#fieldassignment1

[fosterk19-blog]

An IPhone 8 Plus is a smartphone created by Apple Inc. iPhones have been around since 2007, so it’s safe to say it is a popular device. Apple IPhones are manufactured in China primarily by Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corporation. However, there are other companies that contribute to the production of Apple IPhones in China as well. Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corporation both serve technology companies worldwide.

Moreover, I consume most of my time on my iPhone. I use my iPhone for everything such as communicating with friends, news updates, taking photos and videos, watching movies and videos, and assessing homework answers. I am very dependent on my smartphone. Therefore, a life without my iPhone is not worth living.

The people that are directly involved in the manufacturing of iPhones are Chinese natives. They allegedly work with the lack of safety equipment, standing for long hours, lack of showers and hot water in dormitories, and insufficient wages. This caused many worker’s to become depressed which unfortunately led to suicide in many cases. Apple allegedly reached out to the employees, but they did not report anything regarding inhumane working conditions. In addition, Apple has provided services to prevent suicide such as a call center.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-life-death-forbidden-city-longhua-suicide-apple-iphone-brian-merchant-one-device-extract

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/07/suicide-chinese-iphone-factory-reignites-concern-working-conditions/amp/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/09/01/as-apples-profits-decline-iphone-factory-workers-suffer-a-new-report-claims/?utm_term=.e91c891cafd4

[infasiadavismsu-blog]

Who is the founder of Nissin top ramen instant noodles?

Inventor, and founder a guy named Momofuku Ando who's native to Japan Taiwan.

Where are ramen noodles made ?

Momofuku Ando the founder of Nissin foods top ramen noodles, began a journey to the united states where he observed Americans eating noodles without bowls and chopsticks, which is how global cup noodle came along. In 1972 Nissin established its company the united states in California which is where the first instant ramen was made and sold. There is currently two factories in the united states in Gardena, California, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

What is in the noodles ?

Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Palm Oil, Salt, Contains Less than 2% of Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Calcium Silicate, Citric Acid, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Dried Leek Flake, Garlic Powder, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Maltodextrin, Monosodium Glutamate, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Onion Powder, Potassium Carbonate, Powdered Chicken, Rendered Chicken Fat, Sodium Alginate, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Soybean, Spice and Color, Sugar, TBHQ (Preservative), Wheat. Contains wheat, soybean ,egg and milk

Where did the ingredients come from?

Nissin Ramen instant noodles were invented in Taiwan ,Japan.

What is their life like?

Taiwan Japan is very crowded it's now modernized like America, so it has similar technology, but is used more efficiently than Americans use technology. Some people consider Taiwan as being expensive some think its cheaper than the US.

What is the impact of  top ramen chicken noodles on the local community where it is produced?

"As global demand for palm oil has skyrocketed, so has the need for large numbers of laborers on plantations," according to Humanity United, a non-profit social welfare group, "This has resulted in widespread exploitation of workers and a reliance on forced and child labor. Many of the workers on palm oil plantations are recruited, often with unethical and misleading practices, from the most vulnerable and marginalized populations, such as migrant workers or Indigenous communities, and have little or no access to political recourse. A lack of documentation of labor conditions as well as geographic isolation of many plantations further enables exploitation of workers and exacerbates the vulnerabilities of already marginalized populations” according to humanity united .

Where it is consumed?

Instant ramen noodles are consumed by college students, young working professionals, people looking for a quick cheap meal, and even prisoners all over the USA. “China’s global demand for instant noodles is the highest, according to the World Instant Noodles Association.”

What is the relationship of the people where Nissin instant ramen noodles are made Do they eat it?

Nissin manufacturing factories are here in the United States. Most people do eat the ramen noodles because it's not expensive, and America has a lot of poverty areas. Its quick so its good when you're trying to get a quick tasty inexpensive meal this is the go-to meal for most Americans.

Do they work in the factory that makes it? How much do they earn?

People who live near the Nissin factories do work there the highest paid employee in the factory is making about 55,000 a year. Nissin factories have 201 to 500 employees and make about $100 to $500 million in revenue per year.

How much has the ramen noodles affected people life were they are made? Has it affected people in the community differently based on age, gender, or class?

“Ramen noodles are particularly unhealthy because they contain a food additive called Tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), a preservative that is a petroleum industry byproduct. They're also incredibly high in sodium, calories and saturated fat. The containers packaging these noodles aren't helping much either”. Sodium is one of the major problems that is helping America become the fattest country due to the foods Americans intake.  Gender or age don't really play a part when it comes to ramen noodles, but class does people that can't afford decent meals regularly eat a lot of these ramen noodle meals. They are one of the cheapest meals that can feed an entire family. Mostly middle class and poor people eat ramen noodles in America.

What is the environmental impact of making a nissin ramen noodles ?

Nissin ramen noodles are one of the main contributions of deforestation due to the high amount of unsustainable palm oil used to make them.

Sources:

https://www.alternet.org/environment/how-instant-ramen-noodles-are-destroying-rainforests-killing-orangutans-and-promoting

https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Nissin-Foods-USA-EI_IE29053.11,27.htm

https://humanityunited.org/labor-exploitation-and-human-rights-abuses-within-the-palm-oil-sector/

https://www.instacart.com/food-lion/products/36166-top-ramen-chicken-flavor-ramen-noodle-soup-3-oz

http://nissinfoods.com/products/top-ramen-noodles

[kimberlymlee]

The production of field assignment #1.

When I was thinking about possible topic ideas for my field assignment #1, I wanted to make sure that I chose a topic that was interesting and different from most people’s ideas.  I came up with two ideas.

1.  Foal watch program on campus at the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center

2.  Chi Omega, a women’s fraternity, and its annual philanthropy project:  Make-A-Wish Foundation

I discussed my potential topics with Professor Spoon and he approved both; I wrote about the foal watch program for field assignment #1 and I will be writing about the philanthropy project for field assignment #2.

First, I went on the Cal Poly Pomona website to search for anything relating to the foal watch program.  I was able to gain a good background from their website but, of course, I wanted to learn more and get some good quotes to include in my story.

Prior to contacting sources, I drafted potential questions that I wanted to ask my interviewees over the course of three days.  I did this over the course of three days because I wanted to make sure that I had ALL the questions I wanted answered written out before contacting anyone.

I knew that I wanted to interview student volunteers who are a part of the program and the program director; therefore, I drafted two sets of questions.  One for the students and one for the program director.

I researched the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center website for a contact person and found that Kate Smith is the farm manager at the horse center.  She is also the main contact for the program.  I began the initial contact via email.  It was probably a bad idea since she never replied to my email.  After five days of no response, I decided to call her to set up either an in-person or telephone interview.  The Administrative Support Coordinator Kelly Piña picked up the telephone and informed me that Smith was not in the office.  Piña asked if there was anything she could do to help.  I informed her about my assignment and that I would like to set up an interview with Smith.  Piña said that Smith is very busy with foaling season; therefore, it is very difficult to set up a time.  She said if I emailed her my questions, she would get Smith to answer them when she was free.  Since it was not possible to set up an appointment with Smith, I reluctantly agreed.  I eventually received Smith’s responses from Piña and was able to get a few good quotes from her.

One of the downfalls of email interviews is that the interviewee may not answer all the questions.  Smith did not finish all the questions; however, Piña informed that she would send me the rest of the responses the next day.  Unfortunately, I never received the rest of the responses even after a follow-up email.  I was glad I had my important questions placed at the top as she only answered those.

Interviews via email are difficult and are not preferred because the interviewee has time to think about his or her responses.  Also, you cannot see the emotions on his or her face.  However, I was eager to get her quotes as soon as possible since the rough draft deadline was approaching quickly.

Finding student volunteers to interview was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be.  I posted a status on my Facebook asking if anyone was a participant or if they knew of any participants that would be willing to speak to me about their experience.  Luckily, I had two people respond to my post and say that they have been involved in the program for two years now.

I quickly set up interviews with them at Starbucks to talk about their experiences with the program.  The interviews went well.  I think interviewing people is one of the hardest things about journalism.  It is hard to keep up with writing down notes and listening to them.  Luckily, they were very understanding and cooperative.  Practice makes perfect.

Writing the story was not a huge problem for me.  I was really interested in the topic.  I think it is really cool that we have the foal watch program on campus.  It allows students to gain hands-on experience and stand out from other students when applying for graduate school.

I definitely had fun writing it.  Until next time!