Digital Commons Network^™

Catalonia: The New European State?, Garcia Barcia

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

On September 11, 2012, a sea of Catalonians, 1.5 million according to the Urban Guard and 600,000 according to the Government Delegation, protested under the slogan: "Catalonia, new European State."'

The Impact Of Islam As A Religion And Muslim Women On Gender Equality: A Phenomenological Research Study, Sonia D. Galloway

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine and explore the meanings, structures and essence of the lived experience of Muslim women via an Islamic theoretical (Kalam) framework. The study's goal was to describe a detailed and comprehensive description of how Muslim women use Islam to promote gender equality and improve treatment within their daily lives. The critical importance of gleaning a better understanding of Islam and the perceived invisibility of Muslim women motivated the researcher to undertake this study.

The research study included a qualitative phenomenology research approach. Data were collected from multiple sources: observations, semi-structured individual interviews and …

The Human Robot: A Narrative Study Of Identity Change In Mexico Through An Analysis Of Mexican Films, Cesar Vela-Beltran-Del-Rio

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

In order to succeed in an intellectually, economically, socially, and politically controlled system, as México, one has to develop a sense of inner direction and empowerment, where critical thinking is vital yet patriarchy becomes an impediment to the development of an inner compass and empowerment when it shapes and controls the masses’ identity and behavior through different strategies, methods, and institutions. One of the most powerful and popular identity shaping strategies is film making. Film is considered by most as a source of entertainment portraying social interactions. Yet it is a powerful identity-shaping tool for the establishment. It has been …

"Doing Everything Possible:" A Phenomenological Study Of Low-Income Black Female Experiences Of Managing Conflict In Romantic Relationships With Black Male Partners, Charlene Hightower

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Research on intimacy among low income Black women with their Black male partners is limited. This dissertation describes a phenomenological study conducted to understand how low-income Black women in this study navigate and cope with conflict in their relationships with their Black male partners. In this study, a qualitative approach was used to analyze narrative interview data of 10 low-income Black women over the age of twenty-one, who had been or are currently in romantic relationships with Black men that have lasted for more than five years. Ten heterosexual Black women residing in the metropolitan Charlotte, North Carolina, area participated …

Perspectives Volume 1: Number 1, Winter 2014, College Of Health Care Sciences

Perspectives

No abstract provided.

An Information Security Control Assessment Methodology For Organizations, Angel Rafael Otero

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

In an era where use and dependence of information systems is significantly high, the threat of incidents related to information security that could jeopardize the information held by organizations is more and more serious. Alarming facts within the literature point to inadequacies in information security practices, particularly the evaluation of information security controls in organizations. Research efforts have resulted in various methodologies developed to deal with the information security controls assessment problem. A closer look at these traditional methodologies highlights various weaknesses that can prevent an effective information security controls assessment in organizations. This dissertation develops a methodology that addresses …

A Phenomenological Consideration Of Conflict And Crisis Impact Of Autism On Single Parenthood: A Hermeneutical Transformative Approach, Andrew Ahimiejiese Ovienloba

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The field of autism in epidemiology has received much attention in recent times especially as scientific information evolves on the causes and impact of autism spectrum disorder. Just as medical research is conducting to arrest the growing pace of autism with current research indicating one out of every 68 children in the United States diagnosed autistic, the field of the social science has equally produced some literature on the subject. Much of the social science and epidemiological information in the field has bothered on framing the concept (Murray, 2008), historical dimension and causation of the disease, and its associative influence …

Role Theory As An Informative Lens For Understanding The Familial And Political Power Struggles Of Henry Viii And Mary I Of England, Niki Incorvia

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to analyze the application of twentieth century sociologist George Mead's role theory to Henry VIII and Mary I, of Britain's Tudor Dynasty, regarding their treatment of their families during the early to mid-sixteenth century. Contemporary role theory can offer a useful lens to study sixteenth century royal family functionality through an analysis of Henry VIII and Mary I's lives as monarchs of England. Role theory can illuminate the role conflict that led to a separation between Henry and Mary as people and as sovereigns. Their roles, derived from traditional authority, set them apart as people and led …

The Relationship Between Emotional & Social Intelligence And Conflict Management Behavior In Leadership, Suzzette A. Harriott

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the relationship between emotional and social intelligence (ESI) and the conflict management behavior (CMB) of lower level members of management or managers in training in a public sector organization in a country in the British Caribbean. The instruments that were utilized were SPSS, the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal-Me Version, and the Conflict Dynamic Profile-Individual (CDP-I). In all cases, due to non-normality, Spearman's rho was used in order to test the five hypotheses incorporated within this study. The Spearman rho, which is also known as the Pearson correlation coefficient between ranked variables, is a …

Could Neuro-Phenomenology Deepen An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Seizure Consciousness Drawings, Valerie Featherstone, Peter Campion, Anna Sandfield

The Qualitative Report

This article proposes a methodological stance, an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of participants’ drawings as one that is useful for research into people’s experiences of seizure consciousness. Using empirical examples located in an original, larger study, this article offers a rationale for, and illustrates the analytic potential of, this combination. It also considers that elicitation interviewing techniques and methods from the field of neuro - phenomenology could take this work further in terms of deepening the analysis by reaching people’s pre - reflexive conscious experiences. This theoretical and practical combination has the potential to develop this work significantly.

Deciphering Babel: Dis/Locations Of The Professional Self And The Second Language Curriculum, Sandra R. Barros

The Qualitative Report

In the following (auto) ethnographic study, I draw from Burdick’s (2012) analogy of qualitative research as “auto - archeology” and from parrhesia (Foucault, 1988) as a rhetorical device of self - definition and preservation to explore the interplay of power and identity within the context of second language education discourses. Specifically, I focus on the ways in which, through the creation of particular performative strategies, two educators working within the context of Liberal Arts institutions negotiate, construct and resist the everyday pressures and implied prejudices often associated with the curriculum and instruction of second languages in the United States. I …

Investigating Humor Within A Context Of Death And Tragedy: The Narratives Of Contrasting Realities, Brian D. Vivona

The Qualitative Report

Crime scene investigators (CSIs) are subjected to many complexities of working in a context of death, trauma and tragedy. They experience this context in a more intimate manner than any other member of the criminal justice community. Within these challenging work settings in which human lives have ended, humor can emerge as crime scene investigators attend to their tasks. The research question this study addressed is “How is humor used to negotiate work experiences and make meaning from working in a context that includes death, trauma and tragedy?” CSIs were interviewed and provided narratives from their lived experiences regarding humor …

Five Vignettes: Stories Of Teacher Advocacy And Parental Involvement, Adrienne C. Goss

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative research can, and sometimes should, utilize fictional representations, particularly when attempting to connect to and collaborate with communities outside of the academy. This work utilizes an arts - informed methodology of representation to communicate the importance and potential consequences of teacher advocacy and parental involvement. Specifically, I use fiction as a mode of representing the interview data that my research participant and I generated. After analyzing the data using grounded theory methods, I chose to represent the data with five vignettes. Vignette 1 introduces the reader to Ms. Abeni, a public school teacher who is passionate about educating every …

Discursive Narrative Analysis: A Study Of Online Autobiographical Accounts Of Self-Injury, Olga Sutherland, Andrea V. Breen, Stephen P. Lewis

The Qualitative Report

This article offers an innovation in narrative analysis afforded by incorporating analytic concepts from discourse analysis. We share some examples from our study of online autobiographical accounts of non - suicidal self - injury (NSSI) to illustrate the various aspects of a discursive narrative approach to research. We show how the participants construct events and experiences as sequentially linked and temporarily related using a range of discursive practices and devices, including producing contrasting descriptions of emotional states, using figurative language, vivid or vague descriptions, and extreme case formulations. The specific way in which experience was constituted as sequentially and causally …

Trauma Informed Care With Deaf Persons (With By Proxy Assistance From Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor), Michael A. Harvey

JADARA

None

Perceptions Of Elementary Teachers Who Educate Linguistically Diverse Student, Renee Greenfield

The Qualitative Report

This study investigated elementary teachers’ perceptions of linguistically diverse students (LDS). Using Sociocultural Theory as a lens, nine elementary teachers responded to a case study dilemma about a LDS. This study was guided by the following question : How do elementary teachers from the same teacher preparation program perceive the LDS they educate? Data were analyzed using qualitative methods, including domain analysis. The majority of teachers associated the following perceptions with the LDS case: concern for the student, use of deficit language to describe student, assumption that the student’s families had limited English proficiency, and difficulties and assumptions surrounding the …

Brand Equity Planning With Structuralist Rhetorical Semiotics: A Conceptual Framework, George Rossolatos

The Qualitative Report

This paper furnishes a structuralist rhetorical semiotic conceptual framework for brand equity planning. The main source of brand equity that is employed for exemplification purposes is the advertising filmic text. The conceptual framework assumes as its general blueprint Greimas’s generativist model of the trajectory of signification. Structuralist operations and operations of rhetorical transformation are posited as the basis for the generation of superior brand associations. The conceptual model put forward challenges the Greimasian assumption that a depth semantic structure is reducible to a binarist rationale, while adopting a connectionist approach in the form of associative networks. At the same time, …

2010 British General Election Leader Evaluations: Replicating Electoral Focus Group Research, Kristi Winters, Edzia Carvalho

The Qualitative Report

This research replicates and expands upon the qualitative electoral research of Winters and Campbell by using data from focus groups conducted in Essex, England to coincide with three leadership debates during the 2010 British general election. The Qualitative Election Study of Britain (QES Britain) broadly replicated Winters and Campbell’s research design but includes innovations in data collection to more accurately capture assessments. This innovation means the data coding are based entirely on the evaluations of the participants. In our analysis we innovate in the way we display each leader’s unique evaluation structure. To capture the salience and direction of leadership …

Fall 2013, Graduate School Of Humanities & Social Sciences

CAHSS Graduate SGA Dialogues

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Counteracting Dynamics Of Violent Communication In Bullying, Jacques L. Koko

Peace and Conflict Studies

This study examines fourteen conversations from observations conducted on bullying among 8th graders in 2002, in a Middle School in Virginia in the United States of America to: (1) identify power disparity in verbal bullying between bullies and targets, (2) examine how power disparity in verbal bullying empowers the perpetrator against silent targets, (3) explain how targets’ verbal responses neutralize bullies or stop bullying, and (4) design an approach to counteracting verbal bullying –the “agere contra” approach to bullying, which demonstrates how words could also be used, not only to counteract bullying, but also to heal both the perpetrator and …

Volume 20, Number 2 (Fall 2013), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Symbolic And Concrete Demands In Resolving The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Rotem Nagar, Jacob Shamir

Peace and Conflict Studies

Researchers have recently leveled criticism at the realist approach to conflict resolution by pointing out the importance of symbolic aspects of this issue. Few studies, however, have hitherto focused on symbolic demands in conflicts. The present study examines the role of symbolic as well as concrete demands in conflict resolution, and is therefore innovative in this regard. A demand is categorized as “concrete” if it is based on an interest that is viable and applicable, in that it involves tangible resources that may change hands or be divided. A “symbolic” demand, on the other hand, pivots on either refraining from …

Using I Poems To Hear The Voices And Understand The Actions Of Edd Students Conducting Action Research, Ron Zambo, Debby Zambo

The Qualitative Report

There is a movement to redefine and refocus the Educational Doctorate to improve its effectiveness in producing scholarly practitioners, that is, individuals who have the ability to blend their practical wisdom and professional knowledge to identify, frame , and solve the problems of practice they face. The EdD at Arizona State University has chosen action research as its signature pedagogy to help students develop the habits of the mind, hands and heart they need to be effective leaders. This paper describes the program and provides six I Poems developed from dissertation proposals. I Poems helped us come closer to each …

Playing Set® To Discover Qualitative Data Analysis, Jean Scandlyn, Sarah Hautzinger

The Qualitative Report

This article describes the use of an experiential classroom exercise using the card game Set® to introduce concepts related to qualitative approaches to research design and analysis, particularly those based in an interpretive framework. The multiple components of the game, which centers on visual pattern recognition, parallel the “organic” complexity of ethnographic investigation and demonstrate how strong interpretations can be supported with qualitative evidence. The first author adapted the exercise, originally developed by the second author for teaching undergraduate anthropology students, for use in workshops teaching qualitative research to mid - career professionals working on health - related projects in …

Empowering Indigenous Community Through Community Radio: A Case Study From Nepal, Sudhamshu Dahal, I. Arul Aram

The Qualitative Report

The recently won People’s Democracy ( Loktantra ) in Nepal has transpired a contested yet ever demanding platform furthering rights and identity movements. The availability of alternative voices through community radios is a space to emancipate the identity movement towards indigenous empowerment and asserting their respectful and equitable entry in to “ New Nepal .” Within the theoretical framework of identity and democracy this research is based on the study of community radios as “ case study organizations .” We have used media ethnography and media text analysis including the observation to both corroborate and contradict with the participants’ understandings …

Prototype Modeling Vs. Item Response Theory – A Paradigm Shift For Measurement Professionals, Joseph Yeager, Linda Sommer, Juliette Faughnan, Christophe Geerkens

The Qualitative Report

In science, the usual research mode is to discover cause - and - effect mechanisms operating behind superficial reality. Aviation, for example, uses prototype modeling to develop improved aircraft from one generation to the next. In stark contrast to prototype modeling’s search for causal mechanisms, assessment technologies remain dominated by probability strategies — which is why psychological assessment lags behind the hard sciences. A major difference in results exists between inferences produced through item response theory versus the cause - effect prototyping strategies of aerospace and other techno - savvy industries. Parallel to aerospace strategies, systems analysis of language, using …

A Tool Also For Linguists: A Review Of Paul Sullivan’S Qualitative Data Analysis Using A Dialogical Approach, Grandon Goertz

The Qualitative Report

Paul Sullivan (2013) introduces a method of speech analysis that uses a dialogical approach, which is distinguished from critical discourse analysis, phenomenological analysis, and grounded theory by its hermeneutic of trust. In this approach, data is analyzed using a pairing of bureaucratic and theoretical methods that indicates in the speech where the key moments are and where intonation expresses meaning. In the evaluation process subjectivity is defined and described. The types of data that would be especially suited to this approach include interviews, focus group speech, and conversation. This dialogic approach also has applications in the field of linguistics

The Therapeutic Interview Process In Qualitative Research Studies, Judith A. Nelson, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Lisa A. Wines, Rebecca K. Frels

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to describe the systemic strategies used in marriage and family therapy relevant to interviews, via what we call the therapeutic interview process, that expand the meaning of a research study for both the counselor researcher and the participant(s). We outline the therapeutic interview process for conducting transformative - based interviews via similar strategies from a family systems perspective conceptualized by Charlés (2007). The central core of the interview process is the therapeutic conversation itself that involves the systemic whole. This therapeutic conversation is facilitated by debriefing interviews, whereby the counselor researcher is interviewed to …

“I Love My Work But...” The Professionalization Of Early Childhood Education, Margaret Boyd

The Qualitative Report

There are two separate but related issues that have challenged advocates, researchers and practitioners in the field of early education and care work for decades : improving the quality of children’s programs and increasing the wages and benefits of the workers. The solution has been framed as a need for professionalizing the workforce – professional development training, higher education and enhanced skills. While seeking professional status is expected to improve the quality of childcare programs and worker compensation, the relationship between quality, compensation and professional development training has not been fully explored. Through in - depth interviews with 32 early …