Constructions of personal relationships: Older women in conversation

The aim of this research is to examine how older women construct their relationships in talk with three features distinguishing the study: a) myself as a member of the group of conversationalists; b) observing and recording relationships as talk-in-interaction; and c) using visual stimuli as a topic for talk. The report is located primarily within an ethnomethodologically based interest in talk-in-interaction, which influenced both the choice of participants and the methodology. Conversations about relationships are generated between older women known both to the researcher and to each other. Two types of occasioned talk of a purposeful nature are audio-recorded - semi-structured interviews and conversations focusing on personal photographs. The talk is then transcribed in detail and the resulting data closely analysed. By examining both sequencing and membership categorisation, aspects of the talk become hearable as relationships-in-interaction. Several features are reportable from this micro-analysis of the talk. One is indexicality - the talk is located in a particular context and links in detail to the particular women talking and the specific topic being talked about. Another is the shared knowledge and understanding that the participants make relevant and hearable in the different identity constructions that are used. Remembered accounts are significant in the conversations and one of the ways in which these memories are presented is in the form of stories and second stories, from both the researcher and from the other conversationalists. In summary the research makes possible a discussion of relationships-in-interaction between women who know each other. Their relationships are made hearable through storied remembering prompted by questions and personal photographs. This discussion builds on previous work that investigates personal relationships and identifies a novel means of generating talk-in-interaction

"A peculiar time in my life": making sense of illness and recovery with gynaecological cancer.

PURPOSE: Worldwide there are nearly 1.1 million new cases of gynaecological cancer annually. In England, uterine, ovarian and cervical cancers comprize the third most common type of new cancer in women. Research with gynaecological cancer patients within 6 months of diagnosis is rare, as is data collection that is roughly contemporaneous with treatment. Our aim was to explore the experiences of women who were, at study entry, within 6 weeks of surgery or were undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy. METHODS: An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of data from 16 women in five focus groups was conducted in the UK, exploring women's experiences of being diagnosed with and treated for gynaecological cancer. RESULTS: Participants conceptualized their experiences temporally, from the shock of diagnosis, through their cancer treatment, to thinking about recovery. They tried to make sense of diagnosis, even with treatment being complete. In the context of the Self-Regulation Model, these women were struggling to interpret a changing and multi-faceted illness identity, and attempting to return to pre-illness levels of health. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to this under-studied time period in cancer survivorship. The results suggest that survivors' goals may change from returning to pre-illness status to reformulating goals as survival time increases

“Suddenly you are King Solomon”: Multiplicity, transformation and integration in compassion focused therapy chairwork

Chairwork is a psychotherapeutic method that frequently focuses on self-multiplicity and internal relationships. Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) uses chairwork to generate and apply compassion towards threat-based aspects of the self. This study explores self-multiplicity in a CFT chairwork intervention for self-criticism. Twelve participants with depression were interviewed following the intervention and the resultant data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three super-ordinate themes were identified: differentiating selves; mental imagery of selves; and integrating and transforming selves with compassion. The results highlight how the intervention enabled clients to differentiate internal aspects of themselves in a way that was accessible and helpful, increasing self-complexity and introducing the potential to observe and change patterns of self-to-self relating. The process of bringing compassion to self-criticism was shown to integrate both aspects of the critical dialogue, transforming the ‘critic’ by understanding its fears and function. The use of mental imagery was also shown to facilitate clients’ experience of self-multiplicity and to symbolize the kind of changes generated by the exercise. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.N/

The value of a Patient Access Portal in primary care: a cross-sectional survey of 62,486 registered users in the UK

YesIn England, primary care patients have access to Patient Access Portals (PAPs), enabling them to book appointments, request repeat medication prescriptions, send/receive messages and review their medical records. Few studies have elicited user views and value of PAPs, especially in a publicly funded primary care setting. This study aimed to elicit the value users of PAPs place on online access to medical records and linked services. Secondary data analysis of the completed electronic survey (available 2 May 2015–27 June 2015) distributed via the EMIS PAP to all its registered users. EMIS designed the survey; responses were voluntary. There were 62,486 responders (95.7% self-completed). The PAP was mainly used for medication requests (86.3%) and online appointment bookings (78.4%), and, to a lesser extent, medical record viewing (18.3%) and messaging (9.5%). The majority (70%) reported a positive impact from using it. One in five rated it as their favourite online service second only to online banking. Almost three out of four responders stated that availability of online access would influence their move to another practice. Nonetheless, responders were reluctant to award a high monetary value to it. These findings correlated with the number of long-term conditions. The majority of users place a relatively high value, but not monetary value, on the PAP and report a positive impact from using it. The potential for PAPs to enhance patient experience, especially for those with long-term conditions, appears to be largely untapped. Research exploring the reasons for non-use is also required

An exploration of primary school teachers’ maths anxiety using interpretative phenomenological analysis

Primary school teachers are important in children’s learning of mathematics, and maths anxiety development has been partly attributed to children’s classroom experiences (Das & Das, 2013). Maths anxiety was explored in UK primary school teachers, with a view to understanding its development and impact. Data from four semi-structured individual interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which facilitates a deeper knowledge of individuals’ personal experience. Three key themes emerged: “experiencing the psychological consequences of maths anxiety”, “social influences” and “the consequences of experiencing maths anxiety as a teaching professional”. The findings contribute to our understanding of the influence of maths anxiety on teachers and teaching practices.N/

‘A definite feel-it moment’: Embodiment, externalization and emotion during chair-work in compassion-focused therapy

Chair-work is an experiential method used within compassion-focused therapy (CFT) to apply compassion to various aspects of the self. This is the first study of CFT chair-work and is focused on clients’ lived experiences of a chair-work intervention for self-criticism. Twelve participants with depression were interviewed following the chair-work intervention and the resulting data was examined using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes were identified: ‘embodiment and enactment’, ‘externalizing the self in physical form’ and ‘emotional intensity’. The findings suggest the importance of accessing and expressing various emotions connected with self-criticism, whilst highlighting the potential for client distress and avoidance during the intervention. The role of embodying, enacting and physically situating aspects of the self in different chairs is also suggested to be an important mechanism of change in CFT chair-work. The findings are discussed in terms of clinical implications, emphasizing how core CFT concepts and practices are facilitated by the chair-work process.N/

Multiple emotions, multiple selves: compassion focused therapy chairwork

Compassion focused therapy (CFT) is rooted in an evolutionary view of the human mind as formed of a multitude of contrasting, and often conflicting, motivations, emotions and competencies. A core aim of the therapy is to help clients understand the nature of their mind in a way that is de-pathologizing and de-shaming. The approach is also focused on the cultivation of compassion to work with these difficult aspects of mind. CFT includes the ‘multiple-selves’ intervention which involves the differentiation of threat-based emotion and an exploration of their conflict. Compassion is then applied to the client’s affective world to aid regulation and integration. This paper focuses on clients’ experiences of a chairwork version of multiple-selves, wherein clients personify their emotions in separate chairs. Nine participants with depression were interviewed directly following the intervention and the resulting data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three interconnecting themes were identified: appreciating emotional complexity; the role of chairwork process; and compassionate integration. The results highlight the importance of emotional differentiation in understanding internal multiplicity and conflict in depression, and the role of compassion in creating a sense of personal coherence. The embodied and enactive nature of chairwork was found to be of benefit in identifying and separating emotion, and in developing new forms of self-relating. The paper discusses the clinical implications of such findings for the treatment of depression.N/

Urease and urea amidolyase: Determination of activity in liverworts

Using highly sensitive techniques, we have investigated urea degradation in the liverworts and found that they have high urease but no detectable urea amidolyase activity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33856/1/0000116.pd