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A Qualitative Examination Of Student Threat Assessment In Nassau County, New York, Christopher J. Cleary

Theses and Dissertations

Law enforcement agencies and school systems face the critically important task of preventing attacks of targeted school violence and providing safe environments for students, faculty, and staff. The tragic results of past school shooting incidents have caused law enforcement agencies to work collaboratively with educators to develop strategies to reduce violent attacks.

Numerous examples from previous school shooting incidents show that shooters exhibited certain warning signs before the attack, and those signs went unaddressed. The student threat assessment process was developed to help educators and law enforcement members recognize the warning signs and take preemptive action before violence occurs. Threat …

Community Attitudes Towards Juvenile Sex Offenders And Registration In Virginia, Paige Reed

Theses and Dissertations

The collateral consequences and harmful effects of juvenile sex offender registration and restrictions has been the forefront of conversation surrounding sex offender legislation in the United States. The literature available has consistently shown that juveniles profoundly differ from adults in significant areas such as decision making, cognitive capability, judgment, and overall development. The literature has also consistently shown that juvenile sex offenders are amenable to treatment, have considerably low recidivism rates, and are unlikely to offend into their adulthood. Despite this, and even though the juvenile justice system prioritizes rehabilitation over punitive measures, juvenile sex offenders are commonly subjected to …

American Epidemic: The Societal And Multi-Generational Impacts Caused By The Mass Incarceration Of Women In The United States, Jessica Younts

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the social impacts of incarcerating women, specifically mothers, as well as the far-reaching collateral consequences that the mass incarceration of women in the United States has on formerly incarcerated women’s successful reintegration back into society and analyzed how the harsh policies that exist detrimentally impact family members and society as a whole. This study revealed several themes that show the far reaching damage incarceration itself has on women and their families and provides a more comprehensive analysis of the incalculable costs of mass incarceration. By raising awareness to the long-term impact on society, this research can provide …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of African American Women In Undergraduate Stem Degree Programs, Vernon H. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide a better understanding of the lived experiences of African American women in STEM undergraduate degree programs at a 4-year degree granting institution in the southernmost part of central Virginia. The central problem is that there is disparity between the number of African American women with STEM degrees and that of other races in the STEM job market. The existing literature has gaps in the research of African American women’s perception of undergraduate STEM programs. Further, the researcher posits there is a lack of consideration for diversity that is detrimental to the United States; …

From Social Alienation To Physical Health Concerns: Depression And Alcohol Proneness As Disconnection Pathways, Benjamin F. Shepherd, Paula M. Brochu

Archives of Assessment Psychology

It is well established that social isolation is a robust predictor of poor health outcomes, both mental and physical, yet little is known about whether and how personality characteristics related to social isolation (e.g., social alienation) affect health. Grounded in relational-cultural theory, the present study examined depression and alcohol proneness as parallel mechanisms underlying the association between social alienation and physical health concerns. As hypothesized, social alienation was positively associated with depression and alcohol proneness, and depression and alcohol proneness were both positively associated with health concerns. Notably, social alienation was indirectly associated with health concerns through depression for both …

An Examination Of The Sociocultural, Religious, And Racial Adjustment Experiences Of Jamaican Professionals In South Florida, Sharon R. Ritchie-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

An Examination of the Sociocultural, Religious, and Racial Adjustment Experiences of Jamaican Professionals in South Florida. Sharon Ritchie-Brown, 2020: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: immigrants, professional occupations, ethnic groups, culture, social adjustment

This transcendental phenomenological research was designed to advance an understanding of the adjustment experiences of Jamaican immigrant professionals in South Florida, United States. While the majority of present literature examines acculturation and adjustment experiences of other immigrant groups, there is not enough literature regarding the adjustment experiences of Jamaican immigrant professionals who have made significant contributions …

Ethical Concerns Of Paying Cash To Vulnerable Participants: The Qualitative Researchers’ Views, Adrianna Surmiak Dr

The Qualitative Report

The aim of the paper is to discuss the ethical issues related to financial payments. The article compares the concerns and experiences of researchers who did not pay the participants with the concerns and experiences of researchers who paid the participants. It draws on in-depth interviews with Polish social researchers who conducted qualitative research with vulnerable participants. The paper indicates that researchers who did not pay the participants believed that financial payment reduces the researcher’s relationship with informants to an economic transaction. For this reason, they had more ethical concerns about paying than researchers who did pay. My interviewees suggest …

Drawing Normal Curves: A Visual Analysis Of Feedback In Writing-To-Learn Assignments In An Introductory Statistics Course For Community College Students, Samantha Estrada Aguilera

The Qualitative Report

Writing-to-learn benefits students in polishing their communication skills and understanding of statistical concepts cultivating a deeper understanding of statistics. A series of writing-to-learn activities were given to introductory statistics students at a community college in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Historically, research on the teaching and learning of statistics has been performed on undergraduates while overlooking the experiences of community college students in learning statistics. A total of 79 students completed the feedback instrument over the course of three semesters (Summer 2017, Fall 2017, and Spring 2018). The feedback instrument included three Likert scale questions, two open-ended …

Using Drawings In Qualitative Interviews: An Introduction To The Practice, Alexios Brailas

The Qualitative Report

Drawings are employed by qualitative researchers in many creative ways, and in many different contexts, and a variety of different terms are used to describe similar techniques. I present here a concise description of two basic approaches to integrating participants’ produced drawings into verbal qualitative research interviews, along with characteristic cases of empirical research demonstrating how these approaches have been applied. I also provide a list of best practices and I discuss ethical issues. It is common for qualitative researchers to mix techniques in order to creatively address real-world research challenges. The proposed categorization, augmented by the list of best …

"En Afrique, On N'Oublie Jamais": An Autoethnographic Exploration Of A Tck's Return "Home", Justin B. Hopkins

The Qualitative Report

Many Third Culture Kids (TCKs) struggle to answer the commonly-asked question: Where are you from? In this autoethnographic essay, a continuation of my earlier exploration of TCK experience (Hopkins, 2015), I confront my concept of home in reference to psychological research by Jerry Burger (2011), exploring the phenomenon of adults returning “home,” to place(s) that were important in their early lives. Like Burger’s subjects, I describe my experience of returning to visit, after over two decades away, the remote village in Senegal where I spent many of my childhood years. Following Tessa Muncey’s (2010) methodological lead, I structure my account …

Trustworthiness In Sampling Selection: Remedies Against Introspective Chaos, Cécile Gabarre, Serge Gabarre

The Qualitative Report

The ethical dimension pertaining to protecting participants from psychological harm due to the in-depth nature of the inquiry and to the intimacy resulting from prolonged engagement is well-documented. This is laudable, but very few studies focused on guiding the researchers against chaotic emotions arising from introspectively questioning their beliefs and motivations and inspiring their judgments underlying their decisions. In our involvement with masters’ students’ thesis writing and research management training, supervision, and examination, we became aware of recurring cases of novice researchers silently disappearing from the program, eventually reappearing, continuously struggling with their thesis. Investigating this process, we identified the …

Interpreting The Data: Reflections On Asl-English Cross Language Research, Serena Johnson

The Qualitative Report

Cross language research typically ignores the role the translator and translation play in the research process. This paper adds to the literature by examining some of the challenges experienced during the translation and interpretation aspect of research. This autoethnography explores the positionality of a non-native user of American Sign Language who conducted research with native American Sign Language users. Findings indicate that translation and interpretation in research is not simply a matter of rote process and deserves more attention as an integral aspect of cross-language research.

The Phenomenology Of Revisiting Lived Experience Through Photographic Images: Memory Formation, Narrative Construction And Self-Empowerment, Constantinos D. Nikiforos, Chryssoula Karakitsou

The Qualitative Report

This study examines the way photographs can trigger memories, help us revisit lived experiences and re-evaluate the past. Specifically, it explores how fragments of past experience survive in somebody’s internal world, what actually happens during recollection and how photographs shape someone’s narrative and their construction of meaning about life. The dynamics of memory formation in psychoanalytic theory, schema theory and cognitive neuroscience is discussed, alongside its impact on subjectivity during retrieval and reconstruction. Additionally, the study draws upon the main theories on photographic images and on studies using visual data, which provide a more pluralistic perspective that entails both a …

Collecting Cultural Feedback On Ethiopian Views On Girls, Sport, And Voice, Kathleen Ralls Dr.

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study used data collected from five interviews conducted to gather cultural and linguistic feedback on a 21-question instrument created for a future study focused on Ethiopian girl athletes. Participants met the following criteria: (a) native to Ethiopia (b) at least 15 years old and (c) proficient English reading and speaking skills. Participants did not complete the questionnaire, rather, they read it and provided cultural and linguistic feedback on its content. Participants provided feedback via interviews both in person and over the phone during a two-week period. The instrument was designed to collect data from members of Girls Gotta …

Out Of The Shadows: A Young Woman's Journey From Hiding To Celebrating Her Identity, Helen C. Collins Ms, Patricia A. Harrison Dr, Marek Palasinski Dr, Marcella (Pseudonym)

The Qualitative Report

In April 2019 the UK government reported that little progress had been made to remedy social outcomes inequality between Roma and the wider population, recommending further recognition of Roma, for example in census data, to enable identification of Roma, their needs, and how to meet those needs. In this article we present an account of one Roma woman’s journey from hiding her identity to celebrating it. We expose five critical incidents that challenge and mould her sense of identity and career aspiration, with insights into her hopes and dreams as she reflects upon the barriers she faces and attempts to …

Negative Emotions In Fieldwork: A Narrative Inquiry Of Three Efl Researchers’ Lived Experiences, Adilur Rahaman, Shuvo Saha

The Qualitative Report

Through narrative inquiry this research depicts and interprets the negative emotions that three English as Foreign Language (EFL) researchers experienced in different research sites during their fieldwork. Narrative inquiry informs the design of this investigation as the approach is particularly useful for understanding lived experiences. The study draws on autobiographical as well as narrative data to report the negative emotions that evolve during English language education fieldwork, an aspect absent in the existing literature. Findings suggest that the researchers experienced a wide range of negative emotions namely ethical dilemma, anger, anxiety, guilt, and shame. These results carry implications for language …

Test Anxiety Among Foreign Language Learners: A Qualitative Study, Selami Aydin, Ferdane Denkci Akkaş, Tülin Türnük, Asiye Baştürk Beydilli, İlknur Saydam

The Qualitative Report

Test anxiety is a strong predictor of achievement in English as a foreign language (EFL) learning process and has considerable influences on proficiency in the target language. Research also has not reached a consensus on the sources and the effects of test anxiety. This study aims to examine the sources of test anxiety among foreign language learners, to find the effects of test anxiety on EFL learners, and explore the strategies used by learners to overcome test anxiety. The sample group of the study consisted of 57 students studying EFL at a preparatory school of a state university in Turkey. …

A Case Study On Professional Development: Improving Stem Teaching In K-12 Education, Roshani Rajbanshi, Susan Brown, Gaspard Mucundanyi, Mehmet Ali Ozer, Nicole Delgardo

The Qualitative Report

STEM Outreach Center is a non-profit educational center in southern New Mexico that supports K-12 STEM teachers and students by providing professional development, after school programs, summer camps, and field visits. This center has been organizing the Summer Institute Professional Development (SIPD) for more than ten years. The purpose of this research is to understand the effect of SIPD on teachers’ pedagogy to excite and engage students in STEM learning. This study contributes to the program evaluation by analyzing the experiences of teachers who participated in SIPD. This qualitative study uses the open-ended questionnaire as a method of data collection. …

Poetry Writing: A Process Of Finding One’S Own Voice, Marcelo S. Pagliarussi

The Qualitative Report

This article presents, in the form of a free-verse poem, the trajectory by which the author discovered how to unleash his voice as an academic writer. The poem describes how the author became completely disillusioned with the processes and products of mainstream academic journals in accounting and business, and how the discovery, by serendipity, of a chapter presenting writing as a method of inquiry, by Richardson and St. Pierre, invigorated his academic career. Then, inspired by a series of letters written by the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, the author presents a writing process that may be useful for other …

Power-Laden (Mis)Understandings Surrounding Written Voluntary Informed Consent Procedures In Postcolonial Southern Africa, Michelle R. Brear

The Qualitative Report

Written voluntary informed consent (VIC) procedures are the standard approach for operationalising the ethical principle of respect for persons’ autonomy in qualitative research. However, achieving fully informed and truly voluntary consent is challenging, particularly in qualitative research and/or postcolonial contexts. Evidence about (mis)understandings (i.e., unintended meanings) surrounding VIC comes primarily from participants in quantitative, biomedical research. I aim to advance knowledge about qualitative research participants’ (mis)understandings of VIC. I used ethnographic methods to document the evolving (mis)understandings participants attached to written VIC procedures in two postcolonial settings, Eswatini and South Africa. All participants provided me consent to document their interactions …

Continuity And Change: The Academic Teacher-Student Relationships In The Discourse On The Higher Education Reform In Poland, Justyna Spychalska-Stasiak, Helena Ostrowicka

The Qualitative Report

The article presents the results of research on the discursive models of academic relationships that come to the fore in the academic discourse on the reform of higher education in Poland. The aim of the research was to capture the ways of formulating knowledge about the reform of science and higher education and its subjects (i.e., academic teachers and students). The research material comprised 17 Polish academic monographs published in the years 2011-2014 (immediately after the introduction of the higher education reform in Poland). The direction of the analyses was emergent and inductive and was in line with the assumptions …

Critical-Emancipatory Workshop Analysis Through Qualitative Analysis Software, Lucimara Fabiana Fornari, Rosa Fonseca

The Qualitative Report

Critical-emancipatory Workshop is a data collection technique and interventional strategy for emancipatory education aimed at participants involved in the research. It usually results in a significant amount of data in text, audio, image and video formats. Taking this into account, qualitative analysis software usage is paramount to data treatment optimization and promotion of results credibility. This research aimed at identifying the potentialities and limits of webQDA for a Critical-emancipatory Workshop qualitative analysis. To this end, a case study based on the researchers' experience was conducted. It revealed that webQDA is a powerful digital tool for broadening and deepening the analysis …

Practicing Ethics And Ethics Praxis, Martin Tolich, Emma Tumilty

The Qualitative Report

Purpose - This paper demonstrates the limited efficacy procedural ethics has for qualitative research. Ethics committee’s instructions have a short shelf life given the research question qualitative researchers create is volatile; that is, likely to change due to the inductive, emergent, informant-led nature of qualitative research. Design - This article draws on extensive literature to examine the void between the original research design and the messy reality experienced in the field. We focus on how researchers can practice ethically by recognizing the need for agile and responsive ethics praxis in their work. Findings - This practice describes the researcher, recognizing …

Post Qualitative Research - Reality Through The Antihierarchical Assemblage Of Non-Calculation, Konstantinos Kerasovitis

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents an overview of the post qualitative research paradigm, tracing the main concepts that underpin it, and the way it opens up research to include the experiential. Research that tends to affect and the totality of existence. The cornerstone of post qualitative is its flat ontology—researcher, theory, and subject matter, form a non-hierarchical assemblage. The human and the non-human, material and immaterial, merge in a liminal entity. Nothing is considered as tainting, bar from the introduction of power relations. And this is the snare commanding caution. Academic approval is conducive to the misinterpretation of the theoretical pieces on …

Reflecting On Caqdas And Ethics, Catarina Brandão, António Pedro Costa

The Qualitative Report

As the use of Computer-assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) becomes recurrent in qualitative research, researchers who use this methodological approach need to consider how ethical issues present themselves when we use these types of tools. In this introductory text to the Special Issue of The Qualitative Report, we identify and discuss some of the ethical aspects that we believe are interconnected with CAQDAS. By doing so, we hope to contribute to the reflection on these aspects and the definition of a praxis regarding ethical procedures when using a CAQDAS.

From Observations And Pictures To Images: Learning Lab@Pp2 In Tourism Classes, Ana Isabel Rodrigues, Marta Amaral

The Qualitative Report

Learning Lab@PP2 is a pedagogical tool that has been applied in a degree course in tourism at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja, specifically in classes of Professional Practice II. It advocates that the learning process should occur in the complex context of society, organizations and professional relations that characterize the tourism industry. The goal is to contribute to the development of professional skills in tourism and educate students as citizens who must be aware of their role in today's increasingly global world. Within Learning Lab methodology, this paper aims to share the benefits of using practical methods in tourism education …

Psychologists' Use Of Touch In Individual Psychotherapy With Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Clients, Caroline M. Kobek Pezzarossi Ph.D, Irene W. Leigh Ph.D, Daniel S. Koo Ph.D

JADARA

The use of touch in psychotherapy is a topic often undiscussed in graduate training programs. Stenzel and Rupert’s 2004 study showed that nearly 90% of clinicians never or rarely offered touch to clients during a session. This study examined the use of touch in a psychotherapeutic setting with culturally Deaf clients, since touch is a culturally accepted, even expected, practice. Results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference among culturally Deaf therapists compared with the Stenzel and Rupert’s (2004) findings, but there is a statistically significant difference in those who identify as hearing and work with culturally Deaf clients. …

Deaf Cultural Capital And Its Conflicts With Hearing Culture: Navigational Successes And Failures, Ashley Greene-Woods, Natalie J. Delgado, Beverly Buchanan, Misty Sides, Abbas Ali Behmanesh, Brian Cheslik, Caroline K. Koo, M. Diane Clark

JADARA

Despite the creation and implementation of laws intended to support and protect Deaf individuals, stories of limited opportunities and oppression within the workplace still exist and are pervasive. Current research in regard to Deaf individuals’ upward mobility includes a discussion of cultural capital, Imposter Syndrome, and navigational capital. To further understand the experiences of Deaf individuals, the research team conducted a mixed-methods study utilizing surveys and interviews. The results provided insight regarding challenges experienced by the participants in either-or-both their education and employment. The data suggests that the use of navigational capital was the most significant predictor for upward mobility.

A Qualitative Study Of Differences Among Hearing Parents In Positive Experiences Raising A Deaf Child: An Emergent Model Informed By Positive Psychology​, Amy Szarkowski, Patrick J. Brice

JADARA

The current qualitative study explored the positive, internal, and growth-enhancing experiences hearing parents derived from raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. Based on characteristics of parents’ process and outcomes of the parenting experiences, three distinct parent patterns were identified. Reflective Positive Parents reflected deeply about their experiences, quickly and easily identified positive experiences, and were open to making adjustments to meet their child’s needs. Engaged Parents contemplated their experiences, yet decisions about how to best support their children in many remained unresolved; this group identified both positive and negative aspects of parenting and attempted to align …

Autobiographical Memory And Future Imaginings As A Resource For Pedagogical Understanding In Initial Teacher Education, Carmel Hinchion Miss

The Qualitative Report

The focus of this article is twofold: (a) It explores how autobiographical memory and future imaginings can be used as a resource for pedagogical understanding in Initial Teacher Education, and (b) The paper engages a methodological experiment where there is a layered reading of texts across time, 2008-2018.The paper presents, through a narrative analysis of autobiographical texts, the stories of two student teachers, Ciara and John (Text 1, 2008). These student teachers were in the early years of their undergraduate four-year programme in my university and I was their English Pedagogics lecturer. Later, I revisit these student teachers’ narratives and …