Final Project

Remediations of 

"Study goals and procrastination tendencies at different stages of the undergraduate degree" 

Martyn Stewart, Tim Stott & Anne-Marie Nuttall

1: ScreenCast

 2: Infographic

 

For other great blogs,

check out 

Emily

Damien

Augmented Reality: Rhetorical Analysis of "Pokemon GO"

While the idea of augmented reality has been steadily maturing over the last decade or so, Pokemon GO brought the concept to the forefront of public attention this past summer. Relying on the adoration and influence of people in their teens and twenties, this app was released to the satisfaction of young men and women that grew up playing Pokemon games.

As children, they had only dreamed of being able to walk around their neighborhood while catching fantastic creatures and battling their friends. This Augmented Reality application focuses specifically on the concept of Identification to turn dreams into reality.

As Burke explains, identification is “an alignment of interests and motives.”

“We may identify with someone (or some cause) and thus come to share belief because we imagine or desire to be one with another, or to feel energized or uplifted by our association.”

When users play Pokemon GO, they are associating themselves with a customized character and ultimately accepting that they now share that character’s motives to catch and train creatures. This identification allows the app to feel less like a game and more like a lifestyle, especially given the opportunity to interact with other users in the area.

For many reasons, this Augmented Reality application went Viral worldwide. At its peak in July 2016, there were over 40 Million daily users. And, only 19 days after the app was released, it had been downloaded over 50 Million times with more first-week downloads than anything else in the Apple App Store.

From what I remember, there had been almost no conversation about Pokemon GO before it was released. However, the day it became available, news of the AR game spread like wildfire through Word-of-Mouth and Social Media interactions. Soon, everyone wanted in on the game.

From Nahon and Hemsley’s comments on virality, “There is a sharp acceleration in the number of people who are exposed to the message because there is a period of time early on in the social sharing process where the audience grows very rapidly…”

Unfortunately, as virality usually demands, usage of the game has declined over time as interest has waned. Until updates with exciting new AR features come about, usage will remain low. However, the impact of this game will not be easily forgotten by consumers or producers. Rumors suggest that an AR version of Harry Potter might be in the works as just one of many Augmented Reality applications to come.

Sources: 

1. Blakesley, David. The Elements of Dramatism. (page 15).

2. Kawa, Luke and Katz, Lily. These Charts Show that Pokemon GO is Already in Decline. 

3. Nahon and Hemsley. Going Viral. (Page 25)

For other rhetorical analysis posts

check out these blogs! 

Emily Weaver

Damien Raymond

Digital Humanities as Rhetoric

An analysis of the twitter bot 

"@ThinkPieceBot" 's influence and activity.

(I apologize for the watermark!!)

For a different twitter bot analysis, check out these blogs! 

Jessica 

Cody 

Sam

Plan for Diffusion through Social Media

Research Article being Diffused:

The Scientific Reproduction of Gender Inequality

 A Discourse Analysis of Research Articles on Women’s Entrepreneurship.

Ahl, Helene J. "1 THE SCIENTIFIC REPRODUCTION OF GENDER INEQUALITY A Discourse Analysis of Research Articles on Women’s Entrepreneurship." (2003). 

    1. Summarize

      Create a "Hand Drawn" white board video that demonstrates the key research and conclusions of this paper with an overlaying audio explanation for the illustrations. 

Key points to include: 

-Briefly explain how the author conducted her research (Analyzing over 80 research articles to gain an understanding of the general perception of women in business.) 

-Page 4. Explain the hypotheses about female inferiority and how they were disproved. 

-Page 4: para. 4, and "Constructions of Work and Family" 
from pages 8-9. Explain how the interview questions between men and women differed as well as the perceptions tying family life to women but not men.
(i.e. Woman being asked about how balancing family and work can be difficult while the topic of family is rarely brought up when men are interviewed).

-Bottom of page 5 - page 6. Explain how socially constructed gender roles and traits cause women to be viewed as less motivated in regards to entrepreneurship. 

-Pages 7-8. Describe how authors that refused to give up their secondary sex view of women tried to disregard findings that contradicted their views. ("Making a mountain out of a mole hill", "The self-selected woman", and "The good mother") 

-Illustrate and explain the chart on page 10 that provides ideas on how to shift perceptions and research processes. 

-Explain the problems identified in the final paragraph (funding and publication without likely hurting one's career). 

-Provide a call to action as a conclusion. This should include ideas such as: 

• talking to researchers at your university
• participating in research efforts in order to influence whether or not men and women are treated equally
• writing to popular research journals explaining your desire to see articles that do not place women as a secondary sex

A quick tutorial for creating "Hand-Drawn" videos is included below.

This type of content2 is engaging and appeals to a larger audience than just those in academia.

           Upload the video to a platform such as YouTube and include tags such as “feminism”, “equality”, “business”, “research”, “change”, etc. These tags help to expose the video in appropriate and relevant contexts2. Once the video has been published, create a shorter bit.ly URL that will be used in a later step. 

2. Enlist Help

     Privately contact major twitter accounts that are based on any of the following:

Feminist Communities, 

A Female CEO, 

Business Colleges, 

or 

Research Journals/Publications dedicated to women, gender equality, or business.

(Examples: @FemFormations, @feministstudies, @nwsa, @HeatherRipley, @BASeditors, @feminstitute, @entrepreneur, 

@womenEnt, @Rotmanwomen )

These specific types of accounts (especially ones with women as a central focus) have a good chance of agreeing to post about this topic due to their likely sympathetic view of the argument being made.

3. Create the tweet

 For those pages that accept, ask them to draft a Tweet with the following text:

“Isn’t it time for Women in business to stop being viewed as secondary to Men? (bit.ly url) #BizEquality”

Then, ask them to create a specific “Twitter Card” to accompany their post. This feature provides a preview of the destination site by showing a customized picture and text block. Twitter Cards also include a “Call to Action” button that can be customized with phrases such as, “Learn More”. 

Example of a Twitter Card:

          This visual addition to the tweet will help attract an audience due to its expanded and more appealing form2. 

     

4. Posting

          Once the tweets have been drafted, inform each page to post at 8:45 AM EDT. This is an optimal time to post based on twitter traffic rates. Around 9 AM, there is a significant increase in traffic but not enough to drown out the drafted posts.

5. Social Information Flow2

          Because many of the pages’ followers are likely to view and engage with the provided content, each page’s individual cluster2 will begin to saturate2. Accounts with weak ties2 to the initial clusters will likely be exposed, and conversations alongside the original post will hopefully begin to saturate other clusters.

6. End Goal

          Ultimately, the goal is to reach Business/Entrepreneur Scholars and Researchers either directly or through their associated college’s twitter account. However, the message will be more powerful if it is accompanied by community support and recognition. 

          This support will hopefully be gained as the message is passed from cluster to cluster - reaching groups of people that would not usually be presented with this subject. 

    

Strategies derived from
2 Nahon, Karine, and Jeff Hemsley. Going Viral. Polity, 2013.

For other Social Media Diffusion Plans check out these blogs!

Emily Weaver

Damien Raymond

Save the Bees: An Argument Made Through Sampling and Remixing

1. Identification of Producers/Creators

a. Where did your samples (images, video, audio) come from? 

        The images/videos mainly came from the movie called “Up”. Audio came from variety of sources such as the Jim Carey, Simpsons, TEDxBend, and The Office. All of our samples were found using YouTube. 

b. Who has taken part in the creation of these samples?

i. Individuals? 

TED

Speaker: Sarah Red-Laird

Movie “UP”

Directors: Pete Docter and Bob Peterson

Producers: John Lasseter, Kori Rae, Denise Ream, Jonas Rivera, Andrew Stanton

The Office

Creators: Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant

Executive Producers: Howard Klein, Ben Silverman, Paul Lieberstein, Jennifer Celotta,    B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling, Brent Forrester, and Dan Sterling

The Simpsons

Creators: Matt Groening, Sam Simon, James L. Brooks

ii. A community? Film industry, television industry,  global (speakers from across the world)

iii. A company or other organization? 

Disney: Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Records, Skywalker Sound, Eastwood Scoring Stage, Walt Disney Negative Cutting, Solano County Sheriff’s Office, Entertainment Clearances, Intelligence Media, Klass Security and Investigations, etc 

The Office: Reveille Productions, NBC Universal Television, 3 Arts Entertainment, Deedle-Dee Productions, Universal Media Studios, Universal Media Studios, Universal Television, etc

The Simpsons: Gracie Films, 20th Century Fox Television, Curiosity Company, Film Roman Productions, Fox Television Animation, Klasky-Csupo, Akom Production Company, Anivision, Central Casting, Laser Edit, Skywalker Sound, Sony Pictures Studio, Glenwood Editorial, etc

TED: TED and TEDxBend (non-profit organizations), Waywire.com

c. Do you have a connection to any of these individuals or groups?

i. Is this connection close, or does it resemble seven steps to Kevin Bacon?

        It resembles like the seven steps to Kevin Bacon because we have no direct connections to those individuals or companies listed above. One could argue that there is an emotional connection with Disney and Pixar. Most of us grew up watching Disney movies during our childhoods and for some it helped shape their identities. 

d. Do you think your relation (or lack of relation) to these individuals or groups gives you more or l        less constraints to sample and remix their creative work?

        The lack of relation to these individuals or groups make us less constrained to sample and remix their creative work because we don’t feel the obligation nor loyalty to them. Also it is easier to remix without guilt because usually there are no major consequences. On the other hand, if it was created by one of our close friends or family member then we’ll be more constrained. This is caused by fear of offending them or interfering with the relationship of that individual. 

e. If you do not know where your samples come from originally, how do you think you might discover this information? (Once you have done more research, go back and answer the previous questions.)

The research can easily be done for some but others might be hard. It was easier to find the original sources for the movie “Up” because it was produced by a well-known company Disney. The information could be found on several websites like Wikipedia, IMDb, etc. On the contrary,  it was harder to find the original sources for Ted because many of their events are independently held and the hosts don’t necessarily list who exactly was involved in the production like Disney. 

2. Identification of Caring/Wounding

a. To the best of your ability, please research the groups and/or individuals from whom you have sampled. According to your sources (scholarly, popular, friends, etc.), what are some of the cultural values of these people and their communities? Provide some evidence for your claims. If you identify as a member of one of these communities, explain how you have come to understand the community’s values and how your own understanding of these values might differ from others in the community.

TED is a non-profit organization and its mission is to spread great ideas in the best way possible. It brings in people from different cultures and discipline for a greater understanding of the world, and they strongly believe that ideas can change things as simple as altitudes and even lives. Disney believes in differentiating their entertainment services from others to be the most profitable and go beyond just entertaining. They want to inspire people, strengthen communities, and conserve the entertainment.

b. Identify 3-5 of your acts of sampling in relation to the individuals and/or groups you identified above as either acts of caring or wounding or both. Address the following questions in this identification:

i. In your sampling and remixing, are you potentially contradicting, subverting, changing, or even violating some of the values you researched above? Imagine someone sampling your work (something to which you have dedicated your life) and remixing it into a new work that actually violates the values expressed in your original work or that seems to take credit for authorship without acknowledging you. How do you think the “original” authors would react, should they witness your remix? How might it affect them?

In the movie, Carl changes from being this isolated and self-absorbed person to reorganizing his priorities and saving the people that he cares for.  After sampling, Disney’s overall message changed into something completely different. Now it only portrays Carl as someone hard-hearted and doesn’t care about the welfare of bees at all. Although bees play a small but significant role.However, we are still arguing for the bees. The video may seem like it contradicts with Disney’s views but they’re all about promoting good and inspiration. So we believe it is still aligned with Disney views. The original authors may or may not exactly appreciate what we have done. If it goes viral for not good reasons then they may not appreciate it and take legal action. In my opinion, if one of my works was remixed by someone and I came across the remix of it, and didn’t acknowledge my work, I don’t think I would be very happy because I had put so much time and effort into my original work.  

ii. Are you appealing to their values? In other words, do you think the artists you sampled from would endorse how and what you sampled and remixed?

Yes, I think the people who are part of the groups that are trying to save the bees would find our work very comedic. 

iii. Under what conditions might your act of caring be an act of wounding (and vice versa)?

I don’t think there is a way that something like this could be an act of wounding, unless some people disagree with the point we are trying to get across.

c. How might your caring and/or wounding change your relationship to those individuals or groups? Has your opinion of the different individuals and/or groups changed? Why or why not? How?

No, my opinion hasn’t changed, I think what they are trying to do in these groups is great and really helps the environment.

3 Identification of Ethicality

a. After completing and reflecting upon the previous sections, ask yourself the following questions:

i. Do you consider your acts of wounding and/or caring to be ethical?

I consider my acts to be ethical.

1. Why or why not? Can you justify your acts of wounding? How?

I am not trying to ruin the image of Disney or harm them in anyway. My argument is how people feel indifferent toward this huge issue and they’re not willing to take action. I’m trying to spread this awareness in hopes of people changing for the welfare of the bees. 

2. If you decide to distribute your remix, do you think it would be legal?

Yes, if it stays on the Internet through social media like Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, etc. However, I would still give credit to Disney and my other samples b

3. If not (see #2), what would you need to do to make the distribution of your remix ethical as well as legal?

N/A.

Save the Bees: An Argument Made Through Sampling and Remixing

Check out these other blogs for a different Remixed Argument

Jessica

Cody

Sam

My Graphic and Visual Rhetorical Analysis of Pax Americana: In Which We Burn

For other rhetorical analysis posts check out these blogs!

Emily Weaver: emibluerhetoric.blogspot.com


Damien Raymond: draymondwritinginrhetoric.blogspot.com

Procedural Rhetorical Analysis

We used the Game of Life as an example to illustrate Bogost’s procedural rhetoric and its principles. Traditionally, people like to use the actual game board edition but we used the kindle version of the Game of Life instead.

It is a semi-realistic game about walking through life events and the purpose of the game is to accumulate the most wealth.
The main argument of the game is that the choices made in the early stages of one’s life will have a ripple effect throughout the remainder of their journey. This will determine what choices are available to them  and how one will lead his or her life until the end. One example of early choices affecting the rest of your life is the game’s opening decision to either go to college or start a career. Starting a career allows you to make money early on and avoid having to pay large amounts of student debt. However, choosing to go to college presents higher paying jobs with more perks.

Further, the main argument of the game is life has many unpredictable ups and downs. The Game of Life does an excellent job of showing how unpredictable events can really affect your course of existence. For example, the event of having a child (or twins) comes at random and can then make the rest of the game very expensive. Other events such as having a midlife crisis, having your house flood, or alternatively getting a promotion at your job all cause disruption, frustration, and surprise to players. One can also say that some aspects of life is based purely on chance because of it. There is just no way to expect what events will interfere or benefit in our lives.

The elements of procedurality in the game helps one understand the process of life. The Game of Life helps by laying out the general route a person can take. It begins with the choice of attending college/university or pursuing a career, getting married, buying a house, starting a family, and other achievements until retirement. Nevertheless, in between these events there are unexpected misfortunes. In the game, the players must use the spinner and this really aids with the randomness of when these unforeseen events can happen in real life. This helps the game to be more realistic. In addition, if it is combined with the best interactivity possible then it moves even closer to real experience. It is important to mention that the interactivity element must be relevant to the goals of the game, or it will dilute the effectiveness of the persuasion. As Bogost argues, “the closer we get to real experience, the better.” He is directly referring to the vivid spectrum. However, he doesn’t mean it has to be virtual or to completely recreate the world to be persuasive; he’s implying that the steps involved in the games is what actually makes it rhetorically influential.
Another element is the idea that early choices affect the rest of one’s life is reinforced by the player’s freedom within the parameters of the game. There are decisions that present players with very specific choices; those choices then define how later events are carried out. Players are forced to deal with what happens, just like people in the real world are forced to deal with real situations.
Overall, we believe there is procedural rhetoric in the Game of Life because there is some seriousness in the nature of life, but it’s not clear to us if it’s strong enough to “support or challenge our understanding of the way things in the world do or should work” as Bogost might say to be effective.

Check out these other blogs
http://rhetoricalfun.blogspot.com/

http://rhetoriciansnow.blogspot.com/

https://sickrhetoric.wordpress.com/