MY conclusion/discussion page is getting longer than I expected it.. .I should hold on: this is my last work for Dvorak...at least until next semester ....

No final

No final sounds great ... after all I killed myself of the symposium.... Nonetheless I am so stressed out about my evaluation that I wish there was another assignement for extra credit or something... yes I know; I am fried

tired

I am so tired ... my body is breaking down because of stress... I still have to finish my ARP of course

Better Idea

just a face -closeup- the head is either buried in the garbage or the face is halfway covered with landfill... I am not sure of the clever thing I should write but I am thinking about.... " we slowed down the process, now let's try to stop it..." or take control, before it takes over... ( it written in some landfill ways) , save the environment..."
and maybe 3 practical ways to help .... what do you think? the concept is the biggest part in creating a poster

idea

ok poster for MW3... what do you think of the idea: a preson standing, at a far left of the poster. at her right a bit of greenery, adn at the left... which is the bigger part, there is nothing but garbage and dryness and desert life enviroenment so much that part of her left looses color...
it would say FACT: "IT will catch up with you if you don't stop it."
and under it a fact about what global warming causes and another about an easy way to help.

results"

- Every ad is a green ad
- People are aware of the environmental issues which makes PSAs effective in terms of awareness spreading medium, however it does not inspire people to change behavior.
- PSAs is passes scarcely and at times people don't really watch
- People don't remember any environmental PSA
- Most people can't make the difference between a green PSA and an Ad

desensitiziation

this is my new word: desensitization. not it is new in my vocabulary, however it is the dominant subject of my research ... this is the main and most important discovery of my research: the overuse of environmental pictures in marketing today has caused the desensitization of the audience to such images. as result, green PSAs are ineffective today ; at least as a tool for behavioral change

I am sick as a dog.... yet I have more ve forward with htis research.

MArketing

Isn't it funny that Marketing tactics are the most to blame for the current ineffectiveness of PSAs!
Though this makes sense, it poses a problem: if in fact the overuse of environmental visuals in current advertising is responsible for desensitizing the audience to actual environmental PSAs, this would imply that before such tactics were used, PSAs were effective... wouldn't it?
this just adds another layer to my research... I wish we had more time for this thing!

I am a bit annoyed

though I definitely and happily see where my research is leading me, I am getting a bit overwhelmed by the class itself...this is mostly because of the bad habit I have of not checking blackboard or my emails often...suddenly I realize that I am behind, not on the work itself but on something that was to be submitted last class!!!! man!

Environmental-friendly cows that don't fart! (pardon my language)

I conducted my first interview today ... the outcome was awesome…. I got to quote this guy in my research!
The interview was with producer and media connoisseur Carlos Deyarza and the problem with PSAs according to him is not necessarily the that they are not will structured or that they air on inaccessible time, the problem is that we are so bombarded with ads about the environment which by the way have become so ridiculous that we become insensitive the actual PSAs!
Remember that the ads are by a company with the highest intentions to, of course, sell that company or product. Well now they look so much like the actual environmental PSAs “showing the hills, the environment and so on" that people can't make the difference anymore, and thus the PSAs fall into the same category of advertisement, trying to sell something - see the loss of credibility there!
“The environment is being used as a commodity, a bullet point, a sell point,” said Deyarza; “essentially every ad is an environmental ad”. He continued by saying, “ Nike use to be about running fast and jumping high, but now it’s about ‘this tennis shoe is made of biodegradable materials.’ It's not about "we have the best tacos," it's about “our tacos are made with environmentally friendly cows that don't fart!" (Because you know that this 'endeavor' has an impact on the environment.) Consequently the actual good environmental PSA that comes after such a lineup has lost any potential for effect or credibility! There is almost no difference between a hybrid Chevy ad that shows the beauty of the environment, the hills and so on and an actual green PSA!
The solution: create something drastically different than the usual, creatively that is.
Also, Mr. Deyarza has had the chance to produce a few PSAs (though not about the environment) that he says were effective. What they had in common: they were all attached to an event. Maybe that is something to consider in producing a PSA for the environment!

What do you think?

I have stated before that so far my reserach show that PSAs can't realisticaly change behavior and thus we should not expect such an outcome. Yet in Wikipedia's definition of a Public Service Announcement it is written : " (...)PSAs are intended to modify public attitudes ..." \Does this mean that
1- there is a gap between the intentions behind PSAs and the actual reality of what they can do?
2- or that the resources I am using are wrong for stating that PSAs can't in themselves change behaviors ?
3- or maybe the word attitude here refers to something other than "behavior."

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Now I understand that Wikipedia is not a scholar resource, therefore - something I did not think of before - I will research to find out what is the definition for PSAs according to more creditable resources.

went email crazy for the survey

I have sent this survey to every person in every class I have this semester... but here's the best, for some reason my classes from last semester are still posted which means I was able to email all of these people as well!!!! I'm so happy about that; even though I can tell that some people will probably receive my email more than once ( we probably shared a few classes) and may end up getting sick of me.
-->If you are one of those people I am sorry, sincerely, but all is fair in the name of research right? wait, forget I said that...I DID NOT MEAN IT DVORAK, NO LIABILITY ISSUE HERE:)

Survey

Would you all be so kind to take this survey... I'd appreciate it!
Click'>http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Nox0gUHcVxDv72Gbu7GinA_3d_3d">Click Here to take survey

back up interview

I finally found out the true importance of having a backup interview... my main interview person has been sick for two weeks now.... curiously it started on the actual date the interview was scheduled... Anyone superstitious?
anyway, now I have to go with Carlos Deyarza , am sending him an email today, we have spoken and I know that we will have the interview tomorrow.
Moving forward of course!

Bad questions

Double Question: Do you study or do you know how to write?
Wrong choice Question: Are you married or a member of the clergy?
Fuzzy Word Question: Are you nasty at coming up with dumb questions?
Cover the world Question: How is the economy like in the United Stated?
Jargon question: Did the talent level after the lavaliere was set up and if so was her clothes conflicting with the chromakey?
Kitchen Sink Question: where did you go to school, what did you study, what classes did you take there, and how well did you do in each class?
Dream Questions: What kind of a marriage would you like?
Leading Questions: Why was President Bush a great president to have during 9/11?
Hearsay questions: Do you think the other students in the class work as hard as they can?
Fallout questions: Are you stressed during exams? If so do you lose weight?

AWSOME RESOURCE

Thank God for research....I am finally finding sources that are rekindling my passion for my research on environmental PSAs in their effectiveness. I found this article published by the health center from the University of Toronto. It analyzes the effectiveness of PSAs as a whole and draws down the criteria of an effective PSA and the principles we should use to analyze them. Here is the summary of the criteria of effective PSA according to Dr Charles Atkins, do you think the PSAs we are using for the environmental campaigns follow them? And these are just and on point principles, at least according to my logic.
Here goes:

In order to be effective, a public service announcement (PSA) must
1. have a clear and realistic objective;
2. be designed for, and tested with a specific focus audience;
3. have a number of qualitative features including:
a. an appropriate type of appeal;
b. an appropriate messenger;
c. credibility;
d. understandability;
e. relevance;
f. high quality mechanical construction;
g. high quality creative execution.
4. be distributed using channels and vehicles that are suitable for the focus audience and the chosen
objective.
5. be distributed in substantial quantity/with substantial frequency to ensure that the focus audience
is adequately exposed to the message.

interview

C01 entered in the interview a bit timid but willing: fully covered with a shirt, a jacket and a cap, a half-smile on his face. “It is cold outside” he answered when I asked about the weather. In fact, C01’s parents may have come here from Denver, but he grew up in Miami: Pine Crest to be exact. Yet, ask anyone about C01, they will most likely believe that you are talking about his father. C01 is in fact the name on his birth certificate, but that’s how far as it goes. His father always wanted to call him C01, but his mother preferred “skip,” and that’s how everyone’s ever called him; everyone, except his 6th grade civics teacher.
C01’s name is not the only thing he got from his father. When I was growing up I was sure I wanted to become an engineer, like my father, “C01 revealed. Yet, C01 is currently majoring in Psychology, history and professional writing – nothing close to the mathematics he surrounded himself with growing up. Why? According to C01, engineers live a very still life which he does not aspire to. He instead aspires to become a sports psychologist.
Another thing C01 father tried to give his son is a passion for golf. “I swear, as soon as I could walk my father put a golf Club in my hands,” C01 said, and he’s been playing ever since. He won his first tournament at the age of three and even chose to attend St Thomas because of its Golf team. Even this paternally inherited passion seems to be dimming. C01 has left the gold team - though he still plays regularly – and prefers to spend his time fresh-water fishing.
So who is C01’s father? “I don’t know anyone who dislikes him,” C01 said pensively. “He never did anything wrong but he never did anything…” C01 never finished this sentence. Instead he reiterated about how his father always did what was right. Yet, C01’s eyes suddenly light up when he got to speak of his step-brother. “He’s one of my very best friends,” he said with a large smile. C01 is the only male child in his family, growing up with 4 sisters – what he calls a large family. His only older sister married when he was twelve, and ever since her husband has become his surrogate older brother.
Every now and then, C01, or better said, Skip does a bit of math to “keep it fresh.” And though English was his worst subject in High school, He just added it to his list of majors. “though I may not become a published writer, I like to have this possibility.”

nothing serious

I changed my blog design to one that is more appropriate to my research issue...it's all about living it right! Maybe as I spend hours staring at this green looking background the solutions to my confusion will hit me like lightening... or better yet like the tree branch that fell because of a lightening strike!

feel a bit lost still...maybe I should change issues

The biggest issue I've encountered so far is the time in which these PSAs air because of course of the profit issue... anyway, I think the survey may have a better answer when it comes to the effectiveness of PSAs
Funny thing though, I went to Wall Mart, which by the way has been claiming to be engaged in an environmental campaign.... yet there were no environmental PSAs on their in-store Wall Mart Chanel TV... I didn't even notice any green ads... they still use plastic bags and do not offer any paper options - at least not upfront. There was nothing, that I could notice, different from before their public green campaign announcement.
Anyway, still struggling on the actual structure of this research

my thoughts--- any ideas?

I do believe that the research "Issue" I am contemplating right now is quite relevant....I am interested in finding out the effectiveness of the environmentalist broadcast campaign... now with such things as the green movement and our strong interest in alternative resources it is obvious that we have a new found communal concern for the environment... but how effective are these campaigns?
I will mostly address the broadcast part of this campaign as mentioned above... this research will not only allow us to question this new movement which is taking over the media - and has become so lucrative - but also to develop a better sense of what can actually work in terms of inspiring our communities to be more environmentally conscious...
I admit though that even though I believe I know what I want to research... I am stumbling on a few uncertainties when it comes to the specifics of it all and the better way to conduct this research in order to make it impacting, interesting and relevant.
Any ideas??? please they are more than welcome!

Nelson reaction

Here is the problem: an effective research needs interest and passion from the researcher him/herself. Accordingly the first obstacle in "assigning " a research is that the professor or whoever is proposing the research only assumes what would interest the researcher, or goes as far as "imposes" what should interest the student. It is no secret that coerced work rarely inspires motivation. Another issue is that the one assigning the research usually already has an expected set of outcome. In other words, the professor is not really expecting a "research from the student," but instead a "gathering" of information already researched, decided and expected. Another obvious problem is the time limit. Usually an academic research paper has a week or a two-week deadline. This limited amount of time does not really allow for true research and even less, time for enjoying the process and developping interest in the researched subject.