Research Methodology

""Español:
Como muchas de las estructuras surgidas en las postrimerías del capitalismo
industrial, la ciencia está entrando en crisis por uno de sus aspectos fundacionales: la
objetividad y la búsqueda de la verdad. Y eso, por cierto, no es culpa de la ciencia, sino de los
científicos. La ciencia, especialmente la social y humana, es mucho más que esa encrucijada
en especial. El problema está en lo que esconde tras de sí: un sistemático alejamiento de la
realidad por parte de quienes estamos preparados a comprenderla. ¿Dónde están puestas las
trincheras de la ciencia? Lejos del fragor de la batalla, en una especie de espacio alterno, de
suspensión social y existencial: el científico, el sociólogo, deja de ser algo (padre, madre,
ciudadano, lo que sea) para poder ser científico. De las primeras cosas que se escuchan al
entrar al claustro académico de la ciencia social y humana, están la búsqueda afanosa de la
objetividad científica, la neutralidad, en una tendencia que se matiza y recomienda al
investigador en ciernes, no sin cierto tufillo positivista, a que el investigador mantenga cierta
distancia de sus sujetos de estudio con tal de no hacerse ni muy militante pero tampoco muy
ajeno a su cotidianidad. Con este panorama, la invitación que se hace en este trabajo es clara:
trascender de estas formas científicas para dejar de ver a la ciencia y a su práctica como un
requerimiento institucional con el que hay que cumplir, un requisito escolar o, peor, un deber
supremo de iluminación universal. La ciencia debe ser un ejercicio lúdico, y el saber
disciplinario una herramienta que nos permita conocernos y reconocernos en el mundo, con su gente, en nuestro contexto, a través de una práctica reflexiva, anárquica en lo epistemológico y
libertaria en su esencia.

English:
As many of the structures born in the beginnings of industrial capitalism, science is
on a crisis because of one of its foundational aspects: objectivity and the search for truth. And
that, by the way, it’s not the fault of science, but of scientists. Science, specially the social and
human ones, it’s more than just that special quest. The problem is on what it’s hiding behind
it: a systematic restraining from reality by those who are prepared to study it. Where are the
trenches of science? Far away from the battle, in some kind of alternate space of social and
existential suspension: the scientific, the sociologist, quits being someone (father, mother,
citizen, whatever) for being scientist. One of the first lessons learned when entering academic
institutions of social and human sciences are the quest for scientific objectivity, the neutrality,
in a nuanced but insisting way recommended to the new researcher not without some positivist
bias, mainly to keep distance from study subjects in order to not become too militant with their
causes but no too strange to their every-day lives. So, with this scenario, the invitation made
on this paper is clear: to transcend these scientific forms in order to stop regard science and its
practice as an institutional requirement to accomplish, a scholar must-be or, worse, a supreme
duty of universal enlightening. Science must be regarded as a playful exercise, and
disciplinary knowledge as a tool that allow to know us and recognize us in the world, with
their people, in our context, through a reflexive, anarchical practice on the epistemological
side, and libertarian on its essence.""

In this workshop, we will discuss the ways in which virtual encounters unlock new and innovative avenues of sociality not available previously. This will be done through an analysis of avatar body collisions or meetings, specifically in either a therapeutic or an educational context. The vast field of difference and diversity that Second Life opens up enriches, in a way impossible in real life, a being-with thereby potentially making an avatar embodiment a novel means of transformation.

"Based on an analysis of the field situation, within all available documentation and data, this article revises the original interpretation of the “circular pagan shrine” in southern part of the Northern suburbium of the Early Medieaval hillfort Mikulčice – Valy. There is realized an correction of previous assumption that this was a cultic feature and also casts doubt upon its intentionality and dating of this feature to the end of the Great Moravian Period. According to the new theory this was an irregular recessed area, formed partly on the bank of the northern suburbium and partly over a silted-up Early Mediaeval channel, probably fluvial. The revision of the documentation and published arguments has shown that there is absolutely no relevant proof that this feature (building) served a cultic purpose.

Podstatou článku je revize publikovaných závěrů, týkajících se tzv. kruhového kultovního objektu v Severním podhradí mikulčického hradiště, dokládajícího údajnou pohanskou recidivu v období po rozpadu velkomoravského státního útvaru. Má se jednat o tzv. "kruhový pohanský kultovní objekt" s údajně dřevěným kůlem pro modlu a "zajímavými stopami ohňů", ležící na "jižním mysu" Severního podhradí mikulčického hradiště, datovaný do konce velkomoravského období. Ačkoliv terénní výzkum tohoto objektu proběhl již v 70. letech, teprve o mnoho let později byly výsledky výzkumu poměrně jednoznačně funkčně i chronologicky interpretovány vedoucím mikulčického výzkumu Z. Klanicou (1985a, b; 1997; 2007a) a následně logicky přejímány i jinými autory. Bohužel jsou však tyto citace opřeny právě o statě Z. Klanici, který nikde nepublikoval podrobnější rozbor archeologické situace tohoto objektu. Dle konfrontace publikovaných závěrů s dostupnými daty, především z originální dokumentace, je nutné interpretaci popisovaného objektu jako pohanského kultovního kruhového příkopu s hořícími ohni a dřevěnou stélou považovat za neudržitelnou. Žádná kůlová jáma evokující pohanskou stélu nebyla v úrovni objektu zaznamenána. Jáma 932, kterou připomíná Z. Klanica, leží stratigraficky pod domnělým kultovním objektem, a to v přímé superpozici. Stejně tak nebyly reálně terénním výzkumem registrovány ani žádné výrazné koncentrace uhlíků, jež by měly dokládat přítomnost pohanských kultovních ohňů. Objekt neleží na nijak exponovaném místě charakteru "mysu", jak ho nazývá Z. Klanica. Jedná se o přirozené ohbí toku řeky. Pro kultovní funkci neexistuje vůbec žádný doklad, nálezová situace dokonce hovoří pro neintencionální původ tohoto žlábku.
"

"The author presents a revised interpretation of the area of the NE gateway of the acropolis of the Great Moravian power centre Mikulčice-Valy and the adjacent fortifi cation. The work is a response to a previously published picture of the overall fi nd situation of this area (by B. Kavánová 2003), which, according to the author, does not match the information available in the original documentation. The interpretation procedures clearly presented in the aforementioned monograph cannot be substantiated due to inadequate fi eld work methods, the extent of the documentation compiled and the way in which this documentation is selected and designed. This work also provides a critique of the interpretation of the stratigraphic situation and the dating means and methods used. According to this revised interpretation, it is not possible to concur regarding the relevance of the evidence on which B. Kavánová bases her hypothesis that there was more than one phase to the rampart. Due to this unsubstantiated interpretation, the chronology given for other settlement structures therefore lacks credibility. The text also includes a reconstruction of the passage through the fortifi cation when the aforementioned gate was in use.

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Cílem příspěvku je upozornit na několik zásadních, v podstatě obecně známých problémů, které komplikují či limitují snahy o podrobnější chronologizaci materiální kultury raného středověku, resp. jednotlivých terénních situací (např. časové podchycení vývoje a především případných strukturálních změn v mocenských centrech – hradištích). Celá problematika je orientována na archeologii Velké Moravy, která se ve smyslu tradiční periodizace zhruba kryje se středo hradištním obdobím.

Authors draw attention to certain problems which should not be missed especially concerning the last step of archaeological
methodology i.e. in attempting to interpret discovered archaeological sources with respect to a living culture,
i.e. a historical society. This article outlines several possibilities that may explain the so-called burials in settlement
contexts. All of the examples discussed were encountered in the area of Mikulčice – a Great Moravian power centre.
The authors also introduce several possible interpretations of these field situations with respect to the living culture.
They consider (similarly to other researchers) the possibilities and difficulties of chronological, social, economic, political
as well as symbolic interpretations of material sources. In concluding this work, the authors emphasize that
all examples discussed, point to the necessity of carefully distinguishing between archaeological and empirical facts
on the one hand, and cultural facts that are not available to archaeologists, on the other hand. In light of the proposed
conclusions, the revision of „old“ excavations in the area of early Medieveal fortified agglomeration Mikulčice-Valy
demonstrates the need for acquiring new data of a quality matching the current methodological requirements.

Corpus linguistics’ approach to the analysis of language data is often highly focused on the use of statistics to generate research results. This is exceptionally useful in terms of replicability of research, however results are not always completely useful for the target audience. Many corpus linguistics resources discuss the importance of intuition in the interpretation of findings. Despite this, research is still often highly focused on results which appear to be purely empirically driven, when in fact the process of analysis and interpretation may be highly intuitive but be written to appear straightforwardly empirical. This article will discuss the author’s process of moving from a purely statistical approach to corpus linguistics to a more blended intuitive-empirical approach throughout the analysis and interpretation of corpus data. While this article will focus on research performed in an ESP context, the content should be generalizable to much of corpus research.