Digital Commons Network^™

A Metaphorical Analysis Of Employment Barriers And Support Needs In Psychosis, Margaret E. Hampson Dr., Richard E. Hicks Dr, Bruce D. Watt Dr

The Qualitative Report

This study uses metaphor analysis to explore the employment-related experiences of people living with psychosis and those around them such as family, community members, professionals and employers. Data was derived from transcripts of 14 focus groups and 31 interviews conducted during a qualitative study of the employment barriers and support needs of people living with psychosis. The sample comprised participants drawn from six key stakeholder groups, namely people diagnosed with a persisting psychotic disorder, care-givers, health professionals, employers, employment providers and local community members. Transcripts from focus groups and interviews were imported into NVivo 10 and explored through the lens …

The "Native" As Ethnographer: Doing Social Research In Globalizing Nsukka, Chidi Ugwu

The Qualitative Report

Researchers have noted how local attitudes that connect research to the external world could affect findings differently in different contexts. How this played out for an indigenous researcher is the new perspective presented in this paper. Although an indigene of the study area, I became an outsider of sorts as soon as I began to show interest in malaria in a way that suggested to locals that the results of my investigation could eventually get to the government or the Western world – locals saw those two entities as embodying power and material abundance. Although I worked as an insider, …

Digital Storytelling In Research: A Systematic Review, Adele De Jager, Andrea Fogarty, Anna Tewson, Caroline Lenette, Katherine M. Boydell

The Qualitative Report

Digital storytelling refers to a 2 to 5 minute audio-visual clip combining photographs, voice-over narration, and other audio (Lambert, 2009) originally applied for community development, artistic and therapeutic purposes, and more recently adapted as an arts-based research method. To date, no systematic review of the use of digital storytelling in a research capacity, to generate information about a phenomenon has been conducted. Accordingly, our aim was to provide a systematic review of digital storytelling in research. The review identified 25 articles representing 23 discrete studies that met inclusion criteria. A thematic analysis of results indicated that digital storytelling in research …

Facing History In The Aftermath Of Gukurahundi Atrocities: New Media, Memory And The Discourses On Forgiveness On Selected Zimbabwean News Websites, Mphathisi Ndlovu

Peace and Conflict Studies

In 1983, the Robert Mugabe-led government deployed a military unit to the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces under the guise of quelling a “dissident” movement. This army unit went on to commit atrocities on the civilians in these south-western parts of Zimbabwe. By the time this violence ended in 1987, at least 20 000 Ndebele people had been killed. This violence is known as Gukurahundi, and remains a dark chapter in the national memory. Given that the regime that committed these atrocities is still in power and the perpetrators have not been brought to justice, it is timely to probe how …

Learning And Changing: The Shaping Of A Teacher’S Identity Through Time, Across Spaces And In Different Contexts, Nikolaos Bogiannidis, Jane Southcott, Maria Gindidis

The Qualitative Report

This research paper explores the confluence of significant events in my life that shaped my identity as a teacher and researcher. I employed autoethnography to explore my personal life journey across time, space and context, in order to identify and to analyse the significant moments of epiphany that impacted on my decision to become a teacher. The findings of this study reveal a number of universal qualities of good teachers across three continents who, independently and unbeknown to each other, acted as role models in shaping my identity and my desire to become a teacher in order to serve the …

On Being A Teacher-Ethnographer: Nestling The Ethical And Logistical Dilemmas Among The Joys Of Insiderness, Miriam Hamilton

The Qualitative Report

This paper relates to an ethnographic study of a group of eighteen-year-old girls, in their final school year, in a secondary school in Ireland. The ethnography explored social class and gender discourses that presented in the girls’ various relationships in the school and in broader peer culture. This paper outlines the methodological phenomena I experienced as the ethnographic researcher and a teacher in the school. In this paper, I explore my insider positionality as a teacher-ethnographer from perspectives such as: access, ethics, power and relationships, within the specific context of this girls’ Catholic school in Ireland. The paper makes a …

“… You Don’T Come To This School... To Show Off Your Hoodies”: Latinas, Community Cultural Wealth, And An Early College High School, Leslie A. Locke, Gerri Maxwell, Maria Tello

The Qualitative Report

Early College High Schools (ECHS), recent school reforms in the U.S., were designed as social justice, equity-oriented interventions to increase educational opportunity for students from traditionally marginalized and underserved groups. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to understand and examine the perceptions and experiences of eight Latina students, regarding their motivation and persistence in an ECHS. Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framed the analyses. Findings demonstrated the students relied on several forms of CCW to support their motivation and persistence. However, observations and prolonged engagement in the ECHS setting revealed deficit perspectives held by some teachers and incidents of …

Navigating The Academy: An Autoethnographic Approach To Examining The Lived Experience Of African American Women At Predominantly White Institutions Of Higher Education, Kiesha Warren-Gordon, Renae D. Mayes

The Qualitative Report

This study explores the lived experience of two African American women working at predominately white institutions of higher education. A review of the literature suggests research that examines the experiences of African American women in academe is limited. Using an autoethnographic approach, we explore our experiences and how we navigate our roles. Findings suggest that when the appropriate mentoring is in place African American women have a more positive experience navigating the promotion and tenure process.

How Do Immigrant Students Develop Social Confidence And Make Friends In Secondary School? A Retrospective Study, Shyanna Albrecht, Gina Ko

The Qualitative Report

This paper pertains to a retrospective study of immigrant students’ experience of making friends and gaining social confidence in secondary school. In the study, 17 undergraduate students participated in either a one-to-one semi-structured interview or focus group. Questions were asked to understand their experiences in making friends and gaining social confidence when they came to Canada between grades five to nine. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyse the data. This method was useful in looking for commonalities in meaning in participants’ responses. In total, seven themes and 20 subthemes were discovered, which are discussed in detail. …

Qualitative Marketing Research: The State Of Journal Publications, Maria Petrescu, Brianna Lauer

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative methods in marketing have become essential not only for their classical advantage in consumer behavior, but also for their benefits in dealing with big data and data Qualitative methods in marketing have become essential not only for their classical advantage in consumer behavior, but also for their benefits in dealing with big data and data mining. Research from International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that when it comes to online data, unstructured content accounts for 90% of all digital information. Under these circumstances, this study provides a literature review and analysis on the role and relation of qualitative methods with …

Successful With Stem? A Qualitative Case Study Of Pre-Service Teacher Perceptions, Stacie H. Nowikowski

The Qualitative Report

This research is a qualitative case study of pre-service teachers’ experiences with a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) module during a middle level interdisciplinary course in the teaching of mathematics and science. Data were collected through document analysis of participant reflection journals (during six distinct stem tasks) and college curriculum as well as an analysis of researcher observations of the STEM activities. While the first and last tasks were reflective and designed to identify pre-existing STEM experiences and post-module knowledge, respectively, the other four STEM tasks simulated student-centered STEM activities common to the middle level classroom. The data were …

Between Paradigms: Becoming A Pathological Optimist, Carol Isaac

The Qualitative Report

Using an autoethnographic poststructural lens, I examined my academic journey in becoming a qualitative methodologist. I integrated my mentor’s maxims such as, “the institution will not love you back,” “prisoner of your words,” “make plans; if they don’t work, make new plans,” “one has mentors and tormentors and both help shape us,” “ever the opportunist,” “strategic groveling,” “a mosaic approach to mentoring” and “just get naked.” Despite paradigmatic contradictions between my doctoral and postdoctoral experiences, I gained much from working between the polarities of the social science and biomedical discourse. In time, I became a “pathological optimist,” one of the …

Latino And Non-Latino White Parents’ Experiences Raising Their Child With Asd: An Exploratory Study, Nicole Casillas, Debra Vigil, Hui-Ting Wang

The Qualitative Report

There is a dearth of research about the experiences of the Latino population in raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This includes a lack of cross-cultural perspectives and perspectives from fathers. Although there are similar experiences in raising a child with ASD among parents, we hypothesize that there will be different experiences due to culture. The current study is an exploratory qualitative research design, where we sought to understand the experiences of Latino and non-Latino White parents who are raising a child with ASD. Results indicated similarities across all families that include: self-efficacy beliefs, challenges, stress and coping, …

Perspectives And Experiences Of Deafblind College Students, Ju-Lee A. Wolsey

The Qualitative Report

DeafBlind individuals are resilient human beings who face significant and complex challenges in all aspects of life. Challenges include access to information, communication, academics, social activities, identity, independence, mobility, and moving around in the world. Recently, more DeafBlind students are attending higher education institutions. Therefore, this study focuses on discovering experiences and perspectives of DeafBlind college students who attend a bilingual and bicultural university for sighted Deaf students, where there are a limited number of DeafBlind students. Personal interviews and observations are used to explore how DeafBlind adults navigated college life and what coping strategies they used to overcome academic …

“You Can Sort Of Feel It”: Exploring Metacognition And The Feeling Of Knowing Among Undergraduate Students, Antonio P. Gutierrez De Blume, Pamela Wells, C. Amelia Davis, Jason Parker

The Qualitative Report

Traditional research on the metacognitive practice of calibration has been primarily investigated within the realm of quantitative experimental methodologies. This article expands the research scope of metacognitive calibration by offering a qualitative approach to the growing body of literature. More specifically, the current study investigates the learners’ perspective on the calibration process. Ten undergraduate students were selected to participate in a structured interview on their previous calibration performances (five students low in calibration processing and five proficient in calibration processing). Ultimately nine students (N=9) participated in individual interviews. Participant interviews are qualitatively assessed through the mediums of (1) Serra and …

Translanguaging Supports Reading With Deaf Adult Bilinguals: A Qualitative Approach, Dan Hoffman, Ju-Lee Wolsey, Jean Andrews, Diane Clark

The Qualitative Report

Translanguaging is a pedagogical theory and an approach to teaching language. It conceptualizes the dynamic ways in which bilinguals use their linguistic repertoire and language practices in both languages for learning, meaning-making, reading, and writing. This study reports on the results of a qualitative study using Grounded Theory. The research question posed was, “what insights do bilingual Deaf readers provide regarding their metalinguistic processes and reading strategies used during translanguaging? To answer this question, responses were gathered from Deaf adults who were interviewed on their language and literacy histories. Further, they were queried about their reading comprehension practices using translanguaging. …

Evaluating Financial Planning Advertisements For Retirement In India: A Content Analysis, Ritu Gupta, Sudeepta Pradhan

The Qualitative Report

For Indians, retirement is neither a formal stage of life nor an issue that people dwell upon while planning their future. Despite the lack of preparation for retirement, a burgeoning population indicates a huge mass of retirees in the coming decades. These statistics trigger the need for individuals to prepare for their retirement appropriately, while accounting for factors like inflation. To highlight the significance of retirement planning and create awareness among the masses, pre-requisites to retirement planning should be effectively communicated. Extant literature suggests advertising to be one such measure of effective communication. This study intended to capture the extent …

To Think Or Not To Think With Theory In Qualitative Research, Mohamed Yacoub

The Qualitative Report

Thinking with Theory in Qualitative Research: Viewing Data across Multiple Perspectives is a book that challenges the traditional way of analyzing qualitative data. The book invites researchers who use qualitative methods to think with theory when it comes to analyzing their data since analyzing the data with no theory in mind can make injustice to the data. Thinking with theory, however, can enrich one’s study and direct the process of the data analysis. The authors offer us six theories, as examples, to think with when analyzing qualitative data. These theories are: Derrida’s Deconstruction, Spivak’s Marginality, Foucault’s Power/Knowledge, Butler’s Performativity, Deleuze’s …

Loneliness And Family Burden: An Exploratory Investigation On The Emotional Experiences Of Caregivers Of Patients With Severe Mental Illness, Francesca Dicé, Felice Zoena

The Qualitative Report

We present here an exploratory descriptive investigation about the needs of the caregivers of patients with severe mental illness (SMI) referring to a mental health service of a Southern Italian city. Twelve caregivers were queried, as experienced contacts, about their own emotional involvement and their relationship with the patient by means of a semi-structured interview. Interviews were subjected to a qualitative thematic-categorical analysis. The results reveal painful experiences of anguish and feelings of inadequacy stemming from care-giving, which gravely impact the caregivers' personal well-being and family relations.

Formative Assessment And Its Influence On Classroom Community In Biocalculus, Rebecca A. Dibbs, Daniel Rios, Brian Christopher

The Qualitative Report

Most of the attrition from STEM majors occurs between the first two semesters of calculus, and prospective life science majors are one of the groups with the highest attrition rate. One of the largest factors for students that persist in STEM major beyond the first semester of calculus was a sense of community and a perceived connection with their instructor. Since building a sense of community is one of the stated purposes of formative assessment, we investigated how instructor and student perceptions of the purpose of formative assessment contributed to the formation of classroom community in a calculus for life …

Theoretical Stem Program Proposal, Nancy L. Ledbetter

Transformations

Many schools are turning towards STEM to help students prepare for the future and to mend deficits in science and mathematics programs that are proving less than successful. This article provides background, theoretical support, and a plan for how to transform a school from a traditional model to a model STEM school.

Hidden Challenges Of Novice English Teachers In A Korean Independent School: Through An Ethnographic Lens, Ju Seong (John) Lee

The Qualitative Report

This study aims to unravel challenges experienced by two novice English teachers in a Korean independent school, the steadily growing education sector worldwide. The author spent 13 months in the participants’ natural environment, observing and collecting data through observation field notes, interviews, questionnaires, and cultural probes. A grounded theory approach was adopted to guide the recursive data analysis and identify the themed findings – personal factors (e.g., unrealistic expectations) and sociocultural factors (e.g., school policy and structure). These findings suggest that novice English teachers should obtain accurate information about their new school and actively seek formal and informal support from …

Developing A Collaborative Qualitative Research Project Across Borders: Issues And Dilemmas, Peter Sayer, Troy Crawford

The Qualitative Report

International collaborative research often refers to collaboration among the researchers and the participants. Few studies investigate the collaborative process among the researchers themselves. Assumptions about the qualitative research process, institutional requirements, and even epistemological orientations, are pervasive. Our experience conducting an empirical research study as a collaborative effort amongst a research team in Mexico and the United States challenged and transformed our assumptions about collaborative qualitative research in terms of organizational compatibility: (a) understanding research perspective and themes, (b) interpreting rules and regulations (c) physical travel between countries, and (d) how research products are counted. We address each assumption through …

Mediators’ Self-Perception Of Their Work And Practice: Content And Lexical Analysis, Anne Pignault, Raymond Meyers, Claude Houssemand

The Qualitative Report

Mediation is increasingly used in various areas of society. Yet few studies have shed light on the unique work of mediators and their perception of the “mediator effect” on the process. The purpose of this qualitative study is to gather and compare mediators’ views about their work through feedback on their practices and to understand what they perceive as the bases for reaching a favorable outcome. This article presents the results of a content analysis of interviews with 13 mediators from different countries and cultures. The analysis grouped professional discourses into four areas: the process of the mediation meeting, mediation …

Seeing Strange Things: Fantastical Visual Portrayals Of The Caribbean, Andrea E. Shaw-Nevins

CAHSS Faculty Presentations, Proceedings, Lectures, and Symposia

No abstract provided.

The “Bitter Sweetness” Of Hybridity: Being A Bicultural Greek Australian Musician, Renee Georgoulas, Jane E. Southcott

The Qualitative Report

“Calista” is a bilingual, bicultural Greek-Australian musician in Melbourne, Victoria who explores and enacts her bicultural identity by musicking (making music). This single case study explores the formation and development of hybridized identity which is a complex lifelong process that may generate tensions for an individual that changes across the lifespan. There are strengths and challenges for those traversing different cultures. This study focuses on a bicultural identity formed by personal, musical and cultural contexts. Calista enacts her bimusicality in different musical genres and in different modes of musical engagement. Data were collected by semi-structured interview and by reference to …

Translation And Validation Of An Online Suite Of Assessments In American Sign Language, Deb Guthmann, Janet Titus, Jared Embree, Josephine Wilson

JADARA

Abstract

This article reports on a National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP; Federal Grant # 90DP0067). The project is being conducted by investigators in the Substance Abuse Resources and Disability Issues (SARDI) Program in the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University (WSU), in collaboration with nationally recognized experts on Deaf culture and substance abuse/mental health. The goal of this DRRP is to develop and test an online suite of instruments in American Sign Language (ASL), validated for deaf consumers, assessing substance use, mental health, and occupational interests. The …

Levels Of Emotion Valence And Arousal In American Sign Language, Sheila Bruce, Tina Sutton, Poorna Kushalnagar

JADARA

The Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW; Bradley & Lang, 1999) scale is a widely used instrument for valence and arousal response in English. A person whose first language is American Sign Language (ASL) might process the English emotion words differently. We hypothesized that ASL users might provide different valence and arousal ratings for emotion words in ASL, and a separate normative database might be necessary for this population. Forty-two Deaf adult signers completed ratings for the English and ASL conditions. Results showed that the rating for the arousal were similar for both conditions. However, the valence ratings were different, …

Interdisciplinary Collaboration To Ensure The Well-Being Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students With Complex Needs, Deb S. Guthmann Ed.D, Kim Mathos D.O., M.P.H.,, Jessica Richter M.S.

JADARA

Compared to their hearing counterparts, students who are deaf or hard of hearing face unique challenges as they transition from high school to post high school activities. Students who have co-occurring physical, behavioral health, intellectual or autism related challenges may be at higher risk of destabilization in placement or service access when they are no longer eligible for special education services. In this exploratory study, we aim to begin to quantify how transition coordinators and schools that serve deaf or hard of hearing students collaborate with behavioral health care providers, social service, or developmental disability providers when children they serve …

Telemental Health Services As A Targeted Intervention For Individuals Who Are Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Teresa Crowe

JADARA

Deaf and hard of hearing individuals who have chronic mental illness are a population that is underserved. Like their hearing counterparts with mental illness, individuals who are Deaf and hard of hearing often face medical and treatment disparities. The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of telemental health (TMH) services, or services provided via videoconferencing technology, as a targeted intervention that may provide relief to Deaf and hard of hearing individuals with mental health problems. This paper addresses several areas that are important when considering service provision to Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, including a working …