Blogging as a viable research methodology for young people with arthritis: a qualitative study.

The development of services that are responsive to the needs of users is a health policy priority. Finding ways of engaging young people in research to gain insights into their particular experiences, perspectives, and needs is vital but challenging. These data are critical to improving services in ways that meet the needs of young people

As questões de género na perceção das competências para o uso de tecnologias da comunicação: um estudo entre os alunos do ensino superior público português

A investigação apresentada neste artigo teve como principal objetivo contribuir para uma compreensão mais alargada do uso que os estudantes do Ensino Superior Público Português (ESPP) fazem das Tecnologias da Comunicação (TC) para suporte à aprendizagem. Especificamente, procurou-se estudar a influência do género neste contexto e, no âmbito do presente artigo, apresenta-se parte da fundamentação teórica que sustenta o estudo, os objetivos e as opções metodológicas, bem como alguns dos resultados obtidos, em particular os que dizem respeito às diferenças de género na perceção das competências para o uso de TC para suporte à aprendizagem. Os resultados obtidos indicam que a maioria dos estudantes classifica as suas competências como sendo boas ou muito boas e, no que se refere à influência do género, os testes estatísticos sugerem a existência de diferenças significativas entre o sexo masculino e o sexo feminino na perceção das suas competências para o uso de TC

"Learning to live your life again": an interpretative phenomenological analysis of weblogs documenting the inside experience of recovering from Anorexia Nervosa

Objective: This study aimed to explore the construct of recovery from Anorexia Nervosa (AN) through the medium of weblogs, focusing on the benefits and barriers to the recovery process. Method: Data was extracted from female (n=7) and male (n=1) participants’ textual pro-recovery weblogs, all of which were posted between 2013 and 2015 in the public domain. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: Three superordinate themes were identified: (1) barriers to recovery, (2) factors increasing the likelihood of recovery, and (3) support. Discussion: Results suggest supportive relationships, re-gaining control and recognising the consequences of the eating disorder benefit recovery, whereas public perceptions, the AN voice, and time act as barriers to recovery. Out of eight participants, four described seeking professional help as part of their recovery, of which three believed their professional therapy experience helped aid recovery. Conclusion: Implications for AN treatment are discussed in detail

How computer technology transforms writing performance: an integration of the process/genre approach and blogs in EFL writing courses

This quasi-experimental research examined the effects of the process/genre approach (PGA) with the integration of blogs in EFL university-level students’ writing classrooms. This was a mixed-method study in which the participants’ essays and adopted questionnaires contributed to accumulating quantitative data while the interviews and observations provided qualitative data. The study took place over ten weeks at a university in central Taiwan in which paper-pencil instruction was applied in the control group, while blog instruction was employed for the experimental group. The students’ essays were computed by applying a paired-sample t-test, and the questionnaires were analysed by applying a Wilcoxon signed-rank test to determine whether there were any statistically significant differences in terms of the students’ writing performance and perceptions toward the PGA and blog writing after comparing the results of the pre-test and the post-test. The qualitative data was analysed to provide in-depth evidence to support the quantitative results. After the data analysis was completed, the paired-sample t-test demonstrated that there were significant differences in terms of the students’ writing performance in both groups, which demonstrates how the PGA developed the EFL university students’ writing performance. Because the students had more interactive opportunities to be exposed to the language inputs, this approach facilitated their English writing performance. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test presented that the students revealed positive attitudes toward writing blogs and also positive affections toward blog writing because they had higher levels of satisfaction and lower levels of apprehension when blogging. Moreover, there was a significant difference in terms of the factor of “learning with peers” in the control group since the PGA provided more interactive and communicative opportunities. The students also indicated greater understanding about their writing samples in the experimental group, since they were allowed to refer to the instructional contents on the blogs anytime and anywhere

The invisible paradox of inflammatory bowel disease: An analysis of men's blogs.

Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with stigmatising symptoms. Online support platforms eschew stigma, thus may appeal more to men who avoid traditional forms of health support. Using a critical realist netnographic approach and inductive thematic analysis, this study examined six blogs written by UK-based men to explore how inflammatory bowel disease was narrated. Three subthemes and one overarching theme - The (in)visible paradox of IBD - were developed. Findings suggest private aspects of inflammatory bowel disease risk experiential erasure, whereas public aspects lack control. Blogging facilitates the regaining of control, leading to important support connections and a re-imagining of the male inflammatory bowel disease body

Investigating Student Satisfaction and Retention in Online High School Courses

Caddo Parish Public Schools (CPPS) provides virtual courses via Education2020.com for students wanting to accelerate their studies or repeat coursework. Currently, anecdotal comments from students, parents, and school personnel and student data are the only feedback CPPS uses to evaluate its online program. The purpose of the current study was to assess student satisfaction and retention in the CPPS summer school program. I employed a mixed methods approach, utilizing the district’s database and responses from student surveys and interviews to analyze student academic performance, evaluate variables, and understand student experiences from the 2013 CPPS online summer school program. Student participants were sorted into four unique groups: (a) students taking a course for the first time who subsequently earned course credit, (b) students taking a course for the first time who subsequently did not earn course credit, (c) students repeating a course who subsequently earned course credit, and (d) students repeating a course who subsequently did not earn course credit. For the purposes of this study, student participants identified as repeating a course had completed the original course in either (a) a face-to-face classroom or (b) an online environment. Independent t-tests were used to determine whether statistically significant differences existed between student populations. Results from significance testing of data from the Education2020.com database for CPPS students revealed no statistically significant differences among demographic and academic variables. Similarly, only trivial effect sizes were identified. Student survey and interview responses affirmed that higher student satisfaction was associated with enrollment in electives, students who earned credit, students who repeated courses, and female students. Students who earned credit were self-motivated, investing considerable time and effort into their courses. Conversely, students who did not earn credit did not accept personal responsibility for their learning and had difficulty with course pacing. Data from this record of study indicate that helping students adopt effective learning strategies raises their chances of completing their online courses and increasing their satisfaction with the online program

Assume the Position: Exploring Discipline Relationships

Discipline relationships are consensual adult relationships between submissive and dominant partners who employ authority and corporal punishment. This population uses social media to discuss the private nature of their ritualized fantasies, desires, and practices. Participants of these relationships resist a sadomasochistic label of BDSM or domestic abuse. I conducted in-depth interviews and narrative analysis of social media to explore experiences and identities of people in discipline relationships. The sample includes social media bloggers and past and present participants in discipline relationships. I compared explanations participants give for wanting and participating in discipline relationships. I combine identity theory, constructionism, post-structuralism, and critical feminism as an analytic frame to understand this practice sociologically. I found gender differences in the media format and communication style of participants, but the ritualized expressions for discipline relationships remain consistent regardless of gender. The social process of community identification for participants includes coming out, educating others and “inviting in.” The online community provides a forum for relationship negotiation techniques, and encouraging the embrace of non-normative sexual identity. Participants use social media to form a nascent social movement that resists normative views of sexuality and relationships in the dominant culture

A STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF BLOGS IN EFL PROCESS/GENRE-BASED WRITING CLASSROOMS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS’ WRITING STRATEGIES

The purposes of this quasi-experimental study were to examine the effects of the integration of the process/genre approach (hereafter cited as PGA) and blog on EFL college students’ writing development, and the changes of the use of writing strategies. A total of thirty-four second-year English major undergraduates who were randomly labelled as the control and experimental groups took part in this eight-week programme. An English writing essay and the questionnaires were completed in both the pre-test and post-test to contribute to accumulating quantitative data, while the observations and interviews provided qualitative data. The quantitative data was computed by applying IBM SPSS statistics to find the differences as well as the correlations, while the qualitative data was interpreted by myself to explore possible reasons and explanations to support the quantitative outcomes and to answer the research questions. The difference test revealed that there were statistically significant differences on the participants’ English writing performances in both groups. There were some statistically significant differences in terms of the students’ perceptions of the PGA in both groups, as well as perceptions of the blog writing in the experimental group. However, neither the control group nor the experimental group showed significant differences in terms of the use of writing strategies after the treatments. The correlation tests also indicated significant different correlations between the two groups in which the results in the experimental group had greater significances. In terms of the qualitative research findings, several obstacles had been found to be considered before conducting this type of class. However, encouraging feedback regarding the instruction had been indicated by the students to explain how they perceived the application of the PGA as well as blogs in their writing classrooms, and how the instruction developed their English writing competence

At the Intersection of Gender & Technology: A Meta-Analysis

With the proliferation of novel technology-infused learning environments, there is a need to further our understanding of their impact on learners, the learning process, and the learning outcomes for diverse student bodies in various study programs. Investigating gender differences in usage and attitudes towards different technologies is important because educational institutions, especially public ones, are seen by policy makers as structures that aim to reform societal inequalities. The objective of this dissertation is to conduct a systematic review of the literature to establish the relationship between (a) gender and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) usage and (b) gender and attitudes towards the use of ICT, in the context of formal educational settings from elementary to postsecondary levels. This dissertation takes an in-depth look at ICT attitudes in learning by avoiding treating it as one indivisible construct. I subdivided the attitudinal construct into the different theoretical frameworks embedded in the literature related to technologies in pedagogical settings. These include Computer Anxiety, Negative Attitudes Towards ICT, Computer Confidence, Perceived Ease of Use of ICT, Perceived Usefulness of ICT, Perceived Satisfaction with ICT, Positive Attitudes Towards ICT, Motivation to Use ICT, Computer Self-efficacy, Intention to Use ICT, and Mixed Perceptions Towards ICT. After a systematic literature review, I synthesized the results of 213 studies and used random-effects meta-analytic techniques to evaluate gender differences across students’ reported usage and attitudes towards ICT in learning. Findings of this dissertation reveal significant gender differences between female and male students’ reported usage of ICT and attitudes towards ICT in favor of males. Average effect sizes ranged from small to moderate. The highest average effect size belonged to the construct of Computer Confidence where male students typically reported higher confidence with computers, with .38 standard deviations above the female students. The lowest effect size belonged to the construct of Perceived Satisfaction with ICT where male students typically reported higher perceived satisfaction with ICT, with .05 standard deviations above the female students. A number of contextual factors impacted the results of the outcomes to differing degrees. These include ‘research country’, ‘grade level of students’, ‘technology type surveyed’, ‘questionnaire used’, ‘ethnicities’, ‘subject matter’, ‘participation rate’, ‘sampling selectivity’, ‘competency’, ‘publication date’, ‘technology acceptance model’, ‘class context’, and ‘socioeconomic status’. This dissertation concludes with educational implications and suggestions for future research investigating gender differences in students’ usage and attitudes towards ICT in learning. Considerable effort should be made by researchers to contextualize the studies as possible and as such, I recommend that gender should not be researched as a homogeneous independent variable. After all, gender is embedded in many other variables, in the same way that it is embedded in the many structures of society. Gender therefore needs to be researched with other intersecting demographics, including but not limited to participants’ home country, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic background. Intersectionality is a theory and a methodology that is suited to addressing the complexities of gender differences concerning the usage of and attitudes towards ICT. It imparts differences and particularities in social statuses in the hope of militating against those silent prejudices that result in social inequities. This theory allows us to inspect social demographic variables as they truly are: complex and interwoven. Adopting this theory does not mean that each study investigating gender differences needs to include all possible demographic variable interactions. However, it invites social scientists to be more comprehensive in their sampling selections and to be more aware of the complexity of social phenomena. Last but not least, intersectional methods require more than just an analysis of statistical interactions among social groups. They need to analyze the fundamental and significant impacts of these interactions

Analysis of the Tools Online Readiness Instrument as an Indicator of Student Success in Online Courses in a Community College Environment

As online learning increases its presence in higher education, there is value in identifying instruments to accurately and reliably assess the readiness of students to succeed in this learning environment. One instrument used by numerous institutions is the Test of Online Learning Success (ToOLS). This study examined the psychometric properties of the ToOLS online readiness instrument and its efficacy as an indicator of success in online courses, with specific focus on the community college environment. The sample for the study comprised 157 students enrolled in online courses in a community college in a Mid-Western urban environment. Data was collected via online survey methodology and extraction from institutional sources. The study found that ToOLS had sound content validity based on comparison with the research literature, and good reliability, both internal and test/re-test. Analysis of its underlying factor structure was not possible due to sampling issues in the original validation study in the literature and sample size limitations in the present study However, despite its psychometric acceptability, ToOLS was not found to be a successful indicator of student grades in online courses. There was evidence that the failure of ToOLS in this capacity may stem from being outdated in identifying the factors that currently contribute to readiness for, and success in, online learning. It was recommended that ToOLS be used by community colleges to identify specific online readiness factors that may pose difficulties for individual students, but not as a general indicator or predictor of online learning success.Education (PhD