Phenomenology: A Philosophy and Method of Inquiry

 Phenomenology as a philosophy and a method of inquiry is not limited to an approach to knowing, it is rather an intellectual engagement in interpretations and meaning making that is used to understand the lived world of human beings at a conscious level. Historically, Husserl’ (1913/1962) perspective of phenomenology is a science of understanding human beings at a deeper level by gazing at the phenomenon. However, Heideggerian view of interpretive-hermeneutic phenomenology gives wider meaning to the lived experiences under study. Using this approach, a researcher uses bracketing as a taken for granted assumption in describing the natural way of appearance of phenomena to gain insights into lived experiences and interpret for meaning making. The data collection and analysis takes place side by side to illumine the specific experience to identify the phenomena that is perceived by the actors in a particular situation. The outcomes of a phenomenological study broadens the mind, improves the ways of thinking to see a phenomenon, and it enables to see ahead and define researchers’ posture through intentional study of lived experiences. However, the subjectivity and personal knowledge in perceiving and interpreting it from the research participant’s point of view has been central in phenomenological studies. To achieve such an objective, phenomenology could be used extensively in social sciences

Nonlinear evolution of the m=1 internal kink mode in the presence of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

The nonlinear evolution of the m=1 internal kink mode is studied numerically in a setting where the tokamak core plasma is surrounded by a turbulent region with low magnetic shear. As a starting point we choose configurations with three nearby q=1 surfaces where triple tearing modes (TTMs) with high poloidal mode numbers m are unstable. While the amplitudes are still small, the fast growing high-m TTMs enhance the growth of the m=1 instability. This is interpreted as a fast sawtooth trigger mechanism. The TTMs lead to a partial collapse, leaving behind a turbulent belt with q ~= 1 around the unreconnected core plasma. Although, full reconnection can occur if the core displacement grows large enough, it is shown that the turbulence may actively prevent further reconnection. This is qualitatively similar to experimentally observed partial sawtooth crashes with post-cursor oscillations due to a saturated internal kink.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure

Village adoption scheme : a model for rural development

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-54).The study describes a "Village Adoption Scheme" as a model for energising the rural economy in India and to slow down rural - urban migration which research has shown to be harmful to both; rural and urban people of India and their regions. The model presented here is designed to use the resources existing in social, traditional, cultural, legal, ethnic, religious, economic and political layers of the rural society and seeks to enable the region to build upon them to generate resources. The thesis describes implementation of the scheme in one region of rural India and suggests the conditions, which would be needed to prevail if the approach were to be extended. The study describes the scale of the project and also the lessons learnt from the endeavour, which would help those who plan to use the model described. The author participated in the project as a member of the GVSP's steering committee and is in a position to give first hand information of the project works.by Shahid Sadruddin Nanavati.M.C.P

Mother-child interaction and emotional development of a child : Exploring the connections

This study explores the perceptions of mothers (working and stay-at-home) about their role in the emotional development of their children in early years (4-6 years). It also explores the impeding factors in mother-child interaction during the emotional development in early years of the children. The qualitative design was used to explore the effects of stay-at-home and working mothers‟ interaction on their children‟s early year (focusing 4-6 years) emotional growth and development. Through a purposive sampling, four participants (two working and two stay-at-home mothers) were selected whose children were 4-6 years of age and were enrolled in Kindergarten I and II. The data was generated through semi-structured interviews. The study concludes by presenting implications and recommendations for parents, teachers, teacher educators, early childhood educational institutions based on the children‟s emotional development particularly focusing on early years

The Level of School Leadership Awareness about Education for Sustainable Development

The research study was carried out to explore secondary schools head teachers’ awareness of Sustainable Development (SD) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Within the qualitative paradigm, a case study approach was employed to develop a deeper understanding of the case by gathering detailed responses from participants employing criterion-purposive sampling technique. The data were collected through interviews and focus group discussion with four purposefully selected head teachers who extended their willingness to participate in the study. Member checking was undertaken in order to validate accuracy and credibility of the data and findings of the study. The findings revealed that the head teachers demonstrated awareness of SD in terms of environmental sustainability, resource preservation, inter-generational equity and attainment of desirable future. The participants described ESD as education model for developing students’ knowledge and preparing them for participation in local and global activities carried out for SD

The role of coherent vorticity in turbulent transport in resistive drift-wave turbulence

The coherent vortex extraction method, a wavelet technique for extracting coherent vortices out of turbulent flows, is applied to simulations of resistive drift-wave turbulence in magnetized plasma (Hasegawa-Wakatani system). The aim is to retain only the essential degrees of freedom, responsible for the transport. It is shown that the radial density flux is carried by these coherent modes. In the quasi-hydrodynamic regime, coherent vortices exhibit depletion of the polarization-drift nonlinearity and vorticity strongly dominates strain, in contrast to the quasiadiabatic regime