Road: The Lithium-Ion Battery and the Electric Car and any other Purdue University Press book by ordering from our website and using the code PURDUE30 at checkout.
Filed under: PurduePressAugust 31st, 2022
Parrish Library’s Featured Database will give you a very brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring Weiss Financial Ratings brought to you by Weiss Group, LLC.
Provides information about stocks, mutual funds exchange traded funds, banks, credit unions, and insurance companies; consumer guides to various insurance products, annuities, health savings accounts, medicare, and elder care; as well as financial literacy information on checking accounts, managing debt, making a budget, buying a car, renting an apartment, student loans, starting a 401 (k), understanding health insurance plans, planning for the future, and investing.
The List of Business Databases is the alphabetical list of the databases specially selected for those in a business program of study. Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue Career Account.
Click Getting Started with Weiss Financial Ratings to see the basics of using this database.
Some other resources you might want to explore are:
Featured Database comes to you from the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management & Economics. If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact parrlib@purdue.edu. Also let us know if you know of a colleague who would benefit from this, or future Featured Databases.
Since usage statistics are an important barometer when databases are up for renewal, tell us your favorite database, and we will gladly promote it. Send an email to parrlib@purdue.edu.
Filed under: database, MGMTAugust 31st, 2022
Need a new book to read in honor of We Love Memoirs Day? Try one of these:
Looking up at the stars at the age of ten, John Casper dreamed of being a space explorer. The Sky Above tells how persistence and determination led to flying in space, after serving the nation as a combat fighter pilot and test pilot.
My Seven Lives: Jana Juráňová in Conversation with Agneša Kalinová
My Seven Lives is the English translation of the best-selling memoir of Slovak journalist Agneša Kalinová (1924–2014): Holocaust survivor, film critic, translator, and political prisoner. An oral history written with her colleague Jana Juráňová, My Seven Lives provides a window into Jewish history, the Holocaust, and the cultural evolution of Central and Eastern Europe. The conversational approach gives the book a relatable immediacy that vividly conveys the tone and temperament of Agneša, bringing out her lively personality and extraordinary ability to stay positive in the face of adversity.
Shelved: A Memoir of Aging in America Shelved: A Memoir of Aging in America
In Shelved: A Memoir of Aging in America, she reflects on the move and the benefits and deficits of American for-profit elder care. Petrovski draws on extensive research that demonstrates the cultural value of our elders and their potential for leading vital, creative lives, especially when given opportunities to do so, offering a cogent, well-informed critique of elder care options in this country.
Bernard Goldstein’s memoir describes a hard world of taverns, toughs, thieves, and prostitutes; of slaughterhouse workers, handcart porters, and wagon drivers; and of fist- and gunfights with everyone from anti-Semites and Communists to hostile police, which is to say that it depicts a totally different view of life in prewar Poland than the one usually portrayed. As such, the book offers a corrective view in the form of social history, one that commands attention and demands respect for the vitality and activism of the generation of Polish Jews so brutally annihilated by the barbarism of the Nazis.
Of Exile and Music: A Twentieth Century Life Of Exile and Music: A Twentieth Century Life
This fascinating autobiography is set against the backdrop of some of the most dramatic episodes of the twentieth century. It is the story of a stubborn struggle against unjust regimes, sustained by a deep belief in the strength of the human spirit and the transcendental power of music. It is also an account of a rich spiritual life, during which the author has built upon her Jewish roots through the study of Eastern philosophy and meditation.
“Kiep is an entertaining storyteller, and he shows a good sense of narrative pace. His memoirs are also of immediate relevance for scholars of international history. Over the past decade, historians have been eager to uncover the activities of ‘transnational,’ nongovernmental actors, as opposed to formal government-to-government relations. From this standpoint, Kiep’s wide-ranging activities as a diplomatic and financial troubleshooter are illuminating.” —William Glenn Gray, Purdue University
Through Bosnian Eyes: The Political Memoirs of a Bosnian Serb
Through Bosnian Eyes covers a decade of Pejanovic’s service. His role in public life was characterized by an unwavering commitment to national equality and strong convictions regarding the nature of a multiethnic Bosnia-Herzegovina. As a participant in the most important political events of the time, and as a colleague of every major political leader, the author conveys a personal history that is memorable for its insights into the neglected world of Serbs who remained loyal to the nation in trying times.
Westward We Came: A Norwegian Immigrant’s Story, 1866 – 1898
Westward We Came is a memoir of Harold B. Kildahl, Sr. and his family pulling up roots in Norway and immigrating to the United States in 1866. It is a vivid description of their travels and settlement in southern Minnesota. Westward We Came is an authentic depiction of difficult pioneer life-true Americana, including the hardships as well as the joys of that time and place.
You can get 30% off all Purdue University Press titles by entering the code PURDUE30 at checkout on our website.
Filed under: PurduePress
July 29th, 2022
Humanities, Social Science and Education Library’s Featured Database will give you a brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring Drama Online database.
Link: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/dramao
Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue login and password.
Focus: This digital library is a high-quality online research tool for drama and literature students, professors, and teachers. It provides full text of plays from across the history of the theater, critical interpretations, theater history surveys, and major reference works on authors. You will also find filmed live performances, film adaptations and audio plays.
Tutorial: Click here see the basics of using the Drama Online database.
Why you should know this database: This is fast-growing study resource, which now features over 4,200 playtexts from over 1,300 playwrights, over 400 audio plays, 400 hours of video, and 450 scholarly books from leading theatre publishers and companies, offering a complete multimedia experience of theatre.
.
Quick tip: Just above the article on the right side, you will see a button called Citation. You can use this to see how to cite the item you are look at in APA, MLA or Chicago style. However, always be sure to check the citation, in case of errors.
Related Resources:
Other databases you might want to explore are:
Play Index: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/pix
Shakespeare In Performance: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/db/shinp
July 21st, 2022
As the scholarly publishing arm of Purdue University and a unit of Purdue Libraries, Purdue University Press is a proud partner for university faculty and staff, centers, and departments, wishing to disseminate the results of their research and otherwise advance learning, teaching, and engagement. Purdue University Press is pleased to announce the publication of three new textbooks in July 2022.
Foundations of Agricultural Education, Fourth Edition is designed for college students in agricultural education and others interested in agricultural education as fundamental preparation for the profession. Teachers of agricultural education and those in support roles will find this book to be a helpful resource. This fourth edition is updated to reflect current educational theory and practices and includes changed laws and initiatives since the third edition. This updated textbook is appropriate for both introductory and advanced courses.
Two of the five authors of this edition are associated with Purdue.
Dr. B. Allen Talbert is a professor of agricultural education at Purdue University. He currently teaches courses in School-Based Agricultural Education program planning, SAE/FFA, and student teaching. His research focuses on recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented minority groups. His engagement work is focused on professional development of agriculture teachers and service to FFA on all levels.
Dr. Sarah E. LaRose is an assistant professor of agricultural education at Purdue University. She began her career in agricultural education as a high school agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor in Woodbury, Connecticut, where she developed curriculum on local food production and extensively used agricultural teaching laboratory spaces to deliver instruction. Her research seeks to cultivate the development of agricultural educators who actively create student-centered, inclusive programs so that all students can experience the transformative benefits of agricultural education.
Productivity and Reliability-Based Maintenance Management, Second Edition is intended to provide a strong yet practical foundation for understanding the concepts and practices of total productive maintenance (TPM) management—a proactive asset and resource management strategy that is based on enhancing equipment reliability and overall enterprise productivity. The book is intended to serve as a fundamental yet comprehensive educational and practical guide for departing from the wait-failure-emergency repair cycle that has plagued too many industries, instead advancing a proactive and productive maintenance strategy. It is not intended to be a how-to-fix-it manual, but rather emphasizes the concept of a world-class maintenance management philosophy to avoid the failure in the first place. Universities, junior and community colleges, and technical institutes as well as professional, corporate, and industrial training programs can benefit by incorporating these fundamental concepts in their technical and managerial curricula. The book can serve as a powerful educational tool for students as well as for maintenance professionals and managers. In addition to updating the previous historical and statistical data and tables, the second edition expands on and adds to case studies based on current maintenance-related events. Several numerical examples and explanations are revised to enhance the clarity of the methodology. The second edition introduces the readers to the state-of-the-art concepts of the Internet of Things (IoT), smart sensors, and their application to maintenance and TPM.
Author Matthew P. Stephens is a professor and a University Faculty Scholar in the College of Technology at Purdue University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in facilities planning, statistical quality control, and productivity- and reliability-based maintenance management. Stephens holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern Illinois University and the University of Arkansas, with specialization in operations management and statistics. He spent nine years with several manufacturing and business enterprises, and he has been involved as a consultant with a number of major manufacturing companies. Stephens has numerous publications to his credit including several internationally adopted textbooks and another text published by Purdue University Press: Manufacturing Facilities Design & Material Handling. This textbook is designed for courses in Plant and Facilities Planning and Manufacturing Systems and Procedures. This textbook is also suitable for graduate-level and two-year college courses.
Practical Digital Design: An Introduction to VHDL This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the syntax and the most commonly used features of VHDL, one of the two most popular languages used to design digital logic circuits. It also presents a formal digital design process and the best-case design practices that have been developed over more than twenty-five years of VHDL design experience by the author in military ground and satellite communication systems. Unlike other books on this subject, this real-world professional experience captures not only the what of VHDL, but also the how. Throughout the book, recommended methods for performing digital design are presented along with the common pitfalls and the techniques used to successfully avoid them. Written for students learning VHDL for the first time as well as professional development material for experienced engineers, this book’s contents minimize design time while maximizing the probability of first-time design success.
Author Bruce Reidenbach has almost forty years of professional experience designing custom digital integrated circuits and FPGAs for military ground and satellite communication systems. His early experience used the paper and pencil logic diagram design process. He transitioned to designing exclusively in VHDL in 1994. He retired from full-time engineering in 2018 and currently teaches an introductory VHDL class at Purdue University Fort Wayne. He continues to perform contract FPGA design services, primarily in the area of underwater sensor systems for use by the US Navy. He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1982, and a master’s in business administration from Indiana University Fort Wayne in 1989. In his spare time, the author is a long-time volunteer on-air jazz program host on his local public radio station.
Filed under: PurduePressJune 9th, 2022
By: Matthew Hannah
Nestled along the northwestern coast of Africa where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea, Morocco is a land of ancient beauty with a complex history. Colorful bazaars, known as souks, line the ancient city walls of the medina in imperial cities like Fés and Marrakech, selling Moroccan spices, bright flowing scarves, and silver jewelry. Cafés serve steaming mint tea along the sidewalks of bustling cities such as Casablanca and Meknès. Gorgeous riads—sumptuous hotels located in traditional mansions with interior courtyards—can be found down narrow alleyways characterized by decorative doors, arches, and lamps. And in the south, the dunes of the Sahara stretch over a thousand miles into the distance. Morocco is a land that has long captivated artists and writers…and now digital humanists.
The seeds for this trip were planted in 2019 when a colleague from the History Department, Stacey Holden, contacted me about applying for a Fulbright Specialist trip to Morocco. She had maintained a long and fruitful relationship with universities in the region and believed they would be interested in digital humanities. But the story of my trip grew complicated as COVID-19 ravaged the world and shut down international travel. I literally had the plane tickets in my hand when the trip was cancelled by the U.S. Department of State due to pandemic concerns. Over the next two years, we kept planning and re-planning my visit to Morocco, finally arranging my trip in March 2022. I planned to visit two universities and conduct weeklong bootcamps in digital humanities at each, but I would also be given some opportunity for personal travel. Thus, I began a 21-day trip around the country.
I arrived in Casablanca on March 3rd and spent three days along the Atlantic Ocean. I walked daily along the sea wall to the Hassan II mosque, the second largest mosque in Africa built in 1993 by the former king of Morocco. I could see the beautiful green minaret perched on the edge of the ocean in the distance, and I was even fortunate enough to be able to enter the mosque and observe the faithful praying during the afternoon prayers. The interior was hushed and cool as worshipers prayed, and I was greatly moved by the beauty of faith.
From Casablanca, I caught a high-speed train to Marrakech for the day. An ancient imperial city, built in 1070 CE, Marrakech features vast and vibrant souks filled with intriguing treasures. I walked from the train station along a shady street lined with fragrant orange trees and wandered through noisy squares, dodging mopeds, observing snake charmers playing flutes for wriggling cobras, bartering with vendors selling fresh fruit and other delectable, and watching henna artists tattooing tourists. Marrakech is a vibrant and loud city, a must-see for any traveler.
From Marrakech, I traveled north to Tangier and arrived on a rainy afternoon. In the words of novelist Tahar Ben Jelloun, Tangiers is a city “built on a succession of hills and wrapped in a legend—a pleasant, ineffable enigma of a city.” This enigma rests on a series of hills at the northwestern point of Africa, with square white buildings perched along the coast. Tangiers has long been a destination for expatriate artists and writers such as William S. Burroughs, Paul Bowles, and Tennessee Williams but has also fired the imaginations of Moro
ccan writers such as Mohamed Choukri and Tahar Ben Jelloun. I spent a few days in Tangier at the Hotel Continental, nestled on the remains of the historic citadel, known as the Kasbah, alongside the port of Tangiers, and explored the various souks and local parks full of stray cats. I enjoyed shark tagine at Chez Hassan located near the Kasbah on the Rue de la Kasbah, where the owner cuts fresh fish and vegetables for exquisite tagines. I secretly fed some to a stray cat who followed me most of the way back to my hotel.
I took the train from Tangiers to the southeast and stayed a night in Meknès, one of four imperial cities built in the 11th century CE. I stayed in one of the riads, located down a maze of narrow passageways only accessible by foot. These riads are incredible, cheap places to stay, housed within sumptuous former mansions with intricate internal architecture. This riad was owned by a Spaniard who directed me to some of the best food in Meknès at Aisha where I ate delicious Berber chicken. I wandered around the city along the ancient walls and stopped to watch a carnival, with whirling rides beneath an ancient wall.
After a brief visit to Meknès, I boarded the train again for Fès. Fès is the oldest city in Morocco, built in the 8th-9th centuries CE, and is famous for its vibrant souks and ancient Moorish architecture. I strolled through a vast labyrinth of markets filled with vendors selling souvenirs and delectable open-air food stalls selling sweets and fruit. The markets are located within the walls of the ancient city, and you enter and exit through ornate arches such as the Blue Gate. During my stay in Fès, I hiked north up the Avenue des Merinides to the Borj Nord, a fortress overlooking the city. Each morning, breakfast was served on a terrace on the rooftop of my hotel, with astounding views of the countryside.
From Fès, I headed northeast into the Atlas Mountains to Ifrane, where I began the first week of workshops hosted by Dr. Paul Love at Al Akhawayn University. Ifrane is a small, delightful town in the mountains, with a French architectural flair. Moroccans travel to Ifrane because it is one of the few places in Morocco to receive snow, and it snowed while I was there. My first week of workshops were conducted in the Mohammad VI library, and were attended by librarians and faculty interested in digital humanities. Participants learned about some of the unique challenges in applying computational tools to the humanities and social sciences, but we also applied specific methods to humanistic datasets. But we also discussed the ways in which librarians could begin developing a suite of digital scholarship workshops for students and faculty at Al Akhawayn. During the week, I gave a lecture entitled “Digital Futures for the Humanities.”
My second week of workshops took place in Tétouan, at Abdelmalek Essaâdi University. Tétouan is located at the base of the Rif Mountains in the Martil Valley, just a few miles from the Mediterranean. Hosted by Dr. Karim Bejjit and Dr. Briham Barhoun, I conducted a second week of workshops for graduate students in the English Department who were enthusiastic about the possibilities for DH in studying the humanities. Abdelmalek Essaâdi University is the only university in Morocco to offer a dedicated English literature program. After an opening lecture and discussion about the possibilities for DH approaches, we got our hands dirty with computational methods. Each workshop was full, and the students learned important computational methods such as network analysis, text mining, data visualization, social media analytics, and geospatial analysis.
During my visit to Tétouan, I was given a wonderful guided tour of the old markets by some of the students, who told me much of the history of the city. Tétouan was destroyed by the Spanish and rebuilt by the “pirate queen” Sayyida al Hurra. From her base in Tétouan, Sayyida waged piracy against the Spanish and amassed a vast fortune. Unlike many cities in Morocco, which were colonized by the French, Tétouan has pronounced Spanish cultural influence from the days of the Spanish protectorate in the area. Much of the architecture in Tétouan is influenced by Spain, and many speak Spanish here whereas French is spoken elsewhere in Morocco. The students also fed me couscous, a Friday tradition in Morocco, accompanied by a sour milk that somehow complemented the couscous (after getting used to it). On a rainy afternoon following one of the workshops, my hosts took me up into the mountains to a wonderful local restaurant located beside a rippling waterfall, and we enjoyed fava bean soup and mint tea. Located near a mosque, local spring water ripples out of the ground, and we drank the cold water from the spring for health.
During my week in Tétouan, I also had the unique honor to meet with the President of the University, Bouchta El Moumni, in Tangiers. We discussed the possibilities for computational technology to advance the study of the humanities in Morocco, and I was impressed by his interest in such an initiative at Abdelmalek Essaâdi University. We also discussed the possibilities for further relations between Purdue and Abdelmalek Essaâdi. I also had the privilege to speak with Dr. Bejjit about DH during an interview for the event during which I shared some thoughts about my particular vision for digital humanities.
Although my trip is over, the lasting impact of our collaboration is still visible. I have agreed to serve as an affiliate of a new educational module in digital humanities at Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, which will provide students further opportunities to explore and develop experience with computational methods. I am also committed to working with faculty and librarians at Al Akhawayn University as they develop a suite of workshops for faculty and students. I look forward to watching the seeds we’ve planted with this Fulbright experience blossom into a new digital humanities effort in Northern Africa.
Filed under: faculty_staff, general, HSSE
June 9th, 2022
In February 2022, we introduced you to Bridget Arnold, a 3rd year Anthropology and Organizational Leadership major with minors in Spanish and Design & Innovation. She had just won our MakeYourStory narrative student podcast contest for her charming story, “How Tiny Homes Help Me Explain My Majors.” Well, what’s an Episode 1 without an Episode 2? Libraries is thrilled to announce that Bridget has returned to podcasting with a brand new award-winning episode, “How small moments had Big impacts on my TEDxPurdueU leadership journey.” In this episode, get to know the 2021–2022 executive director of TEDxPurdueU, Ray Bradley, as he talks about his leadership journey within TEDx. At the same time, Bridget is on her own journey. Follow along as she explores the small and seemingly insignificant moments that encouraged her to become the executive director of TEDxPurdueU for the 2022-2023 academic year.
The student podcast contest is part of the MakeYourStory podcast series created by Libraries and the Brian Lamb School of Communication. Following the success of 2020-2021’s Diversity and Making podcast and video series, a collaboration between Libraries and the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center, the MakeYourStory series aims to introduce Purdue students to the beauty of oral storytelling, the craft of writing a compelling narrative, and the tools needed to effectively deliver that narrative through the popular medium of podcasting.
We caught up with Bridget to ask her about her more about podcasting and what she is up to this summer…
How have your storytelling and podcast skills grown or developed since we last talked after your first winning episode?
In my last episode, it was just me talking and telling my own narrative, but what I was really excited about this time around was having the opportunity to invite a guest along and get to weave our narratives together. I was really thankful to Ray for making the time to talk with me. Admittedly, it was a little last minute, and we were in the booth talking until close to midnight, so I’m really grateful that it worked out so well.
What is your personal tip for creating a great narrative podcast?
I think the most helpful think for writing a great narrative podcast not being so committed to your first idea that you can’t adapt when you find a better story. Originally, I had a completely different lineup for this podcast, and then realized that it didn’t tell the story I wanted to share. I ended up scrapping about five pages worth of text and switching gears completely to look at my TEDx experience instead. Another thing that’s a testament to opportunistic flexibility was talking to Ray before the interview and making the connections between what I wanted to say through the poem and what his relationship to the story was through his favorite TEDx talk. Looking for those details and seeing the small threads the weave into the greater web is going to give your narrative that much more substance and emotional pull.
In your opinion, why should young people give podcasting a shot? What does it free you to do that you can’t necessarily capture in other forms of media?
I think the beautiful thing about podcasting is that you’re really heavily relying on words and words alone. There is a lot you can do with sound effects and voice inflection, but at the end of the day, you’re in someone’s ear and you have to make every word count. In doing an unscripted interview, both Ray and I had to be really intentional about saying what we meant and conveying our message meaningfully and concisely, and if you go through all my outtakes you’ll see it was something both of us struggled with at different points. That being said, you have so much more freedom to focus on crafting a narrative. It’s almost like an audiobook, and while that intentionality is an added challenge, it’s really satisfying to get into the weeds of refining and perfecting your message. For someone like me who really enjoys the storytelling, that was definitely the most gratifying part of the process.
What are you up to this summer?
Currently I am living and working in Yosemite National Park and a ranger in the interpretation and education division. While my job is specific to Spanish-speaking visitors as well, interpretation in this context is about interpreting the history, culture, geology, and ecology of a space to others. So, it’s essentially a different kind of storytelling. (Are you sensing a pattern here?) I’ll be doing two-hour tram tours through the valley, as well as a 90-minute bear walk, and an hour-long junior ranger program, alongside my duties in the visitor center answering questions or walking through the camp grounds on bear roves informing people about proper food storage and bear management. So far, it’s been an absolutely incredible experience, and I’m only about three weeks in. The landscape and the people here are just spectacular, and I have a feeling I’ll come away from this summer with plenty more stories to tell any future listeners!
We can’t wait to see the giant leaps Bridget takes in her new role as executive director of TEDxPudueU this fall as she continues to make her own story.
Filed under: generalJune 9th, 2022
We talked to Robert Hershberger, the author of Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver about his experiences as a caregiver to a loved one with Alzheimer’s and the process of writing their story to inform others.
Q: Will you please give us a brief description of your book?
A: The book (diary) provides an up close and personal view of Deanna (Dee) Hershberger’s four-and-a-half year journey through Alzheimer’s disease, from its first manifestations to her death.
Q: What is the goal of your book?
A: The goal is to make others aware of and better prepared to deal with what might happen to them or a loved one if either one should contract the disease.
Q: What motivated you to write the book?
A: I began to keep a record of changes in Dee’s disease to answer questions from medical personnel about the course of the disease. When changes began to occur rather rapidly I began to record them on the computer several times a week. As the disease progressed I recorded the happenings of each day late in the evening after Dee fell asleep. It became a kind of diary recorded on my laptop computer. It also allowed me to unload the emotional toll of the day so I could get some sleep…an important unplanned benefit of keeping the diary.
A year or two after Dee passed I reviewed the diary entries and realized things had happened to us that other’s could profit from should they ever find themselves in a similar situation. That is what really motivated me to make the diary into a book.
Q: What surprised you most about what you and Dee experienced?
A: There were so many surprises this is a hard question to answer. I guess the most surprising was how unprepared I was to deal with the situation. We thought we were “bullet proof” and would go on living until someday in the far future we would die. It certainly never occurred to me that Dee would contract such a horrible disease and die while still relatively young. She had always been a model of health in every way.
Q: What advice do you have for someone at the beginning of their journey with Alzheimer’s or Alzheimer’s caregiving?
A: Currently there is nothing much the person with Alzheimer’s can do once they know they have it. The disease has already progressed to the point where nothing will change its inevitable course toward death. On the other hand, the primary caregiver (usually the husband, the wife, or one of the children) will suddenly be thrust into the role without any preparation. In this case I recommend reading the Diary…for a possible “worst case” scenario, The 36 Hour Day for practical caregiving advice, Still Alice (or the movie) for what might happen early on, and, perhaps, In Love for an alternative that may work for some people. It is urgent that the caregiver read these and other books right away because it won’t be long before they will not have time or energy to do so. Also get your financial affairs in order very early on when your loved one can still agree to needed changes.
You can get 30% off Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver and any other Purdue University Press book by ordering from our website and using the code PURDUE30 at checkout.
Filed under: PurduePress