FISCHER, MARC, FRANZISKA VÖLCKNER, and HENRIK SATTLER. “How Important Are Brands? A Cross-Category, Cross-Country Study.” Journal of Marketing Research 47, no. 5 (2010): 823-39. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.redlands.edu/stable/20751546.

The article that I chose for this research example is called, How Important are Brands? A Cross-Category, Cross-Country Study, and it was published in the Journal of Marketing Research. I chose this article because previously I was looking for research already done regarding my specific research question, which was difficult to find. I was not focusing on the larger picture, which is about the social significance of brands overall. This article and the research discussed proved to be very valuable to my own reseach.

The main topic of this article explores the importance of brands across different countries and different categories of items. In other words, it focuses on the measurement of overall importance of brands for consumers’ decision-making processes. The measurement is something called “brand relevance in category,” or “BRiC,” which the authors tested across multiple countries and categories, in order to find out whether or not brand importance matters. The type of data needed to answer this research question is reports of acts, behavior, or events. In order to collect this data, the authors sent out a 19-item questionnaire to a sample of 578 graduate students from France, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The method of data analysis was qualitative, because the data was non-numerical. I would assume this article’s topic is “brand importance” and the question is “How important are brands in the decision making process of consumers across multiple countries.”

This research is the first I’ve come across that measures the importance of brands to consumers across multiple countries, so I was very intrigued and interested throughout the entire article. I think it is valid research and logically makes sense. The creation of a measurement called BRiC makes the data more legitimate because the authors have distinct areas in which they are measuring. I think if given more time and a larger budget, the authors could have surveyed more people since they wanted to make determinations about five different countries, rather than just one like the United States. I don’t think 578 people is a large enough sample, but overall the research and data are still significant. Additionally, I also think the authors could have expanded the survey in order to collect more data.

This last article that I found was actually rather small. It is more of an essay, but it was still an insightful piece to aid my research. It is simply called The Benefits of a Place-Based Education. It gives examples of various instances where a place-based education helped the children to apply their newly learned material to their world. They had “jobs” or tasks given to them to solve. For example, the methods for recycling or being environmentally friendly in one of the schools talked about were not very good so the students took notice and made a difference to help their school and the environment. With the place-based education, students are given opportunities to use their knowledge and to see it and feel it. With young children, it is especially important to use tangible examples; they cannot absorb abstract thought the way that adults or even teenagers can. They learn based on experience and when they can’t relate it to their own lives then their minds file it as “not important to learn” which then makes it difficult for those young students to absorb information. The methods that are used in this approach allow for students to utilize the knowledge taught in class in a real-world situation.

Another major aspect mentioned in this article is the incorporation of gardening or nature exploration. It is especially important for students so that they can see what natural science can do and things like that, but nature can also have a very calming and emotionally healing aspect to it. Introducing this to young children will not only help them to better understand sciences, but also the world around them in general physically and emotionally.

Although this article wasn’t particularly helpful in helping me discover new ways that place-education helps students achieve; it helped me to reaffirm the fact that it is beneficial. It was good to know and understand what has been learned about this method before and what has been observed to be true.

National Parks Service. The Benefits of Place-Based Education. Threats and

       Challenges.

I used google scholar to find an article which explores the paradigm shift in higher education for the integration of technology to further advance learning outcomes. The study found that online learning and the use of technology helps to retain information more easily. Technological integration is being pushed at higher levels because it provides benefits not seen in traditional classroom settings. The competition for jobs is also increasing and gaining an edge through the use of technology can further develop skills that are essential for various careers. This study showed that online learning allowed students to learn at their own pace, pause the course if needed for more explanation, and enabled them to find the answers for themselves. There is a shift in universities from the face-to-face traditional learning styles to different technology integrated styles that give students the tools to learn on their own. A study taken at Cal State University North Ridge found that online users tested 20% better than students who attended a traditional class. This was due to the fact that online learning promotes study habits that the learner has to evolve for themselves. The class is always open so work can be completed at different times then in a classroom setting. The study came to the conclusion that universities will have to utilize technology in the classroom to remain competitive and produce stronger learning outcomes. This also means that teachers have to become more skilled in the use of various systems and be able to seamlessly integrate the new technology into the academic setting. The main goal is to give universities a competitive edge by shifting from teaching methods to learning methods in which students maximize their abilities stemming from teacher’s capabilities.

Rogers, D.L. (2000). A Paradigm Shift: Technology Integration for Higher Education in the New Millennium. AACE Journal, 1(13), 19-33. Charlottesville, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved March 17, 2018 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/8058/.

Bos, C., Richardson, V. (1993). Qualitative research and learning disabilities. In Vaughan, S., Bos, C. (Eds.), Research issues in learning disabilities (pp. 178–201). New York: Springer-Verlag.

This article differs from the others I have researched. While most of my research has focused on the content of disproportionality within special education, this article discusses examples of qualitative research on special education. After writing my extended outline, I realized that I would be conducting interviews to gather the data I need. I thought I should know more about the qualitative research within special education. This article, published in Exceptional Children journal, provides an overview of the various studies conducted qualitatively in special education. They also prove the importance and validity of qualitative research in the field of special education. The researchers sought to analyze the data gathering methods for research in special education and, through meta analysis, find the effects on policy of the respective methods. They looked at the following methods: case study, collective case study, ethnography, action research, collaborative action research, grounded theory, phenomenology, symbolic interactionism, narrative research, life (oral) history, quasi-life-history research, interpretive research, content analysis, conversational analysis, discourse analysis, and ideological critique. I found this study really informative to my research and this course. They reinforced some topics we talked about in class and introduced new ones as well. It was really interesting to read about the influential early studies on special education. Anne Sullivan Macy’s work with Hellen Keller (Keller, 1955) and Itard’s case study The Wild Boy of Aveyron (1806/1962) were two particularly interesting early examples that impacted the world of disability studies and special education. I was really interested in this article, mostly for the information and the impact of the highlighted studies.

Research example 4:
The title of this peer reviewed article is “Aesthetics” by Ethel Puffer Howes. This article talks about aesthetics, and what people find to be aesthetically pleasing. It continues to discuss the psychological analysis of aesthetics specifically how the brain reacts to different aesthetic experiences. There are many types of aesthetics, be it in art or economy. The author explains that you cannot compress all the aspects of aesthetics into a single formula, it consists of a many elements.
The topic of this article is aesthetics and the research question would be: what elements make up aesthetics?
In order to gather this data, you would need to either survey people and ask them, “what elements make up aesthetics?” Or you would need to discuss aesthetics with an expert- asking what makes something aesthetically pleasing.
This research is much more conceptual than any other readings I have come across. It takes a unique stance on the various elements and tools that make something aesthetically pleasing.
It is a secondary source because it takes the information from other peoples research and studies.

Citation: Howes, E. (1913). Æsthetics. Psychological Bulletin, 10(5), 196–201. doi:10.1037/h0071344

In researching for my proposal, I came across an article examining the reasons why students are involved in community service. This is relevant to my proposal, as I am researching if being involved in community service has a positive influence on struggling students’ academics. The article is “Understanding Patterns of Commitment” by Jones and Hill (2003). This study had many guiding research questions. The overarching research question of this article, and the question I feel is most relevant to my research, is: “What are students’ reasons for participation in community service in high school?” (Jones & Hill, 2003). The type of data needed to answer this question is reports of acts, behaviors, and events, as students are giving reasons for  involvement in community service. To collect this data, the researchers performed in-depth interviews with select students that were nominated by the Community Service Directors at the participants’ schools. The researchers analyzed the data through what they call “constructivist ground theory” (Jones & Hill, 2003). In this method, the authors look for patterns and themes within their data and continuously look back at their data with new questions until a narrative emerges. Jones and Hill found that high schoolers involved in community service often were influence by external factors, such as family, friends, or school community service requirements (2003). Despite these influences, the participants usually felt good after volunteering, but the participants did not think much about why they were engaging in community service, unless they were involved in service because of their church or religion (Jones & Hill, 2003). This will be important to think about in regards to my own research as to the reasoning of students who participate in community service. If I am interested in the effects community service has on students who are struggling academically, then it will aid my research to know why students get involved in the first place.

Jones, S.R., & Hill, K.E. (2003). Understanding patterns of commitment: student motivation for community service involvement. The Journal of Higher Education, 74 (5), 516-539.

I found my research example for this week in the Journal of Urban Health. The study conducted by Nancy Wolff, Cynthia L. Blitz, Jing Shi, Ronet Bachman, and Jane Siegel, is titled “Sexual Violence Inside Prisons: Rates of Victimization”. The paper estimates the prevalence of sexual victimization within a state prison system. It also takes into account that sexual violence in prisons is a public health concern, since HIV infection rates are higher than in the general population. They conducted the study by surveying 6,964 men and 564 women utilizing an audio-CASI. Respondents were sampled through an invitation by researchers to participate in a survey. Surveys were conducted face to face as well as through questionnaires. The two main questions asked were: The questions were “Have you been sexually assaulted by (an inmate or staff member) within the past 6 months?” and “Have you ever been sexually assaulted by (an inmate or staff member) on this bid [conviction]?” Sexual violence was defined as nonconsensual sexual acts, which consisted of forced sex acts, including oral and anal sex, and abusive sexual contacts, which included intentional touching of specified areas of the body. One surprising result of the study was the prevalence of inmate on inmate sexual victimization in the female prison was higher than in the male prison. Additionally, the study found no statistically significant differences between males and females in rates of experiencing staff-on-inmate sexual violence. While female inmates were more likely to be sexually victimized by other inmates than by staff, male inmates were more likely to report an incident of sexual victimization perpetrated by staff.

Wolff, N., Blitz, C. L., Shi, J., Bachman, R., & Siegel, J. A. (2006). Sexual Violence Inside Prisons: Rates of Victimization. Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 83(5), 835–848. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9065-2

The researcher pursued a case study on the Na Iwi O Na Kupuna O Mokapu v. Dalton repatriation case in which 1,582 Native Hawaiian human remains were excavated and relocated from a Mokapu burial site to the Bishop Museum.  This site in Oahu is known as the most disturbed burial site in Hawaii due to the mass relocation.  After the passing of NAGPRA, the U.S. Marine Corps Base Hawaii assisted the museum in the inventory and repatriation of the remains.  A Native Hawaiian tribe filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of the Department of Navy and the Bishop Museum, claiming the Navy “failed to return expeditiously the Mokapu remains.”  They also claimed that illegal scientific research was conducted on the Mokapu remains.

The researcher, Greer, used a case study research logic.  She utilized reports of acts, behaviors, and events and collected them through public and private records.  Greer analyzed the data in a qualitative analysis.  Her research question was, “How did the Na Iwi O Na Kupuna O Mokapu v. Dalton case reveal a disconnection between the intent and the process of NAGPRA?”  Her broader research topic was the repatriation of Native Hawaiian remains.

This was an interesting case study, and I think the researcher provided thorough analyses of the data.  She provided historical research on other Native Hawaiian cases of repatriation.  She evaluated how the repatriation process can be laborious or even humiliating.

Greer, E. Sunny. “Na Wai E Ho‘ōla i Nā Iwi? Who Will Save the Bones: Native Hawaiians and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.” Asian-Pacific Law and Policy   Journal 14, no. 1, 34-52.

This article was found in the Public Policy Research journal. Martha Nussbaum, a professor of law and philosophy at the University of Chicago, and Mohammed Abed, a philosophy professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hold a debate discussing the justifications of Israeli academic boycotts. The citation for the article is:

Nussbaum, Martha, and Mohammed Abed. 2007. “Can (Israeli) academic boycotts be justified?” Public Policy Research 14 (4): 218-28. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-540x.2008.00493.x.

Nussbaum argues that boycotts directed at academic institutions are not successful, and disagrees with the justifications for them. Abel believes that boycotts are more effective than other strategies because there is no government involvement, and because they have a bigger and more direct impact on the oppressive situations. The topic of this article is about the Palestinian boycott of Israeli academic institutions. Its research question is “Can Israeli academic boycotts be justified?” The data type used in this article is deep opinions and attitudes, collected by an in-depth interview. The analysis method used is qualitative. I think this research is interesting because it includes conflicting opinions which will be useful for me to see counter-arguments for the BDS movement. One thing I think is interesting is the fact that neither professors seem to have lived or experienced the boycotts first-hand so I’m wondering how well they can report on them.

I found a study in The Journal of Perinatal Education titled “Understanding Factors that Influence Adolescent Mothers’ Doula Use: A Qualitative Study” by Dr. Sheryl Coley and Dr. Tracy R. Nichols. The study is primary literature and is peer-reviewed.

The article explained a study that was done in order to understand why adolescent women chose to have a doula present at the birth of their child. The research question was asking what factors women report to influence their decision to have a doula present when they give birth to their children. The 20 adolescent women who were a part of the study were  nineteen-years-old or younger at the Young Women’s Christian Association. There were also 6 practicing doulas who were a part of the study. The type of data needed was deep opinions and attitudes. The data was gathered through interviews, focus groups, and field observations. At the end of the study, the data was coded in order to review all answers and observations. The results helped the researchers understand factors that influenced doula use, and also reasons why women are against the use of a doula. The young expecting-mothers appreciated that the doula was there for them through every step of their pregnancy, and even after it. The main conclusion of the study was that since doulas create such a strong relationship with their clients during and after pregnancy, young mothers are more likely to be in favor of hiring them.

The Young Women’s Christian Association in the area where the study was conducted has programs for expecting mothers where they meet and talk to doulas in order to be fully informed about the different options that they have. I really appreciate that these young women were presented with the option of having a doula present at the birth of their children because many women are unaware of the options that they have. I think it is really important for women to know all of their childbirth options before they make a decision so that they can hopefully have the best experience possible.

Citation:

Coley, Sheryl L., DrP.H. and Tracy R. Nichols PhD. 2016. “Understanding Factors that Influence Adolescent Mothers’ Doula use: A Qualitative Study.” The Journal of Perinatal Education 25(1):46-55 (http://ezproxy.redlands.edu/docview/1805376631?accountid=14729). doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.redlands.edu/10.1891/1058-1243.25.1.46.