Walking around Streetmall, attempting to interview people. According to some, they don't keep up with news online. At some point I have doubted the authenticity/"believability" of newspapers or the local news as there are many cases of false reporting. But as it is, it seems to be good enough for most to tune in local tv news.
Not to brag or be hipster about it, but most of us who are well connected to the internet get updates are up to date the second something big happens, alike to being glued to CNN 24/7. Eventually news gets around, but i wonder if it makes a different being one of the first to know as compared to someone finding out the next day in the papers or from your neighbours. Or is it that the general population are okay with finding out the news later.
I guess finding out later isn't a bad thing unless it's a last minute catastrophe like a hurricane and the news could save your life. Makes me wonder what it would be like if it happened...simple hawkers who had no access to the latest updates,unable to get to their family in time or save themselves. WHat if??
Would there be anyway for them to gain access to the latest news without having to splurge on astro/huge tv/dataplan/smart phone? would it be something the government should look into? or is it really not neccesary?
Mind you, most of these people in this demographic are simple people,basic things in life are all they need. Back then everyone got their news by word of mouth,they made it, so i guess it's REALLY not that big a deal.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Odd or not?
This isn't a very professional point of view, but just a personal observation. And i may stand corrected, but here's the deal.
The East West Kitchen in Cyberia has a very specific demographic, be it those who eat in or take away. What I notice while sitting there was that the patrons of this particular joint consisted of :
- solo-ist (one person,alone)
- couples (one guy, one girl)
- single sex groups (all guys, all girls)
What's odd? It's very rare to find a group of mixed genders, for example, 2 guys one girl. And when there's a group of 3 or more, they're usually the same gender. I'm unsure what is it about this restaurant that renders the mini phenomenon.
The first time i noticed this, I assumed it was a one off coincidence. But frequent visits (even up till recently) have proven this to be the case. I find that the many other food places in that area do not encounter this situation. Mixed groups are common and a staple.
I'm not sure how I'd calculate this, but if you were to observe from lunchtime onward, the probability of a mixed gender group in there is ...a low 5% chance?
My theory :
It's a quiet place where people who prefer not to mingle, or shy among the opposite sex find appropriate or comfortable. They are general a quiet crowd, I would see how it would be ideal for a couple out for a quiet dinner.
Mind you, this behaviour, it's not exclusive to a specific race or age group. Students, working class... all alike. It's like a universal understanding between the many races and nationalities, be they Malaysian, Indonesian and the like.
Also, the reason as to why I manage to catch this is because, unlike me, the other customers are efficient. They're there to get a meal and that's it. They eat, they leave.I on the other hand sit there, for hours sometimes (but you don't need that long to see this).
Many times I myself am part of the demographic, either coming alone with another girl or guy.
Ever so rarely a whole bunch of us will meet up for dinner...therefore becoming the minority .
Prove me wrong, or find out for yourself :) Check it out if you happen to be in Cyberia.
The East West Kitchen in Cyberia has a very specific demographic, be it those who eat in or take away. What I notice while sitting there was that the patrons of this particular joint consisted of :
- solo-ist (one person,alone)
- couples (one guy, one girl)
- single sex groups (all guys, all girls)
What's odd? It's very rare to find a group of mixed genders, for example, 2 guys one girl. And when there's a group of 3 or more, they're usually the same gender. I'm unsure what is it about this restaurant that renders the mini phenomenon.
The first time i noticed this, I assumed it was a one off coincidence. But frequent visits (even up till recently) have proven this to be the case. I find that the many other food places in that area do not encounter this situation. Mixed groups are common and a staple.
I'm not sure how I'd calculate this, but if you were to observe from lunchtime onward, the probability of a mixed gender group in there is ...a low 5% chance?
My theory :
It's a quiet place where people who prefer not to mingle, or shy among the opposite sex find appropriate or comfortable. They are general a quiet crowd, I would see how it would be ideal for a couple out for a quiet dinner.
Mind you, this behaviour, it's not exclusive to a specific race or age group. Students, working class... all alike. It's like a universal understanding between the many races and nationalities, be they Malaysian, Indonesian and the like.
Also, the reason as to why I manage to catch this is because, unlike me, the other customers are efficient. They're there to get a meal and that's it. They eat, they leave.I on the other hand sit there, for hours sometimes (but you don't need that long to see this).
Many times I myself am part of the demographic, either coming alone with another girl or guy.
Ever so rarely a whole bunch of us will meet up for dinner...therefore becoming the minority .
Prove me wrong, or find out for yourself :) Check it out if you happen to be in Cyberia.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
what do i think?
Just a late night log, to clear my thoughts about anthropology. I must admit, the study of people have always fascinated me. In my mind, I've somehow found patterns to categorize people into, or spot out patterns in behaviour, speech, dressing, etc in different environments.
Small, minor things, yet they catch my eye. It may be really tedious to carry out, but with many people in a group it's quite doable to properly record down information and observation. That being said for the assignment given.
It will be interesting to see how there are social patterns everywhere, even if you resist stereotyping. Like it or not, in a "pack", individuals sometimes tend to mold to each other, they adapt to the most domineering character of the "herd".In very obvious situations like this, it won't be difficult to point out the leader. Hierarchies such as this is common practice in almost every corner of the world, be it a huge,political governing or a high school clique.
It's a pattern and culture that people understand. Especially when it comes to personalities, as it plays a big role in how the positions roll out.
It's also odd and amusing when certain patterns end up in higher averages than most.
Small, minor things, yet they catch my eye. It may be really tedious to carry out, but with many people in a group it's quite doable to properly record down information and observation. That being said for the assignment given.
It will be interesting to see how there are social patterns everywhere, even if you resist stereotyping. Like it or not, in a "pack", individuals sometimes tend to mold to each other, they adapt to the most domineering character of the "herd".In very obvious situations like this, it won't be difficult to point out the leader. Hierarchies such as this is common practice in almost every corner of the world, be it a huge,political governing or a high school clique.
It's a pattern and culture that people understand. Especially when it comes to personalities, as it plays a big role in how the positions roll out.
It's also odd and amusing when certain patterns end up in higher averages than most.
Task 2
So the task this week was to study a particular group is society.
For this i picked Alamanda, and the working class.
Time frame : 10.30 am - 4.30 pm
Date : 28th October 2011, Friday
This was the main concourse around 10.45 am
There was an exhibition for Focus Point, so their employees/sales assistants were idling around, waiting for interested customers. They seemed pretty restless and listless. To their defense, it was a quiet morning. They were uniformed in company T-shirts and black pants.
This was in All Star, an apparel shop. About 11:45 am
It was a more casual, laid back atmosphere where the employees wore casual ( preppy-emo style) attire. Their nametags were the only identification that separated them from us students. They were not formal at all, and it felt very comfortable to be in there, because they weren't being patronizing. They chatted among themselves while waiting for customers to decide.
Concourse again at lunch time.
Uniformed groups stood out pretty much in the crowd as it was friday so most employees were half-casual.
So happened this uniformed trio was caught marching uniformed as well. ;) I'm guessing they were on duty for sites and such, or it's a company policy.
The foodcourt at lunch time.
Despite it being just a food court it was frequented by very well dressed men and women, some of which lunched alone in a place full of people. Either he didn't have a regular lunch crowd (maybe just for that day) or he was in a rush, hence eating alone. He was well dressed, tie and all and the women beside him was well dressed as well. They gave no indication to knowing each other, thus, I believe they were truly on their own.
This was around 4 pm in Noodle Station, a restaurant.
I guess, it being a Friday and all, employers were more casual and laid back as well. This was a bunch of them having a late lunch and possible an early weekend. I was kind of surprised over this, but maybe there are those who enjoy noodles for tea?
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Le Assignment 1
CROSS DISCIPLINARY
cross-dis·ci·pli·nar·y
[kraws-dis-uh-pluh-ner-ee,kros-]
adjective
Interdisciplinary refers to new knowledge extensions that exist between or beyond existing academic disciplines or professions. The new knowledge may be claimed by members of none, one, both, or an emerging new academic discipline or profession.
involving two or more academic disciplines; interdisciplinary:cross-disciplinary studies in Biblical archaeology. [1]
INTER DISCIPLINARY
in·ter·dis·ci·pli·nar·y
[in-ter-dis-uh-pluh-ner-ee]
adjective
1.
combining or involving two or more academic disciplines orfields of study: The economics and history departments are offering an interdisciplinary seminar on Asia.
2.
combining or involving two or more professions, technologies,departments, or the like, as in business or industry [1]
An interdisciplinary community or project is made up of people from multiple disciplines and professions who are engaged in creating and applying new knowledge as they work together as equal stakeholders in addressing a common challenge. [4]
TRANS-DISCIPLINARY
adjective
pertaining to or involving more than onediscipline; interdisciplinary [1]
Transdisciplinary refers to knowledge that exists in every individual, thus eliminating the need for discipline boundaries.
A transdisciplinary community or project is made up of transdisciplinary professionals, which is an ideal that can only be approached and not actually achieved in practice. To exist in today's society, a transdisciplinary professional would possess certification or degrees in all disciplines as well as experience in all professions. In essence, a truly transdisciplinary person contains all the distributed knowledge of the people in the community or project as their individual common knowledge. Furthermore, they exist within a community of people that share that knowledge. A transdisciplinary community is one in which common knowledge of individuals and the distributed knowledge of the collective are identical.[3]
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative research seeks out the ‘why’, not the ‘how’ of its topic through the analysis of unstructured information – things like interview transcripts, open ended survey responses, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and videos. It doesn’t just rely on statistics or numbers, which are the domain of quantitative researchers.
Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people's attitudes, behaviours, value systems, concerns, motivations, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. It’s used to inform business decisions, policy formation, communication and research. Focus groups, in-depth interviews, content analysis, ethnography, evaluation and semiotics are among the many formal approaches that are used, but qualitative research also involves the analysis of any unstructured material, including customer feedback forms, reports or media clips. [2]
ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
Anthropologists, ethnographers, and other social scientists may engage in something called ethnography. Ethnography, simply stated, is the study of people in their own environment through the use of methods such as participant observation and face-to-face interviewing. As anthropologist H. Sidky suggests, ethnography documents cultural similarities and differences through empirical fieldwork and can help with scientific generalizations about human behavior and the operation of social and cultural systems (2004:9). Because anthropology as a discipline is holistic (meaning it looks at the past, present and future of a community across time and space), ethnography as a first hand, detailed account of a given community or society attempts to get a comprehensive understanding of the circumstances of the people being studied. Ethnographers, then, look at and record a people’s way of life as seen by both the people and the anthropologist; they take an emic (folk or inside) andetic (analytic or outside) approach to describing communities and cultures.
Ethnography is the branch of anthropology that involves trying to understand how people live their lives. Unlike traditional market researchers, who ask specific, highly practical questions, anthropological researchers visit consumers in their homes or offices to observe and listen in a nondirected way. Our goal is to see people’s behavior on their terms, not ours. [5]
Reference :Ethnography is the branch of anthropology that involves trying to understand how people live their lives. Unlike traditional market researchers, who ask specific, highly practical questions, anthropological researchers visit consumers in their homes or offices to observe and listen in a nondirected way. Our goal is to see people’s behavior on their terms, not ours. [5]
references retrieved on 17th October 2011
[5] http://hbr.org/2009/03/ethnographic-research-a-key-to-strategy/ar/1
references retrieved on 20th October 2011
[5] http://hbr.org/2009/03/ethnographic-research-a-key-to-strategy/ar/1
references retrieved on 20th October 2011
What is this?
This is the required blog for Media Anthropology (MLA2113).
So basic details :
Neo Ann Na
1061104085.
Will be updated with post related to assignments.
So basic details :
Neo Ann Na
1061104085.
Will be updated with post related to assignments.
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