PRISM :: Browsing by Author "Arthur, Nancy"

Browsing by Author "Arthur, Nancy"

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Open Access
A collaborative school pilot research project to promote healthy body image, personal attitudes, and eating behaviors
(2002) Russell-Mayhew, Michelle (Shelly) K.; Arthur, Nancy
Open Access
A group intervention with university students who experience difficulties with perfectionism
(2002) Kutlesa, Natasha; Arthur, Nancy
Open Access
An Appreciative Inquiry into the Leadership Development of Zulu Male Youth in a South African Township
(2017) Bremner, Dawn; Schwartz, Kelly; Arthur, Nancy; Lund, Darren; Fellner, Karlee; Harker Martin, Brittany; Ebersöhn, Liesel
This study involved a research collaboration between the researcher and a community-based organization located in a South African township. The purpose of this research was to learn about the experiences of Zulu youth who were demonstrating leadership in their own community. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following research questions: (1) What factors do male youth in a South African context perceive to contribute to the development of leadership skills?; and (2) How do the perspectives of male youth inform how future leaders can be created and supported? Despite efforts to develop leaders in the country, a review of the literature showed that research is lacking about how to effectively foster youth leadership development in township communities. Appreciative inquiry was the methodological framework that guided data collection and analysis, due to its emphasis on strengths and participation. Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted and the researcher guided participants through a process in which they identified the findings of the study. The inclusion of Zulu males living in a township who were serving as leaders in their community offered a unique perspective about leadership development that has been absent in the research literature. Results of this study strongly support the need for specific programs aimed at developing young leaders. Consistent with the published research, participants reported that learning new skills/concepts and having opportunities to practice and apply these skills was critical to their own leadership development. Participants shared that understanding that they have a choice or a sense of control over their own lives allowed them to see that they could be leaders. Community and relationships also facilitated leadership development before, during, and after participation in a leadership program. Participants identified increased access to leadership programming, having choices, access to education, and developing communities as priorities for developing future leaders.
Open Access
Assessing the individual and organizational cultural competence of pediatric mental health service providers
(2003) Wityk, Tracy Lynn; Arthur, Nancy
Open Access
Barriers and Strategies of Newcomers to Canada in Forming Primary Supports During Pregnancy
(2019-01-03) Robinson, Alexandra; Arthur, Nancy; Benzies, Karen Marie; Kassan, Anusha
Canada has a long tradition as an immigrant-receiving country. Women who have recently immigrated to Canada contribute significantly to Canadian population growth, first by migrating to Canada, and second, by bearing children soon after arrival to Canada. Considering the crucial role that women who immigrate contribute towards the population growth of Canada, understanding her pregnancy health needs is of national importance. Surprisingly, there remains a conspicuous knowledge gap in understanding immigrant women’s experiences in pregnancy, in particular, in understanding her experiences establishing pregnancy supports. The aim in conducting this study was to address the current knowledge gap in relation to pregnancy experiences of newcomers to Canada who identify with a non-European ethnic group by identifying (a) facilitative strategies used in primary support formation, (b) the barriers to forming primary supports in Canada and, (c) what supports participants would have wanted but were unavailable to them at the time. Individual in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 participants using the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique (Butterfield, Borgen, Amundson, & Maglio, 2005). Findings from this study identified systemic barriers to forming pregnancy support networks such as acculturation issues, difficulty accessing information, language barriers, inadequate information on supports available, financial barriers, difficulty accessing maternity leave benefits, and not perceiving adequate attention from health care providers. There were also several factors identified as helpful in pregnancy support formation such as the support of their partner, persistence advocating for pregnancy care needs, pregnancy apps, community programs offering pregnancy supports for newcomers, doctors who showed concern, and mental health care services. Participants identified wanting access to information about supports that they thought would have been helpful but were not available to them at the time. This research informs primary healthcare providers about the social, psychological, and economic factors that contribute to primary support formation during pregnancy as well as specific considerations faced by newcomers to Canada. Findings from this study not only inform interventions specific to newcomers to Canada, many of the findings have elucidated barriers to primary support formations shared by pregnant women, regardless of her country of origin.
Open Access
Beyond Generation Jobless: How Recent University Graduates Are Finding Meaningful Employment
(2018-02) Dyrda, April Joy; Arthur, Nancy; Zwiers, Michael L.; Ciccocioppo, Anna-Lisa
Obtaining meaningful employment is a common goal for university graduates, however, the school-to-work transition is an increasingly tumultuous time for young job seekers. Currently, limited research exists from the perspective of recent graduates about how they navigated the process of finding employment and, particularly, why some are successful in this search, while others are not. To address this gap in the literature, the present study incorporated social constructivist principles to explore incidents associated with successes and struggles among new-entrants to the workforce in finding meaningful employment. Using the exploratory method of the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique, eight meaningfully employed recent university graduates identified incidents that helped, hindered, or would have helped them successfully transition from school-to-work. The data analysis process resulted in 13 categories: (a) academic experience, (b) occupational experience, (c) personal learning, (d) perceived experience, (e) network, (f) networking, (g) concern, (h) control, (i) curiosity, (j) confidence, (k) unexpected opportunity, (l) labour market conditions, and (m) logistical skills. The researcher considered these findings within the context of existing literature, presenting both implications for key stakeholders involved in the school-to-work transition process as well as recommendations for future research.
Open Access
Buddhist monuments in psychotheraphy
(2001) Daya, Roshni; Arthur, Nancy
Open Access
Building international work experience into career development
(2005) MacDonald, Susan Margaret; Arthur, Nancy
Open Access
Capturing the shadow and light of researcher positionality: A picture-prompted poly-ethnography
(Sage Publications, 2020-12-10) Kassan, Anusha; Nutter, Sarah; Arthur, Nancy; Green, Amy R.; Russell-Mayhew, Shelly; Sesma-Vazquez, Monica
Acknowledging researcher positionality and engaging in ongoing reflexivity are important components of qualitative research. In this manuscript, we share our experiences of examining our positionality and engaging in reflexive practice related to a research project with newcomer women in Canada. As a team of researchers from diverse backgrounds, we engaged in a picture-prompted poly-ethnographic conversation to better understand our attitudes, assumptions, and biases in relation to the topic of our research and gain a better understanding of what were asking of participants. Using thematic analysis, we uncovered four themes: 1) researchers bring multiple identities, 2) researchers bring privilege/power, 3) understanding what we call home, and 4) walking in participants’ shoes. We discuss these themes in detail, highlighting their implications for reflexive research with newcomer communities.
Open Access
Clients' Perspectives on Cultural Competence in Counselling
(2018-04-27) Rebus, Michaela; Arthur, Nancy; Kassan, Anusha; Badry, Dorothy
In a nation like Canada, attention to the diversity of clientele is essential for counsellors to practice ethically. Multicultural considerations have become a fourth force in counselling practice, with a multitude of models and frameworks suggesting how to enact cultural competence in counselling. Research on cultural competence has typically focused on the counsellor perspective. A limited number of studies have solicited client perspectives on their counsellor’s competence, and no current studies examining client self-reflections of their contributions to the counselling experience. My research contributed to the literature by taking a social constructivist, qualitative approach to investigating what clients find beneficial and not beneficial in navigating culture in the counselling context. The research included exploration of both their counsellors’ beliefs, attitudes, sayings, actions and other ways of being, and an introduction to clients’ self-reflection on their contributions to the counselling experience. Through the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique (ECIT), 10 university students identified incidents that helped, hindered, or were desired in order to navigate culture in the counselling context. Data analysis resulted in 12 categories that encapsulated the 162 incidents about counsellor factors: (a) creating safety, (b) empathy, (c) genuineness, (d) communication skills, (e) engagement, (f) counsellor-client bond, (g) cultural identities, (h) flexibility, (i) impacts of categorization, (j) general counselling competence, (k) professionalism, (l) contributions to client outcomes. The 9 incidents related to client contributions fit within one category: style of engagement. I synthesized the findings with existing literature to offer recommendations for counselling practice and education.
Open Access
Collaborative partner or passive participant?: client involvement in interprofessional collaboration in primary health care
(2011) Pyle, Nathan; Arthur, Nancy
Open Access
Counselling Psychologists' Lived Experiences of Engaging with Social Justice
(2013-09-03) Kennedy, Barbara; Arthur, Nancy
It has been emphasized repeatedly in the counselling psychology literature that the profession needs to re-commit to addressing the needs of the more vulnerable members of society and search for ways to action that include systemic and social change (Arthur & Collins, 2010). As such, counselling psychologists have been urged to integrate social justice into their professional identities and practice. The current study utilized descriptive phenomenological methodology to explore six counselling psychologists’ lived experiences of engaging in social justice, in an effort to guide a professional identity for counselling psychology that embraces social justice and expand the definition of counselling psychology practice to explicitly include social justice action. The results from this research highlight the profound calling and commitment that these counselling psychologists have for promoting and working towards social justice. Participants shared the many ways that this identification with social justice shapes their professional and personal lives, offering examples of how social justice oriented practice can look like within clinical, educational, and research roles. In exploring the experiences of these social justice leaders, it became clear that they have benefited greatly from this professional identification with social justice in the form of increased motivation, satisfaction, and meaning within their work. In order for counselling psychology to more fully embrace a social justice orientation, further research is needed that strengthens the connections between the work of counselling psychologists and issues of oppression, investigates the effectiveness of incorporating social justice practices, and exemplifies more concrete ways of integrating social justice within counselling psychology’s professional identity and roles.
Open Access
Creating space: how mormon women reconcile their feminist attitudes within a patriarchal religion
(2009) Nzojibwami, Verlyne; Arthur, Nancy
The purpose of this study is to investigate how Mormon women reconcile their feminist attitudes within a patriarchal religion. Thirteen women from six different cities across Canada and the United States were interviewed. The qualitative approach of heuristic selfsearch inquiry was used to analyze the data. The findings suggest that the experience of being a Mormon feminist is a complex one due to its paradoxical nature. The overarching method of reconciliation includes the ability to create a personal space in the midst of those paradoxes. The main methods of reconciliation include: ( 1) treating the patriarchal system as peripheral to one's faith, spiritual development and personal relationship with God, (2) reconstructing an idiosyncratic understanding of Mormon theology that better fits with one's feminist beliefs, and (3) taking some form of action to move beyond the patriarchal structure and foster personal empowerment. Implications for counselling are considered.
Open Access
The cross-cultural reflective model for post-sojourn debriefing
(Taylor & Francis : Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 2018-01) Dressler, Roswita; Becker, Sandra; Kawalilak, Colleen; Arthur, Nancy
Reflective writing is a practice often encouraged in study abroad programs. Reflection can be facilitated through experiential learning, but little research is available on how to guide or structure related learning activities. In this article, we discuss the Cross-cultural Reflection model (CCR), which emerged through our own process of researching three commonly-used models for reflective writing (Gibbs, 1988; Johns, 2010; Rolfe, Freshwater & Jasper, 2001). We document our procedure for researching, creating, testing, and modifying the CCR model, before and after using it with students in a post-sojourn debriefing workshop. In the discussion, we examine which aspects of the models examined informed the CCR model and which elements we introduced as a result of working with the models in two research retreats. The sharing of the process is intended to inform practices of reflective writing in post-sojourn debriefing to enhance international experiences, programmes and practices.
Open Access
Cultural and Parental Influences on the Career Development of Second-Generation Chinese Canadians
(2016) Lei, Danni; Arthur, Nancy; Boon, Susan; Ciccocioppo, Anna-Lisa
This study explored cultural and parental influences on the career development of second-generation Chinese Canadians. A Systems Theory Framework of career development was used to frame the study. Using a qualitative approach, 10 participants with postsecondary education were individually interviewed. Thematic analysis revealed the pervasiveness of explicit conversations and implicit messages from parents throughout the lifetime, beginning in childhood. Cultural values and beliefs around work and career were often transmitted through the family, with participants compromising between family pressures and personal goals. It was difficult to separate parental values from personal values, with parental pressure shifting with time and context. In addition, the unique influences of sibling and peers were revealed. Participants expressed desire for more parental support and encouragement as well as other specific areas of support. Study limitations and implications for career counselling and educational institution settings are discussed, as well as future research directions.
Open Access
Cultural Influences on Impression Management: A Focus on Internationally-Educated Engineers
(2018-03-29) Radan, Jelena; Arthur, Nancy; Bourdage, Joshua S.; Zwiers, Michael L.
Internationally-educated immigrants in regulated professions often encounter numerous barriers when striving to find employment commensurate with their skills and experience in Canada. Understanding the Canadian cultural norms and workplace culture is imperative for their success in the employment interview. This research captures employers' perceptions of how cultural influences in the interview impact their evaluations of job applicants, and in turn, their hiring decisions. To expand upon the existing research, the present study sought to explore how cultural differences within the interview context influence Human Resources professionals' perceptions of candidates and in turn, how these perceptions affect Human Resources professionals' evaluations of job applicants. Through the use of the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique, eight Human Resources professionals within the Oil and Gas Industry offered incidents that facilitated, impeded, and could improve the interview performance of Internationally-Educated Engineers. Five overarching themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) industry-specific knowledge requirement, (b) confidence and abilities, (c) personal attributes, (d) job-search process, and (e) communication skills. These results were considered in light of relevant literature, including recommendations for employers and career practitioners to enhance employment outcomes of skilled immigrants and directions for future research.
Open Access
E-learning Experiences of Adult Learners from Nigeria: A Narrative Inquiry
(2016) ATAKE, RITA; Kawalilak, Colleen; Arthur, Nancy; Jacobsen, Michele
The cultural impact on adult learners from other cultures who bring their narrative and cultural histories to the Canadian e-learning context can be great. This research study examined how adult learners from Nigeria describe, understand, and interpret their e-learning experiences in Canada. Based on social constructivism (Fosnot & Perry, 2005; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Vygotsky, 1978) and using Hofstede’s (1983) cultural dimensions theory as a conceptual framework, findings from this study indicated that asynchronous e-learning environments can become sites of struggle, and present barriers to the learning experience of adult learners from Nigeria. The literature reviewed for this study examined three main areas: culture and learning styles; e-learning and adult education; and epistemological diversity. Drawing from Connelly and Clandinin’s (2000) three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, stories of past educational experiences in Nigeria and of interactions in the asynchronous e-learning context in Canada were elicited from participants using open-ended semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed using a two-fold approach based on Polkinghorne’s (1995) narrative analysis and an analysis of narrative. By using this augmented approach, I aimed to give voice to the experiences of adult learners from Nigeria whose voices are rarely included in the literature on culturally responsive e-learning. Key findings from this study indicated that asynchronous e-learning can present challenges to adult learners from Nigeria as a result of three factors: unfamiliarity with using technology for higher education purposes; the reliance on written text for teacher, student, content interactions, and communication; and an increased requirement for self-regulation and self-directed learning that is complicated by distance education. Recommendations were offered to adult educators for designing and facilitation e-learning programs, as well as to culturally diverse adult learners for successful engagement in e-learning.
Open Access
Employing Polyethnography to Navigate Researcher Positionality on Weight Bias
(NSUWorks - The Qualitative Report, 2017-05-20) Arthur, Nancy; Lund, Darren E.; Russell-Mayhew, Shelly; Nutter, Sarah; Williams, Emily; Sesma-Vazquez, Monica; Kassan, Anusha
Researchers often focus on the content of their research interests but, depending on the research approach, may pay less attention to the process of locating themselves in relation to the research topic. This paper outlines the dialogue between an interdisciplinary team of researchers who were at the initial stages of forming a research agenda related to weight bias and social justice. Using a polyethnographic approach to guide our discussion, we sought to explore the diverse and common life experiences that influenced our professional interests for pursuing research on weight bias. As a dialogic method, polyethnography is ideally suited for the reflexive work required of researchers seeking to address issues of equity and social justice. Beyond more traditional approaches such as journaling, personal interviews, or researcher notes, the intersubjectivity highlighted by this method affords a richer space for exploration, challenging ideas, taking risks, and collectively interrogating both self and society. Following a discussion of positionality, the dialogue between researchers is presented, followed by their critique of the discussion, informed by professional literature.
Open Access
Exploring multicultural counselling competencies
(2007) Miloti, Aida S.; Arthur, Nancy
Open Access
Family and Cultural Influence on Career Self-Efficacy: Comparisons Between International and Domestic University Students
(2015-04-29) Gust, Lisa Marie; Arthur, Nancy
The differences between international students and domestic students on career decision-making self-efficacy were investigated in regards to family and cultural influence. Participants included 77 undergraduate domestic and international students. Standardized assessments on career decision-making self-efficacy, family influence, and individualism-collectivism were completed. Participants indicated their current occupational pursuit, their family’s career, and their perceptions of their family’s career expectations. Bivariate correlations and ANOVAs revealed that there were significant differences between international students and domestic students on career decision-making self-efficacy, but no significant effects of family or cultural influence were found. Thematic analysis found that participants felt they had the freedom to choose their own career, though some expressed their family had specific career expectations for them. Limitations of the study, directions for future research, and implications for university career practitioners and academic policy-makers are discussed.