Supermarket Project
After a quick stop by my place of work on Saturday afternoon, I ventured across the street to the local Albertson’s grocery store. This excursion was an oddity to say the least as I couldn’t recall a time before high school when I was ever in a grocery store before dark. This, I figured, made a very familiar environment seem very alien to my senses. The purpose this was, and I knew I was correct in my decision-making as I found it difficult to locate a parking space that was not already occupied near the store.
That was only the beginning of what I knew would be an interesting study of this diverse communal setting.
After finally parking about a football field’s length from the entrance of the market, I made my way, in the heat of the day, to the front doors. On my way, my back began to sweat, and by the time I got inside, I could feel a cold liquid running down my back as a result of the blasting cool, crisp air. The temperature contrast was astonishing on either side of the doorway. I continued to walk in the same direction in the store while cold impulses rose through my back. I made my way from front to back about four times when I decided to sit down in the coffee and breakfast lounge. That’s when I took out my notepad and recalled what I had witnessed during my stroll about the isles.
First, I recounted the obvious odor of the environment. It was a mix of fresh laundry, potpourri, and crisp fruit amid the gentle breeze of the air to create a manufactured, yet homely, feeling. I also noticed the brightness and contrast of my surroundings. The huge fluorescent lamps, which hung from the high ceiling, illuminated well the white shelves and heavily waxed white and green tile floors. The walls were a dark green and black having many contours that gave a great sense of depth to the entire store. In the area where I sat, the lighting was much more dim, giving a warm, cozy approach to it. I certainly was drawn to it unconsciously for that reason. After realizing the independent variables of this unique place, I took aim at the human role in the store.
In this afternoon setting, I found that there were four distinguishable groups of people.
Over the years, the American department store has developed and evolved as not only a commercial business but also a cultural institution. While it has weathered many storms and changes since its inception and throughout history, its most predominant enemy has been a change in the lifestyle of the American people (Whitaker, 2013). As the customer’s needs and wants have shifted, department stores have struggled to keep up with demands. It has been argued that the decline of the department store has been ongoing for the last 50 years (Whitaker, 2013). This dissertation aims to understand how the department store has historically played a role in consumer culture and spending, and additionally, how this has evolved and changed in today’s retail market. Although department stores may not be able to take all the credit for inventing modern shopping, they certainly made its conventions and conveniences commonplace. They set a new standard for the way the consumer should expect to be treated, the type of services that should be provided, and the convenience that should attend the process of acquiring the necessities and niceties of life all in one place. They made shopping into a leisure pastime. This environment meant shopping was a means of freedom to look around, pick up objects with no obligations to buy. As one historian remarked, department stores: “encouraged a perception of the building as a public place, where consumption itself was almost incidental to the delights of a sheltered promenade in a densely crowded, middle-class urban space” (Whitaker, 2006). Although this perception and view of the department store has changed over the years, this paper aims to follow the trail of how and why that happened.
I walked into the front of the store to see a crowd of people searching for a good grocery cart. One that wouldn’t wobble every second that you pushed it. I took a look at many of the faces as they were beginning or ending their shopping experience. The people walking in looking for a cart seemed unsure or not pleased to be there in the first place. While the people leaving looked happy and eager to get home. I took this as a clear sign that this was not the most enjoyable place to ...
One of the most influential people during the 90’s without question is Michael Jordan. He was known as the best basketball player of all time but his first love as a kid was baseball. As a sophomore in high school he was cut from the team so he practiced every day and during his junior and senior years he averaged 25 points a game and made the McDonalds all American game. He then got a scholarship to play basketball at North Carolina and that’s were his career hit off as he hit the game winning shot for North Carolina to win the national championship as a freshman. He then went into the NBA draft to be drafted 3rd overall and averaged almost 30 points a game. For the rest of his career he would win five regular season MVP awards, six NBA championships, six NBA final MVP’S, three All Star MVP’S and defensive player of the year. When his career was all said and done he went on to be the greatest basketball player that has ever lived(“Biography”).
The local Barnes and Noble on Veterans Boulevard houses a host of fascinating characters, creating a museum of people for the watchful reader who, seated in a plush chair in the corner of the store, can occasionally look up from his book and shoot curious glances at the people surrounding him. As customers, browsers, readers, and studiers walk through the double doors of the book lover’s haven, the seated observer can watch each individual move towards his task, whether it is simply browsing the countless shelves of the store for an interesting find or selecting an assortment of magazines with which to waste time in the company of his Starbucks coffee. Although one may not initially notice the different groups of people that frequent Barnes and Noble, when he studies the people walking in and out of the store, he will notice three distinct groups. While some customers are honestly and directly searching for a specific item in the bookstore, the coffee-drinking readers, the impish denizens of the children’s section, and the aimless shelf browsers compose the three separate clusters of people that cause Barnes and Noble to be a museum of sorts, forming an interesting view for a curious spectator.
In the early eighteenth century, the phonograph has been used to reinforce patients in hospitals to sleep and during surgery and anesthesia process (Barrera et al., 2002, p. 379). In the nineteenth century, there was a desire to use the sounds of music to minimize pain. In the 1980s, the use of music therapy was documented, but it had not proved any effectiveness (Barrera et al., 2002, p.379). Also, Munro et al. (1987) reported that the Greeks used music in psychology treatment (p. 1029). Music therapy was defended by Munro et al. (1987) as “the controlled use of music, its elements and their influences on the human being to aid in the physiologic, psychologic and emotional integration of the individual during the treatment of anilines or disability (p. 1030). Recently, many studies have shown an improvement of that interest of using music therapy, and that significantly proved its useful effects on children with varies medical issues. Nowadays there are other therapies besides medical treatment for children with autism, language skills problems, and dealing with hospitalization due to cancer.
Child labor happens all around the globe. In the United States there were children at the age of 15 years and younger working in factories, machinery and more. In the U.S. children had to work at least 10 hours a day back in 1800s. There are many reasons why children are being exploited. First of all, nothing much seems to be happening to prevent it. Child labor must be eliminated as quickly as possible, before many more children get trapped, like the millions ...
Tremendous shopping centers, malls, even those little corner shops became an icon of American culture and its society. We are constantly manipulated by these so called convenient public places where escaping from it would be almost impossible. There are probably a 50% of chances that we will start our day with a cup of coffee in one, buy our afternoon lunch in the other one, or end up just walking around one. Shopping centers are everywhere; we cannot escape from it. Moreover, we do not want to escape from it as we are constantly underestimating the power and the real impact these places have on our society. Thus these places play a huge role in the process of socialization and are largely influencing the development of our society as a whole. In order to understand the way these places are emphasizing the gender differences and inequalities between the sexes, I decided to visit the local store Walmart and through an observation of its environment and its settings try to record its power of gendering. I was looking for a proof that gender is not merely an element of individual identity, but a socially constructed institutional phenomenon which is even imposed in our shopping centers and local stores.
Musical medicine: Impact of music on diabetes is subject of clinical study (2009 June). Retrieved from http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20090625/musical-medicine-impact-ofmusic-on-diabetes
There are many things that can happen when one wants to go out shopping. Some of those things can sometimes influence the way that shopping experience goes. In this short essay, situational influences are defined and described with clear examples. Furthermore, the psychological influences that one may have are also discussed. Lastly, it is important for one to understand how these types of influences work through a personal example.
Pahl, Jon. (2003). The Mall as Sacred Space. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.),
It was a warm day in August, the cool air washing over my body as I enter the building the bell ringing as I enter the building to SA. I wave to the cashier I forget her name now, but she had kind eyes and her blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. I continued back towards A&W and picked up the brown trays on top of the trashes, as if by instinct. I pushed in the door, said my hellos to my coworkers and walked the trays to the sink. It
As part of my experiment with broaching normative gender images, I decided to visit the perfume counter at my local Sears and inquire about purchasing a bottle for myself instead of a woman. Although a minor interaction, I believed browsing for perfume was something generally associated with females alone. Sears, as a store, is something I have always associated with women myself. This belief is a direct result of a childhood where I was dragged around by my mother when she went shopping at the mall.
Chronic diseases are a problem for the mind and body. Not only are chronic diseases harmful to the body, they take a toll on a person’s psychological wellbeing. Depression, anxiety, and stress are the most common problems associated with chronic diseases. They are harmful to the body and inhibit recovery. However, the theory of music has been proven to decrease stress, depression, and contribute to improved health. Patients with chronic diseases who listen to soothing music have shown improvement in mood, emotion, and their overall psychological state, therefore enhancing their health. In order to implement this treatment, the medical team must consider the whole patient not just the physical and emotional but their age, spiritual beliefs, and music preferences. Then, the medical team can create a customized music therapy program into the whole medical plan.
Although Islam and Christianity differ in major ways, they also share some similarities in their belief of God. First of all, Christianity and Islam are both monotheistic religions; worshipping only one God. While both believe in the same God, he is called by two completely different names. He is referred to as "Allah" by Muslims and "God" by Christians. The basic creed of Islam is brief: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah”. Islam teaches that there is one God: the creator and sustainer of the universe, whom is compassionate and just. He calls all the people to believe in Him and worship Him. When someone disobeys the Lord, they may be forgiven if they are sincerely repent. In Christianity, the first, and most important of the Ten Commandments states that "I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Identical to Muslims, Christians also believe that their God is the creator and sustainer of the universe. The Bible begins with the creation of the Earth by God in seven days.
Although Islam and Christianity are two different religions they have many things in common and the differences they do have are also similar. Both religions believe that there is one god in the universe and they also each have similar prophets that they believe in. Muslims believe in their god referred to as Allah and one prophet that they as a religion believe in named Mohammad while Christians believe in their god that they refer to as God and prophets such as John the Baptist along with other prophets that the Islam faith, along with others, believe in as well. Each Islam and Christianity also have a book or guide that they use in their religions for teaching their faith. It has a set of “rules” that they are supposed to follow and includes rituals that believers should take part in. Christians look to the bible for prayer and Muslims look to the Qu’ran. For those