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March 2025

Becoming Better Consumers of Visual Rhetoric

Just because one knows a general adage or theoretical truth does not entail the ability to put it into practice within a case study situation.  Diagrams and visuals simplifying complex processes can misdirect attention or even mislead an audience, and “bad” graphs or slick advertisements can reinforce partisan narratives.  We want to help students become better consumers of visual rhetoric.

Free Online Content

• Data Hunger: The Deep Connection Between the AI Chatbot and the Human by Teana Davies Posted in: Commentary, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - Now that generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools that produce data and information are becoming widespread and commonplace, studies are showing… ...  Read More
• Smartphone Self-Paced Learning With a Chatbot in Malaysian Older Adults by Min Hooi Yong Posted in: Articles, Commentary, Communication Technology, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - Research has shown that cognitive training done on computers results in modest learning gains with the potential to minimize cognitive… ...  Read More
• Analyzing Smartphones as Persuasive Technologies: A Rhetorical Perspective by Shannon Lodoen Posted in: Articles, Commentary, Communication Technology, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - We should remember that the smartphone’s persuasive power-though generated through interactions with the device itself-is, at base, due to the… ...  Read More
• The Changing Face of Maps: Toward a Geoethical Framework by Katina Michael Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Case Studies, Ethics, Last Word, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - In the future, maps may be a continual feed of location-based video preserved in 3-D—and overlaid with semantic layers that… ...  Read More
• Trail Paving in Engineering Ethics Education by Joe Herkert Posted in: Articles, Case Studies, Commentary, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - In my teaching, I gained insight into some of the ethical dilemmas posed by science and technology but also into… ...  Read More
• Research to Reality: Scholars as Agents of Change by Ketra Schmitt Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Editorial & Opinion, Environment, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology - Given the urgency of the climate crisis, wealth and income inequality and affordability, and ongoing global conflicts and genocide, along… ...  Read More
• The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be — AI’s Rapid Evolution and SSIT’s Role in Shaping Tomorrow by murtyp Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, President's Message, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - Who knows how the future may materialize? As Yogi Berra also observed, “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about… ...  Read More

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