Quad Cities Business News

Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, & Dewey/Humboldt

You are here: Home / Archives for Uncategorized

Uncategorized

Free Pre-Nursing Workshops at YC Prescott Campus

By Leave a Comment

Tue, Jan 20, 2015.
Yavapai College will hold a free pre-nursing workshop on its Prescott campus on Tuesday, January 20 at 10 a.m. The workshop is for people interested in learning about the nursing program. The campus is located at 1100 E. Sheldon St. in Prescott, and the 1-hour workshop will be held in Building 1, Room 208.
Nursing department representatives will review the nursing program curriculum and admission requirements, answer questions and explain when and how to apply to the program. No advance registration is required for the workshop.
For those who can’t attend the January workshop, other free pre-nursing workshops will be held at the same location on Monday, February 16 at 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 18 at 9 a.m. and Thursday, April 16 at 2 p.m.
            The Yavapai College nursing program offers an Associate Degree in Nursing that prepares qualified students for beginning employment as staff nurses giving direct care to clients. The YC program is accredited by the Arizona State Board of Nursing and by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. (ACEN).  More than 92 percent of YC’s 2013-2014 graduating students successfully completed the NCLEX-RN exam on their first attempt compared with the State of Arizona average of 88.9 percent and the national average of 82.86 percent.
For more information, call Jodi Showler, 928-717-7735 or visit www.yc.edu/nursing.
 

 

A Simple Guide to Getting People Hooked

By Leave a Comment

HookedEvery time you hear how many gazillions Facebook, or Apple, or Google is worth, I know what you’re thinking. Why not me? The only thing stopping you is that you need to invent The Next Big Thing. The challenge is to figure out what The Next Big Thing is. To do that, you have to figure out what people want badly enough that they’ll pay good money to make it The Next Big Thing, right?

Not necessarily. What if you created something no one particularly wanted because it doesn’t exist yet, but you could make people want it? You could even make them kind of addicted to it so they would want it all the time for forever. If you did that, you’d make a lot of money. Because then, the thing you invented would be The Next Big Thing.

That, in a nutshell, is what “Hooked” is about. Author Nir Eyal (with assistance from Ryan Hoover) explains how to develop and sell habit-forming products that become so habit forming you have to buy them. And I’m not talking about substances recently legalized for recreational use in Colorado. I’m referring to products people use daily to enhance their experiences and make life easier (okay, I’m still not talking about those recently legalized substances).

Eyal began studying consumer compulsions after receiving his MBA at Stanford. Part of a team funded by Silicon Valley investors, he studied how to integrate advertising into online games. There were companies “selling digital cows on digital farms while advertisers were spending huge sums of money to influence people to buy whatever they were peddling.” According to Eyal, “I didn’t get it.”

I have to admit, as a former purchaser of digital cows, I don’t get it either. Why are we willing to spend enormous amounts of money to own things, sold in digital games, that don’t actually exist?

The answer is that technologies like Facebook, Google and online games are habit forming. And, as Eyal points out, not all habits are bad. While eyeballing your cell phone every few seconds to check out the latest text, tweet, or Pinterest of sexy new hairstyles might annoy your dinner date, it also keeps you informed. These technologies are addictive because they serve a real purpose (like keeping us connected). They are engineered to elicit actions that give us positive feedback. It won’t work for every product, but for many, Eyal writes, it’s a matter of designing them according to the Hook Model.

First there has to be a Trigger – emails, links or app icons that alert you to products and tempt you. Clicking on them is the Action that pays off with something you like. According to Eyal, “levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine surge when the brain is expecting a reward.” They are especially attractive if you’re never quite sure what you’ll get when you click. “Introducing variability multiplies the effect, creating a focused state, which suppresses the areas of the brain associated with judgment and reason while activating the parts associated with wanting and desire.”

And, I’m still not talking about recreational substances.

But, when you click, you get the cat video you were looking for, and an array of other things from which to choose. Finally, the last step is the Investment. That means that you put time, effort, money, data or social capital into your use of the product or service. When you customize your Pinterest page you’ve invested something that will increase the chances that you’ll use the service again.

What about moral issues? Eyal admits his Hook Model can as easily be used for good or bad. But, habit-forming technology “is already here, and it is being used to mold our lives.” And, face it. Good people will design things for good purposes, and bad people will probably do the opposite. Eyal’s goal is “to provide you with a deeper understanding of how certain products change what we do and, by extension, who we are.” For those who prefer not to be hooked, the book may guide you in avoiding temptations that habit-forming products offer.

If you can’t fight it, just download my new HookZ–App. It’s totally worth the time AND money you’ll invest. QCBN

By Constance DeVereaux

Quad Cities Business News

 

Murder by Karaoke: PCA Fundraiser

By Leave a Comment

 Jan 10, 2015
A fundraiser to benefit Prescott Center for the Arts! Dinner, Murder Mystery, Karaoke and More. Prizes for singing Karaoke, silent auction, cast includes many PCA favorites. Discounts for whole table reservations.
Visit www.pca-az.net for more information or tickets.
Tickets $ 100.

NAU-NACOG Series-Critical Chain Project Management

By Leave a Comment

Jan 14, 2015, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM 

Northern Arizona University-Yavapai Campus
7351 E. Civic Circle
Prescott Valley, AZ 86314

Northern Arizona Council of Governments
NACOG and NAU-Yavapai are partnering to conduct a series of 6-monthly seminars focusing on Advanced Business Performance and Industry Innovation, led by Dr. James A. Subach, Lead Faculty Member of Entrepreneurship at NAU-Yavapai.  The series is aimed at mid and higher level management and business owners who want to keep their business and labor strong, and want to build a thriving, competitive local market and international outreach.  You will receive information on successful, proven methods that are used globally but not well known.  If you want to grow your business and do it faster, then these seminars are for you!

Contact: Mary Anne Kurlish
(phone: 928-778-1422)

60th Annual Courthouse Lighting

By Leave a Comment

Dec 6, 2014, 6:00 p.M. – 7:00 PM

Historic Courthouse Plaza

120 South Cortez Street

Prescott, AZ 86303

Kick off “Arizona’s Christmas City’s” Courthouse Lighting with musical groups singing at 4PM and Ceremony @ 6PM. Enjoy Courthouse Lighting through January 18, 2015

Walk Through Bethlehem

By Leave a Comment

Dec. 7. Walk Through Bethlehem Performances for the Public

Wednesday, Dec. 3:  2:30 — 4:00 PM
Friday, Dec. 5: 6:00 — 8:30 PM
Saturday, Dec. 6: 6:00 — 8:30 PM
Sunday, Dec. 7: 12:30 — 3:00 PM

WALK THROUGH BETHLEHEM is American Lutheran Church’s annual Christmas gift to the Prescott community.  Experience the sights, sounds and smells of the town of Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago through a 30-minute interactive, guided tour.  Indoor seating and refreshments are available while you wait for your tour to begin.

 

 

Chris and Nate’s Flooring Winning Best of Business

By Leave a Comment

wood flooringThe Quad Cities Business News publishers and staff members would like to congratulate Chris and Nate’s Flooring for winning the Best of QC Business contest.  The winners were determined by residents of Prescott, Prescott Valley, Dewey-Humboldt and Chino Valley, who signed up and voted for their favorite business owners in multiple categories.

Look for the winners of all categories in the November issue of Quad Cities Business News.

Thank you, readers, for the outpouring of support and the many online ballots cast in this year’s contest.

 

VA and American Legion Expanding Outreach

By Leave a Comment

VeteranTo provide greater access to VA benefits, VA staff representing a variety of benefits will meet with Veterans at American Legion Post 26 on Thursday July 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Post 26 is located at 505 W 2nd Avenue in Mesa, 85210. Staffers from VA Phoenix Health Care System and the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Phoenix Regional Office will be available to explain and assist with the benefits they administer.

Veterans and family members will find assistance with application and enrollment, as well as discovering new services and how to access them. Help is available for those seeking VA health care, education, loans, disability benefits and many other benefits.

The Veterans Command Center is the latest in a series of outreach events undertaken by VA in the Greater Phoenix area. Hundreds of Veterans have already been served. VA’s goal is to provide the appropriate resources to all Veterans who seek to use the benefits they have earned.

The media contact for more information is phillip.walls@va.gov

 

Gunsmithing Program – Top in the Nation

By 1 Comment

GunsmithIf you check virtually any ranking system out there for collegiate level gunsmithing programs considered exceptional in the nation, invariably, a name that pops up is Yavapai College-Prescott.

In fact, a couple of national rating sites suggest the YC program has the reputation as “…the best, by far.”

Something must attract students, because enrollment applications keep increasing, reports John Morgan, dean of the Career and Technical Education Division.

“Several years ago, we had a four-year waiting list of those wanting to enroll in the two-year program. That list was too hard to manage. International recognition of the quality of the program forced us to restrict enrollment to no more than 100 students annually – 50 new students each year. Now, it’s on a first-come, first-served system. Classes fill in just one day,” Morgan said.

What’s more, students are not from just Arizona. They come from throughout North America and some foreign countries.

Alan Rohr, chair of the gunsmithing program, said, ”Students come from coast to coast –California to Maine, Canada to Mexico.”

Foreign students, too, enroll, from as far away as Germany in Europe or Australia in the South Pacific.

 

How Do Potential Students Learn of the Program?

“Our gunsmithing curriculum seems to be known internationally. Routinely, we’re mentioned in professional and consumer firearms publications, and word-of-mouth – nothing louder than that,” said Rohr.

Job opportunities are “limited only by the ambition of the student,” Rohr said.

He says a few students learn gunsmithing as a hobby. Others want to run their own businesses, work for other professionals or become gun repairmen; or in some cases, work for the firearms and metals industry.

Likewise, income levels are fundamentally limited only by how serious the gun artisan is about making a living.

“It’s not unusual for a well-crafted, intricately engraved custom hunting weapon to sell in the high five figures,” Rohr said.

Much of the program’s success is a consequence of longevity. Gunsmithing was introduced in 1972, just three years after the college was founded.

The program has remained true to its original objective – the study of building, modifying, designing and repairing custom firearms. Viewed as a skilled trade, it requires an intense combination of mathematics, metalworking, chemistry, ballistics, woodworking, design and other related disciplines.

Dean Morgan suggests the YC program has its outstanding reputation because “…we have a long-term, highly skilled ‘Old School’ faculty that demands excellence. Most students have to be here 40 hours a week to complete the strict requirements. This program is not for the lazy or faint of heart.”

Department head Rohr typifies the kind of demanding professor Morgan describes. As a graduate of Yavapai College, Rohr has been coordinating the program for more than 20 years.

Rohr explains that admission requirements are stringent and competitive. First, applicants must have mandatory clearance for the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms eligibility requirements based on records of prior criminal convictions, drug use or mental illness.

In addition, applicants face tough interview questions on the application, coupled to a comprehensive health survey. These factor into admission.

Once admitted, students can select from two options offered through YC: 1) A 40-unit journeyman certificate, or 2) A 60-unit Associate of Applied Science degree.

Rohr and seven other professional faculty members teach in the program. The other professors are adjunct faculty, with highly specialized background and experience. YC programs are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

 

Community Benefits From Non-Traditional Student Enrollment

Unlike students enrolled in many traditional community college programs, those who are selected for the reputable, yet highly regulated gunsmithing program are not typical college enrollees.

Many students are non-Arizona residents, meaning they pay considerably more than the estimated resident $10,000 for tuition, books and fees if they are enrolled in the AAS degree program. Some opt for on-campus dorm living. Non-resident students can spend an estimated $17,000 or more just for school expenses in the same program.

College costs for the non-degree certification program are estimated at about $9,500 annually.

Beyond those basic costs, gunsmithing students must buy some of their own personal gun making and machining equipment.

The fundamental difference between the AAS degree program and the certification program is that the degree requires 60 units of coursework across a two-year period. Twenty units are in general education courses such as English composition, math, social studies and science.

Those students seeking only certification take only 40 credit units.

Both programs take students two academic years to complete the gunsmithing coursework.

“Many of our students are veterans – some with considerable combat background. Some are quite a bit older, some married with families. Probably the average age is 40 or older, so the pressure to study and complete the program is self-imposed,” Rohr said.

“I need to note, too, that several women have enrolled in the program. And know what? They are sometimes the best students.”

He continued, “Most of these students come here and settle down in the community as residents. Some get jobs – or someone in their family may have a job. These folks are here to learn a serious trade. And along the way, they can learn how to make some serious money.”

Both Morgan and Rohr noted that attrition can be high.

“Our program is considered one of the toughest in the nation, and a student can’t afford to fall behind. The curriculum is almost lock-step and progressive. Students have to commit to be in classes – most of them ‘hands on’ – at least four days a week, usually from 8:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon,” Rohr emphasized.

“And the coursework is tedious and demanding. Learning to machine on a metal lathe or a vertical mill when you are dealing with absolute tight tolerances – man, that’s tough! And if you screw up, you start all over.”

Rohr’s face brightened as he described a student who recently finished building a customized shotgun, complete with intricate engraving on finely finished steel surfaces, wedded to a hand-crafted, precisely fitted, richly finished walnut burl stock.

“Seeing that student giving such close attention to detail and taking such pride in genuinely quality work – that’s about as good as it gets for a teacher.“ QCBN

By Ray Newton