Strategic Alliances Between Indigenous And Foreign Oil Companies On The Development Of Local Content Essay

The foundational concepts of sociological imagination, social construction of reality and socialization help us learn more about ourselves and the world.

It is the intended goal of sociological research to know the human condition within a group or communal setting and how this group mind-think or sociological psychology thinks and behaves but also be a predictor of future events under a particular set of circumstances. To be able to come to an excepted conclusion the actual techniques that are employed during a research project must be understood. This by no means is or should an easy task; to maximize the best research it is necessary for any researcher to be able to do a critical self examination to improve the outcome all future research and

The approach of this study will take the epistemological position and a qualitative research design. Humphries (2008) asserts that qualitative research focusses on the subjective and recognises that the researcher will affect the data that is produced and therefore the outcome of the research. Denzin & Lincoln (2005:3) state that “Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them”. Quantitative research on the other hand, claims to be objective, removing the researcher’s views and values from the study. While traditionally quantitative data has been deemed to produce more reliable or valid data, it does not suffice to capture the complexities of the human experience as it assumes a positivist epistemology.

In gaining a clear understanding of Social Science Research based on this week’s readings and other scholarly articles, I consider breaking down this term into two sections. Firstly, Social Science is the scientific study of human interaction/behaviors in a given society. Secondly, because there are different theories on subject matters in the study of Social Science it is imperative that data is collected and analysis.

By the same token, the movie “Big Men” reveals the deprave business practices in Nigeria and Ghana, labeling Nigeria one of the most corrupt governments in the world. Between 1960 and 1999, the Nigerian government wasted over 440 billion dollars of Nigerian profit, mainly from oil wealth. Despite the majority of the oil being drawn from the Niger Delta, a very impoverished region, the natives of that region have no access to this abundant, valuable resource (00:25). Militant groups began to form in opposition to the oil corporations, intentionally cutting and sabotaging pipelines to get a part of the wealth. In addition to being selfish in their profits, businesses promoted the devastation and intentional deterioration of resident towns to distract from their unjust oil bunkering endeavors (01:05). Natives, specifically those who participate in oil pipe sabotaging, describe their situations as the equivalent of “shooting themselves in the foot”, as they hate that they are destroying their towns and worsening their circumstances, but see no other option for retribution. Fires

The social construction of reality is the procedure in historical and societal perspective that entails human beings giving meaning to the world through cultural interaction. The world exists beyond processes and language of interpretation. Nevertheless, social construction of reality is an aspect that can be understood and linked to, by human beings through language-based procedures of historical creation of knowledge, sense-making and cultural interpretation. Apparently, social construction of reality is a sociological-anthropological idea that addresses basic questions of what are human and the link between humanness and the communities in which people are created.

Social Reality is a theory of knowledge that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world. It assumes that understanding, significance and meaning are developed not separately within the individual, but in coordination with other human beings. The elements most important to the theory are the assumption that human beings rationalize their experience by creating a model of the social world and how it functions and, that language is the most essential system through which humans construct reality. Without language we cannot understand the meaning of what we see; we cannot recognize the context in which the meaning of what we see is shared and constructed. Intentionality is based on the recognition that one knows what one sees or that one understands the meaning of what one sees. This means, again, intentionality is based on language, and more generally, the use of symbols.Social reality is all about a the group aspect of ethics.

Since the Industrial Revolution in the United States and around the world, crude oil has been a hot commodity – and unfortunately, a commodity that is non-renewable. An aspect of globalization has been the increase in the oil industry; with so many buyers for oil – gasoline companies for vehicles and machinery, especially – countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and other countries have become economic stars in the global economy. Up until recently, Africa had had few major producers of this precious liquid, until the twentieth century, specifically in Nigeria. In the small delta region of Nigeria exist over 40 ethnic groups with 250 distinct dialects, specific traditional religious and cultural practices, and, being first contacted by the Portuguese in the late 1400’s, a long history of western contact (Lagassé 2000). The modern, overarching name for these groups is “Ijaw”, transmuted and then anglicized from “Izon”(also called “Ijon”, “Ijo”, or “Ujo”), meaning “truth” in their language (Ijaw Dictionary Project). They have existed harmoniously and prosperously in the delta region of Nigeria, practicing a vivacious lifestyle for centuries. However, since the 1950’s, when a wealth of natural oil was discovered in that region, these groups have been battling to preserve their health, culture, and peace in the face of a brutal globalization campaign led by oil companies and banking enterprises alike.

Positivism and interpretivism are two approaches of interpreting social reality, that each employ different methods of research and data collection to better help understand the study of human lived experiences. The positivist-interpretivist debate revolves around the ways in which human behavior should be conceptualized and studied (Pruss 1996: 4). Positivism is the most widely practiced research approach in social science, which regards the nature of social reality of independent of consciousness. Positivists believe social reality can be studied independently from the researcher and that social life can be represented using numbers that according to positivists reveal features of social reality. On the other hand, interpretivists favor partipcant observation, interviews and social interaction where the researcher immerses into the informant’s reality to gain knowledge of their everyday human lived experiences.

In 1958, oil was first discovered in Nigeria. The discovery has led to the transition from agriculture-based economy to that of oil economy. One would believe that a country that produces a numerous amount of oil used to support the world with energy would have improved domestic infrastructures and economic development. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Nigeria. Nigeria has suffered since the discovery of oil and is still suffering till this day. Not only has it created conflicts between other nations and Nigeria but it has also divided the country into groups, which has fueled civil wars and tension between the government and the people. This is why the topic is a geopolitical event but before trying to understand how it is geopolitical, one should understand what geopolitics is.

The sociologist is interested in understanding the self, other, and social environment, questioning and searching for an interpretation of the common, everyday, and taken for granted. In order to do this, the sociologist needs to apply some form of research and method, however the most successful direction for doing so has been long disputed. Although sociological method has been subject to many different styles and approaches, being constantly updated with new ideas and concepts, this essay will argue that in order to best reflect upon and develop an understanding of today’s world, the researcher needs to use and apply both qualitative and quantitative methods. To make this argument clear, this essay will first go into the understanding of sociological methods through epistemological and ontological views. Then this essay will explore the debate of quantitative or qualitative methods, and then argue for a mixed methods approach. Finally, this essay will utilise an existing research paper and evaluate one of the many ways to inter-relating quantitative and qualitative method, being the concurrent triangulation design. In conclusion, this essay will prove that through the utilisation of both quantitative and qualitative method, the sociologist has the ability to open "a free space for innovation and creativity" (Martin, Gutman & Hutton, 1988, p.163), in which both methods are able to strengthen each other and further support the interpretation of the phenomena at hand.

The method used in the data analysis is predominantly a realist approach to the data that was assembled by the interviewee. This will involve the theorization of the motivations behind the behaviors displayed/explained by the respondent, looking at the experiences of the interviewee as well as getting the meaning from what the interviewer recorded down and not inferring to the likely environments that would result in the actions of the respondent or the answers that were derived from the interview. This approach treats the response from the respondents as a reflection of the reality and truth on the ground and not a representation of another situation that needs interpretation and decoding to understand (Frith & Hannah, 1997).

Promulgated in 2000, the NDDC Act highlights the importance of addressing the “problems” which arise from the exploration of oil minerals in the Niger-Delta area […]” .Section 2(1)(b) of the NDDC Act sets out rules for the composition of the Niger Delta Development Commission reflecting the need for a stronger representation of the oil producing states. In addition, Section 2(1)(c) provides for the representation of non-oil producing states while Section 2(1)(d) calls for a deeper integration and cooperation between these states and oil operators . The major mandate of the NDDC among others is the conception, planning and implementation in accordance with set rules and regulations, of projects and programs for sustainable development of the Niger delta area in the field of transportation including roads, jetties, water-ways, health, employment, industrialization, agriculture and fisheries, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity and telecommunications. That mandate includes the formulation of policies and guidelines for the development of the Niger Delta Area. Unfortunately, as Ojukwu laments, much work has to be done in order to ensure the fulfilment of this goal notwithstanding the efforts made by the government in this direction, .

The approach to this research paper shall be exploratory and acknowledges the individuality of human nature which would be core components of the research topic. The researcher is also mindful of the experiential ontological perspective and in basing the research on objective reality and is mindful that this position or assumption does not and shall not influence the epistemological choices or conclusions drawn from the research.

There are many things I enjoyed about this chapter as it was eye-opening in regards to the epistemological frameworks used when doing research. This chapter forced me to examine what I believe about research, while also recognizing how much more I have to learn. I particularly enjoyed the focus on three epistemological frameworks, and had a difficult time establishing which of the three I preferred and why. I found myself wavering between each of the three stances when viewing them from different disciplines, but found that overall I seem to lean towards objectivism. I prefer objectivism in that “things exist as meaningful entities independently of consciousness and