Current PhD Students (A-J)
Sue Barker
Title: How do midwives emotionally support women becoming mothers? A phenomenological study
On an initial review of the literature pertaining of how women are supported at such a vulnerable time it was found that there were no published studies in the UK and very little literature on the emotion work of midwives (Hunter 2001). Due to the research question and lack of previous literature the design necessary for this study was qualitative. After a review of methodological literature phenomenology was considered to be the most useful approach. This study has therefore been conducted using the Husserlian philosophical approach with Giorgi’s psychological method (Giorgi 1985) Using this method eight midwives were interviewed to explore their lifeworld experiences of emotionally supporting women becoming mothers. Ethical approval was sought and gained from the South West Local Research Ethically Committee. Permission and approval was also gained from the manger of midwifery service at a local NHS Trust along with the obstetric lead, NHS Trust research governance and Bournemouth University research governance. The stories shared by the midwives of their experiences lead to an understanding that emotional support is a special type of care. This care occurs in an intimate relationship between midwives and woman and nestles in a ‘circle of care’ provided by other professionals and the woman’s family. This relationship developed through the midwives extensive communication skills with the aim of achieving comfort. This caring activity creates struggles and emotion work for the midwives particularly between professional culture and ‘being with woman’. There could be implications for midwifery education, service organisation and midwifery supervision and support. If midwifery is to be truly women-centred the professional and organisational barriers need to be examined and a way forward developed.
Fiona Barlow
Title:
Spiritual healing in women with breast cancer who are receiving long term hormonal therapy
This is a qualitative study using Unitary Appreciative Inquiry (UAI) UAI is a new and emerging research method developed in the late 1980s by Richard Cowling of the University of North Carolina, USA. It is derived from the theoretical framework known as the science of unitary human beings and is informed by the participatory worldview of cooperative inquiry. UAI methodology has emerged as a melding of co-operative inquiry, participatory action research and appreciative inquiry. The major focus of unitary appreciative practice and inquiry is understanding and appreciating life pattern in its wholeness and uniqueness and employing this understanding and appreciation in bettering the lives of individuals, families, groups, and communities, paying particular attention to four critical dimensions, namely pattern, praxis, participation and power.
The aim of this research is to identify any qualitative benefits of hands-on or proximate spiritual healing for women experiencing adverse reactions to hormonal adjuvant therapy, following potentially curative treatments for breast cancer. The research investigates whether spiritual healing could support and complement the effective delivery of medical care for these women. Proximate spiritual healing is commonly termed ‘laying of hands’. The exact mechanisms of healing are not fully understood. Treatments for breast cancer cause bodily changes that negatively impact on women’s quality of life. Women with oestrogen sensitive tumours are prescribed hormone therapy for up to five years to prevent recurrence. Side effects include joint aches and pains, hot flushes, lack of libido and vaginal dryness. Anecdotal evidence suggests that spiritual healing can induce profound relaxation which alleviates stress, anxiety and perceptions of pain, and promote feelings of well-being. Healers make no claim to cure breast cancer. This study seeks to understand what, if any, benefits healing might offer women receiving long term hormone treatment following curative treatment for breast cancer.
This is a qualitative study, offered 12 women of one-to-one healing sessions which took place in the Welcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, Southampton. Healing was given by National Federation of Spiritual Healers (NFSH) trained practitioners and was visually recorded, negating the need for chaperones. On completion of their 10 healing sessions, participants took part in a one to one interview and a small focus group interview. All interviews were audio recorded andf transcribed.
The data is currently being analysed.
First supervisor - Dr Fran Biley
Second supervisor -
Dr Jan Walker, Southampton University
Michele Board
Title: Meaning of home in later life
The aim of the research is to explore the meaning of home for those aged over 65 years. In so doing health care practitioners and others involved in supporting, or providing services to this age group might be able to design and deliver services that meet the individual client’s needs in retaining a sense of 'at home', regardless of the specific environment.
Describing home is complex and encompasses the relationships one has with others, your ability to be autonomous, an expression of self also a place for privacy and hopefully refuge. The government is currently aiming to enable people to remain at home rather than in hospital during periods of illness. It is unclear whether this is the preferred option of all, and if home is a safe environment during this time. There are stereotypical views of ageing that discuss those over 65 years as a homogenous group, sharing and having the same experiences. Likewise their perceptions of home are considered to be similar. Heywood et al (2002), suggests that there are assumptions that in later life home assumes a central importance, and the main focus of an individuals life. However with little evidence to support this the concept of home remains unexplored, specifically in the UK.
Which methodology will be used is currently being explored but an interest in a more visual form of data collection and dissemination is being considered.
First supervisor - Dr Kip Jones
Second supervisor - Dr Eloise Carr
Everton Bolton
Title: Identity and multiple admissions to psychiatric hospital: A biographic study of experiences of patients
My professional background is in mental health social work. I am currently practicing as an Approved Social Worker in a community mental health team (CMHT) in Hertfordshire. My undertaking of a PhD in Mental Health was for me a natural progression having completed my MSc in Care, Policy and Management at Guildhall University, London. My research is a psycho-social exploration of how individuals with severe and enduring mental illness (re)construct their personal identities in relation to their lived experience of frequent and repeated admissions to psychiatric hospital. The method of choice for this study was the Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method which was developed in Germany by Rosenthal / Fischer Rosenthal in the1990's and then in the UK by Tom Wengraf in 2001. From a sociological perspective the Method represents a paradigm shift that challenges the more dominant positivistic medical model. At the same time, it embraces post-modernism, allowing for the foregrounding of the personal experiences of marginalised groups - in this case, the mentally ill - and an intersubjectiveness, that socially constructs individual identity, which is fluid and open to multiple interpretations. I feel privileged to have had a brilliant supervisory team made up of: Dr. Kip Jones, Prof. Kate Galvin and Dr. Carol Lewis at Bournemouth University. At the moment, I am writing up my thesis for submission in March 2008.
First supervisor - Dr Kip Jones
Second supervisors - Prof. Kate Galvin, Dr. Carol Lewis
Lorraine Brown
Title: Crossing Cultures: The adjustment journey of international postgraduate students at a university in England: an ethnography.
The aim of this study is to capture the adjustment journey of a group of international postgraduate students at a university in the South of England. An ethnographic approach was used, involving regular in-depth individual interviews with thirteen students of different nationalities and overt participant observation of the entire postgraduate cohort of 150 students. Research began on the first day of induction in September 2003 and ended in October 2004 upon completion and submission of the Masters dissertation. Students’ experience of adjustment to academic and sociocultural life was therefore captured from arrival in the new country to the return home one full year later.Seven research categories were generated by this ethnographic study: the shock of arrival; language acquisition; academic orientation; eating patterns; interaction strategies; collective and individual identity; and finally, transformation in personal and cultural outlook. The overarching category was interaction, which influenced every other theme that emerged from analysis.This study found that stress was at its height in the initial stage of the academic sojourn; this was caused by the struggle to cope with the challenges of foreign language use and an unfamiliar academic and sociocultural environment at a time when students were beset with homesickness and loneliness. An association was made between the passage of time and a gradual decrease in acculturative stress; however, this was not a generalisable process; there was not only fluctuation in experience across the student body but also in the individual’s subjective sense of success across different aspects of life in the new country. This led to the conceptualisation of the adjustment journey as an unpredictable and dynamic process, which is experienced differently among sojourners, and fluctuates throughout the sojourn as a result of a host of individual, cultural and external factors. There was some universality of experience however during the initial challenging stage of the sojourn and in the final stage when an outcome of positive personal and cultural change was documented: this was complemented by apprehension over re-entry to the origin country.Inhibiting forces in achieving adjustment to an unfamiliar academic, language and sociocultural environment were cultural dissonance and segregated friendship groups. The greater the cultural gap between the home and host cultures, the greater the acculturative stress students suffered. Interaction strategy was found to be a powerful influence on both the experience and outcome of adjustment: the bicultural bond with the host was noted for its absence, and segregation was the most common friendship pattern. This implied minimum exposure to culture and language learning, and a failure of the international campus to realise the benefits of cross-cultural contact. Individual motivation to optimise the benefits of the intercultural experience and to tolerate the anxiety inherent in the cross-national context was found to be the key factor in the adoption of a multicultural attitude towards interaction and in the cultivation of multicultural skills. This was the route exceptionally chosen, informing the creation of the category ‘exceptional student’, who, in deviating from established norms of interaction, came to embody the intercultural mediator. Despite observation of a tendency towards gravitation to same-nationality members, an increase in intercultural competence and a reformulated sense of self were universally recorded. This suggests that distance from the origin culture is sufficient to promote self and culture learning, and that segregation is not incompatible with the development of tolerance.
First supervisor - Prof Immy Holloway
Second supervisor - Prof Iain Graham
Marilyn Cash
Title: How can the findings of qualitative research be utilised to improve quality of life for people with dementia and their carers?
Utilizing qualitative research to improve quality of life for people with dementia and their carers. Numbers of qualitative projects relating to health increase yearly, yet appear to have little impact on practice or people who use services. Traditionally the main method for disseminating research findings is through articles in academic journals. Largely written for other researchers in a language that uses dense ‘research-ese and statistical jargon (Funk et al 1995:401) they reach and are understood only by a limited audience serving as a barrier to their utilization. Sandelowski (1997) proposes that more effort be directed to developing methods to utilize existing research, and make findings ‘accessible’ to a wider audience.
This study aims to identify, appraise and synthesise a number of studies relating to the life world experience of dementia, from the perspectives of the person with dementia and their care partner. To transform the insights, using a communicative style that will make sense to, and have impact on the lay public and practitioners allowing them take ‘ownership’ of the findings and utilise them in their everyday lives.
First supervisor - Prof. Les Todres
Second supervisors - Prof. Kate Galvin
Fiona Cowdell
Title: "That’s how we do it…we treat them all the same." An exploration of the experiences of patients, lay carers and health and social care staff of the care received by older people with Dementia in acute hospital settings.
This work was undertaken as part of a Professional Doctorate which requires the completion of four integrated components: literature review, research study, practice development project and integrative review.This study used a predominantly ethnographic approach. Elements of narrative techniques were integrated to ensure that the voices of patient participants were heard.
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of patients, lay carers and health and social care staff of the care received by older people with dementia in the acute hospital setting. This is a topical subject in view of the ageing population, the increasing prevalence of dementia and the emerging dignity agenda.The thesis comprises four elements: a literature review, a research study, a practice development project and an integrative review. The literature review sets person-focused research in the context of dementia research as a whole. It also identifies ways in which studies have been conducted in an ethical and meaningful manner.An ethnographic approach was used in the research study to collect data through observation, conversations and interviews. The findings portray a bleak picture of the care of this vulnerable group. The patients demonstrated, through words and actions, how difficult they found the experience. The lack of communication was an issue as was the obvious distress caused by the delivery of personal care. Lay carers were relatively uncritical although this may have been due, in part, to the recruitment process. The staff generally appeared to have good intention. Most stated that they had received little or no preparation or education in dementia care. Many staff functioned almost entirely within the ‘bed and body’ framework. They frequently avoided communication with patients. Staff worked in a deeply embedded habitus, in which they appeared not to really think about what they were doing. They demonstrated a lack of empathy with patients.The concept that staff were working in a ‘switched off’ mode and lacked empathy called for a practice development project that engaged them on both cognitive and emotional levels. A practice development project based on the philosophies of confluent education and situated learning was implemented. Initial evaluation has demonstrated some tangible changes in practice. The integrative review draws these elements together into a coherent whole. The potential contribution to the body of knowledge is acknowledged, as are the limitations of the work. The study has shown that people with dementia, even those at an advanced stage and with superimposed physical illness, can be engaged in research that is both ethical and meaningful. The study has shown that improvements in practice are possible. They need to be underpinned by a belief in the personhood of staff as well as patients. Areas for further research and practice development in this vital subject have been identified.
First supervisor - Prof. Kate Galvin
Second supervisor - Dr Eloise Carr
Dellia Duna
Title: Older Gays and Lesbians in rural Southwest England; A biographic performative study
“Older Gays and Lesbians in rural southwest England: a Biographic Performative Study” is rooted in and continues upon in-depth findings and networks established by the three-year action research project, “Gay and Gray in Dorset”. Their Report concludes that older gay and lesbians feel at risk for isolation in rural areas and this phenomenon needs further study. By asking questions such as when do older gays and lesbians use coming out stories and to whom do they tell them, in which situations and within which communities, we are seeking rationales for identity, change and mobility. The ways these shape and/or are shaped, in turn, by everyday shifting experiences of relatedness within different social settings will point our inquiry towards contexts in which “coming out” narratives are adjusted: to create acceptance within different communities, and/or a sense of belonging. When addressing less tolerant communities, particularly in isolated rural environments, how are aging individuals not communicating important elements of who they are? As a result of answering these questions the study will point at aspects which might act as constrains on the life and/or social connectivity, and in doing so, this project will seek to contribute to communicating within larger ageing groups how social aspects of gay life in rural areas and their self-representation/narration can contribute to changing patterns of experience and practices. The study uses the biographic narrative interpretive method in order to record and listen to the stories that older individuals tell to make sense of their position in rural society. Presently, the study is at the literature review and narrative methodologies readings stage, and recently, Dellia has completed the training in Biographical Narrative Interviewing Method with Prue Chamberlaine and Tom Wengraf.
First supervisor - Dr Kip Jones
Second supervisors - Prof. Kate Galvin, Lee-Ann Fenge
Zoe Fitzgerald-Pool
Details of work
Trevor Hearing
Title: An investigation by reflective practice into the use of documentary video as a form of performative scholarship with particular reference to the Toblerone Project
Trevor Hearing worked in television for 20 years as a television cameraman, researcher, film researcher, producer, director, writer and executive producer, making programmes for ITV, BBC and
Channel Four. He made programmes across a wide range of genres from Harry Secombe’s Highway to ITV’s true-crime drama series Crimestory. For the past 8 years he has developed his career as a lecturer in higher education as Head of Television, Video and New Media Production at the University of Sunderland and more recently at Bournemouth University Media School where he is developing a new masters course in producing film and television. His research interests focus on the use of the documentary form as a means of academic research and dissemination. He is currently undertaking a practice-based PhD, making a performative, investigative documentary about the early history of the nuclear bomb, as a model of academic reflective practice to explore the concept of a creative academic research tool. His research is leading him to explore what this academic tool might look like, what new methodologies of performative investigation and reflection might be developed using video, and how it might differ from the industrial conventions of broadcast documentary video.
