Digital Commons Network^™

A Methodological Framework For Projecting Brand Equity: Putting Back The Imaginary Into Brand Knowledge Structures, George Rossolatos

The Qualitative Report

The aim of this paper is to outline a methodological framework for Brand Equity planning with structuralist rhetorical semiotics. By drawing on the connectionist conceptual model of the brand generative trajectory of signification (Rossolatos 2013a, 2013g) it will be displayed in a step-wise fashion how a set of nuclear semes and classemes or an intended semic structure that underlies manifest discursive structures may be projected by its internal stakeholders (i.e., a brand management team, an account planning team or a marketing research team) with view to attaining differential brand associations. The suggested methodological framework focuses on the strength and uniqueness …

A Conversation Between Kip Jones And Patricia Leavy: Arts-Based Research, Performative Social Science And Working On The Margins, Kip Jones, Patricia Leavy

The Qualitative Report

This paper reports a conversation between international pioneers in ArtsBased Research and Performative Social Science, Patricia Leavy and Kip Jones. They begin by delineating the differences between research and/or dissemination that use tools from the Arts in their production. Leavy turns to her fiction writing as an example, while Jones discusses the making of his research-based short film, Rufus Stone. The conversation then turns to how these novel approaches have changed the way in which they work and these efforts in relation to the academy. The concept of “audience” is raised. Both then give examples of taking alternative routes in …

Experiences Of Therapists And Occupational Therapy Students Using Video Conferencing In Conduction Of Focus Groups, Theresa Marie Smith

The Qualitative Report

A paucity of literature exists on how to conduct an online focus group. The purpose of this study is to describe and learn from participants’ experiences in using virtual technology in a focus group conducted to refine a low vision assessment. Ten low vision therapists and five master’s level students participated. Two cycles of data collection and analysis occurred, one for focus group transcripts of therapists and another for student replies to a questionnaire. A case-by-case matrix was created and data sorted into three categories including: (1) benefits to using the technology; (2) challenges to using the technology; and (3) …

Does Size Matter In The Field?: Female Police Bodies In Online Television, Carmen M. Cusack

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study is to investigate how female officers’ body sizes are depicted on the TV show, “Police Women of Broward County.” Little literature examines the media’s depiction of bodies belonging to women who are involved in traditionally masculine professions. However, feminist and masculinist literature, along with biophysical literature, tends to suggest that women are smaller and weaker than men or are perceived that way in society. It stands to reason that media may portray female officers this way or portray women attempting to overcome this stigma personally and professionally to appeal to viewers or as a reflection …

Demands And Rewards Of Working Within Multidisciplinary Teams In Pediatric Oncology: The Experiences Of Canadian Health Care Providers, Sonia Gulati, David Dix, Anne Klassen

The Qualitative Report

Pediatric oncology care in Canada is delivered by multidisciplinary teams consisting of healthcare providers with different areas of expertise. Limited information is available on how the multidisciplinary team influences jobrelated rewards, demands, and stress in pediatric oncology. A qualitative approach was adopted to learn about healthcare providers’ experiences of working within a multidisciplinary team in pediatric oncology. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 33 healthcare providers (13 oncologists, 9 nurses, 5 social workers, and 6 child-life specialists) from four pediatric oncology centres. Topics explored included: demands and rewards associated with how the multidisciplinary team worked; description of one’s area of expertise; …

Textbook Considerations For An Mft Qualitative Research Phd Course: The Relevance Of Harding'squalitative Data Analysis From Start To Finish, Eric Dishongh

The Qualitative Report

Jamie Harding’s (2013) Qualitative Data Analysis from Start to Finish is a new, user-friendly book for beginning qualitative research students. The thrust of the book deals with analyzing qualitative data from interviews and focus groups. This reviewer considers the relevance of Harding’s book for a Qualitative Research course in an MFT doctoral program.

The Role Of Youth In Post Accord Transformation In Northern Ireland, Christine Smith Ellison

Peace and Conflict Studies

Despite increased international interest in the contribution of education to peacebuilding, there has been a neglect of the role that non-formal youth programming can play in this process. This article examines three such youth programmes in post-accord Northern Ireland through the theoretical lens of their contribution to social, economic and political transformations. Given the sustained context of segregation and limitations of the formal education sector as a mechanism for transformation, the paper argues that the non-formal sector has played an important role in ensuring inclusion of multiple youth perspectives in a divided society. It also raises a number of critical …

From The Analysis Of Argumentation To The Generation Of Typologies: A Model Of Qualitative Data Analysis, Aldo Merlino

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we present a model of qualitative data analysis developed through an example from an empirical study that focused on analyzing the causes of why people obey or disobey traffic rules. Specifically, we focus on the study of the arguments that people use to justify their behaviors regarding such rules. The study was developed from in-depth interviews with men and women between the ages of 18 and60, who drive cars or motorcycles. The model is organized into three stages that are applied to the empirical study. In the first stage we form the research question and objectives. In …

Racial And Ethnic Diversity In Grounded Theory Research, Claire Burke Draucker, Halima Al-Khattab, Dana D. Hines, Jill Mazurczyk, Anne C. Russell, Pam Shockey Stephenson, Shannon Draucker

The Qualitative Report

National initiatives in the United States call for health research that addresses racial/ethnic disparities. Although grounded theory (GT) research has the potential to contribute much to the understanding of the health experiences of people of color, the extent to which it has contributed to health disparities research is unclear. In this article we describe a project in which we reviewed 44 GT studies published in Qualitative Health Research within the last five years. Using a framework proposed by Green, Creswell, Shope, and Clark (2007), we categorized the studies at one of four levels based on the status and significance afforded …

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: The Construction Of Othering In Edward Bliss Emerson's Caribbean Journal Of 1831-1832, Alma Simounet

The Qualitative Report

This paper examines the vocabulary, grammar structures and rhetorical devices that appear in Edward Emerson’s journal based on his trip to the Caribbean. The end-in-view is to identify the devices that Emerson utilized, mostly unconsciously, in his depiction and construction of others; in the case of this journal, of the peoples he encountered in the Caribbean. The methodological approach of critical discourse analysis guides this examination.

Nature Writing, American Exceptionalism, And Philosophical Thoughts In Edward Bliss Emerson's Caribbean Journal, Raúl Mayo-Santana

The Qualitative Report

Through the use of qualitative content analysis (Patton, 2002), this essay examines the philosophical thoughts presented in the journal and family letters of Edward B. Emerson for 1831-1834, written in the Caribbean while he was seeking relief from consumption (tuberculosis). The analysis focused on the themes of nature writing, American Exceptionalism, and the journal as evidence of a liminal life-death event. Edward was actively engaged in the genres of travel and nature writing, where Transcendentalist ideas were not evident. In contrast, important elements of that movement emerged in his philosophical expressions. Edward evinced an acute and creative mind until the …

Challenges & Strategies For Conducting Qualitative Research With Persons Diagnosed With Rare Movement Disorders, Kori A. Ladonna, Michael J. Ravenek

The Qualitative Report

Unique features of Huntington’s disease and young-onset Parkinson’s disease, both neurodegenerative movement disorders, can pose challenges for conducting qualitative research. From the perspectives of two doctoral candidates conducting research with these groups, a number of challenges are presented and discussed alongside strategies for managing such challenges. Challenges are organized according to physical (e.g., movement), psychological (e.g., cognition) and social (e.g., speech impairment) aspects of these diseases. The strategies presented emphasize the importance of ethical reasoning in situations that can arise, as well as the relationships developed with the research participants. Author transparency and ethical reasoning are both important in conducting …

Managing Illness Through Creative Engagement: Women, Hiv, And The Stitches Doll Project, Jacqueline Lewis, Kathleen Gerus-Darbison

The Qualitative Report

The Stitches Doll Project is a community-based initiative that enables women and girls to express their feelings about living with HIV/AIDS through creating a doll that speaks for them. In a very personal and powerful way, women and girls are able to tell their stories both visually, through their dolls, and verbally/non-verbally, through their dolls’ monographs. The completed dolls become part of an online and traveling oral history exhibit. Based on an analysis of the dolls and their monographs, interviews with doll contributors and project coordinators, and archived Stitches materials, this paper explores the meaning making and identity work/repair articulated …

Encountering The Viper: Edward Bliss Emerson And Slavery, Annette B. Ramírez De Arellano

The Qualitative Report

The journal of Edward Bliss Emerson often mentions topics that piqued his curiosity because they were unusual or puzzling. Few subjects were as foreign to him as slavery. Writing in 1831-32, Emerson provides us a series of aural and visual vignettes rather than a coherent commentary on slavery as a way of life. Focusing on the everyday aspects of the institution instead of the politics and economics behind it, Emerson nevertheless suggests the different lenses through which slavery was viewed by a New England intellectual and others.

Edward Bliss Emerson, The Medical Tourist, Wilfredo A. Géigel

The Qualitative Report

Traveling for health reasons was not an unusual event for wealthy and wellto-do members of society both in North America and Europe in the early 19th century. Edward Bliss Emerson is an example of those who traveled for health reasons. Books and newspapers at that time, like today, incited the infirm to travel to far-away places where the climate and the surroundings would take care of their ills. This essay will look at medical tourism, especially in the Caribbean, as seen through the eyes of Edward Emerson.

Growing Up With A Mother With Depression: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Hanna Van Parys, Jonathan A. Smith, Peter Rober

The Qualitative Report

The aim of this study was to explore the childhood experience of living with a parent with depression from a retrospective point of view. Five women between 39 and 47 years of age, who grew up with a mother with depression, were interviewed about their current perspectives on their childhood experiences. Interviews were semi-structured and the data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Data analysis led to a narrative organized in two parts. The first part (retrospective understanding of childhood experiences) reports on feelings of desolation contrasted to exceptional support, context-related dwelling on own experiences, and growing into a caring …

Stigmatization Experiences Among People Living With Borderline Personality Disorder In Puerto Rico, Eliut Rivera-Segarra, Glendalys Rivera, Robmarie López-Soto, Gladys Crespo-Ramos, Domingo Marqués-Reyes

The Qualitative Report

The experiences of stigmatization among people living with specific Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI), such as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has not been addressed by the scientific literature. In this study we wanted to explore how people living with BPD experience stigmatization. We examine the experiences of 8 people (7 women and 1 man) living and receiving treatment for BPD in Puerto Rico. We used an exploratory qualitative design with semi-structured interviews. To interpret our data, we conducted a thematic analysis. We discuss three categories that focus on one identified theme: the interpersonal dimension of the stigmatization process. These categories are …

Edward Bliss Emerson: The Blazing Star Of A Complex Constellation, Silvia E. Rabionet

The Qualitative Report

Edward Bliss Emerson, a younger brother of Ralph Waldo Emerson and a promising scholar in his own right, traveled to the West Indies at the age of 26 hoping to alleviate his pulmonary afflictions. While in the islands, from January 1831 to July 1832, he logged his daily activities in a pocket journal. The journal falls short in revealing Edward’s childhood, his years at Harvard, and his brief time as teacher and lawyer. This biographical essay aims to enhance the understanding and enjoyment of the journal. It unveils defining stages in Edward’s life. Using a wide variety of archival documents, …

Ideology And Etiology In The Treatment Of Edward Bliss Emerson's Pulmonary Consumption, Annette B. Ramírez De Arellano

The Qualitative Report

Although Edward Bliss Emerson’s life had unusual promise, his death was quite ordinary: he died of pulmonary consumption, which accounted for one in five deaths in the 1830s. He went to the West Indies in search of a more healthful climate, and sought it in St. Croix and Puerto Rico. But his quest was short-lived, and he died in 1834 at the age of 29. Because there was no consensus on the cause of consumption, treatment for the condition varied widely, and included a number of nostrums and therapies that may be considered “self-care.” Edward adopted a series of practices …

Relevance Of Family Therapy In The Resolution Of Family Dispute Among Couple: Indian Perspective, Binod Kumar, Amool Ranjan Singh

The Qualitative Report

This paper addresses the relevant of institution of family that had come under considerable strain with the changing present scenario. The aim of this paper is to help middle class family to resolve frequent conflicts that threaten interpersonal relationship and to explore best alternative possible solutions. Employing phenomenological approach, psycho social factors of immediate social environment was assessed using semi structured qualitative interview, telephonic conversations, and observations during therapy sessions over a period of seven months. Depression of the patient and family functions were assessed using Zung self-rating scale and McMaster family assessment device respectively. Results showed that family therapy …

Qualitative Research By A Non-Hierarchical Team, José G. Rigau-Pérez, Silvia E. Rabionet, Annette B. Ramírez De Arellano, Wilfredo A. Géigel, Raúl Mayo-Santana, Alma Simounet

The Qualitative Report

In this and subsequent issues, The Qualitative Report will publish eight articles about a journal written by Edward B. Emerson (1805-1834), a younger brother of American philosopher and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. This introduction will describe the origins of the project, the sources, the process and the outcomes of the collaboration. The authors hope to document and illustrate the richness and value of interdisciplinary qualitative inquiry, while providing specifics of how the Emerson Journal Project evolved. We provide examples to illustrate the characteristics of effective teamwork, but also present the challenges along the way and how they were surmounted. The …

Edward Bliss Emerson's Transnational Journal: Danish West Indies, Puerto Rico, New England, 1831-1834, José G. Rigau-Pérez

The Qualitative Report

The journal and letters written by Edward Bliss Emerson in the Caribbean provide exciting, idyllic, and at times troublesome visions of that region, but also insights on the life of a sick, poor, religious and brilliant young man. Emerson’s reflections on life in St. Croix remain unquoted, and although brief excerpts from the Puerto Rico portion of the journal appeared in print in 1959 and 1991, his more extensive text supplements the contemporary publications, which only praised the colonial administration. A third, and equally important location, is the implicit base for his perspective – New England in the period of …

The Kodiak Study: Narratives Of Diversity And Acceptance On The American Frontier, Steve Drewry

The Qualitative Report

This article describes a qualitative study of diversity and acceptance on the American frontier comprised of interview data and ethnographic observations gleaned from a sample of residents on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to select the study population, after which individual interviews with people who are members of various cultural groups were completed by the researcher. Also included in the study are elements of anthropological investigation, historical context and thick description. The data were analyzed using (primarily) narrative and thematic analysis placed in the cultural context of life on Kodiak Island. Findings suggest that multiple …

The Edward Bliss Emerson Journal Project: Qualitative Research By A Non-Hierarchical Team, José G. Rigau-Pérez, Silvia E. Rabionet, Annette B. Ramírez De Arellano, Wilfredo A. Géigel, Alma Simounet, Raúl Mayo-Santana

The Qualitative Report Books

Edward Bliss Emerson (1805-1834), a younger brother of the renowned essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, lived in the Caribbean for the final three years of his life. His journal and letters are a rich manuscript source for the history of the Danish Virgin Islands (1831-1832) and Puerto Rico (1831-1834). The texts also reflect the contemporary political and cultural situation in the United States, and Edward's search for health, economic independence, intellectual stimulation and metaphysical fulfillment.

These writings ignited an intellectual passion in José G. Rigau-Pérez, a physician, medical epidemiologist, and historian in Puerto Rico. Furthering access to these unique …

Community Peer-Led Exercise Groups: Reasons For Success, Linda Robertson, Beatrice Hale, Debra Waters, Leigh Hale, Alexa Andrew

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: This paper considers reasons for the successful maintenance of community based, falls-prevention programs. While the physical achievement of such programs has been demonstrated through randomized trials, other features influential in ongoing membership have received less attention. This study examined the sustainability of a specific model of a community-based program in a New Zealand city: SAYGO, the strength and balance classes for older adults lead by older volunteer leaders recruited from local communities. Method: A qualitative, descriptive approach was used and first-hand knowledge of the experiences of those involved in the groups gathered. Data collection methods included individual interviews of …

Couples' Conceptualizations Of Problems In Couple Therapy, Cameron Kiely Froude, Rachel B. Tambling

The Qualitative Report

While a great deal is known about the problems that clients bring to therapy, little is known about the way in which clients conceptualize problems during the course of couple therapy. Understanding clients’ conceptualizations of problems is important because it provides the therapist with a client-centered context on how to approach discussions about the problems during the course of treatment. This manuscript provides the results of an exploratory qualitative inquiry concerning how clients conceptualize problems during therapy and across the trajectory of treatment. The sample consisted of 26 individuals comprising 13 couples attending couple therapy. Participants completed a semi-structured interview …

Concept Mapping As A Data Collection And Analysis Tool In Historical Research, Nancy Baugh, Ann Mcnallen, Michelle Frazelle

The Qualitative Report

Nurse researchers explored the history of Mary Breckenridge’s Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) during the years 1925 to 1965, to elicit how her experience could inform present day concerns regarding universal access to healthcare. A historical biographical approach informed by critical theory was selected as the methodology. As historical research tends to generate large volumes of data, concept mapping was selected to collect, reduce, organize and interpret data. Additionally, concept mapping can assist researchers to agree on meaning as seen in interrelationships of the data. The final aggregate concept map is a graphic, visual representation of the outcome of this historical …

An Evaluation Of Virginia Gold: A Medicaid Program To Improve Nursing Facility Quality Of Care, Gerald A. Craver, Amy K. Burkett, Karen E. Kimsey

The Qualitative Report

A qualitative case study design employing focus groups was used to evaluate certified nursing assistant (CNA) (n = 26) and resident (n = 30) perceptions of the Virginia Gold Quality Improvement Program, a Medicaid funded 2-year quality improvement intervention piloted in five nursing facilities. As part of the program, the nursing facilities implemented quality improvement projects to develop supportive work environments in an effort to reduce CNA turnover and improve quality of care. Overall, the focus group participants viewed Virginia Gold positively and reported that CNA turnover decreased, while care quality improved during the program. These findings are supported by …

Representations Of Middle Age In Comedy Film: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Margaret Gatling, Jane Mills, David Lindsay

The Qualitative Report

The discourse of middle age includes a commonly-held perception that it is a time of crisis resulting in unusual, atypical, dramatic or extravagant behaviours. The aim of this study was to find out if the discourse of middle age, as depicted in comedy film, supports this stereotype. Three comedy films were reviewed using dispositive analysis to critically-evaluate the actions, objects and language employed to represent middle age on-screen. The findings show that crisis, sparked by a fear of ageing and with some distinct gender differences, is a frequent feature of on-screen middle age. Building on the generally accepted hypothesis that …

A'S For Everyone: The Effect Of Student Consumerism In The Post-Secondary Classroom, Anthony D. Plunkett

The Qualitative Report

With millennial students as the primary population in many higher education institutions today, many instructors experiencing a paradigm shift of behaviors they are observing in their classroom. Many educators are observing today’s students failing to take personal responsibility for their educational endeavors and in turn viewing their educational experiences as a services-for-payment relationship rather than an exploration of knowledge. With this shift and the ever present consumerism type behaviors now being observed, the role of instructor has changed and many are seeking tools to effectively manage their students and classroom.