Autoethnography and the Digital Volunteer

2021 ◽  
pp. 147-163
Author(s):  
Christine Hine

This chapter explores the contribution that autoethnography can make to the understanding of digital work. The example used is a digital volunteering role involving moderating a locally based online group that supports members to give away their unwanted items. An autoethnographic approach can: focus in detail on the experiences of ambiguity and uncertainty that lie at the heart of the work of moderating the group; examine the socially embedded and materially contingent qualities of the work; and take a longitudinal view on the development of digital work over time. The autoethnographic approach is inherently limited in its focus on a singular, subjective set of experiences, but acts an indicator of some otherwise undocumented aspects of the work of a digital volunteer. Autoethnography can be combined with other approaches: here interviews were used to explore a more diverse array of digital volunteering contexts, with the interview guide designed to explore some of the concerns that the autoethnography had brought to light.

Author(s):  
Giselle Newton

Facebook groups represent an important resource for donor-conceived people to access information, seek advice and share their experiences with their peers. Limited research has considered how donor-conceived people create supportive relationships with peers through social media or how this form of social support contributes to donor-conceived people’s health and wellbeing. This work in progress outlines the ‘search-for method’, a practical user-led tool for discussing instances of participation in Facebook groups. The ‘search-for method’ involves inviting participants to search for their name in the search bar of a Facebook group, thereby retrieving data of all instances they have posted in the group. This paper reports on initial findings from applying the ‘search-for method’ to semi-structured interviews with administrators and members (N=30) of Facebook groups for donor-conceived people from across Australia. The ‘search-for method’ enabled the participant and researcher, as co-analysts, to track and examine specific instances of participation and interaction in the group. By scrolling through content on their own device, participants could decide how to frame their stories of support and whether to disclose sensitive information or omit experiences they did not wish to discuss. Broadly, this approach illuminated how individual and collective donor-conceived identities emerged and evolved with and through online group platforms. In doing so, it provided a framework for understanding sociality between donor-conceived peers longitudinally. This paper contributes to understandings of how digital affinities and peer intimacies develop in Facebook groups over time.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa Sawyer ◽  
Amy Kaim ◽  
Huynh-Nhu Le ◽  
Denise McDonald ◽  
Murthy Mittinty ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Postnatal depression and caregiving difficulties adversely affect mothers, infants, and later childhood development. In many countries, resources to help mothers and infants are limited. Online group–based nurse-led interventions have the potential to help address this problem by providing large numbers of mothers with access to professional and peer support during the postnatal period. OBJECTIVE This study tested the effectiveness of a 4-month online group–based nurse-led intervention delivered when infants were aged 2 to 6 months as compared with standard care outcomes. METHODS The study was a block randomized control trial. Mothers were recruited at the time they were contacted for the postnatal health check offered to all mothers in South Australia. Those who agreed to participate were randomly assigned to the intervention or standard care. The overall response rate was 63.3% (133/210). Primary outcomes were the level of maternal depressive symptoms assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and quality of maternal caregiving assessed using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI; competence and attachment subscales), the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSCS), and the Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training Scale. Assessments were completed at baseline (mean child age 4.9 weeks [SD 1.4]) and again when infants were aged 8 and 12 months. RESULTS Outcomes were evaluated using linear generalized estimating equations adjusting for postrandomization group differences in demographic characteristics and the outcome score at baseline. There were no significant differences in the intervention and standard care groups in scores on the PSI competence subscale (P=.69) nor in the PSCS (P=.11). Although the group by time interaction suggested there were differences over time between the EPDS and PSI attachment subscale scores in the intervention and standard care groups (P=.001 and P=.04, respectively), these arose largely because the intervention group had stable scores over time whereas the standard care group showed some improvements between baseline and 12 months. Mothers engaged well with the intervention with at least 60% (43/72) of mothers logging-in once per week during the first 11 weeks of the intervention. The majority of mothers also rated the intervention as helpful and user-friendly. CONCLUSIONS Mothers reported that the intervention was helpful, and the app was described as easy to use. As such, it appears that support for mothers during the postnatal period, provided using mobile phone technology, has the potential to be an important addition to existing services. Possible explanations for the lack of differences in outcomes for the 2 groups in this study are the failure of many mothers to use key components of the intervention and residual differences between the intervention and standard care groups post randomization. CLINICALTRIAL Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616001732471; http://www.ANZCTR.org.au/ACTRN12616001732471.aspx (archived on WebCite as http://www.webcitation.org/77zo30GDw)


Author(s):  
Seung-ha Lee

There are several studies on young children’s bullying roles in relation to dominance or peer relationships. Although those are closely related, few studies examined this from longitudinal view and the influence of bullying role change on dominance and peer relationships. This study aimed to examine (1) the relationship between bullying roles and dominance, (2) the relationship between bullying roles and peer relationships, (3) the percentage of bullying role change over time, and (4) the changes in bullying roles in relation to changes in dominance and peer relationships. Sixty-three South Korean kindergarten teachers completed questionnaires regarding bullying roles, dominance, and peer relationships about 1312 children aged 3–5. The data were collected in mid-October 2017 and January 2018. The results showed that bullies had the highest dominance. No-role children had the most positive peer relationships, followed by bullies. About 10% of all sampled children remained involved in bullying over time. Their role changes related to changes in dominance rather than to changes in peer relationships. The findings imply that dominance should be considered to prevent young children’s bullying, in which peer relationships are interrelated. Intervention should be implemented as soon as possible to stop repeated victimization or bullying in early childhood.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hirshleifer ◽  
Siew Hong Teoh

AbstractEvolved dispositions influence, but do not determine, how people think about economic problems. The evolutionary cognitive approach offers important insights but underweights the social transmission of ideas as a level of explanation. The need for asocialexplanation for the evolution of economic attitudes is evidenced, for example, by immense variations in folk-economic beliefs over time and across individuals.


1988 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia I. Wolfe ◽  
Suzanne D. Blocker ◽  
Norma J. Prater

Articulatory generalization of velar cognates /k/, /g/ in two phonologically disordered children was studied over time as a function of sequential word-morpheme position training. Although patterns of contextual acquisition differed, correct responses to the word-medial, inflected context (e.g., "picking," "hugging") occurred earlier and exceeded those to the word-medial, noninflected context (e.g., "bacon," "wagon"). This finding indicates that the common view of the word-medial position as a unitary concept is an oversimplification. Possible explanations for superior generalization to the word-medial, inflected position are discussed in terms of coarticulation, perceptual salience, and the representational integrity of the word.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1S) ◽  
pp. 412-424
Author(s):  
Elissa L. Conlon ◽  
Emily J. Braun ◽  
Edna M. Babbitt ◽  
Leora R. Cherney

Purpose This study reports on the treatment fidelity procedures implemented during a 5-year randomized controlled trial comparing intensive and distributed comprehensive aphasia therapy. Specifically, the results of 1 treatment, verb network strengthening treatment (VNeST), are examined. Method Eight participants were recruited for each of 7 consecutive cohorts for a total of 56 participants. Participants completed 60 hr of aphasia therapy, including 15 hr of VNeST. Two experienced speech-language pathologists delivered the treatment. To promote treatment fidelity, the study team developed a detailed manual of procedures and fidelity checklists, completed role plays to standardize treatment administration, and video-recorded all treatment sessions for review. To assess protocol adherence during treatment delivery, trained research assistants not involved in the treatment reviewed video recordings of a subset of randomly selected VNeST treatment sessions and completed the fidelity checklists. This process was completed for 32 participants representing 2 early cohorts and 2 later cohorts, which allowed for measurement of protocol adherence over time. Percent accuracy of protocol adherence was calculated across clinicians, cohorts, and study condition (intensive vs. distributed therapy). Results The fidelity procedures were sufficient to promote and verify a high level of adherence to the treatment protocol across clinicians, cohorts, and study condition. Conclusion Treatment fidelity strategies and monitoring are feasible when incorporated into the study design. Treatment fidelity monitoring should be completed at regular intervals during the course of a study to ensure that high levels of protocol adherence are maintained over time and across conditions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinciya Pandian ◽  
Thai Tran Nguyen ◽  
Marek Mirski ◽  
Nasir Islam Bhatti

Abstract The techniques of performing a tracheostomy has transformed over time. Percutaneous tracheostomy is gaining popularity over open tracheostomy given its advantages and as a result the number of bedside tracheostomies has increased necessitating the need for a Percutaneous Tracheostomy Program. The Percutaneous Tracheostomy Program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital is a comprehensive service that provides care to patients before, during, and after a tracheostomy with a multidisciplinary approach aimed at decreasing complications. Education is provided to patients, families, and health-care professionals who are involved in the management of a tracheostomy. Ongoing prospective data collection serves as a tool for Quality Assurance.


2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 26-27
Author(s):  
MARY ELLEN SCHNEIDER

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