Both of the readings seemed to be interesting, yet the ideas from the book I felt I could relate to better. Looking back at the quotes that Julie pulled out for us to respond to I felt that the quote about Theo Van Gogh to be the most interesting. As Buruma describes that death of him in an ironic way, I think back to the end of Chapter Five where Buruma discusses the significance of Van Gogh not being afraid of being killed because of Submission because he felt that he wouldn't be seen as responsible for its production. Van Gogh argued that he had been there just to support Hirshi Ali while she put the eleven minute film together. I find that to be somewhat ironic. Theo Van Gogh was a very outspoken man yet felt that he would be threatened by anyone after Submission appeared. The description in the end of Chapter 5 matches the quote on Page 112 very well.
As having discussed with Shirley and Julie on Friday, the attire of 2nd generation immigration is a very interesting topic, so much so that we have changed our research question to explore it. Having not thought much about this issues until reading Buruma, I think the whole idea is rather complex yet fascinating. How do the younger generation immigrants make their decisions on what to wear? The quote about religious attire being there just as a fashion statement is a bold statement yet seems to not stray too much from the truth. Alongside this quote, Buruma illustrates some great examples about how women especially on Muslim beliefs are dealing with this situation. From what I understood, I feel that Buruma thinks that many of the women are not wearing their headscarves for the right reasons, or for any known reason. That whole idea really fascinates me, I wonder if the religion is creating the fashion choices or on the other hand, if by wearing the headscarves that religion just goes with it. It's a complex relationship in my mind.
The quote on rappers just make it want to role my eyes, because in general at least here in the United States, I see rappers to be confused individuals. They pretend to be something that they really aren't, in most cases. The quote on rappers playing in on murder only makes their lives in Amsterdam seem to be ironic. They are normal individuals living in a tolerant society yet making statements are very intolerant of others. It just doesn't make much sense to me.
Aside from Murder in Amsterdam reading, I found the article to really not be that interesting (sorry). I appreciated the explanation of what the Virtual Knowledge Studio is because I didn't really understand what it was all about until now, but I found it more to be a tool for dealing with the issues that Buruma mentioned more than them having something in common.
From the article, I took out the path that they are taking to making e-science actually mean e-research which it enlightens me yet to me it just meant that more parts of research would be used to come to a solution in humanities and social sciences. Yet it seemed ironic because while expanding the ideas of attaining knowledge, I felt that there was an overall idea that too much knowledge is not good.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Clothing is overrated!
Part I.
Subject: UW student in a seminar
Sex: Female
Age: Too young to be in the real world, well kinda.
Race: White
Religion: Couldn’t tell from the subject’s appearance.
Overall read: Average cloth student lacking sleep or style, couldn’t quite tell.
Clothing: The subject was wearing a wear pair of sweats that had absolutely no form to them, making one think that they were supposed to be worn by the male gender instead of a young woman. On top, the subject was wearing what looked like a black cycling long-sleeve shirt. The shoes were black and made by adidas. There seemed to be nothing of a sense of personality coming from the attire of the subject on Monday April 23, 2007. The choice of the subject’s clothing choice only seemed to me to be very boring. It’s as if she has no sense of style and chooses to get dressed in the dark.
Hair/Makeup: Again much like the description above, the hair style and makeup of the subject was boring. Her brown hair was up a messy bun, causing her to look like she had stuck her finger in an electrical outlet. The lack of consistency in her hair color was also somewhat strange. It looked like she might be trying to grow out some old color, and maybe just got a bad hair color job done. In any case, the color of her hair went from dark at the hairline to the ends being a much lighter color. In terms of makeup, I may have missed it but it seemed to me that she wasn’t wearing any. I guess the subject missed the memo that makeup is a must for the female gender. There was nothing about her hair or makeup that reminded me of the current generation’s tastes. It seemed to me that the subject had no intention in making either of the two features seem attractive.
Aside from the clothing, hair, and makeup choices, I saw nothing else on the subject’s body. I saw no visible tattoos or piercings, a further implication of the simplicity of the subject.
Part II.
The motivation behind the outfit that I picked out on Monday was based on desire to sleep in to the last moment before heading off to almost eight hours of class. Having spent the previous night dealing with a roommate situation, I woke up in the morning and attempted to put together an outfit that would only serve one purpose, to be comfortable as to not remind me of the lack of sleep. When I don’t get enough sleep, I am easily irritated by the simplest things, so my day tends to be a little smoother when I dress for myself. Aside from my choice in clothes, I didn’t do my hair or make up just for the simple fact, I didn’t want to. With hair that is as long as mine, it is difficult to have the motivation to do with it more than throwing it up at 7am, so this results in the electrical look almost every day. Because of the lack of motivation to put together a nice outfit, I felt that if I applied make up to my face I would look ironic (lol). Ironic in the way that I had time to apply paint to my face yet I present myself to society in a pair of sweatpants. I think it is necessary to make the whole image of the person match.
Though my outfit on Monday was a little extreme on the lazy side, I do tend to not focus too much on what I wear to school. On most days, I am only there to learn. When it comes to my appearance I am a very casual laid back person who is very content with jeans and a sweatshirt as an outfit. I find no desire to get dressed up to come to campus, nothing sounds more uncomfortable than putting some heels on to trek from the Old Fisheries building up to Mary Gates hall. Though I may look like I don’t care about the way I dress, I have a major shopping problem that revolves around jeans and shoes, yet I never seem to prance around in those on campus. I guess what people see of me from the outside is just what I am: a young simple college student just here to do what I need to do.
Subject: UW student in a seminar
Sex: Female
Age: Too young to be in the real world, well kinda.
Race: White
Religion: Couldn’t tell from the subject’s appearance.
Overall read: Average cloth student lacking sleep or style, couldn’t quite tell.
Clothing: The subject was wearing a wear pair of sweats that had absolutely no form to them, making one think that they were supposed to be worn by the male gender instead of a young woman. On top, the subject was wearing what looked like a black cycling long-sleeve shirt. The shoes were black and made by adidas. There seemed to be nothing of a sense of personality coming from the attire of the subject on Monday April 23, 2007. The choice of the subject’s clothing choice only seemed to me to be very boring. It’s as if she has no sense of style and chooses to get dressed in the dark.
Hair/Makeup: Again much like the description above, the hair style and makeup of the subject was boring. Her brown hair was up a messy bun, causing her to look like she had stuck her finger in an electrical outlet. The lack of consistency in her hair color was also somewhat strange. It looked like she might be trying to grow out some old color, and maybe just got a bad hair color job done. In any case, the color of her hair went from dark at the hairline to the ends being a much lighter color. In terms of makeup, I may have missed it but it seemed to me that she wasn’t wearing any. I guess the subject missed the memo that makeup is a must for the female gender. There was nothing about her hair or makeup that reminded me of the current generation’s tastes. It seemed to me that the subject had no intention in making either of the two features seem attractive.
Aside from the clothing, hair, and makeup choices, I saw nothing else on the subject’s body. I saw no visible tattoos or piercings, a further implication of the simplicity of the subject.
Part II.
The motivation behind the outfit that I picked out on Monday was based on desire to sleep in to the last moment before heading off to almost eight hours of class. Having spent the previous night dealing with a roommate situation, I woke up in the morning and attempted to put together an outfit that would only serve one purpose, to be comfortable as to not remind me of the lack of sleep. When I don’t get enough sleep, I am easily irritated by the simplest things, so my day tends to be a little smoother when I dress for myself. Aside from my choice in clothes, I didn’t do my hair or make up just for the simple fact, I didn’t want to. With hair that is as long as mine, it is difficult to have the motivation to do with it more than throwing it up at 7am, so this results in the electrical look almost every day. Because of the lack of motivation to put together a nice outfit, I felt that if I applied make up to my face I would look ironic (lol). Ironic in the way that I had time to apply paint to my face yet I present myself to society in a pair of sweatpants. I think it is necessary to make the whole image of the person match.
Though my outfit on Monday was a little extreme on the lazy side, I do tend to not focus too much on what I wear to school. On most days, I am only there to learn. When it comes to my appearance I am a very casual laid back person who is very content with jeans and a sweatshirt as an outfit. I find no desire to get dressed up to come to campus, nothing sounds more uncomfortable than putting some heels on to trek from the Old Fisheries building up to Mary Gates hall. Though I may look like I don’t care about the way I dress, I have a major shopping problem that revolves around jeans and shoes, yet I never seem to prance around in those on campus. I guess what people see of me from the outside is just what I am: a young simple college student just here to do what I need to do.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
New thoughts towards a concrete research question
After much stress and confusion, Shirley and I feel that we have narrowed down our ideas into something that is researchable online before the trip and will be researchable within Amsterdam and surrounding areas. Aside from conducting interviews, we also hope to find locations that are saturated with certain immigrant populations so that we can observe their habits in public locations. Below is our general research question followed by our methods. Enjoy!
Does assimilation in Amsterdam discourage immigrants from openly discussing the issues of oppression and lack of access to equal opportunity while attempting to integrate them into society? It will be an attempt to probe into the views of the “less accepted” surrounding the way society deals with internal issues. Do people of non-Dutch descent feel that they are truly accepted into society or are they made to believe so for the benefit of the society?
The three ethnic groups that we are most interested in studying are: Moroccans, Turks, and Surinamesse. (They may/not be associated with the Islamic religion). We would like to have one group not associated with the religion, or even a family with multiple views. We hope to find them at Ethnic cultural centers, or find them prior to departure through contacts provided by Julie and Clifford. It would be most interesting to find a family that has worked themselves out of the lower class status, integrating into society with less oppression. To narrow the scope of our interests, we are most interested in the interpersonal relationships (psychological, social) between natives and immigrants. We would also have a viewpoint from the immigrants about their struggles and successes in integrating into society. Within the interviews process, we are also interested in seeing what the effect of new immigration policies are having on currently successful immigrants.
Does assimilation in Amsterdam discourage immigrants from openly discussing the issues of oppression and lack of access to equal opportunity while attempting to integrate them into society? It will be an attempt to probe into the views of the “less accepted” surrounding the way society deals with internal issues. Do people of non-Dutch descent feel that they are truly accepted into society or are they made to believe so for the benefit of the society?
The three ethnic groups that we are most interested in studying are: Moroccans, Turks, and Surinamesse. (They may/not be associated with the Islamic religion). We would like to have one group not associated with the religion, or even a family with multiple views. We hope to find them at Ethnic cultural centers, or find them prior to departure through contacts provided by Julie and Clifford. It would be most interesting to find a family that has worked themselves out of the lower class status, integrating into society with less oppression. To narrow the scope of our interests, we are most interested in the interpersonal relationships (psychological, social) between natives and immigrants. We would also have a viewpoint from the immigrants about their struggles and successes in integrating into society. Within the interviews process, we are also interested in seeing what the effect of new immigration policies are having on currently successful immigrants.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A Walk around the Block
The essay as written by Kevin Lynch and Malcolm Rivkin presented the physical experience of 27 people as they walked around and through a block in Boston. It was interesting that they chose the block that they did because it seemed to have a lot of things going on all at once. The location of the church, the park and the Ritz Carlton allowed this block to seem inclusive of the general ideas about the city, at least in my opinion. The main focus of the reading was on the physical descriptions that people commented on while they made their walk. It was interesting to see the different opinions people had of the same thing such as the New England Mutual building. Though some of the comments were rather description, there weren't as many comments about what all the people were doing. I felt like leaving people out of the situation makes it difficult to describe a place. A place is not a place without people acting on. In the essay, they discuss the area around the Ritz Carlton as an epitome of Boston, but its the patrons that have caused it to be this way. There were lots of comments also made on the bright looking things and also the lack of bright pretty things in the alley. People tended to focus on the two ends of the desirable spectrum while ignoring what was happening in between.
In relation to my experience observing pike place market with Shirley, I feel that though we really tried to observe the people, we became easily side-tracked by standstill observations. It's really difficult to observe interpersonal relationships when walking through a really crowded walkway. One of the comments from the reading that resonated in my mind while reviewing the article, was about the way that two worlds come together by the presence of the park and the city. I kind of saw that in the market, but in a more general way. It was interesting to see how everyone was able to come together to join something so simple. I wish the reading had included more descriptions of what people had been doing so that to understand how the different parts of the block were affected by the people, or what kind of people you would find where. Overall, I feel that though the reading gave me more insight on the need to pay close attention to observing the landscape, it does nothing for me when it comes to observing people. This is very evident especially when people have to tell about their experience after several days, and how they mostly discuss structural sights but include very little about the sounds or smells. This just shows how little people really remember about experiences.
In relation to my experience observing pike place market with Shirley, I feel that though we really tried to observe the people, we became easily side-tracked by standstill observations. It's really difficult to observe interpersonal relationships when walking through a really crowded walkway. One of the comments from the reading that resonated in my mind while reviewing the article, was about the way that two worlds come together by the presence of the park and the city. I kind of saw that in the market, but in a more general way. It was interesting to see how everyone was able to come together to join something so simple. I wish the reading had included more descriptions of what people had been doing so that to understand how the different parts of the block were affected by the people, or what kind of people you would find where. Overall, I feel that though the reading gave me more insight on the need to pay close attention to observing the landscape, it does nothing for me when it comes to observing people. This is very evident especially when people have to tell about their experience after several days, and how they mostly discuss structural sights but include very little about the sounds or smells. This just shows how little people really remember about experiences.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Pike Place Market, the real international district...
After being presented with the assignment last Wednesday, we decided that in order for us to see an example of immigrants working together, it would be great to go "walk around the block" in the international district. I had never been there before but had always thought it was mostly Asians, so I agreed we would meet there on Saturday afternoon to do some exploration. Once we met in the international district, I realized that observing a variety of Asian populations would not give us to much information towards understanding the issues of immigration in Amsterdam, so I recommended we head down to Pike Place Market.Shirley had never been there, so it worked out great because she came into the situation with a completely naive look.
We met at noon and spent about an hour walking around. We started our walk at the beginning of the marker, and then ended at the world famous fish market.After that we took a walk around the block to see all the different shops that were open. We used photography as our method of documentation. I also took some mental notes of what was going on because it was so crowded that it was really difficult to have a notebook out.
We noticed that in general everyone just kept to themselves. It was kind of interesting to see all the different types of stands that were open, and the lack of chit-chatting between vendors. From personal experience, vendors in Portland tend to be much more talkative than the ones that I saw on Saturday.There were lots of different cultures that were coming together yet were not connecting with each other. On one side of the walkway were flower sellers, and they seemed to be chit-chatting with each other while selling their flowers. I noticed that there were signs over the flowers stating where they were from, and even if the vendors were from different parts of the state, they were still very friendly and accommodating to each other. I thought it was interesting to see how different how the two sides of the walkway are different.
In general, there were lots of different languages being spoken, and there were lots of families. People kind of blocked the walk way in groups, causing it Tobe difficult to get through. The older generations were nicer than some of the younger generations. A lot of the families with younger children made it seem like they had a priority in getting through the crowd. Maybe my view is slightly different from other observations but I felt that every individual in the group thought that they were better than the people standing around them.
My favorite part of the walk was observing the different kinds of people that were getting food from the French bakery and the Russian bakery. The people in line for these places weren't all of that culture, but everyone was coming together to enjoy some good food. Also, I noticed that these people tended to be very friendly to each other.
After taking this walk, I decided that it would really useful for us to take walk around a central area in Amsterdam, where all kinds of people get together.I also think it would be helpful for to us to talk to a counselor at an international community center (a real one, not one that just deals with the Asian population). Also during our walk, we thought it would interesting to attend a human rights lecture at the University of Amsterdam if one is available.
From this walk, we realized that just observing the general population may give us a false sense of integration. So we will need to find people to talk to that know about the issues that immigrants are facing.
We met at noon and spent about an hour walking around. We started our walk at the beginning of the marker, and then ended at the world famous fish market.After that we took a walk around the block to see all the different shops that were open. We used photography as our method of documentation. I also took some mental notes of what was going on because it was so crowded that it was really difficult to have a notebook out.
We noticed that in general everyone just kept to themselves. It was kind of interesting to see all the different types of stands that were open, and the lack of chit-chatting between vendors. From personal experience, vendors in Portland tend to be much more talkative than the ones that I saw on Saturday.There were lots of different cultures that were coming together yet were not connecting with each other. On one side of the walkway were flower sellers, and they seemed to be chit-chatting with each other while selling their flowers. I noticed that there were signs over the flowers stating where they were from, and even if the vendors were from different parts of the state, they were still very friendly and accommodating to each other. I thought it was interesting to see how different how the two sides of the walkway are different.
In general, there were lots of different languages being spoken, and there were lots of families. People kind of blocked the walk way in groups, causing it Tobe difficult to get through. The older generations were nicer than some of the younger generations. A lot of the families with younger children made it seem like they had a priority in getting through the crowd. Maybe my view is slightly different from other observations but I felt that every individual in the group thought that they were better than the people standing around them.
My favorite part of the walk was observing the different kinds of people that were getting food from the French bakery and the Russian bakery. The people in line for these places weren't all of that culture, but everyone was coming together to enjoy some good food. Also, I noticed that these people tended to be very friendly to each other.
After taking this walk, I decided that it would really useful for us to take walk around a central area in Amsterdam, where all kinds of people get together.I also think it would be helpful for to us to talk to a counselor at an international community center (a real one, not one that just deals with the Asian population). Also during our walk, we thought it would interesting to attend a human rights lecture at the University of Amsterdam if one is available.
From this walk, we realized that just observing the general population may give us a false sense of integration. So we will need to find people to talk to that know about the issues that immigrants are facing.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
This really isn't easy.....
I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find internet interaction about the topic of immigration. All I have found so far have been research articles giving me straightforward information instead of giving me a chance to see how people truly feel about the topic.
The sites that have interested me thus far:
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2007/03/amsterdam-4-myths-of-moroccan-youth.html
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1545
http://dir.blogflux.com/country/netherlands.html
This one has a couple of interesting links to people that are living the Dutch life as an immigrant: http://pinkieliefie.blogspot.com/
http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2007/03/15/dutch-anti-immigration-riots/
This one has a lot of really great links to lots of information about immigration but nothing about people's personal views or personal stories.
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/14185/dutch-immigration-kit-offers-a-revealing-view
This last one is definitely my favorite because it focuses around the new video that new immigrants are being forced to watch before they enter the country:
http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/2006/03/peoples-daily-online-dutch-immigration.html
I feel like my research has gotten me nowhere. Any suggestions of better places for me to look???
The sites that have interested me thus far:
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2007/03/amsterdam-4-myths-of-moroccan-youth.html
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1545
http://dir.blogflux.com/country/netherlands.html
This one has a couple of interesting links to people that are living the Dutch life as an immigrant: http://pinkieliefie.blogspot.com/
http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2007/03/15/dutch-anti-immigration-riots/
This one has a lot of really great links to lots of information about immigration but nothing about people's personal views or personal stories.
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/14185/dutch-immigration-kit-offers-a-revealing-view
This last one is definitely my favorite because it focuses around the new video that new immigrants are being forced to watch before they enter the country:
http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/2006/03/peoples-daily-online-dutch-immigration.html
I feel like my research has gotten me nowhere. Any suggestions of better places for me to look???
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Research Topic in its early stage...
With the overwhelming amount of topics that we are allowed to investigate in Amsterdam, I feel slightly confused, but more than anything I feel like a little kid standing at the counter of a candy store. I want to explore everything and know everything but realistically there is no way that I can do that. I have narrowed my topic down to immigration, focusing on several different aspects with the large topic, mostly on how immigrants cultures have changed within the Dutch culture (I hope that's right Shirley). Here is my outline as requested by the assignment:
A) After Wednesday's seminar, Shirley and I have decided to work together. We both noticed that Jonathon, Jana, and Jenny are also interested in immigration so it would interesting to work with them as well, if they are interested in possibly creating a large overall project with each of us focusing on one particular aspect (?).
B) Before heading to Amsterdam, we are interested in getting statistics about immigration to Amsterdam and the Netherlands in general. It would be interesting to understand where they are from, why they left, and where they first went after leaving. I am also interested in knowing the ages of the immigrants, to see if its more of an immigration of younger generations or older. Also, I would be interested in seeing how many family members left with the immigrants. I guess I just want to know everything quantitavelyabout the immigrants. Within these statistics, I would like to focus on the three largest groups.
Some of our larger questions will revolve around discrimination and oppression, and its opposites. We are interested to find out how the lives of immigrants change in the liberal environment of Amsterdam. I feel that no matter how liberal a society is discrimination will still exist, even in the slightest form. In such an assimilated society, I feel that many of the immigrants' opinions may not be heard so I would be interested to see where the roots for their lack of voice comes from.
Aside from understanding the roles of discrimination and oppression in these peoples' lives, we are interested in setting up family interviews with families consisting of at least two generations of immigrants. It would be ideal to find a family with a first generation grandparent, a second generation parent and maybe an adolescent third generation kid. I am interesting in seeing how their opinions of the tolerant society differs. I am interested in seeing how the views of the youngest generation differs from his/her immigrant culture.
C) International Engagement!!!!!! I am so excited to explore without a restricting structure!
D) We might have difficulties crossing language barriers but after having talked to some people that have lived in Amsterdam, I was ensured that most people speak English. I also think it might be difficult to locate families that are interested in doing a one-on-one interview with us. I don't know where to look to find this. I also think we might have too many questions to ask the immigrants, and might possibly get off-track.
Overall, this is just my ideas on paper, well kinda I should say "on digital paper".
A) After Wednesday's seminar, Shirley and I have decided to work together. We both noticed that Jonathon, Jana, and Jenny are also interested in immigration so it would interesting to work with them as well, if they are interested in possibly creating a large overall project with each of us focusing on one particular aspect (?).
B) Before heading to Amsterdam, we are interested in getting statistics about immigration to Amsterdam and the Netherlands in general. It would be interesting to understand where they are from, why they left, and where they first went after leaving. I am also interested in knowing the ages of the immigrants, to see if its more of an immigration of younger generations or older. Also, I would be interested in seeing how many family members left with the immigrants. I guess I just want to know everything quantitavelyabout the immigrants. Within these statistics, I would like to focus on the three largest groups.
Some of our larger questions will revolve around discrimination and oppression, and its opposites. We are interested to find out how the lives of immigrants change in the liberal environment of Amsterdam. I feel that no matter how liberal a society is discrimination will still exist, even in the slightest form. In such an assimilated society, I feel that many of the immigrants' opinions may not be heard so I would be interested to see where the roots for their lack of voice comes from.
Aside from understanding the roles of discrimination and oppression in these peoples' lives, we are interested in setting up family interviews with families consisting of at least two generations of immigrants. It would be ideal to find a family with a first generation grandparent, a second generation parent and maybe an adolescent third generation kid. I am interesting in seeing how their opinions of the tolerant society differs. I am interested in seeing how the views of the youngest generation differs from his/her immigrant culture.
C) International Engagement!!!!!! I am so excited to explore without a restricting structure!
D) We might have difficulties crossing language barriers but after having talked to some people that have lived in Amsterdam, I was ensured that most people speak English. I also think it might be difficult to locate families that are interested in doing a one-on-one interview with us. I don't know where to look to find this. I also think we might have too many questions to ask the immigrants, and might possibly get off-track.
Overall, this is just my ideas on paper, well kinda I should say "on digital paper".
Monday, April 2, 2007
Ideas, Questions, and Evidence: Children in Amsterdam
For as long as I can remember my main focus in society has been centered around children. During the application process while I discussed my research interests with Julie and Clifford, Julie brought my attention to an interesting article posted on BBC News discussing how UNICEF has found that children in the Netherlands are the happiest in the world. This discovery puzzled me. As I reviewed the article, I felt that it didn't completely the answer how? Some of the information provided to more of a "blanket statement".
While initially my research interests were going to be more based in racial diversity and its effects on the overall productivity of the Dutch culture and society, I think I will attempt to put together a way to determine how the Netherlands creates such happy children and how their happiness effects their productivity as adults.
Based on discussion of what the purpose of a research question is, I will try to understand the societal phenomenon of creating happy children.
IDEAS: Children is something I know a lot about as having spent most of my life completely fascinated by them. Their ability to learn is amazing, and often I feel their do not receive appreciation for their brilliancy. I will base most of my questioning about children on the article mentioned above. It claims that Dutch children are made to be the center of the home resulting in their happiness, but I think that there is something lacking in this because it creates a sense of selfishness.
QUESTIONS: Why are Dutch children the happiest in the world? With this sense of the power that is established within a child-centered society, what are these individuals like when they become adults? What can the United States learn from the Netherlands child raising methods in order to create happy children and a happy society? Though my question are generally broad, I think they will narrow down as I create the methods to my social research.
EVIDENCE: Because of the broadness of my research interests, I will try to be as efficient as possible with the places that I will search for evidence in order to find my answer to happiness. I think it will be necessary to examine the opinion of children from various people and how their ideas effect how they raise their children, as well as talk to children, college students and then grown business people and see what their overall opinions are. Because of our location being Amsterdam, I don't think I will have the opportunity to travel to more rural places to see how their views of raising children changes. I hope to find my answers in the schools, on the streets and at businesses. I hope to find multiple locations where I can discuss this topic with several people at once. Though it may not be correct to do so I hope to find my evidence in the form of discussion with some minor surveying.
So that's my research idea. Please comment/critique it as much as necessary because it is still in its early parts of development and will need a lot of work before it's perfect.
While initially my research interests were going to be more based in racial diversity and its effects on the overall productivity of the Dutch culture and society, I think I will attempt to put together a way to determine how the Netherlands creates such happy children and how their happiness effects their productivity as adults.
Based on discussion of what the purpose of a research question is, I will try to understand the societal phenomenon of creating happy children.
IDEAS: Children is something I know a lot about as having spent most of my life completely fascinated by them. Their ability to learn is amazing, and often I feel their do not receive appreciation for their brilliancy. I will base most of my questioning about children on the article mentioned above. It claims that Dutch children are made to be the center of the home resulting in their happiness, but I think that there is something lacking in this because it creates a sense of selfishness.
QUESTIONS: Why are Dutch children the happiest in the world? With this sense of the power that is established within a child-centered society, what are these individuals like when they become adults? What can the United States learn from the Netherlands child raising methods in order to create happy children and a happy society? Though my question are generally broad, I think they will narrow down as I create the methods to my social research.
EVIDENCE: Because of the broadness of my research interests, I will try to be as efficient as possible with the places that I will search for evidence in order to find my answer to happiness. I think it will be necessary to examine the opinion of children from various people and how their ideas effect how they raise their children, as well as talk to children, college students and then grown business people and see what their overall opinions are. Because of our location being Amsterdam, I don't think I will have the opportunity to travel to more rural places to see how their views of raising children changes. I hope to find my answers in the schools, on the streets and at businesses. I hope to find multiple locations where I can discuss this topic with several people at once. Though it may not be correct to do so I hope to find my evidence in the form of discussion with some minor surveying.
So that's my research idea. Please comment/critique it as much as necessary because it is still in its early parts of development and will need a lot of work before it's perfect.
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