Aging with Grace

The Research Process The book â€Å"Aging with Grace† by David Snowdon regards a study based on the religious lifestyles of nuns in Good Counsel Hill convent. The research study or rather the nun study seeks to provide insight on leading healthier, longer, and more meaningful lives. The book describes the process and context of setting up and conducting a scientific study involving human subjects.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Aging with Grace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It offers a description of the scientist’s previous studies in epidemiology, which are different from the nun study experience. In the latter study, the study evolved over time with essential input from the nuns as â€Å"a way to continue helping and educating others† (Snowdon, 2001, p. 256). Essentially, the nun study maps the research study as a process limited in scope at the beginning, which later evolves to a more detailed study. The book raises several important issues on how a research study involving closed communities should proceed. Initially, the researcher had a limited understanding of the religious order of the nuns or the history of Notre Dames, his intended study subjects. He, however, gathered preliminary information before embarking on the study. The first step in research is gaining the approval of relevant authorities after proposing the study idea. In the research, identification of the research idea followed by preliminary investigation or background search is core to a later detailed research (Holliday, 2007, p. 141). Later, the nun study gains the approval of Sister Carmen, after agreeing to treat the subjects with â€Å"respect and care† (Snowdon, 2001, p. 257). In longitudinal studies involving closed communities, positive relationships between the researcher and the researcher are fundamental and have an impact on the findings. The researcher had to visit the Goo d Counsel Hill convent to understand the connection between the nun’s religious lifestyles and their longer and healthier living. This shows the importance of interaction between the researcher and the subjects in qualitative research design. Aspects of the Investigator’s Experience In research, particularly in epidemiological studies, the participants are many. As a result, relationships between the researcher and the participants are hard to establish, which is vital in maintaining scientific objectivity.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, in the nun study, the researcher was able to establish relationships with the participants. This, to me, is important particularly in studies involving qualitative data. The participants are able to reveal essential information based on these relationships. In gaining the approval of Sister Carmen, the researcher expla ined the significance of his research and the contribution of previous nun studies to medicine. Personally, I would like to have an opportunity to discuss my research idea with the authorities and professionals. In this way, I would gain expert advice that has potential implications on the research process and findings. The researcher in the nun study did a background search including consulting a Notre Dame, Nora Keenan. To me, literature review is essential in refining the statement problem and in refining the objectives of the study. It also provides information to support the need for the study. The researcher was passionate about his investigation. He had an earlier relevant experience when he used keep poultry. In fact, his passion for epidemiology stems from his experience with chicken and poultry diseases. Additionally, in the nun study, he was able to visit his study subjects, the nuns, at the convent. I would like to have a direct contact or interviews with the participant s in my research as opposed to using questionnaires to collect data. Reference List Holliday, A. (2007). Doing and Writing Qualitative Research. London: Sage Publications. Snowdon, D. (2001). Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About  Leading Longer, Healthier and More Meaningful Lives. New York: Bantam Press. p. 256-257Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Aging with Grace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This essay on Aging with Grace was written and submitted by user Hailee Livingston to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Understanding Splinter Words in English Grammar

Understanding Splinter Words in English Grammar In  the branch of linguistics known as morphology, a splinter is defined as a fragment of a word used in the formation of new words. Examples of splinters include  -tarian  and -terian (from vegetarian, as in the coinages eggitarian,  fisheterian, and meatatarian)  and -holic (shopaholic, chocoholic, textaholic, foodaholic). The splinter is formally identical to a clipping, but whereas clippings function as full words, splinters do not (Concise Encyclopedia of Semantics, 2009). The morphological term splinter was  coined by linguist J.M. Berman in Contribution on Blending in  Zeitschrift fà ¼r Anglistik und Amerikanistik, 1961. Examples and Observations English has lots of splinters, among them tastic, as in funktastic or fishtastic, which is used to form mostly ironic words meaning excellent or great in reference to X, originally from fantastic, or licious, as in bagelicious or bootielicious, which is used to form words meaning appealing in reference to X, originally from the word delicious. The difference between a splinter and a true suffix is that speakers understand splinters  in relation to the original word from which the ending splits off. If these bits survive and continue to give rise to new forms, though, they might someday be real suffixes!(Rochelle Lieber,  Introducing Morphology, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2016)Blends, unlike regular compounds, are . . . based on analogy rather than on rules. For instance, the occurrence of the splinter -licious (from delicious) in beaulicious and bootylicious has attracted some new coinages: e.g. Girlicious (a musical lady trio), Kittylicious (referring to Hello Kitty mov ies), and Lehrers (2007) jocular blendalicious.(Elisa Mattiello, Extra-Grammatical Morphology in English: Abbreviations, Blends, Reduplicatives, and Related  Phenomena. Walter de Gruyter, 2013) What Happens to SplintersSplinters arise through the process of blending . . .. Thus, -nomics in Thatchernomics is a splinter, recurring in Reaganomics, Rogernomics, Nixonomics, etc.Splinters may have any one of three possible fates. They may disappear. I suspect that this is what has happened to -teria (a splinter from cafeteria which had a brief flourishing in words like washeteria but now seem to have become unavailable). They may become productive affixes. This appears to be what has happened with -nomics, cited above, although it is of very low productivity. They may become independent words. This is what has happened to burger, originally a reanalysis from hamburger which shows up in beefburger and cheeseburger.Since splinters may turn into affixes or words, we appear to have a situation where it is not clear whether new forms using the splinter will be derivatives or compounds. The -scape which emerged from landscape might be a case in point, though the Oxford English Dictiona ry lists so many instances of its being used independently that there can be little doubt as to its status as a word now. On the other hand, if we believe the Oxford English Dictionary, -cade (from cavalcade into motorcade) has become an affix.(Laurie Bauer, The Borderline Between Derivation and Compounding, in Morphology and Its Demarcations, ed. by Wolfgang U. Dressler. John Benjamins, 2005) Splinters in Blends[Blends] may be composed of two elements called splinters (ballute from balloon and parachute), or only one element is a splinter and the other element is a full word (escalift from escalator and lift, needcessity from need and necessity). . . . A special punning effect is achieved when one constituent echoes in some way the word or word-fragment it replaces, for example, foolosopher echoing philosopher, or fakesimile, echoing facsimile.(Pavol Ã…  tekauer, English Word-Formation: A History of Research, 1960-1995. Narr, 2000)