Community+Events

**Name: Samantha Dilday** **Date: February 15, 2011**
 * Community Meeting Log # 1**
 * Name of Community Meeting/Event: Pilots n' Paws**
 * Date of Meeting/Event: 2-13-11**
 * Location: Richmond, VA**

Because of the time crunch we had, our meeting was done in a McDonald’s near the airport. Professor Mike, the leader of this meeting and event went over with us the flight plan and other useful information for the flight. He was very effective in getting right to the point and showing the possible problems we might have during the day’s flight. He went over many different maps that he had printed off such as the weather map, wind speed and direction map, and also our possible destination map. It was a little ineffective because we were short on time yet he was able to go through most of the basics.
 * How are they effective or ineffective?**

We had to know what was going on with the weather to have an effective flight. So knowledge was very important in this meeting. Professor Mike was nice enough to gather all the information we would need yet finding the information was probably a big part of his planning. I did ask many questions about how to read some of the maps and what exactly some of the terms meant. It was very important for me to know what I was looking at so I could use the information effectively on our flight.
 * What is the role of knowledge, information, information seeking, and inquiry in effective action?**

Like I said, I had to ask questions about some of the information because I didn’t know how to read some of the maps. Thus I had to have the knowledge to understand what I was looking at. Professor Mike and the other member of my part, Brianne, were lucky enough to already know how to read the information. I had to ask many question so that I could be on the same level as them.
 * What kinds of knowledge are privileged (statistics, facts, personal accounts, etc.)?**

The source where we get our information had to be credible. Professor Mike used a pilot’s website that allows you to access the weather and to create your own flight plan. If this source was not credible then we would experience many more problems than we did. Also we had to stay in contact with the right people to make sure the dog rescue was still a go. Professor Mike was in contact with the SPCA manager to make sure everything was running smoothly to pick up with dogs. Also we had to make sure we were talking to the adopting family to make sure they were still on board.
 * How does the credibility of the source matter?**

Yes, Professor Mike is a pilot and an instructor so he knows exactly what he’s talking about. Now even if we talked to a professional meteorologist, he wouldn’t understand why we needed to know certain things about the weather. He may know the weather but he doesn’t know how it relates to flying. This Professor Mike’s status as a pilot and instructor gave him the perfect understanding of the information collected.
 * Does the status of the person giving the information matter?**

The weather. When it comes to flying, weather is the main influence over if a flight will happen. Thus most of our meeting was dedicated to understanding wind patterns and where exactly our flight plan was going to take us. It ended up that we were going along with the headwind when heading to Connecticut which helped us get there faster. Yet when returning to the airport, our flight was going against the headwind and thus slowed us down quite a bit.
 * What seems to have the greatest influence over what issues receive the most attention?**

There weren’t very many decisions made yet we did discuss what flight plan we should try to stick to. Professor Mike had more say in this than anything because he is the pilot and in charge the whole time. They it was easy for all of us to agree that we should try for the shortest route and see what air traffic control actually let us do.
 * Over all, how were decisions made?**

We stuck to the flight plan most of the time yet unfortunately air traffic control ended up making us take a detour when getting close to New York City. Yet over all we stuck to the plan and ended up having a successful flight delivering the puppies to their new owners.
 * Over all, how were plans implemented?**

**Community Meeting Log # 2** **Name: Samantha Dilday** **Date: February 20, 2011**
 * Name of Community Meeting/Event: GMU Aviation Meeting**
 * Date of Meeting/Event: 2-18-11**
 * Location: Engineering Building**

This meeting was much more effective because we actually had more than two people show up besides the president. Aviation club was able to advertise a lot more this semester and they have planned a lot more cool events that have actually made people want to join. This meeting was effective because they also talked about class airspace which gave new members a look into aviation. They tried to keep it as interesting as possible by talking about new classes being offered at GMU for ground schooling and also about upcoming events like our cookout in March.
 * How are they effective or ineffective?**

New members might have been a little lost with some of the lingo being used at the club meeting but as long as you could read a slideshow then you were able to follow along. Thus the knowledge of being a pilot was not necessary to be able to enjoy this meeting. I did notice that some new members were taking notes and also asking more questions. This was a great thing because usually the meetings consist of silence from the audience.
 * What is the role of knowledge, information, information seeking, and inquiry in effective action?**

Many of the pilots, leaders and me were able to understand what was being said rather easily. Yet some new members weren’t quite sure on the concept of airspace. Yet by asking questions many of the audience was able to understand. Also myself and Professor Mike joined in on the conversation by adding in our personal experiences during the Pilots n’ Paws trip we recently had. Not everyone could relate to what we had experienced yet it was a good opportunity to show firsthand that flying isn’t always perfect.
 * What kinds of knowledge are privileged (statistics, facts, personal accounts, etc.)?**

When it comes to flying you need to have a credible source teaching you the ins and outs. Our president, Conor Dancy, is not only a pilot but also a trained instructor. Thus he knows exactly what he is talking about. Also many of the officers were either in training or had their pilots license. And all the information that was discussed about airspace was information found off of credible aviation website such as AOPA.
 * How does the credibility of the source matter?**

Yes, most of the talking was done by either Professor Mike or Conor. Both of which are licensed instructors. It wouldn’t have been wise to give the podium to some inexperience pilot who has only gone up a few times. They are just learning this stuff while Conor and Professor Mike are actually teaching this stuff. It’s very important that the right people are giving the information for the whole group to understand.
 * Does the status of the person giving the information matter?**

Most of the meeting was dedicated to understanding airspace. Each meeting, the president along with suggestions from the members picks a topic to discuss in more detail. I remember one of the first meetings was dedicated to understand instrument flight. Usually, the meeting is focused around those topics to give the newer members some information to entice them to come again. Yet there is also time for general conversation such as new classes being formed or aviation experiences. There is also time at the end to bring up what upcoming events are planned.
 * What seems to have the greatest influence over what issues receive the most attention?**

If there was some kind of disagreement of option for the members to choose from, the president usually put it to a vote. Members then were able to choose what they wanted to do. Yet pilots were given more influence over the decision than new members or non-pilots because they understand the subject much better. Yet it is also very democratic and there as rarely any disagreements.
 * Over all, how were decisions made?**

Like I said before, many of the decisions were put to a vote. Yet there is a time for people to come forward with ideas for upcoming events or meetings. If most of the group and the officers like it then the president then tries to find a way for the plan to happen. Plans are usually implemented if most of aviation club agrees to it. **Community Meeting Log # 3**
 * Over all, how were plans implemented?**

**Name: Samantha Dilday** **Date: March 20, 2011**
 * Name of Community Meeting/Event: Book Club**
 * Date of Meeting/Event: 3-16-11**
 * Location: Virginia Beach, VA**

At the beginning of the meeting, the president of the book club, Nancy Eggers, explained exactly what they wanted to accomplish at the meeting. There were three main points she wanted to go over which where choosing the books to read for this summer, meeting schedule over summer, and also any ideas for fundraising. I thought that this was an effective way to outline exactly what needs to be accomplished at each meeting. We were able to get through each of the points and everyone ended up agreeing to two more meetings starting in June.
 * How are they effective or ineffective?**

Anyone is welcome to these meetings. Those there was variety among the club members. I believe this meeting was a little different from their normal meetings because it was more based around planning for the months to come rather than discussing books. Thus this meeting was more for the information seeker than the real book worm. And since anyone is welcome, there are no requirements to join the club except a love for books.
 * What is the role of knowledge, information, information seeking, and inquiry in effective action?**

Nancy was very friendly and was very open with everyone. I didn’t feel like she was the final word on decisions but rather just tried to steer the conversations in the right direction. There wasn’t any statistics or facts that needed to be explained but it was scheduling that was the main topic of discussion. I never felt out of the loop because everyone seemed to be at the same level.
 * What kinds of knowledge are privileged (statistics, facts, personal accounts, etc.)?**

Nancy had been the head of the book club for I believe two years now. She also used to work at the Chesapeake library and has always been around books. She seemed to be the perfect fit for a book club leader. Since she does have this background, I felt like the book club was in good hands with someone who knew how to handle a club and also had the passion for reading.
 * How does the credibility of the source matter?**

A little bit. Nancy does have a good background to be leader of a book club. I do think that there are many capable people that could handle the job but she does seem to get the job done just fine. She was a very sweet woman and everyone seemed to enjoy her including me. I think because she was so friendly and out spoken, people were more willing to listen to what she had to say.
 * Does the status of the person giving the information matter?**

The fundraising was a big issue that they were talking about for about half the meeting. It seems that they do have a hard time finding money to provide for their needs as a club such as food, refreshments, and even new books. Everyone had agreed to a bake sale later in June during some major event at the library. They are hoping to be able to raise around 50 to 60 dollars per member to help pay for their needs.
 * What seems to have the greatest influence over what issues receive the most attention?**

Ideas were brought up by any member and people were able to discuss the idea. Once the idea was passed around the room then there was a vote to see if the majority of the club agreed to the idea. There were around ten people in the room so there were plenty of ideas floating around. Everyone seemed to agree for the most part and there wasn’t any fighting while I was there.
 * Over all, how were decisions made?**

At the end of each meeting, Nancy goes over the main ideas that they agreed on just to refresh people’s memories. Also she said that next meeting they would sign up to bring what baked goods to the bake sale. They also agreed to start reading a book called “The summer we read Gatsby” and everyone was told to pick up the novel either at the library or the bookstore. They would be through chapter 5 by the next meeting.
 * Over all, how were plans implemented?**

**Community Meeting Log # 4**

**Name: Samantha Dilday** **Date: March 21, 2011**
 * Name of Community Meeting/Event: Girl Scouts**
 * Date of Meeting/Event: 3-18-11**
 * Location: Virginia Beach, VA**

I have to admit that our meetings don’t always go smoothly. There are four girls and two Girl Scout leaders. Whenever we have a meeting it’s to discuss what we want to do and how exactly we are going to do it. This meeting was different because this was one of the last meetings I was going to have as a Girl Scout. Myself and another girl were about to “graduate” to become an adult Girl Scout so we had to fill out paperwork. I’d say this meeting was effective because I was able to “graduate” to adult Girl Scout once I was done with the paperwork.
 * How are they effective or ineffective?**

It would be difficult for an outsider to come into our meetings and understand what is going on. Thus only Girl Scouts and leaders are invited to the meetings, no parents. To be able to keep up in the meetings, members need to have the knowledge of what a Girl Scout is and exactly what we do. Thus if you haven’t been in Girl Scouts before then it would be difficult to understand exactly what we are trying to accomplish in each meeting. Also our meetings are very informative so the Girl Scouts end up getting a lot of information that they can pass on to their parents.
 * What is the role of knowledge, information, information seeking, and inquiry in effective action?**

The leaders take care of most of the paperwork while the Girl Scouts plan the events and handle how we are going to be able to do it with our budget. I don’t know how to do any of the paperwork that needs to be done before we can go camping or go on any event so that knowledge is kept to the leaders. The leaders do help out on planning when we need it but it’s mostly up to us. The leaders are also the ones that hold on the budget and understand how much we have. They pass that knowledge on to us and then we determine exactly what can be done.
 * What kinds of knowledge are privileged (statistics, facts, personal accounts, etc.)?**

Very much. The leaders are the ones that talk with the head of our area and discuss all the nitty-gritty stuff while we get some of that information passed on to us by the leaders. If some Girl Scout told me what the budget was, I’d have to cross check it with our leaders because we don’t always know how much we have. Also when it comes to cookie sales, I trust on the leaders to tell us exactly what sites we have saved.
 * How does the credibility of the source matter?**

Yes. Like I said before, if some Girl Scout was to tell me some information I would have to cross check it with a leader to make sure the information is valid. Our leaders know what they are doing so I don’t usually question their information once they give it to us.
 * Does the status of the person giving the information matter?**

The leaders usually tell us what needs to get done and it’s up to us to get it done. So if a leader tells us we need to come up with an event to hold for the younger Girl Scouts then it’s up to the members to create a plan. We had to do this once and it ended up taking us three meetings to complete it but we barely had any help from the leaders. They were only there as support but not to finish the project for us.
 * What seems to have the greatest influence over what issues receive the most attention?**

The leaders tell us what needs to get done and if there is disagreement between the Girl Scouts then we usually put it to a vote. Sometimes though we are split on what we should do and that’s when the leaders step in to help solve it but that rarely happens. I think that happened once when we couldn’t decide where to eat at after some function we went to.
 * Over all, how were decisions made?**

Once we made a plan, we hand it over to the leaders where they check over it and make corrections if needed. When we create that event for the younger Girl Scouts, the leaders looked over the activities we had planned to make sure nothing was too complicated for the younger ones. Once they have looked over it they hand the information and paperwork over to the heads of our area and they approve it, make changes, or disapprove it. When it comes to making decisions about camping or events for our troop, then we finalize it by marking it on our calendars.
 * Over all, how were plans implemented?**