Exploring Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology: A perfect fit for midwifery research

BackgroundHeideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology has been used widely to understand the meaning of lived experiences in health research. For midwifery scholars this approach enables deep understanding of women's and midwives’ lived experiences of specific phenomena. However, for beginning researchers this is not a methodology for the faint hearted. It requires a period of deep immersion to come to terms with at times impenetrable language and perplexing concepts.ObjectivesThis paper aims to assist midwives to untangle and examine some of the choices they face when they first come to terms with an understanding of this methodology and highlights the methodology's capacity to reveal midwifery authenticity and holistic practice.DiscussionThe illumination of a selection of various concepts underpinning hermeneutic phenomenology will inform midwives considering this methodology as suitable framework for exploring contemporary midwifery phenomena.     

The evidence base for social support interventions in child and family practice: Emerging issues for research and practice

This paper examines the evidence base for interventions which seek to enhance social support resources for families with children at risk of adverse developmental outcomes. Substantive and methodological issues related to the implementation of social support interventions are discussed and a research agenda for the development, testing and evaluation of such interventions is presented.     

Global product development projects: measuring performance and monitoring the risks

Abstract

This article investigates the development and application of key performance indicators for global product development. Two in-depth, longitudinal case studies with multinational Danish manufacturing companies were conducted, and highlight how key performance indicators, typically used for collocated, cross-functional product development, do not provide the predictive insight required to avoid the additional risks encountered in the global product development environment. Grounded in the case study results and building on established methodologies in performance measurement literature, a framework was developed and validated in two additional Danish companies to support project managers to develop: preventive indicators, which support the avoidance of identified risks, and outcome indicators, which support the measurement towards the attainment of project objectives. The study is unique as it is one of the very few longitudinal studies of engineering design activities in a global context, providing the in-depth contextual understanding towards key risks and their influence on performance; an important step to support researchers and practitioners with the development of preventive measures.     

Maternal Employment,Community Contexts,and the Child‐Care Arrangements of Diverse Groups

Integrating family and child data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort with contextual data from the census, this study examined associations among maternal employment, aspects of communities related to child‐care supply and demand, and the early care and education arrangements of 4 year olds in Mexican‐origin, Black, and White families. Children with employed mothers were more likely to be in informal care arrangements than in early childhood education, regardless of racial/ethnic background. For children in Mexican‐origin families, selection into informal care over early childhood education was more likely in zip codes with greater demand for care as measured by higher female employment. Utilization of parent care versus early childhood education was also more likely for children in Mexican‐origin and Black families in zip codes with higher female employment. Constraints associated with maternal employment thus hindered children from enrolling in early childhood education, and community contexts posed challenges for some groups.     

DURATION MODELS FOR CREDIT RATING MIGRATION: EVIDENCE FROM THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

We introduce a specific duration model to analyze the prediction of the credit rating migration. We consider hazard rate processes based on multi‐state autoregressive conditional duration models. To take account of the economic context, we model the conditional mean of the duration between two ratings by means of a latent process. To this purpose, a dynamic‐ordered probit model is developed to describe the directions taken by the ratings in the presence of multiple states. As an illustration, we study the migration of credit rating during periods before and after the financial crisis. (JEL C14, C41, G24)     

Do the Constructs of the FACES IV Change Based on Definitions of “Family?” A Measurement Invariance Test

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale (FACES) IV does not provide instructions about which family members respondents should think about while answering questions. This study examined which family members respondents thought about while completing the FACES IV, and if this changed measurement invariance and population heterogeneity of the measure. Using a sample of n = 511 individuals, a latent class analysis showed three distinct classes: Nuclear Family, Family of Origin, and All of the Above. The FACES IV demonstrated measurement invariance across classes on the majority of subscales; however, population heterogeneity tests suggested that the means and variances of the subscales varied across classes. The findings suggest further examination of how the measure functions with unique family constellations is warranted.     

Feasibility of Implementation of a Parenting Intervention with Karen Refugees Resettled from Burma

Parents and children exposed to war and relocation have high rates of negative relational and mental health outcomes. This study tested the feasibility of implementing an adapted evidence‐based parenting intervention for contexts of trauma and relocation stress. Eleven Karen refugee caregivers from Burma participated in the intervention. Participants and a focal child completed ethnographic interviews as well as structured assessments at baseline and follow‐up. Caregivers reported changes in their teaching, directions, emotional regulation, discipline, and child compliance. Children reported changes in these areas and in positive parent involvement. Caregivers reported higher mental health distress immediately after the intervention, potentially due to increased awareness. Researchers made personalized referrals for counseling services as needed. Children reported a decrease in mental health symptoms.     

On the Assessment of Monte Carlo Error in Simulation-Based Statistical Analyses

Statistical experiments, more commonly referred to as Monte Carlo or simulation studies, are used to study the behavior of statistical methods and measures under controlled situations. Whereas recent computing and methodological advances have permitted increased efficiency in the simulation process, known as variance reduction, such experiments remain limited by their finite nature and hence are subject to uncertainty; when a simulation is run more than once, different results are obtained. However, virtually no emphasis has been placed on reporting the uncertainty, referred to here as Monte Carlo error, associated with simulation results in the published literature, or on justifying the number of replications used. These deserve broader consideration. Here we present a series of simple and practical methods for estimating Monte Carlo error as well as determining the number of replications required to achieve a desired level of accuracy. The issues and methods are demonstrated with two simple examples, one evaluating operating characteristics of the maximum likelihood estimator for the parameters in logistic regression and the other in the context of using the bootstrap to obtain 95% confidence intervals. The results suggest that in many settings, Monte Carlo error may be more substantial than traditionally thought.