Postings throughout the University are both symbolic of regulations and culture. Varying areas of the University have different rules around these positing that reflect subculture. Due to the numerous subcultures around campus, I chose to focus my observations in Vilas Hall. I visited the fifth floor of Vilas during the morning business hours. In particular, this floor has a combination of both faculty offices and research areas. When observing the atmosphere of the fifth floor, I came across numerous postings that ranged from personal and funny to academic and informative. Though, as a Journalism student, I’ve been on the fifth floor numerous times, these postings allowed me to explore the subculture of the Journalism
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According to Jeffrey C. Alexander, Kenneth Thompson, and Laura Desfor Edles, a subculture consists of “the symbols and lifestyles of a subgroup in a society, one that deviates from the “normal,” more general culture in a society (7). Given that the fifth floor of Vilas offices faculty and staff, I determined that any posting that strayed from the topics of education and research would help identify subculture. Because of this, I decided to consider the fifth floor of Vilas in comparison to other areas that had a concentration of faculty. Thus, I neglected to look at the postings that included the topics of lectures/discussions or research in order to investigate what set the subculture of Vilas apart from other …show more content…
According to Alexander, Thompson, and Desfor Edles, “a researcher would be interested in discovering whether two variables seem to change their values in tandem” (40). Due to the laid-back nature of the postings, I would suggest that posting regulations and personal expression are two variables that affect one another. I hypothesize that if posting regulations were to increase, personal expression through bulletin boards would decrease, leading to a greater focus on academic-based postings. Additionally, I would deduce that personal relationships and self expression are two variables that affect one another. I hypothesize that the bonds and relationships held among those that work on the fifth floor lead to a greater amount of posting about personal life and expression. Though these variables may not be the only factors influencing the postings on the fifth floor, they may hint at the area’s
According to Jeffrey C. Alexander, Kenneth Thompson, and Laura Desfor Edles, a subculture consists of “the symbols and lifestyles of a subgroup in a society, one that deviates from the “normal,” more general culture in a society (7). Given that the fifth floor of Vilas offices faculty and staff, I determined that any posting that strayed from the topics of education and research would help identify subculture. Because of this, I decided to consider the fifth floor of Vilas in comparison to other areas that had a concentration of faculty. Thus, I neglected to look at the postings that included the topics of lectures/discussions or research in order to investigate what set the subculture of Vilas apart from other …show more content…
According to Alexander, Thompson, and Desfor Edles, “a researcher would be interested in discovering whether two variables seem to change their values in tandem” (40). Due to the laid-back nature of the postings, I would suggest that posting regulations and personal expression are two variables that affect one another. I hypothesize that if posting regulations were to increase, personal expression through bulletin boards would decrease, leading to a greater focus on academic-based postings. Additionally, I would deduce that personal relationships and self expression are two variables that affect one another. I hypothesize that the bonds and relationships held among those that work on the fifth floor lead to a greater amount of posting about personal life and expression. Though these variables may not be the only factors influencing the postings on the fifth floor, they may hint at the area’s