This study investigated the application of six techniques from systemic family therapy. A review of the history of family therapy identified the major contributions from general psychiatry, communications theory and cybernetics which had combined to form the therapies known collectively as systemic family therapy. The theory was outlined and examined and the major assumptions which are the basis for specific techniques of therapy within this model were identified. Six of these techniques were examined and demonstrated in therapy. The outcome of each technique was assessed. A family was seen from initial contact to termination, using a two member team approach (Viaro and Leonardi, 1983) in which-one therapist observed the other through a one way video arrangement. The presenting problem was a suicide attempt by an adolescent, culminating in admission to hospital. Therapy using the model was concluded in four sessions. Follow-up at six months disclosed no further admissions to hospital and a report from the family that they were satisfied with the outcome of therapy. Distinctions between first and second order cybernetic therapy were made and the therapists were found to adhere to a first order model. Successful and unsuccessful use of the techniques is identified and discussed. Using as a measure the absence of further suicide attempts and the family's self reported reduction in the number of arguments between the parents and the identified patient, it was concluded that the use of the nominated techniques from systemic family therapy had enabled successful intervention.

Este trabalho de doutorado esboça uma teoria negativa da comunicação a partir da reelaboração negativa dos seus três conceitos fundamentais: a comunicação, o medium e a comunidade. Grosso modo, a comunicação é figurada como uma experiência radical de alteridade; o medium como a descrição dos modos de percepção desta experiência e a comunidade como a incorporação das possibilidades de sua ocorrência. A comunicação manifesta uma experiência que transforma o \'eu\' em \'mim\', pois o sujeito não é necessariamente causa ou efeito desta experiência, mas é exposto à ela, como uma ferida aberta. O medium é o modo de percepção que opera esta experiência: ele não é uma ponte entre o abismo que separa o mim do outro, pois ele acentua esse abismo, na medida em que ele se imaterializa no momento da experiência, como uma materialidade que se descorporifica. E quando essa experiência efetua-se, é porque se toma parte em algo comum, em uma comunidade: mesmo que precária ou evanescente, ela incorpora a possibilidade da ocorrência deste fenômeno. Na teoria negativa da comunicação, o medium torna-se transparente, a comunidade torna-se expositória e a comunicação torna-se transcendente. Ponderar sobre a negatividade da comunicação é ir ao encontro de uma ex-comunicação: uma despalavra que busca ex-pôr aquilo que nos fenômenos comunicacionais escapa à discursividade, seja a medialidade do meio, a inefabilidade da relação ou a comunidade daqueles que não constituem qualquer comunidade. O prefixo ex assinala não apenas uma simples negação, mas um deslocamento fundamental: ele é o inegável que se pré-supõe, que constitui a comunicação, mas que resiste à qualquer conceituação. Ao mesmo tempo em que possibilita, o prefixo ex assegura a impossibilidade da sua re-presentação: um comunicar que não se estrutura em signos, mas se mostra - uma comunicação negativa, existencial, intransitiva, inexprimível, mística. / Ex-communication is an «un-word» that emphasizes what eludes in the communicational phenomenon: be it the mediality of the medium, the incomprehensibility of a relation or the community of those who have no community. The «ex» means not only a negation, but also a fundamental drift: it is the irrevocable and the irreconcilable that the communication presupposes and constitutes, although it defies conceptualization. The «ex» guarantees the impossibility of re-presentation. A communication that is not structured by signs, but rather shows itself: it is an existential, intransitive or mystical communication. This PhD thesis aims to establish the general outline for a negative theory of communication. By using the negative and posthermeneutic media philosophy developed by the philosopher Dieter Mersch, this dissertation intends a negative reelaboration of the three main concepts of a communicational theory: media, community and communication. In general, communication is taken as a radical alterity experience, medium as the modes of perception of this experience, and community as the possibility and condition of the communicacional event. In other words: in the negative theory of communication, the medium is transparent, the community is what ex-poses, and communication is transcendent.

A argumentação da presente tese parte do New Journalism como plataforma para discussões sobre a linguagem jornalística. A Contracultura enquanto fenômeno político serve de enquadramento histórico sobre o qual se trabalha a noção de uma política antidisciplinar como recurso de enfrentamento às inscrições da imprensa sobre o plano da reprodução das ideologias hegemônicas. / The following thesis is an argumentation about the New Journalism as a plataform for the discutions envolving the ordinary journalistic language. The Counterculture is taken as a politic event featuring the historic plan wich is discussed by the anti-disciplinary protest. This notion is taken as a estrategy to resist against the passive hegemonic ideological reproduction.

Although little empirical evidence exists to support this contention, the extant literature suggests that firms can potentially achieve two types of benefits from developing a CRM orientation: (1) increased efficiency in the allocation of resources destined for relationship building and maintenance activities, and (2) enhanced exchange relationship outcomes through the provision of superior customer value (Zablah, Bellenger, and Johnston 2004). This effort focused on the latter of these purported benefits and sought to answer the following two fundamental questions: (1) does a CRM orientation influence the outcome of customer-provider relationships and, if so, how; and (2) does CRM technology have an effect on the relative success of CRM initiatives? In an attempt to address these questions, a conceptual model of "CRM success" was advanced and tested utilizing data from, both, customers and their providers. The conceptual model, which is based on interactive communications theory, posits that a CRM orientation has a positive effect on the quality of the product, service and planned interaction messages providers convey to their customers. The model also suggests that the quality of these messages directly influences customer-perceived relationship value which, in turn, drives other relationship attitudes, perceptions and, ultimately, customers’ behavioral intentions. Finally, the model proposes a moderating role for CRM technology: the association between CRM orientation and message quality is expected to increase (decrease) as the assimilation of CRM technology within firms increases (decreases). The model was tested utilizing (multi-level) SEM techniques. The results provide partial support for the proposed model and suggest the following: 1. As firms’ level of CRM orientation increases, customer-perceived message quality decreases. This inverse relationship between CRM orientation and message quality does not hold true across accounts of different sizes. For large accounts, message quality tends to increase as firms’ level of CRM orientation increases while the opposite holds true for small and medium-sized accounts. 2. The relationship between CRM orientation and message quality is not contingent upon the extent to which firms have assimilated CRM technology. Rather, firms’ level of CRM technology assimilation appears to exert a direct effect upon message quality. 3. Customer-perceived relationship value (CPRV) mediates the effect that product, planned and service messages exert upon customers’ relationship attitudes, perceptions and, ultimately, behavioral intentions.

Este trabalho de doutorado esboça uma teoria negativa da comunicação a partir da reelaboração negativa dos seus três conceitos fundamentais: a comunicação, o medium e a comunidade. Grosso modo, a comunicação é figurada como uma experiência radical de alteridade; o medium como a descrição dos modos de percepção desta experiência e a comunidade como a incorporação das possibilidades de sua ocorrência. A comunicação manifesta uma experiência que transforma o \'eu\' em \'mim\', pois o sujeito não é necessariamente causa ou efeito desta experiência, mas é exposto à ela, como uma ferida aberta. O medium é o modo de percepção que opera esta experiência: ele não é uma ponte entre o abismo que separa o mim do outro, pois ele acentua esse abismo, na medida em que ele se imaterializa no momento da experiência, como uma materialidade que se descorporifica. E quando essa experiência efetua-se, é porque se toma parte em algo comum, em uma comunidade: mesmo que precária ou evanescente, ela incorpora a possibilidade da ocorrência deste fenômeno. Na teoria negativa da comunicação, o medium torna-se transparente, a comunidade torna-se expositória e a comunicação torna-se transcendente. Ponderar sobre a negatividade da comunicação é ir ao encontro de uma ex-comunicação: uma despalavra que busca ex-pôr aquilo que nos fenômenos comunicacionais escapa à discursividade, seja a medialidade do meio, a inefabilidade da relação ou a comunidade daqueles que não constituem qualquer comunidade. O prefixo ex assinala não apenas uma simples negação, mas um deslocamento fundamental: ele é o inegável que se pré-supõe, que constitui a comunicação, mas que resiste à qualquer conceituação. Ao mesmo tempo em que possibilita, o prefixo ex assegura a impossibilidade da sua re-presentação: um comunicar que não se estrutura em signos, mas se mostra - uma comunicação negativa, existencial, intransitiva, inexprimível, mística. / Ex-communication is an «un-word» that emphasizes what eludes in the communicational phenomenon: be it the mediality of the medium, the incomprehensibility of a relation or the community of those who have no community. The «ex» means not only a negation, but also a fundamental drift: it is the irrevocable and the irreconcilable that the communication presupposes and constitutes, although it defies conceptualization. The «ex» guarantees the impossibility of re-presentation. A communication that is not structured by signs, but rather shows itself: it is an existential, intransitive or mystical communication. This PhD thesis aims to establish the general outline for a negative theory of communication. By using the negative and posthermeneutic media philosophy developed by the philosopher Dieter Mersch, this dissertation intends a negative reelaboration of the three main concepts of a communicational theory: media, community and communication. In general, communication is taken as a radical alterity experience, medium as the modes of perception of this experience, and community as the possibility and condition of the communicacional event. In other words: in the negative theory of communication, the medium is transparent, the community is what ex-poses, and communication is transcendent.

A argumentação da presente tese parte do New Journalism como plataforma para discussões sobre a linguagem jornalística. A Contracultura enquanto fenômeno político serve de enquadramento histórico sobre o qual se trabalha a noção de uma política antidisciplinar como recurso de enfrentamento às inscrições da imprensa sobre o plano da reprodução das ideologias hegemônicas. / The following thesis is an argumentation about the New Journalism as a plataform for the discutions envolving the ordinary journalistic language. The Counterculture is taken as a politic event featuring the historic plan wich is discussed by the anti-disciplinary protest. This notion is taken as a estrategy to resist against the passive hegemonic ideological reproduction.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Swedish society has gone through a great change. Firstly with the personal computer and then with the internet moving in to everyday life, a new arena for interaction with society evolved. Work, education, doing bank errands and reading or discussing the news, just to name a few, now all take place in the virtual world online. Not to mention social media sites such as twitter, instagram or facebook, the last of which has over half of the Swedish population represented as members.    Companies, corporations, interest groups, political parties and politicians must be aware of the massive impact that a post spread through social media can have.      This thesis will, with the text analyzing tool, argumentation analysis, and on the theoretical platform of political communications theory, analyze three of the most viral Swedish political posts spread over 120 000 times each, to see if there are any combined qualities that point to the fact that there is a formula for getting a post to become a viral success on social media.      The main result showed that of the three posts analyzed, all were built up around a factual thesis, argued for with foremost example arguments, not only appealing to the logical branch of argumentation but also to the ethical, and that they tended to be of high relevance and sustainability. The conclusion must therefore be that these are all qualities that tend to be of relevance for making a political post on social media into a viral success.

The professionalization of political parties has significantly altered the means by which parties interact with voters and supporters. The current study is an attempt to examine what these changes in political communication mean for the ability of parties to organize supporters and mobilize them both in a campaign setting and in the longer-term struggle. Habermasian and Gramscian perspectives on the relational aspects of political communication highlight the challenges presented by the growing unidirectionality of communication and the concomitant atrophying of intermediary institutions. Beyond this, the work of Bottici and McLuhan is used to expose the effects of the 'arational' aspects of these changes in both form and content. To test the plausibility of the theoretical insights obtained, the case of the New Democratic Party of Canada is considered. The study concludes by considering the potential of new technological developments for resolving or mitigating concerns identified throughout the thesis. / Graduate

Augusto Boal developed Theatre of the Oppressed as a way of using the symbolic language of the dramatic arts in the examination of power relations in both the personal and social contexts. Boal understood that symbolic realities directly influence empirical reality and that drama, as an art form that employs the narrative and the event, serves as a powerful interface between symbols and actuality. In the dramatic process, the creation and the environment from which it emerges are inevitably transformed in the process of enactment. These transformations manifest in the context of power relations - in the context of the receptors ability to make decisions and to engage in actions, and the communicators ability to influence the receptors opinions and behaviour. This thesis will examine two different practices in which symbolic realities have been utilised in the context of human relations of power. Primarily, this thesis examines the theory and practice of Theatre of the Oppressed as it has developed.