bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human Factors for Portable Products
Authors: Rosenberg Daniel J.
Published: July 2017

The parameter of weight was investigated to determine the correct poundage of a portable product for the 5-95 percentile male and female consumer. The concept of portability appears to be culturally inspired such that men and women do not differ in the amount of weight which they feel is portable. Men, however, tend to use approximately 30% of their maximum isometric arm strength when carrying what they feel to be a portable object, while women utilize slightly over 40% of their maximum isometric arm strength to carry the same weight. For the subject group as a whole the correct maximum portable weight ranges from 4.5 kg. at the fifth percentile to 10.2 kg. at the ninety-fifth percentile. The fiftieth percentile maximum portable weight was found to be 7.3 kg. In addition wrist rotation strengths in the vertical upright position used for one-handed carry were recorded for the 5-95 percentile male and female to aid in the determination of correct handle placement and case balance.
Methodological Investigation of Vibration Effects on Performance of Three Tasks
Authors: Guignard John C. , Bittner Alvah C. , Carter Robert C.
Published: July 2017

Twenty young Navy enlisted male volunteers were first rehearsed and then tested before, during, and after whole-body vibration. Fourteen were tested only at 8 Hz, and six were tested at 8 Hz/0.21 g rms, 16 Hz/0.43 g rms and 32 Hz/0.85 g rms, using three paper-and-pencil tasks involving visual, motor, and cognitive skills. The tasks were “Spoke”, a speed of tapping test; “Aiming”, a test of fine motor coordination; and “Coding”, involving mental computation. Results showed an approximately equal decrement effect across conditions in the Spoke and Coding (but not Aiming) tests that conforms with the frequency function embodied in the current international standard (ISO 2631:1978) on human exposure to vibration; but that a modicum of previous vibration experience may be necessary before reliable data are obtained in this kind of testing. Implications for methodology and for the application of the current standard are briefly discussed.
News Notes
Authors: Price Warren C.
Published: July 2017

News for inclusion in this section … activities of schools and departments of journalism, staff appointments and changes, curricular developments and the like … should be sent to Professor Price, School of Journalism, University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore. Notes for the next issue should reach him by June 25.
An Annotated Bibliography of Journalism Subjects in American Magazines
Authors: Swindler William F. ,   Assisted, Price Granville , Pride Armistead S. , Mosse Baskett
Published: July 2017

Economic pressures constituted an ever greater threat to domestic and world press freedom in mid-1951. This was dramatized by the suspension of the St. Louis Star-Times and the transition of that community into the growing column of non-competitive newspaper territories. Rising labor and newsprint costs were cited as a basic cause of the suspension. Newsprint, already at all-time high prices, was the subject of several congressional and administrative discussions—not only in the interest of American newspapers but of publications throughout the free world which were faced with the imminent prospect of starving for paper. … Political attacks on press freedom continued abroad with passage of a highly restrictive statute in India, while in the United States a partisan effort to “investigate” certain Florida dailies was eventually snuffed out.

—W. F. S.
News Notes
Authors: Price Warren C.
Published: July 2017

News for inclusion in this section … activities of schools and departmènts of journalism, staff appointments and changes, curricular developments and the like … should be sent to Professor Price, School of Journalism, University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore. Notes for the next issue should reach him by January 1.
Research in Brief
Authors: Lostutter Melvin , Burchard Donald D. , Cushman Kenneth , Klein Elihu Ben
Published: July 2017

This department is devoted to shorter articles and notes on research in the communications field, either completed or in progress. Readers are invited to submit reports on investigative studies which might prove useful to other students because of content, method, or implications for further research.
Articles on Mass Communications in American Magazines
Authors: Higbie Charles E. ,   Assisted, Price Granville , Brown Donald E.
Published: July 2017

Controversy with governmental agencies, both at home and abroad, continued to occupy individuals and institutions in the field of journalism throughout the last quarter of 1951. Tentative efforts to bridge the gap between editors and the Truman administration over the classification of governmental news broke down when newspaper groups refused to be drawn into consultation to set up categories of information. To this controversy was added a flare-up over the declaration of a truce line in Korea and a subsequent “cease-fire” order which the Associated Press tentatively attributed directly to the White House. The exchanges between President Truman and the AP for a time dwarfed the Korean war on the news wires and at the end of the period there were no reports of cease-fire orders in either the Korean or the Truman-AP ”wars.”

Press services and correspondents came under attack also from private individuals. These sorties included General Charles Willoughby's assertion that certain reporters and newspapers had been “defeatist” and misleading in their dispatches from Korea during the retreat from the Yalu River in late 1950 while he was intelligence chief for General MacArthur's Far Eastern command. Press services were criticized for alleged inadequate coverage of vast sections of the world by several former foreign correspondents. The accused denied everything.

As the new year came in, further developments were awaited in the Oatis case in Czechoslovakia and the trial of five newsmen charged with defamation of county officials and gamblers in Lake Charles, La. In the latter case testimony had been completed and the decision was under deliberation by the single judge.
Names in the News: A Study of Two Dailies
Authors: Bush Chilton R. , Bullock Robert K.
Published: July 2017

Using a large and a small daily for comparison, this analysis shows what kinds of local persons get into print and how their activities are most likely to be reported. Dr. Bush is director of the Institute for Journalistic Studies at Stanford University, where Mr. Bullock has been a fellow.
Oregon Legislative Reporting: The Newsmen and Their Methods
Authors: Valleau John F.
Published: July 2017

The circular relationship of press, public and elected officials is demonstrated by this study of Oregon legislative coverage. Mr. Valleau received the first master's degree “with honors” ever awarded by the University of Oregon School of Journalism. He is now editor of the El Centro (Calif.) Imperial Valley Press.
Qualitative Analysis of Listening in Radio Class Programming
Authors: Dunn S. Watson
Published: July 2017

Broadcasters might do more to reach untapped audiences if they would make use of qualitative analysis such as that given here. Dr. Dunn, now assistant professor of advertising at Wisconsin, collected the data for his Ph.D. thesis at Illinois as part of a larger project of the Institute of Communications Research. *
The Political Reform Press: A Case Study
Authors: Nelson Harold L.
Published: July 2017

The Minnesota Daily Star, forerunner of the Minneapolis Star, collapsed in financial ruin under farmer-labor sponsorship. Its successor—an independent, commercial newspaper—soon became a profitable business. The author has taught at Texas Technological College and Iowa, and is now at Minnesota.
Stumping the Country: “Rules of the Road,” 1896
Authors: Goldman Ralph M.
Published: July 2017

This document, discovered by the contributor among the William Jennings Bryan Papers, was too good to stay buried. It reveals the humor of correspondents covering a presidential campaign. Dr. Goldman holds a Ph.D. in political science from Chicago and has contributed to the Public Opinion Quarterly.
1952 Trends Show that India's Newspapers are Maturing
Authors: Wolseley Roland E.
Published: July 2017

Working journalists are uniting, education for journalism is expanding, the controversial Press Bill may be allowed to die, and a new Press Commission has been promised by the central government. These are among the developments reported by an American journalism professor serving as a Fulbright lecturer.
Education for Journalism in Postwar Japan
Authors: Chiba Yujiro
Published: July 2017

Professional training along Western lines has shown remarkable development since the visit in 1947 of Dr. Frank Luther Mott. The author of this article serves as director of the Journalism Research Institute at Tokyo University. He was a liberal editor before the war and frequently has visited the United States.
Probable Effects of Television on Income of Other Media
Authors: Gerald J. Edward , Ecklund George N.
Published: July 2017

During the next 10 years the American economy gives promise of supporting a rapid growth of television without seriously affecting newspaper and magazine income, according to this analysis of past and future distribution of advertising dollars among the mass media.
Witch-Hunting, 1952: The Role of the Press
Authors: Cade Dozier C.
Published: July 2017

A disturbing trend and suggestions for counteracting it are discussed by a former assistant editor of the Quarterly. Mr. Cade is now a member of the journalism faculty at Northwestern University, and is a candidate for the Ph.D. at Iowa. Before entering teaching he was on the staff of the Atlanta Journal.
Spirometry in Asthma Care: A Review of the Trends and Challenges in Pediatric Practice
Authors: Ayuk Adaeze C , Uwaezuoke Samuel N , Ndukwu Chizalu I , Ndu Ikenna K , Iloh Kenechukwu K , Okoli Chinyere V
Published: July 2017

Background:

Given the rising incidence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) globally, especially bronchial asthma, there is the need to reduce the associated morbidity and mortality by adopting an objective means of diagnosis and monitoring.

Aim:

This article aims to review the trends and challenges in the use of spirometry for managing childhood bronchial asthma especially in developing countries.

Methods:

We conducted a literature search of published data on the use of spirometry for the diagnosis of childhood bronchial asthma with special emphasis resource-poor countries.

Results:

Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of childhood asthma recommend the use of spirometry, but this is currently underused in both tertiary and primary care settings especially in developing countries. Lack of spirometers and proper training in their use and interpretation of findings as well as a dearth of asthma guidelines remains core to the underuse of spirometry in managing children with asthma. Targeting education of health care staff was, however, observed to improve its utility, and practical implementable strategies are highlighted.

Conclusions:

Spirometry is not frequently used for asthma diagnosis in pediatric practice especially in resource-poor countries where the NCD burden is higher. Strategies to overcome the obstacles are implementable and can make a difference in reducing the burden of NCD.
Is Postoperative Radiotherapy after Breast Conserving Surgery Always Mandatory? A Review of Randomised Controlled Trials
Authors: Liljegren G.
Published: July 2017

Background and Aims:

Breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy, in order to prevent local recurrence, has been the treatment of choice ever since breast conserving surgery was introduced in clinical practice. Patient selection, type of surgery, dose and type of radiotherapy, however, may have an impact on the risk of local recurrence. The aim of this review is to synthesise the results from randomised trials and try and define a subgroup of patients in whom postoperative radiotherapy could be omitted.

Method:

A literature search of Pub Med and The Cochrane randomised trials registry identified six trials comparing patients randomised to surgery alone or surgery plus radiotherapy, two trials comparing different radiotherapy modalities and one trial comparing different types of surgery.

Results:

Addition of postoperative radiotherapy reduce the risk of local recurrence by 2/3. The dose-intensity of radiotherapy and surgery has a positive impact on local control. Patients at low risk of local recurrence are patients > 55 years of age, with stage I tumours and favourable histology treated with adequate resection margins. No trial showed any positive effect of radiotherapy on survival.

Conclusion:

In most patients postoperative radiotherapy is an integral part of breast-conservation. Radiotherapy can be omitted in selected low risk patients.
The Rationale and Current Controversies of Mammographic Screening for Breast Cancer
Authors: Dean P. B.
Published: July 2017

The impact of mammography screening upon the chances of a woman dying from breast cancer has been studied for four decades. Until this century the results have always been presented in terms of benefit to populations, and have erroneously been assumed to be directly transferable to individual women. A multitude of factors combine to reduce the effect of screening upon a population as measurable in a randomized controlled trial. The most serious problem has been the misunderstanding that an invitation to mammography screening would be equivalent to actually getting a mammogram. Additionally, the control population also benefits from the screening program, and these benefits reduce the measurable effect of screening. Recent long-term trials, which have been able to fully document participation in mammography screening on an individual basis, have demonstrated an even more substantial reduction in breast cancer mortality attributable to mammography screening, with a much more limited impact of therapeutic advances against advanced breast cancer.
Palliative Treatment of Patients with Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Glimelius B.
Published: July 2017

Background:

Metastatic colorectal cancer has a poor prognosis, and the majority of patients are left with palliative measures. The development seen using palliative chemotherapy is reviewed.

Material and Methods:

A systematic approach to the literature-based evidence was aimed at.

Results:

The continuous improvements during the past 13–15 years have been documented in several large conclusive trials. At the end of the 1980s, the evidence that chemotherapy should be used at all was very limited, whereas presently most patients can be offered two lines of chemotherapy based upon good scientific evidence. Median survival has gradually improved from below 6 months to above 18 months in some recent trials. Several important issues remain to be solved, such as the best sequence of treatments, what regimens to use in various situations, when to start and when to stop if response is seen, and whether cure may be possible in a small subset of patients.

Conclusions:

Progress has been rapid in advanced colorectal cancer. This is likely result of well-designed trials in collaboration between academy and industry, showing a great interest in the disease. Future collaborations may hopefully introduce new treatment concepts, further improving outcome.
Servant Leadership
Authors: Wilson Robin T.
Published: July 2017

As US corporations are eagerly pursuing re-engineering and reorganization, leadership functions are changing to champion these efforts. Traditionally, organizations have had a ‘top-down’ management approach; however, there is a gradual shift to other leadership models. Servant leadership is being successfully implemented in many settings. Servant leadership, first popularized by Robert Greenleaf in 1970, puts serving others as the number one priority. Ten characteristics of a servant leader include: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building community. Both servant leadership and the chaos theory have in common the central tenet of relationships. Since the USA is now approximately 80% a ‘service economy’, servant leadership can greatly benefit the individual employees, as well as help to facilitate the organization's pursuit of its changing strategic plans.
An Integrated Care Pathway Appraisal Tool: A ‘Badge of Quality’
Authors: de Luc Kathryn E , Whittle Claire
Published: July 2017

Integrated care pathways (ICPs) are being introduced as a tool to improve the quality of health care. Their local development usually involves some consensus-based approach which engages clinical staff in discussions about how to improve services. Whilst this has definite advantages, it also means that ICPs which are developed for ostensibly the same group of patients with a specific disease or condition will vary in content and quality. Many articles have been written expounding the benefits of using ICPs, but recently there have been a number of evaluations of ICPs which report little or no significant improvement in the quality of health care as a result of their introduction. Why is there this divergence of views about the value of ICPs? Could it be connected with the variability in quality of the ICPs being introduced? What is missing from many of the evaluations of ICPs undertaken so far is a consideration of how good those ICPs really are.

This article describes an appraisal instrument for ICPs — the integrated care pathway appraisal tool (ICPAT) — which has been developed within the West Midlands region of the UK and which can provide a framework for assessing the quality of ICPs.
An Evaluation of the Introduction of Admission and Discharge Integrated Care Pathways
Authors: Soltysiak Beverley , Millward Jennifer
Published: July 2017

Admission and discharge integrated care pathways (ICPs) were developed within a Mental Health Service for Older People (MHSOP). Aims were identified and following a pilot the ICPs were fully implemented into the admission and discharge processes. The development of the ICPs and the evaluation of their success were explored. Although the development of the ICPs resulted in improvements in the service, ICPs were found to be much more complex in implementation than their apparent simple structures would suggest.
Development of a Multidisciplinary Care Pathway for a Specialist Learning Disability Inpatient Treatment and Assessment Unit
Authors: Buxton Lyn , Pidduck David , Marston Geoff , Perry David
Published: July 2017

This paper describes the development of a multidisciplinary care pathway for an inpatient assessment and treatment unit, for people with learning disabilities and mental health problems or challenging behaviour. Early results suggest the care pathway development has been useful in a number of areas including risk management, assessment of capacity developing care plans, the routine use of outcome measures and increased throughput. Formal documentation has been developed to support the pathway and deficits in provision of specific service areas are now easily identified.
The Mater Hospital Multiprofessional Care Pathway for Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: McManus Terence E , Marley Anne-Marie , Kidney Joseph C
Published: July 2017

Introduction:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common condition associated with an increasing mortality and morbidity. There are also significant economic implications with hospital admission accounting for the majority of the total COPD health care expenditure. Mild exacerbations of COPD can be treated at home; severe exacerbations require hospitalization. The purpose of this programme of care was to integrate and optimize treatment using current guidelines.

Methods:

This was a prospective study of management of severe exacerbations of COPD following implementation of a structured care pathway. The project was based at a district general hospital in inner city Belfast. Key measures of improvement were length of hospital stay, readmission rates within one month and hospital mortality. A multidisciplinary care pathway incorporated a score that was developed with one point for each of the following markers of a severe exacerbation: dyspnoea at rest, bed bound, tachypnoea (>25), tachycardia (>110), pyrexia (>38.5), use of accessory muscles of respiration and peripheral oedema. We have called this the ‘Mater COPD score’. The aim was for optimal management, education and identification of appropriate time for discharge. Patient treatment was standardized using oral steroid therapy, nebulized bronchodilators (air cylinders were used to provided nebulization where appropriate) and antibiotic therapy.

Results:

A total of 85 patients were studied, 40 men with a mean (SEM) age of 68.6 (1.7) years. The mean COPD score on admission was 2.3 (range 0–6). Mean score on discharge was 0.4 (range 0–3). Mean forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were 0.97 and 1.83 L, respectively. Seven patients were readmitted within one month. The mean length of an episode was reduced from 9.4 to 5.5 days, with a national average of 9.7 days at that time. However, delayed discharge in 25 cases (due to co-morbidity, social problems or other factors) resulted in the overall length of stay being reduced to 6.5 days. Continued follow-up using this pathway reduced the length of stay of all admissions with COPD by four days to 5.4 days. Nebulizers were routinely changed from oxygen driven to air driven. There was a 1700% increase in air cylinders used over the two years following introduction. This was associated with a 57% reduction in mortality.

Conclusions:

A multidisciplinary care pathway in the management of acute exacerbations of COPD ensures optimal treatment for patients and results in a significant reduction in the length of stay and a reduced mortality rate without increasing readmission rates.
A mobile sensing method to counteract social media website impersonation
Authors: ELMassry Mohamed Y , AlMogren Ahmad S
Published: July 2017

Phishing is a serious threat to online users, especially since attackers have tremendously improved their techniques in impersonating important websites. With websites looking visually the same, users are fooled more easily. Visual similarity algorithms may help to detect and counteract some phished websites. Through similarity algorithms, the phishers play with the colors and visual properties of the website in a way that cannot be noticed by the users. However, the phishers make the unnoticed changes to fool the similarity algorithms as well. In this article, we propose an efficient phishing website detection algorithm using three-step checking. The performance results are compared to the state-of-the-art approaches that show new kinds of phishing warnings with better outcomes and less false positives. Our approach provides similar accuracy to the blacklisting methods with the advantage that it can easily classify the phishing websites with less overhead and without being victimized.
Developing Concepts in Caring Science Based on a Lifeworld Perspective
Authors: Asp Margareta , Fagerberg Ingegerd
Published: July 2017

Concept development is a significant form of inquiry to expand and develop the knowledge base in caring science. The authors' aim in this article is to illuminate the possibility of working with concept development, based on a life world perspective, especially Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of language, wherein phenomenological, semiological, and pragmatic dimensions are included. The theoretical discussion shows that it is possible to create methodological principles for concept development based on epistemological foundations that are consistent with ontological assumptions in caring science.
Epistemological Intimacy: A Move to Autoethnography
Authors: Smith Claire
Published: July 2017

In this article, the author reflects on the dilemma she faced when choosing an appropriate qualitative method for her master's thesis, which is entitled Creatively Rehabilitating Self-Esteem After an Acquired Brain Injury: An Auto-Ethnography of Healing. She found herself in a unique “insider” position, because, as well as being the student researcher, she was from the same culture as the participants. Therefore, to gain maximum access to the valuable data available, the author chose also to be a participant in the study. She chronicles her journey while choosing the most suitable method. The study, which was conducted as a requirement of her master's program, was eventually completed as an autoethnography.
Insight, Inference, Evidence, and Verification: Creating a Legitimate Discipline
Authors: Morse Janice M.
Published: July 2017

Challenges to the subjective nature of qualitative inquiry, recent interest in evidence-based practice, and the advances in mixed-method design have all contributed to the value and utilization of qualitative inquiry. The author is concerned, however, that the value placed on evidence and the agenda of qualitative-quantitative mixed-method design will devalue the role and contributions of insight and inference in our research. In this address, she argues that research using insight and inference can and must be used and valued in qualitative inquiry. Insights invariably arise from single instances, exemplars, or single-case studies, albeit often, but not always, verified in other instances. But the knowledge gained from insight might make a greater contribution to scholarly study than replication and verification, for without insight, research can be mundane and obvious.
Photo Elicitation Interview (PEI): Using Photos to Elicit Children's Perspectives
Authors: Epstein Iris , Stevens Bonnie , McKeever Patricia , Baruchel Sylvain
Published: July 2017

When conducting photo elicitation interviews (PEI), researchers introduce photographs into the interview context. Although PEI has been employed across a wide variety of disciplines and participants, little has been written about the use of photographs in interviews with children. In this article, the authors review the use of PEI in a research study that explored the perspectives on camp of children with cancer. In particular, they review some of the methodological and ethical challenges, including (a) who should take the photographs and (b) how the photographs should be integrated into the interview. Although some limitations exist, PEI in its various forms can challenge participants, trigger memory, lead to new perspectives, and assist with building trust and rapport.
The Research Poem in International Social Work: Innovations in Qualitative Methodology
Authors: Furman Rich , Lietz Cynthia , Langer Carol L.
Published: July 2017

In this article, the authors explore the use of the research poem, a powerful method of qualitative research, in an international social work context. Using ethnographic poems as data, the authors demonstrate a method for creating research poems. They discuss potential strengths and limitations of this approach and explore implications for social research and international social work practice.
The Influence of Setting on Findings Produced in Qualitative Health Research: A Comparison between Face-to-Face and Online Discussion Groups about HIV/AIDS
Authors: Graffigna Guendalina , Bosio A. C.
Published: July 2017

The authors focus their analysis in this article on online focus groups (FGs), in an attempt to describe how the setting shapes the conversational features of the discussion and influences data construction. Starting from a review of current dominant viewpoints, they compare face-to-face discussion groups with different formats of online FGs about AIDS, from a discourse analysis perspective. They conducted 2 face-to-face FGs, 2 chats, 2 forums, and 2 forums+plus+chat involving 64 participants aged 18 to 25 and living in Italy. Their findings seem not only to confirm the hypothesis of a general difference between a face-to-face discussion setting and an Internet-mediated one but also reveal differences among the forms of online FG, in terms of both the thematic articulation of discourse and the conversational and relational characteristics of group exchange, suggesting that exchanges on HIV/AIDS are characterized by the setting. This characterization seems to be important for situating the choice of tool, according to research objectives, and for better defining the technical aspects of the research project.
Ethical Issues in Qualitative E-Learning Research
Authors: Kanuka Heather , Anderson Terry
Published: July 2017

In the mid 1980s education researchers began exploring the use of the Internet within teaching and learning practices, now commonly referred to as e-learning. At the same time, many e-learning researchers were discovering that the application of existing ethical guidelines for qualitative research was resulting in confusion and uncertainty among both researchers and ethics review board members. Two decades later we continue to be plagued by these same ethical issues. On reflection on our research practices and examination of the literature on ethical issues relating to qualitative Internet- and Web-based research, the authors conclude that there are three main areas of confusion and uncertainty among researchers in the field of e-learning: (a) participant consent, (b) public versus private ownership, and (c) confidentiality and anonymity.
Redefining Case Study
Authors: VanWynsberghe Rob , Khan Samia
Published: July 2017

In this paper the authors propose a more precise and encompassing definition of case study than is usually found. They support their definition by clarifying that case study is neither a method nor a methodology nor a research design as suggested by others. They use a case study prototype of their own design to propose common properties of case study and demonstrate how these properties support their definition. Next, they present several living myths about case study and refute them in relation to their definition. Finally, they discuss the interplay between the terms case study and unit of analysis to further delineate their definition of case study. The target audiences for this paper include case study researchers, research design and methods instructors, and graduate students interested in case study research.
Adding Theoretical Grounding to Grounded Theory: Toward Multi-Grounded Theory
Authors: Goldkuhl Göran , Cronholm Stefan
Published: July 2017

The purpose of this paper is to challenge some of the cornerstones of the grounded theory approach and propose an extended and alternative approach for data analysis and theory development, which the authors call multi-grounded theory (MGT). A multi-grounded theory is not only empirically grounded; it is also grounded in other ways. Three different grounding processes are acknowledged: theoretical, empirical, and internal grounding. The authors go beyond the pure inductivist approach in GT and add the explicit use of external theories. A working procedure of theory development in MGT is presented, which can be seen as an extension of the grounded theory approach.
Qualitative Research in the Digital Era: Obstacles and Opportunities
Authors: Palys Ted , Atchison Chris
Published: July 2017

Although the many sites and opportunities available to researchers through the development and proliferation of the Internet are well known, little attention has been paid to what digital technologies and the world's developing digital infrastructure can offer qualitative researchers for the actual process of doing research. This article discusses opportunities that now exist that we have experimented with and implemented in our own research, such as viral sampling strategies, wireless interviewing, and voice recognition transcription, as well as impediments we have encountered that stand in their way. Included in the latter are research ethics boards who often lack expertise in issues that arise in computer-assisted research, hardware/software costs and technological expertise for researchers, and university administrations who have not embraced infrastructure for qualitative research to the same extent they have supported quantitative research. The article closes with a look at the implications of emerging issues, such as the trend to cloud computing, the proliferation of mobile devices, and the maturation of voice recognition software.
Collage Portraits as a Method of Analysis in Qualitative Research
Authors: Gerstenblatt Paula
Published: July 2017

This article explores the use of collage portraits in qualitative research and analysis. Collage portraiture, an area of arts-based research (ABR), is gaining stature as a method of analysis and documentation in many disciplines. This article presents a method of creating collage portraits to support a narrative thematic analysis that explored the impact of participation in an art installation construction. Collage portraits provide the opportunity to include marginalized voices and encourage a range of linguistic and non-linguistic representations to articulate authentic lived experiences. Other potential benefits to qualitative research are cross-disciplinary study and collaboration, innovative ways to engage and facilitate dialogue, and the building and dissemination of knowledge.
Recording the Personal: The Benefits in Maintaining Research Diaries for Documenting the Emotional and Practical Challenges of Fieldwork in Unfamiliar Settings
Authors: Browne Brendan Ciaran
Published: July 2017

Through an analysis of personal research diaries maintained during a prolonged period spent working in Palestine, this article analyses the importance of maintaining research diaries when on fieldwork. The evidence produced stems from a content analysis of fieldwork diaries kept while researching commemorative events in the West Bank, Palestine, during a period of global uncertainty and at a time of much change in the region. In espousing the benefits of the fieldwork diary it is shown that diaries assume a more important role than acting as a mere logging device; they have the capacity to allow for personal reflection and to help with the development of strategic responses to the inevitable challenges one would expect to face when working far from the relative comfort of home. The research diary as a cathartic tool for researchers to record fears and shortcomings in their work is discussed and personal insights into some of the challenges this researcher faced when engaged in ethnographic work in Ramallah, Palestine are provided. In summarising the benefits of maintaining research diaries, the author, lamenting the lack of transparency in the literature to date on the practicalities of fieldwork, calls for more open and honest reflection on the challenges associated with conducting fieldwork, particularly that which takes place in volatile or unstable regions.
Space, Time, and Reflexive Interviewing: Implications for Qualitative Research with Active, Incarcerated, and Former Criminal Offenders
Authors: Downing Steven , Polzer Katherine , Levan Kristine
Published: July 2017

Space and time are concepts familiar to physicists, philosophers, and social scientists; they are operationalized with varying degrees of specificity but are both heralded as important to contextualizing research and understanding individual, cultural, and historical differences in perception and the social construction of reality. Space can range from, at the macro level, geographic region, to at the micro level, the immediate physical surroundings of an individual or group of persons. Similarly, a conceptualization of time can range from era or epoch to the passing of seconds and minutes within a situational dynamic of human interaction. In this article we examine the microcosmic end of the space-time spectrum, specifically as it relates to doing qualitative interviews with current or former criminal offenders. Through a comparative discussion of interviews with incarcerated, recently released, and active offenders, we pose questions and offer insights regarding how interviewers and interviewees perceive physical space and the passage of time and, most importantly, how these perceptions relate to the interview process and resulting data. Notably, we suggest that interviewer reflexivity should take into account not only the relationship, dialogue, and discourse between interviewer and interviewee but also space and time as perceived and constructed by both parties. Finally, we offer several key strategies for incorporating these considerations into the interviewer toolkit.
Transnational Institutional Ethnography: Tracing Text and Talk beyond State Boundaries
Authors: Grace Daniel
Published: July 2017

Purpose: In this article I provide a rich account of how I utilized and critically applied the research strategy of institutional ethnography to investigate transnational processes of legislative standardization. The text at the center of this inquiry is a model law that was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to create omnibus HIV/AIDS laws across West and Central Africa (2005-2010). Expanding upon the sociological approach of institutional ethnography, my research method is best understood as a transnational institutional ethnography (TIE). This article provides a case study of TIE for those interested in ethnographically exploring transnational processes across diverse institutional settings.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The complex legislative process being investigated was made visible through the use of participant observation, archival research, textual analysis, and informant interviews with national and international stakeholders (n=32). This research strategy involved ethnographic data collection in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Austria, South Africa, and Senegal (2010-2011).

Findings: In this article a methodological discussion is offered focusing upon the everyday actualities of conducting transnational research in diverse environments, including cafes, conferences, courtrooms, and activist gatherings. I provide an account of (a) the complex institutional sites from which a research problematic may emerge; (b) challenges and opportunities when conducting interviews and identifying informants; (c) the importance of accounting for matters of geography and interview location in one's study design; and (d) the work of knowing where to look, what to read, and who to talk with during the iterative process of research and discovery.

Originality/Value: Moving beyond state-based organizational relations, a focus which is predominant in most institutional ethnographies, in this article I explicate the research process undertaken to ethnographically interrogate complex processes of transnational social organization and translocal text-mediated relations. Methodological insights and lessons learned regarding the experience of conducting transnational ethnographic research are provided.
Interviewing Ghanaian Educational Elites: Strategies for Access, Commitment, and Engagement
Authors: Nudzor Hope Pius
Published: July 2017

A review of the research methodology literature suggests that owing to the difficulty of gaining access to and obtaining commitments from elites, social scientists less frequently use them as research respondents, opting instead to investigate those over whom power is exercised. This article provides insights into some intricacies of elite interviewing. It recounts the experience of a novice researcher in his quest to gain access to and interview elite individuals within the Ghanaian educational system for his PhD thesis. In the process, the article sheds light on strategies and techniques (related to interviewee identification, scheduling, and researcher preparation for the interview, as well as rapport establishment with potential interviewees) that are helpful as toolkits in ensuring that elite interview processes are not unduly derailed. The article argues that the strategies discussed are useful for circumventing formalised and “public relations” responses, which elites tend to communicate with the press and public.
Women we loved
Authors: Andrews Hannah
Published: July 2017

Broadcast to critical acclaim and relatively large audiences for its niche channel, the Women We Loved season consisted of biographical dramatisations of three prominent female figures of 20th-century British culture. These dramas shared in common narratives that centre on the two aspects of ‘the public’ and ‘the private’: the tension between public career and personal life and the discrepancy between celebrity persona and private individual. Combining theoretical insights from feminist studies of biography with close textual analysis, this article analyses how performance, aesthetics and narrative express the ambivalent placement of their protagonists between public and private spheres.
Paratexts, Italian style
Authors: Barra Luca , Scaglioni Massimo
Published: July 2017

In recent years, the completed transition towards a fully developed multichannel environment and the growth of non-linear offers has brought to the Italian television (TV) landscape unprecedented attention on the ways in which programmes are communicated to the audience and their images and identities are carefully built. The preparation and circulation of promos have therefore grown in importance and relevance in the national TV industry, as new original practices emerged and a long-lasting tradition was challenged by new formats and goals. Building on a set of in-depth interviews with professionals involved in the writing, production and distribution of promos, and analysis of other production materials, the article reconstructs the ‘promotional cultures’ of Italian broadcasters, analysing the main production processes, the different kinds of promos and the various skills involved, and the logics and constraints involved in the making of these ephemeral paratexts that more and more are pervading both the structure of programming flow and the experience of national TV viewers. Thus, the article investigates the professional practices and logics of contemporary commercial and pay TV programme promotion in Italy, defining the role played by national private broadcasters and transnational groups in shaping an Italian promotional space on TV. The ‘Italian style’ of TV show promotion emerges as a constant negotiation between local historical traditions and clichés, on the one hand, and international trends in promo production and aesthetics, on the other, with a solid path shared with other countries and broadcasters, and some peculiar specificities.
Positive Predictive Values of International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision Coding Algorithms to Identify Patients With Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease
Authors: Kalatharan Vinusha , Pei York , Clemens Kristin K. , McTavish Rebecca K. , Dixon Stephanie N. , Rochon Matthew , Nash Danielle M. , Jain Arsh , Sarma Sisira , Zaleski Andrew , Lum Andrea , Garg Amit X.
Published: July 2017

Background:

International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes (ICD-10) for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is used within several administrative health care databases. It is unknown whether these codes identify patients who meet strict clinical criteria for ADPKD.

Objective:

The objective of this study is (1) to determine whether different ICD-10 coding algorithms identify adult patients who meet strict clinical criteria for ADPKD as assessed through medical chart review and (2) to assess the number of patients identified with different ADPKD coding algorithms in Ontario.

Design:

Validation study of health care database codes, and prevalence.

Setting:

Ontario, Canada.

Patients:

For the chart review, 201 adult patients with hospital encounters between April 1, 2002, and March 31, 2014, assigned either ICD-10 codes Q61.2 or Q61.3.

Measurements:

This study measured positive predictive value of the ICD-10 coding algorithms and the number of Ontarians identified with different coding algorithms.

Methods:

We manually reviewed a random sample of medical charts in London, Ontario, Canada, and determined whether or not ADPKD was present according to strict clinical criteria.

Results:

The presence of either ICD-10 code Q61.2 or Q61.3 in a hospital encounter had a positive predictive value of 85% (95% confidence interval [CI], 79%-89%) and identified 2981 Ontarians (0.02% of the Ontario adult population). The presence of ICD-10 code Q61.2 in a hospital encounter had a positive predictive value of 97% (95% CI, 86%-100%) and identified 394 adults in Ontario (0.003% of the Ontario adult population).

Limitations:

(1) We could not calculate other measures of validity; (2) the coding algorithms do not identify patients without hospital encounters; and (3) coding practices may differ between hospitals.

Conclusions:

Most patients with ICD-10 code Q61.2 or Q61.3 assigned during their hospital encounters have ADPKD according to the clinical criteria. These codes can be used to assemble cohorts of adult patients with ADPKD and hospital encounters.
Social support and social control in the context of cancer patients’ exercise: A pilot study
Authors: Ungar Nadine , Wiskemann Joachim , Weißmann Mareike , Knoll Annika , Steindorf Karen , Sieverding Monika
Published: July 2017

Social support is an important factor for exercise among cancer patients, but too much control might elicit reactance and lead to detrimental effects. In this pilot study, 56 dyads (cancer patient + relative) filled out a questionnaire assessing social support, social control, and reactance. After 4 weeks (T2), patients’ exercise was assessed with a 7-day recall. About half of the patients did not engage in any self-reported exercise behavior. Relative-reported support was the only variable associated with exercise behavior at T2. Perceived control ( r = .4) but not perceived support was significantly correlated with reactance. Male patients reported more support, but were also more prone to reactance.
“Who Wants to Go Repeatedly to the Hospital?” Perceptions and Experiences of Simplified Medical Abortion in Rajasthan, India
Authors: Iyengar Kirti , Klingberg Allvin Marie , Iyengar Sharad D. , Danielsson Kristina Gemzell , Essén Birgitta
Published: July 2017

The aim of this study is to explore women’s experiences and perceptions of home use of misoprostol and of the self-assessment of the outcome of early medical abortion in a low-resource setting in India. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 women seeking early medical abortion, who administered misoprostol at home and assessed their own outcome of abortion using a low-sensitivity pregnancy test. With home use of misoprostol, women were able to avoid inconvenience of travel, child care, and housework, and maintain confidentiality. The use of a low-sensitivity pregnancy test alleviated women’s anxieties about retained products. Majority said they would prefer medical abortion involving a single visit in future. This study provides nuanced understanding of how women manage a simplified medical abortion in the context of low literacy and limited communication facilities. Service delivery guidelines should be revised to allow women to have medical abortion with fewer visits.