Several events in late October will allow Iowans to come together, share their unique stories, and participate in hands-on workshops to turn those stories into large-scale artistic masterpieces for the 2013 Iowa City Carnaval Parade.

The University of Iowa Electronic Music Studios will present a free event at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, in Room 101 of Becker Communication Studies Building.

The University of Iowa's Working at Iowa survey of faculty and staff is under way this month. Organizational Effectiveness—part of UI Human Resources—offers units the tools to act on the survey's results.

Registration is now open for the 12th Annual Iowa Organic Conference, to be held on the University of Iowa campus Nov. 18-19.

Three University of Iowa alumni—Joseph Dobrian, Justin Cronin, and Robert Grunst—will read from their work Oct. 23-26 at free events at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The readings will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website, www.writinguniversity.org.

DIY History lets the public contribute to historic scholarship by transcribing handwritten documents, including manuscript cookbooks from the University of Iowa Libraries’ Special Collections.

A student and two staff members will be honored at the University of Iowa's 2012 Disability Celebration Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., in Room 115 in the Center for Disabilities and Development. This year's theme is "Keep Me in the Loop" and will feature a presentation, via technology, on hearing loops.

Death notices for current and retired UI employees. Links to online obituaries provided when available.

Kenneth Goldsmith will present a free reading at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 21, in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of the Glenn Schaeffer Library, adjacent to the Dey House.

"Of Men and Marshes" by Paul L. Errington is now available in paperback from the Bur Oak Books series of the University of Iowa Press. The book remains an evocative reminder of the great beauty and intrinsic value of the glacial marshland.

The University of Iowa has a long tradition of fostering the highest level of string quartet playing and chamber music instruction—think the Stradivari String Quartet, or more recently, the Maia String Quartet. This storied history adds another chapter this academic year with the formation of the UI String Quartet Residency Program.

People have different perspectives about what constitutes respectful behavior. Before we can understand how to meet others’ expectations, we must be willing to engage in conversations—respectful ones—about just what those expectations are.