Annotated Bibliography: 4, 5, 6

Lighting Research & Technology. May2015, Vol. 47 Issue 3, p301-315. 15p. 2 Black and White Photographs, 2 Diagrams, 5 Charts, 1 Graph.

The various authors of this article highlight the effect of outdoor light on judgement and emotion. There was an experiment held where various aspects were tested from facial expressions to reaction time. In the findings of the equation the subjects responded much better when there were good lighting verses when there was ok or low lighting. This is a credible source that is organized in a way that makes it easier for the reader to understand the complex experiment. The various charts and graphs help the reader understand the qualitative data and the pictures help the reader understand the quantitative data. I chose this source because I wanted to see the effect of lighting on a built environment. This article focuses on the exterior environment which will correspond well with the interior build environment. In my other research that I have done so for I have focused on color but realized that color and lighting tie hand and hand. I will do more research on lighting in the coming annotated biography’s.

A picture of a garden in the evening. The mood that a person feels in the same place at 6 in the evening vs 8 in the morning will vary.
A picture of a garden in the evening. The mood that a person feels in the same place at 6 in the evening vs 8 in the morning will vary.

 

Lighting Research & Technology. Apr2015, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p192-209. 18p. 1 Color Photograph, 5 Charts, 4 Graphs.

The article focuses on how varied lightening conditions can contribute to the productivity in the workforce. There was an experiment held to see how lighting effects affect visual perceptions which in turn affect mood, alertness, and comfort. The experiment shows that brighter light/ mornings can make subjects more alert than duller light/ evenings. The one picture and nine charts help the reader to better understand the dense text. Though this is a great source the text which is somewhat boring in very drawn out. The author should of just went straight to point, which would have made for an easier read. I chose this source for the same reason I chose source four which was on exterior lighting effects. The reason being is I have focused on color and recently realized that color and lighten go hand in hand. All in all, this is a well written article that does an effective job of explaining the experiment.

A bright office. According to the office the employees will be alert and in a good mood because of the light.
A bright office. According to the article the employees will be alert and in a good mood because of the light.

Exchange (19460406); Nov/Dec2015, Issue 226, p40-43, 4p

The article talks about how environmental factors affect children’s stress levels in classrooms. It focuses on temperature and physical space, but the most interesting effect is lighting. The thing that sets this article apart from others, that I have researched, is that it suggests that instead of brightening classrooms, classrooms should be at mid lighting. The author believes that “Too much lighting can cause overstimulation and distraction, while dim lighting can cause headaches”. This article is good in the fact that it is easy to read and is less dense then other readings like the source from my fifth annotated biography. Though good the article still has its flaws, a major one is that the article could of gave more scientific information to back its findings, instead of just simply stating the facts. This would have made the article seem more valid. I choose this article because I wanted to understand the effects of light in classrooms and other spaces, and it gave me a great understanding of just that.

This classroom is very bright. The article would suggest diming the lights a bit.
This classroom is very bright. The article would suggest diming the lights a bit.

Reading Summary 4: Bathroom Accommodation

Male attempting to enter female restroom.
Male attempting to enter female restroom.

Public restrooms are often places where we feel the most vulnerable outside the comfort of our homes, because like Bazelon explains it a place where “we undress and obey the dictates of our bodies” (1). Subsequently, if a man walks into a women restroom or vice versa it would make the dominant gender occupying the space feel uncomfortable.

Bazelon explains how this discomfort is the driving force for things like the rejection of The Broad of Equal Rights ordinance in Texas. The ordinance would have protected against discrimination based on age, race, and sexual orientation, but opponents were too scared of sharing a bathroom with the opponent sex to accept it. Many institutions are facing the same problem of deciding whether or not to allow unisex bathrooms or bathroom accommodations.

Schools face this issue with transgender individuals who want to use the bathroom and locker rooms of the gender they identify to. Bazelon uses an example of a transgender teen in Illinois to example the issue. The teen wanted to use the same facilities as all the other girls but was sent to a separate area to change and use the restroom. The case was sent to the States Department of education who decided to intervene and let her use the facilities as long as she had a privacy curtain.

In that case they did a good job at accommodating that student. Accommodation is to basically come to a middle ground and agreement on a situation that benefits everyone. Accommodation can be seen in US history from in the 60’s with accommodation for religious people at work and in the with those with disability (4).Though accommodating in restrooms is a fairly recent thing the separation of bathroom isn’t a new phenomenon it dates back to the Victorian era. But it wasn’t until the 19 century that states started to require gender exclusive water closets. They were created to give women a place to rest so they wouldn’t faint being that they were seen as weaker than men.

Women are known for travels in pairs to the bathroom, often to talk and relax.
Women are known for travels in pairs to the bathroom, often to talk and relax.

 

Today women’s restrooms verse men’s are “refined and gentle” which give women a safe haven to relax and chat with friends. The author suggest that women have become attached to this comfort and this is why events like the rejection of the accommodation law in Texas happen.

Though many people fear it accommodation is a vital part of the society that we live in. What Bazelon is trying to point out is that we shouldn’t only accommodate for the easy things or more practical things we should accommodate for everyone. She says for those with disabilities it is a reasonable accommodation to put a bar next to a toilet or a button that opens a door, but for a transgender kid showering near peers in your own stall and changing behind a curtain is just as reasonable (11). When put that simply it is hard to justify the denial of accommodation transgender youth and restrooms in general.

Unisex bathroom sign, accommodating to the transgender community.
Unisex bathroom sign, accommodating to the transgender community.

 

Bazelon does a wonderful job of laying out the subject of unisex bathrooms, and explaining the key issues by tying it all together with the concept of accommodation.

Bibliography

BAZELON, EMILY. “Making Bathrooms More Accommodating.” New York Times Magazine. 17 November 2015. Web. 2 January 2016.

Reading Summary 3: His & Hers

Baby boy and girl dressed in blue and pink. From the moment they exit the womb the are placed into assigned gender roles with a list of expectations.

From the moment that a person is born they are labeled by their gender and put into a societally box with expectations and limitations. In recent years this century old tradition of labeling has been tested because technological advances and varied depictions of gender in the media. These to elements created what Tick refers to as a “gender revolution”. This article does a great job of going into great detail on how this gender revolution has influences the way in which designers create different spaces.

Tick believes that it is up to designers to promote acceptance and change particularly when it comes to gender. They have to do this my putting an end to the deeply rooted landscape of Modernism, which comes from a male perspective. The reason why the modernist landscape is so vast is because men dominated industries for centuries and women only recently came in adding splashes of a feminist perspective. Thankfully “the barriers and hierarchies have started to come down as women have become more prominent” (4).

This breaking of barriers is creating what Tick refers to as the feminine wave. Designers are catching on to this and are incorporating feminine touches in their work like textures, and daylight, examples of things that are softer and more “feminine”. Designers don’t only cater to women with soft aspects they include every one by blurring the lines of gender. They are doing this by designing things like women’s clothing that looks like military clothing which is typically associated to be something that men would wear. And making a makeup kits which we associate with women in a very mescaline tone for a male buyer.

The coat (Left) is for a women but looks very masculine. The make up kit (right) generally associated with women is for men.
The coat (Left) is for a women but looks very masculine. The make up kit (right) generally associated with women is for men.

 

With designers do things like this, along with other forms of media and new advances in technology great confusion on gender roles can be created. Questions like who should wear pants, or who can wear a dress? Do only girls wear their hair long and so on can and do arise. This confusion has brought with it great change where intuitions like colleges and big name companies are dropping traditional gender roles.

Unisex bathroom sign.
Unisex bathroom sign.

This drop of gender roles is particularly important for transgender individuals and others with varied sexual identities. There are many different sexual identities and the design of clothing, exterior spaces and ecstatically interior spaces should be accepting to all of them. Tick quotes Rothblatt who says “There are five billion people in the world and five billion unique sexual identities”, this statement is very true (7). Companies like google have recognized this and started to adopt genre-neutral or unisex bathrooms to help accommodate for these identities. These bathrooms make individuals feel not only comfortable but included.

Bathrooms are only a part of a much bigger scale of inclusion and accommodation that most happen in this post gender world that we live in today. The way in which we choose to design the space around us should be a reflection of the world that we live in today. All in all, the design should respect everyone’s needs and give induvial a place to express their own individuality.

Tick did a wonderful job at not explaining the shift in gender dynamics, by going in deep and explaining why these shift occur and where we can see them in the modern world.

Bibliography

Suzanne Tick. “ His & Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society” Metropolismag. Web. 16 February 2016.

Midterm Reflection

This class has developed my digital writing skills tremendously, which will help me throughout the rest of this course as well as in my  life beyond this course. When I signed up for this class I didn’t realize how different it was actually going to be from a standard english class. And the first day of class I was honestly scared because the concept of the class seemed far fetched and difficult. After being in the course for time I have adapted to the way in which it is taught, and actually like it better than a traditional english class. In a traditional class there would be test and lectures, in a standard looking classroom, where students mainly use pencil and paper staring at a whiteboard. In this class we are sitting in a urban looking lab, with no test, and we mainly use computers.

Another thing that makes this class so different from other classes is the fact that we post our work on a blog. In traditional classes it would only be the teacher that would be able to view a students work. But in here any of a students classmates can view their work. Which is something that I like more because it holds me to a higher standard. It forces me to make sure that my work is perfect just in case any of my classmates choose to view it. This could also be helpful to my classmates or future students who take this course and need an example of what to do on a certain assignments.

This shows how in this class we switched from work on paper to work on the computer.
This shows how in this class we switched from work on paper to work on the computer.

This blog form of writing is also helpful to me because I am able to surf the web while I am researching or writing a paper in class. I am able to incorporate pictures in my writings  along with links and sounds. All of these aspects together help me to have more complex forms of writings.

With the different assignments that we have had I gained a more complex understanding how to research. I’ve always known the difference between primary and secondary research, but now my understanding has just evolved. This has especially helped with the exterior built environment analysis were I learned that when it incorporate secondary research it can make my writing more compelling and interesting. And I will continue to use this in future built environment analysis’s.

Primary vs Secondary definitions
Primary vs Secondary definitions

I have a variety of strengths and weaknesses in my writing. I’ve been a good standard writer but with this new form writing I see new weaknesses. Like incorporating pictures in the right places, adding digital recordings, and leaving behind that standard form of writing with 5 paragraphs.. But now that I understand the digital world more I should do great in this class.

My favorite part of this class is the point system. Mainly because if I had to rely on the major assignments alone to get my grade in this class I probably wouldn’t have a great grade, being that I didn’t have great scores in the beginning. That is why I love all the opportunities for extra credit in this class. I have taken advantage of all the extra quizzes on D2L. This have given me a lot of points and I am very grateful for these. I am very satisfied with all the effort that I have put in this and the amount of points that I have reflect that.

Though I am satisfied with my points I can still do somethings to make this class easier and be more successful. The main thing that I can do is start the projects earlier. In doing that I will have more time to research, analysis, and complete assignments. The one thing that I can add to my process as a writer to improve my work is have someone read through my work after I complete it. This will ensure that my work flows and sounds good.

All in all, I am enjoying this class and appreciate everything that I am learning along with the unconventional way that this class is taught.

Peachtree Street Description: Exterior

 

2-thumb_jpgPeachtree Street is located in a busy area of Atlanta Georgia. The street was built decades ago, but in the last twenty years it has developed into a busy area that is very well known throughout the country.

The street starts at Five Points in downtown Atlanta, through Midtown. It then turns into Peachtree road when it enters Bulkhead.untitledStanding the middle of Peachtree Street the smell of car exhaust, burning from construction, and the collision of aromas from restaurants hit you the the face. This along with the of sounds of trucks, music from various business and talking people, can give person a sensory overload.

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Center of Peachtree Street

Peachtree street has many tall buildings, hotels, various restaurants, banks, and more.There is a tie between elegance and attractiveness throughout the street. There are tall crisp buildings that have people dressed in suits walking in and out. These buildings are bland in color usually white, gray, or brown.

This elegance can be seen from ground which has a bricked design on the sidewalk and street. To the intricate designs that are in the tall buildings.

There are  also restaurants with huge colorful signs that have  joyous people eating inside.The restaurants have mostly bright colors from red to green. These signs have to be bold because of monstrous size of everything else on the street, if it wasn’t this size the signs wouldn’t be noticed.

IMG_20160209_131448 [26868]
Huge colorful signs
Peachtree street is very easy to navigate, if you are walking or driving at a time when it is not busy. Though if  you are there at a busy time it may take you awhile to get past that particular street to another. The analysis that I did at one o’clock in the afternoon was kind of difficult because I couldn’t stop to write my notes without having someone abruptly brushing past me. Though it may take you some time to walk down the street it is okay because Peachtree Street makes you feel happy or elegant either is great. Overall Peachtree street is a place for anyone who wants to have a great time, look wealthy, spend money, go to work in a suit, see flashy signs and colors, walk on cool sidewalks, or eat really good food. All in all, Peachtree Street is for everyone!

 

Digital Recording: Exterior

This is a clip of the sound on Peachtree street, which is very loud. The main sound that you can hear is cars. In the very back ground you can hear music from various businesses, people walking on the side walk, bags rustling, and much more. This a great example of what a busy day on Peachtree street would sound like.