‘She needs a smack in the gob’: negotiating what is appropriate talk in front of children in family therapy

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: O'Reilly, M., & Parker, N. (2014). ‘She needs a smack in the gob’: negotiating what is appropriate talk in front of children in family therapy. Journal of Family Therapy, 36(3), 287-307. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6427.2012.00595.x, which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-6427.2012.00595.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingTackling the day-to-day challenges of family therapy can prove difficult for professionals. A particular issue arising in family therapy is the notion of what is appropriate for children. Families report events from their social world, out-there to the therapy in-here. There are occasions where the content is ‘adult’ in nature and this has to be managed in front of the children. On some occasions family members use derogatory or negative descriptions of their children while their children are present. Drawing upon naturally occurring family therapy sessions, we present a discourse analysis of how this is managed through a range of discursive resources. We show that adult family members construct what is inappropriate for children to be exposed to by positioning blame with others. This has implications for how family therapists deal with inappropriateness when children are present while maintaining the equilibrium of therapeutic alliances

'Unsatisfactory Saturation': A critical exploration of the notion of saturated sample sizes in qualtative research

O'Reilly, M., & Parker, N. (2013). 'Unsatisfactory Saturation': A critical exploration of the notion of saturated sample sizes in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 13(2), 190-197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112446106. Copyright © 2012 SAGE. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Measuring quality in qualitative research is a contentious issue with diverse opinions and various frameworks available within the evidence base. One important and somewhat neglected argument within this field relates to the increasingly ubiquitous discourse of data saturation. While originally developed within grounded theory, theoretical saturation, and later termed data/thematic saturation for other qualitative methods, the meaning has evolved and become transformed. Problematically this temporal drift has been treated as unproblematic and saturation as a marker for sampling adequacy is becoming increasingly accepted and expected. In this article we challenge the unquestioned acceptance of the concept of saturation and consider its plausibility and transferability across all qualitative approaches. By considering issues of transparency and epistemology we argue that adopting saturation as a generic quality marker is inappropriate. The aim of this article is to highlight the pertinent issues and encourage the research community to engage with and contribute to this important area

‘Gossiping' as a social action in family therapy: The pseudo-absence and pseudo-presence of children

Parker, N., & O'Reilly, M. (2012). ‘Gossiping' as a social action in family therapy: The pseudo-absence and pseudo-presence of children. Discourse Studies, 14(4), 457-475. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445612452976. Copyright © 2012 SAGE. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Family therapists face a number of challenges in their work. When children are present in family therapy they can and do make fleeting contributions. We draw upon naturally occurring family therapy sessions to explore the ‘pseudo-presence’ and ‘pseudo-absence’ of children and the institutional ‘gossiping’ quality these interactions have. Our findings illustrate that a core characteristic of gossiping is its functional role in building alignments’ which in this institutional context is utilized as a way of managing accountability. Our findings have a number of implications for clinical professionals and highlight the value of discourse and conversation analysis techniques for exploring therapeutic interactions

Ethics in Praxis: Negotiating the Role and Functions of a Video Camera in family therapy

Hutchby, I., O'Reilly, M., & Parker, N. (2013). Ethics in Praxis: Negotiating the Role and Functions of a Video Camera in Family Therapy. Discourse Studies, 14(6), 675-690. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445612457487 . Copyright © 2012 SAGE. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.The use of video for research purposes is something that has attracted ethical attention and debate. While the usefulness of video as a mechanism to collect data is widely agreed, the ethical sensitivity and impact of recording equipment is more contentious. In some clinical settings the presence of a camera has a dual role, as a portal to a reflecting team and as a recording device to obtain research data. Using data from one such setting, family therapy sessions, this article shows how the role played by recording equipment is negotiated in the course of talk and other activities that constitute sessions. Analysis reveals that members of the therapy interaction orient in different ways and for different purposes to the value of recordings. The article concludes that there are layers of benefit to be derived from recording of clinical interactions, including for members themselves, and this has wider implications for the ways in which qualitative research designs in health sciences are evaluated

Ongoing processes of managing consent: the empirical ethics of using video-recording in clinical practice and research

O'Reilly, M., Parker, N., & Hutchby, I. (2011). Ongoing processes of managing consent: The empirical ethics of using video-recording in clinical practice and research. Clinical Ethics, 6(4), 179-185. https://doi.org/10.1258/ce.2011.011040. Copyright © 2011 SAGE. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Using video to facilitate data collection has become increasingly common in health research. Using video in research, however, does raise additional ethical concerns. In this paper we utilise family therapy data to provide empirical evidence of how recording equipment is treated. We show that families made a distinction between what was observed through the video by the reflecting team and what was being recorded onto videotape. We show that all parties actively negotiated what should and should not go ‘on the record’ with particular attention to sensitive topics and the responsibility of the therapist. Our findings have important implications for both clinical professionals and researchers using video data. We maintain that informed consent should be an ongoing process and with this in mind we present some arguments pertaining to the current debates in this field of health care practice

An immunoturbidimetric assay for bovine haptoglobin

In cattle, the serum protein haptoglobin (Hp) is a major acute phase protein (APP) that rises in concentration over a thousand fold following stimulation by pro-inflammatory cytokines. As such, this APP is a valuable biomarker for infection, inflammation and trauma in cattle. The assay for bovine Hp is becoming more commonplace in clinical pathology and in experimental studies when a biomarker of innate immunity is required. The most widely used assay for Hp utilises its binding to haemoglobin (Hp-Hb binding assay), which at low pH enables the preservation of the native peroxidase activity in the haemoglobin. This assay is used for all species, including species such as dog, cat and pig where the level of Hp is higher in healthy animals of these species than in healthy cattle, and therefore a bovine-specific immunoassay that can be automated would be desirable. Thus, a novel-automated species-specific immunoturbidimetric (IT) assay has been developed. Validation studies showed intra- and inter-assay CVs of below 5% and 9% respectively and a recovery of 99% from samples spiked with bovine Hp and a limit of quantification of 0.033 g/L. The assay is not affected by icterus or lipaemia but had moderate interference from haemoglobin and showed a significant correlation with the Hp-Hb binding assay. This novel IT assay for bovine Hp will allow automated analysis of this important bovine APP to identify changes in the Hp concentration not detectable by current Hp-Hb binding assays. It will enable the incorporation of this assay into herd health assessments, animal welfare analysis and for bovine medicine and research

Hungry for more: early childhood educators' perspectives on STEM education, teaching and professional development.

Increasingly, educational policies and curricula recommend that young children experience STEM learning opportunities within Early Childhood (EC) settings. Despite greater demands placed on EC educators, their opinions on STEM have seldom been sought. This study investigated EC educators’ (1) interest in STEM education (2) opinions about the appropriateness of EC STEM education (3) ratings of their STEM self-efficacy and (4) STEM professional development preferences. An anonymous online questionnaire was distributed in the Republic of Ireland, with 198 complete responses received. The respondents, many of whom were highly qualified and experienced educators, reported being interested in STEM and felt it was important, though notably, some believed only for older children. Two-thirds felt their preservice education, which included mathematics (43%); science (30%); technology (17%); and engineering (10%), had not prepared them to support STEM. Knowledge of STEM policy was also limited. Despite this, high levels of STEM confidence were reported. Challenges reported included a lack of resources, support and guidance, and STEM knowledge. 96% of respondents expressed interest in attending EC STEM professional development and a variety of approaches to learning were identified. Implications for policy and practice are suggested

Training Informal Supporters to Improve Responses to Victim-Survivors of Domestic Violence and Abuse: A Systematic Review

Informal supporters (friends, family, colleagues, and community members) play a crucial role in societal-wide responses to victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse. Familial and social networks, however, report a sense of helplessness and difficulties in knowing how to respond. This mixed method systematic review examines the effectiveness, and perceived effectiveness, of training informal supporters to improve their responses to victim-survivors. A novel conceptual framework was developed to underpin the review. A systematic search of four electronic databases, specialist repositories, and websites were used to identify empirical research (in academic or gray literature). Eleven included studies examined educational interventions that aimed to improve responses from informal supporters. Quality appraisal was undertaken, and studies were judged to be "good enough" for synthesis. The studies in the review indicated that informal supporters recognized the value of training for building understanding and equipping them with the skills to respond to victim-survivors. The synthesis identified statistically significant improvements in the knowledge and attitudes of informal supporters in the immediate and short-term following training. Using a behavior change model to frame the evidence, the review found that training/educational activities prime informal supporters to respond to victim-survivors, as well as enhancing their capacity and motivation to do so. This increases the likelihood that informal supporters will take action to support victim-survivors of abuse. We don't know, however, what type of support they will provide and/or whether it would be judged to be helpful by victim-survivors

Parents as facilitators of STEAM learning in early childhood: A literature review

This systematic literature review provides a critical overview of peer-reviewed research on parents as important facilitators of young children’s early engagement with STEAM. The aim of the review is to inform the development of educational resources to support parents engage in STEAM learning activities at home. The objective of the review is to identify evidence-based components of an effective STEAM educational programme to support parents of children aged 6-8 in their STEAM learning. The literature review adopts a systematic approach to literature searches to answer two pre-specified research questions. Searches of scholarly databases were undertaken to answer the following major research questions: (1) How do parents view early STEAM learning and engagement and how confident are parents in supporting young children in STEAM activities; and (2) What educational approaches have been found to support parental engagement in STEAM learning with young children? The literature review provides a brief background on the concept of STEAM, how it is currently defined and why it is considered important in Early Childhood Education. Background context as to why parents are particularly important in supporting early STEAM learning is also provided. A brief methodology section outlines the systematic approach taken to searches and databases used. The findings section outlines the results of these searches as they pertain specifically to each of the two research questions. Findings are discussed through narrative synthesis. The report concludes with a brief summary of the key findings that will inform the development of educational resources for supporting parents in STEAM learning at home