Preliminary Content Analysis Research Articles

Healthy cartoons? The nutritional implications of digital video recorders on children's television

Research over several decades has established definitively that children's television consumption has negative nutritional consequences for its young viewers. However, nearly all studies in this area have focused either on the advertisements interspersed with children's programs or on the overall act of television viewing. The few studies that have looked directly at the content of children's programs themselves with respect to nutrition were limited to prime-time programming. As a result, the question remains whether children's television programs themselves carry negative nutritional implications, or whether the problems appear exclusively in the advertisements and the general act of watching television. This distinction becomes important in light of the growth of digital video recorder (DVR) usage. DVRs enable viewers to record programs for future playback, with the additional capability of easily skipping past the advertisements. Although many children will certainly continue to watch television unimpeded by DVRs, the availability of the new technology has introduced the option for guardians to pre-record programs, and to show those programs without the advertisements. If the nutritional problems of children's programming do in fact reside primarily in the advertisements, DVRs could theoretically decrease the harmful consequences of children's television programming. A preliminary content analysis of non-prime-time children's television programming evaluated the extent to which the actual content presents negative (or positive) nutritional messages. The implications of the findings form the basis of recommendations for additional research.

Voices of Parents of Children with Neurofibromatosis 1(NF)

This presentation, phase I of an American Nurses’ Foundation funded study, is based on unanalyzed qualitative data from a prior study (Dylis, 2003) exploring family functioning in a large international sample of parents of children with Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF), the most common single gene disorder involving the nervous system. The purpose of this study was to identify themes from parental responses to two questions: ‘What do parents of children with NF want from health care providers?’ and ‘What were parental experiences at the initial time of their child’s NF diagnosis.’ Preliminary content analysis themes included parental desires for provider sensitivity and for providers to provide holistic care, accurate information, appropriate communication, referrals, support, and respect. Diagnostic experience themes were symptom management based on the NF diagnostic criteria or specific system manifestations, expressed concern from others resulting in health care intervention, and stories of diagnostic delays, inaccuracies, and dismissal of parental knowledge. The results from this phase might provide beginning qualitative evidence to assist in the future development of individualized nursing interventions aimed at improving the quality of life for families having a member(s) with NF. Knowledge of parental differences and similarities is essential in developing these interventions.

Análisis de la calidad de los documentos informativos destinados a pacientes con cáncer

Objective To determine the quality of information written for patients and their families and distributed in the public hospitals of Andalusia, and to make a series of recommendations on the drafting of information leaflets for patients with cancer. Material and method Informative documents on cancer distributed among patients and their families in the hospitals of the Andalusian public health system were gathered. A preliminary reading and content analysis was carried out and three relevant documents were chosen, which were subsequently evaluated by a group of experts using a quantitative method. Results Wide disparity was observed among the various hospitals in the way information was handled, both in the number of leaflets available and in their type. Although the documents’ contents were highly similar, the method used allowed us to select three representative documents according to the characteristics of the type of language employed, contents, and length. Significant differences were found among the three documents in the type of language used and their contents. Conclusions Given the deficiencies observed in the documents analyzed, we consider that informative documents should be analyzed before the final version is drawn up and distributed. Based on the textual analysis carried out, a decalogue was made to aid the writing of information sheets on cancer aimed at a wide spectrum of the population.

DIF for examinees with different academic backgrounds

The purpose of the present study was to investigate differential item function (DIF) on the English subtest of the 1998 Korean National Entrance Exam for Colleges and Universities for examinees with different academic backgrounds (i.e., Humanities vs. Sciences) using the Item Response Theory (IRT) Likelihood Ratio (LR) approach. The English subtest consisted of a total of 55 items, which comprised the subscales of Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension. Data were fitted with a modified three parameter logistic IRT model, and DIF was detected using both the Mantel-Haenszel procedure and the IRT likelihood ratio approach. To evaluate a baseline estimate of DIF due to chance, the entire DIF detection procedure was repeated, with the sample randomly divided in half. The results of the study identified 18 DIF items with 28 DIF parameters. DIF magnitude for each studied item is also provided. Results of a preliminary content analysis are discussed in terms of the relationships between DIF directions and item content. Implications and recommendations for future research are also addressed.

Careful nursing: a model for contemporary nursing practice.

Careful nursing, a system of nursing developed in Ireland by Catherine McAuley in the early years of the 19th century and used by Irish nurses at the Crimean war, has been described as Ireland's legacy to nursing. Although records of careful nursing have been preserved, it has received little attention in the nursing literature. The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary content analysis of the mainly primary source historical documentation of the careful nursing system and present it within the structure of a contemporary conceptual model of nursing. The documents describing the careful nursing system were studied and re-studied to gain understanding of the philosophical assumptions underlying careful nursing and of the thinking, attitudes, actions and practice of the nurses. Content relating to the four central nursing concepts was identified and summarized. Careful nursing definitions of person, environment, health and nursing are presented. Ten key concepts of careful nursing practice are identified as disinterested love, contagious calmness, creation of a restorative environment, 'perfect' skill in fostering safety and comfort, nursing interventions, health education, participatory-authoritative management, trustworthy collaboration, power derived from service and nurses' care for themselves. The spiritual dimension of human life and the spiritual in nursing emerge as important characteristics of the model. The results of this preliminary analysis require further verification and critical examination. However, the careful nursing model illuminates important aspects of professional nursing and could be further developed to conceptualize and guide nursing practice.

Terrorism and 11 September 2001: does the “behavioral response to disaster” model fit?

A recent question from the research literature is addressed: to what extent does the behavioral response to the natural and technological disaster model apply to terrorist events involving a weapon of mass destruction (WMD)? Earlier work argued that the literature is applicable. Anecdotal evidence and preliminary content analysis findings from the aftermath of the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001 demonstrate the salience of the model to terrorism.

A preliminary evaluation of professional accounting services: direct marketing on the Internet

Recent advances in the Internet have afforded professional accounting firms a form of promotion to enhance their image as technologically competent. Currently, over 2,000 accounting firms have Web sites registered with The List of CPA Firms Directory. The objective of this paper is to conduct a preliminary content analysis of the web pages of accounting firms. A total of 346 Web sites were randomly selected. The contents of the Web pages were examined and analysed for inclusion of client choice factors, basic company information, value added features, and graphics. The registration of the accounting firms’ Web sites by search engines, Web yellow pages, CPA directories, and state CPA societies was also investigated. Generally, firms did a good job of providing basic client desired information about the firm, but they must register their Web sites with search engines that are commonly available and must encourage more interactivity with existing and potential clients by providing free information such as newsletters and links to relevant Web sites. They need to develop greater expertise in using the specific features and advantages of the Internet medium.

Investigating learners’ course diaries as explorations of language

Most recent accounts of work with diaries or journals on language courses have offered insights into learners’ attitudes towards course goals and activities and towards their own learning. The present study focuses more on the use of language course diaries as a means of language exploration by learners, looking specifically at diaries kept by 38 second-year undergraduate students in five tutorial groups during an English language course at the National University of Singapore. The investigation comprises a preliminary content analysis of the course diaries, a presentation of learners’ responses to a questionnaire, a fuller illustrative account of learners’ engagement with language issues in their diaries, and a commentary on teacher feedback and learner reactions. The discussion suggests implications for roles and responsibilities of learners and teachers, over a range of teaching circumstances, and points to other researchable issues to which course diary studies oriented towards language might contribute.

Tv news hyper‐coverage and the representation of place: observations on the o.j. simpson case

From June 1994 until October 1995, the television news industry constructed and sustained a window of saturating hyper‐coverage surrounding the O.J. Simpson double‐murder case. Coverage of the Simpson case provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the contemporary media practice of hyper‐coverage and its possible effects on the frequency and manner in which places are reported and hence represented in television news broadcasts. Drawing from published critiques and statistics of the Simpson coverage and a preliminary content analysis of ABC World News Tonight broadcasts, this theoretical paper offers three observations: (1) the Simpson hyper‐coverage altered the frequency, prominence, and metaphorical context of news about Los Angeles; (2) the Simpson hyper‐coverage reduced the frequency of non‐Los Angeles domestic news coverage and eclipsed the prominence of international news locations; and (3) the Simpson hyper‐coverage led to the Simpsonization of domestic news (i.e. television journalists using the events in Los Angeles as a central metaphor around which to contextualize the presentation of other national news events and locations). Exploration into the Simpson media event provides insight into contemporary television journalistic conventions and how these news organization practices shape the representation of places in American popular culture.