Apr
25
Filed Under (Shenanigans) by Casey Cooper on 25-04-2011

I attended the UAO event in which they brought in 3 comedians and had one student perform. I really enjoyed the middle two comedians but the opening act and main act weren’t all that funny in my personal opinion. The main act was Ross Matthews who is on Chelsea Lately and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He is very funny on TV however in person not so much. He was extremely nice and friendly to the crowd and went above and beyond all expectations to make the audience feel like they were apart of the show. The show overall was a success I feel. UAO should definitely keep this going every year. A band in the fall and comedy show in the spring would be great for them. I attended this show with my roommate who also happens to be in this class. She enjoyed it also. I wish they would have done this sooner rather than wait until my senior year.

Apr
25
Filed Under (BGSU Facilities) by Casey Cooper on 25-04-2011

The Perry Field House was a very impressive facility. They had incorporated many trends in the field such as an indoor track and a court that was multipurpose. I have used both the courts and football field during my time here at school. I was always curious as to why they didn’t choose to switch over to Fieldturf as opposed to Astroturf but understood when they mentioned using that space for conventions. Fieldturf is much better for playing sports on but you don’t want a high volume of people in and out with different displays, tables, chairs, etc set up on the surface. The front entrance is not up to par with the size of the facility. Thus it prevents them from exceeding the 1000 person capacity. I feel that the storage areas are also too small. The equipment all over the playing surfaces inside is a hassle. It doesn’t so much get in the way as it is an eye sore. The parking however is great! The rec center parking situation is non-existant.

Apr
25
Filed Under (Shenanigans) by Casey Cooper on 25-04-2011

I feel that Atlanta benefited by hosting the Olympics in 1996. The Atlanta Braves were able to get a new baseball stadium from this where as before there was talk about moving to the suburbs with a new stadium. Also new parks and areas were developed as a result of bringing in the Olympics. The infrastructure was strengthened as a result of this. Also the area was now even more so an international city. Atlanta has become the capital of the South. This is something that was furthered by the economic development after the Olympics. The 80s was a big time for the area and the Olympics in 96 solidified Atlanta’s place among the elite cities of the world. Rio de Janeiro should benefit the way Atlanta did as well. The city is already growing with opportunity but with the games it should be a nice jewel in the crown.

Apr
25
Filed Under (Shenanigans) by Casey Cooper on 25-04-2011

Attached is a link to the locker room that can be found at Paul Brown Stadium. This is the Cincinnati Bengals locker room. As you can see they have very large and nice lockers. The carpeting appears to be individual squares that can easily be replaced if need be. The openness of the locker room allows for the coach to talk to his team in a large area so that they are all comfortable and in sight. It also appears to be well lit and cleaned. Proper maintenance and upkeep of a locker room is essential. There isn’t much worse than being in a rundown locker room that smells bad before you prepare for a big game. As a designer or manager of the facility you want to make sure that the users are comfortable and safe. For this particular facility you want to make sure the area is secure and that no personal items are tampered with as the lockers are wide open. The showers and of restroom items must also be maintained and cleaned. The facility also needs to be properly equipped. Trash cans must be placed around the area. In this particular facility it would be beneficial to have TVs and stereo equipment. Also storage for food and beverage. These athletes spend a lot of time in the locker room before and after games. The materials are higher end for a locker room as the team is a professional team. They make a lot of money and obviously will want the best of everything in the locker room itself.

Apr
20
Filed Under (BGSU Facilities) by Casey Cooper on 20-04-2011

The BGSU Ice Arena was a nice facility but even after the amount of money in renovations still seemed very dated. The behind the scenes was where most of the money went and that all appeared to be very good. The only problem is what most guests see is an older building that is in need of a major shake up and renovation. The needs of the community are met for the most part but it would be nice to have a better concession stand and pro shop. The lobby also could use a refresh. The locker rooms were in a sense pathetic. I don’t know wht the main locker room looks like but judging by the others I’d have to say that it isn’t exactly the nicest and most comfortable place to be. For a college with so much pride and history in the hockey program they sure don’t provide a top notch facility for their team. The baseball team also uses the locker rooms which shows that it is used for more than just hockey and open skating. To me this shouldn’t happen. The Ice Arena should be used for only events held in the arena itself. The lodge or banquet room is something that I had no idea even existed. It could benefit from advertising it to different organizations on campus to hold events. To me they don’t take enough advantage of the local community.

Apr
20
Filed Under (Shenanigans) by Casey Cooper on 20-04-2011

Discuss at least two benefits and drawbacks of technology in the field of tourism, leisure, and event planning. Peruse the web for a software package/product designed to aid a professional in this field and list 5 or more strengths or weaknesses of the application. This assignment requires only one link (to the software company web site).

Technology in the event planning field is essential to keeping organized now it seems. Whether it be email and sorting it out or keeping your calendar and agenda constantly updated and with you where ever you might be. Blackberry phones among other devices have been known for the secure email system and now have a new device to compete with other tablet computers. The Playbook is the newest device from Blackberry. The drawbacks to technology is the constant dependence on them as well as the fact that one is not able to use these devices all the time due to lack of internet connection and power. The new Blackberry Playbook is a great tool for this industry. The ability to sync up your smartphone and use Microsoft Office on this will be a great help. Also one will be able to browse the internet and video conference. This is a very versatile tool and can be used in a variety of different ways.
http://us.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/

Feb
17
Filed Under (Shenanigans) by Casey Cooper on 17-02-2011

1. Do you feel an entity or individual demonstrated negligence in the facts presented in either the Popke or Steinbach article? Justify your answer by using the definition and the requirements of negligence as presented in class.

I feel that there was negligence on both parts pertaining to the track events of the Steinbach article. Is it just me or were these incidents for the most part all very similar? Person is down range retrieving or measuring and another person is throwing a heavy or sharp object. Seems to be a lapse of judgment on all accounts. I personally go shooting quite often and have never seen an accident as a result of a lapse in judgement at the range. It is well known that it is dangerous. The only time you go down range is when you know that those around you are aware. You make sure that you are able to go down range safely and everyone puts down their firearms. Common sense isn’t so common anymore. Why did the officials allow others to continue and throw? Why did the individuals head out into the zone in which they were an open target without confirming that the coast was all clear? Negligence is as simple as not acting in a manner that a normal person would.

2. What role do you think the facility itself plays in this case and how can risk management and the prevention of negligence be included in the facility or area desgin process? Include at least two examples from the text to support your answers. (Chapters 2 or 7). These examples are the references for this assignment. Additional outside references are not required but are welcome.

Being that they are both accountable for their actions I’d say that the facility should be held at least 50% liable for these unfortunate events. The design of such events is often limited in space which means even great attention should be paid to monitoring for safety. Risk management plans should consider all potential problems and how to deal with them. How could they allow this to slip through the cracks? Supervision is one of the main factors in whether or not injuries happen at facilities. Lack of supervision is one of the most common allegations in lawsuits according to our textbook. Signage is also very important to facilities according to the book. Proper signage can help keep some liability off of the facility. Ultimately it is always going to fall back on what you could have or should have done and covering your bases is critical. That is why making such rules as 1 supervisor for every 6 kids can lead to problems if you don’t strictly follow that and the ratio isn’t in your favor while an injury occurs. You must act in a reasonable manner and maintain reasonable safety to all users. These legal terms are very loose and allow for wiggle room. Setting constraints on your facility can come back to haunt you if you are unable to always follow them.

Feb
11
Filed Under (BGSU Topics) by Casey Cooper on 11-02-2011

Program Statement Eppler Complex

Improvements to Eppler Complex: Redesign the interior to make the entrance into the building more appealing and pleasant, as well as the hallways. When one walks through the complex maze that is Eppler they are lucky to see a window to the outside and when they do it is a small square placed up high. It feels like walking through a jail when you enter Eppler. It is very plain and drab. The lounges they have for students aren’t very comfortable and welcoming either. The layout is just a mess. Try going to an office on the first floor and you’ll notice that a small loop has been carved off the normal hallway with offices inside of this loop. It is very odd and peculiar. I have never once seen a building not for an art center so complex and confusing. Judging by the perception of most students in our TLEP4830 class Eppler is confusing. These are students who frequently use the facility too. If this is the case then a survey should be conducted on a wider scale to all those who have used Eppler before. I am fairly positive that a majority will come back with the results of being complex or confusing. I recommend changing the lighting to LED to provide a brighter yet more energy efficient source. I would also paint the walls a more natural color besides the bland off white/taupe that they currently are. Windows would be a nice addition where possible and also make sure they are large. For the lounges I would put in actual furniture instead of the linked chairs and end tables. It gives the appearance of a seat of ballpark seat linked in a group of 4 with no arm rests or table in front of you. It just is not a welcoming environment. Another possibility would be to open up the offices to feel like more of a wing of the building by removing the center offices that create the loop. A central large desk would be able to fill the void of those offices removed but would create a more open and friendly environment. The mailroom could also be used as an additional office if the mailboxes are relocated behind the central desk. This could even be handled by the secretary at her desk instead of having to leave her small office.

Program statements are vital to a construction project because it lays out the groundwork for what you want to accomplish. It essentially is the blueprint that goes to the designer so that they have some guidelines to follow while putting together what it is you wish to accomplish. This can include ADA compliance codes, lighting requirements, eco-friendly requests, special build requests, etc. Anything and everything you would want to see done needs to be laid out in the program statement.


Feb
11
Filed Under (BGSU Topics) by Casey Cooper on 11-02-2011

While walking around campus and checking out the ADA compliance of the buildings I noticed a few things that stuck out both positive and negative.

Positive-
Ramps leading into buildings
Braille on all signs inside the buildings
Drinking fountains with cut-outs in front for wheelchair access
Automatic doors at all flat or ramped entrances
Elevators in all buildings with multiple floors
Pool access for the handicapped
Motion sensors to open some doors on campus
Flat campus with easy access to classes
Desks in large lecture halls to allow for wheelchairs
Disability Services office on campus
Sidewalks that have a ramp at the corners of street intersections
Grip on the ramps of sidewalks

Negative-
Disability Services office is on the 4th floor of South Hall
Vending machines don’t have Braille
Anderson Arena seating is very tough for handicapped
Fraternity and Sorority houses in the Conklin units and Sorority row have no wheelchair access
Eppler has uneven floor levels making the center entrance the only access point for wheelchairs
Small number of ground level dorm rooms
Ramps are not always completely cleared of snow and ice
Lines for food can often be too tight for wheelchairs to move through
Bookstore with 2 levels makes one in a wheelchair have to split it into 2 different stops as there is no ramp or elevator within the store
Building layouts are not always straight forward and have centralized elevators which can make getting around in a wheel chair a difficult task

Our campus is very good about complying with ADA Standards however there is still more to do. Nothing will ever be perfect when rules and regulations are constantly changing but there are many different things that can be changed and should be changed. Having a Disability Services office in one of the older buildings on the 4th floor hardly seems appropriate. There has got to be room in another building with easier access. The fact that the land is relatively flat helps a lot. Some universities are built in such a manner that you have to climb up and down stairs all day in order to get around campus. There is a reason Western Kentucky University is known as the Hilltoppers. Their campus is built on a large hill that is not too friendly for those who are in a wheelchair. Also think about the famous scene from Rocky in which he runs up the giant set of stairs. I didn’t see a ramp there. Bowling Green is lucky to benefit from the flat surface of the campus. Now the university needs to focus in other ways to better help comply with ADA Standards.

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm#c5

Feb
10
Filed Under (BGSU Topics) by Casey Cooper on 10-02-2011

I wasn’t too sure what all Capital Planning involved until this particular presentation by Bob Waddle and two of his colleagues. After listening to what all they had to say I understood that there is still a large amount of cost cutting involved in a project even when the budget exceeds 30 million dollars. The Stroh Center having a roof structure that wouldn’t allow for a catwalk system struck me as odd because that also means you wouldn’t be able to have the typical large center court scoreboard most arenas have. This was a cost cutting technique for the structure of the roof. I personally do not agree with it as now the scoreboards have to be placed all around the arena and don’t quite give it the feel you would expect from a high dollar new venue. I have been to a game at the other Bowling Green (Western Kentucky University) and they have a central scoreboard as well as others around in each corner. Their facility the “Diddle” was built in 1963 but underwent a 32 million dollar renovation in 2002. They have fluctuated in seating from the original 8,500 up to over 13,000 and now back down to 8,000. They also have 16 luxury suites. I feel that this is something that BGSU could have used as a base point to go off of. I understand that it wouldn’t need to be as big but there is no reason why the facilities can’t rival a school comparable in size. My absolute favorite basketball arena for college is the Cintas Center at Xavier University. Coupled with a very strong basketball program and a noisy atmosphere it was ranked as the 3rd toughest place to play on the road in 2009 by EA Sports. Growing up in Cincinnati with my mom going to UC and my dad going to XU college basketball has always been big. So when I see the Stroh Center being built it gets me excited for what is to come for BGSU. I just hope that eventually they can use the state of the art facility to put together a strong and exciting team for years to come. The new basketball court itself will be very nice and hopefully the acoustics of the arena allow it to be deafening to the opposing team. I am sure that with the compromises that needed to be made it will all work out fine. The outer flooring of the court didn’t need to be of the same high cost and high quality material as the actual flooring in play. The color contrast also will look very nice. Also the full-size auxiliary gym will be vital to ensuring that both men’s and women’s teams are able to practice as much as possible as per NCAA rules without worrying about sharing or splitting court time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._A._Diddle_Arena
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cintas_Center