This paper situates geospatial technologies as a constructivist tool in the K-12 classroom and examines student experiences with real-time authentic geospatial data provided through a hybrid adventure learning environment. Qualitative data from seven student focus groups demonstrate the effectiveness of using real-time authentic data, peer collaboration, and geospatial technologies in learning ...

BACKGROUND In this article we aim to assess the ethical desirability of self-test diagnostic kits for influenza, focusing in particular on the potential benefits and challenges posed by a new, mobile phone-based tool currently being developed by i-sense, an interdisciplinary research collaboration based (primarily) at University College London and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences...

The majority of previous studies investigating the impact of epilepsy on the QOL of adolescents have used proxy opinions from clinicians and/or parents. This study highlights the need for research to investigate QOL from the direct perspective of adolescents and consider issues in the context of a developmental perspective. A focus group technique was used. Twenty-two adolescents aged between 1...

This study explored adjustment in people with spinal cord injury; data from four focus groups are presented. Thematic analysis revealed four themes, managing goals and expectations, comparison with others, feeling useful and acceptance, showing participants positively engaged in life, positively interpreted social comparison information and set realistic goals and expectations. These positive s...

Group work is used as a means of learning at all levels of most educational systems. However, teachers often use group work without considering its " pros and cons. " Such a mode of non-reflected application may sometimes end up in positive experiences and learning, but the likelihood is that the outcome will be the opposite. The aim of this qualitative study is to address students' experiences...

Factors influencing the intention to quit drinking alcohol among pregnant African American/Black women in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, California were investigated using the theory of planned behavior. Qualitative data were collected via focus groups from 22 pregnant women to ascertain behavioral outcomes, normative, and control beliefs associated with drinking during pregnancy. These...

This study examines the core and outlying representational elements of healthcare constructed by Family Healthcare Program teams in Natal, Brazil, using the theory of social representations and the central core theory. The sample consisted of ninety healthcare practitioners working with this Program, with data collected through free word association, a questionnaire and focus groups. The core r...

This article presents some of the emergent methods developed to fit a study of quality in inclusive research with people with learning disabilities. It addresses (i) the ways in which the methodology was a response to the need for constructive, transformative dialogue through use of repeated focus groups in a design interspersing dialogic and reflective spaces; and (ii) how stimulus materials f...