Examined types of discussion in three Paideia Seminars through observations, questionnaires, focus group interviews with eight students, and interviews of the teacher and principal. Findings suggest that the observed discussions reflected the teacher's transitional status in conducting dialogic discussion, with some "ideal" Paideia…

Six focus groups with 21 nurses in military hospitals identified five professional development themes: (1) critical topics; (2) appropriate continuing education methods; (3) evaluation of effectiveness and efficiency of continuing education; (4) barriers to professional development; and (5) staff retention issues. Recommendations for mentoring,…

Describes focus group application in student affairs assessment and offers suggestions on conducting groups and using results. Concludes that focus groups can overcome limitations of quantitative designs, such as limited scope of response or profiles of "average" persons who do not really exist; be used to help design or supplement quantitative…

Describes a community needs assessment conducted by Native Americans with Native Americans, for Native Americans in the Northeastern United States. Focus groups and interviews were used to gather the data, which pointed to the importance of including culture as a foundation for everything in the community. (Author/SLD)

Describes the process and outcome of an effort to develop an information design for a community network's Web site. Topics include user-centered design techniques, diffusion of innovations literature, targeting innovators and early adopters, the use of focus groups, and usability tests. (Author/LRW)

Interviews and focus-group discussions were used to determine how the processes of public participation in public administration can be improved. Results suggest that participation requires changes in citizen and administrator roles and relationships and in administrative processes. (JOW)

Conducted focus groups with daily smokers to identify key themes and strategies that would be effective in influencing attitudinal and behavioral change in homes that allowed smoking to occur. Smokers preferred messages that addressed the health of children, respected smokers, were based on research, provided information and assistance on…

Although empirical research has accumulated over the past 20 years regarding African Americans and domestic violence, many questions remain about African American perceptions of domestic violence. This article explores African American women's perceptions about domestic violence through three focus groups held at a New York social services agency.…

Child welfare struggles to manage child abuse and neglect and to seek permanency for children, while being culturally responsive to the communities it serves. Family group conferencing, piloted in New Zealand and now used in the United States and other countries, is a strengths-based model that brings together families and their support systems to…

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to the management of pain in long-term care institutions. Formal caregivers practising in four long-term care institutions in Hamilton, Ontario participated in eight focus groups. Participants included 6 physicians, 19 registered nurses, 8 registered practical nurses, 13 health care aides and 8…

Most literature on staff-family relationships has come from studies of long-term care settings, has focused mainly on the families' perspectives on factors affecting their relationships with staff, and has included scant findings from the staff's perspective. No studies that examined staff-family relationships in complex continuing care (CCC)…

The importance of early childhood intervention in a developing country is indisputable. Even though we have a relatively clear idea of what effective early childhood intervention (ECI) means, there are still uncertainties about the roles of professionals in this ever-changing field. In South Africa we face particular challenges because of huge…

The importance of marketing research can be gauged simply through an examination of the wide range of organizations that use research. These organizations include small and large businesses, manufacturing and technology companies, policymakers, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Marketing research focuses on the identification of…

This paper is informed by a DfES funded research project, Creative Connections, initiated and directed by the Institute of Education (IoE) and Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) as part of the DfES Museums and Galleries Education Programme 1999-2003. The concern is to focus on an unexpected finding concerning art and design teachers' negligible…

Close to 50% of all college students attend 2-year colleges, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2003). The common assumption is that students who choose 2-year schools do so because they are academically deficient or price conscious. However, little research has been done on why students choose to attend a 2-year college.…