Group work progress

Over my time as a university student at U.C.L.A.N, I have been asked to do two group presentations. In both Groups, I have tended to pair up with my lad mates in small groups. I found both these experiences fun, yet, extremely frustrating at times, with quite a lot of time being wasted by certain members either not turning up for meetings or leaving everything till the last minute and then having to wing it on the day. Therefore, this time around I was determined to be pro active and make sure that for my 2^nd year poster presentation, I was not going to be left chasing my more cavalier buddies down the same old stressful paths. I asked to join an already assembled group of young ladies. They all looked like a good set of friends that actually took their work seriously for a change, So I was optimistic from the start and could see flickers of an exciting new working co-operative in the making.

Working in groups does offer many benefits. It helps to develop communication skills, it can increase confidence when discussing topics within groups and also helps to develop good Interpersonal skills that are transferable from the academic sphere into the workplace.

Before we had our first meeting, another person joined the group and I was slightly anxious about going into a group of that size, me being the only male. I did not want to appear domineering or make the group feel that I was trying to take over. I had recently been reading my study skills handbook which had a helpful section on way's of working with others, it claimed the best practise for supportive working is to "talk through your difficulties and concerns, others may feel the same way." (Cotterall 2008:95) I found this a useful way to help each other find solution's to the problems we faced. Therefore, at the beginning stages of our research, I did find  myself taking more time to encourage other members of the group that were feeling a lack of confidence, when expressing their ideas. I tried to help them advance their idea's instead of instantly shooting down the more ill thought through ones.

During the research process there has been a few key moment's that I feel have had an effect on the project. The first meeting was a brain storming session were we all had to propose two topics each that we thought would make an interesting research project. My suggestions were not received as well as I had hoped. nevertheless, as a group we all chose the issue of child abuse and neglect. This was fine by me, democracy rules and I respect that. However, the issue of child abuse is a sensitive research topic that needed to be approached carefully and even though It is a worthwhile issue to research, investigating sensitive topics usually introduces into the research process eventualities less commonly found in other kinds of study and because of  the threat they pose "sensitive topics raise difficult methodological and technical problems" (Lee  1999:2) I was worried that access to data would be problematic and therefore effect the reliability and validity of out arguments. To find reliable evidence would lead to a greater workload for everyone, which would be taxing on time and energy levels. However, the fact that the statistics were hard to find did make the research process more interesting and the ethical issues surrounding this topic was an important section of our poster. so when any ethical issues did occur They were noted and the data was instantly there, ready for us to include when writing up the presentation.

Another key moment was just before the 2 week Easter break. In the last meeting we had before the break, it was noted that when we returned, there would only be a few days left before we presented. Even though we all had individual pieces of research, we had not sat down and shrunk the data that we needed to include in the poster. Two members of the group were booked to go on holiday so the remaining group members agreed to meet during the break, so at least the poster would be finished for when we all returned. All three members showed on the day and we started the poster well by quickly writing the aims section but the following methods section began to highlight failures in the way we had been collecting both our quantitative and qualitative data. Therefore, if our research was to be replicated by other researchers it would not be able to "stand up to the highest level of scrutiny." (O'Leary 2010:89) Clearly, we had to define the methods that we would follow when collecting the quantitative and qualitative data. Once we had worked out the methodological processes, we then assigned everyone with fresh research tasks that followed the new methods. We sent this email to everyone stating that on the 1st day that we return, we are all to bring our findings to the meeting, It was impossible to go any further with the poster until this had been done. On the day of the meeting the 2 members that were on holiday showed up with no research, which meant they had to do it, there and then. This took up precious hours that I feel swallowed up a whole day and this time could have been used much more productively than it was.

We are now way behind schedule and the stress levels are starting to show cracks in the girl's relationships. Instead of kind gestures and healthy debates, personal arguments and awkward silences are now causing some awfully tense and stressful situations that I feel are emotionally draining and non productive. we know have only 4 days till we present and it looks like this roller coaster research project is going to be a white knuckle ride to the end.

Reference List.

Cotterall,S (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd edition, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Lee, M, R (2009) Doing research on sensitive topics, 3rd edition, Sage publications Ltd, London.

O' Leary, Z (2010) The Essential Guide To Doing Your Social research, 3rd edition, Sage Publications Ltd, London

P.P Day

Thankfully, most of us will never know the stress that a soldier goes through when told that in a few hours time, they are going over the wall to face eminent death or landing on a beach knowing you have to take control of a heavily armored fortress, with only a rifle and a knife. Yet, for the professional soldier who has undoubtedly performed countless hours of training and had their whole working life leading up to this point. There still must be an amount of uncertainty to how one will act when it comes to the crunch. Even if the soldier has absolute confidence in his own ability and that of his fellow comrades, I'm sure that sickening feeling that they all may share must be Gut wrenching to say the least. Just knowing that the inevitable is about to happen and nobody's quite sure how this situation is going to pan out. Well that was kind of similar to how I was feeling myself on Poster Presentation Day.

Many apologies for trying to compare my own situation to a soldier that has been placed in the life and death scenario. However, nerves are nerves and mine were causing me to get a tad anxious, so as soon as my eyes opened on P.P. Day, I knew I had to get to Uni straight away and was fortunately first to arrive. My First task was to print off a final copy of the speech for us all, so at least we were singing from the same hymn sheet. Yet, to my complete shock and horror, the Introduction was missing and the conclusion seemed muddled and confusing. If that wasn't bad enough these were my spoken sections and I only had 30 minutes to correct it. It was around that time another member of the group showed up who luckily had a first draft that we could improve on, so while they started on that task, I set to work on tidying up the conclusion. We printed it off and made it to the lecture theater with 5 mins to spare. This all sounds fantastic, However, we had not performed a timed run of the finished draft and were  now dangerously running the risk of going over the 15 min limit. Fingers crossed, It would all work out fine on the day.

In Class, we were given the order that we were the 3rd battalion to go over the top and it soon became apparent that we were a man down.One of our members had gone A.W.O.L, which I thought was a shame as they had done their fair share of work in preparing for this moment. Therefore, it was necessary that we divide the workload between us all. I feel that losing the extra member meant that each presenter was talking longer than originally planned. I know myself as a listener of presentations that I tend to switch off, especially if I'm listening to the same monotone voice over a long period. Therefore, an expressive voice is vital for a good presentation, as it "can bring meaning and feeling through changes of volume, tone and pitch" (McCarthy and Hatcher 2009:151) I was conscious of this during my own performance and when the missing members parts were being spoken, I was gauging the audience to see whether they were engaged and considering it was an early start, the audience did look interested in what we had to say.

During my turn to present my findings, I was shocked to see the Lecturer holding up a note pad with the words 1 min left. Another member of the group still had to present their findings and then after that, I still had to wrap it all up with the conclusion. Both of us had to speed up our speech which is not ideal or the clearest way to present your data. It is important "to speak slowly in a presentation so that people can take in what you say." (Cottrell 2013:265) Now we were having to fly through the most important part and just like in a combat situation, running at the enemy with all guns blazing is heroic but not the smartest of strategies. I feel this is were not performing a timed dummy run had come back round to bite us in the rear, so to speak. If we had the chance to do it all over again, I would have condensed everyone's finding's to allow more time for a longer conclusion. I would make sure that the conclusion had at least been put through the first draft stage and I would have spent more time on rehearsing it. Other than that I was very pleased with the poster and how our group presented it and when we finally crossed the finishing line, all the Blood,sweat,tears and there were many tears had now been a worthwhile process that we all had to go through. This research module has given me a clearer understanding of the complexities of a research project and I am now more knowledgeable and confident that when I go into battle with next years dissertation that my research methods will be built on solid foundations that give validity to my arguments and this will hopefully help me to get the best marks possible.

Reference List

McCarthy, P, Hatcher, C, (2009) Presentation Skills: The Essential Guide for Students, 3rd edition, Sage Publications ltd, London.

Cotterell, S, (2013) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd edition, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Blog on Blog

Until a Couple of weeks ago when I started Cook’s Blog, My interest in blogging was minimal to nonexistent. I did not know anyone who did it and I imagined it to be an activity performed by a few lonely people that had way too much time on their hands. However, after a little research, it appears that blogging is BIG business and the popularity of it, is truly mind blowing. For example, Google’s Blogger app, the one I am using now to write this Blog is “the leading blogging site in the U.S...It has 46 million unique visitors each month.” (http://socialmediatoday.com/mikevelocity/1698201/blogging-stats-2013-infographic) A truly staggering figure when you consider that it is only one blogging website and the whole population of North America makes up only 11.4% of the worlds Internet users. (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm) It is Clear that Google have big ambitions to establish total dominance within this market, like they seem to do in a lot of markets!  but who are the other big players in blog world? well Number 1 spot goes to Arianna Huffington and her blog is called The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/

§        The Huffington Post is the most popular and most profitable Blog in the world. It makes a humble “2.33 million dollars every month in advertisement revenue.” (http://socialmediatoday.com/mikevelocity/1698201/blogging-stats-2013-infographic)  It has editions available to suit most countries and Languages. However, for the purpose of this research I will be focusing on the U.K edition. On Face value, the Huffington post is laid out like most online newspapers. Various newsworthy topics are available to click onto, ranging from politics, business, sport, tech, etc. Although the home page view takes a selection of blogs from any topic area and down the left hand side of the home page there is a featured writer blog posts. These Blogs are written by high profile individuals.

§         Dawn Airey is the senior vice president of Yahoo and in her blog, she wants everyone to know ‘what television can learn from Yahoo’ but does she really want television to learn from Yahoo or is she just boasting about her company’s success to boost the profile of the company or her own position within the company.

§        The former Conservative cabinet minister David Mellor is urging The Prime minister to ‘fess up’ over future plans for our involvement in Europe.

It     It is clear that he has an axe to grind with David Cameron in his language use and he does not believe the Prime Minister is telling the truth to the people.  The French philosopher Foucault claimed there is always a battle for the truth, “the true and the false are separated and the specific effects of power are attached to the true ” (Gordon 1980:131) This would suggest that Mellor could be trying to strip away the PM’s power by claiming that Cameron is being false and only he is telling the real truth, he then acquirers the specific effects of power that Foucault is describing. Yet, this is a perfect example of the magic of Blogging. For one moment  in time, you are given a voice, an audience, and some power of opinion that quite frankly did not exist 20 years ago!  Having said that the political opinions of a disgraced ex member of parliament  cannot be taken as totally unbiased and they could be masking personal agendas.Therefore, I would argue it is important to get the views and perspectives of senior officials in their chosen field of expertise but their motives for writing these blog’s always have to be seriously questioned.

§     From a social scientific research point of view, it could still be useful as qualitative data as these “forms of investigation tend to be based on a recognition of the importance of the subjective, experiential ‘lifeworld’ of human beings.” (Burns 2000:11) Although, The Huffington Post is probably not the best example of subjective Information, when its primary goal is to sell advertising space. It depends on what research you were interested in finding. Let’s say for example, You were looking at posts telling new mothers the facts around breast feeding, if these blogs were placed next to advertisements selling formula milk, then It is doubtful that you are receiving  subjective knowledge, Therefore, it would be more ethical to look at non profiting blogs run by new mothers with no profile to promote. For instance, http://mythnomore.blogspot.co.uk/ is a good example of a blog  that aims to dispel breastfeeding myth’s and provide accurate, up to date information that is provided by ordinary mothers. This would be considered a much better tool when collecting subjective data for your social scientific research. It is down to the researcher to ensure that the materials collected are as accurate and ethically sourced as possible.

Reference List

Burns, B, R, (2000) Introduction to Research methods, 4^th edition, Sage publications, London.

Gordon, C (1980)  Power/Knowledge :selected Interviews and other writing, 1972-1977 Pantheon Books, New York.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ Date accessed 06,03,2014

(http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm) Date accessed 06,03,2014

http://mythnomore.blogspot.co.uk/  Date accessed 10,03,2014

(http://socialmediatoday.com/mikevelocity/1698201/blogging-stats-2013-infographic) Date accessed 06,03,2014

§   

Life Begins at 40

2014 has just popped its head around the corner and it is a very significant year for me, this year I will be 40 years old. A Milestone in an individual’s life that for some men can bring on the much clichéd ‘mid life crisis,’ for example, buying a sports car or trading one’s partner in for a younger model. Although for me, both of these are not viable options as I have a modest student income and consider myself to be in a loving relationship. However, it is still an age that I have been dreading for a while and has caused me to look at myself with a critical eye. “In contemporary society, ageing is a process that we have been inclined to fear and the negative aspects of being old are often held up as justification for these fears.” (Hancock et al 2000:65) My fear was I was fast approaching 40 and never taken exercise seriously. Even though I am of slim Build, I do not possess an athlete’s body and to be honest, my inactive lifestyle was causing anxiety on how I saw my body and how I thought others may view my body. “The physical body seems to provide a firm foundation for the construction and affirmation of identity.” (Hancock et al 2000:61) Therefore, a plan of action was needed.

In order for me to become a future cover model for Men’s Fitness, I signed up to the gym, purchased a huge tub of protein powder and subscribed to the men’s Fitness magazine.  Due to a lack of knowledge in this area, I hoped the magazine would aid me in my quest for the perfect body.  My first impression of the magazine was that it was informative and enjoyable to read. However, since researching for this Blog, I feel that I have been sucked in by the shirtless man on the cover and am a sitting duck with regards to a whole range of consumer goods that I can’t wait to buy. “Thus, in the process of advertising and selling the right kind of body object through consumption, the bodies of the privileged are legitimated and idealised as moral actors.”  (Dworkin and Wachs 2009:11) I interpret this quote as I am the subject that desires the same healthy body as the object and this is the ideal image of a man’s body that I wish to achieve. The objectification of women on the front of magazines is not a new phenomenon. However, “Since the mid 1980’s, there has been a profound shift in the ways that men’s bodies are depicted in the media.” (Riley et al 2008:102) The objectification of the tanned toned male torso is on the increase and could explain why more and more men are taking an active interest in their body image.

 But how does this relate to me? I just want to get fit and put on a bit of weight. Surely like I said earlier, I’m a long way of a mid life crisis! Although when I examine my actions, instead of buying the sports car, I have made extravagant purchases in gym membership, equipment, protein powder, magazines and Instead of trading in my partner for a younger model, I am trying to exchange my unhealthy body for a younger fitter body. This research process as left me confused about my true motives for wanting to get fit. Although the fact is that I have spent over £100 on gym paraphernalia and I have only put on 1Ib. There seems to be many gaining out of this but at the minute, I am not one of them.

Reference List

Dworkin, S, L and Wachs, F, L, (2009) Body Panic: Gender, Health and the selling of Fitness, New York University Press, New York.

Hancock, P, Hughes, B, Jagger, E, Paterson, K, Russell, R, Emmanuelle, T, W, Tyler, M, (2000) The Body, Culture and society: An Introduction, Open University Press, Buckingham.

Riley, S, Burns, M, Frith, H, Wiggins, S, Markula, P, (2008) Critical Bodies: Representations, Identities and Practices of Weight and Body Management, Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire.

Welcome to Cook’s Blog

I have been involved in a number of research projects whilst at University. They have been mainly for essays and assignments but a particular project that I enjoyed was a presentation on 90’s rave culture. We had to source a whole range of academic texts on youth subcultures, cultural capital and moral panics. We also sourced video clips and newspaper articles which added an extra depth to our presentation. I am hoping a similar approach to my blog will make it more appealing.

From this module, I am looking to gain better research skills that help me focus in on the points I want to make. I also want to understand the methods and be able to incorporate them into all my future work.

Coming Next... Cook’s Blog #1