Sunday, November 4, 2012

Chapter 10 Question 2

This argument is one that's difficult to really pick a side. Wootan's claim makes sense because the advertising towards children easily persuades them to want to buy the products being offered which contributes to our unhealthy youth. It is a big problem in today's society. However, Liodice's claim is pretty much that any companies that are trying to advertise have every right to use anything permitted by Freedom of Speech and legal to publish. I have to take Liodice's claim on this subject because the children are not buying the products and it really comes down to parents disciplining their children. They need to learn how to tell their children "no" because if they allow the kids to consume the junk food that's being sold, the nation's youth will suffer. It's perfectly fine to advertise in the manner they're doing now. It's just a matter of whether or not the parents will allow them to watch the commercials or buy the products for their children.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Chapter 10 Question 1

An advertising strategy is a technique used to motivate the consumer to do what's wanted by the seller or one trying to persuade. Different marketing strategies I have experienced this week include an Audi commercial where all of the scenery was black and white and the Audi was colored red. This was not a good marketing strategy because I didn't feel very motivated to buy an Audi afterwards. All it did was show me a 2013 car that's coming out with not very many new features. It's just a car. On the other hand, the new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 features LeBron James in the commercial and it shows how much you can do on the phone all while James is enjoying using it. This makes me want to purchase the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 because it has many new features and they make an effort to point that out.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Chapter 4 Question 3

In chapter 4, I found that the controversy between rationalism and empiricism was the most interesting concept. A rationalist is someone who makes his or her judgment based on solely logical reasoning and an empiricist makes his or her judgment based on sense-experience. An example of rationalism is like when you look at a straw in a cup of water and it appears bent, but you know it is not. Another example is like going to a magic show and you watch someone get sawed in half. You know they really didn't get sawed in half or else they'd be dead. This is logic being put to work. These same examples can be used as examples of empiricism because without past knowledge on the subject, you wouldn't be able to apply logic to the situation. It would appear that the straw is bent or the person got sawed in half and you would assume that was correct.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Chapter 4 Question 1

The heritage dictionary defines knowledge as "facts, information and skills acquired by a person through experience or education." The same dictionary defines wisdom as "the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment." Knowledge is just informations and skills learned through experience and wisdom is the quality of having knowledge. As students in college, we gain knowledge primarily through our classes, studying and doing homework. We also learn other facts through life experiences and other situations. For example, if one is studying math and a professor teaches a formula, when you retain that information, that's considered knowledge. However, we gain wisdom by acquiring this knowledge and experiencing different situations. When we experience these situations more than once, we can correctly analyze the situations if we hadn't before, thus having good judgment. For example, if I fail a test, I'll know next time to study harder to assure I don't fail next time.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Chapter 3, Question 3

One of the sections in Chapter 3 that I found interesting was the nonverbal communication portion. The fact that animals generally use nonverbal communication is incredibly fascinating. Especially like bees dancing to let each other know what they're saying, stingrays using sonic waves to tell each other what's going on and things like that. I for one have a lot of experience with nonverbal communication just because I use it so frequently. For example, while playing basketball, a simple hand gesture or head nod can tell somebody what position I want them to be on the court or where I'm going or where I want them to go. Gestures can also make teaching or persuading a whole lot easier just by explaining through hand motion or body motion to tell the learner what to do. Nonverbal communication is an important factor on a lot of people's lives and is used by almost everyone on a daily basis.

Chapter 3, Question 2

A rhetorical device is the use of euphemisms, dysphemisms, hyperbole, and sarcasm to manipulate and persuade. An example of a rhetorical device that I experienced in the last week or two was when I was just talking to my friends over the internet. I simply stated to them that I have no friends just because I was lonely or something (But really I have no friends) and they understood that by saying "I have no friends," it was a form of sarcasm for actually saying that I have friends but none of them were present. Another form is a Euphemism that I experienced just the other day. On account information on Facebook/ Myspace, you can put your body type as "A little extra" which generally means you're on the chunky side but not obese. A friend of mine who is not "a little extra" but much larger, had said that he was "a little extra." Although we take it as a joke because we know that it's not true and he doesn't actually mean that.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Chapter 3, Question 1

As Sally Ride was finishing up her Ph.D. in Physics at Stanford University, she noticed an ad in the college newspaper for a job opportunity at NASA and out of 8,000 applicants, she was one of thirty-five people chosen. Obviously the biggest reason she got it was the Ph.D. in Physics, but other characteristics that got her the job were her analytical and critical thinking skills. Ride was chosen as capcom for the first and second shuttle flights, which is the person who handles all ground-to-staff communication. Due to her communication skills, she became an icon at NASA, helping address the United Nations and putting together the report for NASA, Leadership and the American Future in Space. Being the first woman in space, Ride also took the time to write several children's books encouraging girls, for the most part, to develop their interests in science, leadership, writing, and communication skills.