Instrumental Case Study Research Articles

Understanding Adaptive Competencies of a Woman in Her 80s: Toward the Development of Therapeutic Guidelines

This article describes the adaptive competencies of an older woman who lived well into her 80s in deprived environments, to serve as a basis for developing therapeutic guidelines for older individuals in contexts of adversities. This retrospective, instrumental case study draws on the theoretical lens offered by the person-environment-fit (PEF) framework in the context of adaptive aging. Multiple data sources (Mmogo-method 1 —a visual projective technique—interviews and extant texts) yielded textual and visual data which were analyzed to present a case record and relevant themes. Personal competencies that enabled this woman’s adaptation were industriousness, courageous and generous caring, and agency. Four types of relationships and associated competencies emerged: ancestral heritage (being rooted), peer group (mobilizing resources), intergenerational (being concerned for continuity), and spiritual (having a commitment script). Therapeutic guidelines for older women include: using a life story approach to identify the nature (flexible/rigid) of the environments and older women’s adaptive competencies; assessing the different environments (e.g. physical, relational) to determine the focus of intervention; challenging unfair social practices; and supporting older women’s agency and active participation to adapt to ‘unfit’ environments while also being aware of what additional complementary support/protection older women would need to embrace adaptive aging.

Examining the development of human rights strategies for large-scale sport events: the case of the United Bid for the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026

ABSTRACT Research question Criticism of human rights issues associated with large-scale sport events has led event rights holders to incorporate human rights into bidding and hosting requirements. Bids for FIFA World Cups (men’s and women’s) now require the inclusion of a human rights strategy. Given that these requirements are relatively new, there is limited understanding of how these strategies are developed. This study drew on strategy formulation and contingency theory to examine human rights strategy development of the United Bid – a joint bid between Canada, Mexico, and the United States for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Research methods A qualitative instrumental case study was employed using archival data and 12 semi-structured interviews with United Bid members and key stakeholders. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, resulting in three themes. Results and findings Findings highlight the critical roles of stakeholder engagement and individuals with event experience in developing human rights strategies. The novelty of FIFA’s human rights requirements and late delivery of the bid guidelines presented significant challenges for the bid committee. Implications This research advances contingency theory by suggesting the approach to the development of human rights strategies is dependent on prospective hosts’ overall bid strategy. In this case, the bid focused on human rights at the country level and deferred assessment of human rights at the host city level until after the bid was won. This insight can guide prospective host nations in accounting for and integrating human rights into their bids.

The relevance of indigenous knowledge systems in social work education and practice in Zimbabwe: A human rights perspective

Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) are central to communities in Africa. They shape, influence, and define the behaviour of societies. Most communities in Zimbabwe have consistently recognised the human rights of individuals. Understanding how IKS can influence social work theory and practice to uphold human rights is important. Human rights are an inherent part of the social work profession. The article explores the views of social work educators in Zimbabwe on the intersection of IKS and human rights in social work education and practice. Data were qualitatively collected from ten purposefully selected social work educators using an instrumental case study design. Evidence from the participants shows four essential aspects, which are, the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems in social work education and practice in Zimbabwe, the role of indigenous knowledge systems in the application of human rights in social work in Zimbabwe, ways to utilise IKS best to uphold human rights; the challenges faced by educators in utilising indigenous knowledge systems in social work in Zimbabwe. The article concludes that IKS upholds human rights perspectives in social work theory and practice. The article recommends that IKS, informed by a human rights perspective, be integrated into social work education and practice in Zimbabwe and practised at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Co-Construction of Iteration Through Failure Moments: Interactions Between Museum Educators and Visitors

Museum educators play a major role in how visitors’ experience failure moments during STEM-related activities. The purpose of this study was to explore how museum educators co-constructed iteration through failure moments with visitors during an engineering activity. Utilizing an instrumental case study, we analyzed video data and one-on-one reflective meetings from five museum educators. Through our analysis, we highlight how educators and visitors are able to jointly attend, interpret, and respond to failures that leads to continuous improvements of the prototype and/or design process (i.e., iteration). The significance of this study lies in providing informal educators with approaches they can incorporate to support visitors during the failure-learning process, namely, strategies that develop visitors’ noticing skills around failure.

P.471: Quality improvement tools to manage organ donation processes: An instrumental case study.

P.471: Quality improvement tools to manage organ donation processes: An instrumental case study.

A graphical model to make explicit pharmacist clinical reasoning during medication review

Pharmacists’ roles have evolved substantially from traditional drug compounding and dispensing to encompass patient-centred clinical services. Pharmacist clinical reasoning, though fundamental to these new roles, generally remains implicit and understudied, particularly compared with that of other healthcare professionals, such as physicians. However, teaching and supervising the clinical services provided by pharmacists require a thorough understanding of the reasoning process involved. Several models describing pharmacist clinical reasoning have been developed, but they lack unified mapping.Here, we used an instrumental case study approach to develop a model of pharmacist clinical reasoning during medication review. Our model is adapted from a previously published modelling-using-typified-objects model of physician clinical reasoning in all its cognitive complexity. Our pharmacist model, validated after iterative development and expert consultation, aligns components of pharmacist clinical reasoning with those of physician clinical reasoning. The clinical case contains drug-related problems of variable clinical relevance, as well as numerous key elements (e.g., laboratory results, vital signs) necessary for conducting a medication review. The case serves both as the foundation for model development and as an illustrative step-by-step example within this article.Our model delineates the subprocesses of pharmacist clinical reasoning during medication review, offering a flexible, multipath structure that underscores the dynamic, nonlinear nature of the reasoning. The model might be able to clarify implicit cognitive processes, thus furthering the overarching objective of promoting reflective skill development among learners rather than relying solely on tacit knowledge gained through practice experience.

Socio-cultural adaptation of Mental Health First Aid to insular religious communities: the case of ultra-Orthodox society in Israel

ABSTRACT Objective The introduction of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) in Israel has required a dynamic adaptation of the curriculum to the local social, cultural and religious context. The adaptation to the Jewish ultra-Orthodox community has been particularly rigorous and challenging. This article aims to analyse this process, its principles and steps, as well as the challenges and dilemmas it entails. Method The article employs a qualitative case study design, specifically, the instrumental case study. The adaptation procedure includes five steps: engaging local experts, organising focus groups, collaboration with communities, pilot testing in diverse communities, and iterative feedback loops. The article draws primarily on the perspectives of 45 community members, rabbis and health professionals who participated in four focus groups. Results The adaptation in ultra-Orthodox society addressed stigmatisation, silencing and concealment of mental health issues; gender segregation; educational gaps; and cultural misunderstandings of healthcare approaches. We demonstrate the need to modify the language, scenarios and examples in the curriculum, and engage with religious leaders and educational institutions. This process raises professional and ethical dilemmas, such as how MHFA should approach topics that remain unspoken in ultra-Orthodox communities. Discussion This case demonstrates that cultural adaptation is vital but may be insufficient. Attention should also be paid to social and structural forces, such as social hierarchies and systemic discrimination. A structurally competent approach should be adopted. This is the first case of accommodating MHFA for an insular religious group. It can contribute to adapting MHFA to other insular, encompassing, high-tension religious communities worldwide.

Novel solutions to the midwifery retention crisis in England: an organisational case study of midwives’ intentions to leave the profession and the role of retention midwives

Problem/Background: Midwifery retention is a global issue, but less is known regarding what motivates midwives’ intention to stay or leave within individual organisations. In 2021, NHS England funded maternity organisations to employ retention midwives. To date, the impact of these roles has not been evaluated. Aim: To explore the views of midwives regarding their intentions to leave or stay within one English organisation and to provide insights into the perceived impact of the role of retention midwives. Methods: An instrumental case study was carried out in one organisation. Data a mixed methods survey (n=67/91) and interview data (n=7). Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics; qualitative data using thematic analysis. All data was synthesised together. Findings: The three themes included ‘Values-based tensions: The eroding role of the midwife’; ‘Discerning differences: Intentions to leave or stay’; ‘Retention midwives: Activities and impact’. Discussion: We found that there was a clear link between midwives’ intention to leave or stay and their workplace roles; specialist midwives were more likely to stay, report satisfaction, autonomy, and feel a sense of contribution or effectiveness in their role compared to those in other roles. The retention midwives were making a positive difference to midwives’ experience of the workplace. Conclusion: Midwives working within the same organisation have different experiences of their role and job satisfaction. Future work should consider applying the positive elements of the specialist roles to the wider midwifery workforce to enhance retention. The retention midwife role shows promise, but further evaluation is required.

The Reform and Evolution of ASEAN Human Rights Regime: A Communicative Action Perspective

ASEAN has experienced significant progress since the initiation of the ASEAN Community Vision and the incorporation of human rights into its foundations. This development has ignited continuous scholarly discussions over the degree to which the ASEAN human rights framework shape regional identity and impacts member states’ behavior towards human rights. These debates often revolve around two key theoretical approaches: the logic of consequences and the logic of appropriateness. These logics pose challenges in fully understanding the complexity of state behavior, as they are often observed operating simultaneously and interchangeably within state actions. The article investigates the ASEAN human rights regime through the communicative action perspective and its logic of arguing. It employs a qualitative instrumental case study approach, focusing on the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) Centre to illuminate the region's evolving human rights strategies. It is characterized by both deliberate reforms and informal adaptations, reflecting a complex interplay of traditional principles, and emerging human rights norms. The findings indicate that ASEAN states are open to being convinced and persuaded by ideas related to human rights instead of dismissing them outright. ASEAN's approach to human rights, while progressing gradually, suggests a shift towards more substantive engagement with global human rights norms, facilitated by the discursive processes embedded within the AICHR and AHA Centre.

‘The way they treat us reflects how they see us’: Aspects contributing to social inequities in people with visual disability, a qualitative study

People with visual disabilities encounter multiple barriers in their life experiences, placing them at a social disadvantage compared to sighted individuals. These barriers manifest in a limited access to and exercise of their rights, situations perceived as unfair or inequitable. The present research aimed to understand how inequities are configured in people with visual disabilities, based on practices and perceptions of fairness/unfairness and their expression in relation to access to material goods and services. An instrumental ethnographic case study was conducted within a community-based institution in Bucaramanga, Colombia, focusing on rehabilitation and social inclusion processes for individuals with visual disabilities and their families. Twenty-two semistructured interviews and 37 participant observation exercises were carried out and documented in a field diary. The emerging categories were (1) the family can be an obstacle or an aid in overcoming social injustices; (2) visual disability is a label, it is in the environment, in the way society recognizes it; and (3) from social exclusion to willingly-given inclusion. Our results indicate that inequities are configured primarily in relation to how people close to those with visual disabilities perceive and act towards them, constituting scenarios of cultural injustice (non-recognition). Part of the meanings and practices that people uphold are based on the view of a body considered outside the canon of normality and the non-recognition of a full citizenship, conditioning discriminatory (such as charity and infantilization), stigmatizing and excluding practices. The inclusion of this population group is mediated by the sensibility of the sighted other, a situation that conditions that the access and full enjoyment of rights is a matter of will.

Health Effects and Exposure Assessment to Bio-aerosols in Indoor Environments- An Instrumental Case Study

Health Effects and Exposure Assessment to Bio-aerosols in Indoor Environments- An Instrumental Case Study

Developing a Community-Based Participatory Research Program. From Concept to Outcomes

Abstract The scope of the paper is to describe and interpret the steps and activities that led to the development and implementation of a community-based participatory research program that involved an university, local businesses and community organizations, local autorithies and an external funder. Specifically, the paper addresses the following two questions: first, how was this program designed and implemented, and second, what lessons can be learned from this experience that might be extended to the field of community-based research generally? The instrumental case study methodology was applied and the CBPR Program considered is UniverCity Romania.

Mathematical modelling and covariational reasoning: a multiple case study

This research aims to investigate the relationships between the mathematical modelling process and the levels of covariational reasoning through a multiple instrumental case study with six college students solving a task in the context of science. We designed a modelling task based on a problem faced by Newton: obtaining higher temperature values than a thermometer could register; and analysed the participants’ modelling processes and covariational reasoning as they solved the task. The results show that the modelling task promoted covariational reasoning. The results also show that participants used covariational reasoning to solve the task, and the participants were unaware of nonlinear covariational reasoning which prevented them from making mathematical models closer to reality. Furthermore, participants required specific levels of covariational reasoning at specific steps in the mathematical modelling process, and as they advanced in the mathematical modelling process they exhibited more sophisticated levels of covariational reasoning.

Developing students' scientific competencies using the school's environmental context in rural and semi-rural settings

The study implemented a didactic proposal to develop Scientific Competencies in secondary students from rural and semi-rural contexts by leveraging the school's environmental surroundings. Using an instrumental case study methodology, progression hypotheses were established, revealing a sufficient correlation (0.32) in scientific competency development between two targeted students, as determined by Kendall's Tau-B. The research focused on two students deemed suitable by their teacher, with evidence analyzed to create a performance rubric that assessed competency development. The findings indicated that the teacher's ecology teaching model aligned with a level 2 progression based on specialized literature, leading to specific didactic recommendations. The study concluded that effectively incorporating constructs for developing scientific competencies requires teachers to adopt critical perspectives on the inconsistencies in the Colombian educational system, understand scientific competencies in an international context, and engage as reflective researchers. This approach is essential for fostering scientific competency development in the classroom.

Dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s: Operationalising a teaching and learning community of practice

Social theories of learning propose that communities serve as vital building blocks for knowledge sharing and construction (Bandura, 1977; Cobb, 1994). In essence, learning thrives when individuals congregate in a community where they exchange tacit knowledge and expose areas of ignorance (Wenger et al., 2002). Nevertheless, the process of cultivating a community of practice is not necessarily straightforward, as it requires meticulous planning and decision-making. This instrumental case study seeks to explicate the formation and development of a teaching and learning community of practice (T&L CoP) at a research-intensive university in Hong Kong. More specifically, it explores how the structural model of the community of practice – domain, community, and practice – are applied and manifested. Multiple sources of documents, including a project proposal, a project website, a project progress report and archival records, were analysed using deductive thematic analysis. The results reveal that the T&L CoP is constitutive of an overarching domain of teaching and learning, within which ten special interest groups are formed. The T&L CoP also bring together 150 professoriate and professional staff from across eight faculties. The community facilitates knowledge exchange through periodic professional development workshops and materials as well as sharing sessions that highlight exemplary teaching practice. The study concludes by discussing three fundamental questions regarding the operationalisation of a CoP, in terms of expansion, retention, as well as sustainability, and argues that the T&L CoP helps cultivate members’ social capital through improved networks and visibility among the teaching and learning community.

Technology-Driven Intergenerational Physical Activity Intervention: An Instrumental Case Study

Intergenerational contact offers an under-explored strategic approach to challenging age stereotypes and positively influencing health behaviors in older adults and children. It is postulated that through the application of the constructs of Contact Theory, an effective platform for change could be established. Using an instrumental case study, the experiential effects of the intergenerational contact phenomenon were pragmatically explored from the perspective of a single familial dyad (61-year-old woman; 9-year-old boy). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, both during and following engagement with a remote, 12-week, technology-driven physical activity intervention focused on using daily step counts (acquired via any activity of their choice, using physical activity trackers) to collaboratively complete virtual walk routes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through reflexive thematic analysis and interpretation of the data in line with the study’s aim and propositions, four core themes were identified: Reciprocal Encounter; Opportunity for Reflection and Re-evaluation; Platform for Change; and COVID-19. In addition to the perceived positive effects on targeted health outcomes (physical activity, sedentary behavior, health-related quality of life), facilitating intergenerational contact through virtual methods could also, through opportunities to nurture and build relationships, challenge age stereotypes.

Mathematical Work of a Future Teacher in Teaching the Box Plot Diagram

Objective: The study aims to characterize the teaching proposals of the future Mathematics teacher in the context of their practical training in the final year of their university studies. Theoretical Framework: To achieve this, we consider the theory of Mathematical Workspaces, which allows for the analysis of both the mathematical activity that an individual engages in while solving a mathematical task, and the activity that is promoted during teaching. Method: A qualitative methodology is adopted through the design of an instrumental case study. The case pertains to a future teacher conducting a class on constructing a box plot. This class was observed and transcribed for analysis in light of the proposed mathematical work. Results and Discussion: The mathematical work exhibited by the future teacher includes a strong semiotic component and the use of non-material artifacts for quartile calculations. Students' prior knowledge is utilized in this context, with procedural aspects taking precedence over statistical thinking. Implications of the Research: The study raises concerns about the statistical education of mathematics teachers and its impact on future teaching proposals. Originality/Value: This research contributes to the study of statistics and initial teacher training in their influence on the future practices of Mathematics teachers. It provides a characterization of the mathematical work promoted by a future teacher and offers insights into concerns regarding the development of statistical thinking.

Lived Experiences of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leaders in U.S. Music Education Professional Associations

Abstract Music education professional associations (MEPAs) are membership-based nonprofit organizations focused on advancing music education through actions including professional development, policy work, and advocacy. In this instrumental case study, we interviewed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leaders from MEPAs in the United States (N = 16) to elicit self-reports of their leadership experiences. Participants identified the deep, personal work involved in enacting and sustaining DEI efforts. They reported experiences of harm in DEI work and described progress toward liberation for people of color as a slow, exhausting slog. Participants’ responses also indicated movement toward intersectional approaches to equity and justice. MEPA DEI leader experiences have important implications for advancing equity and justice in music education, including the need for MEPA leadership to consider ways institutional logics create harm and take steps to support and uplift people who are striving for equity and justice within the organizations, including through compensation, solidarity, and structural changes.

“In my blood”: External factors for international stem postdoctoral scholars’ career decisions

This instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) explores the external factors that influence international science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) postdoctoral scholars in the United States to pursue a career in STEM. Interviews with 20 international STEM postdoctoral scholars were analyzed deductively to shed light on their unique backgrounds and experiences. Three themes emerged: (a) parents were highly encouraging, (b) a love of science was nurtured in school, and (c) they were eager to engage in and promote scientific innovation. These findings illustrate the ways in which family, schools, and community influence the STEM career trajectories of international postdoctoral scholars.

Enhancing Transformative Competencies through the Internalization of Religious Moderation: A Vision for Islamic Boarding School's Educational Framework in 2030

Extremism, radicalism, hate speech, and even the rupture of inter-religious ties, are problems facing the Indonesian nation today. Al-Hikam as one of the boarding schools able to survive in those problems, by encouraging religious moderation. This study aims to explore the process of internalizing the value of religious moderation in Al-Hikam Islamic boarding schools and analyze the realization of transformative competencies in the process. An instrumental case study design was chosen for this research. Observation and in-depth interviews were conducted to obtain data. The results showed that there were 3 models of value transformation, verbal, symbolic, and written. The methods of imparting values are carried out in two ways, namely providing standardized sources of accurate information and structured practices through pesantren programs and activities. The internalization process is formed through joint service activities involving various elements of the moderation agency. This study arrived at the theoretical finding that maximizing the function of co-agency in pesantren consisting of the Kyai board, teachers, peer colleagues, and santri guardians at the transaction stage, is effectively facilitates the internalization of values by the agents (santri) of religious moderation obtained at the transformation stage into an inherent identity, namely moderate humans. This achieved identity also brings students to achieve transformative competencies: creating new values, reconciling tensions and dilemmas, and taking responsibility.