Experiment to Find the Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Free

Experiment to Find the Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Free Fall Essay As the title suggests, this experiment is to find the acceleration any object under free fall will undergo when travelling towards the earth. We presume in this experiment that we are unaware of the constant g and the basis of this experiment is to rediscover this value. Apparatus The principle behind the circuit is fairly simple. The ball is held through magnetism to the electromagnet; however when the magnetic field is no longer being created i.e. the switch is opened, the ball falls. When the switch is opened, the timer also starts as the switch is connected to one of its inputs. The ball strikes the metallic plate as it falls and breaks the contact between the metal plate and the rest of the circuit. The plate switch is also connected to the timer which then stops timing. In this way the time taken for the ball to fall a certain height is measured and hence its acceleration. The height fallen by the ball is measured by moving the plate switch up and down a wooden pole and measuring through use of a tape measure the distance between it and the bottom of the ball. All distances given in the data were from the top of the metallic plate to the bottom of the steel ball. The distance had to be standardised as the rate of acceleration depends upon the exact distance fallen in a certain amount of time. If we had not worked out two standard points that all our measurements were taken from we would not have been able to calculate the acceleration of the ball to an accurate degree. The acceleration acting upon the ball as it falls towards the earth is due to gravity. It is therefore prudent to show some understanding of the physics of the experiment before we actually look at the data itself. All following material is taken from Explaining Physics A-Level Edition by Stephen Pople. Gravity is a force of attraction between any two masses. This force is unusual as it is the only force discovered that has no repulsive effect unlike for example, magnetism which can attract and repel other masses. The Earth is surrounded by a gravitational field which exerts a force on any mass in it. In terms of this experiment the ball is attracted towards the earth as it falls. I read that experiments done in the past have shown that at a particular place all bodies falling freely under gravity in a vacuum or where air resistance is negligible have the same constant acceleration irrespective of their masses. This is why for this experiment the mass of the ball is irrelevant as long as it remains constant throughout the experiment. This is due to the fact that acceleration due to gravity is a constant for all objects irrespective of mass where air resistance is negligible. If we wish to find the acceleration due to gravity we only need to know the displacement of the ball and the time taken for it to fall that distance. This value is taken as 9.8m/s/s; that is to say that the velocity of any body travelling downwards will increase by 9.8m/s every second neglecting the effect of air resistance. As a result, my initial prediction is that the time taken for the ball to hit the plate will increase as the distance increases and as a result the acceleration will increase. This prediction is based upon the evidence found in the textbook mentioned above but also through initial examination of the data. For this experiment my partner and I decided to attach the metal plate switch at 20cm intervals from 20-200cm so a wider range of results could be calculated. We wished also to see if we could obtain the terminal velocity of an object in free fall i.e. the speed at which it will stop accelerating but the distance between the ball and the switch was not great enough. The final graph I will plot will be the displacement of the ball bearing over the time taken to open the switch squared. The two values should show positive correlation as if we arrange the equation from the textbook: S=ut + 1/2at s/t = u/t + 1/2 a Therefore: s/t = u/t + 1/2 a We know that intital velocity is Zero so: s/t = 1/2 a This rather conveniently allows us to find the acceleration due to gravity by simply doubling the gradient. g = 2( s/t) We see now how it is possible to obtain a value for g as I have data on both the displacement of the ball bearing and the time taken for it to fall that distance. An initial graph without reference to the data should be virtually straight line taking experimental error into account, perhaps looking roughly so: I have shown here the time squared for an object to fall over 50cm. I have taken g to be 10 which I have read is an approximate value. We see here that the time taken to fall increases proportionally to the displacement. I believe this will be true for the actual data also but need to plot this also. Displacement (cm) Time1(s) Time2(s) Time3(s) Average time(s) Average time Squared(s) 20 0.145 0.201 0.202 0.183 0.033 40 0.291 0.291 0.290 0.291 0.084 60 0.351 0.349 0.350 0.350 0.123 80 0.403 0.405 0.405 0.404 0.163 100 0.454 0.454 0.454 0.454 0.206 120 0.496 0.497 0.497 0.497 0.247 140 0.538 0.537 0.537 0.537 0.289 160 0.569 0.575 0.575 0.573 0.328 180 0.610 0.610 0.610 0.610 0.372 200 0.632 0.632 0.633 0.632 0.400 The highlighted result is the one I see as anomalous; I will explain later the major sources for error in the experiment. We see that the graph is almost a straight line showing that my initial prediction was correct in that the time squared had a positive correlation with the distance travelled. Let us presume now that we do not know that g is 9.8m/s/s and work it out based upon data on the graph. We know from my previous rearrangement of the equation in the textbook that the acceleration is the gradient doubled. To work out the gradient we must divide the change (delta) of they Y axis by the change of the X axis. When plotting the gradient it is wide to take it over the widest range possible to take all results into account. As a result I have decided to take the results from the extreme points of both the displacement and time. This is why I took the displacement over two metres instead of one to obtain a wider range of results. The data is taken from 20-200 cm. This is 180cm. However the modern convention is to measure length in metres which gives us a change of 1.8 m. The change along the X-axis is equal to 0.4-0.033 which comes to 0.367 If we divide 1.8 by 0.367 the result comes to 4.905 which we know is half the acceleration. If we double this value we find that (barring experimental error) the acceleration of the ball was 9.809 m/s/s which if we round up to 9.81m/s/s we find that it is very close to the conventional value for g. This does not leave us much room for experimental error as the variance between the value I obtained and the value stated in any textbook is 0.1m/s/s. However I believe there were sources of error for this experiment in general which I will now outline irrespective of the fact that they did not affect my own. The most significant factor when measuring g is that air resistance will act upon the ball. Explaining Physics tells us that we can neglect this factor as the ball itself is very dense. However, air must provide some resistance to the ball falling and could conceivably affect an experiment especially as air resistance isnt the same from one moment to the next for example, someone could open a window and cause an air current to act upon the ball. The only real remedy for this factor is to perform the experiment in a vacuum. A less likely factor to affect the experiment is the fact that the ball may display residual magnetic properties through repeatedly being attached to the electromagnet. The atoms within the ball could well have been ordered to make the ball itself be attracted to the electromagnet after the switch was thrown. Even if current was no longer flowing through the wires around the core, a weak magnetic field may have been apparent in the ball causing it to be attracted towards the iron core due to previous use. While iron is magnetically soft and would probably not have magnetic properties once the switch was opened the ball is made of steel which can retain magnetic properties. A solution for this problem would be to demagnetise the steel ball by either using a demagnetising tool or by simply heating it up by placing it in a naked flame for several seconds. One improvement I would have like to make to the experiment concerned the metal plate switch. I realised that it took a certain amount of time to actually break the contact between the plate itself and the rest of the circuit which could affect the overall time recorded by the Digital voltmeter. I believe it would be more efficient for a light sensor and a laser to replace the plate switch so the ball could fall uninterrupted and the time recorded would be more accurate. This is due to the fact that breaking a light beam can occur almost instantaneously while a metal plate is more difficult to move. If I had more time I would have liked to increase the distance over which the ball fell. This would not only provide a more accurate value for g but would also allow me to calculate the terminal velocity of a given mass. Ideally it would be interesting to see how the gravitational field of the earth varied in different locations, perhaps by obtaining data on the acceleration of the ball in various geographical locations. It would then be possible to see how g can vary due to the fact that the mass of the earth is not a constant all across the surface.

Difference between Structured and Unstructured Observation

Difference between Structured and Unstructured Observation At the first step of this assessment I need to outline what is involved in structured observation. The two main strategies that researchers can usually use to record their observations of events are the structured and unstructured observation. The former involves the recording of events of predefined types occurring at particular points in time, or within particular intervals. Structured observation typically produces quantitative data (information about the frequency of different sorts of events or of the proportion of time spent on different types of activity). This form of observation typically involves different threats to validity. Among the dangers with structured observation is that the predefined categories used, will turn out not to be clearly defined, so that there is uncertainty in particular instances about which category is appropriate. There may also be relevant events that do not seem to fit into any of the categories. This, however, is only gained at the cost of the i nformation being collected on different cases or at different times often not being comparable (Research Methods in Education, Handbook, p. 44). Furthermore, structured observation is easy to be described but difficult to be appreciated without actually engaging in the process. Very simply, it involves placing an observer in a social setting to observe all activities defined as of interest to the research. In essence, the method is derived from participant observation in social anthropology and the distinction which is sometimes made between participant and non-participant observation does not fully hold in practice: some degree of participation is inevitable. As William Howard Russell, the Victorian war correspondent for the Times said I stand and look around, and say thus does it appear to me and thus I seem to see so does the structured observation. The structure of structured observation is imposed by the aims of the research in the same way as such aims impose structure upon any method of data-collection. Just as is the case when open questions are used in interviews or self-completed questionnaires the researcher using structured observation recognizes that not all of the structure can be determined in advance and that some structure must be imposed on the data after they have been collected (Roberts, 1975, p. 309). Researchers undertaking structured observational research usually look to use low-inference categories in other words, categories that can be applied to instances with a minimum of contestable judgement on the part of the observer in the hope of incurring only small elements of error and uncertainty. For example, low-inference categories for observing a meeting might include such things as Asks a question, Expresses agreement and Makes a proposal (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 145). Furthermore, it is almost sure that some data obtained from structured observation contain errors, especially if observation is carried out under considerable pressure of time, leading the candidate to make wrong judgement in wrong boxes. However structured observation as a quantitative research has also been guided by at least some of the assumptions of positivism from laboratory experiments, through structured observational studies of classroom teaching, to large-scale social surveys of t he attitudes of teachers, students, parents, education managers and others. Indeed, over the course of the twentieth century, a great deal of educational research was influenced by a positivist approach concerned, for example, with identifying the relative effectiveness of different teaching strategies and techniques (Dunkin, 1974, p. 6). Coming to the second part of the assignment, I will try to introduce according to the best of my knowledge, the methodological philosophy of positivism. In concern to the tenets of logical empiricism, scientific progress in any discipline begins with the untainted observation of reality. This fact is expected to provide the researcher with an image of the real world from which cognitively generates an a priori model of the process to be investigated. The word positivism is nowadays used in such a wide range of ways that it has become almost meaningless, except that it is usually employed desperately to dismiss views or forms of research of which the speaker disapproves. The original meaning of the term contained some important elements. Widely, positivism can be characterised historically as a way of thinking about knowledge and enquiry that takes natural science, as it developed after the seventeenth century, as the model, and which seeks to apply the scientific method to new fields . Even though the term positivism was not invented until the nineteenth century, this idea was a central strand of eighteenth-century Enlightenment thinking, although it was by no means the only one and was certainly not accepted by all Enlightenment thinkers (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 78). One of the main elements of positivism is the idea that it is the task of research to identify standard repeatable patterns between cause and effect, identifying particular pedagogical strategies that reliably bring about a desirable educational outcome. However, there are questions about whether such patterns exist, what character they have if they do, and how we can know them. Another feature of positivism is the idea that research must follow an explicit procedure, so that the idiosyncratic effects of who is doing the research can be eliminated and the replicability of the findings checked. Trying to build on this, the concept of evidence-based policy-making and practice is often promoted on the grounds that it is transparent, since it is guided by explicitly specified knowledge whose validity is open to inspection even though this idea is subjected to dispute. In contrast, the positivist philosophy, suffers from several limitations, especially when applied to social sciences. First, this approach, generalizes a universal statement of truth from observations of a certain number of positive instances. The strict inductionist approach is often inappropriate because speculation and creation of an a priori hypothesis are essential for a systematic procedure of theory building. Furthermore, the empiricist approach is based on the notion of pure observation, which is impossible in research, especially in social sciences, since observations are always subject to measurement errors. Finally, this approach assumes that knowledge is derived from an objective interpretation of assumptions, without any of the subjective biases or a priori knowledge of the scientist coming into play. Furthermore, positivists have tended to believe that the success of natural science in modern times has stemmed from scientists refusal to go beyond what can be supported by empirical evidence. It is easy to forget how radical an orientation this was in earlier centuries, and perhaps still is in some quarters. It challenges religious claims to knowledge about the world, various kinds of speculative philosophy that do not pay close attention to what is warranted by empirical evidence, and even any appeal to what is obvious to common sense. (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 79). The third component of my essay is the strengths and weaknesses of structured observation in concern of positivism. Although positivism has been a recurrent theme in the history of western thought from the Ancient Greeks to the present day, it is historically associated with the nineteenth-century French philosopher, Auguste Comte, who was the first thinker to use the word for a philosophical position. In his study of the history of the philosophy and methodology of science, Oldroyd (1986) says: It was Comte who consciously invented the new science of society and gave it the name to which we are accustomed. He thought that it would be possible to establish it on a positive basis, just like the other sciences, which served as necessary preliminaries to it. For social phenomena were to be viewed in the light of physiological (or biological) laws and theories and investigated empirically, just like physical phenomena. Likewise, biological phenomena were to be viewed in the light of chem ical laws and theories; and so on down the line (Silverman et al, (2000), p.18). Furthermore, Comtes position was to lead to a general doctrine of positivism which held that all genuine knowledge is based on sense experience and can only be advanced by means of observation and experiment. Firstly, Positivism here implies a particular stance concerning the social scientist as an observer of social reality and second the end-product of investigations by social scientists can be formulated in terms parallel to those of natural science. This means that their analyses must be expressed in laws or law-like generalizations of the same kind that have been established in relation to natural. Positivists often had high hopes that science, and especially a science of human social life, would pave the way for substantial social and political progress, by undermining beliefs and practices that were based solely on superstition or tradition, and replacing them wherever possible with ones founded on scientific evidence. To a large extent, positivists have, adopted experimental physics as their model. As a result to this, it has been a strong tendency for them to insist that it is essential to use the experimental method, and the forms of statistical analysis modelled on it, to engage in the careful measurement of phenomena, and to look for causal or statistical relationships among variables. These commitments strongly imply the use of quantitative data (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 89). Another characteristic of positivist philosophy is the view that, to develop knowledge, it is essential to follow special or transparent procedures or methods. The logic behind thi s is that it helps to eliminate the biases that can arise through the influence of the personal and social characteristics of the researcher. In addition, can achieve what is sometimes referred to as procedural objectivity. It also allows others to replicate the research, which in some regard is necessary in order to test whether the knowledge produced is sound, or whether it has been distorted by error or bias by the researcher. Furthermore, positivism is the idea that research should follow a set of explicit procedures, so that the idiosyncratic effects of who is doing the research can be eliminated and the replicability of the findings checked. Building on this, the concept of structured observation policy-making and practice is often promoted on the grounds that it is transparent, since it is guided by explicitly specified knowledge whose validity is open to inspection. The link between positivism and the notion of structured observation does not necessarily mean that the idea that educational research can and should be designed to make a significant contribution to educational policy-making and/or practice. Indeed, one sign that the positivists impose on this commitment is that positivism has influenced various forms of action research. This often requires enquiry to be integrated into educational practice, rather than being detached from it in the way that much ordinary research is (E891 Educational Enq uiry, Study Guide, p. 219). However, as in all methods so in this one strengths and weakness can be distinguished. Structured observation can provide good insights into how the different participants are behaving and interacting. In addition, may enable you to see things that are taken for granted by participants in the learning and teaching context. Their perceived lack of importance by participants may mean that they would not be picked up by other methods that explore participant perceptions. In addition to the above, the task of the educational investigator often explains the means by which an orderly social world is established and maintained in terms of its shared meanings and how do participant observation techniques assist the researcher in this task. As Bailey mention some inherent advantages in the participant observation approach: Observation studies are superior to experiments and surveys when data are being collected on non-verbal behaviour. In observation studies, investigators are able to discern ongoing behaviour as it occurs and are able to make appropriate notes about its salient features. Because case study observations take place over an extended period of time, researchers can develop more intimate and informal relationships with those they are observing, generally in more natural environments than those in which experiments and surveys are conducted. Case study observations are less reactive than other types of data-gathering methods. For example, in laboratory-based experiments and in surveys that depend upon verbal responses to structured questions, bias can be introduced in the very data that researchers are attempting to study. (Silverman et al, (2000), p.18). In contrast to the above, firstly, structured observation neglects the significance of contexts-temporal and spatial-thereby overlooking the fact those behaviours may be context specific. In their concern for the overt and the observable, researchers may overlook unintended outcomes which may have significance; they may be unable to show how significant are the behaviours of the participants being observed in their own terms. Furthermore, structured observations as a quantitative method in concern with positivism can be time consuming. Getting a representative picture of the implementation over the duration of a pilot or embedding phase of a change in learning and teaching will involve attending more than one learning and teaching activity or event. Continuing, its activities may affect the behaviour of those involved in it and hence what you observe. Participants may be concerned about what you are actually evaluating. Academic staff may be concerned the quality of their teaching is being evaluated and students may be concerned their academic performance is being assessed. The thinking that underlies participants observed actions cannot be observed. Finally, structured observations are therefore used with other methods that seek insight into this thinking. Being able to make sense of the context of evaluation in a limited amount of time with limited resources may require some knowledge of the academic discipline and its culture. At this part of my assignment, I will introduce the methodological philosophy of interpretivism. Interpretivism was introduced from German philosopher Max Weber. According to Max Weber from whom the interpretivist tradition is derived, the enterprise of social science could not be treated as similar to that of the natural science. He stressed on social action which means the study of meaning which the individual attaches to his/her actions. Interpretivisms starting point is its insistence on differentiating between the nature of the phenomena investigated by the natural sciences and the nature of those studied by historians, social scientists and educational researchers. Mainly, it argues that people in contrast atoms, chemicals or most non-human forms of life interpret their environment and themselves in ways that are shaped by the particular cultures in which they live. These distinctive cultural orientations shape what they do, and when and how they do it (E891 Educational Enquiry , Study Guide, p. 81). Interpretivist does not reject the idea of scientific or objective knowledge, but they question the notion that the methods employed by natural science used also in the study of society or social sciences. He stressed on social action which means the study of meaning which the individual attaches to his or her actions. Furthermore Interpretivist criticize Positivists for neglecting the fact that they are studying people who need to be explored in the ways they really think and act in different kinds of situations. Social institutions cannot be treated as separate entities or divorced from the subjective understanding or meaning that people have of them and society cannot be studied on the principle of causality as positivists stress, may make a great deal of sense in the natural world but according to the interpretivist, cannot be rigidly applied in the social world. People do not just react to external stimuli like biologically programmed living organisms. They actively interpret an d control the situation and control their behavior, acting on the basis of their interpretations of what is going on, what is the best course of action. Many different responses are possible. There are three different interpretations of a single event, e.g.; there is no consistent cause and effect relationship. Whatever the response, an observer cannot make sense of your response without interpreting the meaning you attributed to your teachers behavior, for it is this meaning that explains your response, not the observable event on its own. Interpretivists argue that all research methods involve complex forms of communication: therefore, coming to understand other people necessarily relies both on researchers background, cultural knowledge and skills, and on their willingness to suspend prior assumptions and allow understanding of other peoples orientations to emerge over the course of enquiry. Thus quite different ways of life and associated beliefs about the world can be located at different points in history and also coexist (peacefully or in conflict) at any time. Furthermore, this is not just a matter of differences between societies; there is also significant cultural variation within the large, complex societies in which most of us now live. Interpretivists argue that we cannot understand why people do what they do, why particular institutions exist and operate in characteristic ways, without grasping how people interpret and make sense of their world in other words, the distinctive nature of their beliefs, atti tudes and thoughts. Coming to this part of my assignment I need to mention the strengths and weaknesses of structured observation within the context of interpretivism. As we know, structured observation involves a researcher watching and listening to actions and events within a particular context over a period of time, and then making a record of what he or she has witnessed. A distinction is sometimes drawn between participant and non-participant structured observation, indicating that the role of an observer may vary a good deal. He or she may play a participant role in the setting or the events being observed, or may play no such role other than observer. The primary concern behind this distinction is reactivity in other words, the extent to which, and the ways in which, the behaviour of the people studied is shaped both by the fact that they are being studied in a given way and by the particular characteristics and participant role of the researcher (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 121). Generally speaking, qualitative researchers use relatively structured observation as a supplement to other sources of data. Furthermore, researchers undertaking structured observational research generally seek to use low-inference categories in other words, categories that can be applied to instances with a minimum of contestable judgement on the part of the observer in the hope of incurring only small elements of error and uncertainty. For example, low-inference categories for observing a meeting might include such things as Asks a question, Expresses agreement and Makes a proposal. As a result, this is one of the reasons why interpretivism has encouraged a shift towards qualitative method. Qualitative methods are usually taken to mean unstructured or structured observation, ethnography, focus groups, and etc. that involve researchers in actively listening to what the researched say. The popularity of the term paradigm is traceable to Kuhns work on The Structure of Scientific Revolutions; 7 it can be defined as a total matrix of beliefs about theories, research questions and research data (Oakley, 1999, p.155). These observations and experiences are one way of representing the conflict between different ways of achieving knowledge about the world that amongst social researchers are known as qualitative and quantitative methods. A commonly accepted alliance has developed between research method and research subject, according to which qualitative methods are often used to privilege the experiences of oppressed social groups. What I argue is that this division of methodological labour is, firstly, socially and historically constructed and secondly is problematic in terms of the potential of qualitative methods to produce an emancipator social science with trustworthy knowledge claims. However, this qualitative method as all the other research methods has strengths and weaknesses points. Taking the advantages strengths at the beginning, I can definitely mention that usually the data is based on the participants own categories of meaning and the research is only useful for studying a limited number of cases in depth. Not only that, another major advantage of the method is that the researcher can describe complex phenomena something that you can rarely find in any other method. Structured observation is one of the most straightforward ways to gather information via the school or classroom having a strong connection with the researcher of interpretivism and get a picture of what happens. It is often a good way to begin to explore a situation you want to know more about. It can also be useful to add information to other sources of data you may be collecting for your action enquiry. However, it is important to be aware that as an observer you can often affect the situation you are trying to observe. Generally the role of the observer can be pure (unnoticed, part of the wallpaper) or participatory (e.g. participate in what is going on in the situation observed). The latter use qualitative, structured approaches of observation; the former might use a mixture of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Whilst the pure observer uses an instrument (e.g. proforma) for the observation, the participant-observer is the instrument. One very common example could be the finding of the class teacher in finding out how children solve a multiplication problem. As a pure observer she or he will use an observation checklist, ticking boxes as she or he observes the pupil on a pre-determined problem-solving activity. Then, as the instrument himself or herself, she or he may ask the pupil what he or she did, why he did it, and may even set him another, but similar, task, to see if he uses the same strategy. By doing so, the teacher will influence the outcome, but in the context of teaching and learning this may be a valid method of structured observation. Taking the above simple example into consideration someone can definitely determine not only the strengths but also the weaknesses of the method used. From the point of strength, the researcher Can conduct cross-case comparisons and analysis and provides understanding and description of peoples personal experiences of the phenomena. Furthermore, the researcher can study dynamic processes, and determine how participants interpret constructs. In addition, qualitative researchers are especially responsive to changes that occur during the conduct of a study and may shift the focus of their studies. In contrast, biases can be developed. Data analysis is often time consuming and the results are more easily influenced by the researchers personal biases and idiosyncrasies. Meaning that all perceptual processes involving the taking in of information by observation and its subsequent internal processing are subject to bias. Our own interests, experiences, and expectations are likely to influen ce what we pay attention to and do make a conscious effort to distribute your attention widely and evenly. Finally, It is more difficult to test hypotheses and theories with large participant pools but knowledge produced might not generalize to other people or other settings (i.e., findings might be unique to the relatively few people included in the research study. Part six, is the last part of my assignment. The searching question in this part has to do with all of the discussion done on the previous sections. Up to now, structured observation was the core of our assignment and the way researchers develop their task. As a result, I have discussed the structured observation from the point of positivism and the quantity method on the one hand and the structured observation from the point of interpretivism and the qualitative method on the other hand. However since Gage wrote his fictional history, what has actually happened is in fact quite complex and varies across countries. The trend against positivism continued, and what we have called constructionism emerged as an important influence alongside interpretivism and critical research. However, in the early years of the twenty-first century, there have been signs of a second phase, the re-emergence of positivist ideas, partly as a result of calls for practice to become evidence-based. Neverthele ss, at present, much educational research continues to take a qualitative approach. Alongside, the revival in support for quantitative methods in some quarters, there have also been increasing calls for mixed methods or triangulation research that is, research that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches and more methods. The justification for this is often the kind of pragmatism to which Gage appealed. It is suggested that, by combining quantitative and qualitative methods, it is possible to gain the benefits of both and avoid the weaknesses of each when used on its own (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 89). Coming to the point, the difference between positivism and interpretivism is rather subtle than a difference in focus, but it is still important. Examine the situation historically, the conflict between positivism and interpretivism dates from at least the middle of the nineteenth century, although it only arose clearly within the field of educational research during the second half of the twentieth century. Usually, positivists researchers have generally assumed that it is possible to document recurrent and standard patterns of relationship. At first between peoples background experiences and their attitudes, and then between their attitudes and their behaviour. On the other side of the coin, interpretivists researchers have suggested that these relationships are much more contingent and diverse, as the historians have emphasised the uncertain course of history and this is not simply the playing out of a set of universal laws. This is what Gage means when he says that interpretivist s reject the assumption of the uniformity of nature and linear causal models (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 81). It is worth to mention an example at this point to raise the difference among them. Positivists assume that it is possible to document attitudes by getting people to respond to a standard structured questionnaire. Interpretivists, however, argue that all research methods involve complex forms of communication: therefore, coming to understand other people necessarily relies both on researchers background cultural knowledge and skills, and on their willingness to suspend prior assumptions and allow understanding of other peoples orientations to emerge over the course of enquiry. Further to the point I have raised concerning the two other methods, i.e., the mixed method or triangulation, I have the feeling I need to elaborate on at least at one of them. The triangulation, in social science, is defined as the mixing of data or methods so that diverse viewpoints or standpoints cast light upon a topic. The mixing of data types, known as data triangulation, is often thought to help in validating the claims that might arise from an initial pilot study. The mixing of methodologies, e.g. mixing the use of survey data with interviews, is a more profound form of triangulation. Denzin wrote a justification for triangulation in 1970 and is credited by some with initiating the move toward integrated research that mixes methods. However other authors in other contexts have used mixed methods research both before and after Denzins summary was written. For instance, Lenin used a mixture of quantitative data tables along with a political-economy analysis of charged words use d in his classic research monograph, The Development of Capitalism in Russia (1898). We would today say that his work used methodological triangulation of discourse analysis (a qualitative methodology), and survey data (a quantitative methodology), to study the end of the Russian peasantry and the early beginnings of working class conflict with employers in Russia (Wendy O., 2004, p.3). Continuing the above and according to researchers from case studies to econometric analysis, educational research has a long tradition of employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, but the usual juxtaposition of qualitative research against quantitative research makes it easy to miss the fact that qualitative research itself encompasses a multitude of different approaches. Qualitative work can be positivist: It can attempt to document practices that lead consistently to one set of outcomes rather than another, to identify characteristics that commonly are related to some policy problem, or to find strategic patterns that hold across different venues and with different actors. Qualitative work also can be interpretivist: It attempts to understand what general concepts like poverty or race mean in their specific operation, to uncover the conscious and unconscious explanations people have for what they do or believe, or to capture and reproduce a particular time, culture, or p lace so that actions people take become intelligible. In conclusion, observation methods are powerful tools for gaining insight into situations. As with other data collection techniques, they are beset by issues of validity and reliability. Even low inference observation, perhaps the safest form of observation, is itself highly selective, just as perception is selective. Higher forms of inference, whilst moving towards establishing causality, rely on greater levels of interpretation by the observer, wherein the observer makes judgements about intentionality and motivation. In this respect it has been suggested that additional methods of gathering data might be employed, to provide corroboration and triangulation, in short, to ensure that reliable inferences are derived from reliable data. References Dunkin, M.J. and Biddle, B.J. (1974) The Study of Teaching, New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston. E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, (2007), The Open University. Oakley, A., Peoples way of knowing: gender and methodology. In: Critical issues in social research, Hood, S, Mayall, B. Oliver, S., pp.154-170. Open University Press, 1999. Research Methods in Education, Handbook, (2003), The Open University. Silverman, David (2000). Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook. Sage Wendy, O. (2004) Triangulation in Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Can Really Be Mixed, Causeway Press.

Fingerprinting Kids :: essays research papers

Should parents voluntarily create detailed identification records(including fingerprints) on their children in anticipation of possiblerunaway problems or abductions? (1) Yes. You can never tell when terriblethings will happen to a child, so its best to be prepared. (2) No. Thevast majority of missing children are not abducted. Whether abducted ornot, fingerprinting will do no good. It wastes time and money and pushesus that much closer to the creation of the Orwellian National Data Centerthat Congress rejected fifteen years ago. BACKGROUND: As of early 1983, 11 states had launched programs tofingerprint children.( These were New York, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, NewJersey, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Connecticut,Rhode Island, Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana.) Most of this activity wasstimulated by the passage of the Missing Children Act in October 1982.What the new law did was to legitimize the use of the FBI's nationalcomputer network,the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) fornon-criminal purposes. All of the programs are voluntary. In some cases the policedepartments retain the records, while in others the fingerprint cards areturned over to the parents for safekeeping. The apparent purpose of theprogram is to help provide positive identification to link either children picked up, or bodies recovered, with missing person notices. Every year about 1 million children are reported missing. Of thesemost, about 800,000, are away from home for less than two weeks. About150,000 of the total missing are abducted; of these two thirds are abductedby a divorced parent. Some of the reasons behind the missing children are not pretty.According to an article in Parade, "about 35 percent of runaways leave homebecause of incest, 53 percent because of physical neglect. The rest are"throwaways," children kicked out or simply abandoned by parents who moveaway. Every state has laws against incest, child abuse, abandonment, childpornography and the procuring of children, but they are rarely enforced." POINT: Conscientious parents should have their childrens' fingerprintsrecorded to help in the event of an abduction; they shouldn't wait until aftersomething terrible happens, but should take reasonable steps now. Thousands of children are runaways, and in many cases it is all butimpossible to determine clearly who they really are. People change, butfingerprints don't. Well-intentioned but misguided civil libertarians worryabout Big Brother. But they tend to overlook the obvious benefits of theprogram and concentrate on wildly imaginative fantasies about Big Brother.If they would come down to earth once in a while, and visit with and sharethe anguish of a family of an abducted child, they would quickly changetheir attitudes. Besides, in most cases the police do not keep the records,the parents do. COUNTERPOINT: Absent some showing that the fingerprinting will actuallyhelp keep children safe and help capture criminals who harm or abduct them,parents should refuse to have their children fingerprinted. In promotingthe child fingerprinting program, police officials tend to be vague abouthow the program will

Manatee :: essays research papers

Manatee   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The manatee popularly called the sea cow is any of the species of large water animals in the genus Trichechus. There are three species of manatee with T. inunguis found in the Amazon and Orinoco river systems; T. manatus is found in central Florida and along the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts; and T. senegalenis found in the rivers of tropical West Africa. A manatee is a slow moving, seal shaped mammal that lives in shallow coastal waters where rich plant grows. It usually is at home in salt or fresh water but rarely straying far from home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A manatee is grayish-black stout thick skinned animals and almost hairless. Its corpulent body tapers to a horizontally flattened, round tail. The fore limbs are set close to it’s head and are used to push algae, such as seaweed and other water plants toward their mouths. They have a small head, with a straight snout and cleft upper lip with bristly hairs. Adults can grow up to 15ft (4.6 meters) but they usually only grow to about 10 feet. They weigh an average of 1300 pounds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Manatees live in small family groups sometimes up to herds of 15-20. After a gestation of up to 6 months, usually a single pinkish calf is born. Manatees ferquently communicate by muzzle to muzzle contact and when alarmed they emit chripy squeaks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The number of manatees has been reduced over the past several years due to heavy hunting for their hides, meat, and blubber oil. Some governments, including the United States, have placed the manatees under the endangered species list. One practical reason for this is that they have proved useful in clearin girrigation and transport channels clogged with aquatic plant life.

Harriet Tubman Essay -- biographies bio biography

Harriet Tubman (1820-1913) Harriet Tubman is probably the most famous â€Å"conductor† of all the Underground Railroads. Throughout a 10-year span, Tubman made more than 20 trips down to the South and lead over 300 slaves from bondage to freedom. Perhaps the most shocking fact about Tubman’s journeys back and forth from the South was that she â€Å"never lost a single passenger.† Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland around 1820. By the time Tubman had reached the age of 5 or 6, she started working as a servant in her master’s household. Approximately seven years after she began working as a servant, Tubman was sent to work out in the fields. While Tubman was still a teenager, she sustained an injury that would affect her for the rest of her life. One day, Tubman stood up for another slave and blocked a doorway in order to protect them from an upset overseer. The overseer threw a weight at one of the field hands, missing them and instead hitting Tubman on the head. Tubman was never able to fully heal from the wound she sustained from the overseer. This injury caused a chroni...

Team assignment project

The following project proposal defines why Struck made the decision to expand, what the role is of the consultant and Struck management on the project, the project goals, and the tools that will be used o manage the project. Problem and Opportunity By applying analysis techniques, namely SOOT, and STEEPLE, to company performance Struck gains clarity about the company's strengths and weaknesses.Struck' strengths include its reputation for innovation and creativity, frontrunner's position of its industry with 9,000 cafes in 40 countries around the world, and its strong ethical values and mission. Company's primary weakness is a lack of diversification, which created by its limited portfolio and distribution. Struck portfolio depends heavily on one primary' product: coffee. Furthermore, the company hinders distribution potential by conducting 75% of its business within the United States. The company's weakness presents an excellent purport nits: expansion.Expansion of the company's port folio and expansion into other countries enables the company to both increase presence within its current industry sect and establish presence in other sects (Rapid Business Intelligence Success – Streaming, 2013; Marketing Teacher, 201 3; Rapid Business Intelligence Success – Mission, 2013; Struck, 2013). Roles of the Cons Titan and Management There are certain roles the insulate and the Struck management team must perform to make the project successful. Because there is a lack of diversification, the consultant must focus on how to expand the product line for Struck.The consultant must determine how to create a greater global presence, keep the current clientele, and yet attract coffee drinkers around the globe to visit the Struck establishment. The consultant will need to determine whether the same menu items are equally popular in all areas of the country and if introducing new menu items is advantageous to all the restaurants. Finally, he consultant will need to d etermine if the diversified menu will be appropriate in other parts of the world. Consultant's partner with management to get the job done.Management works with the consultants to provide them with as much information as possible. Management will need to communicate fully with the consultants and encourage the current employees to cooperate so the consultants can collect the most information possible. Defining the Project Goals Introduction of new products and rapid expansion of retail stores with new store concepts with all new distribution channels has to be he primary focus of Struck. To expand the market share, in United States as well as all the regions of its operations, Struck will expand its portfolio of products (Hickman & Hickman, 2008).Struck main product is coffee, the company will focus to expand its operations into other beverages such as tea, grocery stores, rest stops, etc. For this purpose, than introducing a newly start marketing the products, it should concentrate to attain product acquisitions (Hickman & Hickman, 2008). Since most of its operations are based out of United States, Struck will focus to increase its revenues by tarring more stores in emerging markets such as China, India, and Turkey. Tools, Processes, and Methodologies The goal is to expand globally.With this in mind, the consultant will use the association method to gain insight on the competition in the industry in the different desired locations. To ensure clients are frequently informed of the progression, and an outlet stays open for the need for further information, the consultant will maintain contact with the appropriate business managers. All activities will be logged to maintain a good record of the projects progression. This allows the consultant to reflect on the project, learn from the experience, and identify ways to improve future performance (Hickman, P; Hickman, L. 008). Another technique that will be used to manage the project is benchmarking. This method wil l be particularly helpful as this is a large project. Conclusion In conclusion, with the Struck expanding globally, the company will not only increase their current state of diversification, but also increase opportunity to own a presence in other business sectors, and ultimately increase revenue. The consultant on this project will work closely with key business leaders and SE the defined methods to manage the project.

Paper on Hades

In Greek mythology, Hades was an Olympian God, regarded as the ‘God of the Dead' or the ‘Lord of the Underworld'. He was born to Cronus, the leader of the Titans, who ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and his wife Rhea, on the island of Crete. He had two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, and three sisters Demeter, Hestia and Hera. In art works, Hades is depicted as a dark man with a huge beard. It is believed that Cronus devoured five of his own children, when Gaia and Ouranos made the prophecy that Cronus would be overcome by one of his sons just like he did to his father.The youngest son Zeus escaped this wrath with his mother's help, and went on to become a powerful warrior forcing Cronus to disgorge his siblings. Then Zeus teamed up with his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, raged a war against the Titans, and defeated them. The three brothers chose their realms after this win. Zeus got the sky, Poseidon got the sea and Hades got the underworld. He had a chariot which was pulled by four black horses. The Narcissus and the Cypress plants were sacred to him.Hades had a pet called Cerberus, a multi-headed dog who guarded the gates of the underworld. Its task was to make sure that no one escaped the realms of Hades. Persephone, the queen on Hades, was the goddess of fertility. She was carried away by Hades, to his realm. He enticed her into plucking a pomegranate, after tasting which, she was bound to the underworld. But, at the end, it was decided that Persephone would spend a part of the year with Hades in the underworld and the rest in her world, with her mother.Subjects of Hades were forbidden from leaving his realm as it would enrage him to know about his subjects going against his wishes. However, it proved to be an exception when Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, was almost allowed to return back from the underworld. She was killed due to a snake bite. When Orpheus went to the underworld to bring her back, Hades was so touched by his music that he agree d to send Eurydice back, but warned Orpheus to return back to his world without turning back on the way to check whether Eurydice is following him.But Orpheus thought that Hades tricked him and turned back, and he lost his chance to get his wife back. Being the Lord of the underworld, Hades was indeed feared by one and all, but he was worshipped. People believed that they got precious minerals from the underworld which was the realm of Hades. Black animals were sacrificed to Hades, unlike the traditional ritual of white animal sacrifice to gods. He was also termed as ‘the rich one', as all the riches of Earth were in his possession