cnrodz-blog

[cnrodz-blog]

First off i want to say that I enjoyed the video you put up. Although its exaggerated it drives the point that we body language has such an impact when communicating with others. It can either drive a point across or leave the audience confused like how Jim Carrey does.

I believe that body language has so much emphasis when presenting yourself to another individual. I might take body language into close consideration because I am a psychology major. But anyway, If you look at this picture it shows how body language says alot about a person. Whether its someones posture or eye contact, some body language is essential for proper communication.  

I chose this picture because it demonstates that visuals can be effective than long confusing paragraphs like you said. during your post. This bar graph is well organized and even uses colors to show an aspect of the graph. Overall, I enjoyed reading your post and I personally thought it was very interesting.

Week 4: Media/Design

For this weeks reading response, I chose to read CH. 9 in the NFG book that talked about Media/Design. Media/Design is very important when trying to expose information from one person to another. We can communicate with others by using many types of communication, those being through media, verbally and nonverbally, through body language and well through other forms such as handwriting, print, telephone etc. Some things that the chapter also talks about is how a text’s design affects the way that it is received and understood. For example, pie charts and bar graphs are an easier way to show statistics and data rather than doing it in the form of paragraphs. It offers a much easier visual to the audience, while still containing important information.

Some questions that you should ask yourself when thinking about media are what medium are you using? Print? Electronic? Visual? Also, how does using the medium affect your overall organization? How does it affect the language and modes of expression? These questions are some of the things to keep in mind when making media. However, you must also think of the design. Things like the use of appropriate fonts, visuals, headings, and formats, such as APA or MLA, must also be considered.

The way that this relates to my major is that throughout my academic career, I am going to need to communicate with many people, using different types of communication. As a student that’s going into the medical field, communication is key, not only because you need to effectively communicate with others, but also because there will be many forms in which you will have to communicate by. 

The reason as to why I chose this video is because here we see how Jim Carrey uses different kinds of communication, to “effectively” communicate with others. We see some body language involved, the use of facial expressions and also the use of different sounds he makes. To me this video is hilarious and I believe it shows how we can communicate using different ways, of course, this being by far the weirdest one, but it counts. 

[cnrodz-blog]

Week 4: Reading Response

During this weeks reading response I will be responding the Norton Field Guide chapter 58. This chapter is about how to create the most effective way to give a speech. It tells the speaker to have a clear stucture in order to help the audience follow along without getting confused with so much information. Also use signpost language when jumping from one point to the next. When speaking it tells us that our tone is important we have to be confident and have a more academic tone. Along with how we speak it says that powerpoint can also be a good tool to enhance our presentation

This information was important to know because it helped me with my presention during class. I also hope to carry these techniques outside of the classroom in the future. It taught me how to approach a certain audience depending on genre and stance of my speech. The reading assignment taught me how to properly make slides for a presentation without making everything cluttered. Also states how to a person should stand in order to perceive a speaker as confidence and formal. Many of these tips seems to be small however, it can have a huge impact on your speech. 

I know that will be properly prepared next time present a speech. Whether it’s during my academic career at UTEP or in my profession after college. I want all my speeches to have the audiences attention from beginning to end and I believe this chapter was the key to having the perfect speech.

[cnrodz-blog]

Hey, I did the same reading in the NFG book and although I am not into photography I was able to see the similarities between photography and Media design. When trying to capture something great and in order to ger a point across it need to be well balanced, and bring out the best in a picture, whether is photographs or Media Designs

Just look at this gif of mother nature. We can see that our focus tends to be toward the sky and sun. The contrast of colors makes this picture appealing to the audence. Contrast between the sky and mountains bring out the sky. The details in this picture make it wonderful to observe. Through your post I was able to see the just how similar they are to eachother. 

Week 3: Reading Response

In the NFG book, there was a reading of the design of media, purpose, and catching attention of the viewers. It was very interesting reading about the aspects of design. Personally I have always been a creative individual, and reading through it was very fascinating. How to use the different shapes to catch attention, colors for emotion, and also how to keep the viewers attention through the use of short sentences, and the use of words.

I have always been interested in media design, but besides photography I have never got a chance to actually try it. Through this section of the book, it really helped me understood the different strategies to use media design. We applied the different strategies that the NFG provided for us to the infograph, and it was very fun to apply them.

Photography has always been a passion of mine, and even though the reading didn’t had to do with photography, I related it to photography. The reading of media design explained the use of color, word capacity, sentence structure, picture placement, and shapes. In photography there’s a lot of aspects to look at while editing a picture, and if it fits together in one piece. Things such as brilliance, exposure, highlights, shadows, brightness, contrast, and black point. It’s almost the same strategy while creating an info-graph, because we just had to make sure all the different aspects fitted together, and that all the information required flowed together. It was really fun.

[cnrodz-blog]

Week 3 - Designing Text

This week I will be discussing designing text from the NFG. It shows us how to get an audience to read text using various strategies such as keeping it simple, balanced, consistent, and use colors to your advantage. When designing text we still think about purpose, audience, genre, and stance. This helps us see which route to take when trying to capture audiences attention. Designing text takes creativity and a clear vision on what your trying to accomplish. Everying that is placed on a designed text should have a purpose in order to tie the writing and pictures together. 

Although designing text is new to us, it has been around for a while. Look at this Coca-Cola advertisement. It shows a Military man drinking coke, which attracts the audence of all men saying Coca-Cola is for Strong men. The stance of this advertisement is that Coca-Cola is great for you, don’t you see the big smile on that man. The Picture is simple and uses the color red to focus on the word “Coca-Cola. 

Until this chapter I never realized how often designing text was used though our daily life. This McDonalds advertisement brings humor ]]and makes the audence was to read the small text. This advertisement uses humor, color and even a good looking burger to attract people to McDonalds. It’s amazing how when designing text is done correctly it can make a huge impact on someone perspective. 

[cnrodz-blog]

Topic: Include a sentence which describes your semester topic.

Section 1: Listing your top 3 most viable research questions.  Do not include all 6.

1.          Question of Fact

a.           What is the current state of X diversity in X in the US?

3.          Question of Interpretation

a.           What role does X diversity play in X in the US?

6.          Question of Policy

a.           What are the current efforts surrounding the promotion of X diversity in X in the US?

Section 2: Addressing your research questions with your research.

RQ: 1

Research Question:

What are the current efforts surrounding the promotion of racial diversity in law enforcement in the US?

Question Category:

Policy

APA Source Category:

Academic Journal

APA Source Citation:

Mandating Law Enforcement to Receive Annual Certification in Cultural Diversity through Critical Thinking. International Social Science Review, 91(2), 1-7.

APA Source Quote:

”Perhaps a solution for improving community relations, in respect to diversity, is to hire officers that best represent the communities they serve. Throughout the United States the racial composition of local police forces severely mismatch the demographics of the communities they serve.” (Mandating Law Enforcement to Receive Annual Certification in Cultural Diversity through Critical Thinking, 2015)

RQ: 1

Research Question:

What are the current efforts surrounding the promotion of racial diversity in law enforcement in the US?

Question Category:

Policy

APA Source Category:

Literature Review

APA Source Citation:

Diversity in Law Enforcement: A Literature Review,1-24. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2017.

APA Source Quote:

“Although approximately two-thirds of Ferguson, Missouri’s residents are African American, only three of the town’s fifty-three commissioned police officers are African American” (Diversity in Law Enforcement: A literature Review, 2015)

RQ: 1

Research Question:

What are the current efforts surrounding the promotion of racial diversity in law enforcement in the US?

Question Category:

Policy

APA Source Category:

Mulimedia

APA Source Citation:

T. (2014, October 08). Retrieved July 21, 2017, from https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LCX_Th-IjjE

APA Source Quote:

“Through dialogue is the only way to build trust with law enforcement. And through dialogue is the only way that communities of color and low income neighborhoods will have a more positive relationship with our police department.” (How racial profiling hurts everyone, including the police, 2014)

RQ: 2

Research Question:

What are the current efforts surrounding the promotion of racial diversity in law enforcement in the US?

Question Category:

Interpretation

APA Source Category:

News Report

APA Source Citation:

Fifield, S. J. (2016, August 22). Can diverse police departments ease community tension? Retrieved July 21, 2017, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/can-diverse-police-departments-ease-community-tension/

APA Source Quote:

Law enforcement has had some success attracting more minorities. The share of minority officers nationally has nearly doubled in three decades, growing from 14.6 to 27.3 percent since 1987, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.(Can diverse police departments ease community tension?,2016)

RQ: 2

Research Question:

What are the current efforts surrounding the promotion of racial diversity in law enforcement in the US?

Question Category:

Interpretation

APA Source Category:

Academic Journal

APA Source Citation:

Mccluskey, C. P., & Mccluskey, J. D. (2004). Diversity in Policing. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 2(3), 67-81. doi:10.1300/j222v02n03_05

APA Source Quote:

One way of understanding how Latino representation is changing in law enforcement is to examine intra-departmental changes over time. This would allow one to examine the forces that encourage or inhibit Latino representation in law enforcement.(Diversity in Policing,2008)

RQ: 2

Research Question:

What are the current efforts surrounding the promotion of racial diversity in law enforcement in the US?

Question Category:

Interpretation

APA Source Category:

Multimedia

APA Source Citation:

T. (2016, April 02). Retrieved July 21, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK35y9-dTuw

APA Source Quote:

”The police department is a mafia the police is a big organized mafia.”(A. Polanco,Good NYPD Cops Reveal Their Department Have Arrest Quotas Targeting Blacks,Latinos, & Gays,2016)

RQ: 3

Research Question:

What is the current state in racial diversity in law enforcement in the U.S.?

Question Category:

Facts

APA Source Category:

News Report

APA Source Citation:

W. (2016, March 07). Police departments struggle to reflect race of communities they serve. Retrieved July 21, 2017, from http://www.wral.com/police-departments-struggle-to-reflect-race-of-communities-they-serve/15493793/

APA Source Quote:

“Statistics from 2014 show that, while 61 percent of Raleigh's population is white, 73 percent of the sworn officers of the Raleigh Police Department are. African-Americans make up 27 percent of the Raleigh population but just 11 percent of the police department.” (Police departments struggle to reflect race of communities they serve, 2016)

RQ: 3

Research Question:

What is the current state in racial diversity in law enforcement in the U.S.?

Question Category:

Facts

APA Source Category:

News Report

APA Source Citation:

[. (n.d.). Police Department Race and Ethnicity Demographic Data. Retrieved July 21, 2017, from http://www.governing.com/gov-data/safety-justice/police-department-officer-demographics-minority-representation.html

APA Source Quote:

Despite efforts to become more diverse, minorities remain underrepresented to varying degrees in the vast majority of larger police departments throughout the country. (Police Department Race and Ethnicity Demographic Data,2013)

[cnrodz-blog]

I also did believe that Pathos was the most interesting rhetorical strategy. I found pathos the most interesting becuase there are so many ways to introduce emotion to a picture. From using history to different colors. However, when looking into an argument we do have to look also at ethos and logos. Using all 3 rhetorical strategies is the only way to get the full picture in analyzing a picture. 

Learning this new way of thinking has also improved my skills by looking deeper into what a picture was trying to tell me. Now I am able to analyze a photo and put it into words in which I struggling to do before. I really did enjoy reading what you had to say and I feel like we were very similar in our learning experience. 

Week 2 Reading Response

Reading about the rhetorical strategies was in fact very informative, and I feel it actually improved my skills. “The goal of a rhetorical analysis is not to analyze what a writer is arguing, but to analyze how the writer is presenting the argument.” In the past I actually did believe I had to analyze what the writer was arguing about, but I found it so interesting how much of a difference it makes to analyze how the writer presents an argument. This perspective definitely improved my writing, and changed my view on articles and how to analyze them with a new strategy. 

An analysis consists of three main rhetorical appeals which are logos, ethos, and pathos. Logos is basically the logic of the argument. How strong or weak the argument really is. How much evidence is there in the creators work or article, and how solid it is. I also included a brief explanation of the argument, and analyzed if the creator was bias. Ethos focused on the credibility of the author, and the sense of future. What the sense of future means is how did the argument affect the author, and if it was hindered or not. 

I personally found pathos to be the most interesting rhetorical strategy. The other ones were interesting, but there was a feel of firmness, because there were guidelines to follow. Pathos deals with emotion, and is the strategy where we can put more thought into. Hard work goes into writing an analysis, but when it came to this specific rhetorical strategy, it was more open for me to write about. I could describe what each color made the audience feel. How could it affect an individual. I could put my mind into the text, and describe how the author evoked the audience based on my understanding. 

[cnrodz-blog]

Week 2 Rhetorical Analysis

In this weeks reading I found what was most useful was Rhetorical Analysis. This was far more than just seeing a picture and describing it. We had to actually go deep in the meaning using pathos, ethos ,and logos. As we analysis photos we connect it with society and how certain people could feel. We think about the reason this photo was made and what audience it was intended for. We also see look at who the photo was made by and if the person or comany is trustworthy. So things to think about and when writing a rhetorical analysis and so many ways to interpret one photo.

Look at this advertisement for voting. From a glance it seems like it is asking citizens to vote ,however when we analyze this the meaning is far more. We can the mans posture which seems as if hes forcing her to vote. In that it shows that white men show more power than minorities do when it comes to voting. We could ask ask ourselves why the man is supporting the seesaw in order to make it seem equal? Or why the background is appartments and not houses? Rhetorical Analysis is looking beyond the picture and how it ties in with society.

We should be thinking more often about what we see on a common basis. We should take Rhetorical analysis outside of the classroom and analysis things we see day to day.

[cnrodz-blog]

I really did enjoy reading your response because of how easily you explained Discourse Communities. You explained it with a topic that most of us know which is sports. I was a baseball player and I would fall under that discourse community. We had a goal which was to win, we easily communicated with eachother for example if someone says “turn two”, we knew what that ment right away because it was “baseball language”.

Then towards the end of your response you made me think about how far our discourse communities can be stretched. From the text you got the word “Limited” and this makes me think if there is a limit of how small or large a community can be? What exacly sets the limit?

Week 1: Reading Response

“The Concept of Discourse Community”

The main topic tackled in this article is “how to define a Discourse Community”. Trying to come up with specific guidelines to define something can be really complicates. The main reason is that the definition has to be strict enough to filter out anything that is not intended to be part of what you are trying to define. Therefore, at some point your head may start burning down because you keep finding things that slip through your filter.

Thankfully, Dr. John Swales has saved us from the inconvenience of  defining a Discourse Community (DC). He listed that in order for a group of people to be considered a DC they have to: 1. Agree in a common goal 2. Have a set  of tools to aid communicating with each other 3. When they communicate they provide information and feedback 4. The community communicates about a shared topic (or more) 5. They use language that is not normally used outside the community 6. There is a limited number of people who are members and that they have some degree of shared knowledge with the other members about the topic.

For example an sports team would be a good example of a DC since they share a common goal (winning), they tend to communicate with each other to elaborate plays, they communicate about the sport, during practice or plays the use technical language that somebody who doesn’t play the sport would not understand, and not everyone in the world plays the same sport. 

However this is not limited to just small groups of people. For example the  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) can also be considered a DC since its a platform for professionals in the field of electrical engineering to share their findings and discuss relevant topics in the field. Furthermore a DC does not necessarily needs to be an official group of people, as long as they cover the definition. So a simple study group of students can be considered a DC.

An important thing to point at is that in the text Swales mentions that the community has to be “limited” which in turn makes me wonder if the Human Society is it in anyway a DC if there was other forms of intelligent life in the universe? Where is the community suppose to draw the limit or what sets the limit of members? 

Based on the text it has to be a valance of “novice and experts” but how can we measure the average level of a community accurately?

[cnrodz-blog]

Week 1- Reading Response

Through my readings from the Norton Field Guide gives us an understanding of how and why we should write things depending on the purpose, audience ,and genre. The main question is why are we writing something?

 From the start everybody needs to have a purpose of what they are writing. Whether it’s to persuade, inform or even to entertain, there always has to be a reason for your writing. Then after you think of the purpose now the question of who will read your writing. This is pretty striaghtforward but it is necessary to point this out becuase for the simple fact of knowing the rules of who your writing too. For example, if you’re writing to your girlfriend I’m pretty sure you’re not going to use the words dude or bro. And finally we have have a genre of what your writing. This shows often helps the enhance the purpose of you’re writing and what kind of audience you will attract. Genre can range from writing jokes to writing poems. Choosing the type of Genre depends on who your trying to attract and what the purpose of your writing. We all have to start somewhere when writing......

I am a psychology major and this relates to be because psychology writing has a lot of informative writing and statistics. So if I go by the 3 topics i just talked about my purpose would be to inform, my audience would be professors or fellow peers, and genre would be a report. 

This reading help us with our major assignment becuase this provides us the basics of why we write anything. The 3 major concepts we should think about when writing. I believe this reading helps us clearly think of why we are writing, who we are writing to, and how it should be written. 

#SpongebobMemes4Days

[cnrodz-blog]

Intro:

Hello, my name is Charles Rodriguez, However I go by my middle name which is Nicholas. I was born and raised in El Paso, TX. I have an older brother that is in the Navy and a younger sister that is in middle school. I love sports but my favorite has to be baseball because I have played it for about 15 years. I started around 3 or 4 years old like this little guy.

Since high school ended I have picked up a new pair of gloves and I started doing Boxing. I enjoy the adrenaline rush when sparring someone ,however boxing I soon found out that it is a love hate relationship. Just depends on what side your on.

But other than sports I love to spoil my dog because well she’s my baby. shes about 60 pound dog but she thinks she’s a lap dog. If I am ever going to an event outdoors you can always see her tagging along with me. Here’s a picture of her not so happy lol.

I am a student enrolled at UTEP majoring in psychology. I am also a brother of Lambda chi Alpha, which helps me be involved on campus. Other than being involved on campus we also do community service very often and work closely with Feeding America. My overall goal after college is to become a DEA agent.

I do work in at the Law Office of Lisa Hayes. I hold the position of a runner, as well as an assistant in this law office. I frequently take phone calls, file clients records, schedule consultations, and i can take payments from clients. Since I do work in a very professional environment I always have to think before I say or do anything.

I guess I’ll end off on a quote that helps me live in the moment because we all know college isn’t the most relaxing thing. 

“I’ll worry about it tomorrow”

[cnrodz-blog]

@cnrodz

#Week 1: Intro

Happy Spring Everyone! My name is Audrey, I am your instructor and I’m excited to get to know all of you. This Intro Post assignment is the first step in that direction and here’s a chance for you to get to know a little about me as well.

I’m an El Paso native, born and raised in EPT/Ciudad Juarez, and I love it here. I have a son—Daniel, who is the smartest, kindest, sweetest, funniest, most handsome thing to arrive on planet earth. Through him, I’ve also learned that the best kind of entertainment is the kind you get when people think no one is watching. For example…

Much of my life surrounds school and Danny—aka Peanut. (He acts like he hates that I call him that, but I know he loves it). But I try and make space for me: I run regularly and lift often.

I salsa! #Salsera #Dancetilyoudrop

And I love soccer. Liga MX, La Liga, English Premier League, Champions League, Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, and so on and so on and so on.

I strive to achieve life GOALS, estilo Neymar Jr.

I have a BA in Political Science, an MA in Rhetoric and Writing, a Graduate Certificate in Intelligence and National Security, and I’m wrapping up my PhD in Rhetoric and Composition.

My humanitarian and activists efforts center on freedom and justice for Palestine. #EndTheOccupation #PeaceforPalestine

In my time here as a PhD student, I have focused on rhetoric and resistance. I’m currently researching big data and social impact—think Twitter conversations and what they mean to society, people, governments, and social movements. I argue that the discourse happening on social media gives us the chance to understand real people, real desires, and can offer lots of opportunities for shared knowledge and lead the way to diplomatic, counterinsurgency, and peace building efforts worldwide. So I’m basically trying to be this guy.

I’m also researching issues of diversity and disparity among marginalized populations in various ways, like diversity among minorities and women in Higher Education. I ask questions like who’s in power, where is our voice, our place in our fields, in our jobs, in our societies, and why does it all matter?

Soon you too will have some new insight into the current state of minorities in your fields in higher education. Why do YOU think researching a topic like this matters?