One thing I wanted to mention was the use of documents for qualitative data. Mr. Flick writes a great deal about it in the book I mentioned yesterday and I have been having some thoughts about it.
Documents are a way of storing people´s experiences. In a sense they are the memory of our culture. Whilst some documents, say Anne Frank´s diary are of vital importance for the memory of the entire western world, my own ambling on in my adolescent journal about how terrible my dance teachers treated me, might be interesting to me one day and to a few select readers.
I have a book written 7 years ago, in which an author interviewed former dancers on their lives after dance. The book is written in narrative form, so therefore the accounts given have already passed through the interpretation and world- view of the author. Now, that I am analysing and using this document, the original experiences will again be interpreted once more by my own views and distorted by, what I am using this particular document for, in order to enhance let´s say a theory I have.
As I was listening to the radio this morning I came across an interesting project called "Highrise" from the Canadian National Film Board.
http://highrise.nfb.ca
I thought it represents a good visual to what I am trying to express with words, how the same thing, looked at from another point of view, in a different city, or coming from a different social background can look totally new.
Although I have not had the time to read it in it´s entirety I am once again taken by Peter Bryant´s latest blog entry. http://peterbryant.smegradio.com/?p=256
I would like to share it here with everyone reading this, because it offers great thoughts on the psychological aspects of learning and connecting to your fellow students on line- exclusively.
Thank you Peter at this point!
OK...nouff said....cheers for reading ((O;
Fione thanks for this - yes linking ideas is not always exclusively subject based - but how things are seen through concepts and structure. Your example with the Film Board is enabling you to sense and see your analysis more clearly, and thus hopefully, to be able to communicate it more clearly to us. The book that you mention also reminds us that we as 'researchers' are in s continuum of knowledge exchange - but reviewing and reformulating are important ways to generate knowledge that is fit for purpose as social context change. It will be interesting to hear if things have changed for German dancers who are coming to terms of with retirement. I recently read a book about the 'garrett' sisters - ealry victorian doctors and politicians. Millicent Garrett Fawcett worked for women's voting rights in England http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/millicent_garrett_fawcett.shtml Elizabeth Garrett was a doctor http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/garrett_anderson_elizabeth.shtml As you have just described - jumping out of our subject area or topic for a few moments has been a relief and 'fools the mind' or lets your sub-conscious play a bit to organise thinking. Only briefly as inquiries are due! Glad you checked out Peter's blog ad found it useful.
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