Dissemination of an Ethnographic Coursework Example

Dissemination of an Ethnographic Interview
Name of the StudentProfessor’s Name
Dissemination of an Ethnographic Interview
Introduction
Ethnography refers to the study of social interactions, behavioral attributes, and perceptions of culturally-distinct communities, teams, and organizations. The roots of ethnography can be traced back to the anthropological studies that were conducted across remote and rural societies in the early 1900s. During this period, seminal researchers such as Bronislaw Malinowski and Alfred Radcliffe-Brown visited and spent time with these societies to understand their social, religious, and cultural belief systems. Such approaches were further expedited by the field of sociology and psychology. Since then, the principle of ethnography started to become applicable in urban settings. Ethnography is one of the most robust methods for undertaking qualitative research. The major aim of ethnography is to explore the holistic insights of the views, perceptions, and attitude of an individual or a specific community. Such attributes are explored in context to their place of birth, the place of upbringing, religious background, and cultural norms (Reeves, Kuper, & Hodges, 2008). Ethnographic attributes in an individual or a group can be explored either through interviews or observations (Hilario, 2016). In this regard, Hamersley stated that the task of ethnographers should be to document the culture, the perspectives, and the practices of the people belonging to a specific community setting (Li & Seale, 2008).

The field of Ethnography is highly important for nurses, psychologists, and sociologists (Reeves et al., 2008). Understanding the ethnographic background of an individual helps in designing tailor-made interventions for the respective individual. The psychological and cognitive interventions should be aligned with the ethnographic attribute of the concerned stakeholder. Such principles increase the compliance of the concerned stakeholders with the behavioral interventions that are planned for them. The present article portrayed an ethnographic interview and its dissemination from the perspective of a student-counselor. The interviewee was a male and belonged to India. He migrated to the United States for pursuing higher education in the field of Biological Sciences.
Synopsis of the Ethnographic interview
The individual who participated in the interview was of Asian origin and belonged to India. He came to the United States for pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences. Moreover, he was elated by the open-mindedness and warmth in the U.S. Although he did not have any roots in the U.S, he was aware and sensitized of the U.S. culture. The interviewee’s sister pursued her post-doctoral thesis at the University of Maryland, MD. The person had a lot of speculations and expectations from his academics in the U.S. However, he wanted to return to his home country after the completion of his Master’s curriculum. The respective individual was very polite and humble and answered each question in a transparently and elaborately. He rarely avoided any question and was not uncomfortable. He was assured that his identity would remain anonymous. The individual was also assured that he would receive a copy of this dissemination. The interview was conducted informally at the cafeteria of ***** University. The individual was appropriately compensated for his time.
Demographic information of the interviewee
The interviewee was male and aged 21 years. He had a non-Hispanic (Asian) ethnicity and was an Indian National by birth. The individual belonged to a middle-class family with sound socioeconomic status. His father was a renowned teacher and took an active role in his upbringing.
Background of the Interviewee
The interviewee was born in the State of West Bengal, India. He was a Bengali (all residents of West Bengal and Bangladesh are called so) and belonged to a middle-class Hindu family. His childhood was uneventful and general. However, he was reared with a strong value-system. During his childhood, he lost his aunt, which he considers as one of the major shocking incidents of his life. He narrated how his aunt was fond of him. She was unmarried and stayed with them and did not have any kids. Although the interview had a sibling (elder sister), who also pursued her higher education in the United States. It seemed that her sister motivated him to access the U.S. academic system. The individual exhibited good CGPA and always took an active interest in studies. His mother was a perfect home-maker, and she left her job to accompany him and her sister at home. Her mother was very good at mathematics and took care of them. Although he is unmarried, he was in a stable relation before immigrating to the United States. His fiancé was pursuing a baccalaureate program in performing arts. The individual belonged to a conservative Hindu family, however; he did not have strong religious beliefs. However, there are certain cultural attributes that were evident during the interview.
Cultural Identity of the Interviewee
The respective individual belonged to Bengali culture. Bengalis are referred as those individuals who are residents of the state of West Bengal in India and all residents of Bangladesh. Although the Bengali Diaspora is found across different parts of the world, they are mainly populated in the eastern states of India. However, the interviewee belonged to a reserved caste (scheduled caste) as per the demographic classification of the Government of India. An individual belonging to Bengali culture is modest and humble in their approach. These individuals are considerate in their approach and often exhibit kinship structure. Hence, they mainly reside in a joint family and are dependent on parental support. The interviewee stated that he often felt pampered and his family was very possessive about him. Since he belonged to a conservative family, his independence was limited which perhaps made him unhappy. However, he did enjoy the company of his father, mother, and sister. Individuals belonging to the Bengali culture have strong values and an inclination to pursue higher education. These individuals are security-minded and are afraid of taking calculative risks in their life. However, the individual revealed he became sensitized on his cultural identity while he was in high school. During this period, he came across different literary works that helped him to identify the values of his family that was aligned to the Bengali-Hindu culture. The person stated that he was sensitized that the Bengalis were highly regarded all across the world. They are regarded due to their cultural heritage and knowledge. However, he also learned that representing a reserved community is associated with social stigma.
Positive and Negative Lived Experiences with the Cultural Identity
The interviewee narrated his positive and negative-lived experiences under three categories; being a Hindu, belonging to a reserved caste, and being a Bengali. Although India is a secular country, the major religion is Hindu. Hence, there was a feeling of communal security across the individual for belonging to and for practicing the Hindu religion. Since the endeavor of the Government of India to protect the interests of reserved communities, being a scheduled caste background was a blessing for the individual. He narrated how the reserved community enjoyed the privilege of paying lower fees, getting promotion in academics with low CGPAs, and job security post-education. On the other hand, being a Bengali enhanced his self-image. On the other side of the coin, there were negative-lived experiences too. The political shuffles in India re largely driven by minorities. Hence, policymakers are more inclined to appease the minority communities than Hindus as such. Therefore, the middle-class and lower-class Hindus in India have always been neglected compared to the minority communities having the same socioeconomic status. He narrated how he was denied a position at the school soccer team only because the school wanted to promote secular feelings. Likewise, belonging to a reserved community raised the issue of social stigma. He was often bullied by his peers for belonging to a lower caste and for getting the unnecessary privileges from the Government. Such situations were not only depressing but also embarrassing for the interviewee. Finally, being a Bengali was also a negative experience for him. He was often considered unprofessional and not a go-getter. He was perceived to be pampered and too much dependent on his family members. Although his attitude during the interview revealed that he did not take any favor for belonging to a reserved community in his academic or professional career. Rather, he was often rebuked for a negative self-image and being an introvert. In fact, he reflected low self-exhibition during the entire interview. When I asked him the reason for such behavior and maintaining a low-profile, he stated that his cultural background teaches one to be modest and not expressive. However, the issue of limited independence did make him unhappy and depressed at times.
Benefits and Barriers for the Interviewee for Belonging to the Specific Culture
The benefits of the interviewee for belonging to such culture seemed high parental support, development of tolerance, and social security. However, the barriers include failure to exhibit appropriate self-esteem, presence of low body image, and low independence even at adolescence.
Ethical consideration of the interview
The interview was novel and was based on an individual in Maryland, United States. The interview have not been published anywhere and it should not be used without the permission of the author. Moreover, the interviewee was never forced or lead to answer any question that was uncomfortable for him.
Dissemination of the Interview
Reflection on the values of the interviewee compared to mine
I had been born and brought up in a typical U.S. culture. I am a Hispanic white with my ancestral roots in Europe. Although the moral values do not significantly differ between me and the interviewee, there are certain attributes between our cultures that we tend to differ. First of all, we exhibit a higher self-esteem and body image compared to the culture from which the interviewee belonged. Secondly, we enjoy a lot of independence even before adolescence compared to my counterpart. The respective individual had strong family support which is in a way different from ours. Finally, the religious belief between me and the interviewee was also different. It seemed that issues such as bullying, racism, and socioeconomic background influenced the interviewee. However, in U.S., we are not exposed to such behavior in the society. In the U.S., there are no separate reservations in the field of academics or employment. Hence, the interviewee was exposed to racial inequality which I cannot associate with my culture.
Reflection on my biases, prejudice, and racist attitudes
Since I have been associated with Asians and Indians, I hold a certain amount of bias while interviewing the respective individual. I believed that individuals belonging to Asian communities have low self-esteem, low body image, and low self-presentation. To some extent my perceptions were true. However, I learned that such attributes stem from the cultural modesty amongst South East Asians or the Asian community as a whole. These individuals do have the same self-confidence and decision-making capacity like us, however; such capabilities and attributes are not expressed often. I also perceived that individuals of Asian origin are too conservative and face challenges in adapting to the U.S. culture. However, the interview helped me to change my notion of Asians or Indians. The interviewee expressed that he liked the independence and open-mindedness that individuals in U.S. enjoyed. Before the interview, I also felt that individuals belonging to Asian communities have strong and unscientific religious and cultural beliefs. However, the interview helped me to learn that individuals belonging to such culture have a rich cultural heritage and the religious beliefs are also modest. On the contrary, I was not aware regarding the racial discriminations that he narrated. I was also sensitized the reservation policies for special communities in the field of academics and employment.
Anticipated Challenges in Counseling the Individual
The major challenge that I would face while counseling the individual is to ensure that his self-esteem and self-respect is not eroded under any circumstances. Secondly, I have to depend on the consent of his family members for initiating any intervention.
Plan to Advocate Support for the Concerned Individual
My major goal would be to enhance self-esteem and self-presentation in the respective individual. I would ensure that he does not feel discriminated or suffer any inequality for belonging to a reserved category. I would take a person-centric approach for developing his confidence and personality.
Culturally-Adaptive interventions that should be extended to the respective individual
Any cultural-adaptive intervention is based on four steps; information gathering, development of preliminary adaptive designs, exploring the designed and implemented adaptations, and refinement of adaptation based on the results. First of all, I should plan a contextualizing content arm of the intervention. This arm would help to accommodate the distinct contextual factors that are related to the problems presented by the interviewee (Saunders, 2014). Secondly, an enhancing engagement arm would be devised as a part of the intervention strategy. This arm represents the intervention modalities that are used to overcome the failure in evidence-based treatment strategies. The specific culturally-adaptive intervention I would like to implement is to develop assertiveness and confidence in the respective individual by undertaking a person-centric approach (Ortega & Coulborn, 2011). Studies suggest that individuals who exhibit low self-esteem, low self-image, and low self-presentation tend to improve upon behavioral counseling (Mogensen & Mason, 2015). However, the behavioral counseling sessions should not erode the self-respect of the individual and must be aligned with the cultural and religious beliefs of the individual in question.
Discussion and Conclusion
The present article reflected the importance of ethnographic interview. Ethnographic interviews not only provide an opportunity to explore the views or perceptions of an individual, but it also unfolds the need for planning tailored therapeutic interventions. Such interventions should be aligned with the cultural and religious beliefs of the individual. Hence, psychologists, sociologists, and nurses should be competent in conducting ethnographic interviews. Such competence would ensure safe and quality health outcomes across the concerned stakeholders. Moreover, the ethnographic details would also help I behavioral counseling of the respective individual.
References
Hilario A (2016) The Stigma Experienced by Terminally Ill Patients: Evidence From a Portuguese Ethnographic Study Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, 331-347
Li, S., & Seale, C. (2008). Acquiring a sociological identity: An observational study of a PhD project. Sociology, 42, 987–1002.
Mogensen, L., & Mason, J. (2015). The meaning of a label for teenagers negotiating identity: Experiences with autism spectrum disorder. Sociology of Health and Illness, 37(2), 255–269.
Ortega, R. M., & Coulborn Faller, K. (2011). Training child welfare workers from an intersectional cultural humility perspective: A paradigm shift. Child Welfare, 90(5), 27- 49.
Reeves, S, Kuper, A, & Hodges, B (2008).Qualitative research: Qualitative research methodologies: Ethnography BMJ (online) 337(7668), 1020
Saunders, B. (2014). Stigma, deviance and morality in young adults’ accounts of inflammatory bowel disease. Sociology of Health and Illness, 36(7), 1020–1036