NICK VUJICIC

This is an amazing video about a man who does not have arms and legs, but still stays smiling. He focuses on a young audience and is not afraid to be himself. His name is NICK VUJICIC and here is a video about what he does. Talk about inspiration!

Nicholas James Vujicic (born 4 December 1982) is an Australian preacher and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally, as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, started his own non-profit organization, Life Without Limbs. Vujicic presents motivational speeches worldwide, on life with a disability, hope, and finding meaning in life. He also speaks about his belief that God can use any willing heart to do His work and that God is big enough to overcome any and all disabilities. (referenced from you-tube video information)

Check it out! Justin Hines

Wow! This man does not let anything get him down. Watch this video and I bet you will be just as amazed as I was. He is going to be playing at  Gallagher Bluedorn performing center Friday March 8th at 7:30.

Hines has Larsen Syndrome, a joint dislocation condition that has him permanently using a wheelchair. "The reality is I don't really look at my situation as that big of a deal," he says. "We all have thigs that challenge us, just some people are a little more visible in the forefront. Mine is very apparent, whereas others wear it on the inside." (http://www.justinhines.com/bio/)

To read more on Justin click the following link.

http://www.justinhines.com/bio/

The Invisible War

I had the privilege of being invited to view this film with a friend of mine who is a female veteran. This film was played on campus by the University of Northern Iowa's Veteran's Association.  It is a must see. I was not sure what it was going into it, but by the end I was in tears. It is a documentary film about rape of soldiers in the military. This film was made to make things that normally would be hidden available for the world to hear.

• One out of every five female service members is sexually assaulted or raped during her honorable service
• It is estimated that more then half a million service men and women have been sexually assaulted since WWII
• Military sexual trauma is the leading cause of  PTSD among women veterans

Here is a video clip. If you have not seen it, I recommend it, but bring tissues.

High school drop outs increasing?

This is an interesting video on how dropouts are increasing in schools from 2010. It may be outdated, but it is very valuable information. Is it true that if the community works together as a whole most of the time it will result in positive results?

There are also some factors you can consider. When thinking about the community working as a whole to try and prevent drop outs is this a remedial approach, prosocial approach, or a integrative approach? A good example of a remedial approach would be placing students that need the extra help in a "blue room" as it is called in some locations. The youth is the problem as stated in a power point via professor Kowalski. "If you are not busy it only leads to trouble." This is where students that may need help understanding something can be aided. Prosocial the youth are naturally good. You only need to support the youth as they move towards their goal. Last but not least is integrative. This approach speaks about youth being a valuable member of the community. They are active and helpful contributors. It also involves using communication to help connect with the youth.

Here is a video that might help you to think about these three approaches to youth work.

UNI theater for children with autism

What is autism? a condition disturbing perceptions and relationships: a disturbance in psychological development in which use of language, reaction to stimuli, interpretation of the world, and the formation of relationships are not fully established and follow unusual patterns

Please take the time to watch this video...

http://www.kwwl.com/story/21228954/2013/02/17/unis-spectrum-theater-helps-kids-with-autism

How awesome that a UNI Instructor would devote her time to children with Autism.

Transsexual Images by Loren Cameron

I was able to attend this presentation on April 4th,2012. It was very new to me. Loren Rex Cameron is a photographer known for his pictures of transsexual people during their gender transition. This performance was about his own transformation and stories of others as well. As he showed each image you could tell it hit a special place in his art. I think that every person is able to express themselves in their own way. For this newly transformed male this was his way of letting go.

It was very interesting for me to attend. The topic of transgender is not always an easy one to talk about. I could tell as he was speaking about each photograph that it takes a lot of guts to be able to stand in front of an audience and speak about something so personal. Loren Cameron also mentioned that it was difficult to ask transgender people to photograph nude. He has written a book titled Body Alchemy. The book that includes the pictures he has taken is titled Cameron and has two volumes with the theme body modification.

The visual literacy impact is through photography. When someone sees a picture of a transgender person in a picture it is much different then your typical viewing of art. I think that photographs of the process, and the person before and after help to give you a visual image of what it takes for them to be happy. The presentation included a majority of nude images, but helped me to understand as someone who does not know much of anything about the long process of being a transgender person. I am glad that I attended this presentation.

Here is an image that Loren Cameron has taken:
warning some of the images may be offensive. Here is a site where you may view some on your own if you so choose. http://www.lorencameron.com/

Final View on Visual Literacy

Honestly, this class started slow for me. Then as it progressed I found that I was more and more intrigued. The more subjects that we covered and the more videos I watched things changed constantly. I really enjoyed watching the TED videos. They really make you think. Here is a link to watch some of the videos recently posted. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL454A0274C1223C90&feature=plcp

When I watch movies or play video games I sometimes think way more about why the creator made the images the way he did. It makes me wonder how much of a thinking process is actually put into the creation to make it visually aesthetic. We had a presentation on video games and how they represent women and we also had a presentation where we brought in images that we thought were objectifying women in ads of a magazine. This activity also increased my awareness of how visual literacy is applied in my lives.

The media is a large portion of society's thoughts.Here is an example of what was shown during class.

 Here is an example of what may have been brought up in class.

After seeing these images my mind was blown. Visual Literacy is more then just a word. I believe I stated this in my first ever blog. Now I know what could be considered under this label. It turned out to be so much more then I thought it would be.