Reflexivity: Crossing That Line Essay -- Ethnography Anthropology Essa

Reflexivity: Crossing That Line Traditionally, ethnographic works had always been about objective studies of the â€Å"other.† The discipline attempts to use non-biased methods to research of our subjects to qualify anthropology into the category of science. However, an increasing number of anthropologists begin to question the existence of objectivity in fieldwork. More recently, some anthropologists advocate the incorporation of the self, or the use of reflexivity, in the research to acknowledge our biases; at the same time, enhance the quality of our ethnographies. Others further assert that reflexivity is the only way to complete ethnographies. These propositions prompted concerns and provoked intense criticisms among scholars from different areas of study. One argument maintains that while moderate use of reflexivity is necessary in ethnographic research as exemplified by Dorinne Kondo and Renato Rosaldo, it is problematic when it is taken too far as did Ruth Behar. Before use of reflexivity can be analyzed, it is important to discuss what reflexivity is. As its use is controversial, to define the term is complex task. One way to describe it is to characterize it as a piece of work involving the self and some sort of reflection. Another mean to understand the concept is to imagine a mirror; and reflexivity is a description of the images reflected in the mirror, which includes â€Å"others† as well as the â€Å"self.† Interestingly, even though we have yet to define the idea, many uses and styles of reflexivity exist. Or perhaps, the difficulty to produce a working definition stems from its wide range of uses. For example, Kamala Visweswaran uses reflexivity to evaluate the discipline in which she belongs – namely feminis... ...r, anthropology is not a coherent discipline and should be divided to accomendate these difference styles of writing ethnography. Nonetheless, all these questions and confusions points out one thing, that subjectivity is inevitable. Otherwise, we would agree on all these issues. But, it is these issues that cause trouble that make the discipline attractive, exciting, and worthwhile. Reference: [1] Behar, Ruth. 1996. Anthropology that breaks your heart. In The Vulnerable Observer: Antrhopology that Breaks Your Heart, pp. 161 –177. Boston: Beacon Press. [2] Kondo, Dorinne K. 1986. Dissolution and reconstitution of self: implications for anthropological epistemology. In cultural Anthropology 1(1): 74-88. [3] Rosaldo, Renato. 1993. Grief and a headhunter’s rage. IN Culture and Ttruth: TheRremaking of Social Analysis, pp. 161- 177. Boston: Beacon Press.

Psych Assignment

As an international student at JIM from Kuwait, I get a lot of follow-up questions and surprised looks when asked where I'm from. Over time, I have received a wide-range of questions but I am almost always asked about my experience Of living in an Arab country. This past weekend, someone jokingly asked me if my dad owned oil mines and camels in Kuwait, which got me thinking, is this because of the various stereotypes associated with the Arab community in America? Since ASSAI is an Indian association, it is obvious that membership is limited to those who are Indian.However, a distinct feature of the association is that many Indians on amp's believe that ASSAI is a separate clique, and you can only be a part of it if you have friends in the association already. A unique type of grouping is at play here; just being Indian is not sufficient to be a part of an Indian cultural organization. Some social psychology concepts that are applicable to this phenomenon include self-censorship, whic h is the tendency to withhold information or opinions in-group discussions.Evaluation apprehension, defined as people's concern about how they might appear in the eyes of others or, in other words, about being evaluated can be applied here as well. Identification is the perceived loss of individuality and personal responsibility that can occur when someone participates as part of a group. It can have both positive as well as negative effects, for instance, cause a person to be more likely to donate a large amount of money to charity, but also cause them to be more likely to engage in mob violence. Group cohesiveness is the strength of the liking and commitment group members have toward each other and to the group.The social psychology concept of stereotypes; generalizations about groups of people in which certain traits re assigned to virtually all members of the groups, regardless of actual variation among the members, is illustrated in the second phenomenon. In fact, a report titl ed â€Å"100 Years of Anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim stereotyping† specifies the three B syndrome' (Bombers, belly dancers or billionaires) in the Arab community, in reference to Arab men being portrayed as terrorists or as wealthy oilmen and Arab women being portrayed as sex objects.Racism, defined as an individual's prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior toward people of a given race, is a feature of this phenomenon. Stereotype threat, which means being at risk of confirming, as self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's group, is a social psychological concept applied here too. Victims of stereotyping can suffer from attribution ambiguity, not knowing whether performance feedback is genuine or based on their group membership.One of my friends on board of ASSAI told me about how their board meetings worked: everyone seemed to agree to whatever the President had to say and this was very strange to her, since ideally they should discuss issues from every pos sible point view, rather Han a skewed, one-dimensional view in which people withhold their opinions. This sounded a lot like self-censorship to me. Evaluation apprehension is also relevant since choosing to be a part of it, or not, is almost completely based on how others will view you- whether you want to be a part of the ‘clique' of people that is ASSAI, or not.Most social organizations have many traits that make them conducive to identification. In the case of ASSAI, identification may not seem as extreme as fraternities or sororities in which members wear clothing marked with their â€Å"letters†, but strong drive towards group cohesiveness does exist. In fact, many Indians on campus actually believe that ASSAI is a ‘cult', a group of people that is always seen together, no matter what. Following the September 1 1, 2001 attacks in the United States, discrimination and reclaimed violence has markedly increased against Arab Americans.This is also reflected in co mmon stereotypes that Arabs are ‘barbaric, oil-rich sheikhs' or more extreme ones believing that all Arabs are terrorists/villains. In light of these, some Arabs suffer from stereotype threat, and hence they might hide their wealth or tatty because they are afraid of affirming a stereotype that exists about their group – that all Arabs are rich and Arab women are beautiful, and beauty is all they care about.Such actions might make them feel ashamed of something they should actually be proud of. Attribution ambiguity can lead Arabs to feel uncertainty about whether negative outcomes are due to discrimination against them or their own behavior. In comparison, they might discredit positive feedback as a form of sympathy rather than seeing it as the result of their ability and achievement.

Trends And Current Problems In Aviation Cockpit Voice...

Problem statement One of the most scrutinized pieces of evidence gathered from an aircraft accident is the collection of information contained in the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder. CVRs and FDRs paint an often haunting, but frequently useful picture of what occurred during the last minutes of an accident flight. This is not to say, however, that the recorders are always conclusive, or even useful. There are a handful of cases where the CVR and FDR tapes have broken, failed to record, stopped recording early, or not captured enough information to be useful to the investigation. Advancements in these devices are not new to the industry; however, the pace is slow to incorporate new technology into current fleets.†¦show more content†¦There is no disputing the fact that black boxes are essential components of civil aircraft today; their job is critical to the investigation of an accident, however, safety experts would argue that the basic capabilities of these devices are no lon ger sufficient. Specifications The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a regulatory body, which sets standards for international aviation. ICAO is broken into 18 annexes, and, comparable to international law, they are the very basic requirements that the organization’s 185 member states must follow. Annex 6 to ICAO deals with the operation of aircraft and states that CVRs should be capable of retaining the information recorded during the last 30 minutes of the device’s operation. In addition, ICAO has recommended that CVRs installed in aircraft over 5,700kg with a certificate of airworthiness issued after January 1, 1990 be capable of retaining information recorded during the previous two hours of operation. ICAO suggests that flight recorders be â€Å"constructed, located and installed so as to provide maximum practical protection for the recording in order that the recording information may be preserved, recovered and transcribed. Flight recorders shall meet the prescribed crashwor thiness and fire protection specifications† (Frostell 20). The FAA has met the recommendations of ICAO and set the following standards for CVRs and FDRs:Show MoreRelatedTrends and Current Problems in Aviation: Cockpit Voice and Flight Dat2885 Words   |  12 PagesProblem statement One of the most scrutinized pieces of evidence gathered from an aircraft accident is the collection of information contained in the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder. CVRs and FDRs paint an often haunting, but frequently useful picture of what occurred during the last minutes of an accident flight. This is not to say, however, that the recorders are always conclusive, or even useful. There are a handful of cases where the CVR and FDR tapes have broken, failed to