A Guide to Using Qualitative Research Methodology

A beginner's guide to using qualitative research methodologyA guide to using qualitative research methodology developed by OCA and an external academi

The concept of a canon and its impact upon the teaching and examining of english literature

This thesis sets out to investigate the concept of a canon, and its impact upon the teaching and examining of English Literature in this country. It focuses on the relationships linking the concept of a canon, conceptualizations of canonicity and their practical consequences: four propositions are raised concerning those relationships. The thesis seeks to identify the ethical implications of the rival moral anthropologies which are involved in those relationships, and applies an axiological critique to the praxiological issues and pedagogical aspects of canonicity when related to notions of the 'critical' in literary theory, social theory and critical pedagogy. Since canonicity, culture and literature are considered inextricably linked, and theory recognised as 'a miscellaneous genre' (Culler 1988:87), theories of language, history, mind and culture are perceived as potentially illuminative accounts of signification. The philosophy of the aesthetic as an autonomous realm, purposively instrumental in equating a 'correct' reading of literary hermeneutics with its 'correct' counterpart in establishment axiology, is seen as problematic, and central to the thesis. The thesis is presented in three parts: Part One: Setting the Scene Part Two: The Conceptual Domain Part Three: Evaluation: Effects, Consequences and Implications. The findings are offered as a tentative explanation of the consequences of canonicity. They suggest that current conceptualizations of canonicity encourage and enable a cultural-restorationist approach, wherein a prescriptive rather than an emancipatory pedagogy is enacted in the teaching and examining of English Literature within contemporary compulsory schooling in this country

Using quantitative risk information in decisions about statins: a qualitative study in a community setting.

BACKGROUND: A large literature informs guidance for GPs about communicating quantitative risk information so as to facilitate shared decision making. However, relatively little has been written about how patients utilise such information in practice. AIM: To understand the role of quantitative risk information in patients' accounts of decisions about taking statins. DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a qualitative study, with participants recruited and interviewed in community settings. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 34 participants aged >50 years, all of whom had been offered statins. Data were analysed thematically, using elements of the constant comparative method. RESULTS: Interviewees drew frequently on numerical test results to explain their decisions about preventive medication. In contrast, they seldom mentioned quantitative risk information, and never offered it as a rationale for action. Test results were spoken of as objects of concern despite an often-explicit absence of understanding, so lack of understanding seems unlikely to explain the non-use of risk estimates. Preventive medication was seen as 'necessary' either to treat test results, or because of personalised, unequivocal advice from a doctor. CONCLUSION: This study's findings call into question the assumption that people will heed and use numerical risk information once they understand it; these data highlight the need to consider the ways in which different kinds of knowledge are used in practice in everyday contexts. There was little evidence from this study that understanding probabilistic risk information was a necessary or valued condition for making decisions about statin use

Understanding resolution of deliberate self harm: qualitative interview study of patients' experiences.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the accounts of those with a history of deliberate self harm but who no longer do so, to understand how they perceive this resolution and to identify potential implications for provision of health services. DESIGN: Qualitative in-depth interview study. SETTING: Interviews in a community setting. PARTICIPANTS: 20 participants selected from a representative cohort identified in 1997 after an episode of deliberate self poisoning that resulted in hospital treatment. Participants were included if they had no further episodes for at least two years before interview. RESULTS: We identified three recurrent themes: the resolution of adolescent distress; the recognition of the role of alcohol as a precipitating and maintaining factor in self harm; and the understanding of deliberate self harm as a symptom of untreated or unrecognised illness. CONCLUSION: Patients with a history of deliberate self harm who no longer harm themselves talk about their experiences in terms of lack of control over their lives, either through alcohol dependence, untreated depression, or, in adolescents, uncertainty within their family relationships. Hospital management of deliberate self harm has a role in the identification and treatment of depression and alcohol misuse, although in adolescents such interventions may be less appropriate

Are physical activity and everyday mobility independently associated with quality of life at older age?

Background: Physical activity and everyday mobility are concepts that overlap but tend to be located in different disciplinary fields. We used the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to: identify whether physical activity and everyday mobility are separate constructs at younger (60–69) and/or older (>=70) age bands, and for men and women; derive measures of the two constructs from variables in the ELSA; and assess whether they are independently associated with quality of life (QoL). Methods: We derived composite measures for physical activity and everyday mobility from ELSA variables. ‘Physical Activity’ combined items recording directly-measured activity for movement (walk-speed) and self-report measures of physical mobility difficulties and amount of vigorous, moderate and mild physical activity undertaken. ‘Everyday Mobility’ combined self-report responses about activities likely to involve leaving the house. QoL was measured using the ‘CASP-19′ scale. Using Wave 9 of ELSA (data collection in 2018–2020), we used a factor analysis to explore the constructs, and a regression analysis to examine associations with QoL. Results: The factor analysis confirmed that these were discrete constructs, which explained between them 36% of the variance. This was robust across age bands, and in factor analyses for men and women separately. The regression analysis identified that lower physical activity and everyday mobility are independently associated with lower QoL, when controlling for a range of contextual variables including age. Conclusions: Findings suggest that a social model of QoL at older age should focus on the broader mobility determinants of QoL as well as individual levels of physical activity

The Transition Process in Office Automation and Its Impact on Clerical Workers: A Case Study

The purpose of this research was to study the transition process of office automation and its impact on clerical workers. The objective was to provide computer-naive managers with recommendations on factors to consider when managing the office automation change process. The topic was investigated using a case study approach. The setting was a large, multi-function, research-oriented, urban university on the west coast. Data were gathered through interviews, observations and examination of documents. Twenty-five clerical workers (representing different segments of the campus and having experience using different types of computer-assisted office equipment), who had experienced the transition process of office automation, were interviewed in depth. Ten of those subjects were additionally interviewed in group settings. Administrative personnel who had responsibility for managing computing resources were interviewed for background data. Information was gathered from the subjects concerning their experiences with and perceptions of the automation change process, and the impact of automation on their jobs. The data were analyzed by the following categories: (a) factors affecting the transition process, (b) factors impacting on efficient use of computer-assisted equipment, (c) job changes resulting from office automation, and (d) factors associated with the use of different types of computer-assisted equipment. Key findings were that (a) the prospect of office automation can be anxiety-producing for potential users, (b) most users did not receive adequate training, (c) lack of training may result in underutilization of computer-assisted equipment, (d) there was no indication that automation diminished communication among users, and (e) most of the subjects reported high job satisfaction after automation. It was the researcher\u27s conclusion that the significant issue of office automation is how the automation change process is managed, not the automation per se. It is recommended that managers include users in office automation decision-making in order to minimize problems associated with user anxiety, training, job design and efficient use of the equipment

THE SUBTLE ENERGY OF LOVE

That love promotes health surprises few people and yet from the perspective of poets, philosophers and healers who for millennia have understood the powers of love, the scientific study of love and physical health is in its infuncy. Because love has many facets and is manifested in many ways as described here, it was banned from Western Science that insisted upon observable and simple independent variables. In this article we present data indicating the salutary effects of love on physical health; these data are from several areas-psychology, sociology, medicine, epidemiology and healing-and together form a foundation for understanding and enhancing love and its effects. Three processes are formulated to explain the health promoting effects of love-psychophysiologic, psychophysical and psychosocial/behavioral. Love is described as an energy by virtue of its capaciry to produce effects; it is subtle, not because its effects are subtle, but because it has been ineffable to science