Jacob Bowman

Rhetorical situations are what a person thinks. Anything can be a rhetorical situation and everything is a rhetorical situation. It's how you wish you to communicate and includes the writer, reader, text, and medium. The way I would explain a rhetorical analysis to a friend is by breaking down the piece you are analyzing. You have to articulate how the author writes, rather than what they actually wrote. Your analysis will answer questions like, who is your audience, the purpose of your writing, and what is the tone or your writing. You try to determine what the writer is trying to achieve, and what writing strategies they plan on using to try to achieve it.
When writing online it is key to use ethos, pathos, and logos. They are used to convince your audience by using persuasion. I believe Pathos is preferred to the reader because pathos is an appeal to emotion and convinces the reader by using an emotional argument. Pathos is how you get a reader to understand the way you are feeling or what you show emotion to, without actually being in contact. If the reader understands the feelings and emotions of the author there is going to be a connection and more interest in the writing. Therefore, I believe pathos is the most effective.

Kairos refers to the time and/or place, the right time to say or do the right thing. Some modern concerns I see with web blogs are the availability they are to the public. With this availability comes my concerns with the appropriate context in these blogs, the factual information; whether or not what they are preaching is correct or not, and the carelessness of these peoples writings. I believe web blogs can be very helpful as well as entertaining. Therefore, I agree with them I just simply wish people were smarter when posting some of these blogs. Blogs can help your reputation but are more known for ruining your reputation. People need to understand that once you post something that post will forever be there no matter how hard you try to get rid of it.
I think the importance of voyeurism to how we understand writing and reading is that
not everything is always real. TV, or reality TV is a prime example because of how real it portrays itself to be but how fake in reality it is. You can't relate to something or learn something if it is not correct and just because you see or read something does not mean it is right.
1) What is voyeurism by itself?
2) What are the benefits of web blogging?
3) Why is kairos so important when writing blogs?

Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids, created by Bob Weber Jr. is a comic strip shown in the Sunday and Monday newspaper. Skylock Fox is a logic puzzle that is presented in a single panel in the newspaper. “Slylock, an anthropomorphic fox detective, is constantly matching wits against a variety of criminals, including Count Weirdly, Shady Shrew and Slick Smitty. The characters typically do not speak. Instead, an omniscient narrator informs the reader of a problem Slylock must solve.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slylock_Fox_%26_Comics_for_Kids
In these comics you must figure the solution, which is printed upside down, through simple logic and visual clues. Skylock has a sidekick, Max Mouse who often comes to false conclusions only to be corrected by Skylock. Other than these two, there are a variety of characters that are usually only seen once. This is because; Slylock’s world consists of a varied cast of witnesses, victims, police and criminals creating an easy scene to be created by the author. Slylock Fox For Kids appears in nearly 400 newspapers with a combined readership of over 30 million.
The ideal audience for this comic is for younger children with the ability to use logic and who have experience. When observing the cartoon comic you see simple colors and characters in which kids can easily observe and depict the character. The comic consists of puzzles, quizzes, how to draw demonstration, and similar fun activities used to appeal to the target audience. They contain plenty of jokes as well, to attract kids and keep them coming back. When looking at this comic I see a fun, easy to read, appropriate comic for a child to read and mentally challenge himself, perfect for a parent to show to their child.
The audience I’d say targeted for this comic is children from the age of 6-12. They have not yet had the experience or education of the average adult so this comic can be challenging enough for the child to be tested but also enjoy it. For the average adult this comic might seem childish and easy when it comes to the some of the activities. The audience for the regular newspaper usually is for average working American families. This comic is perfect comic for a parent to show their kids to be tested and enjoy, making it a perfect Sunday or Monday morning activity.
A claim for how this comic works with the audience is the simple fun cartoon and illustrations used. When looking at a comic you are attracted to something you seem interested in and Slylock Fox is definitely one that catches the eye when looking at the newspaper. When I was younger I had the experience of reading this comic with my dad almost every Sunday. With this, I can make the claim that this comic is a fun and family oriented activity that is presented to children.

Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids, created by Bob Weber Jr. is a comic strip shown in the Sunday and Monday newspaper and also a very popular web comic. Skylock Fox is a logic puzzle that is presented in a single panel. The Slylock Fox feature is not, strictly speaking, comics, in that it doesn't tell a story in a sequence of panels. It consists of puzzles, quizzes, how-to-draw demonstrations, and similar things, all designed to exercise the readers' mental and observational abilities, and illustrated with clear, simple pictures designed to appeal to the target audience. “Slylock, an anthropomorphic fox detective, is constantly matching wits against a variety of criminals, including Count Weirdly, Shady Shrew and Slick Smitty. The characters typically do not speak. Instead, an omniscient narrator informs the reader of a problem Slylock must solve” (Wikipedia). “The security alarm is ringing because one of these library patrons is exiting with a book that was not checked out. Which book does Slylock the Fox suspect is triggering the alarm?” (Weber 212). This points out how the comic speaks to the reader unlike most. Here we see the simple, texted question asked with a picture for the reader to solve himself.
The ideal audience for this comic is for younger children with the ability to use logic and who have experience. The cartoon comic you displays colors and characters in which kids can easily observe that depict the character. They contain plenty of jokes as well, to attract kids and keep them coming back. When looking at this comic I see a fun, easy to read, appropriate comic for children to read and mentally challenge themselves, perfect for a parent to show to their child.
My hypothesis of the target audience is that since these comics are fun, simple, and challenging for a simple minded child then the ages meant for this comic are between the ages of six and twelve. They have not yet had the experience or education of the average adult so this comic can be challenging enough for the child to be tested as well as enjoy it. Their interests include the Internet, reading, games, and basically all things children enjoy doing in their free time. For the average adult this comic might seem childish and easy when it comes to the some of the activities.
A claim for how this comic works with the audience is the simple fun cartoon and illustrations used. In this comic you are attracted to something you seem interested in and Slylock Fox is definitely one that catches the eye when looking at the newspaper and on the Internet.

In this Q&A, Obama was bombarded by questions of his current time in office where they talked about healthcare, unemployment and the US deficit. The people questioning Obama seemed pointed out Obamas false statements where he promised in the beginning of his presidency. The tones of the speakers seemed to be forceful and threatening to Obama to make his feel pressured. Throughout the video, the republicans used logos by using factual information and numbers to stump or prove wrong Obama. What I seemed to notice about this Q&A was who they seemed to never mention what Obama did do to improve the economy and what changes he implemented that were beneficial to the people.Logos is also used by Obama to disprove or support his points when arguing with the politicians. This was Q&A was favored for the republicans to sway their side and make Obama look bad. Not only do the politicians use logos but they also use pathos to help persuade the audience of Obama's faults.An example is when the speaker, Jeb brought up how his children and his generation are going to have to deal with the dept. that is being pressured on them because of failure of Obama. The speakers also used pathos by relating to all americans and appealing to their emotions.

In waltor Ong's argument, he says how literacy has a norm and if you are not with the norm and fall behind you are considered illiterate. He states how this is especially true in more advanced countries where they're form of the norm is is higher. "Literacy is imperious. It tends to arrogate to itself supreme power by taking itself as normative for human expression and thought."(Ong 23)Ong also says how the word illiterate is said to be a harsh word because depending on the country and their advancements they aren't taught literacy the same. I got out of this that literacy is isn't just understanding a thought but is processing those thoughts into a different form of communication. Literacy has made us into the high-technological culture we are today.

Gee's definition of literacy mainly revolves around the word discourse. He says that a discourse is a "socially accepted association among ways of using a language, of thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or social network." He explains discourse as an identity kit which describes you and tell you who you are. gee also explains the difference between learning and acquisition and how acquisition is using trial and error and also experience where as, learning is understanding something by breaking it down.

I would say my view on literacy has changed after reading Gees definition. I do agree with how he related it to a discourse and how it helps define us by the certain roles in society that we are involved in. I see literacy as much more than what I used to think and I believe it will help me become more literate and less illiterate.

What are the Psychological and social factors influencing motorcycle rider intentions and behaviour
Source One
Report, Atsb Research And Analysis. "Psychological and Social Factors Influencing Motorcycle Rider Intentions and Behaviour." (n.d.): n. pag. Psychological and Social Factors Influencing Motorcycle Rider Intentions and Behavi. Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 7 Aug. 2007. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. Retrived from: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/9103/1/road_rgr_200704.pdf


This source discusses my topic Cleary and fully, for the title is the question that I am asking. It first gives an introduction about what high risk riding is and the rationale for this research. It then discusses the rise of motorcycle riding and profiles such as, gender, age, predictors of motorcycle use, and the structure of motorcycling. It gives characteristics of motorcycle crashes including: speed, alcohol, road conditions, crash types, common rider errors, and injuries, It gives theoretical perspectives applicable to motorcyclists which includes: their theories of action and behavior. It explores riders opinion to safe and risky driving. It asks many questions which will help in my research and give me answers to the questions that I may have or include in my paper. Lastly this source goes into detail of the riders intentions and behavior so more of the psychological side. It talks about psychological factors of the riders and the relationships between rider and crashes and traffic.


Source Two

MBA, Learnersupport. Psychology Disciplines and Motorcycle Riding: Where to Next? (n.d.): n. pag. Psychology Disciplines and Motorcycle Riding: Where to Next? J. Paul Rand. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.riding4right.org/uploads/Psychology_Disciplines_and_Motorcycle_Riding.pdf

In this article, it talks about the psychology disciplines and where motorcycle riding is predicted to go next. It talks about social psychology and seeks to understand group responses in general to specific events. It gives direction for specific research to better understand the social psychological stigma of the American motorcycle rider, versus the cognitive-dissonance expressed by riders aware of such stigma, yet still motivated by the incorrect presumptions. Life span development is also discussed in this article. This goes into detail of the experience of the riders and the stage theories. The difference of age and speed is also talked about with the common social perception of crusier riders versus high performance riders. Physiological aspects as well as, cognitive and affective, and personality of riders are included in this article.

Source Three

Oxford, Caemen. "Thread: The Psychology Around Motorcycles." The Psychology Around Motorcycles. Chad Wilson, 17 July 2007. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.beginnerbikers.org/showthread.php?13055-The-Psychology-Around-Motorcycles

In this blog, caeman the author doesn’t talk about the psychology of the rider but rather the motorcycles in general. It is the object itself, the inspiration it provides to rider and viewer alike. Some examples in which he included were, the biker wave, and the conversation that the mototorcycle brings up with other riders. He discusses how a motorcycle makes people more approachable. “It is not very often that I see a person go, "Nice car" when they pass by my Hyundai Accent, but my Lil' Ninja has gotten many a lustful stare and a few, "nice bike" comments. The motorcycle is like Viagra for the social soul.” (Caeman)

Source Four:

Snell, Emily. "Lipscomb University's Official Student News Service | Created by the Department of Communication and Journalism." Psychology Professors Turn Motorcycles into Therapy. Lumination Network, 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.luminationnetwork.com/2012/02/06/psychology-professors-turn-motorcycles-into-therapy/

In this blog, a psychology professor talks about motorcycles is a therapy. This blog simply would help me get peoples views on motorcycles and why it helps them cope with their daily lives. “More than half of the professors in the psychology department ride motorcycles, and those in the department who don’t ride enjoy teasing those who do.” (Snell) This blog simply talks about why people have them and how it helps them.

Source Five:

Özkan, Türker. "Motorcycle Accidents, Rider Behaviour, and Psychological Models." Motorcycle Accidents, Rider Behaviour, and Psychological Models. Middle East Technical University, 7 July 31. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457511000601

In this source, it discusses motorcycle accidents, rider behavior, and phycholigcal models. Similar to the first source. Some of the topics he writes about are the reasons model of aberrant driver behavior, background factors, motorcycle rider behavior, and accidents and its factors. He also gives models to show both the theory of planned behavior and health belief model, as well as locus of control.


The psychological and social factors influencing motorcycle rider intentions and behavior give reason to motorcycle riders. By looking at this information we can see the demographic of individuals and look into why they ride motorcycles. Me being a motorcycle rider myself believe that some people are not cut out to ride a motorcycle but I also am against the regular stigma of motorcycle riders and how their dangerous, I think just the opposite. The sources I have researched talk much about both the social and psychological factors influencing motorcycle riders intentions and behaviors.