The mini-dissertation explains how systems theory provided a healing context for me in my training as a clinical psychologist over two years. The emergence of my authentic voice is narrated in an autoethnography (five act drama) about what happened. The main theoretical bases for the dissertation are – constructivism to understand the learning and teaching I experienced; learning as a collaborative endeavour and the emergence of my authentic voice with help from more skilled others. Systems theory informs the entire study at every theoretical level. Bowen’s family therapy theory is significant for the differentiation of the self and his I-position is equated with the emergence of an authentic voice. Myth, epic narratives, the hero’s journey amplify my interpretation of the differentiation of self. The raw data for the qualitative research were observations, interviews, creative writing, photocollage, a collection of readings, songs and dialogues. The themes emerging from the autoethnography were about obstructions because of the authoritarian nature of my upbringing, life and work. These themes lessened in force in clinical training until my authentic voice emerged in relation to self and as a clinical psychologist. A recommendation from the dissertation is that autoethnography provides a good vehicle for reflection and intense interior scrutiny needed to become a practising clinical psychologist; the autoethnographical exercise could be used by training clinical psychologists more extensively on their journey to maturity. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Globalisation, technological advancements and changing social needs result in virtual work arrangements becoming more prominent. Virtual work is conducted away from the traditional office setting and usually occurs in employees’ personal home environments. Virtual work has been called virtualling in this study, and virtual employees are referred to as virtuallers. A phenomenological orientation was adopted in studying completely virtual workers in a completely virtual context; sourcing of participants and data collection were also conducted completely virtually. This study presented new ways of conducting research in the modern, virtual world of work. An autoethnography was included, as the researcher is also a virtualler and insider of virtualling. Four key case studies are presented to provide a holistic picture of virtualling and virtuallers. Thematic results indicate key influencing factors that originate from virtualling, as well as factors and mindset requirements that pertain to the virtualler personally. It was further found and proposed that the resulting virtual environment changes virtuallers’ ways of doing things and viewing the world, hence results in changes in their lifestyle and career identity. The abstract psychological structure as it resulted from the thread of meanings was presented as virtualness. Authentic psychological identification with virtualling and adopting a boundarylessness employability mindset oriented towards psychological success are highlighted as key requirements in order to experience virtualness. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / MCOM (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Psychotherapy is an interpersonal encounter where a therapist collaborates with clients to facilitate a healing process. Due to the personal nature of the therapeutic encounter, the therapist requires the necessary skills and knowledge, as well as a differentiated sense of self. The importance of supporting the psychotherapy trainee’s own differentiation process seemed to have been neglected in research in recent years. In South Africa there has recently been increasing pressure to select larger groups of trainees which has the risk that the tending to differentiation would further be neglected. The purpose of this research study is to reemphasise the importance of differentiation of self of the psychotherapy trainee by examining my own process of differentiation during my psychotherapy training. This study introduces the reader to these concepts and explores psychotherapy training in general and the Unisa training method specifically. The research design of this study is autoethnography which falls in the realm of social constructionism and the coding method is Thematic Data Analysis. The research findings as reflected in the two global themes namely individuation; and gaining and strengthening authentic relationships, seem to accurately reflect the process of differentiation. The specific training method of the Unisa training team in combination with the way in which I engaged with this process seemed important for the facilitation of this process of differentiation. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Includes bibiliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: At birth every human being is at the starting point of many different journeys: journeys of discovery and change, and journeys of mental and physical growth. Most children follow a similar path of physical and mental growth to adulthood, achieving predetermined milestones at approximately the same age. But what happens to a child who cannot follow this path, a child born without a map? How do the diagnosis and subsequent educational journey of the child affect the parents of that child, parents who find themselves disabled by their experiences of parenthood and life? This study is an autoethnography. It was undertaken to reflect on the physical and emotional journey two parents experienced in finding an educational niche for their son who was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Delay – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), an Autism Spectrum Disorder. In an attempt to engage and involve the non-academic audience, while at the same time addressing the analytical needs of the researcher audience, evocative autoethnographic co-constructed narratives were combined with analytic autoethnography. Not only did I aim to fill in some of the gaps in researcher knowledge about South African parents’ experiences in finding educational support for their children with pervasive developmental delays, but I also wanted to provide knowledge, hope and encouragement to other parents, especially those parents who are at the start of a journey leading to a brighter future for their child with special needs. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: By geboorte bevind elke mens hom by die beginpunt van verskeie reise: reise van ontdekking en verandering, en reise van geestelike en fisieke groei. Die meeste kinders volg ‘n gelyksoortige roete van geestelike en fisieke groei na volwassenheid, deur voorafbepaalde doelwitte op naastenby ooreenstemmende ouderdomme te bereik. Maar wat gebeur met ‘n kind wat nie hierdie pad kan volg nie, ‘n kind wat sonder ‘n roetekaart gebore word? Hoe beïnvloed die diagnose en gevolglike opvoedkundige reis van daardie kind sy of haar ouers, ouers wat hulself gestremd bevind in hul ervaring van ouerskap en die lewe? Hierdie studie is ‘n outo-etnografie. Dit reflekteer op die fisieke en emosionele reis deur twee ouers onderneem, in hul soeke na ‘n geskikte onderwysnis vir hul seun wat met PDD-NOS1, ‘n Outisme Spektrumversteuring, gediagnoseer is. In ‘n poging om die nie-akademiese gehoor te betrek, maar terselfdertyd die analitiese behoeftes van die navorsergehoor aan te spreek, is die tegnieke van stemmingsvolle outo-etnografiese mede-saamgestelde narratiewe en analitiese outo-etnografie gekombineer. Ek het nie slegs ten doel gehad om sommige gapings in navorsing rondom die ervarings van Suid-Afrikaanse ouers van kinders met Outisme Spektrumversteurings te vul nie, maar ook om kennis, hoop en aanmoediging te gee aan ander ouers, veral daardie ouers wat aan die begin staan van ‘n reis na ‘n beter toekoms vir hul kind met spesiale behoeftes.

This thesis explores an autoethnography which is written in the spirit of ubuntu, with and through others. Viewing this as an ethically responsible methodology for educational research conducted in and between the Global North and the Global South, this autoethnography foregrounds both self and other. The story of a practitioner- researcher unfolds around a move from disillusionment with the examinations factories of the English education system into exploring a human ethic of essential care (Boff, 2005) and a pedagogy of unconditional love (Andreotti, 2011) in a Brazilian non- government organisation. In these shifting contexts, the writer shares a journey of critical reflection (Brookfield, 1995; 2000) on ethical relationships in research and education, deconstructing the hegemonic assumptions underpinning her worldview. Borrowing insight from postmodern philosophy for education and actionable postcolonial theory in education, a journey of (un)learning unfolds as the author grapples with taken-for-granted assumptions about and in the Global South. The aims of the study emerge from a life lived forward (Muncey, 2005) through critical reflection on the ends of education and the role of the practitioner-researcher. As such, the nature of data collection becomes a process of data creation incorporating a rich tapestry of research conversations, images, sounds and other embodied memories. As ethical relations become a central focus of the author’s critical reflection, the author has sought to minimise her inflection on the data and in doing so includes many of the original contributions gifted to her throughout a two year period. Through critical self- scrutiny and reflection the author has been able to examine her own educational and cultural assumptions through a different lens in the Global South. The beauty of this autoethnography lies in exploring the kinds of intercultural spaces the author and others inhabit in twenty-first century research and classrooms.

Drawing from observation, autoethnography, ethnographic research and audio-taped interviews, this thesis explores the complicated and emotionally charged relationship between homosexuality and Christianity. The current culture war being waged in the media between the Religious Right and members of the LGBT community often results in the isolation and rejection of those who would define themselves as gay Christians. This thesis explores the role of the Bible as it informs and catalyzes this war and other foundational beliefs used as weapons in this rhetorical conflict. Additionally, this thesis analyzes the current battle between the church and the social movement for change in light of the historical battles fought over similar movements. The rhetoric of Christianity, specifically Fundamentalist rhetoric, has been emphatically defended and then dramatically changed in every such battle. Is this a possible resolution for today’s current battle? The thesis explores the historical basis and current application of rhetorical effects on this conflict through the author’s insight as a veteran of both worlds, interviews with major players in the battle such as Randy Thomas and Kristin Tremba of Exodus International and interviews with people who step on the battlefield everyday as pastors, congregants or observers in the fight. With each interview or rhetorical analysis, the viability of dialogue between these two groups is questioned and investigated.

The diploma thesis Brass music today - performation, function, reception is focused on brass music in historic-cultural analysis with overhang into form which can be seen nowadays. As a fundamental research method is chosen the method of qualitative and quantitative field research, which author answers the designated research questions. Diploma thesis is set into historic-cultural development of the brass music phenomenon, in order to provide comprehensive view on the examined subject.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T16:27:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Wollney pretextuais.pdf: 968188 bytes, checksum: c2bf3acdcb536225622f166de25e2e3c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-30 / As a storytelling, this work aims at delineate new glances and senses about my own academic path and about how it is linked with other experiences shared on the imaginary that moves the daily life of my hometown. Base on the principles of autoethnography, I seek to comprehend and to rebuild part of a visual network in which some narratives gathered in Lagolândia (my hometown) are weaved, so that I can understand the role the weaving plays in the world views of its different actors. By reflecting on shared experiences about images, I propose a cartography wich defines places of memory. From these places, I show possible connections between orality, image and writing. This process I call "escrituragem". Thus, I suggestan amplification of the aesthetic universe based upon a subjective network weaved in the various daily contexts. Reality and imaginary, history and myth, all of them intertwine in one single braid, enabling new pedagogical approach es for teaching visual arts. Such process may pontentize other speheres as spaces where aesthetic, artistic and cultural knowledge may be developed. / Como uma contação de histórias, este trabalho busca delinear novos olhares e sentidos sobre minha trajetória acadêmica e sobre como ela se conecta com outras experiências compartilhadas em torno do imaginário que move o dia-a-dia de minha cidade natal. Sob os princípios da autoetnografia, busco compreender e reconstruir parte da trama visul onde estão tecidas algumas narrativas recolhidas em Lagolândia, para também entender o papel que essa tessitura assume na concepção e nas visões de mundo de seus vários atores. Através de uma reflexão sobre vivências compartilhadas em torno de imagens, proponho uma cartografia que define lugares de memória. São destes lugares que apresento possíveis cruzamentos entre oralidade, imagem e escrita naquilo que eu chamo de "estrituragem", sugerindo uma ampliação do universo estético a partir de uma rede subjetiva tecida nos diversos contextos cotidianos. Real e imaginário, histórico e mito se misturam num único trançado, possibilitando novas direções e vertentes pedagógicas para ensino de artes visuais, potencializando outras esferas como espaços geradores de conhecimento estéticos, artísticos e culturais.

In this dissertation, African/Caribbean-Canadian women’s experiences of coping with divorce were explored using a qualitative methodology. This study was approached from a Black Feminist paradigm using the lived experiences of Black women as a source of knowledge. Divorce and coping literature provided a theoretical framework for understanding the issues related to divorce in the Black community and effective coping efforts among Black women, particularly as it pertains to divorce. Six separated/divorced women from the same family, representing two generations, were interviewed individually and as a group using a semi-structured interview guide. The participants discussed their reflections on marriage and marital disruption, their post-separation experiences and challenges, and the coping resources they accessed during the divorce process. The participants also discussed how their own marriages and divorces were influenced by the marriages and marital disruptions of their family members. The results from the interviews were reported in a case study format using the voices of the participants to tell their own stories. A grounded theory analysis found that Black women faced the common challenges of starting over, single parenting, financial loss, lifestyle adjustment, and emotional adjustment during the divorce process. To cope with these challenges, the majority, if not all, of the women cited a support network, a sense of responsibility, a positive perspective, spirituality, and independence as effective coping resources. It was the hope of the participants and the researcher that this study would help other women experiencing divorce by illustrating how effective coping efforts can lead to greater happiness after divorce.

This thesis explores barriers to the establishment of trust needed for high performing teams due to inequality in the context of a global economy. Postcolonial Theory is introduced to illustrate how inequality is a key aspect of diversity in the current context of the global workplace. Different philosophies underlying the values and norms in organizations are examined to make sense of contemporary approaches to diversity management in terms of how power, difference, and identity are addressed. This provides an understanding of the context of current team development praxis in working with diversity. Using autoethnography, the author tells personal stories of working in diverse teams to convey the complex ways in which power, difference, and identity coalesce in real-life experience. Some theoretical foundations are developed for facilitating the building of team trust in contexts with different philosophical approaches to diversity. Addressing social justice in Organization Development work is considered.