This thesis investigates the structure of knowing, and it argues that existential trust is an epistemological category. The aim of the dissertation is to develop a view according to which all human activity is seen as an activity of a lived body, and in which the understanding of the structure of such activity is regarded as central for the solution even of epistemological problems. This view is not rooted in any one philosophical tradition, but circles around activity of the lived body. It connects thinkers who in other respects belong to different "isms" in philosophy. Central to the dissertation are Aristotle, Dewey, Merleau-Ponty, Wittgenstein, Ryle, Anscombe, Polanyi, and Grene. Michael Polanyi's concept of tacit knowledge, and connected concepts like attend to, attend from, and subsidiary awareness, are presented. Different kinds of subsidiary awareness, not noted by Polanyi, are distinguished. It is also argued that Polanyi has not seen all the implicatons of his view that instruments can be interiorized and be part of the lived body. Conversely, parts of the normally lived body can be exteriorized. Nor has Polanyi seen that one has subsidiary awareness of oneself as a certain kind ofperson. This fact, in turn, is shown to have implications for the way we constitute ourselves as agents. Since we are engendered agents, we always attend from gender. In the last decade, the concept of trust has definitely entered epistemology. Mostly, it has been in terms of trusting testimony and/or testifier. This thesis wants to deepen that account. There is a more fundamental kind of trust, namely trust in oneself and trust in the world. It is called existential trust, and it is of epistemological importance, too. Existential trust, it is claimed, is necessary in all acts of knowing. Probably, this fact is hard to discover without having recourse to a distinction like that between attending from and attending to. Existential trust is shown in the way we attend from something. Observation and thinking are central epistemological categories, of course, but they should be supplemented by trust. Without trust they cannot perform any epistemological work. Linguistically, 'to know' is a state verb. Superficially, it describes only a state, not an activity. This fact, however, does not contradict the view of knowledge put forward in the dissertation. To know is to have a disposition to perform successfully either some kind of action (= knowing how), or to perform some kind of true assertive speech act (= knowing that). Basically, knowing is an activity. / digitalisering@umu

Bakgrund: Varje år får cirka 7000 kvinnor i Sverige bröstcancer. Beskedet sätter kvinnorna i en kris där hela deras tillvaro hotas. Vardagen förändras och grundtryggheten försvinner vilket skapar starka känslor. Sjuksköterskor har ett ansvar att uppmärksamma och bemöta kvinnors sjukdomsupplevelse utifrån en helhetssyn. För att kunna ge en holistisk och etisk vård till bröstcancerdrabbade kvinnor i olika skeden behöver kunskap tillföras som bidrar till en ökad förståelse för deras situation. Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva upplevelsen av att leva med bröstcancer genom sjukdomens olika skeden. Metod: Vi har genomfört en litteraturstudie baserad på nio kvalitativa studier. Studierna söktes via CINAHL, MedLine och PubMed. Alla studier är utförda i västvärlden och belyser kvinnors upplevelse av sin sjukdom genom dess olika skeden. Resultat: Analysen av artiklarna mynnade ut i fem huvudkategorier: Vardag i förändring, Upplevelser av en förändrad kropp, Att börja se sig själv med nya ögon, Upplevelser av ny mening i tillvaron och Det önskade stödet i förändring. Därtill identifierades ett antal underkategorier. Att gå igenom bröstcancer präglade starkt kvinnornas syn på sig själva och sina kroppar. Genom sjukdomsförloppet gav det dödliga hotet upphov till en kamp för livet kantad av förluster. Kampen väckte en oväntad styrka och en drivkraft att överleva. Att komma ut på andra sidan var en ensam vandring. Diskussion: I resultatdiskussionen har begreppet livsvärld och Merleau-Pontys teori om den levda kroppen använts för att belysa kvinnornas förändrade vardagsliv, påverkan av självet och den kvinnliga identiteten genom sjukdomens olika faser. Krisen fick kvinnorna att rikta om sin uppmärksamhet mot det sjuka bröstet vilket gav ett främmandeskap inför sig själv och världen. Att återta tillgången till livet innebar att osäkert känna sig fram steg för steg. Utsattheten ledde till att många kvinnor omvärderade sina liv vilket resulterade i en ny identitet.

The aim of this study is to discuss white collar industrial employee&rsquo / s alienation to urban life in Kocaeli. In this context, Lived Space of white collar industrial employees in a selected factory in the city is examined in terms of employees&rsquo / use and perception of the urban space. To this end, several expert interviews (local media representative, head of chamber of industry and head of the department of human resources of the selected factory) and subject group interviews were carried out and analyzed in combination with an application of a questionnaire conducted with 62 employees. At the micro level, the study shows that white collar industrial employees only feel limited &ldquo / urban attachment&rdquo / and perceive Kocaeli as a place they have put up with in order to gain a living. At the macro level, it is suggested that a spatial regime in which Kocaeli is the industrial periphery of the Istanbul Metropolitan Region is an important determinant of the assumed alienation of the subject group. In this context, the results attained from the field study show that although the white collar industrial employees use the urban space partially in their daily activities and establish some community relations, they are still alienated to the city in terms of their perception of the urban space and stuck in the centrifugal structure between the metropolitan centre and the industrial periphery.

Most of the previous research focused on the increasing number of out-dining population; seldom concerned the lived meaning of out-dining for those who have to do so. The current research explored the out-dining phenomenon in Taiwan and examined the feelings regarding out-dining in the minds of Kaohsiung citizens. The current research applied both quantitative and qualitative research methods. To understand the basic ideas and investigate their experiences and feelings of out-dining, the researcher interviewed six subjects. In the stage of quantitative method, three meal-buffet stores were observed for three days, each and individually, where 241 respondents were acquired for brief questionnaires at the same time. The current research shifted out six dimensions of the lived meanings for out-dining: enjoyment, efficiency, powerless, expenditure, non-home, and out-of-home by demographic variables. Differences in the dimensions were scrutinized as well as by the data collected.

A multi-proxy approach is utilized on mm- to cm-scale laminated sediment records in coastal salt ponds on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands to characterize the sediments, identify their sources and depositional processes/events (heavy rainfall, tropical cyclones, tsunamis). Historical records are combined with high-resolution geochronology (short-lived radioisotopes, 210Pb, 137Cs, 7Be) and scanning elemental techniques (XRF and LA-ICP-MS) to link depositional events to how they are manifested in the sedimentary record. Volcanic rocks are the terrigenous sediment source and the sedimentary signature of terrigenous sediment in the geologic record consists of higher amounts of Al, Fe, Ti, Co, and Si, and is associated with terrigenous runoff due to rainfall events. A minimum threshold value of >2.0 mm per day (minimum to erode and transport terrigenous sediment downslope) of rainfall has been determined for the study area. The frequency of heavy rainfall events that exceed the threshold of >2.0 mm per day is significantly correlated to the amount of terrigenous sediment accumulation of the terrigenous indictor element Al measured by scanning LA-ICP-MS. There is a robust sedimentary record of terrigenous sediment runoff that is a function of the frequency of heavy rainfall events (exceed threshold). Variability in the sedimentary record reflects changes between periods of "wet" increased frequency of heavy rainfall events and "dry" decreased frequency of heavy rainfall events. Tropical cyclones and tsunamis can cause marine overwash into salt ponds leading to deposition of marine sediments. Elemental scans for Ca and Sr and overwash indicator elements are complicated by grain size effects of LA-ICP-MS techniques, as well the difficulty in differentiating between tropical cyclone overwash deposits and tsunami deposits. By defining the sedimentary signature for depositional events , geologic records can be interpreted to provide insight into the natural variability of these processes throughout geologic time for comparisons to the more recent anthropogenic time period. This study provides a framework that can be applied to other coastal environments on high-relief tropical islands, to compare local records, and provide information on regional processes controlling rainfall variability in tropical latitudes.

The study aims to demonstrate the significance of educators lived experiences of stimulating children's physical development. It has been noted that children are occupying themselves with more and more sedentary activities, which may lead to that they do not develop motor skills at the pace expected. To understand educators lived experiences from a phenomenological hermeneutic perspective empirical relevance has been collected through narrative interviews. The results shows that educators find it difficult to understand the Curriculum goals for motor activity and that the desire to stimulate motor development is great, but the realization is conspicuous by its absence. The discussion highlights educator’s commitment and motivation and the importance of being a reflecting practitioner. / Syftet med studien är att belysa innebörder i pedagogers levda erfarenheter av att stimulera barns motoriska utveckling. Det har uppmärksammats att barn sysselsätter sig med allt mer stillasittande aktiviteter, vilket kan leda till att elever inte utvecklar motoriken i den takt som förväntas. Empirin har samlats in genom narrativa intervjuer för att kunna tolka pedagogers levda erfarenheter ur ett fenomenologisk hermeneutiskt perspektiv. Resultatet visar att pedagoger har svårt att tolka läroplanens mål för motoriken och att viljan till att stimulera till motorisk utveckling är stor, men handlandet lyser med sin frånvaro. Diskussionen belyser pedagogers engagemang och motivation samt vikten av att vara en reflekterande praktiker.

<p>South Africa is reported to have the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS infections in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result the quality of life of families living with HIV/AIDS is negatively affected. Literature indicates that the majority of affected persons are young children and adolescents whose siblings or parents are infected with HIV/AIDS. Most affected adolescents are reported to have difficult social lives due to their parent&rsquo / s illness, difficult financial situations at home, stigma and discrimination within the society. The study attempts to explore the experiences of adolescents in households where the mother is HIV/AIDS positive. This research project is an exploratory study using a narrative approach within a qualitative methodological design. The study was conducted with 6 Xhosa-speaking adolescent boys (2) and girls (4) aged 12 to 15 years. An open-ended interview schedule was used to prompt participants to tell their stories. Data was collected by means of a voice recorder in order for adolescents to tell their stories. The responses were transcribed verbatim, translated and verified with the participants. The data were analysed by means of narrative analysis. The results indicate that most adolescent participants were coping with the mother being HIV/AIDS positive and maintained hope for their futures. Adolescents were coping due to support from friends and relatives. Some adolescents experienced rejection and discrimination. The biggest challenge in the home was due to socioeconomic status. The study is intended to benefit the community in terms of making recommendations to social workers at NGO&rsquo / s and the government sectors in terms of strengthening the existing support programmes in the community.</p>

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The aim of this thesis is to develop knowledge about what students actually learn in lower secondary school science, regardless of intentions and policies. This is conceptualized as a study of the lived curriculum. During the last decades, new ways of organizing classroom work have evolved in Sweden. Students are to an increasing extent expected to take responsibility for what, when, and how they study. The aim of this thesis is therefore delimited to the study of which lived curriculum is constituted in such an individually organized science classroom practice. The theoretical foundation is a cultural-historical activity-theoretical perspective on human learning and development. The point of departure is that what we learn must be understood as an aspect of the activities we engage in. The research approach is ethnographic; field studies were conducted in two science classes, grades six and seven (ages 12 to 14 years old), in a Swedish midsized compulsory school during one school-year. The first result is that two different practices are discerned in the studied science classroom. One classroom practice is a criteria-based practice, where students work individually with local school criteria determining what students must be able to do in order to get a pass or a pass with distinction in the natural science subjects. The other classroom practice is a laboratory practice, where students do laboratory experiments and write laboratory reports. The second result is that students, in both practices, participate in different actions; either production and reproduction of correct answers or development of conceptual relations. These actions correspond in varying degrees to different motives; as a consequence, different scientific formation is made possible in the two different actions. A third result is that classroom practice supports student participation in the action of reproducing correct answers; while participation in the development of conceptual relations is a more risky and uncertain endeavour. However, there is evidence that students’ ways of participating can change, to a more qualified, as conditions for work change. A conclusion is that work in science classroom practice cannot, as suggested in previous research, be comprehended in terms of cultural border-crossings, between a culture of science and student cultures. Rather, work in science classroom practice must be conceptualized in terms of schooling.

This research investigates formative and definitive lived experiences as two narrative forms - art works and writing. The research seeks to uncover the essential features of these experiences (dominated as they are by my experiences of AIDS and the after effects of war) and bring the two narratives together as a reflexive and reflective dialogue. The 'lens' of my art practice (both written and visual) is predominantly that of a landscape painter -be it 'landscape of faces' (portraits), landscapes of the human form (figurative) or the more traditional descriptions of landscape (especially deserts). Phenomenological research is a particular mode of describing and understanding the contours of lived experience. By a process of self-reflection and critical analysis this research explores various understandings of landscape so as to uncover their structure and meaning and to come to a deeper understanding of how those elements influence my art making.