Looking Back to Move Forward: The Value of Reflexive Journaling for Novice Researchers

For novice qualitative researchers, each encounter in the field yields a ream of questions and uncertainties. While fieldwork has inherent ambiguities for all researchers, novice researchers have less experience on which to draw to assess their interactions with participants. Adding to this uncertainty, gerontological fieldwork is frequently imbued by age-and cohort-related nuances, characteristics which new researchers often do not share with participants. It is also not uncommon for new researchers to work primarily alone on projects, such as dissertations and theses. Mentors and academic advisors can help examine research encounters, however advice may be most constructive following engagement in reflexive exercises. We discuss the benefits of using reflexive journaling to assist with answering the many questions generated while conducting qualitative interviews during a study with family carers. Advisors should consider encouraging the use of reflexive journaling to help novices grow as researchers.     

Social Support,Retirement Resources,and the Gendered Experiences of Aging for Tunisian Older Adults

Cultural context plays an important role in the experience of aging. The country of Tunisia is of particular interest because limited studies on aging have been done in the past decade. The study examined data collected from Tunisian older adults in an attempt to gain additional information about their experience aging in this culture. The purpose of this study was to identify key information tied to social policy factors that have the potential to impact older adults living in Tunisia. From June to July 2017, semi-structured interviews were completed with 60 older adults covering topics about family history, daily activities, health and health satisfaction, retirement benefits and satisfaction, medical coverage, social support, service availability, feelings of growing older, as well as advice provided to younger adults. Findings include gender differences in retirement resources and benefits, sources of support, and older adults’ self-reported desires for the future. This work adds to the growing body of literature concerning differences in global aging and provides greater awareness of aging in the distinctive context of Tunisia. Additional work should seek to deepen the investigation of the various social policies that impact the Tunisian older adult.     

The Great Interview: 25 Strategies for Studying People in Bed

Interviewing is among the most central methods in social science research. While common as a method, there are identifiable characteristics that distinguish good interviews from outstanding ones. Great interviewing is deceptively difficult, partly because it is an acquired ability that takes time to develop, partly because people often remain bound to conventional norms of behavior while interviewing that precludes open access to the people interviewed. While several texts are available on interviewing, few of them venture to draw the explicit distinction among characteristics that separate ordinary from outstanding interviews. Consequently, a concise and accessible guidepost that directs people to the essentials of outstanding interviewing is difficult to find. Based on interviews with a range of people about varied subjects, the author offers 25 directions that will, when followed in combination, point the interviewer along the road from the good (or not-so-good) interview to the great interview.     

论图文结合的信息增值——以报纸为例

有效的图文结合所传递的信息,要超过图片或文字的单独出现或简单并列时所传递的信息量。图文互补互渗会使信息增值,从而实现“1＋1〉2”的增值效应。在此基础上,加上图片编辑,才能实现“1＋1＋1〉3”的图文信息增值。编辑的素质和能力对于图文结合的信息增值起着决定性作用。     

Theory and social practice of agency in combining breastfeeding and employment: A qualitative study among health workers in New Delhi,India

BackgroundWomen's agency, or intentional actions, in combining breastfeeding and employment is significant for health and labour productivity. Previous research in India showed that mothers use various collaborative strategies to ensure a “good enough” combination of breastfeeding and employment. Bandura's theoretical agency constructs previously applied in various realms could facilitate the exploration of agency in an Indian context.AimTo explore manifestations of agency in combining breastfeeding and employment amongst Indian health workers using Bandura's theoretical constructs of agency and women's experiences.MethodsQualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women employees within the governmental health sector in New Delhi, India. Both deductive and inductive qualitative content analyses were used.FindingsBandura's features and modes of agency revealed that intentionality is underpinned by knowledge, forethought means being prepared, self-reactiveness includes collaboration and that self-reflectiveness gives perspective. Women's interviews revealed four approaches to agency entitled: ‘All within my stride or the knowledgeable navigator’; ‘Much harder than expected, but ok overall’; This is a very lonely job’; and ‘Out of my control’.ConclusionsAgency features and their elements are complex, dynamic and involve family members. Bandura's theoretical agency constructs are partially useful in this context, but additional social practice constructs of family structure and relationship quality are needed for better correspondence with women's experiences of agency. The variation in individual approaches to agency has implications for supportive health and workplace services.     

Communal invalidation of young adults with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues

This study explores how young adults with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues experience the challenges of belonging to their local communities. The data were generated through qualitative in-depth interviews with seven young adult service users, six of whom were interviewed twice. The qualitative data analysis resulted in three overarching themes: the need to accept one’s own life and the structures surrounding it; being caught between conflicting social worlds; and moral fumbling in choices and actions. Using an empirical study, we suggest that a process of ‘communal invalidation’ operates through which young adults in the community are socially defined as inadequate. This invalidation serves as a formidable barrier to their recovery.     

Reflexivity and ethical research practice while interviewing on sexual topics

Reflexivity is a multimodal research feature that relies on the researcher’s subjectivity and self-awareness. This paper discusses uses of reflexivity when carrying out qualitative in-depth interviews on sexual topics. Through extracts of a challenging interview, where the challenge comes in the form of sexualised provocation from one man to another, this paper considers the benefits of using reflexivity to address emerging complexities in the interview process. The discussion focuses on ethical research practice through the lens of three forms of reflexivity: (1) reviewing the values that underpin a research project, with emphasis on the tension between rationality and intuition; (2) emotional self-awareness and self-care; and (3) recognition of the power dynamics in the researcher-participant relationship. Reflexivity promotes an intuition-informed decision-making process as a means to achieve ethical practice and conduct interviews with sensitivity and proficiency.     

影响全息实验光干涉场对比度的因素

讨论了影响光干涉场对比度的因素,提出了改善光干涉场对比度的方法,为全息实验获得理想的拍摄效果提供了理论依据及实验指导.     

Predator,Pet Lesbian,or Just The Nanny? LGBTQ Parents of Children With Disabilities Describe Categorization

How are lesbian/gay/bisexual/trans/queer (LGBTQ) parents of children with disabilities categorized by service providers, and how do parents anticipate, interpret, and respond to such categorizations? This intersectional study investigated the experiences of LGBTQ parents of children with disabilities with service providers in Toronto, Canada. Parents described pressures to “fit” into providers’ limited understanding of family. Some parents described facing overt discrimination, including one parent who was seen as a possible sexual predator. Some described being perceived as representatives of “diversity” for organizations, or “pet lesbians” in the words of one couple. Others described being misread as a non-parent, as in “just the nanny,” particularly in conjunction with their racial minority status. Parents described how their experiences of being “outside the mainstream” helped them challenge systems and normative beliefs. Findings suggest that a context of scarce disability resources shapes parents’ experiences of how LGBTQ identity comes to matter.