Personal Context Research Articles

Lived experiences of women with low birth weight infants in the Solomon Islands: A descriptive qualitative study.

Every year, around 20 million women worldwide give birth to low birth weight (LBW) infants, with majority of these births occurring in low-and middle-income countries, including the Solomon Islands. Few studies have explored the pregnancy lived experience of women who deliver LBW infants. The aim of the study is to understand the lived experience of women in the Solomon Islands who gave birth to LBW infants by exploring their personal (socio-demographic and health), behavioural, social and environmental contexts. We used a qualitative descriptive approach and purposely selected 18 postnatal women with LBW infants in the Solomon Islands for an in-depth interview. All data were analysed using thematic analysis in NVivo. We identified six themes reported as being related to LBW: health issues, diet and nutrition, substance use, domestic violence, environmental conditions and antenatal care. Our findings suggest that women in the Solomon Islands are exposed to various personal, behavioural, social and environmental risk factors during pregnancy that can impact birth outcomes, particularly LBW. We recommend further research should be redirected to look at the factors/themes identified in the interviews.

Understanding and Encountering the Ethics of Self and Others in Autoethnography: Challenging the Extant and Exploring Possibilities

In cultural and institutional contexts, autoethnography examines personal and professional experiences. While conducting and representing autoethnography, these considerations raise ethical challenges for self and others. This expository paper examines and explores the various forms of the ethics of self and others in autoethnography in South Asian contexts. Furthermore, ethical positions in an autoethnographic inquiry are presented and explored by challenging the extant and exploring the possibilities. Moreover, ethical standards are maintained based on the first author's experiences. We also realized that the emerging challenges of the ethics of self and others in autoethnography are ongoing and real. Likewise, we brought the first author’s lived experiences of conducting autoethnographic inquiry in his personal, professional, and cultural contexts (i.e., South Asian contexts) as a guiding principle. Above all, following the foundational understanding of ethics in autoethnography, one may engage with others in the account of self-experiences. The paper concludes by highlighting possible procedural and situational ethics pertaining to Dharma and Karma in autoethnography as a transformative educational research methodology (Luitel & Dahal, 2020) that might be demonstrated while conducting an autoethnographic inquiry.

Cognitive questionnaire on violence and assistance in diabetology. The experiences of diabetes community AMD and gender differences

The Gender medicine strategic group of AMD promoted an online survey in summer 2022 in order to know the size of violence in the workplace in the diabetologist community and this phenomenon can be correlated to lacks of Risk Assessment in the workplaces. We asked 20 questions about any experiences of violence suffered in the workplaces. The partecipants were 137, mainly women (71,5%). The most representative age range is 45 - 60 years (43,1%). About half of the respondents (46%) regardless of genders had been subjected of some form of violence during the exercise of profession, more often in surgeries daily, mainly by male patients, while women are mainly exposed to the risk of both verbal and physical violence. Among the subjects who have suffered experience of violence, in 74,6% of cases the phenomenon was repeated. Probably this data cannot exclude that some health workers due to personal characteristics or context are more often the target of this phenomenon, especially since health services and or companies do not provide readily available and effective strategies for rescue and or escape. It is a low propensity to report the violence and the lack of standardized procedures for the report management. Establishing a violence prevention program must the business goal aimed at guaranteeing safety in the workplace. KEY WORDS violence in the workplace; diabetology; age; gender; violence prevention program.

Les anabases de Saint-John Perse et de Zbigniew Herbert

The Anabases of Saint-John Perse and Zbigniew Herbert This article deals with the motif of “anabasis” in the poetry of Saint-John Perse and the Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert. The former, a poet and diplomat, gave this title to a poem written in the early 1920s, before he stepped onto the stage of international politics of the interwar period. It, in a way, anticipates his professional and existential choices. Herbert’s “Anabasis” appeared in 1983 in his collection of poems entitled Raport z oblężonego miasta [Report from a Besieged City]. Although two generations and vastly different geopolitical points of origin separate the authors of these poems, both writers left their “small homelands” (Guadeloupe, Lwów), to become witnesses to history filled with socio-political events in the face of which they could not remain neutral. Saint-John Perse began his own poetic “anabasis” in 1940, as an “exile” having escaped to the USA. Zbigniew Herbert published his “Anabasis” in a time when communist Poland would, once again (following the institution of Martial Law in 1981), would confirm his “internal exile.” Personal contexts aside, the “anabases” of Perse and Herbert represent a search for the “right word” which anticipates the script of existence or which is a meditation on exile, expressing through modern poetic means the desire to recover, or constantly (re)construct, their imaginative and spiritual homelands.

Impact of Adolescent Social Media Use on Body Image, Mental Health and Eating Disorders: A Review

Adolescents are considered vulnerable to negative influences on social media because their use of the medium expands at a time when they are in a transition period in their lives dealing with many other issues such as puberty, exam stress and anxiety about their future. This review focuses on primary research articles exploring the impact of social media on adolescents’ mental health, body image and eating disorder related issues. This review also includes articles regarding how social media can be used to deliver positive messages, recruit vulnerable subjects for early intervention and explore the effectiveness of new treatment strategies. Based on the reviewed articles, it seems that girls, boys and transgender persons are similarly at-risk from negative social media influence. Going ahead, there is a need to focus on the nature of social media activity rather than just time spent to identify vulnerable young persons. It is possible that in some cases social media usage can drive a vicious cycle that amplifies negative psychological attitudes initiated due to social and personal context. Further research is required to explore the role parents and social media platforms can play in maintaining positive attitudes and effecting early intervention programs.

(Im)migrants’ appropriation of culture: Reciprocal influence of personal and work contexts

Increasing internationalisation in organisations demands further research on acculturation within international business (IB). Based on triangulated qualitative data on South Asian diasporas’ food consumption in the UK and Bahraini contexts, we introduce two acculturative orientations: essentialism and boundary spanning. We contribute to literature by linking acculturative orientations with relevant drivers and resulting adoption and adaptation of cultures to offer a new perspective towards analysing (im)migrants’ appropriation of culture in personal and work settings. We push the boundary of IB research by highlighting and enriching the understanding of, and reciprocity between, social and occupational contexts that shape (im)migrants’ acculturation.

The Journalist on Social Media: Mapping the Promoter, Celebrity and Joker Roles on Twitter and Instagram

This study takes an empirical approach to analyze how journalists perform the roles of promoter, celebrity, and joker on social media. These roles already play out in print and broadcast, but much less is known about how they are performed outside of traditional media contexts. This study addresses this gap in the literature through a content analysis of 4,100 posts by 23 Chilean journalists in 2020 on Twitter and Instagram. The analysis draws on key variables derived from the literature, including frontstage and backstage performance, personal context, platform, follower count, gender, and type of parent media organization. Results suggest that Twitter tends to serve as a space for professional performance bounded by established norms and practices, while Instagram tends to offer a space for a more fluid performance beyond the institutional boundaries of the news media. Findings indicate that professional social media contexts are more suited spaces to perform the promoter role, while personal or backstage contexts are more suited for the celebrity and joker roles. Results indicate how journalists take on specific roles on Twitter and Instagram, considering the affordances of these platforms.

From the Margins: Positionality in Area Studies

This article analyzes the positionality of the researcher in the field of area studies, taking as an example our engagement with African and Dalit studies and issues of race and caste. We present an autoethnographic essay on our own historically constituted agentive positionality by weaving together different angles of inquiry – Lithuanian area studies (and its institutional context), Lithuania’s position in the post-Soviet and postcolonial narratives (the historical context), and our positionality in area studies and our particular fields of research (the personal context). The article shows how we as researchers construct our professional identities and relations with our interlocutors as we navigate through the Soviet past and the globalized present. We argue that the crucial question for scholars of area studies is not only the macro-political context in which knowledge production takes place (the predominant focus of area studies for decades), but also the personal micro-dimensions of knowledge production, which are inherent in the particular researcher as a historically constituted and strategically acting individual.

Beginning Early: Reflective Practice Development in a Pre-health Course on Health Literacy and Health Disparities.

Background: Learning reflective practices and understanding the complexity of health literacy and health disparities need to start early in health professions training. The primary objective of this inquiry was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of using reflection categorization for assessing learner progression on reflective practice development. The secondary objective was to evaluate student reflection as a strategy for introducing and advancing pre-professional learners' understanding of health literacy and health disparities. Case Description: Within an online undergraduate health literacy course, two written reflection assignments were coded using Kember's four categories: habitual action, understanding, reflection, and critical reflection. Students received feedback based on this reflection categorization to promote development of reflective practices. However, reflections were not graded using the reflection categorization. Case Themes: Most (78%) students were at the level of understanding for the first reflection. For the second reflection, 29% of students were at the reflection level, demonstrating health literacy application and describing the important contributing role of personal context to health outcomes. Sixteen (33%) students progressed in their level of reflection. Within the reflections, students discussed knowledge gained and plans for future application. Conclusion: Using a structured reflection activity allowed pre-health students to begin developing reflection practices. Through reflection, students were able to describe and apply health literacy and health disparities knowledge.

A novel emergency medicine cultural competency curriculum addressing health care disparities.

Effective cultural competency (CC) training for future health professionals is an important first step towards improving healthcare disparities (HCD). The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) now requires that institutions train residents and faculty members in CC relevant to the patient population they serve. Using Kern's Model, we created and implemented a novel CC curriculum tailored to specific program needs in an emergency medicine residency program. At the end of the curriculum, respondents reported having a better understanding of the importance of CC for their practice (p=0.004) and of how a patient's personal and historical context affects treatment (p=0.002). They also reported an increase in the frequency of practicing strategies to reduce bias in themselves (p < 0.001) and others (p < 0.001), as well as comfort interacting with and treating patients from different backgrounds (p < 0.001). Lastly, they reported improved preparedness to collaborate with communities to address HCD (p=0.004) and to identify community leaders to do so (p < 0.001). The challenges of CC training demonstrate the need for a standard yet adaptable framework. We have designed, implemented, and evaluated a novel curriculum tailored to the specific needs of our EM residency program. The curriculum improved participants' attitudes, preparedness, and self-reported behaviors regarding CC and HCD. This framework represents an example of a successful model to meet ACGME requirements.

The future of creativity research: Where are we, and where should we go

Over the course of the last thirty years, we have made substantial progress in our understanding of creative problem-solving and creative performance. As is always the case, however, progress in our research raises as many new questions as answers. In the present effort, we examine key findings that have emerged in key areas of creativity research including abilities, creative problem-solving processes, creative thinking skills, personality, social interactions, work climate, and environmental context. In each area we examine new questions arising from prior research. Directions for future research on creative performance are also discussed.

A qualitative investigation of the health behaviours of young children from refugee families using photo elicitation interviews

ABSTRACT Objectives To explore the experiences and perspectives of refugee parents regarding health behaviour changes among their children (i.e. changes in diet, levels of physical activity) and the impact of these changes on the health of their children aged 2–12 years. Design A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews supported by photo-elicitation. Methods Parents of 2–12 years old children who had relocated to the UK within the past three or more years were recruited from two refugee organisations in the UK. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews and photo-elicitation were used to stimulate face-to-face in-depth discussions with participants. Data were analysed using an inductive and latent thematic analysis approach. Results Twenty-seven parent refugees were recruited. Participants were primarily mothers (85%) and from Syria (70%). Other countries of origin were Sudan, Eritrea, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya and Tunisia. Twenty-six interviews were conducted in Arabic and one in English. The analysis identified three themes: (1) Reflection on acculturation, (2) Changed parental role, and (3) Environmental barriers to being healthy. Participants described facing substantial changes to their lifestyle and personal context, including a restricted living space, restricted neighbourhood/community and inclement weather. These differences in the environment required parents to adjust their roles, and practices around their own and their child’s eating habits. These changes influenced refugee children’s health behaviours. Of particular concern to parents were increased sedentary behaviour and consumption of unhealthy snacks. Conclusions Multiple factors were identified relating to changes in family circumstances and environments that influenced refugee children’s health behaviours. Targeting these behaviours in tailored interventions may help improve refugee children’s health.

Digital Learning Experience in Museums: Cultural Readings in a Virtual Environment

This study revolves around primary and secondary school visual arts teachers’ cultural and critical readings on their VR museum experience through object and representation. As part of the in-service training and research project, the study was carried out in the provinces of Çanakkale, Erzincan, Kayseri, Diyarbakır, Giresun, Mersin, Denizli, which were selected from seven regions of Turkey within a seven-month period. 508 primary and secondary school visual arts teachers participated in the study. The study is a case study and teachers’ readings related to the object and representation in the virtual museum and their VR museum experiences formed the units of analysis in the study. The data of the study was collected through worksheets, pre-evaluation forms, participant diaries and focus group interviews with voluntary teachers and content analysis method was employed to analyse the data. In the study, teachers were motivated to incorporate social and personal contexts into their readings of the object-space-representation. The results denoted that the activity enhanced teachers’ learning experiences in terms of personal and professional contexts. Although teachers highlighted that VR museum experiences could not offer much more rich experiences than the actual museum visits, they believed that it could be effective for visual arts classes and be blended with various learning activities given that the virtual museum experience offers the possibility of exploring a museum without a barrier of distance and incite enthusiasm and learning interest through digital technologies (e.g., sound, motion, immersive experience).

Complex identities, intersectionality and research approaches in millennial family caregivers in the United States.

A discussion of the personal and social contexts for Millennial family caregivers and the value of including complex identity and intersectionality in Millennial family caregiving research with practical application. Discussion paper. This discussion paper is based on our own experiences and supported by literature and theory. Millennial family caregivers have distinct generational, historical and developmental experiences that contribute to the care they provide as well as their own well-being. Complex identity, the integration of multiple identities, and intersectionality, systems and structures that disempower and oppress individuals with multiple identities, need to be addressed in nursing research so intervention tailoring and health equity can be better supported in this population. From research conceptualization and design to data analysis, data must be used intentionally to promote equity and reduce bias. The inclusion of diverse Millennial caregivers throughout all stages of the research process and having a diverse nursing research workforce will support these efforts. Millennial family caregivers comprise one-quarter of the family caregiving population in the United States, and they are more diverse than previous family caregiving generational cohorts. Their needs will be more fully supported by nursing scientists with the adoption of methods and techniques that address complex identity and intersectionality. Nursing researchers can use the following research approaches to address complex identity and intersectionality in Millennial caregivers: inclusion of qualitative demographic data collection (participants can self-describe); data disaggregation; data visualization techniques to augment or replace frequencies and descriptive statistics for demographic reporting; use of researcher reflexivity throughout the research process; advanced statistical modelling techniques that can handle complex demographic data and test for interactions and differential effects of health outcomes; and qualitative approaches such as phenomenology that centre the stories and experiences of individuals within the population of interest.

Student Agency for Sustainability in a Systemic PBL Environment

To respond to the challenges posed by sustainability, students increasingly need new competencies, including systems thinking, critical thinking, anticipatory thinking, integrated problem-solving competence, collaboration, and self-awareness. While the literature predominantly focuses on students’ knowledge and awareness of sustainability, attention to students’ enactment of agency to develop such competencies for sustainability remains insufficient. The present study explores university students’ perceptions of their enactment of agency for sustainability while studying in a systemic problem- and project-based learning (PBL) environment. Driven by a proposed conceptual framework embracing three interrelated dimensions of student agency—personal values, agentic behaviors, and contexts of action—the study included an analysis of 87 responses to an online qualitative survey and follow-up interviews with six participants. While the study identified multiple sources of student agency regarding personal values such as motivation and efficacy beliefs, a gap emerged between students’ awareness and their actual engagement in sustainability practices. Several contextual factors were shown to constrain their engagement. The study offers practical implications for supporting students’ actions towards sustainability.

Comparison of Huang Zongxi and Thomas More’s Political Philosophies Contents, Effects and Respective Backgrounds

In both Renaissance England and the transition period from Ming to Qing in China, a wave of governmental idealism emerged that constantly evoked scholarly interests. The extent to which Huang Zongxi and Thomas More defined their state idealism differently deserves serious consideration, as an examination of the difference may shed light on the fundamental Sino-European divergences. I hope my work will not only shed light on the two men's thoughts, but also help to further our understanding of civilizational differences between China and the West. In previous research, Huang Zongxi had been widely compared with the French thinker Rousseau. According to some, these two men lived in the same “breath”, with Huang being the “Chinese Rousseau”. This widely held perception, however, is mistaken in several ways. Huang’s work Waiting for the Dawn should not be seen as mere critiques against imperial china, but as a blueprint for a Chinese version of Utopia. Instead of emphasizing the revolutionary elements in Huang’s work as in most previous research, this paper focuses on its continuation with traditional Confucian thoughts, noting key convergences. Thomas More’s Utopia, on the other hand, offered an ideal example for comparison. With similar historical and personal contexts, I believed Huang and More reflected civilizational difference between pre-modern China and Europe. While China and the West slid gradually into hostility and distrust, it is an important task for scholars to examine their respective political traditions. This essay aims to compare Huang Zongxi’s Waiting for the Dawn with Thomas More’s Utopia, noting both convergences and divergences.

Older Adults Living in Disadvantaged Areas: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Baseline Study on Homes, Quality of Life, and Participation in Transitioning Neighborhoods.

BackgroundSwedish policy states that older adults should be able to age safely with continued independence and lead active lives. However, this plays out differently in different Swedish municipalities depending upon degree of demographic change, globalization, and urbanization. Internationally, older adults living in disadvantaged areas have worse physical and mental health, activity restrictions, and reduced life expectancy. In Sweden, research on how disadvantaged areas impact older adults’ quality of life is virtually nonexistent. We argue that disadvantaged areas exist in both urban and rural contexts.ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate how older adults’ homes and neighborhoods influence their community participation, quality of life, identity, and belonging in urban and rural disadvantaged areas in Sweden, and how these person–context dynamics are experienced by older adults in transitioning neighborhoods.MethodsThe study has a mixed methods design and includes 3 phases. Adults 65 years and older living in certain urban and rural disadvantaged areas in the south of Sweden will be included. Phase 1 is an interview study in which qualitative data are collected on neighborhood attachment, identity, and belonging through semistructured interviews and photo-elicitation interviews with 40 subjects. A variety of qualitative data analysis procedures are used. In phase 2, a survey study will be conducted to explore associations between observable and self-rated aspects of housing and neighborhood (physical, social, and emotional), participation, and quality of life; 400 subjects will be recruited and added to the 40 phase-1 subjects for a total of 440. The survey will include standardized measures and study-specific questions. Survey data will be analyzed with mainstream statistical analyses and structural equation modeling to understand the interactions between quality of life, home and neighborhood factors, and sociodemographic factors. In phase 3, the integration study, survey data from the 40 participants who participated in both data collections will be analyzed together with qualitative data with a mixed methods analysis approach.ResultsAs of the submission of this protocol (August 2022), recruitment for the interview study is complete (N=39), and 267 participants have been recruited and have completed data collection in the survey study. We expect recruitment and data collection to be finalized by December 2022.ConclusionsWith an increasing proportion of older adults, an increasing number of disadvantaged areas, and an increasing dependency ratio in more than 50% of Swedish municipalities, these municipalities are transforming and becoming increasingly segregated. This study will add unique knowledge on what it is like to be older in a disadvantaged area and deepen knowledge on housing and health dynamics in later life. Further, the design of the current study will allow future follow-up studies to facilitate longitudinal analysis (if funding is granted) on aging in a transforming societal context.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/41255

Factors influencing implementation of assistive technology services for older adults from the perspectives of Thai occupational therapists: a mixed methods study

Purpose Occupational therapists are crucial in providing assistive technology (AT) services for older adults. However, evidence has shown limited provision of such services in Thailand. This study aimed to investigate the factors that influence the implementation of AT services for older adults from the perspectives of Thai occupational therapists. Methods An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was guided by the measurement instrument for determinants of innovations and literature review. This study was conducted in two phases: quantitative and qualitative. During the quantitative phase, an adapted version of the Measurement Instrument for Determinants of Innovations was administered to 96 occupational therapists (OTs). A subsample of 5 OTs completed a semi-structured interview during the qualitative phase to explain the findings in the quantitative one. Results Factors were categorized into three sections: personal, organizational and socio-political context levels. At the personal level, integrating knowledge and experience could contribute to awareness and professional competency. Client satisfaction influenced OTs to utilize AT, based on a client centred manner. With coordinator and performance feedback within the organization, OTs indicated that consultants supported them in their decision-making. In contrast, availability of AT for older adults is determined by time and resources. Moreover, at the socio-political context level, legislation and regulations may permit or prohibit accessibility of assistive devices. Conclusion In order to address current challenges, education or training programmes are needed to increase the awareness and competence of OTs. In addition, collaboration with other professionals in community settings is necessary to improve access to AT services. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION AT service for older adults is limited by the availability of time and resources. To handle with these challenges, occupational therapists could advocate for village health volunteers to be a part of the AT services for older adults in the community to increase AT accessibility for older adults. Additional education or training programs should be developed to build competencies and increase occupational therapists’ awareness of providing AT services to older adults, as well as to strengthen their roles in AT services. Future research and health policies should focus on access to sufficient funding, and resources for occupational therapists relative to their role in implementing AT services.

Negotiating the impact of international experiences on professional identity development: A case study of Chinese college English teachers.

This study traced changes in Chinese college English teachers’ professional identities as a result of participating in international professional development programs and examined how the teachers negotiated their professional identities upon return to China. Five college English teachers with at least 10 months of overseas professional development experience took part in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and relevant documents. It was found that international experiences had a great impact on the teachers’ professional identity construction by empowering them to develop multiple identities as language teaching professionals, university academics, and change agents. The teachers’ reconstruction of professional identities upon return to China was not a linear and smooth process. It was a dynamic process of negotiating with the constraints of the personal and professional contexts to which the teachers returned. The study sheds light on the identity development of internationally trained language teachers and contributes to a deeper understanding of the impact of international experiences on the professional development of second language teachers in similar contexts. It has implications for study abroad programs and for home institutions about how to support the long-term professional development of returnee teachers.

The ubiquity of uncertainty in low back pain care

Despite clinicians being important actors in the context of uncertainty, their experiences navigating uncertainty remain largely unexplored. Drawing on a theory-driven post-qualitative approach, we used Mol's logic of choice/care as a lens through which we made sense of interviews with 22 clinicians who work with patients who experience low back pain (LBP). Our analysis suggests that uncertainty is ubiquitous in LBP care and not limited to particular domains. Clinicians navigated uncertainty when considering patients' personal and social contexts; making therapeutic decisions; navigating emotions and mental health; communicating with, and educating, patients, among others. These uncertainties are intertwined with clinical aspects such as treatment choices and evidence-based education about LBP. At times, clinicians resolved these uncertainties by producing certainty at the cost of attending to human aspects of care. We argue that epistemic shifts, theorisation and practical engagement with theory in training, research and clinical practice may prompt clinicians to embrace uncertainty and enact the logic of care.