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Content Analysis (content + analysis)
Kinds of Content Analysis Terms modified by Content Analysis Selected AbstractsA CONTENT ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH IN FAMILY THERAPY JOURNALSJOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 1 2000Dale R. Hawley In order to assess trends in family therapy research, empirical articles (N = 195) from three family therapy journals over a 5-year period were coded for several variables: authorship, external funding, methodology, sample, purpose, cost effectiveness, use of therapeutic model, and topic. Results indicated that a large pecentage of research in these journals focused on nonclinical issues and used nonclinical samples. Authors were affiliated with a wide variety of disciplines and reported low levels of external funding for their research. While a majority of the studies used quantitative methods, there appeared to be a growing number of studies using qualitative methods. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of research reviews over the past two decades. [source] THE USE OF THEORY IN FAMILY THERAPY RESEARCH: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF FAMILY THERAPY JOURNALSJOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 1 2000Dale R. Hawley Ninety-five studies from Family Process and Journal of Marital and Family Therapy were evaluated with regard to their use of theory. While a majority of the articles were judged to use theory in either an explicit or an implicit manner, 42% did not appear to draw on theory in either the introductory or discussion sections. Studies that used qualitative methods appeared to use theory more frequently and explicitly than those using quantitative methods alone. Systems theory was found to be the most common conceptual framework, followed by feminism. We conclude that the link between theory and reasearch in family therapy needs strengthening and suggest that the role of theory in family therapy be reexamined. [source] The Quality of Content Analyses of State Student Achievement Tests and Content StandardsEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 4 2008Andrew C. Porter This article examines the reliability of content analyses of state student achievement tests and state content standards. We use data from two states in three grades in mathematics and English language arts and reading to explore differences by state, content area, grade level, and document type. Using a generalizability framework, we find that reliabilities for four coders are generally greater than .80. For the two problematic reliabilities, they are partly explained by an odd rater out. We conclude that the content analysis procedures, when used with at least five raters, provide reliable information to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners about the content of assessments and standards. [source] Understanding the information and resource needs of UK health and social care placement studentsHEALTH INFORMATION & LIBRARIES JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008Lynne Callaghan Background:, Students on health and social care degree programmes spend 50% of their time on practice placements. Because of the diversity of settings and the need to evidence their work, it is vital to understand the information and resource needs of placement students. Objectives:, The aim of this investigation was to understand the needs of placement students in terms of accessing resources whilst they are in the field in order to inform a guide to meet these needs. Methods:, Focus groups were conducted with students on midwifery, social work and post-registration health professions degree programmes on three different sites across the region. Data were analysed using Thematic Content Analysis. Results:, Three themes emerged from the data: inequality, user education needs and students' solutions and strategies. Conclusions:, It is essential to speak to placement students in order to understand their needs in terms of accessing and using library resources. The timing and content of information skills training is key to meeting student needs while on placement. [source] Conversations in conservation: revealing and dealing with language differences in environmental conflictsJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Thomas J. Webb Summary 1Applied ecology aims to translate research into policy recommendations. However, conflicts frequently develop if these recommendations propose a contentious course of action. A first step towards addressing such conflicts is to attempt to understand the values underpinning stakeholder viewpoints. 2We develop a computer-aided Content Analysis to analyse the language surrounding environmental conflicts for insights into stakeholder values. Using the conflict arising over proposals to cull hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus on several Scottish islands, we show how different stakeholder groups frame the problem in different ways. 3Stakeholder groups supporting different courses of action (culling vs. translocating hedgehogs) use different arguments, the former emphasizing conservation and biodiversity, the latter focusing on animal welfare. Our method results in a graphical representation of this failure to agree on a common way to frame the issue. 4Including texts obtained from media sources illustrates how the media can exacerbate environmental conflicts through the issues they emphasize and the vocabulary they use. 5Synthesis and applications. Our method provides a simple means to quantify levels of stakeholder disagreement concerning potentially contentious environmental issues. Our results provide a starting point for the development of a quantitative, graphical tool for managers, where repeated analysis will aid in monitoring and managing conflicts. In addition, we provide a clear example of the role of societal attitudes influencing the effective implementation of ecological advice, which should encourage ecologists to become more aware of the social environment into which policy recommendations are to be launched and to ensure that their advice does not ignore important stakeholder values. [source] Assessment Criteria Indicative of Deception (ACID): an integrated system of investigative interviewing and detecting deceptionJOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND OFFENDER PROFILING, Issue 3 2007Kevin Colwell Abstract This study describes the assimilation and validation of Assessment Criteria Indicative of Deception (ACID). ACID is derived from investigative interviewing, Criteria-Based Content Analysis, Reality Monitoring, and interpersonal deception. Each component has been previously published. Thirty-eight university undergraduates entered a professor's office and either stole an exam or replaced an exam that had been stolen previously. They were interviewed 1 week later with the Reality Interview, which is deliberately challenging and aims to enhance the detection of deception. Half responded honestly and completely; half distorted their responses to avoid incrimination. Incentives were provided. Honest responses were longer, more detailed, and contained more admissions of potential mistakes. Most importantly, honest respondents benefited from attempts to enhance recall, whereas these same attempts caused deceptive respondents to provide shorter, more repetitive statements. This is a promising technique; 33 of 38 cases were classified accurately. Discussion includes characteristics of deception, process of deception during an investigative interview, hypothetical interview strategies to facilitate the detection of deception, strengths and weaknesses of the study, and areas for future research. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Examination of Trends and Evidence-Based Elements in State Physical Education Legislation: A Content AnalysisJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 7 2010Amy A. Eyler PhD, CHES OBJECTIVES: To develop a comprehensive inventory of state physical education (PE) legislation, examine trends in bill introduction, and compare bill factors. METHODS: State PE legislation from January 2001 to July 2007 was identified using a legislative database. Analysis included components of evidence-based school PE from the Community Guide and other authoritative sources: minutes in PE, PE activity, teacher certification, and an environmental element, including facilities and equipment. Researchers abstracted information from each bill and a composite list was developed. RESULTS: In total, 781 bills were analyzed with 162 enacted. Of the 272 bills that contained at least 1 evidence-based element, 43 were enacted. Only 4 bills included all 4 evidence-based elements. Of these 4, 1 was enacted. Funding was mentioned in 175 of the bills introduced (37 enacted) and an evaluation component was present in 172 of the bills (49 enacted). CONCLUSIONS: Based on this analysis, we showed that PE is frequently introduced, yet the proportion of bills with evidence-based elements is low. Future research is needed to provide the types of evidence required for development of quality PE legislation. [source] The American People in Crisis: A Content AnalysisPOLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Roderick P. Hart This study examines how images of the American electorate were deployed after the 11 September 2001 terrorism incident and during the Clinton impeachment. Transcripts of congressional proceedings, news coverage, and presidential campaign addresses were analyzed to determine how the phrase the American people was used during these two crises and in unrelated presidential campaign speeches. The analysis considered the roles, actions, qualities, and circumstances ascribed to the people, as well as the time orientation and the forces aligned against the people. The results show that (1) relative to presidential campaign rhetoric, both crises resulted in greater concentration on the electorate; (2) the crises differed from one another as well, with the impeachment texts featuring a contentious electorate and the 11 September texts identifying the people's psychological strengths and anxieties; and (3) both crises were also affected by exogenous factors,partisanship in the case of impeachment, and the passage of time for the terrorism incident. [source] A Method of Automated Nonparametric Content Analysis for Social ScienceAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Daniel J. Hopkins The increasing availability of digitized text presents enormous opportunities for social scientists. Yet hand coding many blogs, speeches, government records, newspapers, or other sources of unstructured text is infeasible. Although computer scientists have methods for automated content analysis, most are optimized to classify individual documents, whereas social scientists instead want generalizations about the population of documents, such as the proportion in a given category. Unfortunately, even a method with a high percent of individual documents correctly classified can be hugely biased when estimating category proportions. By directly optimizing for this social science goal, we develop a method that gives approximately unbiased estimates of category proportions even when the optimal classifier performs poorly. We illustrate with diverse data sets, including the daily expressed opinions of thousands of people about the U.S. presidency. We also make available software that implements our methods and large corpora of text for further analysis. [source] Assessing children's statements: the impact of a repeated experience on CBCA and RM ratingsAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2004Leif A. Strömwall This study examined the extent to which the Criteria-based Content Analysis (CBCA) technique and the Reality Monitoring (RM) technique were affected by the number of times children had experienced or imagined an event. Children (age 10,13, N,=87,) participated in an experiment where half the sample experienced a health examination (either one or four times), and the other half imagined (either one or four times) that they took part in a health examination. One week after the final occasion, the children were interviewed. The results showed that RM was sensitive to both the authenticity of the statements (increased presence of the criteria for real events) and whether the event had been repeatedly experienced/imagined (increased presence of the criteria for the repeated actions). The CBCA did not successfully distinguish the real from the imagined. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A Content Analysis of Risk Management Disclosures in Canadian Annual ReportsCANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 2 2005Kaouthar Lajili Abstract This research paper examines risk information disclosures in Canadian annual reports to provide insights into the current risk disclosure environment, its characteristics, and the analytical usefulness of the information disclosed to the firm's stakeholders. Following a content analysis, the authors describe and then analyze in greater detail the subject matter of risk disclosures of TSE 300 Canadian companies by summarizing and classifying disclosed risk-related information. Results show a high degree of risk disclosure intensity reflecting both mandatory and voluntary risk management disclosures. However, the analytical power of such disclosures, as captured by the risk assessment analysis, appears to lack uniformity, clarity, and quantification, thus potentially limiting their usefulness. The authors conclude that more formalized and comprehensive risk disclosures might be desirable in the future to effectively reduce information asymmetries between management and stakeholders. Résumé La présente étude analyse les divulgations d'informations sur le risque dans les rapports annuels canadiens. Elle se propose de jeter une lumière sur l'environnement actuel de divulgation des risques, ses caractéristiques, et l'utilité analytique des informations divulguées pour les acteurs de l'industrie canadienne. Grâce à la méthode de l'analyse du contenu, les auteurs décrivent puis analysent de fa,on plus détaillée le contenu actuel des divulgations d'informations sur le risque des entreprises du TSE 300. Ils y parviennent en synthétisant et en catégorisant les informations divulguées. Les résultats montrent que les divulgations se font à une fréquence assez élevée, consécutive aux divulgations obligatoires et volontaires de gestion des risques. Cependant, vu la manière dont l'analyse d'évaluation des risques divulgue ces informations, leur pouvoir analytique semble manquer d'homogénéité, de clarté, et de quantification, ce qui limite potentiellement leur utilité. Les auteurs concluent qu'à l'avenir, les divulgations de risques gagneraient à être plus formalisées et plus complètes. Ceci permettrait de réduire l'asymétrie des informations entre les gestionnaires des risques et les investisseurs. [source] The Role of Indigenous Peoples in Guatemalan Political Advertisements: An Ethnographic Content AnalysisCOMMUNICATION, CULTURE & CRITIQUE, Issue 3 2010Colleen Connolly-Ahern This study investigates the current status of indigenous peoples within Guatemalan society, as articulated in one of the most relevant forms of modern communication, political advertising, and defined by one of the most relevant forms of self-expression to the indigenous peoples of Guatemala, the traje. Using ethnographic content analysis, the study examines the roles and characterizations of indigenous people in 67 television commercials from across the Guatemalan political spectrum. Results indicate that indigenous people are most often seen as "crowd members," and are never given important roles, such as "candidate endorser" or "undecided voter." Overall, wearing traje is associated with helplessness and separateness. The commercials of Q'iché Maya candidate Rigoberta Menchú exhibited many of the same characteristics of other candidates. Le rôle des peuples autochtones dans les publicités politiques guatémaltèques : une analyse de contenu ethnographique Colleen Connolly-Ahern & Antoni Castells i Talens Cette étude explore le statut actuel des peuples autochtones dans la société guatémaltèque, telle qu'elle est articulée dans l'une des formes les plus appropriées de communication moderne, les publicités politiques, et telle que définie par l'une des formes d'expression des peuples autochtones du Guatemala les plus pertinentes, le «traje». Par une analyse de contenu ethnographique, l'étude explore les rôles et les représentations des peuples autochtones dans 67 publicités télévisées couvrant le spectre politique du Guatemala. Les résultats indiquent que les peuples autochtones sont le plus souvent vus comme des «membres de la foule». Ils n'ont jamais de rôles importants comme celui de «partisan d'un candidat» ou d'«électeur indécis'. Dans l'ensemble, le port du «traje» est associéà l'impuissance et à la différence. Les publicités de la candidate maya k'iche' Rigoberta Menchú présentaient plusieurs des mêmes caractéristiques que celles des autres candidats. El Rol de las Personas Indígenas en la Publicidad Política de Guatemala: Un Análisis de Contenido Etnográfico Colleen Connolly-Ahern & Antoni Castells i Talens Advertising and Public Relations College of Communications, Penn State University, State College, PA 16802, USA Resumen Este estudio investiga el estado corriente de las personas indígenas dentro de la sociedad Guatemalteca, articulado en una de las formas más relevantes de la comunicación moderna, la publicidad política, y definido por una de las formas más relevantes de auto expresión de las personas Indígenas de Guatemala, el traje. Usando un análisis de contenido etnográfico, este estudio examina los roles y las caracterizaciones de las personas indígenas en 67 comerciales de televisión a través del espectro político Guatemalteco. Los resultados indican que las personas indígenas son vistas más a menudo como "miembros de la multitud'' y nunca se les da roles importantes tales como ,,el candidato de la representación'' o ,,el votante indeciso. '' En general, el uso del traje está asociado con la impotencia y la separación. Los comerciales de la candidata Q'ich,e Maya Rigoberta Menchú exhibieron muchas de las mismas características de los otros candidatos. [source] The Sentence Completion and Three Wishes tasks: windows into the inner lives of people with intellectual disabilitiesJOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 8 2007E. Dykens Abstract Background Measuring the self-perceptions, thoughts, hopes and inner lives of persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) has long been a research challenge. Unlike objective or projective tests, semi-projective tasks may provide persons with ID with just enough structure or cues to convey their self-perceptions in a spontaneous and unbiased manner. Methods Sentence Completion and Three Wishes tasks were individually administered to 128 persons with ID aged 5,50 years (mean = 18.75 years). Participants had Prader,Willi, Williams or Down syndromes. Content analyses resulted in 19 codes that were used to reliably score both tasks by independent raters who achieved excellent levels of inter-rater agreement. Participants also received IQ testing, and their parents or care providers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results Frequent themes across both tasks included activities, positive affect, desired objects, and relationships with family and pets. No gender or IQ effects were found, and just a few codes showed modest age effects. Several responses, including dating, friends, food, and positive or negative self-appraisals, were significantly related to either syndrome status or CBCL maladaptive behaviour. Conclusions Although not widely used, the Sentence Completion and Three Wishes tasks are useful semi-projective techniques for garnering otherwise hard-to-access self-perceptions and associations of people with ID. Implications are discussed for practice and research. [source] The conceptualization and operationalization of race and ethnicity by health services researchersNURSING INQUIRY, Issue 2 2008Susan Moscou Racial and ethnic variables are routinely used in health services research. However, there is a growing debate within nursing and other disciplines about the usefulness of these variables in research. A qualitative study was undertaken (July 2004 , November 2004) to ascertain how researchers conceptualize and operationalize racial and ethnic data. Data were derived from interviews with 33 participants in academic health centers in differing geographic regions. Content analyses extracted manifest and latent meanings to construct categories depicting respondents' understandings of race and ethnicity in research. Race and ethnicity held several meanings but the subtext was often not clear because these terms were not operationalized. Measuring race and ethnicity quantitatively necessitated uniform classifications thus it was often necessary to impose a single racialized identity. Respondents recognized the problems with racial and ethnic variables but the majority still believed these variables were necessary and useful. Several researchers understood that racial and ethnic variables were used in ways that may stigmatize the populations studied. These respondents collected data on variables other than race and ethnicity to ascertain the causes of health differentials. The policy recommendation calls for a shift in thinking about how to use racial and ethnic variables in research. [source] Public service responsiveness to users' demands and needs: theory, practice and primary healthcare in EnglandPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 3 2002Rod Sheaff Analyses and policy statements about publicly funded services frequently distinguish ,demands' from ,needs'. The distinction has been challenged, calling into question the coherence of formulating welfare policy and evaluating public services in terms of needs. This paper explicates the conceptual distinction between demands and needs in terms of derived demand and information asymmetry. ,Needs' can be defined as ,rational demands', where ,rational' means ,consistent and evidence,based', and ,demands' as ,desires' rather than ,effective (i.e. economic) demand'. On that basis, practical demand management in needs,based public services would require: 1. Knowledge of users' demands for services; 2. Content analyses of users' demands to identify any misinformed demands; 3. Conversion of any misinformed demands into evidence,based specifications of needs; 4. Formulating coherent, evidence,based demands on behalf of users who cannot to do so themselves. A study of English NHS Primary Care Groups explores the problems which authorities responsible for publicly funded services face in undertaking these activities. Demand management receives low priority in terms of the incentives and intellectual resources applied to it. Needs assessment has higher priority but is regarded as a branch of evidence,based professional practice, controlled by professionals rather than responsive to users. This separation tends to defeat the purposes of needs,based public services. [source] Same Beginnings, Different Stories: A Comparison of American and Chinese Children's NarrativesCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2000Qi Wang This study examined social, emotional, and cognitive characteristics of American and Chinese children's narratives. Twenty-four American and 26 Chinese 6-year-old children participated. Each child was interviewed individually twice with a 1-week delay interval. During the two interviews, children were asked to tell 11 stories prompted by pictures and standard verbal leads and to recount 7 emotional memories. Content analyses were performed on children's stories and memories. In line with predictions, findings indicated that compared with American children, Chinese children showed greater orientation toward social engagement, greater concern with moral correctness, greater concern with authority, a less autonomous orientation, more expressions of emotions, and more situational details in both their stories and memories. A few gender differences were found. Findings are discussed in terms of different value systems and early socialization practices in these two cultures. [source] Identifying Essential Topics in General and Special Education Introductory Assessment TextbooksEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2007Cynthia Campbell We reviewed the five top-selling introductory assessment textbooks in both general and special education to identify topics contained in textbooks and to determine the extent of agreement among authors regarding the essentialness of topics within and across discipline. Content analysis across the 10 assessment textbooks yielded 73 topics related to 13 categories: Decisions, Law, Technical Adequacy, Plan Assessment, Create Assessment, Score Assessment, Assessment Target, Assessment Type, Assessment Method, Interpret Assessment, Communicate Assessment Results, Assessment Population, and Computer-Assisted Assessment. Many of the topics identified were consistent with traditional assessment expectations of general and special education environments, while other, arguably important, topics were not identified as essential. The idea of core assessment topics for all teachers is introduced. [source] Information technology supporting diabetes sel-care: a pilot studyEUROPEAN DIABETES NURSING, Issue 1 2007A Halkoaho MSc Diabetes Nurse Specialist Abstract Although diabetes is a lifelong, incurable disease, people can live a full and normal life, provided that they receive appropriate and well-planned care. The care of people with diabetes should be organised as flexibly as possible to suit individual lifestyles. Information technology has become a useful tool to support functional patient,professional relationships and improve care balance. The Self-Care System software tool set by ProWellness is one such tool. Users can enter blood glucose data by using a computer, modem and mobile phone and diabetes nurses can monitor the situation from their own computer and, if necessary, give instructions by sending a SMS (text) message to the patient's mobile phone. This pilot study investigated whether the Self-Care System application supports people with diabetes and can be used as a diabetes education method. The study was carried out in the municipal consortium for healthcare of Siilinjärvi and Maaninka. Nine individuals with diabetes and three diabetes nurses were selected to participate in the study. Data were collected by questionnaire and interview. People with diabetes were sent a questionnaire and the nurses were interviewed. Content analysis was carried out on the interview data. The results suggest that the Self-Care System software supports and motivates diabetes self-care. The nurses felt that the application was useful when changes, such as starting insulin treatment, were introduced. The application was further described as effective and motivating in short-term intensive diabetes education and monitoring; however, both nurses and patients disliked the mechanical nature of the software. Copyright © 2007 FEND. [source] A model of treatment decision making when patients have advanced cancer: how do cancer treatment doctors and nurses contribute to the process?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE, Issue 4 2010L. MCCULLOUGH msc, nurse leader clinical support services MCCULLOUGH L., MCKINLAY E., BARTHOW C., MOSS C. & WISE D. (2010) European Journal of Cancer Care A model of treatment decision making when patients have advanced cancer: how do cancer treatment doctors and nurses contribute to the process? This qualitative study describes how doctors and nurses report their contribution to treatment decision-making processes when patients have advanced cancer. Thirteen nurses and eight doctors involved in cancer treatment and palliation in one geographical location in New Zealand participated in the study. Data were collected using qualitative in-depth, face-to-face interviews. Content analysis revealed a complex context of decision making influenced by doctors and nurses as well as the patient and other factors. A model of clinician and patient decision making emerged with a distinct and cyclical process as advanced cancer remits and progresses. When patients have advanced cancer, nurses and doctors describe a predictable model of decision making in which they both contribute and that cycles through short- and long-term remissions; often nowadays to the point of the patient dying. In conclusion, the findings suggest doctors and nurses have different but complementary roles in what, when and how treatment choices are negotiated with patients, nevertheless within a distinct model of decision making. [source] Electoral promises and minority governments: An empirical studyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2008JOAQUÍN ARTÉS Content analysis of electoral pledges of Spanish parties is utilised to study the gains that a relatively small party obtains when it helps to sustain the governing party in office without entering a coalition government. According to the authors' results, cooperating in parliament to maintain the minority government in office can be a rational choice for a party because it allows it to obtain significant gains in terms of programme fulfillment. [source] Family Diversity in 50 Years of Storybook Images of Family LifeFAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 1 2002Nancy M. Rodman Storybooks are cultural artifacts and part of children's normative socialization. Content analysis of the 100-book sample of picture storybooks about daily family life published between 1943 and 1993 revealed no significant differences among time periods in frequency of appearance of different family types nor of different ethnicities. The dominant family images portrayed across 50 years and in each time period were the traditional nuclear and the Caucasian family. The diversity in families of real children should be reflected in fictional picture storybooks about family life. [source] Lay perceptions of the desired role and type of user involvement in clinical governanceHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 1 2009Andrea Litva BA (Comb Hons) MA PhD Abstract Objective, The aim of this paper is to explore variations in lay perceptions of user involvement in clinical governance. Context, The English National Health Service has sought to build a dependable health service through enhanced effectiveness, responsiveness and consistency. Clinical governance, a policy for improving service quality, is a key pillar of these reforms. It is a statutory duty of primary care organizations to ensure that users are involved in all service planning and decision making, including clinical governance. Yet surveys indicated that user involvement in clinical governance was underdeveloped and underutilized. Design, Focus groups were conducted with different types of lay people to explore their perceptions around public involvement in different aspects of clinical governance policy. Results, Content analysis of the transcripts reveals that different groups of lay people varied in their desired role perspective and preferred type of involvement in different aspects of clinical governance policy. Drawing upon existing models of user involvement, we identified three role perspectives that lay people could take in user involvement , consumer, advocate and citizen. We compared our findings regarding the desired type of involvement with existing models of user involvement, and identified a new type of involvement, overseeing, that is relevant to clinical governance policy. Conclusions, These findings suggest that to facilitate user involvement in clinical governance, it would be necessary to use different strategies to accommodate the differing role perspectives and types of involvement desired by different groups of lay people. [source] Toward brain correlates of natural behavior: fMRI during violent video gamesHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 12 2006Klaus Mathiak Abstract Modern video games represent highly advanced virtual reality simulations and often contain virtual violence. In a significant amount of young males, playing video games is a quotidian activity, making it an almost natural behavior. Recordings of brain activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during gameplay may reflect neuronal correlates of real-life behavior. We recorded 13 experienced gamers (18,26 years; average 14 hrs/week playing) while playing a violent first-person shooter game (a violent computer game played in self-perspective) by means of distortion and dephasing reduced fMRI (3 T; single-shot triple-echo echo-planar imaging [EPI]). Content analysis of the video and sound with 100 ms time resolution achieved relevant behavioral variables. These variables explained significant signal variance across large distributed networks. Occurrence of violent scenes revealed significant neuronal correlates in an event-related design. Activation of dorsal and deactivation of rostral anterior cingulate and amygdala characterized the mid-frontal pattern related to virtual violence. Statistics and effect sizes can be considered large at these areas. Optimized imaging strategies allowed for single-subject and for single-trial analysis with good image quality at basal brain structures. We propose that virtual environments can be used to study neuronal processes involved in semi-naturalistic behavior as determined by content analysis. Importantly, the activation pattern reflects brain-environment interactions rather than stimulus responses as observed in classical experimental designs. We relate our findings to the general discussion on social effects of playing first-person shooter games. Hum Brain Mapp, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The influence of negative advertising frames on political cynicism and politician accountabilityHUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 1 2000WJ Schenck-Hamlin This research examined the influence of negative political advertising frames on the thoughts and feelings people generate in response to campaign advertising. Preparing and conducting this investigation involved the use of a multiple-method strategy. Content analysis identified two advertising frames (i.e., candidate theme and ad hoc issue advertisements) and two experiments separately induced political cynicism and politician accountability. Three hundred and sixty people participated in the experimental studies, in which they read and responded, using a thought-listing technique, to candidate theme or ad hoc issue negative advertisements. Results demonstrated that participants were more likely to generate cynical comments and hold politicians accountable for the country's ills when reading candidate theme advertisements than ad hoc issue advertisements. The results indicate that this contributes to a political climate of cynicism and may function to erode the electorate's overall trust in government. [source] Young African American mothers' changing perceptions of their infants during the transition to parenthood,INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 5 2009Cynthia O. Lashley Although theory and empirical research with middle-class, mostly White women have suggested that motherhood is an important developmental transition for women, rarely have investigations of adolescent motherhood systematically examined developmental change. This study examines one aspect of change during the transition to parenthood: the mother's emerging perception of her infant. During pregnancy and at 4 months' postpartum, 220 urban African American mothers between the ages of 13 and 21 years were asked to describe their infants. Content analysis of their responses and ratings of the affective tone of the responses suggest that there are changes from pregnancy to 4 months after the birth that parallel shifts noted in literature on women going through the transition to motherhood as adults. Between pregnancy and 4 months, there was a decreasing focus on infant health and physical appearance and an increasing focus on infant behavioral achievements and personality characteristics. Of particular importance to mothers was that their infants be "good" babies who were easy to care for and were easily accepted by the family. Mothers imagined physical similarities with their infants during pregnancy and describe aspects of their interaction and emotional bond with their infants at 4 months. Overall, mothers' descriptions of their babies were quite positive, increasingly positive over time, and offered little evidence that for these young African American women the transition to parenthood was problematic. [source] Evaluating nursing documentation , research designs and methods: systematic reviewJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 3 2009Kaija Saranto Abstract Title., Evaluating nursing documentation , research designs and methods: systematic review. Aim., This paper is a report of a review conducted to assess the research methods applied in the evaluation of nursing documentation. Data sources., The material was drawn from three databases: CINAHL, PubMed and Cochrane using the keywords nursing documentation, nursing care plan, nursing record system, evaluation and assessment. The search was confined to relevant electronically-retrievable studies published in the English language from 2000 to 2007. This yielded 41 studies, including two reviews. Methods., Content analysis produced a classification into three themes: nursing documentation, patient-centred documentation and standardized documentation. Each study was assessed according to its research design, methodology, sample size and focus of data collection. In addition, the studies categorized under the heading of standardized documentation were assessed in terms of their outcomes. Results., Most of the studies (n = 19) focused on patient-centred documentation. Most (n = 20) were retrospective studies and used data collected from patient records (n = 35). An audit instrument was used to assess nursing documentation in almost all the studies. Studies classified under the heading of standardized documentation showed more positive than negative effects with respect to quality, the nursing process and terminology use, knowledge level and acceptance of computer use in documentation. Conclusion., The use of structured nursing terminology in electronic patient record systems will extend the scope of documentation research from assessing the quality of documentation to measuring patient outcomes. More data should also be collected from patients and family members when evaluating nursing documentation. [source] Identifying the core components of cultural competence: findings from a Delphi studyJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 18 2009Maria Jirwe Aim., To identify the core components of cultural competence from a Swedish perspective. Background., The cultural diversity of Swedish society raises challenges for nursing practice. Nurses need to be culturally competent, i.e. demonstrate the effective application of knowledge, skills and attitudes to practice safely and effectively in a multicultural society. Existing frameworks of cultural competence reflect the socio-cultural, historical and political context they were developed in. To date, there has been no research examining cultural competence within a Swedish context. Design., A Delphi survey. Methods., A purposeful sample of 24 experts (eight nurses, eight researchers and eight lecturers) knowledgeable in multicultural issues was recruited. Interviews were undertaken to identify the knowledge, skills and attitudes that formed the components of cultural competence. Content analysis yielded statements which were developed into a questionnaire. Respondents scored questionnaire items in terms of perceived importance. Statements which reached consensus were removed from questionnaires used in subsequent rounds. Three rounds of questionnaires were distributed during 2006. Results., A total of 118 out of 137 components reached a consensus level of 75%. The components were categorised into five areas, cultural sensitivity, cultural understanding, cultural encounters, understanding of health, ill-health and healthcare and social and cultural contexts with 17 associated subcategories. Conclusions., There are some similarities between the issues raised in the current study and existing frameworks of cultural competence from the USA and the UK. However, Swedish experts placed less emphasis on ethnohistory and on developing skills to challenge discrimination and racism. Relevance to clinical practice., This study identified the core components of cultural competence important to nurses practising within a multicultural society such as Sweden. Acquisition of the knowledge, skills and attitudes identified should enable nurses to meet the needs of patients from different cultural backgrounds. The components of cultural competence can form the basis of nursing curricula. [source] Older people and falls: health status, quality of life, lifestyle, care networks, prevention and views on service use following a recent fallJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 16 2009Brenda Roe Aim and objective., This study has investigated older people's experiences of a recent fall, its impact on their health, lifestyle, quality of life, care networks, prevention and their views on service use. Background., Falls are common in older people and prevalence increases with age. Falls prevention is a major policy and service initiative. Design., An exploratory, qualitative design involving two time points. Method., A convenience sample of 27 older people from two primary care trusts who had a recent fall. Taped semi structured qualitative interviews were conducted and repeated at follow up to detect change over time and repeat falls. Data were collected on their experience of falls, health, activities of living, lifestyle, quality of life, use of services, prevention of falls, informal care and social networks. Content analysis of transcribed interviews identified key themes. Results., The majority of people fell indoors (n = 23), were repeat fallers (n = 22) with more than half alone when they fell (n = 15). For five people it was their first ever fall. Participants in primary care trust 1 had a higher mean age than those in primary care trust 2 and had more injurious falls (n = 12, mean age 87 years vs. n = 15, mean age 81 years). The majority of non-injurious falls went unreported to formal services. Falls can result in a decline in health status, ability to undertake activities of living, lifestyle and quality of life. Conclusions., Local informal care and support networks are as important as formal care for older people at risk of falls or who have fallen. Access to falls prevention programmes and services is limited for people living in more rural communities. Relevance to practice., Falls prevention initiatives and services should work with local communities, agencies and informal carers to ensure equitable access and provision of information, resources and care to meet the needs of older people at risk or who have fallen. [source] ICD: a qualitative study of patient experience the first year after implantationJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 8 2004Helen CM Kamphuis MSc Background., The experiences of how patients live with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator are still poorly understood. Only a few qualitative studies have investigated this phenomenon. This paper was undertaken as part of a larger project to evaluate quality of life and psychological well-being in those survivors of cardiac arrest who have received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Aims and objectives., The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients perceive their lives during the first year after implantation of the device. Methods., A sample of 21 patients who received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator was interviewed during three consecutive periods: one, six and 12 months postdischarge from the hospital. The semi-structured interviews were based on insights gained from a literature review. The transcripts were subjected to content analysis. Results., Analysis of the data revealed seven major categories: physical deterioration, cognitive changes, perceived social support, dependency, contact with the doctor, confrontation with mortality and uncertainty surrounding having a shock. Anxiety, uncertainty, disappointment, frustration, unexpected barriers, acceptance of and dependency on the implantable cardioverter defibrillator played a major role in the lives of implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients. Well-being improved throughout the year. During the first months after discharge from the hospital the focus was on regaining physical health. During the early postimplantation period both the implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipient and family members had adapted to the situation. Reflection on the impact and consequences of the cardiac arrest was reported more often in the late postimplantation period. Conclusions., Content analysis is a resourceful approach giving answers to questions that have hardly been addressed within the domain of cardiology. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients face a complex first year, especially the first 6 months. Cognitive deterioration and confrontation with mortality are problems that need to be researched further. Relevance to clinical practice., Caregivers are able to explain to future patients what they can expect in the first year after implantation. Caregivers may become more receptive to physical, psychological and social limitations and to emotional and social problems that occur in implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients, enabling them to act upon them. [source] Nurse practitioner,client interaction as resource exchange in a women's health clinic: an exploratory studyJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 5 2003Rebecca K. Donohue PhD Summary ,,Empirical research has thoroughly documented the success of nurse practitioners (NPs) in terms of patient satisfaction and cost-effectiveness. What is missing is the in-depth knowledge of the interactive process through which this is accomplished during a clinic visit. ,,The aim of this study was to understand the special nature and processes of NP and client encounters in the ambulatory primary care context using a resource exchange perspective. ,,An exploratory descriptive design was used to address the following research questions: (i) What do midlife female clients expect in terms of resources to be exchanged prior to a visit with a NP in an ambulatory clinic visit? (ii) What resources are actually exchanged during the clinic visit? (iii) To what extent is there congruence between a woman's expectations and what she is actually receiving from the clinic visit in terms of resources exchanged? ,,The participants included two women health NPs and eight midlife female clients. ,,Data for the study were comprised of audiotaped pre- and postencounter interviews with the clients, audiotapes of the entire clinic visits with the NP and field notes recorded by the researcher of the client visits. Content analysis was conducted using ETHNOGRAPH software. ,,Findings indicated that clients of both NPs had surprisingly similar expectations of receipt of services as well as actual receipt of services. Resources expected and received from the visits included some combination of services, health information, trust, self-disclosure, support, affirmation, time, acceptance and respect. ,,Results of this study suggest that resource exchange theoretical formulations can be applied to NP,client interactions to understand and explain the specific nature of resources the clients expect and receive from a NP during a woman's health clinic visit. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||