102 Intro to Causal Analysis Professor Ramos Blog

102 Intro to Causal Analysis Intro to Causal Analysis Intro to Causal Analysis Causality: the relationship of cause and effect Causal Analysis  systematically examines the causes and/or the effects of an event, situation, belief, or action. Cause asks: Why did it happen? Why does it happen? Why will it happen? Effect asks: What did it produce? What does it produce? What will it produce? By carefully analyzing  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ A Causal Analysis essay gives you a precise way to ask tough questions about the world you live in. Everyday the news is full of issues that raise  why  and  what if  questions. Instead of focusing on the whole of an issue, focus down on why something happens or what the effect is of something happening. For example: Instead of focusing on the death penalty which has a ton of information to sort through once you begin researching. The causal analysis assignment focuses the inquiry into causes and effects: Why was the death penalty reinstated in Texas in 1982? Or, what has the deterrent effect been since then? The causal analysis gives you a line of inquiry to pursue, that is central to understanding the argument and arguing well. In this way, the assignment asks you to develop rhetorical skills, in particular logical thinking, the supporting of explanations with evidence, and the ability to explain the â€Å"story† of cause and effect to an audience. For this assignment, you will pick a monster to investigate more in-depth. Psycho Here is the infamous shower scene from Psycho (1960) While this scene is iconic, the movie is based on a real person: Ed Gein.

Geography of Christmas

Geography of Christmas Every December 25, billions of people around the world gather together to celebrate the Christmas holiday. While many dedicate the occasion as the Christian tradition of the birth of Jesus, others commemorate the age-old customs of the pagans, the indigenous peoples of pre-Christian Europe. Still, others might carry on the celebration of Saturnalia, the feast of the Roman god of agriculture. And, the celebration of Saturnalia included the ancient Persian Feast of the Unconquered Sun on December 25th. Whatever the case, one can certainly encounter many different ways of celebrating the occasion. Through the centuries these local and universal traditions have gradually blended together to form our modern tradition of Christmas, arguably the first global holiday. Today, many cultures around the world celebrate Christmas with a wide variety of customs. In the United States, most of our traditions have been borrowed from Victorian England, which were themselves borrowed from other places, notably mainland Europe. In our current culture, many people may be familiar with the Nativity scene or maybe visiting Santa Claus at the local shopping mall, but these common traditions werent always with us. This compels us to ask some questions about the geography of Christmas: where did our holiday traditions come from and how did they come to be? The list of world Christmas traditions and symbols is long and varied. Many books and articles have been written about each one separately. In this article, three of the most common symbols are discussed: Christmas as the birth of Jesus Christ, Sa nta Claus, and the Christmas tree. Origin and Diffusion of Christmas Symbols Christmas was designated as the birth of Jesus in the fourth century CE. During this period, Christianity was just beginning to define itself and Christian feast days were integrated into the popular pagan traditions to ease the adoption of the new religious beliefs. Christianity diffused outward from this region through the work of evangelizers and missionaries and eventually, European colonization brought it to places all over the world. The cultures that adopted Christianity also adopted the celebration of Christmas. The legend of Santa Claus began with a Greek Bishop in fourth-century Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). There in the town of Myra, a young bishop, named Nicholas, gained a reputation for kindness and generosity by distributing his family fortune to the less fortunate. As one story goes, he stopped the sale of three young women into slavery by providing enough gold to make a marriage dowry for each of them. According to the story, he threw the gold through the window and it landed in a stocking drying by the fire. As time passed, the word spread of Bishop Nicholas generosity and children began hanging their stockings by the fire in hopes that the good bishop would pay them a visit. Bishop Nicholas died on December 6th, 343 CE. He was canonized as a saint a short time later and the feast day of Saint Nicholas is celebrated on the anniversary of his death. The Dutch pronunciation of Saint Nicholas is Sinter Klaas. When Dutch settlers came to the United States, the pronunciation became Anglicanized and changed to Santa Claus which remains with us today. Little is known about what Saint Nicholas looked like. Depictions of him often portrayed a tall, thin character in a hooded robe sporting a graying beard. In 1822, an American theological professor, Clement C. Moore, wrote a poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas (more popularly known as The Night Before Christmas). In the poem, he describes Saint Nick as a jolly elf with a round belly and a white beard. In 1881, an American cartoonist, Thomas Nast, drew a picture of Santa Claus using Moores description. His drawing gave us the modern-day image of Santa Claus. The origin of the Christmas tree can be found in Germany. In pre-Christian times, the pagans celebrated the Winter Solstice, often decorated with pine branches because they were always green (hence the term evergreen). The branches were often decorated with fruit, especially apples and nuts. The evolution of the evergreen tree into the modern Christmas tree begins with Saint Boniface, on a mission from a Britain (modern-day England) through the forests of Northern Europe. He was there to evangelize and convert the pagan peoples to Christianity. Accounts of the journey say that he intervened in the sacrifice of a child at the foot of an oak tree (oak trees are associated with the Norse god Thor). After stopping the sacrifice, he encouraged the people to instead gather around the evergreen tree and divert their attention away from bloody sacrifices to acts of giving and kindness. The people did so and the tradition of the Christmas tree was born. For centuries, it remained mostly a Ger man tradition. The widespread diffusion of the Christmas tree to areas outside of Germany didnt happen until Queen Victoria of England married Prince Albert of Germany. Albert moved to England and brought with him his German Christmas traditions. The idea of the Christmas tree became popular in Victorian England after an illustration of the Royal Family around their tree was published in 1848. The tradition then quickly spread to the United States along with many other English traditions. Conclusion Christmas is a historic holiday that blends ancient pagan customs with the more recent universal traditions of Christianity. It is also an interesting trip around the world, a geographic story that originated in many places, especially Persia and Rome. It gives us the account of three wise men from the orient visiting a newborn baby in Palestine, the recollection of good deeds by a Greek bishop living in Turkey, the fervent work of a British missionary traveling through Germany, a childrens poem by an American theologian, and the cartoons of a German-born artist living in the United States. All of this variety contributes to the festive nature of Christmas, which is what makes the holiday such an exciting occasion. Interestingly, when we pause to remember why we have these traditions, we have geography to thank for it.

Technology Strategy & Innovation Management Assignment

Technology Strategy & Innovation Management - Assignment Example There are several external factors that are affecting Motorola. I will use the PESTEL framework to analyze them. The focus, therefore, will be Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environment and Legal.. Let us now take a look at them in details. Political: In spite of technological advancements we have not yet reached a stage where we exist in the virtual dimension. Businesses are done through remote collaboration tools and solutions but those who collaborate operate from and within certain jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions have laws and they affect how any company operating within them can operate. Multinationals like Motorola must adapt to the political climates of their host nations. Socio-cultural: Motorola shows social responsibility and maintains good relationships with their host communities. An example of their social responsibility is the supplier diversity programme which endeavours to give certain disadvantaged groups an opportunity. Technological advancements: New solutions, new platforms and the pace of these innovations. From MRP we now have ERP and are quickly heading towards the Virtual Enterprise. Software breakthroughs have brought an expanded horizon. There are many business solutions and platforms that are constantly affecting the way we do business. Motorola is also taking advantage of these solutions and platforms. Environmental: Motorola has long term environmental policies that include designing all their products to be environment friendly, recycling or reusing all waste materials and conserving natural resources. Legal: Motorola has a well established legal department. This is demonstrated by the fact that they have an audit committee line which main aim is to allow access to the Audit and Legal Committee of the Motorola's Board of Directors. THE INTERNAL FACTORS THAT ARE AFFECTING MOTOROLA Now I want to discuss the internal factors that are affecting Motorola. I will concentrate on the threat of entry, threat of substitutes, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers and competitive rivalry. The threat of entry: Nokia, previously a minor in telecommunications overthrew Motorola the former undisputed king of telecommunications. Another smaller company could repeat what Nokia did. The challenge is predicting correctly the next technological trend. A new or smaller company can literarily become the world leader if it makes the right forecast and positions itself well to capitalize on it. There are other threats posed by certain platforms: As described by Hardwick and Bolton (1997), "Virtual enterprise companies share costs, skills, and core competencies that collectively enable them to access global markets with world-class solutions their members could not deliver individually." (Eom & Lee, 1999) This has afforded Motorola a better way of increasing efficiency while reducing costs. However, it has also opened up the door for less funded competition to increase their productivity. Threat of substitutes: The internet is growing and with this growth also comes a lot of opportunities and threats. The cost of doing business online is relatively low. This means that a less financed

HRM-analysis, evaluating, link the corporate strategy with the HRM Assignment - 1

HRM-analysis, evaluating, link the corporate strategy with the HRM strategy of organisation - Assignment Example For an industry to harness the full potential of its employees as a way to succeed in the competitive world, it must alter three factors of managerial control which are; business design, culture and HR practices and policies (Sims, 2006, 34). Currently, several global companies such as Samsung restructured their practices proving a more autonomous environment in order to structure the intangible aspects of the workplace (Truss, 2012 p.266). These intangible factors include beliefs, norms and values. The aim of the essay below is to discuss the strategic human resource management of the world’s largest company Samsung group. The study involves identifying; analysing and evaluating the human resource strategy applied and connect it to HR theories and models. It includes looking at how Samsung implements vertical integration in their human resource department. The objective of the discussion involves identifying and defining the issue at hand. Second, clear comprehension of the concepts, models and theories of strategic human resource management in Samsung. Finally, critical assessment and understanding of the models and theories of strategic human resource management featured in the organisation. For some years, there is a noteworthy rise in the expansion of interest towards strategic management (Cooke, 2003 p.45). The interest leads to the enhancement if concern by various organisation functions towards their responsibility in strategic management process. Therefore, the human resource management became integrated to the strategic management procedure by the development of a new principle referred to as Strategic Resource Management (SHRM). SHRM refers to all the activities impacting the behaviour of people in their efforts to create and implement a business tactic (Henderson, 2011, p.67). Strategic human resource management contains four main attributes, which include: organisation

Civil Rights and Responsibilities Essay Example for Free

Civil Rights and Responsibilities Essay The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution shortly after its ratification. These amendments guarantee certain political, procedural, and property rights against infringement by the national government (Patterson, 2009). â€Å"A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on influence (Thomas Jefferson). The First Amendment provides the foundation for freedom of expression which is the right of individual Americans to hold and communicate views of their choosing (Patterson, 2009). The motivation of the Bill of Rights was to guarantee individual rights and freedoms. The First Amendment reflects this tradition, providing for freedom of religion along with freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition. The three provisions of the First Amendment are the freedom of speech, assembly and religion. The freedom of speech states that you are free to say almost anything except that which is obscene, slanders another person, or has a high probability of inciting others to take imminent lawless action. The freedom of assembly states that you are free to assemble, although government may regulate the time and place for reasons of public convenience safety, provided such regulations are applied evenhandedly to all groups. The freedom of religion states that you are protected from having the religious beliefs of others imposed on you, and you are free to believe what you like. Freedom of religion simply means citizens have freedom to attend a church, synagogue, temple or mosque of their choice, or not to attend at all. The First Amendment allows us to practice our religion the way we want to. When talking about freedom of religion and the First Amendment I think about religion in the schools. Every since the Supreme Court held school-sponsored prayer unconstitutional in the early 1960s, there has ben a concerted and well-funded campaign to reintroduce religion in public schools. Public schools themselves should not be in the business of promoting particular religious beliefs or religious activities and they should protect children from being coerced by others to accept religious (or anti-religious beliefs. A Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission inquiry ruled in July that the Saskatoon Board of Education must end a practice of giving teachers the option of conducting prayers in public school classrooms and assemblies. In practice, the choice has been primarily the Lords Prayer. The ruling will not change practices in separate schools. The inquiry followed a complaint six years ago by nine parents, including Muslims, Jews, Unitarians and atheists. About 20% of the 550 public school classrooms in Saskatoon begin the day with prayer. The decision may be appealed in court (Globe and Mail, 1999). The relationship between religion and government in the United States when it comes to the United States Constitution is governed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, which both prevents the government from establishing religion and protects privately initiated religious expression and activities from government interference and discrimination. The First Amendment thus establishes certain limits on the conduct of public school officials as it relates to religious activity, including prayer. Prayer should not have been taken out of schools. Parents should be sent home a letter opting out of religious activities and employees should be given the same option, but taken it out of schools was ridiculous. The case of Engel v. Vitale (1962) went to the Supreme Court and the case was about a time in 1951 the New York State Board of Regents (the State board of education) approved a 22-word â€Å"nondenominational prayer â€Å"for recitation each morning in the public schools of New York. It read: â€Å"Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.† The Regents believed that the prayer could be a useful tool for the development of character and good citizenship among the students of the State of New York. The prayer was offered to the school boards in the State for their use, and participation in the â€Å"prayer-exercise† was voluntary. In New Hyde Park, New York, the Union Free School District No. 9 directed the local principal to have the prayer â€Å"said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of the school day.† The parents of ten pupils in the New Hyde Park schools objected to the prayer. They filed suit in a New York State court seeking a ban on the prayer, insisting that the use of this official prayer in the public schools was contrary to their own and their childrens beliefs, religions, or religious practices. The State appeals court upheld the use of the prayer, â€Å"so long as the schools did not compel any pupil to join in the prayer over his or his parents objection† (infoplease.com). The Freedom to Assemble gives people the right to assemble peacefully without causing any harm to others. As much as I do not agree with the KKK views and opinions they should be able to assemble if they do it in a peaceful manner. The First Amendment prohibits government from abridging the right of the people peaceably to assemble. This basic freedom ensures that the spirit of the First Amendment survives and thrives even when the majority of citizens would rather suppress expression it finds offensive. Over the course of our history, freedom of assembly has protected individuals espousing myriad viewpoints. Striking workers, civil rights advocates, anti-war demonstrators and Ku Klux Klan marchers have all taken to the streets and sidewalks in protest or in support of their causes. Sometimes these efforts have galvanized public support or changed public perceptions. Imagine a civil rights movement without the March on Washington or the womens suffrage movement without ranks of long-skirted, placard-carrying suffragists filling city streets. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the importance of this freedom in the 1937 case De Jonge v. State of Oregon, writing that the right to peaceable assembly is a right cognate to those of free speech and free press and is equally fundamental. â€Å"According to the Court, † the right to assemble is one that cannot be denied without violating those fundamental principles which lie at the base of all civil and political institutions† (archive.firstamendmentcenter.org). The KKKs right to assemble peaceably was secured by the famous 1977 case of National Socialist Party v. Skokie, in which the American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued that the First Amendment prohibited officials of Skokie, Ill., from banning a march by the National Socialist Party. Skokie is a Chicago suburb that is home to many Holocaust survivors. One federal judge reasoned that â€Å"it is better to allow those who preach racial hatred to expend their venom in rhetoric rather than to be panicked into embarking on the dangerous course of permitting the government to decide what its citizens may say and hear† (archive.firstamendmentcenter.org). In conclusion, the First Amendment of the United States protects the rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression as well as freedom of assembly from government interference. Freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause are two clauses in the First Amendment that guarantee freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. It enforces the separation of church and state. The Free Exercise Clause prohibits the government, in most instances, from interfering with a persons practice of their religion. The right to assemble allows people to gather for peaceful and lawful purposes. Implicit within this right is the right to association and belief. With that being said, all people should be having some kind of freedom. They should be able to boycott and assemble peacefully without causing any harm to anyone. People should be free to have their different views and opinions of religion, be it that they religious or anti-religious. To sum it all up I would love for everyone to feel that they are free. References http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1961/1961_468 http://www.aclu.org/religion-belief/program-freedom-religion-and-belief-government-funded-religion Religion in schools (teachers in Saskatchewan will no longer have the option of conducting prayer services in class). Humanist in Canada 130 (1999): 4, 39. General OneFile. Web. 25 June 2012. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html

Vision and Blindsight Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Vision and Blindsight Implications Regarding Consciousness Vision-- receiving and interpreting light signals from the environment in order to form an image in one's mind-- is an incredibly complex process. Somehow signals from photoreceptors located in the eye are converted into the conscious experience of sight. Of all the aspects of vision, perhaps the most difficult for us to comprehend scientifically is this notion of consciousness. Somehow the brain interprets light waves hitting the retina so that we are visually aware of our surroundings. While the mechanism of signal transduction from the photoreceptor through the visual cortex has been extensively elucidated, science has difficulty dealing with the phenomena of consciousness and awareness, especially on a reductionist level. A recent neurobiological approach to understanding consciousness, at least on a perceptual level, has involved the study of the phenomenon of blindsight. Damage to areas of the visual cortex often result in complete or partial blindness. Although the eye itself is undamaged, patients report an inability to detect any light input in part of (or the entire) visual field. However, experiments regularly show that somehow, visual cues are processed. Visual inputs presented to the blind field affect the patient's response to stimulus in the normal visual field. Reaction times to stimuli are affected as well as the interpretation of the stimuli. A visual cues presented in the blind field may suggest a certain interpretation of an ambiguous stimuli. For example, the interpretation of the word "bank", presented as an auditory cue, differs depending on whether the word "river" or "money" is presented to the blind field, even though the patient does not... ...Linked%20Pages/Physiol/Cortex.html 3) Visual Processing Streams http://mitpress.mit.edu/MITECS/work/goodale_r.html 4) Consciousness, Neurobiology of http://mitpress.mit.edu/MITECS/work/koch_r.html 5) Pattern of neuronal activity associated with conscious and unconscious processing of visual signals, Sahraie, et al. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/94/17/9406?terms=consciousness&searchqstr=tyear:1997!fyear:1996!fmonth:Nov!tmonth:Nov!tdatedef:11+November+1997!fdatedef:12+November+1996!hits:10!fulltext:consciousness!sendit:Search 6) The Problem of Consciousness Crick and Koch http://www.unomaha.edu/~spaige/crick-ko.htm#blindsight 7) Co nsciousness http://www.duke.edu/~kellogg/Classes/Mentation/Issue%201/Marchiano.htm 8) On a Confusion About a Function of Consciousness. Block, Ned ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/BBS/.WWW/bbs.block.html

Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches Essay

Qualitative Research Design Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualitative research design is an approach used in research by researchers and scientists to study the behaviour and habits of human beings in the society. According to Flick, (2009 p. 17) the research design is used in various fields such as health, social sciences, business and other social sciences to study different behaviours. In health, qualitative research may be used to study issues on health awareness, availability of health facility, and access to primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare services. The data obtained is then used as the basis for health improvement recommendations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consequently, the qualitative research design can be applied in business to study the problems affecting business and how solutions can be modelled to improve performance of the industry. According to Saunders et al., (2012 p. 6) business research is a systematic research aimed at studying problems and solutions to business.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the fact that business is a wide field, the design is also adapted in specific disciplines of business such as product design, marketing, advertisement, human resource, and studying new business opportunities. For example, in product design, the designers may want to obtain data about the existing products based on consumers’ feedback and use the information to improve or design new product using interviews, focus groups or ethnographic studies. Similarly, the same approach can be used in market research to establish the demand of certain products and the product penetration in the market. The researcher prepares questions to be used in either interviews or focus group. The information obtained from the interviews is then analysed to understand the demand of a given product in the market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Example of qualitative research for product designer may include: product designers may want to study the gap in the market for a certain product for them to introduce new product that meet consumers’ tastes and preference. The designer may opt to interview several people in the targeted area and ask questions that may give information about the gap in the existing products. For example, they may obtain information about a detergent that does not work effectively to remove stains and thus design a new product that would meet consumers taste and preferences. Hence, qualitative research design forms the most efficient tool to obtain the data required to make the decision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The design is also used as a lead for quantitative design. The viability of hypothesis is tested through the qualitative design and then proved using the quantitative design through mathematical analysis. Hence, the design is very important for preliminary studies where the researcher may want to gather information about the topic before embarking on detailed quantitative research.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Siegel & Olshansky, (2012 p. 53) there are several approaches used to obtain the data in qualitative design, which include: Interviews Focus groups Ethnographic research   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interviews and the focus groups will be studied in details in the rest of the paper through critical evaluation and analysis to understand the application and how their cons can be improved in order to improve qualitative research design. Interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews involve questions and answer session between the researcher and the participants (DiCicco†Bloom, & Crabtree, 2006 p. 317). The researcher or the interviewer asks the questions while the participant responds to them based on his experience or the knowledge about the questions. The interviewer guides the respond throughout the interview until all the questions are answered comprehensively. The interview may involve individuals or groups. According to Seidman, (2013 p. 113) interviews can be carried out through various methods such as; face-to-face interactions, telephone or electronic devices such as internet-enabled computer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are different types of interviews depending on how they are carried or how the interview questions are structured. The paper will elaborate, evaluate and analysed four forms of interviews namely: Structured interview Semi-structured interviews Unstructured interviews and Iinformal interviews Types of interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The types of interviews are discussed based on Creswell, (2014 p. 189) explanations. Structured interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are the main tool of research when the researcher has well understanding of the research topic. This is because the researcher is able to formulate all the possible research questions and get as much information from the participants as possible. The researcher may be interested in proving a theory or previous studies. Hence, interview is based on the literature reviewed or observations related to the topic during less structured interviews. The interview is developed using topic specific and close-ended questions. This is from the fact that the researcher has well understanding of the topic and scope and thus limits the information that he or she should obtain from the participants. Although the researcher is able to obtain information that is specific to his or her study, it may be hard for the respondent to answer all the questions well since he may be limited to answers. In addition, lack of knowledge about a certain question may result in incomplete interviews. Semi-Structured interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interview is used when the researcher has limited time, respondent availability is not guaranteed, and thus different people conduct the interview in the field at the same time. The interview has well explained instructions to guide the interviewers in order to provide accurate and qualitative data in addition to trainings meant for understanding the topic. The interviews are preceded by informal interviews and observations in order to help the researcher to understand the topic in order to develop the semi-structured interview. The interview questions are mainly open ended and thus the respondent has the freedom to answer the questions in his own understanding and experience. The interview becomes interesting when the respondent understands the topic and thus he or she may give as much information as possible. The additional information can be noted in a notebook to support the data during presentation. Unstructured interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are carried out when the researchers lack enough understanding on the topic and hence have allowance for additional information from the respondent. The researcher tries to gets as much information from the respondent as possible in order for him or her to build on the existing information. The questions are open ended and the researcher has no influence on the respondents’ answers. However, the researcher has a clear understanding of the research setting. Informal interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The method is commonly used for social research and or during the early set up of the study. In this type of interview, the researcher aim is to obtain as much information from participants as possible. This is because the topic is poorly understood and there is little literature on the topic and thus information can only be obtained from primary sources to build on the existing information. Most informative interview approach are carried out for studies that are based on experience, interests, or a given culture that is not researched and so the researcher uses observations to develop more understand of the inquiry and develop a rapport. Like the structured, the interview questions are open ended as the respondent’s information is crucial towards development of the study. Pros of the interviews Accurate data   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Seidman, (2013 p. 1oo) interviews give more accurate data than other data collection methods. The researcher explains to the respondents some questions that might be difficult of him or her and thus end up getting the required information. In addition, the researcher explore the topic or questions using probe that enables him or her to get more information and details, which results in more accurate data. That is, the researcher has a chance to clarify and explain some questions that the interviewee my lack the knowledge and understanding thus getting the intended information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interview provides a rich data with details and insights about the topic. The respondent describes his or her own understanding on the topic with the help of the researcher. In addition, the researcher can create a favourable environment for the interview thus resulting in general and sensitive information that is important to the study compared to other methods of data collection such as questionnaires and focus group. For example, in focus group, the interactions of a number of respondents at the same time may hinder discussion of sensitive information due to lack of confidentiality. However, interview between the researcher and respondent only creates a favourable environment to give all types of information. Feedback   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is direct response from the interviewee and the feedback. This ensures that the information sought is obtained and in case of disparity. In addition, the researcher ensures that the information is obtained from the intended person. In other types of methods such as questionnaires, information may be obtained from unintended person. Observations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews can be carried out at the same time with observations to gain more understanding and information on the topic. Unlike other methods used in research, interviews allow researcher to make observations that may be important source of information. In addition, the research may compare the information from the respondents and what he or she observes and inquire for clarity when disparity is noticed. Building Rapport   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Close interactions between the researcher and interviewee creates a more relaxed environment, which results to the respondent answering questions based on his or her experience rather than giving direct answers to the topic. The researcher then use the information obtained from the researcher to build a rapport with topic. The researcher may explore additional information from the respondent that may help to develop more understanding on the topic Flexibility   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews are conducted at any time, locations, or based on the circumstances of the individual,. Thus, they are the most convenient method of data collection. For example, the researcher can conduct interviews in residential areas, trading areas, farming locations and any other place that may be convenient to the respondent. Cons of interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Time-consuming: the process of scheduling, conducting, and analysing the interviews consumes a lot of time (Zikmund, 2013 p. 150). The process of visiting the respondents and carrying the interview face-to-face can be tedious and time consuming. Since huge data is obtained from interview, it becomes tedious to enter the data and a lot of time is consumed. Therefore, it is important to have a data entry and analysis plan before data collection. Costly   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interviews are costly because they require the interviewers to be trained, the schedules to visit respondents to be prepared and the actual interview process. They require physical participation of respondent and the researcher. Biasness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The physical appearance of the interviewee may affect the attitude of the respondent and thus giving biased information that may affect the accuracy of the data. Other factors that may results in biased information include the respondents’: voice tone and opinion, gender and race, inadequate note taking. Biasness affects the main purpose of the study, which may produce contradicting data from the existing one. This can mislead future studies that may rely on the data. Inconsistencies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The flexibility of the interviews may result in inconsistence data during interactions due to variation in interview setting such as changing environment. For example- interruption of interviews by passersby or other factors such as rain can make the respondent to lose track and give inconsistence information Focus groups   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Focus group involves collection of data through semi-structured interview from a group of respondents who are identified based on diverse but related characteristics to form a diverse group that represent the actual population. The interview is moderated by a group leader and involves discussion of a specific topic. Fiske and Merton introduced the method during their studies that were based on audience participants (Sprenkle & Piercy, 2005 p. 87) Pros of focus group Developing research topic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Focus group give information to the researcher about a given subject, which help him or her to develop the topic and build rapport. The aim of the focus group is to obtain as much information as possible that is necessary for the study and thus it is a common method for preliminary study. Time saving   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Large amount of data from a big population can be obtained within the shortest time possible (Hesse-Biber, & Leavy, 2011 p. 164). Data is collected from groups of respondents at the same time. This is in contrary to interviews where the questions are asked to a single respondent for a given time and it may take a lot of time to cover a given number of respondents as opposed to focus groups. Accurate data:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The discussion involves the consensus among the group members. In case of diverse information, members agree on given information that giving accurate and homogeneous data The data is also specific on the researchers’ topic. Economical:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Huge data can be summarized using group consensus and thus data entry and analysis is cheap and time saving as opposed to interviews where huge amount is obtained from very large number of respondents Observations:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Just like interviews, the researcher can get additional data from the participants’ behaviour, feelings and thought about the topic. In addition, focus group helps to generate information for a study that could have unobservable features. Cons of focus group Biasness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The moderator of the group or the researcher makes the final judgment and interpretation of the discussion. Subjective judgment and poor interpretation has high risk of introducing personal businesses in the discussion and thus biased data. The participants may tend to follow the initial opinions thus resulting in biased results Risk of incomplete and inaccurate data   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The planning, scheduling and contacting participants may be costly and involving and thus poor management may result to incomplete study that may affect the quality of data collected. Sensitive information   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not a good method for addressing sensitive issues. This is because people may feel uneasy sharing sensitive information among their friends or enemies that might be in the group, which may have a negative contributory factor to the quality of data obtained. Addressing the interview cons Time consuming   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The use of alternative means of communication such as telephone and computer can decrease the time spent in scheduling and visiting the respondents. Therefore, avoiding face-to-face interviews can help to save time and making the method more economical. Time that could be spent to travel to respondent and carry physical interview is minimised. Planning should also be done prior to the study in order to avoid time wasting during the actual study. Costly   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Activities such as data entry and analysis can be carried along with the interviews to ensure that no additional cost that is incurred during independent data entry. Minimised travelling through phone interviews would cut down on cost. Biasness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Presentable physical appearance should be encouraged. The physical appearance of the interviewer that would not have influence on respondents should be emphasized during training. Interviewers should be discouraged from making subjective judgments that would affect the interactions. Inconsistencies:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interview should be conducted in a neutral environment that has no effect on information delivery. The researcher should spend a considerable good amount of time in looking for a natural setting for the interview conducive for the respondents (Merriam, & Merriam, 2009 p. 17). For example, interviews in closed rooms may have minimal interference, thus maintain consistence information delivery, and thus maintain high quality data. Addressing focus group cons Biasness:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to avoid biasness, the moderator of the focus group should be well trained about making subjective judgment and interpretations. Good relationship between respondents and the researcher promotes mutual understanding that contributes to accurate interpretations of the information (Marshall, & Rossman, 2011 p. 101). The moderator should not be an active part of the study and should be limited to the information on the expected result of the study. Risk of incomplete and inaccurate data:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Proper management should be done prior to the study so that all the scheduling and contacting of the participants is made in time. This will ensure that the participants are aware of the scope of the study and their roles and thus the study will be complete successfully. When participants are well-prepared psychologically, they become patient and go through the whole process thus giving complete data. Sensitive information   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The moderator should inform the participants about the confidentiality of the information shared in the focus group and create a friendly environment. This will give the participants confidence and freedom to share all the information that they may have including the sensitive one and thus the quality of the data will not be compromised. Participants may feel that some issues belong to the community and that it should not be addressed to a stranger. The researcher may also involve people from the communities to help them moderate the discussion and thus creating favourable environment for discussing sensitive information that is vital to the final data. References Creswell, J. W. (2014).  Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. DiCicco†Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. 2006. The qualitative research interview.Medical education,  40(4), 314-321. 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