Nursing Your Sweet Tooth: A fantastic and effective infographic on America's consumption of sugar

Sugar; who doesn't love it? Virtually every individual in the world has a sweet tooth. In my case, I have a problem with consuming a great deal of sugary drinks, mostly caffeinated drinks. This image certainly hit home because of the message it was sending. The infographic is produced by a website which has a nursing program. The infographic itself provides a multitude of sources from respectable outlets and institutions. Incredibly startling statistics are provided by the infographic. Consumption of sugar has increased exponentially in America since 1822. The average American had consumed 42g of sugar in 1822, that is equivalent to only one can of soda in today's terms. The images provided show huge quantities of sugars in comparison to measly amounts from the past. This contrast really provides a perspective on how outrageous sugar consumption is today. The infographic's effect peaks at the end, where sugar is compared to be more addictive than cocaine. This suggests that America is hooked onto something more addictive than a hard drug, quite astounding. The appeal to emotions(pathos) is incredibly prevalent in this piece, as every statistic is really shocking. This causes the audience to question their daily consumption.  The infographic had an extremely profound effect on me, and had caused me to question my daily consumption of sugary drinks. Just looking at the list of complications caused by too much sugar caused me to cringe. The intended effect of this infographic was certainly felt.
Source: http://images.onlinenursingprograms.com.s3.amazonaws.com/nursing-your-sweet-tooth.jpg

iPhone 5: David Pogue's Take

The iPhone is a product which has seemed to be unsurpassed in popularity. As the new iteration of the iPhone arrives, iPhone 5, people are eager to see how it performs. In this text, David Pogue, a well-respected technology columnist for the New York Times evaluates the iPhone 5 and provides his perspective on the new device. Pogue is an emmy award winning technology expert for CBS news and has been writing for the New York Times since 2000. In his review, he gives the iPhone 5 high marks, but knocks it for the new lightning port which requires an adapter to function with older technology. Pogue's peice is full of rhetoric, which creates a solid review and really accomplishes its intended purpose of allowing the reader to evaluate the iPhone. In his review, Pogue provided many images/graphics to illustrate his points and support his opinion. These images furthered my understanding of his points. Additionally, Pogue utilizes a theoretical situation, of an "iPhone 101" which is also an extended metaphor. This metaphor served to refer to the iPhone's success as a class, a set formula and the new iphone was evaluated to see how it fit in with that formula.  It also could be considered a brief anecdote around which the review is structured. I believe that this metaphor really made the review successful, as I could connect with it, and the reasoning behind his opinion.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/technology/personaltech/apples-iphone-5-scores-well-with-a-quibble-review.html?pagewanted=all

Custom Organs: The new age of science.

   The human body is miraculous in so many ways, but even sometimes the incredible human body fails. In many situations, organs simply stop functioning, leaving individuals in very dangerous life-threatening situations. Often, these individuals are left with no options, although some modern inventions had been successful, such as the Jarvik artificial heart. But, these are simply machines. Scientists have now created something, that almost looks as if it is out of a scifi film, healthy organs created out of human's own cells. This is all created by the adult stem cells, which are extremely successful at rebuilding tissues. The stem cells build off of minute fibers called scaffolding. This technology is still extremely experimental and is costly. But, it could prove to be the a savior for millions in the future. This article is from the New York Times and is written by their science columnist, Henry Fountain. This article was mostly written to explain how technology is advancing and to show another use of stem cells and was meant for the typical reader of the New York Times. The author mentions a few examples of situations in which the technology has benefited individuals and refers to interviews conducted with scientists and recipients of the new science. The purpose was certainly portrayed and sent strongly. I gained an understanding of the new technology that has evolved and also understood how important it would be in the future. This, in my belief, was the purpose of the article, and the inclusion of the interviews with scientists and the recipients reinforced my understanding.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/health/research/scientists-make-progress-in-tailor-made-organs.html?_r=1