Usefulness of participant observation to sociologists Essay Example for Free

Usefulness of participant observation to sociologists Essay Using information from the items and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of participant observation to sociologists. Participant Observation is a method of data collection that takes advantage of the human ability to empathise. It is often most useful to interpretist sociologists, as the data gathered is usually qualitative, and the research is invariably low in reliability. It is also high in validity, as the information is shared in a trusting environment. However, it is important to remember subjects may exaggerate for sympathy or to boast. There is a lot of depth and interaction involved in participant observation, therefore the data cannot be turned into measurable statistics. This is good for a sociologist using a micro, or bottom up approach, as they require feeling and opinions rather than numbers, as with positivists. Having said this, Emile Durkheim regarded suicide as a social fact, and used suicide statistics as hard evidence to explain a persons behaviour. Participant observation is adopted by sociologists aiming to discover the nature of reality, and get involved with other peoples interpretation and understanding of particular social environments. Thus it is sometimes referred to as a naturalistic method. Researchers want to put themselves in the shoes of another way of life, to get to the heart and live it as it is. Participant observers face many difficulties in getting accepted by the group they wish to study, especially if they use a covert approach, as trust has to be gained and the researcher must ensure they blend in, and not arouse suspision. Getting discovered would not only cause trouble, and even gage violent reactions, but would also waste a lot of time and money spent on the observation. For example, BBC reporter Donal Macintyre put himself at risk when he studied football hooliganism, or more specifically, the Chelsea headhunters. In order for him to get accepted by the group, he had to do a lot of background research using secondary sources. Not only this, but he had to to ensure his appearance and the way he acted was the same as the other hooligans. This conforming included getting a Chelsea tattoo, and even learning how to swear and smoke properly. Although this process is time consuming, and even drastic, the results he gained led to the arrest of several of the men, and exposed this behaviour. However, he put himself at great danger, as he could of been found out at any time, and was fully exposed after the programme was shown on TV. Therefore it is important to weigh up the pros and cons of participant observation before a sociologist decides on their method. The sociologist gains very in depth data by getting their information first hand, yet it is impossible to make generalisations from this data as it is usually a very select group of people, who may not represent the wider picture. Participant observation is usuful for those who have a particular interest in a subject, as they would get to see the world through the eyes of those people. Also, an interest is important otherwise the research may be half hearted and the researcher would likely know what to look for. Participant observation is a very useful, and possibly the only way of gaining access to a group involved in criminal or other socially unacceptable acts. For example, James Patrick (1973) covertly studied a Glasgow gang. No other form of research would have gained such in-depth results. Even an overt approach would not have been suitable, as the knowledge of a reaseacher in their gang would probably have changed their whole behaviour, and it would have been very difficult for James to get access into their gang, and impossible to gain their trust. The gang would never admit to these acts in questionnaires or other forms of research, as they never had to answer anything to James, he just went along with what they did. A similar situation is William Whytes study of a street corner gang in Boston. He became a member of their gang, and learnt that asking questions often resulted in the subjects closing up to him. Instead he listened, and found out more that way than if they had answered his questions. This shows how useful participant observation is to sociologists, as information can be discovered that would never have occurred to them in another form of research, and correlations can be made within their social group. For example, Donal Macintyre discovered a link between fascism and football hooliganism, which he may not even have considered before his observation. In important factor to keep in mind is the ethical issues involved in covert participant observation. It should only be fair that people give concent to their being observed, yet this knowledge may affect the results. Sociologists should bare in mind how their research could affect the lives of the subject and their families. Laud Humphreys studied homosexuals by acting as a gay voyeur or a watch-queen in toilets. He then got some of the mens addresses and a year later interviewed them as part of a heath survey. This may be seen as highly unethical, as he is getting involved in the families of his subjects. Polsky researched pool hustlers overtly in 1971. Polsky was against covert research: You damned well better not pretend to be one of them, because they will test this claim out and one of two things will happen: either you will get sucked into participant observation of the sort you would rather not undertake, or you will be exposed, with still grater negative consequences. You must let the criminals know who you are and if it is done properly it does not sabotage the research. With participant observation comes the problem of how to record findings accurately, in a way which is unbiased and accurate. Donal Macintyre used a covert camera to record his findings, which could then be transcripted and studied. This meant Donal was not relying on his memory, and personal interpretation did not get in the way of his results. Field diaries are often used by sociologists. Erving Goffman used a field diary in his study of asylums. He wrote down his findings at the end of the day. It is clear to see the obvious problems of accuracy here, as he may forget vital things, and his personal ideas will affect the way he interprets things.

Media Essay -- essays research papers

Violence in the Media Violence in the media has been a growing problem ever since the emergence of mass media. One wonders however, how violence has become so prominent in our culture, more so than other countries. More minors are being involved in heinous crimes such as murders and armed robberies. Even play on the school ground is getting rougher. There are many factors that play into the increasing violence, such as over population, religious struggles, and race. One factor that plays into the increase of violence would be mass media. Mass media has the power to reach and influence almost every American. Radio, newspaper, and television are all means by which media reaches people. Television however, can be considered the most influential. Ninety-eight percent of Americans have a television in their household. When it first came out it was considered a novelty, there were only a few channels and the signal was not very clear. Now it is available through air broadcast, cable, or satellite. Television ha s become part of everyday life. With the growing fixation and attraction to violence in the media, children in today’s society are becoming more violent and aggressive than ever before. However, to obtain a true understanding of this problem we must look at all aspect that cause violence, and not just put all of the blame on the media. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t forget the number one violence causing aspect, the media. America was founded upon violence; and we have always been a society of power and control. This land was violently taken away from the American Indians. After this land was civilized, power and control was desired so much so that we rebelled against Great Britain to have this place for ourselves. We rebelled with violence and won. America ever since has always been the best at almost everything. America will achieve this most of the time thru violence. Both world wars and other political conflicts have been won by America using violence. Power achieved thru violence is one of America’s downfalls. People in America have the spirit that this country was founded upon, which has its negative and positive aspects. However, violence is finding its way into out culture everywhere, especially the television. When it comes to children and television, there is much debate. Many argue that television is healthy for children. It opens up th... ...oduction of television (Facts about Media). This only proves that people become more violent from watching television or more immune to it. Many people admitted after September 11th that when they watched the planes crash into the World Trade Centers that they were not fazed. This is because Hollywood has shown things crash and blow up so much that we confuse it with a Hollywood movie. When you watch something so much it becomes a part of your life. You do not know the difference of it being â€Å"real† or just â€Å"TV.† In conclusion, violence in the media has been a growing problem for quite awhile. Mass media has the power to reach and influence almost every American. Radio, newspaper, and television are all means by which media reaches people. Through means of mass media, mostly television, violence is reaching Americas youth and turning our culture into a violent hungry society. Television has great influence on children. It opens their eyes to the world and violence on TV has a devastating effect that continues throughout their adulthood. Even though we can’t blame all of our flaws and problems on the media we should at least focus and fix this problem before too much harm is done.

Foundational Accounting Principles and Terminology Essay

We all know how important the accounting aspect of any business/organization is. It is basically the most important way to manage finances. Without proper accounting for all expenses and finances, a company and/or organization will definitely have a hard time being financially stable. In this paper we will discuss some foundational accounting principles and terminology that are basic but quite essential to the accounting practice. Now let’s discuss some accounting terms beginning with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is a codification of how CPA firms and corporations prepare and present their business income and expense, assets and liabilities on their financial statements. GAAP is not a single accounting rule, but rather the aggregate of many rules on how to account for various transactions. GAAP are more like accounting standards (Wikipedia, 2009). Next we have Contra-Asset Accounts, which is defined as an account which offsets another account. A contra-asset account has a credit balance and offsets the debit balance of the corresponding asset. A contra-liability account has a debit balance and offsets the credit balance of the corresponding liability (InvestorWords, 2009). Let us move on to Historical Cost, which is a measure of value used in accounting in which the price of an asset on the balance sheet is based on its nominal or original cost when acquired by the company. The historical-cost method is used for assets in the U. S. under generally accepted accounting principles (Investopedia, 2009). Okay, now there is the Accrual Basis vs. Cash Bonus Accounting. This is the difference between the two. In Accrual basis accounting, income is reported in the fiscal period it is earned, regardless of when it is received, and expenses are deducted in the fiscal period they are incurred, whether they are paid or not. Basically, you record both revenues and expenses when they occur. In cash basis accounting, revenues are recorded when cash is actually received and expenses are recorded when they are actually paid (Ward, 2009). Last but not least, there is the Accounting Standards Codification. Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) is a major restructuring of accounting and reporting standards designed to simplify user access to all authoritative U. S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) by providing the authoritative literature in a topically organized structure. ASC disassembled and reassembled thousands of nongovernmental accounting pronouncements (including those of FASB, the Emerging Issues Task Force [EITF], and the AICPA) to organize them under approximately 90 topics. The ASC are those that oversee that all accounting and reporting standards are adhered to (Wikipedia, 2009). It is now time to move on to discuss and describe three sets of financial statements that are part of financial statements of companies /organizations. The three sets of financial statements we will be describing are The Balance Sheet, The Income Statement and The Statement of Cash Flows. The balance sheet also known as the â€Å"Statement of financial position† reveals a company’s assets, liabilities and equity (net worth). The balance sheet is divided into two parts that must equal each other, or balance each other out. The formula of the balance sheet is: Assets= Liabilities + Shareholder’s Equity. What this formula means is that assets, or the means used to operate the company, are balanced by a company’s obligations along with equity investment brought into the company and its retained earnings (Investopedia, 2009). Next we have the income statement, which measures a company’s financial performance over a specific accounting period. The financial performance is assessed by giving a summary of how the business incurs its revenues and expenses. It also shows the net profit or loss incurred over a specific accounting period, which is typically over fiscal quarter or year (Investopedia, 2009). Moving on to the last one, which is the cash flow statement. The cash flow statement allows investors to understand how a company’s operations are running, where its money is coming from, and how it is being spent. The cash flow statement is also a mandatory part of a company’s financial report, and has been so since 1987 (Investopedia, 2009). Now I will describe which is more useful, Net Income or Cash from Operating Activities? I believe that Cash from Operating Activities is more useful to companies because they can generate cash in several different ways. Three different ways to be exact, they are cash flows from operating activities, from investing activities, and financing activities. Cash from Operating Activities, in my opinion is the most useful because it paints the best picture of how well a company’s business operations are producing cash. After looking over the annual financial reports for Samsung, RTL Group and Lockheed Martin, I make the prediction that each company will continue to improve its net income as well as see a significant spike in their cash flow. As far as relevant information in regards to conglomerates, such as the IDOLS segment of the Fremantle Media North America, I was not totally sure how to get this information but I eventually continued to read the investor portion on the RTL Group website where I found out more information. All in all, I learned some new definitions when it comes to accounting and decision making. I thought this assignment was intense due to a lot of reading and research, but I believe I got through it well. I look forward to learning more about how accounting and decision making come together. References http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/033104.asp http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/031004.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/incomestatement.asp http://www.investorwords.com/5476/contra_account.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_Accepted_Accounting_Principles

Characters And Characterism In Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte

A flower stands high in an empty field. It moves with every gust of wind and grows with every sunny day. At a single moment any one of the seven billion people on this Earth could have plucked it from the soil, yet for now, it remains in an upright position. Much like this flower, throughout life people are continuously influenced by those around them. Every person is changed constantly by the people around them, and their future is always altered because of this. In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontà ©, Jane Eyre is impacted greatly by characters such as Mrs. Reed, Helen Burns, and Mrs. Temple. These characters, just like the flower at mercy its environment, had left a great impact on Jane. Every story has a villain, and in Jane Eyre†¦show more content†¦Reed admits having wished Jane dead. Jane’s feelings were negatively impacted by this because she was saddened by the thought that her aunt wished her dead. However, Jane realized that she didn’t need to be hurt by her aunt’s words, and learned to forgive. Despite the negative impact on Jane’s mentality, Mrs. Reed did unintentionally teach Jane how to stand up for herself, as well as how to give forgiveness to those who don’t deserve it. Just as significant as Mrs. Reed, in the influence of Jane, was Helen Burns, Jane’s best friend at Lowood. Helen left only a positive impact on Jane in the short time that they were together and taught her how to forgive her enemies. An example of this is when Helen tells Jane, â€Å"‘Would you not be happier if you tried to forget her severity, together with the passionate emotions it excited?’† (71). In saying this, Helen shows Jane how childish it is to hold a grudge against Mrs. Reed when she was free of her. She was also trying to help Jane be rid of any resentment she might have towards her childhood so that in the future she could be free to achieve greatness without any regret. Additionally, Helen affected Jane positively by telling her â€Å"Hush Jane, you think too much about the love of human beings [...] why, then should we ever sink overwhelmed with distress, when life is so soon over,’† (66). In saying this Helen had taught Jane not to worry about what other people think of her. Likewise, Helen is also