Qualitative research methods in psychology

In the scientific community, and particularly in psychology and health, there has been an active and ongoing debate on the relative merits of adopting either quantitative or qualitative methods, especially when researching into human behaviour (Bowling, 2009; Oakley, 2000; Smith, 1995a, 1995b; Smith, 1998). In part, this debate formed a component of the development in the 1970s of our thinking about science. Andrew Pickering has described this movement as the "sociology of scientific knowledge" (SSK), where our scientific understanding, developing scientific ‘products’ and 'know-how', became identified as forming components in a wider engagement with society’s environmental and social context (Pickering, 1992: 1). Since that time, the debate has continued so that today there is an increasing acceptance of the use of qualitative methods in the social sciences (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Morse, 1994; Punch, 2011; Robson, 2011) and health sciences (Bowling, 2009; Greenhalgh & Hurwitz, 1998; Murphy & Dingwall, 1998). The utility of qualitative methods has also been recognised in psychology. As Nollaig Frost (2011) observes, authors such as Carla Willig and Wendy Stainton Rogers consider qualitative psychology is much more accepted today and that it has moved from "the margins to the mainstream in psychology in the UK." (Willig & Stainton Rogers, 2008: 8). Nevertheless, in psychology, qualitative methodologies are still considered to be relatively 'new' (Banister, Bunn, Burman, et al., 2011; Hayes, 1998; Richardson, 1996) despite clear evidence to the contrary (see, for example, the discussion on this point by Rapport et al., 2005). Nicki Hayes observes, scanning the content of some early journals from the 1920s – 1930s that many of these more historical papers "discuss personal experiences as freely as statistical data" (Hayes, 1998, 1). This can be viewed as an early development of the case-study approach, now an accepted methodological approach in psychological, health care and medical research, where our knowledge about people is enhanced by our understanding of the individual 'case' (May & Perry, 2011; Radley & Chamberlain, 2001; Ragin, 2011; Smith, 1998)

Research involving children : recent developments and current trends in thinking

Children today hold an important place in society and are valued for what they offer. They represent society’s hopes for the future. Children in the western world have rights today, but historically this has not always been the case. In the UK, children are protected by the Children Acts of 1989 and 2004, and by various other charters, guidelines and government policies concerning their health and welfare. Internationally, organisations such as UNICEF and Save the Children were set up to confer protection and oversee support to children as the most vulnerable group of a population in war or disaster zones (Greig et al, 2007). However, this happy state of affairs (the positive view) with regard to children is by no means universal. We need to be mindful that many children, both in the UK and further afield, still suffer the debilitating effects of poverty, hardship and hunger, they lack basic amenities such as water, sanitation and healthcare, or access to a basic education, and many are subject to violence, abuse and neglect

Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) : a qualitative methodology of choice in healthcare research

This paper focuses on the teaching of the qualitative method, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to healthcare professionals (HCPs). It introduces briefly the philosophical background of IPA and how it has been used within healthcare research, and then discusses the teaching of IPA to HCPs within received educational theory. Lastly, the paper describes how IPA has been taught to students/trainees in some specific healthcare professions (clinical psychology, medicine, nursing and related disciplines). In doing this, the paper demonstrates the essential simplicity, paradoxical complexity, and methodological rigour that IPA can offer as a research tool in understanding healthcare and illness from the patient or service user perspective

Model transformations and Tool Integration

Model transformations are increasingly recognised as being of significant importance to many areas of software development and integration. Recent attention on model transformations has particularly focused on the OMGs Queries/Views/Transformations (QVT) Request for Proposals (RFP). In this paper I motivate the need for dedicated approaches to model transformations, particularly for the data involved in tool integration, outline the challenges involved, and then present a number of technologies and techniques which allow the construction of flexible, powerful and practical model transformations

Review : pearls of wisdom : using the single case study or ‘gem’ to identify strategies for mediating stress and work-life imbalance in healthcare staff

This paper […] reads well, offering a detailed exploration of one participant’s experiences of coping with stress, and the work-life balance, as a professional workingI read this paper with interest. It forms part of a larger qualitative study examining work-life balance among National Health Service (NHS) staff, through exploring a single case, Arial, using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). A strength of this paper is that it reads well, offering a detailed exploration of one participant’s experiences of coping with stress, and the work–life balance, as a professional working in today’s task-oriented NHS. in today’s task orientated NHS

University Academic Program Cost Modeling: A Roadmap to Fiscal Sustainability

Fiscal sustainability has plagued institutions of higher education for as long as universities have existed. Colleges and universities must gain a better understanding of the cost to teach our students and the fiscal performance of our academic programs to survive. Understanding how we construct and arrange resources around the essential academic delivery will allow university leadership to better align program decisions with financial sustainability. This project outlines a financial analytics dashboard showing the fiscal impact of academic programs for strategic operational planning and design at institutions of higher education. The dashboard developed was built on a common unit of measurement, the credit hour, and revenue and expense allocated to each academic unit through an adopted methodology framework. The resulting product is a net cost model for full-program analysis and per-unit analysis. The analysis required the mitigation of significant organizational culture risks as dashboard results reveal objective financial performance data. This model does not measure program performance as it relates to academic success or institutional effectiveness. The final product provides a working analytics dashboard outlining the fiscal production and outcomes for each undergraduate and graduate program at the university

The residual antibacterial effects of radiopaque double antibiotic paste after various treatment times

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Introduction: Regenerative endodontic procedures require adequate disinfection of immature teeth with necrotic pulps. Regeneration endodontic procedures have been shown to increase width and length of dentin after disinfection of the root canal system with various antibiotic pastes such as double antibiotic paste (DAP). DAP is composed of an equal ratio of metronidazole and ciprofloxacin. After the root canal system is disinfected with DAP, it is later flushed out with 17-percent EDTA. There is a need for a radiopaque component in the DAP to facilitate proper placement. Following disinfection with DAP, a residual antibacterial effect is formed in dentin. It is not known if this effect is modified by making DAP radiopaque. Objectives: The residual antibacterial effects of a radiopaque double antibiotic paste against a bacterial isolate obtained from an immature tooth with necrotic pulp on radicular dentin will be explored utilizing various strengths of DAP (1 mg/mL, 10 mg/mL, and 25 mg/mL) after 1 week and 4 weeks. Materials and Methods: Dentin samples of 4x4-mm will be prepared from previously extracted human posterior teeth. The samples will be assigned to seven treatment groups in a random fashion (G1 will be treated with 25-, G2-10, and G3-1 mg/mL of radiopaque DAP. G4 will be treated with the radiopaque filler without DAP. G5 will be treated with Ca(OH)2 and G6 sterile water with bacterial biofilm, and G7 will be sterile water). The groups will be treated for both 1 week 4 weeks. These samples will then be stored in a phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution for 1 week and then inoculated with the cultured bacterial isolate from an immature tooth with necrotic pulp. The specimens will be incubated for three weeks to permit adequate formation of a biofilm. The biofilm will be detached, diluted and spirally plated onto blood agar plates and incubated for a total of 48 hours in 5-percent CO2 at 37°C. The number of CFUs/mL will be counted using an automated colony counter. A two way ANOVA and Fisher’s Protected Least Significant Differences test using 5-percent significance level will be used to evaluate the resulting data. Expected outcome: A residual antibacterial effect will be observed on radicular dentin samples when treated with radiopaque DAP. Conclusion: Using a radiopaque DAP that provides residual antibacterial effects, further awareness into regenerative endodontic procedures will be gained leading to alterations in treating such cases.2020-06-3

The role of cytokines, coagulation and fibrinolysis in leucocyte and LAK cell cytotoxicity of tumour cells

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Interleukin-2 activates lymphocytes to become highly cytotoxic for a wide range of tumour cell types in vitro (Iymphokine activated killer or LAK cells), and in animal models. However, only limited therapeutic benefit was observed in clinical trials of LAK cell therapy. This project aimed to investigate the molecular and cellular interactions involved in the production and effector functions of LAK cells, to identify factor(s) which might be responsible for the poor clinical responses observed in LAK cell therapy. Tumour cell lines were heterogeneous in their response to killing by cytokines (TNFα, LT, IFNγ and IL-1β), and purified monocytes or lymphocytes, but were consistently highly sensitive to LAK cell cytotoxicity. Autologous monocytes and lymphocytes were not killed by LAK cells, in contrast to human umbilical vein endothelial cells and fibroblasts. Supernatants from LAK cells were considerably less cytotoxic than the effector cells, and physical separation of effector and target cells resulted in inhibition of killing. Lymphocyte and LAK cell cytotoxicity was associated predominantly with the CD8+ (cytotoxic T-cell) lymphocyte sub-population, and was significantly inhibited by anti-TNFα and anti-LT, demonstrating that these cytokines were the primary effector molecules in this system. LAK cells and A375 melanoma cells showed procoagulant activity, predominantly via the tissue factor pathway, and LAK cells also possessed surface factor V. In addition, A375 cells were highly fibrinolytic. Tumour cell killing by LAK cells was inhibited by plasma, and further experiments determined that polymerised fibrin, but not fibrin monomer was responsible. From these results it was suggested that culture of small numbers of cells from tumour biopsies, and the determination of their sensitivity to cytotoxic drugs, cytokines and effector cells may lead to more effective treatment protocols for immunotherapy of individual tumours. In order to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy, further in vivo research is required to elucidate the interactions between immune effector cells and the coagulation/fibrinolytic systems

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Attendance Interventions for Schools

School attendance is a serious problem all schools face. Students who miss even just a few days of school each month are less likely to read proficiently, fail classes, or drop out of high school (Attendance Works, 2018b). Luckily, educators and other educational stakeholders can help to reduce the rates of absenteeism. It is essential to first identify the source of the problem, or why a child is missing school. Stakeholders should then implement interventions for absenteeism using a multi-tier system of support (MTSS). This literature review defines truancy and chronic absenteeism, identifies barriers which cause students to miss school, and finally offers suggestions for interventions using a multi-tiered systems approach