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Essay on positivism
Positivism
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Acculturation – A term used to refer to the process in which individuals are accepting the cultural traits or social patterns of another culture to fit in, particularly in reference to the integration with the dominant group (e.g., an immigrant adopting the British norms and values). Acculturation also suggests that both cultures remain remotely distinctive, however; both cultures add something to one another. Epistemology – Is the investigation into the method of acquiring knowledge. It aims to answer the question, “How do we know?” It focuses on the nature of concepts, the development of concept, the truthfulness of the sense, reasoning as well as all things mental. It is concerned with how our minds are able to identify the truthfulness …show more content…
The Positivist paradigm is based upon the realist ontology, which suggests that “there exists a reality out there, driven by immutable natural laws” (Guba, 1990:19). As a result, positivism points out the causal relationships and commonalities between different aspects of the surrounding world. Due to the Positivist paradigm having an objectivist epistemology, they require the researcher to discover the real world which in order to do so they must “put questions directly to nature and allow nature to answer back” (Guba, 1990:19). Furthermore, researchers are required to remain detached from the study as this enables them to gain an objective view to understand the information …show more content…
Participants used in Positivist research are randomly selected, and “The essential feature of experimental research is that investigators deliberately control and manipulate the conditions which determine the event in which they are interested, introduce an intervention and measures the different that it makes” (Cohen, Mannion & Morrison, 2011:313). Data collected from a positivist approach is presented in a Quantitative form allowing researcher to generalise the results
276). Curtin’s Coculturation (2010) combats this hegemonic discourse by stating, “everyone is continually engaged in social and political processes of identification” (p. 283). Thus, one’s identity can consist of multiple cultures and they can in fact coincide. The idea that one group “belongs” in a particular imagined community is a myth, there is no single response or adaption. The theory of Coculturation ultimately accommodates to a more realistic approach to cultural adjustment where a newcomer can adopt some behavior of the host culture while still maintaining the conciliatory and subconscious aspects of their native
Cultural assimilation is one’s intention or nation in dominating another group or society. The pace can either be quick or gradual, depending on the community being referred to and from what history can tell, it often leads to dispute from both members of the group to a degree that it often causes war. Assimilation of the Native Americans and the Europeans during the seventeenth century are described as a cruel and a horrific period. As John M. Murrin states “the discovery of America was an evil. Never can the advantages it brought about (no matter how one considers or depicts them) compensate for the harm it has caused.” Although this may be true, the cantankerous and domineering Europeans depended on the economic, political and societal gains from the Natives. However, Europeans attempt to change the Natives beliefs on social issues such as religion and
The type of research conducted often depends on the epistemology of the researcher. Epistemology is considered the justification of knowledge; it is about the relationship between the researcher, knowledge, and how knowledge is created (Carter...
A. Economic success is not the only kind of success- for the purpose of this paper, prosperity is being isolated to economic success
Many people in America want to assimilate to the U.S. because they think that being American is a better option. People such as the Italians in the 1870s tried to assimilate in order to become an American to not become an enemy in the U.S. Also, the Mexicans today are constantly coming to the U.S. to have a better life because they know being American is the best solution for their problems at home. What assimilation mean is when a person leaves one’s own culture to join a different culture the person wants to be. For the purpose of this essay, an American is a person who has commitment to succeed in what one wants, able to speak english, to love the pop culture in the U.S. at the time one is living such as the hit songs, games, T.V. shows, etc. but not to other cultures, and be a citizen in America. People throughout history must assimilate to become a true American
Acculturation and assimilation are treated as complex, multifaceted phenomena. The acceptance of new cultural traits or social associations and retention of traditional cultural traits and social associations are viewe...
The epistemological concept questions “how do I know?” The epistemological dimension is how we view the assumptions of knowledge to decide what to believe (Marcia, 2008, p2). The way in which information is delivered affects how it perceived by those who receive the information. Intrapersonal dimension is how we chose and adopt the values and beliefs that we decide to live by (Marcia, 2008, p8). For example, as a student in the first phase of self-authorship, I seek my values and beliefs according to seeking acceptance from those around me, while others who may be further down the process chose their values and beliefs according to who they are. Interpersonal dimensions is the connection between yourself and with others (Marcia, 2008, p9). It is the understanding of others views and developing a mature and respectful way to interact with everyone. “Complex epistemological, intrapersonal, and interpersonal development is necessary for adults to build complex belief systems, to form a coherent sense of identity, and to develop authentic, mature relations with diverse others (Baxter Magolda, 2001).” Within this course, I believe that we have learned a bit of all of three dimensions. Reading the
To fulfill accuracy in this research, the main strategy that is used is the mixed methods, which lies under the post-positivist philosophy. This strategy is mainly the result of the combination of the positivist and the anti-positivist philosophies. In their book Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research, Creswell and Plano Clark (2011, p. 5) state that the mixed methods technique “[…] involves philosophical assumptions that guide the direction of the collection and analysis of data and the mixture of qualitative and quantitative data in a single study or series of studies.”
The concept of logical positivism, also known as logical empiricism or simply positivism, is a vital one in the realm of the social sciences, having a profusion of influence. Virtually beginning in the 1920s, logical positivism reached a peak around the time of the 1950s and 1960s. The notion revolves around the idea that scientific knowledge is the only form of valid and factual knowledge and focuses on the importance of one’s own phenomena experiences (Stiles, 2017). Although influential, there have been many analyses and critiques of the notion, with political scientist Thomas S. Kuhn acting as a prevalent critic. Kuhn, and a fair sum of other critics, are post-positivists which are those who believe that believe theory is revisable as not
Teske, Raymond H.C., Jr., and Bardin H. Nelson. Acculturation and Assimilation: A Clarification 1.2 (1974): 351-67. Jstor.org. Jstor.org/journals, Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
As we may all have once experienced, acculturation is one of the most common part of our lives, either by music, language or habits. In many occasions is more noticeable, but they are still a part of our entire lives. Through my own experiences and some of my classmates we were able to identified this topic in our own lives. I being born in USA but raised in Mexico until I was 16 years old, made my acculturation really clear when I came to this country without any previous knowledge of this language or society. Everything was completely different, but I was able to adapt to a new culture in a small period of time, learning a new language and successfully ending High School. Now that I came to college, I feel that I am going to a new acculturation process, not as harsh or obvious. But leaving and having many Asian friends have been acculturated me to their Asian culture little by little. Everything starts when you put in practice small customs as taking your shoes at the door, eating rice with anything and eating specially with chopsticks. I have been presented to this, and in my opinion have become acculturated to this culture. However, not everyone stories are the same. Lizandro Laverman experienced acculturation more indirectly by his parents experiences. His parents, basically, came to the United States to have a better lifestyle. He himself personally considers himself as an American. Although he is actually 75% Guatemalan and 25% German he considers himself to be 100% American. He also speak fluent in both languages, so the English and the Spanish, but speaks English more than anything. He also feels embraced when as Guatemalan dishes. In general, his parents are only used to a lifestyle that comes from Guatemala as train...
Epistemology helped me investigate the procedure I went through for crafting the essays. I referred to books, online articles, journal and other publications to understand and justify the concepts and information. It helped me distinguish between what is false, what is true across diverse contexts, and to decide the boundaries of knowledge based on how that knowledge is acquired. I also evaluated the truthfulness of my beliefs and personal opinion. I am actuated by understanding the sources of knowledge and also the quality of the resulting knowledge – knowing its dimensions and limitations.
There are two main schools of thought, or methods, in regards to the subject of epistemology: rationalism and empiricism. These two, very different, schools of thought attempt to answer the philosophical question of how knowledge is acquired. While rationalists believe that this process occurs solely in our minds, empiricists argue that it is, instead, through sensory experience. After reading and understanding each argument it is clear that empiricism is the most relative explanatory position in epistemology.
Many sociologists come to a disagreement and different approaches to the Sociological concept of positivism and antipositivism. Positivism is the scientific study of social patterns. This pertains to the use of scientific methods to get a more clear understanding of the natural world. Auguste Comte was the founder of this concept. Comte believed the way that society interacts with individuals using positivism would usher in a new “positivist” age of history. Comte concept of positivism is still relevant today. Since then positivism has been expanded and became the foundation for quantitative sociology. Quantitative sociology is the use of empirical evidence to gain an understanding of human patterns and behavior.
Epistemology as a theory of knowledge has influenced the way I teach as I have realized that there are certain things that we adapt on the external environment and these things have a major influence on the internal environment within which I actively construct knowledge. Being aware of these influences has helped me to understand that knowledge is not only constructed from the school settings, but also from the world outside the school. As a result I am able to act on those external influences and create knowledge rather than passively react to the environment.