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Mastering the Semi-Structured Interview and Beyondoffers an in-depth and captivating step-by-step guide to the use of semi-structured interviews in qualitative research. By tracing the life of an actual research project-an exploration of a school district's effort over 40 years to address racial equality-as a consistent example threaded across the volume, Anne Galletta shows in concrete terms how readers can approach the planning and execution of their own new research endeavor, and illuminates unexpected real-life challenges they may confront and how to address them.The volume offers a close look at the inductive nature of qualitative research, the use of researcher reflexivity, and the systematic and iterative steps involved in data collection, analysis, and interpretation. It offers guidance on how to develop an interview protocol, including the arrangement of questions and ways to evoke analytically rich data.Particularly useful for those who may be familiar with qualitative research but have not yet conducted a qualitative study,Mastering the Semi-Structured Interview and Beyondwill serve both undergraduate and graduate students as well as more advanced scholars seeking to incorporate this key methodological approach into their repertoire.Anne Gallettais Associate Professor at the College of Education and Human Services at Cleveland State University.William E. Cross, Jr.is the author of Shades of Black: Diversity in African-American Identity.In theQualitative Studies in Psychologyseries

Drawing on philosophy, the history of psychology and the natural sciences, this book proposes a new theoretical foundation for the psychology of the life course. It features the study of unique individual life courses in their social and cultural environment, combining the perspectives of developmental and sociocultural psychology, psychotherapy, learning sciences and geronto-psychology. In particular, the book highlights semiotic processes, specific to human development, that allow us to draw upon past experiences, to choose among alternatives and to plan our futures. Imagination is an important outcome of semiotic processes and enables us to deal with daily constraints and transitions, and promotes the transformation of social representation and symbolic systems - giving each person a unique style, or 'melody', of living. The book concludes by questioning the methodology and epistemology of current life course studies.

Female gender has been identified as one of the risk factors closely linked to perioperative anxiety and a lower level of satisfaction. A successful preoperative anesthesia education may improve such negative outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether preoperative anesthesia education via an Anesthesia Service Platform (ASP) could reduce the anxiety levels in female patients scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia, and accelerate rehabilitation. A total of 222 patients scheduled for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomly assigned to the control group and the ASP group. Patients’ baseline and post-intervention psychological status was measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and General Well-Being Schedule. Pain management and recovery were assessed by VAS every 12 h for 48 h after surgery; length of stay (LOS) and postoperative analgesic consumption were also assessed. Patients in the control group experienced higher anxiety levels before surgery and had longer LOS than those in the ASP group. Patients in the ASP group had a higher general well-being score; however, they suffered more pain and consumed more analgesics after surgery. ASP is effective for preventing anxiety in female patients before laparoscopic cholecystectomy, improving patients’ general well-being levels, and shortening their LOS, but negatively influences patients’ postoperative pain levels.

Dreams, conceived as conscious experience or phenomenal states during sleep, offer an important contrast condition for theories of consciousness and the self. Yet, although there is a wealth of empirical research on sleep and dreaming, its potential contribution to consciousness research and philosophy of mind is largely overlooked. This might be due, in part, to a lack of conceptual clarity and an underlying disagreement about the nature of the phenomenon of dreaming itself. InDreaming, Jennifer Windt lays the groundwork for solving this problem. She develops a conceptual framework describing not only what it means to say that dreams are conscious experiences but also how to locate dreams relative to such concepts as perception, hallucination, and imagination, as well as thinking, knowledge, belief, deception, and self-consciousness.Arguing that a conceptual framework must be not only conceptually sound but also phenomenologically plausible and carefully informed by neuroscientific research, Windt integrates her review of philosophical work on dreaming, both historical and contemporary, with a survey of the most important empirical findings. This allows her to work toward a systematic and comprehensive new theoretical understanding of dreaming informed by a critical reading of contemporary research findings. Windt's account demonstrates that a philosophical analysis of the concept of dreaming can provide an important enrichment and extension to the conceptual repertoire of discussions of consciousness and the self and raises new questions for future research.

Web-based surveys have become a new and popular method for collecting data, but only a few studies have directly compared postal and Web-based surveys among physicians, and none to our knowledge among general practitioners (GPs). Our aim is to compare two modes of survey delivery (postal and Web-based) in terms of participation rates, response times, and completeness of questionnaires in a study assessing GPs' preventive practices. This randomized study was conducted in Western Switzerland (Geneva and Vaud) and in France (Alsace and Pays de la Loire) in 2015. A random selection of community-based GPs (1000 GPs in Switzerland and 2400 GPs in France) were randomly allocated to receive a questionnaire about preventive care activities either by post (n=700 in Switzerland, n=400 in France) or by email (n=300 in Switzerland, n=2000 in France). Reminder messages were sent once in the postal group and twice in the Web-based group. Any GPs practicing only complementary and alternative medicine were excluded from the study. Among the 3400 contacted GPs, 764 (22.47%, 95% CI 21.07%-23.87%) returned the questionnaire. Compared to the postal group, the participation rate in the Web-based group was more than four times lower (246/2300, 10.70% vs 518/1100, 47.09%, P<.001), but median response time was much shorter (1 day vs 1-3 weeks, P<.001) and the number of GPs having fully completed the questionnaire was almost twice as high (157/246, 63.8% vs 179/518, 34.6%, P<.001). Web-based surveys offer many advantages such as reduced response time, higher completeness of data, and large cost savings, but our findings suggest that postal surveys can be still considered for GP research. The use of mixed-mode approaches is probably a good strategy to increase GPs' participation in surveys while reducing costs.

This study investigated the effect of high-quality nursing care combined with psychological intervention on the stress response and postoperative negative emotions of patients undergoing general anesthesia for surgery. From January 2019 to January 2020, the researchers chose 90 patients who received general anesthesia at Liaocheng People's Hospital for this study. The patients were divided into control and study groups, each with 45 patients. There were no significant demographic differences between the 2 groups. The control group received standard care, while the study group received high-quality nursing care and psychological intervention. The researchers compared the clinical measures provided to both groups to assess their effectiveness. After the intervention, the study group reported improved surgical stress indicators compared to the control group, with higher scores on the SF-36 health survey and higher satisfaction with nursing care. The study group had lower scores on anxiety and depression scales and showed better body temperature conditions during and after the operation. The study found that comprehensive nursing care and psychological interventions effectively reduced postoperative stress indicators and improved social functioning, somatic health, role limitations, and cognitive abilities. Psychological support, including counseling, cognitive-behavioral techniques, relaxation strategies, and stress management, effectively decreased anxiety and depression levels. These interventions provided coping mechanisms and emotional support to enhance overall well-being. Effective interdisciplinary collaboration may have also contributed to the positive outcomes observed. However, the study's limitations include its specific population sample and observational design, which could introduce bias. Future studies should use randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes for more reliable results. High-quality nursing care combined with psychological interventions for patients undergoing general anesthesia successfully enhanced nursing satisfaction and alleviated patient stress and negative emotions. The method is worthy of promotion and application.

The bestselling treatment guide, updated to reflect changes to the DSM-5 Selecting Effective Treatments provides a comprehensive resource for clinicians seeking to understand the symptoms and dynamics of mental disorders, in order to provide a range of treatment options based on empirically effective approaches. This new fifth edition has been updated to align with the latest changes to the DSM-5, and covers the latest research to help you draw upon your own therapeutic preferences while constructing an evidence-based treatment plan. Organized for quick navigation, each disorder is detailed following the same format that covers a description, characteristics, assessment tools, effective treatment options, and prognosis, including the type of therapy that is likely to be most successful treating each specific disorder. Updated case studies, treatments, and references clarify the latest DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, and the concise, jargon-free style makes this resource valuable to practitioners, students, and lay people alike. Planning treatment can be the most complicated part of a clinician's job. Mental disorders can be complex, and keeping up with the latest findings and treatment options can itself be a full time job. Selecting Effective Treatments helps simplify and organize the treatment planning process by putting critical information and useful planning strategies at your fingertips * Get up to speed on the latest changes to the DSM-5 * Conduct evidence-based treatment suited to your therapeutic style * Construct Client Maps to flesh out comprehensive treatment plans * Utilize assessment methods that reflect the changes to the DSM-5 multiaxial system Effective treatment begins with strategic planning, and it's important to match the intervention to your own strengths, preferences, and style as much as to the client's needs. Selecting Effective Treatments gives you the latest information and crucial background you need to provide the evidence-backed interventions your clients deserve.

Visual literacy is an increasingly critical skill in a globalizing, digital world. This book addresses the core issues concerning visual literacy in education, underscoring its importance for the instruction of students and educators. Professor Billie Eilam argues that the incorporation of visual skill development in teacher training programs will help break the cycle of visual illiteracy. Understanding the pedagogical benefits and risks of visual representation can help educators develop effective strategies to produce visually literate students. Eilam presents a broad overview of theoretical knowledge regarding visual representation, as well as a discussion of best practices for the use of visual elements in schools. In addition to theory, Eilam includes practical exercises for introducing visual literacy into teacher education, offering strategies for analyzing visualization in curricula and for increasing awareness of visual culture.

In the 1970s, a small group of leading psychiatrists met behind closed doors and literally rewrote the book on their profession. Revising and greatly expanding theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSMfor short), they turned what had been a thin, spiral-bound handbook into a hefty tome. Almost overnight the number of diagnoses exploded. The result was a windfall for the pharmaceutical industry and a massive conflict of interest for psychiatry at large. This spellbinding book is the first behind-the-scenes account of what really happened and why. With unprecedented access to the American Psychiatric Association archives and previously classified memos from drug company executives, Christopher Lane unearths the disturbing truth: with little scientific justification and sometimes hilariously improbable rationales, hundreds of conditions-among them shyness-are now defined as psychiatric disorders and considered treatable with drugs. Lane shows how long-standing disagreements within the profession set the stage for these changes, and he assesses who has gained and what's been lost in the process of medicalizing emotions. With dry wit, he demolishes the façade of objective research behind which the revolution in psychiatry has hidden. He finds a profession riddled with backbiting and jockeying, and even more troubling, a profession increasingly beholden to its corporate sponsors.

What is animal intelligence? In what ways is it similar to human intelligence? Many behavioral scientists have realized that animals can be rational, can think in abstract symbols, can understand and react to human speech, and can learn through observation as well as conditioning many of the more complicated skills of life. Now Duane Rumbaugh and David Washburn probe the mysteries of the animal mind even further, identifying an advanced level of animal behavior-emergents-that reflects animals' natural and active inclination to make sense of the world. Rumbaugh and Washburn unify all behavior into a framework they call Rational Behaviorism and present it as a new way to understand learning, intelligence, and rational behavior in both animals and humans.Drawing on years of research on issues of complex learning and intelligence in primates (notably rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees, and bonobos), Rumbaugh and Washburn provide delightful examples of animal ingenuity and persistence, showing that animals are capable of very creative solutions to novel challenges. The authors analyze learning processes and research methods, discuss the meaningful differences across the primate order, and point the way to further advances, enlivening theoretical material about primates with stories about their behavior and achievements.