‘Making narrative portraits: a methodological approach to analysing qualitative data’

ABSTRACT

This paper proposes the method of ‘narrative portraiture’, which, located within the wider field of narrative studies, offers an analytical tool to narrative data. Two research projects, one on disability and one on identity, are used to illustrate how the method can be applied. While the paper will focus on the methodological benefits and limitations of the approach, throughout the article we also highlight the ethical concern of representation. We suggest that through ‘narrative portraiture’ research findings can be contextualised in broader social narratives without losing sight of the unique personal qualities of the research encounter. Thus, we argue for the importance of bringing the participant and their everyday life experience into focus, highlighting that a portrayal of a sole story can be, not only a medium to understand a research phenomenon, but also a valuable research output in itself.     

Working precarious careers trajectories: tracing neoliberal discourses in younger workers’ narratives

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to explore how, in the context of the post Global Financial Crisis (GFC), some Italian younger workers in a specific geographical region in Italy recount their work trajectories. Drawing on narrative interviews with ten participants (aged between 24 and 30) as part of a research project carried out in the Autonomous region of Aosta Valley in Italy, the article traces discourses closely associated with neoliberalism – the discourses of the entrepreneurial self, employability and self-responsibilisation – through which subjects’ work experiences take shape. Moreover, the analysis highlights how locality, one’s personal relation with the geographical territory, makes more complex the younger people’s negotiations in crafting themselves vis-à-vis precarious employment opportunities and wider socio-economic dynamics in respect of precarious employment opportunities.     

From social workers to socio-therapists: the transformative journey of substance abuse therapists

ABSTRACT

The efficiency of interventions in addiction is associated with the processes of practitioners’ professional development. Identity formation is studied extensively for clinical professions but little research focuses on social workers working in addiction settings. This study examined the experience of social workers working in a community treatment network in Greece. Fifteen interviews were conducted with 11 women and 4 men, ranging between 29 and 47 years οf age, who worked in different centers within the network. Data were analyzed following the guidelines of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, offering in-depth examinations of people’s lived experience. The results delineate a series of transformations in professional identity comprising a process of biographization. The participants highlighted intrapersonal and relational factors that influence this process which leads to self-understanding and engagement with the therapeutic community. The results contribute to deciphering the factors that influence social workers’ experience in their professional identity formation in substance abuse treatment contexts.     

Couple-Level Patterns of Disclosure Process Beliefs and Their Association with Marital Satisfaction

Abstract

Grounded in symbolic interaction theory, we used latent class analysis (LCA) to investigate the preexisting patterns of belief surrounding the disclosure process in married relationships. With a sample of 131 heterosexual married dyads from the U.S., we found four classes: two classes represented similarity of spouses’ beliefs (Both High Beliefs and Neither High Beliefs), and two classes represented dissimilarity of spouses’ beliefs (where only the wife endorsed high beliefs, Wife High Beliefs, and where only the husband did, Husband High Beliefs). Husbands’ satisfaction was positively associated with membership in the Both High Beliefs class. An interaction between spouses’ satisfaction was found: the impact of wives’ satisfaction on class membership is dependent on husbands’ satisfaction. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Contribution analysis to analyze the effects of the health impact assessment at the local level: A case of urban revitalization

The health impact assessment (HIA) is a tool used to estimate the potential impact on health of non-health-related proposals prior to implementation. While it is increasingly used in Quebec, Canada, studies have not analyzed its medium-term impacts and potential long-term impacts. We conducted a contribution analysis using in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, as well as documents, observation and images related to HIA in order to analyze its impacts on the revitalization of road infrastructure, parks and green spaces, and residential housing. Our analysis not only reflects on the decision-making process through the adoption and implementation of HIA recommendations, but also on the link between actions implemented in the field and health outcomes.     

The dimensions of gender in the last twenty years: an analysis of the International Review of Sociology

ABSTRACT

The Social Sciences and, specifically, the sociological research, have progressively assumed the gender factor as one of the strategic keys to understand contemporary phenomena. In fact, as a variable for socio-statistical analysis or as a characterizing trait of individual identity, it is a decisive factor in the interpretation of the deep social transformations, and it inspires the self-reflection of the sociologists about the analytical tools of their discipline. The contribution proposes, through a lexicometric approach, an analysis of the articles published in the last two decades by the oldest journal of Sociology, published by Routledge. The main aim is to highlight the different ways in which gender issues are declined in the international sociological researches presented in the repertoire of the International Review of Sociology and to outline, both on the lexical level and on the topic level, the changes occurred over time.     

Human Error in Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Deployment: A System Dynamics Approach

The use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for various applications have grown with maturing technology and improved accessibility. The deployment of AUVs for under-ice marine science research in the Antarctic is one such example. However, a higher risk of AUV loss is present during such endeavors due to the extremities in the Antarctic. A thorough analysis of risks is therefore crucial for formulating effective risk control policies and achieving a lower risk of loss. Existing risk analysis approaches focused predominantly on the technical aspects, as well as identifying static cause and effect relationships in the chain of events leading to AUV loss. Comparatively, the complex interrelationships between risk variables and other aspects of risk such as human errors have received much lesser attention. In this article, a systems-based risk analysis framework facilitated by system dynamics methodology is proposed to overcome existing shortfalls. To demonstrate usefulness of the framework, it is applied on an actual AUV program to examine the occurrence of human error during Antarctic deployment. Simulation of the resultant risk model showed an overall decline in human error incident rate with the increase in experience of the AUV team. Scenario analysis based on the example provided policy recommendations in areas of training, practice runs, recruitment policy, and setting of risk tolerance level. The proposed risk analysis framework is pragmatically useful for risk analysis of future AUV programs to ensure the sustainability of operations, facilitating both better control and monitoring of risk.     

Reducing sample size needed for cox-proportional hazards model analysis using more efficient sampling method

Abstract

In general, survival data are time-to-event data, such as time to death, time to appearance of a tumor, or time to recurrence of a disease. Models for survival data have frequently been based on the proportional hazards model, proposed by Cox. The Cox model has intensive application in the field of social, medical, behavioral and public health sciences. In this paper we propose a more efficient sampling method of recruiting subjects for survival analysis. We propose using a Moving Extreme Ranked Set Sampling (MERSS) scheme with ranking based on an easy-to-evaluate baseline auxiliary variable known to be associated with survival time. This paper demonstrates that this approach provides a more powerful testing procedure as well as a more efficient estimate of hazard ratio than that based on simple random sampling (SRS). Theoretical derivation and simulation studies are provided. The Iowa 65+ Rural study data are used to illustrate the methods developed in this paper.