Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Qualitative Research On Foreign Language Teaching Anxiety, Selami Aydin

The Qualitative Report

While research mainly focuses on identification of anxiety, its causes and effects on the learning process and the ways to allay anxiety among foreign language learners, foreign language teaching anxiety has remained a research area that has not attracted much attention. Therefore, in the context of teaching anxiety among pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL), the current study aims to investigate the sources of foreign language teaching anxiety (FLTA). The sample group in the study consisted of 60 pre-service teachers. A background questionnaire, interviews, reflections and essay papers were used to collect qualitative data. The results indicated …

The Practice Of Survey Research Theory And Applications: A Review, Jeff Nelson

The Qualitative Report

The Practice of Survey Research: Theory and Applications is a practical text written for the beginning researcher at either the graduate or undergraduate level. This text not only includes the foundation of key concepts and theories of survey research, but is also a practical framework for the researcher. It bridges the gap between the survey tool and quantitative analysis.

An Identification Of The Social And Emotional Needs Of People Living With Post-Lingual Hearing Loss, Dianne Briffa, Fiona Davidson, Danielle Ferndale Ms

JADARA

Hearing loss is associated with challenges in achieving effective communication which can constrain an individual’s ability to participate in social and work environments, affecting their social and emotional well-being. Through a thematic analysis of focus groups, interview and survey responses from 41 people experiencing post-lingual hearing loss, we identified an overarching theme of adjusting to impaired communication and three sub-themes in which we were able to identify the unmet social and emotional needs of people who are hard of hearing. In light of our analysis we discuss and offer recommendations specific to meeting the needs of this population.

Peer Victimization In Students Who Are Deaf And Hard Of Hearing: Exploring Educational Placement, Emily M. Lund, Scott W. Ross

JADARA

Forty-five American students who are Deaf/hard of hearing (SWD/HOH) in grades 5-12 completed a survey assessing their experiences with peer victimization. Almost four-fifths reported victimizing peers over the past two months, and almost 90% reported being the victim of peer victimization during that same timeframe. The most commonly reported types of peer victimization were verbal and relational aggression. Students who attended a Deaf-only campus reported greater mean victimization than those attending magnet programs located in general education schools. The results highlight the need for evidence-based programs that address peer victimization among SWD/HOH.

Deaf Seniors: Experiencing Oppression, Audrey K. Frank Ph.D.

JADARA

The article was written because of the huge need to collect data on oppression experienced by deaf seniors. Open-ended responses were collected from 91 participants aged 50 years and older from five states in the areas of health care, lack of communication with family members, neighborhood, workplace, and hearing children taking over their deaf parents’ role. In the health care field and workplace, deaf seniors had experienced oppression when they did not have the full communication accessibility. There was a lack of awareness of understanding how to make it fully communication-accessible through interpreters and technology and also, the implications of …

Peace Building In Bosnia And Herzegovina: Effects Of Ingroup Identification, Outgroup Trust And Intergroup Forgiveness On Intergroup Contact, Melinda A. Leonard, Branka Damjanovic, Goran Simic, Gul Aldikacti Marshall

Peace and Conflict Studies

The current study examines the effects of ingroup identification, outgroup trust, and intergroup forgiveness on intergroup contact quantity in the diverse cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 455 individuals ranging in age from 14 to 102 self-reported as either Muslim, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, or Other completed a questionnaire. Analyses revealed that ingroup identification was significantly and negatively correlated with intergroup contact quantity; however, ingroup identification was not significantly correlated with outgroup trust or intergroup forgiveness. The comparison between groups revealed significant group differences across all predictor and criterion variables. To confirm whether age …

You Have Atomic Bombs, We Have The Martyrdom-Seekers: Ayman Al-Zawahiri’S Narrative Arc Of The Martyr, Tim Huffman

Peace and Conflict Studies

Martyrdom has an undeniable rhetorical dimension, and part of a martyr’s voice is the manner of his or her death. However, martyrdom does not stand alone. It is contextualized and constructed by the voice of ideologues. This project looks at the spoken and written rhetoric of Ayman Al-Zawahiri, leader of al-Qaeda, and seeks to understand his descriptions, attributions, and stories about martyrs and martyrdom. An analysis of 93 statements by Zawahiri was performed to identify his overarching martyr narrative and archetype. Major findings include a taxonomy of martyr attributes and a narrative trajectory of martyrdom. While pro-USA rhetoric constructs al-Qaeda’s …

A Concomitant Of Conflict And Consensus: Case Of A Chieftaincy Succession In Ghana, Kaderi Noagah Bukari

Peace and Conflict Studies

Ghana is often seen as peaceful, but is faced with many chieftaincy conflicts that result mainly from succession to the throne (skin or stool) for traditional political power. Ghana has more than 230 chieftaincy disputes dotted across many parts of the country. However, the Bulsa Traditional Area (Buluk) of Ghana has had a stable and resilient chieftaincy succession despite conflicts arising out of the selection of chiefs. In the selection of chiefs, the adoption of a voting system is said to lead to consensus based decision-making which is largely responsible for the non-violent nature of the Buluk chieftaincy …

Reflections On Peace From Interculturality, Dora Elvira Garcia-Gonzalez

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article purpose to think about interculturality in connection with what peace means, since many of the great conflicts in the history of humankind have been provoked by the failure to settle conflicts, by the absence of genuine dialogue and the inability to listen, thus producing violence among persons and among cultures. Therefore, to overcome these situations it is necessary a deep understanding of what peace means, as well as of its relation to justice and ethics. This will make it possible to seek the development of a positive interculturality, within a framework of peace. The existence of interculturality does …

"Our Branches Are Broken:" Using The Tree Of Life Healing Methodology With Victims Of Gukurahundi In Matebeleland, Zimbabwe, Dumisani Ngwenya

Peace and Conflict Studies

Between 1983 and 1987, an estimated 20,000 people from Matabeleland and parts of Midlands Province in Zimbabwe were killed by government forces in an operation code-named Gukurahundi. Since that time, no official apology, justice, reparations or any form of healing process has been offered by the government which was responsible for these atrocities. Many people still suffer trauma from the events of this time. The overall question that this research project sought to answer was whether a small group of survivors of Gukurahundi could heal via participation over time in a group action research project directed at their healing. …

Environmental Variables Affecting The Performance Of Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plants, Parikhit Sinha

Climate Sustainability Lecture Series

The environmental sciences have been critical to identifying global environmental challenges such as climate change, but they have been less extensively utilized in deploying solutions to those challenges, such as solar energy. Environmental variables such as temperature, humidity, aerosols, clouds, soiling, and snowfall have important effects on solar PV performance, and these effects can vary regionally. The current status of large-scale solar PV deployment will be discussed along with the role of environmental variables on PV performance.

A Phenomenological Approach To Understand The Challenges Faced By Medical Students, R. Deepa, Anuja S. Panicker

The Qualitative Report

Life in a medical school is more challenging, when compared to other disciplines like arts and engineering. The innate nature of the medical curriculum and the demands of the profession have created extensive pressure on its students, leading to the prevalence of high stress levels and stress related disorders in them. The mental health of future doctors is very important for quality patient care. Hence it is high time for medical institutions to design interventions to mitigate this situation. A significant amount of research has gone into identifying the predominant stressors of medical education and the prevailing stress levels amongst …

Diving Into Autoethnographic Narrative Inquiry: Uncovering Hidden Tensions Below The Surface, Brooke B. Eisenbach

The Qualitative Report

As a graduate student, I was awakened to the world of autoethnographic narrative inquiry. It was a world I was eager to traverse as I completed my doctoral coursework, and engaged in my final dissertation research. Yet, I was unaware of my naiveté at inviting others to share in my lived experience. As I engaged in an autoethnographic narrative inquiry of my first year as an online teacher, I found myself entangled in a world of hidden tensions I never expected to uncover. In this article, I share the personal tensions that surfaced as I entered into the world of …

Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis From A Realist Perspective, Hyeseung Jeong, Juliana Othman

The Qualitative Report

The article presents how a study that investigated the acquisition of second language academic literacy skills practised the qualitative methodology, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), from a realist perspective. We share the rationale behind the methodological decisions made in the study, which is followed by a detailed description of the methodological practice. In addition, the evaluation of the study against the realist criteria is reported, and some implications of using IPA based on realism for educational research are discussed. Overall, we suggest that IPA practice from a realist perspective helps go beyond postmodernism paradigms that seems to exert considerable influence on …

The Nature Of Teacher Learning In Collaborative Data Teams, Robert Michaud

The Qualitative Report

As data teams have grown in popularity in recent years, they have been increasingly looked to by educational researchers because of the tantalizing prospect of combining teachers’ on the job professional development with increased and effective data use to drive instruction. Data teams have been increasingly implemented within schools by educational leaders attempting to take advantage of what teachers learn from each other in the context of a data team. Many conceptual models of data team function have been proposed, but few empirical studies have examined how teachers learn from collaborating with each other in a data team. This paper …

Powering The Planet: The Role Chemistry Plays In Solar Energy Technology, Amy M. Scott

Climate Sustainability Lecture Series

Global energy demands are projected to double by 2050, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and solar energy has the greatest potential as the most benign, universal resource for generating electricity. However, harnessing the solar energy efficiently and converting it towards useful forms of power that are compatible with our current infrastructure remains an elusive goal. Today’s solar energy utilization relies on silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) technology, which converts photon energy to electrical energy. The efficiency of these devices remains low (< 30%) and the cost of processing silicon and installing solar panels in homes makes PV uneconomical compared to the current price of electricity. Research efforts towards developing new inorganic and organic materials for thin film PV to replace silicon are currently underway. Organic materials are particularly interesting from the standpoint of developing simple, cheap materials that can be easily tailored for future PV devices. The future of solar energy utilization relies on developing solar paints for vehicles, solar shingles for rooftops, and spray-on solar ink for small device applications, but continued fundamental research is needed for decreasing cost and improving efficiency for next generation devices.

The Fertility Problem Inventory And Infertility-Related Stress: A Case Study, Staci L. Born, Jennifer J. Preston

The Qualitative Report

More than seven million people of childbearing age in the United States experience infertility. Oftentimes, for women, the experience of infertility is stressful. The Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) has been used to quantitatively measure women’s experience of infertility-related stress. However, the construct of infertility-related stress is poorly described in existing literature. The purpose of this case study was to understand how women experience the FPI as a measure of infertility-related stress. To address this issue, women who were undergoing infertility treatment completed the FPI and participated in unstructured interviews. Archival documents were also retrieved to corroborate findings and satisfy saturation. …

Data Driven: An Autoethnographic Short Story, Peter Joseph Gloviczki

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, I use an autoethnographic short story (Jago, 2005, 2011) to examine data-driven life in media culture (Kellner, 1995) and the emergence of a quantified self (Wolf, 2010).

Establishing Construct Validity And Reliability: Pilot Testing Of A Qualitative Interview For Research In Takaful (Islamic Insurance), Maryam Dikko

The Qualitative Report

This paper describes the process of the conduct of preliminary tests to determine the construct and content validity of the chosen data collection method for a study into the relationship between Islamic principles and objectives, Islamic financial law and takaful (slamic Insurance) operations and practices in Nigeria. Semi-structured interviews were tested on a select group of respondents mirroring the intended subjects in the field. The pilot test showed the construct to be both valid and reliable while giving the opportunity to insert refinements to the research tool.

Dialogues: Quant Researchers On Qual Methods, Nick Pilcher, Martin Cortazzi

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative researchers commonly perceive that positivist hard-science researchers and policies of governments deprecate qualitative methods and approaches. Curiously though, we could not see anyone asking quantitative researchers ‘What do you think about qualitative approaches and methods?’ We did this in interviews with 17 assumed quantitative researchers in the fields of advanced materials construction, civil engineering, transport modelling, computer science, and geotechnics. Surprisingly, these researchers rarely described themselves as purely quantitative, and were rarely against the five qualitative methods discussed. Moreover, many actually used qualitative methods, often in ways we had not anticipated. Drawing on a Bakhtinian …

The Ontology Of Scholar-Administrators: Empirical Inferences From Five Senior Administrators Who Published, Aaron Coe, Ravi Chinta

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to fill a gap in existing literature on scholar-administrators and understand the lived experience of scholar-administrators who published. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach to extract themes from detailed case studies of five senior academic administrators who have published, the researchers’ empirical inferences from the five detailed case histories reveal the challenges and rewards of producing scholarship as a scholar-administrator. Their findings show that the administrators were more connected to the people within and outside the university, their own field of practice, and with the university. The impact of scholarship on scholar-administrators goes beyond publications. …

Nsuworks Annual Report 2015-2016, Michele Gibney

Brochures, Pamphlets, and Reports of the NSU Alvin Sherman Library

In 2014 Nova Southeastern University celebrated its 50^th Anniversary. In conjunction with the anniversary, the NSU Libraries determined a need to preserve the past, present and future of the university by creating a campus wide repository for all scholarship, creative work, and historical materials produced by the university. NSUWorks is a part of the NSU Libraries’ contribution to the university’s ongoing growth and success as an internationally recognized research institution. NSUWorks was officially launched at the Dean’s Meeting on November 2014, and reached its two year anniversary at the end of February 2016. The NSUWorks Annual Report covers the …

Hostage At The Table By George Kohlrieser: A Critical Book Review, Bimal Dahal, Muhammad Ilyas, Erika Krajcovicova, Myriam Marcuello-Lopez, Abdulah Saleh, Shadi Sheikh Saraf

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

Being a hostage impedes. One must strive to get out of the hostage mindset and situation to realize peace. This review analyzes George Kohlrieser's approaches from peacebuilding perspective.

George Kohlrieser is a professor of leadership and organizational behavior, psychologist, and veteran hostage negotiator. In his book Hostage at the Table, he contends that conflict resolution is not difficult if we understand how human self-esteem operates. He believes that deep within humans reside slumbering powers that most of us do not even activate. These latent powers can revolutionize our lives if aroused and put into action.

In the following pages, …

The West And The Rest Of Us: Islamic Militancy, Refugee Crisis And The Migration Wave Towards Europe, Simeon Onyemachi Hilary Alozieuwa Ph.D.

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

The recent migration wave to Europe from the Arab world thrusts to the fore for serious discourse, an issue the world has hitherto shied away from: the gradual Islamization of the world beginning with the west. The issue is not the Islamic faith itself. Certain elements of the faithful are imbued with hegemonic-domination tendencies marked by the excessive obsession to obliterate others’ cultures. This paper views the Euro/West-ward movement of the Muslim Arab refugees/migrants as a grand strategy for the Islamization agenda; the smuggled Islamists militias are its foot-soldiers. The West needs to interrogate its overextended human rights regimes.

Using Focus Group In The Development Of Unipa Emotional Autonomy Inventory, Maria Grazia Lo Cricchio, Alida Lo Coco, Sonia Ingoglia, Francesca Liga, Rodan Di Maria, Cristiano Inguglia, Pasquale Musso

The Qualitative Report

Focus groups were used in order to develop a new measure of adolescents' emotional autonomy from parents. The procedure started from an in depth analysis of the literature concerning the construct and a definition of the dimensions which characterize it. Following our idea of the construct, we developed a list of 60 items, getting some of them from existing instruments. Twenty-four adolescents participated in the focus group discussions about the adequacy of the items to measure emotional autonomy. Following their feedbacks a second version of the list with 59 items was presented in a focus group with experts in the …

The Influence Of Situated And Experiential Music Education In Teacher-Practitioner Formation: An Autoethnography, Leon R. De Bruin

The Qualitative Report

This study explores how my musical background, teaching and performance skills, understandings, and knowledge acquired from both formal and informal influence has shaped myself as musician, teacher and researcher. The study reveals various learning cultures and social networks that frame my multiple professional identities that have themselves developed from my understandings of being a performer, an educator and researcher. This study explores three aspects to my being: personal identity, professional identity and my perception of the impact this has on my students through my teaching and performing. An autoethnographical method is used to investigate my background that is initially formed …

Using Photography As A Creative, Collaborative Research Tool, Ailsa Winton

The Qualitative Report

Drawing on debates in the complementary fields of participatory, youth and visual research methods, the paper discusses an experimental photography project carried out as part of a broader study with young people in Mexico City on spatial experience, belonging and exclusion. The paper describes the mechanics of the project, considers the kind of data it produced, and discusses the different outcomes for participants and researcher, including its difficulties and limitations. It finds that the creative, collaborative approach used has potential for opening the research process to embrace creative, reflexive, complicated “selves,” but warns that this outcome is not automatic: collaboration …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students With Learning Disabilities: Using Mixed Methods To Examine Effectiveness Of Special Education Coursework, Renée A. Greenfield, Megan Mackey, Gretchen Nelson

The Qualitative Report

As the number of K-12 students with learning disabilities educated in general education classrooms grow, it is essential to examine the preparation and perceptions of pre-service teachers (N=15) who will educate students with learning disabilities. Within the context of an undergraduate learning disabilities method course, this study examined how pre-service teachers perceived students with learning disabilities as well as the effectiveness of particular course experiences, including fieldwork with students with learning disabilities, video vignettes, lesson planning, assigned reading, and center-based instruction, in shifting perceptions. Using a convergent, mixed method design, teacher educators at a university in the northeast used surveys, …

Member Checking Process With Adolescent Students: Not Just Reading A Transcript, Amber Simpson, Cassie F. Quigley

The Qualitative Report

This paper explores the way in which educational researchers created a member checking process with adolescent students during a study to uncover and understand female and male’s dynamic mathematics identity in single-sex and coeducational mathematics classes within a public coeducational middle school in the United States. The authors developed a member checking process that included I-poems and Word Trees, which provided the youth with opportunities for self-reflection, enhancement of findings, examination of the students’ learning, and as a way to shift some of the power from the researcher to the participants. This paper serves as an example for other researchers …

The Corporate Social Responsibility In Lidl’S Communication Campaigns In Croatia And The Uk, Martina Topic, Ralph Tench

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of the paper was to investigate whether Lidl uses CSR communication in their Advertising and Communication Campaigns in two different business contexts, and if so, how. The paper built upon existing analyses of CSR Communication by analysing Lidl’s websites in both countries, and went step forward and analysed TV adverts of the company in both countries as well. The analysis discovered importance of the social context in using CSR to promote business, as well as a different communication management strategy where Lidl does not communicate with UK public as extensively as with the Croatian public due to different …