jpgeog2260

[jpgeog2260]

When going through your post, I found it interesting when you mentioned “I work well with other people instead of working by myself. Being in a group brings new and different ideas to the table.” I could definitely relate to this because of the group that I was in. We did a great job at coming up with our own ideas and forming an overall story from our ideas. We were able to work together to develop a great working experience, where everyone was able to contribute equally and with no problems occurring. By having a group, it became less stressful and created an environment that made the project really fun to create, and I never knew that I would enjoy it as much as I did. I think that having group projects will be extremely beneficial to us moving forward, as it has allowed us to become more comfortable expressing what we would like to communicate in our projects. When everyone works together, it makes a project a lot easier, and creates a form of relief, so that all of the work involved wouldn’t be directly placed on your back.

Communication is a very important aspect of this course, as it directly relates to human geography and how it is able to concern itself with human experiences, environments, and understandings (Hay, 2016). Moving forward, do you think you developed any new communication or collaboration skills with the process of the digital story telling project? You mentioned that you are an extroverted person, so did that help you with the overall experience of the group project?

Let me know. Thanks!

References

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. 4th ed., Oxford, 2016

GEOG 2260 Final Post

I have taken several courses throughout high school and university where I learned about quantitative data. Quantitative research is about numbers. And what I found interesting in this course is that qualitative research is often about the opinions, thoughts and feelings of a respondent; to explain people and their relationship to places (Hay, 2016, Chapter 1). 

These Three Things I know for certain about human geography research: 

One thing I know for certain is how to ensure the rigour of the research process through triangulation. According to Hooykaas (2021), this means that “we are looking at multiply ways of getting to the answer.” Triangulation would be applied to various stages of the research process. It is essential to look at different sources, check your research process and methods, speak to multiple researchers and verify the information you collected. This adds validity to your entire research project. 

Another thing I know for certain is the concept of research ethics. The implementation of fundamental ethical principles into one’s research is extremely important. These include, but are not limited to, applying moral rules and codes into collecting and analyzing the research subjects and accepting the person’s right to privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent. Taking the CORE (Course on Research Ethics) Tutorial involving humans taught me a lot about this topic. 

 One topic I thoroughly enjoyed is the idea of coding. All of us have used a highlighter to identify valuable and important information. Categorizing codes according to a coding framework is not something I have learned before. It is an effective way to organize data. This can be achieved through deductive coding, when you have a set of predefined themes that will be applied, or inductive coding when you are not sure yet how to organize your data and create codes that will cover data in the article. 

The things I am still confused by? 

While I feel I grasped most of the concepts taught in this course, there are some things I think I could strengthen that would benefit me as a human geographer. One notion that I personally struggled with was critical reflexivity. “Reflexivity,” as defined by Kim England (1994), “is a process of constant, self-conscious scrutiny of the self as a researcher and of the research process” (Hay, pg. 34). Critical reflexivity can be a complex concept to grasp when entering the world of qualitative research. As Hooykaas (2021) stated, the difficulty with it is that I am not used to scrutinizing my own engagement with my work. I understand that it is important that I have an awareness, as a researcher, of how I may be influencing the research process or subject. 

Another topic I feel I could’ve done a better job at grasping is grounded theory. This methodology is primarily used in qualitative research and involves forming hypotheses by collecting and analyzing data. I did some outside research to understand the concept and came across the explanation that it is a theory that is grounded in the voices of those studies. 

 While I have enjoyed coding, I was confused by the concept of cognitive bias and definitional drift in the coding process. Hooykaas (2021) defines that it “occurs when the beginning of the data set is coded differently than the material coded later.” I understand that by coding your data just with words, each researcher’s definition of what that word describes could vary and may not be directly related to what we are actually trying to research. 

These three things I know for certain about me as a human geographic researcher 

Firstly, I know that I am a more extroverted person and that I work well with other people instead of working by myself. Being in a group brings new and different ideas to the table, allowing for a better discussion of ideas. Working as a group for our presentation made it easier to cover a broader range of topics. Additionally, receiving and giving feedback to our blog post allowed me to relate to the course concept on a deeper level. The interaction of humans and the environment is a multidisciplinary subject matter. According to Hay (2015), “Contemporary human geographers study places, people, bodies, discourses, silenced voices, and fragmented landscapes." 

As a human geographer, I will have many real-world situations to apply my knowledge to find out why and how events occur, how human culture interacts with their natural environment, and how locations can impact people. I also know that I am required to develop strong analytical and writing skills. This course has introduced me to many essential basic skills of performing qualitative research, including conducting an interview, collecting qualitative data, and applying research and analytical methods. 

 As a human researcher, I know that there are many types of qualitative research. Ethnography is an interesting type to me. The interaction and connection on a deeper level with people from other backgrounds and cultures while immersing yourself in their community is highly fascinating to me. In the future, I can apply my knowledge gained in GEOG 2260 and apply it to geographical problems and issues such as how human activity affects the environment and how the environment affects humans. Human Geography is crucial as it draws together many strands to understand the world today. 

These Three Areas I need to spend time developing/learning to feel more confident in my skills. 

One skill I could spend more time developing is my research skills. For our Digital Storybook Assignment, we were required to include six peer-reviewed journal articles as well as four other sources of information that were trustworthy. This is an area that I need to spend more time on. For the most part, while it is easy to find peer-reviewed journal articles, they are often precise in a topic and are often written using complex language due to the subject matter. The difficulty with other sources of information is trying to assess the credibility of such. Not all sources are reliable, and it is vital for me as the researcher to critically evaluate, make sure the information is current, does the author have credentials and is the website reputable and non-biased. 

I need to spend more time developing is my interview skills. Interviews are an excellent method of gaining access to information about events, opinions, and experiences. Opinions and experiences vary enormously among people of different class, ethnicity, age, and sexuality (Hay, 150). It is important to be adequately prepared for the interview. Even though I was able to expand my knowledge on different types of interviewing, it is an area that I can develop further as I progress as a human geographer. 

Last but not least, a skill that I need to spend more time developing is to feel more confident when analyzing surveys. There are many different ways data can be presented and various methods to explore it. It is crucial to analyze to form a conclusion based on that analysis properly. Surveys, where the data collected is ordinal, categorical, interval or ratio, can often be analyzed electronically. Surveys with open-ended questions get more complicated to interpret. 

 Hay, I. (2005). Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. 

 Hooykaas, A. (2021). Lecture Notes from GEOG2260- Applied Human Geography.

[jpgeog2260]

Hi Caitlyn,

Your final blog post was able to touch on many important elements of the course. While reading through the post, I was glad to see that ethics was able to be one of the things that you know for certain about human geography research. I also talked about this in my blog post, and it is truly one of the most important concepts from this course. You mentioned that “research ethics are a crucial aspect of research.” This is very true, and when you are able to reflect on what is involved with research ethics and why they are so important, it clearly shows us that we need to incorporate ethics in everything involved with our research process and development. Ethics are very important in human geography research because we are specifically dealing with humans and interactions. They are able to set moral actions and ideas that can help researchers abstain from any issues that may harm individuals involved (Hay, 2016). You need to be ethical in order to succeed in life, and it is no different when you are researching other people or places. By keeping individuals safe and mentally and physically protected, it allows for a more comfortable experience when working with others or in a specific environment.

Looking back at the course, is there any specific occasions where you had to focus on ethics and apply the ethical behaviour? Personally, for me, I focused on being an ethical group member within my project, as I was able to work in a supportive environment where we could come together to share opinions and information. It is important to always keep ethics in mind when working with others, to ensure that nobody feels mistreated or unfairly treated.

Let me know if you were able to use ethics in a similar way. Thanks!

Resources

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. 4th ed., Oxford, 2016, Chapter 3, pp. 40-68.

Final Post- A Reflection

As the semester comes to a close, the last blog post is to reflect on all that I have learned throughout Applied Human Geography. I will be talking about the things that don’t really make sense still and reflect on things I know as a human geographic researcher myself. I think after every class it is always key to take a step back and think about what the course taught me and why the professor thought certain aspects of the course were important to teach.

Things I know for certain about human geography research

I have previous knowledge of research methods from other classes so there were already aspects of the course that I was aware of. However, there was one key thing in particular that really stuck out and will stick with me for the rest of my life. In week two we started to learn about power and research design. Within this topic, we learned about unpacking invisible backpacks. It was introduced by Peggy McIntosh when she was exploring women’s studies (Hooykaas, Week 2, 2021). The idea is taking accountability for your place in research and it’s a lot about self-recognition and being aware of the effect you may have. It is something I think is very important in research and should be the foundation of all research.

A topic that is very related to this is critical reflexivity. This topic really seemed to click and make sense when I first learned about it. Critical reflexivity involves the idea of power from information gathered and how this can influence your research (Hay, 2005, Chapter 2). This is something I wasn’t fully aware of previously, but it makes complete sense. I think that unfortunately sometimes researchers go about research without being self-aware of the power they have as a researcher and how this can even influence the research process. Research is something that needs attention to detail so critical reflexivity is very important and I believe this is an aspect of human geography research that I know for certain.

This brings me to my last point, as I mentioned there is a lot of attention to detail needed when doing research. This is why research ethics are a crucial aspect of research. In week three we learned about why research ethics clearance is necessary and all the ethical requirements for protection of human research participants. We learned the ins and outs of the federal, provincial, and municipal protection acts and why these are put in place. It is clear the researchers are responsible for ensuring the participants are not at any risk and that consent is obtained. I know that when researching humans, it is important that they are not subject to any physical, psychological, social, or economic harm (Hay, 2005, Chapter 3). Overall, I think that the protection of human research participants is something I very confident in when it comes to human geography research.

Three things I am still confused by

For the most part, I found it easy to grasp the concepts in this course. With that being said there were a few things that I am still slightly confused by. Firstly, the idea of coding. In my blog post on coding, I was one of the very few that when coding I actually highlighted things related to my keywords, not the words themselves. From my point of view, I think that this saves time for the researcher and really picks out the parts you as a researcher need rather than just the word. I may be wrong about the idea of coding but to me, it is more logical to highlight the parts of the article that are related to the topic.

I am also still confused by is the types of analysis. When I was doing my blog about the article on trawling and climate change, I couldn’t really pinpoint a specific type of analysis that the author used. It got me thinking if the fact that there are only three types of analysis is slightly restrictive. I could be completely off and just didn’t pick up on the type of analysis the author used but that is what confused me.

Lastly, this is something that I have struggled with in all my classes but the idea of evaluating sources that are peer-reviewed. In high school, I never had to find sources and cite things because I was in the British school system so as soon as I entered university all of a sudden peer-reviewed sources were the most reliable sources no questions asked. This is still something I question but I am not quite sure how to ensure it is a reliable source.

Three things I know for certain about me as a human geographic researcher

I know for certain that if I am to conduct research in the future, I am going to keep critical reflexivity and unpack my invisible backpack when carrying it out. This is something I think is very important that I mentioned previously, and I think it is a vital step in research. The second thing I am certain about me as a human geographic researcher is that I find interviewing is quite an interesting topic to learn about and is something I would consider trying in the future. I think it was very interesting to learn about the considerations when selecting the cases and participants and the different types of sampling like the convenience and opportunistic sampling (Hay, 2005, Chapter 6). Lastly, I am certain as a human geographic researcher, I am going to spend more time learning about coding and the different types like deductive or inductive coding (Hooykaas, Week 8, 2021). I think it is a skill everyone should have and can be used in many different circumstances.

The three areas I need to spend time developing/learning in order to feel more confident in my skills

In order to feel more confident in my skills, I am going to do more research into the reliability of peer-reviewed sources so that I can fully understand why they are known to be reliable and why they are so commonly used throughout research. I am also going to learn more about how to produce high-quality codes and how to capture positive and negative codes (Hooykaas, Week 8, 2021). I think coding is a very useful tool to master and take with me throughout my whole academic career and possibly even after that. Finally, the last thing I want to spend more time developing in order to feel more confident in my skills is actually doing my own research and testing whether I can be completely critically reflexive. As I have already mentioned I understand the idea behind critical reflexivity and unpacking my invisible backpack but if I am being honest, I would need to actually perform research so that I can see if I am truly self-aware of my place and power in research.

References

Hay, I. (2005). Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Hooykaas, A. (2021). Lecture Notes from GEOG2260- Applied Human Geography

[jpgeog2260]

Reflecting on the Outcomes of the Semester

Throughout the year, I have developed new understandings and skills regarding the concept of research and geographical topics. Each week I have expressed the knowledge that I have gained within my blog posts and it has been an awesome experience sharing my thoughts and ideas with the class. There have been many things that I have learned within this class, which have helped me understand myself and my abilities as a human geography researcher. There are also many things that I am still confused with, which I can try to recognize moving forward in order to help me develop better understandings to become more confident with certain skills. For my final blog post of the semester, it will be important for me to reflect on these things and share my thoughts on everything learned in the class.

Certainties in Research

There are three major things that I know for certain about human geography research. The first concept is ethics. Ethics is very important in human geography research because we specifically deal with humans. Ethics are moral actions and ideas that are able to help researchers refrain from any issues that may harm individuals involved (Hay, 2016). They are an important aspect of human geography because it holds researchers accountable and develops a safe environment for everyone involved (Hay, 2016). The second concept is consent. Consent allows volunteers to talk about concepts and information under their own influence and authority. By giving consent, it gives permission for interviews to be conducted, and promotes agreement between two parties, which encourages individuals to feel free to skip any questions that they don’t want to answer, in order to make themselves more comfortable and not under the influence of anybody else’s power (Hay, 2016). After consent is given, it is equally important to maintain that consent. The consent process continues to happen even after interviews are over and finalized. These ideas and concepts are very interesting and important to me because it allows people to be comfortable with everything involved in the process of interviews or interactions. The final thing that I know for certain about human geography is the concept and use of qualitative data. Qualitative data is important because it is able to concern itself with human experiences, environments, and understandings (Hay, 2016). It allows for a real-life experience to take place and can develop in the form of interviews or conversations (Hay, 2016). By looking more at human experiences, it allows data to come from a direct source, which is extremely important.  

Image from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scu.edu%2Fmobi%2Fresources--tools%2Fblog-posts%2Fethics-in-life-and-business%2Fethics-in-life-and-business.html&psig=AOvVaw26oi7_5wQHHLQkez0JHe0U&ust=1618093432835000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCPip0_iZ8u8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

About Me    

This course allowed me to understand three things that I learned for certain about myself as a human geographic researcher. The first thing is that I found it relaxing and productive to work with groups for projects. I really enjoyed getting to meet students that have similar interests as me, and when we were able to work together, we gave ourselves time to think of certain topics that would benefit our overall subject. By having a group, it became less stressful and created an environment that made the project really fun to create, and I never knew that I would enjoy it as much as I did. The second thing that I learned is that I spend a lot of time researching. While doing research, I wanted to be picky in order to find the best information possible. Even though it would take a lot of time, it would still allow me to bring in a lot of information which gave me the capability to learn more. The final thing that I learned about myself as a human geographer is my use of critical reflexivity throughout the course. Reflexivity allows us to examine our own situation as if it were something that we are studying. We as researchers have to understand who we are, what is happening, and how we can approach certain situations as best as possible (Hay, 2016). It is important to acknowledge this because if we try to look at someone or something in a study, to examine it, then it becomes much easier if you are able to reflect on yourself first. I was able to do this with the case studies that we learned about and I never knew that I would develop this skill until I consistently did it in this course.

Image from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fedu.rsc.org%2Fassessment-for-learning%2Fworking-in-groups-principles-of-assessment-for-learning%2F4012315.article&psig=AOvVaw3YltIB3BREFmiYDdYn5kG_&ust=1618093644915000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCKDbkOSa8u8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Confusing Topics

There are three things that I am still confused about that we have learned from the course. The first thing is the concept of inductive coding. I found this concept confusing because I didn’t really understand how we would use this concept. I didn’t understand why we would split information into codes, and then continue to split it up and apply the codes to research (Hay, 2016). It was supposed to create an unbiased look, but I didn’t comprehend it. The second thing I was confused about was the idea of the Grounded Theory, and specifically in the notes when it states, “finding trends and going back and forth with data and reality” (Hay, 2016). I didn’t understand this because it mentioned the use of generating theories, and I wouldn’t know where to begin while I code or look at qualitative data. The final confusing topic is the idea of balancing description and interpretation. I think I understand why it is important to balance them, but I didn’t understand when it said, “objective is valued at the expense of the subjective” (Hooykaas, 2021). I was trying to figure this out when listening to the lecture, but it is definitely an idea that I need to go back and take a look at.

Improving my Confidence through Learning

With the semester coming to a close I still need to improve on many things learned in the class. The three most important things come from chapter 18 of the textbook that highlights marketing skills, self-promotion, and the ability to network. Firstly, I need to improve my marketing skills in order to compete for jobs in the future. There will be lots of competition and more opportunities that will likely be ignored if I do not provide myself with certain marketing skills (Hay, 2016). Secondly, I need to develop and learn the concept of self-promotion. By increasing this, it will allow me to show a visual representation of who I am, and I can develop this by participating in online versions of media that can promote my past jobs and education (Hay, 2016). Finally, it will be important for me to learn how to network the room and further my career by taking advantage of opportunities when I see them. I can improve this by using career service groups on campus or online (Hooykaas, 2021).  

Image from:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Finsights.dice.com%2F2019%2F09%2F25%2Fnetworking-building-contacts-effective%2F&psig=AOvVaw1vpkdT0jjWd_UA48hunChO&ust=1618093747333000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCNizqoyb8u8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

References

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. 4th ed., Oxford, 2016, Chapter 3, pp. 40-68.

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. 4th ed., Oxford, 2016, Chapter 1, pp. 3-24.

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. 4th ed., Oxford, 2016, Chapter 2, pp. 26-39.

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. 4th ed., Oxford, 2016, Chapter 14, pp. 281-294.

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. 4th ed., Oxford, 2016, Chapter 17, pp. 333-355.

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. 4th ed., Oxford, 2016, Chapter 18, pp. 356-366.

Hooykaas, A. University of Guelph, 2021

[jpgeog2260]

Hi Jordan,

The article that you chose to review was great. It is very relevant, and it explains how the pandemic has affected the lives of everyone, especially the social lives of teens. This article deals with mental health and how teens have been affected by mental health issues over the span of the pandemic due to COVID-19. Although our technology has developed to a point where online schooling can take place and allows for online interaction, this interaction is completely different from what teens usually have the opportunity to have. When you get to go to elementary school, high school, or even University, it is important to be able to form relationships with people and make new friends that can be beneficial to you and your mental health. With lockdowns happening over the span of the past year, the inability to not interact in person, makes it harder to get through these tough times. This would obviously create many negative impacts on the mental health of teenagers because of the lack of social interaction and the ability to go out and do things with friends, family, or loved ones.

When dealing with the COVID-19, has there been anything that you have been able to do in order to positively enhance your experiences with the pandemic? I personally try to ensure that I am balancing schoolwork and my social life, because if I focus too much on one, then I will either fall behind on work, or I will start to develop bad habits. I try to manage my social life through facetiming friends at night or playing video games with them. That has helped me make sure that I can balance things out, but also means that I need to get a lot of work done each day for school. It has been hard to balance it at sometimes, especially during exam season, but it is still very important to continue to have this balance and create one that fits for your own personal needs.

COVID 19 and Mental Health

For this blog post I am going to be reviewing an online-news article that I found on cbc.ca/news. The article is called “From depression to self-harm, teens are struggling during COVID-19” and was posted March 15, 2021. It was written by Sandra Abma, a veteran CBC arts journalist. The Covid-19 outbreak has been very stressful and has already had a marked effect on people’s mental health.

The article’s key message is that the pandemic has had negative effects on the mental health of teenagers and the Ontario government is not providing adequate mental health services (Abma, 2021). Sandra talks to many parents who have noticed their children struggle during the pandemic as a result of not being able to socialize with peers and follow the same routines they are so used too.

Some of the research provided comes from a secondary source. Abma cites results found from association of provincial mental health agencies. Other data was collected through interviews. It is not clear whether or not Abma has interviewed them herself.  Abma could have provides more sources to further strengthen her argument, such as peer-reviewed journal article and additional studies.

According to Brown (2006), there are five criteria to take into consideration when evaluating literature. These are purpose, scope, authority, audience and format (Hooykaas, 2021). The author of the article most likely validated and verified the sources by collecting information about the interviewer or observer of the qualitative data and by examining their credentials. How did they collected this data and was the researcher that provided the data objective. Joanne Lowe is the vice-president of mental health and addiction at CHEO and Merissa Taylor Meissner is a counsellor with Family Services Ottawa. They are experts in their field and have experience and observations in the subject matter. The survey results were released by a provincial mental health agency and we can certainly be confident of the credibility, reliability and confirmability of the methodology used to come up with the statistics. Abma provides links from the organizations she collected the data and the people she interviewed.

I cannot speak of the type of interview that was performed, whether it was structured, semi structured or unstructured and what type of question were asked. Regardless, with the delicate nature of the subject matter and the age of subjects, ethical concerns need to be taken into consideration. The author of the article as well as the researchers have to be aware of their invisible backpack when writing the article as they most certainly had unearned advantages in their lives. Additionally, during writing and the interview process, critical reflexivity and objectivity should have been practiced (Hooykas, 2021).

Media plays an important role in keeping the citizens of Canada informed. Media outlets have a responsibility to be ethical and produce factual information. However as a consumer of media we also have a responsibility when reading and especially when sharing a news article or the information therein. It is our responsibility to cut through the noise and find the stories that are well reported, adequately sourced, and verifiable.

From depression to self-harm, teens are struggling during COVID-19 | CBC News. (2021, March 15). Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/mental-health-teenagers-pandemic-1.5945851 <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/mental-health-teenagers-pandemic-1.594585>

Hay, I., (2016). Qualitative research methods in human geography. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.

Hooykaas, A. University of Guelph, 2021

[jpgeog2260]

COVID-19 Vaccine Updates

The Article and Key Message

While reading news articles today, I was able to find a short article that talked about COVID-19 and the changes that will need to be done to vaccines and treatment as new variations spread and continue to develop. The article was found on the CTV news website, https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines-may-require-regular-updates-until-infections-die-down-study-suggests-1.5364977. The article was published on March 27th, 2021, by Brooke Taylor. The key message that was talked about in the article was that there will be huge essential and necessary alterations within current vaccines created by the major producers. This alteration will be needed because of the massive amounts of mutation that the virus can develop, as well as the human response to the vaccines. Many viruses such as forms of influenza need to be constantly updated yearly in order to control variations of the flu, which would limit the growth and spread of the illness. By regularly updating vaccines it will allow the situation to become easily monitored and stabilized as more and more vaccines are given to the public. As COVID-19 continues to spread and change, so will the vaccines.

This image is able to show one of the current COVID-19 vaccines

Image from: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines-may-require-regular-updates-until-infections-die-down-study-suggests-1.5364977.

Evaluation and Sources

The article gave insight on developing information regarding the spread of COVID-19, and how it will become preventable through vaccines and the updates to vaccines. The author of the article was able to use quotes from interviews with doctors and used the quotes to establish some of the main points within the article. The author did a good job at gathering reliable sources that were able to distinguish why the vaccines will have to be continuously altered and changed as time goes on. The sources used come from doctors working in hospitals, and doctors who have been doing research into similar viruses. Researchers from Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin, which is a research hospital in Germany, have looked into the spread of other viruses similar to COVID-19, and the evolution that they have had.

This research was conducted in part with Dr. Christian Drosten, who is the Director of the Institute of Virology and a researcher at the German Center for Infection Research. This source would be able to be easily evaluated due to their credentials and work with the on-going pandemic and development of vaccines. This would be a primary source due to their conduction of the research and first-hand knowledge of how similar viruses have evolved and changed over time, and how COVID-19 can be compared to them. The quotes that were used are also an example of a primary source because they are directly coming from someone who is actively doing research into the topic. These sources are coming from 2021 as well, which shows that the research is current and up to date. This can be verified and validated due to the experts involved and the interviews that are conducted. This verification can be completed with dialectical analysis, which is able to search for the most powerful context in the data in order to identify what makes sense and what doesn’t make sense. A traditional approach to research is seen within this article due to the reporting of findings, usage of quotes, and the discussion that it creates about vaccines and the ability to have them updated and available to everyone.

Consumer Expectations and Responsibilities

Consumers of this article would expect to be informed with new information regarding the updates to new vaccines that deal with COVID-19. The title is called, COVID-19 vaccines may require regular updates until infections die down, study suggests, which illustrates that consumers will be expecting to learn about new information and increase their awareness on the topic. They will be expected to educate themselves with the current situation and understand what they can do to stop the spread of COVID-19. By reading this article, the average consumer may feel the need to get the vaccine when made possible, and continue to get the vaccine regularly. The article may also make consumers responsible to look for more information regarding the subject, and fill themselves in with reasonable information. Positionality will also become important with the responsibility of the consumer, because of the ideas about where the consumer stands on the subject and how the subject can be important in their life.

References

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

Hooykaas, A. (2021). Week 8: Qualitative Writing

Taylor, Brooke. COVID-19 vaccines may require regular updates until infections die down, study suggests, 2021.https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines-may-require-regular-updates-until-infections-die-down-study-suggests-1.5364977.

[jpgeog2260]

Hi Adam,

I was able to use the same coding method as you did. Deductive coding allows for an easier approach that helps categorize the most important information without directly relating it to your group’s overall thesis (Hay, 2016). It is great to use in your situation and is very similar to why I used it. When you have different sections of work within your project, using deductive coding with a flat frame allows all of your important information to be equally as important. It doesn’t focus too much on one particular theme, which is important when separating work into sections. There will probably be multiple different ideas within your group, so by coding everything as equal, then it eliminates any problems of cutting different people’s ideas out. You are able to identify you most important ideas and then have further conversations with your group regarding what can stay or be cut.

You mentioned that if you were to continue with your research beyond the two articles, you would use hierarchical coding methods. Why do you think this method would be good for your research when looking at other articles? Would there be more or less connections within the writing? Do you think that your group has similar codes, or do you believe that the sections of your work are too different to connect with the same codes?

I enjoyed looking at your coding techniques and ability to personally go through and analyze a hard copy of the work you have so far. By printing out the information and personally highlighting the information yourself, I believe that it can become more effective than what I did with highlighting information on my laptop because you may be able to retain more of the information when doing it how you were able to do it.

Resources

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

Coding Demographic Geography Papers

Which Articles I’ve Coded / Why

I’ve coded an article by Ian Angus on Overpopulation and climate justice, and another about climate justice in the Louisiana coast. The reason I chose these is because they were related in their discussion of demography, climate change, and solutions. They were interesting pieces and show how demography is important to all types of physical and social sciences, which is the goal of our project after all.

Coding Scheme Used

Deductive Coding, with a flat Scheme. The reason I did this was due to the scale of our project. Our group is only coding 2 articles/pieces of work each, and since our articles are all unrelated to a large extent, we decided to all do separate coding schemes, and thus I figured the quantity of codes would be compatible with a flat scheme. Furthermore, for the interest of time I chose the deductive coding scheme. I simply have too much work to do to take on the slower method!

Codes Chosen

Degradation, Solution, Demographic Stat, and Notable Counter Arguments. I used these as they were the common themes I was looking for, I was looking for evidence of environmental degradation, solutions being offered, statistics to backup the arguments, and counter arguments to expand and analyze. These categories could be renamed in the future, but these are the generalizations used for now. If I were to continue my research beyond these articles, I would’ve likely chosen a hierarchical coding scheme and expanded and widdled down the categories.

Application to Assignment

This coding will be applied to our assignment in each specific segment of script writing. Our project is a summary of how demography can be the backbone for all social sciences, so each segment of our project is through a different human geography lens. So, each group member will use their coding of their topic to help finalize our script and storyboard!

Images of Coding:

Sources:

Angus, Ian. "The Return of the Population Bombers." Climate & Capitalism. 04 Sept. 2016. Web. 13 Jan. 2021.

"What's at Stake? The People of Louisiana." Restore the Mississippi River Delta. 07 Aug. 2019. Web. 03 Feb. 2021.

[jpgeog2260]

Historical Geography Coding

Historical Geography Resources

My group’s Digital Story Telling assignment is on Historical Geography. When doing research, revising notes, and analysing material, it is important to code data in order to categorize information that connects or shares similar understandings (Hay, 2016). By coding qualitative data, it allows the most important themes within your research to be visually considered and shown within your highlighted sections or words (Hay, 2016). Before coding, I needed to select a peer-reviewed journal, and another form of information. For the peer-reviewed journal I used the book titled, ‘The Abyss of Time’, by Paul Lyle. This book would give historical information about the Earth, time periods, and concept of geological time. For my second form of information, I used a newspaper article titled, ‘What is geologic time, and how does it work?’ by Mark Carnall. This article is also able to highlight the processes within geological history, while showing geological time, and events that have caused for global change.

Coding

I needed to choose codes that would be beneficial to my research and make themes and topics clearer. Some of the common themes within the two resources were evolution, global change, geological time, and paleontology/archaeology. After creating many codes, I decided on four that I believed were some of the most important themes and ideas within the material. These codes would be strictly aligned with the section of our assignment that looks at geological time and the development of the environment and humans.

Coding: ‘The Abyss of Time’

Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=1134053&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Coding: ‘What is geologic time, and how does it work?’

Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/may/02/geologic-time-scale

Types of Coding

Deductive coding was used within the resources examined. I decided to use this coding method in order to follow sets of predetermined code (Hooykaas, 2021). By using this approach, I can analyze the resources for important information, while also categorizing these codes into new forms of qualitative data (Hooykaas, 2021). The codes used aren’t meant to focus all of the attention on proving the thesis of our work, but it allows for main concepts and ideas that have already been looked at, to become major contributions to the project. Using coding frames will also benefit the organization of our research because of the use of flat coding. By using flat coding it allows for each code to be equally as important and specific (Hooykaas, 2021). This allows for a more simple way of coding that focuses on targeting the main codes without a specific order or structure.

Applying Code

By having predetermined codes, it will allow my group to be able to have codes that are relevant to our subject and topic of historical geography. It allows the research process to become smoother, as we understand the ideas within our field of geography, and have the ability to identify the most important sections in the overall topic of historical geography. By coding, it will improve collaboration and the overall effectiveness of the group project. Everyone will be able to understand our main ideas and what will be beneficial to look at the most.

Resources

Carnall, M. (2018, May 2). What is geologic time, and how does it work?. In The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/may/02/geologic-time-scale  

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

Paul Lyle. The Abyss of Time. Dunedin Academic Press; 2016. Accessed March 13, 2021. http://search.ebscohost.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=1134053&site=ehost-live&scope=site

[jpgeog2260]

Hi Ted,

I enjoyed reading your connection made between the content from week 6 and the usage of zoom in the current world. The pandemic has really changed how things such as business, school, and many other forms of interactions are conducted. The use of technology and the ability to use it in order to have discussion with classmates, family, friends, and co-workers, has shown that the world is still able to function without needing face to face interactions. Without technology and forms of technology such as zoom, our social lives would be drastically different.

At the end of the post, you mentioned how human interaction is so important to mental health. This is very important, because without the use of zoom or other apps, our connection to people would be very limited. Especially during the peak of the pandemic, where rules were more strict, it was impossible to interact with a group of friends if technology wasn't used.

Currently, as vaccines are being spread around, do you believe that using zoom for interactions will continue to be the “normal” thing? Or do you think that things will gradually get back to normal over time? How do you think this pandemic will affect future gatherings, or specifically the conduction of interviews and focus groups?

Let me know what you think! Thanks!

The Changing World and Zooming In For a Better Look

During this global pandemic people have had lots of time to reflect on life habits and norms in which they partake in everyday. Before Covid-19, people went to work and sat at their desks, jammed into a meeting room full of people, with nothing to worry about. Now it is hard to imagine that now. Week 6 made me think that how we use to collect information may have changed for the near present. In person interviews and large focus groups sounds like a criminal offence to many these days. And by Covid protocols seem like we are far from getting together and meeting to discuss and engage in research findings, which means remote conversations via telephone or Zoom calls seem to be the future of conversation, at least for a little while longer.    

While conducting interviews in person, an interviewer relies on physical and facial expressions to fully understand how the interviewee feels and reacts to prompted questions, therefore it would be extreme and quite impossible to rely on these factors over and phone call interview. That is why Zoom has such a major part in everyone’s lives today as face to face over the computer allows us to communicate nonverbally. Another key component from Week 6 is group size and how to determine the size of a focus group interview. People have joined zoom for features such as the size of people you can have on one zoom call and being able to have one person in charge to mute anyone. One obstacle would be deciding the format of the interview structure. Semi-structured interviews would be the most appropriate base on the ability to use multi-methods approach, as Colin Robson (2002, p.2) points out. 

This topic resonated with me because I feel that human interaction is so important for our mental health and not having the opportunities to have much of a social life, zoom have provided a way in which we all can get together safely for useful conversations like interviews and focus groups, but also allows people to engage with friends for a quick hello and catch up on each others lives. Zoom has changed everything. 

Ted Nichol 

[jpgeog2260]

Ethics, Consent, and Security

Throughout the course, the class has been able to learn, understand, and develop ideas around research and analysis. The key element that has resonated with me is the ethical process of consent and security.

Consent and security have been one of the most important aspects of the course and has truly made me more aware of the ethical processes involved in research. I have really enjoyed learning more about how consent functions and why it is so important. When dealing with human interaction, consent and security of the people involved are the main points that need to be looked at. The consent process and the ability to obtain consent is one of the most important things that I have learned more about in this course.

The consent process is started from the concept of consent. This allows volunteers to talk about concepts and information under their own influence and authority. By giving consent, it gives permission for interviews to be conducted, as well as promotes agreement between two parties. By giving consent, it allows individuals to be free to skip any questions that they don’t want to answer, in order to make themselves feel comfortable and not under the influence of anybody else’s power (Hay, 2016). Instead, it puts power in the hands of the people being interviewed. After consent is given, it is equally important to maintain that consent. The consent process continues to happen even after interviews are over and finalized. These ideas and concepts are very interesting and important to me because it allows people to be comfortable with everything involved in the process of interviews or interactions. It is important for the individuals involved to feel free and safe to discuss what they are comfortable talking about, which gives people better understandings on certain issues or subjects. These ideas of consent will allow me to become an ethical researcher in the future, due to the overall importance of consent and the consent process.

Security is another concept that is very important to the process of interviews and ethics. The ability to keep participants security is extremely important regarding themselves and the information that they are able to give. There are many strict guidelines within the concept of security, because it secures the recruitment process, data, and the ideas involved. This idea was very interesting to me, because it allows individuals to change their minds about ideas or things that they have talked about. If people eventually don’t want to have what they stated or thought about within the research, then they have the ability to get rid of it. This is extremely important because it establishes the trust and dependency that individuals have in order to feel comfortable with what information is given publicly (Hay, 2016).

I think it is extremely important to get a better understanding of the ethical processes of consent and security, which is why it was able to stick with me, and allow me to reflect on the importance of the concepts. When doing future research it will always be important to keep these concepts in mind, because of the effect that it has on other people, so we must ensure that they are benefitting from the processes involved.  

References

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

[jpgeog2260]

Hi Aden,

It was a great idea to focus your questions around information that would be helpful to your group. It is very important to ask relevant and reflective questions, as it gives you the opportunity to highlight certain topics and understand them more clearly. The 5-minute time period would be hard to fit in all of the information, but it allows for the most important points to be present. 

Your questions were well-rounded, and included everything that you tried to aim for. You were able to focus on past perspectives because of the question looking at a book created in 1977. This question was very effective because it begins the interview with a structural primary question, that is able to form reflection on past experiences and assumptions (Hay, 2016). That is important as it allows the interviewee to make critical reflections at the beginning of the interview. You were able to focus on present perspectives because of the question looking at the contemporary perspectives of social geography. This question was effective because it provides an opinion-based primary question, that is able to focus on the interviewee’s feelings about a certain topic (Hay, 2016). That is important because of the interviewee’s history with social geography, which would allow the answer to be clearly developed and thought through. Finally, you were able to focus on future perspectives because of the question looking at the future of social geography research. This question was effective because it ends the interview with a question that focuses on things that will happen in the future. It allows the interviewee to give their final thoughts and helps them develop new ideas about social geography.

The only thing that I would suggest is to try and ask a final question that allows the interviewee to be able to talk about anything that they would want to add to the information given already. Their final thoughts would be beneficial, as if they wanted to talk about something that wasn’t asked in your questions, then they wouldn't be able to mention anything else in the 5-minute span of time. If you ended the interview with a question that gives them the opportunity to add anything else, then it would allow for more potentially useful information, as well as gives them the floor to speak on anything else. 

References

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

Space and Place: Social Geography in 5 Minutes

Interviewee: Yi-Fu Tuan 

In 1977, Yi-Fu Tuan wrote a book called Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. This was an insightful look at how humans become attached to homes, neighbourhoods, and nations. The book also reflects on the human experience as it relates to space and place, and Tuan speaks as though place is security and space is freedom (University of Minnesota Press 2011). Yi-Fu Tuan is considered one of the most influential thinkers in the field of humanist and social geography. He was born in 1930, and not only would it be incredibly informative to interview him briefly to learn about his research and writing, but to interview someone who has been around for so long would give me insight into the history of social geography looks like, and how it has evolved over his academic career. Here are some questions I would ask Yi-Fu if I was given the opportunity: 

1. How different is your definition of “place” and “space” now, then when you released your book in 1977?

I hope to gain some information about how the actual definition of social geography has changed over time, from someone who reflected on what it means in a book over 40 years ago. 

2. Through continued exponential growth from globalization and technological advancements, are people less attached/appreciative of a sense of place in 2021?

I am curious to get insight into the impact that technology, globalization, and a world of increased movement has had on the individual’s sense of place and space. I wonder if it has become a phenomenon that is less “appreciated” or thought of as important in a world where travel is easily accessible. 

3. How has perspectives of gender, race, social location, and culture played a role in contemporary perspectives of social geography?

Social geography is changing, and the definition of it is starting to incorporate more about sense of place as it relates to socio-cultural inequalities and injustices such as gender, race, and religion. I am interested in Yi-Fu Tuan’s answer as he has seen the shift in history of what we consider important when studying social issues, and in this case geography. 

4. What would argue is the most important thing about researching and reflecting on social geography?

From someone as knowledgeable and influential in this field of study, I would like to know what he considers the most important thing through his years of research, writing, study, and teaching. 

5. Do you think the future of social geographic research will create a more united and equitable international community? Why?

Our digital story group has decided to frame our social geography topic as a timeline. We have broken up each portion of our digital story and research into past, present, and future perspectives of social geography. Since social geography is such a broad topic, we did not want to necessarily narrow it down too much, so we have divided it by time frame, from the origins and first definitions, thinkers of social geography, to what it means to us today and current research, and ending with where social geography might be headed in the future!

All of these questions encapsulate some part of that story, and to have the opportunity to talk with someone who has been a large part of the existence and growth of social geography, would be hugely beneficial to our research, perspectives, and understanding the trends that social geography has taken over time. Apart from rigorous and dependable questions, as the textbook explains, it is important to me that I am asking questions relevant and reflective to someone as well-versed in social geography as Yi-Fu Tuan (Hay 2016, p. 126). On the other hand, it is also important that the answers and information I get from the interview are helpful in my group and I construct a meaningful and robust storyline of social geography. 

The 5-minute window we have to interview is no doubt short, which increases the importance of meaningful, thoughtful, rigorous, and useful questions about the history, research, perspectives, and nuances related to social geography. 

I would love to hear what you think about my questions, and my choice of interviewee. Is there something missing that would make my question/framework more robust and useful? I also look forward to reading your posts and seeing which thinkers you all have decided to focus on!

References

University of Minnesota Press. (2011, August 24). Space and Place. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/space-and-place

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

Tuan, Y. (1977). Space and place : the perspective of experience. University of Minnesota Press.

[jpgeog2260]

Key Thinkers in Historical Geography

Dr. Robert Wilson’s Significance and Beneficial Credentials

If I were given the opportunity to conduct an interview with a with a key thinker that represents the geographic field of historical geography, then I would want to interview Dr. Robert Wilson. Dr. Wilson specializes in the environment, history of the environment, and the relationship that society plays on the environment. Wilson works in the, “Historical Geography and Geohumanities” department at Syracuse University, and has been able to publish many books and articles that focus on historical geography and environmental issues such as climate change/history of climate change (Syracuse University, 2021). Dr. Wilson was a graduate at the University of British Columbia in 2003, where he would get his Ph.D. It would be very interesting and important to interview Dr. Wilson, because of the knowledge and ideas that he has developed through his years of teaching and writing. This would be useful towards my personal and group’s understanding about the subject of historical geography and how it connects to other topics such as the climate, society, and animals. Many of the courses that he teaches are revolved around historical geography. If I was able to interview him, it would let my personal knowledge grow because the interviewee has had major amounts of experiences teaching the subject, which would allow him to be familiar and helpful during the interview. I believe that a professor who has spent years researching the subject is a perfect interviewee because of the experiences they have had, as well as the time they have spent in the learning and teaching process.

My Interview Questions

1) What is the name of the University that you work at, and what is the primary focus of the courses that you teach?

This question will allow the interviewee to give information on who they are, and what they do, as well as be able to identify their areas of strength. I hope that they clearly identify their concentrations within the field of geography, in order to distinguish the importance of the information that they give.

2) What is historical geography, and why did you find an interest in learning/teaching it?

This question will allow for a great definition of historical geography, as well as why it was interesting to the interviewee. This would provide insight on what historical geography is and why it is an interesting topic to learn about.

3) Why is it important to learn about the history of geography, and who/what does the research benefit?

This question will give insight on Dr. Wilson’s personal views on the topic. Opinions and thoughts regarding the topic would be important to get from this question. It is important to get information from books and journals, but the information from a person directly, is also very beneficial, because hearing someone’s opinion is critical to consider.

4) How has geography and the history of geography been impacted by the development of technology? Do you think that there has been a positive impact? Negative? Both? Why do you think this?

This question will give insight on the assumptions made by Dr. Wilson, and how historical geography has changed over time due to the use of technology. Technology could be talked about as a way of collecting data on the topic of historical geography, or as a negative pollutant to the field of geography due to the relationship it has with climate change.

5) Is there anything else that you would like to add or comment on regarding the topic of historical geography and the particular experiences and involvements that you have had with it?

This question will give insight on Dr. Wilson’s final thoughts and ideas. The question is meant to allow the interviewee to feel comfortable sharing anything else that they want to talk about. The final question could also spark more questions due to the interest in the experiences that the interviewee has had in the field of historical geography.

Question Summary

The first question was decided on because it is a descriptive question that is known to be an example of primary question types (Hay, 2016). This question is able to give me simple details about the interviewee and is an easy to answer question that allows for the discussion to start. It can be more relaxing for the informant, which allows for less pressure to be put on them from the start. The second question was decided on because it could be an example of a secondary question, as I am asking a new question about an idea that would have come up in the first question’s answer. This question would be a formal secondary question, that is able to extend the knowledge of the interviewee, and why they have personally taken a liking to the topic (Hay, 2016). I could also use receptive cues during this question, to encourage the informant to continue with the information that they are talking about (Hay, 2016). The third question was decided on because of the semi-structured approach that it takes. The question allows for continuation to occur, because of the links that it has with other questions. The question is opinionated as well, because it highlights the feelings and impressions that the interviewee may have about who and why the topic is beneficial/important (Hookyaas, 2021). The fourth question was decided on because of the structural question that develops. The question allows Dr. Wilson’s assumptions and philosophy to be shown, as it encourages him to reflect on the subject and explain why he believes certain things (Hay, 2016). The final question was decided on because of the opportunity it gives the interviewee. It allows Dr. Wilson to give any additional points, or experiences, which could be important in order to show that they are important and helpful with the information that they are willing to give.

References

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

Hooykaas, A. (2021). Week 6: Data Collection - Interviews, Oral Histories, Focus Groups

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Robert Wilson, Syracuse University, 2021, www.maxwell.syr.edu/geo/Wilson,_Robert/.

[jpgeog2260]

Hi Laiken,

I enjoyed learning more about the issue that waste and trash that humans create, and how it causes pollution and harm to the environment. I have been interested in this topic in the past, and it was nice to see someone talk about it in their weekly post.

When talking about the issue, you were able to focus on Canada and the effects that landfills create due to the environmental hazards produced. You were able to clearly state your research idea of finding a more sustainable alternative to landfills, which is a great topic, as it would allow everyone in the world to benefit.

One of the questions that I had with your research, was the experimentation aspect of it. When testing to see what would break down waste the best, would that cause for any negative environmental impacts? How can you be sure that what you are testing would be able to help outside of the laboratory setting?

Your interviews with government officials would help the research a lot, as you would be able to talk about how you think you would be able to develop your plans and basically get as many countries involved as possible. What kind of questions would you ask in these interviews with government officials?

You did a great job at pointing out the ethics involved, as you would ensure that the environmental risk would be looked at and develop long-term effectiveness.

One of the final questions that I have looks at the incorporation of countries. When doing your research, would you try to get smaller countries that deal with the problem, involved first? Do you think this could allow other big governments or countries to see the impacts it creates and join the research?

What can we do with our waste?

As a researcher with unlimited resources I would like to tackle the topic of what to do with our waste? Human waste is one of the leading causes of pollution on Earth, and as long as we are on Earth we will continue to produce waste and damage the Earth more. While there are methods such as recycling, composting, and buying reusable products, this will not solve the problem. Even if humans are able to reduce their waste to nothing, there are still billions of tons of garbage that is sitting in landfills.

The issue

In 2016, approximately 25 million tons of waste was sent to landfills across Canada (Recycling Council of Ontario, 2018). Unfortunately, even when properly disposed of in a landfill there are a multitude of environmental hazards that occur. When mounds of garbage are collected, leachate, a contaminate fluid, is released which needs to be collected and treated to prevent further pollution. Similarly, the bacteria in the waste produces methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas. While there are initiatives that have made landfills more eco-friendly, my main concern is that landfills require large amounts of space, and once they reach their capacity they do not decompose, and remain there producing harmful byproducts. My research product would aim to find a sustainable alternative to landfills for our non-recyclable waste. This research will benefit virtually everyone on Earth, as it addresses the concern of pollution. However, it will also help the governments to be able to address the pressing concerns of climate change.

The research

This research would rely heavily on quantitative methods, such as experimentation in a laboratory setting, to discover and monitor different methods for breaking down waste. As a geographer, I am not knowledgeable about the science behind breaking down waste, and would have to assemble a team of professionals that are specialized in the topic. However, once the best method for treating the waste is discovered, I will use qualitative methods to figure out how to best implement our new strategy around the world. This will be mainly in the form of researching current waste management strategies across the world, through interviews with government officials, and observations and active participation in current waste management regimes. Another important aspect of this research will be decolonization. It is evident that certain countries disproportionately produce waste, and in some cases the core countries even transport their waste to landfills in the periphery countries. My research will aim to break down the asymmetrical relationships within waste management, through providing every country with the proper tools to sustainably dispose of garbage with little environmental hazards.

Ethics

The ethical considerations are mainly centered on the idea of harm. I will have to ensure that through our experiments we fully understand the long-term effects that these new strategies have to prevent doing more harm than good. Similarly, when conducting the qualitative research, I will have to ensure that the people I am interviewing, and organizations I am working with fully consent to these new methods.

Work cited

Recycling Council of Ontario. (2018). Waste Statistics: How Much Canada Throws Out, retrieved from https://rco.on.ca/canada-waste-statistics/

[jpgeog2260]

Pandemic Effects on Low Wage Workers

The Research

If I had the ability to conduct research as a graduated student with limitless resources, then I would like to examine the effects that COVID 19 has played on the lives of low wage workers in North America. My research has a variety of locations that it could focus on and would compare the similarities and differences between areas in Canada and the United States. I would concentrate my attention and research on families who have had negative experiences with COVID 19 due to the loss of jobs, or the inability to work from home. I would be able to look at the geographical location of certain communities where data has shown to have high cases. Social factors could also be involved, while looking at gender, race, and transportation of the people in the research. This research has been an interest of mine after learning more about the pandemic and experiencing some of the negative impacts that it has created. I would specifically like to see how it has targeted people who may not be able to stay safe due to their jobs or their loss of jobs. This future research would be a great way to allow families to share their experiences and stories, while also generating potential help from others who see the research.

This cartoon picture illustrates everyday workers and relationships with COVID 19.

Image from: https://www.irsst.qc.ca/en/low-income-covid-19

My Proposal

This research would need to take on the same format as previous documentaries that we have watched and analysed for our blog posts and discussions. A short documentary video would allow viewers to understand how COVID has affected the lives of everyday people, who have not had the same privileges as others in regard to the situation. The research would take place once the risk of COVID is gone, but the examination of communities that have had large amounts of positive tests and unemployment, would begin as soon as possible.

Relation to Course Content

This research would need both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative methods would be used in the research for statistics, and where COVID is affecting jobs most often. This would be done in order to look at data and identify behaviour within certain areas (Hay, 2016). Qualitative methods would be used in the filmmaking aspect of the research. It would specifically be used to explore the human experiences with the situation, and the gathering of participants (Hay, 2016). Interviews would be the main aspect of the research, as it is the main goal to look closer at the lives that COVID has negatively affected. Due to the situations, it is important to be critically reflexive all the way through the process, and acknowledge the privileges that I have, as well as my job as a researcher because of my personal invisible backpack (Hay, 2016). My life and experiences are much different to theirs, so it would be important to acknowledge that privilege that I have. The final part, and the most important part is ethics and consent. Consent would be incorporated from the very beginning of the research, as before I recruit people, I would go to the communities and talk with potential families who have been affected. From there, I would let them know my plans with the research, and if they feel comfortable being filmed while telling their stories. If or when written consent is given I will have to apply ethical behaviour throughout the process (Hay, 2016). Concern for welfare will be a major focus, as I have to realize the impacts of the research involved, and the participants individual wellbeing (Hay, 2016). Some questions could be uncomfortable to talk about, so understanding the privacy of participants should be important.

Benefits of this research

This research would be able to benefit both myself and the participants involved. I would be able to benefit as my work would be shown and the information I have gathered/presented will be able to be supported with the stories given from the participants. The research would also benefit the participants because of the exposure and relatability it will have with others in the same situation. People could help these families, as well as other families affected by COVID 19 through the use of donations or assistance.

References

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

https://www.irsst.qc.ca/en/low-income-covid-19

[jpgeog2260]

Hi Kaya,

I enjoyed reading your post, and I have a lot of the same questions that you were able to ask. At the start of the documentary, I was looking through the notes I had made during the weeks lecture on ethics, and I was interested in the consent process that developed within the documentary. It was made pretty clear that Agafia doesn't listen to the radio or focus on things going on in the world outside of her area. She didn't want to hear news about violence or murder, so she preferred not to listen to anything (Vice, 2013). With that being said, her communication with the outside world wouldn't be made available, and if it was, then it would be very hard to accomplish. Agafia was never able to become properly recruited for interviews due to the lack of communication with Vice. Clearly a third-party was involved in getting her interviewed, which could have been a problem due to the language barriers, and getting complete understanding of what the interview was going to be for, and how it would be conducted. Although the consent process was not fully up to standards, regarding the process of recruitment, it was still able to become obtained during the interviews due to translators helping her, and the trust that was present between her and the interviewers. I would like to believe that Agafia gave her full consent and understanding to what was going on and what was going to be talked about. I think it would have been better if Vice was able to talk with someone close to Agafia first in order to establish a meeting, and then in that meeting they could get the verbal or written consent of Agafia, as well as discuss when the interview could happen. If this process was followed, then I think that consent would be more clear, and could make Agafia feel a bit. more comfortable.

The second question that you asked was about precautions taken due to her past experiences. When I heard her talk about the story involving the geologists and the death of her siblings due to the contact and exposure to disease that they brought with them, it made me confused as to why the interview would be conducted after knowing that. Obviously Agafia was comfortable enough for the interviews to come, but there definitely needed to be some precautions taken. I would never want to ever come close to jeopardizing someone’s life, so it was strange to see them going forward with the interview. Agafia has had some updated exposure to the outside world, due to Yerofei moving in next to her in the late 1990’s, and the man who was able to get Vice into contact with her, but it would be very scary to continue to go forward with the interview, knowing what has happened to her sibling’s exposure with the outside world. It would have been nice to see what precautions were taken if any at all.

Vice (2013, April 9) “Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years (Full Length)” Youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET68

Case Study on Surviving the Wilderness with Agafia Lykovs

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET68)

The short documentary produced by Vice tagged above is about Agafia, 70-year-old women who has been living in the Siberian wilderness for the majority of her life. In the 1930s due to her family’s religious beliefs and the political climate in Russia, her father moved his entire family into the woods (160 miles from the nearest town) with very extreme weather conditions. Over the years due to outsider visits causing illness, and starvation the rest of Agafia’s family has passed away. The documentary was published in 2013 and the researchers sought out to understand and experience Agafia’s life/ living situation firsthand in what they described as “one of the most inhospitable places on earth “, (Vice, 2013). The researchers flew by helicopter to where Agafia’s home is and set up camp to live with her for a few days. Research Techniques The research techniques and findings of the documentary where not explicitly laid out but in my opinion the research method they used was qualitative with a mix of observation and interviews. The researchers conducted interviews with mostly Agafia recalling her history with the land as well as asking questions about her everyday life. They also conducted some shorter interviews with the park rangers that had helped them get there, and her neighbour about the same. A keynote about their research method is that it was naturalistic observation, meaning that Agafia was not taken out of her “natural setting”, but rather the researchers came to her. Invisible Backpack and Ethics The researchers unknowingly, or perhaps knowingly, brought with them their invisible backpacks filled with privileges that might not seem as obvious at first. Within this invisible backpack was the privileges of clothes, money, access to technology, geographical location, and education (McIntosh,1989). These privileges which seem subtle in the film do play roles in the research being done and that is why it is important to take note of them. Afterall, one’s invisible backpack also holds and shapes their worldview that has developed in very different ways from those they might be researching. In the film the researchers wore highly advanced winter gear and arrived in a helicopter. It was abundantly clear upon entrance the difference in lives they had to Agafias. Although, in some ways these differences and the way the Agafia lives her life contrarily from the researchers was the point of the study. It seems to me that there were ethical decisions being made in the process of the film. The researchers came off well mannered, helpful, wanting to listen and learn as well as not overbearing on Agafia’s lifestyle. They seemed genuinely interested and concerned for Agafias mental and physical welfare. Although, there were some questions I felt unanswered and uneasy about while watching. Number one, was there communication with Agafia before arriving (any heads up), if so, how? Secondly, they spoke in the film about how her family members had died after being in contact with geologist from the “outside world”, were there any precautions taken to make sure none of the Vice team brought any illnesses? Also, other than sharing Agafia’s story who was to benefit from this research? (Feel free to respond to any of these questions) If I were to research.. If I was given this same opportunity to go and visit Agafia I would conduct my research is a similar way in terms of method (oral histories, observational, interviews). I too come with most, if not all the same invisible backpack as the researcher before me so this is something that I would keep in mind but also ask Agafia about, see her opinion on outsiders coming in. Beforehand, I would try to make contact with Agafia to ensure that me coming would be something she wants. While there, I would try to integrate myself into her ways of life as much as possible, perhaps by staying longer (if I could). In the film they ended off with a great note about Agafia being a case that humans can survive in the gravest of conditions in

isolation (Vice, 2013). I would really like to expand on that idea and see if this is a generalizable note or if Agafia is a rare case.

VICE. (2013, April 9). Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET68%29

McIntosh, P. (1989). White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Retrieved 2021, from https://psychology.umbc.edu/files/2016/10/White-Privilege_McIntosh-1989.pdf

[jpgeog2260]

70 Year Survival

Far Out

The mini documentary titled, Far Out, is able to look at and observe the every-day life of the 70-year-old women, named Agafia Lykov. Agafia is an ultra-orthodox Christian, who trusts in the concept of every-day prayer and worship, due to her families past beliefs.

The documentary is able to acknowledge that her family fled to Siberia in 1936, in order to get away from the threat of Joseph Stalin, who was a Communist leader in the Soviet Union. Stalin mistreated and persecuted the religion that Agafia and her family were apart of, which caused her father to come up with the idea to escape the area and go live in the taiga in Siberia (Vice, 2013). Her family would live in the taiga for 40 years until a group of Russian geologists discovered them, functioning through the -30°C climates, scarce amounts of food, and short summers.  

After the discovery, a gradual and continuing cycle of death would strike her family. Agafia would lose her siblings, mother and father, and was forced to live on her own, away from human interaction.

The documentary takes place in 2013 and uses researching and interviewing methods to show the daily tasks and chores that Agafia is required to obtain in order to survive. The overall documentary is able to show people that survival can be accomplished even in areas with conditions such as the taiga. Agafia has clearly been through a lot of struggles throughout her life, which makes her a symbol of hope for others.

The picture is able to show Agafia Lykov, who is the main focus of the documentary. The background of the picture shows the mountainous location in which she lives, the taiga in Siberia.

Image from: Vice (2013, April 9) “Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years (Full Length)” Youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET68

Research Techniques in the Documentary  

The research conducted and the techniques involved, show clear examples of qualitative research, due to the concern around the environment of the taiga in Siberia, and the human experiences that Agafia is shown to be familiar with. This is also seen due to the interview aspect of the research, as questions are asked about her living situation and routine. Although the interviews are not in depth, the oral communication between the translator/interviewer, and Agafia is enough to show the qualitative strategy. The research is able to have an idealist perspective, as it is able to explore the human values, meanings, and experiences that Agafia has, and is shown with her relationship with Yerofei (Hay, 2016). This is shown, because even though Agafia has had many stuggles, and may not want people to live around her, she still shows her values to support him even after the “sins” that he has participated in (Vice, 2013).

Invisible Backpack and Ethics of Filmmaker

Privilege is obviously a main part of the filmmaker’s invisible backpack. I was able to clearly point this out in the documentary, due to their accessibility to many things, such as winter clothing, transportation, and money. The first section of the documentary shows that, The North Face, is the sponsor of the documentary, which is a company that makes expensive winter gear, such as winter jackets. Money and access to winter clothing such as The North Face, is obviously a major privilege, and is shown right away in the documentary. Agafia seems to make her own clothing using her weaving skills, due to the inaccessibility she has. Accessibility is another part of the filmmaker’s invisible backpack, as the access to animals to give to Agafia, is an example of privilege through the use of money being easily available.

Ethics also played a role in the process of the documentary. Minimal risk and participant benefits could arguably be shown. Minimal risk could be seen due to the overall invasion into the life of Agafia, because of the previous interactions she has had with the outside world. Two of her siblings passed away due to exposure to pneumonia, after geologists discovered her family, so it was important to not add any new risk or harm to her personal life due to the new research and interviews. Participant benefit can also be seen because of the goat and rooster that were bought for Agafia, in exchange for her time and interviews. This provided the balance between risk and benefit that is conducted in ethical research.

The picture is able to show the sponsor of the documentary, The North Face, which is presented to show the privileges that the interviewers and researches have while interacting with Agafia.

Image from: Vice (2013, April 9) “Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years (Full Length)” Youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET68

My Approach to research and Ethics Involved

My approach would be very similar to the research that Vice was able to conduct. The qualitative approach was obviously needed in order to conduct interviews and become a part of Agafia’s life. Oral communication, through the use of a translator would be a major important aspect, and I would also look at the history of her family, and observe what she did on a daily basis. This seemed to have great importance throughout the process. The only thing that I would have done differently was the questions asked to Yerofei. He was asked about the situation between the geologists and Agafia’s family, which shouldn’t have been asked due to the first experience happening a year before Yerofei and the other geologists came to visit the Lykov’s. The spread of pneumonia was the cause of death ruled by doctors when looking at Agafia’s siblings, but Yerofei believes differently due to possible bias because of his work as one of the geologists who came later on.

As a student and researcher at the University of Guelph, it is important for my own invisible backpack to be seen and unpacked. I am a privileged male, with access to education, money and a job. I wouldn’t engage in the world the same as Agafia, so it is important for me to address my privileges and understand her situation. By doing this, it can allow me to look closer at the ethical considerations that I would outline.

The first and most important thing that I would do, is to get full consent from Agafia, and ensure her that no harm will be presented. Obviously in this current period of time, I wouldn’t proceed with any interviews or interaction with Agafia due to the risk and danger presented with COVID 19, and the unknown future surrounding it. I probably wouldn’t even consider ever going to interview her, simply due to the unknown risks, and uncertainty for future interactions, as any negative exposure would create harm and immoral outcomes. Face to face interactions would be irresponsible to complete in the near future due to her age and susceptibility to sickness and disease, but if COVID 19 was never an issue, then I would once again follow in the footsteps that Vice was able to create. The respect of privacy through the use of their own personal tents, was a great ethical decision, as they are already invading her personal life, and if they were to go inside, it would create possible issues. Helping with chores and her everyday activities would also be important, as it would limit the struggle and strain that she puts on herself, and it would be a great way to pay her back for her time and interaction.   

References

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

Vice (2013, April 9) “Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years (Full Length)” Youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET68

[jpgeog2260]

Hi Cilliers,

I found it interesting that you decided to open up your discussion post with the quote from the President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, which states, “All nations have to make sacrifices in order to address the issue of climate change” (AJ+, 2014). This message is extremely powerful, yet people around the world continue to look at this situation and other similar situations and disregard the problem.

What sacrifices do you think need to be made? What countries would need to sacrifice the most, and do you think they would actually be willing to make these sacrifices? There is a long list of things that need to be done in order to save countries such as Kiribati. Politics play a huge role in climate change and the effects of climate change. People with opposing views will always disagree with each other, which shows that our world and major countries will be hard to bring together to create change.

This issue is so hard to tackle, as many of the solutions are either related to money, time, or togetherness. You mentioned the strategies that many of the locals are taking to create some sort of change, such as planting mangroves, building seawalls, or emigration. It is hard to simply rely on planting tress such as mangroves, but they are clearly able to make a difference in many similar occurrences. Florida uses these trees to prevent erosion on their coastline, as well as a way of storing carbon (Kolb, 2016). There are also some unappealing traits that mangroves bring. They are known to smell like “rotten eggs”, due to the bacteria and sulphur present (WWF, 2020). This may not seem like a big deal, and definitely doesn’t compare to anything else going on in Kiribati, but it will be yet another sacrifice that Kiribati alone needs to make. The real significant changes will be done through the rest of the world’s impact. If we continue to proceed in our current direction, then Kiribati will end up exactly as you previously stated. It will become an updated version of the myth of Atlantis.

How effective do you think the mangrove trees/forests are, and who should be responsible for the funding? If our world was able to come together to slow down the impacts of climate change, do you believe it would be in time to save Kiribati?

Let me know what you think! I enjoyed your take on the situation.

Kiribati: The Sinking Islands Being Destroyed by Climate Change. AJ+, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P7jXveokDY.

LeGuen, Roger. Mangrove forests play a central role in transferring organic matter and energy from the land to marine ecosystems, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 2020, wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/oceans_practice/coasts/mangroves/mangrove_ecosystems/?.

Kolb, Andrew. 6 facts you need to know about mangroves, Conservation.org, 2016, www.conservation.org/blog/6-things-you-need-to-know-about-mangroves-but-never-thought-to-ask.

Serving Kiribati

“All nations have to make sacrifices in order to address the issue of climate change” Anote Tong, Kiribati President

Kiribati will be destroyed. The Pacific Island nation made up of 33 islands is in danger due to climate change. This is not a “at risk” scenario, some areas have already been destroyed/contaminated with sea water. I cannot stress enough how urgent this problem is, because we have already seen irreversible damage to both the physical coastline and to the nation’s population. 

It is simple physics that the water from melting ice caps and glaciers in the mountains eventually ends up in the ocean. Which means that the sea level rises. Since 40% of the human population lives within 100km of a coastline, one would expect there to be a sense of urgency to address the problem. 

Addressing this problem is something that the people of Kiribati have been dealing with for quite some time. These are people we are talking about, not data points or numbers in a report, people with families and homes that want a future for their children. Through a combination of sea walls and mangrove trees, the inhabitants of these islands have attempted to defend their coastline from the ever encroaching ocean. Sea walls break, mangroves have to grow, resources run out, and hope sometimes seems futile. Kiribati is not a superpower, yet it has done everything it can on its own to combat the consequences of climate change. The global community has to do the right thing and assist the Kiribati government and its people in securing a future for this island nation. If this does not happen then the myth of Atlantis will soon have an updated name and over a one hundred thousand people are going to need a new home. 

It is difficult to take an objective approach to research this issue due to the immediate impact these issues have on the people of Kiribati. This discussion is filled with personal testimony and heart wrenching stories of how people have had to deal with the inevitability of total destruction. So as researchers we have to have a certain level of reflexivity. This means that the research has to be scrutinized so as to avoid the data being contaminated by the social context of the situation. There are a plethora of solutions that can be implemented to save this nation, and some of these solutions already dot the coastline (clumps of mangroves, seawalls, emigrated families). The point of researching this is to provide Kiribati with possible solutions, therefore it is imperative that the data obtained is as accurate as possible and that the solutions do everything they can to tackle the problem.

References:

Al Jazeera (Producer). (2014, December 8). Kiribati: The Sinking Islands Being Destroyed By Climate Change | AJ+ Docs [Video file]. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P7jXveokDY

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016

[jpgeog2260]

Mitigating Issues in Kiribati and Planning for the Future

What’s the problem?

Kiribati is the global representation of what the future may look like if climate change continues at its rapid speed and non-stop rising sea-levels above their land. Kiribati is currently at risk of losing their country due to concerns of having a majority of their land only around three metres above sea level (Australian Government DFAT, 2014). Extremely high tides, known as “King tides”, has caused flooding and abandonment of homes (AJ+, 2014). The population has been quickly forced out of their homes in order to “migrate with dignity”, towards Australia (AJ+, 2014).

Power and the roles of objectivity, subjectivity, and intersubjectivity

When researching countries such as Kiribati, it would be extremely important to understand the concept of reflexivity, and the difficulty that it brings. Reflexivity allows us to understand our own settings and reflect on them as if we were personally studying it (Hooykaas, 2021). This allows us as researchers to approach any situation, while also incorporating questions about our own identity. Reflexivity has great importance when looking at the concepts of power, objectivity, subjectivity, and intersubjectivity. Power is incorporated in this research through stories and information that I gather. I would hope that it would be directly powerful, as if I am working for the government to find ways to mitigate the issues. It would benefit the country to talk about their real-life situations, due to a bottom-up approach with the research. If other governments want to implement policy based on the research, then that would become the perfect end goal. Objectivity will play a role due to the quantitative research being provided. This will ensure that only facts are presented without the use of biased opinions or my own personal beliefs. Subjectivity will play a role due to the research and interviews being conducted. The research may be influenced based on perspectives, but the perspectives will allow the involvement in past and current events to be shown. Finally, intersubjectivity will also play a role, due to the outsider views that I may have. This can highlight the feelings between myself and the participants. The problem that they have unwillingly developed has been the cause of myself and others in the rest of the world. Our influence on greenhouse gas emissions has been a major influence on climate change, and it has only done negative things to the country of Kiribati.

Mitigating the issue

The Kiribati government has asked me to help find ways to mitigate their current issue that has been caused due to the impacts of climate change. This situation is clearly not the wrongdoing of the country, rather it is the wrongdoing of the population of the world around Kiribati. The country is left to suffer the consequences for others actions, while making it almost impossible for their land to become protected from the tides. The damage has already been done, but the people of Kiribati deserve their land. Locals have already worked to provide walls, trees, and barriers, in order to protect their homes and communities, but barriers don’t provide the necessary protection of the land (AJ+, 2014). By researching the history of the land and the citizens of the country, I will have the possibility to gather and understand qualitative data, to report on any changes noticed over time. The research will focus on the human environment and experiences, which will become thoroughly developed through the use of oral communication and interviews with locals who have directly experienced change (Hay, 2016). Some human geographic approaches to the research can be seen with historical research, due to past events in the area, which will use eyewitness accounts of events in order to develop conclusions made by people who have been directly involved over the years. By using historical research, I will be able to mix it with bottom-up research, which allows individuals to tell stories about their experiences with the sea levels, without the guidance of my questioning, to get rid of any bias on my behalf. If I were to guide people with the questions, then I may not get the whole story, which is something that is important for the research. Using quantitative data will also allow the stats behind climate change and how it is directly affecting Kiribati, to be analysed and used. Scientists have been researching the impacts of climate change for a long time, so if the data can explain that the sea levels are rising globally, then I will be able to use this quantitative data to support the use of my qualitative data collected.

Picture shows the high water levels in Kiribati, as seen with forested areas being underwater.

Image from: AJ+, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P7jXveokDY

How I will serve the country

In order to serve the country, it is important to make sure that countries who are the main contributors to the effects of climate change, lower their emissions, in order to replace non-renewable energy sources with environmentally friendly energy sources. This would be an expensive thing to do, but if the transfer towards renewable energy becomes more common within the next few years, then it will help Kiribati. Pollution is another main problem that needs to be fixed. The video showed the coastlines of the island, which had garbage washed up on shore (AJ+, 2014). The world needs to understand the negative effects that littering and improper disposal methods has on the environment. It is our duty as knowledgeable students to understand the severity of climate change, and we can make our voices heard through voting during elections for people who preach environmentally friendly views of life. Money and time need to be invested into this island as well, as properly structured barriers should be organised along the coast, in order for erosion to slow down. Everyone needs to be aware of this issue, and if the University of Guelph could help spread this message, it may allow the issue to be more known.

"A spotlight on Kiribati." Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2014, www.refworld.org/pdfid/53d0b9694.pdf.

Hay, Iain. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Fourth ed., Oxford, 2016.

Hooykaas, A. "Philosophy, Power, Politics, and Researc." University of Guelph, 2021.

Kiribati: The Sinking Islands Being Destroyed by Climate Change. AJ+, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P7jXveokDY.