Certain unspoken rules known as mores Essay Example for Free

Certain unspoken rules known as mores Essay In today’s world, there are certain unspoken rules known as â€Å"mores† that keep people from engaging in activities that are immoral and criminal. These mores vary slightly from country to country, but some seem to be followed by nearly every society. Murder is never socially acceptable, and in most situations, neither is incest. In an effort to understand why such different societies find the same actions repugnant, a branch of psychology known as Evolutionary Psychology has been formed. Evolutionary psychology is based on the ideas of Charles Darwin. He developed the theory of natural selection, which can be defined as â€Å"the differential contribution of offspring to the next generation by genetically different members of a population† (Crawford, p. 2). Evolutionary psychology takes Darwin’s theory of natural selection and applies the theory to explain how we as humans overcame certain problems that our ancestors encountered, primarily the issues of mating and incest. Following the idea of â€Å"the evolutionary psychology of brother – sister incest avoidance,† Darwinists have found that raising different sex children together has a profound impact on how they are attracted to each other (Crawford, p. 4). As a general rule, they do not wish to mate, and that wish â€Å"reflects a mechanism humans evolved† to avoid inbreeding and genetic problems often suffered by the next generation produced from incest (Crawford, p. 4. ). There are more researchers that take the idea of ancestral cues and evolutionary psychology and apply them to what most people think of as a serious health problem. Some researchers take the idea of evolutionary psychology and apply it to the problems that mostly young women have with anorexia. These researchers tend to focus on the idea that when young women feel they are in a situation that is unfavorable for reproduction, they attempt to render their bodies unfit for bearing children. The researchers believe that anorexia â€Å"may reflect an ancestral reproductive suppression mechanism activated by contemporary cues† (Juda, Campbell, and Crawford, p. 200). In more simplistic terms, the researchers believe that when a woman of childbearing age finds that she has a lack of support, a lack of resources, and an unsuitable mate, she will purposefully lose weight to the point that her body would not be able to become pregnant. In the unlikely event she did become pregnant the odds of the pregnancy completing successfully would be very low. The researchers believe the action taken by these women is triggered by a trait passed down from our ancestors that would keep the population low in times of trouble, such as famine, for example. However, society seems to lean toward the idea that women lose weight in an effort to look â€Å"beautiful. † Although being beautiful may be some women’s motivation to lose weight, researchers believe that beauty is not the only motivation. There are different standards for beauty all over the world. In the United States, there is a prevailing attitude that thinner is prettier. One can contrast that attitude with other counties that find bigger women to be more desirable. Most people think that â€Å"social pressures† make women in some countries want to be thin, but evolutionary psychologists have a different viewpoint. Some researchers believe that not only does an ancestral cue cause women to have eating disorders, but a similar cue could influence women to gain and lose weight in normal ranges due to the socio-ecological state in which they live (Salmon, et al, p. 2). More so, these same researchers believe that this cue is being felt to an extreme degree and for longer periods in the Western Hemisphere (Salmon, et al, p. 2). Thus, weight control is considered to be the result of an internal mechanism, not individual standards for beauty. Evolutionary psychology is an interesting branch of study that may prove useful in gaining a better understanding of what we do and why. Cues from the past influencing the world that we live in today is an interesting approach to determining the hidden reasons behind people’s actions.

Participant-Observer Exercise Essay Example for Free

Participant-Observer Exercise Essay First of all, I am grateful to all class members and our instructor for the experience that I was able to acquire during this course. This is a good example of experiential learning – here we all had opportunities to transform our theoretical knowledge into real life experience. It really proved effective. I may also note that the last group engagement exercise did not disprove my previous hypotheses: with time and the experience of joint work we all got more confident about the tasks, and with the raise of confidence our productivity increased. I think we all got to know each other better and it increased the level of confidence. My hypothesis for this week is: â€Å"Group work gets real meaning and becomes more productive when group members bring in their personal insights and personal experiences instead of confining themselves to theorizing and relying on common sense. † At first, we knew each other too little to be open and share our personal experience. With time, we got to know each other better and gradually became more relaxed about sharing our thoughts. I think it had a positive impact on our performance. It helped to provide more examples of the concepts we presented. Our task was to discuss experiential learning and how it assists in exercising leadership and understanding group dynamics. We focused on several chosen principles in our presentation, and each of us was able to vitalize theory by referring to specific examples. This level of openness was quite impossible during the first exercise. Personal insights helped us all better understand theory and make a more interesting presentation. In fact, this experience once again proves Principle 9 that we discussed in our presentation: â€Å"The more supportive, accepting, and caring the social environment, the freer a person is to experiment with new behaviors, attitudes, and action theories† (Johnson Johnson, 2009, p. 51). Since all were open and ready to introduce a personal insight, we felt the environment to be rather supportive and accepting. As a result, we felt more confident and could communicate our thoughts freely. It provided greater value to our group work and helped to fulfill our task more successfully. References Johnson, D. W. , Johnson, F. P. (2009). Joining together: Group theory and group skills. 10th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn Bacon.

Overview and Analysis of Research Methodologies

Overview and Analysis of Research Methodologies INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the research methodologies adopted for the research. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches was adopted by the researcher in order to attain a realistic result from the research. Specifically, the chapter discusses the range of methods used by the researcher for the research, research philosophy, research strategy and research methods used to gain data and data analysis. RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY Research philosophy is about the system in which the research problem should be fundamentally approached, and this includes: positivism, realism and interpretivism. (Davies, 2007) Positivism: The roots of positivism lie particularly with empiricism, which works with observable facts. The basic philosophy behind positivism is that, all factual knowledge is based on the positive information gathered from observable experience, and that any idea beyond this realm of demonstrable fact is metaphysical. Only analytic statements are allowed to be known as true, through reason alone. (Davies, 2007) Interpretivism is a view that believes that the world and reality are not objective and external, but are socially constructed and given meaning by people. This view is usually referred to as the qualitative approach and is based on an inductive procedure (Rea and Parker, 2006).(why appropriate to use) Saunders et al (2003) defines realism that is based on the belief that a reality exists that is autonomous of human thoughts and beliefs, and that can influence their perceptions either consciously or unconsciously. Management and Business research is often a mixture between positivist and interpretivist, perhaps reflecting the stance of realism. (Scheurich, 2007) The research issues will try to find out, the extent of employee involvement in the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in PZ Industries (NIG.) PLC as a case study. What they do well or not in this regard. Thus, the research philosophy is interpretivism rather than positivism. Deciding which research method will be adopted depending on what research philosophy is adopted is relevant in a research, Rea and Parker, (2006). For positivism, a deductive process involves the development of a conceptual and theoretical standpoint prior to its testing through empirical observation while for interpretivism, it involves an inductive procedure which is the reverse of deductive process. Interpretivism involves reflecting on recent and past experiences (Davies, 2007). Realism accommodates the use of both deductive and inductive processes (Scheurich, 2007). The research philosophy for this research is interpretivism; therefore, an inductive procedure is adopted.(why is it appropriate) RESEARCH STRATEGY A research strategy is the plan for the researcher to carry out his research. The main research strategies include experiment, survey and case study etc. The chosen research strategy for this research is the case study. According to Davies, (2007), case study is the development of detailed, intensive knowledge about a single case, or a small number of related cases. The advantages of using case study include: the detailed observations surrounding the case study method, allow us to study many different parts, scrutinize them in relation to each other, view the process with its total environment and also utilize the researcher’s capacity for versatility. As a result, case study provides us with a greater prospect than other available methods to obtain a holistic view of a specific research; this is not to say that researches based on case study have no shortcomings. A common criticism of case study is that it provides a limited basis for the traditional â€Å"scientific generalisation†. (Gomm, 2009)(explain what it means and introduce your company briefly and of what benefit will it be to the organisation) DATA COLLECTION Data collection is the most crucial process in a research or study and it comprises of two types: the primary data and the secondary data (Scheurich, 2007) SECONDARY DATA (Cancell this section entirely, it is not necessary) instead put multi-method approach i.e, why have you choosen questionnaire and interview methods) expantiate with reasons in your own words According to Scheurich, (2007), secondary data is that which the author has not been responsible for gathering ‘first-hand’. It therefore includes all the data gathered by someone else and presented in a variety of forms, such as journal articles, reports, archive materials, companies annual reports, newspapers and magazines, conference papers, internet and books etc. For this research, the secondary data collection related to TQM and employee involvement in the implementation and the objectives of this research mainly come from books, journal articles and internet search. PRIMARY DATA According to Scheurich, (2007), primary data is any data which the author has obtained ‘first-hand’ from its original source as part of the ‘applied’ aspect of his research. It therefore, does not include any data previously gathered by anyone else. Hence, primary data sources include: individual enquiry in the form of observation, conversations, questionnaires, interviews etc. For this study, telephone interview and questionnaire will be used for collecting the primary data.(why is it useful and possible barriers to it in your own words opinion) QUESTIONNAIRES Questionnaires are one of the most widely used data collection strategy. It provides an efficient way of collecting responses from a large sample prior to quantitative analysis, because each respondent is asked to respond to the same set of questions. (Saunders et al, 2003). Questionnaires can be associated with both positivism and interpretivism approaches of research. The response rate, the reliability and validity of data collected are two key criteria to a good questionnaire. (Scheurich, 2007) According to Davies, (2007), three main techniques exist in exploring peoples’ opinion and attitudes. These include: Closed questions: the respondent is required to select between a limited numbers of answers. Open-ended question: the participant is allowed to use his discretion in providing any answer to the questions and it’s either written down, verbatim or the researcher is armed with a list of probable pre-determined responses. Scales: limited choice of answers has been chosen to measure an attitude, an intention or some aspect of the participant’s behaviour. The key to designing scalar questions is to decide on what should be measured and then to select the relevant attributes by which they can be rated. In this study, closed questions and scalar questionnaire will be used.(explain why you used it properly in your words opinion) Questionnaire design is important to quantitative data collection. Most of the style of the quantitative method is attitude scaling. There is an example question ‘Reward system’ below Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree I am satisfied with the organisation’s reward system 1 2 3 4 5 The advantages of choosing questionnaire method are time saving for participants and guarantee the accuracy of questionnaires, because the pattern of questions are the same .The next stage is to identify the number of sample(say how you encouraged them to do so). The questionnaire will be designed with 25 questions in four A4 papers(because†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.). There are about 400 people in PZ Industries (NIG.) PLC head office in Lagos, comprising of 5 departments and the questionnaire will be distributed to 100 people who are working in different departments and holding different job positions (managers and employees). Based on the number of people working in each department, the questionnaire will be distributed in the following order: HRM department = 30 Purchasing department = 20 Product department = 15 Finance department = 10 Marketing department = 25 Before this explain the rationale behind your choosing this departments and how they were encouraged to participate) Because of the long distance, the distribution and collection of questionnaires will be e-mailed to the researcher’s friend who is equally a manager in one of the branches of PZ Industries (NIG.) PLC at IIupeju, in Lagos state. He will print 100 questionnaire copies and help the researcher to distribute and collect these questionnaires, then post to the researcher.( more on question design like objectives and questions that answers them) INTERVIEWS According to Scheurich, (2007), interviews are associated with positivist and interpretivist philosophies. This is an approach where the selected respondents are asked questions about what they do, think or feel. A positivist method suggests ‘closed questions’ which have been designed prior to distribution. An interpretivist method suggests ‘unstructured questions’, where the questions have not been designed in advance. There are five different interview styles: structured interview, semi-structured interview, focus group interview and telephone interview.(which did you choose and reason because , reason problemstec) Although the questionnaire has provided the researcher with the main data about what PZ Industries (NIG.)PLC does well or not in the involvement of employees in the implementation of TQM from the participants, the reasons and thoughts of their opinion cannot be ascertained. Thus, four telephone interviews will be utilized in this research (the CEO who is very familiar with the organization, HR manager who knows the employees needs and wants and their level of motivation in doing their job, the marketing manager who well know marketing and front- line employees, Product manager who well knows about quality of their products and back-line employees). The purpose of the interview is to find out what is, in the mind of the interviewee that cannot be known directly (Scheurich, 2007). The interview method is a very good complement to the questionnaire. Telephone interview allows interviews sometimes with individuals otherwise not accessible because of one reason or the other. It therefore involves speed, access and lower cost. There are also disadvantages with interview method for qualitative data. This particularly relates to the complexity in establishing the needed trust, usually so important for obtaining this type of data (Davies, 2007). However, in this research, the researcher is quite familiar with these interviewees, so this eliminates the problem associated with trust when interviewing people over the phone. The findings from above analysis will be linked to theories and opinions with the intention of drawing a conclusion and making adequate recommendation. data requirement table with how each objective each objective is been meant ie.like the one you did befor but put obj I : question so and so 1 ,7 ,8,23) (what questions dis you ask and why ,link to objectives) and refer to interview schedule appendix that you have prepared and refer to them) SAMPLING Whatever your research questions and objectives, you will need to collect data to answer them. If you collect and analyse data from every possible case or group, it is referred to as census, but for many research questions and objectives, it will be impossible for the researcher ,either to collect or analyse all the available data, owing to restrictions of time, money and often access (Saunders et al, 2003). According to Saunders et al,( 2003), sampling technique provide a wide range of methods that enable the researcher to minimize amount of data the researcher need to collect, by considering only data from a subgroup, rather than all possible cases or elements, and which can be categorised into two broad groups of probability sampling and non-probability sampling. Probability samples, are notable by the fact that each population element has a known, non zero chance of being selected in the sample, but with non-probability samples, the reverse is the case, where there is no way of estimating the probability that any population element will be included in the sample, and thus, there is no way of ensuring that the sample is representative of the population. This study will be based on non- probability sampling because the sample size is not critical. The size of the interview is 4 persons, and for the questionnaire, it is 100. The choice of interviews within the sample will be based on managers holding different job positions in the organisation and whose ability to contribute meaningfully to the topic under research is not in doubt. DATA ANALYSIS Quantitative data analysis can be categorized into two types: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics deals with quantitative data that are summarised or displayed in the form of charts, tables, percentages and averages. This type of statistical method is commonly used in management research for analysing data obtained from investigations of a limited nature (Davies, 2007) Inferential statistics may involve the application of descriptive statistics, but have the main aim of drawing results from the data with regard to a theory, model or body of knowledge. Also, this frequently involves reaching a conclusion from a ‘sample’ to generalize to the ‘total population’. This type of statistical method is therefore important to those whose research undertaking is based on positivism (Davies, 2007) The research philosophy for this research is interpretivism, thus, an inductive process is adopted. Therefore, the descriptive statistics is adopted in this study, because the questionnaires are to be collected from limited respondents and using SPSS (Statistical package for social sciences) or Excel to analyse the data. A percentage table will clearly show the results of the same sort of questions. Take sample question as an example Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Reward system n=100 1 1% 3 3% 7 7% 64 64% 25 25% From the above table, it can be seen that most of the employees at PZ Industries (NIG.)PLC are not satisfied with the reward system in place in the organisation, thus, the organisation is not doing well in this aspect to motivate employees to put in their best, in the implementation of TQM strategy.(how did you you analyse the qualitative data like†¦giving iterpterations to what was said duing the interview session†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. and quantitative data Ms excel (reason and why talk more please) LIMITATIONS The results from 4 interviews and 100 participants in PZ Industries (NIG.) PLC may not be representative of what would be found in the larger number of employees. The people invited to take part in the questionnaire, may influence the outcome, because some respondents may respond in a way that the organisation want them to respond, rather than giving their genuine opinion, because of fear of repercussions. The researcher would have preferred to interview more of the employees at PZ Industries (NIG.)PLC by himself, instead of relying on the marketing manager and product manager to give the opinion of front-line employees and back-line employees respectively during the interview, but this was not possible because of distance problem. Sample distribution was also limited by distance; the researcher could not personally distribute and collect the questionnaires, so, maybe respondents to the questionnaire at PZ Industries (NIG.)PLC may not cover all departments as intended. (ETHIC CONSIDERATIONS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..ONE OR FOUR PARAGRAPHS) EXAMPLE : SPEAK ON CONFIDENTIALITY AND GIVE REASON MAYBE TO REASSURE THEM ETC AND LOOK FOR OTHER REASON YOU CONSIDERED LIKE †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦THEN GIVE REASON †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.LOOK AT APPENDIX 1) *** Generally ,put every thing in past tense as if you have done it) ****(your data anlysis should be change to findings and conclusions as chapter four as in the paper she gave you in discussion @ office) **** conclusions and recommendations as chapter 5 *** write an action plan and reflective statement(5 pages of refective statement) like u did with hrm in context despite u telling them u don’t need cipd , she said it’s a requirement) (multi method approach) Multiple Methods in ASR by Jerry A. Jacobs, Editor, American Sociological Review In recent years, the American Sociological Review (ASR) has featured papers based exclusively on ethnographic research (e.g., Timmermans, 2005), interview data (e.g., Tyson et al., 2005), and sociological theory (e.g., Frickel and Gross, 2005). However, a series of papers that combine different types of data and approaches in the same study are especially noteworthy. One quarter of the papers I have accepted for publication in ASR since becoming editor in 2003 draw on more than one research method. This brief essay highlights some of the ways that authors have employed such multi-method1 research to provide a more informative account of the social world. Interviews and Surveys Several authors of ASR papers have conducted interviews in order to refine the questions employed in a subsequent statistical analysis. In this approach, the qualitative investigation helps to clarify the nature of the issues under investigation, but the â€Å"real proof† is presented in the statistical analysis. For example, Benson and Saguy (2005) interviewed 150 journalists, politicians, activists, and academics in their study of the media coverage of social problems in the United States and France. However, the empirical heart of their article was a statistical analysis of 750 articles on immigration and 685 articles on sexual harassment in these two countries. Similarly, Uzzi and Lancaster (2004) conducted in-depth interviews with a small number of lawyers and clients before embarking on a study of social ties and pricing patterns in large U.S. law firms. Qualitative data play a more central role in the research of Cherlin and his colleagues (2004) on abuse in families. After conducting a survey of more than 2,000 families, Cherlin et al. followed up on 256 of these families with a series of repeated, open-ended interviews over a period of 12-18 months. They found that reports of abuse surfaced increasingly as respondents came to know the researchers over this extended series of interviews. Thus, in this study, qualitative data played a key role in obtaining a more complete and accurate measurement of the phenomenon under investigation. Qualitative data are also sometimes used to help clarify the meaning of the responses to survey questions and to better understand the social processes that might produce broad outcome patterns. For example, Edgell (forthcoming) and colleagues interviewed respondents in four cities to follow up their national survey of attitudes toward atheists. The qualitative data helped establish that attitudes toward atheists are not generally the result of face-to-face encounters but rather represent a symbolic affirmation of the role of religion and skepticism about the moral standing of those who would reject a role for religion in their lives. Similarly, Giordano and colleagues (forthcoming) conducted a survey of more than 1,000 adolescents and then asked more detailed, open-ended questions of a subset of 100 respondents. They drew conclusions about gender differences in confidence, engagement, and power from both types of data. Multiple Quantitative Approaches Multi-method studies are not limited to the blending of qualitative and quantitative research but can also appear in the artful combination of different quantitative methods in the same study. Pager and Quillian (2005), for example, combined a social experiment with a follow-up survey in their study of racial discrimination in hiring practices. The first portion of their study uses an â€Å"audit† methodology, sending â€Å"testers† to apply for jobs at various employers who had advertised positions. This experiment is designed to compare the success of Black and White applicants who are portrayed (fictitiously) as having or not having criminal records. Pager and Quillian returned to the same employers six months later to conduct a survey of the employer’s attitudes about hiring different types of employees. In addition to uncovering discrepancies between employers’ deeds versus words, this follow-up survey allowed a comparison of the insights that can be gained from survey versus experiment. In another case, You and Khagram (2005) combined aggregate national data (i.e., one data point per country) with a multi-level statistical analysis of survey data from 30 countries. They used the survey data to bolster their claim that countries with more inequality have more corruption because there is a higher normative acceptance of corruption in countries characterized by higher levels of inequality. Historical Analyses Historical studies often combine various types of data. For example, Somers and Block (2005) principally examined historical documents in their investigation of welfare reform in Great Britain in the 1830s and the United States in the 1990s. They supplement this qualitative analysis of political texts with a statistical portrait of welfare expenditures before and after reform in both countries. Similarly, Riley (2005) draws on archival, statistical, and spatial data in his study of the connection between civil society and the rise of fascism in Italy and Spain. Wilde’s (2004) study of the success of the reform movement during Vatican II is primarily a qualitative analysis of archival documents, but her summary of the vote counts is an indispensable element in her story. Molnar’s (2005) study of debates among Hungarian architects drew on interview data as well as historical documents and supporting statistics. The 1950s time period she studied is recent enough that parti cipants were still alive and available for interviews. Schwartz and Schuman’s (2005) paper, â€Å"History, Commemoration and Belief,† draws from an especially broad range of sources. They show that while the reputation of President Lincoln as a great leader has remained strong, the basis for this belief has shifted from Lincoln as the â€Å"savior of the union† before the Civil Rights movement to Lincoln as the â€Å"great emancipator† since that time. They support this claim using data from surveys conducted over a 50-year period, as well as analyses of history textbooks, the writings of leading historians, and cultural symbols such as statues and memorials. Their theoretical point is that the study of commemoration as portrayed in statues and celebrated in parades should be accompanied by research on how these commemorative activities are received, as tapped by surveys and other measures of popular beliefs. Thus, in their view, a complete assessment of issues of collective memory requires multiple sources of data. Obstacles While multi-method research can be a fruitful research strategy, this approach is neither necessary nor sufficient for completing a high-quality study. Designing, collecting, and analyzing data from across diverse methodological styles is often only possible under the aegis of a large research project. Dissertation writers, for example, may wish to combine methods but may lack the time and money to complete each facet of the study effectively. Many seasoned investigators also face obstacles that put this strategy out of reach. Moreover, the presentation of different types of data in a single article presents its own challenges. For example, space constraints may prevent the full presentation of qualitative findings. It can be difficult to achieve a substantive and stylistic balance between diverse genres of research. And sometimes different sorts of data speak to somewhat different issues. In short, multi-method papers present their own challenges and thus require at least as much skill and insight to be effective as do single-method studies. Many sociologists view the social world as a multi-faceted and multi-layered reality that reveals itself only in part with any single method. While there are precedents for most if not all of the approaches described above, their use by so many scholars is striking. Multi-method research is more common in the context of journal articles than was the case a decade or two ago. It is also significant that so many sociologists are combining methods rather than trying to herald a single approach as the right way or the best way. Notes 1 I use â€Å"multiple-method research† to refer to studies that draw on data from more than one source and present more than one type of analysis. Such research often, but not always, combines quantitative and qualitative data.Hierarchical linear models typically draw on data from different sources but combine them in a single statistical analysis. Studies that exclusively rely on this very useful method would not qualify as multi-method. Of the 66 papers I have accepted for publication thus far, nearly 26 percent (17) fit my multi-method definition. References Benson, Rodney and Abigail C. Saguy. 2005. â€Å"Constructing Social Problems in an Age of Globalization: A French-American Comparison.† American Sociological Review 70(2):233-259. Cherlin, Andrew J., Linda M. Burton, Tera R. Hurt, and Diane M. Purvin. 2004. â€Å"The Influence of Physical and Sexual Abuse on Marriage and Cohabitation.† American Sociological Review 69(6):768-789. Edgell, Penny, Joseph Gerteis, and Douglas Hartmann. Forthcoming. â€Å"Atheists as ‘Other’: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society.† American Sociological Review. Frickel, Scott and Neil Gross. 2005. â€Å"A General Theory of Scientific/Intellectual Movements.† American Sociological Review 70(2):204-232. Giordano, Peggy, Monica A. Longmore, and Wendy D. Manning. Forthcoming. â€Å"Gender and the Meaning(s) of Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Focus on Boys.† American Sociological Review. Molnar, Virag. 2005. â€Å"Cultural Politics and Modernist Architecture.† American Sociological Review 70(1):111-135. Pager, Devah and Lincoln Quillian. 2005 â€Å"Walking the Talk? What Employers Say Versus What They Do.† American Sociological Review 70(3):355-380. Riley, Dylan. 2005. â€Å"Civic Associations and Authoritarian Regimes in Interwar Europe: Italy and Spain in Comparative Perspective.† American Sociological Review 70(2):288-310. Schwartz, Barry and Howard Schuman. 2005. â€Å"History, Commemoration, and Belief: Abraham Lincoln in American Memory, 1945-2001.† American Sociological Review 70(2):183-203. Somers, Margaret and Fred Block. 2005. â€Å"From Poverty to Perversity: Ideas, Markets, and Institutions over 200 Years of Welfare Debate.† American Sociological Review 70(2):260-287. Timmermans, Stefan. 2005. â€Å"Suicide Determination and the Professional Authority of Medical Examiners.† American Sociological Review 70(2):311-333. Tyson, Karolyn, William Darity Jr., and Domini Castellino. 2005. â€Å"It’s Not a Black Thing: Understanding the Burden of Acting White and Other Dilemmas of High Achievement.† American Sociological Review 70(4):582-605. Uzzi, Brian and Ryon Lancaster. 2004. â€Å"Embeddedness and Price Formation in the Corporate Law Market.† American Sociological Review 69(3):319-344. Wilde, Melissa. 2004. â€Å"How Culture Mattered at Vatican II: Collegiality Trumps Authority in the Council’s Social Movement Organizations.† American Sociological Review 69(4):576-602. American Sociological Review 70(1):136-157. (ANOTHER ARTICLE) THE POTENTIAL AND THE PROBLEM An extraordinary surge in the methodological diversity of clinical research studies has occurred during the past 2 decades, with a recent dramatic rise in the scope and sophistication of mixed methods designs.1,2 Mixed methods (also known as multimethod) research involves integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches to generating new knowledge3 and can involve either concurrent or sequential use of these 2 classes of methods to follow a line of inquiry.4,5 Combining methods activates their complementary strengths and helps to overcome their discrete weaknesses.6 Increasingly, integrated mixed methods designs allow researchers to follow emerging questions, rather than limiting their research to questions that are amenable to a particular method.7 Multimethod research brings together numbers and narratives, description, hypothesis testing, hypothesis generation, and understanding of meaning and context to provide fuller discernment and greater transportability of the phenomenon under study. In the past, proponents of quantitative and qualitative methods have been divided into separate camps with different skills and world views.8 The benefits of integrating these methods, however, are increasingly recognized and acted on in the medical and health care arena,1,2,6 as they have been for a longer time in the ethnographic tradition from anthropology and the case study tradition from educational research.7,9 Among many examples, a 1999 National Institutes of Health task force issued guidelines for rigorous qualitative and multimethod research.10 Two years ago, the (US) National Cancer Institute hosted a conference on mixed methods research that identified multimethod research as an important approach to solving some of the most intractable problems in cancer control research. An article by the Medical Research Council on the design and evaluation of complex interventions to improve health11 identified the use of mixed methods as essential. Even so, the dramatic advances in the scope and sophistication of conducting mixed methods research have not been met with parallel progress in ways of disseminating the results of mixed methods studies. From our point of view, a major dilemma is that the results of multimethod studies often are segregated in different publications that reach limited and often nonclinical audiences. For example, Wilson and colleagues12 reported in JAMA on the ineffectiveness of nicotine gum in smoking cessation, while in Social Science and Medicine, Willms13 reported qualitative findings from the same study that the meaning patients attributed to their cigarettes was more influential in stopping smoking than either counseling or nicotine gum. Both articles have important messages, but the JAMA article does not reference the other, and they are published in journals with very different readers. Thus, different fields only come to know part of the research—reminiscent of the story of the 4 blind men each feeling a different part of the elephant and thus unable to develop a coherent idea of the whole. REFERENCES Davies, M., B., (2007) Key Concepts in Social Research Methods, New York, Palgrave, Macmillan LTD Gomm, R., (2009) Doing a Successful Research Project, New York, Palgrave, Macmillan LTD Rea, L., M., and Parker, R., A., (2006) Designing and Conducting Survey Research, San Francisco, Jossy-Bass Saunders, M., Thornhill, A., and Lewis, P., (2003) Research Methods for Business Students, 3rd edition, London, Pearson Education LTD Scheurich, J., J., (2007) Research Methods in the Postmodern, London, Falmer Press

Push, Pull or Drag in....Another Misleading TV Commercial :: Essays Papers

Push, Pull or Drag in....Another Misleading TV Commercial Have you ever been watching TV and seen a car commercial that says, â€Å" Come on down to your local Ford Automotive, and you can get a car of your choice for just $129 a month (Spitzer, 2003).† Some have even used lines like, â€Å"Do whatever you have to do push, pull or drag your car in, and drive away in a brand new car† (Spitzer, 2003). The commercial may never stop to give you the details of the qualification requirements for the cars. So making those push or pull journeys to the dealer ends up costing you more money than you expected. This type of TV commercial can be confusing to many consumers, and end up misleading the consumer into a deal they did not expect. The Attorney General and the Department of Motor Vehicles of several States are now putting auto dealers on notice. In the states of New York and Nevada they are warning them: â€Å"Your advertisements had better be accurate† (Knapp, Eyewitness News, 2004). Studies from the Attorney General of New York Eliot Spitzer, gives many consumer tips to finding misleading advertisements. â€Å"Push, Pull, and Drag it in, Guaranteed Trade-in $3,000!† This is a ploy slogan that really confuses consumers, especially college students. In reality, the dealers cannot pay money for a trade in no matter how much it is actually worth. The dealers can only put that hypothetical â€Å"trade-in money† toward the purchase of another car. â€Å"Dealers often raise the prices of the cars on their lots prior to this sale† (Spitzer, 2003). So in the end, you are really not getting much of a bargain. When watching a car commercial, look for the details in getting this new ca r for your â€Å"push or pull,† there should be a description of how much money must be put down at the time of the trade. If this is not being done, you can report the violating car dealer to your state attorney general’s office. Another misleading portion of car commercials is the financial explanation is: â€Å"$49 down or $0 down with no interest for 6 months† (Spitzer, 2003). Sounds great doesn’t it? Well, this is where many college students are tricked because they never tell you about the tax, title, and registration fees that are included at the time of your purchase. Push, Pull or Drag in....Another Misleading TV Commercial :: Essays Papers Push, Pull or Drag in....Another Misleading TV Commercial Have you ever been watching TV and seen a car commercial that says, â€Å" Come on down to your local Ford Automotive, and you can get a car of your choice for just $129 a month (Spitzer, 2003).† Some have even used lines like, â€Å"Do whatever you have to do push, pull or drag your car in, and drive away in a brand new car† (Spitzer, 2003). The commercial may never stop to give you the details of the qualification requirements for the cars. So making those push or pull journeys to the dealer ends up costing you more money than you expected. This type of TV commercial can be confusing to many consumers, and end up misleading the consumer into a deal they did not expect. The Attorney General and the Department of Motor Vehicles of several States are now putting auto dealers on notice. In the states of New York and Nevada they are warning them: â€Å"Your advertisements had better be accurate† (Knapp, Eyewitness News, 2004). Studies from the Attorney General of New York Eliot Spitzer, gives many consumer tips to finding misleading advertisements. â€Å"Push, Pull, and Drag it in, Guaranteed Trade-in $3,000!† This is a ploy slogan that really confuses consumers, especially college students. In reality, the dealers cannot pay money for a trade in no matter how much it is actually worth. The dealers can only put that hypothetical â€Å"trade-in money† toward the purchase of another car. â€Å"Dealers often raise the prices of the cars on their lots prior to this sale† (Spitzer, 2003). So in the end, you are really not getting much of a bargain. When watching a car commercial, look for the details in getting this new ca r for your â€Å"push or pull,† there should be a description of how much money must be put down at the time of the trade. If this is not being done, you can report the violating car dealer to your state attorney general’s office. Another misleading portion of car commercials is the financial explanation is: â€Å"$49 down or $0 down with no interest for 6 months† (Spitzer, 2003). Sounds great doesn’t it? Well, this is where many college students are tricked because they never tell you about the tax, title, and registration fees that are included at the time of your purchase.

Brown-Forman Corporation Marketing Study :: essays research papers

Brown-Forman Corporation Marketing Study Background   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brown-Forman Corporation is one of the largest American companies in the wind and spirits industry, Fetzer Vineyards is their largest winemaker. Revenue and gross profit for the beverage segment of Brown-Forman were up 11% and 14%, respectively, in fiscal 2004. However, the growth was driven by the premium spirits brands, and the gross profit from the company’s wine brands declined due to a drop in volume for both Fetzer and Bolla wines. There are many symptoms for why this decline has occurred. Health consciousness is a rising trend among Americans of all ages and the latest crazes are the low-carbohydrate diets. Recently, Fetzer has introduced into the market two new low-carbohydrate wines, a chardonnay and a merlot. Their premium spirits brands have not been affected by the new diets because bourbon, whiskey, rum, gin, and vodka all contain no carbohydrates. However, most mixers used to accompany these spirits usually contain a significant amount of carb ohydrates. Introducing these new wines could offer a new choice, but not a substitute, for many dieters and at the same time give Brown-Forman the lead in this new market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 2003, Brown-Forman announced that they were going to begin using organically grown grapes to make their wine. Fetzer Vineyards plans to have nearly all the grapes used in its four major labels grown organically by the end of 2010. According to Marc Jonna, buyer for the Whole Foods Market, â€Å"demand for organic wine is small, but a move by a major player like Fetzer could change that.† Women already perceive wine as a healthier alternative to other alcoholic beverages. This health conscious image will allow Brown-Forman to direct their marketing efforts in response to this cultural trend and penetrate the market by providing information through advertising about their new wine ingredients.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another symptom of the decrease in wine sales is due to the lack of awareness among consumers about the types of wine available. In a restaurant setting consumers often shy away from ordering wine because they may feel uneducated about the types of wine offered or uncertain about which wine would best compliment their entrà ©e. Restaurants have attempted to address this problem by educating their servers and providing progressive wine lists, but if a person doesn’t understand the difference between a blush wine and a full-bodied wine or if they feel it is a hassle to ask questions the end result is the same, no wine has been sold.

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein :: English Literature:

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein looks at the consequences of mans attempts to meddle in the creation of life. In the 21st century, with its scientific and technological advancements does her story still have an important message for humankind? Steven Foster Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' looks at the consequences of mans attempts to meddle in the creation of life. In the 21st century, with its scientific and technological advancements does her story still have an important message for humankind? In Frankenstein Mary Shelley is trying to convey many messages, but the most important one of these is that it is not man's business to do the jobs of the gods which is why Victor Frankenstein tells his story in the first place. I believe that it is still worth hearing this message as we are doing the same thing again; we have the technology to create a human being from scratch and nearly enough to choose what it looks like. Only the other day for example on the news they were showing how scientists could choose the sex of a baby. Mary Shelley intended the book as a warning, the story was told within the book as a warning and it was as if Victor Frankenstein was telling the story to the people of the time. The reason she wrote the book in the form of a warning was because at the time many sudden advancements led people to believe that they would soon understand and be able to create life. This did not happen but in our time we are realistically close to being able to do these things so the warning is still relevant as it talks about issues that haven't happened yet. Most of the characters in the book are there to fulfill a purpose, Robert Walton is in the book so that Frankenstein can warn someone about the dangers of pursuing a dream and so he can tell the story "learn from me, if not by my precepts, then at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native village to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow". The monster is in the book to be the result of an experiment as in the above analogy would be the killer bees who were designed to create more honey than ordinary bees who then escaped and have wiped out all other types of bees, like the monster who was intended to be the first of a new race "A new species would bless me as their creator" This quote

Altruism in humans Essay

Calvin et al (1987) proposed a more selfish view of helping, stressing that people help others to avoid feeling sad (a negative state) and because it makes them feel good about themselves. This is called the Negative State Relief (NSR) model. It doesn’t matter whether the negative affect (mood) is caused by witnessing the distress of the victim or whether the helper was already in bad mood. Either way, you help to improve your own mood. Adults may internalise the reward of doing good†¦.. Therefore, adults in a bad mood may help in order to alleviate their negative state. However if people can relieve their negative mood through some other source (such as hearing a good joke or getting some money) then they do not need to help. Effect of Mood Enhancement (EME) study A variation on Batson’s research was carried. Those participants in the high empathy group (i. e. those who shared in the same opinions as Elaine or Charlie) were offered some cash during the experiment. Accordingly, they helped less-their negative state at seeing Elaine or Charlie suffer was diminished by the cash. The reduction of their negative state in this was meant that they didn’t have to help reduce their negative feelings (conclusion). It’s been found in numerous studies that being in a good mood results in more pro-social behaviour. Research have found people to be more helpful after listening to comedy, smelling pleasant odours, after finding money or by going outside on sunny days (Boron and Byrne,199†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ). However if people feel their good mood will be affected by helping then they are more likely to not help and walk. Artificial studies: all lab studies are extremely artificial and lack ecological validity. Behaviour in the real world is subject to many other factors, such as social and cultural influences on behaviour – none of which are explored in these lab settings. Therefore it is difficult to generalise lab findings to a wider context. People have criticised Cialdini et al for proposing to negative a view of human behaviour. However the selfish view of human behaviour might be right. ) Helping does help negative state: it’s not in dispute those helping others/ another person in need does lead to an improved mood for the helper. So it has face validity.