This question broken down into smaller critical questions will make me examine  how the organization SAHARA conducts their research. How they go about presenting their research to the general public. What they do with the research with regards to people actually living with the disease.

Then I will have to look at other organizations whom supply research and aid to developing nations struggling to fighting the epidemic, and do similar research. By doing so I will get a general idea of whether or not SAHARA’s approach is more successful than other organizations that I have researched.To start my research I will begin  examining some of SAHARA’s global organization partners, and then move on from there.

The first site I was drawn to is USAID (United States Agency for International Development), because my Father works for them, and I have worked for them under a summer hire program, therefore am already fairly familiar with the type of projects they do. And although they have a multitude of projects ranging from water treatment, environmental, to education, all over the world, I will be focusing on their specific projects fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

My target audience is anyone who is interested about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with a focus on African nations, and what is being done by global organizations and other nations to help. So this site is credible and relevant, largely because my audience will be Americans and USAID is a government organization.

The Purpose of SAHARA (their mission statement):  SAHARA is a vehicle for facilitating the sharing of research expertise and sharing knowledge, and for conducting  multi-site, multi-country research projects that are intervention based with the explicit aim of generating new social science evidence for prevention, care, and impact mitigation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. SAHARA brings together key partners (civil society, donors and international organizations, researchers, policy makers, and people living with HIV and AIDS to influence policy and responses through the production and dissemination of evidence-based research on the social aspects of HIV/AIDS.

SAHARA not just a journal but and organization that is active throughout much of Africa,  working with over 27 African nations, then documenting their research.  The writers and editors of the journal are all professors or doctors in the fields related to the subjects being researched.  This journals ethos is formed not only by the number of qualified professionals on their staff, but by their large number of partners, both individuals and well know global organizations. Some of these better known organizations are UNICEF, UNAIDS, USAID, and Family Health International, these are only few of many.

The readers of this journal may vary, but I can see the largest audience being those who are also working to created prevention methods and to better the lives if those living with HIV/AIDS in developing nations. This journal can be found in English and in French, which is largely due to the large number of West African nations that SAHARAH works with, so by having the journal in two languages they broadened their audience viewers.

This ad is one of many risqué ads that have been created by the Canadian “One Life” campaign on HIV/AIDs awareness and prevention. You can find this campaign at  www.areyouatrisk.ca .In order to ‘join the cause’ of this campaign you have to be Canadian, however,  these ads, thanks to the internet and magazines, have circulated outside of Canada.

This ad, like the others included in the campaign, features a couple embraced (passionately) with other unseen persons arms also tangled up in the embrace. With large, but not overpowering text that looks like a stamp, that says:

The way the text is positioned on the ad like its been stamped there, creates the feeling of a ‘stamp’ of approval, or urgency. It did surprise me a bit that the text was not in red, the color that is most commonly tied to HIV/AIDs awareness. But I think by choosing white, it is the picture that you see first, it was wise however to have the “stamped” look, because it is very official looking, and less likely to be overlooked. Your eyes travel down to the text as you follow the number of hands that are groping the woman’s back, and the ad is itself is so different from what you would normally come across that you almost WANT to read more into it, the text gives you the explanation needed.

Ethos: Created by the official looking stamp in the bottom right corner. The fact that most companies would not put out such a risqué ad if they were not credible, and passionate about the cause. The small red logo of the campaign in the top left, signifies that the message they are pushing is more important than their brand or company, as it is not the main focus.

Pathos: This is a shocking ad, if you were just flipping through a magazine and came across this ad, the likelihood that it would grab your attention is very high. This ad is designed to make you think twice about your actions, and to promote safe sexual behavior.

Logos: I think that this is one of the more effective ads out there promoting HIV/AIDs awareness. So many ads sugar coat the disease, or make it seem that it is not something that is going to happen to you, that it only really affects people in developing nations. This ad however, taking place in a nice apartment or home, using, a “well to do, attractive” couple brings in the reality that HIV is very much present in Canada and other developing countries. Also by putting out an ad like this helps bring not only more awareness into the culture but to help try to abolish the stigma associated with the disease, in hopes that people will be more inclined, if sexually active, to get tested.

Heather Bell’s poem expresses what few see in such a seemingly beautiful painting, the helplessness felt by one, is the power and control felt by another. “When he shows the painting to his friends, they say he must be the most romantic man in the world and she nods. And the man in the painting pushes the woman down further, flows into her, gold and angry, and her eyes are shut and they do not look clenched and this is puzzling, but no one else seems to notice.” A beautiful portrayal of domestic violence.

Exigence for Heath Bell’s poem: The urgent need would be for inform the public of the very negative message that is shown, ever so discreetly, in this painting. By pointing out this alternative viewpoint, one can hope  to persuade others to take a deeper look into the painting, as opposed to just seeing the initial beauty.

Although this article does not say right out front that this is the only way to camp, the underlying tones are that once you try it, you will soon notice what a difference you are making, even if just visually. Leave No Trace camping means ”… to foster a personal ethic of care for the environment; to heighten awareness…of the individual’s and society’s impacts on the global ecosystem.”  By having quotations from the  participants in this seventeen day NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) trip,  you can gauge the true impact that this practice leaves on someone. The range of ability in this LNT expedition encompasses everything from first-timers to extremists, yet each seems to feel the true importance of LNT and its necessary  spread among outdoor explorers of all levels.

“Not leaving anything, not even a little square of TP – it’s more than maintaining ecological and aesthetic pureness here,” explains Sussex [a leader on the trip]. “It’s a starting point for thinking about the consequences of our lifestyle, and considering the little things we can all do back home to make our lifestyle more sustainable.”  This was a brand new starting point for many of the five students on the trip, and as Hinckley [a student on the trip] said, ”The group’s 17-day accumulation of trash and garbage – packaging, food scraps, and yes, even coffee grounds – amounted to less than a half duffel bag. ‘That’s everything we haven’t left, burned, or buried anything.” This small amount of trash that gathered, is nothing when split up to pack-out between the seven people in this group, however if LNT was not being put to use, would be enough trash to ruin the beauty of a campsite for many to come.

This article pushed, not for direct action, but rather for awareness that there are better, more sustainable ways to inhabit the outdoors. That the best way to camp is to only leave footprints behind.

http://arctic.fws.gov/notrace.htm

Speaker: The speaker for the rhetorical situation in this clip is Bobby Baily, the co-founder/filmmaker for Invisible Children. Standing strong with 500 other members behind him on their 2009 movement called the Rescue, in Chicago on Oprah’s show.

Oprah is the other speaker in this clip, in response to the rhetorical situation, that was literally standing outside on her doorstep.

Audience: The American public, of all ages but the movement is mainly aimed a this generation of teens and young adults. However having their message broadcasted live on Oprah, Invisible Children is getting its issue to a larger range of the populous.  “Oprah’s audience is predominantly female, white, and over the age of 55. Nationally 7.4 million people watch Oprah daily — about 2.6% of American households. Four percent of American women (about 5.7 million) watch her daily, compared with 1.2% of men (1.7 million people). Overall, 2% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watch Oprah.”- Breaking Down Oprah’s Numbers by NBC/NJ’s Aswani Anburajan

Ethos: On the Invisible Children website, they have a list of their supporters and other philanthropist groups that they work with. Another way that the group created credibility in the clip, was sheer numbers, claiming that their Rescue movement started worldwide with over 100,000 people, and that 500 were on spot. These numbers show that they have a following, and that they are addressing an issue that is of importance.  Moreover Invisible Children’s appearance on Oprah showed the world, that a largely watched figure in the American media, is backing their cause. When at 2:00 minutes into the clip Oprah says “This is a special situation that the world needs to know about”, tells the world that she is a big supporter of this cause.

Pathos: The emotional appeal in this rhetorical situation is Booby Baily’s talk of the horrific things that the people of Uganda especially children,  have been subjected to during twenty-three years of war. This group’s main appeal to the Pathos is their website though, which has first hand account videos of the situation in Uganda.

Logos: The idea to appeal to a figure as prominent in society as Oprah, knowing more people will take note of your cause if you do so.

4. How does Bitzer define a “genuinely rhetorical audience”?

Bitzer defines a genuinely rhetorical audience as “only those persons who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change.” (pg 8 )

7. In the case of the fisherman reference in Bitzer, how does the rhetorical situation put a constraint on the length of utterance? Why would a full sentence or paragraph or entire 1500 word theme not fit the fishermen’s rhetorical situation?

“Each utterance is essentially bound up with the context of situation and with the aim of the pursuit… The structure of all this linguistic material is inextricably mixed up with, and dependent upon the course of activity in which the utterances are embedded.” (pg 4) In the case of the fisherman, the use of full sentences or paragraphs do not fit their rhetorical situation, because they are nearly in full control of the situation at hand. Therefore, only brief and to the point utterances are necessary in order to mediate the completion of the fishermen actions in the story, such as  “Pull in”, “Let go”.  “The verbal responses to the demands imposed by this situation are clearly as functional and necessary as the physical response. (pg. 5)

8. Do you agree with Bitzer that neither scientific discourse (say a report on results of and experiment) nor poetic discourse can be deemed rhetorical because they neither require an audience to achieve their goals, nor are they intended to bring about change?

I do agree with Bitzer when he says that both scientific nor poetic discourse can be deemed rhetorical.  I agree with this because after exploring his explanation of the three constituents that make up a rhetorical situation, (exigence, audience, and constraints) scientific nor poetic discourse would fall properly into the categories. The two have an exigence which do not “require an audience to produce and end”. (pg 7) Therefore neither scientific discourse or poetic discourse can or should be considered a rhetorical situation.