Category Archives: Annotated Bibliography

A collection of annotated bibliographic entries reflecting sources related to built environment and our study of the places and spaces of Atlanta.

Annotated Bibliography #10

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brand

Hsin Hsin Chang, and Su Wen Chen. “The Impact of Online Store Environment Cues on Purchase Intention: Trust and Perceived Risk as a Mediator.” Online Information Review 32.6 (2008): 818–841. emeraldinsight.com (Atypon). Web.

The stated purpose of this paper is to explore whether or not online environment cues like website quality and branding affect consumer purchases on that website. The article also aimed to find the level of relation between perceived risk and consumer trust in an online shopping environment. The study confirmed that website quality and branding do affect customer purchasing decisions but also found that website branding played a larger role in that decision than website quality and insisted that online retailers focus their resources on improving the brand of the website rather than improving the functionality of the website. I chose this article because it exemplifies one of the practical applications of a good understanding of online spaces and how people interact with them. The only possible flaw with this article is that it was published in 2008, which leaves open the possibility that consumer attitudes toward online shopping have changed enough since then so as to invalidate some or all of the findings.

Annotated Bibliography #9

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Thomas, M.j.w. “Learning within Incoherent Structures: The Space of Online Discussion Forums.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 18.3 (2002): 351–366. Wiley Online Library. Web.

This bibliography covers a case study published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. The study explores the implications of using the format of a discussion forum on students’ learning. it relies on a study on patterns of interaction on one of these mediums and the effects it had on learning outcomes. The findings suggest that the typical “branching” model for online discussion forums may be insufficient to realize the true potential of a conversational mode of learning in an online space. I chose this article because it directly relates to this class since the majority of this class is conducted online and commenting on posts, either by the instructor or by other classmates, is an integral part of the course. It also loosely relates to my Annotated Bibliographies #7 and 8 because the one of the types of forums this research could be applied to are unmoderated forums, which would be another example of the “Affinity Space” of informal learning. I can’t find any limitations in this article that significantly affect its purpose or findings. This source would be helpful to anyone looking to explore the effectiveness of the increasingly prevalent “online-discussion” mode of learning on students’ performance.

An example of the "comment branch" format

An example of the “comment branch” format

Annotated Bibliography #8

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Terrie Lynn Thompson. “Work‐learning in Informal Online Communities: Evolving Spaces.” Information Technology & People 24.2 (2011): 184–196. emeraldinsight.com (Atypon). Web.

This paper seeks to investigate how workers engage with each other in informal online communities to learn about their field of work. It operates from the assertion that, while there is a large amount of work-related learning done through the internet, most of it is situated in formal online courses, implying the need for a more comprehensive understanding of less formal learning spaces. This investigation was conducted through interviews with 11 self-employed contractors and consultants who do not have staff working beneath them. This paper seems to be directed at workers in the same position as those interviewed, but also possibly web designers who have the power to implement the changes argued for into new mediums of field-specific communication between professionals for their own advancement. I chose this source because it examines the usefulness of existing channels for informal learning and how they could be improved and used in the future and because it ties in very nicely with the article I annotated in my post titled Annotated Bibliography #7 in that they both discuss at length the implications of the “Affinity Space” that is developing in online spaces. The only flaw that seems to exist with this research paper is that the sample size (11 individuals) may have been too small to attain accurate results for it’s purposes. Overall, this article would be useful to anyone seeking to explore how the online built environment has influenced discourse between independently employed professionals.

Annotated Bibliography #7

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The flickr.com logo

The flickr.com logo

 

Davies, Julia. “Affinities and Beyond! Developing Ways of Seeing in Online Spaces.” E-Learning and Digital Media 3.2 (2006): 217–234. ldm.sagepub.com. Web.

This article examines the environment of Flickr, a free online image hosting website that supports a community wherein members can share their own photos and explore those of others. Davies asserts that through flickr, new multimodal teaching and learning relationships are formed through the “Affinity Space”, first coined by James Paul Gee. An Affinity Space is anywhere that informal learning takes place, and here it is argued that the Affinity Space of flickr uses in images exclusively to create new meanings and discourse. One piece of information that has given me a new perspective on the online built environment is this column’s offering up of evidence for the broadening of the term “literacy” to include more modes than just text, like images, at a time when the visual mode is becoming increasingly intertwined with the textual mode, especially in online spaces. The only flaw I could find with this article is that is was published ten years ago, so the Affinity Space and new definition of literacy discussed inside have probably expanded a bit beyond the framework outlined inside. I chose this article because it is valuable to anyone trying to analyze the multimodal rhetoric of online spaces since they are, almost by definition, places where informal learning takes place through the users’ voluntary exploration of them. although I was unable to export them to this blog post, it is worth noting that this article also included several images from flickr, including a picture of the welcome page, and several example of posts by users.

Annotated Bibliography #6

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Kopas, Matthew Bryon David. “The Illogic of Separation: Examining Arguments About Gender-Neutral Public Bathrooms.” Thesis. N.p., 2012. digital.lib.washington.edu. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

This study examines how people who are generally unfamiliar with the debate surrounding gender equality with regards to bathrooms and the idea of a gender neutral restroom. It analyzed the different counter-arguments people presenting in their resistance to this new built environment, with the only argument left unaddressed being the argument that cited religious beliefs for the attachment to gender binary bathrooms. This study is relevant to the content of this class discussed in the session during which we analyzed the assigned reading about ending gender segregation in bathrooms. It relates to the built environment of Atlanta because while Atlanta is a relatively progressive community, it is still within the Bible Belt and religious beliefs still play a large part in how policy and law makers go about doing their jobs (as evidenced by the recent House Bill 575 and the rhetoric of Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, including phrases like “God’s country”). This article is likely intended for the proponents of policy that would require gender neutral bathrooms so that they can better understand the arguments of those who seek to oppose these measures.

Annotated Bibliography #5

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Earthman, Glen, and Linda Lemasters. “Review of Research on the Relationship between School Buildings, Student Achievement, and Student Behavior.” (1996): n. pag. eric.ed.gov. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
“Review of Research on the Relationship between School Buildings, Student Achievement, and Student Behavior” is about how the design of school facilities affect two variables: student performance and student behavior. The variable most relevant to our class is student performance, in reference to the assigned reading we talked about in class that discussed how open spaces might influence student performance. Factors covered include “open-education programs and open-space schools, school building age, thermal factors, visual factors, color and interior painting, hearing factors, open space, windowless facilities, underground facilities, site size, building maintenance, and numerous other factors.” (Earthman and Lemasters, Abstract). The intended audience for this article seems to be architectural and construction firms as well as planning committees for new educational developments since this article was authored by the Council of Educational Facility Planners. One thing that was not discussed in the article we were assigned for class was a correlation between age of the study the strength of the relationship between the factors and the results. Older studies found a very weak relationship to the outcome of these factors while newer surveys found a much stronger relationship.

Annotated Bibliography #4

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Cherry, Gordon E. “The Town Planning Movement and the Late Victorian City.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 4.2 (1979): 306–319. JSTOR. Web.

This source discusses the factors that influenced the planning of late Victorian cities such as the nature of capitalism of the period. While the one flaw for my purposes is that this article is specific to Britain, it relates to my chosen Interior Built Environment of the Rhodes Hall in that it was built in this same time period, and discusses some general topics that include the Rhodes Hall like the practice of model estate building by industrialists that were able to thrive at that time. This piece also covers the influence of many German “town-expansion” plans which is is relevant since Amos Giles Rhodes was inspired by Rhineland architecture and castles to build the Rhodes Hall in the manner that he did. All of this is important to keep in mind since much of Atlanta was rebuilt after being burnt in the Civil War (i.e. the Late Victorian Era) and the Rhodes Hall is one of the primary surviving examples of this architecture in the form of an “Garden City” style estate.

Disabled by Design Annotated Bibliography by Alex Reid and Kittiya Chaiyachati

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Miller, Clark, and Claire Gordon. “Disabled by Design.” Slate 26 Feb. 2015. Slate. Web. 9 Feb. 2016.

This article discusses social attitudes about the inclusion/exclusion of disabled people based on the characteristics of the built environment around them. It references the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as instrumental in the shift of perceived blame from the disabled person to their environment for not accommodating them, saying “This cultural perspective pits people with disabilities … in a competitive race against those with greater abilities.” This article would be somewhat useful for someone attempting to discuss the effects of the built environment on people with disabilities and the changing attitudes to whether or not we should alter the built environment to include them and how deep these alterations should run. This article does have a few hang ups though. One of the main examples used in this articles is that the size of a Black Hawk attack helicopter excludes people of certain body shapes and sizes. This may be indicative of my own opinion, but it doesn’t seem defensible to claim that every person of every shape and size has a right to drive a multi-million dollar killing machine. The much more glaring objective error in the study about Black Hawks referenced in the article is that it did not include data of the shapes and sizes of men who would have been eligible to pilot these helicopters. These two holes in the primary example presented here greatly detract from the value of this article to be referenced or quoted without exposing these errors in the text that is using it as a source.

Annotated Bibliography #3

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Ferguson, Karen. “Kruse, Kevin M. White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005.”Urban History Review 35.1 (2006): 61. Web.

This article covers the redistribution of blacks and whites in Atlanta throughout the 1950’s-1970’s caused by a shortage of housing in traditionally black neighborhoods after World War II, resulting a diaspora of these people into what was then considered “White Territory”. Resistance from the white community came in two forms: blatant support for segregationist policies and a more inconspicuous concern for the condition of property values in the areas that many black families were moving into. Many church and local community leaders would urge home owners to refuse to sell to black families, as once one house sold, the rest of the neighborhood would scramble to sell their property as well in preparation for the anticipated drop in housing values. Kirkwood was one of these neighborhoods significantly affected. Kirkwood was originally majority white and soon became majority black in a couple of years as a result of this phenomenon. The ultimate conclusion is that instead of integrating, most white citizens fled to the suburbs which greatly influenced the demographic makeup of the metropolitan community to this day. This article would be useful to anybody seeking to demonstrate how the built environment has changed where people are “allowed” to live based on racist and classist ideals and how those ideals have survived into modernity. I chose this article because it also ties in very nicely with Cities and Inequalities in a Global and Neoliberal World in discussing changes in Kirkwood’s racial demographics and this article uses Kirkwood as a specific example much more extensively than the other two articles I researched.

Annotated Bibliography #2

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“The Demise of Queer Space? Resurgent Gentrification and the Assimilation of LGBT Neighborhoods.” N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

This article examines the Atlanta Metropolitan Area as a case study to analyze the effects of gentrification on the concentration of LGBT couples in different neighborhoods. It also covers race relations through the lens of this dispersion of gay and lesbian citizens of the city. The conclusion reached is that gentrification has served to price-out LGBT residents of the neighborhood of midtown and disperse them into other areas of the city, effectively diluting the gay and lesbian community and resulting in former LGBT neighborhoods to become less tolerant. Kirkwood was one of the traditionally Black neighborhoods that many gay and lesbian people moved to as midtown was becoming increasingly gentrified. This source also uses visual aides in the form of maps and charts displaying relevant data. This article would be very helpful to anyone trying to explore gentrification in Atlanta and its effects on distribution of same-sex couples throughout the city as well as the businesses and institutions that rely on them. While this article only mentions Kirkwood by name once, I chose it because it covers broader concepts that have definitely affected the neighborhood of Kirkwood. It also doesn’t reference any other articles I’ve written bibliographies but it does touch on a lot of the same problems discussed in Cities and Inequalities in a Global and Neoliberal World.