Voice Perspective Research Articles

9 “The Child's Voice”: Perceptions of Healthcare Systems for Children Aged 8-12 Referred for Neurobehavioural Concerns: A Focus Group Study

Abstract Background Providing children with a voice to tell their story and to fully participate in the plan of care has not been commonly reported in the literature. Paediatric health assessments traditionally rely on caregiver opinions and the interpretation of the child’s view rather than the child’s first voice perspective. Objectives This study focused on the experiences of children seeing a paediatrician primarily for neurobehavioural issues, such as autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study was designed to provide children with the opportunity to share their thoughts directly rather than through a caregiver. Design/Methods This study, approved by the Horizon Health Network Research Ethics Board, used a qualitative design. 11 children between 8-12 years of age were recruited. These children were interviewed across three focus groups conducted using a semi-structured approach. The interview questions focused on emotions and opinions surrounding their care. Discussions were primarily led by the children. Focus groups were transcribed and analyzed using the six phases of inductive thematic analysis. Results Three overarching themes were identified: trust, boredom, and resolution (Figure 1). Trusting in their parent’s ability to communicate for them and regarding the doctor as an expert appeared as two subthemes. Children also reported feeling substantial levels of boredom at appointments, although “missing school” and “getting a treat” were reported as positives. Despite these feelings of boredom, many children expressed that the doctor provided them with a feeling of change or resolution, and that their visits were addressing their problems and needs.​ They also report disagreement may be perceived as being ungrateful for the help. Overall, children felt trust in their physician and parental intentions, along wit feeling positive about results. However, children’s views of their care are possibly influenced by the belief that decisions will be made for them, regardless of their voice. When children disagree with care, they may not voice this because of possibly perceived negative consequences. Conclusion Children must have a voice to ensure that we meet them ‘where they are’ as care providers and make goals and plans tailored to their needs, regardless of parent or physician bias or opinion. This is a cornerstone to upholding the Rights of the Child and ensuring patient-centred care. ​

Theorising the potential of physical education and school sport to support the educational engagement, transitions and outcomes of care‐experienced young people

AbstractMuch research highlights the potential of physical education and school sport (PESS) to provide personal, social and educational benefits for young people. As such, it is suggested that PESS contexts could be particularly relevant to pupils who might be considered marginalised or ‘at risk’—including care‐experienced young people—affording opportunities to gain skills, connections and experiences to aid a positive educational trajectory. This paper presents findings from an empirical project that explored the role of sport/physical activity within the day‐to‐day lives of care‐experienced young people in England. A participatory methodology, underpinned by a youth voice perspective, was employed to generate data via semi‐structured, activity‐based focus groups with care‐experienced young people (aged 8–21 years) and via narrative interviews with care leavers (aged 23–32 years). Data were analysed using inductive and deductive procedures in a process also informed by the work of Bourdieu. Drawing on data related specifically to PESS contexts, this paper looks to theorise the potential of PESS to support the educational engagement, transitions and outcomes of care‐experienced young people. It demonstrates how this context can support the acquisition of physical, social and cultural capital, which can both facilitate engagement and support personal outcomes. In addition, it documents how social support provided within/through PESS can be promotive of positive transitions into further and higher education contexts. As such, it can be recognised as a valuable site within the educational landscape for care‐experienced young people.

Unresolved conflicts and suspended ethics: Reading “The Monster” from the perspective of voice

Abstract This article draws on rhetorical narrative theory and makes a case for Stephen Crane’s employment of the resource voice to communicate the naturalistic theme of “The Monster”. It argues that by modulating voices on different communicative tracks, the author invites us to recognize two pairs of conflicting forces: one of free will and external forces that shows in the causes of Henry’s and Trescott’s heroic acts, and the other of individual agency and collective identity that characterizes the narrative’s engagement with Whilomville. It is my view that the author invites readers to share his naturalistic outlook and refrain from making conclusive ethical judgments on the characters and the community. For readers, attending to the synthesis of tone, style, and values in utterances helps with inferring the author’s rhetorical purposes. To this end, the article also considers Crane’s biographical information and newspaper sketches, calling for the inclusion of contextual and intertextual matters in rhetorical criticism.

Multiculturalism through a lens: migrants’ voice in Taiwanese documentaries

ABSTRACT This study contributes to research into multiculturalism and Taiwan’s public discourse on marriage migrants, arguing for the everyday as a site for inquiry into cultural negotiations, hybridity and homemaking in multicultural societies. It analyses two documentaries—My Imported Bride (2003) and Out/Marriage (2012) from the perspective of voice, defined as the filmmaker’s way of seeing the world. It explores migrants’ ownership of their narratives and inhabited spaces and assesses whether the documentaries grant a voice to migrants, speaking with rather than for them. These films show that migrants have already gained a formalized representational space in Taiwan’s public discourse. The narrative power remains with the directors, and their framing of migrants accommodates Taiwanese audiences’ expectations, but in different ways. The earlier documentary successfully showcases typical problems underlying brokered marriages and obstacles in adapting to a new living environment. The more recent film employs discursive categories established by official multiculturalism policies, NGO-led activism, and previous media representations, which echo existing migrant-related stereotypes. Nevertheless, this film, directed by a migrant, also uses visual and auditory strategies that open a window onto migrants’ intimate physical and social home spaces in Vietnam. Thus, it builds potential for alternative representations that can counteract the risk of othering migrants and solidifying ethnic and cultural boundaries, posed by representational categories coming from hegemonic sources.

The influence of leader humor on employee creativity: from the perspective of employee voice.

Creativity is a primary factor in driving transformational change. This study explored the impact of leader humor on employee creativity (incremental and radical creativity) from the perspective of employee voice. Data were collected from 812 Chinese employees through multipoint surveys. Through the surveys, we found that (1) leader humor has a significant positive effect on employee incremental and radical creativity; (2) promotive/prohibitive voice mediates the relationship between leader humor and employee incremental/radical creativity separately; (3) contradictory thinking moderates the effect of leader humor on prohibitive voice and further moderates the indirect effect of leader humor on radical creativity; and (4) the moderated mediation model mainly applies to state-owned enterprises rather than private-owned enterprises. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

“Some voluntarily and some under pressure”: Conceptualization, reasons, attitudes, and consequences of sexting among adolescents

Sexting has become another form of intimate communication in the digital society in which we live, not only for adults but also for adolescents. Therefore, this study aims to explore adolescents' perspectives on the definition of sexting, reasons for engaging, or not, in it, attitudes towards this phenomenon and its possible consequences. Focus groups conducted with 57 adolescents aged 15–19 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia highlight sexting as a complex phenomenon in which consent is central to understanding it. Adolescents point to sexual gratification and pressure as the most frequent reasons for sending erotic-sexual content, and harming another person and ending a relationship as the most frequent reasons for forwarding without consent. Most of the attitudes reported towards sexting are rejectionist or neutral but, in fact, they are in line with the logic of positive attitudes. Moreover, they denote a high awareness of the possible consequences, both positive and negative. These findings substantially expand knowledge for addressing sexting in psychoeducational programmes by considering the perspective and experience of adolescents' own voice.

The voice lessons

In this text I invite you to join me in a series of voice lessons, where I shares stories from my embodied experiences as a soprano, teacher, and researcher in the Western sociocultural context of singing. If you are expecting a traditional voice lesson, of ‘How to sing, 1, 2, 3’ you might be disappointed. But, if you are interested in how voicing (auto)ethnographies might be one way of producing, analyzing, and representing voice, I will happily dive into the voice lessons with you. For me, writing stories has become a way of knowing as a researcher, as through my writing I was able to discover new perspectives of voice – ultimately allowing me space to rethink notions of voice. Through the voice lessons I show how I zigzag through the worlds of the material voice and theoretical-philosophical-‘academic’ voice, guided by new materialism and performative autoethnography. My voice lessons can be seen as a performative utterance, which rests on the belief in the embodiment and the materiality of the writing body, an open-ended way of (re)thinking voice. Voice lessons for singing voices and academic voices.

Neonatal Bartter syndrome diagnosed by rapid genomics following low risk pre-conception carrier screening.

Advances in the speed and accessibility of genomic sequencing are broadening the application of this technology to rapid, acute care diagnostics and pre‐conception carrier screening. In both circumstances, genetic counselling plays a critical role in preparing couples for the strengths and limitations of the testing. For pre‐conception carrier screening in particular, it is important that parents and clinicians are aware that even in the absence of an identified risk for recessive disease, a baby with a genetic condition may still be conceived. As an example, we present the genomic journey of a couple who underwent pre‐conception carrier screening and following a low‐risk result, delivered a baby boy who was diagnosed with Type 1 Bartter syndrome. Ultra‐rapid, post‐natal, trio whole genome sequencing resolved both parents as carriers of pathogenic variants in SLC12A1, a gene not included in the original pre‐conception screening panel. This family's story highlights (i) the intricacy of gene selection for pre‐conception screening panels, (ii) the benefits of high‐quality pre‐test genetic counselling in supporting families through adverse genomic findings and (iii) the role rapid genomics can play in resolving uncertainty for families and clinicians in circumstances where suspicion of genetic disease exists. This article is accompanied by a Patient Voice perspective written by the child's parents, placing emphasis on the essential role genetic counselling played in their journey.

Conditions for Success: Indigenous Youth Reflections on Their Experiences with Canadian Education Systems

This paper brings forward the reflections of 30 Indigenous youth from across Canada and their first voice perspectives with Canadian education systems. A central component of the project was to obtain youths’ understandings of education in Canada and to seek their recommendations on ways to improve education for Indigenous youth. Accessing Indigenous youths’ experiences is important as their capacities to have successful and equitable educational experiences are strongly hindered by colonial settler policy and systemic institutional racism. Indigenous scholars have appealed for changes to education systems with a focus on challenging colonial relations of power and the multiple oppressions Indigenous youth experience when educated under Eurocentric practices. Our methodological framework is located within a relational paradigm as a mechanism to ignite dialogue and prioritize Indigenous voices in education. Our building of relations began with a sharing circle held at our Mount Saint Vincent University’s Wigwaum. Our Indigenous colleague and co-author, Jonathon MeDrano, explains how sharing circles provide equitable opportunities for people to share their ideas and respective worldviews. We then facilitated reflective journaling workshops with the youth. The young people’s reflections in this paper identify the compelling need to address systemic racism, stereotypes, and to challenge normative and colonizing structures that generate discrimination. Moreover, the young people soundly indicated that education systems in Canada require much larger integrations of Indigenous ways of knowing and being in all aspects of delivery (i.e. language, culture, Indigenous teachings), including more Indigenous counsellors to support their mental well-being.

How Information Advantage Influences Employee Voice Behavior

Although information is the premise of voice, the role of information plays in voice literature is less understood. In this study, we introduce the concept of voicer information advantage over peers to explore how information functions in the context of voice. Specifically, by incorporating the perspectives of self-interest behavior and voice as a planned behavior theory, we propose that employees possessing voice-related information advantage over their peers are motivated to voice by expected benefits brought to themselves. Moreover, this effect is particularly likely to exist in a cooperative rather than competitive team. An experiment employing a scenario task was designed to test our hypotheses. Data from 135 participants supported our hypotheses. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Can the Gandharvas Speak?: A Study of Gandharva Songs

In the social context of Nepal, Gandharvas are regarded as Dalits, the people who are suppressed and silenced by the society. Such subaltern groups are thought to have no voice. They are considered ‘muted’ or ‘inarticulate’ without any agency, consciousness and power of resistance. However, breaking such boundaries, the present research aims at exploring the voices of Gandharvas expressed through their folk songs, which express their real subaltern condition and a sense of dissatisfaction towards the mechanism of society constructed and controlled by the elites. For this, some of the representative folk songs are taken and viewed from the perspective of subaltern voice, consciousness, resistance and agency developed by Antonio Gramsci, Ranjit Guha, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Partha Chatterjee and Gautam Bhadra. With the thorough analysis of their songs, it is inferred that although they are deprived of any rank and recognition in the mainstream Nepali society, they have clearly expressed their voices as well as manifested consciousness, reflecting their real life experiences marked by domination, marginalization and suppression. The manifestation of such consciousness and expression of inner voice is also used as an instrument to subvert the hegemony constructed by the complacent upper class of the society.

Flâneur or Choraster: A Review of the Travel Narrator In the Formation of the Tourist Experience

Media representations of destinations play a powerful role in tourism appeal. The narrator assumes a role infused with knowledge and power, employing discourse to describe and interpret places and people to entice armchair audiences to not only travel vicariously alongside them, but to follow in their footsteps. This review article uses the English actor and writer Michael Palin to examine this phenomenon through the lens of the flâneur and choraster. Palin's travels have traditionally been viewed based on their ability to create space from the perspective of a representational voice of authority. In the present article, we wish to ask whether the power of the travel narrator for tourism is perhaps better expressed in their ability to develop a counter (or chora discourse), one where we are able to see space as locally contested. Palin's narrator expresses appreciation of his reliance on the people (chora) that inhabit the spaces he visits. His narrations of travel evidence how the flâneur perspective is influenced (and/or disrupted) by a chora in two ways—that which influences the perspective before travel and directs the gaze, and those that occupy and inscribe meaning on the spaces that are traveled to, that influences and/or forms experience.

Reaching out, welcoming in: First Voice perspectives on the characteristics of welcoming recreation settings and programs

ABSTRACT Opportunities for meaningful involvement in one’s community, such as in recreation settings, are considered integral to wellbeing. This research employed an adapted Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach to identify the characteristics of welcoming and inclusive recreation environments, from the perspectives of people living with mental health challenges. Data were collected through four focus groups and seven go-along interviews, where a researcher engaged with a research participant in a setting that the participant identified as welcoming, and then discussed the experience in an interview. While participants valued community recreation, they described encountering significant challenges and barriers in accessing community recreation settings and programs. Further, they felt that both mental-health specific and integrated recreation settings contributed to social inclusion, although in different ways. Supportive people and places, embedded opportunities for socialization, flexibility, inclusive leaders, and supports to feel prepared contributed to the sense that a recreation setting was welcoming and inclusive.

An Affordance Approach to EHRM-Based Employee Voice Outcomes

While employee voice found its way in a range of contemporary human resource manage-ment (HRM) approaches, the interplays between employee voice and information technology (IT) and their outcomes for employees remains scarcely researched. We study CompanyMirror (CM), an eHRM system allowing employees to report their work satisfaction via mini-surveys and make anonymous comments at frequent intervals. The intended outcome of CM is empowering employees to suggest improvements and participate in organizational change. Through an affordance lens on qualitative data from three case studies, we investigate how the intended em-powering outcomes inscribed in CM actually unfold within different organizational contexts. Our analysis shows that a dynamic interplay between communicative and epistemic affordances and constraints as well as several contextual factors on the individual and organizational level lead to empowering but also disempowering voice outcomes, with the system’s materiality and manage-rial accountability playing the most crucial role. The article adds to a context-sensitive perspective of employee voice and its outcomes.

3572 The Flint Community’s Action Plan to Rebuild Trust and Encourage Resiliency During the Post Water Crisis Phase

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: o To review the community’s recommendations on how to rebuild trust in the Flint community. o To review effective community engagement strategies utilized with the Flint Special Projects for project conceptualization, participant recruitment, data analysis, project oversight, and dissemination. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The study population includes nearly two hundred residents representing seniors, youth and diverse ethnicities recruited to participate in eleven focus group meetings. The population also represents the general public who attended informational meetings in Flint, Michigan to learn about the crisis and allow residents to voice their opinions and concerns during the onset of the crisis. The project is a mixed methods community based participatory research effort that utilized community decision making in all phases of the effort such as pre-conception, implementation, dissemination and advocacy to encourage the community’s recommendations are adopted at policy and institutional responsiveness levels. It includes three community engaged research efforts: (project 1) A qualitative analysis of community sentiment provided during 17 recorded legislative, media and community events, and (projects 2-3) two mixed methods efforts utilizing purposive sampling of stakeholders whose voice may not have been heard. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The project presents a qualitative analysis of the community’s voice during the onset of the man-made disaster when the community first became aware of the emergency manager’s plans to switch the water source. It also reflects current perspectives of community voice since the projects are scheduled to end late February 2019. Findings from a trust measure administered to nearly two hundred residents will be presented, along with a qualitative analysis of focus group findings among segments of the population (seniors, youth, and diverse ethnicities) who may have been left out of narratives on the water crisis. Finally, the project will compare empowerment and resiliency approaches being utilized in Flint, Michigan to recover from the disaster with other approaches grounded in literature and theory. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Communities of color often experience social determinants of health which negatively impact their health, well-being and human rights. Some Flint citizens are experiencing negative health consequences (i.e., rashes, brain and behavioral sequelle, fertility, etc.) as a result of the disaster, and are uncertain of health outcomes in the future. This is the first project to rigorously document and analyze levels of trust and mistrust in the city of Flint since the water disaster occurred. The qualitative research will guide future clinical research that will benefit this traumatized community experiencing high levels of mistrust (i.e., government, elected officials, etc.). The community engaged methodology involved residents and study participants in all phases of the project including project oversight, validating and analyzing data, and dissemination. This methodology will contribute to existing literature and theory on community based participatory research, community engaged research, team science and citizen science. The approaches empowered a call to action among residents, for example, seniors who attended two senior focus group sessions shared “they are hopeful and have a purpose,” resulting in the creation of a council (with officers) at their housing complex to advocate for the well-being of seniors during the recovery process. Recruitment methodologies were extremely successful due to resident level trust in community leaders and community partner organizations. Finally, the project’s examination of approaches encouraging empowerment and resiliency will provide lessons learned for other communities challenged with crisis.

Deepening Partnerships through Co-Leadership: Integrating First Voice Perspectives into the Recreation for Mental Health (R4MH) Project

With a common goal of increasing social inclusion through collaboration between the mental health and recreation sectors, the Recreation for Mental Health Project was a partnership between Dalhousie University, Recreation Nova Scotia, and the local Canadian Mental Health Association branch.Aims: Central to this project was the meaningful involvement of individuals with First Voice perspectives—in this case, people with lived experience of mental health challenges. This paper describes key strategies used to privilege First Voice perspectives throughout this project.Methods: The strategies included (a) advisory committee membership, (b) arts-based activities, (c) community-based research, and (d) co-leadership in project dissemination.Findings and conclusion: Initial strategies related to the project’s overall direction and research activities culminated in shared dissemination activities that fostered co-leadership. This co-leadership created the opportunity to intentionally discuss the challenges and facilitators of partnerships between people with First Voice experience and researchers throughout the project.Significance: This intentional process of exploring multiple perspectives bridged notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’, cultivating a sense of solidarity across shared experiences of exclusion and agency. Key principles related to relationships, multiple identities, and power-sharing are synthesized.

Listening to the voices of young children in a nurture class

ABSTRACTThe inclusion of the student perspective in helping to promote more effective learning, engagement and positive behaviour is becoming increasingly evident in both educational research and school and classroom practice. Giving students the opportunity to have a meaningful and influential voice enhances both the teaching and learning processes, impacting both academic and social behaviours. The student voice perspective is also making inroads into the area of special educational needs, where children are participating more actively in their own assessment and individual educational plans. This paper presents the findings of a project in a nurture class (NC) in Malta which sought to capture the views of the pupils attending NCs. Through a child friendly, qualitative approach young children were given the opportunity to discuss and express their feelings and thoughts of what it means for them to be a pupil in a NC in primary school. The paper presents the themes which emerged from a thematic analysis of children’s voices during semi-structured group interviews and collaborative mapping and poster design, and concludes with suggestions on how the NC may operate as a more child friendly space at the school.

Shooting from the Hip: A Habit Perspective of Voice

Research on voice has traditionally employed a deliberative perspective, whereby individuals engage in careful calculation of individual and situational factors to determine whether to speak up. In...

The role and function of the spokesperson in care order proceedings: A cross-country study in Finland and Norway

The article explores the spokesperson's role and function when representing children in care order proceedings in Norway and Finland. The Norwegian and Finnish child welfare systems share many similarities in international comparisons – they both have a family-service approach with a strong recognition of children's rights – but they have established quite different ways of representing children in care order proceedings via spokespersons. Based on the analysis of legislation and interviews with experienced spokespersons, we claim that the Norwegian spokesperson system represents the child's voice perspective and the Finnish system both the child's voice perspective and the child's best interest perspective. Although both child welfare systems have high ambitions to involve children in care order proceedings, the role of the spokesperson still needs to be paid a lot of attention in order to meet those high ambitions.

A photo voice perspective on factors contributing to the resilience of HIV positive Yoruba adolescent girls in Nigeria

There is a growing discourse worldwide on the impact of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) on “at risk youths”. In response, five HIV-positive Nigerian adolescent girls were qualitatively investigated in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Ibadan, an urban settlement in Nigeria in 2013. Using a secondary data analysis from a photo voice component of the research, combined with narratives, we show that participants possess the capacity to overcome their adversities from the effects of HIV infection and remain resilient. Few studies have used photovoice − a visual participatory approach − and its impact on this group. The theories of Bourdieu, Piaget and Erikson were used as tools to interpret and document, resilience, social capital and coping among participants. Findings reveal participants frame positive goals, use social competence, coping skills, and express personal challenges. These have serious implications for policy makers, researchers and programmer in strengthening adolescents' resilience.