Tow #7 : Beyond the Brethalyzer

This briefing, publiched in Times Magazine, talks about new medical advances that breath tests can now determine lung cancer, diabetes, infections, and more. This article was written by Alice Park. She has been on the Times staff since 1993 and reported on many health and medicine articles and new discoveries. She writes this report for people who are interested in medicine and also for those who have hereditary diseases and need to be tested for them. Her purpose is to educate on the new medical advances.
This report was written because a new medical advancement has been made and Alice Park uses many strategies to inform about it. She uses facts to appeal to the ehos. "As James Carey, a chemistry professor at the National University of Kaohsiung in Taiwan puts it, 'Breath is the most complicated mixture on the planet.' " This just shows the importance of the new advances in the medical field and how beneficial they are. Also in the beginning of the briefing, Alice appeal to the pathos of the audience by directly calling out those people who drink, " Anyone who's ever had a few too many drinks knows that a little exhalation can reveal a lot of information." She is connecting directly with the audience and establishing common ground on what she is going to talk about. She introduces a new shed of hope for those people who cannot afford some medical tests such as biopsies and tells them that these tests are less expensive, yet still accurate enough to diagnose and treat a disease..
I personally feel that her purpose was achieved because this article was very informal and yet it created so much hope for the medical industry and that there are so many advances yet to be made and it gave a lot of hope for those with medical conditions that they can now be diagnosed and treated.

Tow #6: Gov Shutdown

This political cartoon depicts Barack Obama being kicked by an elephant. The elephant is the symbol for the Republican party and since the congress and the President could not decide on an annual budget, they are trying to protest against Obama.
The context of this cartoon is the recent government shutdown. Our government cannot agree on a budget, so the Republican Tea Party in congress decided to shut down. The author's purpose was to depict the conflict between Obama and the Republican-dominated congress.
This cartoon comes from Dagbladet, which is Norway's second largest tabloid paper and the third largest newspaper. This is a pretty credible source because this was also republished in the New York Times.
This cartoon was created for people in America and the world to better understand what this government shutdown means and why it happened. The author uses many rhetorics to convey the conflict between the democratic president and the republican congress. Obama and the republicans are juxtaposed by being placed next to each other when they are part of two different parties and want different things. The author also uses vivid imagery to depict the president so it resembles him closely. The author also purposely colored in the president and the elephant to make them stand out from the whole picture. The author also purposely included a white tea cup at the bottom and it looks like the elephant is reaching it, but Obama is trying to stop it. That shows the new tea party movement that is thriving the shutdown.
I think that the author achieved their purpose because the problem was accurately depicted and this cartoon helps people better understand what the problem is with the government shutdown.

Tow #5: Electronic Devices on Planes

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opinion/sunday/electronic-devices-on-planes.html?ref=editorials

This editorial pertains to the confusion about the technology policy on airplanes. Most people are confused as to why they cannot use technology during landing or takeoff, while other people choose to disobey most of these regulations. This article introduces new regulations allowing people to use technology as long as it is in "airplane mode."

The context of this editorial is the fact that some revisions are being made to the old technology rules. People are now allowed to use their devices during takeoff and landing. However, old rules of using cellphones before airplane doors close, and after landing are still in tact.

The purpose of this editorial was to inform about new rule regulations for technology usage on airplanes and express opinions on them. The whole piece was very informative. It was written for people who constantly travel, however another arugment suggests a second audience because the editors give their opinion on what they think technology regulations should be. That second audience would be the F.A.A. committee who create these regulations because the editors want their opinions heard.

 The editors
used irrefutable data about the percentage of people who break technology rules, also the editors use their voice and perspective, "It’s time regulators issued common-sense rules for their use aboard planes." It almost comes off as a persuasive and bias piece. "This sensible recommendation would allow passengers to read e-books, listen to music or watch movies without causing interference during takeoffs and landings." Reading this last quote really makes the voice and perspective of the editors stick out because it says "this sensible recommendation," so reading this you understand that the editors do not like the airplane regulations and this change that is being made to them is a positive factor for these editors.

The authors of this specific piece are on the New York Times Editorial board. It is composed of 17 journalists who specialize in different fields. The editors seem highly credible due to the fact that they provide clear evidence about airplane regulations "According to one private survey, as many as 30 percent of passengers left their devices on when they were not supposed to." So they do not just state opinions about people violating technology polocies on airplanes, but they give clear evidence by referring to a recent survey.

I feel as if the editors achieved their purpose, however, I think that more facts and information about airplane regulations with a more in-depth analysis would better help them achieve delivering information and giving an opinion on it.

Tow #4: The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell talks about what makes things "tip." It talks about how things become a hit in society. Gladwell really emphasizes on the three rules that start an epidemic: The Law of the Few, The Stickiness Factor, and The Power of Context. The purpose of this book was to explain how things become so popular in our society and what really makes them a hit. This book was written merely for marketers and advertisers who are interested in how to make things a big hit.

The context of this book was to explain how things become so important in our society. It was written to explain what makes things boil up to the point where they "tip."

The author, Malcolm Gladwell, is very credible because he is an English-Canadian journalist as well as bestselling author. He also has very strong speaking skills. I think that by referencing many allusions in the book, Gladwell really achieved his purpose. He alluded to Blue's Clues, The Stanford-Milgrim Experiment, Sesame Street, and many more. His examples that he used throughout the book really helped achieve the purpose. In the book he also gave many perspectives of highly successful people, which made him all the more credible. He used syllogism to deduct and investigate how things "tip" throughout the entire book. Gladwell uses analogy to compare things to explain why one was a hit and the other one wasn't.

I personally believe that this book was magnificently carried out and after reading this book, I really understand how things work. I understand how things become an epidemic and what makes them so popular in our society. I think Malcolm Gladwell is very educated on this subject and all of his analogies and deduction really make sense. I think the use of exemplification really helped Gladwell achieve his purpose.