Observations (Wesley, Fen Fang, Diana)

Observations (Wesley)

Our research topic is socialization within city tech. What I’ve observed is that most interaction in general creates happiness and smiles. Most people who were eating or listening to their music seemed content. I also noticed that the art work on the walls sparked positive conversation. I found the room that produced the most joy was the room with the ping prong table as well as the pool table. Most of the socialization in that room created roars of laughter.

In one of the quieter lounges I noticed someone sleeping on one of the couches, I also noticed two students using a lap top to play music on a low volume. On the bottom floor of the atrium there were students playing guitar, expressing themselves  through an art form. There was also a higher volume down on this floor. There were people eating, laughing and conversing all around this area.

After observing these areas and rooms at city tech we proceeded to hand out surveys we created relating to them. On our second day returning to the ping pong room it seemed much more lively than the last time we had observed. The pool table had a crowd of people watching and a long waiting list to match it.

Observations (Diana)

     My group went to the atrium, the room where ping pong is played on the fourth floor , a room on the second floor and another part of the atrium. We went to these places because they are all social spaces where people go to interact, as well as do work. People usually go to the atrium to do work between classes, people can also do work in the other places we visited, but what I found was that in the room with the ping pong table more people were playing than doing work.

     A few of the place that we went to were quiet while others were loud. There seemed to be more people sitting in groups doing work than people who were alone. Also there were not a lot of place to charge your phone or laptop except in one place. This can be a big  inconvenience for students, making it difficult to get work done in those areas. This can discourage people from doing work in those place and can cause them to go somewhere else that might be crowded.

Some of the places that we went to were cold which can make it difficult for students to focus and get work done. Other places had very little sitting or tables to do work. Things like this can be a big inconvenience because it can cause students to go to place that are already packed, making it uncomfortable to interact with one another. Which can then affect how happy people are over all in the school.

Moving forward which this project for future research we can take pictures of the places that we go to and add that into our project to show people what it is that we are talking about. Some people may not have had the chance to go to these places yet so it can be useful. It will also be easier when we speak about things to have a visual.

Another thing that can be done is we can go back to the places that we went to and observe them again, this time based on the diversity and the cultures of the student body at City tech. We can observe the languages spoken, the food that is eaten and the interactions among in these places. We can also research the different programs occurring in these places that pertain to studies.

Observations （Fenfang）

     For our group project, we worked on how the socializing areas affect people’s happiness at City Tech. These places include the lounges, cafeteria, atrium, etc. We went to many of these settings and conduct some observations at these places.

     The first place that we went to is the school cafeteria. In the cafeteria, we observed that the cafeteria is not only a place that students can eat there, it is also a place that students use it to do many other things. For example, there were some students studying quietly; there were lots of interactions and conversation, so it seemed that the cafeteria is pretty noisy; I could see that there are people eating, and there were different kinds of food are available. In the aspect of the environment of the cafeteria, it seemed that it’s okay. Actually, there are many garbage cans and vending machines, the floor is pretty clean, but some of the tables are a little bit dirty. The ceiling is pretty nice because the design of it is special. However, it would be better if the cafeteria has some water fountains . Also, the light in the cafeteria is dim.


     Another place that we visited is the ping pong room on 4th floor, which is next to the library.  We could see that  there are also many interactions. Students seemed happy with playing the activities of ping pong and table tennis. On the 6th Floor Atrium, we could see that people are so relaxed. They  were sitting there playing cellphones, talking. We observed that there is also a phone station there and few pictures with frames hanging on the wall. This can be considered as a part of art. Compared to the previous 4th Floor Atrium and 6th Floor Atrium, 2nd floor lounge room is quieter. There are few tables and chairs. Some people study there.  There are also many fliers in that room. That would allow students to know about the current events.

     The Ground Floor Atrium can count as the most interesting Atrium. It is also can be called as the Atrium Amphitheater. There are lots of interactions too. Some people were reading, some were eating, some were having group discussion. The interesting part at this place is there are few students playing guitar. This activity add much flavor to the Atrium Amphitheater. The chairs and seats have different color, this made there such a “colorful” Atrium.

From the observations, these socializing areas contribute a big part to the student life in City Tech. I learned that these places provide lot of chances for the students to have socializations with others. Also, it is a good idea to have these atrium areas on most of the floors. That allows people to find a place to take a rest easier. Even though these places can provide a comfortable environment to the students, there is still a need to improve and make them even better.

(Revised Nov. 29th)

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