Unstructured Group Discussions Research Articles

The Impact of Political Instability on Sustainable Rangeland Management: A Study of Borana Rangeland, Southern Ethiopia

Political instability (PI) occurs between governments and other political elites either at the local, regional, and/or national levels. Planning, implementing, and monitoring of sustainable rangeland management strategies have a significant impact on the political environment of an area. In this study, the term PI implies an unsafe and unstable exercise of political power, and is a major obstacle to the implementation of sustainable rangeland management. The main purpose of this research was to provide empirical and theoretical knowledge by testing hypotheses about the impact of PI on the implementation of sustainable practice of rangeland management. Using in-depth interviews, this study conducted both structured and unstructured group discussions with 300 representative households of local pastoralists and others who were considered the key stakeholders in the sustainable activities of rangeland management. Results indicated that the local communities are significantly susceptible to the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural effects of sustainable management of rangeland due to PI. Furthermore, the impact of PI on the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects of rangelands indicators was evaluated. The findings also proved that the satisfaction of pastoralists with rangeland productivity and function was significantly affected, and prevented pastoralists from participating in rangeland management practice.

El Sancocho, la Bandera y la Familia: The Social Life of Food and its Implications for Dominican Immigrant Health and Well-Being.

In order to better understand factors that influence the health and well-being of Dominican immigrants, we explored the ways in which immigration influences cultural practices, health behavior, and health. Dominican immigrants (n = 42) took part in five reflective and unstructured group discussions and (n = 5) participated in an intergenerational photovoice group. The loss of the familial and social context in which Dominican dietary practices traditionally take place was a salient theme. For participants, eating became a rushed, perfunctory activity involving fewer people and less socializing. Dietary practices in the Dominican Republic are set in the context of familial norms and social processes, which provide support as well as opportunities for socializing and the transmission of cultural practices across generations. In the United States, broader sociopolitical forces are guided by individualism and do not support the development or maintenance of these factors for Dominicans. Policies that promote work-life balance may have important implications for dietary practices in new immigrant communities.

Is More Activity Always Better? A Department‐Wide Study of Relationships Between Classroom Practices and Student Performance

Extensive research into science education has established that active learning practices positively impact student learning1. From these findings, we can now move forward to explore how to best design active classroom practices, and assess the most effective use of instructional time. To address these issues on a large scale within biology, we investigated the relationships between specific classroom practices and student learning in a biology department‐wide study at a large research university in the Pacific Northwest. For 31 different biology course sections ranging from freshman to senior year, and on topics from molecular biology and biochemistry to ecology and physiology, we collected classroom activity and diagnostic test data. Classroom observations captured the student and instructor behavior using the validated tool COPUS2; the diagnostic assessments were multiple‐choice pre‐ and post‐tests aligned to each course's content, consisting largely of validated questions from the concept inventory literature. Our observational data analysis showed a wide variety of instructor practices across the department, consistent with other large‐scale characterizations, which allow for clustering this multidimensional classroom data into broader instructional styles3,4. Notably, students in “Collaborative” classrooms significantly outperform students in “Peer Instruction” and “Lecture” styles, though there is no difference between the performance in the two latter styles. More finely‐grained, the amount of class time spent on clicker questions or worksheets are each significant and positive predictors of student performance. Interestingly, we see a negative relationship between unstructured group discussions (using neither clicker nor worksheets) and performance, highlighting the need for targeted approaches to engage students in productive active learning. Thus, building on current research that describes large‐scale teaching practices, we can now quantitatively link program‐wide COPUS observational data with student outcomes. The results of this work describe a platform by which others might evaluate learning and classroom practices, inform future directions for instructor development, and provide further insight into the types of classroom activities that have the greatest impact on student learning.

Choosing Important Health Outcomes For Comparative Effectiveness Research: A Systematic Review.

A core outcome set (COS) is a standardised set of outcomes which should be measured and reported, as a minimum, in all effectiveness trials for a specific health area. This will allow Results to be compared, contrasted and combined as appropriate, as well as ensuring that all trials contribute usable information. The aim of this review was to identify studies which sought to determine which outcomes or domains to measure in all clinical trials in a specific condition, and to describe the methodological techniques used in these studies. We developed a multi-faceted search strategy for electronic databases (MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Methodology Register). We included studies which sought to determine which outcomes/domains to measure in all clinical trials in a specific condition. 198 studies (250 reports) were included in the review. Studies covered various areas of health, most commonly cancer, rheumatology, neurology, heart and circulation, and dentistry and oral health. A variety of Methods have been used to develop COS, including semi-structured discussion, unstructured group discussion, the Delphi Technique, Consensus Development Conference, surveys and Nominal Group Technique. The most common groups involved were clinical experts and non-clinical research experts. Thirty-one (16%) studies reported that the public had been involved in the process. The geographic locations of participants were predominantly North America (n=164; 83%) and Europe (n=150; 76%). This review has brought together the existing research in a single place. COS will increase the efficiency and value of the research process and make it easier for people to make well-informed decisions about health care. Design of new trials will be simplified, risk of measuring inappropriate outcomes reduced, and selective reporting of outcomes less likely. We have highlighted future areas of research, including the need for methodological guidance for COS development and better reporting of COS studies.

Choosing important health outcomes for comparative effectiveness research: a systematic review.

BackgroundA core outcome set (COS) is a standardised set of outcomes which should be measured and reported, as a minimum, in all effectiveness trials for a specific health area. This will allow results of studies to be compared, contrasted and combined as appropriate, as well as ensuring that all trials contribute usable information. The COMET (Core Outcome Measures for Effectiveness Trials) Initiative aims to support the development, reporting and adoption of COS. Central to this is a publically accessible online resource, populated with all available COS. The aim of the review we report here was to identify studies that sought to determine which outcomes or domains to measure in all clinical trials in a specific condition and to describe the methodological techniques used in these studies.MethodsWe developed a multi-faceted search strategy for electronic databases (MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Methodology Register). We included studies that sought to determine which outcomes/domains to measure in all clinical trials in a specific condition.ResultsA total of 250 reports relating to 198 studies were judged eligible for inclusion in the review. Studies covered various areas of health, most commonly cancer, rheumatology, neurology, heart and circulation, and dentistry and oral health. A variety of methods have been used to develop COS, including semi-structured discussion, unstructured group discussion, the Delphi Technique, Consensus Development Conference, surveys and Nominal Group Technique. The most common groups involved were clinical experts and non-clinical research experts. Thirty-one (16%) studies reported that the public had been involved in the process. The geographic locations of participants were predominantly North America (n = 164; 83%) and Europe (n = 150; 76%).ConclusionsThis systematic review identified many health areas where a COS has been developed, but also highlights important gaps. It is a further step towards a comprehensive, up-to-date database of COS. In addition, it shows the need for methodological guidance, including how to engage key stakeholder groups, particularly members of the public.

The Effects of Unstructured Group Discussion on Ethical Judgment

The authors examine the effects of shared information and group discussion on ethical judgment when no structure is imposed on the discussion to encourage ethical considerations. Discussants were asked to identify arguments for and against a variety of business behaviors with ethical implications. A group moderator solicited and recorded arguments for and against the behaviors but provided no evaluation of the arguments presented or the behaviors described. Discussion group subjects were significantly less critical of profit-driven business behaviors than a control group, and were also less critical of self-interest-driven behaviors when those behaviors did not appear to adversely affect profits.

Writing for publication made easy for nurses: an evaluation

The purpose of the project was to encourage and support nurses to write papers for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Writing for publication is an important nursing role as it is a means of communicating knowledge, skills and experiences to improve patient outcomes. Despite the importance, nurses have limited confidence and experiences with publishing nursing developments. A comprehensive development programme was designed to provide direction and leadership on how to write for publication. Fifty participants attended the programme and it was led and supported by two experienced facilitators. A multi-method approach to evaluation was undertaken including attendance, an evaluation questionnaire, a focus group and a review of writing outcomes. By one year from commencement of programme, 25% had submitted a paper for peer review publication. The programme created and sustained motivation to write and participants valued the taught focused sessions as well as the unstructured group discussion sessions. The writing for publication programme for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals was successful.

Social Ostracism in Task Groups: The Effects of Group Composition

Social ostracism—being ignored or excluded—threatens needs for self-esteem, belongingness, control, and meaningful existence. In the conventional laboratory paradigms, a lone participant is ostracized by either confederates or imagined group members and then completes measures of threatened needs. This approach prohibits asking questions about the group dynamics involved in ostracism situations, such as conditions under which sources of ostracism choose to ignore targets and the communication between them. This new paradigm for studying social ostracism uses unstructured group discussions in which an uninformed member is ignored. In an experiment using three-person, mixed-gender groups, we found that the psychological threat associated with being ignored during group discussion depended on the group’s composition. Being a target of ostracism hurt more when the pair of sources included one in-group (same sex) and one out-group (opposite sex) member compared with when both sources belonged to the out-group (opposite sex).

Does it really matter? Young people and popular music

Despite the debates surrounding media audiences, it seems that little work within popular music studies has engaged directly with those who consume, listen to and use popular music as part of their everyday lives. The purpose of this paper is therefore to examine issues relating to popular music audiences through an analysis of my own research which has involved conducting unstructured group discussions with teenagers at a comprehensive school in East Sussex, South England, during the Summer term of 1999. These young people articulated the significance of popular music in their lives in terms of its usefulness within the context of their daily routines, rather than as a meaningful source for identity investment.

Information Exchange in Context: Effects of Gender Composition of Group, Accountability, and Intergroup Perception on Group Decision Making1

In the present study, the dissemination of shared and unshared information (cf. Stasser & Titus, 1985) in unstructured group discussion is analyzed. In previous experiments, several manipulations of the task itself were introduced, in search of conditions that could facilitate the exchange of unshared information. As such, these studies neglected the potential impact of context variables on group performance. In the present study, the effects of accountability, intergroup perception, and gender composition of group on information exchange are investigated. The results indicate that heterogeneous groups exchanged more information when a second group was present. Information exchange was not promoted by the presence of an outgroup for homogeneous groups. Groups in the accountability condition displayed more difficulties to reach agreement, but this did not lead to the mentioning of more information.

Using Relative Confidence Judgments to Evaluate Group Effectiveness

The performance of groups can be greatly influenced by their ability to identify their best member. This study investigated this issue in the context of a quantitative judgment task. Relative confidence judgments were used to determine the extent to which group members were able to identify their best member. The effectiveness of groups was also compared across three experimental conditions that varied in terms of the specific instructions group members were given about the group discussion. Results indicate that group members were often able to identify the most accurate member even though the judgment task did not have a demonstrable solution. Groups were also at least as accurate as their best member nearly 40% of the time. The group process intervention that encouraged group members to try to determine the most accurate individual judgment fared better than the intervention that focused on intraindividual accuracy rankings. Groups in this condition also showed the strongest correspondence between identifying the best member and performing at this level. Groups assigned to an unstructured group discussion condition performed nearly as well as those assigned to the more successful of the two interventions.

Ethical conflicts in long-term care of the aged: nutritional problems and the patient-care worker relationship.

The patient-care worker relationship was analysed by observation and unstructured group discussion in four long-stay somatogeriatric wards at Saint Lars Hospital. Investigation centred on patients entering the terminal phase who could no longer be spoon-fed. The relationship was complicated and reciprocal, and failure by the care worker to interpret her role and the dying patient's behaviour correctly led to emotional conflict and double-binding, with resultant anxiety for both herself and the patient. Infusions and tube-feeding prescribed in such cases were given not for the patient's benefit but to relieve anxiety in care workers and relatives. Permitting the patient a natural, painless death from water deficiency may be preferable to prolonging pain and discomfort by intervening with infusion and tube-feeding.

Characteristics of interpersonal behavior among adolescent boys

This study was concerned with verbal behavior in a discussion group setting. Two groups of nine tenth grade boys met for eight sessions in an unstructured group discussion. Verbal behavior was coded using a modified version of Bales' interaction process analysis. The most frequently coded behaviors were Giving Opinions, Dramatizing, and Expressing Anxiety. Verbal participation and initiation were positively correlated (r'=0.88). Slightly more of the interaction was coded as affective than cognitive. Positive ratings of the group experience by theSs are contrasted to behavioral evidence of discomfort and anxiety. Inferences are drawn about the boys' lack of interpersonal skills and their use of fantasy to support their masculine sex role.

The effects of prolonged exposure to phobic situations upon agoraphobic patients treated in groups

Nineteen female agoraphobic patients were treated by exposure to imaginal and real phobic stimulation in groups. There were three groups, including 7, 5 and 6 patients respectively, and each group received 9 hr of treatment spread over three sessions. The first two treatment hours of the first two sessions were arranged as a crossover design, patients being randomly allocated at the first session to imaginal or reality treatment for an hour followed by the other treatment for an hour, and receiving the treatments in reverse order at the second session. On both occasions there was a third hour of treatment after 1 hr unstructured group discussion over lunch. Psychological and behavioural measures were made before and after each part of treatment, and at follow-up 5 months after treatment. Patients were significantly helped by this procedure. Practice sessions were associated with much more improvement than imaginal ones, and there was also an order effect, the first treatment received on each treatment day being more effective than the second. Group discussion over lunch did not improve the patient's phobias. The implications of these findings are discussed.