30 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2016
    1. Accessibility, universal design, CRPD, stakeholder involvement, urban studies

      This article, ‘I love cities, but they don’t all love me back,’ advocate for disabled says before Habitat IIIhttp://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/10/i-love-cities-they-dont-all-love-me-back-advocate-disabled-says-habitat-iii is taken from a forum called Habitat III, World Cities at a Crossroads. It shows the "breakthroughs, trends, and innovations from cities around the globe," and one the topics it deemed important was the discussion of what can be done in cities for those who are disabled in some manner. There were thoughts of putting up audio street signs for those who are visually impaired, making signs simpler to understand for those who are mentally impaired, and even making the sides of signs less sharp so that those who walked by would be less likely to injure themselves. Widespread plans toward acknowledging and accepting disabled people into public areas is needed, but with so many different types of disabled people, it is hard to come up with one solution that fits all needs. The U. N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into affect in 2008, and in the countries where the treaty was ratified (United States not included), these countries are already working to create spaces that cater not only to the able but to those with special needs. A draft of the New Urban Agenda for the U. N. mentioned disabled people 12 times but hesitates to outline exactly what it will do concerning these people. Though progress is slow, disabled people are speaking out and beginning to have their voices heard when it comes to the built environment.

      These two texts were very interesting and similar in many ways. Both deal with the issue of disabled person's accessibility to public and even private areas, and both argue that not enough is being done. The Habitat III article does a good job highlighting the different kinds of disabled people while the Teaching with Trauma article glosses over the various types of disabled and only really talks about wheelchair access. The Habitat III article speaks of policies that are being put into affect already to help provide access to the built environment to disabled individuals, while Teaching with Trauma does not identify any real laws going into place to help people. Perhaps the reason for this is because the Teaching with Trauma article speaks about policies in a particular area while the Habitat III article deals with protocols in places around the world.

    2. disabilities

      Now that our society is becoming more aware of the labels and stereotypes put on people by certain word usage, I find myself wondering which term of reference is preferred by those who are "disabled" in some way. I wonder if handicapped is a better, nicer term, or is there some other word that is more sensitive to the feelings of those individuals. Disabled/ disability seems to carry such a harsh connotation with it, like those people are not as good as others, but then again, so does the term handicapped. Perhaps, like in many situations, it is not the word that needs to change but the attitude about those types of individuals. Changing word choice is just a band aid for when people have poor images of certain kinds of people who are different from them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAPmGW-GDHA

    3. Thus, she calls for a dynamic where people with disabilities engage with their local communities by being present in inimical places, thereby insisting on the need for equal access to all public places

      I never really considered widespread wheelchair access or access for people with disabilities before and the hardships they have to endure to be anywhere. I know people who have a hard time getting around exist, I see them and the handicap doors that I walk through, but I never considered how some places could be barred to them and they could not have a voice in the public because of it. Because some people cannot get to a certain place, their voice is not heard, and that is troubling. I only see a person in a wheel chair as a rarity, but is that because they cannot get to the place where I am rather than my previous notion that there just are not that many people who are disabled?

    4. macro, meso, and micro levels

      I was not sure what this meant, so I found an article that explains what these are http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/3585?e=blackstone_1.0-ch02_s01 The article deals with the topic of a sociologists approach to situations. Micro is small group interactions, sometimes just the self alone. Meso is at a larger group level, such as a business, and macro is large scale interactions, situations that affect entire continents and global relations.

    5. stratify

      Stratify means "to arrange or classify," according to Google. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=stratify

    6. The interviewees are called experts in this study

      Through italicizing experts, the author trying to make fun of the term in reference to these people in a display of satire. However, why is that the case? Obviously she must not think all of their knowledge or opinions are sound, or she would not feel the need to mock them as an expert. What is an expert in her eyes then? Is it someone with the personal life experience (not necessarily any schooling) that qualifies them as an expert, or the one who has done all the research and is very aware of the textual knowledge of a situation?

    7. Accessibility relates the individual to the environment in ethical, social and spatial terms, making it relevant to social justice.

      She literally just had a sentence similar to this a couple paragraphs ago. "The notion of the right to the city, understood as a right to urban life, involves both the political, social and material dimensions of the urban...begin by developing a conception of spatial justice." She is becoming repetitive in her argument already. The points she is making are not new, and she is not elaborating, but rather restating. Her word choice is even the same.

    8. In an urban context, her theory of justice renders concrete the notion that people with disabilities, as citizens, need equal access in order to participate in communities and in society.

      Is she arguing for access for people with disabilities, or arguing specifically for wheelchair access? I do not think the author does a good job portraying what she is actually trying to address in that regard, as people with disabilities are not just people stuck in a wheel chair.

    9. Planning in urban areas is thus a social justice issue.

      She announces that planning in urban areas is a social justice issue, but I think it has always been one. Planning in urban areas has always affected people, and when it does that people either stand behind it or try to stop the process. One example is the Atlanta Beltline, where many people took the idea as their own and used it to aid themselves in their environment. Plans such as low income housing were a big deal for people, and that was a social justice issue to make sure everyone could enjoy the Beltline and all kinds of people could have access. Another prime example is segregation within the American south. Black people put on all kinds of protest and marches to raise awareness for their plight and try ti change the environment around them for one geared toward equality for races.

    10. In the present article, I begin by developing a conception of spatial justice. Thereafter I present and discuss a study of implementation of universal design (UD) and accessibility as analyzed through a refurbishing project in urban areas in Oslo

      The fact the author switches between different modes, such as third person and first person perspectives is unnecessary and disruptive. The context of the article is most assuredly going to be about accessibility and the built environment for people in wheelchairs with disabilities, so there is no need for the author to go and state the point of the essay in their own words.

    1. Learning is a lifelong and year-round pursuit, which takes place throughout the campus, not just fragmented indoors in designated instructional spaces

      This concept is not as important as it should be in American society. Many schools, from elementary to college, do not put as much emphasis on holistic learning, but rather focus on memorizing information through standardized testing. Learning can and should occur anywhere, not just in a typical classroom setting. In fact, a lot of useful information for life comes outside of the classroom. It reminds me of a quote by Mark Twain “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education”. People should always be in a state of learning, figuring out new things and expanding their minds in multiple ways, not just in narrow subjects that come in school.

    2. one fifth of a student’s time is spent in the classroom

      Is this referring to one fifth of a student's time in school is spent in the classroom, or one fifth of a student's complete life is spent in school? I would think the first would be true, but it is not hard to imagine that so much of our time is spent in school.

    3. The college experience is a stimulating and demanding time in a student’s life where a multitude of curricular and extra-curricular situations require frequent and heavy use of direct, focused attention and concentration (Wentworth & Middleton, 2014). Thus, university students as a group are at a higher risk of attentional fatigue. Furthermore, increased technology use within today’s multitasking society is likely to hijack a student’s attentional resource placing her/him at risk of underachieving academic learning goals and undermining success at a university

      In some ways, while I believe addressing the need for green space as a break in attention is important, is it perhaps ignoring the real issue? In so much of American culture, there is the standards upheld of working long hours, taking smaller and smaller breaks, skipping vacations, and just the overall sense that less is more when it comes to work. I think this belief not only applies to the job industry, but schooling as well. Instead of trying to help students engage less and maintain the normal course load, would it be better for there to be more time for rest?

    4. from the lures of the outside world

      "...lures of the outside world" sounds very ambiguous. I'm not sure if this sentence is trying to refer to the world and it's distractions, or some other meaning. It almost makes "the world" sound like a dangerous place, like a student should not venture there. However, college is the place where students are supposed to be preparing for the world, and instead of being afraid of it, school should make a student more confident and comfortable when approaching the world. For example, I think the GSU campus does a great job of putting students in the middle of the larger world while also giving them help on how to navigate. Other campuses that are more secluded, such as UGA, do not really offer as much real world experience that one could get from being in a more urban environment. In that case, being on a campus that is separated and apart from the rest of the world could actually be a negative aspect.

    5. Future research can test the premise substantiated by past literature

      Perhaps it is just me, but this phrase seems rather wordy. I feel as though the meaning behind this part of the sentence is lost or at least the point can be easily misconstrued. It is trying to say that more research should be done on this topic that is already supported by evidence. So is the research reliable, or not? Is it supported, or not? If there is not enough evidence to make a claim, why is this article being written as though this premise about green space is fact?

    6. We also recognize that outdoor class instruction is not suited or appropriate for all academic domains.

      I think this is the first time the authors use a different point of view in their writing, referring to themselves as "we". It breaks up the flow of the article a bit as suddenly the authors are referencing themselves after writing the whole article objectively until this point. However, they do this to justify their reasoning and address any complaints that might arise from their argument, so perhaps the change in perspective is justified.

    7. Well-designed and connected networks of indoor and open spaces on campuses can be key, yet typically overlooked catalysts, in student learning and a strong influence on students’ initial and longstanding experiences that promote a sense of belonging to the learning community

      While assertions like this are cited with sources, I think this article would be much more effective if it described in more detail how it came to these conclusions about learning and the environment. Was there a study done, or did they take a survey, or perform an experiment? At this point we know the information was taken from somewhere, but are these sources reliable or recent?

    8. Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces

      In "So you like the University of Chicago’s rejection of ‘safe spaces’ for students? Consider this."https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/08/30/so-you-like-the-university-of-chicagos-rejection-of-safe-spaces-for-students-consider-this/, the article speaks of The University of Chicago's statement about denying those who wish to be alerted to controversial topics on campus. instead of getting rid of speakers who might have racial views or putting out "trigger warnings" for certain classes and their subject matter, the University boldly supported equal thought and expression on campus. The feeling behind this choice was the belief that college students nowadays are coddled way to much, and need to hear dissenting opinions to their own thoughts. I found a correlation between this article and "Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces" in the way that both articles speak about a "safe place" for students. While in the first article, the "safe place" refers to a figurative area where students can be by themselves with their beliefs, the "safe place" in the second one describes an area that is closer to nature.

    9. quads and greens,

      What are quads and greens? A quad is a rectangular courtyard surrounded by buildings on all sides. It's full name is actually a quadrangle, and many college campuses are known for to include impressive quads, including Harvard, Cornell, and Yale. Many colleges that host quads are also known for their sustainability initiatives on campus. http://www.businessinsider.com/beautiful-iconic-college-campus-quads-2014-1

    10. “Attentive efficiency can be recovered after a period of rest and regeneration, obtained through the activation of involuntary attention”

      Yet, as I mentioned, there is not enough emphasis put on rest, not enough time given for a student to recover. I talked more about this in my previous annotation.

  2. Sep 2016
  3. www.histarch.illinois.edu www.histarch.illinois.edu
    1. The presence of the kind of pottery normally seen as an indicator of high status on a site occupied by pensioners receiving eight dollars a month should serve as a caveat to those who would uncritically use such a single piece of evidence to support a point.

      Most often, if valuable objects are found at a site, it is inferred that these people were rich and could afford such items. However, it is known that these men only received eight dollars a month, thus making it impossible for them to have bought that item. At this point, critical thinking must come into play to determine how the pottery came into this men's possession.

      “James Deetz, Parting Ways Site, Illustrations.” Accessed September 6, 2016. http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/partingillust7.html. This is a picture of the pottery found at the site of Parting Ways

    2. from

      In After Flooding, Some Louisiana Students Face Uncertain School Year http://abcnews.go.com/US/flooding-louisiana-students-face-uncertain-school-year/story?id=41589657 This article speaks of the massive damage sustained to a school after a flood, displacing many students and families and providing uncertain futures. These students were unable to go to school, and some even bounced from house to house after their own was destroyed. Since so many cars were damaged as well, more buses would have to be in operation in order to pick up the same students, some of which are now out of the school district in the effort to find a place to live. This can relate to the text in that this reminds me of how these men were displaced after the war, and received just enough to start over and try to make their own lives. They were also displaced from their homes on a much larger scale, as their homeland was Africa, and they were unable to go back to where they grew up or at least where their families grew up.

    3. The Burr house had been built in two stages, separated by perhaps as much as thirty years. The initial construction had taken place long before Burr moved to the site, and in view of the relationship between the two men, it may have been done by Burr's grandfather, Plato Turner. This first, small structure was twelve feet square, as evidenced by perfectly preserved stone footings. These footings stood on an intentionally mounded earth platform. Artifacts in the fill of this feature and in the trenches that held the footings all point to a construction date at the turn of the nineteenth century, with creamware and pearlware fragments providing the most precise dating evidence. These footings immediately abutted the cellar, and the cellar was beneath a second room, producing an overall ground plan of two contiguous

      The foundations of the Burr house have never been touched, so the condition of them makes it very easy to see how the house was made and what it looked like.

      “James Deetz, Parting Ways Site, Illustrations.” Accessed September 6, 2016. http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/partingillust4.html. This is a picture of the foundations.

      “James Deetz, Parting Ways Site, Illustrations.” Accessed September 6, 2016. http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/partingillust2.html. This is the Burr hosue before it burnt down.

    4. ny simple vernacular house of the nineteenth century (see Figure 13)

      A "simple vernacular house", this relates back to the other article we read. A vernacular house shows how people were living at the time, so buildings with small central chimneys, shingled exteriors, and six-over-six windows were typical of a house at this time.

      Evans, Walker. “Nineteenth-Century House. Beaufort, South Carolina.” Still image, 1936. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1998020874/PP/. This is a picture of a nineteenth century home.

    5. The town authorized the sale of the property in that year, referring to it as land "recently held by Cato Howe, deceased" and "formerly occupied by Prince, man of color

      As soon as I read ""formerly occupied by Prince" all I could think of was "the artist formerly known as Prince".

    6. The land was not sold -- small wonder, in view of its poor quality -- and remains to this day the property of the town

      Has anyone else noticed how the tone of the narrator of this article is subtly judgmental of certain aspects? For the most part, the author is informative and reflective on the meaning of what was found at the Parting Ways site, but at some points the authors personal opinion comes out, giving the reader another way to view a situation.

    7. When the site was first visited, the area later shown to have been the main center of occupation was grassy, with an occasional locust tree, in contrast to the scrub pine and oak that covered the remaining original ninety-four acres.

      I wonder why there was such a difference in the vegetation that grew in the middle of the plot of land and what grew around it. Could there have been a natural spring or something, thus influencing where the men decided to build their homes?

    8. terminus post quem

      Terminus post quem means the earliest possible date for something. So the jar was made after the cellar was have supposed to have been filled, making it harder to pinpoint the exact time of these occurrings. In history it is very hard to make pinpoint exactly when events happened, unless there are artifacts with written dates on them. I guess most of history is just an approximation.

    9. What degree of African cultural survival can be detected and described when dealing with the material remains of African Americans at an earlier time in the country's history?

      It appears a large degree of African culture has survived the transition from Africa to America. This is displayed in the building structure of the houses these men built, where they built them, the presence of a certain kind of pottery unique to Africa and the West Indies, and how the men disposed of trash in underground cellars.

    10. But the negative evidence is strong, so there had to be some accommodation for one within the building.

      Negative evidence is "evidence for a theory provided by the nonoccurrence or absence of something". So even though there is no physical evidence that a fireplace or chimney was built into the house, that somehow proves that one did exist? I'm a bit confused by what this paragraph is trying to say.