Pioneer Square Observation Report Essay Example for Free

Pioneer Square Observation Report Essay In Pioneer square there are many places to sit and observe the people whom pass by, but perhaps one of the most interesting places to go is the food court inside the pioneer square mall. I found that the best time to observe all the micro cultures was at lunch time, when people take a break from their busy lives to come and enjoy a lunch from a variety of choices. The environment is one of the other things that I was able to notice right away, not only the setting but also how the environment affects the people at the food court, and the one thing that stood out the most while I observing the food court was the authority within the court. One of the first things I was set out to find while doing the observation in the food court of the Pioneer Square mall was to find the micro cultures. I was able to observe three major micro cultures. There were people who passed by in a hurry, it seemed like they had somewhere to be. They seemed to go by so fast with a phone in their ear, or in their hands to even notice the other people surrounding them. The second micro culture I was able study was the people ordering from various places in the food court. The most common thing I noticed within this micro culture was the way they each stood still for a while as if they were weighing their options of all the food choices they had, then once they ordered their food would sit; whether it was in the lower part or on the stage of the food court, and after that they all seemed to do the same thing. They talked among themselves, and when done they cleaned their space and left. The last and the most obvious micro culture within the food court were the employees working in their little space of a restaurant. Within this micro culture the people seemed very quiet as the food court was empty but as lunch time came around and people started to appear, they seemed to cheer up. When people started coming around the food court into their restaurant, they interacted with the people in a very enthusiastic way, and some would start a conversation or offer free samples all in order to pull people into their restaurant. I was also able to notice that the environment had a lot to do with the actions of people. The environment in the food court was the first thing that stood out as I entered. The environment was serene and very unique from most food courts. They were playing jazz music in the background, which to me made it seem like it kept the food court peaceful and enjoyable. While I was sitting there I was able to notice that the food court was designed to complement the calmness of the environment with its hanging lights, wooden chairs, and what seemed like black granite tables, with a large fountain running in the middle of the food court, where many people eating liked to stare at its beauty. The fountain was something incapable of missing. Another thing that was hard to miss in the food court while eating, was the authority with the mall cops who were passing by every now and then. Surprisingly I was able to find was that they were very friendly to everyone, and in return the public was very respectful and friendly back. I believe that the respect and friendliness that comes from the public comes mainly because of the fact that the mall cops have power, and they have the authority to take you out of the mall, so the public obeys by their rules. To do this observation at its fullest I had to put my ethnocentrism away and be very open minded about the observations I was to do. Doing this was what made it possible for me to get all these observations of the micro cultures, environment, and the authority within a food court at Pioneer Square mall.