Common Sense?

In this second project for my "Rhetoric" class we created a an art piece that challenges the status quo.  For our project, my partner and I had to create a video that questions the use of both common sense and the Rhetoric of the new Amazon HQ. In this unit we learned about the use of rhetoric in political speeches in order to learn how to inspire others for a cause. Me and my partner came up with the questions for the interviews. My partners job was to edit the different videos while my job was to conduct the actual interview.

My partner and I chose to do the topic about common sense and Amazon's new HQ's because it was a thing . While deciding the topic of our video we thought that there was two options. We thought that we either had to choose common sense or amazon by itself. Then my partner thought about and idea of mixing the two ideas together since we could reinforce the idea of common sense. We chose video as our format because it is a medium that we are familiar with. While making this video we wanted people to think about all the different ideas of common sense there are in the world. Using Amazon as our topic works because it shows how everyone can have different ideas about decisions that they consider common sense. Since everyone is different these differences in opinions can range from being small to very large. In the process of making this video, we tried to focus this video towards the viewers logos and ethos. Logos is demonstrated when we give the interviewees the facts and let them think about the situation. Afterwards we use lead the viewer to think about ethos suggesting that not everyone has to have the same thought process. Our video is supposed to make the viewer understand that they have a unique decision making process. Amazon’s new headquarters is supposed to be able to supply up to 50,000 jobs and cost $5 billion to build. 238 cities throughout the continent have already proposed an offer to Amazon in order to be chosen as the new host of their second HQ.  The average salary of a worker at the Amazon HQ would be over $100,000.  I think that it makes sense for the artwork to be shown as an ad on Youtube so people would have to choose whether or not they want to watch it. This would mean that the viewer is curious and may possibly reflect on the message of our video. I chose to show the specific interviewees because of their differences, just to show the spectrum on how much contrast there is when it comes to thinking about common sense. Each of the interviewees had their own opinion about what amazon and chicago should do about the new headquarters being built. This perfectly proves the point that my partner and I are trying to convey by showing the differences in thought. Another thing we had to think about was whether or not they should be interviewed together. We thought this might work because it would show how common sense is created when everyone argues their side until they all agree. It was decided against because we wanted to make sure no one changed their initial opinion before stating it. This was the better decision because it helps the viewer focus on just the differences instead of confusing it with everyone changing their mind. Overall I think the video conveyed our point by dividing the similarities but more especially the differences between people’s thought process when it comes to the topic of common sense.

During this project my partner and I struggled with time and content. When we were making this action project we thought we would have more time to interview different people for  our project. Since we didn’t have as much time as we thought, we had less people to interview. In order to solve this issue we had to use less content and accept that we couldn’t get enough people in our interview. The biggest thing I took out of this action project was that it’s unrealistic to believe that common sense is actually common.  I enjoyed making this action project because there are so many different backgrounds that can change a person's view of any topic.

Works Cited

Amazon sent cities into a frenzy when it announced plans to build a second headquarters. “The city Amazon picks for its second headquarters will change forever.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 27 Oct. 17ADAD, 9:14

“Amazon HQ2 Will Likely Be One of These Six Cities.” Fortune, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2017, fortune.com/2017/10/18/amazon-hq2-top-cities/.

Hubba Bubble

In this second project for my design and engineering class we created a bike design for a certain profile that we were given. We had to create multiple designs that led up to a final model, and explain our choices included in our design. In this unit we learned about the function of bikes, and what makes them important. The different math concepts including gear ratios, graphing, etc were all used in this action project.

Persona/Needs

When designing a product it is best to use a persona. Our persona was a girl named Vanessa. She lives 4 miles away from her school. She is 17 and has a little brother that she has to take to day care every day before  school. Her house is by the United Center and Lake Shore with the streets full of pot holes, while the "L" runs down her commute to school. After taking in all this information, we took not of the needs that Vanessa had. This included safety, security, and two seats for her and her brother.

Labels/Benefits

Our bike Is called the "Hubba Bubble" which is a bike meant for a safe and reliable experience. It has features including a cushioned seat, a protective bubble around the child seat, balloon tires, and protective measures in order to make sure that the Hubba Bubble does not get stolen. We put in a protective bubble around the child's seat because we didn't want the child passenger to get hurt if the driver gets in an accident. The bubble surrounding the car seat is sound proof so the noise of the train or other noises don't disturb the child. We also added balloon tires on the bike so when Vanessa bikes over potholes she can ride as smoothly as possible. One of the protective measures we added was a folding aspect that lets the user use the bike itself as a lock. In order to enforce that it does not get stolen we also added a touch id to the bike so the user is the only one who can ride it.

VD (2017) "Labled Sketch"

Speed, Wheel Size, and Wheel Rotations

Vanessa lives 4 miles from her school and it takes her 22 minutes to got straight there. Using this information we can find the speed she bike in both mph and m/s. If 4/22 is equal to x/60 we have to multiply 4 by 60 to get 240. Then we use that number and divide it by 22 which gets us 10.9 mph. After this we can convert it into m/s by multiple 10.9 by 1609.34 (1 mile) which gets us 17541.806. Afterwards we divide by 3600 (1 hour) and get 4.87 m/s.

The radius of our wheel is 13 inches which makes the diameter 26 inches. We can use this information to figure out the circumference by multiplying the diameter by pi (3.14) which gets us 81.68 inches. Using both the circumference and the distance we can figure out the number of rotations her wheels make on the way to school. To do this we divide 4 miles (253440 in.) by 81.68 inches which gets us 3102.84 rotations.

Below are some of the calculations that are involved in making the ellipses included in the Geogrebra Bike Design. 

MJF (2017) "Geogabra Bike"

Energy

While using this bike Vanessa demonstrates both kinetic and potential energy. Since kinetic energy comes from movement, the speed she rides demonstrates it perfectly. Right before she first presses her foot down on the pedal, she demonstrates potential energy since no other energy has been released yet.

Scale/Gears

Another thing we looked at is the gears that would be used on the bike. Vanessa isn't looking for a fast bike so we know hat there should be a larger gear in the front and a smaller gear in the back. For the smaller gear we decided that it had to have 16 teeth, while the larger gear has 44 teeth.The scale we used on our bike and model was 1:13. This means that 1 inch on our model would be 13 inches on the final product.

VD  (2017) Hubba Bubble Journey

Reason to Believe

Our product is perfect for any Chicagoan that has to travel with a child and is concerned for their safety. The Hubba Bubble protects the child from both physical harm and loud noses so they are not disturbed. Our lock system keeps anyone from stealing the bike so the user can be worry free about being able o use it. While we talked o a couple of bikers about what they like about their bikes, one of them said "It is a simple bike and very comfortable. Because it is simple, very few things can go wrong." We took note of this and made a safe bike that can be used by anyone.

During this project me and my partner struggled with multiple issues. For example when we made a model of our bike, we noticed that the 3D printer had ended up detaching  the wheels from the frame of the bike. In order to fix this we had to use a glue gun and glue the wheels on to the frame. The biggest thing I took out of this action project is actually learning the process of making a bike. I thought this was cool because there are so many different bikes, and we were able to use our knowledge from this unit and put it all together in order to solve a common problem.

Take a chance

The purpose of this action project is to find a rhetorical challenger and figure out how they stand up to the status quo. This action project was different because we had to look at multiple contexts and piece them together in order to understand what the challenger is trying to achieve. The challenger I chose was Chance the rapper because of his debate against CPS. In this project I explain a speech that he gave out when he announced his views against them. 

The Handy Can, Can

In my first action project for my class called “Design and engineering” we learned about different types of ways to figure out how to solve solutions for gardening tools in order to help the elderly. What made this action project different was that I had to work with a partner (MN). In this class we learned about simple machines and physics concepts which helped us with this action project.

While being the designers of this tool there were a lot of variables we had to think about. For example, while designing our watering can we had to think about empathy and how others will feel about the product. Since we based this design on the elderly, we had to think about to solve average problems that we thought would benefit for them. Some of the research that helped us figure out common problems was using the tool ourselves and seeing what problems we could find first hand.

During our research we went to home depot to see a watering can in action. We noticed certain aspects of the cans there that were useful like an angled handle to make it easier to pour, and others that were not so useful like super long spouts. While we were talking with one of the staff about our ideas and tools he said "Sometimes the product made of cheaper material works better for a specific task". This made us think about the material we wanted to use and we went with plastic in order to make the product less heavy while also not having to worry about money cost.

In the image below you will see a sketch of our Handy Can design. This sketch explains the different upgrades we made to the average watering can and what we decided to keep. Look for some of these specific qualities from our watering can.

• Switchable Spouts- In order to switch from watering a narrow area to a wide area.
• Box Shape- Has a wider bottom surface to spread the weight of the water inside.
• Hand Grips- In order to reduce the stress on your hand and wrist while holding it.
• Angled Handle- Helps the user get a better angle to pour with less work. 
• Tripod- Meant for the watering can to sit on while pouring to prevent holding a heavy can.
• Measurements for water- Small clear strips in the watering can to let the user measure the water.

MN (2017) The Handy Can Design

The dimensions of the watering can's base are 8 in by 12 in by 6 in. In order to find the volume we had to multiply the length, width and height to the can. We got 8*12*6= 576 in³ which is equal to 319.1688 us fl oz. In order to find the surface area I had to add the area of each side. The equation we got was 2(8*12+8*6+6*12)=432.

Below is a story board of how this product would be used. This story board shows what happens to the watering can from when it starts in the garden shed and ends with a fully grown plant. Below that is a sketch of the forces used when using the Handy Can. The force we chose to talk about is the user's hand when they angle the spout towards the ground and pours water on it.

MN (2017) The Handy Can Design

MN (2017) The Handy Can Storyboard 2

MN (2017) Vector Diagram

The biggest struggle I had while making this project was getting the scanned photos of my product on to the blog. Since the pictures on my blog were the wrong type of file I needed to put the file on another website and screenshotted the pictures. I was eventually able to work it out by learning how to edit the pictures in order to make them look nice on the blog. The biggest thing I took out of this action project was empathy because it applies to most things in life.

Works Cited

Home Depot Employee. Personal Interview. 20 Sept 2017

Randy Stufflebeam

In my first unit for my class called “Rhetoric” we learned about different types of ways to figure how to appeal to an audience using different stylistic devices. In this action project I had to create a speech for a candidate running for governor of Illinois. In this class we learned about simple machines and physics concepts which helped us with this action project.

Save Walter

This is my third and last action project for my class called “Drama”. In this unit we read a play called “A Raisin in the Sun”. For this action project, I created a prologue for the play and I wrote down tips for the characters based on people's feedback on my guiding question for the play. My favorite part of making this action project was making the prologue. The biggest problem I had while making this project was coming up with the chorus because I wasn’t exactly sure how to do it. I’m still mostly unsure that I was able to do the project right, but I did it to my best ability and in the end I  was able to finish my AP

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Dialouge

Patient profile

This is my third and last action project for my class called “Cure”. In this unit we learned about different types of ways to figure out probability. We also learned about different foods, vitamins, and minerals and what they do to help the human body. For this action project, I created a fictional patient profile and I wrote down all the medical history I could inside of it. I also figured out the probability of my patient getting diabetes. My favorite part of making this action project was making the patient profile. The biggest problem I had while making this project was finding the information, because the project required an extreme amount of research in order to create my fictional patient profile. I eventually was able to work on it all night and come up with enough information on the patient to be able to finish my AP.