scholarly journals When access is denied: Conducting an interview through letter writing

2020 ◽  
pp. 146879412093612
Author(s):  
Emma Burtt
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Letter Writing ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Valuable Alternative ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Probation Service

Access to prisons in England and Wales is becoming ever more restricted to researchers and all projects must have sufficient links to Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) priorities to be considered. What are the alternatives when there is no such link or when access has otherwise been denied? This article focuses on one possible solution – conducting a qualitative interview via letter. Drawing on my own experience of conducting such interviews with prisoners maintaining innocence, I document how the method can work in practice. Although not without difficulty, written interviews are capable of producing rich, qualitative data and provide benefits to both the researcher and researched when compared to traditional face-to-face interviews. I ultimately demonstrate how interviews via letter offer a valuable alternative when interacting with people, not only in prison but across all secure estates.

Uncertainty about cellulitis and unmet patient information needs: a mixed methods study

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp18X697349
Author(s):  
Anna Lalonde ◽  
Emma Teasdale ◽  
Ingrid Muller ◽  
Joanne Chalmers ◽  
Peter Smart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Information Provision ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Patient Information Needs ◽  
History Of

BackgroundCellulitis is a common painful infection of the skin and underlying tissues that recurs in approximately a third of cases. Patients’ ability to recover from cellulitis or prevent recurrence is likely to be influenced by their understanding of the condition.AimTo explore patients’ perceptions of cellulitis and their information needs.MethodMixed methods study comprising semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and cross-sectional survey, recruiting through primary care, secondary care and advertising. Adults aged 18 or over with a history of cellulitis (first or recurrent) were invited to complete a survey, take part in an interview or both. Qualitative data was analysed thematically.ResultsThirty interviews were conducted between August 2016 and July 2017. Qualitative data revealed low prior awareness of cellulitis, uncertainty around diagnosis, concern/surprise at the severity of cellulitis, and perceived insufficient information provision. People were surprised they had never heard of the condition and that they had not received advice or leaflets giving self-care information. Some sought information from the internet and found this bewildering. Two hundred and forty surveys were completed (response rate 17%). These showed that, while most people received information on the treatment of cellulitis (60.0%, n = 144), they reported receiving no information about causes (60.8%, n = 146) or prevention of recurrence (73.3%, n = 176).ConclusionThere is a need for provision of basic information for people with cellulitis, particularly being informed of the name of their condition, how to manage acute episodes, and how to reduce risk of recurrence.

Some Practical Implications for Policy and Practice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Henham
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Working Relationship ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Community Based ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
National Regulation ◽  
Probation Service ◽  
Practical Implications

This chapter explains the practical consequences of what has been proposed. It begins by evaluating current models and suggested approaches for incorporating public opinion into sentencing, explaining how the proposed changes would differ. It then sets out some practical reforms to sentencing in England and Wales, including greater coordination between the national regulation of sentencing discretion through the Sentencing Council and regional or community-based sentencing practices. Regional branches of the Sentencing Council are also advocated. In addition to further practical reforms, a greater role for the Sentencing Council in the ethical surveillance of sentencing, the development of new procedural rules, and enhanced training for judges and magistrates are proposed. Finally, a closer working relationship between the Sentencing Council, the courts, the CPS, defence lawyers, and the Probation Service is advocated to develop guidance clarifying their role within the new sentencing framework.

scholarly journals We Still Have Mutual Friends

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sierra Burrier
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Oral History ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
The World

The project We Still Have Mutual Friends is a qualitative interview study into women’s experiences with sexualviolence. Through the interview process, mostly face-to-face recorded interviews, I have evaluated multiplefacets of sexual abuse/marginalization and their consequences on survivors. In total, I interviewed thirty-twowomen about their familial background, their adolescence, and depending on their age, their life experienceswith their sexuality. Some of the facets I have focused on are the disparity between a subject’s definition andtheir experience of sexual assault. I have also evaluated their self-awareness of this disparity, and why they thinkit occurs. I tried as much as I could, to ask questions in an order/way that did not create preferential answering.Because these interviews followed a standard oral history format of open-ended questions with follow-ups basedon the interviewee’s answers, instances of leading answers were possible. Seventeen out of thirty-two womenwere white, with the next largest group being Hispanic, and then Black. With ages ranging from eighteen upto fifty-eight, several generational voices are accounted for. While there were certain trends found within typesof assault, and who it was (trends not entirely new to us), one thing I discovered is a similar background everyperson shared with their family. All the women had at some point experienced some sort of “body policing.” Ihope this project has provided a more holistic view into the world of sexual violence that women face.

scholarly journals Analysing information literacy practices at selected academic libraries in Zimbabwe

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thakazile Tshuma ◽  
Joel Chigada
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
University Communities ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Data Analysis Software ◽  
Information Landscape

Background: Information literacy (IL) skills are significant in the knowledge and information economy because the IL skills allow information users to cope with the challenges of an evolving and complex information landscape. IL is one of the most important aspects in academic libraries because it equips university communities with the skills of finding, locating and using information effectively and efficiently.Objectives: The study focused on evaluating the IL programmes and practices, as well as the challenges of implementing IL at selected academic libraries in Zimbabwe. The objective was to establish the existing policies and skills required by institutions of higher learning to implement and teach IL.Method: Qualitative data collected using face-to-face interviews and focus group interviews were analysed with the assistance of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (Atlas. ti version 8). Participants of the study included the library directors and assistant librarians with regard to IL modules and the Zimbabwe Universities Library Consortium policy documents.Results: The results revealed that all librarians understood the importance of IL in academic libraries; however, there were no IL policies and skills in existence, either at national, consortium or institutional levels. The study revealed that Zimbabwean academic libraries used different and incoherent methods in implementing and teaching IL and that IL initiatives were confronted with a myriad of challenges.Conclusion: The study concluded that academic libraries should have IL policies in place which aid in the implementation and teaching of IL in Zimbabwean academic libraries, as well as guide all the consortium members especially on collaboration issues, teaching aspects, as well as the recognition of IL by university stakeholders other than the librarians.

International Family Configurations in Tokyo and Their Cross-Cultural Approaches to Language Socialization

2020 ◽  
pp. 1138-1169
Author(s):  
Donna M. Velliaris
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Language Socialization ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Restricted Range ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Face To Face

For children raised in a primarily monocultural setting, where their passport or “home” and their residential or “host” countries are the same, the knowledge/skills developed in one area may be applied in the broader contexts of their lives in a gradually more complex and fulfilling manner. Some of the knowledge/skills learned by “cross-cultural children”, however, may be applied in a restricted range of settings and may be of limited use in “other” contexts of living. A prime example relates to “language” proficiency. This may be well developed in the particular language of one context (e.g., English), but not yet acquired in the language needed for a different context (e.g., Japanese). For this exploratory study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with “international parents” residing in Tokyo, Japan. Of the four themes that emerged from the qualitative data, this chapter is specifically focused on one—Language Socialisation—of cross-cultural child(ren).

Surviving the revolution? The voluntary sector under Transforming Rehabilitation in England and Wales

2020 ◽  
pp. 221-238
Author(s):  
Kevin Wong ◽  
Rob Macmillan
Keyword(s):  
Turning Point ◽  
Voluntary Sector ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
Probation Service ◽  
Open Question ◽  
The Revolution

Regarded by commentators as an emollient to soothe critics of the part privatisation of the public probation service, the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) reforms in England and Wales promised an enlarged role for the voluntary sector in the resettlement and rehabilitation of offenders. Whether such changes mark a decisive turning point or in the fullness of time represent just another twist in the long and messy narrative of voluntary sector provision of offender services remains an open question. This chapter will examine the role and fortunes of the sector during the tumultuous period between 2014 and 2019 and identify what lessons can be learnt for the future.

Police Family Dynamics

2019 ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
Megan O'Neill
Keyword(s):  
Police Officer ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Family Dynamics ◽  
Community Support ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Performance Teams ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Police Forces

Chapter 5 describes and analyses the day-to-day encounters between Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and police officer colleagues. These encounters are important to consider in order to understand fully PCSOs’ occupational experiences. The pluralized public police in England and Wales are often described as a police ‘family’. However, just how functional and harmonious a family this is is shown to be variable between and within police forces. The chapter considers the reasons for this from within a dramaturgical framework, to appreciate fully the nature and organization of these face-to-face interactions. In particular, Goffman’s concepts of performances, teamwork, and regions will be used. The chapter argues that police officers and PCSOs operate as separate performance teams, rather than as one unified one, and that the relationships between these teams varies. In some areas, the teams worked in a complementary way, whereas in others, the relationship was competitive.

scholarly journals Transforming Rehabilitation: The micro-physics of (market) power

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-126
Author(s):  
Matt Tidmarsh
Keyword(s):  
Market Power ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Disciplinary Power ◽  
Market Mechanisms ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Probation Service ◽  
The Impact

This paper explores the impact of the introduction of competition and profit to the probation service in England and Wales following the implementation of the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms. The paper adapts the ideas advanced in Foucault’s Discipline and Punish to draw similarities between the characteristics of ‘disciplinary institutions’ and a micro-physics of (market) power in probation under Transforming Rehabilitation. It utilises Foucault’s ‘instruments’ of disciplinary power – hierarchical observation, normalising judgement, and the examination – as lenses through which to highlight the unintended consequences of the installation of market techniques within the service. The paper argues that the constraints peculiar to instilling decentralising market mechanisms that were presented as a means to liberate practitioners and reduce reoffending have entrenched further the centralising tendencies associated with managerialism.

scholarly journals Dyads Versus Groups: Using Different Social Structures in Peer Review to Enhance Online Collaborative Learning Processes

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Pozzi ◽  
Andrea Ceregini ◽  
Lucia Ferlino ◽  
Donatella Persico
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Collaborative Learning ◽  
Trainee Teachers

<p>The Peer Review (PR) is a very popular technique to support socio-constructivist and connectivist learning processes, online or face-to-face, at all educational levels, in both formal and informal contexts. The idea behind this technique is that sharing views and opinions with others by discussing with peers and receiving and providing formative feedback enriches the quality of learning. In this study, a class of trainee teachers conducts an online PR. The resulting interactions are analyzed and evaluated by the researchers through the application of an evaluation model based on both quantitative and qualitative data. In particular, two conditions are studied, namely the PR in groups versus the PR in dyads. Results show that students who carried out the PR in groups were less active from the cognitive point of view, while they devoted more effort to deal with organizational matters and discourse facilitation.</p>

“Say Mashallah!”

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nada Algharabali ◽  
Hanan Taqi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Online Interaction ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Evil Eye ◽  
Harmful Effects

Abstract The goal of the present study is to investigate the sociolinguistic aspects in relation to the existence of the evil eye as a belief system in Kuwaiti society. Specifically, we examine the verbal and nonverbal manifestations of the evil eye, even at a distance, when its effect is believed to permeate into online interaction on social media. To achieve this goal, we used a combined research method that consists of an online questionnaire that reached an extensive group of 518 participants and a face-to-face interview with a group from our sample in order to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data. The results demonstrate that believing in the evil eye and its harmful effects is prevalent among all groups of people in the Kuwaiti society, regardless of sociolinguistic factors, which affect the frequency and nature of posts. Our findings also indicate that the same verbal and nonverbal methods of protection from the evil eye used in the offline world are used online. Moreover, these preventative methods appear to be in support of similar ones mentioned in previous literature related to this area.

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