Qualitative methods produce useful but unreliable research. Discuss Essay

Qualitative methods produce useful but unreliable research. Discuss - Essay Example y, the issues and subjects that may be influenced by the emotion and feelings of the masses are generally more suitable for qualitative research methodologies. It is therefore surprising that even though, both the types of researches have their own specific relevance, qualitative research methodology sometimes seems to become less reliable, especially in terms of its validation by a small number of data as compared to the quantitative research which is backed by a large ‘number’. Qualitative research is a very important tool for evaluating trends and behavioural pattern of the people who are in a position to influence a set of defined parameters or vice versa. It is also a very means to analyse how the changes occur in our social lives and how and what the factors that affect our decisions are. It is especially true in the case of gauging trends in consumer behaviour or trying to evaluate public leaning to a political ideology or a burning political issue. It is the reason that social scientists use this methodology to go deeper into the emotional psyche of the public’s moods and attitude and thus try to identify the root cause for their current trends. Consequently, the numbers become irrelevant for the researchers and the emotions and feelings that dictate the attitudes and views of the public becomes primary criteria to the final selection of the research methodology. Hence main features and methodologies of the qualitative research would be discus sed in detail so that we can come to some concrete decision regarding the usefulness and reliability of the qualitative methods. The qualitative research is based on ‘grounded theory’ where the qualitative analysis of the data is used for generating theories that reflect the realities of life. Social scientists are therefore more inclined to use this type of research so that social changes and real life situations could be predicted with relative accuracy at unpredictable and unexpected circumstances. The

Music for image Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music for image - Essay Example Numerous theories are used in the film, The Golden Age which takes into account background music into to create emotions and rhythm for the film. In most and other cases, the emotion and rhythm is not always noticeable since it creates a tone for emotions or feelings for the characters and images used in the film. Moreover, in the film, music is used to over shadow change in mood for images and characters. An example is that dissonant music can be integrated to signify an approaching change of scenery or situation which is not visible for menace or disaster. Composers who have greatly influenced my piece include John Adams and James MacMillan whom am utmost indebted for gleaning from a lot of small but crucial compositional ideas. Nevertheless, I have listen to music by other composers who have written for film.These include: John Williams and Michael Giacchino, Ennio Morricone, Malcolm Anold Joe Hisaishi amongst others. The Golden Age is a constantly changing film that heads towards a particular goal,much the same way a piece of minimalistic music flows rhythmically gradually reaching its goal.The purpose of all these is not to interfere with the quality of the film,but to accord the audience more enjoyment space as they experience the ethereal and atmospheric changes in the sound and image. Thus creating a more natural synchronies of these two elements. In the film the Golden Age, background music in the film is used to assist viewers to understand the different linking of the film like scenes, images and others. An example is that the film for example uses particular music for known characters or situations by repeating them at the start or commencement of the situation. Its main purposes in the film are that it reminds the audiences of the motifs or ideas used in the film and their actual meanings. The film sound in the Golden Age is also comprised of numerous conventions and innovations. An example is that it has become quiet

What Makes Subcultures Deviant Cultural Studies Essay

What Makes Subcultures Deviant Cultural Studies Essay This paper will look to answer the question What are subcultures and what makes them deviant? It will then go on to examine and explore how subcultures became apparent and give descriptions of two different subcultures within society (specifically Punk and Rave). To conclude there will be a brief discussion regarding the specific subcultures, their members and the culture they belong to. In order to assess these subcultures it is first only right to define what a subculture is. The definition given by Dictionary of Sociology, Abercrombie (et al) states a subculture is A system of values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and lifestyles of a social group within a largerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦society or organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Most commonly applied to deviant or youth cultures that develop a culture opposed to the dominant culture. Hall et al (1976) started to examine why and how young members of society felt the need to form groups.   Youth is a relatively new term for Britain, as it only really came into existence after the Second World War. Children were no longer sent straight out to work and the emphasis moved more from work to play and growing up with ease, Youth appeared as an emergent category in post-war Britain, one of the most striking and visible manifestations of social change in the period (Hall et al 1976,). Prior to World War 2 there was always a strong ideology, a way of life to which everyone conformed. They held similar values and common goals. The emergence of subcultures challenged this. The majority of subcultures can usually be defined by specific music, with the exception of few, such as football hooliganism. The subcultures explored below can predominantly be distinguished by their music. It would be fair to assume that both the subcultures explored will have had some impact on todays university students. Either their own lives or the lives of their parents surely have been influenced by one of these subcultures. Punks In order to grasp what the punk subculture consists of it is imperative to understand where punk came from and the history surrounding it, as well as how its followers dressed, their ideals, music tastes and attitudes. There are different types of punk examples being Anarocho punk and Oi! Punk. The Punk philosophy addressed many issues including individualism, anti-authoritarianism, political anarchism, and free thought amongst others. Punk was embraced by individuals usually ranging in age from the late teen years to mid or late twenties. Punks can be perceived as members of a deviant subculture due to many factors, for example their musical tastes, dress sense and political views to name but a few. Each of these issues are to be raised in their own right, below. Within the United Kingdom (UK) the punk scene emerged in the late 1970s. As punk was somewhat of an underground movement it is impossible to state when it arrived in the UK. Cahill (1988) states that most would agree that it was sometime in 1975, Britain was suffering from a recession at the time, and in times of extreme hardship, people look for an outlet to their anger Punk gave way for young people to make their frustrations known. They Angela-Marie Gibson had just gone through times of economic decline, so un-employment was rife; add to this the normal feelings that people of this age experience, punk seemed the answer. Marsh (1977) termed Punk dole queue rock. Punk saw bands such as the Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Ramones emerging into British society. Music of this kind was often very anti or intolerant in its lyrics for example regarding parents or notions of love. Then there are other types of music to consider such as the Jam and Sham 69. The Jam are not immediately thought of as an Oi! band, but their lyrics contain political themes which is also applicable to many bands of the genre. The members of the typical punk subculture made their allegiance clear in the way the dressed. A typical punk could be seen sporting light jeans, leather jackets, Doc Martins, ripped t-shirts and, maybe, their dyed hair (some punks associated with Neo-Nazi movements had skin heads). It could be argued that the social class of the people who made up the punk subculture were generally working class, but it has to be considered that punk also consisted of a minority of middle class students who simply enjoyed the punk look, but did not conform to all its trappings. The members of the punk sub culture in Britain are predominantly white. The word punk often goes hand in hand political views. Not all punks developed the same political standing but it should be mentioned that views such as anarchy and neo-Nazism are attached to the punk subculture. The National Front picked up such punk movements as Oi! and tried to use punk to their own advantage. One must mention musical influences such as Skrewdriver, whos lead singer Ian Stewart Donaldson was instrumental in setting up Blood Honour the activist movement widely linked with the National Front. Punks could be seen as quite confused individuals as they wore clothing depicting the Union Jack, yet they sang along with The Sex Pistols and their lyrics of anarchy in the British society it was an alien essence, a foreign body which implicitly threatened mainstream British culture from within and as such it resonated with punks adopted values anarchy, surrender and decline' (Hebdige, 1979, p64) Rave The rave subculture seems to be different to punk in the fact that its follows do not seem to be constrained by social class or political view points. Rave sprang to life and made its way from Ibiza to Britain in the late 1980s and early 1990s.. It is termed by the Guardian newspaper as The fight for the right to party. Initially no one from this subculture was against any figures of authority; they basically wanted to experience a good time with their peers in an environment that had never been experienced before. This did however bring with it violence between the Police and the ravers Collin (1997) is quoted as saying rave is the most spectacular and enduring British youth movement of the twentieth century. The origins of rave can be traced back to the United States of America and the gay clubs in Chicago in the form of House music. Firstly it is imperative to ascertain what it is we are examining. Initially this paper will look at the clothes, attitudes and beliefs of the members of the rave subculture as well as the history that surrounds it. This specific subculture is closely connected with illegal drug taking and (initially) illegal venues where young people could join together to dance, party and take drugs. The countries licensing laws at this time where such that traditional nightclubs closed at 1 or 2 am. The members of the rave community wanted to party on into the night, hence the venues that hosted these events being illegal. It could be argued that the term rave was first seen in Britain in the 1950s and was seen again briefly with the Mods. However, it was the illegal warehouse parties that gave rave the reputation it possessed in the early to mid 1990s. Rave appeared whilst Britain was approaching a state of great consumer spending and the short housing boom of the late 80s was underway. In Government Margaret Thatcher was striving to ensure the British public got her strong messages regarding a capitalist society. She was attempting to portray her vision of every man being responsible for himself, On the 23rd September 1987 she was famously quoted as saying there is no such thing as society www.margaretthatcher.org. The followers of rave could be spotted in their unique clothing attire. This mainly consisted of layered clothing (which could easily be removed once they get hot), young childrens dummies, glo-sticks, whistles and smiley faced t-shirts. The males can be seen sporting tracksuits or baggy jeans whilst the females took to wearing bikinis and short neon coloured dresses. They often related everyday things to drug abuse and depicted this on their clothing. Slogans such as Can I have an E please Bob? were printed on t-shirts. They showed Bob Holness (famous for his long reign as host of blockbuster)  holding an ecstasy tablet. It is argued that at most, if not all gatherings that this subculture attended illegal drugs would be rife predominantly ecstasy, amphetamine, cocaine or LSD. In 1994 the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act was passed. This Act was influenced directly by the events at Castlemorton, where an estimated 40,000 revellers spent a week partying at an event held at the common. Castlemorton was the final nail in the coffin of the unlicensed event (South, 1999) The Act specifically defines music to include sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats. This gave greater powers to the Police to act upon raves. The most publicised changes in the Act are Sections 34-39, 54-59 and 60. These changes gave the Police the power to stop an outside gathering of more than 100 people. There was highly publicised conflict in the late 1980s between Police and members of the rave subculture. This, coupled with the knowledge that ravers embraced illegal substances would lead many to think that the followers of rave have little or no respect for the police or the law. Over 60,000 youths marched against the Criminal Justice Bill changes. They were all not from the rave subculture, but they all had the common belief that the changes were not just. The views of the rave sub culture may be seen as polar opposites to that of punk. Followers of rave put emphasis on peace, love, openess, unity and respect for each other. This is argued to be down to the effects of the drugs the ravers participate in. The rave subculture has moved on vastly since the early 1990s. The rave subculture now takes place in most towns and cities every weekend in legitimate venues that adhere to licencing laws. It is now called club culture and is part of everyday life for many. The members may have adapted their clothing to more mainstream atire. It could also be said that it is the rave subculture that has normalised drug use once again for the youth of Britian. It has certianly brought illegal drugs to the forefront. Faces such as that of Leah Betts will be engrained on the minds of many British citizens, predominantly those is their 30s. To quote Cohen (1972) deviance is created by societyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance and by applying those rules to particular persons and labelling them as outsiders. So, if a person does not share the same morals and belief systems as the majority that then makes them deviant, therefore they have no option but to seek solace in the arms of a subculture. Looking at these subcultures I conclude that it could be argued they were influenced by the rising number of family breakdowns. Could it be that the youth of these eras were looking for a sense of belonging, and the rave and punk subculture gave them what they craved? The leader of the country at the time (Margaret Thatcher) was thought to be trying to in still into the British people that society was not important maybe subcultures fulfilled its followers with a sense of belonging and security? If the people were being lead to believe that wider society was not as important as it had been then can a subculture really exist, as there is no common goal or majority rule. It also must be pointed out that with the vast amount of media coverage both of these subcultures received from the newspapers and television it could also be argued that they were the norm they had so much coverage that to attach a deviant label to them is wrong. Maybe due to the fact that we have only seen these deviations from the norm over a relatively short period of time (Post World War 2) it is still inconceivable to some members of society that freedom to express ourselves should be embraced, not shunned?

Free Yellow Wallpaper Essays: Oppression of Women :: The Yellow Wallpaper Essays

The Oppression of Women in The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper is a story, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Although the work is short, it is one of the most interesting works in existence. Gilman uses literary techniques very well. The symbolism of The Yellow Wallpaper, can be seen and employed after some thought and make sense immediately. The views and ideals of society are often found in literary works. Whether the author is trying to show the ills of society of merely telling a story, culture is woven onto the words. The relationship between the narrator and her husband would be disagreeable to a modern woman's relationship. Today, most women crave equality with their partner. The reader never learns the name of the narrator, perhaps to give the illusion that she could be any woman. On the very fist page of The Yellow Wall-Paper, Gilman illustrates the male dominated society and relationship. It was customary for men to assume that their gender knew what, when, how, and why to do things. John, the narrator's husband, is a p rominent doctor and both his and his wife's words and actions reflect the aforementioned stereotype: "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage," (9). This statement illustrates the blatant sexism of society at the time. John does not believe that his wife is sick, while she is really suffering from post-partum depression. He neglects to listen to his wife in regard to her thoughts, feelings, and health through this thought pattern. According to him, there is not anything wrong with his wife except for temporary nerve issues, which should not be serious. By closing her off from the rest of the world, he is taking her away from things that important to her mental state; such as her ability to read and write, her need for human interaction, her need to make her own decisions. All of these are important to all people. This idea of forced rest and relaxation to cure temporary nervous problems was very common at the time. Many doctors prescribed it for their female p atients. The narrators husband, brother, and their colleagues all feel that this is the correct way to fix her problem, which is practically nonexistent in their eyes. Throughout the beginning of the story, the narrator tends to buy into the idea that the man is always right and makes excuses for her feelings and his actions and words: "It is so hard to talk to John about my case, because he is so wise and because he loves me so," (23).

Kindred: A neo-slave narrative Essay

Often, man resorts to story-telling as a way of reconciling with a formidable incident in the past. By re-telling the story to another party, he comes to accept that this is a reality to be faced. He realizes that acceptance, rather than denial, is the best way of going about this trouble. Aside from the rehabilitating ability of story-telling with its contributory effect in dealing with a painful memory, others simply do this as a way of remembering. Concretizing the past as a piece of literature would ensure that the incident would not just be buried in the recesses of the memory; that it would be kept alive and the pains and suffering would not be without significance. In this light, it would come clear for readers how and why the proliferation and the presence of slave narratives came about. One may think that with the end of the painful era of slavery, all dialogues and discussion about the subject would also desist. For the African-American slaves and their descendants, this was not the case. The words of Robert Crossley of the University of Massachusetts rerated the thought: â€Å"First-person American slave narratives should have ceased being written when the last American citizen born into institutionalized slavery died. But the literary form has persisted, just as the legacy of slavery has persisted, into the present. † To be more specific, the birth and popularization of the slave narratives started in the nineteenth century. James Olney stated that each narrative â€Å"a unique production† as an autobiography, and â€Å"is not every autobiography the unique tale, uniquely told, of a unique life? † (148). Therefore, the uniqueness of each narrative from the others is a trait of this genre, as it narrates the experiences of the writers which are unique to another’s. However, certain characteristics are evidently similar in the work to be considered a part of the genre. For one thing, it has to tell the story of a black slave’s struggle for literacy and freedom, while testifying against the â€Å"peculiar institution/’ which in practice meant human bondage and humiliation (Gates, â€Å"Introduction† ix). By the second half of the twentieth century, a sub-genre of the slave narrative has arisen; called the â€Å"neo-slave narrative,† it is a fictional mutation of the slave narratives of nineteenth-century Americans (Crossley). This sub-set of the slave narrative genre is very similar with its umbrella genre in the sense that it presents personal accounts of slavery. However, the difference lies in the choice of the author to fictionalize existing accounts, and not his own personal experiences. The authors base the structure of their fictional work on the oral histories and existing slave narratives to make sure that the story would still echo true events in the historical sense. The birth of this sub-set of the slave narrative genre may be attributed to the void that it fills, or attempts to fill. Anita Wholuba in her paper said that the chasm which is attempted to be explored and filled is the ironic presence of silence in slave narratives, despite of the voice earned by the slave narrative writers. Wholuba said that â€Å"while a significant number of scholars have established that certain silences exist in the traditional narrative of history, neo-slave narrative authors have committed themselves to the task of identifying and sounding those silences where the representation of the American slavery era is concerned. † A novel titled Kindred, penned by Octavia Butler, is among the body of neo-slave narratives published in the last century. It was published in the year 1979, and speaks of an African-American woman’s sojourns to the past. The character Dana, lives in contemporary California, but is transported back in time to the antebellum South. In her involuntary travels to the past, she understands how difficult the situation for people before her ancestors actually was. As I was reading Kindred, I had the initial impression that it was just to be appreciated for its science fiction values. Although the science element in this novel was not so much as it was felt in other novels from the same genre, her meshing of science fiction and history was an innovation that should be noted and lauded. In any case, what caught my attention more was the similarity Kindred has with other novels we have read subsequently in the class, which were the Narrative of the Life of Frederic Douglass, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Up from Slavery. Evidently, there were characteristics of a slave narrative in the novel Kindred. However, the text didn’t meet the five criteria for it to be called a slave narrative, the genre which the other works fell under. As Kindred is a work of fiction, it would naturally be categorized as a neo slave narrative, a concept I came to be familiar with after research. Kindred as a neo-slave narrative With the plot and simple and direct language employed by Butler, Kindred could not be missed as a neo-slave narrative. Characters that are actual African-American slaves and Caucasian American masters and violence inflicted on slaves are presented in the novel. On a deeper sense, on the other hand, the novel follows the same pattern present in other slave narratives. Wholuba in the same paper added that although the text refers to other slave narratives such as the work written by Douglass’, in an effort to explore existing themes, the novel still manages to introduce new themes. The new themes that this novel presented, according to Wholuba still, include a more blunt â€Å"analysis and depiction of the slave’s struggle for sexual autonomy, the experience of middle passage, and the concept of memory. † As was mentioned, the novel Kindred follows the typical pattern for a slave narrative, and this will be the thesis of the paper. It will attempt to discuss and prove the characteristics of a slave narrative present in Butler’s popular piece of art. Another writer mentioned some of the other patterns commonly found in neo-slave narratives. Lysik mentioned in her essay that neo-slave narratives portrayed the â€Å"vital slave culture† in a positive light as it could serve as a means of surviving the brutal reality they are subjected to (Lysik). What this implicates is that the writers of the neo-slave narratives provide a new perspective in terms of viewing the arduous tasks and obligations slaves have to fulfill. Most authors show how slaves then turn this otherwise appalling condition to something that they could actually seek refuge in. First and foremost, the novel carried a prefatory statement by a person from Caucasian American race attesting to the authenticity of the author. The second criterion which has to be satisfied is the movement from slavery to freedom. Kindred has been classified under slave narratives by critics as leans toward the freedom narrative category. This concept will be further discussed in the following paragraphs. Aside from this, the most obvious criterion which the novel has to satisfy is that the story should portray the physical, emotional, and spiritual deprivation of slavery. Kindred, undeniably, does not fall short on this end. As the journey through time and space allows Dana to witness the events during the period of slavery firsthand, the novel is rich with narration regarding the struggles of the African-American slaves. Through Dana’s experiences, the tales of the different forms of deprivation and coercion were regaled to the readers. James and his contemporaries talked of this in a paper, saying that many forms of violence and intimidation were observed to be used to maintain white dominance in the slave economy through the eyes of the character of Dana. These â€Å"preservation† measures, so to speak, included the sexual violence against black women that was common during slavery, the assault on black families, the difficult choices that black people were compelled to make in acts of love, survival, and resistance, and the outcomes of internalized oppression (James, et. al). A specific scene in the novel would be that time when Dana personally witnessed the beating of a slave. The slave was hunted by white patrollers because of a crime that would seem absurd for people of the modern times: the slave was found spending time with his wife in their own bedroom without the slave master’s permission.

“On Compassion” and “Homeless” Essay

The thesis of On Compassion by Barbara Lazear Ascher is: we can’t deny that homelessness exists when it hits us in the face everyday. Compassion is not a trait that we inherit, it is a learned experience. The thesis from Homeless by Anna Quindlen is the homeless were once just like us but something happened to them that made them lose their homes. In On Compassion, Ascher presents us with three scenarios as I have mentioned before. A man who is walking down the street when a woman hands him a dollar bill. A man who receives bread and coffee from the owner of a cafe and the mayor of NYC who moved the homeless into the hospitals. We discussed whether or not the gesture was out of fear or compassion and I came to the conclusion that it was fear that motivated the gift. But, all in all what is Ascher’s point? Her point of the story is: a person isn’t born compassionate. As one goes on with their lives different events and experiences shapes their mind set that makes them grow compassionate. In Homeless by Anna Quindlen she gives us a homeless woman named Ann. She was doing a story on homeless and the woman was trying to prove her wrong by showing pictures of her house. Anna realized that this woman was just like all of us before. The point that Quindlen is trying to make: the homeless were people just like us once, they were no different.The thesis of On Compassion by Barbara Lazear Ascher is: we can’t deny that homelessness exists when it hits us in the face everyday. Compassion is not a trait that we inherit, it is a learned experience. The thesis from Homeless by Anna Quindlen is the homeless were once just like us but something happened to them that made them lose their homes.

Defining and Understanding Literacy

Defining and Understanding Literacy Simply put, literacy is the ability to read and write in at least one language. So just about everyone in developed countries is literate in the basic sense. In her book The Literacy Wars,  Ilana Snyder argues that there is no single, correct view of literacy that would be universally accepted. There are a number of competing definitions, and these definitions are continually changing and evolving. The following quotes raise several issues about literacy, its necessity, its power, and its evolution. Observations on Literacy Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy. Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace, and democracy., Why Is Literacy Important? UNESCO, 2010The notion of basic literacy is used for the initial learning of reading and writing, which adults who have never been to school need to go through. The term functional literacy is kept for the level of reading and writing that adults are thought to need in a modern complex society. Use of the term underlines the idea that although people may have basic levels of literacy, they need a different level to operate in their day-to-day lives., David Barton, Literacy: An Introduction to the Ecology of Written Language,  2006To acquire literacy is more than to psychologically and mechanically dominate reading and writing techniques. It is to dominate those techniques in terms of consciousness; to understand what one reads and to write what one understands: It is to communicate graphically. Acquiring literacy does not involve memorizing sentences, words or syllables, lifeless objects unconnected to an existential universe, but rather an attitude of creation and re-creation, a self-transformation producing a stance of intervention in ones context., Paulo Freire, Education for Critical Consciousness, 1974 There is hardly an oral culture or a predominantly oral culture left in the world today that is not somehow aware of the vast complex of powers forever inaccessible without literacy., Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word,  1982 Women and Literacy Joan Acocella, in a New Yorker review of the book The Woman Reader by Belinda Jack, had this to say in 2012: In the history of women, there is probably no matter, apart from contraception, more important than literacy. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, access to the power required knowledge of the world. This could not be gained without reading and writing, skills that were granted to men long before they were to women. Deprived of them, women were condemned to stay home with the livestock or, if they were lucky, with the servants. (Alternatively, they may have been the servants.) Compared with men, they led mediocre lives. In thinking about wisdom, it helps to read about wisdom, about Solomon or Socrates or whomever. Likewise, goodness and happiness and love. To decide whether you have them or want to make the sacrifices necessary to get them, it is useful to read about them. Without such introspection, women seemed stupid; therefore, they were considered unfit for education; therefore, they weren’t given an education; therefore they seemed stupid.   A New Definition? Barry Sanders, in A Is for Ox: Violence, Electronic Media, and the Silencing of the Written Word (1994), makes a case for a changing definition of literacy in the technological age. We need a radical redefinition of literacy, one that includes a recognition of the vital importance that morality plays in shaping literacy. We need a radical redefinition of what it means for society to have all the appearances of literacy and yet to abandon the book as its dominant metaphor. We must understand what happens when the computer replaces the book as the prime metaphor for visualizing the self.It is important to remember that those who celebrate the intensities and discontinuities of postmodern electronic culture in print write from an advanced literacy. That literacy provides them the profound power of choosing their ideational repertoire. No such choice or power is available to the illiterate young person subjected to an endless stream of electronic images.