Issues and challenges of using web blogs as a medium for research communication.

The advent of web-based technology has initially allowed millions of users to get hold of immense information and to communicate worldwide. In the field of education, for example, web-based technology has brought about significant influence in terms of teaching and learning approaches (Supyan, 2003; Supyan & Roziana, 2001; Zuwati, 2006). In fact, web-based technology is also now popular as a medium for data collection among researchers (C. Cooper, Cooper, Del Junco, Shipp, Whitworth, & Cooper, 2006; White, Carey, & Dailey, 2000). The purpose of this paper is to report on both issues that need addressing, and challenges in using web blogs as a medium for communicating with respondents for research purposes. The issues and challenges discussed in the paper were based on the researchers' own experience in conducting data collection using a qualitative approach through web blog discussions. With the socio-cultural approach in view, some recommendations are also included as guidelines for those planning to use such web-based technology as a medium of data collection in research

How inter-firm networks influence the development of agglomerations

Non-market interactions are increasingly regarded as key explanations for spatial concentration. Consistently, both innovation and local knowledge spillovers play a central role in recent theories of agglomeration. According to these theories, exchange of localised knowledge gives firms an innovative advantage which results in better economic performance. However, it has turned out to be difficult to open the black box of economies of scale using empirical tests.\ud Since interactions get considerable attention in recent agglomeration theory, social network methods and theory are promising approaches to research spatial agglomerations. Even more so because simultaneously, there is an increasing emphasis on interfirm ties in the network field.\ud The goal of our research is to explore how interfirm networks influence the development of agglomerations. Firstly we provide a review on network and innovation literature in the field of spatial clusters. Secondly, we discuss measurement issues related to networks and innovation and ways to overcome them. Finally, we present preliminary results of our network study among high tech firms in the Dutch region of Twente

Do we need to rethink guidance on repeated interviews?

Within the legal system, children are frequently interviewed about their experiences more than once, with different information elicited in different interviews. The presumed positive and negative effects of multiple interviewing have generated debate and controversy within the legal system and among researchers. Some commentators emphasise that repeated interviews foster inaccurate recall and are inherently suggestive, whereas others emphasise the benefits of allowing witnesses more than one opportunity to recall information. In this article we briefly review the literature on repeated interviewing before presenting a series of cases highlighting what happens when children are interviewed more than once for various reasons. We conclude that, when interviewers follow internationally recognised best-practice guidelines emphasising open-questions and free memory recall, alleged victims of abuse should be interviewed more than once to ensure that more complete accounts are obtained. Implications for current legal guidelines concerning repeated interviewing are discussed

Issues of gender, reflexivity and positionality in the field of disability : researching visual impairment in an Arab society

This article examines how the social and cultural context influence the way in which field research methods are utilized. Research methods need to be modified to meet the sensibilities and sensitivities of particular social groups and settings. Through a reflexive analysis of a research study on the lives of visually impaired young people and adults in Bahrain, this article discusses how gender, religion and culture need to be taken account of. It also discusses how the research process needed to take account of the participants’ disabilities. It examines the issues of research access, informed consent, researcher’s dress, confidentiality, research location, and time. It highlights how the gender of the researcher was constraining in some gender segregated educational settings in a Muslim society. The article engages with the researcher’s positionality through reflexive discussion

What Should Christians Take from the Native American Church Peyote Ceremony?

Native American religious tradition is a fascinating subject. Yet most Americans know very little about the spiritual practices of indigenous peoples. As a curious student of theology, I explored the modern Native American Church in my senior seminar research paper. I attended a peyote ceremony – a healing ritual using the hallucinogenic cactus peyote – and studied the history, theology, and practice of the Native American Church. Through my research and experience, I have seen similarities between my own Christian tradition and the Native American Church and contend that the sacramental use of peyote can be a powerful spiritual tool in strengthening anyone\u27s relationship with God

David Foster Wallace's treatment of therapy after postmodernism

Despite the critical consensus that a major part of David Foster Wallace’s project was to challenge the paradigms of postmodernism, there is an assumption that, when it comes to therapy, Wallace did little more than tell the same postmodern jokes. By focusing on Wallace’s engagement with other writers who have also written about therapy, I situate Wallace’s work in the context of a much larger turn in contemporary literature toward novels with more in-depth therapist characters. My discussion of Wallace’s influences includes the usual postmodern suspects, whose parodic tradition Wallace apparently champions, but I am especially interested in the unacknowledged influence of Sylvia Plath, whose work’s more generous treatment of therapists is quite at odds with her contemporaries and is, therefore, a more vital source for Wallace’s own

‘Unfettered expression of thought’? Experiences of anonymous online role play

Advocates suggest that anonymity allows all learners to have an equal voice in a learning environment, and that it encourages participation. This paper explores tutors’ and learners’ experiences of an anonymous, synchronous role play activity conducted using online discussion forums. A qualitative study was undertaken to investigate the experiences of five groups of learners and four tutors. Data were obtained from an online questionnaire and interviews with students and tutors. The findings reveal a huge diversity in responses to the activity. Learners’ emotions before the activity ranged from ‘confident’ to ‘panic’. Afterwards many stated that ‘anonymity’ was the best thing about the activity, suggesting that it ‘loosened inhibitions’ and allowed ‘unfettered expression of thought’. At the same time, some respondents admitted trying to guess the identity of participants, and played their roles with varying degrees of conviction and engagement. Some participants may even have refrained from playing any part in the activity, hiding behind their anonymity. For tutors issues of control were significant and issues of facilitation were raised, although inappropriate behaviour was rare. This study has revealed the diversity of learners’ responses to online role play, and the generally positive attitude towards anonymity. It also highlights the potential for anonymity to contribute to inequality in participation and raises the question of whether genuine anonymity can be useful or achievable. Key findings with significance for future implementation of similar role play activities are presented here

Inter-ethnic Relations in Padang of West Sumatra Navigating Between Assimilation and Exclusivity

This article contributes to the discussion on how inter-ethnic relations challenge cultural boundaries, in this case Minangkabau matrilineal-Islamic culture in Padang of West Sumatra, Indonesia. This paper will focus on how Minangkabau people establish relationship with other ethnic groups in Padang, a multi-ethnic city. The paper argues that matrilineal principles (descent and inheritance through the maternal line) and Islam are the defining aspects to be considered by Minangkabau people in maintaining relationship with other ethnic groups. Moreover, there is some interplay between the need to protect Minangkabau Islamic-matrilineal adat in maintaining inter-ethnic relations by Minangkabau people and their assimilation and exclusivity interests

Spartan Daily, March 14, 2003

Volume 120, Issue 36https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9832/thumbnail.jp

The Voluntary Association in The Slum

1 / Voluntary Associations in a Zone of Transition This report is a study of formal voluntary associations in a zone of transition. It seeks information on the various kinds of voluntary organizations to be found in such an area, the characteristics of the members, the manner in which people become affiliated with organizations, and the functions that organizations serve for their members. The specific associations studied include such diverse groups as a neighborhood improvement council, an old-age club, and various children\u27s associations. In this study such groups fall under the province of voluntary associations. That such groups are found in a zone of transition warrants special attention because it has been common to assume that formal associations are nonexistent or at a minimum in the slum, an assumption which has an important bearing on theory in urban sociology and ecology, This study was initiated with the knowledge that groups had been formed in an interstitial area through the efforts of a community organizer. The organizations created through his efforts provided a focus for the problem, and the membership of these groups provided a major portion of the universe studied. Thus, it was known prior to the study that there were persons belonging to voluntary associations in the area. It was assumed, however, that an extensive network of organizational participation could be found in the area independent of the affiliations created by the professional community organizer. This assumption was borne out readily. A cursory examination of the total membership for the city of such diverse organizations as the YWCA, Boy Scouts, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and so forth, indicated that many of the persons who were members of these groups also inhabited the area mapped out for study. Were the members of formal organizations in the slum similar to their counterparts who lived in the suburbs? For instance, were they likely to have relatively high educational achievement, to be Protestant rather than Catholic in faith, and be voters more often than nonvoters? Such questions were posed at the inception of the study. Still other questions concerned the similarities and differences between persons who became members of organizations created by the community organizer and persons living in the same slum area but affiliated with other voluntary associations. And in a different vein, did children who belonged to associations come from families where their parents had a tradition of association, or was parental affiliation incidental to a child\u27s participation? To answer such questions and to formulate hypotheses for testing, this inquiry drew heavily from studies dealing with voluntary associations. The relation of such studies to the present work will be noted shortly