Observation allows researchers to experience a specific aspect of social life and get a firsthand look at a trend, institution or behaviour. It promotes good communication skills, improves decision making and enhances awareness. A sociological observation was conducted at York dale Toronto shopping center and food court at various time intervals. There were different spectres of ethnicity and different ways people acted. I chose this mall because it is one of the largest malls in Canada and the problem of reactivity could be avoided. My first observation exercise was at the shopping arena. The shoppers tended to move in groups and were more concerned with the needs of their groups. The children however socialized in between groups prompting uncomfortable apologies and new friendships. The workers' age seemed to be distributed from as low as 18 to the mid-60s. Races were diverse ranging from Hispanic to Caucasian to Africans and Asians. The mall was female dominant though there were males present. The staff at most of the stores had on casual clothing, seeming happy and patient with the children and impatient customers. They also knew each other without having to look at their name tags and I did not observe any tension amongst the workers. …show more content…
There were people with faces that showed how that they were clueless on what to eat but when they saw people of the same culture through their dressing, they had the expression of happiness written all over them. It felt like they had found a sense of home just by discovering their culture food and those of the same culture. They immediately got their food and went to sit in the section where their culture was present. Women and Men in official clothing chose to dine at the Chinese and Italian section probably because the stand was of a more decorous setting than the other
Similar to everyone else in the world, many sociological forces have greatly impacted my life and shaped the person that I am today. Throughout Sociology 110, learning what elements in the population’s lives affect the way they live their lives allowed me to consider what has personally affected my own. The person I am today can attribute the sociological forces such my gender, my not-so close knit family, my family’s low socioeconomic status, and sexism in the family. There are plenty of other sociological factors that have considerably rendered my person, however, I believe that the ones I mentioned are the most important factors that manipulated not only how I live my life, but me as a person as well, into my current self.
Over the years, the American department store has developed and evolved as not only a commercial business but also a cultural institution. While it has weathered many storms and changes since its inception and throughout history, its most predominant enemy has been a change in the lifestyle of the American people (Whitaker, 2013). As the customer’s needs and wants have shifted, department stores have struggled to keep up with demands. It has been argued that the decline of the department store has been ongoing for the last 50 years (Whitaker, 2013). This dissertation aims to understand how the department store has historically played a role in consumer culture and spending, and additionally, how this has evolved and changed in today’s retail market. Although department stores may not be able to take all the credit for inventing modern shopping, they certainly made its conventions and conveniences commonplace. They set a new standard for the way the consumer should expect to be treated, the type of services that should be provided, and the convenience that should attend the process of acquiring the necessities and niceties of life all in one place. They made shopping into a leisure pastime. This environment meant shopping was a means of freedom to look around, pick up objects with no obligations to buy. As one historian remarked, department stores: “encouraged a perception of the building as a public place, where consumption itself was almost incidental to the delights of a sheltered promenade in a densely crowded, middle-class urban space” (Whitaker, 2006). Although this perception and view of the department store has changed over the years, this paper aims to follow the trail of how and why that happened.
The suggestion regarding the shopping mall becoming its own liturgy is understandable. People are often fascinated by the mall’s environments. In addition, the mall may become a place of worship to an extent. Spending unhealthy amounts of time at mall may have attachment effect. Nevertheless, attending the mall,
The retail store that I chose to do observational research in is Target. Target is an upscale discount store with ranging variety of products from groceries, to clothes, electronics, makeup, home décor, and much more. The location of the Target I did the research in is the Okemos Michigan Target. Target has 1,816 stores all over the United States (Target, corporate). The research methods used in the study are direct observation, interviews, and surveys. Direct observation was used to observe how people acted in the store, the order they went through the store, the things people are buying, and how long they are spending around the store. Interviews with six individuals were used to question the reasoning they were in Target, what they planned
Norton, Anne. "The Signs of Shopping." The Signs of ShoppinG in the U.S.A. Sixth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 101-06. Print.
Jesse Worthington develops the central idea of Barneys case stirs talk of ‘shopping while black’, she talks about how big the issue of racism is by talking about the personal experiences of African Americans while shopping at Barneys. Washington explains racism and stereotyping that is being pushed on black people who shop at high end, expensive department stores. Stereotypes such as not being able to afford something so just shoplifting it. (Washington ,3)“... One study
The ethnographic study took place at McDonalds’ shop, Leeds, local market in the afternoon of Monday, 17th January 2011. From away I could observe the huge logo of McDonalds. I stood at the entrance and stared at the shop for few seconds. The shop was far more elegant than the average McDonald’s. The interior has a minimal style with posh chairs, tables, black art deco fixtures, beautiful paintings and attractive lights and draperies. There were large windows so it was impossible for customers to see into the Harvey Nichols store. Also, outside were window boxed filled with flowers or greenery. I could hear some relaxing music. At first glance, I noticed that customers were people with different age groups, genders, ethnic classes, social classes and cultural backgrounds. The language which was more spoken was English. [Without thinking, I was moving towards the counter, I faced] the girl behind the counter [; she] was wearing a red t-shirt with a cap and a hut. She seemed to be in a rush to handle the orders. Despite that, she was friendly and with a smile on the face to welcome the customers. The most co...
With a sociological approach for education, a teacher is able maintain a holistic view of their role as a teacher and the connections between the classroom and their participants. This theory can be learned, then similar to the learning of morals, cannot be unlearned. For the teacher’s lens, sociology acts the zoom mechanism for macro to micro perspectives of the influences on the classroom. While applying this theory teacher are able to adjust and adapt culturally responsive teaching with an increased understanding of their teacher identity, a more informed understanding of their community, and a critical perspective of curriculum. The concepts of sociology can be applied with the sociological imagination to teacher identity and historical
Human being spend much time observing the world in which they live in. observing the world is something were familiar with is just that we have not considered it as a way of doing formal research. Observation does not just involve vision, it includes interpretation of that same date, it’s not just recording of data from environment we observe, we are active our brains are engaged as well as our eyes and ears. In a social gathering where you don’t know people researcher can adopt participant observation where she has two roles to play that is being an observer and participant. In a hospital a nurse can pretend to be a patient in other to be admitted into the ward to enable her obtain adequate information because informant
Being a low-income Hispanic person, I have had a bad experience when shopping in a predominately-white shopping center. I remember a time my aunts and I went to buy clothes at a shopping center in Utah. When we were at a store looking at the clothes we noticed that staff from the store was following us like if we were going to rob something. When ...
The goal for my ethnographic study is subjected to the study of the people of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is a place that varies from city to city, but still attracts many of the same people. Everyone knows the weird people that wear ridiculous things to do their normal routine of shopping. That is why I have chosen to do my mini ethnography one day while shopping as an insider at the local Wal-Mart in Auburn, Alabama. Wal-Mart is a large center for shopping that attracts many different types of people, while creating an environment within itself.
Observation is very important in young children because that is how you get to know a child better. While observing how a child interacts with their peers, adults, and how they behave in different settings, you are getting to know the child without speaking to them.
Tremendous shopping centers, malls, even those little corner shops became an icon of American culture and its society. We are constantly manipulated by these so called convenient public places where escaping from it would be almost impossible. There are probably a 50% of chances that we will start our day with a cup of coffee in one, buy our afternoon lunch in the other one, or end up just walking around one. Shopping centers are everywhere; we cannot escape from it. Moreover, we do not want to escape from it as we are constantly underestimating the power and the real impact these places have on our society. Thus these places play a huge role in the process of socialization and are largely influencing the development of our society as a whole. In order to understand the way these places are emphasizing the gender differences and inequalities between the sexes, I decided to visit the local store Walmart and through an observation of its environment and its settings try to record its power of gendering. I was looking for a proof that gender is not merely an element of individual identity, but a socially constructed institutional phenomenon which is even imposed in our shopping centers and local stores.
Whenever we go out shopping or relaxing at malls, we actually don’t see or recognize any effects of malls as we mostly go there for these two reasons. Malls are an integral part in the lives of America. They are shopping centers that have created a lot of buzz in many writers. This is because we have more malls in America than high schools. Malls have received praises from people like James J. Farrell, Jon Pahl and George Lewis who view malls as not only shopping centers but also as places that provide a reflection of the American culture and serve as centers of pleasure and entertainment. In contrast, William Kowinski and David Gutterson criticize malls for just being an artificial environment that creates disorientation among American shoppers. In my opinion, malls are just magnificent commercial buildings that create a sense of false dreams and imagination.
By using observation method, a wide variety of behavior can be recorded. Picking through the garbage on the side of the road can reveal behaviors of fast-food customers, or sitting for only one hour in the university canteen can understand the gender differences in choosing (diet) meal, or even watching the customer’s behavior from deciding which yogurt to be taken off its store shelves in the supermarket can also answer the question: Are the customers be attracted by its appearance or flavor or price or brand or nutrition? The aim of this observation assignment is to evaluate and explain the different types of interactions between individual and groups present, as well as the environment in which these interactions take place. The field observation was conducted at the Vietnamese fast-food restaurant named “We love Banhmi” in Budapest, and the role adopted, was that of observer as a non-participant. Group structures as well as overall activity, patterns of behavior, and the duration and timing of such behaviors and interactions were observed and recorded. Sociological concepts pertaining to age, gender, and appearance were also noted and applied.