The First Fifty Years: Pacific College 1891-1941

A record of the first fifty years in the life of Pacific College— the illustrated story of her growth as the only Quaker College in the Pacific Northwest, complete with pictures of the present student body and faculty. 55 pageshttps://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/archives_documents/1005/thumbnail.jp

The CAQDA Paradox: A divergence between research method and analytical tool

A wide range of software tools are available to assist researchers with the process of qualitative data analysis. These include tools that emphasise manual handling of data, (e.g. NVivo, Atlas.ti) and tools that provide some automated analysis based on statistical properties of texts (e.g. Leximancer). These tools are enhancing research, making research activities less complex and tedious, and rendering the process more transparent and portable (Dohan et al. 1998; Welsh 2002; Andrew et al. 2007; Jones 2007). The use of these tools in published works over the last five to ten years has become increasingly more evident. However, in many cases, this increase in frequency of use is also masking the actual method of research. Many researchers who use terms like “Data were analysed using NVivo” are using their chosen analytical package as a proxy for actual embedded methods of analysis. It is possible therefore that Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDA) tools are becoming a substitute for actual, and perhaps valid, techniques for research, analysis and discovery. This paper investigates the extent of this problem, examining CAQDA based papers which have been published over the last five years and reporting on their use, or misuse, of methodology. Further, this paper proposes a solution to the problem by adopting a CAQDA technique which utilises a generic style of methodology. A tool used by Quantitative researchers, known as ‘R’, is available which is a free, open source statistical programming language. Within the last five years R has become the lingua franca for statisticians and applied workers to publish reference implementations for novel quantitative techniques. No such tool with sufficient flexibility exists for qualitative researchers. We describe the initial development of a transparent file format and research process which keeps the researcher close to the data and provides strong safeguards against accidental data alteration. This has two main effects. The transparency of the file format keeps the researcher close to the data, and ensures that the researcher keeps in mind the process used to analyse the data rather than the tool in use. The second effect, also related to the open source, transparent plain text basis of the tool, means that an environment for fostering innovation in qualitative data analysis can be easily provided and freely distributed among workers in the field

Listening to 'the thick bunch': (mis)understanding and (mis)representation of young people in jobs without training

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleYoung people in jobs without training are ubiquitous but invisible, working in shops, cafes, and other low‐waged, low‐status occupations. Commonly elided with young people who are not in education, employment or training, they are positioned as the ‘thick bunch’ with empty and meaningless working lives. The main purpose of the research was to explore the experiences of this group of marginalised and socially disadvantaged young people through a deeper understanding of their interests and enthusiasms inside and outside work. These young people have been (mis)understood and (mis)represented. A more holistic and nuanced approach that is not uncritically founded upon a set of neo‐liberal stereotypes and assumptions, and instead recognises the complexity of their lives, would offer new opportunities for understanding and representation of their interests. Our findings challenge the conflation of identity with work and the notion that only certain forms of employment create meaning

A gesture-based virtual art program for children with severe motor impairments - development and pilot study

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Art plays a vital role in developing a child’s communication, problem solving, social and emotional skills as well as motor control, creativity and self-expression. For children with severe impairments that limit their access to traditional art processes, it is important to find alternative methods to enable these children to express themselves creatively. Advantages of a virtual art program include its ability to compensate for specific physical impairments, flexibility of incorporating sensory feedback, such as audio, to improve engagement, the avoidance of the untidiness often associated with children’s arts activities, and the absence of physical parts conducive to accidental ingestion. The Kinect Virtual Art Program (KVAP) uses the Microsoft Kinect gesture recognition technology that facilitates a new method of engaging children in therapeutic recreation. The program was designed to allow the creation of art through non-contact ‘virtual’ button activation. A pilot study was performed with five children with severe impairments to determine the level of physical engagement that these children could attain while using the KVAP over five sessions. The results indicated that the participants enjoyed using the KVAP and increasingly engaged with it over the sessions. The KVAP encouraged physical activity and enabled children to create their own works of art, an activity that was previously inaccessible to them using traditional approaches. The KVAP may offer a potential new avenue for therapy, play and exploration

Electronic Documentation in Residential Aged Care Facilities – A Review of the Literature on Organisational Issues and Early Findings on Initial Conditions from a Case Study

This paper discusses the theoretical rationale for an empirical study of organisational change arising from introduction of electronic nursing documentation in residential aged care facilities. The study draws on a processual view of organisational change, which is related to the theory of complex adaptive systems. First we review existing literature on electronic nursing documentation with an organisational focus to provide a context to help outline the research aims of the present study. Then we describe a method to explore the hierarchical nature of the work environment based on the sociological theory of Institutional Ethnography. Finally we use this approach to describe the differences in initial conditions between two different sites implementing the same software over the same timeframe. Results suggest that our method is sensitive enough to detect subtle but substantial differences in initial conditions between the two study sites

Team Denmark’s sport psychology professional philosophy 2.0

In 2008, Team Denmark established a sport psychology team with the aim to enhance the quality and consistency of applied sport psychology services in Danish sport. The team began their work by creating a professional philosophy (Henriksen, Hansen, & Diment, 2011). Since this publication, the team has worked closely with Danish athletes, coaches and sport federations in consultations, training and competitions, including at numerous World and Europeans Championships as well as several Olympic Games. Lessons learnt on the job, the introduction to new theoretical perspectives, insights from supervision, and formal professional education have resulted in the continual development of the team’s professional philosophy. The purpose of this article is to present a revised version of Team Denmark’s professional philosophy; including: (1) the vision for the team; (2) basic beliefs and values; (3) the psychological theories that interventions are based upon; (4) Team Denmark’s Sports Psychological model which describes the content and focus of the team’s work; and (5) the concrete psychological services that delivered. High quality service requires coherence across all five levels of the philosophy.In 2008, Team Denmark established a sport psychology team with the aim to enhance the quality and consistency of applied sport psychology services in Danish sport. The team began their work by creating a professional philosophy (Henriksen, Hansen, & Diment, 2011). Since this publication, the team has worked closely with Danish athletes, coaches and sport federations in consultations, training and competitions, including at numerous World and Europeans Championships as well as several Olympic Games. Lessons learnt on the job, the introduction to new theoretical perspectives, insights from supervision, and formal professional education have resulted in the continual development of the team’s professional philosophy. The purpose of this article is to present a revised version of Team Denmark’s professional philosophy; including: (1) the vision for the team; (2) basic beliefs and values; (3) the psychological theories that interventions are based upon; (4) Team Denmark’s Sports Psychological model which describes the content and focus of the team’s work; and (5) the concrete psychological services that delivered. High quality service requires coherence across all five levels of the philosophy

What is this thing called “Post-Olympic Blues”? An Exploratory Study Among Danish Olympic Athletes

The post-Olympic period is a challenging and stressful period in which many athletes can experience a range of negative psychological reactions. This has led to the coining of the term ‘post-Olympic blues.’ The purpose of this study is to explore the post-Olympic mental health of Danish athletes with the specific aim to investigate the number of Danish athletes experiencing ‘post-Olympic blues’ after the Tokyo Olympics. Forty-nine Olympic athletes completed measures of well-being (Short-Warwick-Edinburg-Mental-Wellbeing-Scale), depression (Patient-Health-Questionnaire-9), and anxiety (Generalized-Anxiety-Disorders questionnaire) one month after the Olympics Games.  The results indicated that 27% of athletes reported either below average well-being or moderate to severe depression scores, with 16% reported both below average well-being and moderate to severe depression scores. Female athletes reported significantly higher depression than male athletes, with no significant gender difference in well-being or anxiety. No significant age differences were found. No statistically significant results were found between athletes’ goal achievement and mental health, however, there was a tendency that athletes who failed to meet performance expectations reported more negative experiences post-Games. The current results are discussed with regards to developing a clear definition of post-Olympic blues, practical implications, and future research