...University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA The Five-Question Method is an approach to framing Qualitative Research, focusing on the methodologies of five of the major traditions in qualitative research: biography, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and case study. Asking Five Questions, novice researchers select a methodology appropriate to the desired perspective on the selected topic. The Method facilitates identifying and writing a Problem Statement. Through taking a future perspective, the researcher discovers the importance and direction of the study and composes a Purpose Statement. The process develops an overarching research question integrating the purpose and the research problem. The role of the researcher and management of assumptions and biases is discussed. The Five-Question Method simplifies the framing process promoting quality in qualitative research design. A course outline is appended. Key words: Qualitative Research, Five-Question Method, Biography Research, Phenomenology Research, Grounded Theory Research, Case Study Research, and Ethnography Research Introduction Planning a qualitative study for the first time tends to be an intimidating venture for graduate students just entering the field. Even armed with a topic of interest, for a novice in qualitative research, identifying the problem can seem highly problematic in and of itself. “Students often enter a doctoral-level course with little or no previous preparation in qualitative research” (Cobb...
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...978-0-313-37976-5 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-313-37977-2 (ebook) 1. Office politics. 2. Leadership. 3. Power (Social sciences) I. Title. HF5386.5.F35 2009 658.4’095—dc22 2009018808 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook. Visit www.abc-clio.com for details. ABC-CLIO, LLC 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America Contents Preface Acknowledgement Introduction: The History and Theory of Power Part I: Defining Power in Work Group Operations Chapter 1: Elements of a Definition Chapter 2: Defining the Forms of Power Chapter 3: Bases of Power Chapter 4: Using Power Politics in Organizational Life Part I Issues and Activities Part II: Power Use: Tactical and Strategic Models Chapter 5: A Power Use Model Chapter 6: Power Use Tactics: Application of Power on the Job Chapter 7: Using Power in the Organization Part II Issues and Activities vii xi xiii 1 3 11 23 31 41 47 49 57 65 77 vi CONTENTS Part III:...
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...Major Theoretical Sociological Perspectives: Similarities and Differences Sociology: the scientific study of the development, structure and functioning of human society (Oxford). When the topic of discussion is sociology, Auguste Comte, the “father of positivism” would come to mind, as it was he who first coined the term “sociology” (Kreis, 2009). Comte also emphasized that the study of society must be scientific and he pushed sociologists to employ the use of qualitative methods such as observation, historical comparative analysis and experimentation. Sociological Perspective is the way in which we view sociological phenomena (Long, 2011). Among the many perspectives that exist there are three theoretical perspectives that are widely acknowledged by sociologists, these are the symbolic-interactionist perspective, conflict perspective and functionalist perspective. The analysis of social phenomenon occurs at varying levels by one of the three main theoretical perspectives or paradigms which provide sociologists with an orienting position or rather a philosophical position used to guide their questions about a society and its inhabitants. These phenomena range from evident interpretations to sweeping generalizations of society and its social behavior. Everything is studied from specific events straight up to the “big picture”, this would include the micro levels and macro levels of a society’s social patterns. The origin of the symbolic-interactionist theory traces back to...
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...RECRUITMENT & RETENTION OF THE VOLUNTEER:: RECRUITMENT & RETENTION OF THE VOLUNTEER THE MISSING PIECE OF THE FIRE SERVICE THE MISSING PIECE OF THE FIRE SERVICE August 15, 2002 Prepared By: Franklin Woodrow Wilson II Lieutenant, Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 HISTORY OF THE FIRE SERVICE ......................................................................... 4 RECRUITMENT ........................................................................................................ 6 MARKETING THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ............................................................... 6 ISSUES AND DIVERSITY CHALLENGES ............................................................... 7 CRITICAL AREAS TO INCREASE RECRUITMENT ............................................ 9 COMMUNITY .................................................................................................... 9 SELF ESTEEM ................................................................................................. 10 NEEDS ............................................................................................................ 10 PHILOSOPHY ........
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...Incidental and Intentional Learning JAN H. HULSTIJN 1 Introduction There are two popular views on what it means to learn a second language. One view holds that it means months and even years of “intentional” study, involving the deliberate committing to memory of thousands of words (their meaning, sound, and spelling) and dozens of grammar rules. The other, complementary, view holds that much of the burden of intentional learning can be taken off the shoulders of the language learner by processes of “incidental” learning, involving the “picking up” of words and structures, simply by engaging in a variety of communicative activities, in particular reading and listening activities, during which the learner's attention is focused on the meaning rather than on the form of language. These popular views on intentional and incidental learning reflect, at best, only partially the ways in which these terms have been and are being used in the academic literature. Some empirical researchers attribute to them only a specific methodological meaning, in the context of laboratory-type learning experiments. Apart from this methodological sense, incidental and intentional learning have been given various interpretations, sometimes indistinguishable from two more widely used terms, namely implicit and explicit learning, respectively. There are virtually no experimental L2 grammar learning studies which are explicitly presented as “intentional” learning studies...
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...Ama Dente MHA 601: PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION Error Avoidance in Post Modern/Complex Adaptive Systems Professor: Tricia Devin December 10, 2012 Post-modernist/complex adaptive systems are modern theories of management that deal with relationships within the organization and how the organization is structured. As in all positions of leadership, managers in these organizations have to possess tools necessary to keep their part of the organization running smoothly. Many of these managers employ the postmodernist complex adaptive systems theory because it allows for less rigid boundaries during the planning and implementation process as well as constantly reminding the manager that the staff is a critical component to the organization as well. Being in a position of leadership means that it is up to that person to handle any problems that may arise during the lifetime of the organization. This paper focuses on ten possible errors that can be found in health care organizations. For each of these errors, I will discuss what makes it an error and what way the error can be avoided. The first error that will be discussed is “failing to account for employees' ability to learn safe machine operation methods by experimenting on their own with ways to speed up production and thereby reduce the effort they are required to use.” The first criterion that proves this to be an error is that the failure to account for an employee's...
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...Running Head: EXAMINING NURSING: A PERSONAL FRAMEWORK Examining Nursing: A Personal Framework Cortney Airhart The University of Texas at Arlington School of Nursing In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of N5327 Analysis of Theories in Nursing Ronda Mintz-Binder, DNP, RN March 27, 2012 Examining Nursing Practice: A Personal Framework After graduating nursing school in 2008, I started working as an Operating Room nurse (OR) at a level one trauma center, which specializes in neurosurgery. I now scrub and circulate neurology, urology, ENT (ear, nose and throat), and plastic surgeries. I am also a charge nurse and in charge of orienting new nurses and graduate nurses. The OR is fast paced and challenging. One never knows what is going to come through the doors, but you have to be ready at any given moment, to do anything from removing tonsils to clipping an aneurysm, in a matter of minutes. In the OR, often times the team gets caught up in tasks that need to be performed to get the case going, and sometimes forget that a human being is lying on the table with both physical and emotional needs. That is why, I teach my new graduates and everyone that I precept to act like it is a member of their family lying on the table. Often times just a friendly word or a smile before the patient is put under anesthesia can make a world of difference. If there is time, I also update the family to what is going on in the OR and try to answer any questions...
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...Running head: CRITIQUE OF THEORY A Theory Critique: Boundaries in Marriage by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend Linda Mario Liberty University Summary: Boundaries in Marriage by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend The determinants of marital heartache are diverse. Dr. Cloud and Dr. Townsend address boundaries that have sustained multiple marriages and have advocated for the happiness between married couples. When one reads the title, he or she might think the boundaries the authors are trying to set in marriages are on their spouse but “Boundaries are not something you “set on” another person. Boundaries are about yourself” (Cloud & Townsend, 1999, p. 28). The focal points of this book include theories about boundaries, values, resolving conflict, and keeping God in a marriage. Cloud and Townsend (1999) explain that boundaries in marriage is fundamentally about love; prompting, growing, developing, and repairing the love (p.9). John 4:16 states “love is at the heart of marriage, as it is at the heart of God himself” (p.9). Cloud & Townsend (1999) present boundaries in different ways through words, truth, consequences, emotional distance, physical distance, other people and time. The descriptions of these points are crucial pieces in Cloud and Townsend’s theory. An individual’s language and words assist in defining who he or she is as a person and “what you believe, what you want, and what you don’t” (Cloud & Townsend...
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...expectation, whether true or not, affects the outcome of a situation or the behavior of a person or group. According to this theory, we form certain expectations of people or events and either consciously or unconsciously convey those expectations with various cues and signs, either in the way we talk or behave, that led to people adjusting their behavior to match those expectations. The result is that the original expectation becomes true (Tim, 2010). The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original false conception come 'true'. This specious validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning.[1] In other words, a prophecy, strongly held belief, or a delusion, declared as truth when it is actually false may sufficiently influence people, either through fear or logical confusion, so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false belief. This self fulfilling prophecy concept has been verified by many experiments and observations, and if we look at our own lives we can often see it happening in our lives in various situations. For example, parents who believe that their children will not do well in school tend to...
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...Deviant Behavior Social disorganization BIBLIOGRAPHY Both “deviant behavior” and “social disorganization” have been variously defined, but there have been few efforts to distinguish between the two concepts. In fact, it has been suggested that they are not different, that along with “social problems*’ and the somewhat outmoded “social pathology,” they signify only a potpourri of conditions that are considered undesirable from the standpoint of the observer’s values, conditions that vary at different times and with different observers. According to this view, these terms have no scientific value and no legitimate status as sociological concepts. Such nihilism and counsel of despair are not justified. True, there is no consensus on the meaning of these terms, and they are, indeed, burdened with value connotations. However, they point to a number of distinctions that sociology must take into account. Concept of deviance. Turning first to the concept of deviant behavior, we must distinguish among the several definitions of the term, which are discussed below. Behavior that violates norms. Deviant behavior is behavior that violates the normative rules, understandings, or expectations of social systems. This is the most common usage of the term and the sense in which it will be used here. Crime is the prototype of deviance in this sense, and theory and research in deviant behavior have been concerned overwhelmingly with crime. However, normative rules are inherent in...
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...studies, it comes at the beginning and provides a lens that shapes what is looked at and the questions asked, such as in ethnographies or in advocacy research. In mixed methods research, researchers may both test theories and generate them. Moreover, mixed methods research may contain a theoretical lens, such as a focus on feminist, racial, or class issues, that guides the entire study. I begin this chapter by focusing on theory use in a quantitative study. It reviews a definition of a theory, the use of variables in a quantitative study, the placement of theory in a quantitative study, and the alternative forms it might assume in a written plan. Procedures in identifying a theory are next presented, followed by a script of a theoretical perspective section of a quantitative research proposal. Then the discussion moves to the use of theory in a qualitative study. Qualitative inquirers use different terms for theories, such as patterns, theoretical lens, or naturalistic generalizations, to describe the broader explanations used or developed in their studies. Examples in this chapter illustrate the alternatives available to qualitative researchers. Finally, the chapter...
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...Studies of Implementation 115 12. Developing an Effective Level 1 Reaction Form: Duke Energy Corporation 117 13. Evaluating a Training Program for Nonexempt Employees: First Union National Bank 124 14. Evaluating a Training Program on Developing Supervisory Skills: Management Institute, University of Wisconsin 131 15. Evaluating a Leadership Training Program: Gap Inc. 144 16. Evaluating a Leadership Development Program: U.S. Geological Survey 168 17. Evaluating a Leadership Development Program: Caterpillar, Inc. 186 18. Evaluating Desktop Application Courses: Pollak Learning Alliance (Australia) 200 19. Evaluating an Orientation Program for New Managers: Canada Revenue Agency, Pacific Region 206 20. Evaluating Training for an Outage Management System: PacifiCorp 221 21. Evaluating a Coaching and Counseling Course: Grupo Iberdrola (Spain) 239 22. Evaluating a Performance Learning Model: Defense Acquisition University 262 23. Evaluating an Information Technology Skills Training Program:The Regence Group 276 24. Evaluating...
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...HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTISE EFFICIENCY IMPACT OF IMPLEMENTATION HRMS IN TENAGA NASIONAL BERHAD (TNB) -THE CASE STUDY- Abstract Although there is no official link connecting organizational performance and HR practices, there is still that link. It does not matter the lack of a physical connection, so as long as the connection does exist. Firstly, managing people the right way helps any organization achieve improved performance over time. When organizations manage their people well, the organization's performance itself will also improve over time. But if organization wants a more tangible basis for measuring HR performance and efficiency, then here are some commonly used metrics for that purpose. HR management starts with selection and recruitment. When a company has vacant positions, it will look for applicants for that position, in the hopes of finding the best one to suit the job. The measurement dimension to look out for here then is the level of sophistication that the processes of recruitment are at. Are the selection and application processes up to par? Do they come with appropriate psychometric tests? Does the department make use of clear criteria when it comes to selecting qualified people from its pool of applicants? Are the interviews as structured as they should be? The next process to look into is induction and training. Induction is the process of officially introducing newly hired employees into the company or the organization. Metrics here would still pertain...
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...PART I WHAT IS RESEARCH DESIGN? 1 THE CONTEXT OF DESIGN Before examining types of research designs it is important to be clear about the role and purpose of research design. We need to understand what research design is and what it is not. We need to know where design ®ts into the whole research process from framing a question to ®nally analysing and reporting data. This is the purpose of this chapter. Description and explanation Social researchers ask two fundamental types of research questions: 1 2 What is going on (descriptive research)? Why is it going on (explanatory research)? Descriptive research Although some people dismiss descriptive research as `mere description', good description is fundamental to the research enterprise and it has added immeasurably to our knowledge of the shape and nature of our society. Descriptive research encompasses much government sponsored research including the population census, the collection of a wide range of social indicators and economic information such as household expenditure patterns, time use studies, employment and crime statistics and the like. Descriptions can be concrete or abstract. A relatively concrete description might describe the ethnic mix of a community, the changing age pro®le of a population or the gender mix of a workplace. Alternatively 2 WHAT IS RESEARCH DESIGN? the description might ask more abstract questions such as `Is the level of social inequality increasing or declining?', `How secular is society...
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...In this introductory chapter the rationale for and philosophy behind Images of Strategy are outlined. We argue that the conventional twentieth-century history of management and strategy leads us to unquestioningly assume that organizations are, for all people at all times, triangular hierarchies; that strategy is enacted by ‘the men at the top’, and that it is about longterm planning, directing, organizing and controlling. At a philosophical level, we deconstruct this history before reconstructing an alternative vision – one based on a broader ‘pre-modern’ heritage. Here, organization could take many forms and strategy could, correspondingly, be many things and be seen through many images. At a practical level, we use the analogy of how people are oriented and animated by maps to argue that this broader heritage simply reinstates a more pragmatic view of how everyday people use many different frameworks in developing strategy in complex environments over time. 1 Images of Strategy STEPHEN CUMMINGS AND DAVID WILSON The young lieutenant of a Hungarian detachment in the Alps sent a reconnaissance unit into the icy wilderness. It began to snow immediately, and unexpectedly continued to snow for two days. The unit did not return. The lieutenant feared that he had dispatched his own people to death. However, on the third day the unit came back. Where had they been? How had they made their way? ‘Yes,’ they said: ‘We considered ourselves lost and waited for the end. We did...
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