Final Thoughts

Hello everyone.

Well, we have made it to the end of the course. All of our podcast recordings and transcripts have been submitted. I have to say, based on the few podcasts that I have listened to that were posted in the tutorial blog, that they were all a great success. Personally, I am pretty pleased with the finished product of my podcast, considering the fact that prior to this I had no experience with the Audacity Program or podcast recording in general. If it were not for the assistance of a classmate during this project, I am fairly certain my podcast would have been an unmitigated disaster. One aspect of the podcast that I am not happy about is the fact that I had to cut out some of the material due to the time constraints that were imposed.

With that being said, there are quite a few alterations and changes I would have liked to have made if I had more time. I would have preferred to implement more sound effects during my podcast, as this would have heightened the overall listener experience. I also would have liked to have conducted a few more ‘takes’ to ensure that the tone and pitch of my audio were flawless. There were a few parts during which my caller in the podcast struggled with a couple of words and said it twice over. I would have desired to re-record those parts in particular. If time were not a factor, I would have much preferred to have rented studio-quality microphones. This would have improved the overall sound of the podcast.

            To be wary and distinguish between credible and not-credible sources, as well as good and bad sources, during the research process, are crucial pieces of advice that I would give to any student just commencing this course. If a student does not have legitimate sources, this weakens the overall veracity of the podcast. I would also advise any student to view some YouTube tutorial lessons as well as reading an online manual on the overall production features of Audacity before attempting the podcast assignment. Students should familiarize themselves prior to using the program for the podcast assignment.

 All things considered, this course has been extremely helpful, as it has broadened my skills in terms of researching and creating a podcast through which I can enhance and add to my Professional Writing portfolio.

It has been a great ride and a whole lot of fun!

The Final Blog

Hello

            Personally, I’m not unhappy with how my podcast turned out, but I wish it were better. I had planned on incorporating my own composed music but my piano wasn’t cooperating with my computer and before you know it, it’s 11:59pm. Then looking for music late notice without worry of copyright infringement is suicide. When I find something I like I can’t use it or I have to pay some absurd amount of money.

            If I had a chance to go back and do something differently, I would probably change topics. Although I was interested in finding out information about the polar vortex, it wasn’t a strong area of knowledge for me to present on. Other than that, just figuring out the music a little earlier and everything would be all right.

            I have to say though, my family seems to wish for my academic demise as I asked for quiet while recording but my brother is coughing as if he’s an 80-year-old smoker and everyone else is walking in and out of the house. If I could change recording places, I would. So if you hear someone hacking in the background, or someone kicking their shoes against a door, just know I removed what I could.

            My advice to anyone starting this course is figure out your music beforehand and just enjoy the experience. It’s a fun project when everything goes right.

                        Thanks for reading

                                                Christopher Chin

Polar Vortex Uncovered

Hello

            My podcast deals with the polar vortex, what it is, how it contributed to our coldest winter in years and the effects it has on global warming. I also explore the debate if the polar vortex is or is not a result of global warming.

            The polar vortex is it here to stay? Or is it just a once in a lifetime occurrence? Find out!

Thanks for reading, Thanks for listening, I'll see you next time.

                        Christopher Chin

My Structure

The explanation for my story structure above is as follows:

1) First dash is my opening remarks.

2) The second dash gives my personal opinion on the topic.

3) The third dash explains my opinion further.

4) The exclamation gives and example of my opinion.

5) The large "U" shape is where I fill in data, facts, quotes, to support my views.

My story structure is some what similar to the podcast that I am emulating but it varies in various places in my podcast, perhaps due to my inexperience.

I counted 30 citations in the "Icon for Access" of 99% Invisible episode.

Aliecia Brissett W14, Strucutre

The structure that my post will be emulating is "Morning Edition". The beginning of my podcast will start with a snippet from the movie, "Her", and then will later discuss the main theme of my podcast which is technology and dating. The ending of my podcast will have a snippet from another movie related to dating and technology, and then later have commentary about that scene.
 Sorry I couldn't upload a photo because my scanner wasn't working and my interenet has been acting up all day :(

The amoun t of citations that I have counted in the episode 102 of "Icon Access" is 26

Structure with All Things Considered

Hello

            I imagine my podcast following the All Things Considered structure like the picture above (My phone picture quality is poor and my drawing skills are apparently worse than I first anticipated). My podcast will present events of recent happenings in the weather and then go into detail about how and why. The trough represents the information that is required to understand the events in deeper detail. After the trough returns upward becoming level to the beginning, the podcast is concluded by explaining its impact and possible speculative insight that the polar vortex can bring to our future weather conditions.

            The structure All Things Considered follows the structure of the episodes of Everyday Einstein. The show always begins with either a small story or a question that either Lee Falin comes across or a viewer asks. In both cases, the podcast begins and ends with a question and an answer with the middle containing the reason and logic behind the answer.

            As for the total number of citations for episode 102 “Icon for Access” of 99% Invisible, I counted 17 citations used in the podcast.

Thanks for reading

Christopher Chin

Structure

       

My podcast episode entitled, “Freedom Lost: What Price Must We Pay For Security?” follows the ‘All Things Considered’ (ATC) structure. In the opening scene of my podcast, I implement a song by the band 'Rare Earth' entitled, “Hey Big Brother.” I chose this song in particular, as it is consistent with the themes of my podcast, which are: security, surveillance, and privacy. After the song fades out, I begin speaking and introduce the podcast episode and address the listeners. Subsequent to that, I bring in a caller who then poses a question to myself (the reporter/host). Following that initial discussion, we engage in a brief conversation about her question. All of this comprises the straight-line portion of the ATC structure.

            After the preliminary remarks are made, I begin to answer and analyze the caller’s question. This can be considered ‘the trough’ segment of the podcast, wherein I consult with secondary sources such as newspaper and academic articles, as well as an interview from one of my political science professors (to get an academic’s opinion on the issue). During ‘the trough’, I may include an anecdote where I personally felt like my privacy rights were being violated. In this section, I will discuss why such surveillance methods are deemed necessary and justifiable? What gives the government the right to spy on citizens for no apparent reason? In ‘the trough’ section, I report which sources I interviewed on the subject of my podcast.

            The structure of my podcast is quite similar to the Freakonomics episode entitled, What’s the “Best Exercise?”  In the Freakonomics podcast episode, they introduce a caller named Jasmine, and she poses a question related to fitness. Dubner responds by referencing an expert in the field, David Meltzer (a doctor and an economist). At the end of the Freakonomics podcast episode, they return to Jasmine and she thanks them for their assistance and insight into the subject matter. Similarly, at the conclusion of my podcast, I return to my caller and express to her that I hope I was helpful in my analysis of the subject. The part where I return to my caller and address her would constitute as the ‘final line.’  

In terms of the number of citations in the podcast episode 102 "Icon for Access" of 99% Invisible, I counted 21. 

             

            

    

            

Bernice Afriyie, W14: Structure

Hello Professor Andreae and class,

My podcast episode involves a lot of background information on licensing, popular music and viewer response, followed by dynamic and interesting examples that illustrate my point. Throughout the podcast I return to my main example of OneRepublic and Walt Disney, but I also tie in other instances of popular music being used in commercials. 

Because of the back and forth between illustration and exposition, this diagram best describes the structure of my podcast. There are large amounts of information that is easy to understand, followed by examples that listeners will be able to easily digest. Under the Influence uses a similar structure, where O'Reilly explains complex ideas and then gives examples that illustrate his point. The examples and anecdotes are the high points and they are spaced out in such a way, for both my podcast and the one that I am emulating, that the listener's interest is sustained throughout the episode.

Under the Influence sometimes starts with captivating anecdotes. I tried to emulate that in my podcast, starting off with a story about me and my experiences with popular music in commercial advertising. The exclamation points represent anecdotes and stories, and the curved lines represent the build up towards them.

However, my structure differs from Under the Influence in that my episode can be divided into two major sections (as represented by the vertical line). The first half deal with music licensing and the second half with the effects of popular music in commercial advertisements on viewers. Under the Influence doesn't have such distinct sections in their podcasts, they usually deal with multiple topics related to a single marketing concept. With that said, we both present topics that are relevant to consumers.

I counted 23 citations in total for the episode "Icon for Access."

Search Strategies

Me oh my, fellow researchers!

These past few weeks have sure put me to the test with my research skills! I think I have spent more time on search engines and journal databases lately than I have spent eating... and thats a big problem because eating is my favourite thing to do! I have truly learnt a lot about my personal likes and dislikes when deciphering which database is appropriate for any given topic. I think I have exhausted all of the following databases and search engines for my podcast so I believe what I am about to reveal of each, can be extremely useful to the 'lost researcher'!

I have used Boolean logic in the past, as I was originally introduced to it in grade twelve. I remember the librarian giving us a lecture on it, and thinking to myself that class couldn't possibly be more boring, slash when would I ever use this!? HOW WRONG I WAS. I have used it countless times this year! Unfortunately I never had any research essays or assignments in first year so my skills were a little rusty, but they have definitely improved again this year. Boolean logic uses the words "and", "or" and "not". By using "and" you are able to group together search terms so that you can discover works that include both of your search terms. By using "or" you will broaden your search by combining concepts, giving results using either one of your search terms. By using "not" you will be able to focus your search between similar search terms to make your results even more specific. By using Boolean logic, one is supposed to gather results that are more specific to your topic by factoring out unwanted ones using the and, or and not function. I have found many articles this way, and will continue to use it.

By searching by subject, you must be extremely precise from the get go. It may be in your best interest to brainstorm words around what you believe your subject to be, and use that list to find the one that appears most controlled to the English language, not a made up word by society. It is very useful to have this tool in your knowledge because being able to define your topic will help you to search more effectively for resources. I have tried a few times, especially when I am searching a topic that appears to be newer, because by bringing it down to its most basic roots I am able to find some sort of article.

I much prefer using the library databases to Google Scholar. I find Google Scholar to give too big of a span of results. By using the library you can narrow your search right off the bat by choosing a database that is in the field of your topic. Not only that, but there are usually at least five databases to use if the first one you use does not give you the results you were looking for. Google Scholar works very well as another resource for sure, and can give you a lots of results; they may just not be the ones you were looking for or be available at York. Due to these reasons, I would rely on the York library database for future searches.

While this process has been very informative, I will appreciate the break from research for sure! 

Search Strategies, Boolean Logic

Hello

            Boolean logic, while completing research, can be a very useful tool. I have used it in the past and it has served me well before. Boolean logic helps to make specific research searches to get relevant hits on the internet.

            Putting “and” between search words would make a search engine look for results containing only BOTH parameters. Putting “or” would broaden the search to either parameter. Putting “not” between search words makes the results show stuff about the former, but anything containing the latter would be excluded. For a much more in-depth explanation, I recommend visiting this site. Putting “” will make the search engine try to find everything inside the quotation marks exactly the way it is written in the search engine. However, some search engines don’t adhere to the quotation marks.  

            For this assignment, the Boolean logic has not served me well. The results kept repeating or some results were just too out dated. It has helped me with other subjects and can still help me on this assignment I just need to find the right parameters. I will continue to use Boolean logic in the future.

Thanks for reading

Christopher Chin

W:14 Shanice Grocia Digging Deeper

The scholarly sources I am looking for have to do with criminal and or juvenile behavior in individuals with uncommon names. So far, the sources I already have are primary sources that I have already utilized in my pitch:  First Names and Crime: Does Unpopularity Spell Trouble? by David Kalist and Daniel Lee; as well as, The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names by Ronald Fryer and Steven Levitt. These are staple sources that offer the needed foundation information to introduce and begin my topic. They answers the questions; "What is an unpopular name?" and "What are some consequences to ethnic-sounding names?"

Some popular sources I have found in the researching process would be the study, Are Greg and Emily more employable than Lakisha and Jamal?  By Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan; and, Boys named Sue: Disruptive Children and their Peers by David Figlio. These sources are imperative to my podcast, as they discuss the economic standing as well as masculinity issues in a social context.  In continuing this process, I would like to find more sources in the field of social dynamics in order to better compare ‘popular’ and ‘unpopular’ names. In doing this, I can obtain a better understanding of the social implications outside of the workforce.

So far, all of my sources are scholarly studies and journals done by professionals. As I continue to research, I would like to explore magazine articles and news reports that discuss first names. An article in The Star, titled, My name is iPod, but call me Felon gives an interesting account of different people directly affected by their ‘odd names’. A bit more research in this area could make my overall exploration a bit more compelling.

Sources:Kalist, David E., and Daniel Y. Lee. "First Names and Crime: Does Unpopularity Spell Trouble?" (2008): 1-2. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
 <http://noah.ship.edu/lee5/Daniel_Lee.pdf>.

Fryer, Ronald G., and Steven D. Levitt. "The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names." The Quaterly Journal of Economics 119.3 (2004): 770. The Becker Friedman Institute. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/FryerLevitt2004.pdf>.
Menon, Venay. "My Name Is IPod, but Call Me Felon." Thestar.com. Toronto Star, 10 June 2008. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://www.thestar.com/opinion/columnists/2008/06/10/my_name_is_ipod_but_call_me_felon.html>.
Bertrand, Marianne, and Sendhil Mullainathan. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination."The American Economic Review 94.4 (2004). Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
<http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ321/orazem/bertrand_emily.pdf>.