cfedor – Introduction to Digital Publishing

Trump admin to shutter international immigration offices

Article by John Bowden and Rafael Bernal (https://thehill.com/policy/international/433714-trump-admin-to-shutter-21-international-immigration-offices)

I find it odd that the Hill, a news organization that sits to the right, would pick the word shutter to describe a recent administration move. Shutter evokes a sense of finality, a last weary sigh as all of one’s effort has been expended and there is no other choice than to call it quits. By using this word “shutter” the authors make this piece human from the outset, which doesn’t seem like a wise decision for an organization with conservative leanings. This article does however, heavily quote individuals associated with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when they created this article. This move, according to this article, is intended as a consolidation effort to address issues of budget and backlog. This article also quotes the head of the agency, Director L. Francis Cissna, as they address the decision to “shutter” (again a rather emotional word) their 21 offices and consolidate them into existing embassies and stateside offices. Cissna states while this change may be difficult, it is their intention to make the transition as smooth as possible. According to another, unnamed, official in the agency, this move is cost-cutting measure, and approximately 70 of the agency’s staff would be reassigned to other agencies. Oddly, at this point the article begins to criticize this move ( I saw odd as this is a conservative leaning news outlet). The authors quote a democrat house member, who states the move “sounds like a really dumb idea”. This move is exceedingly odd from a conservative organization.

Trump Administration Seeks To Close International Immigration Offices

Article created by Vanessa Romo and Joel Rose for NPR (https://www.npr.org/2019/03/12/702807908/trump-administration-seeks-to-close-international-immigration-offices)

For a news organization that sits left of center, and often reports with a bias against the current president, the title of this article seems oddly stale. NPR, or National Public Radio, is an organization that one would expect a slightly more loaded title, instead it seems rather on the nose. However, it should be noted that the actual content of this story is certainly titled left. This article lays out a recent administration decision to cut down on the number of foreign offices the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from 23 to 0. These planned closures would save millions of dollars each year according to the Trump administration. With the closure of these offices, and much of the Agency in general, the duties would be transferred to the State Department, Defense Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. A spokesperson for the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) claimed that this would not result in a bottleneck for those seeking asylum in the US. It is at this point that the NPR story begins to show its bias as they then begin to discuss the potential negative impacts of closing these offices. The authors of this story quote Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst for Migration Policy Institute, who states that this decision would likely exacerbate the existing bottleneck in the process that already exists. The authors of this piece continue in this vain for the last few paragraphs of this article, making the prediction that this move would result in further calls for more reductions in immigration.

The Suit Maketh the Man: Americanah’s emphasis on appearance in Chapters 1 and 2

I find it interesting that this novel almost immediately begins with one of the protagonists, Ifemelu, watching people. While it is rather mundane activity, it becomes a recurring theme of the first two chapters. On page 4, Ifemelu assumes that the older white man she is next to is professor, for no other reason than his relative location and the way he styles his hair. Additionally, she is on her way get her hair restyled, as a way to change her appearance. In chapter 2 Obinze also seems to have a focus on appearance, mainly in how he is perceived. On page 33 he notes he just had to” drive to a gate in his BMW and the gate-man would salute and open it for him, without asking questions.”. Or when he went to America for the first time and the immigration official was confused that he didn’t have much to declare as “Nigerians like you [declare] thousands and thousands of dollars all the time.” (p.33). Why is that this is the case? Why do the characters of this novel have such a fixation on outward appearance? And why are some so surprised when their expectations do not match the person?

Easier than you think

My project, should it be selected, is rather simple. It will consist of an event, to be hosted with AWE’s technologies division and or standard staff members, and focus on sourcing and building “budget PC’s”. A budget PC, or budget build, is a computer that is built with parts that fit within a particular price range and still complete a desired task(e.x. I built PC back in 2016 that could only cost up to 500 dollars and had to outperform a Sony PS4). The intention of this event is to teach the members of AWE how to build and maintain a PC, and how to source parts on a budget(as well as give them 3-5 PCs). These skills will not only allow them to reduce some of their operations costs, it will also be a skill they can pass on to those they serve.

Career Panel: I should get into T-Shirts

I personally found the career panel to be informative. I will note at this point that much of what they stated was advice I have been receiving my entire life, but its good advice none the less. Almost all of them made the point that connections, and some kind of part time work, where invaluable to starting a small business. The first is a obvious, in that having a large group of associates means you also have a large pool of references and potential customers. The second, and in my opinion most pertinent, was that now is the perfect time for us to be making money. Having a part time job while our loans aren’t acquiring interest means we have some kind of fund to get us started once we get out of college. Additonally, get prepared for denials as it seems that each of the panelist had to endure a lot of no’s before their business got a yes.

As someone who is interested in writing their own books, as wells as working in publishing, there were some points that I felt resonated. Especially the point that you are going to hear a lot of no’s (The gentlemen with the Pizza business seemed to be the most vocal on this point). I know, and this panel reinforced, that just because I think my idea is great, doesn’t mean that others necessarily believe the same. I need to prepare myself now, and accept that things rarely go well on the first attempt. But, I also need to be persistent in adapting until that no becomes a yes.

Hope you enjoy the same thing twice Professor

Different Doesn’t Mean Better

Different doesn’t always translate to better. Diverging from the standard can lead to the new content standing out, but it could also be an utter failure. There is a reason after all that a norm exists, it tends to work all the time. So, while the Non-profit website Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services or LIRS has certainly changed the standard layout (however mildly), these changes did not necessarily lend themselves to a website that was intuitive to move around. However, the website isn’t impossible to navigate, and after exploring it for a time it’s layout does begin to make sense. It is only the aspects of the traditional non-profit website that they changed which causes issues.

Starting with the most blatant issue, the design of this website is not what could be referred to as optimized or intuitive. But, they have at least deviated from the norms of the non-profit and changed the dark greens for a dark blue, not groundbreaking but certainly different. Aside from this color change, most everything else that can be associated with a non-profit is present on this site (ie. Name/Logo in upper left hand corner, Donate button in bright color, drop down menus, etc.).

Image 1

However, this isn’t the main issue with the home page. The main issue is that after reaching this section of the homepage.

Image 2

There is no indication that there is any more content. An attentive web user may notice that there is still more space on the page due to the scroll bar, but the page has nothing to indicate this is the case. Considering the fact that the individuals using this page may not be as tech savvy as its creators, this seems like a rather grand oversight on LIRS’ part. Not ensuring that the audience is aware of the extra content on this page doesn’t score LIRS many points when it comes to maximizing the yield of their homepage.

As previously stated, this is a non-profit website, and if the orange “Donate” (image 1) button didn’t already make it clear, the goal of this website is get funding to continue their outreach projects. However, this site also seems to offer financial assistance for individuals seeking asylum in the US (Image 1 shows a portal to the loans section in the upper right corner).

Image 3

This page has general overview of the intent of this program and its goals for those individuals who would enroll in it. While no precise details are provided, the content of this page seems to suggest that loans are not intended for making money, but as a tool to assist displaced people become familiar with new/different economic system. There are a few more portals to news stories, as well as the history of the organization (see the “About Us” portal); information does not seem to be the primary interest for this site. Rather, they seem to focus on Donations and the Loan program.

On the note of the loan program, the intended audience for this site does change ever so slightly. Obviously, the site is meant as tool for those individuals who have used are in the process of using the loan program, so one of the primary audiences is asylum seekers who are enrolled in the loan program. Additionally, this website is meant for Lutherans who are refugee activists or those individuals who believe in Lutheran ideals and are looking to engage with a religious outreach program. While this site does seem to have some opportunities for volunteer work, it is again obvious that they are more interested in financial backing than.

This page was produced by the LIRS group, and more specifically Danielle Bernard the director of marketing and communication (the exact designers of this page are not listed on this site). It’s layout mostly follows the designs that are common to non-profit sites, with some non-standard services such as travel loans. While it does serve as informational site, including the history of the organization and their current projects, it’s primary goals are donations and the loan program (likely funded by donations). Beyond that, it doesn’t make many pressing arguments. While images are used on this site, they aren’t meant to be striking or pitch a strong message. This site seems to use its media to accent the articles instead of support them. What images that are used are often hidden behind walls of text, or cropped to make for space for paragraphs and empty space. Too much of this website is empty space that could have been filled with striking photographs and/or video’s about their organization. (3/10 to much empty space)

Works Cited

“LIRS.” LIRS, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, www.lirs.org/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019.