1,468 research outputs found
Evaluation as adventure: taking that risk
No full textHelen Simons traces the values that underpin her preferred methodology of case study and democratic evaluation to the central values she gained from the land of her birth. She looks back to consider what early experiences may have influenced her deep commitment to these values and how they impacted on her professional world as a teacher, a psychologist, and an evaluator. Her interview transcript which was a stimulus for this article is here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/ev.20302/suppinfo. Read only. This should not be used in any form without explicit permission from the author.</p
Taking a longer LEAP? A service evaluation of early peanut screening and outcomes in higher risk infants
No full textFifteen-minute consultation: the EATERS method for the diagnosis of food allergies
No full textThe EATERS mnemonic is a novel method for taking an allergy focused clinical history. It provides a degree of certainty for diagnosing food allergy and can be used in both IgE and non IgE mediated reactions. EATERS will allow health care professionals to use their existing clinical skills to interpret the history of an allergic reaction, and by doing so will help to make sense of allergy test results.</p
The Social Construction of the Child Sex Offender Explored by Narrative
No full textThe notion of "child sex offender" provokes aversion, but it may be that it is a social construction. We suggest that a Dominant narrative, in which child sex offenders are constructed as irredeemable, persists, despite the emergence of assumption challenging Alternative narratives. A story completion method was used to elicit themes of Dominant or Alternative narratives, theory-led thematic analysis was used to identify them. The use and analysis of narrative and free-form stories are well established in social research, but remain a novel concept in the study of offenders. The results support the persistence of the Dominant narrative with two notable exceptions. Conclusions centre on utility of the narrative method to examine offender constructions, and the pervasiveness of Dominant narratives. Key Words: Dominant and Alternative Narrative, Social Construction, Child Sex Offenders, and Thematic Analysi
Making use of historical case material – the problems of looking back and the implications for service development in relation to research and evaluation activities
No full textThis methodological paper details the process of embarking on a follow-up study of young people with sexual behaviour problems who were known to services in the 1990s and who are now young adults in their twenties or early thirties. In the context of the importance of such follow-up work, the overall aim and objectives of the funded research project are specified and the challenges presented in setting up research partnerships with service sites, including the negotiation of access and ethical approval, are the subject of overview and reflection. The practicalities of beginning the fieldwork which comprised an initial analysis of historical case material held in the research sites are then detailed and the solutions to the problems encountered are explained. The article concludes by identifying the kinds of questions services and researchers need to consider when wanting to engender or enhance a research culture which is facilitative of this kind of outcome research. These relate to the resources necessary to support a research culture, the requirements of data protection and ethical approval processes, obtaining service user consent to participate in future research, secure but accessible storage of records, staff development and researchers’ obligations to minimise disruption to already hard pressed services
Producing the Prince of Publishing: Charlotte Brontë and George Smith
No full textCharlotte Brontë\u27s relationship with George Smith was complicated. The author and her publisher had a professional, intellectual and personal relationship characterized by force and influence on both sides, one not easily understood, vexed, sometimes entirely pragmatic, and strikingly human and contemporary in its unmythic character. The limitations of the Brontë Myth and also characters in the novel Villette — a novel in which Smith himself is said to appear — must not be overlooked and, rather, should be looked over to take in the unwieldy and undetermined expanse of this complex relationship
The Maids, Mother and 'The Other One' of the Discworld
No full textFantasy novelist Terry Pratchetts Discworld is inhabited by a very diverse group of characters ranging from Death and his horse Binky, Cut-Me-Own-Throat-Dibbler, purveyor of the pork pie, the Wizard faculty of the Unseen University and an unofficial coven of three witches. Because three was the right number for witches providing they are the right sort of type, according to Nanny Ogg.1 Magic features prominently on the Discworld; so much so that there are a host of long term side effects the inhabitants of the Discworld have come to expect from being in proximity to this powerful force. Phenomena that to others might seem strange or unusual are typical, even expected on the Discworld. The use of magic, for good or ill, is often a prominent theme in Pratchetts Discworld novels. This chapter focuses on the Pratchetts portrayal of magic as used by resident witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick and eventually Agnes Nitt who replaces Magrat when she assumes the title of queen. This will include the role each witch assumes as the Maiden, Mother and Crone, as well as the unique relationship each witch has forged with magic. The witches use of headology, which bears a striking similarity to the magic we know as psychology, will similarly be explored. Finally, the consequences of magic use are discussed.</p
Helen in Egypt, a Hidden Hathor? An Intercultural Study of Ancient Female Agency
No full textiv, 98 p.This Senior Individualized Project utilizes feminist agency theory to explore intercultural connections between the Egyptian goddess Hathor and the semi-divine Greek heroine Helen of Troy. While Helen has received considerable attention from modem feminist scholars, Hathor has not. The author examines Hathor and Helen's agency as daughters, wives, mothers, and destroyers in a variety of ancient Greek, Latin, and Egyptian sources, such as Euripides' Helen, Vergil's Aeneid, and the Egyptian "Destruction of Mankind." Feminist agency theory reveals similarities in Helen and Hathor's mythos, including celestial paternal origins and a connection to Egypt. She investigates Hathor's possible influence on Helen's mythos, particularly Helen's Egyptian sojourn and her eidolon, or "phantom." The results of this study will hopefully encourage modem classicists and Egyptologists to give more consideration to the relationship between Egypt and Greece. Such consideration could reveal hidden connections between the two civilizations, as done here with Hathor and Helen
Researching the History of Rites
No full textThis chapter discusses the potential of liturgical rites as sources,
some practical ways in which one can work with this material, some problems
that are likely to be encountered, and some possible directions for future
research. The focus is on how one can go about doing such research into medieval liturgical rituals
Notes on meteorological balloon mission planning
No full textIn the 21st century the high altitude gas balloon remains an indispensable tool in atmospheric science, meteorology and other applications requiring stratospheric observations. A prerequisite of the effectiveness of many types of balloon operations is an accurate trajectory forecasting capability, complete with appropriate error estimates. This is particularly important in targeted flights, sample return missions or flights of expensive instruments, whose recovery is essential. The ASTRA (Atmospheric Science Through Robotic Aircraft) initiative led to the development of such a forecast model, which is at the centre of the present paper. A key source of error in such models is our incomplete understanding of the drag opposing the rise of balloons in the free atmosphere – here we propose a new, stochastic model based on empirical data derived from thousands of radiosonde flights. We also examine other sources of prediction error affecting the accuracy of the flight path forecast, such as uncertainties in the wind profile and balloon envelope manufacturing variability. A Monte Carlo framework is used to provide probabilistic touchdown point estimates taking these error sources into account. The above elements have been integrated into a web service, which can be used as a flight planning tool – here we review the key features of its architecture
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