Rhetoric and Civic Life | Morgan Malinich

16 hours have passed and you're still stuck on your flight. Your spouse is sound asleep by the window, while you have to listen to the guy next to you snore as loud as the PSU student section at a football game. Finally you hear the pilot announce that you will be landing in Beijing soon. After months of preparation, you and your spouse have made it. In the next couple hours you will have new identities: mom and dad. Adoption, more specifically international adoption, is a tough process for both parties. The soon-to-be parents must prepare a bedroom and clothing. The child must prepare for a new home, a new lifestyle. Being a parent is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world; not that I would know, but that's what I've heard. Picture of me and my mom when she first held me (PC:  Daphne Suzanne ) For my paradigm shift I want to research the changes made to international adoption; I want to focus primarily on adoption in China. When thinking of my topic, I starte...

Everyone knows about weird trends that occur in different cultures. These changes are called paradigm shifts. Paradigm shifts range from many different things: fashion, dance, even diets. One paradigm shift I can think of is cell phones. More specifically the size of cell phones. What makes a cell too small? Too big? At one point I can remember cell phones getting bigger and bigger eventually people looked like they were carrying mini tablets for cell phones. iPhones for example, looking an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 6 or even the 6+, the size increases tremendously. Now Apple has come out with the iPhone SE, which is about the same size as the old 5 version. Here is a short video of the evolution of cell phones. So what's the deal with all of the switching of phone size? The paradigm shift is an interesting one, because it is pretty recent in our history. With new technology there have been many more noticeable shifts seen through social media. For example, another paradigm...

What makes something average? More importantly what makes a speech average? Average is a word we use to describe something that is very basic. In school something that is average is usually graded in the C range. So how does one make that C into a B? How does one make B into an A? Connection probably the most important aspect of a speech. In order to connect with the audience the speaker must make eye contact with each person. This connection can go a long way with the success of the speech. No one wants to listen to a speech that they don't feel connected to. The audience must feel what the speaker is trying to convey through other physical means. A C speaker will utilize eye contact with moderation. Every once in while scanning the audience, but spending more time focused on their notes or on something other than their audience. This causes the audience to feel disconnectedness from the speaker. A B speaker will utilize eye contact much more often, referring to his, or her, ...