IB7 Help Save the EARTH and its ANIMALS

During my last eye opening topic exploration blog, I decided I was going to go the animal endangerment route. However, I realized it had to be revised a bit because of three reasons (abc’s):

a)      It was way too broad of a topic

b)      It did not have a specific proposal of action for the reader

c)       Did not mix my “oil supply”/ environmental topic from my previous two papers

So I decided to revise it JUST a bit and fix my problems as easy as abc, 123 as Michael Jackson would say in his song. So my OFFICIAL topic proposal is the following:

The topic is “the slaughtering of animals and destruction of habitat that is harming the environment because of companies, unbeknownst by the public, in order to increase the profit of their products.”

Even though global warming is affecting the habitat of species around the world, the destruction of habitat by humans for profit is much larger. The lack of information presented to the public based on the tragedy of the commons refers not only to oil supply but to animal endangerment as well. In order to increase productivity, businesses hurt animals in the process that are not necessary.  For example, dolphins used to be slaughtered unmercifully in tuna fishing, since tuna are dolphin’s favorite food. Therefore, instead of setting them free and losing tuna in the process, they decided to simply kill the dolphins to up their profit. Now, in response to this dolphin genocide, dolphin-safe tuna is now available by a seal of approval on tuna cans. However, many of these cases go unknown to the public still. I will call for the audience to simply make safer choices for animals and the environment with what items they purchase for example.

 

THe doplhin safe label as shown above is found on cans of Tuna if you look.

 

 

A Dolphin stuck in a fisherman's net.

 

 

 

The slaughter of dolphins on a boat for TUNA catching. Yes those are REAL guts coming out (I flinched while pasting this on here.)

 

The audience I would direct this to would be environmentalists who enjoy reading environmental news and also people who are not informed of how much power the consumer has in changing the world’s environment. I would like to post this “Paper 3” in www.theenviornmentalblog.org which is a blog that environmentalists “guests” are able to send a submission to have their blog posted in one of the categories.  I would also like to post it in a more “everyone can see and learn” area, so I was thinking either on facebook or a social media blog to teach about little ways to help the environment through purchases.

 

 

 

 

The format I would like to use to convey this topic to the audiences is a blog format of an article. I would like to integrate free-form writing with pictures and perhaps some video clips. This would greatly assist in integrating pathos in my argument. Since the disturbing truth of what injustices are occurring and have the horrifying pictures influence their want to make a change (As shown above with the merciless dolphin killing). On the other end of the spectrum, the pictures of baby animals bringing in the awwwhs and the cuteness factor (WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS COULDN’T LOVE a blog like article integrating baby animals!!!!) (P.S remember the power point that was emailed to you with all of those animal pictures? Remember the pictures in the other ones? OH RIGHT. You don’t.) Therefore, the pictures could also bring a memorability factor as well.

Please Enjoy the following cuteness of wild baby animals on me:

 

P.S Yes the last ines aren't wild but they ashowed up when I googled, baby animals, and I just HAD to include them!!!

 

 

IB7

            My proposal argument consists of discussing the value of both consumer and engineering education and education of the industry of medicine and engineering for both future engineers, educators, and doctors so that the divide between the makers of the machinery in medicine and the users of the said machinery. The audience, of course would be educators, but it would be pushing such that the doctors and engineers would be further integrated in early and higher education so that the aspiring in both industries of later generations would be greater versed in use-inspired research that transcends its uses into the operating room and beyond. This push would decrease resources necessary to teach medical professionals how to use given machinery, as well as allow engineers and scientists to greater focus on the needs of the current patient population. This is also as part of a push to add more representation and advocacy for the continued growth of STEM careers, which, although has been advertised for many years, has in my opinion failed its purpose by lacking a method of integration that permeates to science, tech, engineering, and math, and usage in fields of medicine, a field that is critical to gaining the “upper hand” in innovation that the United States has been looking for many years. The audience reaches out to doctors, engineers, and educators as a base, but also goes out to parents and those who are already in the field who understand the issue of the void between two critical fields of work. By appealing to the higher-ups in education – at the state and national level – to understand that curriculums all over the country lack these sorts of values, there should be some breakthrough or continued advocacy to improve the push for STEM careers and education. The belief is that including the fundamentals of medicine and engineering as required into the curriculum of all students all over the nation, whether or not they will matriculate into a STEM related career, is absolutely beneficial to the community as a whole as those who will not only use these technologies, but as well have the technologies used on them. The platform I would use for this pitch would probably be YouTube – and as wide of a community as that is, the true audience lies all the way down to the consumer – the viewers of YouTube are as part of the community that has used and benefited from the technology we have today, but may also attest to a lack of knowledge before both the market and upon reaching the operating table. As for the video itself, it will be an appeal towards the necessity of this addition to curriculum, and a set of interviews with college students of all majors whose opinions attest to the technology we have today and the sort of education that brought them to understand (or not) what we have as a society today, and how we could possibly bring them together.

IB 7

          My goal with this proposal is to raise awareness about the research and development of genetic engineering. I know, the statement is general and intangible. So I am wrestling with my least favorite tangible genetic engineering issue today: genetically modified food. Now, the audience is a major problem. I haven’t decided if I should focus my proposal towards the 18-30 web-surfing intellectual that uses their time browsing funny pictures and cool scientific current events or those who openly oppose genetically modified food who represent religious, nutritional, or health organizations. The register, demographics, and enjoyment level are vastly different in both audiences. I would obviously have more fun appealing to internet-savvy audience however; I don’t think they need it. Most people of that audience would agree with my message. The other audience is much more hostile and serious then the lightheartedness of the internet. In other words, it would be a bigger challenge that would be less fun but have to potential to really affect a community if successful. However, writing to either group completes my goal: raising awareness. For now, I will focus “internet audience” (yeah, I’ll refer to them as that).

         Since the “internet audience,” resides on the internet that is where I will publish my proposal. Reddit will be where I post the proposal (for those who do not know what Reddit is, A). Never go there or you will be addicted for life and B). It boasts “front page of the internet,” as its catch phrase so that is why I am posting it there). My argument is that even if you never plan to buy or eat genetically modified food, recommend it to others, and do anything in your power to promote its advancement. This is because methods used in food are just the forerunner of what scientists could be doing to you. And I’m not talking about making you bigger or taste better or brighter in color or resistant to a pesticide; that’s the humor in it. The internet audience craves humor, scrolling down forever, and a little bit of science and history to make them feel like they’ve learned something interesting to share with their friends. As a result, I believe the Tesla article on “The Oatmeal,” did a good job evoking humor, interesting facts, and presenting a cause. I plan to do something similar with visual aids and real science that will hopefully appeal to my audience. 

Topic Proposal - Laura Beckwith

For paper 3, I thought about several different topic ideas, but the question that I landed on is why is there a need for creative design? I discussed this briefly in my first paper. But I think this is a very relevant idea to be explored with several subquestions to ask that will help give insight to the answer. What is the difference between the Target logo and the family run business or smaller company logo? How does a logo represent a company and how does having a memorable logo affect the company? 

My audience will be the Phoenix designers specifically, as I will be addressing why we as designers should be not only creative, but stay relevant with the world we are in to better understand consumers and how to reach them. My form of publication will be through a video that I will post to Vimeo.com, then I will post a link within the Phoenix Designers Facebook group. 

In the video, I discuss how companies branding is is a representation of themselves, what they stand for, using various books such as "Logo Design Love", "Communication/Interaction Design Theory" a video of a study done to show the subconscious associations between logos and other sources to back my thoughts. be talking to multiple different people, asking them to define a "logo" then have them play a few rounds of a App called "Logos Quiz" (above) on the iPad and iPhone, which takes sections of logos and asks what company name is that goes with the logo. The earlier rounds are fairly simple, mainly logos that are commonly seen, but as the levels progress, the logos become more difficult. I also have been collecting images of various communication articles ever since I started studying design that I plan on showing people, seeing if they can tell which logo is which, even if it has been distorted. For instance, the coffee mug to the right is from (can you guess where?) Starbucks. Even though the logo is nowhere clearly written out, the color and the location of the pixel blocks instantly think of Starbucks. I also want to talk to people about what they think of design, if there is anything that has stuck out to them. 

I hope to address and emphasis the need for creative designs, not just making something quick and easy, but actually thinking about the purpose of design, to communicate an idea effectively. That is why creative design is a relavent discussion today. 

IB6

Alright, so I'll just be going back to my original topic for this paper - that is the discrepancies between the work of engineers and doctors. The issue in this way is that, as a mentioned in my first paper, that collaboration begins as early as pre-college education - where efforts in the United States to increase the emphasis on teaching STEM in primary and high schools throughout the country. Not only is there an issue with college and higher education students changing their majors or simply dropping out of their programs in a STEM related field, but as I did mention, it does start long before the decision to even explore the fact of college.

Many of the stakeholders should understand that the issue does stand moreso in the continued education to intertwine the two fields effortlessly. It sands by the doctors in their patients and the education to evade certain conditions, but more importantly between doctors and engineers in understanding their purpose in aiding one another.

In our schools, we're taught facts about sciences, histories, but optionally we're taught machinery and the things that are pushing society forward - especially in terms of medicine. But, whether or not students decide to invest in STEM majors, the jargon of both fields - medicine and engineering - should be considered in teaching so that the disconnect is avoided further on down the line. A great way to alleviate the issue is to consider that students are almost literally thrown into fields that matter the most to the society their tailored to, and curriculum, as it has shown seem to glorify or leave out important details such as current events in the field or immersion.

     So I have no idea what I'm doing. Anyways, I read some stuff about how groups want label genetically engineered crops in the local supermarket in order to alert customers. Another guy said why that fear of science will kill us. And uh, the Pope heard that some science guys synthetically made some cells and was like, "Interesting." (I'm practicing my register for the audience I may write to, you know, the internet savy, 17-30 male nerd/time-waster how seeks humor in what they read... how am I doing?)
      All of these events link to some very important that are apparent in genetic engineering. The war with people who are against genetically engineered food and those who are in favor of it boils down to the issue of development and progress. The article with the Pope deals with the the same thing. Though the answer is unexpected, because it is perceived that religion is usually not okay with anything that messes with life, the issue of progress and research is discussed. 
       Aside from the scientists, the rest of the stakeholders are assumed to know very little or uneducated on the subject. As a result, looks like my proposal is going to be about alerting my audience. Since the only thing closest to attainable reality that the stakeholders have in relation to genetic engineering is genetically engineered food, I may have to address those who are in opposition. And when I first came up with this topic, I did not even want to mention engineered crops because of how trivial I thought the arguments between the sides were. Lucky me. Alright lets give it a shot...

       To all those nay-sayers, haters, and master debaters, I have message for you. Today we are talking genetic engineering, and I know what you're thinking: "Is this going to be Another rant telling me how genetic engineering is the best thing since sliced bread?" And first thing I'd say is, "Do you know how ironic that statement is since the bread is probably genetically modified?" But yeah, I answer questions with questions, and frankly, I'm ranting. (Am I done yet?)
       Seriously, everyone's got their own beliefs. And complaining about the amount of hormones, and chemicals that are injected into something that we are eating is a legitimate complaint. However, is the science of making plants more durable, more fruitful, more water retentive, and more better by the manipulation of genes less important than making sure we, and those less fortunate, have edible food that will survive? It is not like genetically modified food has been the direct cause of anyone's death. In fact I know it hasn't because I googled it once. And, the Pope's got my back, just go ask him. He's like, "ya man that stuff is 'interesting.'" Who knows, some day the process used by genetically changing the plants may YOUR antiscience life (yeah its a word, I looked it up a little bit less times than death statistic mentioned earlier).

I actually don't get this comic.

Paper 3 IB 6 Joana Sipe

                Ever since we had class on Friday I have been thinking about what topic I wanted to write a creative blog/ video upon. However, I have so many different ideas it has been taking me a while to pick a really good one, since a lot of the ideas I have are too broad. I even talked about it with my family and looked up some ideas online but I still feel like a lot of them have been done really well and I cannot expand and make them better (if that makes any sense).  So, imagine my excitement when I found out that today’s invention blog was not a topic proposal exactly, but investigating what topic to research upon and what audience to write to in the first area! (WOOHOO! *jump in the air*) Hopefully, I will get some feedback and ideas from you all as well in order to pinpoint exactly what I should do (since I trust you have good tastes).

1.       Here are a few current events topics I brainstormed about:

 

Artic Drilling (ANWR) - This relates to the first research topic on oil dependence and how oil supply is running out and destroying the environment called Earth. It is important to save this pristine environment and to decrease oil dependence.

 

*Water quality and conservation in Arizona (especially in Maricopa County) – Through Arizona is a desert; it uses more water than those in rainy cities such as Washington. This is a grand issue because the Colorado River is shared between 5 states for water and it is decreasing dramatically. * This is currently my most specific topic because it is local. It will be my go-to topic if the next is not specific enough or fits in with the environmental issu. This goes hand in hand with an environmental dispute that is shaping not only locally but around the US as well.

 

**Animal endangerment and extinction due to global warming – I thought this would be the most fun of a topic to write about; however I might have to make it more local to make it more specific. I wanted to write about perhaps Polar Bears in the artic or Orangutans in the Rain Forests. That would be SO EXCITING (and cute) to write about!!! This would fit in with the first research essay on how oil dependence is tarnishing the environment and into the Lorax paper that a change must be made and CAN be made with little hands and a little help from everyone. **LOVE this topic but I don’t know if it is too broad and if it fits in with my overall topic well enough. This is what I will write the rest of the audience proposal and stakeholders about.

 

2.       List of Stakeholders:

Stakeholders in my two favorite topic choices are mainly the same actually. People, The Environment, Animals, Businesses, and The Government.

 

People… Have the choice and means to make a change in the world, although they are not completely aware of it. They can affect actions that occur halfway around the world simply with a purchase of a good for example.

The Environment…Cannot speak for itself, it needs a mediator, A modern-Lorax to speak for the trees and conservation of the beauty it holds. They prove to be the dependent variable to affect the survival of animals in the wild.

The Businesses…Have the responsibility to keep the economy intact but also protect the consumer and its resources used. They need to realize that progression can be synonymous with protection.

The Government… Job is to Protect the people, therefore rather than Protect their pockets with the large CEO’s and protect the land they are given. Therefore the animals should be protected as well IF the people make a voice to change it.

 

3.       Cluster “Tree” Map:

 

 

 

The Tree is the main issue at hand environmentally, “Species Endangerment and Extinction” The Surrounding “Air” issues that contribute to the tree are the Human population boom (which is now 7 billion) inhabiting  animal’s previous homes, Politics either protecting businesses or the tax “budget”, blaming someone “else” for the issue or hoping someone else will make a change and being misinformed, global warming, the permanent industrial revolution which is not being modernized utilizing old technology, hedonistic society of materials and the economy idolization and, water and air pollution.  However, the ROOT of the problem is environment degradation as a whole which in TURN the main culprit is none other than FOSSIL FUELS (dun dun dunnn).

 

4.       Write to the Audience:

Currently, Endangerment and Extinction has increased dramatically in the world. Polar bears’ homes are melting; the orangutans’ rainforest habitat is exponentially smaller than it used to be. Many attain this to global warming and fossil fuels.  The choice of whether such occurrences happen are not solely based upon the government or businesses, such a change can happen from one individual. Take the instance of The Cove and the man who filmed dolphins getting caught in nets, there is now dolphin SAFE tuna and the word has spread to millions of people through the documentary. A large change can take place just by monitoring what you purchase at the groceries and whether they are safe to the environment, and many other little changes to daily life that are simple to do and make a monumental change. I want to post this article in the "oatmeal" blog foramt to enviornmentalblog.org hopefully, therefore most of the audience will be enviornmentalists. I might also turn it in through the oatmeal also so it acquires a larger audience than simply enviornmentalists to make a larger impact on society.

*My essay will have numbers and backup but this is a preview above*

Limited Intelligence - IB 6 - Laura Beckwith

I've been looking around for ideas for my final project. I have realized that I have been circling around the topic of crowdsourcing in Graphic Design and the media in general. But I think there is a larger under lying problem that I have discovered through all my research. 

There is a lack of creativity in design. Everything we see is so set in stone. How often is an advertisement  or the way a chair or building is designed, really that memorable? Almost every second, we are being impacted by thousand of different advertisements  products, brands, all trying to shape who we are and what we believe. But do we ever really remember even a few of the advertisements that we see? The best example I can think of for me personally is a car designed by Ford called the Galaxy. 

When I was in Germany with my family in 2011, we rented a minivan on base. This wasn't a normal minivan, this was by far the coolest, fastest, for lack of a better explanation, most baller minivan to ever be made. The layout of the car was fantastic, it sat seven people and every seat was a bucket seat. There were moon roves throughout the whole car. It was just an awesome experience. One of the reasons that I still remember exactly how that car was, who made it, the name and where I rode in it, is because there was something unique about the design. It wasn't a traditional 2-bucket seat, 3 in the back minivan. Ford went out of the norms of minivan society and created a beautiful family experience. 

Where is that creativity in everyday designs? How can it be brought back? Is it possible to have creativity while still inviting the user to use the product? 

Stakeholders 

Design firms, designers and companies would all benefit from more creative designs. The companies would benefit because their products, ideas and ads would be more memorable. The design firms would benefit from having more creative designers, making their work as a firm more credible and memorable. The designers would benefit from being more creative. When they are encouraged to be more creative, given less restrictions, some really awesome things can happen. One of my favorite design groups have been just two or three people who work really well together and make fantastic work. 

 

Consumers would benefit by having the ability to remember and recall something that they liked, because it would standout. If people were able to figure out of how to use things without having to be told or read the instructions, the ease of use would be better, which would in turn create a better user experience. When the design is intelligent, it doesn't need an explanation, it's just clear. 

The environment is a large stake holder. How things are created can impact the world we live in. If people are more aware of creating products that have less impact on the world we live in, then that can help make designs not only better for us, but also for the world. With that also comes into the economic impact, if something is too expensive, people won't always buy it. There needs to be an incentive to purchase said product. For instance, the new iPhone 5. What is so special about iPhones? Why do people constantly pay 300, 400, 500 dollars for them? 

It's different. It's unique. It stands out. It's memorable. An iPhone is the perfect example of a minimal design that doesn't need much explanation. No where on the iPhone does it tell you how to turn it on or off. Or how to change the sound. But Apple took what people already knew, simplified it, which made it a product that people want to use. There is something inviting about a product that only has 5 buttons, yet needs no start up explanation. 

There is a need for innovative design that changes the way we think and use products. 

IB5 - More Than a Game?

After determining that I wanted my topic to be "More Than Just a Game", it was easy to make up multiple enthymemes which could possibly give conclusion to the phenomena. There are tons of factors as to how this works as a cultural artifact, beginning with the power of the gaming industry, all the way down to the amount of game play per household, barring even income. On a psychological end, gaming, specifically of the online gaming sort, the game literally can replace the ongoing life of another, so...

All people have responsibilities.

Online gaming can be a responsibility.

Some people have online gaming as their responsibility.

Similarly,

People want satisfaction and accomplishment.

Video games can grant satisfaction and accomplishment.

People will play video games to achieve satisfaction and accomplishment.

...Of course, both of these arguments are both difficult to defend and far too general in nature, so I think I may have to either look more into my topic or rethink it entirely! That isn't such a bad thing, really.

IB 5 - This Is Only A Warning

Bioshock's Setting, Rapture, the underwater city.

When looking at the concept of an enthymeme in the English textbook, I felt a little confused. It felt as if I was trying to construct a smart haiku or apply the Transitive property. I kept getting caught up in minor details surrounding the enthymeme and any enthymeme I ended up creating something that felt simplistic and dumb. Observe:

The horror genre is intended to be scary

Bioshock is classified as a survival horror game

Bioshock is intended to be scary

While this does convey a very important message, the way it was conceived feels like the topic is barely scratching the surface. The real importance of this came out when I asked “Why?” Why is Bioshock intended to be scary? There I felt like I was getting somewhere. So using this same method, I am going to ask “why?” in response to the enthymeme that best fits what my essay will try to discuss.

Bioshock is influenced by George Orwell’s works.

George Orwell often wrote novels as a warning.

Bioshock is a warning

I’ve listened to many interviews about what Ken Levine, the lead designer on Bioshock, was thinking when he created this game. He only talked about how he aimed to revolutionize what would be expected in the next generation of first person shooter video games. He specifically leaves the story of “What happened to the city,” up to the player. That is why this enthymeme is also going to be the hardest to defend. Levine’s intended audience is the Mature (I say that because the game is rated “M” for Mature) video game playing (18-30 predominately male) person who loves first person shooters. With no help from the author, only the game offers the insight needed to discuss a potential purpose in this way. The atmosphere, the setting, the characters that inhabit the setting, the story of the game, the story of setting and the feeling it leaves you with is what will help convince reader of this premise.

Take note of the genetically modified citizens of Rapture (nicknamed Splicers). Notice how they appear mutated and ugly yet wear fancy clothes and look like they are in the run down version of the Bellagio. Why do some chose to wear masks? How did they get there? Why am I asking these questions?