Learning Journal #20: ethics

Today in class Nick read of someone's experience while studying an indigenous population.  After reading it, I felt a little angry towards the man because he was culturally incompetent.  He did not listen to what the natives were telling him, and yet he was a visitor/foreigner among the group.  He did not want to listen to any of them.  He wanted to find more information about that dance, his way.  It's so important for us to take a step back and realize that we are in a foreign country, with foreign people.  Their are cultural differences that we won't be aware of, and so we need to be sensitive to the things we do.  I liked when Malcolm mentioned that in some cultures, it is considered rude to not finish up your food, because in the Tongan culture, that is considered that way.  We have to be careful because we want to build rapport and relationships with the people.  As Americans, we think and act so independently, which is the opposite for Tongans.  I think when we are in Tonga for the first couple of weeks, we shouldn't start off by doing things our way and the way we want to do it, but rather have an open mind to how things are done in Tonga and work from there.     

We also talked about some of the problems we will face in Tonga.  Most Tongans have this perception that the "palangi" way of doing things is the "right" way.  In her presentation, the girl said that when she would ask them questions that start with what do you think, most people would turn the question around and say, well we think what you think.  I think this is so important for us to be careful of while in Tonga, to not impose our thoughts and way of doing things on the people, especially because our words and actions have great value to the people.  It's important for us to remember why we are there in Tonga, which is to learn more about them.  Not the other way around!  I think a great way of preserving the culture, like what Elise said, is to show interest in them, their lifestyle, and culture.  I think if they see how much value we put on them, they will see it and value it much more.  


The IRB is very important to complete to protect the Tongans and the people we will be studying.  My project is to study health education at Liahona high school.  I think some of the ethical issues and problems my project may have include:
-getting informed consent or parent permission to complete a survey
-confidentiality and privacy of student/teacher responses
-safety of the students and the high school, sensitivity of subject and cultural barriers
-appropriateness as the international survey includes behaviors such as smoking at the Church school