The Catholic Church
By Anonymous
May 16, 2019
Intro:
For my research project I observed a church, the people that went to church and its volunteers. I collected my data by attending different services that were offered by the church and conducting observations that were 30 mins or longer. Some of the concepts that I observed during my observations were thick descriptions, meaningful action, statuses, team work, and roles. After my observations I conducted a total of 3 interviews. I conducted 2 of my interviews where my group was located and one here at Fresno State. I decided to do 2 of my interviews where my group was located because this is where my group felt more comfortable at and it was easier for me to be able to meet up with them there. The last interview that I conducted was done at Fresno State because it was one of my backups just in case one of the 3 interviews that I had in place did not follow through. I was able to set up these interviews through my gatekeeper. I was really thankful that she opened that door for me and allowed me to talk to them. When I met up with them. I asked for their consent and explained to them the consent form. I believe my gatekeeper choose my interviewees because they had been part of my group for some time now. After my interviews I looked for documents pertaining to my group. A lot of these documents were from my main group directly and others were associated with my group on a national level. I was able to get a hold of these documents by obtaining them from my group's personal space, social media accounts, and websites on the internet. I gathered over 10 documents. Some of the documents even included booklets that I was able to get at the office of my group. My group did have a national level twitter and Facebook and I was able to obtain important information from these sources. I was able to obtain documents through a couple of websites that were provided through my group's main webpage. Through my findings I was able to analyze each document through the collective action frames concepts: diagnosis, prognosis, motivation, identity, and agency.
Literature Review:
Symbolic Interactionism and Dramaturgy are both concepts that are part of our everyday interactions with one another. Although these terms differ from one another they manage to blend in together well. They both essentially relate to how we see ourselves, how we act out our interactions, and how others view us.
The Symbolic Interactionism theory focuses on how everyday meanings emerge through interaction (Scott 2014). Its main concern was to analyze meanings in our everyday life and understand the forms of human interaction (Scott 2014). This theory was influenced by theorist George Herbert Mead and it has four key components within it (Scott 2014). The first component states that humans produce culture through symbols and they give meaning through their actions like their bodies, the way they are feeling, or through situations that they are going through (Scott 2014). The second component basically states that lives do not stay the same because they are in constant change due to the interactions we have (Scott 2014). The third component focuses on the social world as interactive because humans are always connected to others (Scott 2014). It is kind of inevitable to isolate from the world because you are constantly in this cycle of interaction. The last component was derived from Gerog Simmel and it stated that beneath the symbols we create there are patterns in our social life (Scott 2014). We then go into the concept that Erving Goffman created. Dramaturgy was an approach that Goffman created and it stated that our lives are like theatres and we are constant acting in everyday life (Smith 2001). Goffman claimed that we staged performances because we wanted to control the impression of others towards us and that in order for us to do this, we had to make sure the components of our performance were met (Smith,2001). Through Goffman's concept came about ideas like the presentation of self, front stage, back stage, roles, audiences, and this all then creates this theatre on which he believes our life is a part of (Smith 2001).
The self is a very important concept of symbolic interactionism because with all of the interactions you do on a daily basis you create patterns and symbols. The self is composed of the things that make you who you are and it shapes your behavior in certain situations and shapes the relationships you have with others (Fine, Martin, and Sandstrom, 2006). By interacting with others, you are taking on the roles of those who are around you because your goal is to be perceived like them (Fine, Martin, and Sandstrom, 2006). The self can be viewed as the social process, as a social structure, and as a dramatic effect (Fine, Martin, and Sandstrom, 2006). A key component of the self is the process of inner conversation and that is where we think about situations and the outcomes that can happen (Fine, Martin, and Sandstrom, 2006). In symbolic interactionism the concept of the self was not composed of a lot unlike Goffman who in a sense broke down his own definition of the self.
Interview Question: How do you believe your coworkers perceive you as?
Observation Question: I wonder if this person is always so energetic?
Erving Goffman was a social theorist that focused on the interactions that people had face to face with one another (Schmitt 2001). In his writing of The Presentation of Self, he identifies how people maintain interaction through rules of courtesy and how those rules bound people to interact with others (Schmitt 2001). Performers want to control the impression that they are essentially giving off to their audience in order for them to be able to accept the situation that is being presented to them (Fiorito and Nicholls, 2016)). Goffman presented ideas on how people essentially present themselves in society and within those ideas he developed concepts (Cain N.d.).
Interview Question: How would you describe your relationship with your coworkers?
Observation Question: Does this person always dress this formal or is it required at work?
The terms front and back stage came about from the idea of the presentation of the self. The frontstage consists of the environment in which one is in and that includes: setting, props, and the layout of the situation (Cain N.d.). It also includes the participants within that setting and that includes: gender, characteristics, age, and ethnicity (Cain N.d.). Each specific concept has its own way of viewing things. These are just some of the key components of what the front stage consists of. You can literally break this down to the person's body type or what they do for a living, and so on. The whole concept of the front stage is so that people can express themselves and let's not forget something very important, the front stage is scripted (Cain N.d.). The main goal of the front stage is to set the way that a person wants to be presented and perceived by other people (Fiorito and Nicholls, 2016). The backstage component is out of view of the public and people here can say how they really feel and think and it is also a place for one to practice how they are going to act in the presence of others (Cain N.d.). There are things that people cannot say in the front stage but in the back stage they can let all of those emotions out because in a sense they are preparing how to act for the front stage (Cain N.d.). The back stage's main goal is for the performer to prepare and perfect their performance so that when they demonstrate it in the front stage it's as they planned it (Fiorito and Nicholls, 2016).
Interview Question: Tell me about your job? (Front Stage)
How do you prepare for your job every day? (Back Stage)
Observation Question: Can you elaborate on the essential functions that you perform? (front)
How can a person prepare for what they will be doing? (back)
There will be times when a person is going to be required to work in teams and Goffman elaborates on that. Goffman states that teamwork is required in order for the act to come off right (Smith 2001). He states that teams are made in order to approach situations like for instance work situations (Cain N.d.). They criticize or show one another during the back stage how to act (Cain N.d.) The interactions that were occurring in the back stage of a setting allowed the team work be maintained in the form of impression management (Lewin and Reeves N.d.). It was pointed out during one of the readings that with team work come many challenges and that is because you never really know who you are working with (Lewin and Reeves N.d).
Interview Question: Have you ever had to work as a team?
Observation Question: Were can I see a team bonding experience?
In order for a person to be able to perform their front and backstage they need to take into account how they are going to do it. Role taking is defined as a process in which a person evaluates themselves and their actions from the viewpoint of others (Fine, Martin, and Sandstrom, 2006). Through this process a person can unfold and decide on how they want to act based on the scenario presented to them (Fiorito and Nicholls, 2016). You rely on role taking because of the situations that you are put in and from there you have to figure out how you are going to react. (Fiorito and Nicholls, 2016). One of the main goals of role taking is how others act and that defines what their intentions are in certain situations and from there you see how a person acts and you determine if you still want to continue with the same role taking, stop and do something different, or add more to what you are already doing (Fine, Martin, and Sandstrom, 2006). Just because you are thinking of the role you want to take on that does not mean that it is going to go as you planned because there will be things that catch you off guard and from there you will have to improvise (Fiorito and Nicholls, 2016).
Interview Question: Are there any roles you take on during work?
Observation Question: How many roles are in the job?
In the end we can see how our interactions do not just happen out of the ordinary. We do not live in this society where we just do things to do them. There is meaning to the things we decide to do. A lot of things influence the way we think and act. Through every interaction we have, we are constantly thinking and seeing how others will view us or how we would like to be perceived as.
Ethnographic research is something that we see everyday with the interactions between the individuals that are around us. Whether they be public or private settings/ spaces. They are constant occurring. As a researcher you have to make sure that you have access to a particular setting, the transportation must be attainable, and it should fall into something that catches your attention. That is going to help you be more interested and invested in that research. The way one looks and presents themselves has an effect on the interviewing process and outcomes because it is your presentation of self. First impressions are hard to forget. Researchers with good self presentations often go down a good path in their research. Entering any setting as an outsider can have its pros and cons. As a stranger you must make sure that you are dressed according to that setting and that your behavior is like the setting. You have to make it seem like you are a part of that setting or at least want to be a part of it. Gatekeepers in a setting can grant a you initial access to their setting because they are the ones that allow you to come into a specific group They are the ones that bring you in a an outsider to become one with the group.
Researchers typically enter settings as strangers or outsiders because they are curious to learn about a specific group. Although they may be entering a group to conduct research they have to try to adapt to the settings that are already there or else they will be viewed as a spies. They must take on the role of that group. People react differently when they do not feel like they are constantly being watched by an outsider so blending in is a good thing. Once researchers get invested or become a part of the group that is referred to as going naïve. This can have both positive or negative outcomes depending on how the group welcomes the person and whether or not if the group fits into the interest of the researcher. There can be always be potential risks in qualitative research therefore researchers should not be in a places where they will be endangered nor should they put others at risk.
Once a researcher has been incorporated into that group they can begin with their field notes. Field notes are necessary for conducting research and can be time consuming because they require memory and organizational work from the researcher. This is where the research has to pay close attention and make sure that they are capturing as much detail as possible. Field notes should have thick description. That is key because the more detail you have the better quality of research you will get. There can never be too much detail, everything must be taken into consideration. A simple way of jotting dawn field notes are making sure you have your own unique style of taking notes. When labeling your field notes one can abbreviate and jot down quick things. If you spend too much time trying to write out a whole sentence you will miss out on other detail. As soon as you are done you can transfer all those notes on to a computer in full sentences. Finished field notes have thick description with a heading, beginning, middle, and an end. It is important to reread your your field notes after because it can lead to new insights that you could have possible missed out on.
Once you are done conducting your observations and writing down notes the next step is to get a better insight of the group and what better way to do it than with some interviews. Interviews are different than conversations because they are based on specific questions for respondents, there's a selection of respondents, and audiotaping is involved in order to make sure everything is included. Research questions are framed from a specific topic and are usually thought out by you. When conducting the interview you must make sure your interviewee is going to feel comfortable with you and the questions. Some questions might not be as easy so they should be left till the end of the interview. While the interviewer is conducting the interview and is listening to the interviewee they must be prepared to probe because his ill assure the interviewee that one is listening. It will also make them feel more at ease with you. You can apply this to face to face interviews but there are more formats to interviews. This is not the only way you can conduct one. For instance, there can be more than one interviewer or respondent and they can be set up electronically.
Interviews are important because they represent social situations between two people. Not all interactions between 2 people will be the same. Some will be different because not all interviewees will communicate the same with you. . The interview process has 3 parts: beginning, the unfolding, and the ending and they all rely on the interviewer and interviewee. Rapport is something that is really important because it establishes truth in an interview. Once the interview is done the next process is transcribing it. The way people would transcribe before was through pen and paper but now with the help of technology it is much quicker. With the push of a button you can have all of your interviews transcribed and al you have to do is go back and make sure they are correct.
The last part of your research is the collecting the documents. Any type of document can be useful for research. There are no specific documents you must obtain because they all ultimately have information that can be useful. Documents can range from magazines and advertisements to historical documents and pictures. Depending on the type of document you choose to analyze you will see whether you get a lot or some information. Keep in mind that you must be collecting documents throughout your research. Once you have gathered your documents the next step is to analyze each document. You can import each document into NVivo and start coding from there This is where you can categorize quotes into certain groups. When you are analyzing you might even find relationships behind each document and that can be pretty interesting. After you have coded all of the transcriptions you can start working on your paper. You can now put together all the information you have gathered. Make sure you proofread and check for any grammar errors.
Methods:
I decided to observe my group over the period of a week and a half. This is the time where a lot of events and services were going to be offered by my chosen group. I am a part of this group so I had to put myself in the role of an outsider. I had to leave any previous experiences and encounters with my group out my observations and really focus on the time that I was going to be there acting as a researcher. My goal was to observe as much as I could.
My observations took place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Saturday April 6th, I went out to observe my group and I arrived at approximately 3:27 p.m. During this day I observed up until 5:00 p.m. I observed this day the longest because I was able to see a lot of interaction going on in my group that I felt was very important. My second observation took place around 5:45 p.m. on Friday April 12, 2019. On this day there was going to be an event going on that I had not heard of that my group was a part of. This observation was roughly about an hour. My last observation took place on Sunday April 14. During this observation I decide to observe some volunteers that are part of my group. In total, I completed 3 hours of observation for my group.
During my observations I referred back to readings for the class and activities. I tried my best to use thick description and describe in as much detail as I could the interactions and the settings of my group. I wanted to describe as best as I could what was going on so that when anyone read my observations they would be able to put themselves in the settings of my group. Not only did I use thick description but I also applied concepts through my observations like roles, status, team work, and meaningful action. These are concepts that were happening throughout my observations and that caught my eye. After my observations, I went back and typed them out in full sentences and when that was done I imported the notes to Nvivo. The Nvivo program is computer based and it helps to analyze and transcribe documents in research. After I analyzed my transcripts I coded certain sections into different nodes. I was also able to make a word cloud using Nvivo that shows the words that I transcribed. The biggest word that was right in the center of my word cloud was "room" and that was because I used that word more times.
Observing my group was quite simple because I had good access to them. They were located in a place that was very accessible to me and they met during times that fit my schedule well. I had no problem going to observe my group. I enjoyed observing my group for the sole reason that I feel that I learned a lot about what they do. There is this stigma that they really do not do much but after observing them I released that they interact frequently with one another. There's this vibe that they give off that shows that they are one big family.
Throughout my interviews I decided to put my focus on some of the concepts and theories that we had gone over throughout the semester in class. I was also able to draw back and use concepts that I had incorporated in my observation paper. This really helped me see how the concepts correlated with one another through both assignments. It was really interesting to see how the concepts played out.
To start of I interviewed 2 females and 1 male. Each of the interviewees played a different role with in my group. One of my interviewees had been a volunteer then was moved up as an employee for this group, another started off as an employee yet was involved with an organization within this group and the last one had been a part of this group throughout her childhood and to this day. I really wanted to see to see if there was going to be anything that would be the same within these 3 interviewees. Before I started my interviews I made sure that I explained to each interviewee that this was all going to be anonymous and that no one besides my professor would know of their name and have the audio recordings. That this was going to be a complete anonymous interview. Each of the interviews was recorded though the recorder on my phone and my interviewees were well aware of that.
I conducted my first interview on April 30th and it took place at the church office this interview was around 2pm in the afternoon. This interview was my longest and it took 22:39 minutes. My first interviewee was a male and he was really open to me asking him questions. He was also a Fresno State student and I believe that is why he was willing to help me out. My second interview took place on May 1st and it was also at the church office. This interview took 15:04 minutes and the interviewee was a female. She was an older woman but was very nice and welcoming. She did seem nervous but overall was willing to help as well. My last interview took place at Fresno State and it was 9:27 minutes. This was my shortest interview and that is also because this was one of my backups just in case any of my three interviewees could not do it. Overall, I felt that my interviews were successful and I was able to learn more about each interviewee.
After I conducted my interviews, I took my recordings and uploaded them to Otter Voice Notes on the internet. This helped me transcribe my audio recordings word for word. After the recordings were uploaded, I had to go back and make sure the transcripts were correct. Once I was done with that I used Nvivo. That is software on the computer that helped me analyze the transcripts of my audio recordings. I then coded my transcripts into 5 nodes: Frontstage, Self, Self-Presentation, Roles, and Teamwork. This was going to help me see if there was any similarities between any of the interviewees. I wanted to see how well the concepts played out in this group. After creating nodes for my transcripts I also decided to create a word cloud. It was interesting to see that the word "Like" shoed up a lot during my interviews but that is because I feel that we were all a bit nervous. It showed up 8.09 % throughout my transcripts.
The most important part of the methods section was the documents that I was able to obtain from my group whether they were coming directly from my group or from a national level. Some documents were booklets that I was able to get from the office of my group, some came from social media accounts, and lastly some were obtained through multiple website pages. I was able to scan the booklets and then email them to myself. From there I was able to copy and paste all of the information from the booklets onto a word document. One of the fastest way for me to get a hold of documents online was by using an app called NCapture. NCapture allows you to capture web pages, documents, comments, and so on and then they can be transferred on to NVivo. Once I had my documents either on a word document or captured through NVivo I was able to transfer them all to Nvivo. Nvivo is a qualitative data analysis software that allows you to transcribe documents. I then went through each document and coded my transcripts into 5 different nodes: diagnosis, prognosis, motivation, identity, and agency. Some documents had more information that others and with those documents you will see that I was able to get a lot of nodes out of. There was lots of information provided. Some articles contained a bit of information and they really were not as useful as other documents but they still contained some information that could have been useful.
When I first started to look for my documents I decided that the best way that I was going to find any documents was by obtaining them directly from my group. The times that I had went to conduct my observations and my interviews were great times for me to collect any sort of document. I was able to get flyers and booklets during these times. The booklets contained a lot of great information and were extremely helpful because the flyers were more on the short side and really did not contain useful information. I then decided to go onto the group's main webpage and through there I was able to find links that took me to other websites and more information was obtained. The main webpage did have some information but there really was not much to work with because it was simple and did not contain as much as I was hoping it would. The web pages that the main web page led me to on the other hand were longer with more information. This is where I was able to get some good nodes out of.
When I first started looking into the social media accounts within my group there was not much to work with. They had a few posts here and there with some comments but that just was not enough. I then decided that the best thing to do was look for them on a national level and that is how I came about the Facebook and Twitter pages. These accounts were more active and you could see that a lot of people followed them and commented on them. I knew that it would be better if I were to look into these accounts than the main accounts of my group.
After finally getting down all of my sources I made sure that I was able to transfer them over to a word document or was able to use NCapture and transfer them through there. Once they were all on NVivo I went one by one coding nodes. This took quite some time because some documents were longer than others. Once I coded my first five nodes the rest was easy because know I had a better picture of what I was doing and it was easier for me to place transcribes in the appropriate nodes. This step was important because I had to make sure I read the documents thoroughly and that they fit right with the nodes.
Overall, this part of my research paper was quite interesting. I felt that I was able to learn so much through analyzing each document. Not only that I was able to see that even though there were national levels of my group they had the same goal as one another. The booklets gave me better insights as to what the church was all about and the social media accounts helped me see and understand how people felt towards this group. Personally, I knew that my group was quite big but I had never heard of the national level group and it was interesting to see that you can connect with them on so many levels. I kind of wished I could have looked more into documents maybe through a library source because that would have been such a great source.
After running my Query the word that came up the most was catholic. It popped up 63% of the time throughout all of my documents
Analysis:
Thick Description
Using thick description I was able to describe in detail the setting and interactions of my group. On Saturday April 6th, I was able describe how my group looked and what they were doing just by me sitting down and looking around.
As I sit I see that there is one 4 men wearing burgundy suits. Two on each side of the entrance of the room. David and Luis are on one side of the room and Chris and Dan are on the other side. Luis is one of the men in burgundy suits and he has this long black mustache. He is talking to a man wearing a white gown with a cross. Right behind me are 2 older woman with red cardigans on. They are conversing and laughing. As I peak back I can see that one of the red cardigan women is holding a purple flyer and a colorful flyer. She is showing it to the other woman and they are both just pointing to the words on it.
The men in the burgundy and the woman in the red cardigans caught my attention right away because they were all dressed the same and they were always in pairs together. Using this transcript I was able to show how some of my group looks before an event happened. I feel that I could have gone a little bit more into detail when describing them but there was so much going on that my focus would shift from place to place.
I then glanced up and was able to see the beauty of the building where my group had their interactions.
These 2 big screens on each side of the room light up and there are lyrics on them. Soon everyone starts to sing. As I glance around the room I noticed these giant mosaic glass paintings. Six on each side of the room to be exact. These 8 giant lights hang from the ceiling. To the center of the room there are 6 large candles and 1 small candle spaced out in the front. They are lit on. An older woman with a ponytail and glass stands in front of the podium that is to the left of the room. She is reading off of a book. Of the men wearing a burgundy suits steps a bit forward and bows down. He then exits the room.
I never really paid any attention to the actual setting of my group. In the description above you can see how the building is quite big because there are so many things inside it and there is more than 2 things like the lights and paintings for instance.
On Sunday April 14th, after observing for a couple of times I was able to incorporate more thick description as I observed my group outside of the room.
It is a beautiful sunny morning. I walk to the building where my group is. I sit on a bench outside and talk out my phone. I begin to observe. Across from the white doors there is a small rectangular table with a floral table cloth. On the table I can see flyers and pink paper. There is also a jar in the center of the table that has the pink papers folded inside. There a 2 brown metal boxes on each side of the table. To the right of the table there's are grey shirts hanging. There is a sign that says "Festival Shirts" and that has all the prices and sizes of the shirts. There are three women by the table. Two are on blue chairs and one is leaning against a pillar. One lady has short brown hair with bangs. She is wearing a white jacket, brown long sleeve, and black leggings. I will address her as Ms. Bangs. The other woman has really short hair and is wearing a jean jacket, purple shirt, and purple leggings. I will address her as Ms. Short.
I was closer than usual to my group so I was able to retain more and I also paid more attention to the objects and things that they had with them.
Meaningful Action
This concept consist of the reactions that are shown because of what someone else has done. For instance, I was able to observe how some of the people in my group interacted with one another and the reactions that they received. On Saturday April 6th I saw this concept.
It is now 3:50 and the two men with the burgundy suits, David and Luis, open the white doors to the building. More people start to approach. As the people go in the men say, "Welcome." And smile. They even shake hands with other men that are walking in. As some members of my group welcome me in.
As members of my group held the doors open for people they received handshakes and smiles. People appreciated what they were doing.
As I was sitting down on a bench on April 6th I noticed a couple a row ahead of me.
In the row in front of me there is a woman and a man. I will name them Lucy and John. You can see the huge ring that Lucy has on her finger. Lucy is fidgeting with her hands especially the one that has the ring on it. She observes it and moves it to the side of her finger. It looks like she is observing it. John gazes at her and Lucy soon stops fidgeting with her ring. He gave her this stern look.
As Lucy was messing around with her ring, the man next to her seemed bothered and gave her a stare that quickly made her stop. Her actions did not suit him. By the reaction of his face you could tell that he was bothered by her fidgeting.
That same day when the whole room spoke in unison you saw the reaction of everyone.
Soon after you hear the whole room say, "Peace be with you." Some people shake hands but others hug. I shake hands with the girl next to me and with Chris and Ms. Red Cardigan.
A simple phrase made the whole room interact with one another. It made people turn around, shake hands, and even hug those around them. It made you notice who was near you.
Roles
This concept is something that we see on the regular because we are constantly taking on different personas based on the situations that we are in. On April 6th, the person that I addressed as Peter had a specific role.
There is a man wearing a purple gown in the back of the room. I will address him as Peter. He walks through the middle aisle of the room and when he is in the front he turns to everyone, raises his hands, and we all get up.
The role of Peter in this observation was very important because as soon as he lifted his hands the whole room stood up. He was showing the role of authority because people did things based on what he did.
Earlier that day, on April 6th, as I waited to enter my room I saw a woman in the front of the building with people.
The woman standing behind the camera man is saying, "One, two, three, smile!". You can hear the sound of the camera as it takes the pictures.
She was taking on the role of an entertainer because she was trying to get the people to engage and listen to her.
On Friday April 12th, as I went to observe my group I saw the role of a leader being displayed.
Jonas comes out with a gold cross that is on a medium metal bar. He stands in the front, right in the center of the room. He is holding it up high. He walks to a painting on the right side of the room and holds up the cross high. Everyone in the room turn towards Jonas and kneel. He shakes his head and slightly smiles.
By Jonas walking around with the cross on the metal bar people were following what he was doing. He was leading the event that was going on that day.
Statuses
Statuses are displayed based on the position that a person occupies. During my observation on April 6th is where I saw on specific status that was being portrayed. After coding my transcripts I was able to transcribe 3 specific quotes that show this.
Peter in the front, holds up what looks like a cookie, 2 gold cups, and everyone gets up and holds their heads down. They look like they are praying. Soon after you hear the whole room say, "Peace be with you."
Peter then cleans the gold cups and everyone proceeds to make 2 long lines at the front of the room. The people in line receive the cookie and then head back to their branch and kneel down. Everyone then sits down.
Peter, the man with the purple gown, raises his hands and everyone gets up. Soon you see people exiting the room.
These three quotes all show how Peter was showing this status of being important because people followed what he did. They listened and where guided by him. He represents an important figure in my chosen group. People look to him.
Team Work
Team work is a quality in which people work together to achieve a common goal. During my observation I was able to see my group work together. On April 6th the men in the burgundy suits showed that.
David, Luis, Dan, and Chris, the men with the burgundy suits, are now going row by row with brown baskets collecting money. I notice that some people through in a piece of paper. While they are doing that there is a lady handing out a small white paper around.
The men worked together to go around with baskets and collect money. The room is pretty spacious so them working together made it possible to be done faster.
On Sunday April 14, as the woman were tabling they had to work together to relocate their table.
The sun starts to hit the table and the woman. The woman grab the table, the hanger with shirts, and all of the papers. They move the tablet under the shade. Each woman then goes back and grabs her own chair. Ms. Short and Ms. Curly organize and set the table like it was before.
The woman had to work together to make sure that they took all of their stuff form one spot to the other. They had a few things that would have been hard for only one person to do and they had to do it quick so that they wouldn't miss anyone passing by.
Frontstage:
I decided to label one of my nodes as "Frontstage" because I wanted to see how each of my interviewees were involved with in my group. I knew from my gatekeeper what their involvement was within this group but I really wanted to hear a bit more from them. I started all of my interviewees with the same question: "So can you tell me a little bit more about your involvement within the church? Interviewee #1 responded,
"Well I'm an employee here. I've been here for coming up on six years. Um, so my primary job here is cleaning and maintenance. But I'm also just here at the service of the church I'm a paid employee here so whenever they need me to do I'm here also because I do other things such as I'm like, Come close the gates at night on certain days when there isn't anybody to come close them I'll run errands any heavy lifting that needs to be done I'll take care of it a lot of smaller handyman jobs I'll take care of as well or bring my dad to come help me with them. I do quite a bit here"
This is the interviewee that started within this group as a volunteer but now actually works for the organization. As I mentioned above the purpose of this question was to understand the involvement that this interview had within the group. The front stage is better known as where the performance takes place and what a person does. Here as you can see the interviewee is letting me know that he is involved within the group because he handles the maintenance job of the group and he is there for any services that the group requires. With this interviewee it was really interesting to know that he had started off as a volunteer and now he was an employee of the organization.
Interviewee # 2 had stated her involvement was the complete opposite of interviewee #1. She stated,
"Within the church? Yeah. Oh, I've always been a Catholic. And I started off. Because of my age, we started I started off at the cathedral. I did all my all my sacraments there. I just came, whenever it was, you know, that we had masses and everything."
Interviewee #2 was brought into this group as a child and because of her religion. She practiced the beliefs of this group and after all these years she was able to work for this group. She was attached to this group because of her beliefs. She would come to the masses and events and now she was working as the receptionist.
Interviewee #3's involvement within the group was more based on her mother beliefs and her essentially carrying out those belies with her later on in life. She responded,
"Well I started when I was young, my mother, my grandmother actually is very religious, she would gather us in a group and she would try to read the Bible to us. She also doesn't let us leave her house without persinandonos. Before if she sees that we are trying to leave she tells us oh ya te vas hija pa persinarte. She always says encombenate a dios and you know, have faith and she always tells us she prays for us, you know, when before we leave. I think my mother tried to implement that on us because she always tells us what a church she, you know, she I had to my confirmation like catechism, she made sure we had all the sacraments. She always says, you know, if we tell her mom I'm stressed over a test, you know, encombiendate a dios , you know, el decide todo and things like that."
I was able to relate a lot to interviewee #3 because essentially that is how my family started me out. In her statement she recalled how growing up her mother and grandmother implemented this practice with not only her but her sister as well. Being a part of this group meant a lot for her family because it was something that they had a lot of faith in and they relied on the practice a lot.
Presentation Self:
Since each of my interviewees was a part of this group for different reasons I was curious to see how they would each describe the relationship with the members of this group. Interviewee #3 noted,
"I think they've provide that encouragement sometimes that you need. You know, sometimes you need those words of wisdom. And they're there to provide that for you. They make you feel very welcomed, you know, not ashamed, you know, because you know, you didn't go this day, or you just started going"
Interviewee #3 described her relationship with the people in this group as people she could lean on and look for when she needed those encouragement words. She was the one interviewee that was in a sense involved within the group but not as involved as the other 2 interviewees yet she was the one who described well her relationship with them. She did not hesitate like the other interviewees. Interviewee # 2 stated,
"I'm religious, but I'm not involved in a lot of the, the what do you call the Associations, the groups and stuff like that. The guadalupanos. And all that kind of thing. No, I'm not into that. I'm not into that anymore. I'm kind of out of it know. I'll let someone else take it."
I was in a sense taken back by interviewee #2 because she had had more involvement within this group yet her only relationship to the group was her faith in the same religion. She kind of kept herself a bit distanced from the group members. She did state that because of her age she really was not into that anymore and she was out of it yet her religion still kept that bond between them. She was the interviewee that I actually expected more of a relationship with the people from the group but that was not the case. The same goes for Interviewee #1. He stated,
"I mean this is been a really, really good work environment for me. I mentioned the people here are really nice. I get along with everybody. And it's a really good work environment. It really is. And then like I said it works around my schedule pretty relaxed job. So by I would love to stay here you know, it's it's a job I truly enjoy working."
When I asked interviewee #3 about his relationship with the group he just said that they were very nice. He was very broad. He basically described more how he felt working there and not really the relationship he had with the people there.
Self:
After learning about their relationship with the group members of the group I was curious to see what they thought about themselves and how they felt that the members of the group perceived them. I started them off by asking, "How they believed people perceived them as?" Since Interviewee #1 had a lot of involvement within the group he stated,
"I feel like they perceive me really well here. I mean, I grew over time. Absolutely. I remember when I first started volunteering I wouldn't really I didn't have any keys or anything like that or they wouldn't really give me keys too much for borrowing. Now I have keys to carry a bunch of keys I left someone over there as well as I carry a bunch of keys so over time obviously the you know the it's been more gradual"
Interviewee #3 was perceived as a trustworthy person by the group because of the time and involvement he had within them. He started off as a volunteer and slowly became an employee. The group now trusted him with carrying keys to their location and that is really having trust because there are a lot of important things within the group. He literally had a stack of keys to basically every room in the group's location. It was nice to see that over the years the group had instilled this trust in him. On the other hand, Interviewee #2 had a bit of a hard time with this question,
"I haven't really thought about it. I mean, you know, if they ask me questions I try to answer everything. [Outside Voice: Name Hidden you should say yes because they ask you questions in the choir.] Yeah, I guess I guess. Yeah. Yeah, I'm there all the time, too. So it's something somebody else's absent or something they ask Do we sing this? Do we do that?"
I believe that since Interview #2 did not really establish that relationship in a sense with the people from the group that it is why she struggled with this question. After another member of the group chimed in, interviewee #3 felt more confident with her response. She was perceived as someone who is reliable because people look to her for things regarding the choir. This also takes me back to her relationship with the group members. She in fact has established a good relationship with them but she is not aware of it.
Roles:
Now that I was more aware of the involvement of my interviewees within the group I wanted to learn more about the roles that they each played. Roles are very important because it is the expected behavior of an individual. Since Interviewee #3 had been involved with this group through maintenance work he described his role as,
"A role I mean I'm just Maybe the role of just being at the service here I'm mainly my the ones that are my bosses would be [Name Hidden]. Then obviously the priest and also what's her name [Name Hidden] the education, religious Education Coordinator you know they're the ones that can kind of activate me use me but you know usually if I'm you know, there's some group around there and I'm on the job Oh, I'll do you know and I'll sometimes Tell them if you need anything I'll be here because I am you know, they they provide for the you know, part of our income they almost like they pay their taxes and they paid for me I kind of see it in that way any big leadership roles. Not really. Maybe a time zone [Name Hidden] though, because managers kind of advisor with certain things because I I'm the one that's kind of out here. So in a lot of ways I'm like her eyes. I tell her Hey, you know there's you know, the faulty toilet over here you know, you want to get that fixed. And notice this I'll be here if you want to get that fixed a lot of times we'll go off of my suggestions for solutions.
He was able to describe what his exact roles were. He was the one who was helping around a little bit everywhere. He was also the one that would inform my gatekeeper, for instance, of things that need to be taken care of. His role within the group is very important because there are things he needs to do in order to keep the place up to date. It felt like he really had a lot on his plate yet that really did not seem to bother him because he was willing to fulfill his role. Interviewee #2 had a different role. Although she was the receptionist for this group she was also a part of the choir.
"It's, it's, it's upstairs and and I yeah, I used to sing with charismatic mass before I switched over to traditional music. Yeah. And and so now we sing in the choir sings traditional music. But I moved from from charismatic mass. Singing solo to to the regular choir."
Even though her role might not seem like much it really was. Mass services are a big part of this group and with there are a lot of songs that have meaning and the people of the choir are the ones who make those songs come alive. Her role was to bring about the music with other members of the group and in a sense transmit that sense of peace.
Team Work:
One of the last questions that I had for my interviewees was about team work. I wanted to see if there was anything that they all did that required them to work together. I had a bit of trouble with this question and I believe it was because of the way that I worded it but I was happy to hear that they all worked together with other members of the group. It was nice to see that they had experienced some form of team work within the group.
Interviewee #3 stated,
"Yeah, I had a we had a raise money for you know, since as they want to do little carnivals for the maybe confirmation groups. So we some of us how provide, you know, by donating either money or donating snacks or helping out at the booths? And maybe even you know, helping with the classes out?"
Interviewee #2 stated,
"Its team teamwork the choir is is, you sing as a choir. You know, you sing as a group. And so it's everybody you know, gets involved in it"
Interviewee #1 stated,
"Yeah, sometimes certain things that are a little bit too heavy for one person. Something's gotta carry something too big and [Phone call interrupted interview]. I'll usually grab like the landscaper and we'll work together to do that sometimes big big projects we might have like we've had a few while I'm here were instances where we grab a big big trash bins and just dump a lot of stuff that just lingering around that we don't need. Those are usually group bringing volunteers a lot of times for those all actually just say just like no and I just don't put it on my time because everybody else is a volunteer so I'll just say I'm a volunteer as well"
Even though each of the interviewees was a part of the group for different reasons they all managed to work together within the group. This takes me back to like the purpose of the group because being a part of a church family you do work together to accomplish many goals like raise money, beautify certain areas of the church, and so on. You have to work together to accomplish the same goal. One of the interviewee's explained how for big projects it required more than one person to get the job done because of the amount of work that it could take. Another stated how the choir was teamwork because you work together in a group to sing. They all were a part of something that helped the group overall.
DIAGNOSIS
For my fist node I decided that I was going to code it as Diagnosis. Diagnosis is one part of the collective action frames and they focus on the problem that my group was facing. For instance, in one document it was mentioned that
"Over 150 children, teenagers and young adults in at-risk communities struck by the dangers of drug trafficking and violence in remote villages in the Diocese of Tumaco, Colombia"
This quote clearly mentions how there are kids, teens, and young adults in danger within communities. Not only where they able to point out one group but they mentioned different age groups that are at risk for being trafficked. What my group was trying to do here was point out that as a society there are many dangers and anyone can encounter them. This is a problem that could not be pushed under the rugged. People had to know. Essentially they also addressed another issue,
"From time to time, when extraordinary situations warrant, the leadership of USCCB will call for an emergency collection to be taken to assist with humanitarian needs and recovery efforts of impacted communities and the Church."
Not only were people at risk for trafficking but there were other risks like recovery efforts and humanitarian needs. They wanted outsiders to see that this was an issue that was far beyond communities. This was something that could also be nationally. They wanted you to see that help was need everywhere even around the world. On document mentioned,
"The political and humanitarian crisis in Syria continues to be of serious concern for the Catholic Church and the bishops of the United States. In the past five years, at least four million Syrians have fled their country as a consequence of the civil war and the rise of ISIS. Most have fled to surrounding countries, and many others have moved on to Europe with the hope of finding a place of peace and safety."
People were hurting across the world and something needed to be done. The way they described the problem and how the people had to flee their country and where in search of safety underlies the problem that my group was trying to convey. All over the world there were issues that need to be taken care of.
PROGNOSIS
The objective of the prognosis node was to show what the solutions were to the problems that my group had mentioned. They wanted to show who they were and what they were capable of doing. I found this node really interesting because of the way that my group quoted certain things. It seemed like it really was not an option to help, you had to help.
" Diocesan and parish stewardship programs should help individuals, families and communities better understand why, in the context of a total commitment to stewardship that is planned, proportionate, and sacrificial, it is important to set goals for giving."
With this quote you can see that one of the solutions is having programs that help people. They do not state that one should help rather they state that it is a commitment to help because giving is important. This can be the solution to solving dome of the problems. People uniting with one another can cause more good than harm. This leads me to my next quote,
"Reflecting Christ's call to welcome the stranger, it is imperative that we help to provide a place of welcome to vulnerable refugee populations, with particular attention given to the ongoing crisis in Syria. The (POWR) program strengthens the dioceses and parishes' ability to welcome refugees from all over the world. Its main focus is to encourage parishes to make an ongoing and organized commitment to working with refugees in partnership with the resettlement"
This quote ties into the diagnosis quote regarding the refugees and it is important because the group is providing a safe and secure environment for them. It is welcome them with open arms and it makes it seem like they are a safe heaven for them, which is good. As an outsider this would sound like some of the best news because you have to leave your home yet the group I'd offering you a place in their home to feel at peace. Not only that but they are offering you all of the help no matter the situation.
"The NCF for Migration and Refugee Services provides funds to help recently arrived refugees and other migrants who are faced with an emergency or crises--burying a family member, temporary help with unanticipated expenses, help in finding employment, etc.If you live in New York, Florida, or Washington, DC."
The quote above clearly shows how they re willing to solve the problem. Nothing can get in the way of their main goal because helping others is what they do best. No matter the situation they have a solution waiting for you.
MOTIVATION
My third node was labeled Motivation. This one really easy because it was not hard to see where in the documents the group was trying to convince people that they should care or that they should be involved. One quote stated,
"Through our parishes, every Catholic participates in a global community of faith. The national collections are a powerful expression of this community. Our contributions help people across the street and around the world, people who struggle to practice the faith, and people who live in great need."
One way that the group is trying to motivate people to be a part of this group is by letting people that they make a difference with people across the world. They help those who are in need and who wouldn't want to be a part of that. It is just so persuading because it makes you want to be a part of that help.
"As a family, we take care of each other and our neighbors. Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, and social service ministries care for immigrants every day, from language classes to job training programs to offering a helping hand when someone's in need. We've been helping integrate immigrants into American life since Catholics first arrived on our shores. This is what we do."
They state that you are a family together and with that you can make a huge difference. You will grow better because you are taking time out of your day to help people who really need it. You are a caring soul that will help get people integrated back into society. Who wouldn't want to be a part of something so important as that.
IDENTITY
My fourth node was labeled identity because I think that it is important to know the characteristics that are needed in order fro someone to be apart of this group. This also ties into the people that are being brought into the group. This all in the end ties into the first people who were apart of this group. For instance, this quote explains it well,
"The Catholic story in America is a story of immigrants, from the first Catholics who arrived here hundreds of years ago, to the waves of European immigrants whose nickels and dimes built so many churches and schools across this country, to those arriving today in search of a better life for themselves and their families. This is who we are"
The first people that were apart of this group came from different countries. No wonder they emphasize so much help on trying to help people who come from other countries. They know the struggle and how hard it is to get situated. They just want to give back. They essentially wanted to convey that we are all a family in their eyes,
"{Name Hidden} reminds us that immigrants are no different than our own family members and friends; each "has a name, a face, and a story." Let us remember that Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus were also immigrants in a foreign land when they fled from King Herod to Egypt. When we warmly welcome newcomers we open our hearts wider to Christ."
Personally I feel that they are welcoming anyone over because they clearly stated that they are just like friends and friends. We are all family. There really is no one specific identity that is required in order for one to be a part of this group.
AGENCY
My last node was named agency and this was because I wanted to see whee this group was empowering other people because through out the documents I felt that I saw that a lot. I feel that it was not directly mentioned but it was there. On quoted noted,
"Catholics know that every person is made in the image of God. Everyone is due our respect and our love. We're called to care especially for those who most need our welcome, including newcomers to our country."
This quote might not seem like it but I feel like it is saying that one should welcome others with open arms because we are all the same. It is saying that we need to care and watch out for others. This also ties into this next quote,
"Creating a world where immigrants, refugees, migrants, and people on the move are treated with dignity, respect, welcome, and belonging."
This quote states that there needs to be a change and a change in which we are all treated like we matter. If you can empower people to believe in what you believe in then that is where your can make that difference.
Conclusion:
After observing my chosen group I was able to see how there are different events that go on throughout the week. They do not just sit there, they do much more. They are constantly interacting with one another and showing all of these different concepts that we learned about in class. I think some limitations to the project were that they do in fact host a lot of events but most of the involve minors so it was in a sense hard to find events that really did not have minors in it because we cannot observe them. Besides that everything else went great! I had fun observing my chosen group.
Overall, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to analyze different documents that were related to my group. Something that really caught my attention about my group was the fact that on a national level and as an organization as a whole they were really trying to help those who were in need especially if they were coming from another country. I personally did not know that they were that dedicated or that they had programs for immigrants and refugees. I was able to learn a lot.
Bibliography:
Discovering Qualitative Methods: Ethnography, Interviews, Documents, and Images, Third Edition. 2014. Carol A. B. Warren and Tracy Xavia Karner
(2014). symbolic interactionism. In Scott, J. (Ed.), A Dictionary of Sociology.: Oxford University
Press Retrieved 11 Mar. 2019, from
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199683581.001.0001/acref-9780199683581-e-2306.
Cain, C. L. (n.d.). Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion: Identities and Presentations of Self in the Front and Back Regions of Hospice. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891241612458122
Fiorito, T. R., & Nicholls, W. J. (2016). Silencing to Give Voice: Backstage Preparations in the Undocumented Youth Movement in Los Angeles. Qualitative Sociology, 39(3), 287-308.
Lewin, S., & Reeves, S. (n.d.). Enacting 'team' and 'teamwork': Using Goffman's theory of impression management to illuminate interprofessional practice on hospital wards. Social Science & Medicine.
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