Supervision meeting

Supervision Meeting for Nothando Ngwenya on the 11th of December 2007 at 4:30pm in Paul Kingston’s office

Present: NN, SM, PK

1) We discussed the feedback from the NHS LREC. The ethics application was approved subject to a few amendments and clarification on the following information:
· The committee requested that I ask the hospices to send information on their general patient population
· The second consent form could incorporated into the initial consent form
· The participant Information sheet and interview schedule should be rewritten in a more even handed way
· Roles of participants, relatives and staff should be clearly separated
· The poster should indicate the minimum time commitment from the participants – (3 months)
2) I would have to write a letter to the hospices and give them an update on the NHS ethical review outcome, and also to request them to write a letter to the Committee with a description of their general patient population.
3) We briefly discussed the health informatics paper and the feedback we received. Nothing was decided then, Stella advised me to just concentrate on the PhD Literature review at the moment and getting ethical approval.
4) I gave feedback on the Inverness conference, as all went well. It was quite an interesting event and I got some information on research being conducted in the hospice environment.
5) I also discussed the change to the web design for my project. I will no longer be designing a website that hosts the blogs but will design the front page. The website will then have links to the participants’ blogs. Participants will be advised to use blogger.com and will also be taught on how to use the website. This will enable users to continue blogging if they so wished after the end of the project.
6) I will be accompanying Nick to a GMS (Geriatric Mental State) training in Liverpool from the 17th to the 20th of December. Although the tool is not for my project we felt it would be good experience and opportunity to know it for future work.



Things to do by next meeting
1) Work on the issues raised by the North Staffordshire Research Ethics committee, and write to the hospices requesting the required information for the LREC
2) Continue working on the literature review

Supervision meeting

Supervision Meeting for Nothando Ngwenya on the 2nd of November 2007 at 10:00am in Paul Kingston’s Office.

Present: NN, PK,

1) We discussed the feedback from the NHS LREC. The ethics application was not approved for the 2nd time. We again decided to reapply and therefore needed to work on the issues raised by the LREC committee.
2) Paul advised me to contact some people with training and experience in palliative care who can give me support as required by the LREC committee. The people I suggested were:
a. …… from …… Hospice
b. …… from …… Hospice
c. …… from Staffordshire University.
3) I informed Paul that I have decided to cut down the sample size from 90 to 60 participants since the committee were not happy with the distribution of the sample amongst the hospices. Total number of patients would be 20 (5 from each hospice), 20 carers (5 from each hospice), and 20 staff (5 from each hospice). The sample size would still be good as I have the minimum number for a focus group.
4) We reviewed the poster I designed for the Inverness conference and decided to go ahead with the printing




Things to do by next meeting
1) Work on the issues raised by the North Staffordshire Research Ethics committee, and prepare a new application
2) Continue working on the literature review

Project plan

Envisioned Project timeplan
August 2007 - Complete PgCRM and Bath conference paper.
September 2007 - Annual Monitoring form
October 2007 - Lit Review, MREC,and Create Weblog Host site
November 2007 - Lit Review, weblog design and testing
December 2007 - Lit Review
January 2008 - Teach hospice 1 on blog creation and recruit
February 2008 - Teach Hospice 2 on blog creation and recruit
March 2008 - Interview Hospice 1 and Analyse the data, RDC2
April 2008 - Teach Hospice 3 and 4 on blog creation and recruit
May 2008 - Interview Hospice 2 and Analyse the data
June 2008 - Interview Hospice 3 and 4 and Analyse the data
July 2008 - Questionnaires to all hospices and analyse
August 2008 - Weblog content Analysis, Comprehensive analysis
September 2008 - Comparisons and A/L
October 2008 onwards - Write up.

DATA COLLECTION SCHEDULE (BROKEN UP INTO 2WEEKS)
JAN - week 1 - 2 - Recruit in Hospice 1
week 3 - 4, work on recruitment issues in Hospices
FEB - week 1 - 2, Recruit in Hospice 2
week 3- 4, recruit in Hospice 3
March - week 1 - 2, Interviews in Hospice 1
week 3 - 4, Recruit in Hospice 4
APRIL - week 1- 2, Interviews in Hospice 2
week 3 - 4, Interviews in Hospice 3
MAY - week 1- 2, Interviews in Hospice 4
week 3- 4, Questionnaires to all hospices

Busy busy

I have been so busy recently I havent had time to update my blog. Anyway like I said before about the conferences. I attended the conference in Bath and it went well, more than I expected. My presentation was great and lots of people asked questions. Stella came along and so she managed to answer some of the questions. I met some really interesting people and made good contact. I must say althoug the next conference I attend I will make sure to register for the whole time and not just the day I present. I realised that I did not network as much as I only went on the last day and I feel I could have made more contacts if I had gone earlier, which is what I will do next time.
I got so many resources as well, and I will try to submit a paper to the Mortality journal. This will be done a bit later next year as I am concentrating on the ethic approval at the moment. My application had ben rejected twice and I am feeling really low at the moment but I know everything happens for a reason, so we will see how everything works out. I would actually like to continue working with patients but it looks like the committee is not happy about that so I might have to drop them out of the project which will be quite a dissappointment.
Anyway its Friday and its time to go home.
Must remember to talk to Kamran about the website on Tuesday and then that way everything can start moving smoothly once more
Excuse me for any spelling mistakes I really have to go now.
Weekend yeah yeah yeah!!!!!!

Supervision meeting

Supervision Meeting for Nothando Ngwenya on the 18th of September 2007 at 11:00am in Paul Kingston’s Office.

Present: NN, PK, SM

1) I received feedback of an article / paper that I submitted on phenomenology and Grounded Theory methods from Stella, Paul said it would be best to ask Lou to read the paper and offer advice on the content.
2) We then discussed the feedback from the NHS LREC. The ethics application was not approved, and we decided to reapply after attending to the concerns brought up by the committee.
3) We discussed the development of the website to be used for the project. I have to find out where to purchase the URL for the website and what tools I need to create the website. I have spoken to Kamran to get assistance with Content Management Systems creation.
4) The content of the Literature review chapters has not changed but I have asked for an extension on the deadline as I cannot proceed with writing until positive outcome from the ethics committee as I might need to change the project.
5) We reviewed the feedback received from the reviewers of the Health Informatics journal of the paper I had submitted.
6) An abstract I submitted to ‘The Space between’ conference in Inverness has been accepted as a poster presentation. The conference is organised by the Highland Hospice and will explore the use of technology in palliative care

Things to do by next meeting
1) Work on the issues raised by the North Staffordshire Research Ethics committee, and prepare a new application
2) Continue working on the literature review
3) Explore the design and development of the website
4) Design the poster for the Inverness conference
5) Work on the changes and amendments suggested by the Health Informatics Journal reviewers.

Envisioned Project timeplan in August 2007

I am at present waiting for feedback from the LREC and then I will probably rearrange my schedule. The revised project plan is upto date although I should say I am behind by a month on what I had hoped to be doing, but anyway I am hoping that once the ethic part of the research is done away with I can progress at a steady pace. Not much hiccups thankfully. Just need to complete the Bath conference paper and the scotland poster then concentrate on creating the website for the blogs. I was actually hoping the University would be able to host the site and give me a few pages but apparently they are going through changes and no more personal space will be given to employees, so I guess there goes one of my plans. I have to start looking for webiste host packages. Its a bit tiresome but it is still reasonably cheap or should I say affordable. Most of them range from between £60-£120 a year and some offer really good deals

At present this is the outlook of my project plan:

August 2007 - Complete PgCRM and Bath conference paper.
September 2007 - Annual Monitoring form, Lit Review, and Create Weblog Host site
October - teach hospice 1 on blog creation and recruit
November 2007 - Teach Hospice 2 on blog creation and recruit
December 2007 - Teach Hospice 3 and 4 on blog creation and recruit
January 2008 - Interview Hospice 1
February 2008 - Analyse Hospice 1 data
March 2008 - Interview Hospice 2
April 2008 - Analyse Hospice 2 data
May 2008 - Interview Hospice 3 and 4
June 2008 - Analyse Hospice 3 and 4 data
July 2008 - Questionnaires to all hospices and analyse
August 2008 - Weblog content Analysis
September 2008 onwards - Write up.

Conference 1

I am at the moment working on papers to present at 2 conferences. I will be attending the DDD - Dying, Death and Disposal conference in Bath. It is on the social context of Dying, Death and Disposal. 8th International Conference on the Social Context of Death, Dying and Disposal.The paper I am writing is on the use of weblogs in hospices so I am hoping that I will not have to search for too much information as I have papers for my literature review with similar content.It looks like it will be an interesting conference as it is a major multi-disciplinary conference. To see more information on this conference go to their website.
http://www.bath.ac.uk/cdas/news/conferences/
I hope it will be a good event with lots of contacts and good networking

Updated timeplan

Envisioned Project timeplan
July 2007 - Create Weblog Host site
August 2007 - Complete PgCRM and Bath conference paper.
September 2007 - Annual Monitoring form, Lit Review, and teach hospice 1 on blog creation and recruit
October - Teach Hospice 2 on blog creation and recruit
November 2007 - Teach Hospice 3 and 4 on blog creation and recruit
December 2007 - Interview Hospice 1
January 2008 - Analyse Hospice 1 data
February 2008 - Interview Hospice 2
March 2008 - Analyse Hospice 2 data
April 2008 - Interview Hospice 3 and 4
May 2008 - Analyse Hospice 3 and 4 data
June 2008 - Questionnaires to all hospices and analyse
July 2008 - Weblog content Analysis
August 2008 onwards - Write up.

Supervision meeting

Supervision Meeting for Nothando Ngwenya on the 6th of July 2007 at 2:30pm in Paul Kingston’s Office.

Present: NN, PK, SM

1) I submitted an article / paper that I have written on phenomenology and Grounded Theory methods. I have asked the supervisors to analyse my style of writing and offer any advice on how I can improve.
2) We then discussed the user characteristics. Both supervisors advised that since there is no literature on website design for the palliative care setting, I should adapt design principles and characteristics for similar impairments such as:
- Physical disability
- Cognitive disability
- Attention Deficit disorder
- Mental disability
- Mental and physical exhaustion syndrome
3) Paul offered to go through the LREC form over the weekend and make any changes or suggestions before submitting it. LREC meeting is on the 8th of August 2007 with the North Staffs Ethics Committee.
4) University ethics IPR has been approved and the letter of indemnity received.
5) We had a brief discussion on the content outline of the first 4 chapters of the thesis. Necessary changes were made which I will update and consider when I start writing the chapters.
6) We set the deadline for the literature review as mid-September.

What am I up to?

Well I really dont have much to post at the moment. I am still busy reading phenomenological and grounded theory methods. I think I am a bit biased towards Grounded Theory because it was developed during a study for dying patients and it just seems a bit more relevant to what I will be doing - dealing with patients in hospices.
I am also about to complete my Basic Counselling skills course, which has been a big help to me and jump started my personal growth and developement. It is really a challenging course which requires an individual to use their heart rather than their heads and in this way you become able to deal with people, stuff and almost anything as you are more aware of things around you and why you act they way you do or the resaon you are the person you are and how to change that. I have learnt how to deal with issues that have affected me for a long time and move on. Life gets a bit clearer (like seeing the bigger picture in life). I guess it would be like chanting for Buddhist. I have enjoyed it, I might even post my final assignment which is a journal of my personal journey during the course.

Phenomenology Vs Grounded Theory

The focus of grounded theory and phenomenology methods are differentiated by Creswell (1998) as follows: - purpose of a Grounded theory method is developing theory whilst that of the phenomenology method is understanding a concept or phenomenon.

Phenomenology is grounded in philosophy and was founded by Hurssel whilst studying consciousness as experienced by the participant. The goal of a phenomenological study is to describe the lived experience of the participants and the meaning of that experience from the participants’ perspective. Phenomenology is based on the assumption that one can only describe the world as experienced by the studied individual and is neither a subjective nor an objective description (Merleau-Ponty 1962). Phenomenology therefore seeks to describe psychological structures. When using the phenomenology method, a researcher is required to approach the data without prejudice and it is therefore advisable not to use literature as a source of data (Baker et al, 1992). The principal method of data collection when using a phenomenology method is the interview. It is also important for the researcher to show the participant a copy of the interview in order to confirm the meanings assigned to the experience (Wimpenny & Gass, 2000). Descriptive and Interpretive are the two most common types of phenomenology. Descriptive focuses on describing what we know whilst interpretive focuses on describing and interpreting human experience.

Grounded theory was developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) when studying the experience of dying patients and has its roots grounded in sociology. The grounded theory method is based on symbolic interactionism which focuses on the processes of people’s social interactions and the meanings they assign to events. These interactions are said to be symbolic as something (language, words, symbols) is used to convey their meaning and facilitate the interaction (Denzin, 1989). Because Symbolic interactonism is a branch of interpetivism, Grounded theory is based on the assumption that people develop meanings to an event through experience and social interaction. The meanings that people assign to these events eventually build their behaviour (Baker et al 1992). Grounded Theory therefore seeks to explain social processes. Not only does the Grounded theory develop theory, but can modify and further develop existing theories (McCann & Clark, 2003). Grounded Theorists use literature reviews for theoretical sensitivity and also for theory comparisons. The literature review is also used to justify the study and provide background. Theoretical sensitivity enables researchers to enter the field of study with an awareness and understanding of the data so as to be able to isolate the appropriate from the inappropriate information (McCann & Clark, 2003). Grounded Theory employs two types of sampling, Purposive and theoretical sampling. Initially purposive sampling is used and initial data collected. Because grounded theory employs a cyclic approach of data collection and analysis, the initial data collected is analysed and further decisions about the participants is made based on the emerging theory. This later sampling is known as theoretical sampling, and the new data collected facilitates comparison of the emerging categories. Grounded Theory uses multiple methods of data collection including observational collection (Wimpenny & Gass, 2000).

Current Timeplan - to be reviewed in 3 months time

Create the Weblog 1 month Fri 01/06/07 Mon 02/07/07
Test the weblog 1 month Mon 02/07/07 Tue 31/07/07
PgCRM Module 1 month Wed 01/08/07 Fri 31/08/07
Annual Monitoring Form 1 month Mon 03/09/07 Mon 08/10/07
MPhIl transfer to PhD 2 weeks Tue 11/09/07 Tue 25/09/07
Recruit and teach blogs (1 & 2) 1 month Mon 01/10/07 Fri 02/11/07
Recruit and teach blogs (3 & 4) 1 month Thu 01/11/07 Fri 07/12/07
Conduct Interviews 1 month Mon 03/12/07 Thu 10/01/08
Conduct Interviews 1 month Thu 03/01/08 Fri 01/02/08
Qualitative analysis 1 month Fri 01/02/08 Mon 10/03/08
Analysis & questionnaire design 1 month Mon 03/03/08 Mon 07/04/08
Questionnaire ( 1 & 2) 1 month Mon 07/04/08 Tue 06/05/08
Questionnaire ( 3 & 4) 1 month Thu 01/05/08 Fri 30/05/08
Quantitative analysis 1 month Mon 02/06/08 Tue 08/07/08
Start write up 12 months Tue 01/07/08 Fri 24/07/09

Philosophy of Social Research

This is why I have not blooged for a while, I have been trying to learn something unteachable - PHILOSOPHY.

Philosophy of Social Research



Epistemology: - What is acceptable knowledge and how valid it is and tries to answer questions like, what differentiates belief from knowledge?



Ontology: - is the part of Meta physics which deals with the nature of being, or what exists. The ontological argument is that in order for us to understand the world or domain we live in, assumptions are made about what exists within that domain, what is real?



There are four main strategies that can be employed to conduct research in the social sciences and these are:

1) Inductive

2) Deductive

3) Retroductive

4) Abductive

The approaches taken for research draw from these four strategies in the way data is collected, and analysed and are discussed below.

a) Positivism is an inductive approach and states that all true knowledge is scientific and is measurable. Also known as empiricism and pioneered by Auguste Comte, positivism rejects metaphysics and claims that knowledge of anything that cannot be observed and measured is impossible. This approach heavily relies on observation as the basis of scientific knowledge. In this approach, observations are made of a situation or problem, experiments are then conducted and the data thoroughly scrutinised and from this analysis new theories are developed. The ontology of Positivism is naïve realism were reality is assumed to exist and is guided by laws and mechanisms. Epistemology of positivism is dualist and objectivist, whereby the researcher and participants are viewed as separate entities, and the researcher’s views/ opinions/ beliefs do not in any way influence the research. The methodology best used in this approach is Experimental and manipulative, where questions are used to empirically test hypothesis with all other confounding variables controlled to prevent an influence on the outcome.



b) The second strategy of social research is the deductive strategy whereby the research is guided by theory. This strategy is also known as the hypothetico-deductive or falsificationist approach and takes on a Critical Rationalism approach of research. The main operation of this strategy is to falsify the hypothesis. The problem to be investigated is reviewed and a possible answer or explanation is created first before any observation is done. The answer to the question is also known as a hypothesis and this then undergoes various forms of scrutiny and testing in order to falsify it. The hypothesis stands as truth until such a time when after meticulous testing it is falsified.





c) Postpositivism is an approach that later developed to challenge positivism. It is a retroductive approach which relies on building structures and mechanisms of a phenomenon, observing and testing this structure in order to explain the situation/experience.

Post positivism’s ontology is critical realism, although reality is alleged to exist, it is not as perfect as it is in its natural state because of human’s flawed methods of discovery. The epistemology of this approach is modified dualist/objectivist, in this approach the researcher and participants are still viewed as separate entities but more emphasis is placed on pre-existing knowledge, and critical communities or “external guardians”. The methodology used for this approach is modified experimental/manipulative, the idea is to falsify rather than verify hypothesis. This methodology differs from positivism in that it collects data from more natural settings than a positivist.



d) Constructivism takes on an abductive approach and has relativist ontology. This is where there are many realities of phenomena all dependent on the social actor or individual. These realities can change over time or in different situations and can only be defined by the participant in any research. The epistemology of this approach is a transactional and subjectivist with the belief that the researcher and participant interact during the research and are therefore linked and thus knowledge is created as the research proceeds. Methodology most suitable for this approach is hermeneutical and dialectical. Other approaches that use this strategy include Feminism, Realism and Structuration theory.



Get help with this

Trying out

i AM TRYING TO MOVE HOMES

Supervision meeting

Supervisory Meeting for Nothando Ngwenya on the 8th of May at 2:30pm in Paul Kingston’s Office.

Present: NN, PK, SM

1) We reviewed the information I wrote on the phenomenology and Grounded Theory methods, and discussed the most appropriate choice for the research.
2) Both supervisors advised that we meet up again with Lou in the next meeting and review the information again. I should also add more if possible on the sampling options for phenomenology method.
3) It was agreed that I should keep working on the MREC ethics process for the NHS and Paul said he would try and speak to Helen about getting my ethics form from the University as I cannot submit the NHS without University approval. I am hoping to submit the NHS ethics form end of May. Both supervisors agreed with this as I would need to start data collection before Christmas time.
4) I will also wait to get the RDC1 back from the University and pass on the proposal to the relevant hospices, especially Severn hospice as their collaboration has not yet been confirmed.
5) We had a brief discussion on the theoretical framework of the PhD, and shared some ideas. I have to do more work on that.
6) I need to start working on the Literature review which should consist of about 3 chapters. Expected completion of this will be August.
7) Next meeting will be the 25th of May 2007 at 11:00am


Things to do by next meeting

1) Build a theoretical framework of the PhD.
2) Read on the phenomenology and Grounded Theory methods.
3) Complete the MREC, NHS ethics form online, ready for submission.

Private weblogs

Private weblogs
Well, I have decided to change the way I inform you on what I am doing. I can still put a week planner if need be but just for my records and archive and to manage my time better. From now on I will be trialling my new procedure. I will be writing on the interesting things I am doing or discovering.At the moment I am looking at how search engines actually identify weblogs. I mean because the URL for weblogs is just like any other, it has to distinctive character so to speak. I found out though that you can actually load software to the directory of your webpage. This software is called robots text file. Yes! it is a text file that you can create and apparently when search engines send webcrawlers or spiders around the web, the robot txt informs the serach engines to ignore your domain, yeah they tell the spiders that they are unwelcome and therefore cannot index the contents of your directory. I think thats pretty neat. Anyway this is just one way of keeping your blog private if you did not want everyone reading it. Its just like the lock on your good old diary that you kept under the matress, yeah I know that, thats where I kept mine as well.If you wanted to keep your weblog invisible there is software that you could use to make them invisible or anonymous. a few that I have read about are:
1) Tor for bloggers - this piece of software routes your published blogs through multiple onion routers. Onion Routing prevents the transport medium from knowing who is communicating with whom , you can download the system at http://tor.freehaven.net/
2) Invisiblog this system uses a mixmaster technology that sends encrypted blogs, Invisiblog says We can’t reveal your name or IP address - not even accidentally, or at gunpoint, or under a court order - because we simply don’t have that information.
3) Third and final one is the anonymiser which conceals your computer's IP address and location.
This list is not exhaustive, what with the ever increasing development of technology, for an extensive list I would suggest Kuhns and Crew's book Blogosphere - best of blogs. Its quite a handy book

RDC1

I have recieved feedback on my PhD registration. Few changes to be made but all in all I am happy with the feedback. I have been asked to clarify some points like how many participants I will use for the research. I will be using 90 people in total, 30 participants from each group with a total of 3 groups.I also have to add references to my methodological section and redraft my outcomes. Hopefully all this will be sorted by the end of May, then I can get into the design of the weblog. I am also at present looking into the philosophy of social research. This is so I can build the theoretical framework for my project. I will hopefully start writing the method chapter of my thesis. I have had a look at other thesis that have been submitted in Psychology and none of them have a designated method chapter, I have had a look at Paul's Thesis which I might just use as reference. I will be going to Keele as well to check out the style of writing a thesis. This is all so that I can know what depth to go into the philosophies as there is a lot of information on the subject and it just gets more and more confusing. I will update you soon on what I have read so far .

Supervision Meeting 10

Supervisory Meeting for Nothando Ngwenya on the 19th of March 2007 at 11:15am in Paul Kingston’s Office

Present: NN, PK, SM

1) We had a discussion on the feedback we received for the RDC1 proposal. Overall the results were not too bad. Few changes were requested as follows:-
· To include the key theoretical contribution to the aims.
· To appropriately reference the methodological discussion.
· To link the aim and objectives to the expected outcome of the project.
· The number of participants anticipated for the research.
2) The response or changes to the RDC1 have to be submitted by Wednesday the 11th of April 2007 for Chair’s action
3) We then discussed the Independent Peer Review which was a bit disappointing as the ethics application was deferred and has to be submitted again. Some of the points/ issues brought up for change or clarification were as follows:
· Why the research is using weblogs, their relevance?
· What forms of weblogs will be utilised?
· Why are the three separate groups being used for the research?
· What aspects of the weblogs might be examined?
· Direction of interviews and questionnaires – what areas they will cover?
4) The response or changes to the Independent Peer Review (IPR) will be resubmitted and the next meeting is on Wednesday the 4th of April 2007
5) I was then advised to continue reading on the philosophy of research for the method chapter.



Things to do by next meeting

1) Make the necessary changes and re-submit the RDC1 and Independent Peer Review.
2) Continue reading on the philosophy of social research.

Friday

Its Friday
Yes, yes, its Friday once again the weekend is upon us and I still have no plans. How sad is that? Jokes its all right. I have a few plans for the weekend. Nothing interesting otherwise you would know about it by noe. Lets see today I have to finish reading the articles I have on Therapeutic writing and the practise on Endnote. I am glad I have managed to learn how to create a library and I have actually saved some references in the Library. For those not clued up with thi, endnote is a pogram that allows you to search bibliographies from databases online and organise your references. This makes it easier as you have docmentation of all the papers you have read and those that you may want to refer to. At the moment I have all the references I need for Therapeutic writing. Now all I need to do is learn how to categorise my library. I have just created one library as this is advisable to reduce confusion which is a 'favourite hobby' of mine, if you get my drift. But anyway hopefully this will help. I will practise more over the weekend and maybe finally get to categorise my library and get more references. I might go down to the library as well and make copies of some articles from Thompson. We'll see. I am also planning to go to Church this Sunday, I have been loafing for a long long time. Anyway I will let you know if I do

Supervision meeting

Supervisory Meeting for Nothando Ngwenya on the 22nd of February at 2pm in Paul Kingston’s Office.

Present: NN, PK, SM

1) Had a brief discussion on the seminar presentation I gave on the 21st of February on my RDC1. Some issues, pointers I was given are
· Look at the audience and read from the computer rather than the overhead.
· Do not rely heavily on the notes, instead use them as prompts and not read continually from them.
· Just keep practising.
2) Paul gave me a leaflet on a conference to be held in Bath in September, and thought it would be useful if I managed to submit an abstract. The conference is The Social Context of Death, Dying and Disposal. www.bath.ac.uk/cdas/ews/conferences
3) Stella agreed with the conference and though it would give me a wider perspective of the different methodologies used in research since the conference includes a wide range of professions; - anthropologists, historians, cultural geographers, philosophers, social policy analysts and many others.
4) We then discussed the work I should concentrate on and decided on the method chapter. I was advised to look into the philosophy of social research and see the different approaches that are available in social sciences, in order for me to be able to justify my choices against the ones I will reject. This will also aid the interviews to have a theoretical philosophical foundation.
5) Next meeting will be the 19th of March 2007 at 10:00am


Things to do by next meeting

1) Do an abstract for the bath conference.
2) Read on the philosophy of social research and write the different approaches’ definitions on an A4 side paper.

nothing

Not Much to say really
Well I dont have that much to say today. I am just a bit tired so I will be having an early night today, than tomorrow I will do more work. I am still trying to find a way to post my calendar or something for easy viewing of what I do on a daily basis.Anyone with an idea juat holla!! let me know.
Hey I missed CSI Miami so am still a bit out of it really. Today I am going to research about Therapeutic writing. What is it really and does it really improve the immune system and health. Who out there has had a significant change since they began writing or blogging. C'mon share ideas and let us know. What rae the advantages of writing if there at all any.I will post up some stuff that I will find whilst researching and then we can discuss and see what others think about creative writing. I have just been coming across lot of work by Gillie Bolton and Celia Hunt. I am also planning to get a book by Pennebaker as he was one of the original thinkers around this area.

Supervision Meeting 7

Supervisory Meeting 7 for Nothando Ngwenya – Monday 15th of January 2007 at 10:30am in Stella Mill’s office

Present: NN, SM

Discussed the wording of the letter I had written to be sent to the 3 hospices that have shown an interest in taking part in the Research. Stella made the necessary changes.
Worked on the Independent Study module descriptor and made few changes which included:-
1) Reducing the learning outcomes from five to three
2) Form of assessment was changed; I no longer need to do a reflective piece as it is a requirement for another module and would be a repetition, I also will not be doing a report on a conference as the assessment already in place would be enough for 30credits.
We decided to change the working title of the project from: The usability and usage of weblogs in hospice settings, to The usage of weblogs in hospice settings. This is because the project will not test the usability of the blog for the hospice users to a great deal although a heuristic evaluation and some testing will be done after designing the blog.
We decided to use outpatients for the project due to the critical condition of some inpatients and the fact that they may not be able to use the blog due to severe illness.

Things to do by next meeting

Make necessary changes to the Independent Study module proposal form.
Research on universities that may offer courses on writing, therapeutic writing to try and gather more information for the literature review.
Check completed thesis in the library to see the layout and content of the Introduction/ Literature review.
Stella will draft a letter to ……. hospice.

Genius genius (Thats if its even the spelling)

Oh my I am so Impressed, I am a genius, na na na na na. I have been having problems posting on my blog and well after 2 and a half months I have finally managed to sort it out so I dont have to move elsewhere coz I loved my home msn spaces. Anyway I will definately be speaking to you sooner than soon.
Take care

Supervision meeting

Supervisory Meeting 8 for Nothando Ngwenya – Monday 5th of January 2007 at 3:30pm in Paul Kingston’s office

Present: NN, PK, SM

We had a discussion of the Independent peer review form and the following changes were agreed upon:
The project does not have outcome measures and hence not appropriate.
The study is a cross-sectional and not a longitudinal study.
As both supervisors are experienced in qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis, no external advisors were required.
It was greed that the Grounded Theory is the best method but should still discuss with Lou.
Letter of collaboration has been received from St Katherine hospice.
Diana has shown an interest in being an external reviewer but expresses concern that it may be a conflict of interest as she works in one of the collaborating research centres.
A 3rd reviewer was suggested by Stella, and advised to get the contact details from Ian Sunley (lecturer in FCET).
A brief discussion was held on the Literature review part of the thesis and was advised to start working on it as some parts like the characteristics of user groups will be necessary for the design of the weblog.
Everyone is now satisfied with the RDC1 and IPR form and they can both be submitted.

Things to do by next meeting

E-mail Ian Sunley and get contact details for the 3rd external reviewer.
Remind Paul to complete his proforma CV for next meeting.
Research on posting pod casts on the weblogs and audio transcriptions (changing audio file to text).
4. To produce a flow chart diagram for the detailed plan of investigation to be submitted with the Independent peer review form.