LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
February 2003, No. 86

CONTENTS

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
VIDEO CONFERENCING SITES ON CORPORATE TIME
PROFESSIONAL POSTERS FOR PENNIES
EEO REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLICATIONS

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD

* Sessions will include "Building Respectful and Productive Workplace Relationships", "Mentoring", and "Taking Care of Ourselves".

Commas always go inside quotation marks. Periods, too. Dashes, semicolons, question marks and exclamation points go within the quotation marks when they apply to the quoted matter only. They go outside when they apply to the whole sentence.

So... Sessions will include "Building Respectful and Productive Workplace Relationships," "Mentoring," and "Taking Care of Ourselves." We journalists would even leave out the comma after Mentoring since it's not needed before the conjunction in a simple series.

* A team of officers were searching the residence when Allord knocked on the door and Hanson peeked outside.

Nouns that denote a unit take singular verbs and pronouns. Examples: The committee is meeting. The jury reached its verdict. A herd of cattle was sold. So... A team of officers was searching the residence.

Hint: If the sentence includes a prepositional phrase, leave it out to test. The herd was sold. A team was searching.

* When writing a reply to somebody, is it correct to say "in regards to our conversation" or "in regard to our conversation"?

Webster's indicates that "in regard to" is correct when you mean "in reference to" or "in relation to." A less common usage is "as regards" and means to concern or involve.

VIDEO CONFERENCING SITES ON CORPORATE TIME

For those of you scheduling video conferencing and using Corporate Time, there is now a Group called Video Conferencing Sites. The Group lists all the sites available for scheduling through Corporate Time. Unfortunately, it does not include all sites across the state because not all locations have access to the university's calendar.

Hopefully, using the Group option might save you some time when trying to view location calendars and scheduling an event. If you need to view several locations at one time, this feature should help. Select the Group View either through the menu options (File, Group View) or by typing Ctrl G. Once in the Group View window, select the search option (magnifying glass icon) and look for Video Conferencing Sites. Once you've selected the group, you can choose all or some of the locations for viewing.

Please contact Sue Hendrickson in Ag Comm (231-7397) for help with Corporate Time or if you need to order an account.

PROFESSIONAL POSTERS FOR PENNIES

Ag Comm can help you with large-format color poster prints. The plotter can print up to 36 inches high by any length. Powerpoint files work the best. Be sure to leave at least a 1-inch border around the image. Prices are $2 per running foot for matte paper or $4 a running foot for glossy paper. Questions? Call John Grindahl 231- 7898 or e-mail jgrindah@ndsuext.nodak.edu  .

EEO REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLICATIONS

All NDSU brochures and publications are required to include Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) information.

If you are preparing an Extension brochure or publication, the full EEO statement must be included:

�NDSU Extension Service, North Dakota State University, and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Sharon D. Anderson, Director, Fargo, North Dakota. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. We offer our programs and facilities to all persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, Vietnam era veterans status, or sexual orientation; and are an equal opportunity employer. This publication will be made available in alternative format upon request to people with disabilities (phone).�

All other NDSU-affiliated brochures and publications must include:

�NDSU is an equal opportunity employer. This publication will be made available in alternative format upon request (phone).�

Call Deb Tanner at 231-7891 or Agnes Vernon at 231-7409 if you have questions.