Theoretical Foundations Assessment
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As a positivist researcher and using the paradigmatic elements, how would you investigate the problem identified in The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater? What is one limitation of using this paradigm? The problem noted from The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater’s story is the fear of expressing one’s feelings as seen by Plumbean move. Despite the street having identical people, with identical houses, Plumbean deeply felt out of place as he could not fully display his individuality, what he liked, and dreamed of. After the seagull splashing some paint over the Plumbean roof, neighbors encouraged him to re-paint the house back as the other ones looked because the street was a niche one. Instead, he used the opportunity to fully re-paint the house as he wanted. As everyone later talks to Mr. Plumbean, they realize how possible their dreams would be reflected through creativity, and all ended changing their street, from a niche to one that belonged to them as they wanted.
Everyone is encouraged to reveal themselves, dreams, and talents without discouraging from friends and neighbors. The major limitation of fearing to express ones, dreams and creativity is societal pressure to conform to particular standard norms. The pressure to stick and follow specific rules denies an individual the opportunity to develop personal uniqueness, and explore the world of their desires. Breaking the cultural norms could lead to ousting and casting away from the community as the habits might not please everyone. The tale about The Big Orange Splot celebrates individuality that leads to everyone realizing their dreams, and using them positively to change their lives. While exploring one’s dreams, there is a need to find dreams that positively influence the community to follow and pursue their pathways.
As a participatory researcher and using the paradigmatic elements, how would you investigate the problem identified in A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon? What is one challenge of using this paradigm? The story about A Bad Case of Stripes explores the experiences of a young girl, Camilla Cream, who is insecure of her identity, and worries about what other people will think of her appearance, tastes and likes. Camilla loves lima beans but is afraid of what other people will think and say when they see her eating them. On the first day of school, she woke to find her body covered in stripes, looking like a rainbow, and later her skin develops all the things other kids said she was. Doctors, experts, and other specialists cannot figure the cause of the phenomenon, and later an old lady comes to her rescue at the last moment.
The critical problem identified in the story is the fear of self-identity, whether people like you or not, and later causing insecurities that are openly seen by everyone, who use the opportunity to mock and taunt the identity. Individuals fighting to please everyone in society end up getting messed-up by societal pressures and expectations, failing to identify what makes them happy and at peace. The power of suggestion should not push an individual to become what society wants them to be, as it will drive one crazy in trying to meet and suit in all the suggestions. A person could lose their self-sense in an attempt to become something defined by the community. There is a need to have self-identity connected to the consciousness of self and help one not to lose their identity in the desire to please society.
What is the difference between Constructivist and Participatory research? Constructivist research is a philosophical perspective that believes all knowledge is formed from the experiences people go through, as opposed to the self-evident discovered knowledge. It involves the perspectives that range from post-positivism and relativism. Human beings form and build systems that are meant to understand their experiences and the worlds around them. Hence, it is a relationship and interaction between the mind and world, plus the social and human perception in the construction. It represents the invention of a specific culture or society, which is significant as the root of Social Constructivism with all the aspects of language games rooted in various sorts of life. The manner in which knowledge was acquired affects its validity. For instance, the direct experience of gravity makes a person’s knowledge more valid than the indirect experience of black holes.
On the other hand, participatory research is meant to understand the world and change it, which is action-based research. The essentiality of participatory study involves reflection, collection of data, and actions that elevate people’s health by taking actions. It reviews the nature of knowledge and the extent to which the knowledge can represent the interests of influential individuals, reinforcing and serving their positions in the community. Participatory research empowers and directs an individual to have more control over their life. As one collects data and analyzes it, they can determine which action to adopt, showing the increased partnership between the information and researcher. It is vital in improving health strategies and the promotion of better healthcare services throughout the state.
Using the Parker et al. (2006) reading, how has traditional research failed Indigenous communities? Traditional health-related studies have been carried out on native communities, but the outcome shows the little impact these studies had on their well-being. It is believed that traditional research usually engages people and locals in their studies to improve indigenous groups’ health because everyone is part of all the stages in the research. However, traditional research failed the Australian Indigenous communities significantly. This was due to placing its focus and attention on projects directed to particular individuals while neglecting the wider community the person comes from. There were inconsistencies encountered from the elderly individual’s health, due to personal situations, and was re-directed to school children where support was tremendous.
The concept or mythology normally perpetuated in research is that indigenous people are seen as a problem, which has to be solved. Researchers usually see natives as passive objects that need assistance from the outside world and experts. They end up using inappropriate tools and methods to figure out the specific problems facing indigenous groups. Results are usually over-estimated negative aspects and problems in the community, leading to stigmatization. No community would like to be linked to the negative aspects like drug addiction, poverty, uneducated, or higher rates of mentally ill people. Researchers also fail to understand the concerns of the indigenous people during a study, hence not capturing the accurate and right information in their studies. Some matters about consent are not well followed, creating mistrust between the researchers and the local people where the study was being conducted. The experiences have cultivated a negative attitude of indigenous communities towards researches, making them feel not to participate in them at all.
Reflect and describe a past research project with which you were involved. Which research paradigm do you think this research reflects? Use the paradigmatic elements to explain your understanding. Research on how society could liberate addicts from punitive drug laws and self-destructive oppression is an excellent example of a critical research paradigm reflected in the study. Addicts usually face discrimination, marginalization, harassment, and severe punishment from the law enforcement and courts of justice, and the entire community. The policies that control and regulate drugs, enforcement practices, and systematic discrimination against addicts. There is a difficulty for addicts to access essential medical care and other social rehabilitative services, and they face discrimination from family and community members. Drug control efforts usually violate fundamental human rights like torture, mass imprisonment, extrajudicial killing, arbitrary detention, and denial of medical services to addicts. These acts often raise huge concerns over the treatment and handling of addicts in the country, prompting social researchers to find effective measures to protect addicts from the maltreatment.
The critical paradigm explores power, inequalities, and social changes that occur in the community, and states that social science can not be genuinely objective or value-free. The paradigm operates on the idea that research should be done with the express goal of social change in the minds of the researchers. It further includes the concepts formed earlier by social theorists like Max Horkheimer, and feminist Nancy Fraser. Researchers could view oppressive systems against a particular social group. They will design a project to collect data plus changing the participants in the study, as well as the systems creating oppression. The primary objective of the critical paradigm is studying the societal power imbalances and the effective ways of changing these power imbalances.
How does Parker et al. (2006) reading demonstrate an anti-oppressive approach? What are the impacts of using this anti-oppressive approach? Anti-oppression is an approach present in social works that aim to end socio-economic oppression. Researchers have to critically analyze the power imbalances in an organizational structure, based on the broader socio-cultural and political contexts. Strategies are then formulated to form an equal society the is free from oppression and other forms of discrimination. Looking at Parker et al. (2006), the Indigenous communities faced multiple oppressions from the researchers conducting the study on promoting health in the Native neighborhoods. The indigenous people felt less participation in the study, and that the entire research centered on school children, rather than the whole community. The research analyzed the cultural views of natives about health but forgot the real impacts of just treatment and involvement of the Indigenous people in the study.
The impact of using anti-oppressive approaches in the study resulted in the collection of crucial data on the health, and the importance of relationships through the use of traditional games as a cultural thread. Resources within the community were utilized, and physical activities created to enable the project to succeed. Indigenous games were only used in the schools, and the knowledge of mobilizing and cementing the relationships in the community was a new approach to reach and promote anti-oppression. The activities created positive effects among the indigenous people, gave them a sense of belonging, and a chance to contemplate where they came from. Sports were a useful tool in promoting social cohesion and assist in addressing the problems affecting the natives in Australia.