TOW #10: Smoking Ad (Visual Text)

      After extensive proven studies of the risks of smoking, people nonetheless continue to smoke cigarettes. Multiple companies are devoted to creating awareness of this lethal product, just like this advertisement.

     Automatically, the ad catches the attention of the viewer because of the naked man and woman being the subject. The eye lingers on the picture for a while longer to create meaning from two naked individuals on a public advertisement. The next thing noticed is the abnormal inferno taking place in the middle organs. Wondering why, the viewer can then infer this is due to smoking, because they both have a cigarette in their hand. This thought process is automatic for most people, and they can quickly gain the message that smoking is damaging to the body. A main effect of smoking is the covering of tar chemicals on the lungs, and the picture of the lungs on fire encapsulates the danger of smoking. Using one man and one women shows the audience that this can happen to anyone. With a bare body and a bare background, the advertisement concentrates on how the image will make the viewer feel. The icon in the bottom left corner lets the viewer know that the advertisement is coming from a credible 

company. The ad is using exaggeration to catch the audiences' eye to the lungs on fire and prove the purpose that smoking does nothing beneficial to the body, it only creates a place of hell for the lungs.

    I believe the ad achieves its purpose that smoking is a horrible thing to expose the body to. It only creates a place of hell for the body, and I think that message is clearly communicated through this ad. 

TOW #9: Air Pollution as a Heart Threat by Deborah Blum

       Air pollution was just declared last month by the World Health Organization to be one of the world's most dangerous environmental carcinogens. In an industrialized world like today, more and more people are becoming conscious of the dangers health wise and environmental wise of air pollution. It is obvious to connect air pollution to the threat of cancer, especially pertaining to the lungs, but does one ever associate air pollution as a threat to the heart?
      A new study has just came out with striking evidence that air pollution can not only worsen heart problems such as cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and strokes, but it can also cause it. The topic of this article attracts attention of people who are health conscious. On the context of saving your life, Deborah Blum appeals to pathos by talking about what a big problem air pollution is today, and the multiple threats it holds. Blum quotes multiple scientists and their studies to use as evidence. By using this evidence, the author automatically appeals to logos and gives herself credibility by using credible sources. Blum uses statistics and scientific diction to inform the public that air pollution is more than just a threat to the lungs. I believe she achieves her purpose well and uses multiple sources to appeal to the logic of the situation. I am now well informed of all the threats air pollution poses, and not just containing to the ones pertaining to the lungs.

IRB Intro Post #2: The Bling Ring by Nancy Jo Sales

The Bling Ring, by Nancy Jo Sales, follows seven teenagers residing in Calabassas, California who are not your ordinary teenagers looking for trouble. These kids successfully stole more than $3 million from clothing, jewelry, and accessories belonging to celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, and Rachel Bilson in 2009. Now a Sofia Coppola film, Nancy Jo Sales writes this book about the famous robberies after being the journalist following around these seven fame-obsessed teens.

After hearing that the movie about to come out was based on a true story, I was very intrigued to learn about how easily these teens got away with the burglaries for over a year and the audacity they had to have to even pull this off. I saw the trailer to the movie, then found out it was a book, and could not wait to read it. I hope to understand all of my questions after hearing about the story. I also hope to gain an appreciation for a new genre: journalism. I have yet to read a book by a journalist so I am very excited to start The Bling Ring. 

TOW #8: Mirroring People by Marco Iacoboni (Part 2)

          Mirroring People, by Marco Iacoboni, was written to easily share the crazy world of the brain and all of its talents. Specifically, Iacoboni concentrates on the wonders mirror neurons. We can thank those little things for making a human, human. They are responsible for the feelings of empathy and having a "warm heart" instead of a "cold, hard heart." Without these, humans would not feel empathy from others.
       Iacoboni writes this to share with the public the intricate and extremely competent aspects of the brain. In doing this, he appeals to logos by giving examples of everyday use of mirror neurons so the reader can understand more easily. He also uses anecdotes to portray an everyday sense of these neurons with his own experience. His audience he writes to is anyone interested in psychology and neurology, even if they are not scientists themselves. Because he uses simple terms in portraying information about mirror neurons, it makes it easy for anyone to pick up the book and have a good informational read. It is apparent throughout his reading that he has a passion for science and neurology. Through his diction, he creates a yearn of interest from the reader, which is what keeps the reader entertained throughout almost 300 pages. Most books about science can be extremely boring, but Iacoboni keeps the reader intrigued by adding things, such as anecdotes, to connect with the reader.
     I believe he achieves his purpose in sharing this discovery, making it interesting and coherent for the public. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychology and neuroscience. In a 279 page book, Iacoboni definitely keeps the world of science entertaining and intriguing.

TOW #7: Teach Kids to Daydream

            There have been multiple times in a classroom setting where teachers would yell at students, "Snap out of it!" to regain their attention, or randomly call on a student, off guard, to send the message that they need to start paying attention. With this reaction from teachers, most would think daydreaming is a horrible activity for the mind to engage in. Actually, it is the opposite.
           Parents want their children to get the most beneficial amount of hours of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation has been linked to many things such as stunt physical growth, encourage illegal substance use, increase moodiness and irritability, show symptoms of ADD, dramatically increase the chance of car accidents among teens, and a decrease in academic skill. Though getting a good amount of sleep each night is important, daydreaming is equally important as a mental downtime.
          What teachers and parents do not know, is that daydreaming is an extremely productive activity for the mind. In this article the author, Jessica Lahey, talks about all the benefits in the context of a world that is obsessed with health. She specifically targets parents and advises them to teach their children how to daydream and gain all the benefits it poses. Using outside sources such as cognitive psychologists, Lahey appeals to ethos by using specific evidence from these scientists. She recalls psychologist Jerome L. Singer's book, Daydreaming: An Introduction to the Experimental Study of Inner Experience. In his book, he writes that daydreaming is our default mental state. The brain has two networks: working memory and daydreaming. Once one is on, the other is shut off. So if the brain is in working memory, it cannot daydream. That is why Lahey advises the parents to take their children out on a walk with no technology, no anything, and just look up to the sky and daydream.
          The purpose of writing this article is to inform and advise the parents and teachers of the world that daydreaming is very beneficial. Lahey wants adults to think twice before snapping their kid out of deep thought. She also advocates for parents to try daydreaming, and to open their minds of creativity after a stress-filled day. Daydreaming may not seem productive, but it is equally important as getting those solid hours of sleep.
       
       

TOW #6: Anorexia Awareness Ad (Visual Text)

         We live in a world where society puts so much pressure on people to look perfect, especially in the fashion world. Because of this pressure, 24 million people are suffering from an eating disorder in the United States. This ad, with one glance, automatically encapsulates the dangers of having an eating disorder, specifically anorexia. As the brain reads from left to right, the first thing looked at is the pretty sketch. As the brain continues to scan the ad, it reaches a malnourished, frightening, underweight woman looking and dressing the same as the pretty sketch. The text boldly states "you are not a sketch. Say no to anorexia." The position of the two images allows the brain to connect and contrast them, realizing that the image on the right is completely unhealthy. The purpose is clear after reading the text, that anorexia is unhealthy and humans cannot be like unrealistic figures. Because this is a real issue that many people are fighting with today, it appeals to pathos and is easy to connect to. People in society need to fight to be happy with their own image, and try not to duplicate fantasy figures and become unhealthy. Targeting teen girls to young adult women, it is quite logical for them to say no to anorexia because of the unhealthy risks it poses. The small text in the upper left hand corner "star models" is the modeling agency sponsoring this ad, making it credible. The juxtaposition portrayed in this ad emphasizes that human body cannot be an unrealistic figure. People suffering from image issues need to fight to say no to anorexia, and be happy with their body. I think this ad definitely achieved its purpose. The woman to the right grabs the viewer's attention automatically and shows what anorexia can do to the body.

TOW #5: Where does aid money really go -- and what is it spent on? By Charles Lwanga Ntale

   There are thousands of organizations throughout multiple countries that exist for the purpose of aiding other countries. This aid can accommodate things like food and commodities, advice and training, and debt relief. But the questions have been posed: Does all this money actual go to the recipient country? Is this cash actually spent in places of need? Surprisingly, much of this money is lost and only about 30% of rich countries' aid goes to other nations in need.
    In a world where multiple countries are tied to each other in need of assistance, the article opens up with irrefutable data of recent aid, along with color coated data pictures to support the claims made. Appealing to logos, this article establishes its credibility right off the bat with unarguable data. The text, along with a picture, actually states that the author is director for Africa for Development Initiatives. Being director of this non-profit organization that supports development activities of communities establishes his credibility on this topic of aiding development of countries. Targeting the general public, he appeals to pathos by introducing data about the poorest people around, like countries in sub-Sahara, and the money they are not receiving from this so-called "aid."This also ties back into appealing to logos, because the data used is not falsified, the people have no choice but to feel upset about this topic.
   Appealing to pathos is crucial in this text because in the end the author calls the people to action. His purpose in writing this article was to inform the public about the unjust actions going on, and asks for their help. With a better understanding, the people can help change the policies happening now with international aid. They can help assist making decisions that will spend the money more efficiently, having almost every dollar go to the aid of the people. If all of this is done, the people most in need will receive the amazing benefits of international aid and get to live a wonderful life.