Set Of Interviews Research Articles

Access to Technology for Higher Education in Prison Programs: Implications from a Mixed-Methods Study

ABSTRACT In consideration of the challenges at the intersection of the digital divide and higher education, the challenges of prison libraries, and the persistence of inequality in correctional settings, the current study explores how instructors navigate and adapt to these challenges when teaching for higher education in prison programs. The current study utilizes an online survey questionnaire (n = 156) along with a set of semi-structured interviews (n = 41) to explore these questions. Findings support prior research, as the pervasive issues surrounding digital equity and the digital divide for higher education in prison programs continue to persist, especially with the modifications to distance learning forced by the global pandemic . Implications for higher education in prison programs are discussed, which calls for additional research on how programs are functioning now that COVID-19 restrictions have eased.

PressProtect: Helping Journalists Navigate Social Media in the Face of Online Harassment

Social media has become a critical tool for journalists to disseminate their work, engage with their audience, and connect with sources. Unfortunately, journalists also regularly endure significant online harassment on social media platforms, ranging from personal attacks to doxxing to threats of physical harm. In this paper, we seek to understand how to make social media usable for journalists who face constant digital harassment. To begin, we conduct a set of need-finding interviews with Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists to understand where existing platform tools and newsroom resources fall short in adequately protecting journalists, especially those of marginalized identities. We map journalists' unmet needs to concrete design goals, which we use to build PressProtect, an interface that provides journalists greater agency when engaging with readers on Twitter/X. Through user testing with eight journalists, we evaluate PressProtect and find that participants felt it effectively protected them against harassment and could also generalize to serve other visible and vulnerable groups. We conclude with a discussion of our findings and recommendations for social platforms hoping to build defensive defaults for journalists facing online harassment.

Going the extra mile: Unveiling the roots of franchisee organisational citizenship behaviours in franchise systems

While researchers and practitioners have recognised the essential role of employee organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs), there is an absence of their consideration within franchise systems as a unique context. We aim to address this gap by exploring the nature of franchisee OCBs and their antecedents. Through a set of semi-structured qualitative interviews, we find critical new evidence, not only of the existence of franchisee OCBs but also of franchisor OCBs, reflecting the reciprocal character of franchise relationships. Further, we reveal frequent shifts of franchisee OCBs from one referent to another, often from the franchisor to franchisee peers, or even industry groups outside the franchisor-franchisee dyad, in the wake of disappointed interactions with the franchisor. Ultimately, we point at the critical role of the franchisor’s field consultant as the liaison person who appears frequently mismanaged by franchisors in the eyes of franchisees.

Potentiality of Mother Tongue Instruction and Multilingual Education Approach to Teaching English at Primary Level

The objectives of this study were to explore the participants’ lived experiences on medium of instruction while teaching English in the classrooms and to explore the participants’ lived experiences on Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education approach to teaching English at primary level. Phenomenological research design was employed to complete this study. A set of questionnaires, interviews and discussion were the major research tools and three primary level English teachers were the sample population of this study. Phenomenological interviews and a set of questionnaires were used to collect the data. The collected data were transcribed, translated, coded and interpreted and analyzed thematically. The result of this study shows that a suitable medium of instruction is the most important factor and MTB-MLE approach is an effective approach to teach English language for the children of ethnic group people at pre-primary level. This study has implications for social change as teachers who engage in collaboration with colleagues and reflective practice will positively affect student achievement. Students may be taught by teachers who have the knowledge, skills, and attitude required for a successful implementation of a multilingual approach.

EXPRESS: Sponsored Content as an Epistemic Market Object: How Platformization of Brand-Creator Partnerships Disrupts Valuation, Co-production, and the Relationship between Market Actors

Sponsored content allows brands to partner with creators to reach creators’ audiences on digital platforms. However, both creators’ and brands’ incomplete understanding of this object generates two critical ambiguities: how to determine the value of sponsored content and how to effectively co-produce it. To better understand these ambiguities, we theorize sponsored content as an epistemic market object: an object that facilitates marketing functions but is only partially understood by the actors who use it . We analyze a data set of interviews, podcasts, media articles, and third-party platform reviews about—and by—content creators, brands, and intermediaries. Our findings show that brands, creators, and intermediaries create and apply knowledge to address valuation and co-production ambiguities. However, this knowledge work is incomplete, creating asymmetries in value outcomes and power relationships in a brand-creator partnership. Our paper contributes to marketing literature and practice by highlighting the role of epistemic market objects in transformative market disruptions that alter the roles of, and the relationships between, market actors. Our findings are transferable to other substantive areas such as Generative AI, Metaverse, NFTs, online news, and the sharing economy.

From passenger to driver: an interview study on person-centeredness in clinical reasoning during stroke rehabilitation

Purpose To explore how stroke survivors experience and prefer to participate in clinical reasoning processes in the subacute phase of stroke rehabilitation. Methods An explorative qualitative design was used. Individual interviews were conducted with 10 stroke survivors (4 women and 6 men, mean age 68 years) 4 weeks after their stroke, and follow-up interviews were conducted with 6 of them after 10 weeks. The interview settings were the patient’s home during their home rehabilitation, an inpatient and an outpatient rehabilitation unit. A reflexive thematic analysis was performed. Results Four themes were identified: discharge as a critical point for participation, describing a stressful time with varying involvement; supportive actions and context as crucial for participation, describing collaboration with the stroke team, the team’s consideration of the stroke survivor’s resources and needs, and a supportive home environment; the importance of goals and follow-up, describing goals as motivational and an unstructured use of goals; and difficulties in participation, describing a lack of dialogue with the stroke team and undetected resources and needs. Conclusions The stroke survivors experienced changes in their participation in the clinical reasoning process as their rehabilitation progressed. They moved from perceiving themselves as passengers at the time of their hospital discharge to gradually seeing themselves as the driver of their rehabilitation process. Some person-centered attributes, such as respectful relationships and a health focus, were incorporated into the clinical reasoning, while others, such as a holistic view and shared goal-setting, required further emphasis for improved person-centeredness in stroke rehabilitation.

What hinders the transition towards a bio-based construction sector? A global innovation system perspective on its value chain

The construction sector is heavily polluting and an actual threat to the natural environment, therefore its transition towards becoming bio-based is imperative. This transition is currently unfolding and it is driven in particular by innovation activities taking place along the sector’s value chain. In the upstream segment, bio-based materials are being improved, while novel building techniques in the core segment enable the use of these materials. In this paper, we utilize the global innovation systems (GIS) framework to examine these innovation activities and their valuation dynamics. In particular, we investigate how the GIS of the bio-based construction sector is organized along its value chain, providing insights into the barriers to the sector's sustainability transition. Our empirical analysis, based on a rich set of expert interviews, demonstrates that the GIS configuration changes along the value chain, driven by profound differences in the innovation mode. This situation creates a bottleneck that hinders the sector's transition, where knowledge about bio-based materials developed upstream fails to translate down the value chain. However, we also find that several niche firms cover and integrate multiple value chain segments and overcome this knowledge gap, suggesting that the transition towards a bio-based construction sector could accelerate with further innovation system reconfigurations.

The impact of collaborative reflection and dialogic journals on EFL teachers’ ecological agency

ABSTRACT This explanatory sequential mixed method study aimed to investigate the impact of collaborative reflection and dialogic journals on EFL teachers’ ecological agency. For this purpose, 60 EFL teachers selected through purposive sampling were randomly assigned to three groups, one control group, and two experimental groups. The participants of the control group took part in a 10-session teacher training course. The participants of experimental group 1 participated in collaborative reflection sessions for 10 weeks and the participants of experimental group 2 were required to keep dialogic journals for 10 weeks. To investigate the effect of the treatment, the teacher ecological agency questionnaire was administered twice in the pretest and posttest. Finally, a set of semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants of both experimental groups. The results indicated that collaborative reflection and dialogic journals had a significant effect on the development of the participants’ ecological agency. However, the participants of experimental group 2 outperformed the participants of experimental group 1 in the posttest examining ecological agency. The thematic analyses of the semi-structured interview revealed that both collaborative reflection and dialogic journals have contributed to the development of EFL teachers’ ecological agency. The findings of the current study have significant pedagogical implications for teachers, teacher educators, policymakers, and researchers.

Implications of Long COVID for Society: Insights into the Physical, Social, and Financial Impacts from Patient Interviews

Long COVID affects millions of people worldwide and has emerged as a major health consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. While quantitative studies have helped paint a picture of ongoing symptomatology, there are very few longitudinal qualitative studies that present patients’ perspectives about the significant and persistent impact Long COVID has on their daily lives. To address this gap, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with nine Long COVID patients about 15 months after we performed an initial set of interviews with those patients who were seeking care at a Long COVID specialty clinic. Most patients that we re-interviewed reported having lingering symptoms that continue to impact their lives. Many described suffering with mental health issues, particularly depression and anxiety. Others described financial stress. Most reported not yet being unable to return to their pre-COVID level of health and well-being. Our work demonstrates the ongoing need to study Long COVID and provide robust social support, mental health resources, and healthcare focused on symptom relief.

Open conversations: Finding ways to improve communication between family forest landowners and consulting foresters

Alabama is comprised of 23 million acres of forestland, of which family forest landowners (FFLs) own 56 % of that acreage. Therefore, FFLs are vital to maintaining the quality and diversity of Alabama's forests. However, FFLs possess varying attitudes towards management, value their land for different reasons, and have differing management objectives. In addition, FFLs are comprised of diverse backgrounds, own vastly different acreages, and fall within differing income brackets, all of which have been shown to affect management usage. This research aims to assess consulting foresters and FFLs in Alabama to learn why FFLs are hesitant to use consulting foresters for land management. It also aims to educate FFLs and consulting foresters in Alabama on better communicating their needs, services, and benefits. To study these two groups, a set of interviews and two surveys were used to collect perceptions, experiences, and needs. While consulting foresters are willing to work with smaller acreage, there are still constraints preventing management, and cost was mentioned by both groups. Still, FFLs are interested in consulting foresters' services, but many do not actively market FFLs. As a result, FFLs are unaware of the different types of forestry professionals, causing competition for consulting foresters who must be registered. Both consulting foresters and FFLs need to become more active in organizations, and consulting foresters need to adopt newer marketing techniques, while FFLs should seek more educational opportunities and opportunities to interact with consulting foresters directly.

COVID futures: Social imaginaries of post-pandemic lives in Australia

Many expert commentaries predicting what life will be like in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have been published. The views of the public on post-COVID futures have received less attention. To explore these issues, this article draws on qualitative interviews conducted with Australian adults, conducted in three stages in each of the first pandemic years of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The final questions asked were: ‘What do you think your way of life will be like once the COVID crisis has passed? Will it go back to the way it was before – or be different in important ways?’. This article analyses participants’ responses to these future-facing questions across the three annual interview sets. Continuities and differences in the imaginaries of pandemic futures expressed in each of these years are identified. Findings demonstrate the value of documenting public understandings, practices and feelings concerning imaginaries of the future of crises such as the pandemic across an extended timescale. The study identified the complexity of how quotidian life, emotions and biographical experiences are entangled with broader socioeconomic, policy, infrastructural, cultural and political dimensions in people’s predictions of what a post-COVID world might be like at different stages of the pandemic.

The Authenticity Problem: Authenticity as a Methodological Trap in People-Centred Research on Working-Class Football Supporting Communities

AbstractThis paper seeks to make a methodological contribution to archaeological praxis of working-class communities, by illuminating how archaeologists engaged in oral history-based research with working-class communities may encounter authenticity as a methodological challenge. Drawing on my PhD research on football as cultural heritage, I will outline the authenticity problem I encountered in the field: the enforcement of hierarchies of authenticity by working-class football supporters in response to their experiences of marginalisation in the sport. In turn, I will not only show how these hierarchies of authenticity present obstacles to researchers looking to build relationships of trust with their subjects, but also indicate some solutions to this authenticity problem. Specifically, I will show how it is often useful to “fall into the trap of authenticity” as a researcher and use the interview setting to discursively construct yourself as authentic on your subject communities’ own terms.

Addressing the elephant in the room: How do we understand value for money in transport Public Private Partnerships?

Value for Money (VfM) is often considered the criterion for assessing whether Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), or the traditional procurement should be adopted to deliver infrastructure projects and their services. Yet, this decision is mostly focussed on whichever approach that embodies a lower cost while neglecting the value it can bring to projects. Addressing this elephant in the room, a set of interviews with highly experienced professionals (with an average of 23-year working experience in infrastructure procurement) were conducted to engender an in-depth understanding of VfM. Through the lens of sensemaking, our results empirically demonstrated the duality of VfM in the context of transport projects instead of the previous foci on cost, time, and quality (i.e., traditional VfM), and further unearthed the nuances when considering them. As such, this research contributes to the PPP body of knowledge by providing a more meaningful concept of VfM. For practitioners and decision makers, it proposes a framework to benchmark their VfM assessments of infrastructure interventions.

Equivocation in media communication

Abstract This paper examines equivocation in Arabic and global interviews using interviews with Saudi politician Adel Al-Jubeir as a case study. The study has three main objectives: to assess the applicability of existing frameworks for coding responses in Arabic interviews, to explore the potential discrepancy in question design between Arabic and global interviews and its potential impact on equivocation, and to identify the most frequently recurring responses in these interviews. Rasiah’s (2010) framework is employed to analyse equivocation and coding responses. The dataset includes 2 hours and 45 minutes of Arabic interviews and an equal duration of global interviews. The findings indicate the effectiveness of the proposed frameworks in coding responses in Arabic interviews. Likewise, they show that Arabic interviewers adopt a less adversarial questioning style compared to their global counterparts, and that aggressive questioning contributes to higher equivocation rates. Furthermore, the coded responses vary between the two interview settings.

Compounding disaster: Perceptions of coastal risk, extreme events, and oil and gas energy production in the Gulf of Mexico

With more than five million people living in proximity to oil and gas (OGA) infrastructure, the state of Texas has the largest population at risk for developing health problems attributable to the industry in the U.S. The interaction between environmental and technological events, one kind of compound disaster events, has the potential to increase future health risks and aggravate existing social and environmental impacts. To identify current knowledge and awareness of the risks of compound disasters among residents, this article presents findings from interviews conducted in 2017 and 2019 with key stakeholders from Corpus Christi, Texas. The city is a hub of OGA production and transport and has recently suffered from the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey. The primary set of interviews (n: 23) is also complemented by the analysis of 2 other collections (n: 20) from residents who were affected by Hurricane Harvey and which are stored at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's library. Findings underscore the lack of awareness of OGA activities in general and of problems related to environmental racism. We also found a normalization of the impacts of small oil incidents among respondents and biased perceptions of development. Knowledge of the risk of compound events is rare, an issue that poses significant concerns for the future of these communities and their ability to prepare and mitigate.

Electric tugboat deployment in maritime transportation: detailed analysis of advantages and disadvantages

Purpose This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of electric tugboat deployment in maritime transportation, including an in-depth assessment of its advantages and disadvantages. Along with the identification of advantages and disadvantages of electric tugboat deployment, the present research also aims to provide managerial insights into the economic viability of different tugboat alternatives that can guide future investments in the following years.Design/methodology/approach A detailed literature review was conducted, aiming to gain broad insights into tugboat operations and focusing on different aspects, including tugboat accidents and safety issues, scheduling and berthing of tugboats, life cycle assessment of diesel tugboats and their alternatives, operations of electric and hybrid tugboats, environmental impacts and others. Moreover, a set of interviews was conducted with the leading experts in the electric tugboat industry, including DAMEN Shipyards and the Port of Auckland. Econometric analyses were performed as well to evaluate the financial viability and economic performance of electric tugboats and their alternatives (i.e. conventional tugboats and hybrid tugboats).Findings The advantages of electric tugboats encompass decreased emissions, reduced operating expenses, improved energy efficiency, lower noise levels and potential for digital transformation through automation and data analytics. However, high initial costs, infrastructure limitations, training requirements and restricted range need to be addressed. The electric tugboat alternative seems to be the best option for scenarios with low interest rate values as increasing interest values negatively impact the salvage value of electric tugboats. It is expected that for long-term planning, the electric and hybrid tugboat alternatives will become preferential since they have lower annual costs than conventional diesel tugboats.Practical implications The outcomes of this research provide managerial insights into the practical deployment of electric tugboats and point to future research needs, including battery improvements, cost reduction, infrastructure development, legislative and regulatory changes and alternative energy sources. The advancement of battery technology has the potential to significantly impact the cost dynamics associated with electric tugboats. It is essential to do further research to monitor the advancements in battery technology and analyze their corresponding financial ramifications. It is essential to closely monitor the industry’s shift toward electric tugboats as their prices become more affordable.Originality/value The maritime industry is rapidly transforming and facing pressing challenges related to sustainability and digitization. Electric tugboats represent a promising and innovative solution that could address some of these challenges through zero-emission operations, enhanced energy efficiency and integration of digital technologies. Considering the potential of electric tugboats, the present study provides a comprehensive review of the advantages and disadvantages of electric tugboats in maritime transportation, extensive evaluation of the relevant literature, interviews with industry experts and supporting econometric analyses. The outcomes of this research will benefit governmental agencies, policymakers and other relevant maritime transportation stakeholders.

What is holding back cyanobacterial research and applications? A survey of the cyanobacterial research community

Cyanobacteria are a diverse group of prokaryotic organisms that have been the subject of intense basic research, resulting in a wealth of knowledge about fundamental cellular processes such as photosynthesis. However, the translation of that research towards industry-relevant applications is still limited. To understand the reasons for this contradictory situation, we conducted a quantitative survey among researchers in the cyanobacterial community, a set of individual interviews with established researchers, and a literature analysis. Our results show that the community seems to be committed to embracing cyanobacterial diversity and promoting collaboration. Additionally, participants expressed a strong desire to develop standardized protocols for research and establish larger consortia to accelerate progress. The results of the survey highlight the need for a more integrated approach to cyanobacterial research that encompasses both basic and applied aspects. Based on the survey and interview results as well as our literature analysis, we highlight areas for potential improvement, strategies to enhance cyanobacterial research, and open questions that demand further exploration. Addressing these challenges should accelerate the development of industrial applications based on cyanobacterial research.

Student engagement on climate learning: what does the academic community say about it?

Purpose This paper aims to describe the academic community’s perspectives about climate change learning and engagement opportunities by means of a case study at the University of Passo Fundo, Brazil. Design/methodology/approach A set of interviews and focus groups were conducted, and data collection focused on three main groups, namely, university students, professors and managers. The analysis was developed through content analysis of the individual interviews and focus groups. Findings The results showed that the academic community is trying to change their attitudes and behaviours, and students would like to learn more about climate change. Originality/value This investigation combines the views of different academic groups and indicates initiatives that could boost the university initiatives towards climate action and learning.

English needs analysis of food & beverage employees: A case study of a 5-star resort in Vietnam

In light of globalization and international travel, English plays a predominant role in the tourism and hospitality industries. Hence, effective communication in English becomes a requisite skill for Food and Beverage (F&B) employees, especially in luxury resorts. Nonetheless, there has been limited research into the linguistic needs of these employees. This preliminary study explored the English language needs and problems encountered by F&B staff at a 5-star resort in Vietnam in a post-pandemic context. Data included two sets of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews of full-time F&B employees and related stakeholders. In addition, an analysis of Tripadvisor reviews was utilized to understand customers’ opinions about the employees’ English abilities. The findings showed that the F&B employees perform various tasks requiring four English skills in their daily work. Regarding problems, these employees considered listening and writing to be the most difficult skills. Also, the F&B employees expected an ESP course prioritizing speaking and listening skills to mitigate the lack of exposure to English due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its concomitant travel restrictions. Based on the findings, practical course syllabi and pedagogical implications for related ESP courses were developed.

Balancing Between the Life Blood of Politics and an Object of Contempt: A Qualitative Study of Swedish MPs’ Perceptions of the Political Compromise

ABSTRACT Compromising is at the heart of politics, yet the concept is insufficiently understood from an agent’s perspective. This is important because the type of compromising is related to different qualities of politics and governing. In this article, we study Swedish politicians’ perceptions of political compromise to identify the meaning constructs of different approaches to compromising. We analyse a set of interviews with 21 Swedish MPs from a theory-guided content perspective, which allows for an inductive approach to the distinctive meanings of the politicians’ interview answers, but also connects these to theoretically derived meanings of the political compromise. We find the politicians to view compromise pragmatically as a necessity or idealistically as normatively valuable for democracy. Sometimes, the approach also includes a moralist contempt for certain types of compromises. The moralist perception was found to sometimes align with the pragmatic or idealist perceptions, mainly as a rhetorical anti-thesis for legitimising one’s stance. The pragmatic and idealistic perceptions seemed mutually exclusive. The findings indicate that analysing the politicians’ approaches to compromise can be informative for understanding the resulting politics and governing, where the pragmatic perception can be indicative of a governing mindset and the idealistic perception of a campaign mindset.