Category Archives: Student Work

Capstone Project Proposal – The Consequences of Bulk-Buying

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For my Capstone Project, I intend to make an animation and video remix discussing the issue of bulk-buying. My focus is to demonstrate how bulk-buying, the purchase of goods in bulk, contributes to food waste and obesity in the United States, and how suburban sprawl makes it worse. My inspiration for the topic of bulk-buying and its consequences comes from first-hand experience with products purchased at Costco, of which my parents are members. I have seen some of the products they buy expire due to their lack of usage, usually when the family is busy with other things to the point where the products are forgotten.

The first media object is going to be an animation. The animation tells a story of a woman named Lorraine who would drive to a hypermarket not unlike Costco, buy large amounts of food items, and store some of the food in the kitchen fridge and others in the pantry. Over time, some of the food would start to rot or grow mold. Lorraine would be given a choice: either throw away all the food that has gone bad (and waste lots of money), or finish it all up before it goes bad (and gain lots of weight). After looking at a list of foods not to buy at such stores, Lorraine ultimately would decide to shop only at her local market, buying half the amount of food and traveling half the distance. As a result, less food would be wasted, and she and her family would slowly slim down.

The second media object is going to be a video remix. It will be composed of a shot of the exterior of a typical Costco store, footage of the interior of a few Costco stores, shots of the exteriors of stores such as Fred Meyer and Walgreens that sell smaller portions of the same product, and footage of the interiors of stores of each respective chain. The goal in making this video is to demonstrate the difference in portion sizes between bulk stores such as Costco and mainstream stores such as Fred Meyer and Walgreens, and have the viewer think about which size they’d rather buy for the sake of their waistlines and refrigerators.

The HTML website will include the videos as well as their respective summaries and a few articles listing different products to not buy from Costco.

Capstone Project Proposal – Video Game Loot Boxes & Gambling

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For my Capstone Project, I would like to look at loot boxes in video games, and whether or not they constitute gambling. This has been a hotly debated issue in the video game community for some time now- the main concern is if children are being exposed to gambling in games, and if there should be a warning on the age rating of games with loot box systems.

I plan to make an infographic discussing the brain’s reactions to gambling and comparing/contrasting the reactions to loot boxes (I believe there are a few recent studies.) For my second media object, I plan to do an animation that can maybe serve as a sort of PSA and also explain what loot boxes are, as I feel a lot of parents likely don’t know. This would tie in with the infographic as both will be explaining loot boxes and gambling, and the effects those things have on our brains. The animation will go further in depth about the monetization video games have begun to employ post-initial purchase. I might swap these concepts around though and do the animation on the brain effects, and the infographic on the post-game purchase monetization model. I might also explore what actions have been taken around the world concerning regulating loot boxes globally.

Personally, I don’t have an issue with loot box systems in general, but I believe that it’s important for parents to know what their kids are doing in games, and for there to be a labeling of games with loot box systems for potential players who are sensitive to gambling problems.

Capstone Project Proposal – Keep Our Rhinos Horny!

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The rhinoceros is one of the most endangered animals in the world today. The black market trade of rhino horn has skyrocketed over the last decade. As a result, illegal poaching of rhinos is at an all time high. Rhinos are being poached in staggering and catastrophic numbers every year. With a long gestation period, single calf statistic, and a 3-5 year waiting period between calves, boosting rhino population numbers is a slow process. Poachers are decimating rhino population numbers faster than they can recover. Without serious and dramatic intervention, it is likely that the rhinoceros will disappear from the earth in less than 30 years. There are several organizations that are dedicated to combating this issue. Anti-poaching teams, private game reserves, public education, and breeding organizations are some of the endeavors that are currently underway. The collective effort of organizations, like Save the Rhino and The Rhino Protection Trust, have helped to safeguard the future of these magnificent animals, but they still have a long way to go. My Capstone Project will be focused on facts about the 5 species of rhinoceros, rhino horn myths and facts, poaching practices, and the efforts put in place to help stop the killing of rhinos. Using an infographic and a video compilation in combination with other (possibly graphic) images, text and related links, my hope is to shock, educate, and inform people about the current state of the rhinoceros and what can be done to help save them.

Capstone Project Proposal – Meet the Real Meat Industry

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Meet the Real Meat Industry
I would like to cover the topics of how the meat and dairy industries are bad for us, the earth, and the animals. For my capstone project the two media items I will display on my website will be an infographic and an animation. As I previously discussed, the social topic I will be focusing on will be animal’s rights and the negative impact of the meat and dairy industry on our environment. I will do so with providing information directly to the site about the negative impacts of these industry, and then further explaining them through the use of visuals in the animation and in the infographic. The animation will provide more of a “walk you through it” kind of style with the visuals to display the facts, and the infographic will act as a kind of summary of data that ties together the facts and solidifies the knowledge with the viewer. I’d like to cover all of the information on the site with one page about each aspect I am covering. For example, one page addressing why meat is bad for humans, one page addressing why it’s bad for the environment, and one page addressing and summarizing why meat is bad for the animals. I would maybe incorporate my infographic and animation into the site by focusing the infographic on one aspect of my site, and focusing my animation on another aspect of my site and placing each on the page they relate with.

Here’s some more info on my proposed topic- Meet the Real Meat Industry

Capstone Project Proposal – DUI Costs and Effects

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My capstone project will address the issues of driving while under the influence. I will achieve this through two different media objects, the first of which will be an infographic. The infographic, rather than focusing on the number of fatalities, or the number of arrests for DUI’s, I will focus on the financial costs that can come from a single DUI. I will break down the cost for each fine someone would face in the DUI legal process, while also comparing it to things of similar expenses, such as cars, electronics, vacations, etc. In the end, I will evaluate the final cost to the cost of a cab, Uber, and Lyft ride home and close out with a call to action to save yourself some money, call a cab. With the infographic, I hope to make it clear that in addition to potential loss of life, other significant impacts can affect one’s life after a DUI.
The second media object will be a video remix. I will take video footage of police talking about the DUI process, from initial arrest to booking and so forth. I will also add in police talking about their thoughts on DUI’s, and experiences that they have had. The video remix should give an inside view on DUI arrests, along with a professional opinion on them.
With the blend of both civilian and monetary costs, and police perspective I will be able to give a balanced and informative view on why one should avoid driving while under the influence.

Capstone Project Proposal – Impact of 9/11 on the United States

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Capstone Project- 9/11 & Terrorism
My capstone project will focus on the impact of 9/11 on the United States, as well as how this impact changed over time. Following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon, the United States rapidly implemented several anti-immigration security measures. These actions appeared to have been out of fear, as the country recoiled from the single greatest terrorist attack in human history. The attack, commonly called 9/11, also represented the single greatest loss of life of firefighters and police officers. The two methods of information delivery that will be used for this topic are the infographic and video remix. The infographic’s main purpose will be to deliver the core facts about the subject. How many lives were lost, the laws put in place afterwards, and additional security measures taken at airports and other secure areas to limit any attacks like this in the future. The video remix will analyze not only how the attacks were allowed to happen, but also the motive behind them. The last portion of the video will analyze how the US has developed over 17 years after the disastrous event. This final portion will connect the topic to the real world and critical topics of immigration laws, which are at the moment a major topic in the US. Part of this final analysis will examine current immigration laws, while the other portion will inspect possible laws put into place in the future. A final scene, a common image when depicting 9/11, a set of firemen re-posting the American flag over the rubble of the Twin Towers, will be used as well, tying the topic not to a fight against immigration, but the unity of America against people who would seek to destroy it.