Seven Rules For Observational Research Essay -- essays research papers

Seven rules for observational research: how to watch people do stuff Observational research, ethnography, or, in plain English, watching people do stuff, seems to be hot these days. Newsweek touts it ("Enough Talk," August 18, 1997), which means it’s getting to be mainstream, but I find that a lot of clients aren’t very comfortable with it. Certainly, compared to traditional focus groups, mini-groups, or one-on-one interviews, observational research accounts for a pitiably small portion of most research budgets. Yogi Berra’s famous line that "You can observe a lot just by watching" is widely acknowledged, but observation remains the most under-utilized qualitative technique in marketing research. One of the reasons seems to be that many clients (and researchers) just don’t know how to get value out of watching. Nothing sours people on a good approach more permanently than a few "interesting but useless" projects. Learning from watching is, in fact, hard. If you ask a not-very-deep question in a focus group, you still may get a deep and revealing answer. But if you don’t know how to think about what you’ll see when you watch normal people doing stuff, you won’t learn much from it. And in observational research, as in all qualitative research, it’s the "thinking about" that’s the key. Since observation skills don’t get sharpened up in real life the way questioning skills do, you need to train yourself to see, learn, and think when you watch people do stuff. It takes some practice, and some discipline. I don’t pretend to have mastered the art, but I’ve learned some techniques that will help. So here are my "Seven Rules for Observational Research." Look for the ordinary, not the extraordinary Remember the qualitative project when the lady in the third seat on the right side of the table told the story that really made it all come clear to you? You know how you wait behind the mirror for the moderator to show the new concept so you can hear real consumers respond to it for the first time and all the questions that have been running around your mind for weeks will finally be answered? That’s probably not going to happen in an observational study. Most observational projects I’ve worked on have begun with a pretty nervous period while we all get past our first impression that nothing’s happening! People aren... ...go about certain situation etc. All in all, he gives the impression just as he explained at the beginning â€Å"Yogi Berra’s famous line that "You can observe a lot just by watching" is widely acknowledged, but observation remains the most under-utilized qualitative technique in marketing research. â€Å". I agree with Walt Dicke. Although his seven-steps are not literally found in our marketing book, his point should be well addressed. Firms are not really pushing the observation research as they should be. It’s an excellent tool for the marketing researcher to record behavioural patterns as Walt Dickie was trying to point out in Rules 1,2,3. A wide variety of information can be obtained. Although some major disadvantages to observation research are that attitudes, expectations, intentions are not observable, Walt Dickie suggests following rules 4,5,6 to help alleviate from these problems. He also suggests that when the information is gathered that a qualitative analysis be done. Whether it’s time-consuming or not or whether it under-utilized by many one thing is certain and that is that observation is the most direct, and at times the only method for collecting certain data.

Restorative Justice

Other than the conventional Criminal Justice process there is a new way to handle crime called the Restorative Justice program. This program exists only in certain cities throughout the United States. The Restorative Justice program has the purpose to reduce crime. This program has many steps, and during the course of the process has the purpose to set things right between the criminal offender and the people affected by the crime that occurred. A crime committed does harm to many others not just the immediate victim. This paper explains the Restorative Justice Process and identifies how had effects that went beyond harm to the immediate victims in a case studied. Also, reflects how the Restorative Justice Process benefited the victims and offenders. In addition, this paper describes how Restorative Justice Process differs from contemporary criminal justice processes.Restorative Justice ProcessThe Restorative Justice Program process starts with victim support, which supports the vict im immediately following the crime with things such as crime scene cleanup and repairs. Volunteers aid the victim throughout the entire process to give support to them the whole time. Restorative Justice Program conferences are usually facilitated by two members and attended by the offenders that committed the crime, all the people harmed by the crime committed and the individual support groups of both the offender and the victim (Ness, 2009).The offender has to except responsibility for his or her action and involvement in the offense. The facilitator keeps the victim informed with what is happening with the investigation. If all parties agrees to a restorative circle, will meet each other with the facilitators at a central location for convenient of everybody. The victim may or may not wish to attend the restorative circle process (Ness, 2009). There are non-communication processes as well which provides support for the victim,  provides victim awareness, and also knowledge to a ll regarding the restorative communication.This process provides both short term and long term support to not only the victim, but also the offender. Supporting the people who will be helping the offender turn his or her life around and be a productive member of society (Ness, 2009). In order for offenders to have these options, they have to own up to the crimes they committed. If they do not then they will have to go to the court system and face a judge to answer for the crimes they committed, and the judge will determine their punishment. These punishments can vary from incarceration, rehabilitation centers, and even boot camps (Ness, 2009).Case StudiedOn one seemingly normal afternoon, David with another offender, decided to break into Mildred house, and whether or not the residents were present they knocked on doors. They knocked on one door, and as expected there was no answer resulting in the young men choosing this house to burglarize. Upon entry, the two quickly searched the house for items, which are easy to carry and sell. Upon their exit, they left with the loot without regard for the residents or how they felt once they returned to discover the break-in (Ness, 2009).This case showed not only how the victim harmed or affected by the crime, but also showed how the victim’s family had an added burden placed on them because of the crime committed. The victim’s daughter and son-in-law made many extra trips across town to check on the wellbeing of their family member. With a busy schedule with their children, the increasing demanded was hard on their family. Also, Members of the community were affected by this crime (Ness, 2009). Once news of the break-in spread, members of the community feared for their wellbeing, and safety of their property. Children of the community got scared and feared the bad people (Ness, 2009).Restorative Justice ResultsDavid, one of the offenders, got ordered to pay the victim restitution and agreed to take place in the restorative program and was able to make things right between him and the victim. He successfully completed the program and rejoined his baseball team, went on to attend college, and coach a little league team. David eventually became a facilitator of restorative circles (Ness, 2009). Mildred was able to feel safe in her own home again thanks to  her family and support groups through the restorative justice system.The support groups helped check on her and fix her house back after the break in and her family checked on her on a daily basis. She agreed to meet with David and discuss what happened. The community benefitted by being able to feel safer, and that this will not happen again by the same people (Ness, 2009)Contemporary Criminal Justice ProcessIn the contemporary criminal system, there would have been a different outcome and the process involved. The contemporary system would have taken the statement from the victim and pursued the people responsible. Once they loca ted the people responsible, they would be arrested, questioned, and sent to trial to answer for what they did.The criminal justice system would have then sentenced them to what the judge thought was fair. Then people responsible would have served their time and possibly returned to population with an above average chance of going back to jail. Also, the victim would not have received any retribution such as payments for what they took and messed up (Ness, 2009). The restorative justice system allows for a full circle of help for all parties involved and tries to solve the problem of crime one case at a time.ConclusionThis paper illustrated what restorative justice does. It provides insight to the entire community about their neighborhoods strengths and weaknesses as a community. It allows offenders to take full responsibility for their actions by paying their debt to the community, and also helps offenders as the victims too. Contemporary justice allows suspects to contest allegatio ns. If a prosecutor can prove guilt, the offender got sentenced and only punished in accordance with the laws.

Probability and poker Free Essay Example, 2500 words

Most players have an illusion of control in which a person believes s/he has the ability to understand and determine the outcome of uncertain events. In a research conducted by Andrada-Mihaela Istrate (2011), the author attempted to understand the game of poker through the experiences of poker players. Specifically, the author interviewed players from Bucharest who use this game as a means of subsistence. In his research, Istrate (2011) was able to highlight how poker players approach this game. The author notes that psychological poker players are seen as those who have the ability to read their opponents with a high level of accuracy based on tiny or non-existent clues (Istrate 55). Experienced players are those that have the ability to make accurate predictions of their opponents’ moves, thereby increasing their chances of winning. In approaching the game of poker, as Istrate discovered, most players look at their opponents to identify certain flaws or features that will h elp them to win the game. These flaws will tell them the weaknesses of their opponents, and they therefore capitalize on these weaknesses to win games. We will write a custom essay sample on Probability and poker or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now For this reason, players look at the position the opponents occupy on the table, their timings and pace, and the way they behave and move their cards. Poker players thus attempt to disguise their feelings and fears from their opponents through facial expressions and body language (Istrate 57). This can be seen as the skills used by these players to win games. In a game of poker, the skills are purely based on the ability of the player to read and understand the actions of others. On the other hand, the player has to hide his or her feelings or expressions that might reveal his or her actions to the opponents. Another important discovery made by Istrate (2011) in his research is the use of experience. These players also rely on experience, which comes as a result of playing many games. Experience in this case is measured by the number of hands one plays. If a person plays more hands, then s/he is more experienced. The more experiences and encounters a player has in the game of poker, the more knowledge the player accumulates. This gives him/her a higher chance of winning; thereby increasing his/her chances of playing the game even more. For most poker players, experience is about having authority (Istrate 60). If a player has had many encounters, then s/he has greater influence on the game, and his/her opinions are likely to be respected.