This article, “Islamist Challenges to the ‘Liberal Peace’ Discourse: The Case of Hamas and the Israel-Palestine ‘Peace Process’” was written by Corina Mullin in 2010. It is cited as: Mullin, Corinna. 2010. “Islamist Challenges to the ‘Liberal Peace’ Discourse: The Case of Hamas and the Israel-Palestine ‘Peace Process’.” Millenium: Journal of International Studies 39 (2): 525-46. Mullin analyzes the reasons why Hamas is not used in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Hamas is an organization that focuses on the use of violence in protesting, using Islam as their basis for argument. The dispute between Israel and Palestine has been, on Israel’s side, somewhat apartheid, Palestinian Muslim’s use of suicide bombing and weapons against the state of Israel has been globally unaccepted as an anti-apartheid tactic. The article involves several frameworks including how Hamas is marginalized, how peace processes are normally executed, and the framework of the Islamist movement. Mullin’s research uses reports of acts, behaviors, and events and expert knowledge as her types of data. She also collects data by looking at other documents written about the Israel/Palestine conflict. Qualitative analysis is her method of data analysis because she analyzes people’s behavior. I think this research was very interesting and well put together, mostly because I focus on peaceful protests and its benefits in the Middle East. By looking at Mullin’s analyzation of a violent form of protest, Hamas, I was able to understand other viewpoints. I enjoy studying more peaceful ways to combat apartheidism in Israel, but I know that many Westerners only see the conflict as violent. My classmates might think this would be interesting because it somewhat validates many opinions about why Hamas is a pessimistic global view.

Data Exercise #1

Meg Rickard
SOAN 300

Code Set #1:
For the first set of codes, I used #139 (the percentage of unemployed Americans as of 1993) and #151 (the overall health ranking in America as of 1993). The r= -0.47***.When I compared maps, there was a direct correlation between the two. The higher the employment rate, the lower the quality of health was in that region. When I looked at the scatterplots, I saw that as unemployment on the x-axis increased, the health rate on the y-axis decreased. Code #139 had central tendency statistics with the median being 6.20 and the mean being 6.25. The dispersion statistics had a standard deviation of 1.44 and the range was from 2.60-10.80. Code #151 had central tendency statistics with the median being 0.00 and the mean being 5.08. The dispersion statistics showed a standard deviation of 7.95 and a range from 0.00 to 22.00.

Code Set #2:
For the second set of codes, I used #111 (the numbers of violent crimes per 100k citizens) and #120 (the amount of people put in prison for over 12 months). The r=0.69***. The map was a little more sporadic. Nevada showed more violent crime and more jail time, while Texas showed less violent crime and more jail time. The scatter plot showed that general, as crime on the x-axis increased, so did the amount of jail time on the y-axis. Code #111 had central tendency statistics with a median of 502.80 and a mean of 5.08. The dispersion statistics showed a standard deviation of 264.1 and a range of 86.7-1071.0. Code #120 had central tendency statistics with a median of 288.00 and a mean of 301.26. The dispersion statistics showed a standard deviation of 126.25 and a range of 78.00-637.00.

Code Set #3:
For the third set of codes, I used #203 (the number of Playboy subscriptions per 100k people) and #210 (the number of homes with no adult female per 1000 people). The r=0.73***. The map showed that the amount of Playboy subscriptions correlated with the lack of adult females at home in that state. If there was a high number of Playboy subscriptions in the area, there was also a lack of an adult female in the home. The scatterplot showed that as the number of male-led households on the y-axis increased, so did the amount of Playboy subscriptions on the x-axis. Code #203 had central tendency statistics with a median of 1,399.4 and a mean of 1,401.9. The dispersion statistics showed a standard deviation of 302.0 and a range of 766.3-2,388.9. Code #210 had central tendency statistics with a median of 37.21 and a mean of 38.66. The dispersion statistics showed a standard deviation of 7.82 and a range of 27.02-67.84.

This article in the peer-reviewed Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture was written by Daniel Kurtzer, the previous US ambassador to Egypt and Israel. His article is cited as:
Kurtzer, Daniel. (2017). Transformational Leadership and the Prospects for Peace. Palestine Israel Journal Of Politics, Economics & Culture, 22 (2/3), 7-14.
The link to the web-article can be found at: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.redlands.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=f87f9d3c-c159-49d1-b891-763cfa35cbf7%40sessionmgr4007

Kurtzer analyzes the “negotiation” tactics of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s leader, Yasser Arafat, from the late 1960s until his death in 2004. Arafat used extreme violence to resist Israeli occupation, including attacks on civilians, suicide bombings, and airplane hijackings. Although he did change some of his methods, it was clear that he caused internal damage within the PLO and further resistance from Israel. Kurtzer also questions the motives of Donald Trump regarding a two-state solution and his so-called “ultimate plan”. The research question could be posed as, “What negative effects did Palestinian leaders’ negotiation tactics have on the PLO and the overall conflict between Israel and Palestine?” Kurtzer used expert knowledge and reports of acts, behaviors, and events as his types of data. In order to collect the data, he used public and private records and ethnography. His method of data analysis is qualitative. I believe this research is credible because it was found in a peer-reviewed journal and was written by a professor who has extensive knowledge about the region. One thing I found that others might find interesting is that because the article was written in July of 2017, Donald Trump’s declaration of the capital of Israel had not yet been publicized. Clearly, Trump does not believe in a two-state solution, which is exactly the point of view that Kurtzer was concerned with.

Variable Set #1:
For this set, I looked at the correlations between the death rate due to motor vehicle accidents per 100k people in 1997 (Code #62, CarDeath 97), the percent of the population uninsured from 1999-2000 (Code #83, %No Ins 00), the median age according to the 2000 census (Code #8, Med Age 2000), and the number of males per 100 females in 2000 (Code #10, SexRatio 00). The CarDeath 97 has a moderate, positive correlation of 0.39** with %NoIns 00. This was not surprising to me because if you don’t have insurance, you are less likely to be able to afford care if you are in a car accident. The %NoIns 00 has a moderate, negative correlation of -0.38** with the Med Age 2000 (not surprising because as you get older, you find it more and more important to get health insurance) and a moderate, positive correlation of 0.37** with SexRatio 00 (unsurprising because men are more likely to think they are resilient to injury, and therefore do not need health insurance). Med Age 2000 has a moderate, negative correlation of -0.45** with SexRatio 00. This was not surprising because females live longer than males. There was no correlation between Med Age 2000 and CarDeath 97 (surprising because usually, younger people get into more car accidents), and CarDeath 97 and SexRatio 00 (unsurprising because there is no correlation between sex and the ability to drive well).
I chose to use CarDeath 97 as my dependent variable because it can be influenced by a number of different factors. After running my regression analysis, I found that when I statistically controlled for Med Age 2000 and SexRatio 00, the predicted CarDeath 97 is expected to increase .42 units for every 1 unit increase in %NoIns 00 (Beta = 0.42**). When I statistically controlled for %NoIns 00 and SexRatio 00, the predicted CarDeath 97 is expected to decrease by .08 units for every 1 unit increase in Med Age 2000 (Beta =-.08). When I statistically controlled for Med Age 2000 and %NoIns 00, the CarDeath 97 is expected to decrease by .14 units for every 1 unit increase in SexRatio 00 (Beta = -.14). %NoIns 00, Med Age 2000, and SexRatio 00 account for 17.1% of the variation in CarDeath 97.

Variable Set #2:
For this set, I looked at the correlations between the Marriage rate per 1000 population in 1998 – without Nevada (79.5) (Code #19, Marry Rt 98), the number of teen births per 1000 in 1999 (Code #50, TeenBirth99), the percent of HS grads immediately enrolled in 2-yr or 4-yr colleges in 1998 (Code #87, % College 98), and the percent of the population that is black as of 2000 (Code #24, % Black 00). The Marry Rt 98 has a weak, positive correlation of 0.33* with the TeenBirth 99. This was somewhat surprising to me because I thought there would be more marriage based on the number of teens having babies. Marry Rt 98 has a weak, negative correlation of -0.35* with % College 98. This was interesting to me because as less people got married, more were seeking a college education. The % Black 00 has a strong, positive correlation of 0.54*** with Teen Birth99. I was somewhat sad to hear this because I know that people of color often have less access to resources that white people do, and to me, this looks like minorities are not receiving as much access to sexual education and birth control. There was no correlation between Marry Rt 98 and % Black 00 (not surprising because I have not seen any literature on race being a factor in marriage rate), % Black 00 and % College 98 (this was surprising because of the research done on people from different ethnicities attending college), or Teen Birth99 and % College 98 (surprising because usually, teen births result in deferring higher education).
I decided to make marriage rate my dependent variable because it had both positive and negative correlations. After running the regression analysis, I found that when I statistically controlled for % College 98 and Teen Birth99, Marry Rt 98 is predicted to decrease 0.04 units for every 1 unit increase in % Black 00 (Beta = -0.04). When I statistically controlled for % Black 00 and % College 98, Marry Rt 98 is predicted to increase 0.30 units for every 1 unit increase in Teen Birth99 (Beta = 0.30). When I statistically controlled for % Black 00 and Teen Birth99, Marry Rt 98 is predicted to decrease 0.28 units for every 1 unit increase in % College 98 (Beta = -0.28). % College 98, Teen Birth99, and % Black 00 all account for 19.3% of the variation in Marry Rt 98.

It found a very interesting article about the implementation of a community based program called “Service-Learning: Implications of Empathy and Community Engagement in Elementary School” by Katherine Scott and James Graham. The article recounts an experiment that the authors conducted about the benefits of incorporating service into the academic environment. I considered this as an aspect in the community/place-based education that I have slowly been mapping out, but I didn’t think that having as the focus would be beneficial. I read this article to compare my own opinion to that of a group of people that have already put together and executed an experiment about the results of a service based education. In this article, the goal was to increase community engagement, therefore increasing interest in the students which would increase the test scores. They also predicted that the students would have an increased level of empathy which would make them more tolerant and productive members of society.

The researchers gathered written consent from parents so that their children could participate in the study. The program that was introduced included a lesson about different aspect of community service and then was followed by some sort of project that related to that area of study. For example, what are some current issues that the students can help in, what are different ways that the students can help someone else out in the community? The goal is to educate about social issues while also giving the students the knowledge to help eliminate those issues within their own community. In assessing their findings, researchers gathered the demographics of each student such as age and socioeconomic status. These are gathered to better understand how the absorption of the material is taken based on students with different situations. The community engagement was pretty simply measured by word-of-mouth/interviews. The amount of empathy gained by each student was calculated by asking students questions and analyzing the responses. They also implemented the Garton & Gringart’s scale modified for each age group. They were asked to respond to certain questions posed by the researchers.

In the end, the results were that the community engagement and empathy overall, but it was only in the fifth graders that they reported a development in cognitive empathy. Cognitive empathy being the ability to feel or understand the emotions that an individual is experiencing. Personally, I conclude that this article is important for me to continue to analyze and include in my ultimate conclusion about my research topic. This is because I still believe that place-based education, the education that takes into account the place in which the students are taught and incorporating aspects of the surrounding community into the classroom to make lessons more relevant. Although there was more community engagement, it still comes back to the fact that classrooms need to be able to relate to the student. Service is important to build empathy and also motivation to help the community, but education needs to be able to relate to the students and a service-based learning environment focuses on other people.

The article I found is called “Money and Mental Illness: A Study of the Relationship Between Poverty and Serious Psychological Problems” (Ljungqvist, 2016). The researchers had evaluated previous studies done on the relationships between mental problems and economic issues along with isolaton and were interested in exploring the effects of social initiatives on the condition of people with previously diagnosed mental health issues. Their research question was: Can the addition of modest financil support for social and recreational activities have an impact on social intercourse, sense of self, symptoms, and functional level among persons with SMI?”. Their method included giving financial aid to 100 individuals with mental illnesses for a period of time and comparing them to a control group. Their study concluded that the financial aid improved symptoms of depression and anxiety in the group of people that had been previously diagnosed. Data for this study would include self reports of one’s symptoms and state of mind/being before, during and after they participated in the study and were given financial aid. The assessments were categorized as symptoms, functional level, social networks, sense of self, and overall quality of life. Their self assessment tools included “Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale”, “Global Function Assessment Scale”, “Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life”, “The Visual Analogue Scale”, and “Lancashire Quality of Life Profile”. All categories showed statistically significant improvement except for functionality under the “Global Function Assessment Scale”. The data was analyzed with Wilcoxon matched-paires signed-ranks test for non-normally distributed values. Unpaired groups were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. I enjoyed reading this research and think it was really well done. I think it was really important that they used so many different ways of evaluating their participants mental health and well-being, giving deeper insight into how exactly poverty can affect people and how having more resources improves – or does not improve – those different facets of how mental illnesses are expressed in those who have been previously diagnosed. One thing to note is that the sample size was fairly small, so if the study were re-done with a larger sample the results could differ.

Ljungqvist, I., Topar, A., Forssell, H., Svensson, I., Davidson, L. (2016). Money and Mental Illness: A Study of the Relationship Between Poverty and Serious Psychological Problems. Community Mental Health Journal (Vol. 52, Iss. 7, pp. 842-850).

The article that I used for this research example is called “Effects of Music on Depression and Sleep Quality i Elderly People: A randomized Controlled Trial.” I used ProQuest and sorted the articles by scholarly journals. In this article they discuss the effects of music on depression and anxiety in the elderly community. It was a controlled randomized study that was separated into three measures which were: demographic variables, physiological parameters, and physiological parameters. There choices of music were meditative, Chinese classical, western classical, and western modern jazz. The results came back showing that listening to music helps to improve sleep quality and the results of depression lowered as well. I believe this way of collecting data would be beneficial in my research of finding music related to stress levels.

Chan, M. F., Chan, E. A., & Mok, E. (2010). Effects of music on depression and sleep quality in elderly people: A randomised controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 18(3-4), 150-9. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.redlands.edu/10.1016/j.ctim.2010.02.004

This weeks journal comes form The Journal of Educational Technology Systems, and the section I chose is by Marion G. Ben-Jacob. In the writing, Jacob discusses the ethical side of the whole internet debates on both the provider and users point of view. Not only is the ethical dilemma looked into but also the problems with regulation and over reaching and conflicting with people’s privacy. This all being the articles topic of how is the use of technology being ethically observed and regulated. The type of data needed would be quantitative and probably best collected through the use of surveys online and maybe some person to person interviews, as well as expert opinions. One data collections that Jacob did was a classroom control group where he has a teacher give definitions and background and gave who supports and disapproves of the topics provided. Then after Jacobs went through and discussed each of the students answers. I think this way of collecting data is very interesting and I am curious to see if it would be effective for my data collection.

Citation:

Ben-Jacob, Marion G. “Internet Ethics for Users and Providers.” Journal of Educational Technology Systems, vol. 46, no. 2, 2017, pp. 252–258.

The article that I found this week comes from the American Journal of Criminal Justice. The article, titled “Prison Violence, Gender, and Perceptions: Testing a Missing Link in Discretion Research”, is written by David M. Bierie. This article illuminates how agents of criminal justice (police officers, judges, prison staff,etc) exercise their authority and power over those they are in control of. The article examines how gender and perceptions of violence through past experiences can influence the force exerted by those agents. Men and women have different perceptions of violence because of how violence is presented to them in their life experiences. For example, women are more likely to be victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, while men are more likely to be perpetrators of this kind of violence. This impacts their perception when a violent situation occurs and how they react to it. The article focuses on 2 research questions: (1) do male and female officers show similar perceptions of serious violence, yet diverging perceptions of minor assault? and (2) do women perceive less minor violence than men? The study drew from the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ annual Prison Social Climate Survey (PSCS), which contained the opinions of 2,184 correctional staff across 112 prisons in the U.S. The survey used a stratified proportional probability random sampling design to draw a pool of staff from each institution. Each respondent was asked to estimate the number of assaults they knew to have occurred within the last 6 months. They looked at common assault, armed assault and sexual assault. They survey also consisted of demographic data (e.g. race) and job characteristics. They tested where gender impacts perceptions of violence through a fixed-effects regression framework. Information was gathered from the staff in different ways (witnessing, communication, etc.). In conclusion, the study did find that gender and perception do matter.

Bierie, David. “Prison Violence, Gender, and Perceptions: Testing a Missing Link in Discretion Research.” American Journal of Criminal Justice 37, no. 2 (June 2012).

Research Example 1:

The title of the Journal is called “Progressive Architecture”. The article within the Journal is called “Remebrance in downtown Boston” by John Morris.  The article talks about the New England holocaust memorial located in Boston. Specifically reminding people about one of history’s grimmest events. The article continues by discussing the design behind the memorial itself and why architects chose to create the building the way they did. The memorial is placed on a “traffic island” meaning its surrounded by traffic and random busy backdrops.

The main question posed in this article was “how can a memorial be constricted so that it can have presence while being surrounded by distracting backdrops?” In order to answer this question, there was a competition for architects to see who could complete such a task. A man named Stanley Saitowitz ended up winning, and explained his thought process and design. A person who would be competing in this type of competition would need expert knowledge in architecture. The data would than be analyzed by qualitative data because it is going to be composed of descriptions or pictures, created by the architect. I think this research is very interesting and brings up some good points about how to make something “known” while being surrounded by chaos. I think my classmates would find the thought process behind the design of the memorial to be interesting. This article would be a secondary source, because the information is not firsthand evidence, rather it is more recapping a situation and data that already happened.

Citation:

Dixon, J. M. (1995). Remebrance in downtown Boston. Progressive Architecture, 76(12), 25. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.redlands.edu/docview/197316912?accountid=14729