Wham! I just got hit with my first interview. Today, Denise took me to a tradeshow in Belfast for social economy organizations, to see if I could make any contacts that would help me with my research. Even though this is what I'm studying this summer, I still find it kind of wierd when organizations that are dedicated to helping people take part in stereotypical business activities. When we got there, I was a little intimidated by the suits and business cards. It always helps me to imagine everyone in a beige tunic. Visualizing tunics: covered.
Next, Denise sent me out among the different booths to explain to people that I was an undergraduate student asking for their time. I gained a new appreciation for the salesman. You have to be a certain type to walk up to a stranger, chat them up, and remember eveyone's name and what their company does for the ten minutes that you talk to them. Add a wink, a smile, and sparkly teeth, and we've narrowed the Master Salesman field down to about 5% of the world population. Most people at the tradeshow either gave me a lukewarm reception (they were mostly there to get their products out to paying clients), but a few were really nice and helpful. Some of them explained that they were students themselves, going for a masters or a doctorate in their free time. When you're only in an area for a short time, the access problem can be greatly ameliorated by creating a network of other students and internshippers.
I was just getting over my go-up-to-people-in-suits-and-explain-yourself nerves when someone offered to do an interview right there. Wait. What? The man was the head of a street carnival/peace and reconciliation group in Belfast. He told me to come back in half an hour, at which point I had to prise him away from his African drum circle, fighting the urge to lose all of my professionalism by breaking out some serious dance moves with one of the performers: a clown on stilts.
For a first interview, it went well. It was more conversational in style, since I hadn't cemented my interview questions yet. The concept that stood out the most was that of "shared space." His carnival venue provided a neutral place for people to come together in the streets, which was of vital importance during violent years when people were reluctant to go out and celebrate. Now, the shared space still operates out in the street, but also provides a neutral venue for making friends across communities and learning neutral music that is not tied to any specific N. Irish community (mostly drumming). At the end of the interview, he told me he thought it was better to record them on tape. He said the risk that a tape would cause people to self-censor was small, because, as he put it, "everyone here is used to that kind of thing--people waving recorders in their faces."
Showing posts with label School Daze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School Daze. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Placement
Fair warning: this post is boring as it has to do with research stuff.
So, originally I had arranged to have a placement with a peacebuilding organization for the duration of my stay. They are an organization that helps give disadvantaged people employment opportunities.
During the second week of my placement, my placement mentor whisked me out of the office rather abruptly. She took me on a day trip with her over to one of the partner universities (Coleraine), and I got a chance to watch a program that helps students all over the UK set up their own business. The government gives them each 5000 pounds and has professors from the university guide them along the way. One student had a 1 million pound turnover last year. Could this be the solution to the rising costs of higher education in America?
On the drive back from Coleraine, through the beautiful Irish countryside, my mentor and I got to talking about my placement. It turns out that because of some liability issues with my visa status, my organization decided that they could no longer accommodate me in-house.
The cons of this were that I no longer had structured goals and expectations of what I needed to do during my summer, nor did I have access to office facilities. My organization had several programs up and running that were very well suited to studying the effects of economic development on peacebuilding.
Nevertheless, my placement mentor and I were determined to be flexible and have a positive outlook. And the more I thought about it, the less horrible the turn in events seemed. For one, during my second week I had a talk with the director of the organization and another talk with my supervisor that were a little disconcerting. They both explained that their organization engaged in "soft peacebuilding," and thus would never ask any of the "obvious" or "tough" questions of its participants. That really wouldn't have been a problem with me, but they also made it sound like they were only interested in eliciting "happy, inspiring stories" out of their interviewees. In addition, they scaled down the role that I was going to play in interviewing the women, deciding that they would be in charge of writing the questions.
My supervisor expressed a lack of faith that I would be capable of navigating sensitive issues and was worried I might scare some of the participants away. I tried to explain that I was confident in my ability to do the job, and cited past experience interviewing Holocaust survivors.
Convincing them of my abilities turned out to be a moot point anyway, due to the aforementioned visa/liability issues. So, it turns out that my organization's decision to "let me go" may have been the best thing all around. They were clearly experiencing a bit of buyer's remorse, and this change in direction would actually allow me more flexibility in my research.
With that, my placement mentor and I decided to have weekly meetings to refine my research methods and check in on my plan of action. My research questions and goals remain the same, but my data collection method now consists of interviewing eight to nine people who work in the social economy sector. My placement mentor (perhaps I should change her moniker to research mentor?) used her contacts in the biz to help me find people to interview. Also, without a placement, I now have a more flexible schedule, so I can take time to travel! I immediately extended my stay in Paris so that instead of just taking the weekend, I could have two extra days there :-D
So, originally I had arranged to have a placement with a peacebuilding organization for the duration of my stay. They are an organization that helps give disadvantaged people employment opportunities.
During the second week of my placement, my placement mentor whisked me out of the office rather abruptly. She took me on a day trip with her over to one of the partner universities (Coleraine), and I got a chance to watch a program that helps students all over the UK set up their own business. The government gives them each 5000 pounds and has professors from the university guide them along the way. One student had a 1 million pound turnover last year. Could this be the solution to the rising costs of higher education in America?
On the drive back from Coleraine, through the beautiful Irish countryside, my mentor and I got to talking about my placement. It turns out that because of some liability issues with my visa status, my organization decided that they could no longer accommodate me in-house.
The cons of this were that I no longer had structured goals and expectations of what I needed to do during my summer, nor did I have access to office facilities. My organization had several programs up and running that were very well suited to studying the effects of economic development on peacebuilding.
Nevertheless, my placement mentor and I were determined to be flexible and have a positive outlook. And the more I thought about it, the less horrible the turn in events seemed. For one, during my second week I had a talk with the director of the organization and another talk with my supervisor that were a little disconcerting. They both explained that their organization engaged in "soft peacebuilding," and thus would never ask any of the "obvious" or "tough" questions of its participants. That really wouldn't have been a problem with me, but they also made it sound like they were only interested in eliciting "happy, inspiring stories" out of their interviewees. In addition, they scaled down the role that I was going to play in interviewing the women, deciding that they would be in charge of writing the questions.
My supervisor expressed a lack of faith that I would be capable of navigating sensitive issues and was worried I might scare some of the participants away. I tried to explain that I was confident in my ability to do the job, and cited past experience interviewing Holocaust survivors.
Convincing them of my abilities turned out to be a moot point anyway, due to the aforementioned visa/liability issues. So, it turns out that my organization's decision to "let me go" may have been the best thing all around. They were clearly experiencing a bit of buyer's remorse, and this change in direction would actually allow me more flexibility in my research.
With that, my placement mentor and I decided to have weekly meetings to refine my research methods and check in on my plan of action. My research questions and goals remain the same, but my data collection method now consists of interviewing eight to nine people who work in the social economy sector. My placement mentor (perhaps I should change her moniker to research mentor?) used her contacts in the biz to help me find people to interview. Also, without a placement, I now have a more flexible schedule, so I can take time to travel! I immediately extended my stay in Paris so that instead of just taking the weekend, I could have two extra days there :-D
Thursday, May 29, 2008
More research stuff: Jessa's first participant observation!
Today I went to an arts class, designed to facilitate cross-community ties as well as to teach marketable craft skills and math. I quilted a potholder! (Okay, I sewed the little strips of fabric together and the teacher did everything else). The instructor was an imposing, gregarious woman who was mortified that I didn't know how to use a sewing machine and tutted over my ironing abilities. I was actually very glad to have her bossing me around, though, because sometimes when I'm nervous my brain switches off and I just need someone to tell me what to do. My nerves were acting up because was my first participant-observation, which is a research method for collecting qualitative data.
The students in the class were a little quiet at first. One of the employees at my organization warned me that people in Derry are wary of outsiders who come in to "study" them. Once I started talking about where I was from and my family, they let their guard down and became very friendly. One of the students spent a lot of her time helping me each time my thread disappeared into the sewing machine. Another person told me that the program had cured her of a recurring health problem.
I actually found that quilting a potholder was very relaxing, and was surprised at the complexity of some of the students' projects. To tell you the truth, when I first walked into the class I looked upon quilting as sort of provincial. Actually, though, there is a lot of thinking and math that goes into getting the patterns and measurements right, and you have to cut and sew very precisely to get a good product. I asked what happened when someone messes up, and one of the students said “we just don’t. The fabric is too expensive.”
Tea time was the best; the chatting and social time are as important for the program's success as the employment skills. I had a very enlightening conversation with the program coordinator, who explained to me that the type of reconciliation that goes on in that room is very under-the-surface. When you are in the company of normal people in Northern Ireland (it's different if you're with a public figure), it's considered a faux pas to bring up religion. The people in the class never talk about what religion they are; however, you can almost always tell whether someone is Protestant or Catholic by where they live. The way the coordinator explained it to me is that there is a collective ethos of moving on from the past that gives people a sense of hope and progress, but it also prevents people from bringing past wounds out into the open.
Actually, the class itself illustrates a peacebuilding theory that if you set people to work on a common goal, they will forge bonds that help them overcome their differences. I was very impressed when one of the students asked for help on a problem with her project and all of the others came rushing over to help them work out a solution. After they were done helping, one of the students piped up, "is it tea time yet?" If you ever go to Northern Ireland, be prepared to have a lot of tea and "biscuits" (flaky, thin sugar cookies).
Yes, when it comes to things that I make, functional DOES mean ugly.
The students in the class were a little quiet at first. One of the employees at my organization warned me that people in Derry are wary of outsiders who come in to "study" them. Once I started talking about where I was from and my family, they let their guard down and became very friendly. One of the students spent a lot of her time helping me each time my thread disappeared into the sewing machine. Another person told me that the program had cured her of a recurring health problem.
I actually found that quilting a potholder was very relaxing, and was surprised at the complexity of some of the students' projects. To tell you the truth, when I first walked into the class I looked upon quilting as sort of provincial. Actually, though, there is a lot of thinking and math that goes into getting the patterns and measurements right, and you have to cut and sew very precisely to get a good product. I asked what happened when someone messes up, and one of the students said “we just don’t. The fabric is too expensive.”
Tea time was the best; the chatting and social time are as important for the program's success as the employment skills. I had a very enlightening conversation with the program coordinator, who explained to me that the type of reconciliation that goes on in that room is very under-the-surface. When you are in the company of normal people in Northern Ireland (it's different if you're with a public figure), it's considered a faux pas to bring up religion. The people in the class never talk about what religion they are; however, you can almost always tell whether someone is Protestant or Catholic by where they live. The way the coordinator explained it to me is that there is a collective ethos of moving on from the past that gives people a sense of hope and progress, but it also prevents people from bringing past wounds out into the open.
Actually, the class itself illustrates a peacebuilding theory that if you set people to work on a common goal, they will forge bonds that help them overcome their differences. I was very impressed when one of the students asked for help on a problem with her project and all of the others came rushing over to help them work out a solution. After they were done helping, one of the students piped up, "is it tea time yet?" If you ever go to Northern Ireland, be prepared to have a lot of tea and "biscuits" (flaky, thin sugar cookies).
Yes, when it comes to things that I make, functional DOES mean ugly.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Young lady, explain yourself!
I'm a rising junior at Swarthmore College, going for an honors major in Economics with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. Peace Studies is a relatively new, inter-
disciplinary field, so there is some room to explore how to approach peacebuilding from an economic standpoint. Swarthmore gives out summer research grants, so back in February Professor Magee from my Intro to Peace and Conflict Studies class helped me write a proposal for a grant in the social sciences. She also wrote my recommendation letter. I was awarded a Joel Dean Summer Research Fellowship, and I'm in Derry/Londonderry for nine weeks to learn how economic development contributes to peacebuilding. I also want a pony.
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