Here is an example of my consent forms used earlier in the year for the interviews.
Consent Form A
Y N Would you like me to use a pseudonym for your name?
Y N Can I use the name of your business?
Y N Can I use the name/title of your position?
Y N Will you release all details of this interview to be used in my ethnographic study for the 2011 semester, even if it is posted on a blog?
Signature__________________________________________________________________
Date_______________________________
Name______________________________
Friday, December 9, 2011
Updated Video Script
Background – This was my original idea for the video section.
I will try to find a series of pictures or footage of a look at the Chesapeake Bay.
Starting off with a map, I will have the camera diagonally move in the northwest direction up the Chesapeake Bay into Baltimore and Annapolis demonstrating the access points for distribution.
Then, I will show a series of seafood selections that come from the bay ending on Maryland Blue crabs.
I will fill out the remaining time period (approx. half the video) around pictures showing a crab feast. This is a huge part of the region’s culture serving as a year-round Thanksgiving celebration but much like the time periods of cookouts with big families.
Even friends in high school and college schedule feasts together and purchase the ingredients or buy them steamed.
I will try to get pictures showing the dirty orange wood crab houses that steam the crabs. There is a unique color scheme I will demonstrate throughout the video to show the relation between the color of the crab when it comes out steamed with the Old Bay seasoning that drapes numerous products ranging from chips to fries.
Narration
“The Chesapeake Bay has been the driving force of Maryland and its surrounding communities since the 18th century.
Impacting other major trade and distribution points including Cape May, Philadelphia, and even Washington D.C.
Evidence of these major communities’ grass roots are found still today through sports, food, and downtown Baltimore. The true personality resides in the manufacturing and industrial revolution history of Maryland.
The foundation of hard work and nationalism is what the Chesapeake Bay community has always been about since the establishment of industrial manufacturing factories such as Bethlehem Steel and Westinghouse.
Easy settlers expanded up the Maryland coast using the Chesapeake Bay and founded communities such as Annapolis and Baltimore.
These communities took advantage of the fruits of the bay.
The bay increased access and transportation of goods throughout early America.
By the mid 1800s, cities like Baltimore and Annapolis continued to increase in structure and organization.
This paved the way for Industrial Revolution jobs around the bay surrounding major cities funded by large corporations.
Construction and Industrial manufacturing developed a personality similar to Pittsburgh, PA and the steel city.
With Maryland blue crabs being the center point of the seafood industry in the region, the hard shell resembles the thick skin developed from generations of blue-collar workers.
This feeling can be felt on the crabbing boats, with their dense thick grains developed out of hard wood from the region.
The saltiness in the air can be found in Baltimore around the Inner Harbor, around the ships and naval yards in Annapolis, and in all the communities within an hour of the bay.
Grit, hard work, long hours, camaraderie between workers, family life all developed into what Maryland is about today – referring to their high volume vacation spots such as Ocean City, MD.
Looking through several foods, we see the connection to bay food still today.
But overall, there has to be a push for environmental responsibility.
Volunteering and living family life responsibly with recycling goes back to the renewed interest in the longevity of the area and the bay.
There will always be a dependence and reference to the bay in the region.”
I will try to find a series of pictures or footage of a look at the Chesapeake Bay.
Starting off with a map, I will have the camera diagonally move in the northwest direction up the Chesapeake Bay into Baltimore and Annapolis demonstrating the access points for distribution.
Then, I will show a series of seafood selections that come from the bay ending on Maryland Blue crabs.
I will fill out the remaining time period (approx. half the video) around pictures showing a crab feast. This is a huge part of the region’s culture serving as a year-round Thanksgiving celebration but much like the time periods of cookouts with big families.
Even friends in high school and college schedule feasts together and purchase the ingredients or buy them steamed.
I will try to get pictures showing the dirty orange wood crab houses that steam the crabs. There is a unique color scheme I will demonstrate throughout the video to show the relation between the color of the crab when it comes out steamed with the Old Bay seasoning that drapes numerous products ranging from chips to fries.
Narration
“The Chesapeake Bay has been the driving force of Maryland and its surrounding communities since the 18th century.
Impacting other major trade and distribution points including Cape May, Philadelphia, and even Washington D.C.
Evidence of these major communities’ grass roots are found still today through sports, food, and downtown Baltimore. The true personality resides in the manufacturing and industrial revolution history of Maryland.
The foundation of hard work and nationalism is what the Chesapeake Bay community has always been about since the establishment of industrial manufacturing factories such as Bethlehem Steel and Westinghouse.
Easy settlers expanded up the Maryland coast using the Chesapeake Bay and founded communities such as Annapolis and Baltimore.
These communities took advantage of the fruits of the bay.
The bay increased access and transportation of goods throughout early America.
By the mid 1800s, cities like Baltimore and Annapolis continued to increase in structure and organization.
This paved the way for Industrial Revolution jobs around the bay surrounding major cities funded by large corporations.
Construction and Industrial manufacturing developed a personality similar to Pittsburgh, PA and the steel city.
With Maryland blue crabs being the center point of the seafood industry in the region, the hard shell resembles the thick skin developed from generations of blue-collar workers.
This feeling can be felt on the crabbing boats, with their dense thick grains developed out of hard wood from the region.
The saltiness in the air can be found in Baltimore around the Inner Harbor, around the ships and naval yards in Annapolis, and in all the communities within an hour of the bay.
Grit, hard work, long hours, camaraderie between workers, family life all developed into what Maryland is about today – referring to their high volume vacation spots such as Ocean City, MD.
Looking through several foods, we see the connection to bay food still today.
But overall, there has to be a push for environmental responsibility.
Volunteering and living family life responsibly with recycling goes back to the renewed interest in the longevity of the area and the bay.
There will always be a dependence and reference to the bay in the region.”
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
NALC Meeting 8
The most recent opportunity I've had to tutor was the second session on top of my previous post from 11 a.m. to 12. I was able to work with another female student that was from a foreign country in the Middle East only this time, her pronunciations were not the main concern as with the previous student. We worked on long versus short vowel sound rules along with general I before E rules. The biggest help came when she pointed out what wanted to work more with numbers such as the list with numbers through 100. We were able to shift gears mid-way through the session and focus more on words. By the end of the session, we had jumped back to the book and were creating new words and concepts on paper in order for her to expand her vocabulary and understanding even more. She was so nice during the entire session I was very elated by her enthusiasm and drive throughout the session. Very fun to work with.
Monday, November 28, 2011
NALC Meeting 7
On November 22, I was able to tutor from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Nashville location with a young woman from outside the United States. What was unique about her was her pronunciations because she grew up in a French speaking area. She understood what she was reading very well so the main concern was with her accent, particularly with not placing the "w" sound in for "s" or "t" sounds. It was very unique because when I was listening to her and watching her mouth move, I could see adjustments that she could make in order to help her pronunciation. She was a very fast learner because she understood the terms and concepts behind them as we were going through the material. Her suffixes were mostly understood besides some unique and rare words. Luckily we were able to use words that she struggled with to form new words that were hadn't seen in the book in order to give her more diversity in what she was learning. She was very receptive and motivated to learn, it was a great session.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Descriptive Draft - Use of Terms
The unique culture is classified and set apart by the vernacular of the region. With hundreds of species of food coming out of the Chesapeake Bay, there is diverse imagery given to the small towns all the way up to the major metropolitan areas such as with Baltimore or Philadelphia. Using the glossary previously posted as a reference, you can see that the common thread revolves around seafood and Northeast culture. Latin terms with science and ocean life in consideration are seen as a starting point for the environmental background and importance of the bay. This section includes terms such as Chesepiooc-Algonquian, shellfish, estuary and states Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York.
Annapolis if known for Navy and grit, paving the way for an important port - Baltimore, Maryland in 1729 established the colonial feel with brick buildings. The environment still includes a rustic feel to the crab houses and local bars of the regions. One of the subjects interviewed, Mr. Estabo described the drenched thick wood on the bar-tops of the local establishments. Buckets of oysters and assortment of chip and nut items outlined the beer mugs and glasses. Since Baltimore and Annapolis served as distribution ports to early colonial expansion, many industrial blue-collar workers remain in what was previously one of the largest source of factory jobs in the early United States. With this between the local workers came camaraderie in after hours from shifts where men from the shipyards and industrial manufacturing plants would make their way down to the nearest bar to spend their earnings. Decades lasted and generations lived through this experience. With more technology and access given to boats and fisherman, crabs and other seafood items became more and more prevalent in the region. In a way, as Estabo describes, salty foods define the region. Grit and blue-collar work outline the roots of the region, felt in between the cold windy brick buildings and cobblestone streets.
Annapolis if known for Navy and grit, paving the way for an important port - Baltimore, Maryland in 1729 established the colonial feel with brick buildings. The environment still includes a rustic feel to the crab houses and local bars of the regions. One of the subjects interviewed, Mr. Estabo described the drenched thick wood on the bar-tops of the local establishments. Buckets of oysters and assortment of chip and nut items outlined the beer mugs and glasses. Since Baltimore and Annapolis served as distribution ports to early colonial expansion, many industrial blue-collar workers remain in what was previously one of the largest source of factory jobs in the early United States. With this between the local workers came camaraderie in after hours from shifts where men from the shipyards and industrial manufacturing plants would make their way down to the nearest bar to spend their earnings. Decades lasted and generations lived through this experience. With more technology and access given to boats and fisherman, crabs and other seafood items became more and more prevalent in the region. In a way, as Estabo describes, salty foods define the region. Grit and blue-collar work outline the roots of the region, felt in between the cold windy brick buildings and cobblestone streets.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
NALC Meeting 6
On Tuesday November 1st at 11 a.m. through 12 I was able to work with an International student from Asia. He told me about his opportunities working at a new job in a pizza place here in the United States. He was eager to get started on his fifth session so we dove right in. I felt that right off the bat he had an understanding of what he was reading, the only thing was a few missed words here and there. We walked through individual words and stay on about two pages of material for the first 20 minutes or so reading. He was able to then switch to writing and spelling. His quick understanding of fill-in-the-blank terms caused us to talk about the meanings of the word which provided some humor throughout the session on both parts. The fun part was pronunciation because that was the main focus the student wanted to work on. After running through all of the words on Lessons 2-Lessons 5, we walked through numbers 1-100 as we did in my previous session. We had to work first on syllables and second on basic mouth and tongue movements for word pronunciation. His main struggle was with endings of "ist" or "st" because he would add a "ta" at the end of it. Even when we slowed it down. This part was very fun for a teacher because I was able to quickly find ways to sound out words uniquely by saying to the student "first sat "eh" "sst" and then I would follow behind it and wave my arms and say to the student (stop, abrupt, it just ends right there). This experience was hilarious but overall both me and the student were laughing after 15 minutes of it because he could finally pronounce the terms correctly after we broke everything down more and more. With "is" the student and I looked through the differences in soft vowels and long vowels. As we went back to the text for the last 20 minutes, we were able to read through sentences and work on rhythm as well as overall word pronunciation knowledge. Using a notepad, as was used in all my previous sessions, gave me a quick reference where I could write out and explain words and sounds to students. Since this student was international, this especially worked. He also pulled out his iPhone and searched through his own language's interpretation of two early words, polite and something else I cannot remember. He did understand and enjoy my interaction. I liked how we really worked on his fundamentals and stuck to the lesson plan. Overall, It was a great session.
NALC Meeting 5
On November 1, 2011 I was able to tutor a new student at 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Since he had just been evaluated by the program, I was able to start off with a new textbook and lesson plan. Quickly I asserted that the student was a bit shy in reading and actually needed help with the first few words. I had to adjust my tempo and enthusiasm to match the situation. I feel like I did a good job of recognizing the opportunity to teach basic fundamentals. Throughout the rest of the session, we were able to connect as friends and move through lessons 2 through lesson 5 which include about 6 words per lesson giving emphasis to the first letter and sound. Pronunciation was not an issue with the student because he was born and raised in the United States here in TN. He was very nice and easy to get along we. We connected on letters and sounds with basically just picking up the linking time between recognizing what the first letter is and the ending's sound by that first letter. The pictures did help as we worked through each lesson's vocabulary words. From there we worked on writing the letters and picking out words from a selected reading in the book. The sentences were very similar basically reading "This is a cup." Designating the "th" in "this" between the "th" in "the" gave the student a quick memory bank of stored terms. From there throughout the session we build on "is" as well as running through the other terms.
I think a valuable sidestep was going through numbers one through ten and letting the student always read first as was done throughout the entire session. The student was encouraged throughout the session to really focus on each word and mastering a level of basic words. We went through to page 18 in a brand new book going all the way through "sh" "th" "ch" and all of the letter sounds. Each letter was given three sentences, we went through and read each sentence. After that we went back through the earlier pages and repeated the lesson. By the end of the session the student was talking able magazines he wanted to bring in and sort through. I think the lesson plan was fun and easy to work with because the student understood the material fairly quickly. A bit of repetition was needed here and there, but the student was left with three basic rules to work on as well as reading and writing. Overall, it was very productive and exciting to work with a new American student.
Since he had just been evaluated by the program, I was able to start off with a new textbook and lesson plan. Quickly I asserted that the student was a bit shy in reading and actually needed help with the first few words. I had to adjust my tempo and enthusiasm to match the situation. I feel like I did a good job of recognizing the opportunity to teach basic fundamentals. Throughout the rest of the session, we were able to connect as friends and move through lessons 2 through lesson 5 which include about 6 words per lesson giving emphasis to the first letter and sound. Pronunciation was not an issue with the student because he was born and raised in the United States here in TN. He was very nice and easy to get along we. We connected on letters and sounds with basically just picking up the linking time between recognizing what the first letter is and the ending's sound by that first letter. The pictures did help as we worked through each lesson's vocabulary words. From there we worked on writing the letters and picking out words from a selected reading in the book. The sentences were very similar basically reading "This is a cup." Designating the "th" in "this" between the "th" in "the" gave the student a quick memory bank of stored terms. From there throughout the session we build on "is" as well as running through the other terms.
I think a valuable sidestep was going through numbers one through ten and letting the student always read first as was done throughout the entire session. The student was encouraged throughout the session to really focus on each word and mastering a level of basic words. We went through to page 18 in a brand new book going all the way through "sh" "th" "ch" and all of the letter sounds. Each letter was given three sentences, we went through and read each sentence. After that we went back through the earlier pages and repeated the lesson. By the end of the session the student was talking able magazines he wanted to bring in and sort through. I think the lesson plan was fun and easy to work with because the student understood the material fairly quickly. A bit of repetition was needed here and there, but the student was left with three basic rules to work on as well as reading and writing. Overall, it was very productive and exciting to work with a new American student.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
NALC Training Sesson Reflections (3 hrs)
I was very impressed by the concept of the NALC. To hear how many volunteers and students were already involved gave me inspiration to sign up early for sessions. Since the organization revolves around educating mainly students below the 6th grade reading level, there are many opportunities available to meet very diverse students even from foreign countries. The material was mostly familiar with just a few rule names coming back to my memory as I read through the documents in the folder provided. The training host was very nice and enthusiastic. He showed a keen understanding of the material and how to connect with the student in order to make the tutoring session comfortable. Having the format of the training in slide-show format gave good reference to the key points of the training. The most important concept was the help the student grow by connecting with them in some way, where you can help them read an understand more word meanings. Writing and pronunciation are fundamental concepts that was reviewed as well, providing me with a lot to think about before I booked my next sessions. I look forward to supporting this initiative to increase education for the community.
NALC Meeting 4
The next session was at 11 a.m. on October 27 at NALC Nashville. I was excited form the beginning of the lesson because my student brought a list of words to go over and pronounce. Her pseudonym is Emily. I was about to read many lesson stories with her talking about the different holidays. Since the lesson plans were encompassing upcoming events in United States society, I think she benefited greatly from the session because she is formerly from Asia. This session was the most compelling because I was able to help her the most with her pronunciation on certain "I" words depending upon if it was long or soft. It was very interesting that certain terms she would pronounce them as "ing" when there was no "g." An example is with the word "thin" compared to "thing." Overall, her energy lifted the session. I was able to laugh able certain concepts when I tried for explain fundamental ideas such as laughing, scary, and upset. It was funny to act out these terms with her. We created a list for the next session and worked on more pronunciation.
NALC Meeting 3
Unfortunately, since the meeting period was canceled due to the student pulling out, I was confined to doing desk work and filing. The good news is, I personally feel there is value in highlighting what exactly my purpose was in volunteering for that full hour before my next 11 a.m. session. I filed numerous documents that gave updates to over countless students. It was impressive to see the checks and balances set up by the NALC. Before I was required to files these documents, an employee sorted through all the lesson plans and progress of the students in order to secure positive growth for each student. I found value in understanding that ethics should always be promoted at all levels of an organization, more so in volunteer opportunities than anything else because of the importance of social programs. I also was able to print out just as many certificates of achievement for merits of academic achievement. Giving positive reinforcement to certain students recognizes their efforts and progress through the program. NALC provides an opportunity for students to solidify their English and literacy skills, prepping them for GED and job opportunities simultaneously and for the future. I was excited going into my next session.
NALC Meeting 2
The second session at NALC in Nashville was with a gentlemen by the pseudonym of John. He was from a country in North Africa and worked very well with understanding concepts. Since he brought homework from him last session, we walked over the spelling and pronunciation of numbers 0-100. For John he mostly focused on pronouncing the terms because he often was quick to understand the concepts behind the terms and the whole lesson planned. He read very well, often only messing up once or twice before fulling understanding the spelling and reading. I was blown away by his progress throughout the session. We read through almost two full pages of stories in the back of his book where longer, more condensed lesson plans were found. For next time, John was going to focus on the list of 50 new terms we worked on ranging from day-to-day topics. Since this was his 5th or 6th session, John was already quick to understand the structure of the lesson plans and how to keep up his pace throughout the session. I was very impressed by his enthusiasm and intelligence.
NALC Meeting 1
I was fortunate enough to book consecutive sessions at the NALC center here in Nashville. From 10-11 a.m. on Tuesday October 25th I tutored a student by the pseudonym KP. We walked through various lessons mainly incorporating numbers. She could read very well throughout the book's designed lesson plans. We looked through concepts that revolved around a mall and school scene. We focused on her spelling of numbers going through 100. The student was very interactive, she even asked to read through the multiple lesson plan words on the above post board. Luckily, subjects in each of those lesson plans gave a variety of term used daily. She was a little bit tired but performed very well for her first visit at NALC Nashville. Overall, I enjoyed my experience interacting with the student at the Nashville Adult Literacy Center.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Reflection on Discussion Forums
For my ethnographic project, the Chesapeake Bay's surrounding culture is being dissected. In order to gather more research, discussion forums featuring SaveTheBay, fishing, recipes, government policies on the bay, and tourism recommendations were searched. SaveTheBay is the main hub for Chesapeake Bay environmental initiatives. Within the website, there were three blogs found including the Bay Daily, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Clagett Farm with recipes. These blogs did not have much interaction, which led me to other outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. More interaction was found here due to stronger links between local businesses from Maryland. I was able to go to other websites and pages from here and research businesses featuring fishing conditions, tourism and restaurant recommendations, and colleges. From here, I researched forums with these companies and was able to find higher traffic that talked about the Chesapeake Bay. With more time to sort through the information, I will be able to link evidence together to round out my analysis about the cultural influences. The growth and consistency of these businesses depend upon the bay and the communities' association with it.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Glossary - Chesapeake Bay Ethnographic Study
The following definitions will be constantly updated throughout the research process.
Maryland
Chesepiooc-Algonquian, native word "at a big river"
Chesapeake: By tribes called "Great Water", later became "Great Shellfish Bay" by settlers
Chesapeake Bay- the United States' largest estuary surrounded by Maryland and Virginia, draining to Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. Provides seafood, tourism and access
Baltimore, Maryland- Founded 1729, was a leading seaport and port of entry for immigrants to the US, population of 621,000 as of 2010
Lord Baltimore- member of Irish House of Lords, founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony
Fells Point- furthest area in Baltimore harbor, main ship building center
Annapolis, Maryland
Port of Baltimore- port of entry for seafood, tobacco, and ship building distribution
Fall Line
Marsh- wetland that seasonally is flooded or remains wet, dominated by one or few species
The Great Depression
Fall Line
War of 1812
Patapsco River-in central Maryland, forms into the harbor of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key was on a British ship on this river - Star-Spangled Banner
Wetland- environment that serves as a refuge for birds, blue crabs, striped bass, eastern oysters, shad, otters, etc
Salinity-measured in parts per thousands (ppt), serves as a unit of measurement for salt levels; used for Chesapeake Bay; three zones including oligohaline, mesohaline and polyhaline
Oyster Farming
Trawling Net- use for scientific research and data collection, crabs and fish are caught and counted this way
Rappahannock River-in eastern Virginia, feeds into the Chesapeake Bay, served as North and South boundary in Civil War, 195 miles long
Chespeake Bay Program
Chesapeake bay Foundation
Salisbury University
University of Virginia
William and Mary
Estuary
Eastern Shore
Sandy Point
Kent Island
Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel
Virginia Beach
Cape Charles
Humid subtropical- Koppen units, environment with very humid and hot summers, cold to mild winters
Watkins Point
Coastal Plain
Ft. McHenry- National Monument where US soldiers defended harbor in War of 1812 from British Navy for 25 hours, Star Spangled Banner was written about this star-shaped fort
Dry Docks
Port of Entry
Commercial Crabbing
Recreational Crabbing
Maryland
Chesepiooc-Algonquian, native word "at a big river"
Chesapeake: By tribes called "Great Water", later became "Great Shellfish Bay" by settlers
Chesapeake Bay- the United States' largest estuary surrounded by Maryland and Virginia, draining to Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. Provides seafood, tourism and access
Baltimore, Maryland- Founded 1729, was a leading seaport and port of entry for immigrants to the US, population of 621,000 as of 2010
Lord Baltimore- member of Irish House of Lords, founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony
Fells Point- furthest area in Baltimore harbor, main ship building center
Annapolis, Maryland
Port of Baltimore- port of entry for seafood, tobacco, and ship building distribution
Fall Line
Marsh- wetland that seasonally is flooded or remains wet, dominated by one or few species
The Great Depression
Fall Line
War of 1812
Patapsco River-in central Maryland, forms into the harbor of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key was on a British ship on this river - Star-Spangled Banner
Wetland- environment that serves as a refuge for birds, blue crabs, striped bass, eastern oysters, shad, otters, etc
Salinity-measured in parts per thousands (ppt), serves as a unit of measurement for salt levels; used for Chesapeake Bay; three zones including oligohaline, mesohaline and polyhaline
Oyster Farming
Trawling Net- use for scientific research and data collection, crabs and fish are caught and counted this way
Rappahannock River-in eastern Virginia, feeds into the Chesapeake Bay, served as North and South boundary in Civil War, 195 miles long
Chespeake Bay Program
Chesapeake bay Foundation
Salisbury University
University of Virginia
William and Mary
Estuary
Eastern Shore
Sandy Point
Kent Island
Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel
Virginia Beach
Cape Charles
Humid subtropical- Koppen units, environment with very humid and hot summers, cold to mild winters
Watkins Point
Coastal Plain
Ft. McHenry- National Monument where US soldiers defended harbor in War of 1812 from British Navy for 25 hours, Star Spangled Banner was written about this star-shaped fort
Dry Docks
Port of Entry
Commercial Crabbing
Recreational Crabbing
Interview to Research Question
Mark Estabo, the manager and part owner of Higgins Restaurant branch in Ocean City, MD gave incite to the history of his company and the cultural uniqueness of the Chesapeake Bay. Mr. Estabo's grandfather crabbed around the Chesapeake Bay area mainly around Ocean City for the sense of adventure and fun. Through the early part of the 20th Century, they weren’t able to sell any crabs due to the high supply lasting until the mid 1970's. In retrospect, the locals were very fortunate to have the Chesapeake at their disposal because it provided a basic element for free, food. Local fisherman were able to catch a plethora of seafood selections from the bay including the Maryland Blue Crab and over 300 other species of fish. Father worked in a local Bar, saw the increase in people into Ocean City around the 1970’s and 1980’s. At this time, there was as change int he market due to the change in supply. Local bars and restaurants began to find it harder to catch the same quantity each day, causing a price to be added to the Maryland Blue Crab. Ocean City, MD is the next most popular destination for Chesapeake tourism. Over the years, there has been a significant increase in large hotels around that area. The connection with Ocean City, Baltimore and Annapolis is the Chesapeake Bay and its seafood. The bay has been able to provide access, distribution, and even food products. When you look at the infrastructure of these three areas, the development from the past fifty years arose primarily because of the factors of production provided by the bay. It was local business owners like Mr. Estabo that benefited from this monetization of the bay.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Cohesion Coherence
What is the culture/literacy/Discourse you are studying? (an overview).
The ethnographic study will revolve around the Chesapeake Bay located mainly in Maryland. The culture surrounding this area involves businesses that rely on the lay of the land and the resources at their disposal. These businesses have depended upon the Chesapeake Bay to provide seafood, access and tourist appeal since the establishment of the state. One important distribution inlet from the bay, the Inner Harbor, is located in Baltimore and serves as a testament to the importance of the water source on the local and regional economy. The culture and history surrounding this area support the environmental efforts to keep the bay prosperous. A unique discourse in the individuals can be observed for this area, which has found its way into sports culture and the up-and-coming entertainment culture of the city.
The ethnographic study will revolve around the Chesapeake Bay located mainly in Maryland. The culture surrounding this area involves businesses that rely on the lay of the land and the resources at their disposal. These businesses have depended upon the Chesapeake Bay to provide seafood, access and tourist appeal since the establishment of the state. One important distribution inlet from the bay, the Inner Harbor, is located in Baltimore and serves as a testament to the importance of the water source on the local and regional economy. The culture and history surrounding this area support the environmental efforts to keep the bay prosperous. A unique discourse in the individuals can be observed for this area, which has found its way into sports culture and the up-and-coming entertainment culture of the city.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Cultural Artifact - Blue Crab
The Maryland Blue Crab comes from the Chesapeake Bay. The ethnographic study looks into the culture surrounding this seafood along with other local foods. Since the blue crab has been fished to excess because of local demand, prices have risen in recent decades. In the mid 20th century local bars from Baltimore to Philadelphia would give crabs away for free because the supply was so large. Adding a price to this local meal would cause customers to go to a different bar where they would be free. Alcoholic drinks were enough to drive the business of the time. Today local restaurants and bars cannot afford to give away crabs because they aren't as easy to come by. Despite the gradual increase in price, consumers have increased their home-cooking because they can steam the crabs themselves. The emergence of companies like Old Bay spice have seen increase in business because this food has spread to other outside markets domestically.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Maya Angelou reflection
Maya Angelou was an inspiration personally because of what she has contributed to society. Mentioned as being a modern renaissance woman she has filled numerous roles in multiple languages to providing hope and encouragement worldwide. Her consistent theme of “be a rainbow” gave encouragement for students to fulfill their dreams and be innovative. A lot of times, we as individuals have to take it upon ourselves to push ourselves to achieve greatness. Being a rainbow in the sky would contrast all the adversity around one’s self and help you move forward with your goals. Maya Angelou gave hope throughout her career because she believed within herself. She was able to stay true to who she was inside to help civil rights and human rights. I was very moved by her speech. It seemed like it was organized, but yet it was very conversational. I thought the style was very unique and pointed to her innovations as a speaker and role model.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Culture Immediate To Me
The individualism witnesses at Bongo Java in my previous in class exercise led me to the culture found here in Nashville. I saw many independent people pass through Bongo over the course of an hour. While sitting down and taking notes, people were sitting alone by themselves either reading or eating a meal. There was a particular person that walked in that looked upset and mad. It was an extreme difference compared to the rest of the crowd because everyone else was by themselves as well. The only difference was that everyone had a particular smile that was generally shown throughout. Since I am from the Northeast, the general facial expression is neutral. Here at Bongo, the default facial expression was a smile, even for the independent individuals that were sitting and eating coffee. What if any of them were going through a difficult time in life, financially for example? Why was everyone just generally smiling? I think that just enjoying the weather and a great day was part of it. The atmosphere of the coffee deck always has this type of vibe, happiness and gentleness. Compared to a bar during the playoffs of a football game, the general feeling there would be aggressive, loud, and edgy. Here at Bongo, the individual was happy because of simple things: a book, magazine, light meal, great unique coffee, and great weather along with the wonderful Nashville culture. Nashville culture here when compared to others in the Northeast is more gentle and relaxed. It was very intriguing to think through the differences between what I have experienced and what Bongo's atmosphere is. What a great environment and business structure.
In Class Observation
I was able to sit at Bongo Java over the course of an hour while getting coffee by myself. Since I have been there many times, I understood that the foot traffic was going to be high because of the time of day. I was surprised by the amount of people that were sitting alone. Usually, I thought that mostly everybody was there with a friend but on this occasion, it wasn't the case. I was intrigued by the variety of people and personalities. Nashville is a melting pot of cultures because there are people here from seemingly every state. At the same time, personality preferences such as Country, Rock, Indie, and Classic was witnessed. In a nutshell, people were there from ages 18 to 80. People were more independent than I thought. It was nice to see interaction between people that were not there together. Conversations were started from random comments between people. Someone for instance commented on another person's shoes, which turned into a 20 minute conversation about fashion and music. I was able to sit back and witness multiple friendships being formed. The only thing that was "disturbing" was if someone looked unsure or uneasy. I saw one particular person that just looked unhappy and upset. They stuck out like a sore thumb, but were given really no preference or notice from anyone. Whenever a pretty girl would walk by, it was funny to see three different tables of individual men nonchalantly glancing up and sometimes even smiling. Overall, it was an interesting experience to people watch from an ethnographic perspective. I had to really watch what was going on and listen in on conversations. 
In class observation exercise
I was able to sit at Bongo Java over the course of an hour while getting coffee by myself. Since I have been there many times, I understood that the foot traffic was going to be high because of the time of day. I was surprised by the amount of people that were sitting alone. Usually, I thought that mostly everybody was there with a friend but on this occasion, it wasn't the case. I was intrigued by the variety of people and personalities. Nashville is a melting pot of cultures because there are people here from seemingly every state. At the same time, personality preferences such as Country, Rock, Indie, and Classic was witnessed. In a nutshell, people were there from ages 18 to 80. People were more independent than I thought. It was nice to see interaction between people that were not there together. Conversations were started from random comments between people. Someone for instance commented on another person's shoes, which turned into a 20 minute conversation about fashion and music. I was able to sit back and witness multiple friendships being formed. The only thing that was "disturbing" was if someone looked unsure or uneasy. I saw one particular person that just looked unhappy and upset. They stuck out like a sore thumb, but were given really no preference or notice from anyone. Whenever a pretty girl would walk by, it was funny to see three different tables of individual men nonchalantly glancing up and sometimes even smiling. Overall, it was an interesting experience to people watch from an ethnographic perspective. I had to really watch what was going on and listen in on conversations.
Project Idea
In Maryland, there is a unique connection to the Chesapeake Bay. This culture finds it roots in basic elements such as salt water and Maryland blue crabs. These two basic elements have led businesses such as Old Bay and UTZ potato chips to incorporate the bay's basic elements into plausible products. Particularly, these companies' secret salt recipes stem from the seafood offered by local waters. Since the Chesapeake Bay includes outlets in Maryland's bordering states, other surrounding communities have latched on to this taste preference even outside of the state. Baltimore, Maryland is known for basic things: crab cakes, football, and Old Bay. What remains to be found is which of the latter is the crux of this region's culture? Since crabbing is not difficult, I will be able to get one-on-one interviews with local fisherman through family and friends. Also, connections to local crab houses as well as companies such as UTZ and Old Bay will help me gain a better understanding of the ethnographic picture of the Maryland region.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Discourses - Funny
*This provides a great example in how discourses are different along with how they are impacted by other societies.*
Description:
In this video clip, we see distinctive discourses. Both speakers work for Christian TV so it is important to maintain their background and life perspective. Their personalities and in effect, discourses, reflect being proper, educated, maintained, and even - gullible.
When the first speaker reads the post submitted to Christian TV through email by a random follower, the email's content is about the classic tv show Fresh Prince of Bel Air with Will Smith. The email mocked Christian TV because it retold the introduction to the popular tv show, which is about a street-smart teen from Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their wealthy mansion in California. Fresh Prince of Bel Air has suburban, youthful African American roots originating from the early 1990's American lifestyle including mixtures between upper class and ghetto roots. It is interesting to hear the first speaker's dialect while she reads the email. Since she is from England, there is an obvious difference in her discourse. The second speaker is from Africa, which provides for a different discourse due to his different dialect and perspective. Throwing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air introduction to those two speakers from Christian TV was nothing short of humorous, in my opinion. This provides a great example in how discourses are different along with how they are impacted by other societies and their discourses.
Writing Rules
What were you taught never to do as a writer? Come up with about two or three such mandates, and write some of your reflections about each one. Was this rule a good one? Are there sound reasons for it? Are there times when you can/should ignore it?
Three main rules come to mind when thinking about rules for writing: Don't start a sentence with a conjunction, don't end a sentence with a preposition, and avoid metadiscourse.
Metadiscourse is defined as writing about writing. Throughout my education I was taught to avoid phrases and words such as "I believe" and introductions such as "first, second, third, etc." This rule is a good rule to follow because it makes the writing more direct and to the point. With metadiscourse sometimes the ideas are submerged by fluff. Depending upon the level of professionalism required, metadiscourse can be applied if the setting is right.
Ending a sentence with a preposition is another rule that applies to writing properly. The preposition must take an object along with an article in order to be used correctly in a sentence. In some regions such as the southern United States, this is commonly neglected in normal speech and everyday life. There is a level of professionalism that is followed when making the transition from speech to writing. Writing is a more official and concrete communication tool. Speech can be repeated quickly and more loosely without the same constraints as with written language. Although this is a good method to use in proper writing, it may be widely misused in everyday speech.
Starting a sentence with a conjunction is the final rule that goes with writing correctly. A sentence should not start with "if, and, or, but, yet, so, for, nor" because conjunctions are meant to link two clauses, phrases, or words together. This is a main rule to follow because it gives basic sentence structure. When looking grammatically at a sentence, it is easy to spot the subject and verb. From there, seeing the direct or indirect object is not difficult. Conjunctions give the basic form of the sentence, which is why this rule should always be followed.
Three main rules come to mind when thinking about rules for writing: Don't start a sentence with a conjunction, don't end a sentence with a preposition, and avoid metadiscourse.
Metadiscourse is defined as writing about writing. Throughout my education I was taught to avoid phrases and words such as "I believe" and introductions such as "first, second, third, etc." This rule is a good rule to follow because it makes the writing more direct and to the point. With metadiscourse sometimes the ideas are submerged by fluff. Depending upon the level of professionalism required, metadiscourse can be applied if the setting is right.
Ending a sentence with a preposition is another rule that applies to writing properly. The preposition must take an object along with an article in order to be used correctly in a sentence. In some regions such as the southern United States, this is commonly neglected in normal speech and everyday life. There is a level of professionalism that is followed when making the transition from speech to writing. Writing is a more official and concrete communication tool. Speech can be repeated quickly and more loosely without the same constraints as with written language. Although this is a good method to use in proper writing, it may be widely misused in everyday speech.
Starting a sentence with a conjunction is the final rule that goes with writing correctly. A sentence should not start with "if, and, or, but, yet, so, for, nor" because conjunctions are meant to link two clauses, phrases, or words together. This is a main rule to follow because it gives basic sentence structure. When looking grammatically at a sentence, it is easy to spot the subject and verb. From there, seeing the direct or indirect object is not difficult. Conjunctions give the basic form of the sentence, which is why this rule should always be followed.
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