Monthly Archives: November 2012

Final Four Tournament

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I feel as though at any minute someone is going to tap me on the shoulder and wake me up.  This must be a dream right?  When I was thirteen-years-old I watched the Final Four Women’s Soccer Cup from the stands in North Carolina, and was awed by the talent and ferocity of the players on the field.  As I sat admiring the best female college soccer players in the country battle for the right to call themselves National Champions, I dreamed of one day being in their position.

Today, as a member of the Penn State Women’s Soccer Team, I am lucky enough to have achieved that dream alongside a group of incredible young women.  The journey started with preseason, and escalated until we won the Big Ten Championship and began the NCAA tournament.  Now, with only two games standing between our team and the title of National Champions, we are prepared to leave everything on the field (blood, sweat, tears, teeth; whatever it takes).

We won’t be fighting alone though; our friends, family, and fans have been with us every step of the way.  Even as we left the snowy cold behind and boarded our bus to begin our trip to the Final Four Tournament, our supporters braved the weather to wish us luck.  After thirteen and a half hours of traveling, we finally made it to the sunny paradise called San Diego.  Sixty-degree weather bombarded us as we stepped out of the airport, and palm trees accosted us at every turn; we couldn’t have stopped smiling if we tried.  However, while it seems like a dream vacation, we are here for business not pleasure.  We left room in our suitcases for a trophy, and we won’t be happy coming home without one.  You never know when you’ll have an opportunity like this again, so we hope to make Penn State proud and win for those who came before us.

Rhetoric in Social Media

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Social media plays a huge role in modern society.  One of the most difficult questions to answer is whether that role is positive or negative.  For instance, social media sites such as Facebook enhance advertisement opportunities by allowing companies to reach out to the public.  On the other hand, they can lead to negative ramifications such as cyber bullying, leaking of private information, and the destruction of relationships.  When it comes to the discussion of rhetoric, it is once again difficult to determine the nature of the connotations of social media.

Rhetoric is the art of using language to successfully persuade and impact others, and when it comes to social media this art is often overlooked.  However, the rhetoric involved in appealing to others through sites such as Facebook cannot be analyzed in the same terms as rhetoric used in daily life and nonviolent argumentation.  For instance, in order to catch a viewer’s attention, a Facebook status must be short, to the point, and intensely interesting.  Therefore, rhetoric on Facebook is not as elegant, detailed, or developed as the rhetoric utilized in a face-to-face setting.  Nevertheless, rhetoric can still be utilized much more successfully than it currently is in the world of social media.

One of the rhetorical benefits of social media is the opportunity it provides to build one’s own ethos.  However, this does not mean simply bragging about one’s accomplishments through egotistic statuses.  Instead, ethos can be built effectively by creating unassuming yet complimentary profiles and statuses that focus on positive impacts on society.  Too often, social media contributes to a negative image of its users because they do not monitor what material they post to the Internet.

Another element of rhetoric that can be taken advantage of through social media is pathos.  For example, many charitable campaigns are started through Facebook using emotional persuasion to gather more support.  These campaigns draw on personal experiences with the cause, sympathy, and empathy to influence Facebook users to join the campaign and spread awareness through status updates.  However, these campaigns lose their credibility if an effective ethos has not been established.

While rhetoric is adapting constantly as communication methods evolve in modern society, it is often difficult to identify rhetoric within these new mediums of contact.  Within social media, rhetoric is often underutilized or incorrectly utilized.  If social media users learn to take advantage of rhetoric within sites such as Facebook, they will build their credibility through ethos and be able to create more of an impact.  They will also gain the ability to use pathos to gather support for causes they believe in.  Social media can be a platform upon which to develop an influential position in society, but only if rhetoric is utilized effectively.

Multi-media Project Plan: Compensation Culture of America

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Overview

  • Our multi-media project will be on the topic of the “compensation culture” in America. Over the past few decades there has been a rise in frivolous lawsuits and we want to find out how things got to be the way they are. The reason that this is a “public” controversy is because it has come to shape much of the world around us. It’s the reason that there are so many waivers nowadays and ridiculous warning labels. There are tons of things that aren’t allowed now because they’re marked as “liability issues” because of these lawsuits.
  • We want to answer the questions about what the causes of the compensation culture are as well as the effect that this has on the United States’ society. We also want to consider what direction American culture is heading towards because of the constant suing.
  • We have yet to really get a picture of how we want to historicize the controversy as we need to do more research, but we want to find the first marked ridiculous lawsuit and figure out what the decision directly led to, and then go to different “big” frivolous lawsuits throughout time and the impact that they have had on culture, summarizing with the overall impact.

 

  • The following is an outline of what we want our project to be, just so it’s easier to get a picture of:
    • Title Slide: Compensation Culture and other key definitions.
    • McDonald’s Lawsuit
    • Example of Extremely Ridiculous lawsuit(s)
    • Define compensation culture and explain lawsuits.
      • Really delve into the other definitions.
  • Timeline
    • Beginning of lawsuits
    • 1st ridiculous lawsuits
    • Main frivolous lawsuits throughout time.
    • How common they are now.
    • Other Statistics
  • Discuss causes of compensation culture
  • Discussion of compensation culture’s effect on US society
  • Discuss what direction US culture is heading toward due to compensation culture

 

Overview

  • Amy
    • Content
      • Amy is responsible for the first four bullet points and if she finishes early will help Mallory with the Timeline.
        • Title Slide: Compensation Culture and other key definitions.
        • McDonald’s Lawsuit
        • Example of Extremely Ridiculous lawsuit(s)
        • Define compensation culture and explain lawsuits.
          • Really delve into the other definitions.
    • She will also be responsible for coming up with different pictures, podcasts, music, and movies that relate to their research and information that they are responsible for.
    • Mallory
      • Content
        • Mallory is responsible for the timeline.
          • Timeline
            • Beginning of lawsuits
            • 1st ridiculous lawsuits
            • Main frivolous lawsuits throughout time.
            • How common they are now.
              • Other Statistics
    • She will also be responsible for coming up with different pictures, podcasts, music, and movies that relate to their research and information that they are responsible for.
    • Nick
      • Content
        • Nick is responsible for the last three bullet points and if he finishes early will help Mallory with the Timeline.
          • Discuss causes of compensation culture
          • Discussion of compensation culture’s effect on US society
          • Discuss what direction US culture is heading toward due to compensation culture
    • He will also be responsible for coming up with different pictures, podcasts, music, and movies that relate to their research and information that they are responsible for.
    • Everyone
      • Everyone will be responsible for coming together to help edit the movie and come up with a way to present the information.
      • The person who will do the initial compilation of our project (the rough draft) is currently undecided as we want to consider our schedules and workloads for other classes’ so if one person’s overbooked, someone else can take it on.
      • We will all be there to watch all versions of the project and any future edits made must be done by the group and with everyone’s consent.

 

 

 

Timeline:  

  • November 13th
    • Research on individual aspects of the project, creating outlines and summaries of the information. Brainstorm different ways to incorporate the information in the movie. Gather necessary materials.
    • Friday, November 16th
      • In Class: Continue research on individual aspects of the project, creating outlines and summaries of the information. Brainstorm different ways to incorporate the information in the movie. Gather necessary materials.
      • Monday, November 26th
      • Tuesday, November 27th
        • Have all of the information by this date and compiled. Make sure to have all of the materials and for your ideas by this date as well.
        • Wednesday, November 28th
          • Gather current materials for video.
          • Brainstorm different ways to use the materials and information.
          • Create a soundboard for the method we decide
            • Discover any possible gaps.
            • Thursday, November 29th
            • Friday, November 30th
            • Saturday, December 1st
              • If we have any gaps that we need to fill in for our project, or new ideas after class, make sure that we get the necessary materials and take care of them by the end of Saturday.
              • Have one person put together the rough draft movie according to soundboard.
              • Monday, December 3rd
              • Tuesday, December 4th
              • Wednesday, December 5th (NO CLASS, so meet during class time)
                • Everyone comes to watch it and sees what needs to be changed or can be reworked.
                • If it’s good: add the finishing touches
                • If it’s not: get to work immediately to fix things up.
                • Either the same person or a different person adds in the fixes to the movie
                • Thursday, December 6th
                  • Everyone comes to watch it and sees what needs to be changed or can be reworked.
                  • Add the finishing touches.
                  • Monday, December 10th
                    • Have a finished version of the multi-media project in order to go over with Professor Babcock on December 10th.
                    • Figure out what the critiques are and take note of them on the movie.
                    • Go over the edits with the group and complete the project to have finished movie (multi-media project).

 

Public Controversy…More Like Technological Controversy

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I am by no means a technology wiz.  I get into fights with my computer, I throw temper tantrums when I can’t get a flash drive to work, and I have minimal experience with programs such as iMovie.  That being said, the Unit Four project will provide me with quite the challenge.  However, I am excited to conquer some of my technology inadequacies and learn how to communicate in the rapidly evolving multimedia format.

When it comes to choosing a public controversy to discuss, I am torn between two options.  The first option involves analyzing a very well known controversy from an unconventional perspective.  For example, my group could research the Holocaust or the causation of the American Civil War and view these occurrences through a new network of interpretation.  The second choice consists of presenting a controversy that is not as well known.  Controversies that fit this description include the argument over whether American schools should teach creationism and controversies that may have been more prevalent in other countries.  Both approaches would provide new and interesting data that would engage an audience.

While the controversy that is discussed is very important, the most critical aspect of engaging an audience is the format and style used to present the controversy.  Even the dullest information can become fascinating when it is presented in the right manner.  To keep our topic interesting, we could utilize methods such as speakers paired with slides of images, dramatic video clips, and creative animations.  These animations could include interactive timelines, staged debates, or pictures that transform from motionless to video.  Unfortunately, I currently have no idea to create animations such as these so I may be overly ambitious.  However, it would be intriguing to see if my group could research a seemingly boring topic and make it exciting through innovative presentation methods.  Whatever topic we choose, we will have to efficiently utilize rhetoric principles to create an appropriate medium of communication.

Kairos..How It Impacted My Vote

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Bright posters and loud students urging me to choose the candidate they support create a sensory overload that I have difficulty transcending.  All around me I hear and see appeals to “Vote Romney” or “Choose the Candidate who Supports Students.” Before me is a man holding a white sheet with large bold lettering.  He is standing in front of the voting lines, so I assume he is important.  As I walk toward my designated line, he does not make any move to get out of my way.  Instead, he thrusts the sheet into my hand with zeal.  Due to the man’s position, I perceive that he has just handed me voting directions, and I am grateful for his help.  However, as I begin to read the paper, I realize that I have been misled.

The man has not gifted me with help as I prepare to vote for the first time.  Rather, he has attempted to affect my voting choices, as all the other campaign posters and extremely opinionated students have tried to do.  The sheet is a rhetorical persuasion to vote for a candidate who (according to the sheet) supports Penn State and its students.  Information on the handout includes claims that the candidate’s opponent has approved bills and acts that hurt Penn State.  My first thought is to throw the sheet away.  After a second, though, I decide to look for the candidate on the ballot.  In the end, I vote for this candidate due to the paper I had been handed minutes before I received my ballot.

The importance of the incident I experienced while voting exemplifies the significance of kairos in the rhetorical arena.  I had been handed information at a time when this information was most relevant and I was most vulnerable to its appeals.  Moreover, I did not receive any data to counter the information I was given.  Therefore, I had no contradiction from the opposing candidate and no reason to doubt the information.  The man who handed me the data, knowingly or not, utilized kairos to impact how I voted.  He achieved his goal due to his ability to time his appeal perfectly.  When utilized appropriately, kairos can be the deciding factor in the effectiveness of a rhetorical appeal.

How America has Changed its View of Female Athletics: A TED talk

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I consider myself modest and feminine.  However, if I had lived in the 19th or 20th century, society might have utilized different terms to describe me…

I plan on making my TED talk engaging and interesting by comparing modern perceptions of female athletics in America to past perceptions of women’s sports in America.  As an introduction, I will use myself as an example of the wide gap in perceptions from the 1800s to present times. By discussing myself as a concrete example of how these perceptions have altered, I hope to avoid discussing my paradigm shift within the confines of a linear timeline.

Of course, I will not be able to avoid applying set dates to my shift, because events such as the passing of the Title IX Act provide proof for my claims about changing perceptions.  My goal is to discuss how society has grown to accept and endorse women’s sports, and to only use dates as examples to support my statements.  While my paper focused more on the research that allowed me to solidify my paradigm shift, I will try to focus my TED talk more on why the paradigm shift occurred, the repercussions it posed for groups within society as it took place, and the ramifications it may hold for the future.

In order to elevate my TED talk from simply a speech to an interaction with my audience, I plan on using visuals that heighten my talk without distracting or detracting from it.  I enjoy interacting with my audience through the use of humor, so I hope to draw on humorous pictures to make my presentation entertaining.  However, I may also utilize serious images to rapidly change the tone and really impact my audience at critical points of my talk.  I want to avoid complex charts or bullet points for my visuals, and use as little text as possible, so that the only words my audience focuses on are the words coming from my mouth.

While I am confident that the passion I have for my topic will allow me to engage my audience and successfully deliver my presentation, I do have concerns about different aspects of my talk.  For example, I am concerned about finding the proper balance between presenting and engaging.  I want to interact with my audience, but I do not want my speech to be so conversational that it loses its value as an educational and intellectual presentation.  I also need to determine how to keep my talk fascinating for its entire duration, and how to make it different from all the other talks.  I’m sure that these concerns will work themselves out with deliberation and practice, but if you have any suggestions on how to approach them please let me know!