Multi-modal project

Starting our the reading, the content speaks of four main points that must be made to have a visual argument: the argument, audience, medium, and form. These four key points directly relate to our assignment which is to make a visual argument using the least amount of literal words as possible. Just as in the paper we did earlier this semester, the saying a picture is worth a thousand words truly ties in as it adds a different layer to the argument at hand. These pictures makes the audience take another perspective on the argument, and having to use nothing but images and videos to create and support an argument entails that the audience will think about the argument in a completely different way than the normal point of view. This phenomenon will peak the attention of the audience and motivate them to acknowledge the argument being made. Reverting back to the beginning of the semester when we did the rhetorical analysis of an image and broke down its ethos, pathos, and logos, this assignment requires us to format our argument similar to a photo essay in which the three rhetorical appeals must be established so the point is clear. In general, the argument that attracts the most attention and establishes their rhetorical analysis the best is going to successfully convince the audience. Also formatting writing for audience was mention, and in relation to our project the situation is calling for us to use form of writing normally seen on websites. This form of writing is a hybrid of different extremes of the types of writing we are used to seeing: Giant writing meant to grab your attention and traditional type normally seen in research papers. The writing we will be using caters to those who enjoy the concept of the reading, but do not want to take the time to read the entirety of the material. By making our arguments broad enough so that includes everyone in the message, we are designing arguments for public audiences. This concept is also seen in the book in showing an example of a community service announcement, and in our project we are convincing our audience that world can be changed by not only the president of the United States or others in power but also by the regular Joes out there who posses enough motivation do something about the suffering. Having our argument being that the world can be changed by our government taking one percent of the top one percent of America's highest income holders and use it to pave the roads in Nigeria thereby providing transportation of clean water, we can do that.       

How the World shapes our views

The main focus of these articles is to take simple concepts such as photographs or the effect of natural disasters and put it in the perspective of each class of people who have an opinion. The most basic yet influential perspective is the view from an young child, which personifies the idea of innocence and challenges us to realize that the effect of these natural disasters is what these children start out their life experiencing. As children are seen in these pictures holding signs that read "Bake sale for Haiti" and others, a simple change of emotion can completely alter our take on the image. If a child seems unhappy and distressed, then we can assume that the child has been directly affected and is feeling a sense of lose. On the other hand, if the child is smiling then we can see there is hope yet for the future, and that hopefully the damage can be salvaged and renewed. Journalists and photographers use rhetorical appeals for two main reasons in these photos: that first is to use a haunting or sympathy-provoking picture to gain support so that the situation will never happen again, this can be done by having people donate money or in some cases join the military. The next is to provoke feelings of heart-warmth and reassure people that we are in a good situation.  Finally, the last section that was covered is the effect of photos across different cultures, such as the issue of immigration and its impact on Americans and the takeover of corporate America. Some of these images challenge us to take into account the fact that many of the illegal immigrants that our nation is currently dealing have no other option but to flee their respected nation so that they may have better opportunity. If we just stepped back from the main issue we see with it, which is why should we suffer because other nations are not providing the best possible means of living, then we can see the innocence and desperateness of the situation that many of the illegal immigrants are thrown into.

Final Draft of Citations for Research Paper

Final draft of citations for English research paper

1.     1.Operationally defines the terms so that we may move forward with comparing the two and recognize specific examples from twin studies to back it up. Nature is everything that comes with us when we enter this world: from birth we are coded with information called DNA that gives us our personality. Nurture is everything but what is on the inside: every outside influence is taken into account and affects each one of us differently. That simple word differently, that no one can deny because no two people are the same, is the flaw behind nurture therefore showing that nature is the true way to explain how we become what we are.

Sir Francis, Galton. English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture. 1st edition . New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1895. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=CCepY1AJYNQC&pg=PA9&dq=Nature versus nurturegalton&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1800&as_maxm_is=1&as_maxy_is=1900&as_brr=0&cd=2

2.     2.Moore interestingly enough claims that Galton was the first person to come up with the idea of a twin study, which would revolutionize the way we look at the issue between nature and nurture.  He goes onto point out that twins who were similar to each other in mind and body as children remained similar throughout their lives, even when separating as adults and leading their own lives. Also, the terms correlation and causation are operationally defined, and add another perspective to my argument in that correlation does not prove causation therefore the correlation between a person’s personality and upbringing does not necessarily mean that their upbringing is what shaped their personality.   

Moore, David S. The Dependent Gene. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=GkMJDdcL7QUC&pg=PA35&dq=Nature versusnurturegalton&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1800&as_maxm_is=1&as_maxy_is=1900&as_brr=0&cd=7

3.     3.This piece of literature challenges us to think about the age-old debate in a new way, that indeed the factors of nature and nurture are innately inseparable and to accept the fact that genes are designed to react to our surroundings. The looming influence that has dominated the way we approach this issue since its inception is none other than Charles Darwin, whose theories on nature as a whole came to be trusted. By taking no stance at all in the matter and just stating the history of the debate, my ethos is established and any claims of bias is thwarted.     

Matt, Ridley. Nature Via Nurture. Ney York: HarperCollins Publishers , 2003. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=imhiZuOKBNoC&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=nature vs. nurture&ots=apes0oU69r&sig=lRgFfCRZAapr2C34eKYHqCKZRjw

4.     4.Yet another point of view is discussed in this piece of literature: by looking at cases of childhood neglect one can determine that although children have specific gene patterns that predetermine their personalities, if the most basic needs are not met then it becomes increasingly more difficult to say how that child will turn out or even survive. The book gives evidence of the necessity of both emotional and physical contact for maturing children, and if these needs are not met than serious damage is done to the brain. Finally, they discuss how some of the synaptic pathways in the brain, which are used to send messages throughout the brain such as growth and development, tend to be a “use it or lose it” type of deal.

Perry, Bruce D. Brain and Mind. 1st edition. Volume 3. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002. 79-97. eBook. <http://www.springerlink.com/content/e4h7b2e6nq9ew9mm/>.

5.     5.This is the story of how two identical twins, both authors Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein, were separated at birth and reunited again 35 years later in 2004. This is the only published book that gives vivid accounts of both of the separated twins firsthand, as it grew from journals of reflection that each sister and exchanging emails about what their interests are into a full project that needed to be published. Paula and Elyse’s mother was mentally ill when the two of them were born, so because she was deemed unfit to raise the both of them they were separated and placed into different orphanages. After much research, the twins found that they were separated not because of fate or circumstance, but because of a secret twin study.   

Bernstein, Paula, and Schein Elyse. Identical Strangers. Random House Digital, Inc. , 2007.eBook.<http://books.google.com/books?id=cigbnF0T6pUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=twinstudiesinnaturevs.nurture&hl=en&ei=2WmYTqKCG4GltweM_MDjAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=5&ved=0CE8Q6wEwBA

6.     6.Dowling demonstrates how our brains develop over a lifetime and how the consequences of both nature and nurture effect the growth through each stage. Because Dowling is a neuroscientist, we get the ethos of a trained professional in looking at how the connections between the brain and vision, how the brain is able to learn a new language, ect. 

John E., Dowling. The Great Brain Debate: Nature or Nurture?. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UniversityPress,2004.eBook.<http://books.google.com/books?id=cxuVWXoGY_8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=naturevs.nurturedebate&hl=en&ei=PHWYTsngF4aftwegmsTmAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=3&ved=0CEYQ6wEwAg

7.  On record, there have been approximately 5,500 twin studies that have been performed since 1966 according to the national library of medicine. Twin studies are the only true way to measure intelligence and personality, because if our understanding is correct, the existence of twins is the only true way measure humans as equals therefore things such as deviance and right or wrong can be measured. According to the research used, humans are lower class because we don’t have enough mental capacity to raise ourselves from the status quo.  

Pekkanen, John. "Nature or Nurture?." Washingtonian 05 10 2000. n. pag. Lexis Nexis Academic. Web. 18 Oct 2011. <http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/?shr=t&csi=11412&sr=HLEAD(Nature or nurture?) and date is October, 2000>.

8.  The Bell Curve is a controversial novel in which the term intelligence is defined, shown through history, and finally discussed in our present situation through examples of how our society has been shaped to show the differences in intelligence. In response to how our society has become what is today, many political scientists and politicians seek explanations for why history has paved the way for today’s society. Of course there are always those incredible individuals who will stop at nothing for success, but as a whole why are those who are brought into this world with every advantage allowed to succeed while those who go without are doomed to a life of poverty?    

Herrnstein, Richard J., and Charles Murray. The Bell Curve. 1st edition. New York: Free Press Papaerbacks, 1996. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=s4CKqxi6yWIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the bell curve&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=XLGdTrKsC-r20gGHw4DGCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6wEwAA

9.  This biography of Sir Francis Galton’s work regarding eugenics, heredity in twins, and the statistics that he discovered and tested for shows that he is the undisputed father of not only the idea to compare twins for research, but also the debate itself of nature versus nurture in psychology. With Galton’s work, statistical proof is presented as evidence as to why nature trumps nurture. Galton’s work is broken down into numbers and formula’s that serve as undeniable mathematical evidence for how many sets, where they were sampled, and the importance of the twins.   

Pearson, Karl. The Life, Letters, and Labour of Francis Galton. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1924. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=NB2edERtfiAC&pg=PA129&dq=francis galton twin&hl=en&ei=hsCdTq3cFLONigLHy5yGCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg

10.          Although another biography of the essential Sir Francis Galton, this work offers us not only numbers and statistics but also a breakdown of how Galton’s work truly revolutionized the way the world looks at psychology and the study of the human mind. The book implies that although being the father of modern day eugenics has negative connotations due to the actions of those such as Hitler who gave the word a whole new meaning, Galton’s work was intended for the betterment of mankind and his thinking brought us forward in answering the ever-present question of why?

Gillham, Nicholas W. A Life of Sir Francis Galton. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=pJfgUvTPAv8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=a life of sir francis galton&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=ucedTqWpDeKJsQLHz-nOCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6wEwAA

11.          This is the most widely used dictionary in America, and I am using it to operationally define the word twins so that I can provide a basis for my research on the topic and compare this definition to Sir Francis Galton’s definition.

Merriam-Webster Inc. , First. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th edition. United States of America: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2004. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=TAnheeIPcAEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=webster dictionary&hl=en&ei=BtGdTtSJJerv0gGPhvDLCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CFkQ6AEwBA

12.          My one and only article serves as a necessity because it provides evidence of current and up-to-date resources for twin research. These can be used for a myriad of things, but for what I will be presenting and analyzing throughout this paper I will use the biological and scientific language and findings. This article goes into great depth about genotypes and phenotypes and how the similarities and minute differences offer an explanation of the past twin studies that have been performed. 

Boomsma, Dorret, Andreas Busjahn, and Leena Peltonen. "Classical Twin Studies and Beyond." Nature Reviews Genetics. (2002): n. page. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v3/n11/full/nrg932.html>.

Final Research Topic

The topic for my research paper is whether twins, when separated and venture into the real world, stay incredibly similar because of the borderline identical gene pattern they posses or because of the environment they are raised in. Twins have been the subject of numerous scholarly studies over the past century, and their phenomena in the human existence has motivated people to ask the question of whether it really is genetics that makes twins so similar or could it be their surroundings that prove to be the biggest influence. There is much more evidence supporting nature in the argument, because it is much easier to prove that genes are the cause of similarity in twins. Therefore, twins are so similar due to the genetic predisposition they posses to have the same qualities and personalities as each other.

The sources I have already found have been for the topic of nature versus nurture in psychology as a whole, therefore not specifically for twin studies specifically. This means that I am not necessarily starting from scratch, but rather altering the sources AI have found to support my more narrowed down topic. Also, I plan on searching for more research that will specifically support genetic predisposition in twin studies, for which there is a multitude of sources out there that will do the job.

There are several problems I can see myself running into with my research paper, one being that I might have made my topic too specific from the overly general topic of nature versus nurture. With this in mind, I might add on another aspect of nature versus nurture that supports nature, such as how criminals and psychopaths become who they are. Also, the fact that there is no right or wrong answer to the subject makes it much more difficult to prove why nurture doesn't have the same impact as nature does in the argument, but as a response to that I will give convincing evidence and back it up with logical reasoning as to why nature is more of an influence.   

Nature vs. Nuture citations

1. English Men of Science: their nature and nurture, by Sir Francis Galton. Found on the second source of the wikipedia page for nature vs. nurture. This book presents the two cases of nature vs. nurture, but takes nurture's side and presents evidence for that. The book presents data of past events that back his point, and he also includes normal everyday happenings that we all experience. 
2. The Dependent Gene: Fallacy of Nature vs. Nurture, by David S. Moore. Found on third source of the wikipedia page for nature vs. nurture. Moore cites Galton as the original proposer of the theory but presents evidence of a highly interesting contradiction: a twin study. Moore points out the study that Galton did himself years before he published his work, and shows how when he researched twins they were shown to grow up to have remained similar to one another.
3. Nature Via Nurture: genes, experience, and what makes us human. found on first page of google scholar. This book takes an interesting view of the debate by suggesting that the concepts of nature and nurture are not separate, but rather intertwined so that one cannot be without the other. One excerpt from the text is that genes take their cues from nurture.
4. Childhood Experience and the Expression of Genetic Potential: What Childhood Neglect Tell us About Nature and Nurture. found on page three of google scholar. This book looks at the issue from yet again another angle: the affect of childhood abuse and neglect on the outcome of the child. This would be used as evidence for my argument against nature as there have been example after example of children being scarred for life by their upbringing. 

Research Topics

The first research topic that interests me the most is the issue of nature vs. nurture in psychology. This has been a heated debate in the world of psychology since the dawn of time, with the argument being whether people's innate qualities and personalities are planned out from birth or are they a collection of one's experiences throughout their lifetime? This would be a good research topic for several reasons, one being that for me psychology has always fascinated me so it would not be something that I would despise working on and revising for the 50th time later on in the semester. Also, I would be able to find satisfactory evidence for either side I could take in the debate, and therefore use that information to support my argument. Although I could take either side, the first thought I had when I first heard about this issue was that I strongly believed that nurture plays a more important role in forming people's personalities than nature does, thereby arguing that people's upbringing and childhood is what truly forms our perception of the world and how we act.
My next research topic would be whether or not the "technological era" that we've seen in recent years has crippled America's youth or has it started a new age of smarter and more social children. This topic interests me because I have been a witness to what technology can do on both sides of the table: I have friends who are addicted to online games and consequently do not spend enough time on their studies so their grades suffer, and on the other end I have friends who use technology to their advantage by multitasking and keeping up-to-date with necessary things. My argument for this topic would be that technology is indeed crippling America's youth because it is all coming so fast we, as a society, do not know how to adapt yet.      

rhetorical analysis paper - picture and thesis statement

 

The image of a little girl mistakenly attaching herself to two life size mannequins shows all three aspects of the rhetorical appeal: pathos by provoking an emotional appeal through sadness and sympathy for the little girl, ethos in that the corporation unicef is a trusted name for a good cause, and logos in that logically the picture makes sense by stating every child needs a family.   

 

pictures