Monthly Archives: April 2016

The Capstone Project

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For my capstone project, I am going to focus on the subject of the social topic of the world’s poverty.  On the first page of the website, I will explore the topic about the country of North Korea and their families in poverty. The media objects I will use vectored imagery of my drawing with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrate.

The second page of the website I am going to use a remix or mashup of several file for a brief look at the humanitarian profile of North Korea. Their total population is 24.62 million people, 18 million of those people do not consume an adequately diverse diet, and 1.8 million people are in need of specialized nutritious foods to combat malnutrition. Global chronic malnutrition rate is 27.9 percent.  Global acute malnutrition is 4%. The average life expectancy is 69.3 years. The live birth mortality rate is at 87 per 100,000 live births. The live birth mortality rate of children under 5 years old is at 27 per 1,000 live births.

On the third page, I am going to be showing something about the food insecurity and malnutrition in North Korea. This page I am going to use an infographic file to establish a cycle of the people undernutrition. Such as, the causes of malnutrition related to food inadequacy and a serious lack of food diversity. There has been a decrease in soybean, which is one of North Korea’s main sources of protein and lack of vegetable production because of three consecutive years of dry conditions. Chronic malnutrition of age 5 and under is 27.9% that is about 540,000 children. Acute malnutrition age 5 and under is 4% or 90,000 children. The consequences of inadequate diets in mothers relate to higher mortality and low birth weights of infants and children.

Capstone Project – Tyler Frasier

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In 2015 the estimated wolf population in Washington state has increased by approximately 32% when compared to the numbers from 2014. There are at least 90 known wolves that run in 18 known packs that range in size from 2 to 8 wolves each. There were 7 documented wolf moralities during the year. Three were caused by humans, three were legal harvest, and one was unknown.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission formally adopted the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan in December of 2011. This was plan was adopted to help guide the recovery and management of gray wolves. The intended goal is to naturally recolonize the State of Washington. In the State of Washington wolves are classified as an endangered species under state law regardless of federal status.

For this project I will be creating an animation and an info-graphic file that will provide information about how wolf population and conservation is going in Washington. It will also cover the history of wolves and what led them to become endangered in the first place because I feel that is an important part of the whole story.

VR-Capstone

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For my Capstone project, I will be focusing on the VR (virtual reality) arms race and how it will affect the world. Virtual reality was something of a dream for people. A world in which you can enter, explore and feel. The technology has existed for a long time, but these systems were to expensive, heavy, and featured many problem such as not enough immersion.

The first company that started this “VR revolution” was Oculus in 2013. Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus, created an Oculus development kit which grabbed the attention of many different companies and game developers. This was the start of the VR arms race

Today, many companies are partnering up and going against other companies for the first lines of consumer VR systems. Many of these products are competing and coming out this year in 2016. With billion dollar deals between big companies such as facebook, this is easily the next step up in video gaming and other medias. Maybe throughout the future, this technology will expand into different areas such as hospitals or the military.

For the two different explanations I plan on creating an infographic and a remix video. The infographic will focus on the information of the company’s positions and how this VR arms race is unfolding today. This is meant to give the reader a good idea on what is happening in a political company sense. The remix video will show how this is affecting the world and also how the arms race is unfolding. The remix video will consist of visuals through different media channels (such as the news) and visual demonstrations.

Sheldon Minor – Capstone Project

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I recently heard someone in a class of mine say a documentary that doesn’t change the way you think, didn’t do what it was supposed to do. I considered myself an environmentalist before watching Cowspiracy for the first time. I was informed, I took precautions to limit my carbon footprint, and I used social media to share news about the challenges our planet faces as a result of climate change. Then, with a single quote, I realized I was living a lie.

“You can’t be an environmentalist and eat animal products — period.” After delving deeper into research on the consequences of animal agriculture, I made the decision to make a major change in my life and eliminate animal products from my diet. Now is the chance for me to spread the word to a new audience.

Livestock and other animal byproducts account for nearly 20 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The next time you eat a hamburger, consider that it takes 660 gallons of water to produce that beef patty. But when there is a drought, they say ‘take shorter showers’ and ‘water your lawn less.’

I am willing to guess that it is a lack of awareness, not willingness. My goal for this project is to create an infographic and short animation that can be displayed on my hand-coded HTML site to share vital information about why and how the animal agriculture industry, as a result of our love for meat and cheese, is killing our planet.

 

 

 

 

Capstone Project – The Digital Divide

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For my capstone project I will be focusing on the digital divide which is a social and economic issue that is of interest to me due to the nature of my degree. The digital divide is a gap that exists between certain demographics and regions that have access to information and communications technology and those that do not or have restricted access. As technology continues to advance in first world countries the gap only grows, keeping those who do not have access to such technologies lagging behind as those with access race forward.

A few things that are being done right now to improve digital access include increasing internet availability, donations to schools that are helping to improve the digital literacy of children, and the distribution of mobile devices to improve the efficiency of farming and other work in remote areas. With this project I hope to bring attention to these causes and contribute to growing awareness of the issue. To do this I will maintain a Twitter feed with related information, create an infographic that illustrates the information I collect, and create a video mash up of existing media about the topic.

https://twitter.com/HollyStassens/status/717473785759330305

https://twitter.com/HollyStassens/status/717499012551553025

https://twitter.com/HollyStassens/status/717506858282409984

https://twitter.com/HollyStassens/status/717512989960605697

https://twitter.com/HollyStassens/status/717514377314770944

 

Varity Schwartz – Capstone

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With my Capstone project, I intend to discuss the wage gap in Hollywood between male and female actors/actresses, directors, and crew. Coupled with that, I want to tie in the underrepresentation of women in Hollywood. This will likely lead to a conversation about not only gender, but race, age, religion, and sexual orientation. This particular topic is currently a hot button issue. There have been several articles lately as women in Hollywood are being more vocal about the wage disparity and general treatment in Hollywood. Due to the prevalence, I expect there to be a plethora of information at my disposal.

To illustrate these points,  I intend to use an infographic and an animated video showing statistics and information supporting the wage gap and underrepresentation. In one of my tweets I pose the question, is this a feminist issue or a humanist issue. Using the humanist angle as a tie in, I can discuss the how this disparity extends far beyond gender.

If possible, I would also like to explore the history of the wage disparity in Hollywood – pre-civil rights movement to today.I also hope to discuss some ways in which Hollywood can close the gap, what steps may have already been taken, steps that are planned to be taken, and how the future of equality looks in Hollywood.

Some thoughts on some additional pages, aside from the two media objects mentioned, I’d like to provide backlinks to some useful articles and informational websites relating to this topic as well as possible resources for women in Hollywood.

 

 

 

 

Capstone Project Sex Trafficking

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Capstone Project

 

The topic for this capstone project is to research and bring more awareness to a global issue on sex trafficking. This is a serious and dangerous topic that needs to be talked about more to spread awareness. For the overall project, a combination of documentaries will be used, along with graphics and visuals focusing on the west coast and the interstate 5 corridors from San Diego to Seattle. This is an important subject that needs to raise more awareness and options for victims to receive help.

Sex trafficking is the exploitation of women and children, including young boys, within national or across international borders, for the purposes of forced sex work. Commercial sexual exploitation includes pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking of women and girls, and is characterized by the exploitation of a human being in exchange for money. Women and girls are ensnared in sex trafficking in a variety of ways. Some are lured with offers of legitimate and legal work. Others are promised marriage, educational opportunities and a better life. Many are sold into trafficking by boyfriends, friends, neighbors or even parents.

This project will focus on a website design that explains the situation as well as the red flags to be aware of, along with where to seek help. The history of this dates back many years and Portland, Oregon has been a main area of sex trafficking for centuries. It also has the largest commercial sex industry in the country. It is important to expose and research this $32 billion dollar industry.

Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 5.23.37 PMScreen Shot 2016-04-05 at 5.23.21 PM

 

 

Go Travel Solo

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The subject that I will be discussing for my capstone project will be about the female traveler and trying to empower then to go travel solo. A few of my ideas that I wanted to bring up was the misconception of traveling solo, possibly things to bring, and how the solo female traveling market has multiplied. I will be doing the infographic and animation to portray the information I found.

The animation will be helpful to put tips for solo travelers. I was planning on making a video that helps female travelers know what to bring and be mental prepared. In a sense it will be a motivational video to encourage more women to travel solo and set out of their comfort zone. Possibly putting in a few quotes from females that have traveled before. We are already seeing it within the market. The amount of women-only travel companies has increased 230% in the past six years. The infographic will be more of the statistics. It will show the average age, the difference between men and women who travel alone, the benefits.

These two media object relate to one another by complementing each other’s facts. The animation will be motivational and positive fact, while the infographic will have more of the background information such as spending amounts, comparison between men and women. For example 80% of solo travelers are female. Having all of this information available on a website will be handy since while your traveling it can be accessible from a phone to view the information anywhere in the world that there is service.

Capstone Project

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For my Capstone Project I’m going to focus on the social topic of literacy in America. Given the statistics analyzed by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, National Institute for Literacy, the U.S. Census Bureau, and many others, there is a direct correlation between illiteracy and crime, dependence on welfare, increased healthcare cost, and poverty. As many as one in four Americans grow up without learning how to read. More shockingly, the U.S. government uses statistics on the literacy rates of 3rd graders to predict prison populations for building future prison facilities. The gap between literate and illiterate Americans is increasing so widely that as of 2011, America is the only free-market Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development country where the current generation is less educated than the previous one. My website will be an informative site that uses statistics and links to other informative sites about the issues of illiteracy, and how readers can be proactive in making a change. Centers for Adult Literacy are available to everyone and should be utilized, volunteer opportunities to either raise money or tutor others abound! Increasing literacy literally changes lives.
Using Adobe Premiere, I’ll incorporate some videos talking about literacy in America and the impact it has on both the individual and society. I’ll also incorporate some graphics in the shape of open books that can shift into houses made in Adobe Photoshop that may be used to help showcase statistics and results. Though reading books is not necessarily the only functional way of reading with digital media abounding, it is the most recognizable symbol of reading.