Human dignity is an enunciated ethical principle in many societies, and it has elicited a great deal of interest, not least because it is central in health care. However, it has also been the subject of criticism. Some have argued that it is sufficient to rely on a principle of autonomy, and that dignity is a redundant principle or concept in health care. Other discussions have focused on the precise meaning of dignity, and how a principle of dignity should be interpreted and applied. This dissertation discusses questions on the principle of dignity and the meaning of the concept. In addition to a theoretical analysis of these questions, a qualitative research study has been carried out, based on interviews with physicians in palliative and neonatal care, and hospital chaplains, looking at dignity at the beginning and end of life. This dissertation can be categorised as empirical ethics because of its methodological approach. Based on a narrative analysis of the interviews, the results from the study shed light on the theoretical discussion on dignity. Through the history of ideas, dignity has often been linked to human abilities such as autonomy and rationality. However, autonomy is only one of the aspects which emerged from the qualitative research in this dissertation. Other aspects introduced into the discussion on dignity include human vulnerability, interdependence and the responsibility to face vulnerability in others. Some theoretical perspectives on dignity are criticised in the light of the empirical results. Furthermore, the dissertation includes a theological perspective where a Christological view – connected to Bakhtin’s ethics of responsibility – forms a critique to both the Kantian deontological perspective and dignity acquired by virtue. The dissertation also considers how the results can be applied to medical practice.

This dissertation analyzes narratives of queer partner migration, that is, a family-tie migration in which one of the partners of a relationship has migrated in order for the partners to be together, and where the partners queer the migration in the sense that they have a non-normative sexuality and/or gender identity. The purpose of the study is to examine how queer partner migrants and their Swedish partners experience the migration process – which continues also once the administrative process has been completed – by analyzing the emotions and feelings that emerge in the process. The study is a contribution to research on privileged migration as well as intimate migration. The focus is the queer partner migration relationship, and what emotions and feelings ‘do’ to this relationship, but also how emotions and feelings structure the migration process. The study analyzes the work three different emotions – love, loss, and belonging – do in these migration processes, and how this work is described in the participant narratives. Migrant participants have migrated from different parts of the world (Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America), making it possible to analyze what emotions and feelings do in this particular migration process from the point of view of nationality and, in particular, proximity to ‘Western-ness,’ race, and language as well as how privileges connected to these positions come to matter in the process. The dissertation is an ethnographic interview study in which both migrants and Swedish partners have been interviewed. The interview material consists of a combination of couple interviews and individual interviews. By using affect theories and the concept of queer phenomenology, the dissertation shows how the work that emotions and feelings do in migration processes is connected to gender identity, sexual identity, race and whiteness, nationality, perceived proximity to Western-ness, class, language, and the migration narrative the migrating partner is (or is not) written into by way of the country they have migrated from. This is analyzed in relation to the theoretical frameworks of entanglement, homonationalism, and intimate citizenship. The analysis shows that emotions and feelings structure the migration process for both more privileged and less privileged migrants, but in different ways. The understanding of who ‘is’ a migrant, and the preparedness for the feelings that arise in a migration process, are tied to the positions mentioned above and the privileges these positions give, or do not give, the migrant access to. By focusing on emotions and feelings and what these do, the study also illustrates how the migration process affects the non-migrating partner as this partner engages in emotional labour to ‘make’ the migrating partner ‘Swedish.’ Through their the migrating partner, the non-migrating partner is also aligned in a way that makes them a little bit less ‘Swedish,’ contributing to the non-migrating partner being ‘stopped’ in ways they have usually not experienced before. The study further shows how migration processes produces inequality, and the difficulties that arise when the couples try to live up to the Swedish ideal of the equal relationship. The interviews are analyzed as narratives, and both narratives and storytelling are important throughout the dissertation, not only as the method used in the analysis but as the form of the dissertation, making it a kind of super structure organizing the writing. Writing (how to write accessibly and interesting) and reading (how to write in order to invite an open and active reading) are important aspects of the dissertation. / Avhandlingen analyserar narrativ om queer partnermigration, dvs en familjebandsmigration i vilken en av de två personerna i ett parförhållande migrerar för att de två ska kunna leva i samma land och i vilken de två individerna queerar migrationen på så sätt att de har en icke-normativ sexualitet och/eller könsidentitet. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur queera partnermigranter och deras svenska partners upplever migrationsprocessen – vilken pågår även efter att den administrativa processen är avslutad – genom att analysera de känslor som uppstår i processen. Studien är ett bidrag till forskning om så väl privilegierad migration som intim migration. I fokus står det queera partnermigrationsförhållandet och vad känslor ”gör” med detta förhållande, men också hur känslor strukturerar migrationsprocessen på olika sätt. Studien analyserar det arbete tre olika känslor – kärlek, förlust och tillhörighet – gör i migrationsprocessen och hur detta arbete beskrivs i deltagarnas narrativ. Migrantdeltagarna i studien kommer från olika delar av världen (Afrika, Europa, Latinamerika och Nordamerika), vilket gör det möjligt att analysera vad känslor gör i den här specifika migrationsprocessen utifrån nationalitet, och specifikt närhet till västerländskhet, ras och språkbakgrund samt hur privilegier kopplade till dessa positioner spelar in i processen. Avhandlingen är en etnografisk intervjustudie där både migranter och svenska partners har intervjuats. Intervjumaterialet består av en blandning av parintervjuer och enskilda intervjuer. Genom att använda affektteorier och queer fenomenologi visar avhandlingen hur det arbete känslor utför i migrationsprocesser är kopplat till könsidentitet, sexuell identitet, ras och vithet, nationalitet, upplevd närhet till västerländskhet, klass, språk och det migrationsnarrativ den migrerande partnern är inskriven i (eller inte) genom det land den migrerat från. Detta analyseras i relation till de teoretiska ramverken trassel (entanglement), homonationalism och intimt medborgarskap. I analysen framkommer att känslor strukturerar migrationsprocessen för både mer privilegierade och mindre privilegierade migranter men på olika sätt. Förståelsen av vem som ”är” en migrant och beredskapen för de känslor som uppstår i migrationsprocessen är till stor del kopplade till de positioner som nämns ovan samt de privilegier migranten har tillgång till genom dessa. Genom att fokusera på känslor och vad dessa gör visar studien också att migrationsprocessen påverkar den icke-migrerande partnern genom att denna förutsätts utföra känsloarbete för att ”göra” den migrerande partnern ”svensk.” Samtidigt blir den icke-migrerande partnern själv, genom sin migrerande partner, riktad på ett sätt som gör den lite mindre ”svensk”, vilket bidrar till att också den icke-migrerande partnerns liv ”stoppas” på sätt den vanligtvis inte tidigare upplevt. Studien visar vidare på hur migrationsprocesser producerar ojämlikhet och de svårigheter som då uppstår när paren försöker leva upp till det jämlika svenska idealförhållandet. Intervjuerna är analyserade som narrativ och både narrativ och berättande är genomgående viktiga i avhandlingen, inte bara som metod utan också som avhandlingens form och en slags struktur som organiserar texten. Skrivande (att skriva tillgängligt och intressant) och läsande (att skriva på ett sätt som inbjuder till öppet och aktivt läsande) är viktiga aspekter i avhandlingen.

Des recherches antérieures sur les émotions en contexte organisationnel, notamment autour des notions de travail émotionnel, de contrat psychologique et d'équité, ont souvent soulevé la question de la rationalité et du caractère approprié ou non des manifestations émotionnelles, ainsi que sur les mécanismes utilisés pour contrôler et modérer celles-ci. Cependant, peu de recherche empirique a été effectuée sur la façon dont les employés eux-mêmes font sens de leurs émotions au travail et le processus par lequel ils parviennent à rendre celle-ci compréhensibles et légitimes, à la fois pour eux-mêmes et pour autrui. Au cours des dernières années, un courant de recherche émergent tend toutefois à mettre de côté la perspective normative / rationaliste pour soulever ce type de questions. Ainsi, au lieu d'être considérées comme des expériences strictement subjectives, privées, voire inaccessibles, les émotions y sont envisagées à travers les discours et les mises en récits dont elles font l’objet. Les émotions apparaissent ainsi non seulement exprimées dans le langage et la communication, mais construites et négociées à travers eux. La recherche présente développe empiriquement cette perspective émergente, notamment en faisant appel aux théories du sensemaking et de la narration, à travers l’analyse détaillée des récits de quatre employés chargés du soutien à la vente pour un revendeur de produits informatiques. En demandant à mes sujets de parler de leurs expériences émotionnelles et en analysant leurs réponses selon une méthodologie d’analyse narrative, cette recherche explore ainsi la façon dont les employés parviennent à construire le sens et la légitimité de leurs expériences émotionnelles. Les résultats suggèrent entre autres que ces processus de construction de sens sont très étroitement liés aux enjeux d’identité et de rôle. / Past research into emotions in organizational contexts, notably the research into the theories of emotional labour, the psychological contract, and equity theory, has tended to focus on questions of the rationality and appropriateness of emotional manifestations, as well as mechanisms used to control and moderate emotions. However, little empirical research has been done into how employees themselves make sense of their emotions and the processes by which they legitimize and render these emotions understandable, both to themselves and to others. In recent years, an emerging research perspective has shifted away from the normative/rationalistic perspective to address these questions. Rather than being considered strictly subjective, private, and inaccessible experiences, emotions are now seen as accessible via discourse and narrative. And more that simply being expressed in language and communication, they are understood to be constructed and negotiated by them. This research develops this perspective by drawing on the theories of sensemaking and narrative theory; looking at the detailed narratives gathered from four non-sales employees at an IT reseller. By asking research participants to talk about emotional experiences and analyzing their narratives using a narrative theory methodology, this research hopes to shed some light on how employees make sense of and legitimize their emotional experiences. Among other things, the results suggest that the process of sensemaking is very closely linked with issues of identity.

The task of diploma thesis "David and Goliath: A Narrative Analysis of 1 Samuel 17 ", is to analyze one of the most famous biblical stories through the methods of naratology and give a view on the text through various narrative categories. The greater part of this thesis will deal with exploring the characters, the dialogue, the role of the narrator, the implied reader, the events in the story, focalization and other categories. At the conclusion, there is a small excursus with a historical perspective on the story of David and Goliath. The excursus helps to place the text into a specific historical context and it also important for understanding the overall meaning of the text. The conclusion of this thesis presents to us a meaning of the story about the battle of David and Goliath. In this thesis I used narrative analysis in combination with a historical approach, and I can say that the story has two dimensions: the first dimension is focus on the individual and indicates who follows the path of Saul and the Israeli army hasn't future. But who follows the way of David and Jesse, follows the way of God, that is a very important for a human. The story offers hope for people. Goliath is a symbol of the threat of faith, religious identity and political freedom. Conversely, David symbolizes hope for...

Thesis advisor: Audrey Friedman / As increasing numbers of international students enroll at US universities, these institutions must consider how best to create inclusive campus environments that serve varied learning needs. While international student enrollment at schools of education remains low, some elite programs are drawing growing numbers, but there is a dearth of research regarding international students' transitions into this culturally-embedded field. These experiences warrant investigation so that faculty, administrators, and fellow students might better understand, accommodate, and empower the international students in their midst. The purpose of this dissertation is to describe how 7 female international students from China, South Korea, and India perceive their transition experiences in Master’s programs at an elite US graduate school of education. Three interviews were conducted with each woman, using questions based on Charmaz's (2006) life change protocol. Research sub-questions concerned: a) the decision to study in the US, b) the women’s personal characteristics and background experiences, c) challenges and changes, d) strategies, and e) forms of support. Grounded theory was paired with narrative methods to analyze and present findings, highlighting themes within and across participants’ transitions. Schlossberg’s transition model (Anderson et al., 2012) was used to interpret results, especially women's coping resources. Three main themes emerged: the complexity of self-determination, hard work and its limits, and marginalization and attempts to minimize it. Despite positive experiences, the women faced challenges. While most gained a sense of independence, some resented their new responsibilities and missed previous support networks. All women reported hard work as a key academic strategy, but their diligence was not always enough to transcend language and cultural barriers. Faced with segregation and/or marginalization in America, most women attempted to enrich their experience, surrounding themselves with caring people, volunteering, or seeking resources to achieve goals. The findings suggest that institutions of higher education should assess the social and academic needs of international Master's students and offer tailored support services that address language and cultural barriers inherent in their programs. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Este trabalho pretende analisar o romance João Ternura, de Aníbal Machado, do ponto de vista das contradições entre os projetos ideológicos do primeiro Modernismo e os problemas trazidos pelo processo histórico nacional. No momento em que inicia a escrita de seu único romance, em 1926, Aníbal Machado partilha dos objetivos libertários e dos pressupostos ideológicos que animavam a vanguarda artística brasileira. Como, no entanto, o romance continua a ser escrito até 1964, é possível ver no movimento de sua forma um embate entre matéria narrativa e dinâmica histórica da nação. Tal conflito acaba por fazer com que protagonista e obra entrem em um processo de dissolução que os condena a subsistirem parcialmente inconclusos. A análise de João Ternura traz à tona uma reflexão sobre as possibilidades de constituição do Brasil como nação autônoma e independente / This work aims to analyze the novel João Ternura, by Aníbal Machado, in relation to the contradictions between the ideological project of early Brazilian Modernism and the problems of the national historical process. When he starts writing his only novel, in 1926, Aníbal Machado shares the libertarian goals and ideological assumptions of the Brazilian artistic avant-garde. However, as the novel continues to be written until 1964, the year of the military coup, its very form and style document the collision between the narrative material and the national historical process around it. These conflicts culminate in a process of dissolution that condemn both the novel and its protagonist to a state of inconclusiveness. Analyzing João Ternura brings to light reflections on the possibilities of Brazilian formation as an autonomous and independent nation

As Narrativas Políticas são histórias que contêm começo, meio e fim; vilões e heróis; perdas e ganhos; e, sobretudo, uma moral (soluções políticas). E por que estes elementos narrativos são importantes nesse estudo? Por meio de sua análise, pudemos compreender aquilo que é considerado a pedra fundamental das articulações e mudanças políticas: As ideias e os interesses. A Política Científica e Tecnológica (PCT) brasileira apresentou distintas narrativas nas últimas décadas, os documentos oficiais de C&T da década de 1970, como o I e II Plano Nacional Básico de Ciência Tecnologia (PBDCT, 1972-74 e 1976-1979, respectivamente), tinham como meta, impulsionar a autonomia nacional em setores estratégicos e suprir a demanda de mão-de-obra qualificada para que o processo de industrialização nacional fosse finalizado. Todavia, á medida que a crise econômica aumentava na década de 1980, a C&T perdia a imagem de ferramenta para o progresso, desta forma, o fomento público foi retirado progressivamente e a Academia teve que seguir sem amplo amparo estatal dos Planos anteriores, como vimos no III PBDCT (1980-1985). O resultado desta falta de financiamento público à C&T foi catastrófico: Houve um verdadeiro desmonte no setor, ocasionada pela falta de recursos. A C&T não tinha espaço estratégico na Agenda pública. A situação foi, gradualmente, revertida quando Fernando Henrique Cardoso assumiu a presidência em 1995 e promoveu inúmeras reformas, entre elas, tentar tornar o setor de C&T mais eficaz, empreendedor e inovativo. Para isto, era preciso desenvolver rearranjos estatais, como os que foram postulados no PlanoPluriAnual (PPA, 1997), no Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, sobretudo, em sua terceira fase (III PADCT, 1998-2004), no Livro Verde (2001) e Livro Branco (2002). Estes documentos apontavam que as políticas públicas C&T estariam empenhadas em assumir novos desafios, convidar novos atores para sua fabricação e remodelar sua dinâmica de produção para atender um objetivo central: Produzir Inovações Tecnológicas por meio da interação universidade-empresa. Tal sinergia foi apresentada como peça-chave na transformação de conhecimento em riqueza, isto agregaria competitividade às nossas empresas, provocando uma nova inserção do Brasil nas relações comerciais internacionais. Essa seria a justificativa última para o financiamento público da ciência. Esta e demais premissas, também estavam presentes nos documentos de C&T&I de seu sucessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, como nos textos da Lei da Inovação (2004) 3º Conferência Nacional de C&T&I (2006) e Livro Azul (2010). Nosso estudo buscou analisar os elementos narrativos de todos os documentos citados e, ao analisa-los, pudemos concluir que desde 1995 o Paradigma que informa a Política Nacional de C&T é lastreado em pressupostos bem distintos daqueles vividos pelo auge do binômio na década de 1970. Acreditamos que esta reorientação se deve, sobretudo, pelo fato da Comunidade Científica ter absorvido, há quinze anos, o discurso da Inovação tecnologia empresarial como alternativa para manter-se no bojo do processo decisório da PCT, captar recursos e continuar a Pesquisa, instrumentos inviáveis nas décadas de 1980-90. / Policy Narratives are stories that contain \"beginning, middle and end\"; villains and heroes; losses and gains; and, above all, a moral (political solutions). And why these narrative elements are important in this study? Through its analysis, we understand what is considered the cornerstone of the joints of political changes: The ideas and the interests. The Science and Technology Policy (PCT) Brazilian showed distinct narratives in recent decades, the official documents of S & T in the 1970s, as the Basic I and II National Plan for Science, Technology (PBDCT, 1972-74 and 1976-1979, respectively), had as its goal, to boost national autonomy in strategic sectors and meet the demand for skilled labor for the national industrialization process was finalized. However, as the economic crisis grew in the 1980s, S & T lost its image as a \"tool\" to progress. In this way, the public support was withdrawn and the Academy had to follow on without extensive state support given by the earlier Plans, as we saw in PBDCT III (1980-1985). The result of this lack of public funding to the S & T sector was catastrophic: There was a real disassemble the sector, caused by lack of resources. The S & T had no strategic space in the public agenda. This situation was gradually reversed when Fernando Henrique Cardoso took office in 1995. The new President promoted numerous reforms, among them, the one trying to make the most effective use of S & T sector, as a tool for innovation and entrepreneurship. In order to reach this results, it was necessary to promote institutional rearrangements, which spelled out in the PlanoPluriAnual (PPA, 1997), in the Third phase of the Plan for Support of Scientific and Technological Development, mainly, the third step (III PADCT, 1998-2004) the Green Paper (2001) and White Paper (2002). These documents indicated that S & T policies would now be committed to take on new challenges, invite new players to reshape the dynamics of their production in order to meet a central goal: to produce technological Innovations through university-industry interaction. This synergy was presented as a key in transforming knowledge into wealth. And by doing that, science would add competitiveness to our companies, supporting a new insertion of Brazil in international market. This and other assumptions were also present in the documents of S & T & I of his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as the texts of the Innovation Law (2004) 3rd National Conference on S & T (2006) and Blue Book (2010). That said, our study investigates the narrative elements of any cited documents and to analyze them, we concluded that since 1995 the paradigm that informs the National Policy of S & T is backed by very different assumptions of those experienced by the binomial peak in decade 1970. we believe that this shift is due, above all, because the scientific community has absorbed fifteen years ago, the discourse of Innovation with half remain at the core of decision-making of the PCT, raise funds and continue the search, viable instruments in decades of 1980-90.

Background: The family-centred cultural construct of filial responsibility forms the core foundation of the traditional mosaic of a typical intergenerational Singapore-Chinese family. Due to modernization, several generations co-habiting within the same household or living in separate households have shrunk to smaller-sized immediate and extended families residing in mostly high-rise apartments. This change has impacted on the social norm of traditional intergenerational Singapore-Chinese caregiving. Currently, there are gaps in understanding the intergenerational Singapore-Chinese families and caregiving in dementia. Only a few studies to date have discussed the intersection on intergenerational family care, but an in-depth exploration of intergenerational Singapore-Chinese families' cultural beliefs and values is an important consideration when attempting to understand the family and determine their support and maintenance of relational bonds. Aims: The aim of this longitudinal, case study research using a participatory approach was to better understand the everyday caregiving experience of intergenerational Singapore-Chinese families within the context of each family unit living together in Singapore 'under one roof'. Family biographies were co-constructed with five intergenerational families living 'under one roof' during repeated and scheduled visits with each participating family over a period of between six to 15 months. The interviews included the completion of a 23-item structured questionnaire, co-construction of a genogram and ecomap with each family, drawings, audio recordings and digital photographs of the home environment, items and activities. Results: Narrative analysis of the five intergenerational cases resulted in the emergence of three themes that explained and explored the various dynamics in the data, namely: i) Family values, and its supporting sub-themes of culture; religion; and filial piety; ii) Family support, and its supporting sub-themes of timeliness; internal support network; and external support network; and iii) Family bonds, and its supporting sub-themes of relational; closeness and conflict; and challenges. Data analysis also generated a meta-theme 'Intergenerational Family Connections' which was supported by three properties: i) Strongly held beliefs and practices; ii) Shared space; and iii) Supporting family togetherness. Conclusion: This study has led to an in-depth understanding of the everyday experience of the intergenerational Singapore-Chinese families of a person with dementia, within the shared context of their family construction. This study makes an original and significant contribution to knowledge through the development of a new theoretical model on intergenerational family connections in dementia care. The findings will better inform formal and informal service providers and policy makers on how best to support and maintain the relational dynamics of intergenerational Singapore-Chinese families who provide care for the person with dementia at home.

The main concern of this thesis is a literary analysis of Ukiyoburo, a work by Shikitei Sanba, who was a prominent Japanese writer of the Edo period. This thesis contains a fairly extensive treatment of Sanba's life and work. In this part, the highest attention is paid to works of the kokkeibon genre, which made Sanba famous. The theoretical part mainly deals with the narrative analysis, which has been chosen to be the main research method of this thesis. In the analytical part, the presented methods are used to examine mainly the narrative mode, the story, the environment, the characters and the humor of Ukiyoburo, Sanba's most important work.

Medical and economic costs for obesity are estimated at $147 billion per year, yet less than 1/3 of overweight individuals successfully maintain weight loss. The literature is replete with descriptions of the problem and research on treatments, yet demonstrations of effective loss and maintenance are lacking. Missing is an understanding of the experiences of individuals who successfully maintained healthy weight loss, which could provide insights regarding effective psycho-social interventions. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore key events and experiences in the lives of former weight cyclers. The primary phenomena of interest included weight cycling and sustained weight loss. Self-determination theory (SDT) and social cognitive theory (SCT) provided the theoretical frameworks to explore concepts like autonomy, mastery, and vicarious learning, which are known to be associated with recovery from other addictions (e.g., smoking cessation, weight loss). Using the tradition of narrative analysis, the stories of 6 formerly obese weight cyclers revealed 5 major themes: structure, strategies, relationship/support, autonomy, and identity as a fat person. Findings support SDT and SCT as meaningful frameworks for understanding how severely obese individuals can attain successful weight maintenance. Findings from this study revealed elements not fully addressed by these theories, such as resilience, the diverse orientations to the problem, and overarching themes common to all participants. Findings can be used to place greater emphasis on psychological components such as autonomy, mastery, and relatedness, which are necessary for successful remission. Findings may contribute to reducing direct and related costs of obesity and improving quality of life for individuals and their families.