Phenomenological Focus Research Articles

Analysis of pedagogy focusing on Van Manen's qualitative research method of phenomenology

The objective of present study is analyzing the knowledge fundamentals of qualitative research method of phenomenology focusing on Van Manen viewpoint on pedagogy. Results indicated that phenomenology as a qualitative research method attempts an individual to clear the meaning and concept of a phenomenon in his life by removing some layers of influencing, moral, intellectual, social and cultural factors that he faces. Phenomenologist researcher using phenomenological elements and stages for understanding the pedagogical researches instead of detecting the unknowns seeks for presenting an unclear and implicit meaning of a phenomenon in consideration of truth and reality of that phenomenon.

Transformational Learning: Teaching Strategies that Promote Advocacy in Social Justice and Not-for-Profit Leadership

Social work education's field work, or signature pedagogy, provides an opportunity for students to take abstract knowledge and learned practice skills and integrate them in a real world setting. This field education has been criticized for neglecting several key components of the learning process. These components include social work management competencies, field experience in gaining such competencies, and developing leadership in not-for-profit agencies. In response, one program developed an in-house practicum in which the student intern serves as executive director in a social welfare club designed to mimic the organizational structure of a not-for-profit agency. This study examines, through a phenomenological focus, the transformational experiences of students serving their field placements in such a position, and examines the social welfare club's potential as a tool in social work education.

The Private Militarized and Security Contractor as Geocorporeal Actor

As a consequence of the ontological and epistemological traditions dominating the private military and security company literature to date, the embodied dimensions of the industry have been overlooked. The current article addresses this lacuna through a phenomenological focus on the links between military corporeal conditioning, possibilities for the industry's emergence, and the impact of contractors on security. I develop the concept of geocorporeality to make explicit the geopolitical relevance of security contractors' military trained bodies. The article concludes by drawing out the implications of this embodied line of enquiry for questions of contractor accountability and agent intentionality.

On the Importance of National Culture for the Design of Information Systems

In this contribution a literature review is conducted to illustrate how national culture influences phases of the design of information systems. For this purpose, we review the literature in order to identify reliable and commonly approved findings as well as still open remaining questions. Fundamentally, our literature review is a comprehensive framework that sets typical dimensions of system design as well as main types of cultural research in relation to each other. The existing research results in the area of national culture are classified along the levels of system design and attributed to typical phases of the design of information systems. It thus becomes apparent that in the domain of culture and information system design it is often only the design subject or the design object that is addressed. Contributions that connect both levels rarely exist. In our review, only a limited number of publications could be identified that covered concrete phases of the development providing system design, implementation, as well as verification and validation. From a theoretical perspective, there is an obvious dominance of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions that well address single topics of the design, such as user interface and inter cultural problems in development teams. Other domains, however (e.g., technology and architecture), are inadequately explained. Further, a predominantly phenomenological focus becomes obvious. The observed cultural phenomena and the connected interpretations are usable in a limited way for concrete development initiatives. The contribution ends with the vision of a theory for the culturally sensitive design of socio-technical information systems that absorbs current scientific knowledge and unites it in a structured approach.

Die Bedeutung von nationaler Kultur für die Gestaltung von Informationssystemen

In this contribution a literature review is conducted to illustrate how national culture influences phases of the design of information systems. For this purpose, we review the literature in order to identify reliable and commonly approved findings as well as still open remaining questions. Fundamentally, our literature review is a comprehensive framework that sets typical dimensions of system design as well as main types of cultural research in relation to each other. The existing research results in the area of national culture are classified along the levels of system design and attributed to typical phases of the design of information systems. It thus becomes apparent that in the domain of culture and information system design it is often only the design subject or the design object that is addressed. Contributions that connect both levels rarely exist. In our review, only a limited number of publications could be identified that covered concrete phases of the development providing system design, implementation, as well as verification and validation. From a theoretical perspective, there is an obvious dominance of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions that well address single topics of the design, such as user interface and inter cultural problems in development teams. Other domains, however (e.g., technology and architecture), are inadequately explained. Further, a predominantly phenomenological focus becomes obvious. The observed cultural phenomena and the connected interpretations are usable in a limited way for concrete development initiatives. The contribution ends with the vision of a theory for the culturally sensitive design of socio technical information systems that absorbs current scientific knowledge and unites it in a structured approach.

Nursing teachers in clinical training areas: a phenomenological focus

During theoretical and practical activities in clinical training areas, nursing teachers provide the bases needed for the development of future professionals. The goal is to understand the experience of nursing teachers with nursing students in clinical training areas. Therefore, a phenomenological qualitative method was chosen, and Martin Heidegger's philosophical framework was used to support data analysis. Five faculty from a Chilean university participated in the study. The analysis permitted discovering the following themes: being a faculty at the hospital, contact with nurse practitioners and being a faculty in care teaching. The study demonstrated that teaching/care integration is a constructive element that facilitates the teaching and learning process, aiming to prepare nursing professionals who incorporate the bases of authentic care into their activities.

Cognitive Relational Therapy

Content and FocusThis paper describes the development of Cognitive Relational Therapy (CRT), a method of working therapeutically at the intersection between Beck’s Cognitive Therapy and Rogers’ Person-Centred Approach (PCA).ConclusionsSeven arguments are suggested as to how Cognitive Therapy and the Person-Centred Approach intersect. It is posited that: (1) both are meta-theories; (2) there are similarities between the concepts of schema and conditions of worth; (3) the aim or process of therapy in both orientations is to shift the schemata/conditions of worth; (4) both work through the relationship; (5) it is argued that both include a phenomenological focus on client experience; (6) both models are developmental; and (7) both are social constructivist.

Factores que influyen en la elección de los estudios de enfermería

Objective To explore the factors that influenced first year students in their choice of nursing studies. Method Qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study with a phenomenological focus carried out in 2009 in the Vall d’Hebron University Nursing School (EUIVH). Semi-structured, individual, guided in-depth interviews were used. The study population was made up of students registered for the first year of the course. Results The factors influencing the decision to take a degree in nursing are numerous, with no single factor appearing as dominant. However, aspects such as personal contacts in the healthcare world, the duration of the course and expectations in the employment market are those considered as motivators for the choice. Contact with the theoretical content of the course positively changed students’ perceptions with respect to the professional role and to increase loyalty among those who did not put nursing in first place. Conclusions Nursing is one of the most solicited university degrees. The absence of a clear determining factor in choosing it, as well as the complexity of the caring profession, and the possible use of this degree as a way in to other preferred courses make continuity in professional practice difficult. The question arises as to whether interventions to minimise the lack of professionals in the field should be aimed at those factors that are positive for choosing these courses, or at those that influence the later abandonment of the profession.

Not being under sedation is to know that you are alive

Objective: to describe the patients experience of being under mechanic ventilation without continuous sedation effects in the Intensive Care Units (ICU).
 Methodology: qualitative study with phenomenological focus, performed during the year of 2006 in the city of Rionegro Antioquia, Colombia. Depth interviews were conducted to six men and three women who had all the physical and mental conditions to participate in the study aging between 24 and 48 years old.
 Results: not being under sedation during the ICU stance was associated by the patients with a lower severity of the disease and death risk: being awake allowed them to participate in their own disease process and help with the treatment.
 Conclusion: the participant patients valued positively the experience of being under mechanicventilation without the sedation effects.

Adaptive foragers and community ecology: linking individuals to communities and ecosystems

Adaptive foragers and community ecology: linking individuals to communities and ecosystems

THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT, A PLACE TO BE ALONE


 Objective: to describe the patients meaning of the experience of being hospitalized in an ICU. 
 Methodology: research study with phenomenological focus of nine mature people between 24 and 80 years of age who were critically sick and hospitalized in an ICU. The in- depth interview and non participant observation were the techniques for gathering information. The data were analyzed according to the outline proposed by Cohen, Kahan and Steeves. The study was carried out in Medellín, Colombia from April to October, 2006. 
 Results and discussion: the ICU is a place for loneliness, cold, special odor and silence where words were “absent”, “incomprehensible”, “not for hearing”, “not pronounced” and “agreeable”. The communication was not always adequate and the company was offered by other sick people; besides, patient played a secondary role in front of technology and was necessary to be “good patient”. 
 Conclusions: the hospitalization meant to be alone, isolated of the family, surrounded by other patients and the team of health members whose company sometimes was not enough. Staying in an ICU adds to the suffering during a serious illness

The phenomenological focus group: an oxymoron?

In this paper we explore the congruence of focus group interviews within a phenomenological framework. Focus groups as a research method are popular in nursing. Similarly, phenomenology is a dominant methodology for nurse researchers globally. A number of nurse researchers have combined focus groups and phenomenology, but there are others who argue that they are incompatible. The argument against using focus groups in phenomenological research is that phenomenology seeks essential characteristics or 'essences' of phenomena in a manner that requires an individual to describe their experiences in an 'uncontaminated' way. We recognize that traditionally most phenomenological interviews are conducted with only one interviewer and one respondent, but we question whether this needs to continue. We suggest means by which individual lived experience can be preserved within a group context. We draw on our own experience and the phenomenological literature to argue that focus groups are congruent with phenomenological research and extend this argument further by proposing that group interviews in phenomenology are actually beneficial because they stimulate discussion and open up new perspectives. Our observation is that some researchers who combine focus groups and phenomenology appear to do so uncritically and we argue that this is unacceptable. It is important for nurse researchers to develop critical awareness of the research methodologies and methods they employ. We argue that the phenomenological focus group is not an oxymoron. Rather, the use of focus groups can provide a greater understanding of the phenomenon under study.

MAKE YOURSELF CLEAR: EXPERIENCE FOR SUBMITTED PATIENTS TO MECHANICAL VENTILATION WITHOUT SEDATION SIDE EFFECTS

The mechanical ventilation mechanism is a support method used to safeguard the life of people in a critical state. Traditionally, it has been used in patients under the effects of continuous sedation, which implies a total abstraction of their current situation for the patients; such scenarios afford the patients a traumatic one to wake up, broadly informed in the literature, for the adverse effects of the sedative medications, like the psychological implications that it can cause independent of quality of care. Objective: to describe the different communication forms used for patients whose experience in an intensive critical care unit has involved the mechanical ventilation without continues sedation effects. Methodology: the investigation was carried out with phenomenological focus during 2006 and had the participation of seven men and two women with ages between 24 and 75 years of age. The technique of information gathering was the in-depth interview. Results: The description of each experience allowed understanding of the human being critically sick with an artificial air way as living medium, requesting active ways to be made understood. Conclusion: it demonstrated the importance for the patient to be treated as an active subject by means of the communication with the health personnel and relatives. Many non verbal tools were employed and their contribution brought upon a positive perception of the experience.

Mito: poiésis e narrativa

This article wants to be a discussion on the problem of the myh. Against all of the modern and positivists forecasts, the theme of the myth meets pace in the postmodern idiosyncrasies. Less interested in containing the concerning discussions to what have been understanding as “postmodern”, and more addressed to look for an not reduced and wide understanding on the myth in the contemporary days, this article will try to evidence, through the discussions in the extents of anthropology, philosophy and theology, the character always dynamic and alive of that, which no few times has been a target of hurried and mistaken definitions. Starting from a phenomenological focus, this article will try to evidence the dynamics of the myth starting from two concepts: poiesis and narrative.

Barriers to Depression Treatment in Low-Income, Unmarried, Adolescent Mothers in a Southern, Urban Area of the United States

This study explored barriers to depression treatment in low-income, unmarried, adolescent mothers in a southern, urban area of the United States. The authors utilized a phenomenological approach and focus group methodology. Participants (n = 9) were enrolled in a teen parent program, an option of the public school system. The metaphor of a merry-go-round emerged from the data and represented the ups and downs that the adolescent mothers experience as they struggle to adjust to the role of mother. Their knowledge of postpartum depression and depression treatment occurred in the context of their demographics and their desire to create a family for their baby, their fears, and surprise at the reality of mothering. Childbirth education for adolescent mothers should include information on depression and the process of depression treatment.

The experience of repeated fatherhood during adolescence

Objective to examine how adolescent fathers experience recurring parenthood. Design qualitative study with a social phenomenological focus. Participants five fathers between 16 and 19 years of age, each with two children. Findings the participants perceived themselves as mature, responsible, worried about the care and education of their children, and desiring a secure future life. These factors made them seek employment, their own home, marital stability, construction of a family and return to school. They experienced the ambivalence of desiring one reality and living another, given that, as adolescent parents, they regretted the loss of their freedom. Key conclusions recurring parenthood in adolescence is a complex phenomenon, with many possible perceptions. The diverse experiences depend on the social context that is defined by the wishes, plans, possibilities and meanings of each distinct social class. Implications for practice care delivery to these adolescents should consider not only theoretical and chronobiological aspects, but also the experiences of these young people and the psychosocial and cultural factors involved in their fatherhood.

Translation and semiotic phenomenology: The case for Gilles Deleuze

In this article I draw attention to semiotic phenomenology as a method to advance translation studies. I recover this method first in the works of Ferdinand de Saussure and Edmund Husserl and then present it in two theories of translation: by linguist Roman Jakobson and by philosopher Jacques Derrida. These theories are examined to assert that Jakobson and Derrida share the semiotic phenomenological focus and thus should be considered co-contributors to the semiotic phenomenological method. I also show this method at work in some of the writings by Gilles Deleuze, who makes an explicit contribution to translation theory with his concepts of ‘faciality’, ‘simulacrum’, and ‘transsemiotics’ as well as his insistence on the pragmatic aspect of translation. The latter perspective is considered to be particularly fruitful for those studies of translation that presume its significance at different levels of sociality.

SERIOUS ILLNESS AS OPORTUNITY

Objective: to describe the meaning for gravely ill patients of the hospital experience in an Intensive Care Unit. Methodology: research study with phenomenological focus including nine mature people among 24 and 80 years of age who were critically ill and were hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit. The in depth interview was the technique for gathering the information. The analysis of data was carried according to the outline proposed by Cohen, Kahan and Steeves. The study was carried in Medellín, Colombia from April to October, 2006. Results: a serious illness is an experience in which it is necessary “struggle” to leave the Intensive Care Unit, to return home and recover the freedom to decide. When leaving the patients learn, in the personal, professional and familiar spheres. Discussion: to suffer a serious illness means a situation of were people and their families learn and grow families. Conclusion: suffering a serious illness not only means to face the suffering, but also provides a reason to make decisions regarding the patients´ future life.

Quantum gravity phenomenology without Lorentz invariance violation: a detailed proposal

We describe a scheme for the exploration of quantum gravity phenomenology focusing on effects that could be thought of as arising from a fundamental granularity of spacetime. In contrast with the simplest assumptions, such granularity is assumed to respect Lorentz invariance but is otherwise left unspecified. The proposal is fully observer covariant, it involves non-trivial couplings of curvature to matter fields and leads to a well-defined phenomenology. We present the effective Hamiltonian which could be used to analyze concrete experimental situations, some of which are briefly described, and we shortly discuss the degree to which the present proposal is in line with the fundamental ideas behind the equivalence principle.

The Power of the Immediate Moment in Gestalt Therapy

This article discusses the gestalt therapy concept of the paradoxical theory of change and a method combining a dialogic relationship with active phenomenological focusing and experimenting. Fundamental change results from self-acceptance and not attempts to change based on self-rejection. This is supported by the characteristics of dialogic contact: inclusion, confirmation, authentic presence, and a commitment to what emerges between therapist and patient. The patient is taught how to be aware, including awareness of the awareness process, facilitating autonomous use of the method by the patient. Suggestions and cautions for practice are discussed.