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Objectives: Qualitative research is a standard research method in social sciences. It elicits the opinions of studied individuals to understand the issues to be solved. Findings commonly lead to hypotheses for subsequent studies. In medicine, it has been utilized only sporadically despite arguments to understand quality of life of patients. We applied the phenomenological qualitative research method to understand the thought process of distinguished Invisalign practitioners. In the absence of experimental evidence, clinicians typically rely on their past clinical experience, opinions of experts, and limited published case studies. In an effort to develop a more robust knowledge base to build clinician skills, this study was designed to assess how expert clinicians address the divergence between ClinCheck® simulation and actual tooth movements with Invisalign. Methods: Structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with five orthodontists who are known Invisalign experts of complex cases. Information were collected on: their approach to difficult transverse, vertical, and extraction treatment. Interviews utilized the conventional qualitative research protocol of recording, and then transcribing to analyze the data. Results: Some experts seek to push the limits of the aligner appliance whereas others still rely upon auxiliaries, such as fixed appliances, to achieve the treatment goals. In extraction treatment, the difficulty of tipping and root paralleling were counteracted by designing ClinCheck with virtual Tweed mechanics, where the plastic and attachments create “couple” type forces. Constricted arches receive expansion of ≤3mm, coupled with flattening of curve of Wilson by buccal root torque of approximately 5-10o. Open-bite treatment relies upon intrusion of molars and “relative” extrusion of incisors whereas, deep-bite receives overcorrection with premolar extrusion to level the curve of Spee. Conclusions: The expert orthodontist’s faith in Invisalign attachments, over-correction, and efficacy of virtual mechanics in ClinCheck are influenced by the malocclusion and their previous experience. Some experts seek to push the limits by re-configuring mechanics of the aligner appliance while others rely upon auxiliaries and braces to improve predictability. Hypothesis-driven experimental studies may now be designed. / Oral Biology

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The invisibility of lesbian, plurisexual, and gay (LGB+) women in sexual health research is of particular concern when it comes to understanding and supporting their safer sex practices. Results of a qualitative secondary analysis of sexual decision-making interviews among 22 LGB+ cisgender women showed that LGB+ women both reify and push against heteronormativity in their sexual partnerships. By queering definitions of “sex” beyond heterosexual intercourse, leaning into trust as a foundation of new sexual partnerships, and promoting accessible and realistic hygienic strategies for STI prevention, LGB+ women queer, or reimagine, new sexual scripts. These results highlight the need for relationship and sexual health scholars to direct focus towards the promotion of holistic sexual and relationship education and research which reflects LGB+ women’s various sexual desires, goals and needs. / M.S. / The way we act in our romantic and sexual relationships is shaped by influences we receive from everything around us, including our families, the government, the media, and how we are educated. These influences also default to “heteronormative” partnerships, or those that are between two straight, monogamous, married individuals. In turn, researchers don’t often include lesbian, gay, and bisexual women in their research on sexual risk prevention, even though this group is at certain risk for unintended pregnancy and transmitting sexually transmitted infections. For my thesis, I looked at how the heteronormativity influenced LGB+ women as they discussed preventing pregnancy and STI’s. I found that this population is influenced by heteronormativity in that they prioritize pregnancy over STI prevention, and disregard dental dam (used as a barrier like a condom, but for oral sex) use with partners. However, LGB+ women also push against heteronormativity by holding wider definitions of sex with partners, promoting trust, and promoting hygiene during and after sex.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions that college age women have of social aggression and its consequences in their lives. Qualitative research methods were used to analyze written narrative responses to a question posed to women enrolled in a human sexuality class at Virginia Tech. Although 83 narrative responses were selected, 32 narratives that met criteria were examined using modified analytic induction. A coding scheme was devised and the codes were applied to each narrative and revised many times. The findings of the study suggest that the consequences of social aggression continue for months and even years after incident has occurred. Women indicated that their relationships have changed due to their experiences and that these experiences have made them cautious of friendships with women. Furthermore, many women acknowledged that they perceive men to be more trustworthy and better friends than women because of the "mean" nature of women. Additionally, women had a difficult time acknowledging their own meanness and attempted to justify meanness that they did acknowledge. Further research is needed to explain why women feel they cannot trust other women. Additionally, more research is needed to explain why women perceive men to be more trustworthy and why they perceive that men are better friends when previous research suggests that social aggression levels even out during late adolescence and emerging adulthood. / Master of Science

This paper aims at exploring and discussing the possibilities of applying qualitative content analysis as a (text) interpretation method in case study research. First, case study research as a research strategy within qualitative social research is briefly presented. Then, a basic introduction to (qualitative) content analysis as an interpretation method for qualitative interviews and other data material is given. Finally the use of qualitative content analysis for developing case studies is examined and evaluated. The author argues in favor of both case study research as a research strategy and qualitative content analysis as a method of examination of data material and seeks to encourage the integration of qualitative content analysis into the data analysis in case study research.

In contemporary American society, the nonprofit board is accountable for ensuring that an organization has sufficient resources to carry out its mission. Filling the gap between demands for services and the resources to meet them is often a struggle for small, local nonprofit organizations. This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how board members of small, local nonprofits in the focal community perceive organizational effectiveness. Understanding the nature of nonprofit organization effectiveness according to board members contributes to understanding how those accountable meet their organizational objectives. A review of the literature revealed that nonprofit effectiveness involves the action of contributing and the motivation behind the action, both of which are associated with trust and reciprocity. Guided by social constructivism, this study employed a qualitative analysis of repeated iterations of semiotic data from board members (n = 30) and text analysis of organizational mission statements (n = 21), generating thick descriptions of the board members' understanding of effectiveness. Findings were derived from successive coding iterations starting with the raw data, through locating text related to specific codes, to verifying relationships among codes, and incorporating researcher reflection. The analysis revealed that strategies focused on developing reciprocity and mitigating mistrust among board members contribute to board members' perceiving their organizations as effectively achieving their objectives. The study's findings support positive social change by informing social scientists and members of local nonprofit boards of the perceived gap between services demands and the resources to meet them among board members.

This paper explores automating the qualitative analysis of physical systems. It describes a program, called PLR, that takes parameterized ordinary differential equations as input and produces a qualitative description of the solutions for all initial values. PLR approximates intractable nonlinear systems with piecewise linear ones, analyzes the approximations, and draws conclusions about the original systems. It chooses approximations that are accurate enough to reproduce the essential properties of their nonlinear prototypes, yet simple enough to be analyzed completely and efficiently. It derives additional properties, such as boundedness or periodicity, by theoretical methods. I demonstrate PLR on several common nonlinear systems and on published examples from mechanical engineering.

Freiburg i. Br., Univ., Diss., 2006.