This study utilizes the autoethnographic method of research to examine and reflect on the spoken language and labels associated with accommodated workers who have been disabled in workplace accidents in the Canadian mining and construction industry. Spotlighting the personal impact and the implications of the “light duty” and “modified duty” labels as well as the slang terminology used to describe and characterize accommodated workers is an important first step in helping decrease the stigmatization of accommodated workers who have been disabled on the job. As there is very little research in the field of the discourse rooted in workplace accommodation and disability management, it is my hope that this autoethnography will provide a voice that expresses the need to phase out prevailing negative attitudes and stereotypes surrounding accommodated workers, and amplify the call to tomorrow’s mining leaders to support and actualize existing respectful workplace policies and human rights legislation. / October 2016

This research represents a highly personalized account of the complexities, interpretations, and reflections of a principal in transition from one elementary school to another elementary school in the same district. Using myself as the subject and the researcher in the social context of an elementary school provided the impetus for this self-study. Through an insider's vantage point, I have chronicled and traced the experiences of my own administrative transition using the qualitative methodology of autoethnography. This genre of qualitative research brings the reader closer to the subculture studied through the experiences of the author. While every campus and district has its own unique culture and environment, the introspection and evaluation provided by the methodology of autoethnography greatly facilitates an understanding of the processes of transition. The experiences I have encountered, the problems I face, and the interpretations derived from them will strengthen my own practice as a public school administrator and provide insight into the ever-changing administrative position called the principalship. Data gathering consisted of a reflexive journal, my personal calendar, faculty agendas, staff memos, and reflective analysis. At the completion of the school year common strands, key attributes, and coding of the data served to provide retrospective insights. These research tools were used to capture the experiences of my administrative transition. The results of this study were expressed in a personal narrative that comprises Chapters IV through VI. Chapters I through III present a traditional dissertation model that includes the introduction, review of literature, and research methodology. Chapter VII offers recommendations, a discussion of the findings and concluding remarks.

This study analyzes the intersection of multiple cultural themes and discourses present in discussion of the alternative menstrual hygiene product, the menstrual cup. Through the qualitative research methods of first-person interviewing and autoethnography, the study forms the characteristics of the American menstrual cultural model and how the model upheld by menstrual cup users differs from it. The study finds that access to alternative channels of information and an innate or learned acceptance of the body and bodily processes were indicators of whether or not an individual would be receptive to the cup. The mainstream consciousness was unlikely to foster bodily acceptance. Bodily acceptance was more likely encountered in individuals with interests invested in activities and lifestyle practices more likely to be labeled “alternative.” Using the cup also had a positive feedback effect in that it habituated users to and made them feel more comfortable with their bodies.

This study analyzes the intersection of multiple cultural themes and discourses present in discussion of the alternative menstrual hygiene product, the menstrual cup. Through the qualitative research methods of first-person interviewing and autoethnography, the study forms the characteristics of the American menstrual cultural model and how the model upheld by menstrual cup users differs from it. The study finds that access to alternative channels of information and an innate or learned acceptance of the body and bodily processes were indicators of whether or not an individual would be receptive to the cup. The mainstream consciousness was unlikely to foster bodily acceptance. Bodily acceptance was more likely encountered in individuals with interests invested in activities and lifestyle practices more likely to be labeled “alternative.” Using the cup also had a positive feedback effect in that it habituated users to and made them feel more comfortable with their bodies.

This qualitative autoethnographic study was the process by which I, a young Latina, was able to evocatively and therapeutically write about the incestual abuse and poverty experienced from age six until the age of 17. It was also the method by which I decided to disclose how I moved from being considered at-risk and became resilient. This study demonstrated the basic tenets of autoethnography and how by overcoming poverty and ending a cycle of abuse, I was able to embrace the spirit of forgiveness. Insight into the discourse of a dysfunctional family is shared, allowing me to offer a message of hope, and shatter stereotypes. The study concludes that autoethnography as a process permits me to tap into new-found autonomy. Autoethnographically, this study represents my life journey, but it can represent the life of many readers who have lived in the United States in impoverished conditions and/or have lived through physical, emotional, verbal and sexual abuse by family members or intimate others. This study legitimized and validated my story as a survivor. Consequently, the plot of the story focuses on the violent acts and conditions, not the people. Focusing on the acts and conditions, while incorporating dialogue permitted me to involve the reader more closely in the story. I leaned on my doctoral studies to expand my understanding of the abuse and poverty I experienced (Holt, 2003). I found that resiliency was central to my life story. Embracing resiliency empowered me to discover new ways of thinking about my life experiences, which included using a salutogenic approach, or a positive model that offered “alternatives to the deficits-based explanatory models of environmental determinants of health that have dominated the literature” to accept the raw and cruel encounters I was exposed to and turn my thoughts into a healthier way of thinking (Stewart & McWhirter, 2007, p. 490). Tugade and Fredrickson (2004, p. 320) would say that I obtained a psychological resilience to effectively cope and adapt, even though I faced “loss, hardship, or adversity.” Ultimately, I discovered that resilience is a “state, a condition and a practice” (Knight, 2007, p. 544).

Male partner violence involves repeated abuse, committed by an intimate partner, someone you know and care about, over a period of time. A woman who has experienced this unimaginable betrayal by her intimate partner, the man she believed would protect and cherish her, struggles with the many complexities involved in male partner violence. I use autoethnography as methodology to share my own personal story of male partner violence and I explore, examine, and challenge the socio-cultural and socio-political norms that influenced me to stay in an abusive relationship and also leave the relationship. I include the knottiness of my healing journey after moving out and moving on. I use a silkscreen portrayal of male partner violence, a pen and ink self-portrait, photographs, poetry, court documents and journal entries to explore different perspectives of my experience and to examine the relationship between seeing, thinking, and knowing, and the complex nature of my experience of male partner violence. I struggle and untangle what kept me in the marriage for so long and share the stimulus for why I eventually left and I examine the very troubling effects of male partner violence on myself and my children. I share my guilt, shame, grief and loss but I also recognize my resourcefulness, strength, and determination to survive and move beyond male partner violence. I made many decisions along the way and I always felt caught in a losing dichotomy every time. Through a feminist way of viewing male partner violence and autoethnographic writing, I also examine social perceptions of male partner violence, domination, the loss of voice and power that occurs and the lack of support from traditional social institutions. While I understand that women experience male partner violence in different ways, this is my personal experience of living with and leaving male partner violence.

The purpose of this autoethnography is to recount a one-year personal and professional journey of a parent/teacher/researcher as she designs and implements a teacher-led imaginative drama program for children, ages 5 – 10, with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The program uses strategies (familiar routines, picture boards, etc.) that assist children with ASD to learn new skills. Parents in the final ten-week session of the program are surveyed regarding their perceptions; 19 of the 22 students in the program participated in the 10-week study and 15 parents were present on the day the surveys were distributed and collected and completed. The researcher was specifically looking for what aspects of the program parents found valuable and what aspects needed improvement. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed that parents were satisfied with the program and would recommend it to families who have children on the autism spectrum. Key findings indicate that parents specifically appreciated the classroom structure and the teacher’s knowledge of ASD. Recommendations for future improvements to the program are also discussed. The researcher discusses why a program like this is so important for children on the autism spectrum: aiding in the ability to perspective take and make friends.

This thesis is an autoethnographic investigation of smartphones. Employing a theoretical framework that views smartphones as an apparatus, I explore smartphones, the connections they make to others and to digital technology, the way they are altering space and time, the micro-physics of power that they employ, and their ability to provide agency. Cycling between autoethnographic vignettes and theory, I explain rhizomatic assemblages that are apparatuses while advocating for the adoption of this conceptual framework when examining the social aspects of smartphones. Within this framework I conclude that these devices can be liberating and binding at the same time, and that, if we seek to better understand and engage in algorithmic language, we will be better equipped to take advantage of points of rupture to create lines of flight that allow us to deterritorialize our social world in ways that afford us the most agency.

The purpose of this autoethnography is to recount a one-year personal and professional journey of a parent/teacher/researcher as she designs and implements a teacher-led imaginative drama program for children, ages 5 – 10, with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The program uses strategies (familiar routines, picture boards, etc.) that assist children with ASD to learn new skills. Parents in the final ten-week session of the program are surveyed regarding their perceptions; 19 of the 22 students in the program participated in the 10-week study and 15 parents were present on the day the surveys were distributed and collected and completed. The researcher was specifically looking for what aspects of the program parents found valuable and what aspects needed improvement. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed that parents were satisfied with the program and would recommend it to families who have children on the autism spectrum. Key findings indicate that parents specifically appreciated the classroom structure and the teacher’s knowledge of ASD. Recommendations for future improvements to the program are also discussed. The researcher discusses why a program like this is so important for children on the autism spectrum: aiding in the ability to perspective take and make friends.

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