PB2A: SCIgen vs. Scholarly Journal

              Justine Alford’s “Beer Compound Could Protect Brain Cells From Damage” on IFLScience caught my attention early this morning. After reading through the article, I wanted to do some real research on this topic by searching through UCSB’s library database for the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, where the study was published. Sadly, there was no search results that matched, but luckily, IFLScience had a hyperlink to the journal’s study. This article was composed of conventions present in a scholarly research publication. In comparison to the previously explored computer science research papers generated by SCIgen, both has prominent similarities and differences in its conventions which influences the rhetorical features of the research paper.

              Upon reading the title, “Xanthohumol, a Poluphenol Chalcone Present in Hops,Activating Nrf2 Enzymes to Confer Protection against Oxidative Damage in PC12,” the intended audience of this research paper can already be determined—doctors, scientists, and researchers in the medical field. The paper then proceeds to the abstract which clearly summarizes the contents of the whole article and introduces the experiment that was done to determine if Xanthohumol, a compound found in beer, may impede the progression of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. The next subsections of the research article—Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Associated Content, Aurthor Information, Acknowledgements, and References—are all conventions of a research paper. Having graphs and diagrams representing the data collected from the experiment, accompanied with captions explain them, makes the article visually more appealing and helps the readers understand the results of the experiment much easier.

            In the randomly generated paper by SCIgen called “On the Simulation of SCSI Disks,” the intended audience would be computer science researchers and computer engineers. The article is then shortly summarized by the abstract; it then moves onto the Introduction, Related Work, Principles, Implementation, Results, Conclusion, and References. The articles contains diagrams and graphs with captions as well. Despite the articles generated by SCIgen are composed with false data, the rhetoric devices and conventions of a stereotypical research paper can be found.

            Both articles are tailored to a specific audience, which in both cases are specifically researchers in the field of the subject of interest. Another similarity would be the vocabulary used; a reader that may not be studying the field extensively like researchers and scientists may find the articles hard to comprehend. For example, in the actual scholarly publication, many readers may not fully understand what “PC12 cells were seeded at a density of 1 × 104

cells/well in 96-well plates for 24 h followed by incubation with Xn or other agents for 24 h at 37 °C in a final volume of 100 μL” means unless they had been in a lab setting and performed experiments. Also, without a chemistry or physics background, abbreviations used may not be common knowledge to readers, such as μL, which means microliters.

            The main difference that stood out would be the tone of the articles. SCIgen’s article/s seem more informal in comparison to the research paper by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemsitry. In SCIgen’s article, it was mentioned that experimental data was provided in “gory detail,” which is not usually stated in a research paper. Stereotypically, research papers are formal and is written with vocabulary that is considered professional to the field. However, because of the less formal tone of SCIgen’s research papers, readers will take the research less seriously.

While the entry by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry may be more formal and supported by legitimate experimental data, both articles’ purpose is to relay to the readers whether the hypothesis meant to be proven through experimental data retrieved is correct or incorrect. Conventions of a typical research paper can be found in both the scholarly research publication and the randomly generated computer science research paper and its rhetorical features have the same purpose—prove to the readers whether the scientific hypothesis made is accurate or flawed. 

PB1B: Genre Generators

            After experimenting with the three different genre generators, SCIgen, Pandyland’s Random Comic Generator, and Meme Generator, the conventions of each genre become more prominent. SCIgen generates computer science-related research papers that does not make any logical sense. Pandyland generates a three-panel comic that makes sense about 20 percent of the time, however 70 percent of the time two out of the three comic blocks make contextual sense together. The Meme Generator is not so much a genre generator rather an online community where netizens are able to find compilations of trending memes and create and share their own memes.

            SCIgen randomly generates computer science research papers that uses fake reference research articles. It also has an option for the user to input names of authors to add to the generated papers, but it made no significant difference in terms of making any logical sense. The site itself seemed plain and boring, a stereotype of many research papers. All of the generated research articles were similar; they all have titles that are related to computer science such as “The Impact of Authenticated Configurations of Networking” or “An Emulation of Spreadsheets”, and is broken down into sections including an abstract, introduction, methodology, implementation, experiment results and analysis, real life applications, and conclusion. The papers were formatted standard to a research paper so that its readers can recognize immediately that it is a research paper.

            Pandyland’s Random Comic Generator was much more interesting in comparison to SCIgen. The website has a fairly simple layout of the three-panel comic with the “Generate” button right below. After clicking the “Generate” button, the program randomly generates a three-panel comic that sometimes make sense as a whole, but majority of the time only makes a bit of sense when looking at two out of the three comic blocks. Having experimented with the generator multiple times, the comic only consists of the two guys, Simon and Finlay, conversing with one another. The website states that it can generate approximately 74,000 comics, but I have come across panels that were reused.  

            The Meme Generator is considerably more similar to Pandyland’s Random Comic Generator due to its eye-catchingly colorful picturesque interface, but it is not a true generator, rather it compiles memes that are currently popular on the internet and allows users to make their own memes to be circulated online. Even though it does not necessarily generates memes, this site only has posts of memes, which answers the question of what a meme is—a meme is either a picture, video, piece of text, or a picture or video with text that is supposed to be funny and spread rapidly across the Internet. Because the Meme Generator is more of an entertaining social networking hub, it is sectioned off into four parts: currently popular memes, trending meme characters, new images that are meme worthy, and new characters that could be used to create memes.

            Understanding how these genre generators are working helps clarify genres. In SCIgen, despite the usage of false evidence, experimental data, and statistics, it still recognizes elements of a research paper. The reader can see that each paper consists of a fully developed hypothesis supported by data in forms of figures, graphs, and citations, experiments with analysis of its results, and a conclusion. Both Pandyland’s Random Comic Generator and the Meme Generator could be considered part of the pop culture genre because it showcases the entertainment values found in pop culture. Pandyland produces a short comic which allows the reader to escape the reality of the present and delve into the world of comic relief found in pop culture. The Meme Generator puts together popular memes for netizens to follow, create, and share.

            If interested, The Star Wars Random Name Generator allows fans of Star Wars to have a name created for them to use for role-playing games. Star Wars is increasing in popularity due to the upcoming release of the new movie. 

PB1A: Recipes

When you feel like making something more sophisticated than cup noodles, what is the first thing you might look for? A recipe! With the Internet, looking up how to make a certain dish is as easy as one-click, but why is a recipe important in the process of preparing a dish and what makes it a recipe?  

           

A recipe instructs the chef on how to prepare a specific dish with not only the proper quantities of ingredients needed, but also the method of preparation of those ingredients. Whether the recipe is used in a kitchen at home or at a restaurant, it serves the same purpose and audience—to guide the cook in how to prepare the meal.

A recipe is usually formatted so that it informs the reader of how many servings it yields, lists the precise amounts of each and every ingredient required, preparation and cook time, and directions on how to prep and cook the ingredients; the equipment needed to make the dish tends to be found within the directions of a recipe. For example, if you were to make Chef Emeril Lagasse’s “Simply Delicious New York-Style Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce,” you can find all the essential information needed to make this cheesecake within the recipe. This specific recipe tells the cook that it yields 10-12 servings. The ingredients and the amounts of each needed are listed, but here you notice that there are two separate lists of ingredients—one for the cheesecake and the other for the strawberry sauce. This makes the recipe also more versatile because the cook can choose to make either both the cake and sauce or only the cake or only the sauce. Then there is the directions that instructs the cook on how to manipulate the ingredients for the dish. If you look closely at how the directions are written, you notice that it is direct and to the point: “In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups sugar, zests, and vanilla and beat until light and creamy. Add the flour, then the eggs and yolks 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream, vanilla bean seeds, and bourbon and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Wrap the pan in foil and place in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to come half way up the sides of the pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours” (Lagasse, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/simply-delicious-new-york-style-cheesecake-with-strawberry-sauce-recipe.html). It tells the cook exactly what to combine in what container using which utensil, how to prepare it to be baked, and how long it should be in the oven.  

            The most important aspect of a recipe making recipes unique will be its directions and ingredients. Nowadays, recipes can be reviewed and rated for how satisfied the cook feels about the anticipated outcome. For instance, Chef Lagasse’s recipe is rated five stars out of five stars, which means majority of the cooks who followed his recipe were very pleased with the end result. So as you can see, higher rated recipes usually have clear, concise, descriptive directions on how to prepare the dish, which results in an almost always near-perfect satisfactory yield. 

Self Intro

你好! 저는Carmen입니다. どうぞよろしくお願いします。You may all be wondering...what did she just say--translation: Hi! I am Carmen. Nice to meet you. Something you may have already noticed is that I know four languages, not exactly all too well, but I am fluent in English and Cantonese, proficient in Japanese and Mandarin, and have one year's worth of conversational Korean "under my belt". I was born and raised in San Francisco, and now attend University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) majoring in Chemistry.

Luckily, before leaving to UCSB, I was able to intern at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SF SPCA) over the summer. I worked in three different departments--Development and Marketing, Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), and the hospital--and volunteered at the adoption center as well. The most memorable aspect of being an intern at the SF SPCA is being a part of the Puppy Dog Tales program, which promotes literacy by providing a lax and non-judgemental environment for children while improving their reading. Despite having no experience in handling a dog, I learned to walk and train a dog to be brought to the local middle school for this program. Being put out there to do something I was completely unfamiliar with was nerve-wracking..., but I made it!   

After being an intern at the SF SPCA, which furthered my interest in becoming a veterinarian, veterinary school became an another option instead going to medical school. But, I'm still thinking!

Even though it may look like I have my whole future planned ahead, I really don't! I'm just another ordinary student who enjoys listening to music when I get frustrated and stressed out, puts aside more important things to do to catch up on my favorite TV shows and movies, and hangout with friends. So please don't freak out! This was just a little bit about myself that I thought would be fun to share! 

それだけです。再見! 안녕~