TED Talk Recap and Reflection

For the TED Talk portion of our paradigm shift projects, I focused my attention upon the technical growth in modern educational use of computers, and the subsequent alteration from “archaic-looking” graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to revolutionary software programs that engage the students of tomorrow. After reviewing my performance on the five minute lecture, I have identified a few places with which I can greatly improve and expand my public speaking abilities to better connect with and engage with my audience. The first topic of improvement stems from my tendency to speak at a faster rate than would be desirable for this type of presentation. I feel that I chose to include a few more topics and explanations than were necessary, and in turn ended up speaking faster than intended in order to deliver all of my content. Another key point of potential improvement was shown in the way I chose to surround the specific part of the paradigm shift I wanted to talk about. I certainly made my case in a comprehensible fashion, but I realize that I can definitely get better at clearly identifying my main points and using inflection in my voice to hone the audience’s attention to the more important points of my delivery.

From a visual standpoint, I feel that I did a good job of using my visual aid to my advantage, referencing it often enough to give direction, but never to distract from my speech. In my future speeches, I will work on limiting how much I sway, as well as focus on making eye contact with the audience more, with the intention of making the speech more of a discussion. I believe that I did a good job choosing content that was applicable and relatable and to my audience while also keeping them interested in my message of collaboration throughout the performance. It was a great experience to undertake, and will allow me to continue improving my own public speaking techniques throughout my adult life.

TED Talk Link

Women’s Rights of WWII Rhetorical Analysis Outline

Topic: Women’s emerging rights to work and create change in the worldwide social platform of culture surrounding WWII.

Purpose: Rhetorical Civic Analysis Comparing Two WWII Propaganda Posters

      

Introduction

Attention Strategy:  The commencement and duration of WWII brought an onslaught of soldiers, old and new alike, into the battlefield. This led to upwards of 1.9 billion people being involved in WWII worldwide (WWII Foundation). While some of these soldiers were women, the vast majority of them were men; leaving the homemaker mothers of the household responsible for the children and now for assisting the war effort outside the home. Considering that from 1940-1945, the United States alone saw a ten percent increase in female work employment, it’s safe to say that women were the underlying factor that aided the war effort back home (History).

Orienting Material:   The Allied Powers in WWII, comprised of nations such as Great Britain and the USA, were the largest opponents of the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Hoards of male soldiers were sent to the front lines from both sides in the late 1930s. The skilled men were crucial to the Allied Power’s eventual success, but they needed more people back home aiding in the war effort by making munitions and operating public positions. This is where women entered the front of the Allied nation’s initiative. Propaganda like the posters by Philip Zec and Adolph Treidler advertised for and encouraged women to come from their homes and make a difference in factory and industry positions.

Preview:   The women involved in each distinct poster, whether from England or America, faced different challenges to enter their respective workforces. Both Zec and Treidler knew the difficulties women would face in a new job and environment, but capitalized on the sense that their roles in nationalism were demanded immediately in order to be successful. These women faced great negativity, but each poster captures the similar yet uniquely different cases of the stereotypical woman in their country. This homemaker role was a position that needed adjustment in its sexist mannerism.

Thesis Statement: Through the comparison of each poster for exigence of entering the war and the kairotic timing of the emerging ideology for women joining in the war effort, as well as the intrinsic proofs of ethos and pathos that each poster individually captures within the audience, each poster demonstrates how effective Zec and Triedler were in encouraging young homemakers to improve their cultural position during WWII.

 

Body

A.                   Main Idea – Both Women of Britain- Come to the Factories and She’s a WOW propaganda posters present the emerging ideology that all women are far more capable beings than the “lowly” status of homemaker.

  1.                 Zec and Treidler understood exactly what these women were facing in the face of diminishing supplies and stresses of separation, therefore visually portraying women in similar ways to their male counterparts
  1.                   Zec portrays the woman in a 1940s-modern masculine trench coat, alluding to women’s similar abilities and skillsets to men, while the She’s a WOW woman wears a button down short sleeve shirt and blue jeans; equally representing versatility and preparedness.
  2.                   Both women are framed with a dark-colored kerchief, pointing to the consistency of motives topoi that even though each body of women were thousands of miles away, they had their hair controlled and were ready to work on challenges hands-on.
  3.                   The comparisons of singularity and subtle juxtaposition within each picture allows for the unionized image that women gain underlying strength through individuality when they have something to fight for.
  1.                   Women of Britain portrays a single British woman without any reference to men, focusing solely on the civic importance carried by women and the change they are capable of creating. She’s a WOW, on the other hand, opts to portray a soldier in the misty distance simulating her distant husband. This construction presents the role of women supporting the hardworking brothers, boyfriends, and husbands at war as a necessity to the future success of the nation.
  2.                   Both Zec’s and Triedler’s propaganda pieces work to put women in leadership positions at the front of public forethought. Both women in the posters are young women with youthful glows, slim figures, and commanding posture; desirable details that embody the entire field of eligible women towards nationalism.

 

B.                Main Idea – The intricate rivalries captivating most of the world’s dominant nations led Zec and Treider to allow the exigence of war to serve as the kairotic approach towards the improvement of women’s rights.

  1.                 Great Britain and Philip Zec were faced with intense warfare on the British mainland that focused their emphasis on a need for alteration of national service and political tactics. Alternatively, America and Adolph Treidler were forced into war with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This attack almost overnight created a call to arms and munitions services for any able body in the United States.
  2. She’s a WOW painted women as powerful, workable bodies, but people who were “at a loss” while the men were gone. With most American troops in Europe at this time, it makes sense that the distance between the war and loved ones at home became a strain within itself. This left room for future improvements. In England, newly instilled PM Winston Churchill faced pressures regarding Germany’s potential invasion, leaving the common civic woman to stand as the leader of society’s front lines.
  3. Threats of battle occurring directly after the London Blitz attacks left Britain on its heels, giving women the opportunity to face the challenges of factory work and gain experience to improve their personal social standings. Treidler mirrored this sudden opportunity with the onslaught of sudden small battles across Italy and Tunisia, allowing the women in the states to assist in aiding national pride while improving their own experiences and resumes with workforce positions.
  4.                   The English Second National Service Act of 1941 paralleled with the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 in the United States each aided in women’s employment opportunities
  5. British and American societies were aware of the upcoming conscription legislations, so curiously, both propagandists snatched the kairotic opportunity to focus on helping women gain the information they needed to succeed in the workforce. Zec through the Daily Mail and Treidler through series of public advertisements.
  6. The text below Zec’s piece references the “Employment Exchange” as a location made available for women to choose their employment just as any man would have access to. Treidler’s Woman Ordnance Workers was a special acronym designating the women who operated military production processes, particular skills that few men even knew at the time.

III.                Main Idea – The key intrinsic proofs of ethos and pathos dominantly enveloping each piece of propaganda allude greatly to each artist’s credibility and the skillful aspects of thought unravelled onto the audience when investigating their artwork.

  1. Philip Zec’s background as a political cartoonist gives him deep understanding and credibility to the purpose and effectiveness of his poster’s message. Treidler’s expansive background in magazine artwork and commercial poster work gives him a surmounting awareness of how his propaganda impacts the minds and actions of women as well.
  2. Both works portray factory and industrial work directly in the image, demonstrating that of all possible “womanly” jobs available, munition manufacturing was the one they deemed most crucial to their nation’s success.
  3. Hitler had Zec on his “black list” to be imprisoned because of his works. Treidler avoided negative controversy, but his deeply-rooted experience in commercial artwork allowed him to realize just what images would respond to. These show the impact a simple drawing can have on people.
  4. The pointedly subtle yet dominantly over-arching imagery within the posters allow Women of Britain and She’s a WOW to mold their audience’s thoughts into the positivity that would come for all from enlisting in factory work.
  5. Zec: woman with arms in air evokes national pride and aura that woman can do anything. Powerful stance and hands in a leadership pose evoke allusion to the Statue of Liberty and its purpose of standing as the opening to the “New World.”

Treidler: woman holding a wrench and operating heavy machinery evokes a strong emotional perception that women are strong creatures ready to take on the labor the men left behind without any trouble. Similar to (You can do it!) poster.

6. Both pieces contain subliminal background images (Zec: Tanks and steady stream of airplanes) (Treidler: The image of the main woman’s husband.) These images are deeply relatable to any women who had a loved one in the war at any time, working to grasp their attention and really attune their emotions towards wanting to help the cause; by working in factories.

Conclusion

Summary Statement – Philip Zec’s and Adolph Treidler’s dramatic and thought-provoking posters calling women to serve as the next generation of factory workers use comparison to identify both the crucial exigence and kairotic timing of the pieces relative to WWII, as well as the distinct intrinsic proofs of ethos and pathos to further represent and elicit the emerging ideology that women’s right are a crucial piece of the social puzzle that needed adjustment.

Concluding Remark – The entire world was wrought with war-torn terrain and economic despair, yet these artists found a medium where they could still display the need for an increase in the social standing of women. This goes to show that there is never a bad time to voice your rhetorical opinion over a negative discourse in society.

Reference Page(s)

http://www.wwiifoundation.org/students/wwii-facts-figures/

 

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii

The Working Women of WWII Outline

Topic: Women’s emerging rights to work and create change in the social platform of English culture in World War II.

Purpose: Rhetorical Civic Analysis of World War II Propaganda

Introduction:

Attention Strategy: Before the inception of WWII, Great Britain saw its female national employment stand at only 5.1 million people. By the middle of the war in 1943, this figure now revealed the shocking statistic that over ninety percent of eligible women ages eighteen to forty years old were employed at some level within the nation.

Orienting Material: Great Britain served as one of the most heavily involved Allied Powers in WWII. Due to their rivalry with the Axis Powers, (specifically Germany,) and close proximity geographically, hoards of male soldiers were sent to the front lines in the late 1930s. These men were crucial to England’s success, but they needed more people back home aiding in the war effort by making munitions and operating public positions. This is where women entered the front of Great Britain’s initiative. Propaganda like this poster by Philip Zec advertised for and encouraged women to come from their homes and make a difference in the factory.

Preview: The women of Great Britain are presented with a new powerful opportunity that provides them with a greater sense of worthiness, influence, knowledge, and respect in the British public eye compared to the stereotypical “homemaker” role. The influential use of intrinsic proofs of ethos and pathos connect the audience with the exigence of the war and how English women felt and reacted to seeing that ad while their men were on the front lines.

Thesis Statement: Through the juxtaposition of woman versus industrialization, Philip Zec’s World War II propaganda poster incorporates exigence coupled with the kairotic onslaught of war to present the emerging ideology that young British women are powerful members of society ready to aid in the war effort through factory work; employing key intrinsic proofs to encourage young homemakers to make a difference.

Body
I. Main Idea – The propaganda piece Women of Britain- Come Into the Factories establishes the keen emerging ideology that all women are far more capable beings than the “lowly” status of homemaker.
A. Philip Zec understood exactly what these women were facing in the face of diminishing supplies and stresses of separation, therefore visually portraying women in similar ways to their male counterparts.
1. The woman depicted in the poster wears a 1940s-modern masculine trench coat, alluding to women’s similar skillset and versatility in the face of labor and adverse conditions.
2. The woman’s hair tied back in the characteristic kerchief points to a consistency of motives topoi, visually showing that she is prepared to get hands-on with the challenges coming her way.
B. Zec’s focus on singularity within the image referred to the underlying strength that reveals itself through individuality.
1. Only one average white woman is depicted, without any male brethren to accompany them. This asserts the civil focus that it only takes one person to instill change on an entire nation.
2. This singular woman serves as the representative image of all eligible women, embodying a common effort to aide in national pride and success.

II. Main Idea – Complex rivalries spanning most of the world’s superpowers led Zec to allow the exigence of war to serve as the kairotic approach to women’s rights discussion.
A. The warfare occurring near London and the British mainland lended emphasis towards the needed for a change in national service tactics.

1. Newly instilled PM Winston Churchill faced pressures regarding invasions of German forces, leaving the women in Zec’s poster to stand as the new leaders of the home front lines.

2. Threats of battle occurring directly on English soil following the London Blitz allowed woman, who now could work and understand the trivialities and struggles of factory work, to gain an experience-backed initiative to improve their own rights into more social factions
B. The English Second National Service Act of December, 1941 paralleled and aided in women’s employment opportunities

1. British society knew of the upcoming National Service Act laws, and Zec shaped his propaganda for the Daily Mirror to give women information on one avenue they could take to help: factory work.

2. The text below the image sources the “Employment Exchange” as a place for woman and working citizens to go and discuss their employment options just as any man would investigate.

III. Main Idea – The intrinsic proofs of ethos and pathos dominantly enveloping Philip Zec’s propaganda allude greatly to the political cartoonist’s credibility, and the thought-provocation the image maps onto the audience.

A. Philip Zec’s background as a political cartoonist gave him deep knowledge surrounding the debates and national perspective of Great Britain.

1. Choosing to portray factories as his primary focus for female citizens to apply themselves to follows the statically-dominant need for more hands in industry.

2. His series of propaganda in the Daily Mirror lead Hitler to place Zec on his “Black List,” aimed to imprison him once Germany overtook England. This shows how much power and influence a few posters could have, both negatively towards Germany, and positively towards the advancement of women’s standing in the war.

B. The pointedly subtle yet dominantly over-arching imagery within the poster allows Zec to mold his audience’s thoughts into the positivity that would come for all from enlisting in factory work.

1. The woman’s stance with her arms in the air evokes great national pride in the audience, establishing the feeling that women are capable of anything, certainly of working in a man’s factory job. Her stance bears a stark similarity to the image of freedom and liberality created by the Statue of Liberty in NYC.

2. The images included by Zec in the background such as the continuous flight of new airplanes and the tanks in the corner serve as a power emotional feeling of instilled strength and security among the women who take the daring leap to help their fighting men.

Conclusion
Summary Statement – Philip Zec’s dramatic propaganda poster calling women to serve as the next generation of factory workers uses the emerging ideology of women’s rights, the kairotic exigence paralleled between WWII and the Axis Powers, and the powerful intrinsic proofs all serve as crucial sources of support for demonstrating the effective nature of this outstanding WWII poster.
Concluding Remark – The entire world was wrought with war-torn terrain and economic despair, yet Zec found a medium where he could still display the need for an increase in the social standing of women. This goes to show that there is never a bad time to voice your rhetorical opinion over a negative discourse in society.

Finalized Artifacts for WWII Nationalism and Feminism

Artifact 1 that I will be using for my speech is a Great Britain WWII poster produced by political cartoonist Philip Zec. This key piece of English propaganda was created in December of 1941, directly after London sustained the heat of its fighting in the London Blitz. Zec used the upcoming installation of a National Service Act, calling for younger woman to come and work in the industries, as a platform to make known the exigence of a shortage of workers back at home.

Artifact 2, which will be my comparison image in the rhetorical analysis piece is a 1943 American propaganda piece created by Adolph Triedler. This piece of media presents a similar idealism of the growth of involvement of women in the war effort, but takes another stance by directly stating that women work under their boyfriends and husbands in support. The similarity and subtle differences have greatly intrigued me into developing a paper addressing the topics surfaced by these pieces.

Unit 1 Artifacts

Artifact 1: http://propagandaposterstore.com/product/women-of-britain-come-into-the-factories-2/

This piece of propaganda was developed in December 1941 by political cartoonist and artist Philip Zec. The poster depicts a woman proudly calling her fellow females to come and work industrial jobs during the height of World War II. It approaches positions of both leadership in difficult times, and a fresh feministic attitude,

 

Artifact 2: https://visualpast.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/1873/

This propaganda poster was released in 1943 by American artist R.G. Harris. The piece of artwork grasps the audience’s attention by placing the woman, “Rosie” as a symbol for women’s equality and importance in the workforce. Rates of female employment in industry rose drastically shortly after the piece’s publication.

Technology-focused Blog of the Week: The Verge

STEM focused and internationally famous media giant Vox Media Inc. offers an indispensable variety of stories and videos for its readers and customers to enjoy. Through engaging thumbnails and catchy titles, the corporation grabs their viewers attention with incredibly interesting pieces of development and reviews alike. One of their most influential, (and my personal favorite,) websites and blogs of which they operate is none other than The Verge.

The Verge immediately jumps out to its reader base of tech, science, and modern product fanatics with a website layout that is comparable to no other in its uniqueness and creativity. The homepage loads the user into an aura of vivid HD images and videos with intriguing titles such as, “3 Things That Will Never be the Same After the iPhone 8,” and “Up Close with the 2018 Nissan Leaf;” titles that would allow any proud nerd to enjoy reading for hours. The authors do a wonderful job of using a clear, clean white font for both its website title, as well as individual article titles as well, allowing the reader to navigate effortless from page to page amidst the background of futuristic black and blue swatches. The individual blog posts are even bordered by thin, bright yellows and reds with extending arms that give the front page the feeling of a circuitboard, all connected and intertwined into one website.

Delving into each subheading of culture, science, reviews etc., we find that the company employs the writing styles of a vastly diverse group of writers, which allows the audience to repeatedly be entertained by different perspectives and opinions while still being informed about the news they care about. The writing commonly takes a personal approach in certain parts of each piece, beginning with the immediate news story and history of a product like a phone, while often interspersing snippets of community perspective such as, “The prosaic truth, however, is that most iPhone releases aren’t all that revolutionary.” I truly love this style of writing for a review-centered blog and website. It allows for the personal touch of each writer and reviewer to come through the woodwork directly into the forefront of modern tech media. Few other sites are able to replicate the personal yet informative feel that The Verge offers to its readers.

When approaching the prospect of the website’s organization, I come to two distinct perceptions. As mentioned above, I personally really appreciate the fresh, modern, and minimalistic style of the homepage. Each link to the article at hand is easily accessible through the large image boxes, and the subcategory organization allows me to find what I want to read flawlessly. My opposing perception is that as this unique style separates The Verge from its competitors, it may leave some readers feeling overwhelmed if they are not a fan of the “circuitboard” style and color-scheme. Regardless of this distinction, each review and posting page offers a clean white article that is well organized, offers addition visuals of each product, and spaces each idea out for the convenience of the reader.

The Verge has formed itself as an industry leader in the market of tech blogging, and I am certainly a large fan of the way they are directing the site. I encourage more readers to look into their style of personally informative writing, and look to use pieces of my own opinion in similarly organized articles for CAS in the future.

 

https://www.theverge.com/

Recommended Tech Blog: iUpdateOS

Blog creator and Youtube personality IUpdateOS, also known as Sam, positions himself as a creator focusing on Apple software and Hardware news and developments. I personally have been a reader and subscriber for over a year now, and I have really come to admire and appreciate his small-outlet feel compared to other tech blog giants such as TechCrunch and Gizmodo. The attention to detail and ease of understanding makes his blog very attractive and engaging to myself and many other Apple enthusiasts across the world.

His initial layout on the homepage consists of an upper banner revealing his most recent post, while similarly recent posts are also shown to the right-hand side as well. Scrolling down the page, we find more recent articles with large images and excerpts that entice the reader to view the entire article. He also has established dedicated pages for sub-topics such as the iPhone 8 and upcoming iOS 11 software release. I appreciate the high-definition images he uses to further enhance the quality of his work, taking no visible shortcuts simply to get a post completed. The prevalence of ads on the page are visually annoying at times, but I completely understand that it takes money to host the site and operate the blog. That would be my only complaint visually.

Sam’s writing writing and convention style is another literary characteristic of his blog that continually peaks my interests. Sited as a tech blog, the portrayal of information is listed straightforwardly on a plain white that doesn’t detract from the article at hand. Often, Sam chooses to approach an announcement by confronting any quantitative facts at the top of the article, while opting to save the in-depth statistics for later on in the piece. All of his writing is factual, while still leaving the possibility for a personal quip revealing personal requests such as, “With such a lofty price tag, the iPhone 8 will have to be incredible.” I enjoy these personal additions, as they only occur periodically, but it ensures a minor sense of personality in each article.

Organizationally, iUpdateOS finds itself up-to-par with all of the most popular technology blogs. Whether it be the chronological timeline of past articles, to the more subtle accessories such as his conveniently located social media links at the upper interactive bar. He leaves an area for keyword searching his site on the upper navigation bar, and even leaves comment replies open to encourage readers to become collectively engaged on the topic.

Sam and his iUpdateOS tech blog appear to me as a very attractive and enticing blog platform that will continue to grow in popularity. I will strive to learn tips on the layout and appeal of each post he produces to better understand what makes Sam such a successful writer. I wish to employ many features he has revealed to me, and anticipate reading more articles in the future.

 

https://www.iupdateos.com/