Andrew Guilfoyle, Juli Coffin and Paul J. Maginn
Participatory action research (PAR) is a qualitative research methodology with a dynamic and powerful potential in both rural and urban contexts. PAR can account for social forces…
Abstract
Participatory action research (PAR) is a qualitative research methodology with a dynamic and powerful potential in both rural and urban contexts. PAR can account for social forces and macro systems of injustice which affect the lives of people within a community and thus achieve what Prilleltensky (2003) termed ‘psychopolitical validity’. This chapter explores its efficacy in research with Australian Aboriginal groups. It is contended that PAR is an invaluable approach in conducting research with such communities. PAR has the potential to empower Indigenous communities in ways that quantitative designs simply cannot.
Craig Standing, Andrew Guilfoyle, Chad Lin and Peter E.D. Love
The purpose of this research is to determine how project managers attribute information technology (IT) project success and failure.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to determine how project managers attribute information technology (IT) project success and failure.
Design/methodology/approach
IT personnel from large Australian organisations completed an adapted version of the Attributional Styles questionnaire, which asked them to attribute causes along a number of attribution dimensions, for IT projects which have either succeeded or failed.
Findings
The results indicate that IT support workers attribute failure to external factors, whilst attributing success to themselves. On the other hand, executive management took a more balanced perspective which attribute success to external factors and only partially to themselves, whereas they attribute significant personal responsibility for failure.
Practical implications
More junior professionals and operational IT employees can learn from their senior professionals in attributing success and failure. Post‐implementation reviews and debriefings conducted by senior IT professionals are ways of passing on their experience in relation to project and self‐evaluations.
Originality/value
This paper takes a well established psychology theory and applies it to the management of information systems (IS)/IT projects. IS/IT research has not examined how IT professionals attribute success and failure within projects.
Details
Keywords
Stephanie J. Lau and Aliza H. Weiss
The tendency to view disability through a medical lens leads to deficiency narratives which have pervasive consequences throughout life. This chapter focuses on impacts of these…
Abstract
Purpose
The tendency to view disability through a medical lens leads to deficiency narratives which have pervasive consequences throughout life. This chapter focuses on impacts of these narratives on postsecondary education opportunities for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). Specifically, we examine how disability as deficiency narratives translate into beliefs and relationships for students in Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Academic and Career Exploration-Individualized Techniques (ACE-IT) program in College.
Methods/Approach
ACE-IT in College is an inclusive postsecondary education program for students with I/DD. We reviewed the clashing narratives students with disabilities face from faculty, staff, other students without disabilities, and family members. In order to analyze postsecondary experiences of participants, a content analysis of the ACE-IT Spring 2015 semester was conducted using archival data of education coach notes, employment case notes, mentor case notes, VCU faculty evaluations, work supervisor evaluations, and parent and student survey responses. Ten case studies, each of an enrolled ACE-IT student, were developed and analyzed.
Findings
Three themes surrounding this program emerged: Inclusion (the inclusive nature of the ACE-IT program encourages independence), exposure (the exposure of faculty to students with disabilities, the exposure of these students to a range of social relationships and community participation), and exclusion (the continuing power of deficit narratives).
Implications/Value
Because narrative analysis of consolidated themes suggests specific program recommendations, this study highlights the research potential of stories to identify program characteristics and needs for program improvement.