Retrospective Interviews Research Articles

Precarity and essential work: exploring the vulnerabilities of cross-border truck drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of biopolitics

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted governments worldwide to enforce biosecurity measures such as border closures, lockdowns, and testing protocols to contain the virus. These measures significantly impacted cross-border truck drivers at the Beitbridge border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, a key trade corridor. Recognized as essential workers, these drivers sustained supply chains despite stringent biopolitical controls that heightened their vulnerabilities. This paper, grounded in a biopolitical framework, explores the ways in which pandemic-induced mobility restrictions and irregular border policies have heightened health vulnerabilities and economic challenges for cross-border truck drivers. Through examining these challenges, this research underscores the importance of integrating mobility-conscious considerations into public health policies to enhance pandemic preparedness. Using an inductive qualitative approach, the study recruited 20 male truck drivers through convenience sampling for in-depth retrospective interviews enhanced by memory-eliciting prompts. Thematic content analysis uncovered key insights from their narratives. Findings reveal that while governments implemented stringent health protocols to control virus transmission, these measures disproportionately disadvantaged truck drivers by limiting healthcare access, prolonging border delays, and reinforcing economic precarity. The study also highlights the contradictions of essential worker status, where drivers were instrumental in maintaining supply chains yet denied fundamental protections. Utilizing memory-eliciting devices, the research captures drivers’ lived experiences, illustrating how biopolitical governance prioritized economic stability over individual well-being. The study calls for mobility-conscious public health policies, improved occupational health standards, and participatory approaches to border management. Future research should examine the long-term effects of pandemic policies on mobile essential workers and assess the role of technology in mitigating logistical and health challenges.

Accent Awareness of World Englishes: Impact on Language Learners’ Attitudes, Social Attractiveness, Willingness to Communicate, and Accent Prejudice

ABSTRACT This study sought to reshape accent prejudice through an awareness course and to explore course effects on learners’ willingness to communicate and their attitudes toward the social attractiveness of Indian English as a variety of World Englishes. Ten learners with strong accent prejudice were purposefully selected for the treatment. Pre- and post-treatment questionnaires and retrospective interviews showed that the course was significantly effective in lowering accent prejudice and reshaped learners’ perceptions toward a World Englishes variety in terms of social attractiveness and willingness to communicate. These findings imply the criticality of accent exposure and instruction for redressing accent prejudice.

AN ANALYSIS OF INDONESIAN EFL PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ L2 SPEECH PRODUCTION

A number of studies have investigated the EFL students’ speaking performance, however, little is known about the mental processes behind the L2 speech production, meanwhile understanding their route of thought could be instrumental in comprehending key factors of their success as well as their failure. The study is expected to reveal some information about the thinking process undertaken by the EFL learners' oral performance in various social settings. The participants of the study were the first-year pre-service students from a state university in Indonesia. Data of the study were elicited through retrospective verbal reports, interviews, and questionnaires based on the role-play of eight scenarios of complaining performance. Through qualitative data analysis, a framework by Levelt (1999) was used to guide the analysis of speech production. The findings revealed that L2 speech production follow several phases, namely, macroplanning, microplanning, grammatical encoding, morphophonological encoding, phonetic encoding, articulation, and monitoring. It seems that L2 speech production is similar to L2 speech production. In addition, it was revealed that the flow of speech processing was not determined by the level of proficiency alone, as a formal speech situation was reported took more thoughtful consideration than a casual one which could likely run fast and automatically.

Emotional dynamics of advanced Chinese as a second language learners: a Q methodology study

ABSTRACT Second language learning is an emotion-intensive process in which learners experience a wide range of both positive and negative emotions. However, despite the significantly growing number of Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners, their emotional experiences are frequently overlooked. This study employs Q methodology to explore the emotional dynamics of advanced CSL learners in interaction with six different language learning contexts: attending lectures, teacher-student interactions, group collaboration, reading literature, writing papers, and extracurricular activities. The findings identify three shared emotional types, namely, ‘pride and interest,' ‘burnout and confusion,' and ‘nervousness and anxiety.' The results indicate that advanced CSL learners’ emotional systems are complex, dynamic and closely connected to language learning contexts. Retrospective interview data further reveal that advanced CSL learners’ emotions are influenced by self-, peer-, teacher-, and curriculum-related factors. Pedagogical implications are then provided to enhance emotional support and foster the psychological well-being of CSL learners.

The Usability of Neural Machine Translation in Creative-Text Post-Editing: Evidence from Users’ Performance and Perception

Recent developments in translation technologies can help neural machine translation (NMT) to generate high-quality translation. This study aims to investigate the usability of NMT in creative-text post-editing with evidence from users' performance and perception. Based on the concept of usability and prior research, we developed an NMT usability assessment framework including three dimensions – efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. By analysing data of three dimensions collected from key logging, screen recording, questionnaires, and retrospective interviews, we found that using NMT in creative-text post-editing (or MTPE) was significantly more efficient and yielded higher acceptability than human translation. Most participants hold a positive yet cautious attitude toward the usability of NMT. It suggests that MTPE as a type of human-computer interaction shows excellent potential in producing a high-quality creative-text translation efficiently. However, the study also reveals the limitations of using NMT in translating creative texts and raises both ethical and legal concerns regarding plagiarism.

Illustrating User Needs for eHealth With Experience Map: Interview Study With Chronic Kidney Disease Patients.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common condition worldwide and home dialysis (HD) provides economic, quality of life, and clinical advantages compared to other dialysis modalities. Human-centered design aims to support the development of eHealth solutions with high usability and user experience. However, research on the eHealth needs of patients using HD is scarce. This study aimed to support the design of eHealth for patients with CKD, particularly for patients using HD, by developing a kidney disease experience map that illustrates user needs, concerns, and barriers. The research questions were (1) what experiences do patients, particularly older adults, have in their everyday lives with CKD? (2) what user needs do patients with CKD have for HD eHealth? (3) how can these needs be illustrated using the experience map technique? The study focused on patients aged >60 years, as they are at a higher risk of chronic conditions. The study was conducted as part of the eHealth in HD project, coordinated by Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Finland. In total, 18 patients in different care modalities participated in retrospective interviews conducted between October 2020 and April 2021. The interviews included a preliminary task with patient journey illustrations and questions about their experiences and everyday lives with CKD. The data analysis was conducted using a thematic analysis approach and the process included several phases. On the basis of the thematic analysis, 5 categories were identified: healthy habits, concerns about and barriers to eHealth use, digital communication, patients' emotions, and everyday life with CKD. These were illustrated in the first version of the kidney disease experience map. The patients had different healthy habits regarding social life, sports, and other activities. They had challenges with poorly functioning eHealth software and experienced other factors, such as a lack of interest and lack of skills for eHealth use. Technical devices do not always meet the emotional or physical needs of their users. This caused feelings of frustration, worry, and fear in patients, yet also fostered situational awareness and hope. The experience map is a promising method for illustrating user needs and communicating the patient's voice for eHealth development. eHealth offers possibilities to support patient's everyday life with chronic disease. The patient's situation and capacity to use eHealth solutions vary with their everyday challenges, opportunities, and their current stage of treatment. The kidney disease experience map will be used and further developed in the ongoing research project "Better Health at Home-Optimized Human-Centered Care of Predialysis and Home Dialysis Patients" (2022 to 2026).

Faster, but not less demanding

Abstract Recent efforts in debiasing Machine Translation (MT) concentrate on gender-inclusive or neutral language for the translation of sentences containing ambiguous gender entities. Such studies, however, ignore cases that require a specific gender beyond masculine and feminine, i.e. non-binary. By comparing translation with post-editing, the present contribution investigates whether MT can be a useful tool to produce gender-fair translations despite its biased outputs. Twelve language professionals had to either translate or post-edit three English-language texts mentioning non-binary actors into German. For each text, they had to use a different gender-fair language (GFL) approach, i.e. gender-neutral rewording, gender-inclusive characters, and neosystems. Results from screen recordings, retrospective interviews, and target text analysis show that, while post-editing is usually faster than translation, the perceived cognitive effort is generally high with no significant differences emerging in the translation process and, partially, the number of mistakes in the use of GFL.

Investigating EFL Readers’ Lexical Problems and Word-Solving Strategies in Foreign Language Reading: An Exploratory Study

Despite the fact that past research on word-solving strategies in various language learning contexts has been extensive over the years, there is still need for more recent empirical research inspecting the types of lexical problems students perceive and report in foreign language reading, and word-attack strategies often deployed to overcome emerging word-level problems in reading tasks. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the word-solving strategies Saudi EFL students reported using to overcome lexical problems in English reading texts. To meet this objective, a random sample of 90 Saudi EFL female students in a secondary school participated in this exploratory study. A self-devised word-solving strategy questionnaire and retrospective interviews were administered to collect the study data. The 23-questionnaire items were constructed to measure five main categories of word strategies students perceived using to overcome lexical problems in reading tasks. The study findings revealed that Saudi secondary students used different types of word-solving strategies but at varying levels. Specifically, the study found that social strategies were most frequently used, followed by skipping strategies, support reading strategies, dictionary-use strategies, and word-guessing strategies respectively. Pedagogical implications of the study findings and its recommendations were presented and discussed.

Understanding adherence and deviations in potassium replacement protocols: A mixed method study.

Understanding adherence and deviations in potassium replacement protocols: A mixed method study.

Cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition: evidence from refusal strategies of Uyghur–Mandarin–English trilinguals

ABSTRACT This study analysed the cross-linguistic influence (CLI) of refusal strategies in Uyghur–Mandarin–English trilinguals through discourse completion tasks and retrospective interviews. The occurrence of CLI from L1 Uyghur and L2 Mandarin to L3 English was determined through inter-group comparisons between L3 English learners and native speakers of Uyghur, Mandarin, and English, with 32 participants in each group. It was found that both L1 Uyghur and L2 Mandarin exerted pragmatic influence on L3 English with the pattern of ‘L2 positive transfer > L1 positive transfer > L2 negative transfer > L1 negative transfer’, suggesting a greater influence from L2 and a prominent positive impact of the prior languages. The result lends credence to the Scalpel Model, showing that the influence of previous languages on L3 refusal strategies does not occur holistically but in a specific strategy-to-strategy manner. Language input and processing play a pivotal role in the interaction between L2 and L3, and the linguistic medium through which learners acquire a new language may have a significant impact on the pragmatic dimensions of the target language.

Improving retrospective data on recent household deaths: a multi-arm randomized trial in Guinea-Bissau.

In countries with limited civil registration and vital statistics systems, assessing the impact of health crises requires precise retrospective mortality data. We tested whether calendar methods improve survey or census data on dates of recent household deaths registered in a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). Between April and June 2023, we randomized 578 households with HDSS-registered deaths in Guinea-Bissau to interviews by using (i) a standard questionnaire with close-ended questions about dates of deaths, or similar questionnaires supplemented with (ii) a physical calendar of local events printed on paper or (iii) a digital calendar implemented on tablets. We evaluated the accuracy of reported dates through record linkages to HDSS data. No deaths were reported in 11.8% of the 508 participating households. In other households (n = 448), informants reported 574 deaths since January 2020. Relative to the standard questionnaire, neither the physical calendar nor the digital calendar improved the proportion of deaths reported in the same month and year as recorded by using surveillance data. The physical and digital calendars reduced the share of missing data on dates of deaths (6.1% and 3.2%, respectively, versus 13.1% with the standard questionnaire). Reported dates of deaths obtained by using the digital calendar were more weakly correlated with surveillance data than those collected in other arms. Using the digital calendar also added 1.15 minutes to the data collection. Digital calendars do not improve the reporting of dates of deaths in surveys or censuses. Further trials of the use of a physical calendar in retrospective interviews about recent household deaths are warranted.

Limited time perspective decreases terminal materialism

AbstractTerminal materialism is considered a bad form of materialism and harmful to individuals' well‐being. However, few studies focus on how to reduce this value. The current research examined a way to decrease terminal materialism through a future time perspective. Study 1, through a survey of adults with a wide age, showed that limited time perspective was a significant predictor of terminal materialism. That is, the more limited the perception of time, the lower the level of terminal materialism. In Study 2, participants who were experimentally induced to a limited time perspective became less terminal materialistic, further revealed the causal relationship between future time perspective and terminal materialism. In Study 3, we used qualitative retrospective interviews with cancer survivors to explore the dynamic co‐variation process of future time perception and terminal materialism. The results showed that, consistent with Studies 1 and 2, participants' terminal materialism decreased after experiencing limited future time perception. Our findings indicate that a limited time perspective may be a way for mitigating terminal materialism.

Written performance indicators from experienced creative writers

Experienced creative writers (n=10) participated in an observational eye tracking study with corresponding video and cued retrospective response interview. The eye tracking data and video informed the subsequent interviews focused on identifying written performance indicators. The following question guided the study: What performance indicators from experienced creative writers can be surfaced through a combination of eye tracking, video, and cued retrospective response within an ecologically grounded writing task? Triangulation of the data yielded 10 experienced creative writing performance indicators. Performance indicators from these experienced creative writers are notably combinatorial and map onto cognitive functions such as long-term working memory, phonological loop, and visuospatial activity in writing. Experienced creative writers also purposefully create the conditions for dispositionally guided text production.

Peritoneal Dialysis in Young Adults: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Peritoneal Dialysis in Young Adults: A Mixed-Methods Study.

P-1001. Utilizing Perspectives of Prenatal Providers to Explain the Rise of Congenital Syphilis in Chicago, USA: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract Background Rates of congenital syphilis (CS) in the United States are rising sharply. As research has identified inadequate maternal syphilis treatment as a key cause, we aimed to investigate factors underlying this gap through retrospective patient data and interviews with prenatal providers. Congenital syphilis (CS) diagnosis classification of infants delivered at Chicago-area tertiary care center from 2011-2023, grouped by maternal syphilis penicillin treatment course Methods We conducted a retrospective electronic health record chart review of mothers with syphilis during pregnancy and their infants treated for CS at a large Chicago tertiary care center from 2011-2023 to describe demographic variables, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CS diagnosis classification, and infant and maternal treatment details. Bivariate analyses were used to compare patient predictors and maternal syphilis treatment. We also recruited a subset of the sample’s prenatal providers to participate in semi-structured interviews about their perspectives on the rise of CS. Qualitative themes were identified using a content analysis approach. Type of syphilis treatment received by mothers of infants treated for CS at a Chicago-area tertiary care center from 2011-2023, grouped by location of prenatal care Results 188 infants were identified. 45 (24%) pregnancies received no or unknown penicillin treatment prior to delivery, 42 (22%) partial treatment, and 101 (54%) full treatment. 9 (5%) infants were classified as unlikely CS, 47 (25%) as less likely, 122 (65%) as possible, and 10 (5%) as highly probable/proven. There were no significant differences between covariates based on maternal treatment, except for prenatal care (full treatment represented 67.3% of mothers who received care within the delivering institution vs. 54.5% outside vs. 14.3% none, p< 0.01) and CS type (86.7% of infants with possible CS had no maternal treatment vs. 92.9% partial vs. 43.6% full, p< 0.01). 10 providers were interviewed, most of whom observed inadequate treatment. Interviews revealed multiple social factors, including transportation, childcare, and appointment burden, as contributing to incomplete treatment courses. Communication difficulties, health literacy, CS-related stigma, and internal logistical challenges were further cited. Demographics of mothers with syphilis during their pregnancies and their infants treated for congenital syphilis (CS) at a large Chicago tertiary care center from 2011-2023 Conclusion Mothers with prenatal care had a significantly higher proportion receive full treatment compared to those with no care. Transportation, appointment burden, health literacy, stigma, and patient-provider communication were all identified by providers as contributing to the treatment gap and rise of CS. Disclosures Jessica Ridgway, MD, Gilead Sciences: Expert Testimony

The role of intuition and rationality in the causation-effectuation decision-making puzzle

PurposeWe aim to explore the role of the interplay between intuition and rationality in the causation-effectuation decision-making processes of small creative businesses during their international expansion.Design/methodology/approachWe developed process research to investigate the causation-effectuation decision-making processes during the internationalization of a creativity-intensive small business located in Brazil. In just three years, its cartoon reached screens in 80 countries.FindingsWe discovered an orthogonal relationship between causation and effectuation moderated by the balance between intuition and rationality, enabling small creative businesses to successfully navigate internationalization by adapting to contractual demands and exploring creative opportunities. To explain these relationships, we offer five process-based propositions for further studies.Research limitations/implicationsWe reconstructed the internationalization process based on retrospective interviews, so eliminating all biases from rationalization may have been impossible. We elucidate the interrelationship between causation-effectuation decision-making logic and demystify that decision-making effectuation logic is predominantly intuitive. We provide evidence that rational thinking permeates the entire decision-making process as a process of building the future.Practical implicationsUnderstanding causation-effectuation decision-making processes in creativity-intensive small businesses can be helpful for other businesses because they nurture production on a large scale.Social implicationsThe study emphasizes the importance of creativity-intensive small businesses to countries’ economies. Creativity-intensive businesses grow in other industries and generate many jobs in mature industries.Originality/valueWe demystify the decision-making assumption that effectuation logic is predominantly intuitive while causation logic is rational. Instead, we show that these logics coexist and interact orthogonally and dynamically.

Is AI image generation a creative or optimize tool in product design process?—The usage of AI image generation tools for vehicle shape as an example

This study explores the shape thinking processes and decision-making factors of designers when using AI image generation tools for conceptualizing the shapes of two-wheeled vehicles through four design tasks. Eight designers were invited to create hand-drawn sketches based on a specific aesthetic direction (technological geometry), followed by a shape divergence exercise using two AI graphics tools, Stable Diffusion and Vizcom, to generate images from text prompts. After selecting the designs closest to their original concepts and their favorite designs, the designers used an iPad to explore different shape directions (technological biology) for partial shape modifications. Finally, retrospective interviews were conducted to understand whether there were differences in designers’ thinking process regarding the use of various AI tools for shape conceptualization, as well as their focal points regarding design modification and shape thinking at different stages of the process. The research findings indicate that current AI tools are more suitable for shape divergence. If designers wish to achieve shape convergence, they need to be more familiar with the various settings of AI image generation tools and understand which prompts significantly influence specific shape characteristics. Designers’ perceptions of shape modification primarily revolve around: 1. Outline contours, 2. Parting lines, 3. Variations in surface curvature, and 4. The resulting features (light and shadow effects). Furthermore, it is recommended that future AI image generation tools, if developed as professional assistive tools for product design, should provide two modes—shape divergence and convergence—focusing on both the main shape and details. Additionally, it is suggested that developing AI-3D technologies should address the four key aspects of shape manipulation presented in this study, offering adjustments for overall appearance and detailing the contour lines of parts, including the manipulation of surface curvature and shape positioning.

‘I just had to park up at the hospital and leave her’: A retrospective interview study of pregnancy, birth and parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions

‘I just had to park up at the hospital and leave her’: A retrospective interview study of pregnancy, birth and parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions

“Yes, This Is Still Circle”: Circle‐Keeping Online During COVID—An Interview with Kay Pranis and Becky McCammon

ABSTRACTThis Practice Note is an interview with leading Circle‐keepers Kay Pranis and Becky McCammon about their experiences facilitating Talking Circles virtually during COVID. They describe their respective leaps into the unknown of online Circle to meet peoples' need for community at a time when we could not gather together in person and how they each managed during that time of uncertainty. The conversation was edited for length and clarity in which they discussed the needs of restorative justice practitioners and others for relational support and how they worked to meet the need. What they both learned is that while there were some challenges, there were also many unanticipated opportunities and benefits discovered in the process of adapting to virtual Circles. This retrospective interview documents how practitioners adapted quickly during a pandemic in response to the need to be in the community when we could not meet in person.

"People in my life just play different roles": A retrospective qualitative study of friendships among young adults who self-harmed during adolescence.

Self-harm is a global public health concern presenting increasing rates in recent years, especially among young people. This population seldom access formal help, and typically rely on informal sources of support, mainly friends. The role, importance and meaning of friendships in the context of self-harm remains poorly understood, highlighting the need to explore young people's lived experiences. In the present study we conducted semi-structured retrospective qualitative interviews, prompted by the Card-sort Task for Self-Harm About Friends (CaTS-AF), to explore the experiences of 11 young adults (M=19.09; SD=0.70; M=2, F=9) who self-harmed during adolescence. Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). Three themes were developed which consider 1) the role of friendships in self-harm progression; 2) the role of self-harm in friendship evolution; and 3) the meaning of friendships in the context of adolescents' self-harm. The first two themes highlight the interdependent nature of friendships and self-harm, where these two experiences influence one another. Furthermore, not only are friendships shaped by self-harm, but they acquire specific meanings, dynamics and expectations within the context of the behaviour. Overall, friends are a key part of adolescents' self-harm, as sources of both risk and protection. It is essential to further integrate friendships, a developmentally significant aspect of adolescents' social experiences, into self-harm research and clinical practice.