Volume 6, Issue 2

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that traditional faculty are resistant to online higher education, expressing concerns about the quality of the learning experience, a lack of administrator transparency, and the amount of time faculty spend to convert their classes to an online format (Community College of Aurora, n.d.; Green & Wagner, 2011; Paris, 2011.  In fact, only 9% of faculty in a 2017 study indicated that they would prefer to teach in an online setting (Pomerantz & Brooks, 2017).  The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of faculty to increase faculty acceptance of online education.  This study was conducted at a unique time during which the university had forced all courses to go online due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Based on the study, traditional faculty see online education as a viable means of delivering an education to students in theory. However, due to a lack of transparency from administration, concerns about over the time commitment to build a quality online program, their perceptions of what the institution values and recognizes, and the incentives for traditional faculty, they do not believe online learning at the institution studied is appropriate.

Keywords: online education, eLearning, collaboration, course design, hybrid learning, traditional education, student engagement.

ABSTRACT

This article describes how the PhotoVoice methodology can be utilized to study inequities and inequalities within the broader scope of an ethnographic research project. We illustrate how participatory photography provides valuable visual representations and critical analyses that can identify or corroborate unequal lived experiences and interpretations; and more novel to visual ethnography, how the nuances that permit or hinder a PhotoVoice project’s completion are also invaluable qualitative data, especially for the study of inequalities. Specifically, this article describes a PhotoVoice project which brought together leaders from seven different community organizations in Havana, Cuba. The initial intention of the project was to visually unveil and critically analyze each community organization’s greatest opportunities and challenges, and to better communicate their primary goals. While the final gallery of PhotoVoice photos/captions did provide powerful visual representations and creative analytical narratives of the project’s main themes – which indeed proved beneficial, ethnographically – critical observation of the methodology’s execution further demonstrated the ethnographic richness of participatory photographic research.

Keywords: PhotoVoice, community-based participatory research, visual methods, inequalities, community organizations, Cuba.

ABSTRACT

Different involvement motivations drive people into political actions. This study aimed to understand what, how, and why party members were motivated into political party activism. The focus was on the involvement motivations of the members of the new political party named National Unity Platform (NUP) and the incumbent ruling National Resistance (NRM) party. The study used a qualitative literature research strategy where qualitative secondary and primary data were collected. The secondary data involved a review of several relevant peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters in books, newspaper reports, and other documents reflecting the concept of party activism. We collected field data from twenty-four respondents using in-depth interviews. The field notes were transcribed and thematically analyzed using content analysis methods. The purposive sampling technique was used to select eighteen respondents and six respondents were identified and selected using the snowball sampling technique. The study found that party activism emerged out of various incentives, such as political events, slogans, ideology, political rivalry, and family exposure was important in the construction of civic competence. These findings suggest that political parties should involve and expose their members to different political experiences. Based on the analysis of these findings, the study concluded that many factors serve as incentives for political party activism.

Keywords: Uganda, Party Activists, Party activism incentives, NRM-NUP party.

ABSTRACT

Continuing professional development is a foundational aspect of professionalism in health-related disciplines. For board-certified industrial/occupational hygiene (IH/OH) professionals, professional development is mandated as part of the code of ethics for practice. However, board certification in IH/OH and occupational health and safety is not required for professional practice in many countries, including the United States. This qualitative study involved a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to the lived experiences of IH/OH professionals who engage in professional development in the United States. This study was conducted to better understand the role of openness in IH/OH professional development, including the use of open educational resources (OERs) and open educational practices (OEPs) and the level of learning desired by IH/OH professionals who complete continuing professional development. Participants (n=11) were IH/OH professionals who engage in professional development and live and work in the United States. A 10-question semi-structured interview was conducted via Zoom regarding IH/OH experiences with professional development. A thematic analysis of interview transcript data was performed. The results provide insights about openness in the IH/OH professional community and how OERs and OEPs might be used for professional development. Findings revealed that IH/OH professionals may be reluctant to embrace the concept of openness, due to the potential financial impact on professional organizations, and indicated that the IH/OH community may not be ready for a public open scholar at this time. The aspect or level of learning desired by IH/OH professionals was also heavily linked to the career stage of the individual. There is a need for research to further explore the continuing professional development needs of early career and mid-career IH/OH professionals. This study provides opportunities for further study about openness in professional development for general occupational health and safety professionals, although this population is difficult to define or set parameters for.
  

Keywords: Career stage, learning transfer, industrial hygiene, occupational hygiene, professional development.

ABSTRACT

The Latinx student population has emerged as the fastest-growing population in the United States, yet education attainment lags (American Council on Education, 2019; Flink, 2018; Vela et al., 2016). With many Latinx students in higher education institutions, the administration does not reflect the student demographics. Latinas account for a small population of female leaders, adding to the increase in tokenism. Alternative research supports the positive impact of mentor programs and increased tokenism of Latinas resulting from the low number of Latinas in senior-level positions. A qualitative study focused on gaining knowledge from senior-level Latinas' lived experiences provided an opportunity to actively review, interpret, and connect themes from their journeys. Interestingly, the Latina leaders highlighted similar experiences while uncovering the opportunity for additional research. This study revealed the inequities Latinas face due to the low representation in senior-level leadership, implying that increasing leadership diversity is essential. The study uncovered the notion that universities should consider working to change system and process inequities rather than focusing on changing the individual. An additional opportunity for future work is examining the definition of Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI) and determine whether increasing the diversity of leadership could improve the overall performance and retention of Latinx students.

Keywords: Latina leadership, diversity, system inequities, tokenism, intersectionality.

ABSTRACT

In this article, the author acknowledges that completing a literature review can be a difficult process, and explores creative methodological possibilities for exploring published findings. The author draws on their own experiences, as well as salient voices from the research literature, to present two overall methods, print-based and digitally-afforded, for constructing a literature review, and for working through this process. Descriptions and examples are included for each of these approaches. In keeping with the mission of this article to add to the conversation of professional literature, the piece is written with such discourse in mind. In particular, the author highlights the affordances of locating a seminal voice in the literature, and of seeking reasonable limitations around what fits best for a review of the literature to be completed. The piece is intended for scholars at any level who wish to seek more information about constructing this part of the research project.

Keywords: Qualitative methods, arts-based inquiry, literature reviews, research process.

ABSTRACT

Although homicide followed by suicide incidents comprise a small proportion of all violent deaths in the U.S., the number of cases involving older adults has increased steadily during the current century. There is no central tracking system for these cases, but restricted access data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) may present a potential source for gaining additional insights into older adult homicide-suicide incidents. The aims of this mixed methods secondary analysis research study included: to qualitatively identify salient themes which characterize intimate partner homicide followed by suicide incidents among older adults and use those themes to describe a prototypical case; to quantitatively identify prevalence and co-occurrence of qualitatively developed themes; to quantitatively compare attributes of NVDRS case data with a previously developed typology of case scenarios based on assessment of media reports. Data for this project included all identified homicide-suicide incidents among older adults which occurred during 2014-2016, the most recent years available. We identified 121 intimate partner homicide-suicide incidents captured in NVDRS records, reflecting results from 32 US states. Results of mixed methods analyses suggested the typical case in these data was characterized by male partner’s interpretation of a traditional male role and associated responsibilities, and included prior expressions of intent. These factors, alone and in combination with other developed themes, identify and exemplify risk factors for homicide-suicide in aging couples. Results of this study illustrate the value of secondary mixed methods analysis of unstructured data to explore the of an enduring public health concern. 

Keywords: Homicide-suicide, older adults, secondary analysis, mixed methods, NVDRS

ABSTRACT

With the growth of immigration in the Canadian context, newcomer athlete acculturation has grown in importance, with implications for everyone involved in the host culture sporting context. The purpose of this project was to increase our collective understanding of newcomer athlete acculturation in Canada by exploring the transition and settlement experiences of seven newcomer varsity athletes in Manitoba. The guiding question for this study was: What are the acculturation experiences of newcomer varsity athletes in Manitoba? An interpretive thematic analysis of the data resulted in themes highlighting particular social elements of Manitoban culture (e.g., tight-knit pre-existing social groups), mental health and resilience, and interactions with host culture systems as key elements in how the newcomer varsity athletes experienced acculturation. Such articulations support perspectives calling for further examination of the roles of structure, mental health and general wellness, and the influence of host and home context culture in understanding newcomer athlete acculturation.

Keywords: acculturation, culture, mental health, newcomer varsity athletes, structure.

(no abstract)

ABSTRACT

Online instruction is one of those rare innovations in higher education that evolved to implementation and common practice within a relatively short period of time. This paper describes a qualitative methodology used to analyze an archive of rich primary documents generated from the twenty-year history of a university-based interdisciplinary research and development (R&D) initiative in online instruction. Archival research is a qualitative method for collecting data from existing recorded data and then making sense of it. Thematic analysis of primary resources detailing R&D work in a higher education center that spanned from 1996 through 2015 led to finding salient themes of a time prior to the establishment of academic policies and/or wide spread support in higher education governance for online instruction. The approach was selected to uncover potential lessons learned over the life cycle of an R&D unit engaged in the design, development, and research of online instruction. This work resulted in the documentation and coding of archival sources that highlighted key lessons learned on the implementation and replication of interventions resulting from research and development initiatives.

Keywords: Online instruction, higher education, qualitative research, archival research, documenting innovation

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to explore the ways new mothers define a ‘"good"’ mother, in order to understand where discrepancies may arise. Researchers used data gathered from a larger quantitative study. Qualitative data was collected as an exploratory aim. Data was analyzed using the manifest and latent analysis technique. Data was collected as part of a larger study and secondary analysis was completed. The sample consisted of 72 first-time mothers who responded to the question: “How would you describe a ‘"good"’ mother” at an antepartum and postpartum visit. Two themes arose from the data: Structure Lives to Always put Baby First and Open to Help. Many first-time mothers defined a ‘"good"’ mother using rigid, absolute terms such as ‘always’ and ‘no matter what’ prior to delivery. The postpartum definitions included slightly more forgiving language as they added that new mothers needed patience, and learning with the baby. First time mothers used rigid, absolute terms to define a ‘"good"’ mother. This study addressed the discrepancy between expectations and reality in the first-time mother population. Discrepancies have been shown to lead to postpartum depression. Nurses who care for new mothers can use this information to address expectations and how this will affect the mothers if reality does not match expectations.

Keywords: Definitions of motherhood, Expectations of motherhood, "Good" mother, Motherhood, Nursing.

ABSTRACT

The integration of social networks in Moroccan higher education has noticed significant practices ever since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak to the present time. Apart from entertainment and informational purposes, social networks have accessed many classrooms, affecting their practices in a way or another. The aim of this study is to emphasize that social networks have managed to reach the Moroccan university and turn professors into influencers and networkers despite all the challenges. This study investigates the feedback of 20 students who have used social networks during COVID-19 pandemic with their professors as a substitute for face-to-face learning. Their responses focus on the influence of social networks on their learning in a virtual environment. Three research questions have been used, namely (i) what are the students’ attitudes towards the use of social networks? (ii) to what extent has the course content delivered via social networks influenced their learning practices? And (iii) what are their opinions about their professors’ pedagogics after taking the course via social networks? The study adopts a qualitative approach, making use of semi-structured interviews with 20 respondents. The content analysis and data coding process have also classified the themes in relation to the research questions. The findings have disclosed that the impact of the course content on students is very limited. They have also yielded very positive views about social networks. The results have stressed the fact that the use of social networks by professors is very informal, which makes students fail to commit themselves to the course.

Keywords: Social networking sites, e-learning, education 4.0, COVID-19.

ABSTRACT

The association between socio-economic status and health is well established. While involvement in a micro-finance program has been shown to reduce poverty among women, little is known about how this involvement impacts their mental health. Using interpretive descriptive methodology, this qualitative study explored women’s perceptions of how their participation in micro-finance programs influenced their mental health. Data were collected and analyzed through interviews with 32 urban-dwelling women from Karachi, Pakistan who have been micro-finance loan recipients for a period of 1 to 5 years. Women recognized micro-finance programs as being a major inspiration towards enhancing their mental health. The majority of participants, regardless of the number of years they held a micro-finance loan, revealed that seeking micro-loans and establishing income-generation activities assisted them to reduce tensions related to meeting their fundamental needs. Among the few participants who were not experiencing positive mental health at the time of the interview, they could foresee hope towards a better and an improved state of mental health. The need for and the importance of vocational skills training, economic stability, opportunity for education and environmental safety were echoed by these “everyday women” of Pakistan. Multiple stakeholders and micro-finance program should work collaboratively for the promotion of mental health determinants.

Keywords: Women, mental health, micro-finance, Pakistan, Qualitative Research.

ABSTRACT

This co-constructed autoethnographic reflection presents the experiences of our feminist-informed research team, COVID GAP (Gendered Academic Productivity), a group of sixteen women who collaborated to investigate reports of reduced academic contributions from women-identified scholars during the pandemic. As insider researchers, we joined together in a virtual space with the shared goal to better understand women academics’ lived experiences of the impact of the pandemic specifically as related to their academic productivity. Throughout our work together as a research team, we have reflected on how the pandemic has impacted each of us as academic women and how participation in the COVID GAP research group provided us with the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship and collaboration. We shared our process of co-creating our research team, our intersectionality as academics, and our gendered experiences of how scholarly productivity serves as currency throughout academia. Utilizing quotes from all members, we unified our voices in feminist accord concluding with recommendations for fellow academic women.

Keywords: Academic productivity, academic women, autoethnography, COVID-19 research, interdisciplinary collaboration, gendered productivity.