In this dissertation I engage in life writing and literary métissage (Chambers, Hasebe-Ludt, Leggo, & Sinner, 2012; Hasebe-Ludt, Chambers, & Leggo, 2009) to explore and exemplify mindful, aesthetic, and compassionate practices for working through moments of crisis (Kumashiro, 2010) in teaching and learning. The dissertation is designed as a four-strand braid and organized around the active verb “practising” to dig deep into the dynamic, and often difficult, processes of teaching and learning: (1) Practising Vulnerability; (2) Practising Discomfort; (3) Practising Mindfulness; and (4) Practising Compassion. Each strand is composed of different genres of life writing: theoretical and analytical introductions, letter writing, journal pieces, comics, photos, poetry, creative non-fiction, collages, scenes from a play, and an alphabet book. The multimodal life writing pieces are worked examples (Gee, 2010) of contemplative practices and pedagogical praxis. Life writing offers concrete ways to practise mindfulness, reflection, and reflexivity, which, in turn, invite a more awakened, critical, and compassionate stance as an educator. If teachers want to move beyond simply promoting the importance of reflective practice, wellbeing, self-actualization, and compassion to their students then we need to show more teachers (and teacher educators) the messy process of doing so themselves. Reading life writing is a starting point for teachers at all stages in their careers to imagine how they could, or already do, engage in similar processes and invite them to cultivate compassion and self-compassion as a grounding stance for their life projects as teachers, learners, and human beings. My autoethnographic teacher inquiry (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009) was prompted when I encountered “troubling” (Kumashiro, 2009) tensions when first teaching about homophobia and transphobia to teacher education students at a faculty of education on the Canadian prairies. I began to explore the vulnerability and discomfort of this teaching moment from an experimental (Davies, 2011), multimodal (Kress & Street, 2006; Pahl & Roswell, 2006), critical literacy stance (Janks, 2010; Vasquez, Tate, & Harste, 2013). My inquiry shifted after a diagnosis of breast cancer, which became an opportunity for me to awaken to more mindful, empathetic, and compassionate ways of being, living, teaching, and researching. / February 2017

A link between binge drinking, negative sexual health outcomes, and sexual victimization among university populations is well established in the research literature (Messman-Moore et al., 2013; PHAC, 2016; Smith et al., 2009). Despite these known risks, young people often hold beliefs that alcohol consumption can enhance or facilitate their sexual experiences, however, less is known about the role of alcohol in young women’s consensual sexual experiences. In this qualitative study, I used a feminist perspective to explore young women’s perceptions and experiences of the role of alcohol in their sexual agency – the ability to communicate and fulfill their sexual desires and boundaries – and the social norms that influence this relationship. I collected data through interviews with 14 young university women between the ages of 19 and 25 who identified as heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual, or queer. Participants identified heteronormative sexuality norms that influence the role of alcohol in their sexual agency, namely the prioritization of women’s sexual inexperience, female sexual fidelity, and women’s attractiveness. Participants perceived that alcohol influenced their sexual agency at an individual and social level. In their individual experiences, participants discussed the dis-inhibitory effects of alcohol as a “tool” to alleviate feelings of shame associated with sexual expression and negative body image. At a social level, participants used alcohol as a means to deflect social stigma associated sexual expression as they could “blame the alcohol” as their motivation for engaging in sexual activity. These findings suggest that young women’s motivations for drinking may be linked to sexuality norms that discourage young women’s sexual agency, which could be relevant to consider in health promotion and harm reduction efforts. / Graduate / 0573 / 0453 / 0733 / 0758 / eecusack@gmail.com

Bakgrund Forskning visar att hälso- och sjukvården har ett övervägande heteronormativt synsätt och brister i bemötandet av personer utsatta för samkönat partnervåld. Betydligt fler HBTQ-personer som utsatts för partnervåld skulle enligt forskning sökt vård om de kunde förvissas om att bli bemötta på ett adekvat sätt baserat på kunskap om deras livsvillkor. Därför är det av stor vikt att genom djupintervjuer av våldsutsatta HBTQ-personer belysa hur de upplever bemötandet och hur de själva velat bli bemötta av hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal. Syfte Syftet var att belysa HBTQ-personers upplevelser av hälso- och sjukvårdens bemötande när de sökt vård på grund av samkönat partnervåld. Metod Enfallsdesign (Single Case Study Design). En (1) semistrukturerad djupintervju genomfördes och intervjun analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats. Resultat Studien visar på åsidosättande av adekvat behandlings- och undersökningsmetodik och att råd och föreslagen behandling endast gavs i enlighet med den egna begränsade kompetensen. Studien visar även på bristande kunskaper om vad som särskiljer det samkönade partnervåldet gentemot heterosexuellt partnervåld hos hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalen. Vidare saknades anpassning av adekvata behandlingsåtgärder lämpade för situationen och okunskap kring remitteringsvägar. En osynlighet avseende hur initial och vidare kontakt upprättas framträdde och så även okunskap om vart personer utsatta för samkönat partnervåld kan vända sig för hjälp och stöd. Dessa brister i bemötandet ledde till personliga upplevelser av frustration, ambivalens, missförstånd, hopplöshet och osynlighet hos personer som söker vård på grund av samkönat partnervåld. Slutsats Det finns brister hos hälso- och sjukvården avseende bemötandet gentemot en person utsatt för samkönat partnervåld. Ökade kunskaper hos hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalen kring HBTQ-personers livsvillkor och det samkönade relationsvåldets praktik skulle förhoppningsvis leda till bättre bemötande och en personcentrerad vård och därmed ökad patientsäkerhet. / Background Previous research has shown that health care is permeated with heteronormative ideals resulting in sub optimal encounters with victims of same-sex domestic violence. According to previous studies, victims of same-sex domestic violence would be far more likely to approach health care services if they felt secure in health care service's knowledge and experience concerning LGBTQ-specific circumstances. It is therefore of upmost importance to highlight/report, through in-depth interviews, LGBTQ persons subjected to domestic violence, encounters with health care services.Aim The aim of this study was to highlight LGBTQ domestic violence victims’ experiences of encounters with health care services. Method Single Case Study Design. One semi structured in-depth interview was conducted with interviews analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Results Results of this study showed a lack of adequate treatment and examination methods as well. In addition, professional recommendations for treatment to the LGBTQ victims of domestic partner violence tended to be based primarily on the health care provider's own limited competence and knowledge of LGBTQ subject matter. Furthermore, health care providers' lack of knowledge concerning discrepancies between same-sex domestic violence and heterosexual domestic violence was identified. Additionally, there was an inability to adapt situation-appropriate treatment measures as well as a lack of knowledge concerning referral management. An apparent imperceptible lack of guidelines for facilitating initial and follow-up contact emerged as well as a lack of awareness concerning avenues of help and support for LGBTQ domestic violence victims. These shortcomings of professional treatment of LGBTQ persons resulted in feelings of frustration, ambivilance, confusion, despair, and a feeling of invisibility among LGBTQ persons seeking care for domestic violence. Conclusion There are deficiencies among health care personnel's ability to adequately treat a person subjected to same-sex domestic violence. Improved knowledge among health care providers concerning LGBTQ person's social determinants would hopefully lead to improved encounters and treatment with a person centered care, resulting in reinforced patient safety.

<p>South Asian same-sex attracted women in the United States experience discrimination and marginalization that puts them at an increased risk for mental health issues. Research shows their rates of counseling and psychotherapy use are low due to perceptions of stigma, lack of knowledge, and concerns about culturally insensitive treatment plans. Mental health providers lack the literature needed to inform culturally sensitive treatment plans to address these concerning gaps in services, and an extensive literature review found no studies on the lived experiences of this population. Guided by feminist theory, this research study examined how discrimination, oppression, and marginalization mold women&rsquo;s lived experiences; this knowledge aims to serve as a means to advocate for social and political change for this population. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of this population. An emergent hand coding analysis, using experiential anecdotes, of data collected from interviews of 10 participants generated 10 major themes and 25 subthemes of experiences. Themes included importance of cultural values; familial relationships; marital life plan; intersectionality; and discrimination from gender disparity, patriarchal hierarchy, and sexual modesty. The study contributes to social change initiatives by providing culturally and contextually practical information to mental health professionals, counselor educators, and educational institutions that provide services to this population. </p>

Without a doubt, violence continues to be a brutal reality in our society. It reaches and affects millions across our nation and around the world. For centuries, scholars, researchers and academics have studied and analyzed the existence of violence in many capacities. While violence affects every individual, group, and community the dynamics and the realties that are carried out vary tremendously across race, income levels, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and national origin to name a few. The existence, impact and repercussions of violence in different communities carry varying meanings, perceptions and significance. This paper explores the influences of race, class, and gender identity on the help-seeking behavior of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) survivors of hate motivated and intimate partner violence utilizing data collected by the Virginia Anti-Violence Project (VAVP) Community Violence Survey. Utilizing a target sampling method, nearly 1,000 LGBTQ identified individuals from across the Commonwealth responded to the community survey. Only a descriptive analysis had ever been done on this data set; this more complex analysis was the first to be done. Patricia Hill Collins’ theoretical framework of intersectionality was applied in the analysis of the influences of race, class and gender identity. Concepts and propositions from Collins’ general theoretical framework have been utilized to examine how the three social locations intersect and shape distinct realities that influence how LGBTQ survivors of violence seek assistance if at all. The exploratory nature of this examination provides a glimpse into the many factors that influence the help-seeking behaviors of LGBTQ survivors of violence.

Direct-care workers can provide an array of service types to children, adolescents, and their families in behavioral health treatment. They may also work in a variety of settings (e.g., group homes, inpatient units/hospitals, residential treatment, treatment foster care, day treatment, in-home treatment, etc.). Direct-care workers typically are involved in the supervision of youth and in the implementation of a treatment plan developed by the youth’s treatment team. For youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) and are receiving behavioral health services, such workers form a critical part of their therapeutic experience. However, little is known about these workers’ competencies related to working with LGBTQ youth. This study begins to fill that gap by developing and testing a measure that assessed LGBTQ cultural competencies related to behavioral health practice with youth and a measure that was relevant to the roles and responsibilities of direct-care (e.g., paraprofessional, front-line) workers. In order for direct-care workers to use LGBTQ cultural competency in their practice, more understanding is needed about their current level of LGBTQ-related cultural competency. The LGBTQ Youth Cultural Competency scale (abbreviated as LGBTQY-CC) provides a means to measure those competencies. An exploratory factor analysis found that the new scale consists of one primary factor which represents knowledge, attitudes, skill, and awareness of LGBTQ cultural competency. Cronbach’s alpha, correlations with other measures for concurrent validity, and correlation with a measure of social desirability all resulted in evidence that the LGBTQY-CC has good validity. Analyses examined how the new measure was related to constructs associated with training and competency in direct-care workers. Multiple regression analyses showed that higher levels of LGBTQ cultural competency (as measured by the LGBTQY-CC) were significantly related to age (younger), political ideology (more liberal), more social contact with LGBTQ individuals, and degree of religious belief about LGBTQ being a sin. A model including these factors explained 60% of the variance in LGBTQY-CC scores. The LGBTQY-CC was created with the long-term goal of creating training interventions for direct-care workers to improve their practice with LGBTQ youth. The measure could be used to assess training participants’ knowledge, attitudes, skills, and awareness and to evaluate the effectiveness of varying types and styles of training programs. Federal and state regulatory bodies have begun to require service providers to identify how they will address disparities faced by LGBTQ individuals, so service providers need to demonstrate how they are improving access to and quality of care for LGBTQ individuals. Therefore, the LGBTQY-CC may provide a means to gather data on efforts made by service providers to improve their behavioral health workforce’s capacity to serve LGBTQ youth.

This exploratory study will examine how the Internet is used by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth to cope with homelessness. It will also examine what the potential risks and benefits of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness using the Internet for support. Many marginalized groups, including homeless people, use the Internet as a resource, as well as a means of finding social acceptance (Berg 2012, ASA 2012). LGBTQ youth also use the Internet to connect with peers (Lever, Grove, Royce and Gillespie 2008). Using an extended case study research design, this work examines how homelessness is navigated by LGBTQ youth, primarily through the Internet, and how traditional means of support (i.e. shelters) can better meet the special needs of this population.

Introduction: This thesis investigates the experiences of young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and who are questioning their sexuality (LGBTQ) on the Internet. Specifically, the project explores how LGBTQ young people use the Internet, how they communicate online, the impact that the Internet has on their life and how they stay safe online. Despite the Internet being an ever-growing aspect of people’s lives and the potential opportunities that it presents for marginalised groups such as LGBTQ young people, there have been a relatively small number of qualitative studies in the area. Methodology: As there has been limited research regarding LGBTQ young people’s use of the Internet, a systematic review of qualitative studies exploring the experiences and views of cyberbullying by children and adolescents in the general population was conducted using Framework Synthesis. Subsequently, an empirical study was completed which involved conducting a secondary analysis, using Framework Analysis methodology, of data collected from focus groups with LGBTQ young people regarding their Internet use. In total, five focus groups were held with forty-one LGBTQ young people recruited across four European countries. Results: A total of eighteen studies were included in the qualitative synthesis exploring children and adolescents’ cyberbullying experiences. Although there was some variation in the quality of the studies, there was clear support for four main themes: Online vs. Traditional Bullying Environment, Risk Factors, Victim’s Experience and Preventative Measures. These themes highlighted both the potential causative factors of cyberbullying as well as how the victim experiences different aspects of the incident such as their initial understanding of the event to the long-term impact of cyberbullying. A number of preventative measures were also suggested, including the need for adults to increase their understanding of technology and cyberbullying in order to enable them to be a viable source of help. Within the empirical study, four main themes emerged from the data: Digital World as Part of Daily Life, In Control of Their Online World, Seeking Connection and Navigating Risk. The latter three main themes also consisted of a number of subthemes. The results indicate that participants have embraced the Internet into their everyday lives and that the LGBTQ population reaps specific benefits as the Internet allows them to overcome or compensate for barriers faced within their offline lives. Participants also reported the need to navigate many risks online, however interestingly they appeared confident in doing so and discussed the variety of ways in which they achieve this. Discussion: The results of the qualitative synthesis provided tentative support for two different theoretical models of cyberbullying, indicating that both an individual process model and an ecological system model are mutually useful ways of understanding this phenomenon. Clinical implications spanned both individual and systemic measures that could be taken to reduce the likelihood of cyberbullying occurring. However, it is also clear that further research, in particular qualitative research, is required to continue to develop our understanding of this topic as a whole. The findings from the empirical project suggest that LGBTQ young people must balance the opportunities provided by the Internet whilst also managing the risks that it poses. The importance of retaining the empowerment for young people on the Internet was clear, especially for young LGBTQ people who may use the Internet as an alternative way of meeting their needs and engaging in developmental tasks such as sexual identity development. However, there is also a need to ensure that these young people are safe online and therefore interventions such as parental education and the development of age appropriate resources are required to promote both empowerment and safety for this population.

I bakgrunden tas betydelsen av en bra vårdrelation upp, liksom transpersoners plats inom dagens vård. Även tidigare forskning presenteras. Syftet är att belysa transpersoners (könskorrigerade och icke könskorrigerade) upplevelser av brister inom vården. För att besvara syftet har en litteraturöversikt utförts enligt Fribergs (2006) modell. Resultatet redovisar att vården idag för denna minoritetsgrupp är bristfällig, med diskriminering och okunskap som ständigt möter transpersoner inom vården, liksom att vården styrs av heteronormativitet. I diskussionen diskuteras den heteronormativitet som uppmärksammats i resultatet, liksom vad som tas upp om ämnet HBTQ i utbildningar. Även diskriminering diskuteras. Slutsatsen är att vårdpersonal har bristande kunskap om transpersoner, vilket leder till att vården blir heteronormativ och då diskriminerande. Resultatet kan användas för vårdpersonal att reflektera över deras arbetsplats bemötande av transpersoner för att kunna förbättra vårdmiljön till mer inkluderande. / Program: Sjuksköterskeutbildning

Förskolan har idag ett ansvar för att motverka könsmönster som kan begränsa barnens val både i förskoleåldern och senare i livet. Alla barn oavsett kön ska ha samma rättigheter och möjligheter att välja vilka aktiviteter de vill ägna sig åt och de ska inte begränsas utifrån kön vid de val de står inför i framtiden då de bland annat väljer vad de ska studera eller arbeta med. Syftet med uppsatsen är att problematisera hur förskolan aktivt kan motverka begränsande könsmönster, genom att studera hur några förskollärare pratar om sitt arbete med detta. För att uppnå studiens syfte har jag intervjuat fyra förskollärare om hur de arbetar med att motverka könsnormer som kan vara begränsande för barn. I uppsatsen presenteras bakgrundsfakta gällande förskolans styrdokument och frågor rörande kön och genus med fokus på HBTQ, och information om hur de intervjuade förskollärarna arbetar med dessa frågor. Resultatet av studien visar att de intervjuade förskollärarna arbetar med att motverka begränsande könsmönster genom att påminna barnen om att familjer kan se väldigt olika ut och genom att vara och skapa förebilder med hjälp av till exempel litteratur och på så sätt visa att det finns många olika sätt att vara på. De är alla mycket positiva till att arbeta med jämställdhet och att ge alla barn oavsett könstillhörighet tillgång till samma möjligheter. Studiens slutsats är att det är möjligt att i förskolan motverka könsmönster som begränsar barn men att det kräver så väl kunskap som medvetenhet och öppenhet inför människors olikheter. / Swedish preschools today have a responsibility in counteracting gender norms that can be limiting to the choices the children can make, both as preschool children and later in life. All children, regardless of gender, should have the same rights and possibilities to choose what activities they want to engage in, and later in life gender should not be an obstacle for them when choosing for example what they want to study or work with. The purpose of this essay is to problematise in what ways preschools actively can counteract limiting gender norms, by studying the way a few preschool teachers talk about their work regarding this area. To achieve the purpose of the study I have interviewed four preschool teachers about how they work to counteract limiting gender norms. In the essay, background facts are presented both regarding regulations of Swedish preschools and questions concerning gender as well as LGBTQ. It also contains information about how the preschool teachers work with these issues. The result of the study shows that the preschool teachers that have been interviewed in this study do work in order to counteract limiting gender norms by reminding the children that families can look very different and by being and creating role models with help from for example literature and in that way show that people are different in many ways, and that all the differences are positive. They are all positively set regarding working for equality and giving all children, no matter their gender, all the same opportunities. The conclusion of the study is that it is possible to counteract limiting gender norms in preschools but that it demands knowledge, awareness and openness towards the differences of people.