Classport

My neighborhood VVV

Location: Avalon Park

Observation: When we arrived to Avalon the neighborhood was pretty small (since it is a brand new neighborhood) and there were many houses for sale. The houses were fairly big and all matched with the landscape, the house style, the house color, ext. Everything was organized. The landscape had flowers, bushes, and trees.When we went inside the house it was neatly decorated and was a very modern house with a very pretty pool. It was a two story house with wood floors and light colored carpets. It had about 5 rooms and like 3 bathrooms. The master room was big and the closet was huge. It has a family room upstairs. When we went to look in the bathroom we noticed that the window was facing another window and that the houses were really close together; you could practically jump from roof to roof. Since there was not much land in between the houses, my conclusion is that they are trying to save as much land as possible.

Speculation: I think Avalon was built there because of its location. It is close to a major highway (408), malls, schools, Publix, ext. It makes it easier to get to a desired destination and it's in the center of things so you're closer to everything.

Analysis: We interviewed a lady that lived there and we didn't really get much out of her because she would talk to us as if she was trying to cell us the house. She told us that they decided to built Avalon there because it was in the center of places that people go to often like malls and major highways.

Evaluation: Based on what I know from both my speculation and analysis, Avalon was placed there because of it's location. It makes it easier for people to get to places and requires less transportation needs and the need to use money on things like gas. It is relevantly close to places that are gone to often. It has a Publix nearby so you have no need to travel a long distance for food, They have a shopping mall, schools in walking distance, and it is near a major highway. People who are looking for a place to live like it because t is convenient and close to other places because it is in the center of things.

Compare and Contrast Essay

Avalon and my neighborhood are very different in many ways. The first most obvious difference is that I do not have a home owners association so our house colors do not match everybody's in the neighborhood, we have over 20 different house styles and not one looks the same, we can have as many cars parked in our driveway as we want, we can have a basketball hoop without paying to have out out, and many other things that a home owners association neighborhood asks for. The second different is that I have a very small, limited neighborhood. We only have about 30 houses in ONE neighborhood. Avalon has different subdivisions with over 30 houses and more being built every month. The third obvious difference is the amount of land we own. Every single house in my neighborhood has atleast one acre of land. In Avalon it is very space limited and there is only about 6 feet in between each house. My neighborhood is very old and Avalon has about a year opened.

Fast Food Nation Chapter 1

What restaurant chain did Carl Karcher start?
Carl Karcher started the Carl's Jr. restaurant chain. The first one was built in 1956.
(Page 23)

What was the "Speedee Service System" and how was it different from what the other fast food restaurants were doing?
The "Speedee Service System" was when they divided the food preparation into separate tasks performed by different workers. For example, one person would grill the hambugers; another one would dress it and wrap it; another made the fries; and another would would work at the counter. It was different from what the other fast food restaurants were doing because for the first time the guiding principles of factory assembly line were applied to a commercial kitchen. This meant that a worker only had to be taught one job.
(Page 20)

Fast Food Nation Chapter 10

Why did the author visit Plaunen, Germany?
The author visit Plaunen, Germany because the first new building that would eret in Plaunen sine the oming of new Germany was a McDonalds. It was the first McDonald's in East Germany, built during the summer of 1990.
(Page 229)

In what ways might there be a connection between the obesity rate in America and the fast food industry?
People all around the want to be like Americans. They watch our movies, listen to our music, watch our shows, and the list goes on and on. What is also changing is the way of eating and living for the whole nation. And food is a big part of this. People in America are becoming sedentary. They drive everywhere, watch TV, play video games, perfrom little manual labor, and using computers instead of exercising. People eat more and eat less. The growth in the fast food industry has made an abundance of high-fat, inexpensive meals widely available.
(Pages 240-241)

Fast Food Nation Chapter 8

What kinds of injuries do workers in meatpacking plants typically suffer?
Workers in meatpacking plants suffer from mandy different things. Some of these things include back problems, shoulder problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, and trigger finger. They suffer from tendinitis and cumulative trauma disorders. They sometimes stab themselves with their own knifes or they stab somebody working nearby.
(Page 173)

Whats the impact on workers of speading up the line in meatpacking plants?
As the line in meatpacking plants spead up, the injury rate at the slaughter houses increases. The workers are desperate not to fall behind. "Trying to keep up with the flow of the meat, they often neglect to resharpen their knives and place more stress on their bodies." Since they are so close to each other they might also hurt other people. The faster they work the more likely they are to get hurt.
(Page 174)

What has been the impact of allowing plants to maintain their own injury logs?
Allowing plants to maintain their own injury logs have caused the plants to lie about many serious injuries that occur. They fail to report and mislead investigators. Many keep two logs. One for all the injuries that occured and the second one for only the injuries that they let people know about.
(Page 180)

Fast Food Nation Chapter 9

What are the effects of E. coli 0157:H7 on the human body?
E. coli 0157:H7 can release a powerful toxin that attacks the lining of the intestine. Some people infected suffer mild diarrhea, abdominal cramps followed by watery, then bloody, diarrhea that subsides within a week or so. SOmetimes there is vomiting and a low-grade fever.
There are also more serious things that can happen after being infected by this type of E. coli. For example, the toxins can enter the bloodstream, causing HUS that can lead to kidney failure, anemia, internal bleeding, the destruction of vital organs, and more. Sometimes being infected by E. coli 0157:H7 can even lead to death.
(Page 199)

What kinds of things are fed to cattle, things that might facilitate the spread of pathogens?
They try to feed cattle things that are less expensive and things that are considered waste products. They fed rendered remains of dead sheep and dead cattle and were also fed dead cats and dogs purchased from animal shelters. They band that after evidence that it was responsible for an outbreak. Now they are allowed to be fed dead pigs, horses, and poultry. The cattle are also fed cattle blood.
(Page 202)

Fast Food Nation Chapter 7

What changes did IBP introduce the meat packing industry?
It introduced an IBP plant that allowed each worker to stand in one spot along a line, "performing the same simple tast over and over again, making the same knife cut thousands of times during an eight-hour shift." The IBP tried to take the skill out of every step.
(Pages 153-154)

Why were newer meat packing plants located in rural areas rather than in cities?
Newer meat packing plants are located in rural areas rather than in cities because they can now rely on trucks instead of ships and railroads for shipments. Transportation was now more reliable and less expensive.
(Page 154)

Chapter 19 Qs

Houses can tell you a lot about a region. One of these things include the climate. For example, if you live in a place where it snows a lot your roof will be sloped so the weight of the snow won't cave in the roof. Another example of this are houses that have a sod-covered roof, this method is used to conserve warmth during the cold winter. The materials that the dwellings are made out of also tells a lot about the region. For example, between the wattle dwellings of the equatorial rainforest areas and the earthen construction of the drier subtropical zones grass and brush are the most common building materials. Also, where it is really cold and snowy and the only materials you have is ice then you are probably going to have an igloo for a home. Your house will be built depending on what resources you have available. The third thing you can tell just by the house is the social status of the person. For example, some houses only have one room for every function but others that are in a better social place have a separate room for thier living room, their kitchen, bedrooms, ect.

Different settlement patterns occur because of migration. When people migrate they carry the notions of how a home should be planned and constructed with them. But in new environments those ideas may need to be modified. At first clusters of people lived together because they could not support a big population of people and they were always moving from place to place following the animals they hunted. Then they started growing from hamlets because they began to farm and grow more food to support a bigger population, to villages, to towns then cities, then megacities where we now have technology, new medicine methods, more hygiene, agriculture, ect. It is difficult to trace diffused building patterns because migrationhas occured causing new methods to be shown all around the world. A lot of dwellings have also been destroyed natural disasters, wars, ect.

Different types of building materials include wood, brick, stone, wattle, grass and brush, ice and more. Wood is found almost all around the world, for example, forests. Wood is a great protection from heat and there is a lot of it. Brick are made from different raw materials and they provide a good protection from both heat and cold. Stones are natural, it is not as common as either wood or brick, but they are abundant in many places. Wattles are houses built from poles, sticks, bamboo, bark, and leaves so the materials to built these kinds of homes are available in many places. Grass and Brush are the most common building materials. Ice blocks are used in cold parts of the world and they provide shelter againsts the harsh winds. Some building materials are far from their source areas because transportation has made it easier to get them from one place to another. Since transportation has made is easier and the materials are more practical than other ones that are available in a certain area, the demand for them has increased.

Fast Food Nation Chapter 6

Which type of cattle rancher is currently facing the greatest economic difficulty?
The type of cattle rancher that is facing the greatest economic difficulty right now are the ones who live the live of a typical American Western back in the days. They are the ones who "run a few hundred head of cattle, who work their own land, who don't have any outside income, and who don't stand to gain anything from a big tax write-off."
(Page 145)

How does the suicide rate for ranchers and farmers compare with the rate for U.S. citizens in general?
"The suicide rate among ranchers and farmers in the United States is now about three times higher than the national average." Since the 1980s there has been a slow and steady death toll mounts across rural America but it is pretty much ignored nowadays.
(Page 146)

Why would small independent cattle ranchers be afraid to speak out againsts the practices of large meat processors?
Small independent cattle ranchers are afraid to speak out againsts the practices of large meat processors because they fear retaliation and "economic ruin". They are afraid for the meatpacking industries to stop bidding on their cattle.
(Page 143)