Monthly Archives: February 2016

Annotated Bib. #2

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“Georgia Institute of Technology.” GT. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. <http://www.gatech.edu/>.

The Georgia Tech website provides general information regarding the university and its corresponding organizations. It has a general calendar that highlights many of the school’s upcoming events. Also included in the web page are links to more information regarding the university. Information concerning the admission process, alumni resources, and student resources. My interior environment is the Georgia Tech Library so this website directly relates to my focus in this project.

 

“Georgia Tech Library.” Georgia Tech Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. <http://ww

w.library.gatech.edu/>.

The Georgia Tech Library website provides students with tools to help with accessing resources. These resources include but are not limited to links to the library catalog, e-journals, and research guides. The site also includes links to pages in which students can reserve study rooms. On the main page there is a brief calendar that highlights a few upcoming events. The page overall is designed to guide students on to what ever resource they may need to complete their assignments. My interior environment is the Georgia Tech Library so this website directly relates to my focus in this project.

 

Dead Week in the Library. YouTube. Georgia Tech Library, 4 Dec. 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axdebaR8E7s>.

The video highlights a few of the events that the Georgia Tech Library holds during what they call dead week each semester. They inform the viewer of a program the facility holds where dogs are brought in to provide stress relief for the students throughout their finals week. Other programs are highlighted as well for students to take part in in order to reduce stress during finals. The video was made to inform students of their resources during dead week as well as inform prospective students what Georgia Tech’s library has to offer. My interior environment is the Georgia Tech Library so this video directly relates to my focus in this project.

 

Mid Term Reflection

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The academic writing process in this class is different from the way in which i have learned in the past in the nature of the writing. The writing in this class specifically involves research and personal opinion, whereas in the past i have mostly worked on narratives and persuasive essays. It has taken me a while to get use to writing reading summaries in essay format, but once i reached the third reading summary I felt more comfortable with the style of writing. I was also able to teach my self a better strategy at approaching the summaries. I have learned to first read through the writing before attempting to annotate, and then once annotating only leave information that remains relevant throughout the reading. This helps me complete the assignments faster by only focusing on relevant informations that will be included in my summary. Annotated bibliographies are also new to me and so it took me a little extra effort to understand the concept of the assignment. Now that i have completed and submitted the assigned bibliographies i understand the task and find it quick and easy to complete.

Due to the manner in which we submit our work, being a post on a public blog, the audience of our work is not limited to the professor or even our classmates. Any one with access to the internet can read our submissions. The information we post becomes more than an assignment to the class, but a published piece of information for public use. This makes completing the assignments to the best of our abilities more crucial because it not only reflects our knowledge and work ethic to our professor, but to the world. It is posted to the internet with our name, and therefore represents us to any future employers or graduate schools.

I have found weaknesses in my focus when completing reading summaries. I constantly become distracted or overwhelmed by the amount of reading remaining. I have learned to remain focused by reading aloud or enlarging the text. This has made an improvement on my comprehension of the readings and therefore the summaries in which i have written. I want to continue working on this comprehension so to then further improve my reading summaries.

I have found that, due to the need for improvement in my writing abilities and work ethic, I strongly require participation in extra point opportunities to make up for lost points. So far i have created a bio page on my blog, and have created a Facebook study group page with two of my peers. I have plans to complete many more extra point opportunities in order to achieve success in this course. I am content with the effort in which i have put into the class so far; however, I feel like i have much room for improvement and i genuinely want to succeed. In order to improve my effort put into the class, I plan to begin working on my assignments earlier so that if i do become distracted or have a hard time focusing i can take a step back and resume when i have more focus. I believe this will help me complete better writings.

His and Hers- Reading Summary

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In her article, “His and Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society,” Suzanne Tick expresses her idea that “we are living in a time of gender revolution.” Currently, our society faces several proactive changes in our views on gender and sexuality. Now that we have begun the transition of acceptance, we need to look at the modernistic frame work of our society and see if it still accommodates our rapidly changing world.

 

Tick addresses the dominating presence of male influence on our society’s structure. Having been previously monopolized by men, the structure of the business world is heavily influenced by the male presence; however, according to the author, “recent events point to a new wave of feminism.” With equal rights weighing in heavily in politics and mass media, currently more and more people are transitioning to a more gender neutral society. Business offices and other historically male dominated spaces, are becoming more femininely influenced. Women hold more prominence in the work place than before. Tick even reveals the changing influences in fashion having things like cosmetic products tailored to men and more masculine fashion wear for women.

 

Gender norms are becoming less and less normal now, according to Tick. It is now far less taboo to openly have a gender identity different from the sex in which you were born with. In regards to college students and their gender identification, Tick explains, “They are standing up to institutions and saying that they don’t want to be identified as one or the other.” The significance of this progress is huge. According to the author, “In the past, transgender people were viewed as outcasts;” however, now it has been brought to attention that in the United States of America, the highest paying executive position in which a female holds, is in fact held by a woman whom was born biologically male. Her name is Martine Rothblatt. Tick quotes her in the article saying, “There are five billion people in the world and five billion unique sexual identities.” This idea focuses on each person as an individual rather than singling out a group of people for their differences as well as pointing out the idea that as individuals our sexuality differs even within our own orientations.

 

Tick then states, “Corporations have taken note, and bathrooms have become the focus of this change.” Large companies have noticed the trend, and have quickly worked to accommodate their employees through the installment of gender neutral bathrooms. While bathrooms are just one small aspect of gender neutrality, the author does correctly point out that they are “spaces that are sensitive to such personal issues.” The goal is, according to the article, “to allow all individuals to feel comfortable, safe, and included—and not have to choose a gender while in the workplace.”

 

Individuality is key to this subject. Whether it be within their sexual orientation or just the personality type, by allowing a person to comfortably exhibit their individualism and live comfortably, we will create a society in which happiness becomes much easier to obtain. Tick posits, “Having safe places for anybody to function and do what they need to do, no matter who they are, should be our first step.”

His & Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society” by Suzanne Tick http://www.metropolismag.com/March-2015/His-or-Hers-Designing-for-a-Post-Gender-Society/

 

Making Bathrooms more Accomodating- Reading Summary

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In her article, “Making Bathrooms More ‘Accommodating,’” Emily Bazelon addresses the reasoning behind the arguments of which gender categorized bathroom or changing room a transgender person should be permitted to use. The article takes an in depth look at the different perspectives in which the argument takes.

Public bathrooms are split into two categories, male and female. This division is purely based of human anatomy and nothing else. The problem lies, however, in the fact that although someone could physically be a male or female, they can recognize themselves differently; thus creating conflict in their comfort in choosing a bathroom in which to utilize.

Bazelon explains that there is a lot of contributing factors to a transgender person’s desire to use the restroom of their choosing. One factor of a transwoman’s desire to have equal right to the women’s bathroom could lie in the nature of a woman’s restroom having more privacy within its stalls rather than the men’s room’s use of open urinals. The author reveals the testaments of a 12 year old transgender girl in which she spoke with. The girl explained to Bazelon, ‘‘I don’t walk into the changing room and feel like, Oh, my God, I can’t believe I’m here. It feels just as natural to be in there with girls as it does to be in the classroom with boys and girls.’’

Brazelon then goes on to explain the idea of accommodation. She posits, “it’s a word that involves moving over to make room for other people, whether you want to or not.”  The attempted accommodation for the problem at hand has been presented in the article as allowing a student to shower near their peers in their own stall, or to provide the student with a private changing area separated by a curtain or barrier.  Brazelon describes this as “relatively small adjustments for the sake of coexistence.” While this accommodation is an attempt at solution, Brazelon fears that, “It often sets up a distinction between the normal and the other.” By subjecting transgender people to this separation, society would be host to unequal rights for people of different sexual orientations. Those whom identify as a woman should be allowed to live as a woman, not create an entire sub category of “identifies as a woman.”

To conclude her article Brazelon shares what The Transgender Law Center offers in their resource guide entitled, “Peeing in Peace.”  She explains briefly a few of the include techniques. The first technique include in the resource guide was entitled “Invisibility.” This technique encourages trans-people to utilize the bathroom of their choice, but to avoid conflict with anyone else in the bathroom by avoiding all contact.  The second Technique Brazelon includes is called “Gender Proof.” The goal of this technique is to prove to the other attendents of the restroom that you belong there, or that you fit in. Specifically she states that the resource guide instructs transgender people to ‘‘try pointing out your physical characteristics if they will help prove that you belong.”

BAZELON, EMILY. “Making Bathrooms More Accommodating.” New York Times Magazine. 17 November 2015. Web. 15 February 2016.

Henderson Park’s Built Environment

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I arrived at 2803 Henderson Rd., Tucker, otherwise known as Henderson Park, and immediately saw that a few of the many soccer fields located at the entrance of the park were occupied by a few families playing around. There were loud sounds of kids laughing and yelling. Parents were gathered in groups around the border of the fields. When I got out of my car I realized that I knew some of the people gathered on the fields. The Munroe’s, a family I babysit for, were on the field playing soccer together. I said hello and then continued to walk from the field to the path winding down to the lower park area. I walked past a couple and their dog preparing to go on a hike. They had a backpack ready next to their car and were hooking their dog to the leash. Once I made my way down to the lower part of the park, I found myself walking towards a playground and picnic area where children were running around screaming and laughing. While the kids were loud, I still felt a sense of peace and quiet in contrast to the busy noise of the city that I am used to. I decided to go sit by the lake on the small deck. I watched as people came and went from the hiking trails. Groups of teenagers, families, and couples came and went throughout the duration of my visit.  Other than the sounds of people talking as they passed, I could hear ducks quacking as they swam around the deck in which I was sitting on. The park, aside from the playground, was accented mostly with colors of grey of the concrete slabs in which the structures were comprised. Asphalt lines the park in the trail down to the playground and then a wood pavilion sits beside the play area. Walls build to support the slope of the hill were also made of stone and concrete. The park has an overall feeling of being in mountains and peaceful, while still being of manmade structure. As a whole the park felt safe and inviting.

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Addison Munroe Playing Soccer

Henderson Park

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According to DeKalb county’s Park and Recreation information website, Henderson Park is a 114 acre park located in Tucker, Georgia. It encompasses a large recreational area designated for TYSA Soccer League. The park then winds down to a lower play area and deck looking over a small lake. The park then also includes many trails that circulated through the woods and feature creek and waterfall access. The park is accessed through a residential neighborhood.

 

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“DeKalb County Parks & Recreation.” DeKalb County Parks & Recreation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. <http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/parks/pr-fa-tucker.html>.

Annotated bibliographies

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England, Trish. “Tucker History.” OTTMA. 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ottma.com/tucker-history.html>.

            Tucker, Georgia originated as farmland, but was transitioned to connect the towns of Clarkston, Decatur, Stone Mountain, Norcross, Pittsburg and Lawrenceville through dirt roads. In result of the Seaboard Air-Line Railroad completion between Monroe, N.C. and Atlanta, rail lines were laid in Tucker. The region continued to develop schools and small businesses. The site continues to describe the transitions of businesses and residential areas in and around Tucker throughout history. The article directly relates to my built environment piece by describing the history of the region in which I am studying. By learning the history and development of Tucker, I can better understand tucker, and the direct cause and effects of its built environment.

 

England, Trish. “Tucker History.” OTTMA. 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ottma.com/tucker-history.html>.

            This website provides data regarding Tucker, Georgia and its crime rates. It presents a clear line in which displays the region transitioning from safest levels to high crime. From the data provided you can conclude that the most crime falls on the south east side of Tucker, with the North West being the safest region of Tucker. Below the map the page gives statistics on the crime that takes place in Tucker. The page has a direct relationship with the build environment project in the sense that it reveals facts regarding the city of Tucker based on region, details of which reveal a direct correlation between the built environment of tucker and crime rate.

“Tucker, Georgia (GA) Income Map, Earnings Map, and Wages Data.” Tucker, Georgia (GA) Income Map, Earnings Map, and Wages Data. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.city-data.com/income/income-Tucker-Georgia.html>.

            The Webpage provides data in regards to the Income levels distributed throughout Tucker, Georgia. According to the map there is a distinct line between income levels spanning from the south west to the north east corners of the region, the North West corner having a higher income and the South East corner being of a lower income. It presents Lawrenceville highway as the dividing factor in the income levels. This page is directly related to the built environment by providing data that can be directly linked back to the organization of the region and the surrounding built environment. By showing the direct relationship between the separation of income levels and the different sides of Lawrenceville highway, the page hints at the built environment’s involvement in this separation.