Merging and its procedures in QSR software

Qualitative Solutions and Research (QSR) provide merge tools for combining NUD*IST or NVivo 'projects' as neither package enables more than one researcher to work on a data set simultaneously (although, of course, turn-taking on the computer is possible). These tools appear to offer researchers collaborating in pairs and in teams the option to develop work separately and combine it for cross-analysis. Although the merge tools are easy to use, doing so effectively imposes some important limitations on the use of QSR software. This paper discusses four strategies for using merge effectively in team research.     

Money,power and spending decisions in intimate relationships1

Drawing on British data from the 2002 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) module on ‘Family and Changing Gender Roles’, this paper is an exploratory attempt to assess the extent to which newly emerging ‘individualised’ patterns of money management in intimate relationships, are coming to be associated with shifts towards greater equality between partners, in terms of who has the final say over large expenditure decisions, and the implications this has for overall satisfaction with the relationship and happiness with life in general. Our findings show that while in general, keeping money partly separate was associated with a relatively high level of male control, which was more visible to female respondents than male control in other systems, a minority of (sometimes) higher earning, cohabiting women with partly separate finances, were able to make autonomous decisions about spending, possibly by using their own personal spending money. However, the analysis also indicates that when either men or women made autonomous decisions about spending, both male and female respondents were less satisfied with family life, as well as with life in general, than those who made joint decisions.     

Adolescent and Adult Reasoning about Gender and Fairness in Traditional Practices in Benin, West Africa

This study examined reasoning about fairness in gender-related traditional practices in Benin, West Africa. Fifty adolescents ( M   =  15.7 years) and 46 adults ( M   =  33.4 years) were interviewed about traditional practices involving gender hierarchy. Results indicate that the majority attributed decision-making authority to a traditional authority for conventional reasons. However, the majority also judged the practices as unfair, giving moral reasons. In judgments of how to respond to unfair practices, those who advocated accepting the practices gave conventional reasons and not moral reasons. Males took the gender of the protagonist into account more than did females, and males saw traditional male authority as less alterable. No age differences were found, indicating that adults were not more enculturated than adolescents.     

Making a connection: school engagement of young people in care

Intervention to improve educational attainment for children in out‐of‐home care is increasingly being recognized as important for their well‐being and future opportunities. This paper reports on a mixed method study of the school engagement or connectedness of young people in care. The study comprised a survey of 202 young people in care in Queensland, Australia, and a matched comparison group of young people not in care, plus interviews with a subset of 65 young people in care who were surveyed. Both the school environment and the perceived levels of support influenced school engagement, with those who were assisted by carers and caseworkers more likely to be positively connected with school. These young people perceived education as a pathway to achieving work and life goals. The findings suggest that active and focused attention on young people's school engagement should be part of case planning and monitoring as it offers an additional strategy for improving their educational experience.     

Merit and Gender: Organisations and the Mobilisation of Masculine Bias

Within work organisations, perceptions of gender-based competencies and inclinations affect assignment and other practices and thus the distribution of women and men among different opportunity structures. Five illustrations are provided to support the view that ideas about masculinity and femininity are embedded in organisational arrangements. The opportunity to accumulate merit and the attribution of merit appear to be structured along gender lines.     

Alterity and construction of national identity in three Kristen Bjorn films

In the gay pornographic films Manly Beach (1991), Call of the Wild (1992) and Paradise Plantation (1994), director Kristen Bjorn capitalises on the appeal of alterity, or "otherness." By using exotic locations and national stereotypes, he provides North American viewers with idealised sexual scenarios that are different, but not too different, from that with which they are familiar.     

Domestic violence among male and female patients seeking emergency medical services

Gender differences among a cohort of injured patients seeking emergency medical services were examined with respect to their experiences as perpetrators and/or victims of domestic violence. Contextual issues, including violence initiation, emotional and behavioral responses to partner-initiated violence, and injury frequency and severity were analyzed. Women reported male partner-initiated violence more frequently than men reported female partner-initiated violence. Behavioral responses to partner initiated violence varied. Women were more likely to report using force back and to involve law enforcement. Women were more likely to be injured in a domestic assault over their lifetime, within the last year, and at the time of recruitment. Comparison of injury severity revealed that women reported higher rates of injuries than men in all possible severity categories. Women also reported experiencing more fear than men during partner-initiated violence, as well as being subjected to larger numbers of dominating and controlling behaviors, and greater intimidation secondary to their partner's size. Understanding contextual differences in partner violence for women and men has significant implications for policy development, identification, treatment, and referral of patients identified as living in violent relationships.     

Give Them the Money: Is Cash a Route to Empowerment?

This article suggests it is important to unpack the notion of "empowerment" in community care so that the position of those who provide "hands-on" care is scrutinised alongside the empowerment of "users" of care. The particular case of the forthcoming Direct Payments legislation, whereby disabled people will be able to opt for cash rather than services and become employers of personal assistants, is considered. It is argued that both employers and employees in these care relationships are likely to be on low incomes, that the work is likely to be insecure and possibly unregulated, that there might be a problem of labour supply, and that in the long run, this form of employment might generate hardship for the workers so employed. Other forms of reconciling the interests of both users and "carers" are considered.