Ann Cronin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ann Cronin

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology

This chapter considers mixed methods, defined as using two or more research methods within a proj... more This chapter considers mixed methods, defined as using two or more research methods within a project, and explores the reasons why a researcher may choose two or more methods to address their chosen area of study. Starting with a discussion of the aims researchers may have in using multiple methods, the chapter then briefly describes key debates about what constitutes mixed methods. It presents the advantages of using a mixed methods approach and discusses a variety of ways that researchers have used mixed methods in social research. It considers how different methods may be linked to different paradigms of social research and how different types of data offer researchers different perspectives on the social world. The existence of different paradigms and perspectives are crucial to understanding mixed methods, because being able to see from different points of view is one of the key reasons for undertaking mixed methods research. These differences, however, are the source of some d...

x Preamble: It's all in a name... 1 Defining same-sex desire among women (1) 1 Defining same-... more x Preamble: It's all in a name... 1 Defining same-sex desire among women (1) 1 Defining same-sex desire among women (2) 1 Assessing the implications 2 Chapter One: An Introduction to the Thesis via a Brief History of the Lesbian and Gay Movement 3

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1987

Humans are unique in their ability to use tools to produce works which communicate information ab... more Humans are unique in their ability to use tools to produce works which communicate information about 3D objects through 2D drawings. Drawings give us insight into the origins of our species, our uniqueness amongst animals, and our creative ability to produce images from the strategic placement of line and marks. Considerable research has been devoted to the ontogeny of drawing skill and considerable speculation has been devoted to the psychological value of drawings themselves. For example, children's ability to produce human figure drawings develops in a highly predictable stage-like manner, but the rate at which individual children progress through each stage varies considerably. These two characteristicsa consistent developmental pattern coupled with individual differences in the rate of development-have led many to argue that human figure drawings (HFDs) can be used as a measure of intelligence. One characteristic of traditional pen and paper intelligence tests is that they are highly resistant to instruction. In Study 1, I assessed the effect of instruction on 11-and 12-year-old children's scores on the most recent HFD test, the DAP:IQ. Children showed significant gains shortly after art instruction, but their scores returned to pre-instruction levels when they were tested 6 months later. These data challenge the view that the DAP: IQ provides a valid measure of intelligence. Despite the limited value of drawings as measures of intelligence, the possible benefits of drawing per se have been under-explored in contemporary research. Students of art have traditionally drawn from life as a way to improve their drawing skills, but little is known about the cognitive benefits of this practice. In Study 2, I examined the effect of drawing on visitors' memory for museum exhibits. Three groups completed a tour of a museum exhibit, 'Wonders of the World': two of these groups consisted of adults (self-identified artists and non-artists) and the third group consisted of children under the age of 13. Individuals from each group were This thesis is dedicated to my mam. This thesis, as many before it, has been a process of building, discovery, and exploration. This was made possible by the generosity and support of Otago University. There are so many people to thank, I hope this goes some way towards repaying them. First and foremost, thank you Jules, you have been a constant source of hope, support, and mentorship, when things seemed impossible you just got on with it and brought me with you. Thank you for teaching me not to say sorry so much and all the love and minding. I am so glad I had you as my supervisor and thank you for your unending patience with me. I will never be able to repay what you did for me and how you changed my life. None of this would be possible without the kindness and brilliance of Harlene. Who managed to stick with me even when I ran after every distraction that came my way. You have made an indelible impact on me. Thank you to Leon and Emma for being there for me and for each other, you are my light and my hope, I hope this country rewards you both. Thanks to my mam and dad for believing in me, my sisters and brother, and all the friends, companions, and supports who carried me when I could not walk through the last few years. And of course, thanks to all of the schools, adults, parents, and children whose participation made this research possible.

The contamination of groundwater by pathogenic microorganisms is acknowledged as an important hea... more The contamination of groundwater by pathogenic microorganisms is acknowledged as an important health risk worldwide. Traditionally, public health microbiologists have concentrated on pathogen transport via contaminated surface waters. This has reinforced a common perception among hydrogeologists and water supply professionals that groundwater represents a relatively microbiologically safe source of drinking water. As a result, the presence of microbial pathogens in aquifer systems is still largely unknown. This is worrying, especially in urban aquifers in which renewed interest is being shown. Several studies have demonstrated the contamination of groundwater with pathogens, in particular viruses. Our understanding of the factors that affect the survival and transport of microorganisms in the subsurface is limited and the mechanisms by which they are transported to deep groundwaters are unclear; however, the implications for public health may be significant.

NATO Science Series

Monitoring of urban aquifers has highlighted faecal contamination in both developed (UK) and deve... more Monitoring of urban aquifers has highlighted faecal contamination in both developed (UK) and developing (Mozambique) country settings. This has underlined gaps in our knowledge of not only the flux of contaminants through the complex urban water system but also the fate and transport of pathogens once in the subsurface. Research aiming to achieve a better understanding of these issues is

NeuroReport, 2000

This brief review has highlighted some of the major advances in the last decade or so in understa... more This brief review has highlighted some of the major advances in the last decade or so in understanding the central control of puberty. These include the discovery that GnRH-I neurons develop in the olfactory placode and migrate into the forebrain, the recognition that puberty is a reactivation of GnRH secretion, the identification of leptin as a metabolic signal which may permit puberty to occur, unraveling the molecular basis of the circadian clock which underlies photoperiodic control of puberty in seasonal species, the identification of the structure of pheromones in urine, and the discovery of other populations of GnRH neurons in mammals expressing the GnRH-II gene. Such advances generate further questions: what regulates the migratory pathways of GnRH neurons, and what controls axon outgrowth and targeting to the median eminence? What is the mechanism which causes GnRH secretion to decline between the neonatal and pubertal phase of development? How do leptin and other sensory inputs finally communicate to the GnRH neuron? How do GnRH neurons communicate with each other such that co-ordinated pulsatile release of GnRH occurs? What is the function of GnRH-II? Some of these issues may be better addressed using the transgenic technologies which allow the identification and thus the recording, sampling and observation of GnRH neurons in living tissue, but in order to understand how internal and external cues influence puberty it will also be important to study a variety of other mammalian models in which the relative importance of such inputs differs.

Comparative analysis of porcine cytokine production by mRNA and protein detection. T.

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2007

Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2017

Research designs which use multiple methods can provide increased confidence in the accuracy of f... more Research designs which use multiple methods can provide increased confidence in the accuracy of findings, improve measurement, add new knowledge through synthesis, present multiple voices, build complex explanations, or logically implement a theoretical framework

The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods

Qualitative Research, 2006

Researchers who advocate the use of multiple methods often write interchangeably about ‘integrati... more Researchers who advocate the use of multiple methods often write interchangeably about ‘integrating’, ‘combining’ and ‘mixing’ methods, sometimes eliding these descriptors with ‘triangulation’, which itself encompasses several meanings. In this article we argue that such an elision is problematic since it obscures the difference between (a) the processes by which methods (or data) are brought into relationship with each other (combined, integrated, mixed) and (b) the claims made for the epistemological status of the resulting knowledge. Drawing on the literature for examples, we set out different rationales for using more than one method, then we develop a definition of integration of methods as a specific kind of relationship among methods. We also discuss different places in the research process where integration can occur: for instance, data from different sources can be integrated in the analysis stage, or findings from different sources at the point of theorizing.

Nucleic Acids Research, 2003

Corynebacterium diphtheriae is a Gram-positive, non-spore forming, non-motile, pleomorphic rod be... more Corynebacterium diphtheriae is a Gram-positive, non-spore forming, non-motile, pleomorphic rod belonging to the genus Corynebacterium and the actinomycete group of organisms. The organism produces a potent bacteriophage-encoded protein exotoxin, diphtheria toxin (DT), which causes the symptoms of diphtheria. This potentially fatal infectious disease is controlled in many developed countries by an effective immunisation programme. However, the disease has made a dramatic return in recent years, in particular within the Eastern European region. The largest, and still ongoing , outbreak since the advent of mass immunisation started within Russia and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. We have sequenced the genome of a UK clinical isolate (biotype gravis strain NCTC13129), representative of the clone responsible for this outbreak. The genome consists of a single circular chromosome of 2 488 635 bp, with no plasmids. It provides evidence that recent acquisition of pathogenicity factors goes beyond the toxin itself, and includes ironuptake systems, adhesins and ®mbrial proteins. This is in contrast to Corynebacterium's nearest sequenced pathogenic relative, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, where there is little evidence of recent horizontal DNA acquisition. The genome itself shows an unusually extreme large-scale compositional bias, being noticeably higher in G+C near the origin than at the terminus.