Tamajong N

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The Biography of  a Chocolate Bar

Twix

1. What are the ingredients?

Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Lactose, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, PGPR, Artificial Flavors), Sugar, Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Skim Milk, Dextrose, Less than 2% - Food Starch-Modified, Salt, Cocoa Powder, Baking Soda, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor.

2. Where do the ingredients come from?

It originates from the cocoa beans of the cocoa fruits which grow on cocoa trees. The production of cocoa begins in the tropical regions around the Equator, where the hot and humid climate is well suited for growing, farms across Ecuador and Indonesia.

3. How are the ingredients produced?

The cocoa farmers harvest the cocoa beans and package them, then they are shipped off to facilities around the world. After that, the cocoa beans are used together with other ingredients to create the final product.

4. What are the working conditions of the people who produce the cocoa?

Because of local trading policies and, cocoa farmers only receive a small amount of the world market price for cocoa beans. Also, farmers incomes are not stable because of the continuously altering prices of cocoa in the market. As a consequence of the low and sporadic income of farmers, they struggle to keep up with living costs.

5. How do the producers get the cocoa to the market?

After the cocoa beans are harvested and packed, they are sold to buyers on the market.

6. How are the prices set?

Prices are based on production cost and consumer demand, both of which have risen in the last few years.

7. Which international corporations dominate the chocolate trade?

Hershey and Mars Wrigley are the international corporations that dominate the chocolate trade.

9. How is chocolate marketed?

The chocolate is marketed through tv commercials,  online advertisements, social media promotion.

10. Where did you buy your chocolate bar?

I Bought this Twix from a vending machine

11. How much profit does a store owner make on one chocolate bar?

The profit made by a store owner is about 15 percent of the retail price.

12. Are there hidden costs that are not included in the price you paid?

Some hidden costs of a chocolate bare are import taxes and tolls for certain roads and ports.  Cost for exchange and this product between merchants and markup price at stores.

13. Now that you’ve gathered some information about the components of this chocolate bar, write its biography. Tell the story of its life from the farming of its ingredients to production and consumption.

Before my favorite chocolate bar, Twix finds its way on the shelf at my local store it must go through a lengthy production process. Beginning at farms in Ecuador and Indonesia, both countries that host the climate that promotes growth off cocoa trees. After carefully caring for the plant, the farmers harvest the cocoa package them and they are shipped to buyers on the market to facilities across the globe. During the process of transporting cocoa, there will be an additional cost for the use of certain roads and waterways. 

When the cocoa arrives at company facilities it is used together with other ingredients to make the Twix chocolate bar. the cost of the product will be determined by the cost of labor and consumer demand. Then the product is shipped to stores across the globe for that price and depending on what store you decide to purchase from the retail price for the Twix chocolate bar may vary.

https://medium.com/under-the-wrapper/lessons-from-the-cocoa-farmers-of-ecuador-808e4262ee79

https://bizfluent.com/info-11383593-typical-retail-markups-candy.html

https://makechocolatefair.org/issues/cocoa-production-nutshell

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Social Class and Education

This article compares and contrasts the benefits of public education and private education. Throughout the article, when the two systems of education are compared, private schools seem to hold more benefits than public schools. However, there are some advantages that public schools hold over private. In the article, it is mentioned that, depending on the kind of educational experience that is desired, either public or private school can be a better option based on that preference. Unfortunately, not every family is financially stable enough to have that choice and will have to settle on their local public education, which may or may not be adequate.

This article represents the idea formed by Pierre Bourdieu, the education does not support social mobility but rather social reproduction. The public school system is not as stable as the private school system and public schools in poor and marginalized communities are often dysfunctional and do not provide the students with the education they deserve. Families who pay for the children to attend private institutions are buying the guarantee that the kids will receive an education that will guarantee that their future generation will maintain their status and maybe even rise above it. The disparity between private and public schools shows how social mobility in society is a commodity that requires cultural capital to obtain. 

https://www.fatherly.com/love-money/education/private-school-vs-public-school-facts-benefits-statistics/

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Sexuality and Pleasure in Corporate Japan Concept Map

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4 Examples of Gender Ideology in Society

1.) Beauty Standards

In society, there are standards of beauty enforced by the media. These representations in the media more often affect women. In the media, there are certain features that are repeatedly portrayed and referred to as beautiful, so for those who may not have those features they may think they are not beautiful and must obtain those features to feel good about themselves. That is why diversity is important in the media.

2.) Hero and Damsel in Distress

Another ideology about women is they are damsels in distress, when they are in trouble they cannot help themselves and need to be saved by someone else most often a man. This is a stereotype that is enforced through the media, in movies and tv shows, the women usually in harm's way and the man comes to save the day.

We all know about Rapunzel, she is trapped in a tower and she waits for a man to come and save her. 

3.) Role of Men and Women 

The old traditional roles of men and women were, men would work to provide for the family and women would stay home to care for the children and fulfill other domestic roles. This was the norm in society for a long time and we have just recently broken out of that pattern and gender role are no longer as defined men can take on domestic duties and women can provide for the family. 

Hedda Gabler and many other old books address gender roles and inequality in society at the time.

4.) Emotions

When it comes to expressing emotions, it is frowned upon for men to be open with their emotions, we are expected to hold it in and move on without really addressing how we feel. The main reason men are not as expressive as women is because it is considered a feminine trait and a sign of weakness. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/he-speaks-she-speaks/201501/why-don-t-many-men-show-their-emotions

This article goes more in depth about the reasons men are not as openly emotional as women and some of the reasons i talked about are included.

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Globalization in Eritrea

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Thomas Theorem

Two Example of the Thomas Theorem

1.) When a white person calls the police on a person of color minding their business, and the police may end up harassing that person or even shooting them. The assumption about a person because of their race in today’s society could potentially cost them their lives.

2.)  White Supremacy is the idea that white people are superior to all other races. Throughout HIstory, this ideology has been used to justify the enslavement of and discrimination against other races.

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Cultural Adaptation: The Vaccine

An example of how cultural adaptation has bypassed natural selection is vaccination. Vaccines have been used for decades to protect the human body from contracting diseases such as chicken pox, measles, and other possibly fatal diseases. Without the creation of the vaccine, these diseases would have likely continued to spread causes large casualties, as a result of the human population, today would not be as large. As diseases decimate most of the population, those who are immune will survive. Those who are immune will pass on that gene that makes them immune to their offspring and the population begins growing again. Vaccination has protected us from diseases that, if left unchecked could be fatal, the large human population today can be attributed to the introduction of the vaccine.

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Language and Gender In the Classroom

1.)   The class I decided to observe for this assignment was my sociology class, this class meets twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday. The Tuesday class is a lecture class that starts at 11 am and goes for about two hours, and the Thursday class starts at 10 am and goes for an hour. I decided to observe the Thursday class. On this day the attendance in class was less than half the whole class, there were only 11 women and 5 men (including myself). Throughout the duration of the class, the women participated more often than the men. The final tally was, women participated 10 times, and men only participated 2 times. I feel like the topic of discussion in class is what contributed to the lack of participation from male students, we were discussing gender and that probably made them hesitate to give input.

 2.)   On average when women spoke, they talked from 35 seconds to 50 seconds and at least 100 words. For men, their average speaking time was for 25 to 35 seconds and with usually less than a hundred words. The women gave more in-depth and complete answers, and the men’s answers were short and did not really get the most out of their responses.

 3.)   The usual thought is that, men are more assertive and display strong body language when speaking and that women are more reserved and hesitant to speak. That was not the case in today’s class, most of the time when the women spoke they were assertive and loud, and their body language reflected that they were confident in what they were saying. When the men spoke, they were not as vocal, and the body language was poor. One of the men who answered, his voice was low, he had to repeat himself a couple times and he was hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees. The majority of the class revolved around our thoughts and reactions to a video, the video was a clip from a law and order episode where am adult actress is on the stand because she was raped, the controversy comes from the fact in her videos, she acts like she is being raped and the defense lawyer is trying to use that against her and have the claims dismissed. I feel like this video made the men a bit afraid to participate.

 4.)   From what I observed, Ms. Brooks heavily encourages everyone in the class to partake in the discussion. While she speaks, her eyes meet with all the students as she makes her way around the room and she prompts all us to contribute to the discussion.

 5.)   Ms. Brooks called on women a lot more than she called on men, that is not because she held any kind of bias, the women in the class were more engaged and volunteered more often. She wanted to hear input from both sides, but the men were not volunteering, it got to the point where she started to look just to the men for responses because up to that point none of the men had volunteered so she had to call on them.

 6.)   I don’t think that the professor’s gender influenced how she interacted with the class in this specific session. I believe Ms. Brooks focuses on involving all her students, but I think that with certain discussions that she will provide experiences and viewpoints that will resonate more with the female students, but not to the point that it would take away from the learning experience of other students. Matter of a fact, I think that will benefit all students because more often the male perspective is dominant in society and it will be good for all students to receive a change in their views.

[tamajongn1]

Gender : “We raised by our mamas, Lord we gotta heal We hurting our sisters, the babies as well”

Adresseses the the importance of the women in our lives, specifically black women.

Power:” I'm dead in the middle of two generations I'm little bro and big bro all at once”

Shows how he learned from those that came before him and now has the power to pass on that knowledge to the next generation.

Dialect:”I just poured somethin' in my cup”

Usually in hip pop/ rap, when some one talks about something in their cup they are refering to codiene.

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Observing the Library

The location I chose to observe was the third floor of the library. I chose this location because I spend quite a lot of time here and I think in certain ways it is a unique location. I say that because even though it is very familiar to me and I may discover something I never noticed before now that I am tasked to with observing the area.

 For the most part, the library is a very quiet and relaxing place, so I made observations at different times of the day to capture a different atmosphere. I made my first observations on Friday after my 12 pm class. As I walk out of the elevator I notice a large cylindrical pillar connecting the floor and the ceiling, on the left a row of chairs pushed into the elevated desk and in the corner and individual working quietly. When you look over the desk, you are exposed to the second floor and a large window that frames the outside world, and you can see students walking too and from the library. I make a left and there are 4 cushioned chairs and a circular table at the center of them, behind there is a glass barrier with metal railing, overlooking that barrier, are stairs leading to the second floor. At the center of this area is a fleet of desks and chairs, and most of them were occupied with students working diligently. Past all of that was another large window that gave a view of the new building that is being constructed. I decided to sit in the back next to the cupboards and continue observing. The library is full of open spaces, so a lot of small sounds are augmented. The most prominent sounds came from the ongoing construction right next to the library, but I could also hear people typing, the flipping of pages, and the ding from the elevator. People were constantly leaving and entering, the sound of footsteps, and doors opening and closing were never absent for too long. Some of the more memorable but rarer sounds were the wheels when the cleaning lady pushed her cart down the hallways and the jingling keys of the security guard as he patrolled. There is not much I can say about the smell of the library, there were no distinct or unusual smells.

 Regarding things I have never seen before while in the library, there were people there that I had never seen before. There was a worker from the library that I had never seen before, I had a short interaction with them. Right before I was about to leave there was a group that entered the library and they were extremely loud.

 Something that was absent that I expected, even though it is a library I thought it would be a little bit louder, but it is a place where were you sit for a while and eventually all the little sounds stop becoming noticeable, you kind of get used to them.

 When I came back to the library later that day, there were fewer people. A library is usually a quiet place, but at this time the silence was even more noticeable, the construction has stopped and the only people I saw pass by were the cleaning lady and the security guard, there was little to no activity.

[tamajongn1]

Code of Ethics PSA

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Fieldwork Assignment #2

Clothing and Accessories

Shirts (30) $100 +: These are a need and a want, I only need a couple of shirts, but some shirts may be better for certain occasions. I will buy certain shirts because of how they look and so I can have more variety.

Pants (40) $300 +: These are a need and a want, just like my shirts, I have different pant for different occasions and make purchases based on style.

Shoes (10) $500 +: These are a need and a want. I may only need 2-3 pairs of shoes but enjoy having a large variety of shoes.

Socks (30+) $90 +: These are a need, it is unhygienic to wear shoes without socks.

Hoodies/Jackets (15) $250 +: These are a want and a need. They provide an extra layer of protection for when it gets cold or it is raining or snowing outside, I also like to have a variety of jackets.

Underwear (30) $100 +: These are a need, it is unclean to wear clothes without underwear.

Hat (1) $25: This is a want, I bought this because I liked the brand and the way it looked.

 Electronics

iPhone 6 $300: This is a need, I use my phone to communicate with family and friends.

Lenovo Laptop $740: This is a need, as a college student I use my laptop to do all my work.

PlayStation 4 $400: This is a want, used mostly to play games and watch movies

JVC Bluetooth headphones $35: this is a want, I use these to listen to music, they are more    

Durable than regular headphones.

Dynex TV $100: this is a want, I don’t really need it, but I use it to play games.

Microwave $45: This is a need, I use it to heat up my food.

Mini Fridge $80: This is a need, I use it to store my food.

 School Supplies

              Notebooks (6) $10: this is a need, used to take notes in class

              Pens (5) $2: This is a need for school

              Bookbag $25: This is a need, use to carry my books and my laptop

              Textbooks (2) $150: This is a need for school

 Hygiene

              Body wash $5: This is a need, used to clean and prevent body odor

              Washcloth $3: This is a need, used to keep my body clean

              Face Wash $8: This is a need, used to keep my face clean

              Toothpaste $3: This is a need, used to clean my teeth and mouth

              Toothbrush $3: This is a need, used to clean my teeth and mouth

              Lotion $8: This is a need, used to keep my skin moisturized

              Deodorant $ 5: This is a need, used to make sure I smell good

              Shampoo $8: This is a need, used to wash my hair

              Conditioner $9: This is a need, used to moisturize and style my hair

              Vaseline $4: This is a need, used to keep my lips from cracking

              Brush $4: This is a want, used if I want to keep my hair neat

 Completing this assignment has made me realize that I have more than I thought. I have everything I need, and I have a lot of the things that I want. I also have reflected on some of my decisions and purchases and have noticed, sometimes I put the things I need to the side, just to get what I want. I think that shows how influenced I am by the culture.

[tamajongn1]

Culture Concept Map

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Adidas Hat

Description 

         The object with an unfamiliar history that I will be exploring is an article of clothing, to be more specific it is a beanie sold by Adidas. The object is mostly black and has the company logo embroidered on the fold, I was not able to find out what materials were used to make the object, but I can say the material is very soft and stretchy.

Impact

          To answer the question as to the kind of impact this object has had on my life, I wouldn’t say that this object changed my life significantly. After all, it is just an article of clothing and It serves its purpose when it’s cold outside, this object helps to keep my head warm. The main reason I bought this item was that of how it looked and Adidas is one of my favorite brands. Overall this object is not too important to me if lost it, it is something I can live without, but I would be a bit upset because I did spend my money on it.

Where was it made

          According to the tag on this object it was made in China. Adidas is very involved and operates successfully in China, they are one of the best-selling sportswear brands in China. Adidas has stores in over 550 cities in China and over 50 percent of their products are manufactured In China, Adidas has a large market in China but they have operations in many other countries as well.

       The People Who Made It

      I found a source that exposes the truth behind the production of Adidas products in China and in factories in other countries. Apparently, the factories run by Adidas provide poor working conditions and low wages. The pay that workers receive are too low to even be considered minimum wage, because of the low wages, employees must work extra hours just to survive. Adidas’s unfair treatment of its employees in China makes it difficult for employees to provide for themselves and their families.

      Adidas’s operation is not only bad for the people, but it is also detrimental to the local environment. Adidas has been accused of being responsible for the dumping of hazardous chemicals in China’s major rivers. These rivers are sources of drinking water for the people and the chemicals dumped into the water from factories are a health risk and have even been tied to hormonal problems.

 Conclusion

This object with an unfamiliar history may seem insignificant and has very little impact on my life but play a major role in somebody else’s life. Going through the process of discovering this product’s history has given me more perspective, some things are bigger than they seem and should receive more consideration. There are peoples lives that are being that are being affected in a negative way just so I can have certain luxuries.

[tamajongn1]

Increase in Migration

Migration has been an important characteristic of modern civilization for a long time. People migrate for a reason, either they moving away from something or they are looking for something or it could be both.

Migration is a popular trend and it is continually increasing, migrants are mostly making the move to more developed countries because at these locations they will have opportunities that did not exist or were hard to come by in their home countries. The conditions in their home countries are one of the main reasons for migration. These countries could be war-torn, have low wages, and high rates of unemployment: migrants are transferring to a place where they can experience the benefits of Globalization.

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Uneven Development

In some countries, the people have to go to the extremes just to acquire the basic necessities for survival. People in countries have to travel miles just to get water that may not even be clean. This everyday struggle reflects the scarcity of resources in many small and underdeveloped countries. The worst part of this is, while these countries struggle just to survive they are still being exploited by companies from more developed countries.

This is uneven development and it captures both the positive and negative sides of globalization. The smaller countries have neither the resources nor the institutions in place that would give them the same opportunities that the occupants of more developed countries have available

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Flexible Accumulation

When you take a look at the tags on your clothes or other products it usually says made in China or made in Bangladesh or some other countries on the other side of the world. Why is that, why are products made by companies based in the U.S. or other developed countries manufactured in smaller and less developed countries?

The reason for this trend is rapid accumulation, a strategy used by large companies to maximize their profit. These companies outsource their jobs to smaller and less developed countries where the workers have little to no rights, because of that, workers can be forced to work extensive hours and be paid very little. Consequently, the company will see an increase in revenue because of cheap labor, lower taxes, and less environmental regulation.