Unsolicited written narratives as a methodological genre in terminal illness: challenges and limitations

Stories about illness have proven invaluable in helping health professionals understand illness experiences. Such narratives have traditionally been solicited by researchers through interviews and the collection of personal writings, including diaries. These approaches are, however, researcher driven; the impetus for the creation of the story comes from the researcher and not the narrator. In recent years there has been exponential growth in illness narratives created by individuals, of their own volition, and made available for others to read in print or as Internet accounts. We sought to determine whether it was possible to identify such material for use as research data to explore the subject of living with the terminal illness amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease—the contention being that these accounts are narrator driven and therefore focus on issues of greatest importance to the affected person. We encountered and sought to overcome a number of methodological and ethical challenges, which is our focus here

A reflective journal as learning process and contribution to quality and validity in interpretative phenomenological analysis

Using selected, contemporaneous illustrations from the reflective journal of a doctoral student undertaking data analysis for the first time, this article examines the relationship between journaling as a learning process when undertaking computer-assisted qualitative data analysis and establishing quality and validity in interpretative phenomenological analysis. The writing of the journal is shown both to enact some potential validity criteria (e.g. in producing an audit trail) whilst also recording and reflectively prompting the process of learning, interpretation and bracketing, thus evidencing transparency. By using a journal inside the software package and alongside the stages of the interpretative phenomenological analysis, analysis within the software package, it is argued that quality and validity become dynamic, not static constructs. These constructs are intimately linked to the researcher-learning-process and permit a critical stance to be taken

How do SYMPtoms and management tasks in chronic heart failure imPACT a person's life (SYMPACT)? Protocol for a mixed-methods study.

AIMS: Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) struggle to follow self-care plans, which may lead to worsening illness and poor quality of life. Burden of treatment (BoT) describes this workload and its impact on patients' lives. Suggesting the balance between a patient's treatment workload and their capability to manage it is crucial. If BoT is reduced, self-care engagement and quality of life may improve. This article describes the SYMPACT study design and methods used to explore how symptoms and management tasks impact CHF patients' lives. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design to investigate the interaction between symptoms and BoT in CHF patients. CONCLUSIONS: If symptoms and BoT are intrinsically linked, then the high level of symptoms experienced by CHF patients may lead to increased treatment burden, which likely decreases patients' engagement with self-care plans. SYMPACT may identify modifiable factors to improve CHF patients' experience

Marketing technology for adoption by small business

The adoption of technology for marketing is essential for the survival of small businesses and yet little is understood about owner-manager practice in this area. This paper aims to address that gap through a qualitative study of 24 owner-managed small businesses operating in the visitor economy. It found that there was a strong appetite for the adoption of technology for marketing and a clear recognition of its opportunities particularly related to how it could create a stronger market orientation and more agile marketing, adhering to the principles of effectual reasoning. However, the ability to take advantage of these opportunities was constrained by a lack of knowledge and in particular an inability to measure the return on investment. While the wider implications of the study are limited by the niche sample, a planning model for the adoption of technology for marketing is presented which can be tested through future research

Learning from support workers: can a dramatherapy group offer a community provision to support changes in care for people with learning disabilities and mental health difficulties?

1.1 Background The UK Government's Transforming Care Agenda for people with learning disabilities has struggled to meet its goals of reducing inpatient beds and building community‐based support. This article reports on the experiences of support staff who attended dramatherapy groups developed to assist transitions from an inpatient hospital and to prevent re‐admissions through post‐discharge support. The groups provide ongoing support and a place where relationships can be developed between supporter and those supported. 1.2 Materials and Methods A focus group with a purposive sample of paid support staff. The data was synthesised using a thematic framework approach. 1.3 Results Themes include: (a) new way of supporting and (b) hospital connection. The groups helped improve social interaction, friendship building, communication and self‐confidence. Additional benefits include the pooling of support and a connection with professionals that enables difficulties to be caught early. 1.4 Conclusions Support workers valued these dramatherapy groups, recognising how the intervention enabled people with learning disabilities to develop relationships and provide easy access to mental health professionals. Support staff also found benefits for themselves which included shared support and an increased understanding and insight into the people they support

`Hath charms to soothe . . .': An exploratory study of how high-functioning adults with ASD experience music

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 highfunctioning adults on the autism spectrum, in order to examine the nature of their personal experiences of music. Consistent with the literature on typically developing people’s engagement with music, the analysis showed that most participants exploit music for a wide range of purposes in the cognitive, emotional and social domains, including mood management, personal development and social inclusion. However, in contrast to typically developing people, the ASD group’s descriptions of mood states reflected a greater reliance on internally focused (arousal) rather than externally focused (emotive) language

Project manager-to-project allocations in practice: an empirical study of the decision-making practices of a multi-project based organization

Empirical studies that examine how managers make project manager-to-project (PM2P) allocation decisions in multi-project settings are currently limited. Such decisions are crucial to organizational success. An empirical study of the PM2P practice, conducted in the context of Botswana, revealed ineffective processes in terms of optimality in decision-making. A conceptual model to guide effective PM2P practices was developed. The focus of this study is on deploying the model as a lens to study the PM2P practices of a large organization, with a view to identify and illustrate strengths and weaknesses. A case study was undertaken in the mining industry, where core activities in terms of projects are underground mineral explorations at identified geographical regions. A semi-structured interview protocol was used to collect data from 15 informants, using an enumeration. Integrated analysis of both data types (using univariate descriptive analysis for the quantitative data, content and thematic analysis for the qualitative data) revealed strengths in PM2P practices, demonstrated by informants’ recognition of some important criteria to be considered. The key weaknesses were exemplified by a lack of effective management tools and techniques to match project managers to projects. The findings provide a novel perspective through which improvements in working practices can be made

‘Just like talking to someone about like shit in your life and stuff, and they help you’: hopes and expectations for therapy among depressed adolescents

Objective: To explore hopes and expectations for therapy among a clinical population of depressed adolescents. Method: As part of a randomised clinical trial, 77 adolescents aged 11 to 17, with moderate to severe depression, were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The interviews were analysed qualitatively, using Framework Analysis. Results: The findings are reported around five themes: “The difficulty of imagining what will happen in therapy”, "the 'talking cure'"; “the therapist as doctor”, “therapy as a relationship” and “regaining the old self or developing new capacities”. Conclusions: Differing expectations are likely to have implications for the way young people engage with treatment, and failure to identify these expectations may lead to a risk of treatment breakdown

Assessment innovation and student experience: a new assessment challenge and call for a multi-perspective approach to assessment research

The impact of innovative assessment on student experience in higher education is a neglected research topic. This represents an important gap in the literature given debate around the marketization of higher education, international focus on student satisfaction measurement tools and political calls to put students at the heart of higher education in the UK. This paper reports on qualitative findings from a research project examining the impact of assessment preferences and familiarity on student attainment and experience. It argues that innovation is defined by the student, shaped by diverse assessment experiences and preferences and therefore its impact is difficult to predict. It proposes that future innovations must explore assessment choice mechanisms which allow students to shape their own assessments. Cultural change and staff development will be required to achieve this. To be accepted, assessment for student experience must be viewed as a complementary layer within a complex multi perspective model of assessment which also embraces assessment of learning, assessment for learning and assessment for life long learning. Further research is required to build a meta theory of assessment to enhance the synergies between these alternative approaches and to minimise tensions between them