scholarly journals Developing my Research Identity (Embodying the Self) through Exploring the Experience of Woman- to-Woman Rape and Sexual Assault Victim/Survivors: Doing, Being, Becoming, and Belonging

10.28945/4004 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 155-167
Author(s):  
Rebecca Twinley

Aim/Purpose: Engagement in doctoral training is intended to lead to personal development, as well as – of course - the development of a person’s skills as a researcher. Having engaged in the occupation of doctoral training, I aim to reflect upon how my identity as researcher developed throughout this process; that is, through doing, being, becoming, and belonging. The aim of my doctoral research was to explore the impact of woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault. Hence, the foundational themes explored in this paper are sexual offending, auto/biography, and the significance of identity. Background: I commenced my doctoral training as someone who identified as an occupa-tional scientist and who, therefore, understood that occupation is a means through which people can develop, express themselves, and achieve some sense of belonging. Having completed my training, I reflect upon my becoming an auto/biographical researcher. Methodology: In this original paper, I use the sociologically-informed auto/biographical ap-proach, which affords me with the rationale for writing from the first-person perspective. Auto/biography concedes the combined inclusion of my own voice – as researcher - and the experiences of my respondents. Contribution: Little is known about the issue of woman-to-woman sexual offending, let alone the impact of researching this traumatic topic upon the researcher. Moreover, research has only relatively recently started to grow that explicitly uses an auto/biographical approach, in which researchers embrace their subjectivity and positionality within their work. Findings: Identifying as an auto/biographical researcher, I appreciate how my respond-ents – in terms of their identity and the stories they told me - were integral to my development. That is, I engaged in the process of developing and under-standing the Self through exploring the perceived impacts of woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault. Recommendations for Practitioners: I invite practitioners to share their awareness that woman-to-woman sexual offending is a very real phenomenon. Additionally, your engagement in or with research (which can include being the audience, or reader of research) is one way in which you can gain understanding of your Self. Recommendation for Researchers: I invite others to reflect upon how embodying the Self can lead you to gain self-knowledge through direct experience. Good, moral research practice does not have to involve the researcher remaining objective, neutral, and value-free. Your subjective and personal experiences as the researcher may well support the use of an auto/biographical approach. Impact on Society: Researching traumatic topics can have a varied emotional and professional impact upon researchers that warrants scrutiny. Use of an auto/biographical approach, in which the researcher’s insider status is made explicit - has enabled this researcher (me) to manage this impact, whilst also developing my knowledge, experience and Self. Future Research: Research that should follow on from this paper must continue to explore working auto/biographically when researching traumatic topics and biographical disruptions.

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-144
Author(s):  
Sheida K. Raley ◽  
Karrie A. Shogren ◽  
Graham G. Rifenbark ◽  
Mark H. Anderson ◽  
Leslie A. Shaw

The Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (SDI: SR) was developed to measure the self-determination of adolescents and was recently validated for students aged 13–22 with and without disabilities across diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. The SDI: SR is aligned Causal Agency Theory and its theoretical conceptualizations of self-determined action. The validation of the SDI: SR was undertaken in two forms: online, computer-based and paper-and-pencil. The present study examined overall self-determination scores of student participants (with and without disabilities) who took the SDI: SR via the online and paper-and-pencil format to inform future research and practice using the SDI: SR. Findings suggest that the same set of items can be utilized across administration formats, but that there appear to be differences in overall SDI: SR scores when online and paper-and-pencil formats are utilized although these differences are not influenced by disability status. Implications for future research and practice are discussed to provide direction to the field related to assessment development and use of the SDI: SR in educational contexts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karrie A. Shogren ◽  
Leslie A. Shaw ◽  
Sheida K. Raley ◽  
Michael L. Wehmeyer

The Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (SDI:SR) was developed to address a need in the field for tools to assess self-determination that are aligned with current best practices in assessment development and administration, and emerging research and best practices in promoting self-determination. The present study explored patterns of differences in self-determination scores across students with and without disabilities (i.e., no disability, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and other health impairments) of varying racial-ethnic backgrounds (i.e., White, African American or Black, Hispanic or Latino[a], and Other) as well as the impact of receiving free and reduced price lunch (as a proxy for socioeconomic status) on self-determination scores in these groups. Findings suggest an interactive effect of disability, race-ethnicity, and free and reduced price lunch status on self-determination scores. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 880-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Annink ◽  
Laura Den Dulk ◽  
José Ernesto Amorós

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of self-employed work characteristics (consumer orientation, innovativeness, number of employees, motivation, and entrepreneurial phase) on work-life balance (WLB) satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach The job demands and resources approach is applied to test whether self-employed work characteristics are evaluated as job demands or resources for WLB. The Global Entrepreneurship Data (2013) offer a unique opportunity to conduct multilevel analysis among a sample of self-employed workers in 51 countries (N=11,458). Besides work characteristics, this paper tests whether country context might explain variation in WLB among the self-employed. Findings The results of this study reveal that there is a negative relation between being exposed to excessive stress and running a consumer-oriented business and WLB. Being motivated out of opportunity is positively related to WLB. In addition, the results indicate that country context matters. A higher human development index and more gender equality are negatively related to WLB, possibly because of higher social expectations and personal responsibility. The ease of doing business in a country was positively related to the WLB of self-employed workers. Social implications For some workers self-employment might be a way to combine work and responsibilities in other life domains, but this does not seem to be valid in all cases. Originality/value This paper contributes to current literature on the WLB of self-employed workers by showing how work characteristics can be evaluated as job demands or resources. Including work characteristics in future research might be a solution for acknowledging the heterogeneity among self-employed workers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elçin Hancı ◽  
Peter A. M. Ruijten ◽  
Joyca Lacroix ◽  
Wijnand A. IJsselsteijn

Self-tracking technologies aim to offer a better understanding of ourselves through data, create self-awareness, and facilitate healthy behavior change. Despite such promising objectives, very little is known about whether the implicit beliefs users may have about the changeability of their own behavior influence the way they experience self-tracking. These implicit beliefs about the permanence of the abilities are called mindsets; someone with a fixed mindset typically perceives human qualities (e.g., intelligence) as fixed, while someone with a growth mindset perceives them as amenable to change and improvement through learning. This paper investigates the concept of mindset in the context of self-tracking and uses online survey data from individuals wearing a self-tracking device (n = 290) to explore the ways in which users with different mindsets experience self-tracking. A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches indicates that implicit beliefs about the changeability of behavior influence the extent to which users are self-determined toward self-tracking use. Moreover, differences were found in how users perceive and respond to failure, and how self-judgmental vs. self-compassionate they are toward their own mistakes. Overall, considering that how users respond to the self-tracking data is one of the core dimensions of self-tracking, our results suggest that mindset is one of the important determinants in shaping the self-tracking experience. This paper concludes by presenting design considerations and directions for future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 1483-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff A. Bouffard ◽  
LaQuana N. Askew

Sex offender registration and notification (SORN) laws were implemented to protect communities by increasing public awareness, and these laws have expanded over time to include registration by more types of offenders. Despite widespread implementation, research provides only inconsistent support for the impact of SORN laws on incidence of sexual offending. Using data from a large metropolitan area in Texas over the time period 1977 to 2012, and employing a number of time-series analyses, we examine the impact of the initial SORN implementation and two enhancements to the law. Results reveal no effect of SORN, or its subsequent modifications, on all sexual offenses or any of several specific offenses measures (e.g., crimes by repeat offenders). Implications for effective policy and future research are presented.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 631-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney E. Ahrens ◽  
Janna Stansell ◽  
Amy Jennings

There is a growing body of research examining the disclosure of sexual assault. But the focus on time to first disclosure does not capture the whole picture. Survivors also differ in how long they continue to disclose, to whom they disclose, and the types of reactions received during disclosure. To provide a more comprehensive view of disclosure, this study sought to identify patterns of disclosure among a sample of 103 female sexual assault survivors recruited from the community. This study also sought to identify characteristics of each disclosure pattern, differences in how each disclosure pattern tends to unfold (e.g., who is told and how they react), and differences in how these disclosure patterns are related to physical and mental health outcomes. Results revealed four distinct disclosure patterns: nondisclosers, slow starters, crisis disclosers, and ongoing disclosers. Assault characteristics and rape acknowledgment distinguished nondisclosers and slow starters from the other two disclosure groups. Slow starters were also less likely to disclose to police and medical personnel and received negative reactions less frequently while nondisclosers experienced more symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress than other groups. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed.


Author(s):  
Anisha Vyas ◽  
Cathy Spain ◽  
David Rawlinson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact working in a therapeutic community (TC) has on staff practice and personal development. Design/methodology/approach Eight female members of staff who work in the TC participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used. Findings The findings of this paper show three superordinate themes: confidence gained within TC; the staff impact of the intensity of TC; and staff value for specific TC principles. Research limitations/implications Limitations include researcher bias as both authors work in the TC and/or in the service. Reasonable adjustments were made in order to account for this. Practical implications Implications for future research include understanding and supporting the needs of staff and further exploration of the impact of staff working within TCs for people diagnosable with emotionally unstable personality disorders. Originality/value The research was carried out at one of the longest running TCs for people with emotional instability in the country. It offers a unique opportunity to garner the views of staff members with up to 27 years of experience. Findings may be of value to practitioners, administrators, policy makers and researchers interested in therapeutic communities.


Author(s):  
Amy Burrell ◽  
Matthew Tonkin

Behavioural crime linkage (BCL) analyses offender crime scene behaviour with the aim of identifying groups of crimes that share similar (and distinctive) behaviours. This allows police to infer that the same person/s were responsible for crimes, allowing them to be “linked” as a crime series. Successful BCL can increase the quantity and quality of evidence available to the police, which increase the likelihood of apprehending and successfully prosecuting the offender. This chapter will review the theoretical framework underpinning BCL (behavioural consistency and behavioural distinctiveness) and summarise key literature on rape and sexual assault - including the latest, cutting-edge, collaborative work jointly-led by academics and law enforcement practitioners. The chapter will also outline (using real life case studies) how BCL can be used to support the investigation of sexual offences, and will critically discuss future research directions and how this work might enhance the detection, prosecution, and prevention of serial sexual offending.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-165
Author(s):  
Ilga Salīte ◽  
Ilona Fjodorova ◽  
Inese Butlere ◽  
Oksana Ivanova

Abstract The article aims at considering the characteristics of the Anthropocene era from a broader perspective and emhasizing the possibilities of pedagogy to reduce the current unsustain-ability of higher education. The relationships between human and nature are affected by the wicked problems. In particular, they are influenced by intermingling of anthropocentrism, egocentrism and egoism, which affect these relationships by causing changes in the human being, i.e., changes in sensitivity and sensibility occur that are naturally necessary for human adaptation to the environment. For the case study, we have used the processes taking place at the phenomenon level, which are known as the first-person perspective (1PP) characterized by an active and dynamic connection with the environment. It should be noted that 1PP cannot be observed from a distance, as there are a number of interrelated processes that begin with the effects of the environment, the formation of the “self” and the formation of the self-image. It follows that complex consciousness in the 1PP is implemented within an egocentric reference system, where experience is structured according to the image of the human body. The article will present the findings of 1PP study obtained by performing two tasks: (1) development of a personally significant view of a 1PP researcher on the phenomenon of sustainability from an egocentric perspective and (2) involvement of the 1PP researcher in adaptive learning suitable for pandemic conditions. We would like to stress that the case study has been developed as our reaction to the intensification of unsustainable development in the relationship between nature and human, which has been initiated and maintained by the tangle of Anthropocene problems. From the pedagogical perspective, we looked for an opportunity to use the basis of the natural origin of human and nature relations to maintain more integrated activities and more personal knowledge, so that the development of more sustainable higher education could be promoted by means of personal experience. Through the pedagogical lenses of phenomenology, we identified the need to reduce the impact of the Anthropocene tangle through the use of more natural methods. We also recognized the need to use the 1PP and adaptive learning opportunities more carefully. In this way, pedagogy can gain new experiences for a more holistic understanding of individual experience and enhance the use of the unique abilities of adaptive learning to prototype more personal knowledge in order to build more sustainable higher education.


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