#schoolrequirement

What I have learnt

“Roadrunners and Sugo express”, the name of our proposed project. This business is about providing a service to the people in Valencia City, Bukdinon, for those who are struggling for transportation especially in this time of pandemic and is also intended for people who wished to commute in a faster and safer way. The sugo express is an extra service for people who would like to buy some things but do not wished to go out. This was presented during the pitching, and luckily, we had a smooth presentation. We didn’t get a lot of questions and received an advice to focus on the view of the drivers regarding this proposal.

WEEK TWO

Last September 4, 2019 we attended a business literacy seminar called “Transforming Mindset towards Business Innovation” it was all about how businesses work.

Business as we all know is all about risk taking. To be successful you need to be open for changes, failures and opportunities. We have heard different stories from successful entrepreneurs, that in order for you to be successful you need to love everything that you do including your business.

Another thing that I have learned while listening to their stories is that you need to keep thinking on what is the next thing to improve in your business, do not settle for less because in the long run your business will fail if you do. Creativity also plays a vital role in running a business since people nowadays kept looking for more, something that is new to them.

During our class, in connection with what happened in our business literacy seminar our instructor gave us some ideas to help us improve our business idea in the future. She said we need to validate our ideas to see if other people are experiencing it too or not, or if it can solve our problem or not.

Form: Commentary “Media Need Not Look Far to Explain Reasons for Racial Angst”

 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dori-j-maynard/media-need-not-look-far-t_b_3709314.html)

(1) This is article is written by Dori J. Maynard and originally published for The Oakland Tribune. It was written for the purpose of opening America’s eyes to the inequality that still exists in society today. (2) The target audience for this are the Americans, especially those involved in the media who are probably ranging from teenagers to adults. This is suggested in the context of the article. It mentions television stations like CBS and people like Obama.

(3) The article mentions features like Time magazine's recent Father's Day feature that failed to include men of color. It also states more examples wherein there have been lapses in the treatment of these people. The author expresses her opinions about this issue that has been surrounding America for a very long time. She says that it is time for change. (4) I think hidden within the article, is the message that people haven’t changed ever since people of color arrived in America. Slavery may have been abolished and segregation may have been outlawed but, people are still discriminating people of color. This may have been caused by the wrong interpretation of these people by the media. They usually portray people of color as the “bad guys” in society. If not, the only positive side they show is the brawn of these people. As stated by Maynard, “To tell the stories of communities of color, we're relying increasingly on people who may have little or no knowledge about them.”

(5) It shows the lifestyle of the Americans today. It shows how the media is shaping the wrong values among them. (6) I think the author used the Slippery Slope fallacy, saying that people should start with themselves in order to make a difference in society today. With regards to the rhetorical appeals used, I think Ethos and Pathos were used. I think Ethos was used because Maynard is “the president of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, the oldest organization dedicated to helping the nation's news media accurately and fairly portray all segments of our society.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dori-j-maynard/) In addition, I think Pathos was used because the article mentioned the news concerned about the shooting of Trayvon Martin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin), which sparked protests in the US regarding the arrest of the shooter, George Zimmerman. (7) The positive message shown in this commentary is that people like the author, still strive to make a change and stop discrimination in society. This is important especially in their country, wherein a big chunk of the population is made up of people of color. The negative message in this article is the part wherein the media is set in a bad light. I think they are set like this in the article because of the way they portray people of color. They usually don’t tell the whole story, and the public pays the price. They do not show all the angles that exist. They do not show much of the positive things that are done by these people.

(8) This article empowers the people of America the whole picture. They shouldn’t just accept what the media feeds to them. They should not be judgmental of others and should stop discriminating other people. However, this article disempowers the media. They should always report without bias. They should let the people know what is really happening, not only the parts that they want the public to know. They should stop instilling the wrong values to the people. Instead, they should shape the proper morals of the people, especially the youth.

(9) I think the part of the story not being told is how the people of color feel about this. Are they used to it? Or do they have a specific change in mind? This article is with regard to people abroad, so I think it is hard to obtain more information about this. But I think a reputable source for this information would be the people themselves. (10) I think my conscious awareness of the motives and purposes of this media sample affected my initial understanding by letting me be neutral about this article. I think my sentiments weren’t altered too much, because the title gave me an idea about the content of the text.

Form: Tropicana Fruit Burst Commercial “Feeling Sexy” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O67dO3dAxLY)

For my first log entry, I am going to use the commercial entitled “Feeling Sexy”, a Tropicana Fruit Burst ad featuring John Lloyd Cruz. It is created by DDB Philippines for PepsiCo. I chose this because I think it tackles body image in the media today.  I think the target audience for this commercial are Filipinos who are concerned about how they look; most probably teenagers to young adults ranging from 16-25. It is shown in the commercial by the language used, which is similar to what the youth uses today, and the actors look like young adults as well. The inclusion of John Lloyd Cruz in this commercial also suggests the target market.

 As the commercial starts, we would see two friends hanging by the pool, both wearing revealing swimsuits. One of the girls is tall and slim, while the other is somewhat curvier. The slim girl compliments the curvy girl that she looks “sexy” in her swimsuit that day. The curvy girl responds that her secret to being “sexy” is a certain juice drink that claims to have ingredients that burns fat. (Probably L-Carnitine, a certain additive added to a rival juice drink) After the revelation, John Lloyd appears in the pool and shows the fine print on the bottle of the juice that she is drinking, “with proper diet and exercise”; He then shows her the Tropicana Fruit Burst drink and said the tagline, “The Fruity Truth.” I think the unsated meaning is that, people who want to lose weight should not rely on these drinks. They should still exercise and eat a proper diet. I think it takes a hit on false advertising, where in the whole truth isn’t told.

 The tool of persuasion used here is Misleading Analogy or Faulty Comparison. I think the products were not compared in a fair manner because somehow, they are two different kinds of drinks; the first one is marketed as a drink to aid in losing weight, while the latter is promoted to have fruit bits, similar to pulp. I think the positive message presented is the way the curvy girl is confident about herself, even though what she is wearing is a bit unflattering. I think the negative message presented is that nobody tells her that what she is wearing is a bit unflattering. Actually, I think it is a positive and negative message because maybe, the friends just don’t want to hurt her feelings.

 The commercial empowers people who are not in the best shape, like the curvy girl, it shows that even though you are not as slim as the girls that society wants you to be, you could still be confident about yourself. In a way, the same group of people are disempowered in this commercial, because the people who tend to believe that drinks can make you slim are usually the ones who are curvier. I think the part of the story that is not being told is why the product, Tropicana Fruit Burst is compared with the other product. Like what I said previously, for me, they do not fall under the same drinks category. I gathered some information while searching on the internet and by listening to other people’s opinions.

 My conscious awareness of the motives and purposes of this media sample did not really affect or alter my initial understanding of and sentiments toward this particular text because I think the message was presented clear enough in the commercial. I think this time, I just analysed the message being transmitted even further.

In totality, I think in the media today, body image has become a big issue. Through all the media being shown to us, sometimes, it is dictates to us the body image that is considered “beautiful”. Society accepts this, so, in a way we feel that we should comply. I think now would be a good time for change. 

The New Year has just arrived and so as the firecrackers. Wanting to strike the 2014 with a bit of noise, Filipinos still use firecrackers even if the government warned them about the complications. The result? As of January 3, the Department of Health (DOH) had already tallied 933 injuries nationwide caused either by firecrackers or stray bullets during the holiday revelry, which the DOH traditionally measures from December 21 to January 5.

Seemingly the injuries are getting higher and higher knowing that the number of injuries has already exceeded last year’s tally of 931 with two more days to go, the notorious firecracker “piccolo”, which is being banned year after year, still the number one affecting the vast majority’s body parts.

Every year, since the piccolo existed, the Department of Health is making its way to warn the public about the hazardous effects of firecrackers especially piccolo, maintaining their annual anti-firecracker campaign--- anchored by DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag’s with-a-purpose dance. Somewhere, somehow, the DOH campaign remains effective, decreasing the number of minors who were injured compared to last year’s incidents. But, the real situation is undeniably appearing after Tayag declared a surprising increase of 29 percent in the over-all injuries.

One should instill to their minds that firecrackers are threats to human life, menace to health, and an indication of danger to the environment. According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ reports, Metro Manila’s air had been recorded with unnaturally high levels of particulate matter on New Year’s Eve; the toxic particles, sulfur and heavy metals the firecrackers and fireworks released are harmful to the lungs. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said that the average reading of 1,437 ug/Ncm (micrograms per normal cubic meter of air) was three times higher than 2013’s average reading of 537 ug/Ncm.

Also, maybe concealed to the majority’s minds, firecrackers have negative effects to the environment. First reason is that firecrackers certainly add the loads of our garbage bags. Second, it amplify the noise pollution in the city because of the powerful sounds it produce. Third, the chemical contents of it are retrograding the air.

After the frustrating results of year to year’s tallies on the injuries caused by firecrackers and stray bullets, the government has arrived with the realization that firecrackers should be in a total ban. If cities such as Davao can enforce it, there is no reason this cannot be done elsewhere—particularly in Metro Manila. There is, after all, already a law against this and that is “Republic Act No. 7183” seeks to “regulate and control” the making and selling of firecrackers and fireworks “in furtherance of public safety.”

Moreover, there are other promising suggestions that the government has. One of which was the idea of Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma to designate community fireworks areas as the only places where one can legally use firecrackers, something that similar of a bill filed in the Senate by Senator Miriam Santiago.

On the other hand, indiscriminate fire guns are also tackled in the issue of New Year revelry despite the fact that we have laws for gun ban. In the celebration of the start of 2014, synchronous with the burst of firecrackers, stray bullets have come to find its way to harm people. This year saw 17 persons hit by stray bullets, including two tragic fatalities, both young children with the youngest being three-month-old Von Alexander Llagas.

The incident happened when Llagas was sleeping in the noise of December 31 in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur. As he was deeply asleep, a stray bullet penetrated the roof and shot him in the head. The baby was rushed to the hospital but then the doctor declared “dead on arrival”. The Ilocos Sur police have formed a task force to find the delinquent but it seems that the case is stacked in a heavy traffic.

Unfortunately, stray bullet seems to be in a strayed case. Knowing that those are “strays”, the perpetrators will be strange. But then, the Philippine National Police must take actions to annihilate such cases especially now that it is severely increasing. They should do more than displaying their calibrated guns on their hip’s side. Furthermore, much penalties must be imposed and heavy punishment must be implemented to those who fire their gun up into the air because they can.