Thesis advisor: Eve Spangler / With large numbers of low-income single mothers facing a difficult job market while simultaneously experiencing the erosion of social welfare aid, it is vitally important to understand their efforts and the obstacles they face, trying to move out of poverty. This dissertation examines the ways in which a group of low-income single mothers, who were at the center of the enthnographic study presented here, struggled and also succeeded. Attention is paid to the institutional and personal obstacles that impacted the progress of the women. The research, including annual interviews, took place over a three-year period from 2009-2012, as part of a larger ethnographic study on the low-income single parents who were participants in a community based antipoverty program in South Boston. The articles call into question the ways in which social institutions like schools, workplaces, and social services agencies affect the progress of single mother-headed families, raising challenges to conventional approaches and embedded assumptions about social mobility. The mothers’ stories presented in the articles speak directly to the myth of the welfare queen single mother by offering a view of a group of low-income single mothers working very hard to parent, work and attend school. The research is presented in three articles: Article One: Social Network Development Among Low-income Single Mothers: Potential for Bridging, Bonding and Building Social Capital. This article explores social networks formed by the interviewees through their participation in the antipoverty program. The interview data refute the claim that bonds within the community hinder women in their attempts to move their families out of poverty. We observed benefits from social networks that emerged as a result of program participation in the following categories: practical support, emotional support, modeling and mentoring, and expansion of information resources. We also uncovered a new kind of social network formed among low-income women who were actively pursuing a path out of poverty. These hybrid networks, building social networks (BSNs), form among people who are straddling two worlds, and as such, are uniquely positioned to help one another. Article Two: Moving “Up and Out,” Together: Exploring the Benefits of the Mother-Child Bond for Low-Income Single Mother-headed Families. It is a commonly held belief, even among poverty researchers, that bearing children or bearing additional children negatively impacts the social mobility of low-income single mothers. The data here offer a more complex view of the interactions between mothers and children as they both try to move forward, suggesting that the mother-child bond may be a source of motivation and support. Benefits of the mother-child bond emerged in the following categories: forming an alliance around education for mother and child, viewing children as the primary motivation to move forward, and changing behaviors in order to be role models for children. Article Three: The Winding Path Back to School: Hidden Obstacles to Higher Education for Low-Income Single Mothers. This article explores obstacles to the pursuit of higher education for these low-income single mothers, uncovering challenges that have yet to be explored in the literature about higher education for low-income parents. Findings revealed institutional and practical obstacles to their pursuit of higher education, including conflicting advice from “experts” and difficulty retaining public benefits while attending school. The primary obstacles that emerged were categorized as follows: (a) winding paths and dead ends, (b) difficult transitions, (c) short-sighted decisions, and (d) inflexible institutions. Also evident among interviewees were misconceptions about the policies and practices of institutions of higher education, such as not predicting the difficulty of transferring credits between schools and lack of understanding about differences between degree programs. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

This thesis explores the life world of twelve occupational therapists. Interpretivist, phenomenological methodology has been employed to capture the central features of what it means to be an occupational therapist. Assumptions arising from phenomenological, social constructionist and hermeneutic theories underpin the methodology. Data gathered from nine in-depth interviews, three participant observations and personal reflection, were analysed in an attempt to understand the therapists' own view of their reality. Four global themes emerged through analysing the findings both phenomenologically and reflexively : 1. Who am I?: The fraught search for an occupational therapy identity; 2. The mission to make a difference : Enacting the therapists' craft; 3. Negotiating the boundaries : The caring-power relationship; 4. Safe haven or battleground? : Collaboration and conflict within the team. Analysis revealed that whilst the therapists' sense of professional identity is profoundly confused, these professionals are committed to holistic, person-centred values and sustained by a belief that occupational therapy promotes health-enhancing change. Therapists are challenged by caring-power relationships as they struggle to negotiate degrees of involvement and are damaged by pressures, abusive people and lack of professional recognition. Their sense of achievement when they make a difference helps them to regenerate themselves and they are 'healed' when valued in relationships with both patients/clients and team members. Throughout their various challenges, struggles and satisfactions, therapists are engaged in a search to find themselves and to cope in their uncertain world. Whilst the findings largely confirm the existing literature, they also offer some challenges. Therapists' experience has been found to be more complex (intense, ambivalent and contradictory) in practice than the literature indicates. A discussion explores the implications of the research for professional practice. The thesis also critically examines the use and value of phenomenology and reflexivity as research methods.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-209). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 78 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-67).

Background: Paediatric pharmacovigilance is a recognised priority due to the vulnerability of children to adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The UK Yellow Card Scheme is central to pharmacovigilance, but other complementary methods have been suggested. The introduction of the community health index (CHI) in all NHS contacts in Scotland provides opportunities to link prescribing and health utilization data and thereby identify new ADR signals. The views of healthcare professionals (HCPs) on the linkage of NHS data for pharmacovigilance purposes in children have not been explored: the aim of this research was to explore the acceptability of linking routinely collected healthcare data to inform the design of a new system for pharmacovigilance in children. Methods: A mixed methods study was conducted involving interviews, focus-groups and a threeround Delphi survey with HCPs in Scotland. The survey was structured using the Theoretical Domains Framework of behaviour change. Results were triangulated. Ethical approval was granted by the North of Scotland Research Ethics Service. Results Interviews (n=23) identified issues with security, anonymisation and legal challenges that should be addressed prior to implementation. Focus-group participants (n=22, 6 groups) additionally identified potential issues with the feasibility of the planned data linkage and latent liability issues from dissemination of findings. The Delphi survey initially covered the issues identified in the preceding work. Retained items after three rounds focused on professional standards, requirements for linkage and the use and format of feedback. The proposed data linkage was perceived as positive and necessary, with participants in all three studies highlighting the benefits for research and for patients. Conclusion: The development of a paediatric linked database has support from professional stakeholders and HCPs in Scotland. The proposed data linkage was perceived to meet a service need. No insurmountable issues were identified, but key issues should be addressed prior to implementation.

This article summarizes findings from studies that employed electronic mail (e-mail) for conducting indepth interviewing. It discusses the benefits of, and the challenges associated with, using e-mail interviewing in qualitative research. The article concludes that while a mixed mode interviewing strategy should be considered when possible, e-mail interviewing can be in many cases a viable alternative to face-to-face and telephone interviewing. A list of recommendations for carrying out effective e-mail interviews is presented.

This thesis investigates four different aspects of information security management: challenges faced by security practitioners, interactive collaborations among security practitioners and other stakeholders, diagnostic work performed by security practitioners during the response to incidents, and factors that impact the adoption of an intrusion detection system in one organization. Our approach is based on qualitative analyzes of empirical data from semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. For each theme under study, the contributions of the qualitative analysis are twofold. First, we provide a richer understanding of the main factors that affect the security within organizations. Second, equipped with this richer understanding, we provide recommendations on how to improve security tools, along with opportunities for future research. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the human, organizational, and technological factors that affect security in organizations and the effectiveness of security tools. Our work also highlights the need for continued refinement of how factors interplay by obtaining more rich data (e.g., contextual inquiry), and the need to generalize and validate these findings through other sources of information to study how these factors interplay (e.g., surveys).

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This thesis investigates four different aspects of information security management: challenges faced by security practitioners, interactive collaborations among security practitioners and other stakeholders, diagnostic work performed by security practitioners during the response to incidents, and factors that impact the adoption of an intrusion detection system in one organization. Our approach is based on qualitative analyzes of empirical data from semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. For each theme under study, the contributions of the qualitative analysis are twofold. First, we provide a richer understanding of the main factors that affect the security within organizations. Second, equipped with this richer understanding, we provide recommendations on how to improve security tools, along with opportunities for future research. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the human, organizational, and technological factors that affect security in organizations and the effectiveness of security tools. Our work also highlights the need for continued refinement of how factors interplay by obtaining more rich data (e.g., contextual inquiry), and the need to generalize and validate these findings through other sources of information to study how these factors interplay (e.g., surveys).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-104).