Exploration 2: Snake River Alliance

Exploration 2: Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover
I experienced an epiphany observing Snake River Alliance for the second time. I realized that they are an influential group in several ways. During this observation, I simply observed their office environment while they worked on a typical Thursday. I noticed flyers about the meaning of the peace sign, protecting the environment, the Idaho Energy Collaborative, all the different threats shown on a U.S. map, the types of energy we are currently using, and many others. The room was actually cluttered with posters, flyers, photographs, and things such as those. The variety of flyers and posters made me wonder about how many things Snake River Alliance was involved with. Snake River Alliance is mostly known for their opinion on nuclear power; they are referred to as the “nuclear watchdogs”. But, were they just an “anti-nuclear” group? This question made me curious about their reputation as well. I wondered how other people and organizations viewed Snake River Alliance. From what I observed, the Snake River Alliance was definitely more than an anti-nuclear group. I was actually surprised to hear about all of the things this organization does. Although Snake River Alliance oversees what is going on in the nuclear industry, they are also working towards a clean, renewable energy source. They deal with energy policy on city, county and national levels. They analyze nuclear proposals. They analyze cost, benefits, risks, and probability on new energy developments. They are supportive of other environmental groups and put on events or memorials with them; such as the Idaho Peace Coalition. Overall, Snake River Alliance is really spread out.
In the office I also noticed that all of the members were extremely busy; on conference calls, searching for things they needed, or working quickly at their desks. There were also certain items that interested me. There was a large home-make wind mill with different questions related to nuclear power. It was used as an activity to find out how educated people were on nuclear power. The most organized and interesting thing in the room was a long table full of different forms of information. The Snake River Alliance magazine, many different handouts, books they recommended, newspapers, news articles, current events, interesting facts about energy, and many more. They had a small library in their office. I was shocked to see so much information. At that moment I realized how important it was to Snake River Alliance to spread their knowledge and education. It wasn’t that they were spreading an opinion, but just general information on things people don’t usually think about. Such as, where does my electricity come from?
This observation really expanded my image of Snake River Alliance. I don’t think people realize how spread out Snake River Alliance is. They truly believe in making change, and they are doing everything in their power to be successful.

Explore more

For my second exploration I would like to point out that now I am done with my observation portion as well as have both of my interviews done. From this I have been able to answer many of my previous questions as will be shown in my final paper, but it does not mean that I don’t still have more. It is getting into the research using articles and such that I am now focusing my efforts on. Some of the more surprising things that I have found through my observations but more than anything, my interviews is that chefs tend to have a lot in common. They are much more a community then my original idea, in fact there are many things I found just from my interviews of two types of chefs that are shown. A large portion of this comes from just personality traits. Some of these can include their ability to not only cope with stress but rather strive in an environment that promotes it. This similarity may seem small until it is applied to how a kitchen works. It seems that this personality trait may be one of the most important things that makes a chef due to how incredibly stressful the kitchen can be, and how if you do crack or get flustered under that kind of stress, you will clearly not be in that line of work.

Some other questions that were answered and I am seeing similarities in are things like why did you choose the profession that you did. This is a very broad question that I found had a more limited answer then I would of thought. Many of the questions that had arisen in my first exploration that were very important to the basis of the community, were easily answered with the second one because I was able to interview someone from a more gourmet line of cooking, and then I took someone who ran a lunch trailer and their answered were still quite similar. Some questions though that I am still going to try to find out is what kind of personality is one that thrives so well under stress? If that kind of personality can be shown in other ways then just stress? I am still trying to find out what kind of accreditation is needed to for jobs, if it tends to just be on merit and skill alone, or if culinary institutes really hold that much on if someone is looked at for a job or just dismissed. Without going into too much more detail in my just second exploration it is seeming that with my specific community I am having much more luck with the interviews that with just looking for articles and such because there are a lot of personality traits that drive into that profession. I have begun to narrow down what I am looking at so that I can present a much more focused point in my paper, thought questions are still there I will have to find them out through print media, but I feel much more focused then from my first exploration.

Preface: Through out my research/observation, I found several every day words that were either used differently, or carried significantly more importance than what one would generally give them. I also found (unsurprisingly) that several terms are medical in nature and revolved around various medications and alternate methods of therapy. Below is a list of the terms used most often.

Glossary

Applied Behavior Analysis (A.B.A): A method of therapy that focus on reinforcing appropriate behaviors through rewards. The goal with A.B.A is to replace inappropriate behavior with something more acceptable (consider it another form of conditioning through positive reinforcement).

Asperger: This is, in fact, another disorder very similar in nature and related to Autism. The difference stems from the “preservation of linguistic and cognitive development” (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome)

Aspy/Aspie: A term used to refer to those with Aspergers Syndrom; My child is an Aspy.

Diagnosis: A term that is generally well understood by all, it has taken on increased importance within the Autistic community. Families can tell you the exact date Autism OFICIALLY came into their lives and is something of a defining moment (one might compare it to how people describe the date Kennedy died or 9/11). Even though symptoms did not go away upon finding out, diagnosis is considered to be something of a relief and is an incredibly sensitive subject.

High Functioning: A term used to describe both individuals with Aspergers and Autism who are able to function relatively normally in society.

Individualized Educational Plan (IEP): Mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), schools are required to make an individual educational plan for children with special needs. Districts are must provide their students with a “Free and Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE) and it is the aim of an IEP to accomplish this; however, many districts lack the resources and/or are too ignorant to provide workable programs for Autistic Children.

Mainstream: used as a verb, ‘mainstream’ is used to describe the act of assimilating into regular life with other neurotypical individuals. My son can successfully mainstream.

Neurotypical: This is a term used to refer to those who fall out side of what is generally considered Autistic. More often than not, the term is applied to fully functioning individuals without any neurological abnormalities.

Sensory Defensive: is the negative reaction to what would generally be considered harmless (e.g. being unable to eat red things).

Sensory Integration: an issue had by many who deal with autism, it is an issue sorting sensory input in its relation to the body. As a result, Those with Sensory Integration problems find it difficult to operate effectively in the workaday world.

Glossary of terms

The culinary arts community has a very unique way of communicating some of the things that have to happen in a kitchen. They developed a large ammount of terms so that you could read a recipe or be told what to do and as long as you understand the terms you should have no problem doing that action. Unlike the example trucker glossary, they do not take every day terms like comic book and create their own meanings for them. Instead they created their own words to describe the actions at hand.

Blanch- briefly immersing food in water or fat.

Confit- Cooking meat such as duck in its own fat.

Deglaze- a technique used by adding a liquid such as a cooking wine to loosen the particles at the bottom of the pan, often used to create a sauce

Maillard reaction- the phenomena that occurs when heating proteins in meats to 310 degrees and causes them to turn brown

Mirepoix- A combination of onions carrots and celery used to add flavor to stocks or dishes.

Poach- Cooking something in a liquid between 140 and 180 like eggs.

Roux- a mixture of equal parts fat and flour used for thickening sauces

Simmer- cooking something in a liquid ranging from 180 to 205

Sweat- To cook vegetables or other food in a small amount of fat over a low heat usually covered.

Saute- took cook something briefly over a high amount of heat.

Exploration 1: Snake River Alliance

Strangely, when I began my first observation, I was overwhelmed with shock and surprise. Nothing about the place, the people, or the type of meeting was what I had expected. Snake River Alliance is located downtown in the Jefferson Place on the lower level. The first think I saw when I walked into the building was a fancy hair salon. How can Snake River Alliance, a professional organization, be located near a hair salon? I was very confused. I walked down to the lower level where Snake River Alliance was located and there was a large, empty room with a long table placed in the center. I thought to myself, this is where the meeting is? Sure enough, Andrea Shipley, the director of Snake River Alliance, greeted me and offered me a seat at the table. The first thing that I realized was that there was a young child sitting at the table and cookies, peanuts, and oranges were available to snack on. Apparently this meeting was informal. I also noticed that the man at the table had a beard and one long earring. Then I was wondering whether the members were all more unique than your average person. I had been expecting business-like members in a fancy meeting room. Therefore, I was surprised that although this organization is portrayed as profession, and they participate in governmental and legislative issues, they are normal, casual, and very informal.

After being introduced to the group, I realized that there is a difference between being a member of Snake River Alliance and being a staff member of Snake River Alliance. So the staff is the leaders of the group and the members are the people that participate. This meeting was actually a membership meeting, open to anyone who was interested in learning more about the organization and what they stand for. It was actually a little uncomfortable because they wanted me to participate in the discussions and activities. Since it was a membership meeting, Andrea stressed the significance of members in the organization. She said that membership is vital and it drives the alliance; the members are heard and they are considered advocates for clean energy. She said that the membership committee focuses on expanding the community. Since only eight people were at the meeting, she also noted that they needed to work on advertising better. Honestly, it sounded a little desperate to me. Now I am curious about how many members there are, how they found them, and how educated they are. I wonder if Snake River Alliance is desperate for more members. What extent do they go to to get members? Do they select easily persuadable people? I never thought of these things before this meeting.

Jen ran the meeting, and she prepared an activity where she would read a statement concerning the group, and then we would place an item on the agree paper or the disagree paper and then give our opinions why. The opinions from the members were fascinating. The biggest thing that stood out when people gave their opinions was where the ideas and information were coming from. Although these people had opinions, all of their ideas and suggestions were sourced from somewhere else. Members were explaining a documentary they had watched, shows they had seen on PBS, something they had watched on the internet, something they had read in a book or heard on the news. It was interesting! None of them had thought up an idea or solution on their own, they were considering other people’s solutions to our world’s problems. This isn’t necessarily a shock, but I didn’t realize it before. However, they deeply consider alternatives and renewable energy sources. They think about how it works, what it’s affecting, and if it’s truly a renewable source that doesn’t have negative effects on the environment.

It’s fascinating to me that these people truly want to help the world and make change, even though they are just normal people. I wonder how educated all these people are since they feed off of other people’s innovations. Perhaps that doesn’t matter though. These members have drive and passion for making the world a better place and creating the best solutions for our problems. I am curious to find out where these motivations arise from when I do my interviews and other observations.

Exploración Número Uno

Exploration 1:

Unfortunately I will not have an opportunity to begin my interviews until 1 March; however, my research has exposed some glaring questions and subsequently caused something of a change in my approach and focus. My consideration of those dealing with handicaps has always been rather superficial, I was always aware they existed but did not give much thought to the life they lead or the real world challenges they are faced with, especially once they have grown out of the public education system and no longer have the support of publicly funded educators. We live in a world that is largely intolerant and ignorant of those who are different; thus, Autistic young adults are forced to live in a world they are unprepared and unequipped to handle.

This reality has prompted an expansion to the scope of my research… it seemed rather short sided to only consider the prospective of family members and ignore the point of view of educators and psychologists who are also grappling with these complex issues. Once an Autistic individual reaches adulthood, what resources are there for parents who are now asked to fully care for them when they themselves are becoming older and less able to handle such intense responsibility? For those with the necessary financial resources, there are facilities specifically built to address these issues; however, what options do less affluent families have? Such questions are easy to ignore as they make one feel uncomfortable about a rather politically incorrect issue… do we reinstate asylums (organizations with a tendency towards abuse), or do we allow those with diminished mental capacities to roam the streets and live out of shopping carts, is one really a better alternative to the other? As a teenager, the movie Le Huitieme Jour touched on this very issue, causing me to consider things hitherto foreign in my privileged and isolated world. It caused me at a young age to think of these rather serious social problems in a way I had never considered, but as with many serious questions without obvious answers, it was easier to repress it and move on.

Therefore, I hope to gain a more holistic perspective of the challenges faced by people dealing with autism by interviewing not only parents, but also caretakers and educators who specialize in Autism. I will be observing a support group at St. Lukes on 1 March, with interviews to follow shortly thereafter. I have arranged meetings with a parent to an Autistic child, a special education teacher, and an administrator at a facility that specializes in working with Autistic adults.

exploration 1

Some major things that have stood out to me so far in the culinary arts community is that their general intensity that they have. All the observations I have made so far I have seen all the chefs be very intense and mostly quiet when working. They tend to be extremely focused on their work, which drives them to get things out on time and with great accuracy. Another large observation I have made that I was quite un aware of before coming into this project, was how much of a roll the rest of the restaurant plays in the culinary community. Though the wait staff does not play a pinnacle role in the preparation of the food, they are there to support the chefs and make sure that they are representing their food as well as possible. The language that I have noticed so far from my first interview is that they are very harsh with each other. The head chef tends to have the rest of the crew whipped into shape because it is his or her kitchen that is being represented with each meal served. During the interview I found that the language consists of a lot of cursing, which tends to be rather similar to what we see on any reality TV cooking show, but in my mind it would seem that, that is a over statement of a real kitchen just to get people to watch. But I am learning the contrary, it is much more aggressive then I would have anticipated, but am starting to understand.

Some of the questions that I still find my self wondering about are why do they decide oh that profession? It is a very high stress work environment from what I have seen so what kind of personality is one that thrives in that kind of environment? Are all chefs people that thrive on high stress? Or is it just some of them? How many chefs are ones that graduated from culinary art institutes? What is the top culinary arts institute? Also what separates someone from being able to just be a grill cook, from someone that is able to become a master chef? Are their biases between culinary arts graduates and people that have just worked their way to the top? What kind of stigma is associated with culinary arts graduates and how would that affect them in a current day job market?

Another thing that I have found is really intriguing me is why choose the kind of food to cook that they do? Does that have to do with demographics or where they grew up? It seems to me that if I grew up in say a Italian family and was going to make culinary arts my profession I would go with what I knew, but I am curious if that is how many other chefs would decided on their area of expertise. Over all, my observations have been intriguing but the interviews are holding a lot more for me. Seeing a chef in action is much different then getting the answer of why did you choose to be a chef, and it is much better to answer the rest of my questions that I still have. Through my observations so far, I am seeing how the restaurant works, which is much more intricate then taking an order and then giving the food to the customer, which is how they make it seem when you just eat at a restaurant. It is keeping my interest and I am really looking forward to my next interview, solve some more of my questions that I still have.