Week9dq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Week9dq - Essay Example ogramme, concludes by stating that â€Å"as researchers we must examine the effects of our lives and thoughts on the knowledge that we seek to capture and use† (p 185). This seems to me to be a statement which is both valid and important. In 2007 Buchanan and Bryman pointed to the way organizational research is changing with new trends emerging. They argue modern research methods tend towards both diversity and creativity in their techniques and approaches. However the choices made are also dependent upon the various â€Å"organizational, historical, political, ethical, evidential and personal factors† (p.483).All of such factors are relevant to the research being planned within an contemplated within the organization context in which it is carried out. For ‘insiders’ (Brannick and Coghlan, 2007), working at management level, some things such as obtaining permission to carry out research with in the organization and other factors such as having primary access and gatekeeper issues, are much less problematic than it would perhaps be for external researchers. Despite this there could be disadvantages due to â€Å"partisan conclusion† Johnson and Duberley 2003), and is a factor to be aware of, and epistemic reflexivity is necessary to that process. Buchanan and Bryman (2007), argue that :- The authors show how in such cases the final ultimate decision about research may have to encroach on the type of evidence required to make an impact upon practice. Despite this they emphasise reflection when choices of research methods are made Within the Week 9 reading several reflexivity models are presented. There are however differences between theories held by positivists and those who hold to post-modern theory. The first assumes objectivity, a sense of neutrality and detachment and on the part of the researcher so that who the researchers are makes no difference who is doing the research into this reality. There is however a newer theory which argues

Examine the relative role of institutions in the rise of Europe Essay

Examine the relative role of institutions in the rise of Europe - Essay Example These formal institutions include such diverse tools as constitutions, laws and property rights. Institutions have always been created by human beings throughout history to create order in their various societies and reduce uncertainty in trade. Taken together with the standard constraints imposed by economic logic, institutions define the set of available choices in economic interactions. This has an effect of directly influencing economic behaviour and hence, economic outcomes in any given society (Acemoglu, Johnson, & Robinson, 2005). Institutions evolve incrementally over time meaning that the economic history of any society has to be comprehended in the context of the evolution of its institutions. The fundamental role played by institutions is that they provide the incentive structure for the given economy. As such, the direction of evolution of this structure in time determines the direction of movement of an economy whether towards growth, stagnation or decline (North 1991). A constantly evolving system of organisation and exchange in medieval Europe’s long-distance trade between the 11th and the 16th centuries eventually led to the rise of Europe as the dominant world power (North, 1991). The first significant institutional change was the innovation of systems and tools that lowered transaction costs in exchange. The transaction cost of any exchange is defined as the cost, other than the cost of the product or service being exchanged; that is incurred in executing the transaction. This cost consists of various components such as the cost incurred in the search for information about the sellers and their product, the cost of negotiating and closing down on the contract, the cost of enforcing the contract, etc. (North 1991) The organisational changes, tools and various techniques of exchange that lowered transaction costs for medieval Europe’s long-distance trade included: Among the