Seeing is Everything

While doing research for the multimodal project I was able to locate several forms of convincing my audience of the points I will try to portray throughout the paper. Most of these are pictures in the form of cartoons. Although it is sometimes difficult I enjoyed looking for different ways to inform the reader that when Americans are over work they are less likely to be productive. This is counter intuitive, you would think that the more you work, the more you get done.

The image that I will be using for this blog post is one that I found from CartoonStock.com. In the picture it was an image of a man being carried tons of papers by his secretary that he then has to go through.  Then there is the caption “Done at last, I wonder how old my kids are?” This is a typical representation of the American business man. In order to be successful they must put in ho

urs after hours in at the office. This takes away from the precious family time at home.

After viewing this along with others it is clear that there is a lot of evidence out there that support this claim that Americans are indeed over worked. In my multimodal project I plan to compile all of these sources to create the most convincing presentation that I can.  Do you think that pictures like these help convince the audience that your points are in fact true? Or do you think they are not needed and just straight facts works best when convincing your audience?

Super Easy

When locating a source for a paper I always like to use the library's  resources and databases. This is an easy reliable and effective way to locate scholarly sources that will be used as strong evidence to support your claims. Again this very easy, literally anyone can utilize these resources.

For my writing project I’m looking at the effects of over working Americans. Are Americans over working by working 40 hours a week? And is there a more effective work schedule for all employees across the world. I found a source by typing random words that related to my topic and then tons of sources just appeared for my picking; all of which were scholarly reviewed sources.

Then I scrolled down till I discovered a n article by Tibor Scitovsky titled "More Workers+Fewer Hours=Higher Productivity" This is a good source for my topic because it is scholarly and gives my evidence to build my argument on.

In the article Tibor looks at several companies and the working schedules of the workers. He then breaks it down to the points that employees that work shorter shifts are more productive and have better attitudes while at work. There is points made that when people are happier they are more confident and therefore enjoy doing their job, and actually do a good job.

This source was located using A&M’s resources and without it, discovering scholarly sources would be very difficult. Do you use these same resources? If so, Do you find them extremely effective and easy to use?

Workaholics

Do Americans work too hard? To most of us it may not seem so because we know no different. Growing up both my parents worked 40 hours a week and didn't think anything of it. It was what was expected by society and what was necessary to be successful. But as I read more and more on the idea of working less makes me wonder if Americans are reaching the max productivity in a 40 hour work week?

Bloomberg suggests that Americans are over work and our work lives carry over into our family/ relaxation time. How many times have you sent a work email from? Scheduled a meeting for job related events on your off period? This is taking away bonding time with family/ friends.

However us all being in college most don’t have a full time job but I think that this can still relate.  I think that if you, as a college student, woke up every morning at 8 o’clock, even if you didn't have class and you did nothing but school work till 4 in the afternoon, you shouldn't have to worry about school on your “off time”. This sounds really nice. Not ever having late nights studying for exams.

Do you any ideas about this issue? Are Americans worked too hard in general? Or is this work necessary to be successful in our economy?

Different Mediums

Throughout my college career here at Texas A&M I have found some professors easier to follow and understand more than others. Now I don’t know if this is only me but it seems that the professors that use a variety of mediums to present the course material are more approachable and seem more knowledgeable.  I mean, am I the only one that finds a lecture extremely boring when the professor just stands in front of the class lecturing in a monotone voice?

I prefer the professor to utilize all the resources at their fingertips. It is beneficial to be able to access notes online to review before tests. And watching a presentation from a PowerPoint is much easier to follow and learn from. The best professor that I have had was one that would write on a smart board and then upload her notes to the internet for everyone to access. Not only did she use these items but she would use videos and make the material interesting.

As we move more and more toward a more technology controlled world, I think that it will become a must for professors and presenters too utilize all the different mediums at their fingertips. Do you think that it is beneficial for a presenter to use these modes? Which modes do you feel work best for you?

Schooling

Throughout my public school career I have had a variety of teachers. Which for the most part tried to teach all of us how to advance in life by giving us the education we needed.  English has always been my least favorite class. I was always the last to finish reading and could never produce anything creative on any of my assignments.

I could never get any of my ideas on paper in a logical sequence that made sense to my readers. If it wasn't for my senior year English teacher my writing would not be anywhere near they are today. And yes I know I’m still a long way from perfect.

She had our entire class just write a page every single day due at the beginning of class. At first this was awful and felt like punishment but as the year went on it became easier and easier to put my thoughts on to paper and make sense. She believed that the only way you get good at something is to practice and practice is what we did. And we weren't limited to a topic letting our imagination go.

I believe that this one class made a difference in my writings and helped me in a lot of other courses. Have you had that one class/ teacher that has made a significant influence on you? What is it that makes some teachers more successful over others?

Hunger

The great thing about culture is that it is comprised of everyday items that most take for granted. We aren't even aware of the actions that shape our culture. It easier for use to look back on past societies and discover the reasoning behind their choices than it is perhaps for us to know why we do the things we do.

One of these can be something as the food we eat. We may not think much about food and the importance of the meals we eat.  But I believe this is one of the important contributing factors for defining culture. There a lot of factors that are involved; from the different foods eaten to the ingredients, methods of preparation, and preservation techniques affect a society’s culture.

The distinctions in the types of food we eat are decisions we make every day as college students. I feel most students take convenience and price as the number one priority in choosing their meals. As compared to a home cooked meal that most of us took for granted growing up. These meals take more time to prepare but are higher in nutrition and healthier for you.

Even in our own lives we can see different changes that shape culture. Can you think of any eating habit changes that you feel shape our culture?

Story Telling

Telling stories is an important part of every culture, whether it is scary stories around a camp fire, a nice fairy tale bed time story or just an old tall tale that your grandfather tells every chance he gets. I am sure everyone has at least a couple of these fond memories that they hold dearly.

Penelope Starr writes a blog on the benefits of storytelling. She states that it creates an emotional connection to the minds of the listeners. It gives a greater understanding by teaching a lesson in an exaggerated story or a parable that can be easily related to.

Everyone has their favorite nursery rhyme that they loved having read to as a kid. These nursery rhymes have become an important part of our culture. Not only is it entertainment for the child but perhaps more importantly it is boding time for the parent and child. This priceless bonding is essential for the development of kids today.  In past cultures story telling may have taken different forms, such as stories around a campfire, spiritual dances, or even writings in a cave, but they all tell the story that brings members of a society closer together.

What do you think? Do you think that these stories are an important part of today's culture as well as past?

More Facebook

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of time, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.”

                                                    --Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Facebook and other Social networking sites have entwined and entangled their selves into all of our lives more than we may realize it. But is it for the good?? .  Social Nerdia proposes the same question in a blog asking is this media transformation “for the better or the worse.” Forbes writes telling its audience three reasons why “you should quit social media in 2013.”

Both of the authors take a strong viewpoint against the use of social media listing persuasive logos of the negative impact that these websites have had on society. Easteban Contreras of Social Nerdia describes life as almost being unlivable in today’s world with the many interactions everyone has day to day with the internet. The logos that he presents give the audience a good understanding short of a time these sites have been able to take over our lives.

Forbes also uses these same rhetorical techniques to convince readers but manly focuses on the pathos side of the argument; listing examples of Facebook hurting self-esteem and increasing blood pressure. This technique captures the reader’s attention and makes the m think that possibly the source of their stress is social media. He then challenges everyone to quit social media in the year 2013 and see for yourself. This seems tough but do you think you could take on this challenge?

These two different approaches to the same issue have different effects on the audience and could influence their opinion? Which do you think does a better job of influencing your opinion?

Social Networking

As we read articles in Reading Culture about how the media is” rewiring us” I can’t help but think about is the media really changing our society or is this just a bunch of exaggeration?

And the more I read the more and more these experts have do have valid points. We are attached to our phones and social networking sites. Just ask yourself “How long could you last without your phone?”  But are we so attached it’s a problem? Courtnie Packer doesn’t think so, who writes an article answering the question “Are Teenagers Becoming Too Attached to Their Cell Phones?” She believes the advantages of the cell phone far out weights the negative. They allow parents to keep in touch and monitor their kids.

Of course there is many negatives of social networking sites.  Some believe that Facebook contributes to obesity from kids sitting around waiting to see what all their friends are doing in this virtual world, instead of going out. But I believe perhaps the biggest problem today is it seems that it’s the “normal to have hundreds and hundreds of “friends” instead of going out and making good true friends that you can rely on. We can become more quantity over quality here in the recent years. Social networking sites are broadening the amount of people that we are “friends” with but they are swallowing the real connection with real people.

Do you agree and think that these social networking sites do more good than harm? Or do we need to change the way we live our day to day lives?

Living Culture

“Culture is everything.” Culture is all around us it affects the clothes we wear to the decisions we make. It’s what we study when we ask how ancient cultures survived. I agree with outlook of culture by Aimè Cèsaire because culture is everything, it is everything that we say, do, and makes every society unique.

It is important for us to learn other cultures as well as our own culture. Understanding culture makes the world more educated in the understanding of the diverse ways of living. In history class we study and learn about tribal rituals and ceremonies that took place hundreds of years ago and today seems very strange. But the ways that we live our lives would also be strange if they were to study us.

We see this in our world today. Different regions of the world dress differently, talk differently, believe in various religions. If you were move to a new region of the world you may not fit because their culture and customs are different than what you perhaps grew up with. Today we are shaping our society’s culture and we are becoming “cultured by society.” So in the years to come future generations will look back on us and ponder why we took part in the “strange” activities of our time.

How do you feel of about culture? Are we cultured by society or is society cultured by us?