09.14.12

09.14.12 reportermag.com

1 DESIGNING SOCIETY A new breed of artists are combining form and function to solve sociological issues. Here’s how.

UNPLUGGED EDITOR IN CHIEF Alex Rogala | eic@reportermag.com MANAGING EDITOR Amber Wilson-Daeschlein | managing.editor@reportermag.com COPY EDITOR Nathaniel Mathews | copy.editor@reportermag.com NEWS EDITOR Peter LoVerso | news@reportermag.com LEISURE EDITOR Amber Wilson-Daeschlein | leisure@reportermag.com FEATURES EDITOR Steven Markowitz

TABLE OF CONTENTS 09.14.12 | VOLUME 62 | ISSUE 02

In August 2007, legendary musician Sir Elton John boldly declared that the internet was stifling creativity. “I think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span,” he stated.

John’s quote reoccurred to me while reading this week’s feature (see “Designing Society” on page 10). Five years later, I can’t help but wonder how his experiment may have gone. While the internet has revolutionized communication and collaboration, we are now constantly bombarded with information, and this has undoubtedly affected our happiness and productivity.

According to a 2009 statistic published in CNET, the average American spends 12 hours online a week. This constant access takes a toll; while we grow more accustomed to multitasking, according to a 2010 New York Times article, it actually makes us less efficient.

In recent years, some critics of this have pushed a “back to the basics” approach. This has led to the creation of utilities like “EyesRelax,” which forces computer users to take periodic breaks, and “Freedom,” which limits internet access. Through the use of physical restrictions, they help users impose limits where self-control fails them.

| features@reportermag.com SPORTS EDITOR Jeff McKinzie | views@reportermag.com VIEWS EDITOR Brett Slabaugh | views@reportermag.com WRITERS Nick Bovee, Kayla Emerson, Matthew Ferragamo, Amanda Imperial, Alex Rogala, Cadence Schwartz, Brett Slabaugh

ART

It’s worked for me. One of the best decisions I’ve made so far this year was to disable my phone’s email notifications. Ultimately, it had little negative effect on my ability to answer email in a timely manner. Free from the hostile glare of my phone’s notification LED, my stress has decreased markedly. And according to a UC Irvine study chronicled in the LA Times the other week, I’m not alone. When separated from their email for five days, participants exhibited low heartrate variability — indicative of less “fight or flight” stress.

There’s a world outside your computer; don’t forget it.

ART DIRECTOR Jon Lavalley | art.director@reportermag.com SENIOR STAFF DESIGNER Michelle Samules STAFF DESIGNERS Natalie Talis, Emily Levine PHOTO EDITOR Juan Madrid | photo@reportermag.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Jonathan Foster, Joshua Barber

Alex Rogala EDITOR IN CHIEF

STAFF ILLUSTRATOR Emily DuVault

First year Engineering Exploration major Susan Aikman learns to juggle with other first-timers at the weekly RIT Juggling Club meeting in the Fireside Lounge Monday, September 3. | photograph by Jonathan Foster

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Elisa Plance CARTOONIST Emily DuVault

BUSINESS

NEWS

4. News Desk

PUBLICITY MANAGER Anna Hazelwood

TE3 upgrades announced.

AD MANAGER Julia Morrow

14. Selling Satisfaction

Advertising tricks.

| ads@reportermag.com BUSINESS MANAGER Lia Hoffmann | business.manager@reportermag.com

LEISURE

SPORTS

9. At Your Leisure

17. “Skip” a Hit at Oldtime Game

Becky’s MechE techie.

PRODUCTION MANAGER Nicholas Gawreluk | production.manager@reportermag.com

7. Reviews

ONLINE PRODUCTION MANAGER Jake DeBoer | webmaster@reportermag.com

Games with ghosts and guns.

ADVISOR Rudy Pugliese

FEATURES

10. Designing Society

PRINTING Printing Applications Lab

When form and function meet.

CONTACT 1.800.970.5406

Please Recycle

Reporter Magazine is published weekly during the academic year by a staff comprised of students at Rochester Institute of Technology. Business, Editorial and Design facilities are located in Room A-730, in the lower level of the Campus Center. Our phone number is 1.585.475.2212. The Advertising Department can be reached at 1.585.475.2213. The opinions expressed in Reporter do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Letters to the Editor may also be sent to reporter@rit.edu. Man, our copy deparment really likes donuts. And I mean really. Reporter is not responsible for materials presented in advertising areas. No letters will be printed unless signed. All letters received become the property of Reporter. Reporter takes pride in its membership in the Associated Collegiate Press and American Civil Liberties Union. Copyright © 2012 Reporter Magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of this Magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.

RIT player becomes MVP at unique matchup.

VIEWS

18. Word on the Street

What’s your campaign slogan?

20. I’d Tap That

Will the water bottle ban make RIT greener?

21. Mind Bottling

Will the water bottle ban ultimately lead to unhealthy choices?

23. Rings

A thong-clad throng.

BEYOND THE BRICKS

FORECAST

by Amanda Imperial | illustration by Elisa Plance

compiled by Peter LoVerso

PHONE-HACKING SCANDAL INTENSIFIES One year after the discovery of a massive phone-hacking scandal, a key investigator revealed early last week that the hacking may have been much more extensive than originally thought.

Last summer, authorities alleged that journalists working for UK tabloid News of the World illegally accessed the voicemail accounts of hundreds of British citizens. On Tuesday, September 4, CNN reported that the number of likely victims has grown from 600 to more than 1,000, and the number of potential victims — including celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Paul McCartney — has grown by 3,700.

News of the World was shut down last summer as a result of the allegations. Its former editors, now jobless, have also been charged with illegal activity in the UK; they are set to appear in court later this month.

Authorities are also investigating the involvement of Rupert Murdoch, former CEO and Chairman of News Corporation and owner of nowdefunct tabloid. In July, he resigned as director of News International, relinquishing control of one of the world’s largest media conglomerates.

GENEVA PROSTITUTES BAND TOGETHER TO FORM UNION REFUGEES FLEE WAR-TORN SYRIA Over 100,000 citizens quit war-torn Syria this past August, fleeing one of the most violent months for the country since the rebellion began in March 2011. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have retreated to neighboring countries over the past year and a half, bringing the total number of refugees well over 230,000. The death toll for August was over 5,000, the highest for any month since the uprising began.

Protesters have relentlessly attacked Syrian President Bashar Assad and his lack of progress reinstating civil rights amid military crackdowns.

Once an unopposed candidate for the presidency, Assad is now being called upon to step down from his position.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has been allowed to step in and assist victims, but other countries have been warned by President Assad to remain neutral. A reconstruction plan has already been prepared, but Syria will be without financial stability or resources following the terror; and if a regime change is effected, then the reconstruction of the country will be entirely left in uncertainty.

Genevan sex workers are gathering together to unionize in an attempt to protect their rights. One hundred and fifty workers have decided to form a trade union and announced a general assembly this week to formalize the creation of the Syndicat des travailleuses et travailleurs du sexe (STTS).

“We have wanted for a long time to become an official body in the eyes of politicians and justice authorities,” a sex worker named Angelina stated in Swiss newspaper The Local. Angelina is a Colombian prostitute working in Switzerland who set out to create a better world for other sex workers. The union would fight for more prostitution-friendly laws, and work to change harmful ones. They want to cut down on competition from abroad, and to fight rent increases that the workers say border on abusive.

While prostitution is legal and regulated in Switzerland, sex workers face many challenges in their business, including health issues and financial burden. Between an extremely high-risk job and costs of more than $3,000 a month for a room, sex workers want the Swiss government to recognize their business and help support their endeavors for safe and affordable work. Proponents argue the union would help the 800 plus sex workers in Geneva.

PROVOST’S TOWN HALL MEETING University Gallery (UNI, 7A). 2 — 4 p.m.

Provost Haefner will be hosting an open forum to discuss RIT’s new Innovative Learning Institute. RIT members only.

Cost: Free.

GOLDEN STANDARD

Al Davis Room (SAU, 04). 10 p.m.— 2 a.m.

A dance party will be held in the SAU cafeteria to welcome back the AALANA community. Cost: $5.

PEDAL FOR PUSH 2012 Tiger Statue. All day.

Pi Kappa Phi fraternity will be raising awareness and funds for Push America. Come watch the brothers cycle for 120 hours to help this non-profit organization that helps those with disabilities. Cost: Free.

RESUME CRITIQUE

Barnes & Noble @ RIT. 12 — 2 p.m.

The Office of Co-Op and Career Services will be hosting a resume critique to help students prepare for the career fair!

Come for a personal 15-minute session with a staff member.

RIT students only, space limited. Cost: Free.

JPMORGANCHASE EMPLOYER PRESENTATION

Rooms 2220 and 2210, Slaughter Hall (SLA, 78). 6:30 — 8 p.m.

JPMorganChase will be coming on campus to introduce interested students to the company, and employment opportunities available. Cost: Free.

BIKE MAINTENANCE

Gleason Circle Bus Stop. 9 a.m. — 4 p.m.

RIT Cycling Club will be offering bike maintenance! Come get your bike tuned up or buy tools to do so yourself. Cost: Varies.

THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS LECTURE

Golisano Auditorium (GOL, 70). 6:30 — 8:30 p.m.

Yale Professor David Blight will discuss the impact and legacy of famed abolitionist and Rochesterian Frederick Douglass as part of an annual lecture series on his life. Cost: Free.

4 News | 09.14.12

SG UPDATE

by Cadence Schwartz

TE3 ROUTE REVISED During the Friday September 7 Student Government Senate meeting, Director of Parking and Transportation Randy Vercauteren presented updates on the Tiger East End Express (TE3) downtown bus route.

The pilot program, which began last January, has been expanded into two separately-funded routes on Saturday afternoon and evening. Both buses are run though the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority and are freely available to RIT students with an ID. The afternoon bus was established to better serve 18- to 20year–old students. It now incorporates earlier hours so students can visit some of the East End’s malls, restaurants, salons and spas. It begins its run at 12 p.m. on campus and will leave downtown for the last time at 6:16 p.m. The bus has five stops downtown, including the original Pitkin Street and East Avenue stop. It is smaller than the night bus and has enough room for 60 people.

The night bus starts at 10:30 p.m. on campus and leaves downtown for the last time at 2:15 a.m. It will service only the original East Avenue stop. This bus will remain the same size and has room for 95 people.

Both of these routes are temporary, and will be used until Saturday, December 15. RIT’s Parking and Transportation Services will then reassess if the routes match up with student preference, and either route may be changed or dropped completely. If there is a greater demand for a certain time on either route, another bus may be added to cover the overflow.

CORRECTION “Old and New Unite at Alumni XC Race,” which ran in the September 7 issue, incorrectly quoted fourth year Mechanical Engineering major Mike Krenzer as saying the weather was “a little warm.” Krenzer’s actual quote was, “It got pretty hot. Everyone was feeling it.”

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AT YOUR LEISURE STREAM OF FACTS

REPORTER RECOMMENDS: CAMSCANNER

LIMERICK

The “Quaker Man” man who graces Quaker It’s 3 a.m., and that cute guy from There once was a student in MechE OATMEAL packaging is not based on any Fundamentals of Warcraft totally needs a Who fancied himself a techie. historical figure; according to a Wall Street copy of your notes. The library is closed, and He stayed in the lab Journal article, employees simply refer to him there’s not an open scanner anywhere on Helping freshmen collab, as “Larry.” campus. What do you do?

And forgot his date with poor Becky.

In August, web cartoonist “The OATMEAL” “CamScanner” is a mobile app designed to launched a crowdsourced fundraising maximize your on-the-go scanning potential.

DEFINITION campaign in the hopes of turning While it uses your phone’s built-in camera, it Wardenclyffe, Nikola Tesla’s former lab, includes a basic suite of image editing tools NONPLUS v. - to cause to be at a loss as to what into a museum. The campaign reached its designed to significantly improve readability. to say, think or do. $850,000 goal in approximately six days; These range from basic brightness, contrast John was NONPLUSSED when, after failing to when matched with a New York state GRANT, and detail adjustments to a complex, show up to class even once, he still received the campaign raised at $1.7 million in under perspective-based cropping tool, which an “A.” a week. allows you to normalize scans taken from As a child, actor Cary GRANT’s father awkward angles. Multiple pages can then be Definition taken from http://merriam-webster.com committed his mother to a MENTAL institution, compiled and exported as a PDF. only telling him she had taken a “vacation.”

“CamScanner” comes in two flavors: a He believed her dead until they were reunited limited free version and a $4.99 pro version. decades later.

On Android phones, this free version OVERSEEN AND OVERHEARD Approximately one in four American is ad-supported; on the iPhone, certain adults suffers from a MENTAL health disorder, scanning options are available only with a It smells like mothballs, and it’s super sexy! according to the National Institute of Mental per-use charge.

– Male student in University Commons Health’s RECORDS. While it’s hardly a replacement for a true bragging about his latest thrift store score.

According to the “Guinness Book of World scanner — especially in low-light conditions RECORDS,” the world’s smallest cow is DIANA — “CamScanner” is the sweetest stand-in Send your Overseen and Overheard entries to from Kerala, India. When measured in 2010, you’re bound to find. leisure@reportermag.com with “Overseen and she was only 30 inches tall.

Overheard” in the subject line, or tweet with Originally conceived as a cheap handheld Grab “CamScanner” on the App Store or #OnO to @reportermag. camera in the 1960s, the DIANA camera later Google Play. became KNOWN for the lo-fi, soft focus pictures its cheap plastic lens creates.

The official prototype for the kilogram, KNOWN as “Le Grande K”, is a small metal

by Emily DeVault COMIC piece that defines the kilogram’s exact weight. However, in recent DECADES, scientists have discovered that it is slowly decreasing in weight.

The UK is currently facing its worst Whooping Cough outbreak in DECADES. According to British newspaper the Guardian, doctors MAY begin vaccinating newborn infants against the disease.

In MAY 2011, New Yorker Vitaly Borker was convicted of threatening customers online in order to increase the publicity and Google ranking of his online eyeglass store, DecorMyEyes.

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REVIEWS

9.14.12

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by Brett Slabaugh

by Amanda Imperial

Stop by our Chef’s Case in the Prepared Foods Department.

made by specially trained chefs–you’ll love the variety.

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

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“Counter-Strike” is back, though it may be more accurate to say it “This story starts with a death. More specifically, mine,” says Sissel, the never left. Valve’s tactical team-based shooter has been tuned-up for protagonist of Capcom’s “Ghost Trick.” “Because when I came to … I its third outing, “Global Offensive.” To be clear, that’s all it is — a tune- was already dead.” up. Those looking for a sequel will be disappointed by the recycled “Ghost Trick” was released for the Nintendo DS in January 2011, and maps and familiar gameplay, but newbies and veterans alike should was ported to iOS last February. While released quite some time ago, appreciate its return to suspenseful old-school style shooter . it has by no means lost its unique and aesthetically intriguing appeal.

Matches play out between two teams of five players, with each team The game is set in what seems to be a slightly more futuristic trying to eliminate the opposition while completing a map-specific modern-day Japan, with Sissel — or, his corpse, anyway — lying in a objective. It’s the same set of rules as the classic game, and while junkyard. He initially comes to as a spirit with no memories, taking it two new modes add some fresh options, most players will gravitate upon himself to protect a danger-prone girl named Lynne who seems towards the core gametype. More modern gamers may have to adjust to be somehow connected to him. When a talking lamp possessed by a to “Counter-Strike”’s slow, methodical pace. With small teams and no spirit named Ray tells Sissel he only has a short amount of time before re-spawns, each bullet must be used carefully. Caution and teamwork his soul disappears, the deceased detective decides to get down to the are essential. bottom of things and discover who he was.

Experienced players will notice a handful of additions to the “Ghost Trick” brings an element to the mystery game genre unlike tried-and-true formula. Molotovs and incendiary grenades can anything a player would expect. Capcom brings everything loveable engulf a small area in flame, cutting enemies off from a potential from its “Phoenix Wright” games into this mid-sized frenzy of a world. escape route. Popular levels have been subtly altered, opening new The artist in charge takes the stage in “Ghost Trick” to create an eyepaths and forcing old-timers to change their strategies. The graphics popping, colorful and cartoon-styled world. are noticeably better this time around, a clear improvement over The gameplay stunningly incorporates the touch elements of “Counter-Strike: Source.” interaction and visual cues that work together so well in Capcom’s Valve seems to firmly in the camp of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” famous attorney games, in which Sissel must use inanimate objects to “Counter-Strike” was the gold standard of multiplayer games for years, get around. The most fascinating part of the game is Sissel’s ability to and now everything old is new again. For 15 bucks, it won’t set you use ghost tricks to go back in time and save recently killed characters. back too much to dust off your gear and revisit this classic.

This is the main gameplay element of “Ghost Trick”: to put time on the player’s side in order to progress Sissel’s final hours.

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9

DESIGNING SOCIETY

THE GREAT MODERN

WONDER OF THE WORLD

by Kayla Emerson and Steven Markowitz | Illustration by Elisa Plance

In Egypt approximately 4,500 years ago, men sought to design a tomb worthy of their king on his final voyage to meet his gods. After 80 years of work with the backbreaking labor of an estimated 20 to 30 thousand men, the pyramids of Giza were erected. At the time, the structures were a masterpiece of design.

Form and function were one, constructed to last while aesthetically leading the souls of the dead to heaven.

Now, designers are asking whether an abstract concept like a society could be designed like the pyramids.

Entrepreneurs and scholars in a new, emerging field known as social design ask whether the design process, of which form and function are only two parts of many, can be applied to solve sociological issues.

To accomplish this, they combine techniques used in product design with the intangible theories of social sciences such as psychology and sociology.

Since the field of social design is still relatively young and undefined, there are different ideas for what its scope should be. According to Pete Kercher, a founding member of the European Institute for Design and Disability, design needs to meet the needs of each unique human being. Therefore, social design should “call on industry and all other users of design services,” he says in a Social Innovation website post, “… to achieve inclusion for everyone in society …”

Another conceptual role of social design comes from Filip Lau, a partner at ReD Associates, a social design firm. “You are not taught design thinking at university, and you are not taught social science in design school, so the designer and the social scientist need each other to come up with good results,” said Lau in an interview with the New York Times. “Designers are taught to create, and social scientists to criticize what already exists. When we need to go from ‘insight’ to ‘solution,’ designers are indispensable.”

Regardless of its specific application, professionals agree that the end goal of social design should be to improve the quality of life for the individual. In his book “Design for the Real World”, Victor Papanek, one of the founders of social design, writes, “Design must become an innovative, highly creative, crossdisciplinary tool responsive to the true needs of men.” But controversies are beginning to surround how and why these designs are implemented.

10 Leisure | 09.14.12

11

A NEW FRONTIER If done effectively and with honorable intentions, social design can help build communities and encourage action.

The benefits of this emerging profession can be seen in theory and in practice around the world.

I In Copenhagen, Demark, city officials hired consultant firm ReD Associates to staunch the loss of working days due to sick leave by civic employees, which was costing the city roughly $140 million per year.

According to the New York Times, the city had tried to establish training programs for those often sick or provide research tools to help managers track patterns. A typical firm might try to analyze the data and interview managers for solutions.

However, the social design firm took a different approach. By immersing themselves in the social institutions and the lives of the workers, the firm found the reason for sick leave was, instead of health or physical concerns, often due to psychological issues such as low morale.

Managers were reluctant to ask for reasons of leave. Meanwhile the pressure would be placed on coworkers, who would then be overworked and leave, forming a cycle. The firm’s solution encouraged managers to speak openly with their staff and, after a month of leave, speak with the employee about relocating to a new environment. This, at its core, is effective social design.

Kercher believes that while good design is often invisible to the user, there are more apparent benefits that include wasting less social and financial resources compensating for bad design in everyday life.

To save people money when planning a city, designers can use the concepts of social design to strategically place necessary stores and institutions close to where residents live. This encourages shopping at certain places. By combining cultural patterns of living, usually defined by social scientists, and the design of a city that is easy to navigate, social designers can give people the choice to become more independent of costly resources, free up time or start a healthier lifestyle.

Even after being presented better opportunities, some people need a little push. To help people embrace change and start choosing to improve their lives, designers use a psychological concept called nudging.

Nudging is ideally about helping people make better choices. But unlike most other psychological influences, it does not influence people’s decisions through punishment, incentives, or information.

RIT professor of philosophy Evan Selinger wrote in an article for

12 Feature | 09.14.12

the Atlantic, “Nudges work by subtly tweaking the contexts within which we make choices so that, on average, we will tend to make good ones.”

A nudge encourages an automatic decision rather than a decision where pros and cons must be deliberated. For example, suppose someone has a plastic bottle in hand with only a trash bin nearby. He or she must consider whether to hold onto the bottle until finding a recycling bin, or throw it in the trash bin.

Now suppose someone places a recycling bin next to the trash bin.

That takes a load off a person’s cognitive processes. One would recycle the bottle without hesitation, thanks to the nudge from the presence of the recycle bin. The bins certainly do not punish the individual when he or she does not recycle, and there is no gain for the individual from recycling. Nor do the bins need to have a poster above them summarizing the benefits of recycling. Just having the bin there is a nudge imposed by the university, and an example of social design.

Social designers also work to reduce wasted resources by eliminating time spent dealing with poor design and inconsistencies. This is done by working with mental models, an individual’s set beliefs about the real world based not on facts but on experiences, which are applied across similar systems. For example, it is ingrained in people that red means stop, from traffic lights and stop signs. Taking this into account, software designers use red for close buttons on windows and applications, to effectively utilize people’s mental model of the color red.

When used correctly, social designers can use mental models to establish a level of consistency that makes life situations easier and more approachable. From using the term ”shopping cart” across websites, to using handles on doors to indicate one should pull, mental models are essential for designers to make their social changes accessible.

Using mental models, designers and social scientists can help people who have never interacted with technology operate the internet, help the inexperienced safely navigate the crowded streets of a city or simply help people move about their lives with a universal consistency.

A DANGEROUS LANDSCAPE Sometimes, the same tools that make social design useful are what that makes it difficult to implement.

W

the nutrition label required 30 variations before a proper design was decided upon.

The redesign came about for social reasons; previously, food labels focused on vitamins and minerals, because the country had experienced years of wars, famine and malnutrition. However, with the new age of peace and prosperity, the Food and Drug Administration wanted to change the focus to combating obesity.

Therefore, the new label needed to focus on fats and cholesterol as well.

Once the government and scientists agreed on what should go into the label, the designers had the task of making the label understandable to both the literate and illiterate.

Since social designs are custom-tailored solutions, not all designs are universal fits. Collectible achievements, such as Xbox Live achievements, are a form of social design that encourages competition through rewards whose values are determined by the community. This competition drives certain people away, but also encourages others to buy and play games simply for the achievements, even though the game might not fit their interests otherwise.

Unfortunately, many forum designers see the success of platforms like Xbox Live and do not take into account how competitive they want their forum to be. They use standings and rankings when their forum should be encouraging people to help one another, not promote cutthroat competition. This does not mean the design failed, but rather that it was applied improperly. In 2008, the Yahoo! Developer Network published a model of “reputation systems”, designed to help administrators avoid such mismatches.

However, sometimes the design does fail initially, because each designer sees the world differently. In other words, designers often have different mental models than the people they are designing for. A road or a website that is difficult to navigate may be so not because of sloppy design, but simply because the designer had a more complex view of how the infrastructure worked. A user may not find the infrastructure as intuitive.

Social designers may not be able to execute whatever they dream up because it does not fit into people’s pre-existing mental models. To some extent, this can be a hindrance to innovation.

Selinger and his co-author, Kyle White, point out some ethical dilemmas with the use of social design in their article “Is There a Right Way to Nudge? The Practice and Ethics of Choice Architecture.” Imagine the government, assuming that its people are incapable of making correct choices, intrudes through nudging. The knowledge of social science plus the manipulative power of design makes for an unsettling combination in the wrong hands.

Another philosophical issue with nudging was brought up by Susan Barnes, Associate Director of the Lab for Social Computing. She asks, who decides which choice is the right one to make? Given that the purpose of nudging is to help people make better decisions, who should be held responsible to decide what is the best outcome?

For some choices, such as those involving safety or health, the good choice to make is often fairly clear. However there is significant concern among experts when advertisers and media use nudging. “The media is so influential and pervasive as it is. Adding a dimension like [nudging] onto it is like ‘1984’ where everybody’s behavior is regulated and monitored,” says Barnes. Time will tell if this issue becomes a serious concern in business ethics.

A critical debate on the issue of nudging is whether it should, as Selinger describes it, “follow an ethic of ‘libertarian paternalism’ and be easy to opt-out of.” Experts have to ask if possible censorship is worth the civility it would bring and if the goal of nudging should be to control or help people.

From a cost-benefit analysis, Barnes agrees. “It’s trying to influence decision-making in human behavior, which I don’t think is good,” she says.

Social design is a collaborative field, by nature. It links the problemidentifying skills of social scientists with the problem-solving skills of designers to achieve a better world.

As Kercher says, “Without design, without that channeled human ingenuity, it is hard to understand how there can be any innovation at all: as a matter of fact, I believe very firmly that, when properly understood, design is indeed the major driving force of social innovation.”

Design is not just about form, function, and marketability. It is about responsibility. As Papanek explains, the designer must make a judgment based on his or her own moral code and life experiences, long before the process begins, as to whether the design or redesign will merit attention and whether it will “be on the side of social good or not.”

Looking back at all the masterpieces of design, which have stood firm for decades, centuries, or millennia, there is one that is ever flowing and ever changing. It is society, whose design may prove to be one of the greatest and most essential challenges of the modern era.

With shifting cultural values, in times of change even the basic institutional designs need to be reinvented and this is no easy task. Nutrition labels are an excellent example. According to a blog entry by John Emerson, founder of Backspace and Social Design Notes, the 1991 design of

13

H

SELLING SATISFACTION

by Amanda Imperial

ave you ever bought something because it seemed just that good on television? It is hard to resist; almost like they know exactly what you are thinking at that exact moment in time. You want to be that guy sitting in the middle of a crowd of people with the fanciest watch, or that girl being hit on by the cute guy with the fancy watch, after she stuck a certain brand of mint in her mouth. Maybe you are just now craving a Krispy Kreme donut after watching one of their commercials.

Most people who work in advertising have an extensive knowledge of human psychology and know how to manipulate costumers into purchasing a product without questioning why. This is accomplished by appealing to a person’s subliminal and instinctual desires. For college students, problems arise since rarely does the income meet the cost of living. Without an understanding of how advertising manipulates, it is easy to fall for these schemes, wasting money and resources.

Subliminal Desires Advertisements that showcase sexual appeal and easy living, for example, are using people’s deep-rooted desire to achieve perfection.

Buy this can of deodorant, and you can get women. Buy this book, and you can get rich.

One angle of the subliminal is that, subconsciously, people want to live the life they see on television. In the field, this is called referencing, where viewers imagine themselves living the good life, as television stars do, and try to fund those desires by buying products that embody the characters they see on television. However, this is not a reality television show. This is real life, with real financial issues and real consequences for living outside your financial class.

LifeHacker Editor Adam Dachis sees the television show “Friends” as an example of referencing. Rachel and Monica share a large and beautifully decorated apartment despite their low-income jobs. This is a frequent issue with the shows students watch — the lifestyles of your favorite characters usually do not represent the actual capabilities of their lives.

When people watch these television shows, they want to be able to live in that big apartment or have the highest quality clothes at their current income. So advertisers sell the products the characters would have for a price they could not afford. That is how debt begins to pile up.

“It’s particularly hard to get rid of debt when the desire to spend doesn’t go away,” writes Dachis. “It’s always there because we are constantly receiving messages to want more and more things that we can’t afford.”

The use of color and other background variables can dramatically change how we perceive an object.

14 Feature | 09.14.12

Instinctual Desires The other category of advertisements uses primitive, or instinctual, desires to convince people to buy products without thinking or doing any research. Emotion, nostalgia and even the basic urge to have more factors into how these advertisements work.

According to WebMD, the brain remembers emotional experiences. “[The brain] stores as much detail as possible about the emotion-filled event, wiring it for quick recall.” An example could be a commercial where a family sits together and watches a movie they ordered from Netflix. This can stimulate the brain to recall memories

of the viewer also enjoying a flick, while making popcorn and sitting under a blanket with mom and dad.

According to a 1992 study by Barry Guinagh, 68.8 percent of college freshmen experience homesickness. Through the imagery of home and family, Netflix is offering more than just movies; it is offering an emotional trip home, an easier solution to cure homesickness.

Nostalgia is also a powerful tool used in advertising to take those regressed thoughts for granted. Like joy or sadness, nostalgia is an emotion. You feel it, and you remember it because it usually recalls something you did frequently. Food commercials that show an average morning before school or work often play with nostalgia. An advertisement of a child sitting in a fort of blankets also works the same way.

Of course there is a reason why advertising is so controlling.

According to the Daily Galaxy blog, brain scans by Emory University researchers showed that it is our primal nature to want more stuff than other people. The brain releases a chemical called dopamine when we see something we actually think about buying, which creates a feeling of excitement and joy. The chemical is released only in anticipation, so once the product is ours, that ecstasy is gone. This is why people may feel indifference or “buyer’s remorse” immediately after a purchase.

Fighting the Trend Pay attention to the emotions you feel when watching a commercial, looking at an advertisement on the side of your Facebook page or in a magazine. Ask yourself about these emotions: Is this something you need? What benefit will you receive from this?

“Be enough”, writes Rebecca Sato on Daily Galaxy. Stop worrying about whether you’re good enough, rich enough or strong enough. Just do what makes you happy without worrying about the judgment of others.

Do not be afraid to say no. The Washington Post states that while advertising can be poisonous, especially to the younger audiences, advertisers try to take advantage of the unwanted negativity that comes with saying no. Your friend might ask to borrow money for a beer, or shirt he really wants. Consider yourself a good Samaritan when declining to fulfill his desire for unneeded goods.

Watch for functionality. Take for example purchasing skinny jeans.

Maybe they look pretty great on the models you see in advertisements, but they are probably about $60 to $70, and will tear a lot easier than that pair of jeans that fit perfectly from Target. What you buy should be based highly on what it can or will do for you, versus how it might look.

These tips are only a few that can be applied to help prevent needless spending and keep your wallet thick. Regardless of the method of manipulation, at its core, the solution is almost always the same. Do your research. Think about it. One product does not need to change your life. It does not need to have flashing lights or fancy logos. It just needs to work.

15

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8/31/12 3:55 PM

Sean Patrick “Skip” Flanagan isn’t your typical college baseball player.

Although the second year Psychology major dons a cap and has the build required, there is one thing about him that stands out — he’s deaf.

With an interpreter accompanying him and a baseball bag sitting next to him, he comes prepared for an interview. In it, he talks of many things — including how he grew up playing baseball as a young kid, and started getting serious around middle school.

The kid that played in middle school, however, grew along with his talent, and considered going to Gallaudet University, a college for the deaf located in Washington, D.C. as he was recruited by former major league baseball player and current coach Curtis Pride. However, he turned down this offer to attend RIT. This past summer, Flanagan played in a southeastern Massachusetts/ Rhode Island league called the Cranberry League. According to the RIT Athletics web site, Flanagan was chosen to participate in the 19th annual “Oldtime Game” in Cambridge, Mass. in August. Flanagan says he was the first hearing-impaired player chosen to play in the game.

An article in the Cambridge Chronicle and Tab reported that Flanagan recorded three hits and scored one run through four at-bats, and was the game’s Most Valuable Player.

The team Flanagan played for this summer was the Easton Huskies.

He said via text message that he came in to the Cranberry League “expecting nothing from the experience, but had to work for everything, and it all turned out nicely.”

While Flanagan was more willing to say that his first year on the RIT baseball team was a learning experience, one positive memory

he has on the field is of the time when he struck out 10 batters against Union College.

“That was the best game I’ve had in a long time,” he said.

Asked what could be improved on in baseball for deaf people, Flanagan replied: “Personally, I don’t really know, because everything’s perfect for me here.”

Does Flanagan have any goals for the upcoming season?

“Just to play better than last year,” said Skip.

And how much of an impact does Deaf culture have on baseball?

“It’s big because everyone who is playing baseball are showing signs of Deaf culture. Everything we do is very visual. We use body language gestures, facial expressions, and so forth in the game of baseball itself.”

17

Kenny Miller Fourth year Applied Networking and Systems Administration

Boom goes the

DYNAMITE. Nicole Richards First year Biology

Don’t vote for me.

Marcela Gallo Second year Fine Art Photography Freedom of access to healthcare and education.

Zachary Waye First year Software Engineering

Unity.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN FOSTER | WORD ON THE STREET: YOU ARE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT...

WHAT’S YOUR CAMPAIGN SLOGAN? Ellina Chetverikova MFA in Painting Учиться, учиться и учиться, потому что вы не будете иметь работу в любом случае.

Deidre Graham Second year Biomedical Sciences

I ALWAYS COME OUT ON TOP.

Study, study, and study because you will not have a job anyway.

Erin Doyle Second year Criminal Justice

I’m not prepared for this at all.

18 Features | 09.14.12

13 19

VIEWS

I’D TAP THAT

by Matthew Ferragamo

MIND BOTTLING

by Nick Bovee

“Water, water, everywhere / Nor any drop to drink.”

This line from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” third thought it was bottled water, and the remaining participants sums up many people’s reaction to President Destler’s couldn’t tell the difference.” So beyond a possible placebo effect, the tap announcement that departments and campus groups water will taste fine. will no longer be permitted to spend University dollars So if it tastes the same (at the very least) then why not let us choose on single serving bottles of water. “No bottled water?” what water to drink? There’s one simple reason: It’s more expensive to you may exclaim. “I dont want any of that tap junk!” provide bottled water.

Well, hold on. RIT’s decision to phase out bottled Let’s assume for a moment that one bottle of water cost the same as water was intelligent for many reasons. Even if you an equivalent amount of tap water. Bottled water would still be more disregard the environmental impact of huge amounts expensive due to a five cent bottle recycling charge placed on the student. of plastic bottles, the change will The only way to reclaim this charge is to go to the Onbenefit students on a personal Campus Bottle Return, which is located in the tunnels level. Tap water tastes the same as next to the Sol Heumann (SOL, 047) laundry room. (if not better than) bottled water, While that is a nice service to have, it’s at an odd “So if it tastes the is cheaper for everyone involved location with short hours that aren’t really student same, then why and will eliminate hassle. friendly. It forces students to keep bottles in their small not let us choose First, to dispel a concern: if tap dorm rooms until the center finally opens. For those water is, for whatever reason, not what water to drink? in the apartments, enjoy the walk! The students have available, President Destler has to make a trade-off. Recycle from their rooms and lose There’s one simple stated that exceptions have been five cents per bottle, or deal with the hassle. reason: it’s more written into the policy, as there Phasing out bottled water will save money for both may be times when there are expensive to provide RIT and the students. Eliminating bottles from the no other options. So you don’t recycling system will likewise eliminate hassle from bottled water.“ have to worry about water being student life. And all of this will be done without unavailable. If you’re one of those sacrificing quality. Given these facts, the wisdom of people who must carry a bottle of water around, you this decision is apparent. Getting rid of bottled water will be better for can always buy a water bottle. all parties involved. And if for whatever reason you absolutely cannot Okay, great. But still, we have to drink water that live without bottled water, well hey, Wegman’s is just down the road. tastes terrible. Or do we? Sheena Iyengar, who wrote “The Art of Choosing”, notes that, “On an episode of “Penn & Teller: Bullshit!,” they ran a blind taste test on the streets of New York City. They found that 75 percent of people preferred the taste of tap water to Evian (a very expensive mineral water).” A similar experiment was performed at Boston University, with comparable results. According to Leslie Friday in her report for BU Today, “Of 67 taste-testers, only a third identified the tap water sample correctly ... another

20

The newest fad among companies, corporations and, apparently, colleges is to dress up minor or even detrimental changes as environmentally conscious.

RIT triumphantly announced their plans to eliminate all bottled water from RIT campus vending machines and stores once the current contract runs out. What’s been tiptoed around, however, is the rest of the drinks RIT sells: sodas. Not only are they bad for students to be drinking on a regular basis, they have the same environmental, economic and social ramifications.

Don’t get this wrong, removing a portion of the plastic bottles from circulation is a good thing. But it’s not as if those slots in vending machines will be left empty once their contract is over. Higher volumes of soda are going to be sold, and the amount of bottles littered around campus is going to stay the same.

Arguably, it could be even more plastic around campus, as soda is sold more often, and many brands of bottled water have reduced the amount of plastic their bottles are manufactured with. Because the amount of bottles thrown out or littered is remaining the same, there’s no way this decision was made out of concern for the environment — it’s merely about cost-saving.

President Destler’s email also mentions that future construction will provide new water fountains, to help with filling water bottles. These would be the goose neck fountains currently installed in various locations on campus, designed specifically for refilling reusable bottles. The letter does hint at renovation of already installed fountains, but gives no timeline for the change. If these take long to install, or don’t happen at all, there are going to be lengthy class interruptions when students need to leave and find a suitable fountain.

This new policy has obviously been in consideration for a few months, as RIT has begun making sure new students get free reusable water bottles during their orientation. While admirable, there’s still the oversight that there are three to four other classes of students who may not have water bottles of their own. Reusing disposable plastic bottles isn’t a good option, due to

degradation of the plastics, but neither is forcing students to spend more money (not just food debit) just so that they don’t have to rush back and forth to drinking fountains during lectures.

If RIT wanted to promote actual environmentally-conscious change, there are many ways they could improve the policies on campus. The easiest would be a reduction in the number of vending machines on campus. This limits the amount of plastic bottles that can be sold, eliminating a percentage of the plastic we need to recycle. Even if we’re not each given a free water bottle, it’d be an excellent decision for RIT to sell

“Higher volumes of soda are going to be sold, and the amount of bottles littered around campus is going to stay the same.“ discounted water bottles at various campus stores to ease the transition.

At the same time, installation of goose neck water fountains needs to be a much higher priority, and done within the same time frame as the phase-out of bottled water.

Unfortunately, this isn’t apparent to upper administration, nor anywhere close to their priority list, now that they’ve saved money up front. With just a little bit of student advocacy, we can make it clear that these changes aren’t what we expect from an environmentally conscious school like RIT. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of REPORTER.

21

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compiled by Brett Slabaugh

WEDNESDAY

9:17AM (from text) Saw the wiener-mobile on campus . . . There's a sausage fest joke in there somewhere.

FRIDAY

12:23AM (from text)

There are approximately ten men in thongs bicycling circles around a car outside Ellingson so that it can’t move. I love it here.

SATURDAY

3:45PM (from text) So glad I’m paying all this tuition money to put card swipes in UC, so that people don’t get into my apartment that they need a key to get into anyway.

MONDAY

9:17AM (from text) If I had extra debit I would buy all the Kool-Aid and sugar and turn the giant fountains into Kool-Aid dispensers. *Wink wink nudge nudge*

MONDAY

10:04AM (from text)

Reporter?

I barely know 'er!

All calls subject to editing and truncation. Not

Advancing medicine. Changing lives.

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23

Rochester Institute of Technology is

sor proud to be a spon of the 2012 First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival.

RIT is renowned for intertwining the arts with technology and n innovation. More tha d an ate du 2,100 gra

undergraduate students study the arts at RIT, taught by .

135 faculty members And the campus is

home to three . world-class galleries e se n ca u Now yo RIT’s arts community come to life at the n Fringe with more tha d an s ce 20 performan exhibits. The majority of these are free at The Little Theatre.

Sept. 1—Oct. 15 Gallery r Gallery r Showcases CIAS: Open for Fringe Festival; additional hours 1-9 pm Wednesday through Sunday, Sept. 1–Oct. 15.

Gallery r, 100 College Ave.

Christ Church Spirits Within (multidisciplinary) 8:00 pm, 9:00 pm, $10

Saturday, Sept. 22 Little Theatre 1 Dangerous Signs (theatre) 12:00–1:00 pm

Sept. 19—23 Bee Eye

Signal 2:00–2:15 pm, 3:00–3:15 pm

(Video Installation)

Beyond the Spheres 2:15–2:30 pm, 3:15–3:30 pm

Wednesday, Sept. 19 Little Cafe CIAS Alumni Art Display (multidisciplinary) All day

Thursday, Sept. 20 Christ Church Spirits Within (multidisciplinary) 9:30 pm, $10

Little Cafe CIAS Alumni Art Display (multidisciplinary) All day

Friday, Sept. 21 Little Theatre 1 Wearable Technology Fashion Show 6:00–7:30 pm

Little Cafe CIAS Alumni Art Display (multidisciplinary) All day

The Light Collector 2:30–2:45 pm, 3:30–3:45 pm Before Dawn (all film) 2:45–3:00 pm, 3:45–4:00 pm The World in Time (theatre) 4:00–5:00 pm Astro Dance (dance) 6:00–7:00 pm

Little Cafe

The Arkansas Traveler Meets Mulla Nasrudin (multidisciplinary) 10:00–11:00 pm

Christ Church Spirits Within (multidisciplinary) 8:00 pm, $10 Dragon’s Lair (exterior projection) 9:00 pm

Sunday, Sept. 23 Little Theatre 1 Good Morning (film) 12:00–3:00 pm The World in Time (theatre) 3:30–4:30 pm

Little Cafe CIAS Alumni Art Display (multidisciplinary) All day

CIAS Alumni Art Display (multidisciplinary) All day

Club RIT: Poetry Readings Sponsored by Signatures Magazine 12:00–12:45 pm

Al Biles and GenJam (music) 1:00–2:00 pm

Eight Beat Measure: Live A Cappella 1:00–1:30 pm

Club RIT: Poetry Readings Sponsored by Signatures Magazine 2:30–3:15 pm

Encore (a cappella) 1:30–2:00 pm

RIT Jazz Combo (music) 4:00–5:00 pm Culture Clash Jazz Quartet (music) 5:30–6:30 pm

RIT’s Surround Sound (a cappella) 2:00–2:45 pm Vocal Accent (a cappella) 3:00–3:45 pm Proof of Purchase (a cappella) 4:00–4:45 pm

Dangerous Signs (theatre) 6:00–7:00 pm

For more information, visit www.rit.edu/fringefest. Or contact Meredith Smith, Associate Vice President, RIT Government and Community Relations: 585-475-6509; mjsgrl@rit.edu