The best and cheapest lavaliers!

I don't talk too much about products, but I need to mention these lavaliers I bought months ago from Giant Squid.
It was $30 plus shipping and I also feel I got quality lavaliers (compared to other brands I experimented with). The store owner is Darren Nemeth, you can contact him at dnemeth01@charter.net.

This is the cardioid lav I use with my Zoom H2 and also the Olympus DM-520 digital audio recorder that I place inside an eyeglass case (I've drilled a hole into the end of the eyeglass case so the audio cord can pass through).


Such a deal!

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was awarded Nobel Peace Prize this year!

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was awarded Nobel Prize this year!!!!

I was fortunate to record the President of the Republic of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's speech at the University of Tampa commencement convocation on May 9, 2009 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The first woman president on the continent of Africa, President Sirleaf was elected in November 2005. In 2006, Forbes magazine named her the 51st most powerful woman in the world.

In her address, Sirleaf told the Tampa graduates that they should not get discouraged in the current economy if they can’t acquire their ideal job. She suggested that they possibly travel and work in another land to help out the less fortunate.

Sirleaf then segued into discussing her own life and career, including her campaign to become president of Liberia.

My photo is exhibited at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts!!!!

Special thanks to my buddy, Doyle Harrell who came with me to the exhibit and took some pictures. Special thanks to the model :) and Creative Loafing for creating this exhibition for photogs in Tampa Bay.

The Dangers of Nuclear Energy

What the media doesn't tell you about the #nuclear #energy. Listen to Helen # Caldicott's presentation recorded at USF's College of Public Health!

How to land a job? Research, prepare and be confident

According to USF's Career center, in today's competitive market, it is vital to meet employers' expectations when interviewing for positions both on and off campus.  To ensure that you are adequately prepared for your interview, adhere to the following minimal guidelines:

Before the Interview:

.       Research the company
        o    You can gather information about their products, services, culture, industry and
              market position from the company website
.       Dress for Success
        o      Business Professional Attire is expected - this includes a coordinated business suit
                for both men and women
.       Prepare a list of questions to ask the interviewer. This will convey your interest and
        eagerness for employment with the company
.       Bring extra copies of your resume to the interview
.       Review and practice answering sample interview questions - including both
        traditional, behavioral, and situational

 Students are also encouraged to participate in Career Express at the Career Center and speak with Counselor about Interviewing Tips. Career Express runs from Monday through Thursday from 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00.

During the Interview:

.       Be on time. Arrive 10-15 minutes early and allow time for parking
.       Use a firm handshake and maintain good eye contact
.       Articulate why you are interested in the position and how your knowledge and skill sets
        make you the best candidate
.       Convey confidence and enthusiasm
.       Be honest
.       At the conclusion of the interview, inquire as to the best way to follow up

A Research!America Research Partners Forum-- October 27

A Research!America Research Partners Forum

Let Me Be Clear: Science Journalism
in the Age of the Genome and Twitter

Embassy Suites-Tampa USF, 3705 Spectrum Blvd., Tampa, FL

October 27, 2011

12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Florida is home to an increasing array of leading health and research institutions as well as some of the nation’s most respected media outlets. The state is thus in a unique position to shape the future of science journalism and health communications and their impact on public policy.

Research!America, with the University of South Florida and Pfizer, presents a Research Partners Forum: Let Me Be Clear: Science Journalism in the Age of the Genome and Twitter. Results from a new Florida poll will provide a springboard for an interactive conversation about media, health research, science and public understanding of these issues in a time of increasing complexity in all of these areas. Two high-level panel discussions, each followed by Q&A, will address these important issues. Leaders in science, health communications, journalism and social media will explore ways journalists and scientists can work together to communicate research news in today's fast-changing environment.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Jay Dean, PhD, professor of molecular pharmacology and physiology, USF Health
• Elie Dolgin, PhD, news editor, Nature Medicine
• Eric Eisenberg, PhD, dean, University of South Florida College of Arts and Sciences
• Steven Klasko, MD, MBA, dean, University of South Florida College of Medicine
• Sheril Kirshenbaum, science writer and research associate, University of Texas Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy
• Karen Liller, PhD, dean, University of South Florida Graduate School; associate vice president for Research & Innovation, University of South Florida
• Alice Park, senior reporter, TIME Magazine
• Fred Pearce, PhD, director, University of South Florida School of Mass Communications
• David Sampson, director, medical & scientific communications, American Cancer Society
• Charlotte Sutton, health editor, St. Petersburg Times
• Jack Watters, MD, vice president for External Medical Affairs, Pfizer Inc
• Ralph Wilcox, PhD, provost and executive vice president, University of South Florida
• Mary Woolley, president and CEO, Research!America

A look at ethics in documentary filmmaking

Summer went by soooooooooo fast, this is not even funny!!!! My internship at USF Communications and Marketing Department comes to an end and I wanted to share one of my last articles I wrote last week. I enjoyed meeting very talented professors, who go above and beyond to be an example for students and USF! One of them is Dr. Butchart.....

Assistant Professor of Communication at USF Garnet Butchart gave a lecture on ethics and cinema at the JerusalemCentre for Ethics at Mishkenot Sha’ananim in Jerusalem in July.

Butchart’s lecture was part of a Seminar on Documentary Filmmaking Ethics of the 28^th Annual Jerusalem International Film Festival for which he served as a juror for the Israeli Documentary Film Awards on July 7-16. 

Cinematographer Dan Geva invited Butchart to present his research on documentary filmmaking ethics, which had been published in the international journal, CommunicationTheory. 

According to Butchart, the two main ethical issues in documentary filmmaking are participant consent and the audience’s right to know and to hear.

“People have the right to control their own image, and to avoid being manipulated in the process of filmmaking. People have a right to information about issues that concern the public, and documentary cinema is a major vehicle for providing this. The idea is that it should do so in a way that is not misleading,” Butchart said.

He argued that typically, documentary filmmakers are held to commons sense ideas about moral duties and obligations. But this limits the filmmaking process. 

“This tends to put the documentary filmmaker into a box. I argue that because ethical issues are difficult to regulate through media policy, filmmakers are their own best judges of their ethical practices,” he said.

“My main argument is that ethics, in the context of documentary filmmaking, is usually confused with morals. Ethics and morals are not necessarily the same,” he said. “Morals are part of a set of known values and norms that structure a culture and that guide our actions. We often take these for granted. On the other hand, we can think of ethics as a practice. Ethics is devoted to what is not yet known or cannot be recognized from the prevailing norms and values we take for granted.”

In the context of documentary cinema, according to Butchart, ethics is not a moral problem, but rather, a semiotic problem. 

“What that means is that ethics is an issue of perception—of looking at people and of making images of them. It is not quite a matter of right and wrong,” Butchart said. “I argue that some of the ethical difficulties in documentary can be solved semiotically—that is, if filmmakers include the presence of the camera, as well as themselves, as part of the documentary. This helps to break the illusion of the movie.”

He offers two techniques: “doubling” and “redoubling” the gaze of documentary. 

The first technique is when filmmakers include moments when participants look directly into the camera lens, address the filmmaker directly, or acknowledge the presence of the camera in some way, he said.

“When participants look into the lens of the camera, this puts into question the role of the filmmaker, and that in itself is an ethical practice,” he said. 

The second technique is when the filmmaker reflects on the practice of making the documentary.

“When a filmmaker shows audiences the process through which a movie is made, this is also an ethical practice. It demonstrates that the filmmaker is self-reflexive about the process,” he said.

Butchart said that Israeli documentary filmmakers are more progressive in this regard.

“They often include in their movies images about the making of documentary. In so doing, documentary is disclosed as a process of interpretation rather than as factual film. This helps to address many of the ethical problems typically linked to participant consent and to the rights of audiences to be informed about issues of public concern,” he said.

Butchart said that his teaching, research and lectures are all connected through his critical approach to mass media and human communication. 

“I emphasize a critical approach to mass media and human communication. I encourage my students to think carefully about the way in which media images help shape how we think about ourselves and the world,” he said.

“The image making techniques I talked about in my lecture can help to cultivate among audiences a healthy skepticism about images in the media. They remind us that even the most objective forms of cinema, such as documentary, are products of interpretation and careful composition,” Butchart said.