Applying mixed methods to leadership research: A review of current practices

Leadership research has a long history of a quantitative approach, and it remains the most commonly used approach among leadership researchers. Researchers in a variety of fields have been applying mixed methods designs to their research as a way to advance theory. Mixed methods designs are used for collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of studies to both explain and explore specific research questions. This article provides a review of the basic characteristics of mixed methods designs. A broad series of leadership approaches is offered to help emphasize how the application of mixed methods designs have already been applied and where they might be directed in future research. Our review of articles published in the Leadership Quarterly between 1990 and June 2012 revealed a slight occurrence of existing application of mixed methods designs to leadership research. Of the articles reviewed, only 15 studies were found to represent mixed methods research, according to our conceptual framework. The overall intent of this article is to highlight the value of purposeful application of mixed methods designs toward advancing leadership theory and/or theoretical thinking about leadership phenomena.     

Involving People with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities in Social Work Education: Building Inclusive Practice

Abstract

Service user and carer engagement is a foundational requirement of social work education. Despite this, questions remain about how diverse experiences are represented and who might be excluded from involvement. This paper focusses on one group of people who it is suggested are excluded from involvement, people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Evidence is presented which demonstrates the extent to which this group have been marginalised and excluded from processes of involvement. The paper then provides a case study of one universities’ experience of developing work in this area, when a man with profound and multiple learning disabilities was commissioned to design and deliver specialist teaching for a group of qualifying social work students. We argue that the main barrier to inclusive involvement for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities is the attitudes and assumption of others about what they are capable of. We demonstrate how involvement in social work education helps to address these barriers by challenging the assumptions of students, the academy and society more broadly.     

A comparative study of successful aging in three Asian countries

The purpose of this research is to examine successful aging in three Asian countries, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, using data from the WHO regional studies of Health and Social Aspects of Aging. Successful aging is defined as having no ADL difficulties, and at most, one Nagi difficulty. For the most part, the results are similar to those using more developed populations in that gender, age, no morbid conditions, positive attitude toward one's own aging and the ability to manage money are all correlated with successful aging. An interesting finding is that for the least developed country, Indonesia, being an unskilled worker is significantly associated with increased odds for successful aging. The final section of the paper discusses the theoretical implications regarding a disability transition for elderly populations as countries develop. We also focus on the current political and economic situations in the countries under study, and consider the possible impacts on elderly health.     

Toward Client-Centered Service: Asking Clients for Their Views of TANF,Food Stamps,Child Care,and Medicaid Services

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results of a randomized study that asked Division of Family and Children Services' (DFCS) clients throughout the state of Georgia to rate their satisfaction with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), food stamps, child care services, and Medicaid services, as well as their perspectives of the customer service they received through their county DFCS offices. Telephone interviews were conducted with 2,408 clients. Overall client satisfaction percentages are: TANF, 80%; food stamps, 88%; child care, 92%; and Medicaid, 94%. Satisfaction indices were also created from the data collected. Client suggestions for improvement are presented as well as practice and educational implications.     

Von Neumann–Morgenstern stable set rationalization of choice functions

Theory and Decision - Often in insurance decision making, there are risk factors on which the insurer has an informational advantage over the consumer. But when the insurer sets and posts a premium...     

Children as Peer Researchers: Reflections on a Journey of Mutual Discovery

This article is based on a small‐scale study evaluating the work of an emotional literacy project in the North West of England. It focuses on the research process and the challenging experience of involving children as peer researchers. The author draws on theoretical and epistemological insights from feminism and the sociology of childhood to explore some of the enduring tensions and contradictions facing adults involved in children’s research. The primary intention is to use post‐research reflections to raise questions and stimulate debate amongst children’s researchers rather than offer solutions. © 2010 The Author(s). Children & Society © 2010 National Children’s Bureau and Blackwell Publishing Limited.     

Risk Assessment Can Be a Game‐Changing Information Technology—But Too Often It Isn't

The printing press was a game‐changing information technology. Risk assessment could be also. At present, risk assessments are commonly used as one‐time decision aids: they provide justification for a particular decision, and afterwards usually sit on a shelf. However, when viewed as information technologies, their potential uses are much broader. Risk assessments: (1) are repositories of structured information and a medium for communication; (2) embody evaluative structures for setting priorities; (3) can preserve information over time and permit asynchronous communication, thus encouraging learning and adaptation; and (4) explicitly address uncertain futures. Moreover, because of their “what‐if” capabilities, risk assessments can serve as a platform for constructive discussion among parties that hold different values. The evolution of risk assessment in the nuclear industry shows how such attributes have been used to lower core‐melt risks substantially through improved templates for maintenance and more effective coordination with regulators (although risk assessment has been less commonly used in improving emergency‐response capabilities). The end result of this evolution in the nuclear industry has been the development of “living” risk assessments that are updated more or less in real time to answer even routine operational questions. Similar but untapped opportunities abound for the use of living risk assessments to reduce risks in small operational decisions as well as large policy decisions in other areas of hazard management. They can also help improve understanding of and communication about risks, and future risk assessment and management. Realization of these opportunities will require significant changes in incentives and active promotion by the risk analytic community.     

Using research questionnaires with young people in schools: the influence of the social context

Whilst there is an extensive literature on the use of self-completion questionnaires as a research tool, very little attention has been paid to the influence of the social context in determining the ways in which questionnaires are used in practice. This paper describes our experiences of working with 27 English, mixed sex, state schools to carry out a questionnaire survey with 4754 students aged 13–14 years. The survey was part of a randomized controlled trial of peer led sex education. Using data from the questionnaires and from researcher fieldnotes, we highlight ways in which aspects of the social context affected the administration of the questionnaire, students' participation in the survey and the quality of the data collected.     

Examining the Administration of Work Sanctions on the Frontlines of the Welfare System*

Objectives. Financial penalties, or sanctions, are a core mechanism for enforcing the work requirements of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and helping clients achieve self‐sufficiency. This study's objective is to examine whether sanctions are being administered consistent with policy goals of encouraging work. Methods. This study uses administrative fair hearing decisions, which are the product of an adversarial‐style procedure triggered when a client appeals an adverse decision by the agency, including work sanctions. Qualitative content analysis is used to analyze the decisions. Results. The study found that despite organizational reforms, local offices had created the welfare‐to‐work version of an eligibility‐compliance culture, where sanctions were based primarily on attendance records and became a paper‐processing function. Transactions between clients and workers were often routinized and mechanical, resulting in improper and arbitrary sanctions that were reversed by the hearing officers nearly 50 percent of the time. Conclusion. This study underscores the importance of scrutinizing and correcting agency errors that may undercut clients' engagement in work activities.