Revision of RCL Project - Paradigm Shift Essay

During my year long RCL class, I have learned many new communication skills I will utilize throughout life. During the first semester in RCL, I penned an essay about a paradigm shift. For my essay, I chose the paradigm shift of violence in video games. While I originally focused on the main idea of technology improvement, personal psychological impacts, and anti-politically correct movements, I spent less time developing counter arguments throughout the essay. I took the time to make a large revision within the paper in which I addressed several counter arguments through a paragraph. This paragraph was added after utilizing mass shootings as evidence of the impact of violent video games in society.

The paragraph reads "It is also important to note that other compounding factors may exist in the increased number of tragic mass school shootings. Video games may not be related in a direct sense, but the general acceptance by teens and parents highlights a disturbing disregard for violent culture. Furthermore, several games also exist in which the shootings of virtual “innocent” citizens can be murdered in cold blood. If video games have not directly led to the increase in more mass shootings, they have at least popularized the act and increased its widespread prevalence. Once the idea of a mass shooting is spread into people’s memories, it cannot be erased. The concept of mass shootings currently exists and continues to spread through mediums like popular video games, and this action cannot be undone."

This essay was later the framework for a TED talk presentation, which I plan on showcasing within my e-portfolio website. The essay and its revised text will also be included to showcase the evolution of my work from written to oral. 

Advocacy Project Purpose, Audience, Modes, and Strategies

I have finally changed and settled on my final idea for my advocacy project. For the remainder of the unit, I will be focusing on the funding of the arts in pubic education, and the important of keeping the non-core classes alive and supported with the proper resources.

New website: http://www.americansforthearts.org/by-topic/funding-resources

The purpose of this advocacy project would be to raise awareness that the funding of the arts in public schools and universities. I would utilize either video or poster campaign methods to showcase research indicating how important the arts are and also display how reduced funding affects the arts.

The audience of the advocacy project would be everyone who is a citizen and pays taxed. Anyone who sees the campaign could contact local schools/government officials to express their support for the arts. This idea would be expressed within the creative component of the project. Also, personal testimonies of the importance of funding the arts in schools could be utilized to create a connection to everyday audience members.

The modes used in this project will be a short video campaign with an additional poster to go along with the video promoting the idea that funding of the arts is important. The strategies I play to utilize will revolve around emotional connection to the main person in the videos by showing a innocent main character struggle to perform musically or artistically with less resources than necessary. The shock value of seeing an instrument cut in half or an art piece half erased could make a lasting impact on the audience.

Advocacy Organization Website

As I enter into the last phase of the semester, I am now on the search for an advocacy project. During my research, I discovered the website for the Advocates to End Domestic Violence. The issue of domestic violence is one such issue that I wish to become an advocate for due to several reasons. Firstly, I never experienced the negative effects of domestic violence, and I want other kids and families to have the same positive home life I had when growing up. Additionally, I believe that domestic violence is an issue that is not talked about as often as it should be, and for this reason, I may want to utilize this topic for my advocacy project.

The website for the Advocates to End Domestic Violence showcases exigence by explaining the urgent need so many families are in right now and debunking several myths/misconceptions about domestic violence. The audience being reached out to is everybody, as this problem can affect anyone. Lastly, several constraints are visible from the sites visuals and text. For example, because this site is probably visited and utilized by actual victims, graphic images of the results of domestic violence that may engage more of the public are left off the site out of respect. Also, the majority of the site is focused on the positive act of supporting the victims, while shying away from how to just stop the abuse.

This site may be my "home" during my advocacy project. However, if another issue sparks my interest more in the next week, I could still switch. I am excited to begin researching and figuring out where I will dedicate my efforts.

Image Credits:

Image provided by Advocates to End Domestic Violence

Various Component Drafts for Issue Brief

Exordium: It is estimated that between only 9 nations, over 15,000 nuclear warheads are still in existence today. The United States and Russia alone maintain about 1,800 of their warheads on high alert, ready to be launched at a second's notice. However, regardless of the widespread international threat posed by detonating nuclear weapons, the U.S. has failed to successfully pursue additional courses of disarmament with other nations around the globe.

Working Thesis: Even though the maintenance of large nuclear arsenals increases the risks of other countries and malicious organizations from obtaining them, the United States and other nations have failed to disarm. The only guarantee for a nuclear-free world requires the total and immediate elimination of nuclear arsenals, but this action lacks in feasibility. A more practical approach for reducing risk requires the U.S. to lead a global effort to reduce the size of nuclear arsenals.

Narrative:
In 1945, the first nuclear bomb test was conducted under the Manhattan Project in the United States. Within that same year, the U.S. dropped two nuclear warheads over the imperial nation of Japan, killing over a hundred thousands civilians. Over the years, as various nations began developing more advanced nuclear weapons that dealt more power. In 1961, the Soviet Union detonated the Tsar Bomba which produced a 50-megaton blast, which is 3,333 more more powerful than the bomb that the U.S. dropped on Japan. The mushroom cloud alone ascended more than 130,000 feet into the atmosphere. More than four Mount Everests could fit beneath the mushroom.

The U.S. alone accounts for more than 6,800 warheads. In addition, the U.S. spends more on nuclear warheads then the next 8 countries combined, including Russia who has an estimated 7,000 weapons. Modernizing the delivery system of the weapons has become increasing more important for the U.S. as this gives a tactical advantage should a nuclear attack take place on our own soil.

Partition:

• nuclear arsenal statistics 
• nuclear warhead increased effectiveness statistics
• more information on the risk factors of maintaining WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction)
• in depth view and analysis of why the warheads have remained and why they are continuing to be modernized
•  what needs to be accomplished:
• Increased awareness and political pressure
• reduced active warhead count 
• increased funding elsewhere

Sources:
http://www.icanw.org/the-facts/nuclear-arsenals/

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a23306/nuclear-bombs-powerful-today/

Post Deliberation Analysis

After being invited to Ben Thoma's deliberation event entitled 'Till it Happens to You this past Sunday, I began to analyze what I learned from the event. The entire talked revolved around sexual assault and how to mitigate the negative growing factors here on campus at Penn State. In addition, the reasons leading to underreporting of sexual assault were addressed and possible fixes were brainstormed. Overall, the entire deliberation event was informational, intriguing, and civil.

At the beginning of the meeting, we all went around and explained our own personal stake in the problem space. Personally, I do not know anyone that has experienced sexual assault on campus, but I was extremely interested in learning more so I would be better prepared in the future. Many people in the class help personal stakes in the matter and this made the conversation more diverse and informative. Also, everyone started off on the same page, admitting that sexual assault was a problem on campus and that solutions needed to be sought out.

Among the three approaches discussed, the two that stood out the most to me were security and community. The first portion of the conversation dealt with implementing blue light systems in more areas both on and off campus. I thought this idea would be a deterrent for some sexual assault scenarios, but on the whole, most sexual assaults do not happen in the open campus. Instead, they take place at parties or social gatherings where lots of people and alcohol is involved. Instead of increasing the blue light systems quantity, possible phone app ideas were tossed around as alternatives to help people contact the police faster. This was a good example of compromises and new information that can be obtained from a community discussion.

During the community approach, the tendency of victims to not report an assault was discussed. Most notably, people stated that victims feel guilty about the assault or fear they will be shamed because of their inability to stop it. To combat this, the discussion began to head towards the direction of roviding more education resources around the State College community about the dangers of sexual assault and the various ways to fight back. Early reporting is one of the best ways to get sexual assaulters off the streets and protect possible future victims.

At the end of the deliberation, it became very clear that we had evolved the conversation over to to address not only ways to prevent sexual assault, but ways to cope with it and gain justice. Although the situation is far from perfect, talks like these are what it takes to begin fixing the problem.

Draft for "This I Believe" Script

This week, I will use my RCL blog to showcase a draft of my "This I Believe" podcast script. Let me know what you think in the comments down below!

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I have dealt with stressful situations before, but none quite like this. As my seventeen year-old self sat on the high stand, staring out at the sweltering public pool waters I guarded daily, I can recall thinking that I was going to need to apply more sunscreen for the day. Just as I reached over to rub my burning left shoulder, I noticed something not quite right in the water. There was too much splashing in the deep end. As I looked on with more scrutiny, I noticed a kid about ten years old struggling to stay afloat in the churning water. As a rule of thumb, I began my countdown from ten before deciding to jump in or not, because children often like to splash and fake drown.

My pulse began to race as I reached the halfway mark of my countdown, and my mind began to frantically recall my training as I prepared for the leap. Shaking, I suddenly realized that I was letting fear and nerves control me. I promised myself, right then, to let the fear run its course, but only for the next three seconds. After that, I needed to make a decision. When the three seconds were up, I kicked the fear out. I knew exactly what to do. I exhaled, stood up, and jumped off my stand.

After diving in and returning the child to his frantic mother on the side of the pool, I sat inside the lifeguard house and replayed the whole event in my head. More importantly, I recalled the sense of calm and energy I gained once I shut the fear out. After my first save as a lifeguard, I grew increasingly more confident throughout the next three years, and I was able to make more difficult saves while never shedding a second thought before I acted.

I have always been a strong believer in self confidence. Being confident in stressful situations can help calm my nerves, and it allows me to think clearly. For me, self confidence is not about being cocky; rather, it is about believing that no matter what, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. My mom used to remind me of this phrase all the time as a child, and I truly believed it. After years of carrying this idea, I find confidence somewhat easy to find during my every day actions like taking tests, participating in sporting events, and performing musically. In fact, I often find myself performing better under pressure than during a private practice session.

Conversely, there are still the occasional events in life that throw my stomach for a loop and cause my palms to become sweaty. In moments like these, I recall that first save I ever had and I begin to count down slowly from three. After three seconds, the fear and nerves have had time to make their presence known. After three seconds, I am clear to think and ready to act accordingly. After three seconds, I am free.

I believe in letting the fear in.

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Riveting Ideas for Exciting New Blogs

Choosing a Topic is Half the Battle

When writing about a specific topic, passion for the subject is an important factor in the writing quality and conviction. At this stage in the writing process, as I seek out new ideas to expand upon, it is important to remember that choosing a topic is half of the battle. Specifically, for challenges such as writing about intimate beliefs, choosing a topic I feel strongly about is going to help me generate thought provoking content in the future. Consequently, I will utilize this week's RCL blog to explore ideas for my "This I Believe" podcast and Civic Issues Blog, and to filter through the most interesting and beneficial topics for me to write about. 

Two Ideas for my "This I Believe" Podcast:
To hold beliefs is to be truly human. In my opinion, deep rooted beliefs is what makes each individual unique from one another while also drawing everyone together. Beliefs allow us to express our innermost ideas with others when revealing our own, and stretch our boundaries when pondering other people's beliefs. For this week, I plan to express several beliefs of mine that I feel strongly about and believe would be an excellent source to share with others.

Currently, I am investigating two ideas to utilize for my "This I Believe" podcast.  Firstly, my belief in myself interests me due to its challenging spin. My belief in myself is not meant to portray arrogance or cockiness, but it is merely meant to indicate a belief that confidence is necessary to keep a positive attitude and achieve difficult goals. My second idea for my "This I Believe" podcast is my belief in isolated time in thought. Normally, I would consider myself an extrovert; however, there have been several times in my life where a lack of self reflection leads to me losing who I would really like to strive to become. Both of these blog ideas would allow me to share my personal journey to reach these beliefs and showcase how they have impacted my life.

Two Ideas for my Civic Issues Blog:

Civic issues plague many current day institutions and subcultures. The effect that civic issues have on political parties in the United States is an example that I am interested in. More specifically, I would like to uncover how party politics plays into American democracy and how civic issues have caused change over time. After taking AP U.S. Government in high school, I believe that this topic would allow me to utilize my prior knowledge to jumpstart deeper into the subject matter and generate more thought provoking posts.

In addition, I believe that current day education suffers from many civic issue controversies, and that continued improvement of this institution has the ability to reduce major problems such as poverty and illiteracy. In many cases, laws regarding public schooling have a direct impact on creating civic confrontations over concepts like affirmative action and liberal art budget cuts. If I were to chose this topic, I would want to cover how these areas of discussion generate argument and investigate ways these may someday be overcome.

Image Credits:

Photo provided by Bruce Aldridge
Photo provided by DonkeyHotey