Literature and Writers in the Digital Age: A Small-Scale Survey of Contemporary Croatian Writers’ Organization and Preservation Practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milijana Micunovic ◽  
Hana Marčetić ◽  
Maja Krtalić

AbstractAuthors and other creative workers today are faced with the (r)evolution of digital technology and media that slowly change and challenge the way they create, disseminate, and preserve their work. The purpose of this paper is to explore the attitudes, habits, and practices of contemporary Croatian writers in a small-scale sample in terms of the creation, organization, and preservation of digital documents and various literary forms. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with nine contemporary Croatian writers and examined through narrative analysis of the interview transcripts. The research highlighted areas that need to be more thoroughly considered when we are dealing with issues of personal digital archiving, digital legacies, and the preservation of digital cultural heritage in general. In-depth interviews with respondents indicated one particularly important issue: that preserving the context of their work is as important as preserving the work itself.

Author(s):  
Pernilla Sundqvist

AbstractIn recent decades the preschool has leaned more towards a learning-oriented pedagogy, where the subject of technology has been given a more prominent place. Still, studies on how individual preschool staff members perceive and teach technology is scarce. This study shows how seven preschool staff in Sweden describe their work with the subject of technology and how technology education is characterized in these descriptions. The data was produced by means of semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire and analyzed with narrative analysis. The results show very diverse practices of technology education, implying the learning possibilities for children in different preschools are not equal. Some of the staff describe a clear and conscious teaching of technology, while others describe teaching what can be viewed as a limited and/or shallow technology education, where technology is sometimes used as means for learning other subjects or contents rather than being the learning objective. Six ways to characterize technology education was found, namely: technology education (1) concerns technological objects and systems in children’s environment, (2) concerns learning to handle technological objects, (3) is doing experiments, (4) involves developing abilities, (5) is naturally included in children’s play and (6) departs from digital technology.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Anne Testa

INTRODUCTION: Social work accrediting bodies mandate that workers analyse ways in which cultural values and structural forces shape client experiences and opportunities and that workers deconstruct mechanisms of exclusion and asymmetrical power relationships. This article reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative study of frontline hospital social workers’ experiences and understanding of their mandate for culturally sensitive practice.METHODS: The study involved one-hour, semi-structured interviews with 10 frontline hospital social workers. The interviews sought to understand how frontline workers and their organisations understood sensitive practice. Drawing on their own social cultural biographies, workers described organisational policy and practices that supported (or not) culturally sensitive practice. Narrative analysis was used to extract themes.FINDINGS: Data indicate that frontline hospital social workers demonstrated their professional mandate for culturally sensitive practice. Workers were firm in their view that working with the culturally other requires humility as well as a preparedness to value and engage the multiple cultural meanings that evolve in the patient–worker encounter.CONCLUSION: The findings highlight that mandating cultural sensitivity does not necessarily result in such practice. Cultural sensitivity requires an understanding of how cultural and social location may be implicated in sustaining the dominant cultural narrative and signals the need for workers, systems and organisations to facilitate appropriate learning experiences to explore culturally sensitive practice.   


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene De Haan

INTRODUCTION: Recent rhetoric about investing in ‘vulnerable’ children disregards the reality that the magnitude of change accompanying adaptation to parenthood makes all infants and their families vulnerable. This article reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative study of Aotearoa New Zealand parents’ experiences of transition to parenthood and their views on support received or wished for.AIM: To gain insight into how adaptation to life with a baby is experienced and how support could be improved.METHODS: The study involved sequential in-depth interviews with each of 25 socioeconomically diverse first-time mothers and a single set of interviews with 11 fathers and one grandmother. Narrative analysis was used to discern themes.FINDINGS: Participants expressed surprise regarding challenges inherent in adaptation to parenthood. While they deeply appreciated support from Lead Maternity Carers, they saw later professional support as ‘for the baby’. They found little support to deal with problems experienced, which encompassed financial, accommodation, mental health and relationship issues.CONCLUSION: A true investment approach would build on families’ commitment to making beneficial change for the sake of their baby. Well-being could be promoted by longer stays in maternity facilities and straightforward information and coaching about dealing with change as well as about infant care. Fathers’ needs should be carefully considered to help secure engagement in life with a baby. There is a key role for family support social work in designing relevant services and in meeting a need for ‘someone to talk to’ for early help to process change and resolve problems.


Author(s):  
Ivonne R. G. Kaya ◽  
Fildo De Lima

Tourism has become one of the major players in ‎international commerce and represents one of the main income ‎sources for many developing countries at the same time. These dynamics have turned tourism into a key driver for socio-‎economic progress.‎ This article described the potential of tourism attraction and factor affecting the development of marine tourism area in the utilization zone of Manusela National Park. Semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews and participant observations were conducted with respondent (n=110) in Bellarizky, Air Belanda, Ora Beach and Lizar Bahari resort. The potential of tourist attractions in the utilization zone of Manusela National Park is as a snorkeling, diving and point of view. Factors affecting the development are service, transportation, supporting facilities and tourism attractions.


Author(s):  
Wina Lova Riza

 This study aims to determine the psychological dynamics of former drug addicts, starting from drug abuse until they become addicted, deciding to stop using them. This study uses a qualitative approach, the subject or informant is determined using a non-probability sampling technique with a purposive sampling type based on predetermined criteria, which involves one informant, namely a male (F) aged 42 years. Data collection methods used in this study are in-depth interviews (in depth interviews), where researchers will interview informants with semi-structured interviews. In addition, researchers also used observation and psychological tests, which are graphic tests in the form of DAM (Draw a Man) and BAUM (tree drawing) tests, and intelligence tests using WAIS. The data analysis technique used is case study analysis of case / incident patterns. Based on the results of research F became a drug addict because of the learning process, where the enjoyment and lack of parental supervision is a reinforcement to continue using drugs. Generalization of people, places, pleasure makes it difficult for F to stop using drugs.   Keywords: Psychological Dynamics, Drug Addicts. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dinamika psikologis mantan pecandu napza, dimulai dari awal menyalahgunan napza hingga menjadi kecanduan, memutuskan untuk berhenti memakai. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif, Subjek atau informan ditentukan dengan menggunakan tehnik sampling non-probability sampling dengan tipe purposive sampling berdasarkan kriteria yang telah ditentukan, yaitu melibatkan satu informan, yaitu laki-laki (F) yang berusia 42 tahun. Metode pengumpulan data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah dengan wawancara secara mendalam (in depth interview), dimana peneliti akan menwawancarai informan dengan wawancara semi terstruktur. Selain itu peneliti juga menggunakan observasi serta menggunakan tes-tes psikologi, yaitu tes grafis berupa tes DAM (Draw a Man) dan BAUM (tes menggambar pohon), serta tes inteligensi dengan menggunakan WAIS. Tehnik analisis data yang digunakan adalah menggunakan analisis studi kasus pola kasus/kejadian. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian F menjadi pecandu narkoba karena adanya proses belajar, dimana kenikmatan dan kurangnya pengawasan orang tua merupakan reinforcement untuk terus menggunakan napza. Adanya generalisasi terhadap people, place, pleasure menyebabkan F sulit untuk berhenti menggunakan napza. Kata Kunci: Dinamika Psikologis, Mantan Pengguna Napza


BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine W. Buek ◽  
Dagoberto Cortez ◽  
Dorothy J. Mandell

Abstract Background Perinatal care nurses are well positioned to provide the education and support new fathers need to navigate the transition to fatherhood and to encourage positive father involvement from the earliest hours of a child’s life. To effectively serve fathers in perinatal settings, it is important to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of healthcare providers that may encourage and engage them, or alternatively alienate and discourage them. Methods This qualitative study involved structured interviews with ten NICU and postpartum nurses from hospitals in two large Texas cities. The interview protocol was designed to elicit descriptive information about nurses’ attitudes and beliefs, sense of efficacy and intention for working with fathers, as well as their father-directed behaviors. Nurses were recruited for the study using a purposive sampling approach. Interviews were conducted by telephone and lasted approximately 25 to 35 min. Data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach. Results Overall, study participants held very positive subjective attitudes toward fathers and father involvement. Nevertheless, many of the nurses signaled normative beliefs based on race/ethnicity, gender, and culture that may moderate their intention to engage with fathers. Participants also indicated that their education as well as the culture of perinatal healthcare are focused almost entirely on the mother-baby dyad. In line with this focus on mothers, participants comments reflected a normative belief that fathers are secondary caregivers to their newborns, there to help when the mother is unavailable. Conclusions Nurse attitudes and practices that place mothers in the role of primary caregiver may be interpreted by fathers as excluding or disregarding them. Further research is needed to validate the results of this small-scale study, and to assess whether and how provider attitudes impact their practices in educating and engaging fathers in newborn care.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Arita Balaram

This study used participatory oral history and digital archiving to explore two interrelated questions: How do Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people across generations experience processes of storytelling? What are the challenges and possibilities of oral history and digital archiving for constructing alternative histories and genealogies of resistance? In the first phase of the study, twelve Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people across generations participated in an oral history workshop where they were introduced to oral history methods, co-created an interview guide, conducted oral history interviews of one another, and engaged in collective reflection about processes of storytelling. In the second phase, four co-authors of a community-owned digital archive participated in semi-structured interviews about their work to craft new narratives of diasporic resistance rooted in the everyday stories of Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people. In this paper, I analyze how Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people practice resistance by breaking silences in their communities around gender-based oppression, shift norms through producing analyses of their own stories, and reshape community narratives. Furthermore, I explore how oral history participants and co-authors of a digital archive understand the risks associated with sharing stories, raising the ethical dilemmas associated with conceptualizing storytelling as purely liberatory.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorien H. Braam ◽  
Sharath Srinivasan ◽  
Luke Church ◽  
Zakaria Sheikh ◽  
Freya L. Jephcott ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Authorities in Somalia responded with drastic measures after the first confirmed COVID-19 case in mid-March 2020, closing borders, schools, limiting travel and prohibiting most group functions. However, the impact of the pandemic in Somalia thereafter remained unclear. This study employs a novel remote qualitative research method in a conflict-affected setting to look at how some of the most at-risk internally displaced and host populations were impacted by COVID-19, what determined their responses, and how this affected their health and socio-economic vulnerability. Methods We conducted a remote qualitative study, using Katikati, a 1-to-1 conversation management and analysis platform using short message service (SMS) developed by Lark Systems with Africa’s Voices Foundation (AVF), for semi-structured interviews over three months with participants in Mogadishu and Baidoa. We recruited a gender balanced cohort across age groups, and used an analytical framework on the social determinants of health for a narrative analysis on major themes discussed, triangulating data with existing peer-reviewed and grey literature. Results The remote research approach demonstrated efficacy in sustaining trusted and meaningful conversations for gathering qualitative data from hard-to-reach conflict-affected communities. The major themes discussed by the 35 participants included health, livelihoods and education. Two participants contracted the disease, while others reported family or community members affected by COVID-19. Almost all participants faced a loss of income and/or education, primarily as a result of the strict public health measures. Some of those who were heavily affected economically but did not directly experienced disease, denied the pandemic. Religion played an important role in participants’ beliefs in protection against and salvation from the disease. As lockdowns were lifted in August 2020, many believed the pandemic to be over. Conclusions While the official COVID-19 burden has remained relatively low in Somalia, the impact to people’s daily lives, income and livelihoods due to public health responses, has been significant. Participants describe those ‘secondary’ outcomes as the main impact of the pandemic, serving as a stark reminder of the need to broaden the public health response beyond disease prevention to include social and economic interventions to decrease people’s vulnerability to future shocks.


Südosteuropa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-195
Author(s):  
Petru Negură

Abstract The Centre for the Homeless in Chișinău embodies on a small scale the recent evolution of state policies towards the homeless in Moldova (a post-Soviet state). This institution applies the binary approach of the state, namely the ‘left hand’ and the ‘right hand’, towards marginalised people. On the one hand, the institution provides accommodation, food, and primary social, legal assistance and medical care. On the other hand, the Shelter personnel impose a series of disciplinary constraints over the users. The Shelter also operates a differentiation of the users according to two categories: the ‘recoverable’ and those deemed ‘irrecoverable’ (persons with severe disabilities, people with addictions). The personnel representing the ‘left hand’ (or ‘soft-line’) regularly negotiate with the employees representing the ‘right hand’ (‘hard-line’) of the institution to promote a milder and a more humanistic approach towards the users. This article relies on multi-method research including descriptive statistical analysis with biographical records of 810 subjects, a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with homeless people (N = 65), people at risk of homelessness (N = 5), professionals (N = 20) and one ethnography of the Shelter.


Author(s):  
Raymond D. Adams ◽  
Waldo E. Johnson

Conceptualized using critical race theory as a theoretical underpinning, this study analyzed the lived experiences of older, rural, African American male prostate cancer (hereafter referenced as PrCA) survivors’ faith and health promotion practices within Northeast Louisiana. Qualitative data from journaling, observations, and semi-structured interviews were obtained from ten older, African American male PrCA survivors residing in four rural parishes of Louisiana. The data analysis employed a two-stage approach known as Polkinghorne’s analysis of narratives and narrative analysis using an art-based methodological approach. Framed as composite character counterstories, survivors’ narratives revealed how survivors made sense of and gave meaning to their PrCA diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and survivorship. Specifically, their counterstories indicate that centering and honoring the unique and often taken-for-granted perspectives of older, rural, African American male PrCA survivors offered a deeper understanding of the multiple factors influencing their quality of life, as well as the sociostructural mechanisms impacting their survivorship care. Faith was examined as both a secular and sacred source of support that these men viewed as central to the acceptance of their diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and survivorship.


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