Art Forms Vs. Interviews

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking how I will approach interviewing different individuals in the field. I really enjoyed doing it as I did in my Methods Practice where I recorded the interview then wrote up my report but it is very time consuming. As I learned in class there are four different types of interviewing:

• Informal Interviewing: is characterized by a lack of structure or control. It is a form in which you jot down conversations heard during the day. An example of this type of interviewing may be participant observation where you observe and then report. (Sketching)
• Unstructured Interviewing: is characterized by sitting down for an interview with another person constantly keeping in mind your plan but there is not a lot of control over the person’s responses. There is knowledge between both parties that the conversation is for the purpose of interviewing. There is plenty opportunity for more interviews. (Watercolor)
• Semisturctured Interviewing: is characterized by a onetime chance meaning you have a written list of questions or topics that need to be covered. This kind of interviewing involves a lot of probing and directed yet open questions. (Oil)
• Structured Interviewing: this is generally characterized by yes or no questions. It involves an interview schedule that does not diverge from the desired topic. (Acrylic)

Each of these interviewing strategies has its own purpose. Lately I have been trying to think of it as in terms of art from my perspective and talent. Sketching is certainly a free form. You can do whatever you want with it. It can be changed, erased, or redrawn but the marks originally drawn never disappear completely. As in informal interviewing, you can choose what you want to observe or focus on, you can ignore or miss important or less important parts of the day but it will never disappear. You can't erase what you hear or see but you can dim certain aspects. You can focus on the most important lines of the sketch but it is not the full picture unless you include all aspects of the picture, or in the case of interviewing, you must include all observations of the day to complete the picture.

Unstructured Interviewing is similar to watercolors. If you have ever painted with water colors you know that you cannot control where the color goes as you would like to. Sometimes you can keep it semi-contained and other times it goes all the way across your painting destroying everything. This type of interviewing is like water colors. Sometimes it stays fairly contained and other times it goes completely off track but embrace it. Not every interview will turn out perfect. It will always be a learning experience but maybe not always useful for reporting your project.

Semistuructured Interviewing is like oil painting. You can reassess the interview and redirect it. You provide guiding questions to get the results you need. It may not always be what you want to hear but it will guide you on to bigger and better things. You can redirect and correct misunderstandings and begin to understand the interviewee. Oil painting in this way is very flexible. If a mistake is made or the paint has gone off track you can throw some turpentine on it and wipe it right off leaving only a little color behind. As in interviewing you can't erase what was said but you can clarify. Once the color is whipped away you can cover up the light stain and clarify what is supposed to be expounded.

Lastly, in structured interviewing there is an unworkability. You ask the questions on your interviewing map just as listed and there is no expounding, no changing or understanding what is said. Acrylics are unchangeable. There is no erasing, only smearing, if it is still wet, or covering it up, if it is dry. In this type of interview there is no clarification, you can't gain an understanding as you can in semistructured. Oils allow adjusting and redirecting where the only thing you can do with acrylics is cover things up. In my opinion, this is like using or adjusting the structured interviews results and making up an analysis without the information. You are covering up what was said just as you would cover a mistake on an acrylic painting. But it does have its benefits! If there is a limited amount of time to interview then the topics you need covered can be covered, just like acrylics you only have a limited time before it dries so you need to get everything down before it is over.

So as you can see art and interviewing are very comparative. They both have their positives and negatives. As I have assessed the different types I am beginning to believe that semisturcture and informal interviewing will be most beneficial to my study. I can have semistructure interviews as I choose and find candidates but I will also be able to use informal interviewing as I am helping on farms or talking to people in the markets.

Social and Demographics of Tibetan Refugees

Bhatia, Shushum; Dranyi, Tsegyal; Rowley, Derrick. “A Social and Demographic Study of Tibetan Refugees in India”. Social Science and Medicine. (2002). 42; 411-422.

This article discusses the social and demographic characteristics of approximately 65,000 Tibetan refugees in India from data collected between 1994 and 1996. Of the 65,000 Tibetans 55,000 of them were refugees living in 37 different settlements and the remaining 10,000 were monks in the monasteries associated with these settlements. Surveillance was established through trained community health workers in house to house visits to collect data. Community health workers also conducted monthly interviews with a designated liaison monk at each monastery. Through this research it was found that new refugee immigration was little in the past 10 years but there is a steady influx of new monks in the monasteries. Age distribution in the settlements showed a prominent mode of individuals ranging from 15 to 25 years old . There seems to be a declining birth rate (16.8/ 1000) and increase proportionality of elderly.  Those that were born in India were educated through secondary schools while those born in Tibet were often illiterate. Occupations ranged from students (27%), Farming (16%), sweater selling (6.5%), and others who were too young or old to work (6.5%). Unemployment is estimated to be about 2.4%. Child vaccinations cover less than 50%. Illnesses  in the Tibetan refugee societies were characterized as diarrhea, skin infections, respiratory infections, fevers, and among the elderly death was assumed to be caused by cancer, tuberculosis, accidents, cirrhosis, and heart disease.

From this article I begin to slightly understand the social dilemmas and demographic characteristics of the individuals I will be working, living, and interviewing with. I can understand possible illness of the family, the rareness of child birth, and the occupations of those around me. I am excited to be in these communities and learn the sensitivity or openness of subjects. I want to gain a personal and emotional connection to these kind of subjects.

Neolithic Transition in the Indus Valley

Lemmen, Carsten; Khan, Aurangzeb. “A Simulation of the Neolithic Transition in the Indus Valley”. Geophysical Research Letters. 5 October 2011. DOI:10:1029

This article discusses the lack of research between the fourth and second millennium. To study this time period Lemmen and Khan investigated the precursors and rise of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC)  through the establishment of agriculture, dense populations, and technological developments between 8000 and 3000 BC. To look at these artifacts and historical outlook they observed over 1000 archaeological artifacts.  They also simulated a picture of technology, agriculture and population developments in the IVC. The results from this Global Land Use and Evolution simulator showed that the timing of agriculture transitions fit the archaeological chronology of the Neolithic sites in Pakistan, it hints to earlier than observed Neolithization of India, the archeologically suggested South Asian agricultural complex, and there is a relationship between archeological artifact richness and simulated population density.

Although this article is historic in comparison to what I am going to be studying it is interesting for know that thousands and thousands of years ago the Tibetans were still farming, so it is a trade that has been passed on for generations as it continues to be. The artifacts show that barley was still a main crop produced just as it is today.

Macy's Participant Observation

   

For my methods practice 3 I choose do a participant observation at Macy’s, one of Provo’s local grocery stores, on Saturday night. Originally I was planning to do it at a Mexican Market so I would be able to experience not being able to understand anyone, or at least very little, but I wanted to be able to observe how popular organic produce is so I chose Macy’s. When I first arrived I made a list of all the organic produce provided in the produce area and compared it to non-organic produce. The results are as follows:

Organic                 Non-Organic Fuji Apples………$2.19/lbs……………….$1.69/lbs Blueberries……..$4.99/6 oz……………..$3.69/6 oz Avocados…………$1.29 each…………….$1.29each Baby Carrots…….$1.99/lbs………………$1.59/lbs Cucumbers………$1.29/lbs……………….$0.59 each Tomatoes………..$2.99/pint…………….$1.29/pint Celery………………$2.99/lbs……………….$1.99/lbs Salad………………..$3.99/5 oz…………….$2.99/ 5 oz Mushrooms…….$3.29/8 oz……………..$2.19/ 8 oz

 

                I was very surprised with my discoveries because a couple of the produce prices were not that different as in the case of the avocados and the baby carrots (which were $0.10 cheaper organically because they were on sale for $1.49). As I observed how people chose their produce I kept an eye out for who bought produce. In the hour that I was there I observed six individuals approach and purchase organic products out of approximately 100 individuals. These individuals, who picked out produce, were usually young or middle age women and about half were Asians. I don’t know if this is just by chance or if they just try to eat healthier but that is what I observed. I watched as women, husband and wives, and a couple families walked through to purchase a selection of produce. One family, consisting of a mother and husband and son, were walking through, the husband and son were on their cell phones while the mom picked out the food. Pretty typical, I would say. There were very few men by themselves picking out produce and most, that I observed, where older men (probably above 50 years). The ratio of women to men in the produce area was approximately 10: 3 in the time I was there. There were two male clerks stocking bananas and salad while were there. The man stocking bananas had mentioned to one of the customers that bananas go really fast on Saturdays so he is always stocking them.

I was thinking of the way I buy things when I am at the store and then comparing it to the way other chose their produce. I am one to compare prices of items I want and may need and then decide what I will buy for the week. I usually make my grocery list based on what items are for sale or may be a little cheaper. I usually take my time at the grocery store making the produce section my first stop so that I can chose what I want from there and base my meals off of it. Individuals I saw walk through there went directly for an item debated which one looked the tastiest, bagged it up and when to choose the next item on their list. There wasn’t much price comparing going on. The customers generally knew exactly what they wanted, which you could tell by the look on their face and there “don’t get in my way” type of walk.  It was the same thing in the organic section. If someone wanted organic items they knew it. They would walk straight there, pick the item they wanted and leave. There were very few who actually do what I do. I began to wonder whether location of store items affect what people purchase. Would people look more at organic items if they were right next to the non-organic equivalent? The way the store was set up the organic items were more difficult to find because they were off in the corner where apples and oranges, bananas, and potatoes all had their own table to be displayed. Is it done this way because it has been tested that these have always been purchased the most, therefore, you have it on its own table easily displayed because a lot of people will purchase these items? Is it possible that if they displayed their organic produce in a more noticeable spot that more people would purchase them?

                Lastly, I wanted to observe how the produce area was decorated and designed.  The produce area was located in the back right corner of the store. Brightly colored decorations hung from the ceiling and bright fruits and vegetables were painted around the area. The vegetables lined the outer edge of the area where they could be kept moist by the misting heads while apples, bananas, ground vegetables and several other items were stacked on the center produce racks. The brighter fruits and vegetables were scattered throughout the area maybe to help catch people’s attention. There was a rack of seeds in the area for those who would like to grow their own vegetables. I found this interesting because I don’t often see this in a grocery store or maybe I just never observed it.

                This whole experience was very interesting to me. It makes me wonder how it will be different in Bylakuppe. I imagine there will be more organic crops with how big organic farming is there. As I continue this same project in Bylakuppe I hope that I will be able to first observe how things work and then maybe talk to a store clerk. At Macy’s I was able to talk to a clerk for a little while. He was getting curious about what we were doing so I explained that it was for a school project. He mentioned that some stores have scouts come out and compare prices to other stores and he thought we may be doing that. Other than him we didn’t have people getting suspicious of anything because the turnover rate in the produce area was about every 10 minutes. This made me realize that although I probably don’t need to explain to customers about my studies but I should probably mention it to the store owner or manager so that I don’t seem suspicious of anything strange.

Integration of Cultural Aspects

I am finally becoming truly interested in my project as I have begun to read the article from Colleen McKown. The experience is becoming more personal and real in my eyes. Mckown has published a series of articles nearly all reporting from Mundgod in Karnataka, India. The three in which I have read cover topics such as farming, preserving culture, school, work and family. As I have thought about it throughout the day I have began to consider how this all fits together. Though all that I say may not be perfectly accurate I am going to make some assumptions combined with the information that I have learned from McKown’s published articles.

In 1959 the Tibetan people were forced out of Tibet. Many fled into India where they were guaranteed protection. As a result the Dalai Lama wanted to preserve some of the cultural traditions of Tibet while also acclimating to the new land. He directed the Tibetan refugees to learn how to farm and to farm organically, he asked for help by the CTA to set up schools, and set up communities in which Tibetan refugees could live and preserve culture. While this was all instated soon following their arrival in India times have changed since then. Money is not found in farming and herding like it was in Tibet. The rising generation is finding the need and the responsibility to support their families and gain an admirable education. While in the early 60’s, 70’s and 80’s farming was considered a sustainable job for the Tibetan refugees it isn’t any longer.

The younger generation realizes this and sees the need to be knowledgeable and become doctors, dentists and nurses. They want to see the world. They are accommodating their needs. Few of the older generations of the Tibetan refugees see the need to leave. They see leaving as a destruction of their culture. The few that don’t perceive it this way understand that the only way to truly support your family is to have at least one of your family members leave the community. One of the teachers that McKown mentions says that Tibetan culture will never die. The students in Mundgod show that they know the song, dance, debates, and poetry of their culture.

 I see this transition of rising generation being a benefit to the people. The Tibetan refugees will never forget their culture, where it comes from- who they are. My theory is that as children grow up, move away and get an education they will make their money, have a family, and when they get older and can support themselves they will return back to their Tibetan community.

As pertaining to my project I am predicting that I will see many younger children, older Tibetan refugees, and some unfortunate (poorer) individuals on the farms. I am assuming that the coming generation will be going to universities and colleges gaining a higher education or off in the city working a higher paying job than they would have in the community. I am excited to see how exactly all these aspects fit in to the culture in Bylakuppe.

Preservation of Tibetan Culture

McKown, Colleen. “CST Pricipal and Students on Changing Times, Tibetan Identity”. The Tibet Post International. 26 September 2011.

This article discusses the preservation of Tibetan culture with the rising generation. When Tibet was pushed into exile the Dalai Lama instated a plan with the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)  to establish schools where Tibetan culture, language, and religion could be preserved. Looking back the CTA was a wonderful decision and made a way to establish a better system, the Central School for Tibetans (CST). Changra, the principal of the CST network for 35 years, emphasizes the importance and responsibility of the new generations to preserve Tibetan culture. Changra served in Mundgod from 2003-2005 and then came back in 2010. She noticed upon her return that students were unhappy; after talking with students, teachers, and parents she attributes this stress on teachers being too strick. Students express wanting to get away and become businessmen, doctors, dentists, nurses, etc… Though some teachers and parents take the idea of moving into India’s society as destroying Tibetan identity, Changra states that Tibetan culture will never die. The culture is so unique. Tenzin Thinley, a teacher from class eleven, reiterates that the culture is not dying. From her recent experiences at the Culture  and Exhibition Meet held at CST Mundgod dancing, singing, debates, and poetry readings were a perfect declaration of Tibetan culture continuing on.

How does this apply to the farming culture? Does this mean that young people are more rare to see in the fields? Is the rising generation really moving away and attending college? If so, do they come home on breaks and help the family or do they stay away?

Wedding

As a follow up on a previous journal I wanted to discuss my participant observation at my brother’s wedding. I found it very difficult to realize certain proxemics and kinesics of my own family where noticing the bride’s family was much easier. It is difficult to analyze the culture, or even more difficult your family, because everything is "normal". Right? Maybe not... while it was very normal to me my family may not have been so normal to her family.

I first started my observations in the chapel. When I entered my great uncle sat there in his wheel chair next to his dazed wife. They are both in their mid-eighties but she has aged much more than he has. He smiled,  hugged my dad, 2 sisters, and I. My sister quietly mentioned that they she thought they were really old when she was a little girl but now they looked pretty good. My great uncle gave her a slight smile- one that you give when you don't hear everything someone says. Then he quizzed us to find out which one had celiac disease. I shyly volunteered. I watched the look on his face as he quizzed me. His eyes were beady yet endearing. He pointed his finger straight at me and shaking it back and forth said, "if you follow the diet you will never have any problems." I tried to quick explain my situation but he looked at me softly and said he would talk to me afterwards. Following the temple helpers simple words we were directed to the sealing room. First the back row excited and so it continued to the front row. I noticed as I tried to exit a lady being a little boisterous in her wheel chair. There was a middle aged lady pushing her while she demanded, "turn, turn, turn! Go!," as she tried to slightly swing her body as if to help the wheel chair move. It didn't work to well from my observations. As we reached the sealing room I noticed a division of people I knew and who, I am assuming, the bride knew. The ceremony progressed well and just following we were guided to have parents and grandparents congratulate the coupled followed by family and friends. Parents took a good 10 to 15 minutes to go through the line though it was only my parents and the bride's mom, her dad passed away a couple months previous. My mom tiered up ( it is her last child to get married) and my dad had his usual satisfied expression, which I know means he is extreme ecstatic yet at peace inside. Just a little side note: every time my dad is able to go to the temple with any of his children he is totally and completely happy. My grandpa and himself helped with the reconstruction of the temple ( my dad hanging all the doors, and my grandpa designing where all the emergency sprinkler heads should go, and many other things. Also my dad's worst experience was there. In the women’s dressing room he went to move one of the vanities not realizing the full size mirror placed on top was not bet hung. He watched the mirror come crashing down and shattering everywhere. He thought for sure he would be fired but he wasn't. For all these reasons I presume it is a beautiful, sacred, and memorable place for him).

In continuing my observations, after the parents went through the line no one was going so naturally my sisters and I went because we were in the away. Just as we decide to get up the crazy lady in the wheel chairs and her new servant (an older man) came up behind me. At first I didn't even think about who it was then I heard her wheezing, "they said grandmas go next!!!". She grumbled at the man, "Get in front of them! Grandmas go next!" I gracious stepped aside and the man pushed the grandma past me scraping the edge of the alter. I later learned that her grandma is almost always like this. This is the reason she was not invited to the bridal shower. After the ceremony I was able to gather with my family, and some of my old bishopric and their wives. It was interesting to see who shakes hands and who hugs. One of my old counselors in my ward always has a huge grin and gives me a big huge where my bishop was only a hand shaking kind of person (granted that his is the same bishop that thought it was not permissible to change in front of my best friend). Their wives just offered a gentle smile and hello. Everyone has their own culture or way of doing things.

Though I am not going to detail anymore of the wedding I will say that I notice a definite line between friend and family relationship between the bride and her guests verses her and the groom’s guests. The bride in most instances almost ignored my sisters and I but when it came to her family there was hugging and pictures. Some families just allow themselves to mesh but these two definitely had their division. The proxemics and kinesics between the two families were extremely distanced and uncommunicative.

In my next methods practice I plan to put myself in a situation where I can’t understand the situation as well so I am not as biased. I am planning on going to a Mexican market and see what produce are commonly bought.