The current study employed an exploratory approach to examine how specific sets of variables map onto a theoretical framework of posttraumatic growth (Schaefer & Moos, 1998). Specifically, the predictive capacity of belief in ultimate justice, optimism, and supportive relationships on outcomes of posttraumatic growth (PTG) and distress were examined, as mediated by supportive spirituality, meaning making, and problem solving. Secondarily, the factor structure and internal consistency of the English translation of the Belief in Immanent and Ultimate Justice Scale (BIUJS; Maes, 1998a, 1998b) was tested, which had yet to be used in the United States or with sexual assault survivors specifically. Archival data of 217 female survivors of sexual assault who completed an online survey as part of the author’s thesis were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). The BIUJS, when applied specifically to sexual assault survivors, is best represented by a three-factor solution. The model hypothesized according to Schaefer and Moos’ (1998) theoretical framework was not supported by SEM results, and an alternate model emerged from analyses is presented to explain how worldview and appraisal/coping are related to posttraumatic growth and distress for sexual assault survivors. Survivors’ worldview (i.e., supportive spirituality, belief in ultimate justice, and belief in an immanently just world) indirectly predicted levels of PTG and distress. The relation between worldview and outcomes was significantly mediated by appraisal and coping (i.e., presence of meaning, optimism, supportive relationships, and problem solving). The current study adds to the literature and provides important directions for researchers and clinicians by demonstrating the important roles of worldview and appraisal/coping in facilitating growth, as well as the essential role of distress in healing.

abstract: This study examines ninth graders’ negotiation of meaning with one canonical work, Romeo and Juliet. The study’s sample was 88% Latino at a Title I high school. The study adopts a sociocultural view of literacy and learning. I employed ethnographic methods (participant observation, data collection, interviews, and focus groups) to investigate the teacher’s instructional approaches and the literacy practices used while teaching the canonical work. With a focus on students’ interpretations, I examined what they said and wrote about Romeo and Juliet. One finding was that the teacher employed instructional approaches that facilitated literacy practices that allowed students to draw on their cultural backgrounds, personal lived experiences, and values as they engaged with Romeo and Juliet. As instructional approaches and literacy practices became routine, students formed a community of learners. Because the teacher allowed students to discuss their ideas before, during, and after reading, students were provided with multiple perspectives to think about as they read and negotiated meaning. A second finding was that students drew on their personal lived experiences, backgrounds, and values as they made sense and negotiated the meaning of Romeo and Juliet’s plot and characters. Although the text’s meaning was not always obvious to students, in their work they showed their growing awareness that multiple interpretations were welcomed and important in the teacher’s classroom. Through the unit, students came to recognize that their own and their peers’ understandings, negotiations, and interpretations of the canonical work were informed by a variety of complex factors. Students came to find relevance in the text’s themes and characters to their experiences as adolescents. The study’s findings point to the importance of allowing students to draw from their cultural backgrounds and experiences as they negotiate meaning with texts, specifically canonical ones, and to welcome and encourage multiple meanings in the English classroom. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Curriculum and Instruction 2016

Muitos pesquisadores têm discutido os impactos da globalização (HALL 2006, SUÁREZ-OROZCO E QIN-HILLIARD 2004; MANSILLA E GARDNER 2007; SÜSSMUTH 2007; HUGONNIER 2007) e das novas tecnologias da informação e da comunicação (LANKSHEAR, KNOBEL 2003; SNYDER 2002; KELLNER 2002; CASTELLS 1999) nos diferentes aspectos das sociedades político, econômico, social, cultural e educacional. Segundo esses autores, a globalização reflete no jeito de pensar, de se comportar, e de viver das pessoas. No entanto, é importante destacar também que essas interferências acontecem, mas não provocam uma homogeneização, já que cada grupo assimilará as informações de acordo com suas características histórico-político-ideológicoculturais locais (BHABHA 1994, 1998, 2007; CANAGARAJAH 2005; PENNYCOOK 2007, 2010). Diante dessas questões, o objetivo desta tese é investigar a organização e a proposta dos cursos de Letras-Inglês de duas Instituições Particulares de Ensino Superior para identificar a adequação desses cursos à formação de professores que possam atuar nessas novas sociedades globalizadas, multiculturais, influenciadas pelas novas tecnologias da informação. Ao mesmo tempo, tive como proposta reconhecer nessas instituições as realidades locais, culturais, ideológicas das comunidades desses professores em formação. Esta pesquisa envolveu a professora-pesquisadora e os professores em formação que frequentam o Curso de Letras de duas Instituições Particulares de Ensino Superior localizadas em cidades próximas a São Paulo. Os procedimentos de coleta de dados incluíram a análise de documentos Diretrizes Curriculares para os Cursos de Letras; Planos de Curso e Planos de Ensino de Língua Inglesa de ambas as instituições ; observação-participante; atividades reflexivas. A partir da análise dos dados constatei que a estrutura dos cursos de Letras e das disciplinas de Língua Inglesa de ambas as instituições está organizada com base em pressupostos parecidos com os dos professores em formação participantes desta pesquisa. Tal proposta pode não criar oportunidades para que os professores em formação ampliem e/ou (re)construam os sentidos relacionados às questões globais e locais; à cultura; à língua; à formação de professores; ao papel da escola, do aluno, do professor. / Some researchers have been discussing the impacts of globalization (HALL 2006, SUÁREZ-OROZCO E QIN-HILLIARD 2004; MANSILLA E GARDNER 2007; SÜSSMUTH 2007; HUGONNIER 2007) and the new information and communication technologies (LANKSHEAR, KNOBEL 2003; SNYDER 2002; KELLNER 2002; CASTELLS 1999) in different aspects of societies political, economical, social, cultural and educational. According to these authors, globalization reflects the way people think, behave and live. However, it is also important to emphasize that such impacts affect groups, but do not cause homogenization, since each group assimilates the information according to its local historical-political-ideological-cultural characteristics (BHABHA 1994, 1998, 2007; CANAGARAJAH 2005; PENNYCOOK 2007, 2010). Considering these discussions, the aim of this research is to investigate two Private Institutions of Higher Education in São Paulo to investigate if the Undergraduation course there can prepare the future teachers to act in these new globalized, multicultural societies, influenced by the new information technologies. Besides that, my proposal is to recognize the local, cultural and ideological realities of the communities of the future teachers in the investigated institutions. This research involved the teacher-researcher and the investigated future teachers. The procedures for data collection included document analysis Curriculum Guidelines for Language Courses; the Course Plans and Teaching Plans of English of both colleges ; participant-observation; reflective activities. Considering these analysis, I got to the conclusion that the structure of the Language Courses and of the English disciplines of both colleges is organized based on some assumptions that are similar to the future teachers assumptions who took part in this investigation. Such a proposal might not create opportunities for the future teachers to extend and/or (re)build the meanings related to global and local aspects; culture; language; teacher education; the role of school, student and teacher.

Submitted by Irene Nascimento (irene.kessia@ufpe.br) on 2017-05-09T18:05:49Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação Pedro Borges Completa.pdf: 3621214 bytes, checksum: 563015efb59879811f059deb5c447b3f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-09T18:05:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação Pedro Borges Completa.pdf: 3621214 bytes, checksum: 563015efb59879811f059deb5c447b3f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-26 / Facepe / As crianças têm sido postas no centro do debate sobre a homoparentalidade, porém não lhes é dada a possibilidade de expor o que pensam. Surge o interesse de investigá-las, pressupondo que elas produzem significados acerca da realidade e que suas construções se dão na interação social, em contexto cultural. Assim, propomo-nos a ouvi-las. Participaram da pesquisa 32 crianças (17 meninos e 15 meninas) na faixa etária de 4 a 6 anos que frequentavam um Centro Municipal de Educação Infantil (CMEI) na cidade de Recife-PE, as quais formaram grupos de conversa, utilizando-se como “gatilho” a realização de um desenho de família, a apresentação da imagem de uma família homoparental, bem como a história infantil “And Tango makes three”, que fala sobre dois pinguins machos que adotam Tango, um pinguim neném. Os grupos de conversa (dez trios e uma dupla) foram videogravadas, totalizando 6 horas, 12 minutos e 23 segundos de registro, tendo cada grupo média de duração de 28 minutos e 36 segundos. Os resultados apontam que as principais significações definidoras de família para as crianças são a afetividade, a universalidade (todos têm família), as relações de parentesco, a flexibilidade dos papéis familiares (diferentes pessoas podem ocupar um mesmo papel), o encontro e a proximidade. Em princípio, nenhuma dessas significações colocaria em xeque o status de família da configuração homoparental; duas outras, entretanto, colocariam-no: o gênero, como regra delimitadora do exercício de determinados papéis familiares; e a compreensão da família, como modelo específico a ser seguido (“pai, mãe e filhos”). Em sua maioria, as crianças percebiam o ambiente formado por um casal homoafetivo como feliz e seguro para o desenvolvimento de um filho. Porém, seu status de família e, até mesmo, de parentalidade eram questionados pelas crianças. / Children have been put at the center of the debate on homoparenthood, but they are not given the opportunity to explain what they think. Then it is relevant to investigate them, assuming that they produce meanings about reality and that their constructions take place in social interaction culturally contextualized. Thus, we were open to hear them. The participants were 32 children (17 boys and 15 girls) aged 4-6 years attending a Municipal Center for Early Childhood Education (CMEI) in the city of Recife-PE, who formed talking groups, using as "triggers" their family designs, the image of a homoparental family, as well as the children's story "And Tango makes three", which is about two male penguins who adopt Tango, a baby penguin. The talking groups (ten triples and a double) were videotaped, totaling 6 hours, 12 minutes and 23 seconds of registration, each group with an average of 28 minutes and 36 seconds. The results show that the main defining meanings of family for children are affection, universality (all have family), kinship relations, the flexibility of family roles (different people can play the same role), the meeting and the proximity. In principle, none of these meanings would put into question the family status to the homoparental configuration; two others, however, would: the gender, as a limiting rule to the performance of certain family roles; and the family conception as a specific model to be followed ("father, mother and children"). Most of the children perceived the atmosphere involving a homoaffetive couple as happy and secure for the development of a child. Nevertheless, the family status and even parenting conditions were questioned by the children.

O trabalho propõe uma análise de relações possíveis entre videogames e construção de sentidos, buscando discutir diferentes abordagens e perspectivas teóricas que possam contribuir no entendimento do videogame enquanto objeto de estudo acadêmico. Indo além de uma perspectiva que possa restringi-lo a um exemplar contemporâneo de uma noção mais abstrata de jogo, abordo-o enquanto um objeto epistêmico (KNORR CETINA 2001) participante de constelações de saberes (SANTOS ET AL 2005) que podem entrar em conflito entre si. Isso, em uma sociedade em que a primazia do prestígio de práticas e conhecimentos científicos é marcante. Para tanto, busco enfatizar mais especificamente ao menos duas outras dimensões do videogame: sua materialidade enquanto mídia contemporânea e sua potencialidade, enquanto artefato cultural, em gerar efeitos sociais e discursivos específicos. Dentro disso, pontuo elementos que ajudam a problematizar como a especificidade técnica, cultural e de linguagem presente no que se entende atualmente como videogame pode dar formas a saberes e sentidos construídos na contingência do uso de tal artefato por seus jogadores. Essa questão mais ampla se efetivou em estudos exploratórios por meio de duas formas de análise: a observação de registros escritos em um fórum de fãs de futebol a respeito, basicamente, de um simulador do esporte (o Football Manager); entrevistas com quatro participantes desse fórum que tinham ou tiveram no uso do videogame em questão uma prática corrente. Isso, tendo como norte, principalmente, os seguintes pontos: i) de que modo a experiência situada e específica com o videogame pode se tornar pública ou manifesta em outros contextos; ii) que relações o jogador pode perceber, defender ou estabelecer contrapondo saberes e sentidos surgidos de uma interação com o videogame com saberes mais canônicos e esperados em contextos públicos e comunitários do qual participa iii) qual a função ou efeito essas experiências com videogames quando compartilhadas em situações concretas, socialmente inseridas, mas que não a de sua prática podem vir a exercer em comunidades mais amplas (ou seja, que envolvam sujeitos que não são jogadores de videogame). Tais estudos indicam que o videogame é percebido e utilizado por seus jogadores como um espaço diferenciado do futebol profissional, que seu uso enquanto fonte de saber na comunidade analisada é concreto embora não seja consensualmente validado e que essa falta de consenso não o impede de ser uma forma de conhecimento defendida e utilizada por diversos membros do grupo, influenciando as opiniões e perspectivas em debate no espaço em questão. Assim, deve-se considerar que videogames podem ter papel na construção das realidades que envolvem o sujeito, o que não resulta em confusão entre a prática de interagir com videogames e a prática social em outros contextos / The aim of this research is to analyze potential connections between videogames and meaningmaking through the discussion of different approaches and theoretical perspectives that might contribute to the understanding of the videogame as an object of academic study. Rather than considering a perspective that restricts the videogame as a contemporary sample of a more abstract notion of a game, I approach it as an epistemic object (KNORR CETINA 2001) participant of constellations of knowledge (SANTOS ET AL 2005) that may conflict with each other; especially in a society where the primacy of scientific practices and knowledge is remarkable. Therefore, I emphasize two dimensions of the videogame: its materiality as contemporary media and its potentiality as a cultural artifact that generates specific social and discursive effects. Within this framework, I point out elements that help to problematize how the specificity of technical, cultural, and linguistic issues regarding the current understanding of videogames can frame knowledges and meanings constructed in the contingency of interaction among players. Exploratory studies were carried out on two forms of analysis: the observation of written records in a forum of football fans mainly regarding a simulator called Football Manager; and interviews with four participants of this forum who used the simulator in a common practice. This research focused mainly on the following points: i) how the situated and specific experience with the videogame can be transformed and presented as a public or manifest knowledge in other contexts; ii) what kind of links a player may recognize, stand up for, or establish among knowledges and meanings when interacting with the videogame, and on the other hand, with those knowledges understood as canonical or expected in this second context; iii) what role (or effect) these experiences play when they are shared in socially embedded concrete situations by people who are not videogame players. The research results showed that: although players and non-players participants of this community share a common sense of separation between experiences from the professional football world and the interaction with Football Manager, and also the practice with the simulator is not consensual, regarding it as a valid source of knowledge, it does not exclude this experience as a form of knowledge held and used by different group members, which influenced opinions and perspectives under discussion in the forum. As a result, it must be considered that videogames play a significant role in the construction of realities that surround players. However, this construction does not represent confusion to the players\' perception between the practice of interacting with videogames and the different social practices in other contexts

In the psychology of religion, prayer is one area which has received relatively small attention in the past. In the case of Muslim prayer, with a few exceptions, the field is yet to be explored. This convergent parallel mixed-methods study examined the relationship of Muslim prayer acts and perceived psychosocial functions and meaning-making functions. The data was gathered using semi-constructed interviews as well as standardized instruments: Brief RCOPE, Sense of Coherence (SoC) and CD-RISC 2 resilience scale. The participants consisted of twelve males and four females currently residing in the central parts of Sweden. Focus was placed on the five daily prayers (Ṣalāt), the supplication prayer (Duʿāʾ) as well as the constant reminder of God (Dhikr). The theoretical parts focused mainly on meaning-making, coping, and ritual theory. The research question of this study was: “What role or roles do Muslim rituals, with a focus on prayer, have in the psychosocial functions and meaning-making functions in everyday life?”. For the Brief RCOPE questionnaire, the results included relatively high scores for positive coping and relatively low scores for negative coping (Positive Coping max: 28,00; min: 20,00; average: 23,75; range: 8,00. Negative Coping max: 15,00; min: 7,00, average: 10,19; range: 8,00. Religious coping on a general level max: 1,00; min 2,00, average: 1,06; range: 1,00). For the Sense of Coherence (SoC) scale, the results included different scores, in total medium to low (max: 75,00; min: 44,00; average: 56,00; range: 31,00). In the case of CD-RISC 2 resilience scale, the results were diverse with both high and low scores (max: 8,00; min: 3,00; average: 5,56; range: 5,00). From the interviews, several findings emerged including the centrality of prayer in the informant’s lives. Meaning-making emerged as a central part concerning all forms of prayer. The Muslim identity was also seen as absolutely central in their life. When performing prayers in line with the informants’ own theological understanding, this produced very positive feelings. When not performing the prayers, this resulted in negative feelings and anxiety. The latter also related to a more or less constant stress of not being a good enough Muslim and therefore ending up in Hell after death for most of the informants. The religious community was seen as very positive since many of the informants struggled with what they thought of as Un-Islamic values and behaviors present in the surrounding society.

Child and youth care workers in residential care provide support and intervention to young people who are experiencing difficulties in their lives. Caring for these young people can be complex and demanding and many child and youth care practitioners struggle to meet the challenges associated with their roles. Practice problems include volatile and punitive environments, inability of practitioners to safely manage young people’s threatening and aggressive behaviours, and staff turnover and burnout. These problems are often attributed to job stress, personal characteristics of practitioners, and lack of education, training, and professional development. To reconceptualise the aforementioned practice problems, Robert Kegan’s (1982) constructive-developmental theory was used as a theoretical framework to explore the experiences of child and youth care workers in residential care. The research was guided by 2 main questions: 1. How do different meaning-making systems influence how practitioners cope with and experience the demands of the job? 2. What role does the organizational environment play, if any, in mediating or exacerbating the demands of the job for practitioners with different meaning-making systems? An exploratory study was conducted using a mixed methods design. The study was conducted in two stages. First, 99 participants completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), Work Environment Scale (WES), and Leadership Development Profile (LDP). Linear regression was conducted to explore the relationships between the ProQOL, LDP, and WES and most results were not significant. From the initial pool, 18 participants were selected for in-depth, qualitative interviews to assess their constructive-developmental orders – the ways in which they make meaning - and explore their experiences in residential care in the areas of job satisfaction and success, challenge, and coping with the demands of the job. The ways in which participants at different constructive-developmental orders experience and cope with the challenges of their jobs are described and themes are identified. There was internal coherence among participants of the same epistemological order and across organizations. This dissertation examines implications of the findings for child and youth care practice, education, training, supervision, research, and organizational management in residential care. / Graduate

Syftet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen för det meningsskapande som kommer till uttryck när ungdomar använder det sociala nätverket Instagram. Specifikt fokus riktas mot vad som kännetecknar meningsskapande i förhållande till ungdomars erfarenheter av de bilder på kroppsideal och hälsa som framställs på Instagram. För att besvara syftet använder vi oss av en kvalitativ metod, inspirerad av en fenomenologisk ansats. Vi har genomfört tre gruppintervjuer med totalt 16 ungdomar i årskurs tre på gymnasiet och sedan analyserat datamaterialet med inspiration av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visar att Instagram används som ett redskap för att upprätthålla den sociala interaktionen, på och utanför nätverket. Genom att vara intressant och visa upp sin bästa sida söker användarna bekräftelse, vilket de får genom gilla-markeringar och kommentarer. Resultatet visar även att ungdomarna är medvetna om att den bild av kroppsideal och hälsa som finns på Instagram enbart visar en del av helheten. För att vara hälsosam uttrycker ungdomarna att det är viktigt att älska sig själv och ha balans i livet. / The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding for the meaning-making that comes to expression when adolescents uses the social network Instagram. Specific focus is directed on what defines meaning-making in relation to adolescents experiences of the images on body ideal and health that is portrayed on Instagram. To answer the purpose we have used a qualitative research method, inspired by a phenomenological approach. We have completed three group interviews with a total of 16 adolescents in the last year of high school and then analyzed the data with inspiration from a qualitative content analysis. The result shows that Instagram are used as a tool to maintain the social interaction, on and beside of the media. By being interesting and show your best side the users also seek confirmation, which they get from likes and comments. The results also shows that adolescents are aware that the image of body ideal and health that exists on Instagram only shows a part of the whole picture. To be healthy the adolescents express that it's important to love yourself and have a balance in life.

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the role of memory in finding and making meaning in and through grief. I use narrative ideas and introduce the Tree of Meaning metaphor as a research model, which assists people find new meaning in their lives, by experiencing, telling and re-telling stories of their lived experiences, including the grief. A qualitative approach was used so that the focus was on co-constructing new meanings, with the co-researchers. The three co-researchers emerged as a natural part of my on-going counselling, using a purposive sampling method in which the co-researchers are selected because of their specialist knowledge. i.e. the loss of a spouse or a child through death. Each co-researcher‘s stories were carefully recorded using the Tree or Meaning metaphor as a vehicle for the storytelling, affording the coresearchers a safe place to tap into their inner child as they explored the stories that would assist them find and make new meanings in their lives. Out of this research journey I concluded that memory is key to meaning-making, because through our memory, we can revise, edit and rewrite our life stories and find new strands of meaning in these stories that connect the past and the future in a way that allows us to find and make meaning of our grief. AFRIKAANS : Die Doel van hierdie verhandeling is om die rol van die geheue te ondersoek met betrekking tot hoe ons lewens betekenis vind en maak in en deur die rouproses. Ek gebruik verhalende metodes en stel voor die "Boom van Betekenis" beeldspraak voor as 'n navorsingsmodel. Hierdie model help mense om nuwe betekenis vir hul lewens te vind en maak deur hulle rou te ervaar, daarvan te praat en om hulle lewenservarings oor te vertel, insluitend die rouproses wat hulle moes deurmaak. 'n Gehalte benadering is gebruik sodat die fokus op medesamestelling van nuwe betekenisse, saam met die medenavorsers kan plaasvind. Die drie medenavorsers het 'n natuurlike deel geword van my voortgaande berading met die gebruik van 'n doelgerigte toetsmetode, waarby die medenavorsers gebruik is volgens hulle spesiale ervarings, byv. Die afstaan aan die dood van 'n vrou / man of kind. Elke medenavorser se verhaal is noukeurig opgeneem deur gebruik te maak van die "Boom van Betekenis" beeldspraak as 'n voertuig vir die oorvertel van hul verhale. Dit het verseker dat hulle 'n veilige metode gevind het om hulle innerlike kindwees te ondersoek en die verhale uit te lig waardeur hulle nuwe betekenis in die lewe sou kry. Uit hierdie navorsingsgeleentheid het ek afgelei dat geheue die sleutel is om nuwe betekenis vir ons lewens te vind en maak. Dit is deur ons geheue dat ons, ons lewensverhale kan hersien, redigeer en oorskrywe en terselfdertyd nuwe afleidings kan maak, wat die verlede met die toekoms verbind. Sodoende vind ons dan in hulpmiddel om beter betekenis aan die rou te gee. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

This research investigated Punjabi children’s meaning-making processes as they engaged with culturally relevant literature, and presents a critical evaluation of Punjabi and Sikh representation in children’s literature. The Punjabi community in Canada is growing rapidly, with Punjabi being the third most commonly spoken non-official language in Canada. Yet, this minority group remains underrepresented in educational research. Past research has shown the numerous benefits minority children experience when engaging with literature that authentically represents their cultural background (see Cunard, 1996; Goldblatt, 1999; Goo, 2018; Steiner, Nash & Chase, 2008; Zhang & Morrison, 2010). This study gave Punjabi children the opportunity to interact with culturally-relevant stories in multimodal ways, and express their understandings through multiple literacies. The children constructed and shared meanings through verbal discussions, multimodal artwork and the inclusion of movement and dramatizations. They drew on a variety of lived experiences to make meaning from the stories. Their meaning-making processes were further enhanced by the collaborative experience of reading, constructing and sharing meanings. This study opens the door to future research into ways of using literature to foster engagement in the classroom and support children’s meaning-making processes.