Jute, Ships, and Exploration

Machine used in Jute Factory

I am currently living in the city of Dundee and Dundee is located right by the coast in the middle of Scotland.  Dundee is known for producing items like jam, jute, and journalism; these items are known as the 3 J's. In the heart of Dundee, I was able to visit an old jute mill that had been converted into a museum called Verdant Works.  Jute is a natural type of fiber that can be produced into long strands of thread. The museum talked the importance of jute and how jute revolutionized the economy.  Jute transformed Dundee into an economic powerhouse as Dundee began to produce large quantities of jute for the rest of the world. A majority of workers were women with many women having more economic power compared to other women during the 19th century.  However, women and children were paid less than men because factory owners used laws to exploit women and children by having people work for a longer time for a lesser wage. Men were less frequently employed than women because factory owners would be forced to pay a higher wage to men.  Often boys between the ages of 12-17 would be hired by factory owners, but boys would be fired when they turned 18 because boys over 18 would have to be paid a full time wage according to the law.  Overall, the working and living conditions in jute factories highlight the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in Scotland.  

A woman working in a Jute Factory

From the late half of the 1800's to the mid 1900's, the jute industry flourished as there was a high demand for jute in many parts of the world.  However, the production of jute had declined in Dundee after World War II.  In 1990, the last jute factory closed and there were only one or two companies who are still manufacturing jute today.    Jute was manufactured in large quantities due to boats who would import the jute from India into the harbor.  Jute would be transported from the harbor to the factories everyday.  If the ships did not bring jute into the harbor, workers would be sent home with no pay. Thus boats played a significant role in the development of jute in Dundee.

Aboard the RRS Discovery in Dundee 

After my visit to Verdant Works, I had the opportunity to visit Discovery Point; a museum that possesses a boat known as the RRS Discovery built in the 1800's and is located in the harbor next to the museum.   A boat like the Discovery would be used to deliver jute to the harbor.   As I walked throughout the boat, I could imagine what these sailors had to go through to survive.   I learned that many common food items like bread, carrots, and peas needed to be preserved.  The food did not look appetizing at all and I highly respect these individuals who will risk their lives at sea. Furthermore, people would face frigid conditions and there were many who died and people who survived would often face death. Explorers explored the frozen tundra of Antarctica because these explorers wanted to see Antarctica firsthand so they could be remembered by many people forever.  The boat serves as a reminder of how Dundee was a major economic powerhouse during this time.   Both the RRS Discovery and Verdant Works have demonstrated the development of the local economy in Dundee.  Both of these museums demonstrate that boats played in a crucial role in the development of jute production.

Before I arrived in Dundee, I did not believe that it would as impressive as London.  However, my first week has highlighted that it has such a rich and colorful history; I am excited to see what the future has in store for Dundee.

My introduction to Scotland

Upon arriving in Edinburgh, I was exhausted, jetlagged, and generally achy from sitting so long. Over 26 hours of travel and layovers, and I was wiped out. The tram was comfortable, although I was moderately panicked (I was travelling alone) and had to walk about three miles from my tram stop to my hotel. I picked up some food and settled in with the knowledge of the Tough Mudder in the morning, although sleep was a long time coming.

Tough Mudders are a series of extreme challenge races, varying from 10-14 miles. This particular race was 11.7 miles long, with 25 obstacles designed by the British Special Forces for non-Legionnaires (people who haven’t run one before) and additional obstacles for Legionnaires. If you’ve never done one, I highly recommend taking a look at their website to really understand what they're about.

Waking up, I packed, dressed, and was out the door by 6. I caught the 6:30 bus out to Dalkeith Country Estate, arriving not long after I had originally intended. Between the 5 hours of jetlag and wanting to go in one of the heats between 8 and 9AM…it wasn’t one of my better choices, but I figured the faster I cranked myself out of the old schedule, the better. Normally the race is extremely expensive, but I worked with the volunteer program which offers an excellent discount. Long story short, volunteering is totally worth it, I ran for £15.

Starting the race was incredible, the team did a fantastic job of getting racers warmed up and excited. The above picture shows the starting line and the crowd, partially hidden by the smoke bombs. I'm in the middle, number 22020.

11.7 miles later, I was more worn down and happier than I have been in ages. The picture on the right is of the final challenge right before the finish line, Electroshock Therapy, a 30 foot long array of dangling wires that racers had to get through. They carried different charges, up to 10,000 volts, and were unavoidably close. Runners had no choice but to touch them.

Yes, it hurt.

One of the interesting things about the Edinburgh race was that with the Referendum coming up and the vote on Scottish independence an ongoing discussion, they threw in an extra challenge in the Legionnaire loop. Legionnaires got to caber toss at cardboard cutouts of David Cameron and Alex Salmond to form their own vote on Scottish independence. According to Stephen Deal in the Metro section of the local paper, with over 2,000 participants, 68% said No to independence.

The end of the race was on the grounds of Dalkeith Palace, which overlooked Everest, another challenge.

http://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/dalkeith-country-park-p252321 
Dalkeith Country Estate

The race ended on the lawn in front of the estate, which was gorgeous. The start, finish, and tents were all available on the front lawn, allowing spectators a good view of several obstacles.

From experience, here are a few pointers for anyone looking to run a Tough Mudder:

1.    Duct tape your shoes on. It sounds dumb now, but when your shoe is suctioned into calf-deep mud, you’ll thank me for it. Even the drier courses have certain spots that are particularly muddy, like the Mud Mile.

2.      It’s going to hurt the next day. And probably the next. Mudders go through so much to be called a part of the Mudder Legion, and it’s an incredibly awesome group. You’re not going to get there without a little pain.

3.      Be enthusiastic! The people running this and the volunteers are out there encouraging you, don’t you dare be a jerk to any of them. Plus, if you’re running in a group, it’s fun to be the one who’s grinning through all the garbage you go through.

4.      Don’t be afraid to ask for help! On a similar note, if you see someone who needs help, give them a hand. It’s about teamwork, not a course time.

Next week will cover local details, I'd hate to bore people with an incredibly long post!

Seeing Words Differently

One of the challenges of living in a post-industrial economy is that new industries and new configurations of ideas simultaneously merge with, and emerge from, existing systems of regulations and standards. While most new yearly vehicle models use standard sized metric or AES nuts and bolts, shifting away from fossil fuel toward electric vehicles also means moving away from a choice between regular, mid-grade, or premium gasoline, toward the charging speed of an electrical outlet. The impact of these shifts in perspective range from jarring to refreshing. For designers, as these shifts occur, it is important not only to consider what reactions users have, but to consider the choice of medium that leads to varying reactions (e.g. smelling a cookie vs. seeing or tasting one vs. seeing one on a sign). One way to draw our attention to medium is through traveling. To illustrate this concept, I will discuss several images that focus on linguistic differences and confusions between everyday American English and U.K. English as they relate to daily life as a graduate student in the U.S. and in the U.K.

The images I have chosen below, and the linguistic differences they highlight, stem from my interactions with Pakistani and Indian friends who have traveled to America. In particular, my closeness with one Pakistani individual has drawn my attention to small, everyday words that many might overlook or not pause to consider. Furthermore, this closeness has helped me understand some of the complex colonial baggage that often comes with intercultural (technical) communication, which may be easy to overlook from an American, white, male perspective. Though I do not claim to be an authority on colonialism by any means, these several images stood out to me because of their perceived concreteness as written, rather than spoken, words. Additionally, as a Michigander with a mid-western accent, I've noticed myself preferring to read, view, and write more than listening and speaking. One reason for my preference is a mutual difficulty in understanding accents between locals and myself. Another is the camera frequently hanging from my neck here in Scotland, pulling my attention more to visuals than to sounds, smells, etc. And perhaps I understand my encounters with words for everyday objects and tasks in the U.S. as oral because the visual has become too familiar, seemingly invisible. Keeping this consciousness in mind, one of the first linguistic differences I encountered in Scotland, after hearing many striking Scottish accents, was at the grocery store.

Before I even entered Morrison's, (the U.K. equivalent of Kroger, Glen's, etc.) I noticed the corral of grocery transportation devices. Aside from requiring a rental fee, the sign above the human-powered basket wagons read "trolleys" (unfortunately I didn't have my camera at the time to take a picture). I had known before leaving the U.S. that "carts" are called "trolleys," from being asked, "Can I put my cheese in your trolley?" Because Britain was a former colonizer of much of South Asia, my Pakistani and Indian friends also referred to carts as trolleys, and were very aware that this construction was British. Similarly, after visiting Verdant Works (a former jute mill) in Dundee, it was clear that Scotland had not escaped from the colonization process, but it was also clear that significant cultural exchange had happened.

Indian restaurants, stores, and shops are found all over Dundee. The one above is an interesting mix, however. Lahore is the capital of the Punjab province in Pakistan, a country that gained independence from India only within the last century. Consequently, it's odd to find an Indian restaurant claiming to be "Lahori," when it would seem logical to call it a Pakistani restaurant. And a look at their menu reveals an even more complicated situation. Where are the owners from? What histories does this restaurant have? I think the only way to research this is to go there, eat, and ask questions.

At another research site on the University of Abertay's campus, I noticed another tangible connection with my friends back home: the library. The sign above has nothing to do with a support group for avid readers. Rather, it is the U.K. equivalent of a book "checkout." Interestingly, there seems to be some leeway when it comes to renting a book from the library, as I noticed on a tour of Ninewells Hospital. During our tour, the guide referred to "checking out" books, though this may also have been because we were an American audience. This highlights one affordance of oral communication as well: signs are (generally) concrete, spoken words are (generally) flexible. But, both leave room for confusion, as the last image below illustrates.

When someone says, "I need to use the shank," most Americans would curl their faces in confusion. I did, the first few times I heard this phrase. "You need to what? Are we in prison? You're going to shank me?" Nope. Toilet.

While there are many more examples of colonially loaded terms appearing as linguistic differences, hopefully the images above have given you a small taste of the cultural complexity of even everyday sights in Scotland. In short, what I've taken from this experience so far is that not only should good technical communicators collaborate with users in participatory design processes. And not only should good technical communicators be attentive to cultural values and differences. But that good technical communicators should also interact with users from diverse subject positions (whether that position is based on gender, sexuality, race, age, ability, class, education, geographic location, etc.) in order to move beyond creating something that works, toward creating something that works on behalf of many users. Furthermore, communicating through multiple media may help draw attention to different aspects of a particular situation as well. While I first encountered linguistic differences orally, they were made more concrete by existing as tangible signs. Perhaps this speaks as well to the permanency we grant to written text and printed documents or painted signs that we don't give to spoken words, which is why I've written this post, but know that it becomes more valuable through conversation.

The Beauty of Dundee

Dundee is a historically industrial city, giving it a reputation as dirty and ugly. The city was dominated by the jute industry, a coarse textile product, well into the 20th century. With this industry came dirt, pollution, and grime. However it also brought great wealth to a few. The wealthy few used their money to build magnificent mansions, landscape luscious parks, put up great halls, and bring in beautiful art. Long after the jute industry is gone, taking the dirt and grime with it, these beautiful marks of wealth remain.

The Caird Hall is the main event and concert venue in Dundee and it was funded by jute baron James Key Caird.

Caird Hall and City Square (photo by author)

Baxter Park is another beautiful space gifted to Dundee by a jute baron in 1863. This wonderful park is 38 acres of trees, flowers, open fields, and grand architecture. It is located along Pitkerro road opposite Morgan Academy. When I visited the park it was busy with people of all ages taking a stroll, kicking football, playing in the playground, or simply laying on the lawn.    

Entrance of Baxter Park (photo by author)

Baxter park private bowling club (photo by author)

more beauty from Baxter park (photo by author)

panoramic in Baxter park (photo by author)

Walking around Dundee for a day you will see these and many other beautiful places, buildings, and views. I was surprised at the life the city had, even early in the afternoon on weekdays, the shops were all full, everyone I encountered was polite, people were smiling and talking. I am already feeling very comfortable in this city.

View across the Tay (photo by author)

                                                               

Panoramic at a garden outside The University of Dundee (photo by author)

Travel Experience to Dundee

As the first day of the Scotland study program coming, I was getting more and more worried about our trip from London to Dundee. We decided to enter the U.K. through Heathrow Airport, and get to school by train. Since we have this 15 days traveling train passes, which allow us to catch any train in the U.K. for a random 15 days within two months, in that way, we could save a lot on the round trip plane tickets between London and Edinburgh.

We lived pretty close to King’s Cross station. So it was not a problem to get to the station. What I really concerned was, how do I know which bus is the best option for our trip? We heard about many terrible cases claiming that schedules of train in U.K. might not be that reliable. They might switch the platform all the number and even at the last minute. Or, the train might not even be on time. So we read so many blogs teaching us how to easily traveling in the U.K.

However, the best way to plan the trip is still using Google Map. Due to the three super large suitcases we had, our preference was to stay on the same train that could take us all the way down to Dundee. However, most popular option was to at least switch the train once in Edinburgh, and that is also what most people do. So under that condition, I have to say that Google Map is totally a godsend to us. It helped us to find an East Coast Line train that could take us straight to Dundee!

Screenshot from http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Picture from Google Images

At the end, I would like to share an interesting thing happened over the trip. We bought a bottle of water at the food court and paid with a 20 pound notes. After giving back the changes to us, the food court was officially running out of coins. So when we got back to the carriage, we actually heard a broadcast, asking whether passengers can exchange their coins with them. And it seemed like everyone wanted so bad to get rid of coins, so many people rushed to them for exchanging, and the the food court was forced to tell everyone that they already have enough coins and thanks for people's help.

Unlearning & Relearning

            As citizens of the USA, we are somewhat isolated from other cultures. It’s very rare that many Americans head too far south to expose themselves to the Mexican culture, and if we decide to visit Canada, there aren’t many differences in culture to which we must adapt. With that being said, we often take for granted the numerous functions of daily living which are employed so frequently that they are completed without a passing thought. We look left, right, and then left before crossing the street. We easily count our bills and coins when checking out at Walmart. We enter a restaurant, wait to be seated, order drinks, then dinner, eat, and then pay. These functions seem almost innate, as we’ve either been performing them or watching others perform them for our whole lives. 

             However, the struggle we encounter when being introduced to a new culture is we are forced to unlearn these our seemingly innate functions and relearn new ones. We must look right first before crossing the street in order to avoid getting hit by a double-decker bus. Instead of having four different coins to count out, we now have eight coins of varying values to learn. When entering a restaurant, there is no sign that reads, “Please wait to be seated,” but rather, the local customers just seem to somehow know when they’re supposed to wait to be seated, seat themselves and then order at the bar (and pay when they order), or make an ‘eat-in’ or ‘take away’ order at the counter upon arrival. 

This is inside a pub called Dirty Dick's in Edinburgh. I sat at a table for a few minutes waiting to be served when the cheerful bartender notified me that customers are supposed to order at the counter when ready. Lesson learned!

             Perhaps the best practice when relearning is to accept that our learned ways are often no longer applicable in another culture. Though this strategy goes against our human nature of being comfortable, secure, and even somewhat ‘all-knowing’, we simply must carry on; pay attention to what the locals do before crossing the street, struggle through counting out pence and pound coins at checkout, and ask the bartender if we’re supposed to order at the bar. There’s a strong possibility that we may look foolish at times, but there must certainly be some value in relearning our societal and cultural functions, as evidenced by the millions of people that have taken the journey of integrating into a new culture before us. 

The McManus Art Museum & Gallery. Surprisingly, this is NOT the front entrance to the gallery, though the grand double staircase here seems to indicate otherwise.

Scotland Rocks!

My first glimpse of Scotland was from several thousand feet up, out the window of a Boing 757. After seventeen hours of traveling, I was in a fugue state, barely registering what was happening around me, and was staring more or less blindly out the window at a hypnotic cloudscape that extended out to the horizon. Then, suddenly, a dark and jagged shape rolled out from below the wing and into my field of view. My mind automatically jumped into assessment mode: “Mountains. Sharp ridges and U-shaped valleys. Formed by glaciers.”

My first view of Scotland, a mountain peak protruding above the low clouds. The sharp peaks are indicative of glacial activity, as is the U-shaped valley just visible through the clouds. Photo by author

And then my brain actually kicked in. This wasn't just a mountain. This was a mountain in Scotland, my first real view of the land I would be living in for six weeks. This mountain was not particularly impressive in a purely physical sense—it was short, mostly buried in clouds, and covered in trees—but from a personal standpoint, I was instantly enamored by what I could see. This wasn't just some mountain, of interest only to geologists and climbers. This was an historical artifact in its own right. People were traipsing over that mountain literally thousands of years before I was born. I was awed, inspired, and more than a little intimidated by the enormity of that fact.

In Edinburgh, I continued to think about the geology I observed in a more historical context. The Edinburgh Castle, for instance, is situated atop an intimidating basalt stock that looms above the rest of the city. The jagged, lichen-covered faces of this outcrop are shear black cliffs more than a hundred feet high, a virtually unassailable position to any pre-industrial army. This incredibly defensible position played a significant role in the capitol moving from Perth to Edinburgh, as it offered increased security. So, while some might pass through Edinburgh and only see a castle on a rock, I now see an unassailable fortress with a foundation of basalt formed by an igneous intrusion millions of years ago. Geology and history have become one in Edinburgh. 

The top of Edinburgh Castle, situated atop an outcrop of basalt, which in turn is a part of the larger butte that looms over the city. Photo by author

The view from Edinburgh Castle is truly impressive. It is easy to imagine a king taking a morning stroll on the castle grounds to survey his domain. Photo by author

Quite possibly one of the most significant rocks in history, the Stone of Scone resides in the Edinburgh Castle, alongside the Scottish crown jewels. From a purely scientific standpoint, it is not an impressive specimen. It is a block of coarse-grained quartz sandstone about two feet on a side, with an iron loop hammered into the ends for ease of transport. Aside from some interesting but ordinary cross-bedding, there is nothing, geologically speaking, that sets it apart from any other lump of sandstone from the area. But this is the Stone of Destiny. Monarchs have been coronated over this simple rock for centuries. The magnitude of cultural significance tied to the Stone of Scone far outweighs its physical weight of 336 pounds.

I left home thinking about the geology I might see as just that: geology. Now, just six days into this adventure, I realize that there is much more to just the physical nature of a mountain, an igneous stock, a block of sandstone. These are historical objects, cultural symbols that extend into the distant past, making it less distant by their permanence.

First Week in Dundee

Dundee was one of the city in Scotland that I did not know before I actually came for study abroad program. It was a city that is famous for 3Js: Jam, Jute and Journalism. However, except for the 3Js, I felt I knew nothing and even for the 3Js that I did not know any details. If the fact that Dundee was the sunniest city one can find in Scotland counted, then I might just knew one more thing about it.

After my first few days in Dundee, I noticed the route seemed complicated and the reason might be the city had been early developed, so it was not organized into blocks like some of the modern cities did. Then, the traffic looked kind of chaos because on both sides of the narrow road would be the place to park the cars and in between there would be two lanes for the incoming and outgoing traffic. However, the locals seemed very comfortable with the system. 

Another interesting system is the bus in Dundee. On the bus, I did not find anything that would indicate the name of next stop, but somehow people managed to get off at the right place. In addition, people in Dundee would stand and line-up when there were several people getting off at the same bus stop which was never the same back at home. Another thing I noticed was some people would talk to each other even if they were strangers. It made me felt that this city was friendlier than the big city like London.

Apart from my own observation, I learned much information about Dundee in class, especially about one of the famous 3Js and that was Jute. My professor, Dr. Salvo, led us to Verdant Works which was a museum that one can have more understanding about Jute. I never know what jute is before I came to this museum and was amazed by everything displayed in it. The guide was nice and told us with abundant information about the history and relations of Dundee and Jute.

      Jute was originally grew and collected in India. Then, this raw material would be shipped to Dundee. People in Dundee would process the raw material into jute bundles and then sell them.  There were many things made by jute and I found the most interesting product was the cover of the wagon. I never know the cover of the wagon was made by jute and also, never give a thought about it. There was a nice and witted old lady who had been working in the Jute mill when she was fifteen years old. She demonstrated how the machines for processing the Jute. The machines were only one third of the scale of the real one, but they were already loud. People who worked in the jute mill would tend to lose their hearing due to the noise of the factory. 

        Most of the workers in the jute mill were children and women because it was legal to pay lower wages to them. It seemed like the women had been treated unfairly, but if one gave a thought from the other side, he would find that the women actually kind of controls the economic in the family. I was surprised how women were allowed to work at that time because my impression of women for that early period was they had to stay at home and raise their children.  

The trade relation Dundee and the rest of the world - by author

Dundee is a city that keeps on giving me surprises everyday as I know more about it because it looks like an important and industrialized city before. I have no idea it has trade with many places until I saw the map of the trading relationship of Dundee and the rest of the world. This city may be small, but it certainly is amazing!