2/24/11

This week, I looked at four links of websites created by previous students of Prof. Nicole Williams. I saw many differences between these four websites. Personally, I found useful information on three of the four websites. Unfortunately, the website created by the only male student, Ryan, I did not find helpful. If anything I thought it was a bit confusing to follow. Although the three websites created by the female students were very different in structure and they all contained portfolios including work for their mid-term and final portfolios, they were all easy to read and to get ideas from. It was extremely helpful to see these examples before creating my own website.

Practice fieldwork

Popular Pizza
Seekonk Ma
Briarwood Plaza
Wednesay February 16, 2010
6:30-7 o'clock pm
-Small pizza place
-kitchen inclosed in back
-eat at counter
-9 picknic style tables
-man, mid 30's behind counter, green shirt and hat with Popular Pizza Logo
-Friendly
-2 men, mid 40's eatting at counter: both in work style clothes (jeans tshirt. sweatshirts) (both eatting pizza and drinking beer)
-All three men talk about sports game on TV
-Man, mid  40's came in to pick up food dressed in buisness style clothing talking on cell phone
-Cook in back came out to get soda
-Man in mid 40's and girl in late teens sit at table talking eattin a pizza. Very serious conversation split up by comical statements making teen girl laugh. Man dressed in sweat shirt and girl in tshirt and jeans.
-Many photographs of famous moments in sports on the walls.
-Dell Lemonaid machine next to soda machine. ATM also there

Slide, Roll, Slam by Nicole Williams

From the very beginning of this essay I knew that it was not going to be your typical boring eight page paper. Mrs. Williams grabs the attention of her audience using descriptive adjective that allow you to really see everything that she is describing to you. She goes on to explain the "lay of the land," which in this case is a bowling alley, and all of the people occupying it. Mrs. Williams goes as far as to tell what the employees are wearing down to the a mount of makeup that they have applied that evening. The fact that she discusses the ages and behaviors of the men bowling in the Monday night leagues allowed me to visualize the players as if I was presently in the bowling alley. Through making hypotesis's about the men, the leagues, and the bowling alley in general, Mrs. Williams invites her readers to request more as they wonder what else she will learn on her upcoming visits.

2/3/11 Research Topic

I am using a Chinese restraints called China Gormet as my research site. What I currently know about this site is the location, the hours and the prices. All of this information is easy to get due to their printed menu's that they give you with all take out orders. On average, lunch plates cost about $4.95 and dinner plates cost about $8. I have observed, in the previous times that I was there, that the same people work all the time. There is either a Chinese man or woman or a Caucasian woman who is in her early twenties working the cash register. There are two Chinese men that work in back cooking the food. I know that China Gormet is typically a take-out place due to its small size and that the food is amazing.

From my research I would like to learn how China Gormet can possibly charge so little for such large portions and still make a profit. Over the past two years that I have been regurally visiting my research site I have noticed that the prices have raised but not by much. I would also like to know who holds management positions and why they decided to hire a Caucasian twenty something year old to work with them.