Society, Privacy, Autonomy and Democracy: Individual or Social good?
Understanding the correlation between privacy, autonomy and democracy have become a major thought for focus among political theorists. Unlike the debate on privatization influencing the market economy, this is mainly centered upon conceptualizing the inner links between privacy and legality. The concern has come into the picture because of a variety of reasons. It may be technological developments or emergence of aggressive identity politics, one or the other way these have triggered unforeseen social issues. Through this essay, I shall try to detangle the intertwined nature of individual privacy, autonomy and democracy and bring out the relations existing in-between them.
Technology today has inevitably advanced to an extent, where employing all types sophisticated devices without regulation is likely to leave no trace of privacy. Inventions like powerful surveillance cameras and biotechnological techniques have unscreened the impenetrable areas of life. It has now become essential to be vigilant about the individual image in life. But rapid upsurge of identity politics in the issues like feminism, multiculturism, gay movements, racial discretion and national politics has given birth to ambiguities or highlighted the limitations of privacy rights. Constant critics on drawing boundaries between the individual interests and democracy have generated suspicious thoughts of condemnation, segregation and dominance on one part or another. Most important of all, privacy has created a significant impact on the society. It has been a potent reason for the arrival of prevailing forms of racism, ethnocentrism and nationalism. At this point, older regulations to protect the privacy of people are not ideal. Moreover, people are volunteering themselves to relax their private space with an interest to gain goods and services. The interests to acquire a self-determined life and fantasized rewards are affecting the idea of democracy and the autonomous subjects working under it.
Radical critiques from the anti-democrats have also influenced the deprivation of conceptual resources in making a proper judgment. The necessity is to take account of all the possible sources available, reshape and refine it. The main resources in context are privacy rights and democratic rules. On the other facet, feminism has always questioned the loopholes in the democracy. It has played an important role in revealing and justifying the issues faced by women in the civil community based on lack of economic opportunities. However, it has also given rise to situations where democracy is forced to build discriminatory laws and experience legal disabilities. So there are obvious discrepancies and complexities in the modern day society. The issues related to privacy and publicity have mostly been discussed in terms of male interests and norms which thereby have led to prolonged opposition against following the social hierarchies.
Society
Whole societal structure can be seen in two halves, private and public. Firstly, public involves the egalitarian ideals of preserving peace and unity among the people. Secondly, privacy or personal space essential for individual well-being tends to create segregations in the society. Thirdly, autonomy resides somewhere in between the two spheres that influence both the ideas. Democracy certainly requires autonomy for its functioning. Besides solely working on the central command of power it distributes its autonomy among various levels. So democracy and autonomy are related to each other.
In fact, separation of privacy and autonomy is potentially not feasible as they are interrelated in a very dependable way. Similarly, using a public approach by considering the society as a whole by disregarding the various levels in the social structure is also not a viable option. So at the least, rules must exist to provide legal protection and acquire political balance in safeguarding the privacy and publicity. In other words, both the voices of many and individual voices must be protected in a democratic setup. The core intention of democracy should be to avoid leveling, prohibition and homogenization. Again, feminists are continually arguing about having personal priority over privacy. On this context, natural domain that comes into the picture relates intimate relationships, sexuality and family needs. With the attention to this matter, efforts have been made to refine the concept of privacy that oppresses women.
Traditionalism
Autonomy greatly influences the policies and principles structured in the interests of society. A few autonomous agents are provided with the power to take actions and judgment. This in one sense is nothing, but overlapping the identity interests over the democracy. The providing autonomy to a group of people to regulate the democracy has both advantages and disadvantages. If deserving subjects who are clean in their conduct are placed as autonomous bodies, it would lead to prosperity. On the contrary, incapable candidates can pose questions over the justice of democracy. Likewise, it is also true that too much autonomy gets bad results. This happens when a person considers his choices as supreme and disregards the balance in privacy and publicity. The personal choices arise as a result of convictions, desires and values. As a result, it directly influences the goal set and actions of a person. There are also other instances where a person doesn’t have his own goals, but gets inspired or carried away by others actions. This is where self-direction comes as a part of illusion. In addition, ongoing social life is another factor that influences the person’s motives. Here an autonomous subject depends on the others judgment to carry out his actions. But in strict terms, autonomous person is one who has his/her choices and actions into play according to own will. Now the question is How to balance these actions following the rules democracy?
As an example, consider the operation of the Web. Democratic ideals must allow the web or internet to operate at maximum potential. Meanwhile, it also needs to protect the privacy of Internet users. Internet today is vastly familiarized, so these statements may seem as a matter of common sense. Nonetheless, for obtaining the objective, one has to perceive things relatively in a complex way. It requires the understanding of the real world situation and devising appropriate rules in a constrained environment. Looking at today’s trend of widespread use of social media, has left us ponder about making a distinction between public and private deeds. Something that was entirely concealed before is not anymore. The times have changed. Furthermore, it becomes more complex as there are distinct groups of people interacting with each other with diverse mindsets from all over the world. I after referring the Book called “The Public and problems” from the author John Dewey came to know an alternative way to perceive the distinction between privacy and publicity. The solution provided focuses on understanding the actions and consequences of the users. In other ways, after observing the adaptability of the users to the new technologies, rule of thumb is to keep aside the old situations and avoiding taking strict unforeseen decision that affects the people. The democratic principles must support the ever changing people to have their way of life. Additionally, imperatively taking decisions on the social privacy can outburst negative consequences and restrict the freedom of movement of the people.
The consequences of one’s actions can be direct and indirect, and as a democratic body it is very important to classify the actions of a user. When it comes to direct consequences, it remains bounded within a definite area and it can be dealt privately. Whereas indirect consequences on the other hand spread to a vast extent immediately after the action takes place. It should be clear by now that indirect consequences must be taken care of to preserve the public interests. Consider an example, where a house owner is burning garden waste in front of his house. In this case, immediate result would be affecting his children and family members. But if toxic pollutants are being burnt then, it becomes a question of the whole neighborhood. Here first part is a direct consequence and other is indirect consequence. The situation can be taken care by installing pollution measuring instruments and warning the owner, so that he hesitates to burn the toxics again. So private acts, triggering public consequences must be taken care by the legislation. In the pollution problem, the process would involve inquiries, warnings and charges against the home owner.
Conclusions
The indirect consequences are not always bad for the society. For instance, if a group of Facebook users come together and discuss their common problems with Facebook groups, it doesn’t pose any problems. It could rather solve the problem unless the issue is anti-democratic and against the government. So in this new generation the conventional philosophies may require refinements with the use of pragmatist approaches. It is very much necessary to safeguard the individual privacy along with curbing the activities that lead to mass tension. Overall, privacy, democracy and autonomy must be considered as parts that whole make up a whole system called society. Also to note, there are unavoidable influences between all the three subjects, and considering them as individual entities can create social enigmas that could remain unsolved. Finally, privacy is not to be neglected but instead must be considered as essential element to democracy and autonomy.
The topic being discussed here is regarding anger and anger management, it is important to select this topic since it deals with a key psychological activity which is often difficult to understand for many psychologists. This topic has extreme relevance for human beings since it is important to assess what sorts of changes occur during the expression of anger and how anger management deals with it. This topic has its significance to the social environment of UAE since there exist workers of many fields here and all of them go through phases of anger throughout their professional life. The aim of this paper is to study the overall effects and properties of anger and anger management techniques.
Hypothesis
This paper will provide a significant insight into the topic of anger as well as anger management and would take many case examples from real life which would emphasize upon how this subject matter affects ordinary individuals.
Reviews
CBT to CDT: Toward a developmental paradigm for conceptualizing anger management
The study conducted by Tate in 1998 assesses that destructive responses to anger present a growing problem in the overall society, and programs for managing adult anger are proliferating across the nation. Many of the anger management interventions are grounded in cognitive behavioral paradigms which focus on controlling one’s thoughts as well as behaviors (Burns, 2004). While these programs show some effectiveness, they are not properly addressing the main problem. This study is based on the idea that the main reason for this failure might be the inadequate theoretical frameworks that form the underpinnings of these programs.
Main directional hypotheses for this research suggested that there would be a negative relationship between the developmental levels of ego of adults referred to anger management and batterer intervention programs and their trait anger and destructive response to anger scores, it also suggested that there would be a positive relationship between their ego levels and constructive response to anger scores. In this reference, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) was used to assess trait anger; the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) was used in order to assess ego developmental levels; and the Anger Response Inventory (ARI) was used in order to assess both constructive as well as destructive responses to anger.
It was observed that a statistically significant positive relationship was emerged between ego developmental level and constructive responses to anger, and that a significant negative relationship was observed between ego developmental level and one dimension of destructive responses to anger (Lench, 2004). All of these results suggest that individuals at higher ego levels might be more capable of responding towards anger in constructive, as compared to destructive ways. The results attained by the researchers also offer promising evidence that Cognitive Developmental Theory may provide a more adequate theoretical foundation upon which to suggest more effective anger interventions through fostering upon psychological and personality growth.
Anger management style moderates effects of emotion suppression during initial stress on pain and cardiovascular responses during subsequent pain-induction
The author John Burns argue in 2007 that suppression of emotion, anger in particular, might be linked to heightened intensity of pain during a painful event. It is not clear at all whether a person’s anger management style moderates effects on pain intensity and cardiovascular responses during the event of pain (Burns, 2005).
The purpose of the study was to determine whether (a) trait anger-in and/or a trait anger-out moderate effects of Emotion-Induction ×Emotion Suppression manipulations during mental arithmetic upon pain intensity and on different cardiovascular responses during and following a pain task, such that any type of so called ‘mismatch’ relationships emerge, and (b) general emotional expressiveness tends to account for these mentioned effects. In the methodology section of the study, healthy non-patients (N=187) were assigned to 1 of 6 of the total conditions for a mental arithmetic task. Here, cells were formed by crossing 2 Emotion-Induction which were anxiety and anger ×3 Emotion Suppression which were non-suppression, expressive and experiential conditions. After mental arithmetic, the participating individuals underwent a cold presser which was followed by recovery. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), diastolic BP (DBP), and ratings of pain intensity were thoroughly recorded. A four-way interaction was observed from pain intensity: Only for those individuals with experiential suppression/anger-induction condition, anger-out was related significantly as compared to pain recovery. It was concluded that a mismatch situation may apply for high anger-out individuals who suppress their overall emotion in a certain circumstance and thereby might suffer from greater amount of discomfort as well as physiological responsiveness to pain feelings than high anger-out individuals who do not have to suppress.
Anger and its management
The author Anju in 2013 says that everybody feels anger from one time to another. Individuals have been documented feeling anger since the ancient biblical times when Lord was considered to be angry. It was seen that babies even exhibit signs that are interpreted as anger, this includes screaming or crying (Burns, 2005). Anger is not unique to anyone, animals also have the sense to feel as well as express anger. In our daily lives we get angry over at least a small thing on almost a regular basis, whether it is with a spouse or loved one, or perhaps with an authoritative figure. Anger is often deemed as a healthy emotion when it is appropriately expressed. It can also have devastating effects upon a person. Anger is at the root of many social problems, e.g. domestic violence, verbal and physical abuse and community violence etc (Schieman, 2000). Problematic interpersonal relations might also disrupt employment activities due to the interference of anger upon workplace performance. It is often seen that anger can destroy obstruct problem solving skills, destroy relationships, and increase social withdrawal. Anger impacts our physical health. For example, it can affect immune system; contribute towards headaches, severe gastrointestinal symptoms, hypertension, migraines, and coronary artery disease. Anger is also deemed as a healthy and valid emotion but many of ordinary individuals are taught not to express anger. There’s no doubt about it that we live in an angry society in which signs that anger abounds are everywhere. Anger is deemed as a global phenomenon and referrals to anger management programs have increased.
Anger management as a component of inpatient residential treatment with adolescents: A multiple case study
The author Andrew says in 2007 that the purpose of his study was to assess the value of anger management training as an ingredient of inpatient residential treatment with small children or adolescents. Four assessment procedures alongside interviews and record reviews were employed by the author in order to gather information across a wide spectrum of personality and behavioral variables. The assessment addressed were consisted of the Revised Problem Behavior Checklist (RPBC-PAR Edition),pre and post testing with the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI), the Novaco Anger Scale and Provocation Inventory (NAS-PI), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2), and completion by participating individuals of two interview questionnaires adapted by the researcher from Fitzsimmons to properly measure behavioral and personal characteristics. A case study of each participating individual was employed in order to identify additionally relevant variables.
Research was completed with ten adolescents at an inpatient residential treatment center. The study consisted of 3 phases: 4 weeks of anger management training intervention occurring twice weekly for four consecutive weeks; pre-anger management training data-gathering in which pretests were administered; and post-training data-gathering in which post tests were administered and case study information was compiled.
The results assessed if the anger management training sessions produced changes in participating individuals, primarily in how they perceive themselves as well as their abilities. The assessment criteria should be evaluated which is relative to effectiveness in measuring change (Burns, 2007).
Help for hotheads; No one’s sure of its benefits, but anger management is increasingly recommended — or ordered — for those who can’t control their rage.
The author Martin says in 2004 that the judicial system has created the demand for anger management training. Judges across the nation use the various training programs as a means to ease overcrowding in jails, and unclog courtroom calendars. It may cost a county $100 a day to lock up a defendant for the crime of road rage, physical assaults or disturbing the peace. The courts can go on to release the defendant and order the person to enroll at any anger management program (Bruehl, 2007).
Most classes are led by teachers with backgrounds in counseling, they go on to help clients decide what is worth getting angry over and when anger is appropriate to be shown, how to behave assertively — not destructively or aggressively — to attain what you want (Bruehl, 2007). Programs, which may go on from ten weeks to a year, cost from $200 to about $1,000. In part because of the rapid rise in popularity of such programs, no state or national standards govern what should be provided as a lesson in anger management or who should be qualified to teach it. Although exact figures are difficult to come by, many estimate that about seven thousand individuals have been trained in U.S to teach such courses.
Effectiveness of a rural anger management program in preventing domestic violence recidivism
In the paper given by James in 2005, domestic violence in a rural area was thoroughly investigated with special attention given to the association of reduced recidivism of an anger management program. In doing so, the author explored a total of 9 hypotheses concerned with subjects who had been convicted on charges from violent behavior and how factors like gender, prior criminal history, and age were relative with completion of anger management training and recurrence of the various types of violent behaviors. Data was gathered from various different court documents for every domestic violence case which have occurred in a rural county during a 5 year period. Cross-tabulation of many different categorical results revealed incidence and rates by age, gender, and anger management program completion status. Individuals with prior criminal history were observed to be more likely to be the offenders of domestic violence and more likely to re-offend. Most of the observed subjects did not complete an anger management program, but many of those who did, completion was found to be relative with modestly reduced recidivism. Neither recidivism rates nor anger management completion were found to be associated with gender or age of individuals. Practical ways to apply findings from various researches related to anger management are proposed for human services, judicial, and law enforcement areas (Thomas, 2001). Future research is suggested by the author to replicate findings through longitudinal studies and to implement better comprehensive evaluations of domestic violence interventions throughout rural human services practices.
Choices: Anger and Anger Management in Rehabilitative Care
The author Linda says in 2013 that violent acts are on rise and rehabilitation providers as caregivers may encounter anger on a daily basis. The purpose of the article is to discuss anger and describe anger management as well as its related strategies based on behavioral interventions grounded in Choice Theory. The application of choice theory to anger is the belief that individuals are not externally but internally motivated, and that outside events do not make people do almost any sort of thing (Gold, 2007). Thus, what drives a person’s anger behaviors are internally developed notions of what is satisfying for them.
Anger becomes a choice for almost all of the individuals along with its management (Shatzman, 2003). Choosing strategies to manage anger is the main step to reducing the potential for angry emotions to escalate up to the point of violent and unwanted acts that threaten clients and caregiver’s safety. Anger-free environments tend to greatly promote mental/physical health and therefore go on to establish elements of safe living especially at the working environments in a variety of rehabilitative type of care settings.
Anger Management Essay
Pitching a fit does anger management training help stem violence in the workplace
The paper argues that anger-management became a buzzword during the previous decade. Judges oftentimes will mandate that an individual get anger-management counseling, only when they seem unable to control their overall behavior and it is partly why they are present at the court system. Anger management is most of the time included in drug treatment as well as in couples counseling.
In most instances, it has been observed that a worker who demonstrates inappropriate anger at his or her colleagues is using the workplace as a venting mechanism for feelings that have little to do with the actual job (Blackburn, 2000). Therefore, it is due to such acts that unwanted acts happen and these acts should be avoided by both employees as well as employers at a given workplace so that the flow of work is carried on with relative ease.
Anger and depression management: Psycho-educational skill training interventions for women caregivers of a relative with dementia
The author David in 2003 examines the short-term impact of two theoretically based psycho-educational small group interventions having distressed caregivers, and also the role of specific mediator and moderator variables on the mentioned caregiver outcomes. After discussing the results, the author conclude that the data are consistent with a growing body of evidence which goes on to support the effectiveness of skills training especially among the small groups, in order to improve both the affective states as well as the type of coping strategies used by caregivers. Care is a very important factor of anger management (Kellner, 1999).
Clinical outcome and client satisfaction of an anger management group program
This retrospective quasi-experimental study presented by author Mary in 2001 evaluated the effectiveness of an anger management group program for various different clients with mental health problems. The program as discussed by the author was offered by outpatient mental health occupational therapy services of a selected community general hospital. 64 clients, about 59 percent were suffering from depressive disorder, enrolled in the program to participate in the study. The post-treatment and pre-treatment scores of the participants on the Anger Control Inventory were compared with the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. The results pointed towards a significant decremented in the overall experience of intense anger alongside better improvement in behavioral and cognitive coping mechanisms, and also better improvement rate in anger control after treatment. Most of the respondents found the program very helpful. The pace of the program alongside the variety of learning activities were seen as areas for improvement. The results of the overall program showed that it had positive impact on anger management. Useful suggestions were thoroughly identified for continuous quality improvements which could help the program. Anger management thrives on suggestions (Coon, 2003).
Anger Management May Not Help at All
The author Benedict argues in 2004 that Ron Artest is not the only male athlete to be sent for anger-management training. Earlier that year, Los Angeles Dodger outfielder Milton Bradley gave a statement that he would seek anger counseling. Some anger-control techniques even seem to make individuals to become more apt to lose their temper (Coon, 2003). The author states that in a reanalysis of the data if St. John’s researchers, it was found that programs that encouraged individuals to feel their rage and to express it in counseling sessions were associated with terrible outcomes. The findings coincide with the message from a wide variety of studies in the 1990’s in which various different psychologists found that venting anger, for example, by hitting an object, in fact goes on to increase anger since it goes on to intensify physical sensations of fury like flushed face or a racing heart.
Conclusion
It was discussed throughout the paper that the phenomena of anger management is gaining rapid acceptance in the general society mainly due to the fact that more and more individuals are found to get themselves into trouble. This is also due to the fact that they tend to fail in controlling their anger which goes on to give them a terrible result.
References
Bruehl, S., al’Absi, M., France, C. R., France, J., Harju, A., Burns, J. W., & Chung, O. Y. (2007). Anger management style and endogenous opioid function: Is gender a moderator?Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30(3), 209-19.
Burns, J. W., & Bruehl, S. (2005). Anger management style, opioid analgesic use, and chronic pain severity: A test of the opioid-deficit hypothesis.Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 28(6), 555-63.
Burns, J. W., PhD., Bruehl, S., PhD., & Caceres, C., PhD. (2004). Anger management style, blood pressure reactivity, and acute pain sensitivity: Evidence for “trait x situation” models.Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 27(3), 195-204.
Burns, J. W., PhD., Quartana, P. J., M.S., & Bruehl, S., PhD. (2007). Anger management style moderates effects of emotion suppression during initial stress on pain and cardiovascular responses during subsequent pain-induction.Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 34(2), 154-65.
Cara Shatzman, C. p. (2003, Apr 18). ‘Anger Management’ Is Not Worth Your Trip Out The Door.The Santa Fe New Mexican.
Coon, D. W., Thompson, L., Steffen, A., Sorocco, K., & Gallagher-Thompson, D. (2003). Anger and depression management: Psychoeducational skill training interventions for women caregivers of a relative with dementia.The Gerontologist,43(5), 678-89.
DOUG BLACKBURN, S. W. (2000, Jun 26). Pitching a fit does anger management training help stem violence in the workplace?Times Union
Gold, A. L. (2007). Anger management as a component of inpatient residential treatment with adolescents: A multiple case study. (Order No. 3257729, Northern Arizona University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 188-198.
Kellner, M. H., & Bry, B. H. (1999). The effects of anger management groups in a day school for emotionally disturbed adolescents.Adolescence, 34(136), 645-51.
Lench, H. C. (2004). Anger Management: Diagnostic Differences and Treatment Implication S.Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(4), 512-531.
Schieman, S. (2000). Education and the activation, course, and management of anger.Journal of Health and Social Behavior,41(1), 20-39.
Thomas, S. P. (2001). Teaching healthy anger management.Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 37(2), 41-8.
Title: dissertation introduction examples – Writing a dissertation introduction is perceived as a relatively straightforward aspect of the dissertation writing process. The reason for this may be that we often find typical components in an introduction that we can use, regardless of the study we are writing. One of the challenges of writing a good introduction, however, is to be brief, and to stay focused. An incoherent or unfocused introduction, or one that is over lengthy, may detract from the overall grade of the dissertation and will not create a good impression on the reader(s). Be mindful that you should avoid being anecdotal in your introduction (i.e. writing as if you are telling a story) and you will also need to avoid wasting words by stating the obvious and writing a series of over-generalised statements. Below you will find some helpful suggestions for writing an effective dissertation introduction:
To write a fascinating opening sentence that will keep the reader’s attention focused
Not to say everything you have to say in the introduction – save some of your good material for later sections of the dissertation
To try to keep the reader engaged and to make them read on
To ensure that there is a direct relationship between the introduction and the remainder of the dissertation, do not deviate from the key objectives
To ensure that you do not promise what cannot be fulfilled or what goes beyond what can reasonably be expected
Dissertation Introduction Examples
The reason for this is that in a longer piece of writing such as a dissertation, it becomes more important to remind the reader of what you are doing and why you are doing it, before each chapter continues. Because of its length, there will be more opportunity to introduce a sense of debate into the introduction to a dissertation; and you will have time to bring in a wider range of references from outside. It is a good idea in a chapter introduction to remind the reader what happened in the previous chapter. Many academic experts have identified a number of key components of an introduction. It will not always be necessary or desirable to include all of them, but they will generally be used in some combination or other, in order to introduce an academic argument:
A statement of the importance of the subject
Mention of previous work on the subject
A justification for dealing with the subject
A statement of your objectives
A statement of the limitations of the work
A mention of some of the differing viewpoints on the subject
A definition of the topic being discussed
I hope you enjoyed reading this post on dissertation introduction examples and how it may assist you in your own research endeavors. If you enjoyed reading this post on, I would be very grateful if you could help spread this knowledge by emailing this post to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you.
Question: Where Can I Find Dissertation Introduction Examples?
Title: Example Dissertation Abstracts – So, what is a dissertation abstract? Many academic institutions across different countries have contrasting views to what a dissertation abstract is. At study-aids.co.uk we believe that an abstract, in its purest form, is a concise summary of the entire dissertation this includes the dissertation topic, rationale and overview of the conclusions. A primary objective of an abstract is to provide the reader with a firm understanding of the content of the dissertation; this would include a concise synopsis of the dissertation aims and objectives.
It is important to note that the abstract will help a reader decide whether to read the whole dissertation or thesis in detail, or skip to the key findings. It is important to write an engaging and meaningful abstract so that you can inspire interest in your dissertation. Some students write a disjointed abstract which leads to low interest shown towards the dissertation, it is advisable that you engage the reader from the outset. Be mindful that a dissertation abstract is not an introduction its primary purpose is to summarise not introduce, many students lose sight of this.
In most cases the abstract is found at the beginning of the dissertation immediately after the dissertation title page. Dissertation or thesis abstracts tend to be separate from the main body of research and are often held in a university’s database of dissertation abstracts, there will be many dissertation abstracts contained within your university’s database. You may find that the abstract is available but not the entire dissertation project, you will have to contact the author to gain access to the research if this is the case. Nonetheless, you will get a clear understanding of the dissertation project from the contents of the abstract.
How Long Should A Dissertation Abstract Be?
As previously mentioned, dissertation abstracts differ depending on institution, location and level of study. A typical undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation abstract written at a UK university will be approximately 350 words in length. It is worthwhile noting that word count is important, 350 words will be adequate provided you write concisely and are summarizing your dissertation. Be mindful that academic electronic databases automatically truncate abstracts beyond a certain length. It is safe to say that academic databases such as ETHOS and JSTOR will omit sections of the abstract if it is deemed too long or convoluted, 350 words would suffice.
How To Write A Good Dissertation Abstract
Writing a good dissertation abstract has its perils, there is so much reference material and advice available at your disposal but in some cases this advice appears confusing and often conflicts with what you already know. We suggest you consult your university library in the first instance and have a conversation with your dissertation tutor; this will definitely set you on the correct path.
There are key points of interest you need to include in your abstract. Why did you undertake the study? What were you examining or investigating in the dissertation project. Be sure to return to your research question and ensure you have defined it concisely and succinctly. A good opening is often, “This dissertation study tested…”, “This dissertation study investigated…”, “This dissertation study examines…”. A dissertation abstract example will be included in this post.
It is advisable to include what was done and how you achieved it. Be precise, don’t make broad statements. This is will differ depending on whether your dissertation is an empirical or a literature review structured research project. What did you find? Include specific outcomes and highlight conclusions on the research you will present. “The results from the survey questionnaire found that 83% of UK respondents are not aware that the European Court of Human Rights impacts the UK law system…”. “There was a significant relationship between low employee morale and high employee turnover…”
Dissertation Abstracts
Example Dissertation Abstracts
This dissertation study examines what drives the children of the self-employed to enter self-employment themselves. In the aftermath of the financial crisis and from the subsequent development that many working places have been outsourced, the Danish government has elaborated an initiative to increase the rate of entrepreneurs to support economic growth in Denmark.
It has been found that it is the enterprises of those new entrepreneurs, which are the primary engine in creating new jobs. However, research shows that despite the Danish welfare system, which provides safety in terms of unemployment, Danes are very reluctant in becoming entrepreneurs. One exception to this rule is the children of entrepreneurs. Their chances of entering self-employment are much higher, as investigated on basis of statistical data from IDA.
Through a constructive approach, this dissertation seeks to investigate what drives the children of the self-employed to enter self-employment themselves in their later life. This investigation is performed on three cases of second generation self-employed. The theories used in this dissertation to investigate the aforementioned are all within the constructivist paradigm. Building on Karl Weicks sense making theory, this dissertation views sense making as meaning constructed through stories.
Those stories are analysed with a narrative framework, through this analytical tool the construction of motivational and supportive parameters are analysed. Furthermore, building on discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe, this dissertation views social reality as constructed through language, in respect of articulations and discourses. Those discourses are analysed through the application of discourse analysis. With this analytical tool the articulation of the difference between the self-employed and the employee, and also the articulation of the upbringing of the second generation self-employed are analysed. Lastly, the analyses are being integrated through the sense making perspective.
Finally, the dissertation concludes that the exposure to the self-employed as a role-model in childhood, plus the insight and emotional values attached to the identity of being self-employed, on one hand gives aspirations to enter self-employment, but on the other hand excludes the second generation self-employed from choosing a career as an employee.
Did you manage to find some relevant research strategies of your own in this post? What are your thoughts on writing a dissertation abstract and how would you implementing them? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
Grounded theory and case study both have been utilized by the researchers using a qualitative approach to investigate about a phenomenon. Despite the illustration of the usefulness of grounded theory and case study as a means of studying a phenomenon from a qualitative perspective, there are certain drawbacks that limit the effective incorporation of these tools as a part of the research.
This section intends to highlight the major challenges a researcher is likely to face in the implementation of grounded theory and case study as a mode of inquiry. The analysis will focus on the issues related to sampling, validity, reliability, and bias. The synthesis of findings will be used as a platform for determining a suitable strategic course of action for the researcher for exploring the impact of technology on ethics in the banking sector.
Challenges Associated with Grounded Theory
Grounded theory is deemed as an effective means of gathering in-depth information from the sample, which can be used in the development of theoretical constructs to explain a particular behavior, event, perspective etc. However the limitations associated with the sampling, validity, reliability and bias seem to raise concerns among scholars about the reliance on it as a tool of qualitative investigation.
Sampling
Sampling in case of grounded theory has taken on a different approach from other research instruments associated with the quantitative domain. Suddaby (2006) stated that the earlier proponents of grounded theory have identified the sampling process consisting of identification of relevancy of data on the basis of the evolving understanding about the theoretical underpinnings. Such an approach is likely to expose a researcher to the limitations embedded in the simultaneous use of sampling and theoretical development.
Draucker, Martsolf, Ross and Rusk (2007) pointed out another limitation embedded in the use of sampling in grounded theory by asserting that the absence of a structured guide for the implementation of theoretical sampling tends to create difficulty for the researchers. The scholars even if well versed in the use of sampling for grounded theory may face issues in the implementation of the process at any stage of data collection. Therefore, indicating an important area of consideration for the scholars.
Grounded Theory Dissertation
Another challenge in the implementation of sampling in grounded theory is that it follows an entirely different approach in comparison to the positivist philosophical foundations of research. It has also been observed that the grounded theory’s approach of using the collected data as a source of judgment for sampling negates the notion of development of hypotheses and their relative testing (Suddaby, 2006). The emerging sampling framework depicts a loosely coordinated idea of sampling, deviating from the essence of sampling techniques reflected in positivist methodology.
The use of theoretical sampling also poses the challenge of determining the sample size beforehand, as in case of quantitative modes of inquiry, or other qualitative means of data collection. Starks and Trinidad (2007) indicated that the sampling process for grounded theory continues with the inclusion of individuals as research participants, until the investigator is able to attain ‘theoretical saturation’. The ambiguity of the criterion for theoretical saturation encourages the use of great deal of subjectivity in determining the achievement of this objective. Such issues in sampling methodology may limit the scope of applicability of grounded theory.
Validity
The degree of validity associated with the data obtained through the use of grounded theory has also been challenged by the scholars (Lomborg & Kirkevold, 2003). One group of thought has emerged, arguing that the core elements used for defining the validity of a quantitative approach can’t have parallel application within the domain of qualitative research. As noted by Corbin and Strauss (1990) in order to comprehend the degree of validity of grounded theory as a qualitative tool of investigation, alterations need to be made in the framework illustrating the construct of validity.
Various researchers have offered an alternative perspective to the concept of validity, considering the application of internal and external validity incompatible with the philosophical basis of qualitative research (Sandelowski, 1993; Stenbacka, 2001; Davies & Dodd, 2002).
These scholars suggest that the application of validity in quantitative research doesn’t bear the same valence in qualitative approach. The concept of qualitative validity as proposed by Sandelowski, (2003) is based on the perception of the reader about the degree of trustworthiness and credibility that can be associated with the research, thus adding a great deal of subjectivity in the decision. Such an approach carries the issue of the use of subjective opinion in evaluation of the quality of a scholarly work, leaving the possibility of erroneous perception.
A more refined approach has been presented by Rolfe (2006) who has considered the use of the criterion of credibility and transferability as an alternative approach to internal and external validity respectively. However, the use of these components also poses challenge to the qualitative research as the proponents of quantitative approach argue for the effectiveness of the factors of credibility and transferability. Credibility may provide sound arguments pertaining to the validity of the findings of grounded theory from the perspective of the people who were involved in the sample of the study, however similar perspective may not be found among others (Sandelowski, 1993).
Reliability
The issue of reliability is also a key challenge the researcher has to face while deploying grounded theory as a means of inquiry, because the subjective nature of analysis makes it an intricate process. Golafshani (2003) indicated that within the sphere of qualitative investigation, researchers are more likely to focus on the criterion of dependability, illustrating the ability of the future researchers to replicate the findings.
However, Parry (1998) argued that the inability of the future researchers to replicate the grounded theory in an exact manner also poses a challenge to the reliability of the findings generated during the research process. For the quantitative approaches, the degree of reliability is easier to determine as compared to the qualitative methods.
Sandelowski (1993) indicated that critics have viewed the use of means such as dependability as a potential source of threat for the level of validity of a grounded theory research. At one hand the incorporation of feedback from other researchers in the form of member or peer checking has been deemed to add to the degree of dependability or reliability of the findings, as the peers or other scholars can provide an unbiased perspective towards the accuracy of sample and its related findings. On the other hand, Sandelowski (1993) argued that such an approach should be incorporated in the methodology with caution as it can have a negative impact on the reliability of the findings and inferences.
Bias in Grounded Theory
The bias involved in the research process can also decrease the degree of trustworthiness and dependability of the inferences drawn from grounded theory. Although within the context of the application of grounded theory as a means of investigation, the researcher is required to identify the sources which can induce biased perspective in the perception of the researcher during the theory development process (Jones & Alony, 2011).
However, such process of acknowledgement doesn’t guarantee that all possible biases involved in the exploration and construct development have been identified. There remains a possibility of overlooking sources of bias as trivial, which may in fact have a significant influence on the research process.
Another source of bias which can decrease the degree of reliability and validity of findings is the bias originating from the respondents, which has been identified as double hermeneutic and the Hawthorne effect (Jones & Alony, 2011). The researcher may find it difficult to identify how participants alter their responses on the basis of the knowledge they have attained during the investigation. Secondly, Hawthorne effect can also manifest itself in the form of behaviors that emerge as a means of forming a positive impression on the researcher, thus polluting the accurate version of reality.
A researcher using grounded theory needs to identify the sources of bias originating from his own ideas about an event, situation, behavior etc, which may be a daunting task, as the biased perception may prevent the researcher from acknowledging the presence of such issues. The inclination to follow preconceived ideas about the area of investigation can also result in filtering out of limited scope of information, and overlooking some important area of concern as it doesn’t seem to fit in the frame of reference adopted in the study (Parker & Roffey, 1997).
Furthermore, the researcher also needs to mitigate the ill effects of participant’s bias on the research findings, through a similar process of identification and control (Corbin & Strauss, 1990). However, the effectiveness of the process can be challenged with the ability of the researcher to handle the identification of bias and sorting out relevant and accurate information from the participants. Considering the dual bias eminent in grounded theory, the researcher would need to be extra cautious in data collection, analysis and interpretation, as bias can seep into the investigation process during any of these stages, challenging the process of effectiveness of bias identification and handling .
References
Corbin, Juliet M., and Anselm Strauss. “Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria.” Qualitative sociology 13.1 (1990): 3-21.
Draucker, Claire B., et al. “Theoretical sampling and category development in grounded theory.” Qualitative health research 17.8 (2007): 1137-1148.
Golafshani, Nahid. “Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research.” The qualitative report 8.4 (2003): 597-607.
Jones, Michael, and Irit Alony. “Guiding the use of grounded theory in doctoral studies–An example from the Australian film industry.” (2011): 95.
Parker, Lee D., and Bet H. Roffey. “Methodological themes: back to the drawing board: revisiting grounded theory and the everyday accountant’s and manager’s reality.” Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 10.2 (1997): 212-247.
Suddaby, Roy. “From the editors: What grounded theory is not.” Academy of management journal 49.4 (2006): 633-642.
Sandelowski, Margarete. “Rigor or rigor mortis: The problem of rigor in qualitative research revisited.” Advances in nursing science 16.2 (1993): 1-8.
