Q-Sort Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Within the UK, health-related policy and legislation have supported a shift towards a more pluralistic provision of health care in order to meet the challenges associated with the shifting demographics in society (Scottish Executive... more

Within the UK, health-related policy and legislation have supported a shift towards a more pluralistic provision of health care in order to meet the challenges associated with the shifting demographics in society (Scottish Executive Health Department, 2009). The management of long-term conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma, is recognized as a priority (Department of Health, 2009), with recognition that these long-term disorders share many similarities with serious mental health problems (Loggernberg, 2008), and suggestions that interventions already applied within the mental health setting are transferable across heathcare settings (Fleming et al, 2010). The application of one such intervention is discussed in this article.

Infant, toddler, and preschool children's relationships with mothers and teachers were examined in this study. 110 children were observed with their mothers during child care arrivals and reunions. 403 children were observed with their... more

Infant, toddler, and preschool children's relationships with mothers and teachers were examined in this study. 110 children were observed with their mothers during child care arrivals and reunions. 403 children were observed with their teachers in child care. 3 categories of relationships were derived from these observations. Children in the secure relationship category experienced more teacher involvement than children in the avoidant or ambivalent relationship categories. Children in the ambivalent relationship categories experienced more teacher involvement than children in avoidant relationship categories. A subsample (n= 23) of children were seen with their mothers both during child care arrivals and reunions and in the Strange Situation. Relationship classifications were similar.

The reality television programme The Bachelor (2002–present) has received a large amount of academic attention since it premiered on ABC in 2002. The majority of that literature approaches the show critically to address issues relating to... more

The reality television programme The Bachelor (2002–present) has received a large amount of academic attention since it premiered on ABC in 2002. The majority of that literature approaches the show critically to address issues relating to the representation of race, gender, consumerism, identity and relationships within the format of a competition. Other research on the show ruminates about its relationship to its ‘savvy’ viewers who know reality television is not truly real and yet paradoxically continues to be highly invested in the outcome of its shows. Yet other literature probes for the gratifications embedded in the viewing process and
the perceptions of dating that the show cultivates in its viewers. The longevity of The Bachelor can be attributed to the sense of allegiance the viewers feel to the show. To that end, this study is an inquiry into perceptions of the show by its viewers. Using the Q sort methodology, this empirical study reveals insights into its appeal by providing clearly grouped audiences and their particular uses for the show. It also addresses the interface between reality television, social media and the mediated representation of romantic relationships.

Sorting is one of the most researched problems in the field of computer science, where several algorithms have been proposed. For large input size, QuickSort has proved to be the fastest sorting algorithm. This paper presents an... more

Sorting is one of the most researched problems in the field of computer science, where several algorithms have been proposed. For large input size, QuickSort has proved to be the fastest sorting algorithm. This paper presents an intelligent QuickSort algorithm based on a dynamic pivot selection technique to enhance the average case and eliminate the worst case behaviors of the algorithm. The suggested dynamic pivot selection technique is data-dependent to increase the chances of splitting the array or list into relatively equal sizes in order to reduce the number of recursive calls made for the Quicksort algorithm. Furthermore, the modified algorithm converts the worst case into a best case behavior with Θ(n) execution time. The algorithm is intelligent enough to recognize a sorted array or sub-array that doesn’t require further processing.

Digital self-representations, for example selfies, are pervasive elements of current digital visual cultures. This paper centers on subjective audience perceptions of expressive authenticity in the field of vernacular self-photography. It... more

Digital self-representations, for example selfies, are pervasive elements of current digital visual cultures. This paper centers on subjective audience perceptions of expressive authenticity in the field of vernacular self-photography. It reviews research into visual identity work on SNS and visual authenticity in the digital environment. Q methodology, a qualitative-quantitative approach to the study of subjectivity in human behavior, is applied to assess the perceived authenticity of self-representations. Therefore, Q-sorts of 33 different self-photographs were obtained from 29 participants and combined with open interviews in the tradition of visual elicitation. The study provides new insights into the perception of visual authenticity, as Q factor analysis yielded four groups of participants, who differ regarding their evaluation of the authenticity of self-photographs. The analysis reveals essential differences among the factors as regards the meaning of various features, for example, poses, visual styles, and photographic setting, for the authenticity of self-images.

40 mothers and their 12-month-old infants were observed twice at home by 2 observers for 2 hours. After the second visit, the observers described the infant using the Waters Attachment Behavior Q-sort and the mother's interactive... more

40 mothers and their 12-month-old infants were observed twice at home by 2 observers for 2 hours. After the second visit, the observers described the infant using the Waters Attachment Behavior Q-sort and the mother's interactive behavior with the Maternal Behavior Q-sort developed by the present authors and Ainsworth's rating scales. Maternal sensitivity was unrelated to maternal age, income, or SES, but correlated positively with maternal education. Mothers of more difficult children were less sensitive. A strong relation was found between infant attachment and maternal sensitivity as measured by the Maternal Behavior Q-sort and by the Ainsworth scales. Using the Q-sort procedure, mothers of more secure infants were more frequently characterized as noticing their babies' signals and using these signals to guide their behavior; they also were more knowledgeable about their infant and appeared to enjoy them more than mothers of less secure infants.

Ininquirylabswetrytohelpstudentslearntomakescientificdecisions.Howsuccessfularewe?Aretheinstructor and the lab material getting the message across to the students? A modified version of the Laboratory Program Variables Inventory (LPVI)... more

Ininquirylabswetrytohelpstudentslearntomakescientificdecisions.Howsuccessfularewe?Aretheinstructor and the lab material getting the message across to the students? A modified version of the Laboratory Program Variables Inventory (LPVI) [5], a Q-type instrument, has been used to study students’ perceptions of introductory physics labs. We identified statements related to student dependence on instructors, separating the statements into categories of “student directed”, “intermediate”, and “instructor directed”. We analyzed different labs from different universities and found that students’ perceptions of how much control they had over the lab varied with lab type. We also found a dependence of student perceptions on lab instructor within each type of lab (THIS SENTENCE DOESN’T MAKE SENSE TO ME). The variation between different types of lab was greater than the variation between instructors within the lab type. This is a promising tool for assessing lab material and instruction.

On the basis of E. H. Erikson's (1950/1963) theory of midlife development, a measure of generativity realization was constructed with items from J. Block's (1961/1978) California Adult Q-Set (CAQ). Convergent and... more

On the basis of E. H. Erikson's (1950/1963) theory of midlife development, a measure of generativity realization was constructed with items from J. Block's (1961/1978) California Adult Q-Set (CAQ). Convergent and discriminant validity for the new CAQ measure were established through a survey of 2 samples of educated women at about 43 years of age (N = 208). These 2 samples, 1 from a study of Mills College graduates and the other from a study of Radcliffe College graduates, were also used to examine the personality, attitudinal, and life outcome correlates of generativity at midlife. Results indicated that generative women have prosocial personality characteristics, express generative attitudes through their work, are invested in the parenting process, and exhibit an expanded radius of care. In general, results conceptually replicated in the Mills and Radcliffe samples.

This thesis [written in Portuguese] aims to discuss the planning and landscape management methodologies, particularly in the context of high natural value coastal areas. It discusses concepts, applies landscape assessment methodologies... more

This thesis [written in Portuguese] aims to discuss the planning and landscape management methodologies, particularly in the context of high natural value coastal areas. It discusses concepts, applies landscape assessment methodologies and proposes innovative ways to formalize planning and management strategies aimed at reconciling human activities with the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources. Specifically, this thesis: a) discusses the concept of landscape using an ontological approach; b) studies how to assess landscape visual quality; c) investigates the usefulness of Phytosociology as a tool for studying and assessing landscape’s ecological quality; d) applies the studied assessment methodologies, both in visual and in ecological landscape quality, to the Southwest Alentejo coastal area. The main results of these applications are: d.1) a spatially explicit model of Southwest Alentejo’s landscapes visual quality; d.2) a spatially explicit model of the stu...

On the basis of extensive home observations, Ainsworth proposed that a mother's sensitivity to her infant's signals is the primary determinant of attachment security. Although subsequent research has found a relationship between... more

On the basis of extensive home observations, Ainsworth proposed that a mother's sensitivity to her infant's signals is the primary determinant of attachment security. Although subsequent research has found a relationship between sensitivity and attachment security, the effect sizes are much smaller than those reported by Ainsworth. In addition to the amount of observation time that might account for the effect size difference, we consider Ainsworth's focus on understanding the organizational structure of relationships. We coded 30 minute video records of interactions between 64 mother-infant dyads from semi-structured home observations conducted at 10 months of age. Coding consisted of writing a narrative summary of the interactions, annotating a completion of Ainsworth's rating scales of acceptance, accessibility, cooperation and sensitivity and then describing the mother's behavior using the Maternal Behaviour Q-set. Sensitivity scores derived from the Q-sort d...

Wildlife conservation often leads to various conflicts with other human activities, resulting in concerns about the justice of conservation. Although species' protection – notably of large carnivores – can have negative consequences for... more

Wildlife conservation often leads to various conflicts with other human activities, resulting in concerns about the justice of conservation. Although species' protection – notably of large carnivores – can have negative consequences for economic interests and human well-being, environmental justice issues related to species conservation are rarely explored. In Brazil, jaguars (Panthera onca) have become flagships for a series of conservation initiatives. Whereas jaguars' direct impact on cattle farming has been studied, their influence on other rural stakeholders is poorly understood. Here we study local people's views on jaguars and jaguar conservation across the Cerrado savannah and the Amazon rainforest biomes. Using Q-methodology, we identified five distinct narratives regarding jaguar conservation in relation to environmental justice issues. These were shared among fishermen, tourist guides, cattle breeders, crop farmers and jaguar hunters. Interestingly, we did not find any systematic differences in subjective views, across regions, or professions/livelihood forms. However, our results showed a strong desire among the stakeholders for more local empowerment to influence the management of both jaguars and nature where they live. Moreover, we detected a widespread discontent with the lack of consistent implementation and predictable enforcement of environmental laws.

Visual depictions of politicians play an essential role in the impression formation of the audience because they convey visual cues and attributes related to, for example, likeability or competence. This study examines the subjective... more

Visual depictions of politicians play an essential role in the impression formation of the audience because they convey visual cues and attributes related to, for example, likeability or competence. This study examines the subjective audience evaluations based on the visual portrayals of a politician by using Q methodology, a qualitative–quantitative approach of audience research. Q-sorts of 33 different pictures showing a high-ranking European politician, along with personal interviews, were used to probe the audience’s perception of a
favorable or unfavorable picture. Q factor analysis yielded four groups of participants. The audience groups differ regarding their expectation toward favorably depicted political
behavior and the involved balance of professional political leadership competences, social competences, and personality. In addition, technical and formal representation strategies were
identified as important visual cues, but not for all audience groups.

L'étude des représentations sociales est amenée à mobiliser des outils méthodologiques standardisés initialement créés en version papier. L'avènement d'internet offre une audience élargie aux chercheurs. Or la transposition en particulier... more

L'étude des représentations sociales est amenée à mobiliser des outils méthodologiques standardisés initialement créés en version papier. L'avènement d'internet offre une audience élargie aux chercheurs. Or la transposition en particulier des questionnaires met le chercheur devant des difficultés technique pour respecter la conformité de la procédure. L'objectif de notre contribution est de développer les étapes de création d'une question de caractérisation conforme à la procédure d'Abric appliquée à l'étude des représentations sociales de la kinésithérapie. Notre contribution facilite l'usage de la question de caractérisation par un large public chercheurs. Abstract: The study of the social representations is brought to mobilize standardized methodological tools initially created in the paper version. The advent of the Internet offers a wider audience to researchers. However, the transposition in particular of the questionnaires puts the researcher in front of technical difficulties to respect the procedure conformity. The objective of our contribution is to develop the steps for the creation of a characterisation question in accordance with the Abric procedure applied to the study of the social representations of physiotherapy. Our contribution provides a broad research audience with an easier use of the characterisation question.

This article reports on the New Zealand case study within a larger project investigating cross-media news repertoires within (and across) national audiences. Six key news media repertoires emerged in this case study; heavy news consumers;... more

This article reports on the New Zealand case study within a larger project investigating cross-media news repertoires within (and across) national audiences. Six key news media repertoires emerged in this case study; heavy news consumers; hybrid browsers; digital browsers; ambivalent networkers; mainstream multiplatformers; and casual and connected). Despite a range of news media outlets available within New Zealand, particularly across digital platforms, participants consistently noted a relatively narrow social, cultural and political discursive field for news content in the country. Within this context, the news repertoires identified within this case study highlighted the high value placed by news consumers on national daily newspapers (print and online), and the continued salience of television and radio news broadcasting for some audience segments. But findings also offered a snapshot of the ways these are being supplemented or replaced, for some audience segments, by digital ...

The study of Creativity from the standpoint of the Audience (e.g., any person that assesses a product as creative) has not been addressed yet from a naturalistic perspective in terms of the reactions of the individual according to the... more

The study of Creativity from the standpoint of the Audience (e.g., any person that assesses a product as creative) has not been addressed yet from a naturalistic perspective in terms of the reactions of the individual according to the cultural group he/she belongs to. In this paper, a cultural group is defined as a group of individuals that have similar reactions to a stimulus (i.e., considering architectural objects as more creative than other objects). The present study presents a way to study Creativity from an interbehavioral standpoint by utilizing Q Methodology to capture the interaction between the Audience and the object. Thirty Participants (15 females and 15 males) from different occupations (art, science and various trades) were asked to organize sixty pictures (architecture, photography and furniture) in a Q-sort in terms of how creative they considered the picture was with respect to the others. The responses were grouped by three factors: photography preference, furniture preference and preference for architectural products. The results showed that the responses of the participants grouped them independently of their occupation or gender; showing specific tendencies on which objects they valued as most creative. Results are discussed in terms of how the factors represent the different cultural groups present in the participants' sample, and their relation with previous research on the behavior of the Audience. The present results show promise of the use of the Q Methodology in the research of the behavior of the Audience from a naturalistic perspective.