scholarly journals Designing a Waterless Toilet Prototype for Reusable Energy Using a User-Centered Approach and Interviews

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Kyung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
Natural Resource Scarcity ◽  
Scientists And Engineers ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Group Interviews

User-oriented community engagement can reveal insights into ways of improving a community and solving complex public issues, such as natural resource scarcity. This study describes the early process of co-designing a novel, waterless toilet to respond to the water scarcity problem in the Republic of Korea. It presents how we designed a toilet focusing on three factors—a sanitization function, an ergonomic posture, and clean aesthetics—by conducting focus group interviews as part of a user engagement approach to understand what community users want from a toilet and ways of improving their toilet experiences. The results not only supported the development of an experiential service design project to raise community awareness of water scarcity but also supported scientists and engineers in experimenting with and developing new technologies by collaborating closely with designers.

Caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis: experiences of support

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
L P McKeown ◽  
A P Porter-Armstrong ◽  
G D Baxter
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Major Aspect ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

The aim of this pheno menological study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of a group of caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixteen caregivers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland participated in focus group interviews. The theme of support, either sought or received, emerged as a major aspect of the experiences described. C aregivers’ feelings about, and experiences of, support appeared to change over time. Four common phases that caregivers experienced in relation to support were identified as: ‘rejecting’, ‘resisting’, ‘seeking’ and ‘accepting’ support. This paper will present and discuss these four phases. The study findings highlight the complexity of issues surrounding a caregiver’s decision to seek and accept support. It is hoped that the phases identified within this study are useful in depicting how caregivers of people with MS may progress through stages in their desire for, and acceptance of, support. Findings from this study are useful to healthcare professionals who work with people with MS and their caregivers by increasing awareness that a caregiver’s attitude toward and acceptance of support changes over time.

scholarly journals Japanese Perspective on Korean Reunification: An Analysis of Interrelations between Social Identity and Power

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-72
Author(s):  
Karina Korostelina ◽  
Yuji Uesugi
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Republic Of Korea ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Korean Unification ◽  
Regional Dynamics ◽  
Japanese Perspective ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Group Interviews

The paper explores how experts in Japan assess and understand the process and consequences of the unification of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Based on the theoretical framework of interrelations between social identity and power, this paper asks how Japanese experts frame the process of Korean unification and evaluate its impact on Japan. The data was collected in Tokyo, Japan, through 37 semi-structured and focus group interviews, then examining these interviews using phenomenological and critical discourse analysis. Analysis of data reveals the existence of four competing narratives rooted in the complex relations between meaning of identity, concepts of power, and Japanese policies toward the unification process. The paper expands the description of two narratives currently present in the existing literature, (1) threat and (2) peace, and introduces two new narratives, (3) democratic processes and (4) restorative justice. The final discussion explores how three groups of factors, (1) regional dynamics, (2) domestic policy, and (3) possible models of unification, influence the prevalence of a particular narrative as well as resulting policies of Japan toward Korean unification.

scholarly journals Complaints about technology as a resource for identity-work

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica S. Robles ◽  
Elizabeth S. Parks
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Social Actions ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Group Interviews

AbstractThis article examines how people complain about technology. Using discourse analysis, we inspect sixteen hours of video-recorded focus-group interviews and focused one-on-one discussions where technology was topicalized. We investigate these conversations paying attention to (i) features of language and its situated delivery, including emphasis, word choice, metaphor, and categorizations; and (ii) how these accomplish social actions. We show how interactants use narratives of complaint-like activities about hypothetical categories of people and confessions of their own complainable participation to accomplish a ‘bemoaning’ speech act that manages competing affiliations, demands, and disagreements to construct reasonable moral identities in the situated interaction. By engaging in specific micro-level discursive practices in interaction, participants produce and reproduce what new technologies ‘mean’ to them and for contemporary society. This shows how important it is to examine opinions as situated actions rather than as simple facts about what people believe. (Complaints, accounts, stance, technology, discourse analysis, identity)*

scholarly journals The role of Parliament in promoting active citizenship in relation to the Grade 11 Life Orientation in the South African curriculum

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnetha Arendse ◽  
Juliana Smith
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Active Citizenship ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Grade 11

The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa plays a pivotal role in promoting active citizenship to ensure the deepening of democracy. This article, as based on the study by Arendse, explored the extent to which Parliament as a key participatory institution promotes active citizenship in relation to the Grade 11 Life Orientation (LO) curriculum in South Africa. A qualitative, interpretive approach was employed. However, data were gathered through the crystallisation approach using different methods of gathering data such as document study, questionnaires and focus group interviews, which involved 461 Grade 12 LO learners who had completed the Grade 11 LO curriculum during 2012 and seven LO educators. The findings suggest that there is: (1) lack of exposure, knowledge and understanding about Parliament; (2) lack of public education programmes and initiatives about Parliament; and (3) limited information about Parliament in the LO curriculum.

scholarly journals Building Inner Motivation among FL Learners in the Age of Education Globalization with the Help of New Technologies

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. p18
Author(s):  
Dominika Walczak ◽  
Krzysztof Polok
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Internal Motivation ◽  
Role Of Teachers ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Modern Technologies ◽  
Lesson Observation

The main aim of this article is to present essential information concerning the correlation between building students’ inner motivation and using modern technologies for teaching and learning purposes. Mixed research was conducted including questionnaires, tests, lesson observation sheets, and focus group interviews. The respondents were divided into three age categories. However, all the students agree that lessons using modern technologies significantly affect the level of their internal motivation to work independently. The role of teachers is significant, as they should constantly deepen their knowledge in this field and teach their students how to use new technologies effectively.

Management Strategy for Distributing Questionnaires and Interview Guidelines in the Research Data Collection Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-111
Author(s):  
Po. Abas Sunarya ◽  
George Iwan Marantika ◽  
Adam Faturahman
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Good Management ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Data Collection Process ◽  
Group Interviews

Writing can mean lowering or describing graphic symbols that describe a languageunderstood by someone. For a researcher, management of research preparation is a veryimportant step because this step greatly determines the success or failure of all researchactivities. Before a person starts with research activities, he must make a written plan commonlyreferred to as the management of research data collection. In the process of collecting researchdata, of course we can do the management of questionnaires as well as the preparation ofinterview guidelines to disseminate and obtain accurate information. With the arrangement ofplanning and conducting interviews: the ethics of conducting interviews, the advantages anddisadvantages of interviews, the formulation of interview questions, the schedule of interviews,group and focus group interviews, interviews using recording devices, and interview bias.making a questionnaire must be designed with very good management by giving to theinformation needed, in accordance with the problem and all that does not cause problems at thestage of analysis and interpretation.

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