Using Written Accounts in Qualitative Research

This article discusses the methodological implications of using written accounts as the primary source of data in qualitative research. Data from a pilot study into family relationships in two families with an anorexic child is presented to illustrate the ways in which this strategy can facilitate the interpretation of different family members' perspectives. Written accounts are shown to be a time-efficient means of gathering good-quality, descriptively rich data. Differences between oral and written modes of communication mean that participants' written accounts are more highly focused and reflective than transcripts from oral interviews, facilitating data analysis and interpretation. Relationships between researchers and researched are more circumscribed than in face-to-face interviewing, which may limit opportunities to explore emergent issues or make informal observations during the interview process. However, the more circumscribed contact between researchers and respondents may also make it easier to manage the complex social dynamics that can emerge when researching families. Whilst written accounts cannot be used as a direct substitute for oral interviews their strengths appear to be undervalued in qualitative research in psychology.

Intelligent Careers of Pacific Island Leaders

Pacific peoples hold a unique place as an ethnic community within Aotearoa-New Zealand. The largest immigrant minority population in New Zealand brings a different culture to that of the dominant Pakeha (European). One implication is the need for acculturation into New Zealand society. Leadership, when characterised here as a process through which Pacific elders model the “Pacific way” to guide their youth, is critical to manage the tension between maintaining traditional ways and integrating into a dominant culture different from the people's own. This paper reports an empirical study conducted with Pacific professionals working in the public sector of New Zealand. Recognised for their potential to influence Pacific peoples, the participants were sponsored by the ministries of Health and Pacific Island Affairs to attend a three-day leadership development course that included a careers component. The scarcely researched links among leadership, careers and social cultural issues are explored. Intelligent career theory is introduced and the processes associated with eliciting subjective and inter-subjective career data are explained The results reflect the interdependence of motivation, skills and knowledge, and relationships, which together strongly influence the career and leadership behaviour of Pacific peoples to enhance the outcomes for Pacific peoples in New Zealand. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Digital Change and Organizational Development: Views from the Public Sector in Papua New Guinea

This study explores the potential of Internet-based technology to change the nature of work in the civil service sector in Papua New Guinea (PNG, specifically to contribute towards Organisational Development (OD). Immediately following and one year after an awareness-raising civil service conference on computer-mediated communication and its potential to help develop the workplace, 23 PNG public sector employees who had attended the conference responded to a range of closed and open-ended attitude questions regarding Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). On balance, they reported that in their experience, ICT following the conference had been relatively empowering, had enhanced organisational communication and accountability, and had helped to improve the flow of knowledge within and between public sector groups. In PNG, digital technology might help to facilitate the development of intra- and inter-organisational unit teamwork. To that extent, digital technology in the longer-term may assist not only in OD, but also in the development of capacity more generally.

Organisational Justice and Work-Family Policies

Based in a local government organisation in New Zealand, this paper links the literature on work-family balance to the literature on organisational justice, by examining the predictors of perceived fairness in work-family polices. The study also expands an earlier study in Grover (1991), by considering work-family policy sets, rather than single policies only. Perceptions of the fairness in work-family policies were partly predicted, positively, by a combination of management seniority, perceived benefits in work-family policies, and own usage of those policies. These findings suggest the influence of both group values and self-interest. In terms of organisational justice, the findings raise a question for future research, namely how fairness attitudes relate to the sustainability of work-family initiatives.

Cannabis and other drug use by tertiary students in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Cannabis has been reported to be associated with impaired educational attainment in adolescents, reduced school performance and the potential for underperformance in adults engaged in occupations requiring high-level cognitive skills. The current study examined the extent and patterns of cannabis and other drug use among 386 tertiary students in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The sample was mainly female (72%), half were aged under 25 years and 52% were in the first year of tertiary study. Cannabis use was prevalent among students, with 68.3% ever using it, 32.4% in the last year and 22.4% with recent use (last six months). The current pattern of cannabis use was significantly associated with age and gender. The most common reasons for using cannabis were to unwind (45.6%) or become stoned (33.7%). Close to half (52.3%) of recent users were not at all concerned about their cannabis use and 63.2% did not think they needed to reduce consumption. In the last six months, 84.5% of students had used alcohol, 12.1% amphetamine, 8.4% ecstasy, 6.8% non-medical use of benzodiazepines, 4.6% hallucinogens, 1.6% inhalants and 1.1% opiates. A quarter (23.6%) of students had used alcohol and cannabis on the same occasion. The results are discussed in relation to the utility of traditional awareness programs and the desirability of appropriate and credible intervention strategies.

Health worker confidence in diagnosing and treating mental health problems in Papua New Guinea

Confidence in identifying different diagnostic categories of mental disorders by general health workers who provide the bulk of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) mental health care is vital for the country's provision of mental health care. Making a psychiatric diagnosis is complicated by PNG's diverse culture and estimated 800 distinct languages. These cultural-linguistic factors influence help-seeking behaviour and continued use of traditional treatment despite the introduction of western approaches to mental health care. The aim of this study was to determine the confidence of health workers in identifying and diagnosing different categories of mental health problems in this complex environment. A sample of 209 Papua New Guinea health workers from four geographic regions completed a questionnaire that assessed background levels of training and confidence in diagnosing a range of modern and culture specific diagnoses. Overall, respondents reported relatively little prior mental health training. Consistent with this were the relatively low levels of confidence for culture specific diagnoses (e.g. sorcery), but significantly higher levels of confidence with modern diagnoses (e.g. depression). The implications of the findings for training and provision of mental health care are discussed.