Critically discussed the ethical, legal, and social issues arising Essay

Critically discussed the ethical, legal, and social issues arising from the use of assistef reproductive technologies - Essay Example ough fertile couples can also undergo the processes due to genetic, sex selection or health considerations such as risk of infecting the child with AIDS. Methods used in ART include Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), which involves engaging a males sperm into a womans uterus via a tube. In Vitro Fertilization is another process in ART where sperm and eggs from the couple are taken and incubated to form an embryo with steps such as stimulation of egg maturation, egg recovery, fertilization and embryo transfer with assistance from a physician. There is also the third party assisted ART such as the use of a sperm donor, egg Donor, surrogates and gestational carriers. Even as these methods have been effective in enabling many couples achieve the dream of being parents, there have been debate over the ethical legal, social and ethical issues surrounding processes used to achieve this goal. This research paper highlights some of the ethical, legal and social arguments presented in support or opposition to ART. Ethical issues in ART surround the practice of implanting multiple embryos at one time to cut on expenses for couples since there is no insurance coverage to support this form of treatment. For the process to be successful at a lower cost even when more than one attempt is undertaken couples are encouraged to fertilize many eggs at once and implanting multiple embryos while hoping one among them will be carried to term. Success rate in ART also depends on the years of women involved in the process (see the graph below). Multiple fertilization of these eggs leads to the problem of multiple pregnancies with parents facing the prospect of giving birth to more than one baby. When this happens, couples especially mother and their offspring face increased social, psychological and medical problems. Research has indicated that multiple pregnancies results in a number of health complications especially those related to obstetric complications, prenatal morbidity,

Marketing aspect Essay Example for Free

Marketing aspect Essay The management of Head’s Up is moderately efficient. They have accommodating and friendly personnel who provides the needs of their customers wherein they will ask what services they want to avail and instantly accommodate them. They have well equipped facilities and modern equipment that pave the way for more efficient ways of providing services for the customer’s convenience. E. SUPPLIERS The business supplier is from Luzon specifically Manila where they are exclusively supplying the treatments and medicines as well as other needs that they have to Head’s Up. Atty. Raymond said that they paid high to their supplier for exclusively purposes wherein they have a stall for the products that the supplier has at Ever Mall building 2nd floor. F. MARKETING MIX Place One of the most important aspects to consider for a business is its location. Wherein there are number of factors that need to be considered these are the customer needs and the employee needs such as customer convenience, parking, and accessibility. Head’s Up is located at 21 Silliman Avenue, Dumaguete City. Head’s Up location is considered as a strategic location knowing the fact that it is near to its target market which are the young professional, students, the foreigners and the walk-ins. Service Head’s Up being in a beauty industry offer the utmost service to the customers for it is the reason for its existence to give customer a great service and convenience that would give its customers a reason to come back. Promotion Promotion of a business establishment is important for it helps in positioning its image to its target market. Advertisement of an establishment is one way to garner publicity; Heads Up was launch in Metro Post newspaper and was later introduced in Negros Chronicles News and tied-up Radio station here in the City. Other than that Atty. Raymond told us that nothing more is effective to the word of mouth to its customers. Price The rates of their services are based on the price of the treatments and other medicines they use and also the services are priced in such a way that they compare themselves to the rates of their competitors. Head’s Up also offer 10% off to all services to its VIP cardholders and they also have happy hours to their SPA services specifically the Full Body Massage from 2pm-6pm wherein the price differ from its regular rate. Since one of their target markets are the students they also offer a student price range which is cheaper than the regular price. While in barbershop services they have this â€Å"Blowout† day every Tuesday wherein they price their haircut service half to its existing price. The following are the services and their corresponding rates of Head’s Up Barbershop, Salon and Spa. G. COMPETITOR’S ANALYSIS Competitive analysis plays a vital component in every business which made the owner aware the competition happening between its competitors. The following are one of the competitors of Heads Up Barbershop, Salon and Spa: Carlo Reyes Beauty Salon located at Perdices Street, Dumaguete City Cuttin’ Loose Hair Nail Studio located at Portal West Bldg. Silliman Avenue, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. Art Box located at Sta. Rosa Street, Dumaguete City. David Salon located in front of Spanish Heritage San Jan Street, Dumaguete City Jade Spa Massage located at San Jose Street, Dumaguete City Grand Royal Spa located 2nd floor RM Building, North National Highway, Bantayan, Dumaguete City. These are the establishments which are considered the most competitive in the Beauty Industry and Spa industry wherein these businesses have already establish a name towards to their respective services.

The Power Asymmetry In Qualitative Research Interviews English Language Essay

The Power Asymmetry In Qualitative Research Interviews English Language Essay The books in The Sage Qualitative Research Kit have been written with the needs of many different types of readers in mind. As such, the Kit and the individual books will be of use to a wide variety of users: Practitioners of various research, University teachers and Undergraduate and graduate students. Each book of the Kit has been written by a distinguished author with extensive experience in their field and in the practice with methods they write about. Doing interviews addresses the theoretical, epistemological, ethical and practical issues of interviewing people about specific issues or their life story. There are two other books about interviewing, they approach the subject in a much more detailed and focuses way for the specific method. Interviews are one of the major approaches in collecting data in qualitative research. There are variety ways of how to do interviews and what to do after the interview has been done. Doing interviews comes with specific needs of increasing the interview quality in general and its validity in particular and finally of reporting what was said and how it was analyzed. 1. Introduction to interview research Three interview sequences Conversation is a basic mode of human interaction. Through conversations we get to know other people, get to learn about their experiences, feelings and hopes and the world they live in. In an interview it is the same, except the researcher asks and listens to the people. The research interview is an interview where knowledge is constructed in the interaction between in the interviewer and the interviewee. Trough various sequences the writer is explaining that there are three forms of interviewing. A rather simple form of straightforward questioning contrast with the reciprocity of everyday conversations. The interviewer is in a power position and sets the stage by determining the topic of the interchange; it is the interviewer who asks and the interviewee who answers. The qualitative interview is a key venue for exploring the ways in which subjects experience and understand their world. Interview research in history and in the social sciences The term interview is of recent origin; it came into use in the seventeenth century. An interview is literally an inter-view. An interchange of views between two persons conversing about a theme of common interest. Systematic literature on research interviewing is a new phenomenon of the last few decades. Qualitative interviews have, previously been extensively employed in the social sciences. With education and health sciences, the interview has become a common research method in the last few decades. Quality methods, ranging form participant observation over interview to discourse analysis, have since the 1980s become key methods of social research. Technical, epistemological and cultural reasons may be suggested for the growing use of qualitative research interviews. The availability of small portable tape records in the 1950s made the exact recording of interviews easy. In the 1980s, computer programs facilitated the qualitative analyses of transcribed interviews. Interviews have also become part of the common culture. Methodological and ethical issues The interview is a conversation that has a structure and a purpose determined by the one part, the interviewer. The qualitative research interview is a construction site for knowledge. A semi-structures life-world interview will be in focus of the book. It is defined as an interview with the purpose of obtaining descriptions of the life world of the interviewee with respect to interpreting the meaning of the describes phenomena. To have an interview a good preparation will be needed. The interview is a powerful method of producing knowledge of the human situation. 2. Epistemological issues of interviewing Mode of understanding in a qualitative research interview A semi -structured life-world interview attempts to understand themes of the lived daily world for the subjects own perspectives. It comes close to an everyday conversation but as a professional interview it has a purpose and it involves a specific approach and technique. The interview is a uniquely sensitive and powerful method for capturing the experiences and lived meanings of the subjects everyday world and it allow the subject tot convoy their situation from their own perspective and in their own words. An interview seeks to understand the meaning of central themes of the subjects lived world. It is necessary to listen to the explicit description and to the meaning expressed, as well as to what is said between the lines. In qualitative interviews, precision in description and stringency in meaning interpretation correspond to exactness in quantitative. The qualitative interviewer encourage the subject tot describe as precisely as possible what they experience and feel. The qualitative interview attempts to obtain descriptions that are as comprehensive and presupposition less as possible of important themes of the interviewees life world. The interviewer should be curious, sensitive to what is said, as well as to what is not said, and critical. The focus of the interview is on particular themes: it is neither strictly structures with standard questions, nor entirely non-directive. The task of the interviewer is to clarify, as far as possible, whether the ambiguities and contradictory statements are due to a failure of communication in the interview situation. Power asymmetry in qualitative research interviews The research interview is a specific professional conversation with a clear power asymmetry between the researcher and the subject: The interview entails an asymmetrical power relation; The interview is a one-way dialogue; The interview is an instrumental dialogue; The interview may be a manipulative dialogue; The interviewer had a monopoly of interpretation; Counter-control, subjects may hold information; Exceptions. Research interviews between a philosophical dialogue and a therapeutic interview The qualitative research interview has affinities to philosophical dialogues as well as to therapeutic interviews, but follows neither the relentless intellectual reasoning of the former nor the close personal interaction of the latter. Professional interviews, such as a therapeutic interview, a job interview or a legal interrogation, are characterized by a focus on the dynamics of interaction between interviewer and interviewee, a methodological awareness of question forms and a critical attention to what is said. The therapeutic sequence indicates the possibilities for research interviewers to learn from the techniques developed within the therapeutic profession, while also demonstrating differences between therapeutic and research interviews. The interviewer as a miner or as a traveler Two contrasting metaphors of the interviewer, as a miner or as a traveler, may illustrate the different epistemological conceptions of interviewing as a process of knowledge collection or as a process of knowledge construction, respectively. In a miner metaphor, knowledge is understood as buried metal and the interviewer is a miner who unearths the valuable metal. The knowledge is waiting in the subjects interior to be uncovered, uncontaminated by the miner. An alternative traveler metaphor understands the interviewer as a traveler on a journey to a distant country that leads to a table to be told upon returning home. The interview traveler walks along with the local inhabitants, asks questions and encourages them tot tell their own stories of their lived world. Epistemological conceptions of interview knowledge The elimination of the hum factor in research, key aspects of the mode of understanding in qualitative research interviews appear as methodological sources of error, to a philosophy of sciences. In a postmodern approach the qualitative research interview appears as a construction site of knowledge. The knowledge generated by interviews is in line with key features of a postmodern conception of knowledge, such as the conversational, the narrative, the linguistic, the contextual and interrelational nature of knowledge. With a decline of modern universal system of knowledge, the local, manifold and changing language contexts come into prominence. In a postmodern epistemology the certainty of our knowledge is less a matter of interaction with a non-human reality than a matter of conversation between persons. 3. Ethical issues of interviewing Interviewing as a moral inquiry An interview inquiry is a moral enterprise. Moral issues concern the means as well as the ends of interviews. The human interaction in the interview affects the interviewees and the knowledge produces by an interview inquiry affects our understanding of the human condition. Consequently, interview research is saturated with moral and ethical issues. Ethical issues throughout an interview inquiry Ethical issues go through the entire process of an interview investigation, and potential ethical concerns should be taken into consideration form the very start of an investigation and up to the final report. Ethical guidelines Professional ethical codes serve as contexts for reflection on the specific ethical decisions throughout an interview inquiry. Figure 1 outlines issues raised by these ethical guidelines in the form of questions, which interviewers may ask them before embarking on an interview journey. Figure 1. Informed consent entails informing the research about the overall purpose of the investigation and the main feature of the design, as well as of possible risks and benefits from participation in the research project. This raises the issue of how informed consent can be handled in exploratory interview studies, where the investigators themselves will have little advance knowledge of how the interview will proceed. The interviewees should always be informed about the purpose and the procedure of the interview. Confidentiality in research implies that private data identifying the subject will not be reported, otherwise the subject need to agree on the release of identifiable information. In extreme cases, protecting confidentiality can raise serious legal problems. The consequences of an interview study need to be addressed with respect to possible harm to the subjects as well as to the expected benefits of participating in the study. The ethical principle of beneficence means that the risk of harm to a subject should be the least possible. The researcher as a person is critical for the quality of the scientific knowledge and for the soundness of ethical decisions in an interview inquiry. Moral research behavior involves more than ethical knowledge and cognitive choices. The integrity of the researcher, his or her knowledge, experience, honesty and fairness, is the decisive factor. 4. Planning an interview study Seven stages of an interview inquiry No standard procedures or rules exits for conducting a research interview or an entire interview investigation. There are standard choices of methods at the different stages of an interview investigation. The quality of an interview study to a large extent rests on the craftsmanship of the researcher. The term unstandardized pertains to the interview situation, but an entire interview investigation had often tended to be a rather standardized affair, going through five emotional phases of hardships. Anti-positivist enthusiasm phase; The interview-quoting phase; The working phase of silence; The aggressive phase of silence; The final phase of exhaustion. These descriptions are based upon observation of colleagues and students undertaking interview projects. The seven stage of an interview inquiry are: Thematizing Designing Interviewing Transcribing Analyzing Verifying Reporting Through these stages an interview study will be developed and ends with the reporting. The emotional dynamics of an interview study are related tot these seven stages. Thematizing an interview study Thematizing refers to the formulation of research questions and a theoretical clarification of the theme investigated. The key questions when planning an interview investigation concern the why, what and how of the interview. Thematizing an interview study involves clarifying the purpose of the study, the why question. Interviews can have explorative or hypothesis-testing purposes. An exploratory interview is usually open with little pre-planned structure. Interviews that test hypotheses tend to be more structured. Interviews can also being used to inductively develop an empirically grounded theory, or as background material for further practical and theoretical studies. The thematic understanding of the topic if the study, the what, will further provides a ground for the how of the study: the many decisions on method that must be made on the way. The thematic focus of a project influences what aspects of subject matter the questions centre upon, and which aspects remain in the background. Familiarly with the local situation may also sensitize tot local ethic-political issues of the community, which need to be taken into account when interviewing and reporting the interviews. Designing an interview study Designing an interview study involves planning the procedures and techniques, the how of the study. The temporal dimension of an interview investigation should be kept in mind from the first thematizing to the final reporting stage, taking into account the interdependence of the seven stages. Overview, interdependence, push forward, spiraling backwards, keep the end point in sight, getting wiser and work-journal are all key factors of an interview inquiry. The number of subjects to interview necessary depends on the purpose of a study. In common interviews, the amount of interviews trends to be around 15. This number may be due to a combination of the time and resources available for the investigation and a law of diminishing returns. The method may be understood in a broad sense, like the way to the goal. A method is a set of rules, which can be used in a mechanical way to realize a given aim. Within such a formal rule conception of method, the qualitative research interview, where knowledge is produced trough the personal interaction between interviewer and interviewee, is clearly not a scientific method. Interviewing may be regarded less as a method following explicit rules than pragmatically as a craft, where the quality of knowledge produced by the interview rests upon the subject matter knowledge and the craftsmanship of the interviewer. Learning to interview is to arrive at a transparency of the techniques and tools. 5. Conducting an interview Setting the interview stage The setting of the interview stage should encourage the interviewees to describe their points of view on the topic. The first minutes of an interview are decisive. The interview should be introduced by a briefing in which the interviewer is defines the situation for the subject, briefly tells about the purpose of the interview, the use of a tape recorder and ask if the subjects has any questions before starting the interview. The initial briefing should be followed up by a debriefing after the interview. Scripting the interview An interview guide is a script that structures the course of the interview more or less tightly. The guide may merely contain some topics to be covered or it can be a detailed sequence of carefully worded questions. Interviews differ in their openness of purpose; the interviewer can explain the purpose and pose direct questions from the start, or can adopt a roundabout approach, with indirect questions, and reveal the purpose only when the interview is over. Thematically the questions relate to the what of an interview, to the theoretical conceptions of the research topic, and to the subsequent analysis of the interview. Dynamically the questions pertain tot the how of an interview; they should promote a positive interaction, keep the flow of the conversation going, and stimulate the subjects to talk about their experiences and feelings. The interviewer should also try to keep in mind the later analysis, verification and reporting to the interviews. Interviewers who know what they are asking about and why they are asking, will attempt to clarify the meanings relevant to the project during the interview. Active listing, the interviews ability to listen actively to what the interviewee says, is as important as the specific mastery of questioning techniques. That is why researcher questions need to translated to interviewer questions, figure 2 Figure 2 6. Interview variations Interview subjects Different issues will raise by different populations when the focus is on cross-cultural interviews, interviews with men, women and with children. In a cross-cultural interview it is difficult to become aware of the multitude of cultural factors that affect the relationship between interviewer and interviewee. In a foreign culture an interviewers needs time to establish a familiarity with the new culture and learn some of the many verbal and non-verbal factors where interviewer in a foreign culture may go amiss. Also with children the approach for an interview needs to be different. Interview forms A variety of research forms, useful for different purpose, exist. With the broad variety of interview forms and subjects it becomes understandable that there are no general standard procedures and rules for research interview. There is no correct or ideal interview form. Qualitative interviews do not only focus on the interviewees own perspectives and meanings. Obtaining valid factual information may be crucial in many interviews. In other situates, when interviewing for the oral history of a community, the focus will be less on the storytellers own perspective upon the events recounted, than on his or her stories as venues to reliable information about a collective past. Some experiments may serve interviewers as a reminder to be extremely careful in wording their questions when interviewing for factual information. Confrontational interviews though we did not seek to impose our ideas on those with whom we talked, †¦we did attempt to uncover assumptions, to make explicit what the person we were talking to might have left implicit (Bellah et al., 1985, p 304) In addition to a prevalent empathetic and consensual interview form, the more active confrontational and agonistic styles of interviewing may also produce valuable knowledge. 7. Interview quality Interview qualifications The interviewer is the key research instrument of an interview inquiry. A good interviewer knows the topic of the interview, masters conversational skills and is proficient in language, with an ear for his or her subjects linguistic style. The interviewer must continually make on-the-spot decisions about what to ask and how; which aspects of subjects answer to follow up, and which not, which answers to comment and interpret, and which not. The interviewer should have a sense for good stories and be able to assist the subjects in the unfolding of their narratives. Leading questions It is a well-documented finding that a slight rewording of a question in a questionnaire or in the interrogation of eyewitness may influence the answer. Politicians are well experienced in warding off leading questions form reporters; but if leading questions are inadvertently posed to subjects who are easily suggestible, such as small children, the validity of their answers may be jeopardized. In contrast to common opinion, the qualitative research interview is particularly well suited for employing leading questions to repeatedly check the reliability of the interviewees answers, as well as to verify the interviewers interpretations. The task in an interview is not to avoid leading research questions, but to recognize the primacy of the question and attempt to make the orienting questions explicit, thereby providing the reader with the possibility of evaluating their influence on the research findings and of assessing the validity of the findings. There are no unequivocal quality criteria for research interviews. A good interview rests upon the craftsmanship of the researcher, which goes beyond a mastery of questioning techniques to encompass knowledge of the research topic, sensitivity to the social relation of interviewer ad subject, and an awareness of epistemological and ethical aspects of research interviewing. 8. Transcribing interviews Oral and written language Transcription is an interpretative process, where the differences between oral speech and written texts give rise to a series of practical and principal issues. A transcript is a translation from one narrative mode, oral discourse, into another narrative mode, written discourse. The quality of interview transcriptions had always been a neglected issue. Transcribing interviews Transcribing the interviews from an oral to a written mode structures the interview conversations in a form amenable to closer analysis, and is in itself an initial analysis. The reliability and validity of transcriptions are generally neglected. If these two issues are addressed, the interpretative and constructive nature of transcription will appear. Computer tools for interview analysis Once the interviews have been transcribed, they become available for structuring and analysis by a variety of computer programs. The computer programs allow for such operations as writing memo, writing reflections on the interviews for late analysis, coding, searching for key words, doing words counts, and making graphic displays. No valid transcription of an oral account exists, but a variety of forms of transcribing, which will be valid for different uses of the transcripts. 9. Analyzing interviews Integrating interview analysis in an interview inquiry The question How shall I find a method to analyze the 1000 pages of interview transcripts I have collected? is a question which is too late en the work will be too much. The method of analysis should not only be given thought in advance of the interviewing, but may also, to varying degrees, be built into the interview situation itself. Modes of analysis No standard method exists, to arrive at essential meanings and deeper implications of what is said in an interview. The techniques of analysis are tools, useful for some purpose, relevant for some types of interviews, and suited for some researchers. But it depends on each interview itself. Interview analyses focusing on meaning Meaning and language are interwoven; in the practice of interview analysis the focus on meaning versus linguistic form does imply rather different techniques. Coding and categorizing were early approaches to the analysis of texts in the social sciences, which make it easy to transcribe the interview. Coding involves attaching one or more keywords to a text segment in order to permit later identification of a statement, whereas categorization entails a more systematic conceptualization of a statement, opening for quantification. Interpretation of texts is established by a hermeneutical circle, where the meaning of a text is established through a process in which the meanings of the separate passages are determined by the global meaning of the text as it is anticipated. Re-reading of the single passages may again change the first anticipated global meaning of the text, which again alters the meaning of the single passages. Interview analyses focusing on language The medium, or the material, with which interviewers work is language. The interview process occurs through speech, and the interview products are presented in words. During the last few decades social science researchers have started to use linguistic tools. Linguistic analysis, narrative analysis, conversation analysis, discourse analysis and deconstruction. Interview analysis as bricolage Many analyses of interviews are conducted without following any specific analytic method. The researchers may then freely change between different techniques and approaches. Bricolage refers to mixed technical discourses where the interpreter moves freely between different analytic techniques. In contrast to systematic analytic modes such as categorization and conversation analysis, bricolage implies a free interplay of techniques during the analysis. 10. Validation and generalization of interview knowledge Objectivity of interview knowledge. Issues of reliably and validity go beyond technical or conceptual concerns and raise epistemological questions of objectivity of knowledge and the nature of interview research. Interview analyses can be objective in the sense of intersubjective agreement, such as when a high degree of intersubjective reliability is documented by coding interview in quantifiable categories. Objective may also mean reflecting the nature of the object researched, letting the object speak, being adequate to the object investigated expressing, the real nature of the studied. Contrary to common opinion, knowledge produced in interviews need not be subjective, but may, be an objective method with respect to key meanings of objectivity. Reliability and validity of interview knowledge Reliability pertains to the consistency and trustworthiness of research findings; it is often treated in relation to the issue of whether a finding is reproducible at other times and by other researcher. Validity refers in ordinary language to the truth, the correctness and the strength of a statement. A valid argument is sound, well grounded, justifiable, strong and convincing. Validity as quality of craftsmanship Validation rests on the quality of the researchers craftsmanship throughout an investigation, continually checking, questioning and theoretically interpreting the findings. Validations do not belong to a separate stage of an investigation, but permeates the entire research process. Validity is ascertained by examining the sources of invalidity. The stronger the falsification attempts a knowledge proposition has survived, the stronger and more valid is the knowledge. Communicative and pragmatic validity When a modern belief in knowledge as a mirror of reality recedes to a social construction of social reality, communicative and pragmatic forms of validation come to the foreground. Communicative validity involves testing the validity of knowledge claims in a conversation. A Communicative validation of interview findings raises specific questions about the how, why and who of communication. Pragmatic validation relates to the users responses to an interpretation, and in a strong for it concerns the issue of whether interventions based on the researchers knowledge may instigate actual changes in behavior. Pragmatic validation is verification in the literal sense, to make true; justification is replaced by application. Analytical generalization rests upon rich contextual descriptions. It includes the researchers argumentation for the transferability of the interview findings to other subjects and situations, as well as the readers generalizations form a report. 11. Reporting interview knowledge Contrasting audiences for interview reports. When writing a report for an interview study it may be useful to be aware of different requirements within local social science communities. In common interview reports the link between the original conversations and the conclusions reported may be thin or missing. The interested reader will not find any, or only come across some vague scattered descriptions of how the interview knowledge was produced. Working towards the final report from the start of an interview study may contribute to a readable report of methodologically well-substantiated, interesting findings. Presenting interview findings with a quote, three guidelines for editing are suggested: The quotes should be contextualized; Interview quotes should be rendered in a readable style; Interview quotes should preferably be loyal to the habitual language of an interviewee. For communicative validation and analytical generalization, readers need rich contextual information about the interview findings in order to validate and generalize the results. 12. Enhancing interview quality Learning the craft of interviewing A book about interviewing involves a paradox of presenting explicit and general guidelines for a craft, which consist of practical skills and personal know-how that often remains tacit and depends on given situation. It can not be predicted which an interview journey goes. If people research interviewing by themselves, they will discovered the theory about interviewing and transcription themselves and not through a book. Starting to learn interviewing by listening to tapes will sensitize novice interviewers to the oral medium of the interview craft. Learning interviewing by transcribing interviews promotes a discovery learning where , through their own practice, newcomers tot the trade discovery techniques and dilemmas is transferring live conversations to written texts. There are three options to learn about interviewing: Learn interviewing by witness others interviewing; Learn interviewing by practicing interviewing; Learn interviewing in a community of interview researchers. The road to mastery of interviewing through a transcribing task, an interview practicum, or ideally a research apprenticeship, may appear as too cumbersome and time-consuming to some students. But it is most important to be well prepared. The adequate knowledge of the nature of interview conversations is suggested by: A pragmatic approach involves a move from philosophical legitimation to the practical effects of knowledge. Rather than seeking universal knowledge, the emphasis is on situated knowledge. What matters is not arriving at context-independent general knowledge, but producing well-described situated knowledge from the interviews. Interview knowledge is not collected, but produced between interviewer and interviewee, and the meanings constructed in their interaction are again restructured throughout the later stages of an interview inquiry. In order to reach a professional level comparable to quantitative analysis today, qualitative social research needs to move beyond a linguistic illiteracy towards a professional mastery of the linguistic medium of the interview craft. We live in a conversational world. The relevance of conversations in social science goes beyond the use of interview conversations as an additional empirical method. It concludes conversations among researchers, and the public, about the truth and value of the knowledge produced in interview conversations about a conversational world. Conclusion Doing interviews by Stein Kvale is a book which has two kinds of different input. There is the theoretical background and the practica

Research Methodology in Education Research

Research Methodology in Education Research Introduction This chapter explains the methodological underpinnings of the study. I provide justifications for the investigative and analytical paths adopted. I discuss the aim of the Critical Theory paradigm and its philosophical positions on epistemology, ontology and methodology in a research enterprise. Also addressed are the people involved, research instruments, data collection procedure, and data analysis. Figure designed by the researcher Figure 1 Conceptualisation of Research Design Philosophical Underpinnings of Critical Theory The study centres on issues of power, class, privilege and the consequent social relationships. Being aligned with the anti-colonial framework described in Chapter Two, the study is situated within the tradition of Critical Theory. Creswell (2014) puts Critical Theory under the umbrella of a transformative worldview. ToFay (1987), issues of empowerment, irrespective of gender, class, and race, are central to Critical Theory. Lincoln, Lynham, and Guba (2011) state that the research aim of Critical Theory is to critique, seek change and liberate. Per the theoretical framework, the study advocates for Ghanaian H.E to acknowledge and respect African worldviews and perspectives. The study argues that the dominant Western paradigms that shape Ghanas higher education do not adequately empower the Ghanaian student. This consciousness is necessary to make Ghanaian students a subject of the education experience to help reorient higher education and make it emancipatory. Table 1 summarises the ontological, epistemological, and methodological beliefs shaped by Critical Theory. Table adapted from a book source Item Critical Theory Ontology Historical realism reality shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic, and gender values; crystallised over time Epistemology Transactional/subjectivist; value-mediated finding Methodology Dialogic/dialectical Table 1 Basic Beliefs of Critical Theory (Lincoln, Lynham, and Guba, 2011) Research Approach Qualitative A qualitative approach was most appropriate for this research because it offers a better opportunity to provide in-depth understanding of the subject matter. It provided the best avenue to investigate the research questions. Design Critical Studies In line with the philosophical outlook of critical theory, I employ   McMillan and Schumachers (2010) critical studies framework because my research seeks to find out how privilege, class, and power acquired through Ghanas H.E can be translated to serve societal good. According to McMillan and Schumacher (2010), critical studies design emphasizes ideas like dignity, dominance, oppressed, authority, empowerment, inequality, and social justice (p. 347). Researchers employing a critical study design must advocate for and stimulate change. Methods of Data Collection Employed McMillan and Schumacher (2010) note that observation and interviews are common methods employed in critical studies (p. 347). Denzin and Lincoln (2011a) also mention that qualitative research is inherently multimethod (p. 5), albeit there is an imperative to provide sound rationale. Accordingly, I employed autobiography to illustrate my locatedness, a literature review, and face-to-face interviews as methods for this study. Action Plan Table designed by the researcher Research Questions Data Needed Methods Analysis Purpose 1. What does it mean to be educated in Ghana? Lived experience Autobiography The education environment, teaching, and learning How an educated person is recognised in Ghana 2. What are the main features of the historical development of H.E in Ghana? Secondary data Literature Review Historical analysis of the conceptions in traditional African and Western perspectives To present the different notions and purposes of H.E traditionally (African), during colonialism and contemporarily. 3. How elitist is H.E in Ghana? Primary data Fieldwork. Interviews through semi-structured interview guide Manually by presenting the themes in the responses To explore ways to mitigate the asymmetrical power relationships in H.E 4. What are the alternative means of funding H.E in Ghana? Primary data Fieldwork. Interviews through semi-structured interview guide Manually by presenting the themes in the responses Borders on access and de-commercialisation of H.E 5. What are the possible futures of H.E in Ghana? Primary data Fieldwork. Interviews through semi-structured interview guide Manually by presenting the themes in the responses Relevance of H.E Table 2 Summary of How Research Questions were Answered Question 1 What does it mean to be educated in Ghana? To answer this, I employed my experiences throughout school to illustrate the process of education and consequent characteristics that identify the highly schooled. Autobiography is a reflection on events of the past and a careful presentation of such accounts. Pictures and other artefacts help to illustrate the accounts presented in narratives (see Ellis, Adams Bochner, 2011). While this method locates me in the study (McMillan Schumacher, 2010) and offers insights into the broader outlook of H.E in Ghana, it comes with its shortfalls. Autobiography is criticised as being too artful and not scientific, or too scientific and not sufficiently artful and self-centred (Ellis et al., 2011, p. 283). Delamont in Ellis et al. (2011) accuses autobiography (as part of autoethnography) as lacking extensive fieldwork. Anderson, in Ellis et al. (2011), contends that the use of personal experience makes autobiography biased. I acknowledge these inadequacies and the shortcomings of human memory, hence my concentration on events during my university education. Furthermore, for my experience not to appear isolated, I engaged with other autobiographical accounts and literature to support my accounts to provide rigour. As Ellis et al. (2011) suggest, the credibility of the writer offers reliability in autobiography and the realistic nature of the account is the scale to measure validity. The strengths of autobiography are its ability to reduce prejudice on a phenomenon, and encourage personal responsibility and agency (Ellis et al., 2011, p. 280). Question 2 What are the main features of the historical development of H.E in Ghana? I employed secondary data (literature) in this regard. According to Neuman (2006), an extended literature review as a method gives the opportunity to explore the vast materials on a study. Literature provides a worthy source of information due to the dynamism and diversities in humanity. It is the basis of building and enhancing knowledge, skills and attitudes the foundation of education.   A literature review grants credibility to the study as a good review increases a readers confidence in the researchers professional confidence, ability and background. To Neuman, an extended literature review locates the study in a framework and demonstrates its relevance by making connections to a body of knowledge (p. 111). Further, a good review points out areas where prior studies agree, where they disagree, and where major questions remain. In addition, it identifies blind alleys and suggests hypotheses for replication (Neuman, 2006, p. 111). As part of my extensive literature review, I employ the works and speeches of prominent African Presidents and scholars to make a case for the type of higher education that would be meaningful in Ghana. Similarly, I employ academic literature and views of a former Ghanaian President and other political leaders to argue how colonial relations continue to survive in Ghana. Furthermore, I employ proverbs an embodiment of African oral traditions and culture as an example of an African knowledge base that can shape H.E. I utilise selected proverbs to argue that H.E in African perspectives promotes the public purpose. Fieldwork Questions 3, 4, and 5 Fieldwork is integral to many forms of research qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. It helps to comprehend and appreciate many social phenomena. Indeed, many academic disciplines are both fields of theory and practice and fieldwork is also integral. Peake and Trotz (1999) acknowledge the significance of fieldwork: it can strengthen our commitment to conduct good research based on building relations of mutual respect and recognition. It does, however, entail abandoning the search for objectivity in favour of critical provisional analysis based on plurality of (temporally and spatially) situated voices and silences (p. 37). Research Instrument I used a semi-structured interview guide as instrument to conduct the interviews. This was important to help elicit detailed information on the subject. Interviews are useful to elicit thick descriptions (Geertz, 1973) of knowledge and insight into realities. Denzin (2001) describes thick description as deep, dense, detailed accounts (p. 98), which provide alternative perspectives to that of the researcher. McMillan and Schumacher (2010) also note that critical studies are multi-method and say, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦observation and interviewing are used most often. The key is to gather the right form of information that will support the advocacy desired (p. 347-348). People Involved (Respondents) The respondents for this study were people who work or had worked within Ghanas public universities. I had a proxy who helped identify and made initial contact with prospective respondents. I interviewed a retired Professor who is the Chairman of a university council. He has been advocating over the decades for education in Ghana to reflect African culture and worldview. I accepted the recommendation from my proxy to interview him. He is vastly knowledgeable but inclined toward African worldviews. It was important to get such an individual at the apex of university decision-making to offer some insight on the inner dealings of universities. Another respondent was a former Pro-Vice Chancellor of a public university who is on a post-retirement contract. His past role in the university equips him to offer reason why the status quo remains and the difficulties that come with transformation. It is difficult to tell his biases but he does not seem entrenched on specific worldviews. A former Registrar of a public university who happens to hold a Ph.D was also interviewed because Registrars in Ghanaian universities are in charge of the day-to-day administration of the university, and hence have rich knowledge on the administrative setup of public universities. His strengths lie in administration. There was a traditional ruler (paramount Chief) who happens to be a Professor in a public university. He is predisposed to favour African worldviews and share light on how difficult or easy it is to fuse African worldviews in the university structure. His knowledge and promotion of ancient African history and African American studies indicates his inclinations. The next respondent was a Christian Reverend Minister who is also a Senior Lecturer. His specialization is in Performing Arts and how theatre can be used to develop societies. His works indicate immense African cultural advocacy despite being a Christian priest. I interviewed a former director of an Institute in a public university (position equal to a Dean). He is a Senior Lecturer in the field of Education and his inclinations are quite difficult to tell. The next respondent is a playwright and Lecturer who prior to his academic life held a top position in an international development agency. He was selected due to his knowledge of Ghanaian developmental issues and his deep insight into African cultural worldviews. Furthermore, I interviewed a respondent with expertise in Development Studies. He is a senior research fellow at the social division of an institute in a public university. Lastly, there was also a linguist and who is interested in African liberation and consciousness. His works and views are very political against the West. He is very knowledgeable in African culture and ancient African history. Cumulatively, the respondents have accrued over 200 years of experience working in universities. Data Collection/Procedure I had a proxy in Ghana who agreed to help identify and make initial contact with potential respondents. Though he once held a high position in a public university, he had no power or control over the respondents. After the respondents agree to participate, I liaised with the proxy to arrange a meeting and scheduled the interviews. Prior to the interview, I sent the interview guide to the respondents via e-mail so they could form their thoughts on the issues therein. The respondents expressed interest in the study and offered lots of encouragement. Even though I desired to interview females, the proxy found it difficult to locate them they were either busy or out of the country. I scheduled the interviews for an hour but most of them offered more than an hour two hours in some cases and they were willing for follow-up communication. Some offered references and suggested books that would contribute to the research. It was daunting and quite intimidating going to interview such high profile personalities. Voices like, Are the questions going to make sense to them, and do I know enough to engage an intellectual discussion with these people? kept echoing in my mind. Despite these butterflies, I was assured that the questions were shaped by concerns and gaps in literature. I also had it in mind that I was on a mission to learn. Nevertheless, the process came with obstacles. There were several instances where we rescheduled meetings because the respondents were unavailable. In some instances, they had impromptu engagements so they sacrificed our scheduled meeting. The classic experience was driving for about 150km from Accra to another region only to find the respondent chairing a function that closed late. He informed me of his schedule but we both thought the programme would finish early. At the end, he was visibly exhausted and had to drive about 80km home (in another region). He asked me to sleep over and make the 80km to his house the next day for the interview. I made the journey but did not get to see him immediately as there were many people waiting to see him. Eventually, when I had the opportunity to meet him, my lack of traditional knowledge was severely exposed. His elders and members of his council would not entertain English/Western protocols, so I had to fall on the limited Palace protocols I know to navigate that space. He nevertheless was extremely helpful and introduced me to many other scholars. From a Western perspective, these issues border on power but the African in me acknowledged that these delays were not intentional, though frustrating and expensive. It was obvious they were busy; besides, I saw their acceptance to participate as a favour as there were no payments or incentives.   There is an African proverb that With patience, one can dissect the ant and see its intestines. Data Analysis To quote Patton (2002), qualitative analysis transforms data into findings. No formula exists for that transformation. Guidance, yes. But no recipe. Direction can and will be offered, but the final destination remains unique for each inquirer, known only when and if arrived at (p. 432). My data analysis began with the growth of the thesis. In the course of writing the theoretical perspectives and the literature review, some thematic areas began to emerge. The major themes bordered on notions of elitism in Ghanaian/African H.E, a lack of community-oriented values in Ghanaian/African H.E, and the African renaissance and pride. I employed these as pre-determined themes on which I formulated research questions. Therefore the responses were to answer questions that came out of these themes. I analysed the field data manually by adopting an inductive approach of qualitative data analysis. I transcribed the interviews into text and separated [it] into workable units (McMillan Schumacher, 2010, p. 369). I organised the responses and grouped them under the various research questions and read the transcripts thoroughly to identify comments pertinent to answer the research questions. I highlighted these comments and looked out for new observations and insights that could offer other understandings to the study. I examined the field transcripts to identify emerging themes and patterns, made interpretations out of the themes, and considered them in regard to the literature and theoretical framework. I subsequently present the findings and discussions in anecdotes (McMillan Schumacher, 2010). Credibility Credibility in qualitative studies refers to the extent to which findings and analyses of the study are realistic (McMillan Schumacher, 2010). To ensure this, I designed the interview guide based on issues raised in literature. In addition, I endeavoured to interview different people with different expertise within the university structure. Though I could not get any respondent from government institutions, the respondents offered worthy responses as some have occupied different positions in government institutions. A technique I employed to enhance credibility of the study was to send the transcribed interview to the respondents via e-mail for them to confirm the transcription appropriately captured their thoughts. I consequently provide detailed narratives from the respondents. Giving that the respondents did not object to the transcripts, the quotations offered in the analysis chapter of this study reflect the data collected. Reflexivity Chilisa (2012) argues that the closeness between the researcher and respondents may affect the truth value of research as it becomes difficult to distinguish between their experiences. In this study, I acknowledge my biases, and clearly illustrate and justify them both in my theoretical and methodological perspectives. The nature of Critical Theory and critical studies makes the issue of reflexivity quite tricky as the research is shaped and designed by biases that must be checked. Being conscious of my biases, I left the selection of respondents in the hands of a third party. Besides, the respondents are established academics who I could barely influence especially regarding what to say. I also devoted significant space to the voices of the respondents in the analysis chapter to clearly illustrate their thoughts and maintain the truth value of the study. Though triangulation helps in addressing trustworthiness of qualitative studies, the nature and status of my respondents made triangulation quite impossible. I could not use independent auditors, as suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985), due to ethical restrictions. However, by sending the transcribed interviews to the respondents to validate, I was able to enhance the credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of this study, ensuring trustworthy findings that a reader could transfer and generalise in a similar space. Conclusion In this chapter, I have outlined the research design used in the research. I have argued that adopting a qualitative approach is appropriate to answer the research questions. Employing a critical studies framework justifies the aim of helping transform social relations between the schooled and unschooled in Ghana. It offers empowerment to students of Ghanas H.E by offering alternative perspectives to help emancipate the schooled from dominant Western perspectives. Through my proxy, I was able to interview knowledgeable people in Ghanaian universities who offered rich information on how H.E can serve a public purpose. I used the inductive method of qualitative data analysis by highlighting responses that answer the research questions. The emerging themes from responses were synthesised and presented as anecdotes. In the next chapter, I will describe, using my lived experiences, how the educated individual is constructed in Ghana. My autobiographical approach will indicate how the process of schooling divides society and confers notions of superiority and difference to the highly schooled a phenomenon the study conceptualise as colonial.

Authority in Ozymandias and The Second Coming :: Ozymandias Essays

Authority in Ozymandias and The Second Coming Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ozymandias" portrays the past power of authority symbolized by the once great world power of Egypt. William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming" portrays the past power religion once had over the world, gradually lost ever since the end of Shelley's era of Romanticism. "Ozymandias" was written in a time when human rule coupled with religious guidance, but was slowly easing away from that old tradition as they entered the highly progressive era of the Victorians. In his poem, Shelley was comparing the formally powerful Egyptian pharaoh's "antique" and prideful form of rule with the unsuccessful future the "traveller" met in the desert with the ruins of the king's "shattered visage" (Longman, Shelley, p. 1710, l. 1 & 4). In a sense, Shelley was also saying that human rulership was just as easily able to fail as the once great and powerful world rule of Egypt once did, for ages. Yeats also is alluding to this idea, but imposing his view on another type of rule once great for hundreds of years of its rulership, that of Christianity or religion in general. In "The Second Coming" he envisions the "falcon" of humanity drifting away and ignoring "the falconer," Christian religions (Longman, Yeats, p. 2329, l. 2). "The falcon cannot hear the falconer;/ Things fall apart" says Yeats, depicting how human reliance on religion has become cold and disinterested in its lead anymore due to human progress of science, thus their loss of reliance and trustworthiness of religion's claims. Both Romantics and Modernists felt loss of authority, either from man or man's religious following. Poetry changed what it focused on as those figures lost respect or importance in the public's lives. I believe Yeats sums up my point partially in lines 19 and 20, "That twenty centuries of stony sleep/ Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle.

Free Epic of Gilgamesh Essays: Character of Gilgamesh -- Epic Gilgames

Analysis of the Character of Gilgamesh  Ã‚     In the epic of Gilgamesh, there are many complex characters.   Every character involved in the story has their own personality and traits.   The main character in the novel is Gilgamesh.   Gilgamesh is a character who is very self-confident.   He feels that he is superior to others, due to the fact that he is two-thirds god, and one-third man.   This arrogance leads to his being cruel at the beginning of the story.   Gilgamesh is described as, à £two-thirds of him divine, one-third human... Gilgamesh does not allow the son to go with his father; day and night he oppresses the weak... Gilgamesh does not let the young woman go to her mother, the girl to the warrior, the bride to the young groomà ¤ (tablet I, column ii, 1, 12-13, 27-28).   Gilgamesh is a man with no equal, so he feels superior.   Although Gilgamesh starts out cruel he develops into a very kindhearted man.   He is extremely supportive of Enkidu and encourages him in various situations.   When the men are fighting Humbaba Gilgamesh says, à £[you] will surpass all of them... a fri... Free Epic of Gilgamesh Essays: Character of Gilgamesh -- Epic Gilgames Analysis of the Character of Gilgamesh  Ã‚     In the epic of Gilgamesh, there are many complex characters.   Every character involved in the story has their own personality and traits.   The main character in the novel is Gilgamesh.   Gilgamesh is a character who is very self-confident.   He feels that he is superior to others, due to the fact that he is two-thirds god, and one-third man.   This arrogance leads to his being cruel at the beginning of the story.   Gilgamesh is described as, à £two-thirds of him divine, one-third human... Gilgamesh does not allow the son to go with his father; day and night he oppresses the weak... Gilgamesh does not let the young woman go to her mother, the girl to the warrior, the bride to the young groomà ¤ (tablet I, column ii, 1, 12-13, 27-28).   Gilgamesh is a man with no equal, so he feels superior.   Although Gilgamesh starts out cruel he develops into a very kindhearted man.   He is extremely supportive of Enkidu and encourages him in various situations.   When the men are fighting Humbaba Gilgamesh says, à £[you] will surpass all of them... a fri...

The Existence Of God Essay -- Religion, Theology, Philosophy, logic

The existence of God has long been a topic of debate. It is the ultimate topic of discussion, as everyone seems to have an opinion on it. I will look at the traditional arguments for the existence of God, the ones that have stood the test of time, and find out how convincing the arguments really are by looking at each one in turn, analysing the logic behind each argument, and finally looking at its criticisms and the responses to the criticisms. The first argument for the existence of God I will look at is the cosmological argument, more commonly known as the "First Cause" argument. It is attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas, a 13th century philosopher. The basic premise is that for the Universe to exist, something must have caused it to exist in the beginning. The conclusion to this premise, argues Saint Thomas, is that God created the Universe, as he is the only thing eternal. The unstated premises in this argument are that an eternal entity is required to create the universe, and that God is the only thing eternal. The history of time in the universe is often likened to a stack of dominoes falling on one another and causing a chain reaction down the line of dominoes. They did not start falling by themselves, as something must have triggered the very first one. In the First Cause argument, it is God that created the Universe and hence was the first cause. This argument even allows for the Big Bang theory, stating that God ca used the Big Bang. This is a popular argument because it allows religion and science to co-exist in one theory. In fact, the Big Bang theory helps the First Cause argument because it shows that the Universe did in fact begin at a point in time, meaning that there must have been a first cause. Bertrand Rus... ...of these planets. However, this does not explain the apparent convenience of Universe's natural laws for organic life. This can be explained in another theory, which states that there are multiple Universes, a "multiverse", and that we are simply in the Universe whose natural laws support life. Out of all the arguments and criticisms I have looked at, none have been proven in such a way that any of them are self-evident, and none show truly sound arguments. Some arguments are valid, and some have true (by induction, mainly) premises, but none can be shown to prove the existence of God without doubt using logic. These arguments should not be used as proofs of the existence of non-existence of God, they could simply be used to support a person's particular opinion. However, they should be used carefully as fallacies are committed in all of them.