bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On Discourse and Dirty Nappies
Authors: Dixon John , Wetherell Margaret
Published: May 2004

This article evaluates recent developments in research on the domestic division of labour. It focuses on the Distributive Justice Framework developed by Thompson (1991) in an extension of Major’s (1987) work on the psychology of entitlement. This framework states that in order to explain the persistence of gender inequalities in domestic labour, researchers must consider the factors that determine women’s sense of fairness in close relationships. Whilst acknowledging its contribution to the field, the article argues that existing work on the Distributive Justice Framework has misconceived important aspects of the social psychology of distributive justice. By way of contrast, an approach is advanced that is grounded in the analysis of everyday discursive practices in the home—the practices through which couples define their contributions to household labour and negotiate ideological dilemmas about gender, entitlement and fair shares. We argue that investigations of gender inequalities in domestic labour can benefit from the new directions provided by social constructionism, as well as the more complex views of subjectivity, power and social interaction that are now emerging in psychology.
Discursive Versus Information-Processing Perspectives on a Bioethical Problem
Authors: Weinfurt Kevin P.
Published: May 2004

This article discusses an example of how the adoption of different theoretical views of the person can have practical implications for the field of bioethics. Patients who agree to receive new medical treatments with little chance of benefit routinely report strong confidence that they will experience benefit. These ‘unrealistic’ expectations are interpreted as false beliefs about treatment, and thus as evidence that the informed consent process has failed. This interpretation of patient reports is consistent with an information-processing framework in which the patient is viewed as transmitting information that enjoys an independent existence in the mental machinery of the person. The perspective of discursive psychology, on the other hand, views the patients’ reports as activities undertaken to achieve specific aims within particular discursive contexts. It is argued that if bioethicists adopt the discursive perspective, some cases of ‘false belief’ might not pose a bioethical problem.
Learner Support Staff in Higher Education
Authors: Wilson Ruth
Published: May 2004

This research is concerned with exploring role changes within a particular group of higher education staff - those involved with learner support in a library and information service context. It examines what impact, if any, the Dearing Report of 1997 had on these staff and how they felt about their posts five years later. Research was undertaken initially through an examination of job advertisements in the professional press and then by sending a questionnaire to 76 learner support staff within seven HE institutions. In order to further extend the research, seven of the survey respondents were interviewed. It was discovered that job titles were indeed changing to reflect new roles and new descriptors were emerging. Staff had also positively identified role change and were able to select, firstly, specific activities which were becoming increasingly important, secondly, those remaining core tasks and, thirdly, and most interestingly, new growth areas of work. Respondents also selected a number of activities which they identified as core to the learner support role. The response of one institution, Edge Hill College of Higher Education, is followed in greater detail particularly in relation to how the Library and Information Service attempted actively to anticipate needs and develop the relevant skills and expertise of its staff. The conclusion makes recommendations relating to possible management strategies and in particular focuses on motivation and the development of team approaches in order to manage rapid and complex change.
Working towards Outcomes Assessment in UK Academic Libraries
Authors: Thebridge Stella , Dalton Pete
Published: May 2004

There has been a wealth of literature on performance measurement and evaluation in academic libraries over the last 30 years, both in the US and the UK. More recently, writers have turned their attention to the specific task of measuring learning, teaching and research outcomes. This is perceived by practitioners as a useful way to measure the impact of a library/information service on its users, whether students, teaching staff or researchers. However, the practical means of achieving such assessment are by no means clear, and, while practitioners would like a straightforward system which enables them to prove the value of their service to their institutional directors and peers, those in this research field who are trying to devise appropriate systems find it difficult to produce ‘catch-all’ or ‘foolproof’ measures. This article draws on recent writing from a number of countries as well as from data gathered in the HEFCE-funded eVALUEd project (which is seeking to produce a toolkit for evaluating electronic information services in UK academic libraries) in order to show how the academic sector is now moving towards developing workable methods for assessing outcomes in this field.
NHS and Social Care Interface: a Study of Social Workers’ Library and Information Needs
Authors: Harrison Janet , Hepworth Mark , de Chazal Pam
Published: May 2004

This article reports on a study of the information needs of social workers based in an acute NHS Trust. The perceived gap in library and information service provision is reviewed, and future models of service delivery are proposed. The social workers were part of the multi-disciplinary team within each hospital. The methods of data collection were a questionnaire, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Results suggest that the social workers were information poor in terms of access to information sources and yet information to assist their role was required on a wide range of subjects. Also, information skills, including an understanding of libraries and services amongst the sample population, needed updating and developing. Lack of Internet access was a significant barrier to obtaining information. Little evidence of a research culture was found; information seeking tended to be verbal via face-to-face contact. Conclusions emerging from the research indicate that a closer working relationship between NHS librarians and social workers is required to promote a better understanding and acknowledgement of the specific needs of this client group. The need for information resources to be developed on key topics has been highlighted. A robust IT infrastructure is required to enable easy and rapid access to the knowledge base from the desktop. This should be augmented by the provision of information skills training. Finally, this research found that a cultural shift is required if social care decisions are to be based on the best available evidence.
The conspiracy in The Comfort of Strangers: narration in the novel and the film
Authors: Forceville Charles
Published: May 2004

Since stories increasingly take on pictorial and mixed-medial forms, narratology needs to investigate to what extent narrative devices exceed the boundaries of a specific medium. One way to examine this issue is to focus on film adaptations of narratologically complex novels or stories. This article presents a detailed comparison of the narration in McEwan’s (1982) [1981] The Comfort of Strangers and Schrader’s (1990) film based on a scenario by Harold Pinter. It is shown how the novel creates deliberate confusion (via free indirect speech and thought) about the agency responsible for the conveyance of crucial information, and how the film finds non-verbal means to achieve the same effect.
Crime, Liberalism and Empire: Governing the Mina Tribe of Northern India
Authors: Brown Mark
Published: May 2004

Cultural analyses of empire inspired by Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) have focused on certain artefacts of imperial thought, representing them as emblematic of a totalizing Orientalist discourse. This article examines one such case in nineteenthcentury India: the identification and legal notification of communities as Criminal Tribes. Taking the case of the Mina tribe of northern India, an attempt is made to illustrate how strategies like the criminal tribes policy fall far short of reflecting some broad and monolithic approach to governance. By examining the divergent views of orthodox and authoritarian strains within British liberalism, and showing how they were directly reflected in quite different approaches to governing the Minas, the article reveals the criminal tribesman as less an archetype of British crime control strategy than the product of a limited and partial examination of the colonial archive. It is hoped that the present investigation of the case of the Mina tribe will provide a more complex and sophisticated understanding of the doctrines and strategies under which Britain governed its empire.
Discriminating Tastes: ‘Smart’ Bombs, Non-Combatants, and Notions of Legitimacy in Warfare
Authors: Beier J. Marshall
Published: May 2004

Much has been made in recent years of the remarkable technological advances driving what has been described as the latest Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). Typically, however, a disproportionate emphasis on the astounding capabilities of new military hardware has come at the expense of investigations into the socio-political consequences of the transformation of warfare presently underway. Reflection upon the less neglected social aspects of previous RMAs is instructive, suggesting that technological determinism does not yield reliable accounts of the most important implications of new military technologies. In light of this, a historically informed reconsideration of prevailing assessments of the nature and significance of the current RMA seems in order. In particular, rapidly evolving attitudes toward discrimination between combatants and non-combatants in warfare are in need of consideration, as these have traditionally been bound up with watershed military innovation. Implicated in the reversal of a trend toward greater tolerance of indiscriminacy, the advent of precision-guided munitions (PGMs) increasingly bears directly on perceptions of legitimacy in the conduct of war. In this context, unequal access to PGMs suggests unequal legitimate recourse to war measures, and this might well turn out to be the most important implication of the RMA to which we are witness.
Regional Development Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in Central Europe
Authors: Pavlínek Petr
Published: May 2004

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been accorded a central role in the post-communist economic transformation of Central and Eastern Europe. This paper examines the regional effects of FDI in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) in the 1990s. It challenges uncritical views of FDI and its role in regional economic transformations by considering its potentially adverse effects for regional economic development, such as the intensification of uneven development, the development of a dual economy, failure to develop linkages with local and regional economies, and its contribution to increased regional economic instability. A case-study of the Czech automotive components industry illustrates the regional economic effects of FDI in Central Europe in terms of stability of investment, its links with the regional economy and its effects on domestic research and development.
Spatial Impacts of Post-Socialist Industrial Transformation in the Major Hungarian Cities
Authors: Kiss Eva
Published: May 2004

Compared to cities in the more developed Western countries, significant changes in the industrial bases of Eastern European cities were rather belated, and the process only accelerated after 1989 when radical economic and social reforms were introduced. The main objectives of this study are to reveal the most important similarities and differences in the spatial impacts of post-socialist industrial transformation on the major Hungarian cities (Budapest, Debrecen, Gyór, Miskolc, Pécs and Szeged). The capital city and other major cities display divergent development trends owing to the changes in the post-socialist industrial space and landscape.
The Multiplex City
Authors: Rossi Ugo
Published: May 2004

This paper deals with the process of urban change that has occurred in the historic centre of Naples during the course of the last decade.The paper takes account of the role played in this process by a number of local actors: the local judiciary, new urban political elites, institutionalized civil society and urban social movements.The first two sets of actors represent what I define as ‘legitimate power’ in the city, while the remaining two groups represent ‘constituent power’. In my account of the process of regeneration in the historic centre of Naples, the former are revealed as protagonists of dynamics of urban change ‘from above’ and the latter of dynamics ‘from below’. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the formulation of a critical perspective on multiplex urbanism, by highlighting the co-existence of multiple dynamics of political mobilization in the public domain of contemporary cities. In particular, the paper tries to show how the mobilization of actors who do not have direct policy commitments of their own can generate productive outcomes on the organization of space. It is argued that these actors not only make claims in the public sphere, but also actively contribute to the dynamics of space production that trigger the processes of spatial change at the urban level.
The Doping Ban
Authors: Lock Rebecca Ann
Published: May 2004

Many different articles have been written about doping in sport, but only relatively recently has there been a significant interest in the effects of doping bans and the rhetoric surrounding them. Several analyses have suggested that doping bans have the effect of promoting a sex and/or gender social order. This article continues the logic of these analyses, but claims that this social order is specifically heterosexual. Butler’s heterosexual matrix is used to critique the subjugation of sexuality in these sex/gender analyses, and to assert that sexuality is implicated in the construction of sex and gender. Following Butler’s understanding of sex, gender and sexuality as mutually dependent on one another this article proceeds to illustrate that female dopers are one category of women who disrupt the heterosexual matrix. It is suggested that the dislike of female dopers is similar to the dislike of lesbians and women who are considered ‘ugly’, for such female athletes fail to meet the criteria of heterosexual femininity. This article argues that doping is an ethical issue that should also consider athletes and non-athletes who are affected by the implications of anti-doping attitudes and bans.
The Denegation of the Economy
Authors: Aubel Olivier , Ohl Fabien
Published: May 2004

Free-climbing is used as a privileged way of studying the positioning generated by the meeting of the symbolic economy of sport and a market that is trying to extend its hold on it. In order to understand why money has become an internal problem to the free-climbing space, the article analyses how its symbolic economy and its market are organized. As the economization of free-climbing took place almost simultaneously with its advent, free-climbers had to take an immediate stand. At the end of the 1980s, nearly 25 years after the establishment of free-climbing, opposition to its marketization was still strong among its enthusiasts because the symbolic economy of the free-climbing world was at stake. Free-climbers use the denegation of the economy to overcome the contradictions between their anti-economic ethos and the marketing of their performances, while at the same time expressing the values of the social categories to which the sportsmen and sportswomen belong. Thus, denegation is not a conscious way of being close to the climbing culture; it underlines the beliefs that in climbing value does not, as in some other social spaces, depend on the individual’s economic capital but on free-climbing culture.
The Racial and Gendered Experiences of Immigrant Nurses from Kerala, India
Authors: Dicicco-Bloom Barbara
Published: May 2004

The purpose of this article is to describe the experiences of a group of immigrant women nurses regarding their life and work in a culture other than their own. Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with nurses who were born in Kerala, India, educated in India, and are actively employed as nurses in the United States. The participants told stories that were about (a) the challenges of living between two cultures and countries, (b) the racism they experience, and (c) their marginalization as female nurses of color. This study underscores the continuing inequities of our health care system. Our challenge is to establish a more just and effective environment for those who provide care as well as those who receive it.
Multiple Cohort Data, Delinquent Generations, and Criminal Careers
Authors: Francis Brian , Soothill Keith , Ackerley Elizabeth
Published: May 2004

This article investigates the effect of birth cohort membership on the risk of criminal conviction. The data used are taken from the England andWales Offenders Index and include official conviction histories of six birth cohorts of offenders. Particular problems related to the analysis of official conviction data are discussed, including the need to take account of temporal changes in the age-crime curve caused by social change and criminal policy and the need to be aware of identification issues. A Poisson log-linear model approach is taken. Including data on previous convictions can help explain heterogeneity. An interaction of previous convictions with yearwas found to be important, indicating that additional previous convictions have a greater effect on the conviction rate for more recent years. There is a weak cohort effect for males and a very weak effect for females, after controlling for age, year, previous convictions, and interactions between them.
Specialization and the Propensity to Violence
Authors: Lynam Donald R. , Piquero Alex R. , Moffitt Terrie E.
Published: May 2004

The degree to which the propensity to commit violence is distinct from the propensity to commit other nonviolent acts informs theory, research, and practice. This research examines whether there are individualswhotend to specialize in violent versus nonviolent crimes and whether these individuals differ from one another on other measures. Building off prior research, a distributional approach to specialization that examines offenses within individuals' careers was applied to both self-reported and official crime data from a large birth cohort from Dunedin, New Zealand. Whereas analyses of official reports were consistent with previous research in documenting little specialization, analyses using self-reports indicated that individuals differed in their propensities to commit violent crime. Further, individuals with some violent crimes in their offense distribution differ from those with no violent crimes in terms of previous histories of behavior problems and personality. Implications for current theory and future directions are discussed.
Frictional Noise and Noise Restraint of the Piezoelectric–Ultrasonic Motor
Authors: Dong Shuxiang , Wang Shuxin , Li Longtu , Uchino Kenji
Published: May 2004

Some factors that notably affect the noise of the piezoelectric ultrasonic motor operating in circular bending vibration mode were examined experimentally in this paper. The experimental results and analyses showed that the operational noise was related not only to frictional materials but also many other factors such as the pre-pressing force on the rotor, the contact area and interface condition between the rotor and the stator, and the operational frequency. Moreover, it was firstly reported that both the intensity and the main frequency of the operational noise of the motor greatly varied with the pre-pressing force between the rotor and the stator.
In Their Own Words
Authors: Galanes Gloria J.
Published: May 2004

Group leadership from a bona fide group theory perspective was examined. Twenty-three effective group leaders were interviewed in depth about what they believe is important in leading groups. Five themes emerged: (a) establishing the intention for the overall project; (b) building the team and developing a positive group culture;(c) monitoring and managing the team’s interaction;(d) managing the group’s task and keeping the group focused;and (e) communication behaviors and personal characteristics of the leader. Effective group leaders take group leadership seriously and work at improving their performance and exhibit selfmonitoring and adaptive behaviors. Future research should examine how leaders learn to become effective, how they assess and balance competing goals of building relationships and completing tasks, and what experiences have been most influential. Findings verify the utility of the bona fide group perspective and also suggest dialectical and turning point theories as potentially useful perspectives for revealing further insights into effective group leadership.
Ethnic Composition and its Differential Impact on Group Processes in Diverse Teams
Authors: Paletz Susannah B. F. , Peng Kaiping , Erez Miriam , Maslach Christina
Published: May 2004

This study contrasts the effects of two types of ethnically heterogeneous groups on their enjoyment of and performance on an interactive creative task. The majority of each group was composed of either ethnic minorities or Caucasians. Analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modeling where appropriate. Teams composed mostly of ethnic minorities rated working with the group to be more enjoyable and reported experiencing more positive and fewer negative emotions. Ethnic composition was not predictive of task creativity. Both individual ethnicity and the interaction between individual ethnicity and ethnic composition had an effect on negative emotions; these effects were independent of the group-level effect. Issues concerning ethnic diversity, group dynamics, and context effects are discussed.
Members’ Perceptions of Leader Behaviors, Group Experiences, and Therapeutic Factors in Group Counseling
Authors: Pan Peter J. D. , Lin Chi W.
Published: May 2004

The purpose of this study is to examine the rank order of therapeutic factors, the relationships between leader behaviors, group experiences, and therapeutic factors, respectively, and the regression model between the predictor variables (group experiences and leader behaviors) and criterion variables (therapeutic factors). In this study, 32 college students participated and completed a group counseling program in Taiwan. Results concerning the descriptive statistics and rank orders of the therapeutic factors were examined. Analyses revealed significant positive relationships between leader behaviors and group experiences. In contrast, the relationships between leader behaviors and therapeutic factors varied wildly. Finally, the linear combination of leader behaviors and a group experiences subscale (feeling toward activity) was able to predict therapeutic factors. Based on the findings, suggestions and implications were made for group counseling and future studies.
The Social Identity Perspective
Authors: Hogg Michael A. , Abrams Dominic , Otten Sabine , Hinkle Steve
Published: May 2004

The historical development, metatheoretical background, and current state of the social identity perspective in social psychology are described. Although originally an analysis mainly of intergroup relations between large-scale social categories, and more recently an analysis with a strong social cognitive emphasis, this article shows that the social identity perspective is intended to be a general analysis of group membership and group processes. It focuses on the generative relationship between collective self-conception and group phenomena. To demonstrate the relevance of the social identity perspective to small groups, the article describes social identity research in a number of areas: differentiation within groups; leadership; deviance; group decision making; organizations; computermediated communication; mobilization, collective action, and social loafing; and group culture. These are the areas in which most work has been done and which are therefore best placed for further developments in the near future.
Forty Simple Computer Games and What They Could Mean to Educators
Authors: Dempsey John V. , Haynes Linda L. , Lucassen Barbara A. , Casey Maryann S.
Published: May 2004

The purpose of this study was to evaluate computer games or components of the games that would lend themselves for use in an educational setting. Participants included 20 men and 20 women who volunteered to participate. All participants played four randomly assigned computer-based shareware or freeware games from among eight categories. Participants offered numerous suggestions for instructional applications of the noneducational games. Results suggested diverse patterns of preference and use between genders. Participants indicated many key features regarded as essential for an effective gaming environment as well as those that distracted them from play. Trial and error was observed to be the dominant strategy used across all game categories. In addition, participants suggested numerous educational applications for common categories of computer games.
The Making of a Gaming-Simulation Course: A Personal Tale
Authors: Kirk James J.
Published: May 2004

The author’s gaming-simulation course atWestern Carolina University has been 30 years in the making. Its structure, content, and instructional methods are heavily influenced by the author’s professorial aspirations and experience in the use of simulations. In this brief article, the author shares some of his early use of educational games and gaming simulations, his creation of a graduate-level course on the design and use of gaming simulations, and how he has updated his course for the digital age. For readers who are thinking about creating a gaming-simulation course of their own, the author has listed some common simulation course development barriers and a few strategies for overcoming them.
Validating the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test with Persons Who Have a Serious Mental Illness
Authors: O’Hare Thomas , Sherrer Margaret V. , LaButti Annamaria , Emrick Kelly
Published: May 2004

Objective/Method: The use of brief, reliable, valid, and practical measures of substance use is critical for conducting individual assessments and program evaluation for integrated mental health–substance abuse services for persons with serious mental illness. This investigation examines the internal consistency reliability, concurrent validity, and receiver operating characteristics of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) with 149 mentally ill adults in community programs. Results/Conclusions: Results suggest that the AUDIT is a reliable screening tool and shows good concurrent validity with other measures of alcohol abuse and psychosocial difficulties. In addition, receiver operating characteristics suggest that, for this population, a lower cutoff score (= 3) leads to more accurate detection of an alcohol use disorder (based on the Alcohol Use Scale) than the traditional cutoff (= 8). This article discusses implications for using screens routinely as part of assessment and evaluation with this population.
Helping Parents Reduce Children’s Television Viewing
Authors: Jason Leonard A. , Fries Michael
Published: May 2004

Parents and educators around the country are concerned about the amount of time children watch television. Part of this concern stems from the fact that a considerable amount of violence is regularly portrayed on television. In addition, those youngsters who watch an excessive amount of television have little time for developing other interests and hobbies. Using simple electronic principles and behavior modification, a research team at DePaul University has developed several procedures to wean children off television. This research involved dispensing tokens to children after they had engaged in a period of prosocial behavior. Children’s television viewing decreased after being provided these interventions, and follow-up data suggested that changes were maintained over time. The interventions and devices reviewed in this article are practical ways of empowering parents to have more influence on their children’s television viewing.
A Validity Study of Scores From Self-Anchored-Type Scales for Measuring Depression and Self-Esteem
Authors: Nugent William R.
Published: May 2004

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that scores from a self-anchored scale for depression function as unidimensional indicators of depression and that scores from a self-anchored scale for self-esteem function as unidimensional indicators of self-esteem. A total of 228 responses were obtained from a purposive sample of clinical and nonclinical respondents. The research hypothesis implied a measurement model that was tested using structural equation modeling methods. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that scores from the self-anchored scale for depression serve as indicators of the construct depression but not with the scores from the self-anchored scale for self-esteem functioning as indicators of the construct self-esteem. The results suggested that self-anchored scales may be used to measure depression but not self-esteem. A number of practice applications of these results are discussed, including the possible use of multi-item self-anchored scales.
Cognitive Pretesting and the Developmental Validity of Child Self-Report Instruments: Theory and Applications
Authors: Woolley Michael E. , Bowen Gary L. , Bowen Natasha K.
Published: May 2004

In the context of the importance of valid self-report measures to research and evidence-based practice in social work, an argument-based approach to validity is presented and the concept of developmental validity is introduced. Cognitive development theories are applied to the self-report process of children, and cognitive pretesting is reviewed as a methodology to advance the validity of self-report instruments for children. An application of cognitive pretesting is presented in the development of the Elementary School Success Profile. Two phases of cognitive pretesting were completed to gather data about how children read, interpret, and answer self-report items. Cognitive pretesting procedures identified validity problems with numerous items leading to modifications. Cognitive pretesting framed by an argument-based approach to validity holds significant potential to improve the developmental validity of child selfreport instruments.
Toward Qualitative Understandings of Health Phenomena or a Pedagogical Epiphany from a Long-Time Medical Humanities Professor Who Thought She was on the Right Track
Authors: Wear Delese
Published: May 2004

This is the story of one medical educator’s attempt to combine literary and epistemological inquiry in a 4th-year elective called Women’s Health: Views from Literature, Communities, and Clinical Medicine. The assumption fueling this attempt was that medical students’ thinking rarely moves outside rationalist constructs, and because of this, they often confuse the nature or distinguishing features of something or someone—its quality—with what the numbers tell them. Thus, the class content and experiences were purposely developed to engage the students with knowledge from a variety of qualitative domains and would be, as such, an epistemological experience. This article details how the class worked and how it did not.
Aboriginal Grandmothers’ Experience with Health Promotion and Participatory Action Research
Authors: Dickson Geraldine
Published: May 2004

This article describes a case study examining the effects of participating in a health promotion project, one aspect of which was a health assessment conducted using participatory action research. The study was carried out over 2.5 years in a project for older Aboriginal women (hereafter known as the grandmothers). Participation in the project and health assessment contributed to a number of changes in them, which were categorized as cleansing and healing, connecting with self, acquiring knowledge and skills, connecting within the group, and external exposure and engagement. This experience demonstrated an approach to health promotion programming and conducting a health assessment that was acceptable to this group of people and fostered changes congruent with empowerment.
The Peer Advisor Experience Providing Social Support
Authors: Whittemore Robin , Rankin Sally H. , Callahan Christine D. , Leder Mary C. , Carroll Diane L.
Published: May 2004

Research shows a link between increased social support and decreased complications after myocardial infarction (MI). In a current randomized controlled trial (RCT), a social support intervention administered by nurse and peer advisors is being examined to determine its influence on the health outcomes of unpartnered, post-MI elders. This qualitative study (as part of the larger RCT) sought a better understanding regarding the experience of the peer advisor. Data sources included peer advisor logs, a focus group, and telephone interviews with peer advisors. Findings revealed that helping, mutual sharing, committing, and benefiting are characteristics of peer experiences. Primarily because of their personal experience of recovery from MI, peer advisors had a remarkable ability to relate to assigned post-MI elders, offering a unique form of social support complementary to current health practices.
Researching Illness and Injury: Methodological Considerations
Authors: Morse Janice M.
Published: May 2004

Circumstances surrounding the physical condition of the critically ill, the injured, and the dying make the conduct of qualitative research particularly difficult. Assumptions embedded in qualitative research are challenged or no longer apply: As sick people, participants are unfamiliar with their everyday worlds, and they are often incapable of describing their conditions and perceptions, so that researchers have difficulty obtaining data to comprehend, interpret, and generally conduct their research. Methodological problems extending from the participants’ condition include the lack of everyday language to describe their experiences, the instability of the participants’ reality, and the instability of the self. When researching participants who are sick, these methodological problems result in decisions about the timing of data collection, challenges to validity and reliability, and debates about who should be conducting this research.
Rethinking Professional Attitudes in Mental Health Settings
Authors: Mohr Wanda K.
Published: May 2004

Given that the psychiatric nursing standards developed by the American Nurses Association strongly advocate the inclusion of families in treatment settings, the study discussed in this article sought to determine how families were actually experiencing care in mental health settings for children and adolescents. The aim was to elicit the perspectives of parents whose children were hospitalized in psychiatric hospitals and to examine those experiences against the ideal rhetoric set forth by the standards of care. Results of in-depth interviews with a purposeful sample of parents demonstrate that there is a significant gap between standards and practice.
Protease Inhibitors: Changing the Way AIDS Case Management Does Business
Authors: Merithew Marjorie A. , Davis-Satterla Loretta
Published: May 2004

The purpose of the qualitative evaluation study discussed in this article was to examine the AIDS case management model under which five nonprofit AIDS service organizations (ASOs) in Midcity were operating. The study was organized around 40 qualitative interviews with executive directors, directors, and case managers. The finding was that AIDS case management is evolving to accommodate the changing environmental/contextual conditions that have resulted from combination drug therapies (protease inhibitors) introduced in 1996. The agencies are responding to the changes individually rather than as a network, and responses vary among the agencies. Institutional theory, an examination of the interconnectedness of clients, the ASOs, and their environmental context guided the analysis of the findings.
Best Laid Plans: Examining Contradictions between Intent and Outcome in a Feminist, Collaborative Research Project
Authors: Gustafson Diana L.
Published: May 2004

This article critically examines a feminist, collaborative research method that was intended to be political in standpoint, gendered in focus, reflexive in process, and transformative in outcome. By incorporating collaborative elements into a qualitative, three-step research design, the author hoped to challenge both what was known about nurses’ job displacement and how that knowledge was produced. This article explores the contradictions between the author’s best laid plans and the actual process of discovery. Recommendations for future research include considerations about the social and political context in which the research takes place, cautions about gender inclusivity in the research population and analytic frame-works, strategies for encouraging participants’ critical thinking, and a caveat with regard to transformative outcomes.
Reconstructing Gloria: A Narrative Analysis of Team Meetings
Authors: Crepeau Elizabeth Blesedell
Published: May 2004

This article focuses on the role of stories told about a patient in geropsychiatric team meetings in the construction of an image of the patient. Using the narrative techniques described by Gee, Labov, and Riessman, three team meeting discussions about a geropsychiatric patient are analyzed. The role of stories and the various images these engender are examined in relationship to (a) the team’s evolving understanding of the patient, (b) the team’s conception of the role of the patient, and (c) how the thematic components of these stories may influence patient care.
Psychosocial Considerations for the Prevention of HIV Infection in Injecting Drug Users
Authors: Albertín-Carbó Pilar , Domingo-Salvany Antònia , Hartnoll Richard L.
Published: May 2004

In this article, the authors discuss a study that investigated the meaning that injecting drug users attribute to risk behaviors linked to HIV transmission, especially through the use of nonsterile syringes or the failure to use condoms. To do this, social discourses with respect to the prevention of HIV infection are evaluated. The discussion focuses on how these discourses affect the daily practices of heroin users, practices that in turn influence discourses. Ethnography was used to observe 78 heroin users and 35 people following a methadone treatment program. Observation was carried out in a central district of Barcelona, Spain, with a low socioeconomic level. The results are a useful starting point for generating strategies aimed at preventing HIV transmission among this population on personal, community, and sociostructural levels.
Indigenous Notions of the Workings of the Body: Conflicts and Dilemmas with Norplant Use in Rural Bangladesh
Authors: Rashid Sabina Faiz
Published: May 2004

The discourses of the female body in rural Bangladesh illustrate gender relations in rural society and the degree to which village ideologies of shame, purity, and pollution affect women’s attitudes toward contraceptive practices. Women’s understanding of their body and perception of flow, buildup, and blockage related to Norplant use reveal a belief in the disruption of the internal state of the body. Humeral notions underlie descriptions of Norplant use, which are understood to agree with women differently. Bengalis believe that blockage in the body can endanger the wider social and moral sphere. Culturally promoted fears of illnesses motivate individuals to conform to social norms. Some rural women chose to ignore their health problems, some dropped out, and some preferred Norplant.
The Meaning of Skilled Care Providers’ Relationships with Stroke and Aphasia Patients
Authors: Sundin Karin , Norberg Astrid , Jansson Lilian
Published: May 2004

Little is known about the reciprocal influence of communication difficulties on the care relationship. To illuminate care providers’ lived experiences of relationships with stroke and aphasia patients, narrative interviews were conducted with providers particularly successful at communicating with patients. A phenomenological hermeneutic analysis of the narratives revealed three themes: Calling forth responsibility through fragility, restoring the patient’s dignity, and being in a state of understanding. The analysis disclosed caring with regard to the patient’s desire, which has its starting point in intersubjective relationship and interplay, in which nonverbal communication is essential—that is, open participation while meeting the patient as a presence. Thus, care providers prepare for deep fellowship, or communion, by being available. They described an equality with patients, interpreted as fraternity and reciprocity, that is a necessary element in presence as communion. The works of Marcel, Hegel, Stern, and Ricoeur provided the theoretical framework for the interpretation.
Health Promotion and Preventive Measures: Interpreting Messages at Midlife
Authors: Meadows Lynn M. , Thurston Wilfreda E. , Berenson Carol A.
Published: May 2004

In this article, the authors provide important insight into the cultural messages that midlife women receive about preventive health care. Data were collected from 24 rural women as part of an ongoing project on midlife women’s health. Kleinman’s model of the popular and professional health care sectors was used to examine the data. There is clear evidence of clashes between the orientations and expectations of these sectors. Women’s experiences reveal some consistent themes that contextualize their preventive health pursuits: time constraints, claims for expert knowledge, salience of family history, and the inclusion of nonallopathic resources as part of the professional realm. At the macrolevel, messages regarding women’s responsibility for their health are ubiquitous. At the microlevel, women must negotiate among competing messages and resources and a health care system that often confounds their efforts. These contradictions must be addressed before there are long-term effects on the health of midlife women.
The Development of Qualitative Health Research: Taking Stock
Authors: Hutchinson Sally A.
Published: May 2004

The purpose of this article, which was a keynote presentation at the Qualitative Health Research Conference (QHR 2000) in Banff, Canada, is to provide a historical perspective of qualitative research in nursing over the past 20 years. Van Gennep’s model of rites of passage is used as a heuristic. A discussion of the stages of stopping, waiting, transition, and entry is followed by speculation about the key characteristics necessary for qualitative research to be valued and valuable in the future.
“War Stories”: AIDS Prevention and the Street Narratives of Drug Users
Authors: Singer Merrill , Scott Glenn , Wilson Scott , Easton Delia , Weeks Margaret
Published: May 2004

The day-to-day discourse of illicit drug users is replete with stylized narratives of street experience. These “war stories,” as they are popularly known, are shared among drug users as they hustle for money, purchase drugs, get high, and hang out in diverse street locations. Drug-user narratives, which describe complex adventures and grave suffering, are primary ethnographic sources of information about patterns of drug consumption and risk behaviors. Importantly, in the time of AIDS, street narratives provide a much-needed window on the generally hidden lives of socially marginalized street drug users. As part of an effort to put the analysis of drug-user war stories to use in HIV prevention, in this article the authors analyze a corpus of street narratives told to members of an HIV-prevention research team in Hartford, Connecticut.
Tobacco Policy and the Role of Law Enforcement in Prevention: The Value of Understanding Context
Authors: Woodhouse Lynn D. , Sayre Judith J. , Livingood William C.
Published: May 2004

The Florida Office of Tobacco Control sponsors evaluations of the effect of its comprehensive youth tobacco prevention initiatives. As part of this evaluation, a quasi-experiment designed to assess the effect of law enforcement on youth tobacco use was conducted. An in-depth qualitative study was a critical component of this research. This study provided a rich description of the context in which law enforcement was implemented. Data collection involved interviews with judges, clerks of court, and selected officials in each of the study counties. Approximately 70 interviews were conducted. Extensive, ongoing computer-assisted analysis complemented the process. Several consistent themes emerged during the research that helped to give contextual meaning to the findings. These themes provided critical insights into the complexity of policies about youth tobacco possession, and the findings helped illuminate the varying contexts in which these interventions were applied.
The Body Remembers: Grieving and a Circle of Time
Authors: Hentz Patricia
Published: May 2004

Using a phenomenological perspective, the author explored the experience of body memory following a significant loss. Ten women who had experienced the loss of a special loved one participated. Uncovered in this research were the hidden processes involved in grief work, which were cyclical and nonrational. Body memory experienced by each participant was unique in its expression, the common pattern being that it was relived as it was originally lived. This study brings to light processes of grieving that have been hidden and have remained silent in response to a social world that has been unwilling to accept a grieving process that extends out of the boundaries of the expected norm.
Coping with a Child with Down Syndrome: The Experiences of Mothers in Hong Kong
Authors: Lam Lai-Wah , Mackenzie Ann E.
Published: May 2004

Chinese mothers’ experiences of parenting a child with Down syndrome were explored through semistructured interviews with 18 key informants selected by purposive sampling. Seven major themes were identified: unexpected birth of an abnormal child, acceptance of the child, special needs of the child, worry about the future, knowledge deficit, effect on the marital relationship, and social restrictions. The types of stressors changed over time according to the child’s age, and coping strategies varied accordingly. Strategies frequently used were avoidance, self-reliance, and seeking social support. The particular problems faced by mothers of children with Down syndrome in Hong Kong were discussed in view of the sociocultural background of the region and the highly competitive nature of its society.
Reconciling Messages: The Process of Sexual Talk for Latinas
Authors: Faulkner Sandra L. , Mansfield Phyllis Kernoff
Published: May 2004

Young Latinas’experiences and meanings of sexuality were explored through 31 interviews, with grounded theory used to provide theoretical understanding of sexual talk. The women’s level of comfort with sexual talk and their explicitness influenced the kind of sexual talk they engaged in with partners. The analysis of being in a romantic relationship revealed similar descriptions of processes within the accounts that led to the discovery of the core variable reconciling messages. This describes the Latinas’ process of accepting messages that fit their value system, rejecting messages that they feel misrepresent their beliefs, and altering messages to accept their own sexuality. The findings expand Communication Boundary Management theory and have implications for interventions aimed at assisting women with safer sex topics.