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Fieldwork: Biography of Twix

Today, I will presenting one of my favorite candy bars, the beautiful and delicious Twix bar! The Twix chocolate bar is a butter cookie topped with caramel, covered in chocolate and usually come with two in a package. Twix is manufactured by Mars Inc, was first created in 1967 in the United Kingdom, and was later sold in the US in 1979. The ingredients of a Twix bar include milk chocolate, enriched wheat flour, sugar, palm oil, corn syrup, and skim milk.

The working conditions of those who actually produce the cocoa are poor. Cocoa farms are primarily found in West Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Workers are underpaid, work in hazardous working conditions, rarely have access to health care, and face other negative conditions. Child labor is involved with obtaining the cocoa. Children aged from 5 to 17, have to work in these hazardous conditions in place of going to school for an education. The cocoa is packed and shipped to warehouses where the cocoa can be used. The prices are set depending on the demand for the ingredient; if the demand is high and the supply is low, then the prices will be higher. The International Cocoa Organization regulate the chocolate trade and Mars Inc produced the highest amount of net sales from this cocoa in 2017. The chocolate is marketed virtually everywhere, from tv to magazine ads. I bought my chocolate bar in a supermarket and I believe that the the store owner made from 25 to 35% profit from this.

The underpayment and overall hazardous working conditions of workers, I would say that that there are hidden costs not included in the price I paid. I believe that companies try not to advertise the working conditions of cocoa farmers so that their chocolate sales wont be interfered with. If more people knew what people have to sacrifice just for a chocolate bar, manufacturing companies would be seen in a more negative light, leading to a major decrease in sales

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/071615/what-drives-price-chocolate.asp

http://www.foodispower.org/slavery-chocolate/

https://www.oldtimecandy.com/collections/walk-the-candy-aisle-twix

https://www.icco.org/about-cocoa/chocolate-industry.html

https://makechocolatefair.org/

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Fieldwork Assignment:Class and Social inequality

The article I found talks about how certain businesses and companies are giving students the opportunity to find work as well as pursue their education. The student mentioned in this article grew up in a poor area in Brooklyn, now however, he has attained an associates degree as well as his high school diploma, works for IBM, and is even on track to get his Bachelors degree in the next few years (and he’s only 20 years old)!

This article relates to Bourdieu’s theory of class because it is centered around the importance of education as it relates to social class. Bourdieu mentions that social reproduction is to cause for generations of people to stay within a certain class, limiting social mobility. The student in the article, however goes against this theory because he didn’t allow his background to keep him grounded at a certain level. Instead, he chose to take advantage of the opportunities he was given and is now continuing his education while working for a well known and profitable company. 

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Fieldwork assignment (11/4)

Here is my family tree! I don’t have much of a relationship with many members on my father’s side, so not too many other members came to mind. Along with that, I realized that the family on my mother’s side is small as well, even with all the present members. One thing I notice about my family is that there aren’t many “traditional” relationships (eg. many children between one pair of people, biological descendance). For example, my grandmother adopted a few children including my mom. 

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Classwork Assignment 10/16

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Fieldwork #6

This picture is an example of race/racism because it shows the names of all the black women who were murdered due to police brutality, which has been a major issue among those in the black community.

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Fieldwork #6

This shows racism because McGreggor blatantly disrespected Khabib’s race and religion by offering him alcohol and by calling him “backwards”. This is one of the events that led to McGreggor’s loss a little while ago.

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Fieldwork #6

This is an example of race because this young woman speaks for many others in the black community who feel like their lives are undervalued and that nobody is looking out for us in the end.

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Fieldwork #6

This video is an example of racism because it shows how intolerant some people can be of other cultures and races. Two women were just speaking spanish and a rude lady comes up and harasses them just because they aren’t speaking a language she understands. 

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Fieldwork #6

This video is an example of race because it has become a meme/joke in the black community that black people can dance to anything. This stem from the importance and significance of dancing in black culture.

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Fieldwork #6

This news article is an example of racism because a young lady was sent home fro school because her hairstyle didn’t comply with the school standard. The girl was only sent home because her hairstyle was different and was considered uncouth by the faculty.

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Field work 5

The film,The Human Family Tree, analyzes the origins of present day humans and proposes that we all share a common ancestor that is traced back to Africa. In the film, a man by the name of Dave looks like an African American but his lineage suggests that he has roots in both Europe and Asia. Based on this, Dave’s lineage supports the Out of Africa theory which proposes that humans first evolved in Africa and later migrated to various other parts of the world.

The Out of Africa theory suggests that humans migrated from Africa to the Middle East and Asia in order to move away from adverse climates in order to survive. Through this however, some humans actually began adapting to the colder climate in Asia. The film says that 35,000 years ago, humans who couldn’t adapt to the colder temperatures kept traveling and their group eventually split in two, going two different directions. One group decided to go to closer to the Americas, while the other group traveled to Europe; this sequence of events explains how Dave has Asian and European roots. This is all connected to his African American appearance because one of his European descendants may have been a father to an African Slave. Finally, Dave’s descendants were pushed to migrate to different areas to survive and that’s how he came to have such a diverse background.

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Fieldwork Assignment #4: Language and Gestures

To start things off, I decided to take note of customers’ hand gestures while I was at work. I felt that it would be a little awkward to record or take pictures, so I will do my best to describe their actions with words or pictures/gifs I can find on the internet. For background info, I work at a supermarket in a neighborhood that has an even mix between African Americans and Caucasians.

One of the most commonly used gestures I noticed was the classic “thumbs up” gesture. This gesture was used either when someone wanted to show approval of something that was said or when they were actually waiting to be told if something or someone was ok. For example, one man came in with his girlfriend and they were discussing what they should get for dinner. Eventually, the boyfriend suggested Chipotle and asked his girlfriend if she was in the mood for it. She gave a thumbs up and just said ok.

Another common gesture I noticed was a sharp pointing motion with peoples’ hands. This was usually done when someone was talking and they were trying to convince their friends or family of something and to add emphasis to what they were saying.

One gesture I found particularly interesting was from an asian woman who came in with her husband. They always come in and buy a bouquet of flowers along with other items and although we were all familiar with each other, I could tell that the woman was always more “reserved” than her husband. I say this because the husband’s gestures are always wider and more apparent than her’s.  For example, the husband will nod to me and raise a hand in the air to say thank you and goodbye, while his wife will actually keep her hands closer to her lower body and give a little bow to me before leaving. I know that in the past, women in Asian cultures were expected to not draw attention to themselves and be submissive in their relationships, so I feel as though this woman’s gestures reflected that idea to a T.

Another gesture I thought was interesting was actually from this cute little kid named Maria. Maria came in with her mother and after talking to her mom for a little bit, I said hello to Maria to be polite. Instead of saying hi or waving to me, she covered her eyes with her hands and started laughing. I instantly knew that by her doing this, she was showing that she was shy. Luckily though, her mother and I got her to see that I was a nice guy and Maria actually ended up telling me that we were friends before she left (lol)!

Overall though, talking to people and taking note of their various gestures made me realize something; the people who used their hands for wider gestures were usually more outgoing, while people who kept their hands closer to their body were usually more quiet and to themselves.

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Fieldwork Assignment 3

For this assignment, I chose to observe Montebello Lake, which is right down the street from Morgan. The area attracted me because I find areas like this relaxing and beautiful to look at. As soon as I parked my car near the curb, I could immediately tell that this was a popular spot for runners and bikers as they walked around the lake trail. The trail is actually divided though, with walkers/runners on one side and bikers on the other side going in an opposite direction. I believe that this was done in order to bring order and prevent casualties. Obviously, bikers would be traveling at a different speed than those on foot, so this allows bikers to casually ride at their own pace instead of slowing down to pass those who are on foot. Along the trail, I also noticed two strength training stations that had different workout equipment such as elliptical, pull up bars, and push up benches. I believe these were installed with the knowledge that people might like to do more than just cardio workouts at a time. Even more that workout equipment, there was also a playground near the area as well for parents to bring their children for fun. It is interesting to note that the people going around the lake varied in ethnicity and age. Also, not everybody was going around, some people were relaxing in the grass or sitting their chairs with their friends. One thing I never noticed before was certain markings and symbols on the ground. For instance, there was a “start” sign on the ground as well as “ROTC” and “5K” markings. This could mean that this area is a popular training spot for runners to increase their speed and endurance. I was expecting to find a water fountain or a vending machine somewhere in the area, since people are most likely getting a workout in. Also, I remember there always being geese chilling in the water whenever I came around, but they were absent the two days that I showed up to observe. I decided to visit the lake on Friday evening and Sunday evening and I found that it was more populated on Sunday than on Friday. This could be due to the fact that people thought it felt nicer on Sunday or perhaps they simply had more free time on Sunday.

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Fieldwork Assignment 2

Whew! Now I’ll tell you something, going through all your things really makes you think about what kind of person you are! To do this assignment, I am going to organize my things into categories and subcategories.

Clothing & Apparel

Shirts (100+) - ~$200, approx $10-$20 each - Need - Obviously, I only need one or two shirts, but I like having a variety of styles to choose from since I don’t know what mood I’ll be in when I wake up. Also, I may need a professional shirt as opposed to just t-shirts

Pants (11) - ~$200, approx $18-$25 each) - Need - Again, I only need one pair of jeans or dress pants, but I like having options.

Jackets (30) - ~$300 - Need - Only need one jacket/ hoodie, but I like different hoodies

Shoes (40) - ~$1,000 - Need/ Want - Only need one pair of shoes so my feet dont hurt, but the variety of shoes is amazing.

Socks (20) - $30 - Want - I like feeling comfortable in my shoes

Underwear (24) - $30 - Need - wearing clothes without underwear is unhygienic

Glasses - $100 - Need - I very much like being able to see farther than 2 ft.

Watches (12) - ~$100-$150 each - Want - I like the look of certain watches

Electronics

HP Pavillion x2 Laptop - $250 - Need -This is how I complete school assignments, helps with entertainment too

Iphone 7+ - $600 - Need - I need for communication with family and friends as well as safety.

PS4 - $300 - Want - For entertainment and connecting with friends

Nintendo Switch - $300 - Want - For entertainment and connecting with friends

Games (20) - ~$30-$60 each - Want - For entertainment and connecting with friends

Lamp - $30 - Need - I need to see when it gets dark outside

Apple Airpods - $125 - Want - I was caught up by the slick design and convenience of having no wires

LG TV - $200 - Want - Was given as a gift but I get entertainment from it

Bose Headphones - $300 - Want - I like having high quality headphones for music

Printer - $150 - Need -  For School Assignments and convenience

School Supplies

Pencils (10) - $2 - Need -For school

Pens (13) - $5 - Need - For school

Paper (4 reams) - $1 - Need - For School

Binder (3) - $7 - Need - For School

Notebook (1) - $4 - Need - For School

Textbooks - ~$300 - Need - For School

Book bag (1) - $50 - Need - For School

Personal Hygiene

Deodorant - $6 - Need - Sweat too much and my arms might be stinking, I’d like to do everyone and myself a favor by smelling good instead.

Hand Sanitizer - $2 - Want - I feel better knowing my hands are clean after touching nasty

Lotion - $5 - Need - I feel extremely uncomfortable if my body is ashy and my skin needs to stay moist

Cologne - $20 - Want - I wear this if I want to make a good impression on someone

Brush - $7 - Want - I don’t like the way I look if my hair is unkempt

Curl Sponge -$5 -Want - I like being able to change my hair up from time to time

Comb - $3 - Want - I don’t like the way I look if my hair is unkempt

Toothbrush - $1.50 -Need - Need to keep my teeth healthy and breath smelling good

Toothpaste - $3 -Need - Need to keep my teeth healthy and breath smelling good

Body Wash - $6 - Need - Need to stay clean

Lip Balm - $2 - Need - My lips have a bad habit of cracking if I don’t use this and it hurts.

All in all, doing this assignment has made me realize that I have way more wants in my life than things I actually need. This has also shown me that even though I might not admit it aloud, I am influenced by the world around me since I have my fair share of brand name items.  However, even though I may not need everything I have, I wont say that I regret buying them; they make me happy and I think that’s what matters the most.

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Concept map

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Fieldwork Assignment #1

Today, we will be having a look at the PlayStation 4, the latest incarnation in Sony’s Playstation series. The Playstation 4 is a current generation video game console that made its debut in the US in the November of 2013. The company Sony Interactive Entertainment released the first Playstation console in Japan in 1994 in a move to combat their present day rival company, Nintendo. Consoles in the Playstation series have been constantly praised for their next generational graphics and power and this is no exception for the Playstation 4. The console has full HD capabilities with games playing at 60 frames per second. 

Sony Interactive Entertainment’s headquarters was originally located in Tokyo, Japan, but it was relocated in 2016 to San Mateo, California in the US. Since the corporation shifted its focus from mainly Japan to the entire world, the Playstation has been one of the best selling consoles worldwide in recent years. However, it is important to note that Playstation consoles are mainly manufactured in China. The company has aimed to ensure that the PS4 is more environmentally friendly than its predecessor, the PS3, by using cover parts and body frames consist of recyclable ABS and Polycarbonate parts to help with future recycling. The cost of a PS4 today usually costs between $300-$400.

I have been sticking with the Playstation series ever since my father bought me my first one in 2006 and I still have great loyalty to the company. It has had a great impact on me because its given me many hours of entertainment as well as another way to connect with other people in my life. I believe this to be applicable to most others who have the console, they just want to have fun and Sony keeps delivering and raising the bar for other video game companies.

https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/footer/about-us/playstation-and-the-environment/

https://www.businessinsider.com/ps4-playstation-4-lifetime-sales-2018-1

http://www.sie.com/en/corporate.html

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Increasing migration: This link shows that a bullet train will be built in order for Maryland and DC residents to travel to and from the different cities in as quick as fifteen minutes as opposed to an hour or two by car.