Ethnographic Analysis Paper

While observing, I sat near the classroom library. The classroom library is located in a corner near a big window, with multiple bookshelves nearby. I love how she has both a small bench and cushions as seating because the cushions allow students a choice in where they want to sit. There are so many book options for students to choose from, which are found at students’ level, in labeled baskets based on topic such as “How To” or “Cars”. When

After a while of sitting students’ eyes begin to burn from the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling. One also begins to realize that not only are their eyes hurting but their back is as well from sitting in the small desk. A small plastic chair with a board attached to the right side, that’s what students sit in. One immediately feels bad for left handed people because writing with one’s right hand on the narrow board is hard enough as it is. With the desks being so cramped together students can only stretch out their legs so far before they hit the desk in front of them or run the risk of tripping the professor pacing a small portion of the floor in the front of the classroom. It’s warm in the classroom and only getting warmer making things even more uncomfortable.

For my project, I decided to observe the Lloyd Hall particularly where the dining is located at, Stewart’s Corner. The observations that occurred wherein a span of one hour blocks, one from 8:40 am – 9:40 am, another at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, and the last one at 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm all on February 19, 2018. Within the seating area, the dominant traces were tables and chairs to sit, eat, talk, and possibly work on any assignments. Computers lined up on a divider, next to one of the registers. On the walls, there are windows spaced out evenly. In between the windows are black and white photographs of places and people around the University of Alabama campus.

In their seats to hundreds chart: Call students down to the carpet by table number. Look for quiet voices and clean desks.

At Fontbonne University, the freshman dorm is called St. Joseph hall. For three different days and times, I observed the commons area of St. Joseph hall, which is located on the first floor. When you first walk into St. Joseph hall, you notice that there are two sides with a walkway down the middle. On one side there are two flat screen TV’s surrounded by sofas with a table in the middle. This area is carpeted with a blue, green, and purple pattern. It is worn down and thin. On the other side of the Jo commons, there are four computers and a printer. There are also sofas and chairs on this side. There is florescent lighting throughout, but most of the time it is unneeded because the walls are giant windows. There are lots of scuff marks on the white wall paint (a lot of fixing up needed in this area). The back wall reads “Welcome to Griffin Nation” so as one walks in they can see it.

It all started when I was a sophomore, not knowing what I was doing. Entering the big, scary, high school, unsure of what would happen. I stepped into class, feeling uneasy that I would be the only one not knowing what to do. In the first week of photography, we learned about concepts and techniques to take pictures, like color, leading lines, the rule of thirds. All easy things. I enjoyed this, I felt like one who knew what to do and how to do it. When we got more advanced assignments, I realized, that I didn’t really know how to do everything, and good. This was frustrating to me. I felt like I couldn’t do anything.

Clearly, many students have taken the mix of furniture to be a benefit, instead of the contradiction that it seems to imply. The common area is also quite large and students use all the space available to them by spreading out far from each other. When first entering the area, most students would never think to sit immediately next to someone or even at the table over. Even I do this myself when entering, never considering sitting close to someone already there. For example, on one day while I was studying there, there were also three other students were using this space to study and we were all separated into four different corners. However, there is some socialization that does take place there.

Due to the short amount of time and resources, we have limitations on this study. Our observations were done during summer quarter, and most UCSB students left Santa Barbara during summer. And because it is a public library, other people can use this facility too. It is likely that we've observed students from SBCC or not even a student. I've seen a male elderly that reads newspaper on the first floor and an Asian family taking a rest in the library. It is very possible that among our findings, there are people that aren't suppose to be in the research pool, that we aren't suppose to include them, but we can't really control it. Building up from it, doing it in the other time, like fall quarter, when there are more UCSB students in Santa Barbara, we can have a

In this room there are students lined up in neat rows. They are sat at gray slab tables, 16 to a row. All heads are down, buried in work. The instructor sits at the front of the bare room. Scanning up and down the rows of desks, you search for differences. Finding none you move on.

One thing that I noticed is that the only people in the mess hall were seventh grade students. Where is everyone else.

Webster’s definition of a library is; a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or refer to. When people think of a library they often imagine a quiet building filled with books and librarians walking around trying to quiet people down. The main floor of the University’s public

The Shafer library is an obviously rather old building that has trouble even keeping up with all the commodities offered by even my dorm as far as studying is concerned for example, I have a very good computer and laptop that easily outpaces the horribly outdated tech provided by our cramped little library. Some people might stress the importance of keeping some things the same holding onto their quaint traditions with outstanding vigour, but sometimes things just need a good old fashion overhaul and that’s something Shafer is in dire need of. Prime examples of this are readily evident even in your first trounce through Shafer, the beige walls give a horribly dreary feeling to all who inhabit its creativity stifling abode, lined with paintings of old men nobody cares about, book stands that are rarely filled, and you can tell by the lack of life in all parts of this extremely modest library that this

A library, by definition, is “a place set apart to contain books, periodicals, and other material for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference, as a room, set of rooms, or building where books may be read or borrowed” (Merriam-Webster). However, for students at Miami University, the word “library” may have different connotations. After asking several fellow students the first word that comes to mind when someone talks about the library, the responses I received varied from the expected “books”, “study”, and “focus”, to more personal emotions such as “sad” and “depressed”. King Library, named for longtime library director and benefactor Edgar Weld King, has been the largest library and main scholarly hub at Miami University since 1966. Open 24 hours a day, you are bound to see students studying, socializing, or even sleeping at any given hour of the day in King. Comprised of four floors, including the basement, students are expected to meet the noise level expectations of each floor; students should anticipate a more relaxed and loud experience in the basement whereas the third floor maintains a level of almost absolute silence.

Upon entering, there are no signs indicated the layout of the library. At potentially strategic locations as determined by the Facilities department, there are extremely vague maps indicating emergency exits for the building, but they are small and not very noticeable. By the main outer entrances, there is an elevator, stairs, and a space for flyers (bulletin board and a shelf); by the inner main entrance, there’s a bench outside. Upon entering the library, the magazine collection and first security stand is immediately to the left. On the right are New books in paperback format that are strung up in display. Ahead is the New and Bestseller collection

A library is said to be the heart and soul of a college, also a refuge and a place of discovery, says author Alan Gibbons. The quality of education given in college can be roughly judged from the type of books in its library and its use by students(Gibbons). Since the renovation of the J.C. Oliver Library, I hadn’t been there. So, I decided to complete my filed observation there. I think the library is a more appropriate for this exercise since taking notes would be unusual. For the first five minutes, I looked around the whole environment in general to get a feel. I spot an empty table between the entry and the reference desk. From here I could observe who is coming in and where they go first: the reference desk or the periodical stand, or the computer station. While I was walking, I was spotted by the librarian who reminded me “M. Kamgue, your students print a lot, you need to stop sending them here to print” this make me realized that maybe the Library may not be a good spot for me to observe.