aoifebermingham

[aoifebermingham]

Interesting ads through the ages:

1993 Lord & Taylor ad. Whilst the colours and the font of this ad screams 1990s (strong red and blue, watercolour effect in the background, script font) the image itself could be on a perfume ad today. Perfume ads are often very sexualised and use celebrities that are seen as heart throbs which is exactly what the brand has done here. It’s interesting to see how perfume print ads haven’t overly changed their style in the last 3 decades.

[aoifebermingham]

Interesting ads through the ages:

1950s Lego print ad. The image on this advert is pretty simple but I do love the clever use of the clothing on the children. They’re wearing what would be perceived as business attire suggesting Lego helps children excel and become high achievers. They also seem to be building a town/city which again leans into that message that these children will shape society in the future. The expression on the children’s faces seem to me that they are concentrating quite hard rather than just carelessly playing, this to me indicates that they are actually almost working and looking to improve this “project”. I do think this is an interesting ad but I would have like to have seen less small text used. I don’t think an image like this needs that much text.

[aoifebermingham]

Interesting ads through the ages:

1987 Nike print ad. I absolutely love this ad. It’s immediately eye catching. Whilst the main inmate is essentially an invisible trainer and the logo is small on the page it’s still easy to identify that it’s a Nike ad. I immediately identify the font with Nike. Nike are also great at motivating and thought provoking but concise slogans. The colours used are simple and limited which works so well for there clever punchy messaging. The inclusion of a very small picture of the shoe on the bottom is great for demonstrating the product but without the ad acting like forgettable wallpaper.

[aoifebermingham]

Interesting ads through the ages:

1930s Lucky Strike Print Ad. This image demonstrates how vastly the world can change in a century. The depiction of a smiling physician promoting cigarettes seems so alien in 2022. However I do love these vintage cigarette ads. It’s simplistic with a single image and has straight to the point brand messaging. The doctors rosy and healthy looking cheeks and lips really mirror Lucky Strikes distinctive red logo. The yellow text can be slightly hard to read (on a mobile device in 2022) so another colour for the font could slightly improve it. However it’s still a fun ad for it’s time.

Source: https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/evolving-attitudes/6a00e553a80e10883401a73d905f00970d-800wi/

[aoifebermingham]

False Memories, Misinformation Effect and Eyewitness Testimony.

For the purpose of this assignment I chose to listen to False Memories, Misinformation Effect and Eyewitness Testimony with Professor Elizabeth Loftus. This interview immediately sparked my interest as I have a keen interest in criminology and psychology and this piece of content seemed to cover both topics.

What I found particularly interesting from this interview was Loftus’s study of memories and how they can be constructed. She described a study of how she showed research participants a simulated crime, and later after watching the video they would be exposed to incorrect differing witness recollection and also leading questions and suggestions. Participants actually picked up this extra information and adopted it as their own memory. She states “Some [of the participants] memory is based on the accident viewed and some is based on information after the accident and they construct it as their memory” (Bridging The Gaps, 2018). This study was shocking to me as in criminal and civil law so much emphasis can be placed on eye witness testimonies, and eye witness testimonies can be very persuasive for jurors. Loftus suggests jurors should be alerted to the imperfect nature of eye witness testimony. Jurors making important decisions aren’t au fait the complex nature of memory and what science has shown to be true. She states that jurors should be educated so that they have accurate information on memory to avoid wrongful convictions.

While speaking to Bridging the Gap, Loftus also describes how researchers have not only successfully altered participants memories but were able to get people to construct entirely new memories for things that didn’t happen. She discusses how we use manufactured memories to alter human behaviour. So for example we could make memories to alter peoples feelings towards alcohol or unhealthy foods and ultimate improve their health and lifestyle. Whilst the ethics of altering ones memory can be debated the power of memory whether true or false is more powerful than we may think.

One problem Loftus outlines is that it is very difficult to distinguish between true and false memories. False memories can look very like true ones as brain activity is similar for a false memory and a true memory. Therefore Just because someone is emotional and gives a lot of details doesn’t mean their describing a true memory because false memories can evoke strong emotions too.

Professor Elizabeth Loftus is a Professor at the University of California, Irvine. Loftus has published twenty-four books and is a distinguished Professor of Psychological Science; Criminology, Law & Society; Cognitive Science; and Law (UCI , 2022). She was described by the Review of General Psychology as “the most influential female psychologist of the twentieth century” (New Yorker, 2021).

References

Aviv, R. (2021) ‘How Elizabeth Loftus Changed the Meaning of Memory’, The New Yorker, 29 March. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/05/how-elizabeth-loftus-changed-the-meaning-of-memory (Accessed: 10 October 2022).

Loftus, E. (2018) Bridging the Gaps: A Portal for Curious Minds [Podcast]. Available at: https://soundcloud.com/bridging-the-gaps/false-memories (Accessed: 10 October 2022).

Loftus, E (2022) ‘Elizabeth F. Loftus’, UCI Law. Available at: https://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/loftus/ (Accessed: 10 October 2022).

[aoifebermingham]

Education: What works and what does not, with Professor John Hattie.

Student: Aoife Bermingham

For the purpose of this assignment I have chosen to explore Education: What works and what does not, with Professor John Hattie.

This piece of content immediately stood out to me as I personally have had a complicated relationship with education. In second level education I struggled to stay motivated and interested, however I returned to third level education as a mature student and it was an incredibly positive experience. I regularly think about why my second level and third level education experiences are so vastly different and Professor John Hattie raises some really thought-provoking points in his conversation with Bridging the Gaps: A Portal for Curious Minds.

In this interview, Hattie made some points that surprised me and also some points that I wasn’t shocked to hear. One of the points that I was surprised to hear, is the minimal impact that class size has on student performance. From analysing classes compiling of 15-20 students versus class sizes of 25-30 students Hattie states “the effect is positive, reducing class size does make a difference, however that effect is very very small” (Hattie, 2015). This finding was shocking to me due to the emphasis that the media, politicians and parents place on class sizes and their perceived importance.

Another point that Hattie made that I did not predict was the minimal impact that dividing students into groups based on performance has. Hattie argues that diving students into groups based on performance inevitably divides students up by ethnicity and by socio-economic background and it also causes students to get stuck in a certain group making it very difficult for students to break out of that performance group. I found this quite interesting as despite this research this is historically how schools have formed student groups without much question.

Despite some of John Hattie’s research being surprising to me, one point that did not shock me is the profound impact of teachers and school leaders on a student’s learning. Hattie’s research says, the teachers that are constantly evaluating their impact on the students are ones that make the most significant impact on students. In my personal experience with education, the most compelling and memorable teachers to me are those who were passionate and aware of the impact they have on their students.  

Professor John Hattie’s arguments are particularly intriguing as he has profound experience as a researcher in education. Hattie is the author of two books Visible Learning for Teachers and Visible Learning. Visible Learning is the result of 15 years of research about what works best for learning in schools. The Times Educational Supplement have described Hattie as “possibly the world’s most influential education academic” (Visible Learning, 2019). For the last 11 years John Hattie has been the Director of the Melbourne Educational Research Institute, Australia.  

References

Hattie, J. (2015) Bridging the Gaps: A Portal for Curious Minds [Podcast]. 31 December. Available at: https://soundcloud.com/bridging-the-gaps/education-what-works-and-what-does-not-with-john-hattie (Accessed: 5 October 2022).

Hattie, J. (2019) ‘Professor John Hattie’, Visible Learning, 30 July. Available at: https://visible-learning.org/john-hattie/ (Accessed: 5 October 2022).