Arts organisations in receipt of public funding should seek to understand the impact of their work, for a variety of reasons. Contemporary outcome-based arts evaluation practice dichotomises impact as intrinsic or instrumental with the latter perspective defining what counts. However, a widely held belief in the transformative power of the arts is apparent in both arts policy and practice. It therefore follows that if evaluation is fundamentally about discerning value then arts evaluation should recognise transformation as core. I contend that visually-based research methods offer alternative ways of seeing and knowing from the methods that dominate arts evaluation practice. As a result, I consider how these methods might help to identify what is transformative within the context of a community arts project. To explore how evaluation can better reflect the transformative power of the arts, I ask three research questions. Firstly, can participants’ experience be theorised and understood as transformative arts-based learning? Secondly, to what extent can participants’ experience of a community arts project be understood through visually-based research methods? Thirdly, what are the implications for existing practices of arts evaluation? I explore these questions in relation to a single participatory arts project. The Happy Lands, funded (primarily) by Creative Scotland, brought together communities across Fife with a professional film crew to create a feature length film based on local stories of mining culture. Employing visual ethnography my research methods included image-elicited interviews with 19 participants over a 20 month period, participant observation during the making of the film, and documentary research. The theoretical contribution I make extends Morgan’s (2010) conception of the transformative potential of travel to the transformative power of the arts, which I define in terms of inspiration, interconnection and insight. I propose a conceptual framework that views the experience of ‘sameness’ (interconnection) and ‘Otherness’ (inspiration) as conducive to the possibility of voice (insight). The interaction of self, other and artwork in the context of the participatory (community) arts project leads to the creation of shared identity (identities) and a sense of belonging manifest in the symbolic status of objects and behaviour (‘spirit of place’) associated with the arts project. Visual research methods, combining subjective meaning-making and objective (representational) qualities, offer opportunities to understand and (re)present participants’ experience. I advance a methodological contribution that suggests image elicitation offers an epistemologically appropriate approach to understanding participant experiences of an inherently visual project. The identification of sense of place and spirit of place can be viewed as indicative of a transformative environment. I contend that the creation of an outcome acknowledging the transformative environment of the arts project would respond to the needs of government but also the beliefs of arts educators effectively redressing the balance of instrumental versus intrinsic worth. Moreover, the subjective and objective possibilities afforded by visually-based research methods would enable the latter to speak creatively, in language(s) reflecting their values. As a result my findings are offered as one possible version of a humanities-inspired approach to arts evaluation (Belfiore and Bennett, 2010b).

No description available.

The media is an important information source regarding psychiatric nursing care. There has been limited English language research that has specifically explored the nurse-patient relationships that were depicted in film between psychiatric nurses and the people for whom they cared. Using an interpretive visual inquiry method, fifteen films were selected and analyzed using a relational ethics framework. The films were: Cosi (Joffe, 1996), Frances (Clifford, 1982), Girl, Interrupted (Mangold, 1999), Gothika (Kassovitz, 2003), Harvey (Koster, 1950), High Anxiety (Brooks, 1977), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975), Persona (Bergman, 1966), Snake Pit (Litvak, 1948), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Cameron, 1991), The Caretakers (Bartlett, 1963), The Cobweb (Minnelli, 1955), The Jacket (Maybury, 2005), The Sleep Room (Wheeler, 1998), and Titicut Follies (Wiseman, 1967). The roles of the nurses were described using Peplau’s (1952/1988) role descriptions. These included the roles of stranger, resource person, teacher, leader, surrogate, counsellor, consultant, tutor, safety agent, mediator, administrator, recorder, observer, and researcher. Exemplars were drawn from the films to discuss each of the following relational ethics themes: mutual respect, engagement, embodied knowledge, environment, and uncertainty. Two primary discourses were found embedded within the relational ethic themes: otherness and power/control. Within these discourses, sub-discourses relating to stigmatization, prejudice, domination, and marginalization were also found. Nursing must be attentive to the messages contained within the depictions of psychiatric nursing care. Nurses can no longer afford to be silent; as these images have consequences for the patients, their families, and the nurses working in this complex specialty area.

Thesis (M. Tech. - Dept. of Visual Arts and Design, Faculty of Human Sciences) / The aim of the study The aim of the study is to find an optimal research methodology that is both beneficial to qualitative researchers (regarding data quality and interviewee participation) and research participants (regarding enjoyment of the research process and means of expression). This takes the form of a comparison assessing the use of the visual method of photo-elicitation in qualitative interviews. Firstly, photo-elicitation interviews and standard qualitative interviews as two different methodologies are compared. In this study the research subjects are children, and as noted in Chapter 3, photo-elicitation is particularly applicable to young research subjects, as it tends to break down the communication barriers / SENEX

One problem with the traditional marketing segmentation view of consumer markets is that it treats social categories as an ontology, which somehow becomes independent of its own members. It assumes that the self is required to adjust to its segment. In my research, I follow writers such as Hall (1996) who claim that consumer identity is not a reflection of a fixed, natural, state of being but a process of becoming. The meaning of social economic class, Britishness, religion, masculinity and so forth, are subject to continual change. Identity then becomes a ‘cut’ or a snapshot of unfolding meanings; it is a strategic positioning of the individual, which makes meaning possible. My primary research focuses on one cultural category - second generation British South Asian. This is a group of consumers who are required to negotiate with multiple discourses – local, global, past, present, future, western, eastern, religious, national, popular culture and more - and with many social and cultural categories - British society, South Asian community, county of origin, religion, professional identity and others. The mainstream literature takes an essentialist view when analysing this group treating ethnic minority consumers as acculturating individuals who hold a hyphenated identity and who have to balance pressures from two sides of the hyphen- South Asian and BritishIn my research I take inspiration from Hall (1996) and treat ethnicity in its de-totalised, or deconstructed forms, recognising ethnicity as a concept that cannot be thought of in the ‘old way’ as representing essential, discrete differences between groups. Ethnicity and race are conceptualised here as socially constructed, relationally and culturally locatedMy data collection strategy is designed to help participants (Sample size of 13) to explore the landscape of their self by eliciting life narratives and their constituent attachments. The data were collected in two stages. The initial phase is based on the collection of 2 collages one of self-identity and one of shopping experience. The objective of this phase was to give the participants an opportunity to explore and map the different discursive influences in their lives. The second stage uses a narrative interview where the collages were used as a guide for the structure of the conversation. The findings of this research confirm a picture of self-identity as a ‘Field of Discursivity’ (Laclau and Mouffe, 1985) where self-identity can be viewed as a field in which no one discourse can fully master the others. Consequently, ‘who one is’ becomes an open question, with a shifting answer depending upon the positions available between one's own and others' discursive practices and within those practices. This understanding is the foundation of my claim that traditional marketing discussion rests on a flawed assumption which renders segmentation strategy incompatible with current market reality.

Researchers often benefit from gathering data from participants without any regard for the participants’ needs. In other words, the data gathering process is often not reciprocal in nature, as the researcher is often the only beneficiary. The Mmogo-method® is proposed as a data gathering method that also benefits participants. Three distinct phases are distinguished in applying the Mmogo-method®. During the first phase the researcher gains entry into the research context an ethically sensitive manner. Participants are asked to arrange themselves into groups (not more than eight to ten people participate in a session). They are duly informed of the nature of the research topic and what it entails; namely that they will be requested to make visual representations of specific experiences by using unstructured materials such as malleable clay, dried straw and different colours and sizes of beads. The participants are also informed that only partial confidentially of the information that they share can be ensured because of the group context in which the data are obtained. The participants are, however, asked to treat all shared information as confidential. The Mmogo-method® is usually applied in a group context to allows the dynamics of group processes to inform and enrich the research context. The second phase is introduced by an open-ended prompt that requests the participants to use the unstructured material to visually represent their experiences. In this study, mental health workers were asked to visually represent their coping strategies. On completion of the visual representations, the third phase is initiated. A team of researchers (including counsellors and if needed interpreters) engage in a process of individual and group discussions. Individual participants explain the meaning of each object and action(s); the relationship between the objects and the relevance of the objects in relation to the research prompt; and finally the symbolic value of the objects. After the individual participant has explained the visual representation, the rest of the group is asked to complement the individual participant’s explanation with their perceptions or experiences. Little or no literature is available on how participants experience a visual research method (Mmogo-method®). In this study, the researcher used the Mmogo-method® to elicit mental health workers' coping strategies from a positive participatory perspective and to describe the participants’ experiences of participating in the Mmogo-method® as a data gathering method to elicit the coping strategies of the mental health workers. Mental health workers (telephone counsellors, trauma counsellors, social workers, social auxiliary workers and other professionals) are required to engage with the challenges their clients face and to assist them by means of psycho-social interventions on a daily basis. The mental health workers from Childline who work with children deal with clients who undergo various traumatic experiences, such as severe violence and neglect; physical, emotional and sexual abuse; abduction, homelessness and prostitution. The coping of these mental health workers is important because violence against children is one of the most prominent manifestations of violence in South Africa. More than half of the reported cases against children during the financial year of 2010 were sexual offences. There is a significant shortage of mental health workers to address children’s psycho-social needs in South Africa. Due to the traumatic nature of the mental health workers’ work, they often experience burnout, vicarious traumatisation and compassion fatigue. The management of Childline requested an investigation into the coping strategies of their mental health workers. Childline is a non-governmental organisation that provides a 24-hour toll-free helpline, as well as online counselling services to children and their families. Permission to conduct the research was obtained from the North-West University’s ethical committee, as well as from the heads of departments of the relevant mental health workers. The mental health workers from Childline were invited to participate in the research. The Mmogo-method® was specifically applied from a positive participatory approach and allowed for the positively focused subjective contributions of research participants to the research process. Qualitative research with a case study design was applied. Textual and visual data were gathered and analysed in two phases. First, by the researcher and participants during the research process, and second, by using thematic analysis for the textual data, and visual data analysis of the visual data. Findings revealed themes related to the coping strategies of the mental health workers on an intrapersonal and an interpersonal level, which is not the focus of this study. In terms of the application of the Mmogo-method®, the mental health workers experienced the research context of unconditional positive regard and acceptance as a therapeutic intervention. The applied method supported the mental health workers in making a positive appraisal of their coping strategies and environment. They gained insight into their level of appreciation for their current occupation and interpersonal relationships. They also became more aware of their coping strategies in these contexts. The positive and supportive research context, the material used in applying the method and the group processes experienced were identified as factors contributing to the therapeutic experience of the process. These aspects lead the mental health workers to awareness, maintaining their focus and allowing for shared experience. The findings highlighted that research is not only a matter of obtaining data from participants, but should also allow participants to benefit from the process. Further research is recommended to explore other methodologies that could serve a dual purpose of addressing the needs of both the researcher and participant. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Researchers often benefit from gathering data from participants without any regard for the participants’ needs. In other words, the data gathering process is often not reciprocal in nature, as the researcher is often the only beneficiary. The Mmogo-method® is proposed as a data gathering method that also benefits participants. Three distinct phases are distinguished in applying the Mmogo-method®. During the first phase the researcher gains entry into the research context an ethically sensitive manner. Participants are asked to arrange themselves into groups (not more than eight to ten people participate in a session). They are duly informed of the nature of the research topic and what it entails; namely that they will be requested to make visual representations of specific experiences by using unstructured materials such as malleable clay, dried straw and different colours and sizes of beads. The participants are also informed that only partial confidentially of the information that they share can be ensured because of the group context in which the data are obtained. The participants are, however, asked to treat all shared information as confidential. The Mmogo-method® is usually applied in a group context to allows the dynamics of group processes to inform and enrich the research context. The second phase is introduced by an open-ended prompt that requests the participants to use the unstructured material to visually represent their experiences. In this study, mental health workers were asked to visually represent their coping strategies. On completion of the visual representations, the third phase is initiated. A team of researchers (including counsellors and if needed interpreters) engage in a process of individual and group discussions. Individual participants explain the meaning of each object and action(s); the relationship between the objects and the relevance of the objects in relation to the research prompt; and finally the symbolic value of the objects. After the individual participant has explained the visual representation, the rest of the group is asked to complement the individual participant’s explanation with their perceptions or experiences. Little or no literature is available on how participants experience a visual research method (Mmogo-method®). In this study, the researcher used the Mmogo-method® to elicit mental health workers' coping strategies from a positive participatory perspective and to describe the participants’ experiences of participating in the Mmogo-method® as a data gathering method to elicit the coping strategies of the mental health workers. Mental health workers (telephone counsellors, trauma counsellors, social workers, social auxiliary workers and other professionals) are required to engage with the challenges their clients face and to assist them by means of psycho-social interventions on a daily basis. The mental health workers from Childline who work with children deal with clients who undergo various traumatic experiences, such as severe violence and neglect; physical, emotional and sexual abuse; abduction, homelessness and prostitution. The coping of these mental health workers is important because violence against children is one of the most prominent manifestations of violence in South Africa. More than half of the reported cases against children during the financial year of 2010 were sexual offences. There is a significant shortage of mental health workers to address children’s psycho-social needs in South Africa. Due to the traumatic nature of the mental health workers’ work, they often experience burnout, vicarious traumatisation and compassion fatigue. The management of Childline requested an investigation into the coping strategies of their mental health workers. Childline is a non-governmental organisation that provides a 24-hour toll-free helpline, as well as online counselling services to children and their families. Permission to conduct the research was obtained from the North-West University’s ethical committee, as well as from the heads of departments of the relevant mental health workers. The mental health workers from Childline were invited to participate in the research. The Mmogo-method® was specifically applied from a positive participatory approach and allowed for the positively focused subjective contributions of research participants to the research process. Qualitative research with a case study design was applied. Textual and visual data were gathered and analysed in two phases. First, by the researcher and participants during the research process, and second, by using thematic analysis for the textual data, and visual data analysis of the visual data. Findings revealed themes related to the coping strategies of the mental health workers on an intrapersonal and an interpersonal level, which is not the focus of this study. In terms of the application of the Mmogo-method®, the mental health workers experienced the research context of unconditional positive regard and acceptance as a therapeutic intervention. The applied method supported the mental health workers in making a positive appraisal of their coping strategies and environment. They gained insight into their level of appreciation for their current occupation and interpersonal relationships. They also became more aware of their coping strategies in these contexts. The positive and supportive research context, the material used in applying the method and the group processes experienced were identified as factors contributing to the therapeutic experience of the process. These aspects lead the mental health workers to awareness, maintaining their focus and allowing for shared experience. The findings highlighted that research is not only a matter of obtaining data from participants, but should also allow participants to benefit from the process. Further research is recommended to explore other methodologies that could serve a dual purpose of addressing the needs of both the researcher and participant. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The Mackenzie Delta region of Northwestern Canada is a dynamic environment that is ecologically and culturally significant. This region is experiencing rapid environmental change that is expected to worsen with continued climate warming and additional anthropogenic stressors. In northern regions, conventional environmental monitoring strategies can be hindered by complex and cost prohibitive logistics. In this context of environmental change and uncertainty, there is a critical need to draw on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and observations to inform decision-making. In some areas changes in land cover are occurring so rapidly that maintaining an accurate inventory is problematic. Knowledgeable land users are in a unique position to assess changes in regional environmental conditions and inventory cumulative impacts. Environmental decision-making in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region requires Inuvialuit participation in several co-management bodies. The objectives of this project were to develop and field-test a community-based monitoring program that shares Inuvialuit observations with stakeholders in environmental decision-making in a standardized and accessible format. Working with the Hunter and Trapper Committees of Aklavik, Inuvik, and Tuktoyaktuk, the Inuvialuit Joint Secretariat, and the Cumulative Impacts Monitoring Program we (1) adapted a participatory photo-mapping (PPM) method to record Inuvialuit observations of environmental conditions using a strategy consistent with community goals and Inuvialuit culture. In the summer of 2010, we worked with knowledgeable Inuvialuit hunters and land users to document Inuvialuit observations of environmental conditions using digital cameras and hand held GPS units. Subsequently, digital photographs and video footage became the focus of photo-elicitation interviews, which added a detailed narrative to each geo-referenced observation. Following fieldwork and interviews, geo-referenced photos, video, and associated text files were entered into web-based map. Approximately 150 observations were mapped and grouped into 33 themes. Interviews with monitors and a range of potential map users suggest that web-based mapping is an effective way to record and share observations and concerns related to the regional environment. We found that PPM could be very useful for northern researchers, decision-makers, and planners because it can facilitate knowledge transfer among stakeholders, facilitate community consultation, and contribute to environmental impact assessment and monitoring strategies. Our experience suggests that by providing a record of the location and magnitude of anomalous environmental conditions, this monitoring initiative will contribute northern planning and decision-making, and the communication of TEK and observations among northern stakeholders. Overall, this research highlights the effectiveness of using the web-based PPM tool to document and share Inuvialuit observations. A monitoring program built around TEK and observations that are linked to geo-referenced images (and other media) will significantly improve our capacity to detect the impacts of environmental change. (1) Because chapters 2 and 3 were co-authored, plural was used throughout the entire document. / Graduate

abstract: Human experience exists within space; it is the studio for the stories of our lives. Bounded by time, location and personal experience we assign our own meanings and feelings to them, and they become personal, symbolic places: some are unique to us, imagined places where we act out stories or dreams; most are part of the natural world. Most spaces, though, are built or controlled by others; these constructed environments can become places where we may, or may not, like to be. This research examined spaces and places of children's lives through the material worlds of their neighborhoods and schools, focusing on the visible environment outside of the school building. The intersection of school and community, it is a material embodiment of, and evidence toward, how a community's resources are apportioned to important aspects of children's developmental years. These visible representations speak of that society's values and goals for the children for whom they (we) are responsible. This examination used multiple research tools, primarily using visual approaches such as current photographs, archival images and data, descriptive census materials and maps. Historical documents, (many of which are now digitized), as well as other academic literature, local journalistic efforts and school district publications added important materials for analysis. Findings lead to deeper understanding of ways that visible, material worlds of schools and neighborhoods -- past and present - can reflect, and direct the experiences of childhood today, and often mirror those of children past. These visual and narrative approaches contributed to understanding the importance of material evidence in revealing inequity and class differences in ways that children, then, must &ldquodo school &rdquo / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Psychology 2014

In 2017 the Ontario government moved forward with new child welfare legislation, Bill 89, spelling out that the 47 Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario will be much more ‘child-centric’. I explore the historical context of the ‘child-centric’ language and commitments in the new Act, including tracing its origin by the Act’s incorporation of the Katelynn Principle and Article 12 of the 1989 United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child. How best to consult youth in-care is an essential, but a mostly unanswered question. Children Aid Societies across the province have a unique opportunity to implement alternative methods in engaging young people in consultation, should they pan out as viable and reliable strategies when consulting youth in-care. Tradition interview approaches are not always the best strategies when engaging youth. Visual research methods, such as photo-elicitation, have the potential of offering useful insights into children’s perspectives and experiences. The focus of my thesis is youth voice. I explore this topic through a study with young people in-care involved in a music group. I used focus groups and photo-elicitation as methods for data collection. An important question addressed by my thesis is whether a visual research method, such as photo-elicitation, helps in the consultation process with young people and whether some of the claims made about the approach are accurate when working with youth. Specifically, I explored claims made about photo-elicitation helping with increasing 'emotional type talk' and inquired into how the method may enhance the consultation process with young people. I consider these questions in the context of important epistemological and theoretical debates about arts-informed and visual research methodologies. Five youth who had involvement of being in-care and were a part of a music group at a local Children’s Aid Society participated in my study. My study found that the youth overall felt consulted and did feel a degree of influence in shared decision making with being in-care. My study also showed that although photo-elicitation did not generate more ‘emotional-type talk’, it does appear to enhance self-confidence, which seemed to support meaningful participation in the interview process. Although much more needs to be explored with the application of visual research methods, and social science researchers should be cautious in making exaggerated claims in support of the approaches, youth in-care can surely benefit from visual research methods such as photo-elicitation. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)