Podcast Tour Through the Human Body

I loved our group idea for our podcast. Although we waited a little late to start this group assignment I was rather quite impressed by how well our script turned out. Unfortunately we didn't have time to actually record our Pod cast, but we read it aloud and this helped us to improve the script and think of sound effects that we would have used if we were to actually record.
At first we were just going to do a tour of residence because we weren't sure of what we were supposed to do. But I am really happy that we came up with something different because I actually did learn a lot about the human body but doing the project. We had a sort of magic school bus meets Dora the Explorer type theme where taught the audience but also tried to interact and engage the audience by giving them time to respond to what we were saying. I wish that we could have actually recorded but none the less we did learn how audio can play a role in telling a story and we came up with some wickedly gross sound effects, if you could imagine.


Our Pod Cast Script: The Human Digest Tract

Robert: Hello everybody, my name is Robert Martin and I will be your lead tour guide for today. I have been told we are going to the land down under the skin. I hear it’s misunderstood with all the smell, anyone been there before?

(Silence)

Robert: No, well then lets get this party started. Please attach your safety harnesses and hold on, we do not want anyone to be lost in this journey. Ok, here we go!
I would like to introduce you to my assistant guides who will answer any questions or concerns you may have. We have Jeremiah Clark and he will be helping the people in the far back, Elisha Allensen who will be helping people on the left side, and Caitlin Gillan will be helping people on the right.

Jeremiah: Now, just to let everyone know we are currently gliding right over the tongue. It is wet and slimy and those large rock-like boulders smashing together are teeth. They are strong, but not stable enough to make a safe landing on because you never know when they will start to shake or move. This is the main reason nobody has ever landed on the teeth.

Caitlin: Just a reminder to keep all hands and feet inside the craft at all times. If you look directly above you, you will see a punching bag. These are the tonsils; they are believed to extract certain poisons from the food we eat, but we cannot be sure of which ones.

Elisha: Here comes the pharynx. We have to time our entry according to it’s movements in order to enter safely with the flap open. Otherwise – lets not think of the otherwise, now everyone be careful, this can be dangerous.

Robert: Well, thankfully everyone made it in ok. Now isn’t this tour fun? What’s a little danger anyway? Ok, now here comes the fun part. This is the oesophagus and we will be turning vertical soon. Does anyone know what the oesophagus does?

(Silence)

Jeremiah: Here, let me tell you. The oesophagus uses peristalsis to transport the food from our mouths to our stomachs. According to this human body dictionary, the oesophagus uses rhythmic contraction of smooth muscles to propel contents through the digestive tract.

Elisha: Be careful, the walls are muscles and they can constrict you. Try to stay in the centre, otherwise they will- again lets not think of that.
Caitlin: Look at the bright pink muscles at work trying to squish us. Oh, and look at the clear fluid, that’s called saliva. It is another part of healthy digestion and this fluid also helps to break down digested food.

Robert: Alright, we are nearly at the stomach. We will have a little break and you may go and explore if you wish, and for anyone listening at home here is a quick description of the stomach.

Caitlin: The stomach is a pinkish-grey colour about 30.5 cm long and 15.2 cm wide at it’s widest point. The stomach's capacity is about 1 quart on average. Now this is where the food gets broken down into smaller pieces.

Elisha: Now everyone be very careful. The clear colourless liquid in the stomach is not saliva. It is stomach acid that breaks down food. Make sure you stay away from this otherwise you will be brok-

Jeremiah: Moving on, can anyone guess what kinds of food are being digested in this stomach?

(Silence)

Elisha: Judging by the contents, this it appears to be meat. Meat takes the longest to digest and can sit in the stomach for as long as three days, depending on the serving size. This food over here that is wilting and looks old appears to be spinach. When the stomach acids begin to break down vegetables, especially dark green ones, the vegetables become fluids or partial fluids with the stomach acid.

Robert: Okay everyone, moving on. It is time for us to go through the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine.

Caitlin: Here in the duodenum is where most of the chemical digestion takes place and it is the shortest part of the small intestine.

Robert: We are about to ender the jejunum, the second part of the small intestine.

Jeremiah: Here the pH balance appears to be 8, slightly alkaline. This helps certain parts of foods to dissolve properly.

Elisha: Lucky we’re hovering otherwise-

Everyone: WE KNOW!

Robert: Okay everyone, we are nearing the ileum. The ileum is only about 2 to 4 meters long, so it is not too much farther in the tour.

Caitlin: Notice the colour of the ileum is paler than the colour of the jejunum, and that there are more fat cells surrounding it’s walls.

Robert: Everybody, we are approaching the large intestine. This is where the remaining water in the stomach will be absorbed. Then our tour will end when we reach the elimination of waste.

Jeremiah: The first part of the large intestine is the cecum. This part has been misunderstood for many years and is now known as the bridge into the large intestine from the small intestine.

Robert: You are right Jeremiah, and we are about to enter the colon.

Elisha: Oh, I won’t say anything other than Eww.

Caitlin: Do not worry, this is perfectly acceptable. Waste elimination happens often. In fact, it is supposed to happen 3 times per day. Get ready everyone, we are nearly finished our tour.

Robert: Here we go everyone! Please put your seatbelts back on. Our exit seems to be going well. Please keep calm; we will be out as soon as possible. We are about to experience a little turbulence, please be cautious.

(Minutes Later)

Robert: Okay everyone, this concludes our tour, and I hope everyone enjoyed it. We hope we will see you again and we thank-you for riding the digestion tract with us today.

Cited Work:

Cole, Joanna, and Bruce Degan. Inside the Human Body. New York: Scholastic, 1995.

Owen, Robert. "Pathophysiology." The Digestive System. 2006. Colorado State University. 25 Nov 2007.

Mayo Clinic Staff. Redundant Colon: A Health Concern? Ask a Digestive System Specialist. MayoClinic.com. Retrieved on 25 Nov. 2007.

Learning How to Learn

In class we have been talking a lot about learning how we learn. I am in the stage in my life where I am trying to figure out who I am, and who I want to be. Even just coming to University has been a big step in discovering more about myself. I took an extra year, a "victory lap" so to speak, in high school so I could figure out what the heck to do with myself. Although the extra year was one of the best things I could have done for myself, it was also frustrating. I had no idea what I wanted to do, all I knew was that I had to further my education. My sister was the only one in my family to go to college, and she had always put such emphasis on how important going to school and getting a good job was. Then all my friends had up and left for University, setting the bar for me yet again. At this point in my life however, I had no idea what I wanted to do or where I pictured myself in ten years. I was never one to get good marks in high school, I've always been just average, which was alright with me, but all my friends were some sort of prodigies, getting 80's and 90's, participating in all sorts of extra curricular, getting scholarships and awards coming out their ying yangs... I kinda felt like I was left in their dust.... waa waaaa, poor Caitlin :P Then I was hit with a stroke of luck.I always knew I wanted to do something with English, or writing, but I could never put my finger on it. I was reading Marilyn Mansons' autobiography actually, and he says something about his publicist... BAM. I would make a perfect publicist. I'm obsessively organized, I love working with people, I want to organize and plan events and promote organizations and people, why not? thats it from there I started researching public relations and I spoke to my guidance councilors, who helped me create an awesome portfolio and I got accepted into every university I applied to, Don't ask me how. My highest mark in all of high school was maybe an 85 and my over all average barely touched 75%. None the less, Guelph-Humber was my first choice and here I am. Last year alone really helped me gain confidence, and helped me realize that I can get a lot done in a very short amount of time.
Now in my first year of university I am beginning to learn more about what is important to me, where I need to improve and where my strengths lie. I am getting better marks now then I ever got throughout my entire high school, or elementary career. I know thats because I am doing what I want to do. I know I am not the type of person who can sit down and memorize names and dates, I can't figure out atoms and electrons or any of that. I can figure out basic math, and I can read a story and tell you how it made me feel, or what it meant to me, or why the author used certain words. I'm not good at regurgitate information, which is to say I can't memorize, which is probably why I wasn't the strongest of students. But I passed because I can gather information, and I comprehend what I'm reading, and take time to figure out what it means to me. Some people just read information and then spit it right back out without forming an opinion. These are also the people who can't have a conversation, but ironically they also tend to be the students to do amazingly well in school. Many mistake memorization for intelligence simply because that is how we are tested in school. But I am finding that University is a whole different game. The media studies program in particular seems to be based on how one collects and present information, and for the first time ever we are allowed to say "I" in an essay. Finally essays and assignments are weighed heavier then tests and exams. This is so exciting for me because this is how I want to learn. I want to be graded on how well I can express an opinion or idea, oppose to how well I can memorize some one else's work. At the same time, this system is so new and so much more work the I'm used to. I'll hand in an assignment and think I did really well, only to get it back and find that I failed, or visa versa. In either case, I find that I'm learning what I want to learn and now I have to learn to absorb everything and use it to create something uniquely my own. These blogs for instance, I am not a horribly creative person, I can't do all the cool things I've seen some other people with their blogs, but once I get writing I can't seem to stop. However, I have also learned the more I write, and the more I read the better I'll become. Pretty soon I'll be able to cut this blog in half, and still say everything I have just said, and it will probably read that much more fluently.

Ten Things Wrong With the Media 'Effects' Model

While reading this article about how the "media effects model" does not conclude any substantial evidence on how the media effects its audience, I was reminded of the interview with Marilyn Manson on "Bowling for Columbine." In this interview, Michael Moore is asking Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner) why his music is associated with violent behavior. His responses to this was that he could see why the public would blame him, because he is an easy "poster boy for fear" but at the time of the Columbine shootings, the president was shooting bombs over seas. Brain Warner goes on to say that people are blaming him for violent behavior because he sings some rock and roll songs, but who has a greater influence, him or the president of the United States?
I personally believe that even though our society is bombarded with violence in the media, and that we are becoming desensitized to such music, television, and other mediums are not to blame. I listen "violent" music, and if anything it acts as an outlet rather then a catalyst to violence. Also in the essay "Why we Crave Horror Movies," by Stephen King he makes the same point. He speaks of how we need that violent outlet found in media so that we don't feel the urges to actually perform violent acts.
Maybe that is why in "Ten Things Wrong With the Media 'Effects' Model," David Gauntlett speaks of a study done that divides violent behaviour from the media. He says, "Hagell & Newburn (1994) found only that the young offenders watched less television and video than their counterparts, had less access to the technology in the first place, had no particular interest in specifically violent programmes, and either enjoyed the same material as non-offending teenagers or were simply uninterested" (Gauntlett).
At the same time however, maybe everyone needs some sort of outlet for violent behavior whether it be through media or something completely different. Also, in comparison with the Marilyn Manson interview, Gauntlett speaks of how more influential the news may be to violent behavior, however it is very rarely studied. He says, " If the antisocial acts shown in drama series and films are expected to have an effect on the behaviour of viewers, even though such acts are almost always ultimately punished or have other negative consequences for the perpetrator, there is no obvious reason why the antisocial activities which are always in the news, and which frequently do not have such apparent consequences for their agents, should not have similar effects" (Gauntlett).
I agree with Gaunlett points, and have always believe that the media should not solely be blamed for violent behavior, but rather we should be looking, at the " perpetrators of actual violence as their first point of reference, rather than the media"

Gauntlett, David. Ten Things Wrong with the Media `Effects` Model. 16 November 2007. http://www.theory.org.uk/david/effects.htm

Technology: World at Our Finger Tips or Are We Loosing Our Grip?

We are in the information age. Information is everywhere, attainable at the speed of light. I wonder how human beings ever lived without it simple because I never have.
When I was younger, I never needed a cellphone, now I wonder what how I ever did anything without it. My cellphone is an extension of myself, any one can get a hold of me anywhere at anytime. Wait, is that a good thing?
Also, when I first came to school I didn't have a computer. I felt isolated and lost. I had to do my homework at school, I could only listen to the cd's I had, My only source of entertainment was books, I couldn't surf the net. Life without a personal computer was just horribly inconvenient.
My cousin doesn't have the internet, and I asked her how she did research for school, and she said that she used books! Could you imagine how LONG that would take!? actually having to search for the right books and then having to read each book one by one. I'm being sarcastic obviously, but its true, the internet is just so much easier.
My mom and I always have the conversation about how human beings are loosing personal interaction now with msn and texting and other technology based communications. I agree with her, mostly how we can chat for hours with our friends and never see the light of day or feel another human beings touch, but again it's the convenience of it all!
But what if it gets to the point where humans can't handle the power of technology. There has been so much medical advancements, but what if we don't quite understand what we're doing? Human beings don't yet understand how our bodies and our brains work, and we are experimenting with technology, maybe we have not seen the repercussions yet. Information is flying at us at astonishing speeds that it is hard to despiser the truth from the lies. People care more about their jobs then about their families, and everything is run by money money money. But still, the convenience! We literally wouldn't be able to live without it.

Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry? Uh oh!

Great, a entire book telling me why my future career is completely evil. Basically, ``Toxic Sludge is Good For You,`` is a book about how public relations and other corporate systems work in persuading the public in order to boost sales or corporate awareness. Public relations works to sway the publics opinion of a product or industry. For example, the book shows a very clever cartoon of a toxic waste plant saying ,``we need to do something to improve our environmental image,`` the next cartoon shows the same plant with a banner saying, ``proud sponsor of Earth Day 95`` hung over the waste. The book lists many examples of how public relations can take practically anything and put it in a good light in order to boost publicity. More publicity leads to awareness of a corporation and a boost in sales.
I enjoyed this book. I was surprised by how easily we are persuaded by public relations. ``Toxic Sludge is Good For You`` says, ``the best PR is never noticed``and the truth of the trade is that, ``pr is executives are today mediating public communications as never before.`` To me this implies that everything the media puts out is carefully planned to send exactly the right message across to the public. After reading this book I am a lot more critical about what I see and hear. I`ve also started thinking about what my role is going to be in public relations. I don`t think I could pull off the same stunts as the ones I read about in this book while still being able to sleep at night. There has to be more to pr then lies and deception....right?

Rampton, Sheldon and Stauber, John. Toxic Sludge is Good For You. Maine: Common Courage

Press, 1995.

Dealing with Stress!!

So it`s that time when the end of the term is so close....yet so far away. I have two weeks left of class, yet the pressure is bridging the peak. Right now it is exam time, final essay and project due dates all seem to land on the same day. I`m feeling the pressure of being in my first year of university. I don`t remember ever being this stressed out in high school come exam time, but I have always heard that the first year of university is designed to weed out the weak.
I think I have worked hard, but at the same time I have realized that there was definitely room for improvement. I know I slacked, but in all honesty without a little bit of play, never mind being a dull girl, I would have gone absolutely crazy. So the question is how do I cope with stress? and are these strategies healthy? Over the past few weeks I've been taking out my frustration by blabbering on and on to friends who are feeling the exact same pressure as I am. I feel bad boring people with my problems, but at the same time its relieving to know everyone is feeling the exact same pressure. When ever I get in over my head, I force my self to stop, walk away, turn on the tunes and just breath!! Its usually at this time that I have to remind myself that eating my problems away is not a healthy coping strategy. ha ha. I'm proud to say I am not the type of person to take my frustrations out on over indulgences in alcohol or drugs, cause I couldn't imagine being sick and hungover on top of being stressed. I don't think marijuana is necessarily a bad thing, but I believe that as soon as you need a substance to cope with life, your addicted. and I never want to need a drug to help me cope with everyday life. I know people who need marijuana to fall asleep at night, and I just wouldn't want to have to rely on something like a drug, to help me with as something as amazing as sleep!!! I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but I think having a good nap is one of the best coping strategies. I love waking up and feeling refreshed, able to get back to work with a clear rested mind. At the same time when I'm as stressed as I have been., falling asleep can be one of the hardest things. I keep tossing and turning thinking about all the things I have to do. I'm definitely one of those people who if I left a light on down stairs, I'll get up and go turn it off, or if I realize I forgot to do something, I have to get up and go do it, no matter how comfy I may be. But I digress. I think it is extremely important to find productive and healthy ways of dealing with stress. I'm a Virgo, so when I feel myself getting over whelmed I make lists of what has to be done and due dates. Honestly these lists help a lot. They help me rationalize how much work I actually have and a steady time line to get everything done. I can honestly say, thanks to my anal retentive list making, I have never handed anything late in my life. Ever. Everyone has to find their own strategies. Mine don't work for other people, and other peoples strategies don't work for me, but honestly, relying on drugs and alcohol to overcome obstacles, are not conducive strategies for anyone.

Film/Video Production, How Informed are you?

For this project my group decided to interview people to judge how informed they are with issues in the media. It was a Rick Mercer type report where we would tell people completely false information to see their reaction and also to judge how informed they were about whats going on the in the media today.For this project I filmed the video and helped with the editing. Everyone in out group did an amazing job and we all worked so well together. Everyone did their part and I think we got some great coverage! I was surprised to find how easily people believed what they were told. No one doubted the information we gave them, some agreed, and some disagreed, but no one stopped to ask questions, no one thought critically or logically even when we told them the obvious problems with the "new legislation." For example, we told people that Canada had passed a law for a tri-marriage. Even though gay marriage has not been approved, and polygamy is illegal, people still believed Canada would pass this law. We even told the people we interviewed this, and they still believed that a tri-marriage law ad been passed in Canada.
It was quite funny to see how easily everyone ate up the information we gave to them. Checkout the video at: http://www.teenagemediastudent.blogspot.com/ under the title Faith in News Media.

Irony

Last class, Ian gave a lecture. I wish that he would have presented before our semiotic papers were due because he addressed some aspects of my topic. He spoke of irony in advertising. The lyrics in the song I choose for my semiotics paper were in every way ironic, but before Ian`s speech I did not think to represent the lyrics as ironic.

Burma Activist Project

For our activist project, me and my group wanted to raise awareness of what is happening in Burma. "Burma is ruled by a highly authoritarian military regime. In 1962 General Ne Win overthrew the elected civilian government and replaced it with a repressive military government dominated by the majority ethnic group. In 1988 the armed forces brutally suppressed prodemocracy demonstrations....The country had a population of approximately 50 million. The country was extremely poor; the estimated annual per capita income was approximately $300. Four decades of military rule and mismanagement resulted in widespread poverty, poor health care, and declining educational levels. Primarily an agricultural economy, the country also had substantial mineral, fishing, and timber resources. Extensive state influence over the economy, widespread corruption, and poor infrastructure has led to rapidly deteriorating economic conditions.

The regime's human rights record remained extremely poor, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses. Citizens did not have the right to change their government. In ethnic minority areas, security forces continued to commit extrajudicial killings and rape, forcibly relocated persons, used forced labor, and conscripted child soldiers. Disappearances continued, and members of the security forces tortured, beat, and otherwise abused prisoners and detainees. Citizens were subjected to arbitrary arrest without appeal. Arrests and detention for expression of dissenting political views occurred on numerous occasions" (Country Reports).

In North America there is not a lot of media coverage on the issues in Burma, therefore most people here do not know about the issues at all, me being one of them. So in order to raise awareness we decided to hold a benefit concert.
In total we had 7 bands who graciously volunteered to play at Reilly's in Toronto. Once we had the band line up and the venue, it was time to get to work promoting the concert and its purpose. We set up a facebook event in order to promote but also to gage how many we could expect to attend the concert. "http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6804651173" Facebook acted as a online invitation that people wouldn't loose and could reference for date and location. We then created beautifully crafted tickets which we went door to door in residence selling for only $10. We had no intention of raising money necessarily, but we had to pay off the costs of renting the bar lounge. We also handed out and hung up posters around residence. We made announcements in the GH Atrium and in class about the concert, and reminded everyone we knew.

The night of the concert was exciting. Because we had done a lot to promote the event I was confident that people would come out to support the cause, but I have to admit there was some doubt in my mind that we wouldn't be able to pay off the down payment for the venue. However, we ended up making close to $1000!!!! All proceeds were donated to a charitable organization in support of Burma. Jeremiah did an excellent job getting video footage. I was went around getting guests to sign petitions and a large banner as keepsake of the evening. I really hope that we can make this an annual even, maybe every year we could host a similar event for different projects that are not getting the recognition they need. I really enjoyed doing this activist project and I'm glad I was part of the group. I originally had a completely different idea, but I joined this group because I liked the idea of hosting a benefit concert, and after watching a documentary and doing research on Burma, it seemed like a very worthy cause.
When first presented with the task of an activist project my original plan was to host some sort of environmental challenge. I wanted to do something like have a line up of cool prizes which people could win by bringing me and my group as much garbage as possible. The people who brought us the most garbage would win the biggest prize, etc. I found some neat websites that sold some really neat decorated fabric shopping bags, and some other neat little environmentally products that could be given as smaller prizes. However, I decided to join team Burma because the cause was something that I had never heard about. I thought our group did a good job of raising awareness, even if it were on a small scale. Everything went surprisingly smoothly and we even ended up raising money for our cause.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. October 18th 2006.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18237.htm

Cause Knowledge is Power!!!!...Cheesy But True.

We were told in class that literacy is defined as being able to read the instructions on a prescription bottle. Some of the population can and will follow these directions; they are the literate part of the population. Some cannot,they are illiterate. But those who can but choose not to are Aliterate. Sadly I fall into this category. I used to be proud went that I had gone through all my high school English courses writing essays and exams on books I had never read. Now I realize how easily I could have gotten 80's and 90's if only I read the books. But beyond the marks, I would have grown as a person. Not only would my writing and reading skills be sharper, but I would be able to express myself more clearly, and reading has the ability to expands your knowledge of the world, of people, and places and ideas and history. I realize that I have missed out on a lot. When I thought I was being clever cheating the school system, I was actually really dumb. I was only cheating myself. There is a difference between reading cause you have to, and wanting to read. My goal now is not only to read everything I get for class, but also to want to read those readings, and from there, read related and opposing readings.

Semiotics for Beginners Modality and Representation

This Section of Semiotics for Beginners, Modality and Representation, reflect some of the ideas found in Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. I love thinking about how absorbed into the media we really become. For instance when watching television, there is no denying that we get so attached to the main characters, and of course this is no accident. Everyone involved in making a movie or television show, or writing a novel or even the artist for a painting knows that they must stimulate some emotion in their audience that will attach them to the main character. When we read a book we become so absorbed that we feel that we are the main character. We can relate to them, we imagine their journeys in out minds eye and draw our own picture of what that character is doing, where they are going, who they met etc. And of course this is exactly what the author wanted. The author may have pictured the scenery in his novel differently, but as long as his readers grasp the concept of his characters actions and motives, it really doesn't matter what we picture. Even when authors but great detail into describing the setting, we are all going to picture it a little bit differently. But this is the power that words and images have. Words become such a vast art form because no two people could possibly have the same image in their minds.
Movies and television on the other hand are obviously different from books because more of our senses are stimulated. We see and hear exactly what the producers wanted us to. However, the viewers may still comprehend the message or themes of the show very differently, even if we don't necessarily realize it. We will see images that may seem normal, something we might see everyday, but there also may be a whole different spectrum we don't even notice we are seeing. Almost like some sort of subliminal message. racism, sexism, "isms" of all sorts, dominance, power struggles, very common debates found in society all the time may be so strongly enforced in an image, but we completely miss it because everyone involved in making the movie or show, has a way in making us see only what they want to see. It is not until you take a closer look that you realize the underlying images and their true meanings.
In this site, Daniel Chandler talks about how absorbed we become. He says that in one experiment children were asked to fill in the blanks, and a large percentage of them tried to pick up the pencil in the drawing. Scott McCloud has the same idea when he says how easily we relate foreign objects to our own image, he explains why we can how we can relate two dots and a line: " :|" to a human face. Both examples show how absorbed in the media we can become. An image no matter how realistic or not, is still easily recognized as the actual object. At the same time however, as universal as some symbols maybe, our vocabulary and they way we recognize the word we live in can never be simplified to just symbols. I agree with this completely because as abstract as words and images maybe, that is their art. Humans have created this language to express themselves, and even if our messages are not always perfectly clear, atleaste we can allow other people to think about what they are seeing and hearing.