Author: Wendy

Analogous Immersion – Colleen Turner

Posted on by Wendy

Approach to Analogous Immersion:

We chose to interview international and transfer students for our analogous interviews. We felt that the feeling of being displaced in a new environment and needing to find appropriate resources was a commonality between the international students and the homeless population we work with

Interviewee: Jorge D.

Age: 20

Year in school: Junior

Country of origin: El Salvador

Date of interview: 3/1/17

Interview type: Phone interview

Themes:

  1. Cultural differences were difficult to adapt to

Jorge had never lived in America prior to attending Notre Dame. He found that aspects of American culture differed from his own, and at times he had trouble understanding and fitting in. For example, in El Salvador, their culture is much more relaxed and slow-paced. However, he found that Americans tend to be more serious, driven, and work-obsessed. Sometimes his employers or fellow students looked down on his jovial attitude in serious moments, but he attributes this a clash in cultural values.

2. Importance of orientation & campus resources in transition to school

Jorge believes that the orientation & campus resources played a critical role in making him feel comfortable and welcome in his new environment. During orientation, faculty and fellow students pointed out helpful resources available for international students. In addition, he was able to build community with his fellow international students during this week of orientation.

 

Memorable Quotes:

“Just transitioning to college is tough, but it’s even harder when you have to learn a whole new culture on top of it all. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it without the other international students who were going through the same things as me.”

“American culture is different. You take things very seriously here. People think that because I am being relaxed and joking, that I don’t care. But it’s not true, that’s just how I am, how my personality is, how my culture is.”

Ethnography Feedback

Posted on by Wendy

I enjoyed reading your summaries Sam!  An insight that stood out to me from your first two summaries were that teens found the Boys and Girls Club provided the opportunity to connect with friends they might not otherwise see.  It sounds as though perhaps the teens went to different schools?  I wonder how often that happens with the ability to choose schools in South Bend.  That could another opportunity for encouraging attendance.

For your Gallery Day summary you jumped right to solutions.  Follow the process.  Once we complete our Guiding Principles, we will be able to verify that we have user data backing up the what the problem is defined as.  Let’s confirm this before working on the solution to what we propose the problem to be.

Innovation Opportunities

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#1) A lot of people, including myself, add these sticky card-holders to the back of their phones to hold credit cards and student ID’s. It seems most people do not want to have to carry anything more than their phones, which they are attached to anyway. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to digitize all of these cards so that the sticky-back is no longer necessary.

#2) There’s no good way to find parking in downtown Seattle. While I use Google Maps to navigate me all around town, it’s no help when it comes to finding parking in the city. There’s an opportunity for creating apps that help people find parking in crowded downtown areas.

Work arounds

Posted on by Wendy

I use my coat hanger as a convenient place to keep my tennis racket.

My friends use a broken hanger as a roller/holder for their paper towels. It is surprisingly easy to use and change.

A makeshift holder taped to the door that my friends use to hold markers for the whiteboard. The alternative was to balance the markers on top of the board and hope they don’t fall.

Expert Interview with CFH Director of Community Outreach

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Profile

Name: Peter Lombardo

Title: Director of Community Outreach at the Center for the Homeless

Years of experience: Worked with CFH for 10 years

Themes

1. South Bend has a relatively large number of resources available to the homeless population; however, some choose not to use them

Peter described a variety of services commonly used by all homeless, including soup kitchens, places to shower, shelter options, etc. Interestingly, South Bend has become renowned for the programs here, and people will travel from other parts of the state or even the country to have access to these programs. It seems the core issue is not a lack of services, but rather that some homeless choose not to utilize them.

2. Barriers exist that prevent homeless people from using some services

For example, CFH has a strict drug-free policy, which can seem an impossible expectation for addicts. In addition, the program is known for being very long (2 years) and intensive. Homeless who feel their situation is only temporary or who do not wish to comply with the rules may choose not to use CFH as a shelter. Another barrier may be mental health and/or social anxiety. Peter believes some homeless do not want to be surrounded by other people while they use the shelter and its programs, and this may prevent people from using CFH resources.

3. The main encampment population has been displaced, and many now have nowhere to stay

The city experienced a public problem with the large encampment under the bridge last summer. Now that those homeless have been displaced, many have no where to go. The only housing option for them right now is the weather amnesty program, either through CFH or connected to Hope Ministries.

4. The city is shifting toward harm reduction/Housing First model, but it’s not here yet

Oaklawn Center has already implemented a harm-reduction housing program with very limited capacity. The city of South Bend will be building and finishing apartments intended for the Housing First approach in a little over a year. While this provides hope for the future, there is still a large lag where these people are not being housed.

Memorable Quotes

“People may be leery about any sort of structure, possibly because of mental health. For example, with severe depression, don’t want to go where anyone else is.”

 

Break Blog Post

Posted on by Wendy
I saw this sign and thought about how would this sign help anyone of falling ice. Is it supposed to tell them to call for a fair catch or look up and get their eye pierced. Maybe they could come up with a better system to beware people of falling ice.
The door has been in front of the urinal and I can say that I have never seen someone use that urinal because the door is in front of it. There needs to be a better way to have a door and a urinal in such proximity. Possibly even get rid of the door, because no one uses it.

Workarounds

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  1. My friend forgot the cap to her camera lens so she used a hair tie and a glass cleaner sheet in order to cover the lens.

2. I did not have a stand or desk to charge my computer, so I used the extra chair in my room to improvise.

3. A friend of mine did not have a big enough hanger in order to dry her rug, so she used the apartment balcony instead.

 

Ethnography Comments

Posted on by Wendy

Great immersions at Clay.  I really enjoyed the video clips.  That is one talented group of students!

The analogous immersion at O’Rourkes does not quite seem on par with the decision of where to go to high school, unless you are really serious about your beverage options.  I’m intrigued.

There are some interesting patterns beginning to emerge.  If kids, and parents, rely mostly on their friends for guidance on which high school to choose, I wonder how diverse is there friend set?  I look forward to reviewing the rest of your team’s research.

Ethnography Comments

Posted on by Wendy

There are some very interesting insights emerging from your ethnographic research thus far.  Please be sure to err on the side of posting more direct quotes and insights.  A few takeaways that stood out to me:

  • Quality of caregivers makes a world of difference.  What are common themes of quality? Can this be recreated through technology?
  • The desire for individuals to connect and reflect on past.  How do we personalize?
  • The importance of routines.  They are established at this point.  How do you add to them?
  • I thought the quote captured from a grandparent interview where there was reference made to “chickening out” and leaving home for a care facility is interesting.  There is a lot of fear of the unknown as your body faces the inevitable declines of old age.  There is pride is living independently.  How can technology address these needs?
  • What are the causes of depression and how do we address them?  Individuals value family visits.  Do retirees see family more if they are at home v. in a facility?
  • Going forward, let’s get a more diverse perspective of individuals from other demographics.