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1
Trullols, Soler Esther. "Validation of qualitative analytical methods." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/9004.
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La informació química sobre la composició d'una mostra pot ser molt diversa: des de saber de quins analits es composa un cert material a saber exactament en quina quantitat s'hi troben o de quina forma hi són presents, si estan relacionats estructuralment entre ells, etc. <br/> D'acord amb tota aquesta varietat, els mètodes analítics es classifiquen en dos grans grups: els mètodes d'anàlisi qualitativa i els mètodes d'anàlisi quantitativa. Segons les característiques del problema analític es triarà un o altre tipus de mètode d'anàlisi. Quan l'objectiu és saber què hi ha en una mostra desconeguda, un mètode qualitatiu serà el mes adequat. En els darrers temps, aquests mètodes han estat objecte d'estudi, i s'utilitzen avui dia, en molts camps d'aplicació. Per exemple, en l'anàlisi d'aliments és habitual l'ús d'un mètode qualitatiu per determinar si un o més analits es troben presents en la mostra per sobre o per sota d'una determinada concentració. <br/> Però si l'interès és saber la quantitat d'un determinat component en una mostra, l'opció d'un mètode quantitatiu serà la més adient. <br/><br/> Aquesta tesi s'ha centrat en els mètodes d'anàlisi qualitativa pels nombrosos avantatges que presenten. Aquests mètodes poden ajudar a destriar mostres en funció de si aquestes presenten una quantitat d'un cert analit al voltant d'un valor de concentració prèviament establert, abans de ser quantificades. És a dir, s'utilitzen com a pas previ a l'aplicació del mètode quantitatiu, implicant un estalvi de feina, de temps i de diners important si es tracta de quantificar contaminants, detectar adulteracions o qualsevol altra situació en la que no es pugui sobrepassar una certa concentració. En aquests casos només s'ha de quantificar la mostra que en el mètode qualitatiu revela un resultat en el que es sobrepassa aquesta certa concentració. <br/> En d'altres àmbits d'aplicació, els mètodes qualitatius estan perfectament integrats en el procediment estàndard d'operacions, pel que, llevat en situacions molt específiques, un resultat positiu no necessita ser confirmat mitjançant una anàlisi posterior amb un mètode quantitatiu.<br/><br/> A més de la importància de triar un mètode analític adequat a cada problemàtica, cal destacar que és igual d'important tenir fiabilitat sobre el resultat trobat i, per tant, sobre el mètode emprat. Això vol dir que qualsevol mètode analític ha de tenir definits els seus requeriments i qualitats analítiques i que s'ha de comprovar que aquests paràmetres prèviament definits, realment tenen el valor que se'ls ha assignat. D'aquesta confirmació se'n diu Validació, i és una condició indispensable per a poder emprar un mètode analític. D'aquesta manera es poden garantir els resultats demanats pels clients/usuaris. A més, des de l'aprovació de la norma ISO 17025 aquesta comprovació del mètode analític i dels seus resultats encara s'ha fet més recomanable.<br/><br/> Fins fa poc temps, la validació de mètodes analítics s'ha centrat en els mètodes quantitatius. El resultat ha estat una sèrie de guies/pautes perfectament establertes d'ús molt comú. Però no hi ha cap protocol general per a validar un mètode qualitatiu. Amb aquesta tesi es vol contribuir a millorar aquesta situació.<br/><br/> Es comença amb una revisió de les classificacions i de les definicions lligades a aquests mètodes, a més d'un repàs sobre quines institucions han fet esment d'aquest tema. Es segueix amb una proposta de classificació d'aquests mètodes i, finalment, es defineixen aquells paràmetres de qualitat que es consideren més importants en la validació. <br/><br/> En les tres aplicacions pràctiques presentades es descriuen les característiques intrínseques del mètode d'anàlisi qualitativa. Després, es defineixen els paràmetres que s'adeqüen millor als requeriments del mètode i, finalment, es proposa un protocol de validació que permet el seu establiment.<br/><br/> El cas de la revisió de les classificacions i definicions emprades en aquest àmbit, com en el cas de la presentació de les contribucions corresponents a diferents institucions, s'han traduït en dues publicacions que s'adjunten en la tesi. Pel que fa a les aplicacions pràctiques, una d'elles també s'inclou com a article publicat i les altres dues, s'inclouen com a articles acceptats.<br>The chemical information about the composition of a sample can be of different nature: which species are in the sample, their concentration or if they are structurally related, etc. <br/> In order to fit any of these requirements, either a qualitative or a quantitative analytical method may be used. If the aim is to identify species, a qualitative method will suit the problem at hand. These types of methods have been recently studied and nowadays are being increasingly used in several fields of analysis. For example, it is common to use qualitative methods as far as food analysis is concerned.<br/> On the contrary, if the aim is to quantify one or more analytes of a sample, a quantitative method will be very useful.<br/><br/> This thesis has focused on qualitative analytical methods because they provide several advantages and they are being increasingly used. These types of methods can screen samples according to the presence or absence of certain analytes with regard to a pre-set level of concentration. That is to say, they are used as a step before the quantitative method and results in lower analysis time and costs because analyte quantification is not required in all situations.<br/> There are some particular analysis fields where qualitative methods are used as routine methods. Therefore, analyte quantification is not always necessary.<br/><br/> Moreover, it is also important to provide reliable results, that is to say, to assure that the method performs with reliability. Any analytical method must have its requirements and its analytical properties previously defined, and their values must be proven. To confirm that the requirements and the analytical properties are the right ones and to confirm that they have the right values is to validate the analytical method. This is a necessary condition to use an analytical method. In this sense, the reliability of the results given to the clients or to the users is assured. Moreover, the ISO Standard 17025 strongly encourages method validation. <br/> Method validation has focused on quantitative methods. Therefore and as a result, there are more standards or guidelines addressed to quantitative methods validation. These guidelines are commonly used by several communities of practitioners. However, there is no generally accepted standard or validation procedure addressed to qualitative methods. In this sense, this thesis aims to contribute with the development of several validation procedures.<br/><br/> The starting point is to provide an overview as a result of a bibliographic search concerning qualitative methods validation. This overview includes the criteria existing for qualitative methods classification as well as the institutions committed the validation of these methods. After that, a classification of these methods is suggested and the most relevant performance parameters in the validation process are defined.<br/> The subsequent practical applications describe the intrinsic characteristics of the corresponding qualitative analytical method. After that, the performance parameters that best fit the requirements and the characteristics of the method are defined and, finally, a validation strategy is proposed. Bear in mind, that the strategy considers the intrinsic characteristics of the analytical method.<br/><br/> The overview including relevant aspects such as qualitative methods classification, performance parameters definitions and the institutions committed to qualitative method validation, among others, are presented as two publications included in the thesis. Regarding the three practical applications, they are presented as three accepted papers.
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Aramini, Riccardo. "Computational inverse scattering via qualitative methods." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2011. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368061.
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This Ph.D. thesis presents a threefold revisitation and reformulation of the linear sampling method (LSM) for the qualitative solution of inverse scattering problems (in the resonance region and in time-harmonic regime):
1) from the viewpoint of its implementation (in a 3D setting), the LSM is recast in appropriate Hilbert spaces, whereby the set of algebraic systems arising from an angular discretization of the far-field equation (written for each sampling point of the numerical grid covering the investigation domain and for each sampling polarization) is replaced by a single functional equation. As a consequence, this 'no-sampling' LSM requires a single regularization procedure, thus resulting in an extremely fast algorithm: complex 3D objects are visualized in around one minute without loss of quality if compared to the traditional implementation;
2) from the viewpoint of its application (in a 2D setting), the LSM is coupled with the reciprocity gap functional in such a way that the influence of scatterers outside the array of receiving antennas is excluded and an inhomogeneous background inside them can be allowed for: then, the resulting 'no-sampling' algorithm proves able to detect tumoural masses inside numerical (but rather realistic) phantoms of the female breast by inverting the data of an appropriate microwave scattering experiment;
3) from the viewpoint of its theoretical foundation, the LSM is physically interpreted as a consequence of the principle of energy conservation (in a lossless background). More precisely, it is shown that the far-field equation at the basis of the LSM (which does not follow from physical laws) can be regarded as a constraint on the power flux of the scattered wave in the far-field region:
if the flow lines of the Poynting vector carrying this flux verify some regularity properties (as suggested by numerical simulations), the information contained in the far-field constraint is back-propagated to each point of the background up to the near-field region, and the (approximate) fulfilment of such constraint forces the L^2-norm of any (approximate) solution of the far-field equation to behave as a good indicator function for the unknown scatterer, i.e., to be 'small' inside the scatterer itself and 'large' outside.
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Aramini, Riccardo. "Computational inverse scattering via qualitative methods." Doctoral thesis, University of Trento, 2011. http://eprints-phd.biblio.unitn.it/556/1/PhD-Thesis-Aramini.pdf.
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This Ph.D. thesis presents a threefold revisitation and reformulation of the linear sampling method (LSM) for the qualitative solution of inverse scattering problems (in the resonance region and in time-harmonic regime):
1) from the viewpoint of its implementation (in a 3D setting), the LSM is recast in appropriate Hilbert spaces, whereby the set of algebraic systems arising from an angular discretization of the far-field equation (written for each sampling point of the numerical grid covering the investigation domain and for each sampling polarization) is replaced by a single functional equation. As a consequence, this 'no-sampling' LSM requires a single regularization procedure, thus resulting in an extremely fast algorithm: complex 3D objects are visualized in around one minute without loss of quality if compared to the traditional implementation;
2) from the viewpoint of its application (in a 2D setting), the LSM is coupled with the reciprocity gap functional in such a way that the influence of scatterers outside the array of receiving antennas is excluded and an inhomogeneous background inside them can be allowed for: then, the resulting 'no-sampling' algorithm proves able to detect tumoural masses inside numerical (but rather realistic) phantoms of the female breast by inverting the data of an appropriate microwave scattering experiment;
3) from the viewpoint of its theoretical foundation, the LSM is physically interpreted as a consequence of the principle of energy conservation (in a lossless background). More precisely, it is shown that the far-field equation at the basis of the LSM (which does not follow from physical laws) can be regarded as a constraint on the power flux of the scattered wave in the far-field region:
if the flow lines of the Poynting vector carrying this flux verify some regularity properties (as suggested by numerical simulations), the information contained in the far-field constraint is back-propagated to each point of the background up to the near-field region, and the (approximate) fulfilment of such constraint forces the L^2-norm of any (approximate) solution of the far-field equation to behave as a good indicator function for the unknown scatterer, i.e., to be 'small' inside the scatterer itself and 'large' outside.
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Westphal, Matthias [Verfasser], and Bernhard [Akademischer Betreuer] Nebel. "Qualitative constraint-based reasoning: methods and applications." Freiburg : Universität, 2015. http://d-nb.info/1119805627/34.
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Liu, Ting. "METHODS DEVELOPMENT IN QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE PROTEOMICS." UKnowledge, 2008. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/838.
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Proteomics based on liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has developed rapidly in the last decade and become a powerful tool for protein mixtures analysis. LC-MS based proteomics involves four steps, sample preparation, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. Improvements in each step have extended its applications to new biological research areas. This dissertation mainly focuses on method developments in both qualitative and quantitative proteomics.
The first part of this dissertation focuses on qualitative analysis of T. gondii Parasitophorous Vacuole Membrane (PVM) proteins, which is very important for T. gondii’s survival. The hypothesis of this study is that proteomic approaches coupled with immunoprecipitation using polyclonal antisera as affinity reagents can successfully characterize the proteome of the T. gondii PVM. The “Three-layer Sandwich Gel Electrophoresis” (TSGE) protocol, was developed to contend with efficient salt removal and protein concentration from challenging samples. Furthermore, the TSGE coupled to 2D-LC-MS/MS was proven to be effective with the proteomic analysis of complex protein mixtures like T. gondii whole cell lysate, allowing for high-throughput protein analysis from complex samples. By using the TSGE-2D-LC-MS/MS methodology, we successfully identified 61 proteins from the PVM samples and constructed the PVM proteome.
The second part of this dissertation describes a novel method for selecting an appropriate isocyanate reagent for potential quantitative proteomics application. Our hypothesis is alteration of isocyanate structure will change fragmentation pattern and ESI property of isocyanate modified peptides. The CID property of N-terminal modified peptides by phenyl isocyanate (PIC), phenethyl isocyanate (PEIC) and pyridine-3- isocyanate (PyIC) was systematically studied using LC-ESI-MS/MS. We observed that adjustment of isocyanate structure changed both ESI and fragmentation characteristic of modified peptides. We rationalized the decrease of protonation of PIC and PEIC modified peptides results from the neutral property of the both reagents. The electron withdrawing feature of PyIC leads to significant reduction of fragments during CID. Therefore, we designed a new isocyanate reagent, 3-(isocyanatomethyl) pyridine (PyMIC). The results revealed that PyMIC modified peptides had more suitable ESI properties and generated more sequence-useful fragments compared to PIC, PyIC and even unmodified peptides. PyMIC is a more appropriate labeling reagent for quantitative proteomics applications.
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楊謹鴻 and Kim-fong Roseline Yong. "Exploring hikikomori: a mixed methods qualitative research." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2008. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B41712146.
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Yong, Kim-fong Roseline. "Exploring hikikomori a mixed methods qualitative research /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2008. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B41712146.
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Mallory, Richard Smith. "Tools for explaining complex qualitative simulations /." Digital version accessible at:, 1998. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.
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Bellis, Cédric. "Qualitative Methods for Inverse Scattering in Solid Mechanics." Phd thesis, Ecole Polytechnique X, 2010. http://pastel.archives-ouvertes.fr/pastel-00557545.
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Contexte. Les problèmes inverses, qui font l'objet de nombreuses études aujourd'hui, apparaissent dans une large gamme d'applications : imagerie et tomographie, identification de propriétés matérielles, contrôle non destructif,... L'étude présentée s'inscrit dans le cadre de ce dernier exemple. Elle a pour objet la recherche de nouvelles méthodes, numériquement rapides, permettant une identification qualitative d'objets (inclusions, cavités, fissures,...) enfouis dans des milieux élastiques linéaires, en connaissant (au moins partiellement) la réponse en surface à une sollicitation dynamique. La plupart des méthodes classiquement utilisées pour traiter ce type de problèmes sont fondées sur des algorithmes itératifs de minimisation qui requièrent un grand nombre de simulations directes. Dans le contexte considéré pour cette étude (propagation d'ondes dans des solides élastiques tridimensionnels), ces simulations sont très coûteuses numériquement. L'émergence récente de techniques permettant de sonder, numériquement, de façon non-itérative un milieu donné, a permis d'aborder ces problèmes sous un nouveau jour. Un ensemble d'études a en particulier montré, dans le cadre des hypothèses adoptées pour cette thèse, l'intérêt de méthodes telles que la Sensibilité Topologique ou le Linear Sampling, pour une détection approchée mais rapide. Objectifs de la thèse. L'étude qui est présentée ici, s'inscrit dans la perspectives du développement des deux méthodes mentionnées, dans le contexte de la mécanique des solides déformables, c'est-à-dire pour des problèmes de diffraction inverse en acoustique et en élasticité. Les différents point abordés dans ce travail sont les suivants : • Appréciation des capacités et des performances respectives des deux méthodes, en particulier lorsqu'elles sont mises en œuvre dans des codes numériques usuels, fondés par exemple sur la méthode des éléments finis. • Utilisation de ces développements pour une identification qualitative combinant géométrie et propriétés matérielles des défauts diffractants inconnus. • Extension de ces méthodes, ainsi que démonstration de leurs pertinences, pour des problèmes de diffraction inverse dans le domaine temporel ou utilisation des mesures multi-fréquentielles des champs diffractés. • Etude de quelques problèmes théoriques fondamentaux pour la justification et la mise en œuvre rigoureuse de ces méthodes. • Compréhension des liens théoriques pouvant exister entre la méthode de sensibilité topologique et la méthode de ”linear sampling”.
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Johansson, Emil, and Jakob Wallgren. "Implemented Analytical Methods for Qualitative Analysis of Carbohydrates." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för fysik, kemi och biologi, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-85276.
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Structural analysis of carbohydrates can be of great importance when studying the effects of bacteria such as Gram negative Haemophilus Influenzae. In the case of Gram negative Haemophilus Influenzae type B the knowledge of the structure have been used to develop a vaccine for meningitis. The aim of the thesis is to implement known analytical methods of determining the structure of saccharides of varying sizes at IFM, Linköping University. An emphasis has been put on GC-MS on methylated and acetylated saccharides, although NMR and MALDI has also been used. The structural analysis of this thesis encompasses elements such as anomeric configuration, sequence, the identification of monosaccharides which are building block of larger oligo- or polysaccharides and linkage locations between these monosaccharides. To do this a model substance was used, the choice was lactose as it is a simple carbohydrate and therefore easy to work with. Once the model substance had been tried and tested other carbohydrates were analyzed such as streptococcus pneumonia and cholera. The methods of methylation using two different recipes as well as acetylation to identify monosaccharides were successfully implemented at IFM using the model substance, lactose. Due to solubility issues the same methods were not found to be applicable at IFM on the polysaccharides streptococcus pneumonia and cholera given the time frame of this thesis. MALDI was tried as a substitute for LC-ESI-MS and was somewhat successful at replicating an analysis of a carbohydrate. MALDI was also successfully used as a way of confirming that chemical reactions such as methylation and acetylation had indeed occurred. The analysis of lactose using NMR in both one dimension and two dimensions allowed for the determination of the anomeric configuration as well as an attempt of listing the chemical shifts of the ring protons. This thesis has generally been successful of implementing said analytical methods of structural analysis of carbohydrates although a lot of improvements can still be made, especially when it comes to optimization of these methods.
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Niu, Wei. "Qualitative analysis of biological systems using algebraic methods." Paris 6, 2011. http://www.theses.fr/2011PA066170.
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Cette thèse est consacrée à l'analyse qualitative des systèmes biologiques, modélisés comme des systèmes d'équations différentielles ou d'équations aux différences, en utilisant des méthodes algébriques. Nous avons étudié les problèmes de la détection d’états d’équilibre, de l'analyse de stabilité et de différents types de bifurcations, et de la construction de cycles limites pour des modèles biologiques continus et discrets. Nous montrons comment réduire les problèmes de l'analyse qualitative aux problèmes de résolution de systèmes polynomiaux ou semi-algébriques. Ensuite, nous expliquons comment ces problèmes formulés peuvent être résolus en utilisant une approche algébrique basée sur les méthodes d'ensembles triangulaires, des bases de Gröbner, d’élimination des quantificateurs, et de l’isolement et la classification des solutions réelles. De nombreuses expériences ont été réalisées sur les modèles biologiques différents et certains d'entre eux ont été présentés dans cette thèse, en démontrant l'efficacité des méthodes algébriques pour l'analyse qualitative de ces modèles. Les statistiques de temps en forme de tableau ont également été fournies pour comparer les performances des différentes méthodes algébriques. Nous avons développé un progiciel Maple pour l'analyse qualitative des modèles biologiques. Pour le système d’auto-assemblage de micelle avec puits chimiques, un modèle biochimique plane non linéaire, sa stabilité, trois types de bifurcations, et cycles limites ont été analysés en détail. Les conditions algébriques exactes sur les paramètres de ce système sont dérivées pour décrire les types de bifurcations et la stabilité et les types des points de bifurcation.
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Jackson, Kirsti. "Qualitative methods, transparency, and qualitative data analysis software| Toward an understanding of transparency in motion." Thesis, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3621346.
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<p> This study used in-depth, individual interviews to engage seven doctoral students and a paired member of their dissertation committee in discussions about qualitative research transparency and the use of NVivo, a Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS), in pursuing it. The study also used artifacts (an exemplary qualitative research article of the participant's choice and the student's written dissertation) to examine specific researcher practices within particular contexts. The design and analysis were based on weak social constructionist (Schwandt, 2007), boundary object (Star, 1989; Star & Griesemer, 1989) and boundary-work (Gieryn, 1983, 1999) perspectives to facilitate a focus on: 1) The way transparency was used to coordinate activity in the absence of consensus. 2) The discursive strategies participants employed to describe various camps (e.g., qualitative and quantitative researchers) and to simultaneously stake claims to their understanding of transparency. </p><p> The analysis produced four key findings. First, the personal experiences of handling their qualitative data during analysis influenced the students' pursuit of transparency, long before any consideration of being transparent in the presentation of findings. Next, the students faced unpredictable issues when pursuing transparency, to which they responded <i>in situ,</i> considering a wide range of contextual factors. This was true even when informed by ideal types (Star & Griesemer, 1989) such as the American Educational Research Association (2006) guidelines that provided a framework for pursuing the principle of transparency. Thirdly, the QDAS-enabled visualizations students used while working with NVivo to interpret the data were described as a helpful (and sometimes indispensable) aspect of pursuing transparency. Finally, this situational use of visualizations to pursue transparency was positioned to re-examine, verify, and sometimes challenge their interpretations of their data over time as a form of self-interrogation, with less emphasis on showing their results to an audience. Together, these findings lead to a new conceptualization of <i>transparency in motion,</i> a process of tacking back and forth between situated practice of transparency and transparency as an ideal type. The findings also conclude with several proposals for advancing a <i>transparency pedagogy.</i> These proposals are provided to help qualitative researchers move beyond the often implicit, static, and post-hoc invocations of transparency in their work.</p>
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Rowley, Rebecca. "Media constructions of 'arthritis' : a mixed methods qualitative study." Thesis, Keele University, 2016. http://eprints.keele.ac.uk/2432/.
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Musculoskeletal conditions, including arthritis, have a global impact, causing increased disability and reduced quality of life. Previous research has demonstrated negative attitudes and beliefs about arthritis exist which means the condition is often undermanaged and deprioritised. One potential influence on such attitudes is the media. Understanding how the media constructs arthritis, and what impact media constructions have on perceptions of arthritis, will shed light on factors that influence attitudes and management of the condition in everyday life. This research aimed to investigate media constructions of arthritis. Mixed methods were used, including media analysis of highest circulating newspapers (n=11) and magazines (n=3), and focus groups (n=2) to explore reception of media messages. Results were analysed using a combination of thematic, discourse and imagery analyses. A total of 1014 newspaper and 18 magazine articles were analysed. Arthritis was conceptualised in three ways - as a disease, condition or ailment. As such, arthritis was not presented as a singular condition; instead the construction, enactment and reality of arthritis were multiple. These multiple conceptualisations were shaped by wider social issues, such as understandings of disability (saints or scroungers) and ageing (peril or promise), and their representation in the media was determined by factors of media production (audience targeting, commercial interests and ‘newsworthiness’). The focus group findings reflected these perceptions, as well as illustrating that media trust and credibility influence how media messages are received and interpreted by the general public. Recognising arthritis as multiple is important for health care professionals and patients, as the multiple conceptualisations can impact on how arthritis is enacted, and may affect perceptions of legitimacy and deservedness. Media representations of arthritis may lead to the condition being deprioritised and could present a barrier to the uptake of self-management strategies recommended in current guidelines.
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Schier, Christa Marianne. "Qualitative Internet research : its objects, methods and ethical challenges." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/4356.
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Boukari, Yosra. "Qualitative Methods for Inverse Scattering by an Impedant Crack." Palaiseau, Ecole polytechnique, 2012. https://theses.hal.science/index.php?halsid=utgisp3o23e1vmcr3q46abm537&view_this_doc=pastel-00738976&version=1.
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L'application des problèmes inverses de diffraction à la détection de fissures via l'utilisation d'ondes acoustiques, électromagnétiques ou élastiques s'élargit dans de nombreux domaines. Des exemples d'application incluent le contrôle non destructif, la prospection géophysique. . . Cette thèse a pour objectif d'identifier des fissures en utilisant des méthodes d'échantillonnage bien connues. Dans ce travail, nous utilisons la Linear Sampling Method et la méthode de Factorisation pour reconstruire la géométrie de fissures à partir de plusieurs données statiques de champs lointains dans le cas de conditions d'impédance sur les deux bords de la fissure se trouvant dans un domaine homogène. Par ailleurs, une application de la méthode de la Reciprocity Gap Linear Sampling Method est proposée pour la reconstruction de la géométrie de fissures dans un domaine hétérogène avec les mêmes conditions au bord. Dans le but d'élargir l'application de cette dernière méthode, une méthode de complétion de données pour le problème de Cauchy associé à l'équation de Helmholtz a été proposée. La performance des méthodes proposées est montrée à travers de tests numériques pour différentes formes de fissures et pour différentes valeurs de l'impédance<br>The inverse scattering problem for crack identification is increasingly gaining applications in many domains. Examples of applications include non destructive testing, geophysical prospection. . . The research work in this thesis focuses on the crack identification using qualitative methods, particularly the sampling methods. We use the Linear Sampling Method and the Factorization method to retrieve the geometry of cracks from multi-static far field data in the case of impedance boundary conditions on both sides of the crack embedded in a homogeneous domain. Moreover, an application of the Reciprocity Gap Linear Sampling Method is proposed to retrieve the geometry of cracks embedded in an inhomogeneous domain with the same boundary conditions. A completion method for the Helmholtz-Cauchy problem is also proposed to widen the applicability of the latter method. The efficiency of the proposed methods is shown through numerical experiments for different crack shapes and for several impedance values
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Liao, Hongjing. "Reporting Credibility in Educational Evaluation Studies that Use Qualitative Methods: A Mixed Methods Research Synthesis." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1426115203.
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Liao, Yi-Hui. "Profiling caesarean birth in Taiwan using quantitative and qualitative methods." Thesis, University of Ulster, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.514479.
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Baker, Louise Adele. "Computational Methods and Qualitative Data: Trailblazing Women and the Law." Phd thesis, Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/143751.
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This thesis examines the utility of computational methods as
applied to a qualitative data set arising from full life, oral
history interviews. The overarching question proposed is: ‘What
can computational methods, applied to a qualitative data set
arising from full life oral histories, add to our understanding
of the lives and networks of Australia’s trailblazing women
lawyers?’ The nature of this topic dictates the use of selected
software programs and a comparative analysis of the usefulness of
these software programs for effective data interrogation.
The project was developed experimentally and experientially to
test the hypothesis that through the application of computational
methods to qualitative data, researchers can learn more about
data than would be possible through the more human centric
analytical methods traditionally employed by the humanities and
social sciences.
The project has utilsed a grounded theory approach, applying this
to the data arising from full life oral history interviews with
sixteen of Australia’s trailblazing women lawyers.
Internationally, the use of oral history to uncover the
biographical and cultural history of trailblazing women lawyers
is established. However, in Australia, empirical enquires have
erased biographical details and neglected the storytelling
element of oral history. Women lawyers stand at the professional
forefront of women’s participation in Australian civic life.
The last 100 years has seen many new women pioneers at the
frontier of the Australian legal profession, as they enter
previously male-only areas of practice, adopt new ways of
practicing, take up elite legal positions and enter the
profession from increasingly diverse backgrounds. The majority of
the women included in this study are not mentioned in any public
record, thereby limiting the historical picture of women’s
experiences upon first entering the legal profession. This
project seeks to fill that gap by providing a holistic picture of
the lives of the trailblazer, through their individual and shared
networks.
Iterative strategies are utilised and the project methodology
necessitated working back and forth between the data and
developing analysis, whilst utilising comparative methods. The
hypothesis is that through continually re-engaging with the data,
further research questions arise and can then be explored.
Further questions, crucial to answering the overall question
posed in this thesis, include:
• What can database technology including the relational
database, the Online Heritage Resource Manager (OHRM) and graph
database Neo4j, tell us about the lives of the trailblazers?
• How does qualitative data representation (in this thesis, the
addition of network visualisation through ConneX) add value to
research outcomes?
Each of these questions assists in determining the added value of
the computational approach. This is the key goal of this project
as it seeks to identify what this method of research enables us
to illuminate about this particular group of trailblazing women
lawyers.
The conclusions of this project confirm the assertion that
computation helps to reveal patterns within the lives of this
select group of trailblazing women lawyers. Quantitative data,
including the total number of ‘nodes,’ or ‘entities’ and
relationship counts were explored, as was extensive qualitative
data, including such shared concepts as ‘experience of
discrimination’ and ‘periods living overseas.’ Furthermore,
the query, ‘shortest path,’ as discussed in relation to the
establishment of graph theory, revealed the most frequently
occurring ties shared across the set of trailblazers as a whole.
The three key shared key findings amongst this particular group
included having attended a single-sex school, access to mentors
and participation in a professional association, in this case,
the Women Lawyers Association. To this end, it is recommenced
that socio-legal and socio-scientific researchers seek to
incorporate digital tools to help curate, explore and analyse
qualitative data.
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Wiggins, Bradford J. "The Dilemma of Mixed Methods." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2011. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2810.
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The past three decades have seen a proliferation of research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, available to psychologists. Whereas some scholars have claimed that qualitative and quantitative methods are inherently opposed, recently many more researchers have argued in favor of "mixed methods" approaches. In this dissertation I begin with a review of the mixed methods literature regarding how to integrate qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Based on this review, I argue that current mixed methods approaches have fallen short of their goal of integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies and I argue that this problem may be due to a problematic ontology. In response to this problem I propose and conduct an ontological analysis, which examines the writings of leading mixed methods researchers for evidence of an underlying ontology. This analysis reveals that an abstractionist ontology underlies current mixed methods approaches. I then propose that an alternative relational ontology might better enable mixed methods researchers to meaningfully relate qualitative and quantitative methodologies and I provide an exploration of what assuming a relational ontology would mean for mixed methods research.
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López, Vilardell Maria Isabel. "Development and validation of multivariate qualitative methods in the food field." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/294599.
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L’objectiu general d’aquesta tesis es el desenvolupament i validació de metodologies analítiques enfocades al anàlisi qualitatiu multivariant. Els mètodes qualitatius són una alternativa als mètodes quantitatius, generalment costosos, quan aquests estan dissenyats per a solucionar problemes que requereixen una resposta binaria (si/no). Aquestes metodologies poden ser utilitzades en una gran diversitat d’àmbits analítics i, en questa tesis, s’han aplicat en l’alimentació (contaminació o adulteració d’aliments).
Els treballs que s’han realitzat recauen en les diferents etapes associades al seu desenvolupament i validació.
(1) Font de dades: s’han implementat diferents tècniques espectroscòpiques tal com NIR i IR i s’ha avaluat una modalitat de Raman, Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering spectroscopy (SERS). La tècnica SERS s’ha usat poc en el àmbit analític multivariant tot i ser una tècnica similar a altres àmpliament emparades (NIR i IR).
(2) Tractament quimiomètric: s’han emparat diferents tècniques de classificació basades en el seu poder modelador. S’han utilitzat tècniques ben establertes (SIMCA e UNEQ), tècniques recents (OCPLS) i una nova tècnica desenvolupada en aquesta tesis (partial least square density modeling, PLS-DM).
A més, s’han estudiat diferents estratègies de modelat, una classe (untargeted) y múltiples classes (targeted). En la bibliografia, molt estudis s’han basat en el modelat de dos o més categories (targeted) mentre que pocs estudis basen la seva estratègia en el modelat de només una categoria, la categoria d’interès (untargeted). Tot i que no es una estratègia nova, està poc explotada.
(3) Validació: s’ha dut a terme un estudi enfocat a clarificar la terminologia usada en la validació de mètodes qualitatius. S’ha proposat un protocol de validació que inclou el ús de Performance Characteristic Curves per establir els paràmetres de qualitat amb connotació quantitativa (límits de concentració i la regió d’incertesa).<br>El objetivo general de esta tesis es el desarrollo y validación de metodologías enfocadas al análisis cualitativo multivariante. Los métodos cualitativos son una alternativa a los métodos cuantitativos, generalmente caros, cuando estos están diseñados para solucionar problemas que requieren una respuesta binaria (si/no). Estas metodologías pueden ser utilizadas en una gran diversidad de ámbitos analíticos y, en esta tesis, se han aplicado en alimentación (contaminación o adulteración de alimentos).
Los trabajos llevados a cabo inciden en las diferentes etapas asociadas al análisis cualitativo multivariante:
(1) Fuente de datos: se han implementado diferentes técnicas espectroscópicas como NIR e IR y se ha evaluado una modalidad de Raman, Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering spectroscopy (SERS). La técnica SERS se ha utilizado poco en el ámbito analítico multivariante a pesar de ser una técnica similar a otras ampliamente utilizadas (NIR e IR).
(2) Tratamiento quimiométrico: se han aplicado diferentes técnicas de clasificación basadas en su poder modelador. Se han utilizado técnicas bien establecidas (SIMCA e UNEQ), técnicas recientes (OCPLS) y una técnica nueva desarrollada en esta tesis (partial least square density modelling, PLS-DM).
Además, se han estudiado diferentes estrategias de modelado, una clase (untargeted) y múltiples clases (targeted). En la literatura, muchos estudios se basan en el modelado de dos o más categorías (targeted) mientras que pocos estudios basan su estrategia en el modelado de solamente una categoría, la categoría de interés (untargeted). A pesar de no ser una estrategia nueva, está poco explotada.
(3) Validación: se ha llevado a cabo un estudio encaminado a clarificar la terminología usada en la validación de métodos cualitativos. Se ha propuesto un protocolo de validación que incluye el uso de las Performance Characteristic Curves para estimar los parámetros de calidad con connotación cuantitativa (limites de concentración y región de incertidumbre).<br>The main objective of this thesis is the development and validation of analytical methodologies focused on multivariate qualitative analysis. These methods are used to address problems that require a binary response (yes/no). In this way, the number of quantitative characterizations, which are usually more expensive, is reduced and decision-making is made quicker by the use of simple and low-cost analytical instrumentation. Multivariate qualitative methodologies can be used in a wide variety of analytical fields and, in this thesis; they have been applied to the food field (contamination or adulteration of foodstuff).
The works carried out in this thesis tackle the different steps that cover multivariate qualitative analysis:
(1) Data source: several spectroscopic techniques such as NIR and IR have been used and a Raman modality called Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering spectroscopy (SERS) has been evaluated. Although SERS technique is similar to other implemented spectoscopies (NIR and IR), it can be still considered as an emergent technique in the analytical multivariate field.
(2) Chemometric data treatment: several classification techniques based on their modelling power has been applied; well-known techniques (SIMCA e UNEQ), recent developed techniques (OCPLS) and a new technique developed in this thesis (partial least square density modeling, PLS-DM).
Moreover, two different modelling strategies have been studied, one-class (untargeted) and multiclass (targeted). In the literature, most of the studies are based on the modelling of two or more categories (targeted) whereas few of them are based on the modelling of just one category (targeted). Although untargeted strategy is not new, it has been low exploit.
(3) Validation: An attempt to clarify the terminology used in the qualitative method validation has been presented. A validation protocol has been proposed which include the use of Performance Characteristic Curves to estimate the performance parameters with quantitative connotation (concentration limits and unreliability region).
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Wang, Kai. "Novel computational methods for accurate quantitative and qualitative protein function prediction /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/11488.
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Gao, Yang. "On the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in data fusion." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.240463.
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Weigel, Annalisa L. (Annalisa Lynn) 1972. "Bringing policy into space systems conceptual design : qualitative and quantitative methods." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29214.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology, Management, and Policy Program, 2002.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-168).<br>A change in government policy can send waves of crippling impacts through the design and development of publicly funded complex engineering systems. Thus it is important for system architects and designers to understand the interaction of policy with their systems, and to strive for policy robustness in their systems. To be policy robust is to successfully pass through policy changes that might arise during the course of system development in order to bring the system into operational use. The goal of this thesis research is to enable the creation of policy robust system architectures and designs through making policy an active consideration in the engineering systems architecting and design process. Qualitative and quantitative analysis methods are brought to bear on the problem using space systems as the application domain, and a process is set down through which policy can become an active consideration instead of a static constraint. Unique contributions of this thesis in the qualitative analysis of policy robust systems include new heuristics describing the interaction of policy and publicly funded engineering systems, as well as impact flow path diagrams for tracing policy interactions with technical engineering system parameters. Quantitative contributions include general relationships for the behavior of engineering system architecture sets under downward annual budget policy pressure, and the application of real options to measure the value of designing an engineering system to be policy robust to budget policy instabilities. Lastly, this research presents the first comprehensive quantification of U.S. space launch policy economic costs, and contributes relationships for estimating these costs on new space systems.<br>(cont.) The analysis techniques presented in this thesis for assessing and insuring policy robustness can be applied as early as the conceptualization phase of system architecting and design, and the earlier they are applied in the process, the greater the benefits that can be derived. As the architecture and system design solidify, time and opportunities are lost to tailor a system for policy robustness.<br>by Annalisa L. Weigel.<br>Ph.D.
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ROSANO, MARIANGELA. "Mixing quantitative and qualitative methods for sustainable transportation in Smart Cities." Doctoral thesis, Politecnico di Torino, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11583/2744154.
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Sonday, Farhaana. "Medicine therapy management for diabetic club Patients at a primary health care clinic: exploring a Potential role for pharmacists." University of the Western Cape, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7479.
Full textAbstract:
Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm<br>Diabetes mellitus is a complex chronic condition and has become a major public
health concern worldwide. Many diabetic patients are accessing primary health care
(PHC) clinics for diabetes care. Diabetic patients who are considered stable are
referred to chronic diseases of lifestyle club at the PHC facility. Effective
management of this chronic condition requires a multidisciplinary team approach to
diabetes care. Pharmacists are not often included in a multidisciplinary team and
would consist of doctors, nurses and dieticians. Teams may be expanded and
require specialist healthcare members’ expertise who can assist in the management
of this disease, for example, ophthalmologists and podiatrists. Adherence to
standard treatment guidelines (STGs) for the management of diabetes by healthcare
professionals at a primary care level can improve glycemic control, decrease health
costs and reduce the development of long-term diabetic complications.
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Pallotti, Phoebe. "Young mothers' negotiations of infant feeding : a qualitative study with ethnographic methods." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2016. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/15751/.
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Background: In the UK, mothers under 20 are the group least likely to breastfeed. Recent public health interventions to promote breastfeeding in the under 20s have met with limited success. Suggested factors include cultural constructions of normative behaviour, environmental and practical barriers, and a lack of professional and community support. However, less is known about the journey through infant feeding and the interrelation of the various influences on the experiences of young mothers. Methods: Ethnographic interviews and participant observation were used to explore the lived experience of ten young mothers aged 16-18 and their babies, from pregnancy to weaning. The data were analysed using Thematic Network Analysis and the emerging themes developed into a coherent description of the influences on infant feeding practices and why these influences seem to lead to formula feeding. Results: The influences were found to relate to three broad thematic areas: the immediate context and the importance of family relationships; the external context of public spaces (which could include the public areas of the home) and the themes of the babies and the milk. Discussion: Theories of the interplay of practical experiences of the young mothers with moral discourses of good motherhood were developed. Using the Ricœurdian theory of the narrative of the self (ipse identity) the work of becoming a mother and making feeding decisions in a morally charged environment are explicated. This approach has begun to reframe the discourse on health research on the public health approach to breastfeeding to encompass and integrate personal identities and social relationships with cultural norms of infant feeding. Conclusions: The findings gave new insights into both why breastfeeding rates are low in this group and why existing interventions have not significantly changed behaviour. The need for a consideration of the social, cultural and moral meanings of infant feeding to young mothers has been highlighted. Practical suggestions for supporting young mothers who wish to breastfeed have also been developed from these research findings.
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Gittins, Robert Godfrey. "Strategies in qualitative research methods in the evolution of software development processes." Thesis, Bangor University, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.412260.
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Perry, Michelle P. A. "Combining quantitative and qualitative methods in signal detection and evaluation in pharmacovigilance." Thesis, University of Portsmouth, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.618567.
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Background: Pharmacovigilance (PV) is the science and activities involved in monitoring and developing the safety profile of all marketed medicines. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) for medicinal products can be identified through postmarketing studies by methods of signal detection. Traditional, qualitative methods involve clinical review of cases, and coupled with modem, quantitative methods which have evolved as PV has grown, may help surveillance of the large number of medicinal products on the market today. This research aimed to investigate combining traditional and modern methods of signal detection by adding statistical weighting to adverse event telms identified as requiring further monitoring pre-marketing, to improve identification and evaluation of ADRs post -marketing. Methods: Four anti-diabetic drugs currently marketed were chosen to model the concept: gliclazide, pioglitazone, rosiglitazone and vildagllptin. Review of pre-marketing information for safety concerns highlighted two medical concepts: cardiac failure and acute pancreatitis. The Delphi method was adapted to identify and pliolitise terms for these concepts to add statistical weighting to. The weightings were applied to two datasets, both from the UK Yellow Card. Scheme (YCS): a two-year dataset (2005-2007) and a ten-year dataset (2000- 2010).
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Ambrose, Aimee Rebecca. "Using qualitative methods to understand non-technological aspects of domestic energy efficiency." Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 2017. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/15576/.
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The overall aim of the collected published works is to investigate how different policy interventions in the field of energy efficiency (including zero carbon homes, low carbon heat networks, and domestic energy efficiency schemes) are experienced and made sense of by a range of key actors. A further aim is to understand these interventions in the context of existing theories within the field of domestic energy efficiency including socio-technical theory and Actor Network Theory. More specifically, this research advances existing knowledge in the following areas: The nature of the socio-technical challenges encountered in the introduction of more energy efficient buildings, and the importance of achieving a balance between socially acceptable and technically optimal environments. (Papers 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8) The value of qualitative research in gaining a more nuanced understanding of our relationship with the home and the implications of this for domestic energy efficiency interventions and the design of low energy buildings (all papers). The influence of tenure as determinant of access to a more energy efficient home and in particular, the stubborn and complex barriers to achieving higher standards of energy performance within the private rented sector. (Papers 1, 2, 3 and 4) The significance of identity, setting and notions of home in the context of domestic energy efficiency interventions. (Papers 1 and 4) As these themes suggest, this PhD is not just concerned with carbon reduction and energy saving as technical objects, but as a way of life. More specifically, it considers the interactions between the two and contends that technical or policy instruments, no matter how sophisticated, cannot succeed if they are not compatible with our ways of life (and ways of doing business) or if our ways of life cannot be reasonably adapted to accommodate them.
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Knapke, Jacqueline M., Erin N. Haynes, and Lisa M. Vaughn. "Using Qualitative Methods to Improve Physician Research Training: Understanding the Student Perspective." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/ijhse/vol4/iss1/3.
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For several decades now, physician-scientists have been referred to as an “endangered species.” Many factors have contributed to the dearth of clinical investigators, and training programs in clinical research are just one tool in a multi-pronged strategy to increase the number of successful physician-scientists working in health research. A qualitative approach that analyzes students’ educational goals and experiences can help fill the gaps in our knowledge about how best to train aspiring physician-scientists. This study was an interpretive phenomenology that evaluated the Master of Science program in Clinical and Translational Research (MSCTR) at the University of Cincinnati. The purpose of the study was to allow students to articulate their expectations, needs, and experiences in the MSCTR. The study included a group level assessment (GLA) and document review. Findings suggest several reasons students enrolled in the MSCTR, as well as some areas for improvement in the program: more physician-centered classes, a more directed curriculum, and a more cohesive course plan overall. Conclusions from these recommendations are that student perspectives can inform decisions around curricula and instructional methods in powerful ways, particularly when combined with a qualitative methodological approach. This study revealed several insights into how faculty and administrators can more effectively train physicians in research methodology. Training should be as applied and relevant as possible to make it directly applicable to clinical practice. This goal could be enhanced if classes – particularly statistics classes – were more physician-oriented. The curriculum of a clinical research training program for clinicians should be clear and directed, but with some flexibility and space within the curriculum for classes within areas of specialization. Collaboration should be integrated throughout, and courses should follow a logical, interconnected sequence.
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Bendell, Katherine. "Using Methods that Matter: A Critical Examination of Photovoice for Studying Supportive Housing." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/31996.
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Photovoice is a Participatory Action Research (PAR) method that generates knowledge about the lived experiences of members of marginalized communities. Participants are understood to be experts of their experiences and are asked to take photos of their lives. Photovoice is highly flexible in application and participants can have varying degrees of involvement in components of the method, from design to dissemination of findings. Although providing opportunity for a high degree of participation is ideal, this is less frequently demonstrated in the literature. To understand the impact of participation on the type of information generated, individuals living in supportive housing were asked to share their experiences of their housing. Perspectives of consumers of supportive housing have had little presence in the housing literature, particularly within a photovoice framework. Therefore, this research asked consumers about their housing as well as how they experienced their participation across two photovoice projects that afforded more and less opportunity for participation.
This dissertation consists of three studies conducted on two distinct projects. Studies 1 and 2 were conducted on the HousingPlus Photovoice Project, an investigator initiated and driven application of photovoice. Study1 examined what can be learned about supportive housing and revealed rich information about participants’ experiences with their housing. Study 2 examined experiences of stakeholders with the photovoice method, including participants and project contributors. Study 2 revealed three distinct approaches to photography: planned, discovery-oriented, and task-oriented approaches to photography. Participants who used a discovery-oriented approach tended to benefit the most from this project. Contributors shared the common value of supporting participation but had divergent perspectives of the photographs, an important product of participation. Contributors tended to focus either on the external or internal photo narratives.
Study 3 was conducted on the Home Photovoice Project, which was initiated and run by a community-based agency. This second project provided a point of comparison to determine whether a more participatory application of photovoice would result in similar or distinct findings related to supportive housing and stakeholder experiences with the method. Although the three distinct styles of participation observed in the HousingPlus Photovoice Project were also observed in the Home Photovoice Project, most participants developed a planned approach to photography over time. Participants who began with a planned or task-oriented approach tended to benefit the most from this more participatory application of photovoice. More was learned about shared participant experiences and perspectives in the Home Photovoice Project. In contrasting these projects it is apparent that the choice of methodological focus significantly impacts the photos and narratives produced, approaches to participation, and stakeholder experiences of photovoice. This has important implications for the design and delivery of photovoice projects.
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Papadopoulou, Constantina. "Making sense of acute leukaemia : an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experiences of patients and family caregivers." Thesis, University of Dundee, 2014. https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/942fa3ef-db44-4899-a550-5f5059f4ec92.
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Background and objectives: Living with acute leukaemia can challenge patients’ physical, emotional and psychological well-being and functioning, but can be a greatly challenging experience for their families, too. Such a life-changing experience can potentially initiate or accelerate a meaning-making process that may be prolonged and demanding. Yet, there is a dearth of empirical evidence with regard to how adult patients with acute leukaemia or their family carers make sense of their illness-related experiences, and, as a consequence, clinicians still lack the knowledge necessary to tailor support to this specific population. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to explore the processes, through which patients and family caregivers construct their meanings of acute leukaemia. Design and methods: An exploratory design was employed using serial, in-depth interviews, guided by Smith’s Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach. Ten adult (>18 years of age) patients with acute leukaemia and eight patient-nominated family caregivers were recruited during a 14-month period from two clinical NHS sites in Scotland. Two serial interviews were conducted with each participant, two to four weeks apart, within the first year of diagnosis or post-relapse. In total, thirty-six interviews were analysed. Results: Findings deriving from patient interviews indicated that acute leukaemia creates a state of imbalance to the person, which may initiate a search for a new equilibrium. Patients’ journeys towards making sense of their illness may involve three inter-changeable processes: decay, transformation and growth. As patients learned of their diagnosis and their treatment commenced, a sense of decay dominated their lives. ‘Feeling like being a prisoner’ and ‘living with an impaired self’ were two common emergent themes. Running in parallel, signs of transformation started to become more evident as time elapsed. Within the third making-sense process, that is to say growth, themes such as strengthened family bonds, and reprioritising values were among the most prominent. Carers’ accounts of their indirect cancer experience revealed that family members made sense of their acute leukaemia-related situation as a state of limbo that was conceptualised as a maze. After being thrust into limbo, the invisible nature of acute leukaemia created difficulties for carers to conceptualise it; however, they experienced its impact on their lives quite hastily. In order to navigate limbo, carers had to learn to steer through their social world and the unfamiliar hospital environment and eventually manage to transcend limbo by employing various coping strategies, by facilitating the cancer journey of their loved ones, and finally, by reconciling with the patient’s illness. Conclusions and future implications: Findings of this contextually and methodologically novel study highlight the complex nature of sense-making for both patients and family caregivers experiencing acute leukaemia. Additional research is warranted to further uncover the various ways in which meaning is initially constructed, negotiated, re-visited and reformed as patients and/or family carers go through the different phases of living with the illness. In any case, clinicians can rely on the findings of the present study in order to provide on-going support and guidance so that patients and carers visualise the ‘invisible’ acute leukaemia and make sense of their illness-related situation in ways that favour their short- and long-term psychosocial adjustment.
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Stuart, Simon Robertson. "Exploring recovery from severe and enduring mental illness using qualitative methods : a portfolio thesis." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/28695.
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This thesis offers a critical consideration of the recovery approach to severe and enduring mental-health problems (Roberts & Boardman, 2013; Anthony, 1993), with the primary-research element focused on recovery after forensic secure care. A systematic review of qualitative research into recovery processes was conducted, using best-fit framework synthesis as a method of analysis (chapter 2). An expansion of the CHIME recovery model (Leamy et al., 2011) is proposed, in which the difficulties experienced by service users are more prominently considered. Chapters 3 and 4 report an investigation of the barriers to recovery perceived by people discharged from forensic secure care, using interpretative phenomenological analysis as a method (Smith et al., 2009). Eight participants were interviewed, and five superordinate themes are proposed: living in the shadow of the past, power imbalances, security and care, reconfigured relationships, and ‘recovery’ as a barrier to recovery. The final chapter of the portfolio is a shorter reflective paper considering the wider context of the work.
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Rougny, Adrien. "Méthodes qualitatives pour la construction et l'analyse des réseaux moléculaires SBGN." Thesis, Université Paris-Saclay (ComUE), 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016SACLS325/document.
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La construction des réseaux moléculaires à partir de résultats expérimentaux, ainsi que leur analyse en vue d'en exhiber des propriétés émergentes, sont deux tâches fondamentales de la biologie des systèmes. Avec l'augmentation du nombre de données expérimentales, elles ne peuvent plus être réalisées manuellement. Partant de ce constat, un certain nombre de méthodes bioinformatiques visant à les automatiser ont été développées.En parallèle du développement des méthodes, un certain nombre de standards ont vu le jour. Parmi ceux-ci, la Standard Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) se compose de trois langages permettant la représentation des réseaux moléculaires.Les deux langages SBGN les plus couramment utilisés sont SBGN-PD pour la représentation des réseaux de réactions, et SBGN-AF pour celle des graphes d'influences. La notation SBGN, en plus de standardiser la représentation des réseaux, donne l'ensemble des concepts de la biologie des systèmes qui sont le plus souvent utilisés pour exprimer les connaissances du domaine.C'est dans ce cadre général que se placent l'ensemble de nos travaux. Nous avons développé un ensemble de méthodes pour la construction des réseaux moléculaires et l'analyse de leur dynamique. L'ensemble des méthodes que nous proposons reposent sur des formalismes qualitatifs, tels que la logique ou les réseaux d'automates. Ces formalismes on non seulement des bases théoriques solides, mais peuvent aussi être utilisés par de nombreux logiciels.L'ensemble de nos méthodes reposent également sur les concepts biologiques fournis par le standard SBGN, et peuvent ainsi être intégrées dans un même cadre théorique.Nous introduisons d'abord deux ensembles de prédicats qui permettent de traduire n'importe quel réseau SBGN-PD ou SBGN-AF sous la forme d'atomes instanciés. Nous montrons ensuite comment ces deux ensembles peuvent être utilisés pour raisonner automatiquement sur des réseaux moléculaires, en proposant une méthode de transformation automatique des réseaux de signalisation SBGN-PD en graphes d'influences SBGN-AF.Nous présentons ensuite une méthode de construction des réseaux de signalisation à partir de résultats expérimentaux, basée sur la logique du premier ordre. Cette méthode formalise et automatise le raisonnement réalisé par les biologistes à l'aide de règles de raisonnement explicites. Contrairement aux méthodes développées jusqu'à maintenant, celle que nous présentons prend en compte un grand nombre de types d'expériences, tout en permettant la reconstruction de mécanismes moléculaires précis.Puis nous montrons une nouvelle méthode pour le calcul des traces finies et des points attracteurs de réseaux Booléens modélisant des réseaux SBGN-AF et paramétrés à l'aide de principes généraux. Notre méthode repose sur l'utilisation de programmes logiques normaux du premier ordre, qui formalisent ces principes généraux.Enfin, nous proposons deux nouvelles sémantiques qualitatives pour le calcul de la dynamique des réseaux de réactions SBGN-PD, exprimées à l'aide de réseaux d'automates. La première de ces sémantiques étend la sémantique Booléenne des réseaux de réactions en prenant en compte les inhibitions. Quant à la deuxième, elle introduit le concept d'histoire (story) qui offre un nouveau point de vue sur les réseaux de réactions, en permettant de modéliser différents états physiques d'une même entité moléculaire par une seule variable.L'ensemble des méthodes que nous avons développées montrent comment les formalismes qualitatifs, et en particulier la logique, peuvent être utilisés pour raisonner à partir des relations représentées par les réseaux moléculaires, afin de découvrir de nouvelles connaissances en biologie des systèmes<br>Two fundamental tasks of Systems Biology are the construction of molecular networks from experimental data, and their analysis with a view to discovering their emergent properties. With the increase of available experimental data, these two tasks can no longer be realized by hand. Based on this observation, numerous bioinformatics methods aiming at the automation of these two task have been developped.In parallel, standards aiming at defining and organizing terms of systems biology, or representing networks and mathematical models, have been developped. Among these standards, the Standard Biology Graphical Notation is composed of three languages that allow the representation of molecular networks. The two main SBGN languages are SBGN-PD for the representation of reaction networks, and SBGN-AF for the representation of influence graphs. The SBGN notation not only standardizes the representation of networks, but also gives the concepts of systems biology that are most often used to express knowledge of the field.Our work takes its root in this general background. We have developped a number of methods to construct molecular networks and analyze their dynamics. All the methods that we propose are based on qualitative formalisms, such as logics or automata networks. These formalisms have solid theoretical bases and can be used by numerous pieces of software. All our methods also rely on the biological concepts given by the SBGN standard, and can therefore be blended in the same theoretical framework.First, we introduce two sets of predicates that allow to translate any SBGN-PD or SBGN-AF network into a set of ground atoms. Then, we show how these sets of predicates can be used to reason on networks, by proposing a transformation method of SBGN-PD signaling networks into SBGN-AF influence graphs.Second, we present a first-order logic based method to construct signaling networks from experimental results. This method formalizes and automatizes biologists' reasoning using explicit reasoning rules.On the contrary to existing methods, it allows to take into account numerous types of experimental results while reconstructing precise molecular mecanisms.Third, we show a new method to compute the finite traces and attractor points of Boolean networks that model SBGN-AF networks and that are parameterized using general principles.Finally, we introduce two new qualitative semantics for the computation of the dynamics of SBGN-PD reaction networks. These semantics are expressed using automata networks. The first semantics extends the classical Boolean semantics by taking into account inhibitions. As to the second one, it relies on the concept of story which introduces a new point of view on reaction networks. Indeed, it allows to model different physical states of the same molecular entity using a unique variable.All the methods that we have developped show how qualitative formalisms can be used to reason on the relations represented by molecular networks in order to discorver new knowledge in systems biology
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Sullivan, Paul W. "Qualitative data analysis using a dialogical approach." SAGE, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5842.
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Burnay, Rita Maria Pires Pisani. "A passagem à reforma : um estudo exploratório sobre mulheres profissionalizadas na sociedade portuguesa." Master's thesis, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas. Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/5638.
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RESUMO: Devido às mudanças políticas e sociais que ocorreram no passado, a proporção de mulheres activas no mercado de trabalho tem vindo a aumentar, e neste sentido, cada vez mais mulheres têm vindo a entrar na reforma.
As recentes evoluções demográficas mostram um crescente envelhecimento populacional caracterizado por um aumento da proporção de pessoas idosas e pela sua maior longevidade. As mulheres são em número superior, no entanto, a realidade da mulher portuguesa reformada tem sido pouco avaliada sob o ponto de vista em que decorre esta
transição. A passagem à reforma é um momento fulcral para conhecer como se adaptam os
indivíduos a uma nova etapa da sua vida que é actualmente vivida por mais tempo, e que
representa também a passagem para outra categoria social, a categoria de reformado.
Condicionantes sociais, culturais e individuais, contribuem para modelar esta
transição e o ajustamento à mesma. A reforma para as mulheres deverá corresponder a
uma etapa com características únicas, devido às particularidades em termos profissionais e
sociais que as distinguem dos homens.
Pretende-se neste trabalho “dar voz” às mulheres portuguesas que tiveram uma
carreira profissional e conhecer as suas experiências de transição para a reforma e a forma como vivem esta condição. Foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com mulheres portuguesas profissionais reformadas, cujos conteúdos foram analisados em torno das seguintes categorias: sentimentos vividos; planeamento e motivações para a passagem à reforma; relação com o trabalho; noção de si própria; gestão de tempo e organização quotidiana e interacções familiares e sociais.-------- ABSTRACT: Due to past political and social changes the number of women working actively in the labor market is growing. This implies that, more women are also entering in the retirement period.
Recent demographic trends show an increasing ageing population, characterized by
a higher proportion of elderly people, and a higher longevity. Women’s proportion
outnumbers older men, yet the reality of Portuguese retired women has been poorly
evaluated in regard to this transition process. Retirement transition is a crucial period to understand how individuals adapt to a new stage in their life, that is actually being enjoyed for a longer period and that also represents the transition to retiree’s social role.
Social, cultural and individual conditions help to shape this transition and adjustment
to it. Retirement for women should be an event with unique features, mostly because of the peculiarities in professional and social relationships, distinct from men.
Through in-depth interviews, we explored how Portuguese women, who had a professional career, experience the retirement transition and how they live this new condition. The women’s narratives were analyzed within the following categories: experienced feelings, planning and motivation for retirement; notion of self; time management and daily organization; family and social interactions.
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Pan, Peng, and Qing Li. "Mental disorder : A qualitative study of treatment and professional methods in modern Sweden." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för socialt arbete och psykologi, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-14019.
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This essay is a qualitative research analysis that aims to increase knowledge and understanding of how people with mental disorder be treated in Sweden. It also includes a short comparison with China when it comes to treating people with mental disorders. According to the Mental Health Global Action Program of WHO number of people suffering from the mental disorders is expected to reach 450 million people worldwide. Statistics released by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in 2009 showed that mental disorder in China affects a population of over 100 million people, of which 16 million are severely ill. People with mental disorders cannot be described as one single group; there is a wide range of different state of illness, including the depression, and patients with schizophrenia. One could even add other mental handicapped groups. These patients inflict severe burden upon their families and as well as the society. They have diseased emotional expressions what ‘normal’ people are not endowed with, so that they are somehow misunderstood, to be more exact, they are not accepted. They can neither integrate in society nor break away from it; they are put in a great quandary, and have no choice but to live marginalized and secluded from society.
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Barnett, Inka. "Physical activity and the transition to retirement : combining quantitative and qualitative research methods." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648141.
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Britton, Richard. "Investigating how the subjective experience of worry is constructed by qualitative research methods." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2016. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/2049179/.
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The purpose of this review is to identify and summarise qualitative research focusing on the subjective experience of worry. The majority of research to date has focussed on quantitative measures of worry which limit participants’ responses to ratings on pre-defined questionnaire items. In summarising open ended subjective studies about the experience of worry, this review aims to identify phenomenological aspects of the experience of worry that may further advance theory development. Findings are summarised. The following key qualitative themes were identified, a) control over worry, b) value assessments of worry, c) perceived causes of worry and d) cognitive features of worry. However, all qualitative studies identified by the review were lacking in quality, transparency and/or richness. It is recommended that further research be conducted which utilise qualitative methodologies involving rigorous and transparent processes.
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Sales, Clay Alan. "Computer-assisted item and test pre-analysis: a new direction in qualitative methods." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/44681.
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<p>To date, the major emphasis in test and item evaluation has been directed toward
statistical post-measures which rely heavily on data gathered from the administration
of the instrument. These primarily summative techniques are limited, however, in
that they are incapable of providing information about and item/test before it has
been sent for field trials. This research presents a new direction in test and item
analysis which, using test/item writing heuristics, provides a previously unavailable
technology for instrument pre-analysis. The new field of "qualitative item and test
pre-analysis" is proposed and described. The implications to the field are discussed
in addition to specific suggestions for the use of this new technology.</p>
<p>The design and creation of a baseâ case item and test pre-analysis expert system
(ITAX) is also detailed, including the heuristics incorporated, implementation
methodologies and limitations. The heuristics incorporated into the system include
the detection of: two varieties of grammatical cues, negation/multiple negation, repetition
of phrases within an options list, presence of too few options, inconsistent
length of distractors, use of all- and none-of-the-above, repetition of significant words
from the stem to the options, randomness of multiple choice answer placement, balance
of true/false items and length of true/false items. A comprehensive reference to
the system is also provided.</p><br>Master of Arts
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Hickenbottom, Sabrina. "Progressive methods utilized in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of human carotenoid metabolism /." For electronic version search Digital dissertations database. Restricted to UC campuses. Access is free to UC campus dissertations, 2002. http://uclibs.org/PID/11984.
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Steketee, Abby Meadema. "Methods, paradigms, and practices: Advancing Dissemination and Implementation Science." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/101664.
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There is a critical gap in translating scientific discoveries to public health benefit. For example, despite a multitude of efficacious physical activity interventions, only one in four adults in the United States meets the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. To bridge the research-practice gap, Dissemination and Implementation (DandI) Science has emerged as the study of how evidence-based interventions, programs, and policies are integrated in typical settings. Recent research illustrates barriers to conducting DandI Science and the need for methods that open the black box of implementation. Therefore, the overarching goal of this dissertation was to explore novel approaches for advancing DandI Science. This exploration is presented in three manuscripts and one report.
The first manuscript presents a pragmatic, observational study applying the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) Framework to evaluate a perinatal health fair. Results include that the health fair reached 42 attendees and that 23 educators and seven organizations hosted booths and educational sessions. Mom Expo required 292 implementation hours with 71% of those hours devoted to building relationships. We generated 30 actionable strategies for implementing a health fair. The health fair developed into a non-profit organization, and the participatory approach used can be replicated in other communities to establish connections between local women, educators, and researchers.
The second manuscript reports a one-year autoethnography (i.e., first-person narrative) of a perinatal health integrated research practice partnership (IRPP). Findings include three themes: (1) permeable work boundaries, (2) blind spots toward philosophical underpinnings of paradigms, and (3) maladaptive behaviors seemingly reinforced by the research culture. We concluded that autoethnography is an effective novel method to leverage researcher situatedness and capture implementation contexts, processes, and outcomes.
The third manuscript presents the longitudinal pilot test of FUEL (focus, unplug, exercise, love), a one-on-one coaching program to promote human flourishing among DandI researchers. Results include that the coach spent 12.96+2.82 hours per participant (N= 16) implementing individually-tailored sessions, and that participants reported multiple, sustained benefits related to productivity, happiness, and health. We concluded that the program is a feasible, well-received approach with preliminary positive effects. Future work is needed to investigate physiological or performance outcomes and, ultimately, impact on DandI.
The final report is a literature review and critical analysis of phenomenology within behavioral and community health research. Conclusions include that (1) physical activity is rooted in a scientific paradigm that prioritizes quantifiable mechanism over personal meaning, and (2) phenomenology, as a complement to basic science, is a compelling method, paradigm, and practice to improve research translation.
Based on this research, I conclude that three pathways for advancing DandI Science are methods that capture first-person meaning, paradigms that incorporate phenomenological human experience as an essential dimension of health research, and practices that fuel researchers' capacity for generating transformative work. In all three pathways, the heart of elevating DandI Science is to embrace process, person, and presence.<br>Doctor of Philosophy<br>Scientific evidence does not automatically translate to real-world behavior change. For example, despite considerable research about the health benefits of physical activity, only one in four American adults meets the national physical activity recommendations. To bridge the research-practice gap, Dissemination and Implementation (DandI) Science has emerged as the study of how scientific findings are integrated in typical settings such as schools and communities. Recent research illustrates multiple barriers to DandI Science and a need for methods that capture hard-to-measure, chaotic implementation processes and outcomes. Therefore, the overarching goal of this dissertation was to explore novel approaches to DandI Science and bridging the research-practice gap. This exploration is presented in three manuscripts and one report.
The first manuscript describes a perinatal health fair intended to connect local parents to community resources. The second manuscript is a 12-month autoethnography (i.e., first-person narrative) about the culture of DandI Science, including the role, impact, and practices of researchers themselves. The third manuscript presents the development and preliminary testing of FUEL (focus, unplug, exercise, love), a one-on-one coaching program for DandI researchers. The final report includes the history of randomized controlled trials as the gold standard for physical activity research, as well as critical analysis of using phenomenology to reduce the research-practice gap.
Findings from the first manuscript suggest that (1) authentic relationship building was the key to launching a perinatal health fair that developed into a non-profit organization and (2) the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) Framework is a user-friendly DandI tool for implementing and evaluating a health fair. Findings from the second manuscript include descriptions of (1) blind spots within the DandI Science culture, (2) potential of autoethnography as a novel DandI method, and (3) strategies to optimize DandI researchers' capacity to thrive amid challenges. Findings from the third manuscript suggest that the FUEL coaching program is a promising and feasible approach to support researchers in leading "a more productive, healthier, and happier life," as one participant wrote. Future research on the program is needed to evaluate causation and whether organizations would adopt it. Conclusions in the final report include that (1) the applicability of physical activity research to daily life may be limited by deeply held scientific ideologies and (2) phenomenology, as the study of human meaning, may facilitate the translation of research to real-world behavior change.
Based on the research presented in this dissertation, three pathways for advancing DandI Science are methods for how we conduct research studies, paradigms for how we collectively approach health science, and practices for how we manage our energy and awareness. In all three pathways, the heart of elevating DandI Science is to embrace process, person, and presence.
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Hansen, Jan Bradshaw. "A Qualitative Study of Women High School Principals' Career Life Histories." DigitalCommons@USU, 2014. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/2158.
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Gender inequalities in the workplace continue to plague aspiring career- directed women. In public education, it is established that there are fewer women high school principals than there are men. In a profession predominantly employing women, the question remains, “Where are the women high school administrators”? This study examines the sociopolitical gender systems and psychological dynamics that perpetuate gender inequality. It then discusses the encumbered or constrained choices women make that are burdened or made more complicated by gendered sociopolitical or psychological dynamics. The study is a qualitative study narrowing the life-history method with an innovative career life-history focus. Seven high school women principals were interviewed and then data were transcribed and analyzed. Participants provided an external participant who shared their perspectives of the career life histories of these women principals, which added to the richness of the data analysis. Resumes of the principal participants were collected for triangulation purposes. Finally, a narrative from the data analysis was written. The findings reveal unintentional career journeys. The women in the study were invited to join administrative teams, reluctantly accepted, and embarked on their career journey, psychologically transitioning from teacher to administrator. They navigated through sociopolitical systems and barriers, finding support from family, supervisors, and friends. The women’s new identities led to reconfigured families and brought diversity to high school administrative teams.
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Jester, JuliaGrace J. "A feminist social psychological study utilizing theatre of the oppressed methods to explore issues of women's voices." Oxford, Ohio : Miami University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=miami1059074145.
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Coast, Joanna. "Priority setting in health care : citizens and their agents." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.302106.
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McKee, Ann Marie. "A story of high school inclusion: an ethnographic case study." Diss., University of Iowa, 2011. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/1247.
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This is an ethnographic case study of the inclusion of a fifteen-year-old male with severe disabilities in general education classes in a four-year high school in a medium-sized Midwestern city. The study took place during the student's freshman and sophomore years. The investigator interviewed 17 of the participants in the student's inclusion; administrators, special education staff, general education teachers, and parents--accumulating over 450 pages of transcribed interviews in the process. She spent five days in field observation of the student's general education classes and other school activities--all recorded in substantial on-site notes--and had access to relevant documents concerning the student in the school's files. The NVivo 8 computer software was used to code the data. A Story of High School Inclusion: An Ethnographic Case Study examines these questions: How did parents and professionals (e.g., school administrators, special education staff, general education teachers, state-level special education consultants) involved in the process of the inclusion of a student with severe disabilities in general education high school classes define inclusion? How did they characterize their attitudes toward it? What role did each of them play in preparing for the student's inclusion? How did each of them describe their part in the process of the student's inclusion? Do the accounts of those individuals involved in the inclusion of the student with severe disabilities align or do they suggest tensions? What was the impact of these alignments or tensions on the inclusion process? All the participants interviewed in the study agreed with and supported the idea of inclusion; however, except for the parents, those expressions of agreement and support were typically followed with a "but" that led on to a variety of reservations and qualifications. Preparation for the student's inclusion in high school was thorough, consisting in a series of comprehensive meetings involving all parties with a role in the student's inclusion--even to the point of seeking the input of those who had worked with the student in junior high school. During the day-to-day implementation of these plans, the student's general education teachers were pleased with his comprehension of, and participation in, the academic material. However, the paraeducator was often observed to be filling an instructional role that properly belonged to the qualified teacher. Moreover, her presence had a compromising effect on the student's social interactions. A two-way matrix was created to discover areas of agreement and disagreement among the parties to the student's inclusion. These rich data reveal that there was broad agreement among all the school participants, academic and administrative, but that strong tensions arose between the student's parents and the school personnel. These results suggest that families and schools may concur at a philosophical level regarding inclusion, but disagree at the implementation level, resulting in tensions and conflicts that might be prevented or ameliorated by more open and direct communication.
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Riley, Jennifer S. "Hope Levels in Urban School Psychology Internship Students: A Mixed Methods Case Study Exploration." The Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1305565575.
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Cyr, J. "The Pitfalls and Promise of Focus Groups as a Data Collection Method." SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/615820.
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Despite their long trajectory in the social sciences, few systematic works
analyze how often and for what purposes focus groups appear in published
works. This study fills this gap by undertaking a meta-analysis of focus group
use over the last 10 years. It makes several contributions to our understanding
of when and why focus groups are used in the social sciences. First, the study
explains that focus groups generate data at three units of analysis, namely, the
individual, the group, and the interaction. Although most researchers rely
upon the individual unit of analysis, the method’s comparative advantage lies in
the group and interactive units. Second, it reveals strong affinities between
each unit of analysis and the primary motivation for using focus groups as a data
collection method. The individual unit of analysis is appropriate for triangulation;
the group unit is appropriate as a pretest; and the interactive unit is
appropriate for exploration. Finally, it offers a set of guidelines that researchers
should adopt when presenting focus groups as part of their research design.
Researchers should, first, state the main purpose of the focus group in a
research design; second, identify the primary unit of analysis exploited; and
finally, list the questions used to collect data in the focus group.
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Pakbaz, Mojgan. "Vaginal prolapse – clinical outcomes and patients’ perspectives : a study using quantitative and qualitative methods." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Obstetrik och gynekologi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-40613.
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Background: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a relatively common condition. In Sweden, the overall estimated prevalence of POP in the female population is 31% and the prevalence of symptomatic prolapse is 8–15%. The prevalence of POP increases with age. The lifetime risk of undergoing pelvic floor surgery is estimated to 11%. The aim of this thesis was to investigate outcomes of vaginal hysterectomy for treatment of prolapse; to study outcomes of cystocele repair surgery and patient satisfaction related to different anaesthesia methods; to explore women’s experiences of vaginal prolapse; and to investigate what is known regarding POP prior to surgery and healthcare-seeking behaviour. Methods: In the Swedish National Quality Register for Gynaecological Surgery (Gynop-register), 941 women were identified who underwent vaginal hysterectomy for prolapse from 1997 to 2005 and 1,364 women were identified who underwent cystocele repair surgery from 2006 to 2009. In-depth interviews were performed with 14 women with vaginal prolapse. Interview data were analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. To investigate women’s knowledge about POP and healthcare-seeking behaviour, a questionnaire was developed, validated and distributed to women with planned surgery for POP. Women undergoing hysterectomy or incontinence surgery were used as reference groups. Results: Severe complications after vaginal hysterectomy occurred in 3% of cases. Sexual activity was improved after vaginal hysterectomy, the number of women reported to have intercourse increased by 20% (p = 0.006). Subjective symptoms of urinary incontinence and overactive bladder were resolved in 50% of the women. De novo stress incontinence was reported by 11% of the women. Use of local anaesthesia (LA) in reconstruction of cystocele showed advantage over other forms of anaesthesia. Length of hospital stay, duration of use of postoperative pain-killing drugs, and time to return to daily activity were shorter among women who underwent surgery with LA compared to other forms of anaesthesia. Patient satisfaction was not related to methods of anaesthesia. In an interview study, the process from recognition the symptoms to seeking healthcare was highlighted. Two categories, “obstacles” and “facilitators” to seeking health care, were identified. One of the obstacles was lack of information on POP in the public domain. The main facilitators were feeling sexually unattractive and impaired physical ability due to POP. Some findings from the interview study were further explored in the questionnaire study. One out of five women with vaginal prolapse did not know that the symptoms were related to prolapse before consulting their physician. Over 30% of the women in the incontinence group were embarrassed to talk about incontinence, and they were unaware that it could be treated. The most frequent description of vaginal prolapse was vaginal bulging. Women in the prolapse group had significantly less access to information through brochures and public media than women in the incontinence group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Short-term follow-up after vaginal hysterectomy showed that sexual activity and urinary symptoms had improved. Cystocele surgery using LA showed no disadvantage compared to surgery using other anaesthesia methods. POP surgery can therefore be performed safely with LA. Information on prolapse should be easily accessible to improve the possibility for women of gaining knowledge and thereby overcoming obstacles to seeking medical advice. Healthcare professionals have a significant role to play in informing women about symptoms and available treatment options.
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Fraser, Morine C. "Just evaluation, using holistic and qualitative methods within a First Nations college preparatory course." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ57435.pdf.
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