Response #1
I found Caitlin’s focusing on gender diversity in the police force to be intriguing. In the article, several female interviewees from the Canadian police department were asked about their experiences with discrimination, and various factors were noted which made them feel that way (such as the treatment pre- and post-pregnancy, examinations that give advantages to males, and etc.) For years, the female makeup of the Canadian police force stabilized at 13% and does not correlate to the sex ratio in Canada (from figures 1 and 2). In the TED video that came along, a woman that rose in ranks from officer to police chief pointed out the benefits of having women in the police force. This video was interesting to me because I remember many years ago when I read a report about criminal psychology and interrogation within the police department, and that an outstanding amount of criminals are willing to confess if the interrogator is a woman. I don’t know if studies have changed over the years, but if this maintains to be the case then having more women within the force should become a necessity, not out of social obligation but out of the will to increase the efficiency of the police department.
Response #3
Bogost’s article was a great read since it was similar to Austin/Pisano’s style of writing: a storytelling narrative. The audience follows the journey of Amy Webb, and we have the ability to empathize with her after reading through her experiences at the airport and truly understanding her problems. But writing a post simply in a storytelling method does not guarantee success, and Bogost managed to capture the reader’s attention with his transitions. Strong transitions in the article such as “But that’s an aspirational hope” and “Those efforts have merit” easily helps to bring the reader to the author’s next point.