Causes of communication problems at work: A qualitative analysis of supervisor-subordinate differences

This study provided information about how individual workers perceive, describe and interpret episodes of problematic communication. Sixteen full-time workers (5 males, 11 females) were interviewed in depth about specific incidents of problematic communication within their workplace. Their descriptions of the attributed causes of the incidents were coded using a categorisation scheme developed from Coupland, Wieman, and Giles' (1991) model of sources of problematic communication. Communication problems were most commonly attributed to individual deficiency and group membership, although there were differences depending on the direction of communication. The most negative attributions (to personality flaws, to lack of skills, and to negative stereotypes of the outgroup) were most commonly applied by individuals to their supervisors, whilst attributions applied to co-workers and subordinates tended to be less negative, or even positive in some instances (where individuals attributed the fault to themselves). Overall, results highlighted distinctions between the perceptions of communication problems with supervisors and with subordinates, and are interpreted with reference to social identity theory.

Integrating technology to improve the efficiency of qualitative data analysis - A note on methods

Qualitative data analysis (QDA) is often a time-consuming and laborious process usually involving the management of large quantities of textual data. Recently developed computer programs offer great advances in the efficiency of the processes of QDA. In this paper we report on an innovative use of a combination of extant computer software technologies to further enhance and simplify QDA. Used in appropriate circumstances, we believe that this innovation greatly enhances the speed with which theoretical and descriptive ideas can be abstracted from rich, complex, and chaotic qualitative data. © 2001 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

Young refugees talk about well-being: A qualitative analysis of refugee youth mental health from three states

Young people from refugee backgrounds face enormous challenges in the settlement process within Australia. They must locate themselves within a new social, cultural, geographic and adult space, yet also try to find security within the spaces of their own families and ethnic communities. Traumas of the past can mix with painful experiences of the present. The stressors in the lives of these young people can be both complex and diverse. This paper explores the nature a/these stressors among young people from refugee backgrounds living in Australia. [t is based On in-depth interviews with 76 young people from refugee backgrounds now living in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. A qualitative analysis of the impact of these stressors as well as the coping strategies employed are discussed It is argued that trauma exists

Views of general practitioners and benzodiazepine users on benzodiazepines: A qualitative analysis

Effectively assisting benzodiazepine users to cease use requires a greater understanding of general practitioners' (GPs) and benzodiazepine users' views on using and ceasing benzodiazepines. This paper reports the findings from a qualitative study that examined the views of 28 GPs and 23 benzodiazepine users (BUs) in Cairns, Australia. A semi-structured interview was conducted with all participants and the information gained was analysed using the Consensual Qualitative Research Approach, which allowed comparisons to be made between the views of the two groups of interviewees. There was commonality between GPs and BUs on reasons for commencing benzodiazepines, the role of dependence in continued use, and the importance of lifestyle change in its cessation. However, several differences emerged regarding commencement of use and processes of cessation. In particular, users felt there was greater need for GPs to routinely advise patients about non-pharmacological management of their problems and potential adverse consequences of long-term use before commencing benzodiazepines. Cessation could be discussed with all patients who use benzodiazepines for longer than 3 months, strategies offered to assist in management of withdrawal and anxiety, and referral to other health service providers for additional support. Lifestyle change could receive greater focus at all stages of treatment. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

3D reconstruction and quantification of macropores using X-ray computed tomography and image analysis

Axial X-ray Computed tomography (CT) scanning provides a convenient means of recording the three-dimensional form of soil structure. The technique has been used for nearly two decades, but initial development has concentrated on qualitative description of images. More recently, increasing effort has been put into quantifying the geometry and topology of macropores likely to contribute to preferential now in soils. Here we describe a novel technique for tracing connected macropores in the CT scans. After object extraction, three-dimensional mathematical morphological filters are applied to quantify the reconstructed structure. These filters consist of sequences of so-called erosions and/or dilations of a 32-face structuring element to describe object distances and volumes of influence. The tracing and quantification methodologies were tested on a set of undisturbed soil cores collected in a Swiss pre-alpine meadow, where a new earthworm species (Aporrectodea nocturna) was accidentally introduced. Given the reduced number of samples analysed in this study, the results presented only illustrate the potential of the method to reconstruct and quantify macropores. Our results suggest that the introduction of the new species induced very limited chance to the soil structured for example, no difference in total macropore length or mean diameter was observed. However. in the zone colonised by, the new species. individual macropores tended to have a longer average length. be more vertical and be further apart at some depth. Overall, the approach proved well suited to the analysis of the three-dimensional architecture of macropores. It provides a framework for the analysis of complex structures, which are less satisfactorily observed and described using 2D imaging. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Introducing ethnomethodological analysis to the field of music education

In recent years qualitative research methods have been adopted within in the field of music education and have received widespread acceptance. However, the theoretical framework provided by ethnomethodology (Garfinkel, 1974, in R. Turner, Ethnomethodology , Penguin, Middlesex, UK) and the tools of conversational analysis (Sacks, 1992, Lectures on Conversation , edited by Gail Jefferson, Blackwell, Oxford, UK) have, to this point, been overlooked by researchers in the field of music education. In this paper I argue that the application of ethnomethodological and conversation analytical approaches in the field of research in music education can provide fresh insights into the work of music teachers and how this work is accomplished in institutional settings. Here I demonstrate how a conversation analytical perspective drawing on an ethnomethodological framework might be used to investigate transcripts of audio-recorded interview talk. This type of analysis can illuminate aspects of members' roles in relation to, and perceptions about music education in school settings that might be overlooked in other types of analysis. A conversation analytical approach to the examination of talk-in-interaction explicates in fine-grained detail how members orient to matters at hand in the context of research settings, as well as revealing features of the cultural world of music teaching. Further application of the approach to research problems in other school settings, I argue, will inform the field of music education in ways yet to be realised.