Research Methods and Theoretical Perspectives

Research Methods and Theoretical Perspectives (MPP402)

Georgios Karangioules

CONTENTS

A. What is research?................................p. 3

B. Creative Media research Methods - Qualitative and Quantitative research.............................................p. 3

C. Method 1 - Interviews..........................p. 4

D. Method 2 - Participant Observation........p. 6

E. Method 3 - Qualitative Surveying..........p. 10

F. Digital McLuhan..................................p. 13

G. Hot and Cool......................................p. 14

H. Medium is the Message........................p. 16

I. The Global Village...............................p. 18

J. Everyday Creativity.............................p. 20

K. Conclusion.........................................p. 23

L. References.........................................p. 25

What is research?

What is research? According to Berger (1933, p. 11), it literally means "to search for, to find" and comes from the latin re (again) and from cercier (to search). In most general sense, research means looking for information about something. Research has to have an element of discovering something new, of creating knowledge and also to lead to some sort of fructification and fulfillment. Although the term may lead to some general confusion because of it's scientific notion, the truth is that we are actually talking about a habit that we do on a daily basis. We do research for everyday things such as shopping, travel destinations, choosing the best exam teacher or choosing recipes for an important family dinner. Generally, in our everyday life, we hardly ever do some sort of research to really get some answers about a matter or for the sake of knowledge but we do it to support our desire. In simple English, we want to convince our self that our choice is the correct one and what we want to do really has to be done. This leads us of course to neglecting information which might go against our will and interests. As Arthur Asa Berger (1933, p. 14) says ..''This is known as "selective inattention", which can be understood to mean ignoring information that wouldn't support your research.'' . In the other hand, Scholarly research has to be well structured, accurate and truthful or else we would never manage to reach a legitimate and well thought result.One of the main issues of research is the problem of certainty. The point here is that the researcher should always realize that there is nothing certain about his results. All the data and statistics can be interpreted in different ways and that leaves a lot of space for disagreements. Maybe the best way to support our research is to bolster our findings with evidence which will strengthen our position. In the following chapters we will go through some of the most significant research methods we use in the Creative media industries.

Creative media research methods-Quantitative and Qualitative research

We can generally think of two approaches to investigations in educational research: qualitative and quantitative. According to Professor John Berry (2005):

Quantitative research methods were originally developed to study natural phenomena and Qualitative research methods were developed in the social sciences to assist researchers in studying social and cultural phenomena.

Qualitative methods:InterviewsParticipant observationSurveys

METHOD 1 - INTERVIEWS

An interview has been characterised by Berger (1933, p.135) as a conversation between a researcher and an informant where the former is trying to substract information from the latter.

Informal-unstructured interviewing

Informal interviewing is typically done as part of the process of observing the research area in it's early stages. This technique may be best used in the early stages of the development of a research, where there is not much data and information about the subject and the researcher wants to get more familiar with the informant and also gain confidence. Berger (1933, p.136) defines it as a way to try to gain information by having little control over the responses of the informant. Since informal interviews happen 'on the fly,' it is not that convenient to record this type of interview. The researcher is the host of the conversation. It is essential, that he or she should make or notes of the conversation as soon as possible. These notes should be developed later into a more complete account of the informal interview.

Unstructured interviews are similar to informal interviews. They tend to be informal and free flowing although the researcher might have some key questions formulated in advance. Although there are some benefits out of it, the truth is that style lacks the reliability and effectiveness of a structured interview.

Advantages of arranging an informal-unstructured interview:

Since the interviews are done informally, there is no requirement for scheduling. Informants can see it as a ‘conversation’ which can lead us to a more relaxed time. Lower pressure will allow respondents to speak more openly. Additionaly, interviews can help the respondents gain trust to us, understand the topic better etc.Also informal interviews can be seen as an ‘anteroom’ which can lead us to a more structured interview.

Disatvantages of arranging an informal-unstructured interview:

Unfortunately there are some disatvantages of using this method. For instance, only a small number of them can take place as the prodecure could take longer than expected.This leads to a relatively small sample (and according to 1. the sample will eventually be small) and to a result which doesn’t represent the general population. As there is no structure of the interview and no pre-constructed questions, it is really difficult to compare the results in depth as every interview ends up being different. Finally, It is time consuming and also really hard to collect and analyze all the data.

Semistructured interviews

This type of interview has a higher level of reliability as the interviewer is prepared by writing down a list of questions before the session (Berger, 1933, p.136). There is a hint of an informal interview though as the interviewer is trying to keep the conversation into a casual style without being a threat.

Structured interviews

In a structured interview, the researcher is making a schedule with specific instructions and questions which lead to other follow-up questions if answered in a certain way.

Advantages of arranging a structured interview:

This method demands legitimate and accurate results and certain steps are being applied. The researcher is producing pre-constructed questions which allow him to compare the results from different interviews easily and efficiently. This of course leads to a larger number of samples in counter to the unstructured and semi-structured interview methods. With a timed and well constructed schedule, the interviewer can calculate approximately the length of an interview and that can give to him an estimation of how many sessions he can make.Furthermore, since the researcher has actually worked on building a list of well-aimed questions, it allows him to examine the level of understanding of the participant about the current topic in depth.Additionaly, It is easy to apply this method to a bigger population as the interviewer is actually applying the same schedule. Finally, this method can be used as an influential tool to understand how the participant feels about our method before moving on to the next one.

Disantvantages of arranging a structured interview:

Although the current method looks valid and accurate enough, there exist some disatvantages. First, the quality of the data depends highly to the quality of the questions asked moreover all of the questions should be the same! This method requires great time planning and preparation. Finally, the interviewer can not slip away from his schedule for any reason as he has to stick to the pre-constructed questions.

Interviewing is one of the most vital researching techniques which involves a great deal of work including a few steps as Berger says (1933, p. 151) ‘‘recording them, transcribing them, coding them’’ . Although the amount of work involved and the

effort are high, the researcher is able to substract important material which can be used for further research to his next methods.

METHOD 2 - PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

As researchers, we sometimes have to be involved with the subject’s activities and get deeply into a new situation where we can achieve intimate familiarity with the group. According to Berger (1933, p. 189), participant observation ‘’is a qualitative research technique that provides the opportunity to study people in real-life situations’’. The truth is that we are all observing something most of the time. But our everyday observations with the participant observation are two different things. Of course we observe other humans, we listen to opinions, analyze body language, watch the TV, internet, listening to the radio etc, but in the end of the day we forget it all and we get distracted by more important matters. Besides that, some of the information we substract is controlled and shaped by someone else. In participant observation, we really care for the outcome which is based on systematic work and objectivity.

How does this particular technique really work? Berger states clearly to his book (1933, p. 190) that the research is carried out by two techniques:

A)Observer as participantThe researcher is an outsider which has been allowed to observe the meeting for the shake of his research and to take notes.

B)Participant as observerIn that case the researcher participates with the group as a member. He is now an insider and can have a close understanding of the process which leads to greater results and accurate data. Let’s analyze it a bit more..The researcher is actually taking part in ongoing activities and records the observations he is making. It is really interesting that the observer is actually participating to the activity as a player, sometimes taking on the role being studied (working in a hospital, being a police officer, being a waiter etc). The positive part of this method is that the observer is actually able to get an ‘’insider’’ viewpoint which can actually bring better and richer results. The main problem though is the danger of ‘‘going native’’ which means that the observer is so involved and sympathetic to the group that he ends up losing his objectivity. In addition to that, just because the observer is a part of the group, it is easier to influence their behavior which brings the problem of reactivity.According to Wikipedia,‘’Reactivity is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals alter their performance or behavior due to the awareness that they are being observed.[1] The change may be positive or negative, and depends on the situation.’’. For an observer, it is a big issue not knowing wether he will have a positive or negative impact to the samples.

Advantages of conducting participant observation

Gaining Access

If the researcher conducts the method properly, he gains access to information, events and situations where outsiders normally would not be allowed to take part.Sometimes though, it may take even years for the group to accept the observer which may lead to an obligation of the researcher to protect the group and it’s interests. Another important point here is that the participant has to be cautious and also to make sure he prevents any external interpretations which might affect the group as he is actually coming from a different environment with a different background.

Gaining Trust

Trust is an important aspect of the participant observation technique. The truth is that a certain amount of trust has to be developed between the observer and the group in order to produce trustful and legitimate data. When the subjects trust the observer, they reveal more information with veracity and in the other hand when the observer trusts the group, he will accept the information as valid. So, it is obvious how important trust is in participant observation and if not managed, it could lead to pour results. As Jagg Xaxx (2013) says: ‘’subjects may misrepresent themselves to a researcher whom they don't trust, sometimes as a means of self-protection.’’

Costs of a participant observation research

The cost of the participant observation method is relatively low in comparison with other more complicated and larger methods. The main difference is of course that the observer works alone or with one or two partners where he/they observe the subjects. The team is small and that is important as that way we minimize the impact we have on the situation being studied.

Achieving intuition-understanding

Just because we are taking part to an alive environment, a group activity, we are actually getting involved into a cultural environment, every group is a small society and this allows us to think more and understand better about our data as we are actually being highly affiliated with the subjects. Participant observation is a tool that can help us extend the validity of the data we are collecting through our observations and the interviews we are conducting. In simple English, as Bernard

(2006, p. 355) says: ‘‘participant observation helps you understand the meaning of your observations’’.

Participant observation is a resilient method

Participant observation technique is good for ‘‘starters’’ as it is quite resillient with the questions provided to the subjects. It allows us to ask sensible or dumb questions that just happen by mistake and we most probably can make it up later even if the participants come from different cultures with different values.

All that sounds good but just imagine what could the results be after providing a questionaire with some dumb questions to a few people from completely different cultures. As we see, it is better to ask sensible questions in face to face interviews.

Disantvantages of conducting participant observation

Unfortunately participant observation as a technique, it has some disantvantages despite it’s numerous benefits.

It can be time consuming

Initially it could be really time consuming regarding the dedication the observer has to give to the research. Participant observation requires the observer to be among a group of people for a timeframe which can last from a few hours to a few days or even years. Besides that, the researcher needs to support his work by doing continuous research, note taking and interviewing which ads up to the total effort.

Observer can not always be present

This is an issue even for the most punctual and highly dedicated observer. An incident can prevent the researcher of being involved to an activity of the studied group for a period of time. Anything from an illness to an unfortunate accident or maybe a tough daily schedule can create problems. We can never know wether at this particular day that we are away we are missing or not some important facts and data, so it would be good to if the observer could try to determine as much as possible any incidents that could happen. Precaution is the key.

Observation can affect the behavior of the subjects

As i stated back to page 4, there is a great danger that the observer will be too much absorbed by the group that will lose his subjectivity and sharpness, and such an action may lead to untrusty results. The phenomenon of Reactivity can occur

where the subjects alter their behavior as a result of being observed. It is important though that the observer stays as native as possible to minimize this effect.

Participant observation is a great research tool which allows us to go through an intensive involvement with people in their environment and their activities, gain entry into a community Kawulich (2005). Finally, although completing the research is sometimes difficult because of the inter-personal relations that are blossoming between the subjects and the researcher, it is still one of the few ways that allow us to conduct research in a natural and live environment.

METHOD 3 - QUALITATIVE SURVEYS

What is a survey?

According to Kendra Cherry (Cherry, n.d.) psychologist and author "A survey is a data collection tool used to gather information about individuals. A survey may focus on factual information about individuals, or it might aim to collect the opinions of the survey takers."Surveying is a method of studying a general population by observing its members. Nowadays, we are using surveys to measure the characteristics of a population, drive conversion (sales company) or generally understand more about the people's behavior and needs through the time.The population being studied could be the inhabitants of a city, a country or even just people of a specific category like musicians or pregnant women etc. The hint here is that we do not observe social interactions or communication between the members but we actually care for the characteristics of the individuals which are connected to their status, activity etc and could give us insights of the general population.Surveys can be conducted physically or online.

Advantages of conducting Surveying

Surveys allow us to collect great amounts of data in a short time.

Because of the nature of this method we can easily collect many samples without much effort. For example, commercial companies often hire employees who are lurking into busy roads or shopping malls where thousands of people pass through daily. We can imagine how numerous the samples are when this gets repeated on a daily basis for a certain timeframe. In online surveying, data can be collected faster especially if we target on a specific group directly such as an institute or university.

Surveys are less expensive and can be produced easily

Surveying is a cost effective method in compare with other data collection methods which may require a bigger budget and sophisticated equipment. In addition to that, surveys can be created easily. The researcher is actually producing a set of questions which can be printed to papers. The subjects are filling the questions and

then the surveyor is collecting all the data for comparison. The set of questions is standard of course and that is speeding up the process of the work. Online surveys are cost-effective as well. Numerous softwares can be found online which can give a hand in producing good looking surveys.

Surveys are not "wearing blinkers"

With surveying we can collect a wide range of information. It might be opinions about a service, product, elections, behavior, marketing, psychology data, personal facts. Generally it could be anything and this versatility is what makes surveying that popular.

Surveys can be more accurate and honest online

There is a small margin of error as participants are actually giving their response live or they are entering it into the system(online surveying) although traditional methods require the attentiveness of the researchers so that all the details are given correctly.

...they are easy to style, especially the commercial ones

Companies are benefited by using the surveying method. Both online and offline allow us to use colors, layout and also add images, logo of the brand or videos.

Disantvantages of conducting surveying

Berger (1933, p. 228) clearly states some of the problems of the Survey method

1. People often don't tell the truth, especially about personal matters or they make mistakes about what they've said, even if they are trying to tell the truth.

Human psychology plays a significant role here, some people just wont be honest as they might be afraid of confrontation or they might think that the researcher will judge them negatively. Even if they do it right, there is always the possibility of a mistake which comes from wrong estimations. What if the subject claims to be using the internet two hours a day but actually it was for three?

2. Obtaining representative samples is frequently quite difficult.

It's a a really hard work sometimes to get back the completed essays. People just sometimes forget, or mislay the surveys somewhere or they just postpone it. It is crucial that the researcher should get back the completed surveys or else the samples are useless.

3. People often refuse to participate in surveys

Unfortunately, asking a hundred people a day to complete the survey doesn't mean that all of them will say yes. Life experience shows that the majority just refuses to do so. Many people just get irritated especially when called at home for some sort of survey research, especially when it's about the profit of someone else.

4. Writing a good survey is a difficult thing to do

As researchers, we need to make sure that our questions enlisted are clear, well structured and definitely not threatening at all. Ambiguous and unclear questions may lead to incorrect answers or irritate the subjects, alter their behavior and therefore distort the outcome.

Surveying is a quite inexpensive but complicated method of data collection. Berger (1933, p. 243) compares them to a puzzle where the researcher has to do his best to obtain the most reliable information by his subjects, a result which highly depends on the quality fo the questions asked. Despite the difficulties, surveying has always been a very widely known method of data collection for research and commercial use.

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DIGITAL MC LUHAN

Marshall Mc Luhan, Canadian born in 1911, was a philosopher of communication theory. Mc Luhan's work was focused in understanding the effects of technology to the popular culture and how this steered the humans and their relations with other cultures and communities. Furthermore, he is well known for his expressions "the medium is the message" and "the global village", for his contribution to the study of the media theory and for predicting the world wide web many years before it's invention.Although there have always been theorists that disagree with Mc Luhan's theories, it would be impossible for his work to be unnoticed through the years of our technological development. As Levinson (1999, p. 14) clearly states to his book "Digital Mc Luhan, A guide to the information millenium"

....."McLuhan’s work was, if anything, increasing in relevance, almost as if our information age was crystallizing along the patterns of his vision"

It was obvious for Levinson back in 1999 when he wrote this book that Mc Luhan's influence to our media was huge and it would continue to be for the following years. Needless to say that if 1999 sounds a bit too "far" from our reality then lets just imagine that Marshall's immense work was produced before the eighties, before even the simplest form of the internet or the usb cable. We, the people of the new media age, the children of the internet age, we should know well how it all started.In Paul Levinson's book we find some of Mc Luhan's most successful work expressed in a very comprehensible way.

HOT AND COOL

"Hot and Cool" is an expression coined by Mc Luhan as his own way to express and also separate the different forms of media which affect our life.This metaphor originates from Marshall's musical preferences as he actually compared "Hot" to a brassy, big band" whose sound is full of information, as Levinson (1999 p, 121) says "sweeps over our soon satiated senses". In the other hand, "cool" refers to the cool/light media which are soft, low-profile like the cool tones of a sax or a nice melody. We could easily compare two musical examples that way. Buddy Rich big band would be the "Hot" where a Miles Davis solo would be "Cool".Mc Luhan has generally described "Hot" media as media in high definition, loud, bright and with lots of information in contrast to the "Cool" ones which are the low definition ones, with little information, blurry and low profile.Lets have a look to a few hot and cool examples which will help us understand more about the notion of this expression.

Hot Cool

Big screen Small screen

HD color image LD black n white image

Printed novels-newspaper Poetry-graffiti

Radio

Photography

Telephone

Cartoons

A big cinema screen with it's imposing colors, surround sound and big size is definitely the Hot medium here compared to the small sized grayscale tv. Additionally, the radio "sounds" like it is a Hot medium as well compared to the normal telephone where you can only hear a dial tone. The list could go on without an end but there is a deeper meaning behind all that.So far, it looks like the Hot medium which contains data, sharpness and tons of details provides so much information that actually requires very little participation and leaves no space for the observer. In the other hand, a cool medium which offers less information, requires the participant to ''fill in the gaps'' to make a fuller picture. For instance..A real life photograph is a natural ''screenshot'', we capture the moment the way it is. All the details are there, the eyes, colors, the faces, any elements, even high details are obvious. This leaves no space for us to guess, to think about what this photo actually means. Everything is obvious. The cartoon case is different of course. The outcome of this picture depends fully on the artist's talent and capability to represent the image. An eye could be represented by a simple circle or the body by a small square box with a few buttons. The weather could be represented by a monochrome blue color and the sun by a yellow ball. The viewer has to understand deeply and interpret the data if he wants to create the picture. In simple english, in Cool media, the people need to take an active role in contrast to the Hot media where they are mostly passive to what they receive.Another example would be the TV and the Cinema where the tv is definitely cooler than it's sibling as we are the ones who decide what we are going to watch in contrast to the cinema which imposes a certain playing. Telephone is cooler than the radio as well as we can steer the conversation to the end. Those are a few clear-cut comparisons that allow us to stand to our feet when starting our research. But, by no means should we get stuck to those meanings and the relativity between the mediums as those relations actually change at some point. Everything depends on the way humans use those items and to the properties we assign to them. Another great example is the computer. Although it has started as a hot medium, it gradually became cooler through the years and it reached a point where it is what it is. A machine we can't live with out, a Cool medium. It nearly looks like we are starting to praise minimalism owning less but actually having much more than before, with computers being able to do everything we ever wanted even at the same time, multitask. As Levinson (1999, p. 124) says, we came to times that ''every medium is like a Chinese box, a medium within a medium within a medium''. Of course this is not something new for most of us, a great part of the population was always following the technology and the development of the mediums. We could all see it coming.

MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE

''Medium is the message'' is maybe Mc Luhan's most known aphorism.The phrase was introduced in his book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964. It's basic meaning is that every communication medium has a greater impact to the humans than the actual content of it.

The social consequences of any medium can be many and into a large scale. A great example of this notion is the television. Television's main goal has always been to educate, entertain, inform and raise awareness about crimes and social responsibilities etc but it didn't really stop there. The TV has been more of a local medium until the production of the cable or other services. People in India could only watch their local programs where Americans could watch their own, but still things are not like that anymore. Nowadays, we can all watch each other's channels as the choice of them has been thrown wide open and that allows us to exchange culture, language and our life habits. Isn't that a huge influence? Additionally, we should not forget the great intrusion of the cell phone to the human affairs and even worse to the individual's psychosynthesis and own life. It's not only about the disantvantages of it. We all know the huge affection to people's health, behavior and even addiction that some people are facing because of improper use, but still, the benefits of it such as the ease of communication, mobile internet and text messaging are priceless at least for most of us.Everyday we make conversations, exchange opinions, tons of data of our online social life going back and forth between the servers, getting our mind at a point where it overloads but we move on without mercy. In the end of the day, we always care about what we saw or heard and we hardly ever remember how we found that information, which device we used. We don't really care that much about it. Marshall was mostly right. As it seems the ''medium is the message'' in a sense that we are being daily seduced by the content of a medium rather by it's self, as we see an extension of our selves attached to it day by day. The ideal case would be Facebook and it's massive subscribed list of eight hundred million people. Two hundred million check their accounts daily where only a few thousand accounts are inactive. Many parents are suffering globally as they need to constantly monitor their children and their online activities. That's not a coincidence and definitely nothing happens by chance, but would Facebook fans be so attached to it if it was not for the ''local's'' continuous stream of private information?

Definitely not, Levinson (1999, p. 52) clearly states that ''these are special cases, in which the media come to occupy the prominence in our attention usually accorded content.'' . In simple English, the medium is here to stay and we literally mean that. The TV, the phone, the radio, the press, every medium we know has been implemented into the Computer, the Internet. The new age Behemoth.Α medium never really fades out, instead, it stays forever and it embed to it's descendant where it evolves and becomes a part of it for good.Obviously, the quality of the medium depends highly in the quality of it's message.

Is ‘‘Medium is the message’’ a catalytic expression? So far it seems like it is a fact. The instance of the electric light may prove the opposite but does it really? According to Levinson (1999, p. 20), Mc Luhan defines it as ‘’a medium without content’’ . I would agree with Mc Luhan that the light is pure information, it is a medium but contains no message. We are using it to light the party or for a night basketball match but still someone could argue that those actions are the content of the electric light leading to the conclusion that they dont exist without it. This is totally false of course as both activites can happen in the dark as well.Actually, the precedent examples underline that actually the ‘‘Medium is the message’’. It is the medium which shapes and controls the association we have with the message and every medium affects in it’s own unique way. Would it be interesting watching the night match in a dark court? Don’t think so. As it seems, it is the light the medium which provides us with a rich, high detailed, full of information panorama. In a dark court, we definitely get the wrong message. So the light is a ‘‘Hot’’ medium, a lobby which enriches everything in it’s field vision. At this point, i might give the impression i am sliping away from the primary definition of the ‘‘Medium is the message’’ which sets thats the medium is actually something, but as it looks, the light is something more than just a medium, something more than a simple TV which depends highly to the quality of its message. The light is the message and the medium at the same time and i don’t mean it metaphorically like Mc Luhan does but literally. The light acts as a ‘‘Hot’’ medium, a divine power, exactly the way religion suggested for thousands of years now, purifying and transforming everything in it’s way to a high definition message, full of information. None of the previous examples actually have this property as mediums, all depending totally to the quality of the message but not like the light. It looks as all the content and all the mediums of the world totally rely on it, wether they are ‘‘cool’’ or ‘‘hot’’ mediums.

THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

Global village is a term which can be found in Mc Luhan’s books such as ‘‘Understanding media’’(1964) and ‘‘The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Men’’ (1962) which describes how the globe turned to a ‘‘village’’. As Mc Luhan (1964, p. 3) says: ‘‘Today, after more than a century of electric technology, we have extended our central nervous system in a global embrace, abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned’’Actually it is obvious how the electronic media transformed the world to a small village. The television, the radio and the phone became our long distance ears and eyes which allowed people to get so close that it feels like there is no distance between them, being able to watch each other’s programs, share knowledge and culture more than ever. Nowadays, the term ‘‘Global village’’ can be used to describe the Internet as the participants, the ‘’villagers’’ who can live anywhere in the world, can actually engage by taking part in a dialogue, share information and data and build a network made by humans just like in his neighborhood.The basic logic of this view is actually that the speed of the communication through the electronic media accelerates our senses. We are constantly linked with millions of other humans around the globe but the similarity here is that it takes the same amount of time, as it would take to do it with someone that inhabits in the same area. All that makes the printed media insignificant, incomplete. So it is the speed of the electric media that allow us to react to any news around the world in the same way as they happened next to us allowing us to be involved,but the news papper would not. As Mc Luhan (1964, p. 225) argues ‘’‘’In diplomacy the same electric speed causes the decisions to be announced before they are made in order to ascertain the varying responses that might occur when such decisions actually are made. Such procedure, quite inevitable at the electric speed that involves the entire society in the decision-making process, shocks the old press men because it abdicates any definite point of view.

The effect of the ‘‘Global village’’ is that we can experience instantly the effects of our actions to a global scale the same way that we do in our physical life. We

become more aware of our responsibilities as humans on a global level rather than being in a small community. Mc Luhan (1964, p. 27) writes: ‘’As electrically contracted, the globe is no more than a village. Electric speed is bringing all social and political functions together in a sudden implosion has heightened human awareness of responsibility to an intense degree. I t is this implosive factor that alters the position of the Negro, the teen-ager, and some other groups. They can no longer be contained, in the political sense of limited association. They are now involved in our lives, as we in theirs, thanks to the electric media.’‘

Through our extended senses, we experience events and situations as we where in the same place. The war of Iraq for example in 2003, where we all experienced from our television sets. We were able to watch the Baghdad bombing, we’ve been exposed to the sounds, the image and partially feel the shock that a war was happening somewhere in the world but still, we stayed at a safe physical distance. The technology and the speed of light enable us to keep our distance, making the war broadcast look like a hollywood movie while it’s not, as people are suffering and experience the terror totally. One of the major accomplishments of the new modern media and mainly of the Internet is that they can break down the centralized power as people are able to form communities globally and support their individuality. Not all media are totally safe though. We all know that what we actually see in our monitors is somehow filtered and contolled by the media. They broadcast what they want us to know and this is the big difference between the TV and the Internet. By using a TV we don’t have a choice at all where on the Internet we can choose what to read and by the sources we want. That is the revolution of the internet, it is a clear and straightforward reflection of Mc Luhan’s ‘‘Global village’’ and as Bill Gates said ‘‘The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow’’.In this chapter we focused to Marshall McLuhan and his work. We studied and examined some of Mc Luhan’s theories such as ‘‘The Global Village’’ and the ‘‘Medium is the message’’, theories and ideas which anticipated our 21st Century media world. It’s Mc Luhan who first introduced the discarnate version of ourselves, as Levinson (1999, p. 21) says, ‘‘Denizens of Cyberspace are virtual’’ which means that our physicall substance plays no role to our digital, online life. Unfortunately for us, Marshall died on the doorstep of the computer but his work has been a landmark for the world of the technology and the media.

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EVERYDAY CREATIVITY

When we usually think of creativity, we think of artists such as Picasso, Mozart, scientists such as Einstein and Bell, people with endless resources of talent and intelligence. Despite this narrow example, the truth is that all people depending on their own intelligence and natural ability, can generate ideas, make art and create masterpieces. So, what is ‘‘Everyday creativity’’?Ruth Richards (2007, p. 25) clearly defines that ‘‘everyday creativity is about everyone, throughout our lives; it is fundamental to our survival. It is how we find a lost child, get enough to eat, and make our way in a new place and culture.’’ As it seems, everyday creativity is not that much about the word ‘‘creativity’’ that people think in their everyday lives such as arts or science but has a deeper meaning. With everyday creativity we adapt to our everyday life by improvising and trying different options in order to do some tasks. We are using features of our selves which originate from our identity and the way we approach our everyday life. Why don’t we talk more often about this ‘‘everyday creativity’’? Is it a like a big secret? First of all, the term creativity is offten applied to the arts. I am not really sure wether asking some random people about it it would return any answers out of the sphere of arts . The reason i am putting this on the table is that we are actually talking about a fundamental survival element and not just an idea. It is our creativity that help us harvest and cook our food, manage a difficult situation or find the way home. In my opinion, there is a great difference between artistic and everyday creativity. In the latter situation, we are not referring to a single skill but to every day situations, alterations which can bring changes and results often stunning or overwhelming. As Richards (2007, p. 26) says: It is the everyday creativity which helps us facilitate the ‘‘originality of everyday life’’.

Problems in everyday life as source of creativity

Problems can vary in our everyday life. From a failure to perform (not just in art, it can be anything), a need to find better ways to do tasks, or for something that needs improvement, the lack of information, decision-making situations. All these are problems that we can learn from which can lead us to improvement. A real-life problem triggers our senses. We apprehend emotional motivation and we start thinking. We have to solve a problem so we engage in searching for legitimate information, we invest time and sometimes money to go through it.In education for example? Creativity is nowadays considered to be an essential capability but is the school doing the best possible to support it? At the same time, traditional methods of instruction prove to be inadequate in preparing students for the new age world of information. Unfortunately according to Tan, Chye, and Teo (2009, p. 16) education still functions with the traditional form of assessment (i.e., examinations), which often creates mental defaults that generally lead to students focusing on seeking a single “best” answer. . So, how can we expect adults to appreciate eveyday creativity when they’ve never been taught how to to? This attitude of the educational system is definitely dragging the education back. Schools need to follow up the new trends or else their current property could become useless in the following years. Will Richardson (2010, p. 20) in his book ‘‘Why schools?’’ suggests two things to the teachers :

1)Share everything

He is actually giving an example by his personal experience when speaking to conferences and schools where he asks teachers wether they have an active online teaching role uploading material, sharing data etc. The result is that only a handful acually do that where the rest just keep up with the conventional methods. Isn’t that a threat to the Creativity of the Children? The truth is that, nowadays we have the opportunity to teach kids around the world and not just the ones that are in our own building. Just imagine what we are missing not giving those children the oppurtunity to explore knowledge online developing their own creativity.

2)Discover, don’t deliver, the curriculum

Will wants to deliver the message that we should stop telling kids what to learn, where and how to learn it. Not only it drives away kid’s passion for knowledge but it also kills creativity as kids are obliged ‘’not to thik’’. Vague questions which do not require a certain answer are perfect for discovering along witht he teacher’s assistance. Richardson (2010, p.22) gives out a few examples:

Questions like: ‘‘What is our place in the nature?’’, ‘’Is civilization inherently harmful to nature?’’, ‘‘Can we accept ourselves as a part of nature’’?

Now, it is obvious that this is how discovery works and how you can boost the creativity of children. Discovering the curriculum is the role of the teacher. The teacher is not focused on grades and competition anymore but in inspiring the students to pursue their own interests. He must guide students through the paths of the different questions where kids will find more about themselves and achieve critical thinking.

In this chapter i focused in the notion of Everyday creativity which depends on deeper meanings of survival and human development. It’s definitely not just about art as most people assume. It’s about our every day life, our daily improvisation, our own identity which according to Richards (2007, p. 26) we shape day by day and it helps us create the ‘’originality of everyday life’’.

As we saw, even problems can be a source for creativity for us, where we learn more and develop our critical thinking. Additionaly, the school and the educational system should support this notion in any way possible in order to prepare following generations for the new digital world of information.

Conclusion

So far, it seems like adopting a Qualitative research method for my project is a very reliable and legitimate way to collect and analyze data. I focused on Interviews, Participant Observation and Surveying research methods, methods that require practice, allowing me to deepen my knowledge and reach to conclusions.

Interviewing and Surveying have always been requisite methods for collecting data especially for commercial use as experience shows. The researcher must prepare questions in advance were slipping away from the preconstructed check list is not an option. Practice and reflection is required by the researcher as he is the one who is guiding the questions and keeps the flow running. Interviewing/Surveying equals to a learning Philosophy. The researcher becomes a student as he is learning and developing his skills throughout his research.

Participant observation method breaks the barrier of ‘‘not being involved’’ with the respondent. The researcher is becoming a part of the subjects in study by taking key roles and by maintaining a personal and social distance. Although practicing this method puts you actually ‘’in the shoes’’ of your subjects, the truth is that there is a thin line between being truly native and focusing on your work and being too much involved resulting to a loss of validity . It’s the researcher’s responsibility to keep the balance and use this great opportunity of being among his subjects to a full extend.

Later on during this essay, i have investigated elements of Marshall McLuhan’s work and i tried to explain expressions he coined such as ‘‘Medium is the message’’, the ‘’Global village’’ and ‘‘Hot and cool’’, expressions which still have a meaning and affect the world of media. Marshall Mc Luhan had the incredible knowledge and drive to analyze and interpret the new technologies, the media and made accurate predictions about the future of humanity and the machine which are both affecting each other up to this day.

Everyday creativity has definitely a deeper meaning than what most people think. Although this expression has been linked mainly to the arts by the majority of the population, my research has shown that it has vital significane to our existence as humans as it steers our decision-making skills. Our survival depends highly on our

everyday creativity skills, skills that the school and the education system must support in anyway possible.

Finally, i would like to express that the work and research i conducted for this project has been very enjoyable and remunerative. One thing i’ve learned by the whole process was the variety of all the different methods of research which later on allowed me to focus on the Qualitative methods. Additionaly, all the knowledge i have gathered is vital as it has application to my final research. Qualitative research methods such as Interviewing and Participant Observation are the tools which i am going to use to gather data and test my online platform in a live environment. This will be achieved by visiting a local music school, interview the kids and work on the development of my new music teaching website. Moreover, as a fan of the media and the new technologies, i am more than happy to know about McLuhan’s existence which up to this day has been unknown to me. Being aware of his theories and the metaphors which he coined can be a valuable tool which can accompany me during the long journey of my career as a musician and audio engineer. My final conclusion after this small research is that one of the best things we can do as a new generation - if we respect ourselves - is to combine theoretical and practical knowledge and try to balance it as better as possible. Wearing horse blinkers is not going to help us in anything anymore. It’s our duty not to do the same mistakes that previous generations have done and attain a well rounded and deep knowledge of our area of study and expertise.

Georgios Karangioules

ND

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