Digital Commons Network^™

Elaborating The Grounding Of The Knowledge Base On Language And Learning For Preservice Literacy Teachers, Carolyn L. Piazza, Cynthia Wallat

The Qualitative Report

This purpose of this article is to present a qualitative inquiry into the genesis of sociolinguistic s and the contributions of eight sociolinguistic pioneers. This inquiry, based on an historical interpretation of events, reformulates the concept of validation as the social construction of a scientific knowledge base, and explicates three themes that offer a set of sociolinguistic constructs, questions, and propositions that can provide aspiring teachers with a frame of reference and set of guidelines for teaching language and literacy. An implication section, at the end of the article, illustrates sociolinguistic components that can be added to course syllabi in …

Discussing Laddering Application By The Means-End Chain Theory, Tânia Modesto Veludo-De-Oliveira, Ana Akemi Ikeda, Marcos Cortez Campomar

The Qualitative Report

This article aims at analyzing laddering as a technique of qualitative research, emphasizing the procedures for data collection, analysis and interpretation, and its main limitations as well. “Laddering refers to an in-depth, one-on-one interviewing technique used to develop an understanding of how consumers translate the attributes of products into meaningful associations with respect to self, following means-end theory” (Reynolds & Gutman, 1988, p. 12). The critical literature review shows that laddering is useful in studies on human behavior, especially those related to the Means-End Chain (MEC) model. For a successful application, highly trained interviewers, homogeneous groups of respondents, and the …

Negotiated Boundaries: Conceptual Locations Of Pregnancy And Childbirth, Shannon Houvouras

The Qualitative Report

Dominant notions of reproduction perceive childbearing as physical processes that take place within women’s bodies. This perception undermines non-physical components and removes men from the process. This project uses social constructionism to explore the locations women describe pregnancy and childbirth taking place in their childbearing narratives. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 mothers, findings reveal that women conceptualize childbearing as taking place in multiple locations: (1) within the female body, (2) within both the female body and a non-physical realm (e.g., emotional) of one or both partners, (3) detached from any particular location, and (4) within both partners’ bodies. Conceptualizing …

A Critique Of The Capacity Of Strauss’ Grounded Theory For Prediction, Change, And Control In Organisational Strategy Via A Grounded Theorisation Of Leisure And Cultural Strategy, Ali Bakir, Vian Bakir

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we critique grounded theory’s ability to fulfil its aim of offering a practical vehicle for prediction, change, and control as stipulated in grounded theory’s original formulation by Glaser and Strauss, and later developed by Strauss. We do this through a case study approach, whereby we develop a grounded theory of leisure and cultural strategy within a local authority, and critically reflect on the process of grounded theorisation, together with its implications for generating practical tools in that most practical of academic fields; organisational strategy. We demonstrate that despite generating good grounded theory on leisure and cultural strategy, …

Dialectical Inquiry: A Structured Qualitative Research Method, Eli Berniker, David E. Mcnabb

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents Dialectical Inquiry (DI) as a structured qualitative research method for studying participant models of organizational processes. The method is applied to rich secondary anecdotal data on technology transfer, gathered by subject-matter experts in a large firm. DI assumes that the imposition of a dialectical structure will produce emergent theories in tacit use by organizational actors. As such, it serves as a meta-structure for grounded rese arch. Three competing models were discovered in the data. Each model was analyzed in the context of other models to reveal governing assumptions and counter assumptions. It is demonstrated that each model …

Southern Rural Public Schools: A Study Of Teacher Perspectives, Leah P. Mccoy

The Qualitative Report

This ethnography explores teachers’ perspectives of the cultural issues affecting academic performance in twelve public high schools in rural Mississippi and Louisiana. Fr om a thematic analysis of the tape-recorded interviews of forty-one mathematics teachers, five categories emerged, each comprising a qualitative aspect of teaching high school in an economically depressed area of the deep South: society, race, students, families, and schools. Each of these categories is discussed and explicated using exemplars from the interviews to show how each category emerged from the data. In addition, the relationships among these categories, which form a destructive cycle of poverty, low expectations, …

Qualitative Research And Quilting: Advice For Novice Researchers, Leigh Ausband

The Qualitative Report

This paper relates how the author, a novice qualitative researcher, uses the familiar process of quilting to help her clarify the research process. Other novice researchers are advised to look around for similar connections they can make in their lives to assist with their research.

Preservice Teachers’ Professional Development In A Community Of Practice Summer Literacy Camp For Children At-Risk: A Sociocultural Perspective, Janet C. Richards

The Qualitative Report

This inquiry applied an innovative sociocultural framework to examine transformations in preservice teachers’ professional development as they worked with children at-risk in a summer literacy camp. The camp incorporated a community of practice model in which teams of master’s and doctoral students mentored small groups of preservice teachers. The study examined preservice teachers ’ learning following Rogoff’s (1995, 1997) notions of the personal, interpersonal, and community planes of analysis. The research also employed a postmodernist crystallization imagery to capture multiple perspectives on the preservice teachers’ growth. The study assigns importance to the contextual dimensions in which learning takes place, and …

Meeting The Needs Of A Latino English Language Learner Through Teacher Research, Sylvia R. Taube, Barbara E. Polnick, Jacqueline Minor Lane

The Qualitative Report

Over the years, Ms. Lane’s third grade mathematics classroom had become increasingly diverse. Challenged by the growing population of English Language Learners (ELL) and he r need to change her teaching practice to meet their needs, Ms. Lane selected to study how best to teach one of her greatest challenges, Ana, a Latino ELL who also had a learning disability. Ms. Lane and her two university mentors found that using a collaborative action research model provided a structure for researching, designing, and implementing strategies that helped Ana improve her mathematics performance. The university mentors found that they, too, benefited from …

The Pre-Conceptual Map Methodology: Development And Application, Shellie Hipsky

The Qualitative Report

The objective of this article is to present the Pre-Conceptual Map methodology as a formalized way to identify, document, and utilize preconceived assumptions on the part of the researcher in qualitative inquiry. This technique can be used as a stand alone method or in conjunction with other qualitative techniques (i.e., naturalistic inquiry). This document explains how to utilize the process and includes specific examples based on a formal study of the pilot of The Drama Discovery Curriculum. The article highlights the Pre-Conceptual Map methodology for use by other researchers by examining: the need for the methodology, how it is related …

The Role Of Economic Assistance In Conflict Resolution In Northern Ireland, Sean Byrne, Cynthia Irvin, Eyob Fissuh, Chris Cunningham

Peace and Conflict Studies

External economic assistance from the International Fund for Ireland and the European Union Special Support Program for Peace and Reconciliation assisted in setting the context of the Northern Ireland peace agenda, and holds out the promise of a new civic culture. This article explores people’s perceptions of economic assistance of conflict amelioration in Northern Ireland. Some of the findings, in respect of inter-community differences in perceptions of the utility of external economic assistance in building the peace dividend, are discussed in the paper.

How Do We Educate For Peace? Study Of Narratives Of Jewish And Palestinian Peace Activists, Zvi Bekerman, Ifat Maoz, Mara Getz Sheftel

Peace and Conflict Studies

The present analysis focuses on the personal narratives of peace activists, the facilitators of reconciliation-aimed dialogues between two ethno-national groups in a situation of asymmetrical conflict: Jews and Palestinians. It puts forward the idea that these peace activists bring a wealth of knowledge from their personal and professional narratives to bear on their strategies and practices of social transformation. We posit that foregrounding this knowledge through the analysis of these narratives not only affords a better understanding of their theoretical perspectives, their practices, aims and goals of social change but also can greatly contribute to our better understanding of peace …

Commentary: Basque Avenues Toward Peace: Building The New Road To A New Dawn, A New Beginning, J. P. Linstroth

Peace and Conflict Studies

Excerpt

With the declaration of a permanent ceasefire by "Basque Homeland and Freedom" (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, ETA) on the 22nd of March to begin on the 24th of March of this year, a new dawn breaks in Basque history and Basque politics. There may be those who doubt this peace but I remain hopeful that the Basques will be able to reconcile their internal differences and begin this journey anew. The Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has agreed to begin talks on the Basque ceasefire beginning this summer 2006 and many in the Basque region are expectant of …

What We Don't Know Can Help Us: Eliciting Out-Of-Discipline Knowledge For Work With Intractable Conflicts, Jennifer Goldman, Peter T. Coleman

Peace and Conflict Studies

In this article, the authors present the results of a study in which a diverse variety of experts in fields outside the traditional conflict domain were interviewed about their ideas regarding intractable conflicts. The purpose of this study was to gather frame-breaking insights and practical approaches that could shed new light on complex, persistent conflict that has been particularly resistant to resolution. The authors argue that outsiders to the field are more likely to provide fresh perspective and radical approaches to the conflict field’s most intransigent problems because they are not constrained by the field’s pre-existing normative frames. This article …

Getting Open Source Software Into Schools: Strategies And Challenges , Gary Hepburn, Jan Buley

Innovate: Journal of Online Education

No abstract provided.

Open Source/Open Course Learning: Lessons For Educators From Free And Open Source Software , Robert Stephenson

Innovate: Journal of Online Education

No abstract provided.

Open Source, Openness, And Higher Education , David Wiley

Innovate: Journal of Online Education

No abstract provided.

Harnessing Open Technologies To Promote Open Educational Knowledge Sharing , Toru Iiyoshi, Cheryl Richardson, Owen Mcgrath

Innovate: Journal of Online Education

No abstract provided.

From, By, And For The Ossd: Software Engineering Education Using An Open Source Software Approach, Kun Huang, Yifei Dong, Xun Ge

Innovate: Journal of Online Education

No abstract provided.

Places To Go: Intute, Stephen Downes

Innovate: Journal of Online Education

No abstract provided.

Looking Toward The Future: A Case Study Of Open Source Software In The Humanities , Harvey Quamen

Innovate: Journal of Online Education

No abstract provided.

Vision 2010: The Future Of Higher Education Business And Learning Applications , Patrick Carey, Bernard Gleason

Innovate: Journal of Online Education

No abstract provided.

Volume 13, Number 2 (Fall 2006), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Understanding Clinical Culture: Organizational Communication In The Clinical Practicum, S-A Welch

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

In recent years, health practitioner educators and researchers have devoted an increasing amount of attention to the improvement of communication in the clinical setting. One aspect of communication--organizational communication--occupies relatively little space in practitioner education and research. Yet, contemporary clinical practice relies heavily upon organizational structures to facilitate the coordination of care. Understandably, overcrowded practitioner curricula may not accommodate the addition of explicit pedagogical material related to organizational communication. However, clinical instructors can help students understand and integrate into the organization of the clinical setting by introducing basic concepts of organizational communication. This can be through comments and questions during …

Approach To Medical Futility In A Community Hospital: Is Use Of A Prognostic Scoring System Applicable?, Sandra M. Terra

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

All acute care medical facilities and healthcare providers are faced with cases of medical futility. Guidance must ensure the initiation of communication with the patient or family regarding end of life planning. Identification of certain physiological features may provide impetus for such communication. In an effort to identify the physiological variables that may trigger discussion in a futile medical treatment policy, the application of a prognostic scoring system is examined. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Score (APACHE II) system, a widely applied set of acute, chronic and diagnostic variables, is identified through literature review. This paper examines the …

Attitudes Of High School Ice Hockey Players Toward Mouthguard Usage, Michael G. Miller, David C. Berry, Julia G. Tittler, Gretchen S. Gariepy

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine Michigan High School ice hockey players’ attitudes regarding the use of mouthguards and to determine the effects of mouthguard type, player position, education, and usage time with respect to attitudes. Methods: A questionnaire measuring players’ attitudes toward mouthguards was sent to six member institutions of the Michigan State High School Athletic Association (MSHSAA) located in Southwest Michigan. Out of a total of 128 players listed on the rosters of the MSHSAA, 119 (93%) players returned the surveys, with 117 surveys used in the analyses (91%).Results: Approximately 25.6% of players reported wearing …

Perceptions Of College Students Regarding The Current Physical Therapy Profession And Professional Education Process, Victor Prati, Hao Liu

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

The purpose of this study was to determine how undergraduate college students, who are potential physical therapy students, perceive physical therapy as well as the new Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. A survey form was created by the authors and was distributed to two universities in the central Arkansas area. Seven hundred and three forms were collected. Descriptive data and Pearson Chi Square (SPSS 10.0) were used for data analysis. Students thought physical therapy was a challenging (76%), physically demanding (72%), and well-paid (79%) health profession. The most commonly recognized interventions used by physical therapists were physical exercises (93%) …

How Does A Child With Sensory Processing Problems Play?, Jeryl D. Benson, Meghana N. Nicka, Perri Stern

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

The occupation of play during one’s childhood years serves as a foundation for the development of future occupations in an individual’s life. By understanding a child’s extant play skills and deficits, one may then provide the necessary interventions needed to promote development and successful growth into new occupations. The purpose of this paper was to understand how a child with sensory processing deficits plays in a naturalistic environment. The findings revealed an interplay between the child’s underlying sensory processing deficits and his play skills and behaviors. Increased understanding of how a child with sensory processing deficits plays will provide information …

Learning By Doing: Enhancing Interprofessional Students’ Awareness Of Informed Shared Decision-Making, Rosemin Kassam, Simon P. Albon, Lesley Bainbridge, Melinda Sutto, John B. Collins

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Based on a recently developed medical framework for informed shared decision-making (ISDM), three health and human service programs at the University of British Columbia conducted a combined two-stage project to: (1) develop an interprofessional ISDM-training workshop and (2) test its impact in field-placement clerkships for students in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy. Method: Sixteen senior year students from the participating disciplines were recruited to: (1) participate in a workshop to learn about ISDM, (2) observe multiple preceptor/patient encounters during their clerkships (3) record their observations in a field notebook, and (4) participate in a follow-up workshop to …

The Nature Of Career Advice Provided To Undergraduate Allied Health Sciences Students At The University Of South Australia, Marie Williams

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of career advice, especially advice concerning postgraduate research training degrees, provided to and by students in five health professional bachelor’s degree programs at the University of South Australia. In addition, differences between professional disciplines in terms of career advice and knowledge of current research activities of staff and research degree students were explored. Method: A cross-sectional survey of final year students in five disciplines within the School of Health Sciences was used in this study. Information was sought on demographics, the nature of career advice received, advice the respondent …