Retrospective on the Experience of Parental Pressure and Support by Male Participants that Withdrew from Competitive Youth Hockey: A Phenomenological Investigation

The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of parental pressure and support for males who withdrew from competitive youth hockey. A phenomenological approach was used to explore this phenomenon and develop meaning from the participants' experiences. Data for this study was collected by conducting one in-depth interview with each of the seven participants. Fourteen themes emerged as a result of the data analysis. These themes were grouped into three clusters: (1) Description of parental involvement: “I want them to be there and help me”; (2) Perceived impacts of parental involvement: “I felt like he actually cared”; and (3) Impact of parental involvement on commitment: “I kind of miss hockey now”. The descriptions provided by the participants in this study, and the themes that emerged, offer insight into what it is like for young males to experience parental involvement in competitive youth hockey.

Utilizing a Phenomenological Approach to Examine the Experience of Sexuality for Women Concerned about Urinary Incontinence following Spinal Cord Injury

Sexuality after spinal cord injury (SCI) is a complex issue that is influenced by a number of social, psychological and physiological factors, one of which is urinary incontinence (UI). Using a phenomenological approach, seven mixed methods interviews combining both the interview guide and standardized open-ended approaches were conducted to examine the experience of sexuality for women who are concerned about UI following SCI. Sexual function was one of the top priorities for the women after SCI, and UI was one of the main concerns the women had regarding sexuality. The findings of this study demonstrate that various dimensions of intimacy and the sexual experience as a whole were affected by UI, and the women discussed both physical and psychological concerns. The main issues regarding sexuality included concerns related to relationships, frustrations with limited sexual activities and the difficulty of being sexually satisfied, the number of unanswered questions and concerns, and a fear of being hurt or injured while participating in sexual activities. The main concerns regarding UI were embarrassment, the work and inconvenience involved with the clean-up of UI, bladder infections, the lack of accessible washrooms, and the negative effects of UI medications. When examining sexuality and UI together, the major issues were the constant comparison to the way things were before SCI, as well as the new concerns that the women did not have to worry about previously, worrying about how their partner would react if UI were to occur during sexual activity, and the impact of their own feelings toward UI on sexuality, a connection between pleasurable sexual sensations and UI as well as difficulty differentiating between the sensation of UI with the sensation of UI, dealing with infected urine during sexual activity, having to discuss UI with a new potential sexual partner, and a fear of rejection. Other identified issues included those related to body image, a lack of resources, Doctors who were inadequately educated regarding SCI, and issues related to both having and raising children. There is a significant shortage of information available for women with SCI to use as a resource regarding sexual function in general, and sexual function as it relates to UI. It is necessary that future work focus on creating resources to assist in this area, and that the dissemination of those resources becomes both appropriate and effective. Addressing sexual function and UI which are among the top concerns for this population has the opportunity to greatly improve quality of life (QOL) for these individuals.

The Essence of Feeling a Sense of Community: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry With Middle School Students and Teachers

In contemporary times, there is a compelling need to understand the nature of positive community relationships that value diverse others. This dissertation is a hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry into the essence of what it means to feel a sense of community. Specifically, I explored this phenomenon from the perspective of middle school teachers and students through the following questions: What meanings do students and teachers ascribe to feeling, experiencing, and developing a sense of community in their classes? To what extent do students’ and teachers’ ideas about feeling a sense of community include the acceptance of individual differences? Together these questions contributed to the overarching question, what is the essence of feeling a sense of community? As the data pool for the research, I used 192 essays and 218 posters from students who had been asked to write or draw about their visions of a positive classroom community where they felt a sense of community. I conducted 9 teacher interviews on the topic as well. My findings revealed one overarching ontology, Being-in-Relation, which outlined a full integration between individuality and community as a “way of being.” I also found five attributes that are present when individuals feel a sense of community: Supporting Others, Dialogue, An Ethic of Respect and Care, Safety, and Healthy Conflict. Contributions from this research include extensions to the literature about community; clarity for those who wish to establish a strong foundation of community relationships within formal and non-formal educational programs; insight that may assist educators, leaders, and policy makers within formal educational systems; and an opportunity to consider the extent to which the findings may point toward broader implications.

Returning to Play after Concussion: A Phenomenological Study

This study examines and describes athletes’ felt sense of readiness returning to play following a concussion. Analyses of the interviews yielded a description of each participant’s experiences with concussions. Descriptions of this phenomenon generated by informants provide a detailed account of the unique issues athletes face when returning to play following a concussion. Participants’ descriptions highlight that in order to play, an athlete knows that he/she ought to be emotionally and physically ready to play. However, the athletes in this study believe that there is not an actual test that can “prove” this and that they can choose to lie and/or cheat the tests to return to play while they are still symptomatic. Athletes, parents, coaches, and trainers will benefit from learning to be better educated on the severity of concussions, concussion detection, assessment and the serious health consequences that can result from playing with a concussion.

Exploring the Therapeutic Alliance in Cognitive-Behavior Therapy with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach

Abstract The therapeutic alliance (TA) is the most studied process of adult psychotherapeutic change (Zack et al., 2007) and has been found to have a moderate but robust relationship with therapeutic outcome regardless of treatment modality (Horvath, 2001). The TA is loosely described as the extent to which the therapist and the participant connect emotionally and work together towards goals. Conceptualizations of the TA with children have relied on adult models, even though it is widely acknowledged that the pediatric population will rarely willingly commit to therapy, nor readily admit to any challenges that they may be experiencing (Keeley, Geffken, McNamara & Storch, 2011). For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) the therapeutic alliance may require an even greater retheorizing considering the communicative and social difficulties of this particular population. Despite this need, research on children with ASD and the therapeutic TA is almost non-existent. In this qualitative study, transcripts from semi-structured interviews with mothers of children with ASD were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). IPA closely examines how individual people make sense of their life experiences using a theme-by-theme approach. The three interviewees were mothers whose children were participants in a nine-week Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) group for obsessive-compulsive behaviours (OCB). A total of four superordinate themes were identified: (i) Centralization and disremembering the TA, (ii) Qualities of the therapist, (iii) TA and the importance of time, and (iv) Signs of a healthy TA. The mothers’ perspectives on the TA suggest that, for them and their children, a strong TA was a required component of the therapy. Implications for clinicians and researchers are discussed.

The lived experience of mothering a child with autism: a hermeneutic phenomenological understanding

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complex developmental disorder with increasing prevalence. Despite the significant role of mothers, often seen as primary caregivers, there is limited understanding of this experience. The purpose of this study was to explore the everyday experience of mothers with children with autism. Accounts of lived experience were collected through research conversations with six mothers and analyzed using van Manen’s (1990) orientation to hermeneutic phenomenology. The main themes include: It Can’t Be Autism, The Womb is Extended, The Locus of Other, and The Womb is Now and is Forever. The findings suggest that mothers experienced a transformation from mother to mother with a child with autism; one that mirrors the transformation from woman to mother (Bergum, 1989). In this transformation, mothers move from suspicion of the potential diagnosis to acceptance that they are mothers with children whose needs define them and potentially, mothers whose wombs are forever extended.

A Phenomenological Study Exploring the Experiences of Men Who Work in Maternal-Newborn Nursing Positions

The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of men who choose to work in maternal-newborn nursing roles. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of six male nurses who worked in maternal-newborn settings using a semi-structured guide. Four themes emerged: Motivation and Influences in Career Choice, Barriers to Developing Caring Confidence as Maternal-Newborn Nurses, Surviving as Men in Maternal-Newborn Nursing, and The Invisible Norms Associated with Men in Maternal-Newborn Nursing. The study generated meaning surrounding career selection and addressed motivating factors such as role modeling, life experience, and passion for the area of specialization or convenience. There is importance in understanding the experiences of men who choose to work in maternal-newborn nursing roles. Thus, this research has implications for nursing, practice, education, and research, particularly with nursing leadership, policy makers, educators, guidance counselors, and men considering maternal-newborn nursing roles.

The Lived Experience of Nursing Students With Formative Assessment Formally Embedded in Clinical Courses: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

The potential of formative assessment (FA) for informing learning in classroom-based nursing courses is clearly established in the literature; however, research on FA in clinical courses remains scarce. This inquiry explored the lived experience of nursing students using transcendental phenomenology and described the phenomenon of being assessed in clinical courses. The research question guiding the study was: How is the phenomenon of assessment experienced by nursing students when FA is formally embedded in clinical courses? Inherent in this question were the following issues: (a) the meaning of clinical experiences for nursing students, (b) the meaning of being assessed through FA, and (c) what it is like to be assessed when FA is formally embedded within clinical experiences. The noematic themes that illuminated the whatness of the participants’ experience were (a) enabled cognitive activity, (b) useful feedback, (c) freedom to be, (d) enhanced focus, (e) stress moderator, and (f) respectful mentorship. The noetic themes associated with how the phenomenon was experienced were related to bodyhood, temporality, spatiality, and relationship to others. The results suggest a fundamental paradigm shift from traditional nursing education to a more pervasive integration of FA in clinical courses so that students have time to learn before being graded on their practice. Furthermore, this inquiry and the literature consulted provide evidence that using cognitive science theory to inform and reform clinical nursing education is a timely option to address the repeated calls from nursing leaders to modernize nursing education. This inquiry contributes to reduce our reliance on assumptions derived from research on FA in nursing classrooms and provides evidence based on the reality of using formative assessment in clinical courses. Recommendations for future research are presented.

A semi-phenomenological approach to the structure and transport properties of macromolecules in solution

Motiviert durch die Lebenswissenschaften (Life sciences) haben sich Untersuchungen zur Dynamik von Makromolekülen in Lösungen in den vergangenen Jahren zu einem zukunftsweisenden Forschungsgebiet etabliert, dessen Anwendungen von der Biophysik über die physikalische Chemie bis hin zu den Materialwissenschaften reichen. Neben zahlreichen experimentellen Forschungsprogrammen zur räumlichen Struktur und den Transporteigenschaften grosser MolekÄule, wie sie heute praktisch an allen (Synchrotron-) Strahlungsquellen und den Laboren der Biophysik anzutreffen sind, werden gegenwärtig daher auch umfangreiche theoretische Anstrengungen unternommen, um das Diffusionsverhalten von Makromolekülen besser zu erklären. Um neue Wege für eine quantitative Vorhersagen des Translations- und Rotationsverhaltens grosser Moleküle zu erkunden, wurde in dieser Arbeit ein semiphänomenologischer Ansatz verfolgt. Dieser Ansatz erlaubte es, ausgehend von der Hamiltonschen Mechanik des Gesamtsystems 'Molekül + Lösung', eine Mastergleichung für die Phasenraumdichte der Makromoleküle herzuleiten, die den Einfluss der Lösung mittels effektiver Reibungstensoren erfasst. Im Rahmen dieses Ansatzes gelingt es z.B. (i) sowohl den Einfluss der Wechselwirkung zwischen den makromolekularen Gruppen (den sogenannten molekularen beads) und den Lösungsteilchen zu analysieren als auch (ii) die Diffusionseigen schaften für veschiedene thermodynamische Umgebungen zu untersuchen. Ferner gelang es auf der Basis dieser Näherung, die Rotationsbewegung von grossen Molekülen zu beschreiben, die einseitig auf einer Oberfläche festgeheftet sind. Im Vergleich zu den aufwendigen molekulardynamischen (MD) Simulationen grosser Moleküle zeichnet sich die hier dargestellte Methode vor allem durch ihren hohen `Effizienzgewinn' aus, der für komplexe Systeme leicht mehr als fünf Grössenordnungen betragen kann. Dieser Gewinn an Rechenzeit erlaubt bspw. Anwendungen, wie sie mit MD Simulationen wohl auch zukünftig nicht oder nur sehr zögerlich aufgegriffen werden können. Denkbare Anwendungsgebiete dieser Näherung betreffen dabei nicht nur dichte Lösungen, in denen auch die Wechselwirkungen der molekularen beads zu benachbarten Makromolekülen eine Rolle spielt, sondern auch Untersuchungen zu ionischen Flüssigkeiten oder zur Topologie grosser Moleküle.

Why include phenomenological analysis in a Research Methods course?

Resumen tomado de la publicación

The phenomenological, epistemological, and semiotic components of generalization

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

Post-phenomenology/post-phenomenological geographies

Post-phenomenological geographies are an emergent (and as yet relatively fragmentary) body of work. This work does not reflect a turn away from phenomenological theories; rather it reflects a critical engagement which rereads them through the post-structuralist theories of such authors as Deleuze, Derrida, and Levinas. This rereading, combined with a disciplinary context of a turn to practice and the ‘more than human’, has resulted in post-phenomenological geographies which extend the boundaries of the phenomenological focus upon the experiencing subject (in place). Thus, the interest is in the ways in which inhuman, nonhuman, and more-than-human forces contribute to processes of subject formation, place making, and inhabiting the world. These geographies have thus far been played out through critical explorations of the realms of the experiencing subject and landscape. This more-than-human focus has tested conventional human geographical methods, requiring innovative use of technologies such as video to document research, the use of experiential research methods, and also experimentation with the form of narrating these experiential methods.