Rhetorical Analysis of "Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology"

This Journal was very well done and thoroughly covered dozens of articles over a wide range of the topic in interest.  Due to the professionalism of the articles written, an analysis of the entire journal can be done through both Linton et al. and/or Swales' genre model.

Linton et al.'s model consists of three important conventions consisting of structure, reference, and language.  Concerning structure, there is a consistent framework that is used for each and every one of the articles included.  First, there is an "Abstact", which explains the study's purpose and the methods that will be used, as well as briefly reviewing items of previous research.  Second, is the "Introduction", where the sport/technology is explained, including what the variables will be and how they will be measured/recorded.  The introduction is also where most of the topic generalizations were made along with indicating the gap between the old previous ways of doing the experiment and the ways of which the experiment will be executed.  Next, is explained how each method is executed and what instrumentation is needed.  Now, the "results" section is given for the announcement of present research  simultaneously releasing the found variable data and any charts/graphs that are necessities in coming to a conclusion.  Following the "results" section is the "discussion" section that converts the understanding of the results into short la-mans terms, or announcing the principal findings.  Lastly, the "conclusion" section is explained by answering the questions had by the study's purpose.  "Acknowledgment" and "references" sections are also there for thanks and citing purposes.

The Conventions of reference came into play numerous times through each of the articles.  For example, both the "abstract" and "introduction" sections preview information and methods that were documented long ago.  The reason for this, was to show that even though this study has been done before, technology now allows for new and more accurate methods of testing and measuring.  This convention was also useful in portraying the difference between the accuracy of old and new data even though the overall conclusions were sometimes close to the same.  The idea of adding to existing data instead of replacing data became alive throughout the section as well.

Finally, the convention of language stood out as expressing minor disagreements in methods and/or results.  For most cases, disagreement was tried to be towards methods and not the individual him/herself.  This was the case because the individual probably didn't have the technology/knowledge that we do today, since this combined journal publication was from 2008-2009.  Also, there was some language of conviction used in response to these disagreements towards methods/individuals.  For example, if the new methods and/or data is significantly more accurate than the previous, then it will be stated that this is more of a correction and not so much an addition to the original study.

Modelling uncertainty in fault tree analyses (concerning automatic transmissions)

This scholarly article models uncertainty in automotive automatic transmission using fault tree analyses.  The reason for the high demand in this field recently is the growing interest for safe vehicles.  In creating a successfully marketed transmission, all of the possible predictions for failures will be carefully taken into consideration.  Automatic transmissions specifically are more complicated to deal with fault analyses due to the combination of mechanic technology and modern electronics.
When I was in some of my earlier discrete mathematics and basic electrical engineering classes, I never thought that Boolean algebra would be so useful in modeling.  Here the whole, "Early Design Stage Fault Tree of an Automatic Transmission" is modeled thoroughly using Boolean algebra.  For example, the head of the tree is "Critical Failure of Transmission".  This is the head because it is the general problem in question.  Next in question is more specifically of why there is this problem, so an "OR" gate is used followed by the options of "Clutch System Fails", "Critical Gearbox Failure", or "Gearbox Electronics Fails".  For each one of these possible problems there are following options of what led to these failures.
With the overall use of other gates such as the "AND" gate, the model gets very specific and can make pin pointing the cause of a failure in an automatic transmission.  In conclusion, the model also represents the numerous "pitfalls" of having an automatic transmission compared to a manual transmission.  Later in the article is also shown the probabilities of each of these failures, proving that these transmissions are more likely to fail.  A study like this can be of high importance when deciding on the options for your new/used car.  Was there any specific reason you chose the type of transmission in your current car?

Risk of batted-ball injury for slow-pitched softball pitchers

I am not very interested in sports specifically, but I did always think that softball compared to baseball, was a much less risk involved sport.  This evaluation by Bomani Sports Research made me feel differently after reading their article.
The test was to see if the new polyurethane-centered softballs introduced in the 1990's can still be a great risk to the pitcher. In light of this change, a softball of this structure was used for the test. Another major variable giving the ball a range of reactions at impact is the bat material.  Since, many different types of bats get used frequently, there were five different bat types used.  Each bat was labeled through their variables, such as, material, weight, and balance point.  In order to get a consistent pitch each time, a pitching machine was introduced and placed at the exact distance away from home plate.  Four softball players with a variety of age, height, and weight were chosen purposely for real life accuracy, to bat the balls in which the ball speeds after impact were measured.  One other tested experiment showed that by using the cheaper, less performing equipment can decrease the probability of a ball to pitcher impact due to the decreased speed of the returning ball.  The slower speed gives the pitcher a significantly larger time to react.  This reaction time was concluded to be the highest in young adults. 
Some of the results showed that a composite bat greatly outperformed a wooden bat which would magnify the injury of the pitcher if an impact were to occur between ball and pitcher.
A chart was made showing how each batter, bat, and pitch speed affected the resulting batted-ball speed.  It was concluded that slow-pitch soft-ball players are in a dangerous situation regardless of which commonly used equipment is used.  If sports currently were more interested in safety rather than performance, then the probability of injury's could still be decreased drastically.
After comprehending the whole article it makes me wonder why the batter, especially in slow-pitch softball, wears the helmet and not the pitcher.  Is there some huge performance related downside that would occur from the pitcher wearing a helmet, because of not then I think that rule needs to be implemented.  How do you feel about this?

Tension Loss in Tennis Strings

If you have ever played tennis, especially over an extended period of time, you will notice how the strings in the racket get loser over time.  This scholarly article experiments how depending on string material, racket material, court material and style of play.  I found it amazing how these variables can be calculated in to make charts for how the strings will have tension loss.  Once the equations are created, the way each variable is added is by designating them an individual number based on intensity such as a flat style of play = 1 or a top spin style of play = 3. 
When the final values have been calculated, then charts can then be made.  For example, one chart that was created was the court material v.s. tension loss (%) considering the style of play.  It showed that with a flat style of play, playing on a clay court will result in a higher tension loss in the racket strings.  Ironically, with a top spin style of play, playing on a hard court will result in a higher tension loss.  I found this extremely interesting because i would not think that the material of the court would effect the strings so drastically different considering the style of play.
In conclusion, it was shown that the worst combination in tennis concerning string endurance is to play using a 16-main-string racket frame, strung with CS2/S1 or CS1/S2 strings, on a clay court.  The result of this combination was the complete fracture in the strings during the same play duration as the other combination's.
I have not played tennis in some years, but has anyone that plays tennis more often notice these same kinds of results?

My First Article From "Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology", 2008-2009

The name of the article is "Characteristics of Head Impacts Sustained by Youth Ice Hockey Players".  Overall this was an interesting article partly because it was my first time reading a scholarly article focused on mechanical engineering.  The study focused to measure the magnitude of head impacts sustained by 14 young male ice hockey players wearing instrumented helmets, and to compare impacts across a game, player position, and location.  The reason for this study was because it was understood that in young teenage males, that the developing brain would be more resistant and recover quicker.  Now it is thought that the child's brain is more vulnerable to long term effects from head trauma.

I can go on and on explaining the process of how the experiment came along, but  I am sure you are wondering now how this has anything to do with mechanical engineering, especially if you're not a mechanical engineering major.  There are some major concepts of materials, instrumentation, and dynamics that are directly related to this case in hockey.  The understanding of the resistance of the helmet and the hockey stick needed to be known for analysis of the actual impact of the child's head.  Also, the tools used to measure the data will need to be known how to use and analyze the date, such as accelerometers and telemetry instrumentation.  The most obvious mechanical engineering related study is dynamics having to do with the acceleration of the player, hockey stick, and target as well as the effects of gravity and resistances.

After going through the whole article including the data and conclusion, I found it amazing how humans have come so far as to pick a subject, create an experiment, and come up with results with precision.  Has anyone else been surprised as to how their major can relate to an unexpected subject?

Decisions.... Decisions

Now that the class has finally finished the instructions project and given the new assignment, it is time to start..... or is it? We have gotten into our groups and did some initial introductions, ect., but when it comes to the actual project, we ran into some decision making. Once we each have talked to our individual bosses, mentors and co-workers, we had some trouble in finding a legitimate technical document that is needed to be made for a company.  Either there was nothing needed or nothing lengthy enough for the whole group to comtribiute or too specific for the whole group to have knowledge about.  I wish the assignment of "a technical document" is a little more specific so there are aren't sooooo many options to find and choose from.

At the moment, we have some more possible alternatives for the decision of our final project topic.  Hopefully there will be one topic that everyone can agree on, will be enough for mutual group work and simple enough for all in our group to be somewhat knowledgeable about.  With all of these points met, it is more than likely that there will be none of the "bad" characteristics of group members as portrayed in the previuos articles.

Have any other groups also had trouble or are still having trouble deciding on a topic?

The Report

I thought the Robert Report that we watch in class on Thursday was hilarious.  He magnified the flaws of Wikipedia, but with still keeping the facts true.  It makes me realize why so many professors in high school and college try to persuade their students away from using Wikipedia too much.  Such as in keeping the sources sited to one or none in the Wikipedia department.  Personally, even though I know that most information on Wikipedia is correct, I try first to find the same information on a more creditable site first to verify everything is correct. One time just to see if all of this Wikipedia hatred was for real, I went on there to a random factual page and changed a minor grammatical part of it to see if it would really changed for everyone to see. And it did! I thought it was crazy that I could really change something that easily on such a "creditable" site. I think that regardless of a professor's rules on using Wikipedia, I am going to try and steer clear of using it for my personal research. Anyone feel the same way?

This Would Be Easier If......

.... I was on my own? Or maybe with some different people? Sometimes I ask myself these questions when I am part of a group project or team.  I personally really like to work in groups for the most part, because it takes the stress off of having to do everything and having someone right there to review your work.... or is there anyone there? Sometimes I get stuck in these groups or pairs when there are what I like to call "slackers" and so they aren't there to peer review or for that matter do anything.  There are also, the times when there's the one or two "members" that show up, but sit on the side lines.  There are no 2nd string players in this team!  Lastly, there have been the ones that insist on doing most of the work and then complain about how no one else did anything on the team review sheet.  Don't get me wrong, there are students that are easy to work with, do work and split responsibilities, but these are rare seeds.
Hopefully I have some rare seeds in my group, which I think it sounds safe to bet on for now after we talked.
Does anyone have any horror stories with team projects?

Ummmm..... What?

There are times when i talk to people and have no idea either what they're talking about or what their point is even though in their head it makes perfect sense.  Keep in mind that these people are American born and speak English as their first language.  The point i am making is that i don't think that there will ever be a perfectly transparent language.  Each language has their own jokes, sarcasm, slang, ect. which adds to the confusion between languages and religion when it comes to a clear understanding of what's being said.  Also, rhetoric as we talked about in class adds to the demise of transparency because of tricky wording and persuasive gestures.  There are very few things in each language that is understood in the same fashion by everyone around the world.  I think that this will always be the case for generations to come.

There's an introduction?

When buying something new especially if its exciting, most people open the box and try to use it as soon as possible.  Every time for the most part there is this little thing call the "Instruction Manual" that is included in the box that people overlook.  There are those "rare" times when the manual actually needs to be read in order to figure out how to put the product together or know how it works.  Me personally, does usually open the manual, but basically go straight to the needed section and then by the end of the day, the manual is lost.  Anyway, i never bothered to notice that there was the "Introduction" section before what we learned in class.  This section so far seems to be a pretty important part considering it can be the longest single section in the whole manual.

Now that we have been given the task to create our own manual including an "Introduction" section, i find myself needing more help to write it than i think i would need in future sections.  I assume this is because i don't think i have ever read one all the way through.  I personally am doing my manual on how to do the laundry and may specify it for a certain type of clothing, but not sure yet. What are your manual's going to be about and do you feel like the "Introduction" will be one of the more difficult parts to complete?

What Language Does Starbucks Speak?

When anyone is writing a composition, especially if it is expected to be read by a wide variety of people, the audience should be kept in mind.  I find that a lot of articles and reviews assume a lot about the knowledge of the reader.  For example, names of certain types of coffee in Starbucks. I read an article the other day about how Starbucks has been very popular this year due to new additions and flavors in their menus (keep in mind i do not like coffee so much and so I am hesitant in buying drinks at Starbucks).  Then the author went on to rave about all of these various drinks such as "Espresso Macchiato" and "Mocha Frappuccino".  Now, if i knew what in the world a "Macchiato" was, then i might be more excited to go and buy one.  I feel like this article defeated the purpose of trying to influence new customers to try Starbucks, because the only people to understand what the author was talking about were current Starbucks enthusiasts.  Since he himself was probably an enthusiast, he didn't think to mention what these so called "amazing" drinks consisted of.  Did i not get the memo for how "Starbucks people" speak?

This Class and the Real World

      I am in the Mechanical Engineering major and did a co-op rotation at BorgWarner Turbo Systems. I had many various projects to work on and/or complete throughout my six month rotation. Most of these projects either had to do with manual fabrication, using excel and data analysis. This work ranged from fabricating
gas stand measurement sections, modifying adapters, formulating equations on excel and analizing graphs. I feel like the time spent, knowledge and money i gained from working at BorgWarner was the experience was well worth the semester away from school.

        Although this was most of the work, there was still one last very important and necessary part of completing any functional project. This step is to write a technical document explaining the purpose of the "tool", how to use the "tool", how to read the results, Maintenance, safety and storage. Without this document, the new "tool" is useless once a person other than the creator tries to use it. For example, one project i was given was to try and find a solution for how to determine an approximate air leakage rate on gas stands just by looking at soapy bubble growth and rate that was sprayed on the leaks. I ended up making a "leak simulator" that had three different size unkown leak rates on it. It was used to compare to the gas stand leaks in order to get an idea of how big or small the leak is on the gas stand. Obviously there were certain assumptions that had to be made, specific conditions and gas stand settings in order for the "leak simulator" to work right. All of the specifics and "instructions" were easily explained to new users through the critical technical document. Obviously i wish that i took this class before i did my co-op due to me having to write two of these documents, but now hopefully the co-op will help with this class.

        I have realized that Technical Writing 314 at Clemson turns out to be an important class to take for Mechanical Engineering along with working at an automotive related job such as BorgWarner. Does anyone else have any experience with wishing they had taken this class earlier than this semester? Either with a
Mechanical Engineering major or any major?