Genealogical Family Historians conduct research in order to reconstruct genealogical families, through the application of a rigorous methodology: weighing the evidence for placing each individual in a family group, linking family groups of the past and making contact with kin of the present. Genealogical Family Historians trace the movements and migrations of identified individuals and family groups; and study the local, national and international social settings of lives lived in families and households in different times and places, over many generations. A large worldwide Community of Practice with many constituent groups, including the New Zealand Society of Genealogists Incorporated, has formed itself around this research activity. In this transdisciplinary study focused on social learning, I have explored and analysed the domain, the practice and the community of Genealogical Family Historians researching in and from Aotearoa-New Zealand during the past 50 years. Genealogical Family Historians meet formally and informally, in small groups or at large conferences to pursue their self-directed learning. The collaborative practice includes publishing and teaching; and the locating, preserving and indexing of records. Many conduct research and communicate with others in the new world of cyberspace. My overarching research question has been: where is the future place for this scholarly discourse? My approach to this study is transdisciplinary: my point-of-view is above and across departments and disciplines. The ethos and vision of transdisciplinarity is attained only through existing disciplines, and transdisciplinary research has the potential to contribute to those disciplines, as I demonstrate in this thesis. The transdisciplinary scholarly discourse of Genealogical Family History owes much to the disciplines of history, geography and sociology; and draws on biology, law, religious studies, linguistics, demography, computer science and information technology. I have also drawn on understandings from my own prior and concurrent disciplinary knowledge and experience for this study. Other Genealogical Family Historians bring different disciplinary understandings to the discourse that is Genealogical Family History. My positionality is that of an insider, an involved member of the Community of Practice for many years. In this study, I have allowed my key informants to speak with their own voices; and I have sought illustration and evidence from documentation and observation in the wider Genealogical Family History Community, past and present. I have used enhanced reflection on my own practice in my analysis and in case studies. This study demonstrates how the Community of Practice has played an important role in developing a transdisciplinary mode of inquiry and suggests that there are some generic features of the field and practice of Genealogical Family History that form the substance of a transdisciplinary discourse ready to take its place in academia.

Population development at the manor of Škvorec at the turn of 18th and 19th century Abstract The intention of this study is to analyze the development of natural change of population at the manor of Škvorec at the turn of 18th and 19th century (nuptiality and fertility in the years 1780-1819 and mortality in the years 1780-1869) and to characterize the basic demographic indicators. The nominal excerpts from parish registers was made to find numbers of births, marriages and deaths. Family reconstitution method (based on marriges from the years 1780-1819) was used for these data. The development of natural change at the manor is compared with the results of studies developed for the localities of the Czech lands and particularly with the development of the parish Lochenice and at Budyně nad Ohří. The conclusions mostly confirmed the development in the Czech lands. Comparison with results of Budyně nad Ohří confirmed the different population development in urban and rural areas. Keywords: development of natural change, parish registers, family reconstitution, manor of Škvorec.

Changes in reproductive behaviour in the beginning of the demographic revolution (example of Staňkov) Abstract The aim of this study is to analyse reproductive behaviour of population in the Czech lands in the 19th century, a period in which demographic revolution began. The research is based on data from Staňkov, a town in southwestern Bohemia, which, unlike the majority of adjacent region, experienced a substantial industrialization in the 19th century. This resulted in a significant population growth during the analysed period. Family lists were compiled from the registers of births, marriages and deaths using the method of family reconstitution. Nuptiality, marital fertility and infant mortality were the main analysed topics. Population was also divided into groups based on social stratification and these groups were analysed to determine, whether their reproductive behaviour differed from each other. The results from Staňkov were compared to other previously studied localities in the Czech lands. This study revealed that in the 19th century changes in reproductive behaviour within social groups were quite small or negligible. Big changes in nuptiality, fertility or infant mortality in the beginning of demographic revolution can therefore be mainly attributed to the shifts in the social structure of the...

The population in the Central Bohemian manor of Škvorec from the middle of the 18th to the end of the 19th century. Abstract The aim of this study is to analyze the reproductive behavior (nuptiality, natality, female and male fertility, mortality) and the social structure of selected groups of the population of the Škvorec manor in the 18th and 19th century. The Škvorec manor which is located in the territory of today's Central Bohemia was an important agricultural area in given period. The complete nominal excerpts from parish registers were used to find numbers of all births, marriages and deaths. In addition to traditional historical- demography methods (especially the family reconstitution method and subsequent calculation of demographic indicators from family leaves), advanced statistical methods (survival analysis, Cox regression model) were also used for data analysis. These approaches are new in Czech historical demography and bring many advantages, which are presented in the work. The natural change of population development at the manor is compared with the Czech lands as a whole and in more detail with selected rural and urban localities. The results mostly correspond with the population development which was observed in the Czech lands. The number of inhabitants of the manor in the years...

Five years ago at the age of 14, Rutendo Chaibva was double-orphaned by AIDS. A "Family Post Bereavement Property and Responsibilities Disbursement Committee" assigned her uncle Eric Gara as "replacement parent". Rutendo and her " replacement mother" Gerlinda were co-participants in the Participatory Action Research Study. It started in a therapeutic relationship after the family experienced some difficulties in integrating Rutendo into the reconstituted family. Both the therapy and research conversations explored and identified several pastoral and other challenges that militated against the integration process. Rutendo and Gerlinda's road was littered with, among others, minefields of silence and tears, secrecy, multiple losses, unresolved bereavement, unfinished business, anger, fear, and groping for Christian fellowship. It was concluded that personal, family, pastoral and other challenges, and, HIV/AIDS related complexities had militated against the integration process. At the end, Rutendo and Gerlinda acknowledged that therapy and the research processes had impacted positively on the integration process that improved significantly. / Practical Theology / M. Div. (Pastoral therapy)

Five years ago at the age of 14, Rutendo Chaibva was double-orphaned by AIDS. A "Family Post Bereavement Property and Responsibilities Disbursement Committee" assigned her uncle Eric Gara as "replacement parent". Rutendo and her " replacement mother" Gerlinda were co-participants in the Participatory Action Research Study. It started in a therapeutic relationship after the family experienced some difficulties in integrating Rutendo into the reconstituted family. Both the therapy and research conversations explored and identified several pastoral and other challenges that militated against the integration process. Rutendo and Gerlinda's road was littered with, among others, minefields of silence and tears, secrecy, multiple losses, unresolved bereavement, unfinished business, anger, fear, and groping for Christian fellowship. It was concluded that personal, family, pastoral and other challenges, and, HIV/AIDS related complexities had militated against the integration process. At the end, Rutendo and Gerlinda acknowledged that therapy and the research processes had impacted positively on the integration process that improved significantly. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Div. (Pastoral therapy)

The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of dynamic relationships within families, and indicating how the decision to divorce may result from a family's difficulty in adjusting to new changes and stressors. Thus, divorce results in the redefinition of a nuclear system. This study made use of social constructionism as its epistemological framework. By means of in-depth one-on-one interviews, the researcher was able to hear the narratives of all six participants. Hermeneutics was used to analyze the data. The participants' stories were reencountered through the researcher's own frame of reference in which common themes of the divorce process were co-constructed. These themes were later elaborated on and a comparative analysis was undertaken to link them to the available literature. The information gained from the study could contribute to existing research on the impact of divorce, family reorganization following a divorce, and offer a new perspective in understanding family systems. / Clinical Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of dynamic relationships within families, and indicating how the decision to divorce may result from a family's difficulty in adjusting to new changes and stressors. Thus, divorce results in the redefinition of a nuclear system. This study made use of social constructionism as its epistemological framework. By means of in-depth one-on-one interviews, the researcher was able to hear the narratives of all six participants. Hermeneutics was used to analyze the data. The participants' stories were reencountered through the researcher's own frame of reference in which common themes of the divorce process were co-constructed. These themes were later elaborated on and a comparative analysis was undertaken to link them to the available literature. The information gained from the study could contribute to existing research on the impact of divorce, family reorganization following a divorce, and offer a new perspective in understanding family systems. / Clinical Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)