“The Cake and Custard is Good!” A Qualitative Study of Teenage Childrens' Experience of being in Prison

This qualitative study aims to uncover how young people, sentenced for violent offences, experience prison, something about which we know very little. It reports life history data from qualitative interviews with young male inmates aged 16–18 years convicted of violent assault. The findings indicate that the intrusive and inescapable challenges of incarceration are filtered through the boys' interpretations of previous critical incidents in their lives, in a way that can, it is argued, cause them additional harm. Respecting and attempting to understand the complex experiences of the participants, listening to the voices of these children, may help us to understand why a prison sentence seems to have limited impact on recidivism.     

The advocate as gatekeeper: The limits of politeness in protective order interviews with Latina survivors of domestic abuse

Within institutions that provide assistance to victims of domestic violence, professionals and volunteers work as advocates for their clients at the same time that they act as gatekeepers for their agencies. While the labor of advocacy consists of empowering clients and validating their concerns and feelings, the task of gatekeeping entails making judgments about them in order to dole out goods and services. Thirty protective order interviews and their resulting affidavits form the data for this study. These interviews take place in a district attorney's office and in a pro bono law clinic. This micro-level analysis of the verbal interaction between protective order application interviewers (both paid and volunteer) and their Latina clients investigates what positive politeness strategies can reveal about how interviewers construct the conflicting discursive identities of advocate and gatekeeper. I examine what interviewers say to clients as well as how interviewers allow clients to give their accounts of abuse. The study points to specific linguistic techniques that may leave victims feeling unaccompanied in the sociolegal system. I suggest that one consequence of the gatekeeping required of interviewers is that victim-survivors may perceive a 'second assault' by the institutions meant to serve them. Linguistic phenomena particular to Latina women in the United States are also brought to light.     

Impact of Repeated Questioning on Interviewers: Learning From a Forensic Interview Training Project

Forensic interviewers have a difficult job with high risk for career burnout and secondary trauma. Few studies have addressed how new forensic interviewers or trainees experience repeated questioning and multiple interviews. This study simulated the process of training new forensic interviewers through the creation of two interview videos in which social work graduate students participated as actors portraying the roles of interviewer and child. These films served as instructional aids preparing graduate social work students for professional child welfare roles while promoting research-based approaches to interviewing children about sexual abuse allegations. Qualitative data from two cohorts of student actors were collected to analyze interviewers’ perspectives on repeated questioning and interviews in child sexual abuse cases. Two themes were extracted from the subjects’ experiences: “It is emotionally taxing” and “Navigating the interviewer role is unexpectedly complex.” Exposure to repeated questions and multiple interviews affected the performance and confidence of the interviewers.     

“Don't Step on My Groove!”: Gender and the Social Experience of Rock

This article utilizes a symbolic interactionist framework to examine how gender is, and is not, salient in “depth‐listening” practices. Based on qualitative interviews with male and female fans of contemporary “angry” rock music by female performers, the author shows that men and women engage in similar processes of cultivation (especially with regard to emotion) in depth listening, but that they also employ gender as a socio‐semiotic resource to interpret their relationships to the music and artists differently and to evaluate what this music could mean in their daily lives. Gender identity is influential in how the music is constructed as personally transformative for informants and as having implications for social change.     

Beyond interviewer effects in the standardized measurement of ego-centric networks

The effects which interviewers exert on the collection of ego-centric networks have recently come into the focus of methodological considerations. Studies consistently show that the size of networks varies depending on the interviewer. We would like to expand on this research strand by pointing to different aspects which have so far gone unremarked in the discussion. First, size is mainly analysed as a network measure which is influenced during data collection, while other common measures such as network density or composition have not received sufficient consideration. Second, large-scale surveys using face-to-face interviews usually allocate interviewers to a single sampling point. Differences between sampling points (locality effects) are attributed to interviewer effects. Hence, we disentangle the effects of the locality and interviewer. Third, the discussion on interviewer effects often follows an “actor-oriented” consideration of how data collection situations are structured by interviewers. Expanding this approach from a relational perspective, we consider the relationship between the interviewers and respondents and whether this relationship influences the collection of network data. To test our hypotheses about the influence of interviewers, the locality and the interviewer-respondent relationship on different network measures, we use data from the 2010 German General Social Survey (n = 2827 respondents, n = 220 interviewers). The multilevel analyses show that the relationship between the interviewer and the respondent is not very relevant. Furthermore, the analyses show that interviewers have an influence on the network size but not on measures of their composition. However, evidence on the prevalence of locality or interviewer effects is mixed. Finally, homophilous interviewer-respondent relationships have very little effect on network characteristics. We find evidence of training and fatigue effects on network size. However, much of the variation in network size caused by the interviewer still remains unexplained. We draw conclusions on how to organize interview situations in surveys.     

A case study of physical activity among older adults in rural Newfoundland, Canada

The purpose of this study was to assess rural older adults' perceptions of leisure-time physical activity and examine these perceptions from a historical perspective. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 inhabitants (mean age 82 years) of Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to inductive analysis. Member-checking interviews were conducted with 5 participants. Findings indicated that beginning in childhood, participants were socialized into a subculture of work activity. As a result of these historical and social forces, leisure-time physical activity did not form part of the participants' lives after retirement. Strategies for successful aging involved keeping busy, but this "busyness" did not include leisure-time physical activity. Results demonstrated the importance of developing a broader understanding of how past and present-day contexts can influence participation in leisure-time physical activity.     

What Makes a Good Listener? Listening Behavior in Instructional Settings

Listening as a language skill is widely required in instructional settings at any level. It is proposed to view listening as an active process, involving patterns of behavior which can be categorized as content-, self-, and speaker-related activities. A questionnaire (N = 554) and a qualitative survey (N = 32) were conducted to investigate the knowledge about listening strategies among university students. Results show that the scope of listening skills is rather limited even among experienced listeners and that there is considerable room for modifying listening behavior. Consequences for conceptualizing listening expertise are discussed and areas for further reaearch, both empirical and theoretical, are addressed.     

The desire for control: Negotiating the arrangement of help for older people in Sweden

The interface between formal (public) and informal help for older people is unclear and subject to change in many welfare states. Our aim in this study was to contribute to increased understanding of the experiences of older people, their next of kin, and the care managers from the municipalities in the process of negotiating help in the everyday lives of older people who can no longer manage on their own. We took a qualitative approach, using qualitative interviews as the main data collection method. The results revealed that the different actors had contrary interests that made it difficult for all parties to be content with the outcome of the negotiations. The everyday lives of dependent older people and their next of kin are strongly affected by the conditions of formal eldercare.     

Older people and poverty in rural Britain: Material hardships,cultural denials and social inclusions

This paper explores the relations between older people, poverty and place in rural Britain. It develops previous work on rural poverty that has pointed both to the significance of older people within the rural poor population and to their denials of poverty. The paper also connects with recent discussions on the complexity of relations between poverty and social exclusion in later life, as well as key themes emerging from studies of older people in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. Drawing on findings from a survey of 4000 households in rural Wales and interviews with older people in poverty in three rural places, the paper provides a detailed examination of the materialities and experiences of poverty among older people in rural places. In particular, it highlights how older poor groups construct their lives in complex terms with references made to both social inclusions and exclusions. The research also points to the significance of the socio-cultural contexts of place in shaping older people's understandings of poverty in rural areas.     

The Last Stitch in the Quilt

The patterns of our working lives are fluid and often unpredictable. They are linked to the process of identity forming that we understand as a recognizable, but continuously changing pattern of actions and developments within our lifespan, which includes our career choices. This interpretation allows us to identify the multiple temporal trajectories within a working life and to see how an analysis of temporalities can help us to understand the gendered nature of our careers. By using a number of retrospective narratives of older women about their working lives, we ascertain how an externally imposed and chronologically organized linear (life‐) career story breaks down into a number of a‐chronological trajectories, each of which is personally marked by the identity of the narrator. The theme of self‐care emerges and turns into a binding notion for working women from different generations.     

‘Ain't nothin' here in Buffalo’: Residents' perceptions about living in a racially isolated,high-poverty neighborhood

Research documents how spatial location in American metropolitan areas influences individuals' and families' life chances due to differential access to opportunity. Racial residential segregation and concentrated poverty interact to create an especially vulnerable population within American cities. Less research has been performed about the detailed perceptions of residents who live in spatially isolated neighborhoods with high levels of poverty. Using in-depth interviews in a Buffalo, New York, neighborhood, we develop a better understanding of how geographic isolation influences individuals' attitudes about and perceptions of their lives. Respondents discuss subjects ranging from transportation to employment and outline the ways in which concentrated disadvantage impacts their daily lives.     

Inventing adulthoods: a biographical approach to understanding youth citizenship

Traditionally adulthood and citizenship have been synonymous. Yet adulthood is changing. In this paper we explore how young people's evolving understandings of adulthood may contribute towards an understanding of citizenship within the broader context of increasingly extended and fragmented transitions. The paper draws on a unique qualitative longitudinal data set in which 100 young people, from contrasting social backgrounds in the United Kingdom, have been followed over a five‐year period using repeat biographical interviews. We present first the themes that emerged from a cross‐cut analysis of the first of three rounds of interviews distinguishing between relational and individualised understandings of adulthood. We then present a model we developed to capture the ways that young people sought out opportunities for competence and recognition in different fields of their lives. Finally a case study that follows a young woman through her three interviews illustrates how these themes can appear in an individual trajectory. We offer the model and case study as a way of exploring a more subjective approach to citizenship in which participation is not deferred to some distant future in which economic independence is achieved, but is understood as constantly constructed in the present.     

Settler solidarities as praxis: understanding ‘granny activism’ beyond the highly-visible

Across Canada, the Raging Grannies are renowned for appearing, invited or not, in spaces not typically open to older women, with outrageous ‘Granny’ costumes and satirical songs. A movement of predominantly non-Indigenous, settler women, the Raging Grannies regularly work in diverse activist coalitions in pursuit of social and environmental justice; many are seeking to ally themselves with contemporary Indigenous movements. However, while analyses have so far focused on their highly visible and iconic activist strategies, their solidarity-building efforts remain under-examined. Based on focus groups, interviews, and participant observation carried out in 2014–2015, this paper probes why and how Raging Grannies are building alliances with Indigenous movements in Canada. What emerges is an important tension. While many view their irreverent and theatrical strategies as quintessential to their ‘Granny Activism,’ such tactics were unanimously deemed inappropriate for engaging with Indigenous movements. Underpinned by reflections on their own settler histories, feelings of outrage at ongoing and state-sanctioned colonial practices, fears of inadvertently reproducing colonial relations, and a sense of interconnected futures with Canada’s First Peoples, they sought different, less-visible ways of practicing their solidarities. Many chose to attend rallies dressed in their everyday clothes, provide resources to Indigenous-led protests, invite Indigenous activists to speak at their gatherings, and work through their churches to redress past harm. Their solidarity efforts incorporated small acts, often pivoting around individual members’ personal connections. This article thus depicts the Raging Grannies as more diverse in their practices than typically recognized. It also addresses an important gap in scholarship on older women’s roles in solidarity movements. Finally, it extends existing scholarship on solidarity-building, suggesting that how solidarity is understood cannot be disconnected from how it is practiced, and thus demonstrating how solidarity can be relational, performative, and contingent.     

Requests, Blocking Moves, and Rational (Inter)action in Survey Introductions

We draw on conversation analytic methods and research to explicate the interactional phenomenon of requesting in general and the specific case of requesting participation in survey interviews. Recent work on survey participation has given much attention to leverage-saliency theory, but has not engaged how the key concepts of this theory are exhibited in the actual unfolding interaction of interviewers and potential respondents. We do so using digitally recorded and transcribed calls to recruit participation in the 2004 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We describe how potential respondents present interactional environments that are relatively discouraging or encouraging, and how, in response, interviewers may be relatively cautious or presumptive in their requesting actions. We consider how the ability of interviewers to tailor their behavior to their interactional environment can affect whether the introduction reaches the point at which a request to participate is made, the form that this request takes, and the sample person's response. Our analysis contributes to understanding how we might use insights from the analysis of interaction to increase cooperation with requests to participate in surveys.     

How Do the Professional Lives of Family Therapists Affect their Private Relationships: A Qualitative Study

This article is based on a qualitative research project about how the professional lives of family therapists affect their private relationships. The overarching research question was: How does your professional work as a family therapist affect your private relationships? To answer this question, semi‐structured qualitative interviews were conducted with four therapists from two different Family Counseling Services. Through the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis, three main findings were identified: (1) family therapists’ knowledge and values are a basis for interpersonal encounters; (2) participants describe resonance in relation to clients’ stories; and (3) therapists can be challenged in managing confidential knowledge particularly where they belong to the same communities as clients. The study also explores societal expectations and discourses that accompany the role of therapist, which can affect therapists’ freedom of movement in their private lives. These issues are discussed in relation to family therapy theory and relevant research.     

Gratitude to an Unknown Mentor: Bostrom's Influence on Janusik

Many people influence us throughout our lives, and sometimes we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to reflect upon the influence. Often, this is more challenging than it sounds, as some people become a part of our DNA, inextricably linked to who we are, what we believe, and how we work. Such is the case of the influence of Robert (Bob) N. Bostrom on my work. Though I met Bostrom only once, his work became a part of what I believe about listening and how I choose to approach listening and listening research. Through the process of examining both my work and Bostrom's work, I was able to identify the two main influences he had on me. They are pursuing listening from a cognitive-based perspective and not struggling to define the construct of listening.     

Gaze in married couples

This study examined the looking behavior of married couples during a 10 minute interaction segment. The variables examined included marital adjustment level, interaction role (speaking or listening) and type of message. Wives were more likely to look at their spouses than husbands were, and speakers were more likely to look at their partners than were listeners. While high marital adjustment spouses looked less over all types of mesages, low marital adjustment spouses particularly looked more than the highs on negative messages, suggesting either a confrontation component to the looking, or a strong need to monitor the partner's reactions in such situations. There was also evidence of more displayed competitiveness in the low marital adjustment couples. Correlational analyses revealed that there were different relationships between the looking behavior of the speaking spouse and the looking behavior of the listening spouse, and between the spouses' patterns of looking when speaking or listening and that these differences were dependent on marital adjustment level.     

IDENTITY DILEMMAS OF CHRONICALLY ILL MEN

Chronic illness frequently comes to men suddenly with immediate intensity, severity, and uncertainty. Because men contract more serious and life-threatening chronic illnesses than women, experiencing illness causes men different identity dilemmas. This paper explores men's identity dilemmas by studying how men experience chronic illnesses and by looking at how assumptions about masculinity affected their identity. The paper explores four major processes: (1) awakening to death after a lifethreatening crisis, (2) accommodating to uncertainty as men realize that the crisis has lasting consequences for their lives, (3) defining illness and disability and (4) preserving self to maintain a sense of coherence while experiencing loss and change. The data are derived from forty in-depth formal interviews of twenty men, informal interviews with these men, and an extensive collection of published and unpublished personal accounts. The data were analyzed through the strategies of grounded theory.     

Everyday health and identity management among older women with chronic health conditions

The majority of older women have at least one chronic health problem and coping with multiple conditions is common with advancing old age. In this longitudinal, qualitative study we explored the health perceptions of older women (N = 36) with multiple chronic conditions. Guided by a symbolic interactionist perspective, our research questions asked: (a) how do older women with chronic health conditions interpret their own health in their everyday lives and (b) how do they talk about their health with others. We found that women depended on their embodied self, or signs from the body, to interpret their everyday health. The women engage in identity management to make sense of limitations caused by their chronic health conditions. They regulated how much and with whom they were willing to share issues related to their everyday health. Findings suggest that everyday health is important in identity construction among older adults.