A participant Observation Study of an Inner City Church: Impact on Social Support and Competence

This paper extends further research on being both a volunteer and ethnographic researcher and intends to offer some insights on the emotional challenges of adopting this dual role when conducting research on sensitive topics and with vulnerable populations. The discussion presented here draws upon an ethnographic participant observation study of a food redistribution organization (Re-food) held in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The paper builds awareness on the emotional challenges in the field and discusses potential self-reflective strategies for researchers to cope with the extraordinary demands posed on them by specific circumstances and subjects. The volunteer ethnographer, when developing their work, is subject to a wide range of emotional challenges that are related to the functions that they had to develop in the research context itself due to their dual role, as well as to the vulnerability of participants and the sensitivity of the topic addressed.

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Sport Karate and the Pursuit of Wellness: A Participant Observation Study of a dojo in Scotland

Frontiers in Sociology ◽

10.3389/fsoc.2020.587024 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Fabiana Cristina Turelli ◽

Carlos María Tejero-González ◽

Alexandre Fernandez Vaz ◽

David Kirk

Keyword(s):

Martial Arts ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Health Problems ◽

Physical Activities ◽

Competitive Sport ◽

Observation Study ◽

Primary Motivation ◽

Spiritual Wellness ◽

Aggressive Attitude

Health problems in society are numerous, not least stress and stress-related illness. Physical activities, including martial arts, are increasingly viewed as a means of managing such risks to health. While there are forms of karate that have a philosophical and meditative character that is related to spiritual wellness, karate as a competitive sport is less likely to be thought of in this light. The purpose of this paper is to present through a participant observation study the representations that karateka of the dojo, make of sportive karate as a resource to achieve wellness. Drawing on an eight months' immersion in the dojo, we identify five themes that express these karateka's views of sport karate and wellness, the importance of fitness, beauty in punches and kicks, how to embrace fear, the aggressive attitude as a posture in life, and the superiority given by control. The findings lead us to reflect on the need for further research to see if they are repeated in other martial arts, and if many more groups find wellness as a primary motivation for their participation.

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Pervasive Technologies and Addiction

Maintaining Social Well-Being and Meaningful Work in a Highly Automated Job Market - Advances in Human and Social Aspects of Technology ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-2509-8.ch005 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 125-144

Author(s):

Laura D. Russell

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Grounded Theory ◽

Digital Media ◽

Textual Analysis ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Mobile Technologies ◽

Future Research ◽

Theory Analysis ◽

Work Habits ◽

Symbolic Interactions

Digital media have drastically changed occupational landscapes. Mobile technologies in particular enable employees to work anywhere at any time. Consequently, expectations for when and when not to work have become increasingly uncertain. This chapter focuses on how self-proclaimed workaholics of Workaholics Anonymous (WA) rely on social support. Through participant observation and thematic textual analysis, the author examines the symbolic interactions that shape members' recoveries. A grounded theory analysis of the data reveals how members reconstruct their work habits through introspective reflection, interpersonal dialogue, and communal sense-making. Drawing from a structuration perspective (Giddens, 1979), the author interprets how these findings can be explored in future research and applied by individuals facing personal and occupational pressures associated with work.

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Re-thinking trauma: Local journalism, peace-building and continuous traumatic stress (CTS) on the violent margins of Colombia

Media War & Conflict ◽

10.1177/1750635220939121 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 175063522093912

Author(s):

Mathew Charles

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Stress ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Trauma Exposure ◽

Peace Building ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Observation Study ◽

Protracted Conflict ◽

Post Traumatic ◽

Traumatic Stressors

The study of trauma in journalism tends to assume that trauma exposure (whether it has been a single event or a series of cumulative episodes) is past and finite. However, this article argues that the notion of trauma exposure as temporally located in the past fails to adequately capture the experiences of local, indigenous journalists living and working in contexts of protracted conflict or violence. There is a growing, if contested, acknowledgement that existing conceptualizations of traumatic stress, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), have limited utility in conditions of ongoing violence and danger. In contrast, and based on a participant observation study conducted over three years, this article proposes a spectrum of continuous traumatic stressors and charts the continuous traumatic stress (CTS) of four local reporters in Colombia, living and working in a context of intractable conflict. In this setting, where local journalists have become agents for peace, CTS conjoins the mental wellbeing of individual reporters with their capacity for peace-building.

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Enabling At-Homeness for Older People With Life-Limiting Conditions: A Participant Observation Study From Nursing Homes

Global Qualitative Nursing Research ◽

10.1177/2333393619881636 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 233339361988163

Author(s):

Lotta Saarnio ◽

Anne-Marie Boström ◽

Ragnhild Hedman ◽

Petter Gustavsson ◽

Joakim Öhlén

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Nursing Homes ◽

Nursing Care ◽

Nursing Staff ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Well Being ◽

Interpretive Description ◽

Observation Study ◽

Palliative Approach ◽

Using Data

At-homeness, as an aspect of well-being, can be experienced despite living with life-limiting conditions and needs for a palliative approach to care. In nursing homes, older residents with life-limiting conditions face losses and changes which could influence their experience of at-homeness. The aim of this study was to explore how nursing staff enable at-homeness for residents with life-limiting conditions. Interpretive description was employed as the design using data from participant observations and formal and informal interviews related to nursing care situations. The strategies found to be used to enable at-homeness comprising nursing staff presenting themselves as reliable, respecting the resident’s integrity, being responsive to the resident’s needs, collaborating with the resident in decision-making, and through nurturing comforting relationships. The result on how to enable at-homeness could be used as strategies for a person-centered palliative approach in the care for residents in nursing homes.

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Mid-life Chinese women’s understandings of sporting pain and injury: A non-Western cultural analysis via the Confucian concept of ‘ren’

International Review for the Sociology of Sport ◽

10.1177/1012690220906389 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 101269022090638

Author(s):

Lucen Liu ◽

Richard Pringle

Keyword(s):

Life Story ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Cultural Analysis ◽

Table Tennis ◽

Observation Study ◽

Tennis Players ◽

Gender Culture ◽

Immigrant Identity ◽

Confucian Philosophy ◽

Life Story Interviews

This study explored middle-aged Chinese female table tennis players’ experiences of pain and injuries in the context of life in a foreign country (New Zealand). Data were collected in two table tennis clubs via a year-long participant observation study and through life-story interviews. The Confucian concept of ren, which has similarities to new-materialist theorising, was drawn upon to frame our interpretations of the participants’ experiences of pain and injury. The concept encourages individuals who have been raised in Chinese communities to value social connections, have sympathy for others and strive for harmony. Our study correspondingly examined how aspects of age, gender, culture, immigrant identity and Confucian philosophy interlink to shape experiences of table tennis pain and injury. Results illustrated that our participants were willing to tolerate moderate pain during participation as they were motivated to enhance community solidarity. In contrast to studies that have examined ageing athletes from western countries, our participants did not tolerate pain with the desire to prove one’s individual capability. This study contributes to a non-Western cultural reading of sports pain and injury to illustrate how broader cultural dynamics shape such experiences.

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