This study was an autoethnography authored in the form of layered accounts. It was based on my journey toward a correct diagnosis with the rare, orphan disease known as mastocytosis. The purpose of the study was to utilize my experiences to investigate mastocytosis from the perspective of an individual diagnosed with the disease. Furthermore, I investigated what ways and how much adult education philosophies and principles (e.g., humanistic, behaviorist, and adults’ involvement in learning) may have been salient in my being correctly diagnosed to examine not only the disparities, but also the similarities in the way each physician I encountered approached the diagnostic process. The layered accounts—written in three distinct layers—revealed my perception of my journey toward a correct diagnosis as blind, discouraging, and isolating (layers one). Also noted in layer one are detailed descriptions of my bouts with chorea (extreme, uncontrollable spasms affecting the limbs), which was rarely discussed in the literature. The responses of those around me (layer two) ranged from shock, genuine concern, uncertainty, judgement, dismissal, disbelief, humor, anger, hurt, and positivity. Pertinent literature on mastocytosis was juxtaposed with my experiences divulged in the first layer and highlighted similarities in the approach to the diagnostic process taken by the physicians who treated me and multiple disparities between what the literature states my experience as someone diagnosed with mastocytosis versus my actual experiences (layer three). In addition to identifying the most salient adult education philosophies and principles in my journey to a correct diagnosis, this research identified parallels between the facilitator-learner relationship in adult education and the physician-patient relationship. The results implicate three principles and three philosophies salient to my correct diagnosis, along with one philosophy and one principle which were the most salient. An overarching theme of self-directedness emerged along with a multiple disparities between what the literature states my experience should have been versus what took place as I sought medical care.

This thesis examines selections of Appalachian women’s personal narrative as well as Affrilachian Poetry written by Kentuckians Bianca Spriggs and Nikki Finney. This project’s goal lies in resisting oppression and erasure of Appalachian culture’s heterogeneity. Contrary to constructions of Appalachians as lazy, complacent, and white, many Appalachians organize communities of resistance from within the region itself. Challenging these representations, I argue that Appalachian feminists as well as Affrilachian poets create countercultures that disrupt monolithic, colonialist, and unquestioned constructions of Appalachia.

Abstract The quality of technical communication, for example the user guides created for various high-technology products, is often criticized. The information is not available when it would be needed, or it is not presented in a way suitable for our purposes. However, in the increasingly technology-based society of today, we are expected to operate a range of technical devices and software programs daily, at work and at home. The current re-structuring of the IT industry in Finland, on the other hand, has affected technical communication profoundly: cost pressures and outsourcing have led to narrow job descriptions, job losses and diminished wellbeing at work. Companies do not seem to appreciate the impact of high-quality technical communication on user experience. The work environments of technical communicators are also challenging: their background is typically in the Humanities, but they work with highly technical products. In many cases, they have learned the needed skills independently and in practice; very few experienced technical communicators have training in the field. In this study, some of the central contradictions in the technical communication activity are explored by applying activity theory on autoethnographic interview data. This study provides new information about technical communication as a profession, but the issues it raises are not limited to technical communication only: the restructuring of the IT sector is a phenomenon affecting a variety of fields. The aim of this dissertation is twofold: 1) to investigate and describe the current status of the field in Finland, and 2) to suggest solutions to some of the problems we are facing using the tools offered by activity theory. / Tiivistelmä Teknisen viestinnän, esimerkiksi erilaisten teknisten järjestelmien käyttöohjekirjojen, maine ei ole kovin hyvä. Tietoa ei ole tarjolla kun sitä tarvitaan, tai se esitetään tavalla joka ei vastaa toiveitamme. Nykypäivän tietoyhteiskunnassa pärjääminen kuitenkin vaatii tietoteknisiä perustaitoja niin kotona, koulussa kuin töissäkin. Suomessa tällä hetkellä käynnissä oleva IT-alan murros taas on vaikuttanut suuresti teknisen viestinnän ammattikuntaan: kustannuspaineet ja ulkoistukset ovat johtaneet työnkuvan kapenemiseen, työpaikkojen menetyksiin ja työviihtyvyyden vähenemiseen. Yrityksissä ei nähdä laadukkaan teknisen viestinnän merkitystä käyttäjäkokemukselle. Teknisten viestijöiden työolosuhteet ovat myös haastavat: he ovat usein humanistitaustaisia henkilöitä, jotka työskentelevät vaativien teknisten tuotteiden parissa. He ovat tyypillisesti opetelleet vaaditut tekniset taidot omatoimisesti työn ohessa, ja hyvin harvalla pidempään alalla olleella on teknisen viestinnän koulutusta tukenaan. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan teknisen viestinnän keskeisiä ristiriitoja tulkitsemalla autoetnografista haastatteluaineistoa toiminnan teorian kautta. Tutkimus luo uutta tietoa teknisestä viestinnästä ammattikuntana, mutta esiin nostetut ongelmat eivät liity pelkästään tekniseen viestintään: IT-sektorilla käynnissä oleva rakennemuutos vaikuttaa useisiin aloihin. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on 1) selvittää alan nykytilanne Suomessa ja 2) tarjota ratkaisuehdotuksia alan haasteisiin toiminnan teorian tarjoamien työkalujen avulla.

This dissertation explores one white working-class family’s hopes, fears, illusions, and tensions related to social mobility. I tell stories from my experiences as a first-generation college student, including: ethnographic fieldwork; interviews with my family, community members, and former teachers; and narratives from other working-class academics to provide an in-depth, evocative, and relational look at mobility. I explore the roots of vulnerability in my family and how I was socialized into understanding belonging and worthiness in particular ways, and how this socialization influences my feelings of belonging and worthiness in the academy. The goal of this research is bridging – past and present selves, working-class and academic cultures, work and family – for me and my family and other first-generation students and their families.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Kakali Bhattacharya / There is minimal scholarship related to modern Osage perspectives in the field of education. Yet, the pursuit of cultural healing relies on self-representation to move Osages toward a higher degree of self-determination, and calls for voices within the community who share zones of cultural and professional intersectionality. Using Red Pedagogy (Grande, 2008) and traditional Osage ribbon work (Dennison, 2012, 2013) as a framework, this critical Indigenous autoethnographic inquiry works to advance conversations about settler-colonial entanglements in education from the perspective of an Indigenous (Osage)-White educator and educational leadership doctoral student. This inquiry uses writing as both field and method (Richardson & St. Pierre, 2005) to explore Osage perspectives related to topics of Transformational Indigenous Praxis (Pewewardy, 2017), White privilege (McIntosh, 2003) as a pale-skinned American Indian, American Indian mascots (Pewewardy, 2000) from educational leadership perspectives (NPBEA, 2015; Waters & Cameron, 2007), and ecologically informed consciousness (Cajete, 1994).

This research focused on a micro-analysis of intrapersonal conflicts that originated from an upbringing of Chabad-Lubavitch, a spiritual branch of Judaism. The cultural stress and uncertainty of how to be labeled within a Chabad-Lubavitch framework is also explored from an insider’s perspective through autoethnography, which provided unrestricted access to intrapersonal conflicts, and reduced the risk of psychologically harming other Lubavitchers. Field theory, human needs theory, uncertainty-identity theory, culture-stress theory, and communication accommodation theory provided an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation to analyze the manifested intrapersonal conflicts. The collected data consisted of culture and family diagrams, recorded intrapersonal conflicts, archival materials, and a supplementary reflexive journal. This analytical autoethnography expands social science research through the data analysis and findings, which discusses how originating from a culture of Chabad-Lubavitch has impacted the past, present, and potential future of intrapersonal conflicts. Cultural customs, private and public life perceptions, historical trauma, and environmental stressors were noted as significant factors that contributed to intrapersonal conflicts. The recommendations of this study include possible approaches to reframing intrapersonal conflict that may contribute to cultivating internal peace for members of this community experiencing cultural stress.

Canada has distinct contemporary faith communities that differ from western and European counterparts. Unfortunately statistics tracking denominational allegiances give little insight into the daily intricacies of collective religious practice. The purpose of this study is to contribute towards filling a gap within scholarly research on the lived culture and experiences of contemporary religious communities within Canada. This study examines the pattern of culture-sharing within a non-denominational faith community as lived and practiced in Ottawa. Through autoethnography, this study asks why members attend and how members view the use of popular culture video clips within church. Individual and collective religious identities are constructed through observations, interviews and material artifacts gleaned through participant observation from January 2011 to December 2011. The results show that within the church, a community of practice is built around shared parenthood and spiritual journey. Members place importance on children, on providing support of all kinds for one another, and on keeping religion relevant. Reasons for attending are echoes of the patterns of culture-sharing: members enjoy the feeling of community, the support, the friendships, the play dates. Participants view popular culture video clips played within church as one aspect of an overall importance placed upon relevance. Mutuality of engagement results in members experiencing their lives as meaningful, it validates their worth through belonging, and it creates personal histories of becoming within the context of a community of practice. Future research recommendations include further study of other contemporary faith communities within Canada, with investigation into the possibility that communities of practice may be what the churched and unchurched are seeking.

Using an autoethnographic methodology in tandem with a social constructivist lens, the purpose of this study is to critically inquire into the implicit lessons learned by competitive Latin dancers from their participation in the hidden curriculum of DanceSport culture. Additionally, this research looks to outline the intrapersonal and interpersonal development experienced by DanceSport dancers. Doing so, I focus on the voice of the dancers in the exploration of International DanceSport studios and competition floors as sites of informal and non-formal education, particularly in relation to the hidden curriculum of DanceSport. My role as an autoethnographic researcher and participant in this study was to collect data through multimodal expression, as well as ongoing dialogue with participants. As researcher and participant, I completed the same hands-on task and interview questions as participants, and journaled to explore thoughts concerning my DanceSport experience. Information obtained from interview transcripts and journal entries has been organized, coded, and analyzed creating themes. A description and interpretation of the findings uncovers the unifying theme(s) of six narratives. Narrative inquiry reveals that the hidden curriculum of DanceSport is the awakening and development of dormant confidence as dancers acquire implicit lessons pertaining to the development of intra and interpersonal knowledge. A discussion exploring the unique ways this dissertation contributes to the DanceSport community and body of literature concludes this study. This is alongside an assessment as to the culture’s ability to meet current goals of formal education, and the potential Latin DanceSport has to be used as an educational tool in the development of student well-being.

Numerous occupation-based models and several authors have mentioned the importance for occupational therapists of taking into account the effect of, in particular, the individual environment on people‘s participation in occupations, during their assessments and treatment. Recent developments within the profession, relating to the terms 'occupational deprivation,' 'occupational justice,' and 'occupational apartheid' have further urged therapists to also consider the structural environment, its effects and ways of countering those effects; not only for individuals, but for entire communities, and not only for people living with disabilities, but for all people. In addition, the development of the World Health Organisation‘s international classification of functioning, disability and health has given health care providers a useful tool for considering various aspects of the environment and their possible health consequences; though the interaction between the various factors and their effect on participation isn‘t clearly described. Several experiences in communities of people living in poverty, both during my under-graduate studies and during my community service year, led me to consider the effect of environmental factors on the creative participation of people. Though the Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability did acknowledge the possible effect of the environment on individuals‘ creative capacity, it failed in providing an explanation for what I was seeing. Du Toit had suggested that the effects of the environment on people should be thoroughly tested and other authors seemed to agree. Thus, this autoethnographic research study aimed to explore how internal and external factors impacted on the creative participation of people living in an inner city slum. Drawing from the experiences of a purposive, illustrative and opportunistic sample, and through passive- and participant observations, I took a glimpse into the sub-culture within, and the perceived impact of the environment on people‘s creative participation, making no claims on generalisation. The results of this study indicate that occupational therapists have underestimated the effect of the environment in terms of the range of factors that have an effect on people‘s creative participation, the complexity of the interplay between the structural- and individual environment and the importance of the perceived environment. / Dissertation (MOccTher)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Occupational Therapy / unrestricted

an autoethnographic exploration, this study aimed to determine how I (the researcher) could enhance the learning experience of tertiary jazz piano students while focusing on self-reflection. Vygotsky’s (1978) zone of proximal development and Csikszentmihalyi’s (1990) flow theory were used as the theoretical background of the study. Based on the zone of proximal development, I aimed to enhance the students’ learning during weekly piano lessons. Furthermore, based on flow, I intended to reflect on my own experiences while teaching. For the duration of the study, data collection took place at a South African university with four first-year undergraduate jazz piano students. During weekly lessons, a reflective journal was kept, recording personal flow experiences including an assessment rubric where students’ progress could be measured. Results were analysed and sorted under four elements of flow applicable to practical teaching – challenge/skill, clear goals, concentration on the task at hand and unambiguous feedback – including personal flow experiences. These flow dimensions served as a valuable guideline in adjusting teaching methods while teaching jazz. The personal flow experiences relates to Bakker’s (2005) emotional contagion theory where a teachers flow experience can cross over to a student, or a teachers mood can influence the students’ learning experiences. I found that reflecting on my own flow experiences enhances my confidence, motivation and concentration as a lecturer. Additionally, based on the zone of proximal development, aural/video imitation and scaffolding proved to be important concepts while teaching jazz piano. / Mini Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Music / MMus / Unrestricted