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Recommended: Ethnographic study
As part of my project “Be still” in my Design Research class where I have to sit or stand still for a short amount of time and later write about what I observed, I decided to go to the food court area of Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City on a Sunday afternoon. As it was Sunday afternoon, I could see lots of people in the food court. The advantage of that place was that the area was full of people so it would provide me the good opportunity to observe the atmosphere and people. At the start, I felt very comfortable doing it. I was standing behind a table. But as the time passed, I started becoming uncomfortable as people started noticing me and became more self-observant. While I was there I noticed people doing the regular stuffs like waiting
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of learning more about a new culture and participating in their cultural events. My original fear of being an intruder went away when people would be friendly and introduce themselves to me. I was surprised to enter the prayer room and see that people were sitting on the floor because I am used to people having a chair to sit on. I was also nervous about sitting on the floor for a long period of time because my body is not used to it and I am not as youthful as I once was. After about thirty minutes, I started to get really uncomfortable, but I continued to sit because I did not want to be offensive by standing. I was surprised to see volunteers cooking meals for the guest because that is not something that I am used to seeing at a
When traveling to a foreign country you never know what to expect. Curiosity of people and cultural norms race through your head. That is how I felt the first time I flew into the Puerto Vallarta airport with my friend Ashley.
Julie Guthman, the author of “The Food Police,” brings up the debate about the “epidemic of obesity” giving multiple examples of those who agree there is an epidemic of obesity; as well as those who disagree on the stance such as the author. Guthman brings the idea instead of pushing thin as the new beautiful to make suggestions to the food system so that everyone can benefit from making healthier choices and lives.
Imagine that you walk into a cafeteria and you see children in line to buy lunch. The lunch is burnt and cold. You see the kids who bought lunch sit down and start asking people for food, they say no. At the end of the lunch period the kids lunch trays still have all the food on them. The children are starving and a lot of food was wasted. You don’t want that right? I believe that our school should get a new lunch menu because many students do not like the food served, there are not many options, and there are many problems with the food.
The social norms of the mall food court were examined and studied for the purpose of this research study. In order to understand the intention for my research— social norms can be defined as “social standards of behavior and/or thought that (a) indicate what people should or should not do or think under some circumstances and (b) are at least in part enforced upon individuals by external pressure” (Dequech 2006: 473). My interest in this study was to analyze whether the demographics associated with norms coerced the way people interact with family and friends and to what extent of social control is there. Furthermore, I wanted to investigate what the specific norms of the mall food court were and point out acts of deviance, which can be formally defined as, “nonconformity to a set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society” (Appelbaum, Carr, Duneier, Giddens 2009: 173). Essentially, the way people act was based on the public location, essentially, the social norms that were followed are influenced by the location and the people around them. Subsequently, it can be summarized as followed: “They regard a social norm as a rule governing an individual 's behavior that third parties other than state agents diffusely enforce by means of social sanctions. A person who violates a norm risks becoming the target of punishment..." (Ellickson 2001: 3). This specific topic was important for me to analyze because normally I do not spend long periods of time at the mall court. I usually purchase what I need and leave quickly after, it is very rare that I take my time to shop, sit down, and rest in the food court and grab something to eat. For that reason, I was motivated to see how norms played out in ...
After I had walked around a little bit, I tried to find a place to sit. They
The Organization The organization that I volunteered at was the Carroll County Food Pantry in Carrollton, Kentucky. This operation runs every Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3-5 p.m. for all community members, and on every third Wednesday 9:30 am-12: 30 pm specifically for the elderly. Throughout the week, the pantry gathers numerous volunteers. In fact, every month the local churches of Carroll County will rotate and work the food pantry on assigned days.
As we continue down the boardwalk, it is almost as if confronting a mist of aromas! Each and every inch you move, there is a new flavor, sight, and sound! That, however, does not discount, yet again, the repetitive screeches of seagulls, the laughter of others nearby, and the distant crashes of waves. Once I fill up on all of the food I can handle—and I swear to you that I fill up more than I do for Thanksgiving dinner—I people watch. I am normally the only one to do this out of my family, but it brings me so much joy to simply observe people naturally.
The amount of people in America that struggle to get enough to eat is staggering. While there are government agencies that provide assistance to some, many do not meet the income qualifications that are required. Even with a two-person income, the high cost of housing and other living expenses often leaves little left for spending on groceries. Because of this, many organizations have started up food pantries to help. But, they have long lines and strict requirements too. And, much of what they have to offer consists of expired canned products, moldy fruits and vegetables, and stale bread. What people really need is an easy way to get healthy, fresh food for their families. So, to help, one woman decided to start a new kind of food pantry that
When first getting out of my car with my friends to head into Meijer’s I initially felt nervous. Entering the store, I felt several eyes on me, the appearance of the bystanders’ faces were that of confusion, skepticism, and straight up judgment. My friends even joked about pretending not to know me and keeping
Anjali Patil Mrs. Dafoe AP English Language and Composition: Period 4 28 October 2015 Playgrounds in High School Every day, I sit in a classroom for four to five hours until lunch. During lunch, I talk to my friends. We talk and we talk and we talk. But we don’t move.
America is a capitalist society. It should come to a surprise when we live like this daily. We work for profit. We’ll buy either for pleasure or to sell later for profit. It should come to no surprise that our food is made the same way because we are what we eat. We are capitalist that eat a capitalist meal. So we must question our politics. Is our government system to blame for accepting and encouraging monopolies?
I drove us to Minneapolis and parked at a parking meter, then we walked into a store because I needed to use the bathroom. While we were in there I continued to get weird looks. I wish I had asked more people how they felt, but it’s Minneapolis I don’t trust anyone. The cashier there was nice, but I could tell he was curious about my outfit, but I didn’t ask him anything because he looked rather tired, maybe it was the end of his shift. After being in there we walked along a really long bridge. Bikers looked at me weird and other people walking along the path were as well. One instance, we found a really interesting drawing that was giving a hand signal to be quiet. So, I decided to say, “shh-shh”, turns out some lady was walking towards us and she seemed a little worried and sped out of
Food is essential in everyone’s daily life. Keeping an eye on my personal eating diets is very helpful to live a healthy life. The food diary is recorded once a week, with information of the food I eat during the day and my initial observations. My experience is very enlightening. There are evident changes of my eating and living habits, which leads me to comprehend the interactions between student life and the backstory of food better.
In America, many are not aware of the inequalities that exist in the Food Service. The food service sector has at least 125,951 companies and approximately 12 million employees with almost 7 million foreigners. This sector includes individually owned restaurants, mid-priced chains, quick service (fast food), hotels, and beverage establishments. Food service plays a major role in institutional establishments like schools, hospitals, prisons and meals on wheels. They cater to the tastes of their particular customers and are often leaders of food innovation. In the food service, we find: bartenders, wait staff, hosts, busboys, chefs, cooks, managers, and dishwashers .The food service workers perform a variety of customer service, food preparation and cleaning tasks, all that which are very important to keep a business running. More concerning , some of the major working conditions that foodservice workers face with daily is no health benefits and significantly low wages. These employees working in the food industry make it possible for millions of people to enjoy food in restaurants but are not being treated or appreciated fairly.