Narrative perspective

Up to this point, we have used institutional and subject narratives in which to embed the biographical accounts. These encompass a relatively small number of women chemists of the period. In the last three chapters, we look at the roles of women chemists from other perspectives. 

The dramatic narrative works less well in the biomedical sciences, not well at all in the natural historical sciences of this period, and even less well in the chemical sciences. Significantly, constructions of the narrative of the Scientific Revolution have never known what to do with Paracelsus. The historian of science who has worked most assiduously to include Paracelsus and the Paracelsians in the Scientific Revolution narrative is Allen G. Debus. Chemists Physicians, and Changing Perspectives on the Scientific Revolution, Isis 89,1998,66-81. 

In his now-classic personal narrative. The Double Helix, J.D. Watson imagines this understated eloquence of the paper-to-be. The book is a wonderfully idiosyncratic history, from Watson s perspective, of the race to discover the structure of DNA. It shows lay readers that scientists are human, for better or worse. 

The history of liquid chromatography and the influence of its pioneers have been the subject of several learned reviews (Sakodynskii, 1970 Kirchner, 1973 Ettre and Horvath, 1975). Indeed, the manner in which scientific attitudes and the turbulent history of Europe in the early decades of this century influenced the establishment of chromatography as a science would in itself be worthy of a textbook. In a book of this nature a detailed historical narrative would not be relevant but it is instructive to put the current state of the art of liquid chromatography within a historical perspective to provide the reader with a reahsation of the explosive development of chromatographic science within the past fifteen years. 

With the exception of the two telephone interviews, all interviews were conducted on farm using semi-structured schedules and lasted between VA to 2 A hours. These interviews were recorded and transcribed for pattern searching. Based on information from advisors and initial fanner interviews, farmers were subsequently selected to represent the range of perspectives held within the socio-technical network group (the mechanization cooperative). The analysis is presented in three sections. The first depicts farmers narrative on organic diffusion and conversion processes, and the means by which farmers have built social and technical relations within these processes. The second section focuses on the strategies employed by actors that were peripheral to farmer interviews, whilst in the third section the three categories of risk posed by the conversion/diffiision process are discussed. 

According to Kegan, few people achieve the capacity for the degree of complexity described by level 5, which is referred to as trans-systemic. At this level, one s perspective is considered incomplete, or as only one aspect of the fuller narrative. One s ways of knowing are open to being influenced by—and potentially enriched in consideration of—those of another. 

The Core Background Elements provide a succinct historical perspective that leads to the present state. The narrative of the past does impact in some way both the current and future conditions, so this aspect of Planning identifies and respects this essential feeder information. For instance, based on the Statement of the Theme, "Engineering Education Prepares for the Future, the Core Background Elements might be ... 

The investigation employs qualitative methods to gather the direct perspective of current participants in the Tunisian EE system. In this study, qualitative data and stakeholder narratives generate broader hypotheses about the current state and fu-... 

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