Guerrillas in the [Urban] Midst: Developing and Using Creative Research Methods—Guerrilla Research Tactics

Abstract

This paper explores what we are calling “Guerrilla Research Tactics” (GRT): research methods that exploit emerging mobile and cloud-based digital technologies. We examine some case studies in the use of this technology to generate research data directly from the physical fabric and the people of the city. We argue that GRT is a new and novel way of engaging public participation in urban, place-based research because it facilitates the co-creation of knowledge, with city inhabitants, “on the fly.” This paper discusses the potential of these new research techniques and what they have to offer researchers operating in the creative disciplines and beyond. This work builds on and extends Gauntlett's “new creative methods” (2007) and contributes to the existing body of literature addressing creative and interactive approaches to data collection.     

The Politics of Revitalization in Gentrifying Neighborhoods The Case of Boston's South End

Federal and local officials have in recent years enacted programs to escalate the middle-class resettlement of city neighborhoods. Enamoured with the physical and economic benefits promised by the back-to-the-city movement, they have underestimated the shortcomings of this neighborhood revitalization strategy. The experience of Boston's South End with publicly supported middle-class resettlement illustrates the severe social and political strains that can develop between incumbents and more affluent “pioneers”—strains which can ultimately inflict damage on the neighborhood's poor. Officials must direct current resources to aid the cities' poorer residents and avoid stimulating gentrification until its adverse side effects can be controlled.     

The potential of biomass supply for energetic utilization in a small Italian region: Basilicata

The European Union Directive 2009/28/EC (European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC, Directive 2009/28/EC) establishes a common framework for the use of energy from renewable sources in order to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels from foreign markets; more specifically the EU has the ambitious goal of reaching a 20 % share of energy from renewable sources in the overall energy mix by 2020. These objectives could drive policies that offer substantial economic subsidies for the use of renewable energy, both in Italy and in many other European countries. For all these reasons, biomass (one of the major sources of renewable energy) plants are getting a lot of attention in Italy, but it is necessary to determine whether using of this type of energy is environmentally beneficial and economically feasible. In this study, we evaluate the energy and so the environmental aspects by considering both current and potential biomass supplies available for energy utilization in a small region in the South of Italy: Basilicata, as well as the consequences of this energy conversion at both the local and the global scale.     

Interviewee coaching, preparation strategies, and response strategies in relation to performance in situational employment interviews: An extension of Maurer, Solamon, and Troxtel (1998).

Voluntary attendance at an interview coaching session was positively related to situational interview performance, controlling for job knowledge, motivation to do well, race, and sex of 213 candidates applying for promotion into several police and fire department jobs in a large city. Discrete preparation strategies (e.g., participation in study groups, participation in role-playing) were related to participation in coaching and also were related to interview performance beyond what could be accounted for by coaching participation, shedding some light on the potential efficacy of specific preparation strategies for enhancing success in situational interviews. Most notably, coaching attendance and preparation by interviewees were positively associated with a tendency to use strategies in the interview that enhanced the organization of interviewees' answers, and this organization was positively associated with performance in the interview. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrical Resistivity Characterization of a Reclaimed Gold Mine to Delineate Acid Rock Drainage Pathways

An electrical resistivity survey was completed at the Landusky mine. The survey consisted of 15 lines on the surface of the reclaimed Suprise pit, Queen Rose pit, and the region immediately south of Swift Gulch. Additionally, wells and seeps were used by energizing electrodes in direct contact with ground water to increase the sensitivity of the resistivity method at depth. The survey was conducted to locate potential acid rock drainage pathways that are contaminating Swift Gulch. The results showed that the lowest resistivity values were coincident with the Queen Rose pit. Furthermore, the low resistivity feature appeared to trend northeast along a known fault, consistent with the geologic understanding of the site. A scatter plot of resistivity values versus total dissolved solids (TDS) showed a strong correlation (R ² = 0.85). A linear regression model suggests TDS at the lowest resistivity region to be approximately 2.5 times greater than that measured in ground water wells.     

An analysis of item gains and losses in retroactive interference.

The repeated-testing paradigm is used to study both retroactive interference and hypermnesia (the improvement in memory across repeated tests). Considerable theoretical progress has been made by separately analyzing the 2 components of hypermnesia: the recovery of previously unrecalled items on later tests (item gains) and the forgetting of previously recalled items on later tests (item losses). Item gains increase with increases in item-specific processing, whereas item losses decrease with increases in relational processing. The authors suggest that separate analysis of item gains and losses in retroactive interference research may also prove fruitful. Three experiments showed that an interpolated list affects item gains but not losses, whereas processing similarity between the target and interpolated lists affects losses but not gains. These results are interpreted within the relational-item-specific processing framework. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substance abuse patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Identifying specific triggers of substance use and their associations with PTSD symptoms.

Although individuals with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use diagnoses are at heightened risk for relapse after substance abuse treatment, little is known about the specific situations in which these individuals are likely to relapse. The present study was designed to test whether a PTSD diagnosis related to substance use in specific situations in which PTSD symptoms were likely to be present. Data were gathered from inpatients (n?=?86) in a substance-abuse treatment program, and relationships between PTSD diagnosis and frequency of substance use in high-risk situations were examined. As predicted, PTSD diagnosis was related to substance use in situations involving unpleasant emotions, physical discomfort, and interpersonal conflict, but not to substance use in other situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Judging the credibility of historic child sexual abuse complainants: How judges describe their decisions.

Criminal prosecutions of child sexual abuse alleged to have occurred in the distant past raise myriad challenges. One significant challenge involves assessing the credibility of complainants. In the present study, 51 bench trials involving 87 complainants were coded into categories related to complainants’ memory for the offense, as well as credibility of the complainant, reliability of the evidence, and judicial inferences. A total of 4,827 judicial comments were identified and categorized. Judges were more likely to describe the allegations specifically than generally; however, they were sensitive to the predictably impoverished nature of memory after such a long delay. Consistent with psychological evidence, there were more judicial comments about inconsistencies in acquit cases than in convict cases and more comments about corroboration in convict than in acquit cases, although neither inconsistencies nor corroboration were strongly associated with verdict. Of some concern was the apparent and considerable judicial interest in complainants’ behavior and emotions around the time of the alleged abuse and around the time of disclosure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervisor cultural responsiveness and unresponsiveness in cross-cultural supervision.

Thirteen supervisees' of color and 13 European American supervisees' experiences of culturally responsive and unresponsive cross-cultural supervision were studied using consensual qualitative research. In culturally responsive supervision, all supervisees felt supported for exploring cultural issues, which positively affected the supervisee, the supervision relationship, and client outcomes. In culturally unresponsive supervision, cultural issues were ignored, actively discounted, or dismissed by supervisors, which negatively affected the supervisee, the relationship, and/or client outcomes. European American supervisees' and supervisees' of color experiences diverged significantly, with supervisees of color experiencing unresponsiveness more frequently and with more negative effects than European American supervisees. Implications for research and supervision practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)