1,720,991 research outputs found
Surviving in field - an exploration of challenges of participant observation in social work settings
No full textA qualitative study of patients’ views on the effects of breast-reduction surgery: a 2-year follow-up survey
No full textThe objectives of this study were to discover the views of patients about the effects of breast-reduction surgery carried out 2 years previously, to detect any change from perceptions at 3–6 months after surgery, and to determine whether the benefits of this operation are maintained long term. Qualitative research methods were employed, comprising: (a) an open-format survey of opinions; (b) semi-structured telephone interviews with a smaller number of patients; and (c) assessment of self-concept using a well-known scalar measure (the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale).The subjects were 93 patients treated at the regional Plastic Surgery Service in Salisbury, who had previously participated in a quantitative study at 3–6 months after surgery. Sixty patients responded to the 2-year follow-up. Benefits of breast reduction most valued by patients did not change significantly with time and were: relief of pain and discomfort, which led to increased physical activity and better general health; greatly increased choice and fit of attractive clothes and underwear; improved personal and social life, leading to enhanced relationships with partner or friends; and greatly improved self-confidence in all areas of life. The interaction of all these factors led to improved self-image and improved quality of life. The main disadvantage of the operation for a small number of patients was the persistence of painful, disfiguring scarring which in two cases had a detrimental effect on social and personal relationships and led to a deterioration in quality of life. Improvement in self-esteem after surgery was maintained in 55 out of the 60 2-year responders.The results indicate that breast reduction confers significant health gains which are maintained in the long term
Nurse-led intermediate care: an opportunity to develop enhanced roles for nurses?
No full textBACKGROUND: Nurse-led intermediate care units are being set up across the UK primarily as potential solutions to hospital bed crises. AIMS: This paper draws on data collected as part of a comprehensive evaluation of one 10-bedded nurse-led unit (NLU) located in the South of England. It explores the potential for enhanced nursing roles provided by such units by focusing on the views of NLU nursing staff and other professional groups within the Hospital Trust where the unit is located.METHODS: A total of 38 in-depth audio-taped qualitative interviews were conducted with NLU nursing staff and with a range of other professional groups (managers, acute ward nurses and doctors).FINDINGS: These data indicated that models of nurse-led postacute care do provide opportunities for nurses to develop enhanced nursing roles in which care associated with concepts of therapeutic nursing can be provided. However, even though the nurses derived satisfaction from their work on the NLU this model of care was seen by junior and middle grade nurses and other professional groups as being of low status. In contrast to senior nurses' views, they did not equate work on the NLU with the continuing professionalization of nursing. Senior nurses viewed the route to developing nursing on the NLU as involving nurses as doctor substitutes (extended roles) rather than as working in separate but complementary therapeutic domains (enhanced roles). CONCLUSIONS: NLUs provide opportunities for nurses to develop enhanced roles in which they can work autonomously in providing elements of therapeutic nursing aimed at improving patient outcomes at discharge. However, education, training and leadership will be needed to ensure that such opportunities are well understood and are optimized to the benefit of nurses and their patient
Nurse-led intermediate care: patients' perceptions
No full textIntermediate care currently forms one of the UK Government's main initiatives for improving the quality of post-acute care. This paper examines patients' and carers' experiences of a nurse-led unit, which aims to provide intermediate care for people no longer acutely ill. Drawing on findings from qualitative interview data, we demonstrate that patients viewed this model of care as acceptable but that they had markedly inconsistent experiences of care and reported considerable variation in their perceptions of the Unit's purpose. Some possible reasons for this are explored. Implications for the development of good quality nurse-led intermediate care are outline
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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