Inquiry Strategies Research Articles

Narrating the journey of sustained recovery from substance use disorder

BackgroundThe reported high rate of relapse in the context of an ever-increasing rate of substance abuse internationally and in South Africa together with the fact that the topic of sustained recovery from Substance Use Disorder (SUD) appears to be totally neglected in extant literature and research agendas motivated the researchers to conduct this investigation. The aim was to obtain an in-depth understanding of how individuals recovering from a SUD experience and sustain their recovery in order to fill the gap in the knowledge base.MethodsA qualitative research approach was followed, employing a narrative and phenomenological research design alongside an explorative, descriptive and contextual strategy of inquiry. Fifteen participants were purposefully recruited; and data were collected by means of individual, face-to-face interviews. Schlossberg’s Transition Process Model (1981) (Schlossberg NK, The Counselling Psychologist 1981;9(2):2-18, Schlossberg NK, Journal of Employment Counselling 2011;48:159-162, Anderson ML et al., Counselling adults in transition: linkingSchlossberg’s theory with practice in a diverse world., 2012) served as a theoretical framework and provided the backdrop to, and foundation for, the presentation of the research findings.ResultsParticipants’ entry into recovery was triggered by an internal or external crisis caused by chemical substance abuse. They had to embrace a psychological mind set change, involving commitment to a new way of life in order to sustain their recovery. This, among others, was facilitated by participants’ acceptance of the concept of ‘disease of addiction’ or finding a new faith-based identity. The 12-Step programme and further education and development were found to spiritually support sustained recovery. Strong ongoing support from specialised substance abuse support and/or religious groups, interpersonal relationships with family, spouses and sponsors as well as supportive work environments played a major role in sustaining recovery. The act of helping others further helped the participants to sustain their own recovery.ConclusionRegardless of the pathway of recovery, there are key aspects that appear to aid sustained recovery. In grouping these according to the four S’s in Schlossberg’s Transition Process Model (Schlossberg NK, The Counselling Psychologist 1981;9(2):2-18, Journal of Employment Counselling 2011;48:159-162, Anderson ML et al., Counselling adults in transition: linkingSchlossberg’s theory with practice in a diverse world., 2012): self, situation, strategies and support, they seem to facilitate the adaptation to transition from addiction to sobriety. Internal psychological and spiritual resources in terms of self; support (from family, church and support groups); strategies to combat cravings and deal with life problems; and avoiding and managing risk-inducing situations to strengthen recovery.

RYSE Youth Center: Youth Participatory Action Research

Since 2000, the RYSE center located in Richmond, CA has centered the voices of youth to combat issues in their local community. Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) has been one of the key tenets of RYSE’s approach and implementation of radical inquiry. RYSE’s radical inquiry strategy aims to shift what research looks like, sounds like, and feels like with an inquiry process that is humanizing and moves toward liberation. This involves ongoing listening and dynamic responsiveness to the priorities, needs, and interests of young people of color. This commentary documents two recent YPAR projects that developed from youth who were interested in exploring gender-based violence, bullying and coping. The commentary documents findings and youth reflections highlighting the liberatory and collaborative nature of YPAR.

The Effectiveness of Guided Inquiry Strategy on Students’ Collaborative Skill

This research aims to analyze collaborative skill through guided inquiry strategy on cell bioprocess material and analyzerelationships of collaborative skill with student's cognitive result. Student’s collaborative skill which assessed were student’s participation in experimental activities, students’s participation in discussion activities, adaptation in grup and flexible work. This research method uses one shot case study with pre-experimental design. The subjects of this study were students of class XI MIPA 1, XI MIPA 2 and XI MIPA 3 with a total of 107 students. The collaborative skill of student’s assessed using observation, self-assessment and peer assessment. Then the results of the assessment were correlated with student cognitive study results. A total of 91.6% of students have excellent collaborative skills and 8.4% of students have good category. The correlation test results showed that there is a positive relationship between collaborative skill and student test result. It can be concluded that guided inquiry strategy is effective toward students collaborative skill and gives positive relationship between collaborative skill and student's cognitive result

GEOGRAPHY LITERACY OF OBSERVATION INTRODUCTION LANDSCAPE REPRESENTATION PLACE FOR STUDENT EXPERIENCE

This study aims to describe the understanding of geography literacy and student experience with landscape recognition observations using an ethnometodology perspective. The subject of this study was the chairman of each landscape recognition practice group student geography education program from University of Jember. The results of this study that geography literacy has a dimension of relevance to geographic skills in representing contextual phenomena and places from landscape recognition observation activities. The results of both observational studies provide research experience, motivation, critical and scientific thinking skills for students represented in the mapping of the area.
 Keywords: Geography Literacy, Student Experience, Ethnometodology
 References
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 Chappell, Adrian.(2007). Using Teaching Observations and Reflective Practice to Challenge Conventions and Conceptions of Teaching in Geography, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 32(2), 257-268.
 Comber, Barbara.(2017). Literacy Geography and Pedagogy: Imagining Translocal Research Alliances for Educational Justice, Journal Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, Sagepub, University of South Australia, 66, 53-72.
 Cotton, Debby R.E., Stokes, Alison, & Cotton, Peter A.(2010).Using Observational Methods to Research the Student Experience, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 34(3), 463-473.
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PLANT ANATOMY LEARNING ON BASED PRACTICES THROUGH THE INQUIRY STRATEGY: EFFORTS TO EQUIP THE ABILITY OF THE SCIENCE PROCESS AND SKILLS OF THE USE OF MICROSCOPE EQUIPMENT STUDENT OF BIOLOGY EDUCATION

Ability of Biology students in Teaching Education organization (In-Service) in science process and the ability to use microscope are in state of disappointment. A lot of research have been done to take care these problems, however it has not given a maximum effect. Plant anatomy is the most suitable subject that can be used to equip the student with science process learning and the ability to use microscope through inquiry strategy learning implementation. The purpose of this research is to answer the questions of how inquiry learning implementation affects the students’ ability of both science process and to use microscope. The method of this research is One-Shot Case Study Design, with 30 students as research subject. The research is conducted for three months (October to December 2017) at Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Syiah Kuala. The aspect that is observed in this research is the ability in practicum planning, ability to use microscope and the ability to report the result. The result of the research showed that (1). Planning ability of the students to conduct practicum increased 48% from the previous result, 76% of the core maximum standard. Maximum score and minimum score are 97% and 55% respectively. (2) The ability to use microscope achieve 67% from basic score and 87% from the expected maximum result. (3) The ability to report the practicum result increase to 53% from the basic ability of 80% from maximum standard score. From the research result, it can be concluded that inquiry strategy implementation at plant anatomy subject has given a significant improvement toward students’ science process and the ability use microscope.

Chemoentrepreneurship with Cooperative Integrated Process Inquiry Strategy to Increase Students' Entrepreneurial Interest and Learning Motivation

Colloid chemistry learning at SMAN 1 Mijen Demak had a less useful impact as it has not integrated the process of making with the products needed in everyday life. The lesson also did not equip students with the skills in entering the entrepreneurship world. The observation results indicated that the XI IPA1 grade students in SMAN 1 Mijen Demak had low entrepreneurial interest and motivation. This was due to the tedious and less-motivated chemistry learning. Therefore, this study aimed to increase the students' entrepreneurial interest and learning motivation on colloid materials through Integrated Cooperative Inquiry Process strategy. A classroom action research applied in this research consisted of three cycles. Each cycle had several stages which were planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The data on the students’ entrepreneurial interest and learning motivation were collected through observation and questionnaire. The descriptive analysis was adopted in this research. The data were analysed using the average mastery and proportion. Based on the analysis of cycles I, II and III, the percentage of the students’ entrepreneurship interest increased from 47.64% to 51.17%; 72,16% and 81,10% having 38 students achieved the mastery learning. While the learning motivation increased from 49.55% to 56.08%; 68.21% and 76.32% having 37 students reached the mastery learning. It concluded that the CIPI (Cooperative Integrated Process Inquiry) with CEP (Chemo entrepreneurship) approach could increase the students’ entrepreneurial interest and learning motivation.

TEACHING STRATEGY OF AL-ISLAM TEACHER ON INCREASING STUDENT’S MORALITY IN 9 GRADE OF SMP MUHAMADIYAH 15 SURABAYA

This study aimed to determine the role of teacher to student's morality education, the strategy of Al - Islam teacher to improve student morality, the supporting factors and inhibitors in building student's morality of 9 grade student in SMP Muhammadiyah 15 Surabaya. This study used descriptive qualitative method. The research data were collected by using observation, interview and documentation method, then analyzed by using inductive approach and validity test. The results indicated that: activities of moral formation that teachers do i.e. night prayer, tahfidz Qur'an, and dzuhur praying in congregation. Teaching strategies of PAI Teacher used inquiry strategies, approached to student by using a variety of methods such as lecturing method, habituation method, and counseling method. The supporting factors: (a) family factors or parent who has very active role to participate in fostering student's morality, (b) environment or community around the school, (c) the environment around student's residence has been thick with religious thing, (d) school’s rules to prevent student's delinquency. Inhibiting Factors are (a) there was no enough time to foster much morality on student. (b) Lack of school's provision. (c) Different student's attitude and behavior. (d) Uncontrollable student association. (e) Lack of students’ awareness to attend activities required by the school. (f) Inadequate supporting facilities and infrastructures. (g) The widespread of information today. Keywords: Role, Strategy, Moral Education

Penerapan Strategi Pembelajaran Inkuiri Dalam Peningkatan Kreativitas Belajar IPS Pada Siswa Sekolah Dasar

This research aims to improve students' learning creativity because inquiry learning is very appropriate in helping motivate students in learning. The methods used in data collection are observation and questionnaire about student's creativity, both before and after being given treatment between experiment and control class. Data analysis is done through data description and hypothesis test of research through test. The results showed that: 1. Thitung > Ttabel shows a very positive relationship between the application of inquiry strategy to increase student creativity in MI NW Kelayu Jorong; 2. Students are very active in learning, they are not shy to ask questions and respond to fellow friends about IPS learning process; 3. The learning inquiry is fun and helps students during learning process; and 4. Teachers at MI NW Kelayu Jorong strongly respond to the application of inquiry in all areas of the study being taught.

Factors Influencing News Consumption on the Internet by Undergraduate Students A Comparative Study between Two Public Universities in Nigeria

This study is an assessment of factors influencing news consumption on the internet by undergraduate students in Public Universities in Nigeria. The study looks the amount of time spent consuming news on the internet, the type of news consumed, medium of news consumption on the internet by undergraduate students in Nigerian Universities. Also accessed are the challenges of news consumption on the internet by undergraduate students in Nigerian Universities. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) by Venkatesh et al (2003) was adapted in this study, while the quantitative and qualitative research approach with survey design as the strategy of inquiry. Respondents for the study were selected from four similar faculties in two Universities in Lagos State using the convenience and accidental sampling technique. Findings from the study revealed that a large proportion of the students that participated in the study consume news on the internet several times in a day. The study also revealed that the mobile phone is the most popular device used to access and consume news on the internet by the students. Entertainment news was found to be most popular type of news consumed, while Facebook is the most popular platform used for news consumption by these students. Poor quality of internet connection was highlighted as the challenge to news consumption on the internet by the students. All the four UTAUT constructs were found to positively influence the student’s intention to consume news on the internet and the actual use of the internet for news consumption. The study concludes that amount of time spent consuming news on the internet among undergraduate students of public Universities in Nigeria is above average, internet connection is however still a major challenge for the students. Hence it is recommended that Government and internet service providers work together to improve the quality and coverage of internet connection and also review current internet subscription rates and provide more affordable rates.

The effect of inquiry learning toward 5th grade students’ understanding on sciences based on motivation in padang

This study aims to explain (1) Differences in understanding the concept of science students who taught using Inquiry Strategy with students who were taught using Conventional Strategy on science learning in class V SD, (2) Differences understanding of science concept between high motivation students with Low motivation on science learning in class V SD, and (3) Differences of interaction between learning strategy with motivation in influencing understanding of science concept in class V SD Gugus 1 Kecamatan Padang Barat. The population consisted of all the fifth grade students at Kecamatan Padang Barat in the school year 2016/2017. The sample size was 60 students. The data in this study consisted of (1) the data on the students’ learning motivation, (2) the data on comprehension of science. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and 2x2 factorial Anova. From the results of this research, it can be concluded that (1) (there was a difference on concept of science understanding between students’ taught by using Inquiry learning and those who were taught by using conventional technique), (2) there was different on sciences understanding between high motivation and low motivation students and (3) there was no significant interaction between teaching approach and motivation influencing concept of sciences understanding.

The Scientist in the Classroom Partnership program: an innovative teacher professional development model

ABSTRACTThis article presents an in-depth study supporting the Scientist in the Classroom Partnership (SCP) program as a model of effective professional development (PD) for K-12 teachers. The goal of this study was to determine the core and structural features of the SCP program necessary for effective teacher PD. The SCP partners a classroom teacher with an STEM graduate student or postdoctoral fellow to co-teach 1 day per week during the academic year. During the summer, the teacher and fellow work together in a 10-day workshop to build the partnership, learn inquiry-based pedagogical strategies, and develop curriculum. Teacher participants from 9 years of the program were surveyed to determine the impact on the participants. In addition, teachers attended a 1-day retreat that allowed for data collection during storytelling and focus-group sessions. Likert surveys were analyzed, and the storytelling and focus-group data were coded for analysis. Five core and three structural features emerged from this analysis. The core features included gains in discipline and pedagogical content knowledge, inquiry strategies, and renewal of teaching. The structural features included the duration of PD (over 200 h), PD focused on specific grade levels, and the use of multiple types of PD approaches.Abbreviations: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

أثر برنامج تدریبی قائم على الاستقصاء الدوری على تحصیل طلاب الصف العاشر فی مادة الکیمیاء فی إمارة رأس الخیمة ـــ الإمارات The Effect of Training Program Based On Cyclic Inquiry on Achievement in Chemistry for Tenth Grade in RAK- UAE

المستخلص : هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى الکشف عن أثر استخدام برنامج تدريبي قائم على الاستقصاء الدوري في تحصيل طلاب الصف العاشر في مادة الکيمياء في إمارة رأس الخيمة. وجاءت لتجيب عن التساؤل الآتي: هل يوجد فرق بين متوسطات درجات الطلاب في اختبار التحصيل بين المجموعة الضابطة والمجموعة التجريبية يعزى إلى البرنامج التدريبي القائم على استراتيجية الاستقصاء الدوري ؟ ولتحقيق هدف الدراسة تم بناء برنامج تدريبي قائم على الاستقصاء الدوري، وبناء اختبار تحصيلي تکون من (30) فقرة من نوع الاختيار من متعدد لقياس التحصيل. وتکون أفراد الدراسة من أربع شعب دراسية بلغ عددها (88) طالبا، اختيرت بطريقة قصدية، من طلاب الصف العاشر الأساسي في مدرسة شعم للتعليم الأساسي والثانوي للبنين، والواقعة ضمن مدارس منطقة رأس الخيمة التعليمية للعام الدراسي 2012/2013 م وقد قسم أفراد الدراسة إلى مجموعتين: مجموعة ضابطة بلغ عددها(44) طالبــا، درســــت وفق الطريقة الاعتيادية، ومجموعة تجريبية بلغ عددها (44) طالبا درست وفق البرنامج التدريبي. وأشارت نتائج الدراسة إلى وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين متوسطات درجات الطلاب في اختبار التحصيل بين المجموعة الضابطة والتجريبية تعزى إلى البرنامج التدريبي القائم على الاستقصاء الدوري ، وفي ضوء النتائج السابقة خلصت الدراسة إلى جملة من التوصيات والمقترحات. Abstract: The study aimed at clarifiying the effect of a training program based on cyclic inquiry on achievement among the tenth grade students in chemistry in the RAK- UAE, where the researcher has used the semi-experimental approach. The study tried to answer the question: Are there any differences in the mean scores of the students in the achievement test between the control group and the experimental group, attributed to the training program based on the cyclic inquiry strategy? To achieve the objective of the study, a training program based on the cyclic inquiry was designed. In addition , multiple - choice test, which consisted of 30 items, to measure achievement was prepared. The subjects of the study include 88 students from the four sections of the tenth grade in Shaam School for Primary and Secondary Education for Boys, located within Ras Al Khaimah Educational Zone for the academic year 2012/2013. The subjects of the study were divided to two groups: a control group of 44 students studied in the regular method, and the experimental group of 44 students studied in accordance with the training program. The results of the study have indicated statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the students in the achievement test between the control group and the experimental group attributed to the training program based on the cyclic inquiry. In light of these findings, the study presents a number of recommendations and suggestions.

DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNING STRATEGY BASED INQUIRY TO BUILD STUDENT ARGUMENTATION SKILLS.

This study aims to develop a valid learning strategy based inquiry to build argumentation skills and to know their effectiveness in building argumentation skills. The method used is the Research and Development (R & D) model of Dick and Carey, by identifying needs and determining goals, analyzing strategies, identifying student characteristics, formulating specific learning goals, developing benchmark reference tests, developing learning strategies, selecting learning materials, formative evaluation, and revision of learning. The object of this research is 75 students who come from 3 high schools in Bandar Lampung. The conclusions of this research are derived from argument inquiry strategy which has the components of learning objectives, learning scenarios, learning approaches, and tools and learning resources. These components are combined with right steps and methods, so the learning strategy effectively for building students argumentation skills.

Topic Modeling as a Strategy of Inquiry in Organizational Research: A Tutorial With an Application Example on Organizational Culture

Research has emphasized the limitations of qualitative and quantitative approaches to studying organizational phenomena. For example, in-depth interviews are resource-intensive, while questionnaires with closed-ended questions can only measure predefined constructs. With the recent availability of large textual data sets and increased computational power, text mining has become an attractive method that has the potential to mitigate some of these limitations. Thus, we suggest applying topic modeling, a specific text mining technique, as a new and complementary strategy of inquiry to study organizational phenomena. In particular, we outline the potentials of structural topic modeling for organizational research and provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to apply it. Our application example builds on 428,492 reviews of Fortune 500 companies from the online platform Glassdoor, on which employees can evaluate organizations. We demonstrate how structural topic models allow to inductively identify topics that matter to employees and quantify their relationship with employees’ perception of organizational culture. We discuss the advantages and limitations of topic modeling as a research method and outline how future research can apply the technique to study organizational phenomena.

Poor Performance at TVET Colleges: Conceptualising a Distributed Instructional Leadership Approach as a Solution

In South Africa the challenges facing the post-school vocational education system are daunting. There is a lack of coherence, resulting in fragmentation of the system. A Training Needs Assessment Study commissioned in 2014 revealed several major academic challenges facing college leadership. The most pressing issues were poor leadership and management skills and challenges facing lecturers in various aspects of teaching and learning, amongst which were blatant shortcomings in their capabilities to meet the competencies required for effective lecturing. This realisation led the researchers to hypothesise that ineffective and fragmented leadership and management practices may be to blame for this state of affairs. The researchers wondered whether an integrated and focused leadership model aimed at distributing ownership for student achievement should be implemented to produce better results. The overarching research question was: What are the main stumbling blocks in improving National Certificate: Vocational (NC(V)) students’ performance at technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges; and how can a distributed instructional leadership approach be conceptualised to address the problems at institutional level? A qualitative research approach was used, which was mainly inductive, providing a clear understanding of the participants’ views and capturing their perceptions in their own words. A phenomenological design was used as strategy of inquiry. The findings created an awareness for considering collaboration and the distribution of powers and capabilities to bring about a shared leadership vision in the quest for challenging poor performance at institutional level in a sector that is in dire need of positive outcomes.

ACCEPTANCE OF MUSIC STIMULATION THERAPY FOR AUDITORY HALLUCINATION PATIENTS

Introduction.The majority of increasing rates of mental illness cases cause by recurrence. Music stimulation therapy on patients with hallucinations is one of the modalities of therapy in nursing care. The purpose of this study was to reduce the recurrence rate of patients experienced with hearing voices.Methods.Patients were asked to listen to music when hallucinations appeared. The nurse was accompanying and observing during therapy. After completion of therapy, patients were interviewed using an open ended question how the response toward the music therapy. Interview data were analyzed using narrative strategies of inquiry. In addition the patients were also measured a number of hallucinations that appeared before therapy. The intervention was applied for one month, and then the patients are repeated its measures by the appearance of hallucinations. The Wilcoxon test was utilized to compare differences between before and after intervention.Result. The themes finding that can be developed were the music therapy shows specific responses and the music therapy disrupts hallucinations. While the quantitative analysis, there were the differences mean between before and after the intervention, but the statistical test showed insignificant value.Discussion. Stimulation therapy of hearing voice panned out and eliminated ongoing hallucinations in patients with a medical diagnosis of undifferentiated schizophrenia, but the response of paranoid schizophrenia patients were unsuccessful.Key words: Nursing modalities therapy, schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations

Using Active Learning Strategies Linked to CBPR Principles in a Semester-Long Class Project to Teach Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health

The use of active learning strategies to engage students in public health education has shown to be effective in promoting meaningful learning experiences. These educational approaches include inquiry- or problem-based, and group-based learning that allow for deeper understanding and internalization of the content material. This type of active learning can extend into the community by applying community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles. Using CBPR can engage both the community and the students on a project, thus benefiting all parties involved. This article describes the components of a class project that linked the active learning strategies of inquiry and group-based learning to CBPR principles as an innovative teaching approach in public health. The design and implementation of the class project is conceptualized in four activity types: (1) engaging the community, (2) working with students, (3) conducting behind the scenes work, and (4) bringing the students and the community together. The project demonstrates the benefits of using CBPR principles in conjunction with active learning principles. It also provides recommendations to public health instructors in higher education, which include the requirements of instructors’ established relationship with the community, commitment to project coordination, flexibility regarding project implementation and class time, and university support for sustaining innovative teaching efforts.

Interventions for Supporting and Assessing Science Writing Communication: Cases of Asian English Language Learners.

In seeking to support diversity, one challenge lies in adequately supporting and assessing science cognitions in a writing-intensive Biochemistry laboratory course when highly engaged Asian English language learners (Asian ELLs) struggle to communicate and make novice errors in English. Because they may understand advanced science concepts, but are not being adequately assessed for their deeper scientific understanding, we sought and examined interventions. We hypothesized that inquiry strategies, scaffolded learning through peer evaluation, and individualized tools that build writing communication skills would increase confidence. To assess scientific thinking, Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) software measured underlying analytic and cognitive features of writing despite grammatical errors. To determine whether interventions improved student experience or learning outcomes, we investigated a cross-sectional sample of cases within experimental groups (n = 19) using a mixed-methods approach. Overall trends of paired t-tests from Asian ELLs’ pre/post surveys showed gains in six measures of writing confidence, with some statistically significant gains in confidence in writing skill (p=0.025) and in theory (p≤0.05). LIWC scores for Asian ELL and native-English-speaking students were comparable except for increased cognitive scores for Asian ELLs and detectable individual differences. An increase in Asian ELLs’ cognitive scores in spring/summer over fall was observed (p = 0.04), likely as a result of greater cognitive processes with language use, inquiry-related interventions, and peer evaluation. Individual cases further elucidated challenges faced by Asian ELL students. LIWC scores of student writing may be useful in determining underlying understanding. Interventions designed to provide support and strengthen the writing of Asian ELL students may also improve their confidence in writing, even if improvement is gradual.

Investigaciones en comunicación en tiempos de big data: sobre metodologías y temporalidades en el abordaje de redes sociales

Este artículo, de corte ensayístico, expone una serie de problemáticas relativas a investigaciones en comunicación social, particularmente aquéllas que proponen como objeto de estudio materiales de análisis recabados de sitios de redes sociales en Internet. De aquí se propone un recorrido en torno a tres ejes principales. Por un lado y tomando como disparador dos investigaciones postdoctorales en curso, se plantean las dificultades principales que supone el trabajo de construcción de corpus basado en grandes cantidades de datos. Por el otro, se especifica el modo en que es entendido el big data en tanto fenómeno no circunscripto exclusivamente a cuestiones de cantidad y en donde se vuelve necesaria la hibridación entre métodos de análisis computacionales y estrategias más bien artesanales de recolección e indagación. Por último, se reflexiona en torno a la dimensión temporal propia de estos conjuntos de datos, derivada de las modalidades de vinculación online y de las técnicas de recolección empleadas. Lo aquí trabajado propone una mirada crítica ante el optimismo que vincula la disponibilidad del material con el resultado exitoso de una investigación. Además, se resalta que estas dificultades relativas a la construcción de corpus de análisis no refieren solamente a particularidades técnicas sino que hacen mella, también, en los principios epistemológicos y metodológicos que guían las investigaciones.

Socio-ecological Impacts of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) Under Dry Climatic Conditions: The Case of Shagashe River in Masvingo, Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, aquatic environments continue to endure water hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) invasions. The intricate and distinctive characteristics of water hyacinth make it one of the most ecologically resilient aquatic plants enabling it to invade major water systems. There is still paucity of scientific knowledge about the social and ecological ramifications of this macrophyte. In this study, we assessed the social and ecological effects of water hyacinth along Shagashe River. The mixed methods research design was adopted as the strategy of inquiry. Sampling sites were selected to compare two environments along the river, one under the cover of water hyacinth and the other without water hyacinth. Moreover, the sampling was done in two distinct periods i.e. the dry season and wet season. In each of these sections and periods, 15 sampling points were selected using the stratified random sampling criteria. Ecological data for the two sections were compared by means of one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A comparison was also done on the social data from the two sections of the river and also from the two seasons. Ecological data was collected mainly through field measurements of biodiversity, sedimentation rate and velocity. Laboratory testing of evaporation rate and water parameters augmented the ecological data collection processes. Data on sociological aspects was collected mainly through interviews, questionnaire surveys and the story telling approach. Results show that the water hyacinth infested environment had low phytoplankton productivity, low dissolved oxygen, high sedimentation rates, high water loss and reduced river velocity among other ecological effects. Communities have been affected through lack of access to debris free water, reduced access to water points, reduction of fish catch and clogging of irrigation pipes. We conclude that water hyacinth has significant socioecological ramifications along Shagashe River. There is need to identify and exploit potential opportunities provided by the presence of water hyacinth such as biogas production, use as animal feed and use as raw material for the craft industry in order to convert the water hyacinth socio-ecological “curse” into a “blessing”.