The aim of this study was to explore the therapists' personal religious and spiritual belief systems and the impact of these on their work. The literature reviewed included material regarding the role of religion and spirituality in relation to psychology and therapy, identity, and especially, the person of the therapist. The present qualitative investigation applies the theory of the Dialogical Self to the narratives of five practising Christian clinical and counselling psychologists. It draws on a narrative to allow for process-oriented, context-sensitive interpretation.

This thesis investigated women’s self-presentation when seeking a romantic partner on an online dating site. Fifteen online dating profiles written by women, ages 25 to 29, seeking a male partner were collected and analyzed. Narrative analysis was used to study the profiles’ thematic content and structural form. From the thematic analysis, two stories emerged: the Single Woman Story and the Relationship Story. Within the Single Woman Story, there were four themes: Poetic and Philosophical, Idealistic, Independent, and Active. Within the Relationship Story, there were two main themes: Adventures of a New Life Stage, and Sharing a Life with Someone. From the structural analysis, a continuum was evident: at one end, women focused primarily on themselves (Who I Am) and at the other end, women primarily focused on a potential partner (Who You Are). The strengths and limitations of the study, along with implications of the results are discussed.

<p>This paper examines selected discourses found in the journals kept by 21 working-class women during a training course for domestic workers in South Africa. The principal aim of the paper is to examine how emotion, voice and agency are expressed through literacy practices such as writing. With critical discourse analysis, the existing literacy levels of these women are revealed as well as the way in which women express identity, agency and emotion through the act of writing and reflecting on their experiences. A secondary aim is to uncover those recurrent discourses and attitudes that either empower or disempower these women. This is done to showcase how women&rsquo / s perception of themselves and their opportunities help them become active or inactive agents in their communities and families. Contributions are made to the study of women&rsquo / s language and literacy practices, with particular investigation of how their identities are shaped and moulded by language use. Critical discourse analysis and narrative analysis are the main analytical tools used in the study, highlighting aspects like agency, voice and ideology. These aspects are examined through the lens of women&rsquo / s experiences.</p>

This study examined the conditions and experience of students who were placed on academic probation in view of key elements of Dewey’s (1958, 1938/1997, 1934/2005) theory of experience. Core data emerged from 16 in-depth interviews with five students who received assistance from an academic support program while on probation. An additional interview was conducted with the academic companion and another with the program developer. A document analysis and a researcher journal supplemented the data. The interviews were analyzed according to a three-dimensional narrative inquiry space (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Dewey, 1958, 1938/1997) to produce profiles and thematic connections (Seidman, 2006). Findings are presented in five texts. The first and second manuscripts depict the stories of two students using the profile genre. These texts disclose rich stories where the meaning of experience is lived. A third manuscript examines students’ experience from the student and professional perspectives. Major themes uncovered, include (a) resistance to seek help; (b) deep personal costs; and (c) a desire to succeed and complete their undergraduate studies. A fourth manuscript explores companioning as experienced by students and supported by resource personnel. It reveals that (a) the companioning role was defined by a specific form of guidance and attendance to self-confidence and (b) the program helped students clarify their needs, promoted their adaptation to the university context, and offered support through a positive relationship. A fifth manuscript examined the characteristics of a fruitful helping relationship. Findings suggest that (a) a rapport characterized by presence and trust and (b) an approach promoting responsibility, awareness, and holism were key. These findings offer a weighty contribution to the literature on post-secondary education by revealing rich and unique experiences. By tapping in the complexity of the participants’ experience, findings help shift away from the current focus on obstacles and deficiencies often attributed to probationary students. Résumé Cette étude a examiné l’expérience d’étudiants ayant été placés en probation académique à la lumière d’éléments-clés de la théorie de l’expérience de Dewey (1958, 1938/1997, 1934/2005). La principale source de données provenait de 16 entrevues en profondeur auprès de cinq étudiants ayant participé à un programme d’accompagnement universitaire alors qu’ils étaient en probation académique. Une entrevue a aussi été menée avec l’accompagnatrice et une autre avec la conceptrice du programme. Une analyse documentaire et un journal de bord de la chercheure complètent les données. Les entrevues ont été analysées selon une analyse narrative tridimensionnelle (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Dewey, 1958, 1938/1997) de façon à produire des profils et des liens thématiques (Seidman, 2006). Les résultats sont présentés dans cinq textes. Les premier et deuxième textes dépeignent l’histoire de deux étudiants sous forme de profils. Ces textes découvrent de riches et profondes histoires véhiculant la probation comme expérience de vie et la signification attribuée à celle-ci. Le troisième texte présente l’examen collectif de l’expérience des cinq étudiants ayant participé au programme d’accompagnement. Cette analyse est enrichie des perspectives de l’accompagnatrice et de la conceptrice du programme. Trois thèmes se dégagent de l’expérience de ces étudiants en probation académique soit (a) une résistance à faire usage des services de soutien; (b) des coûts personnels considérables; et (c) un désir de réussir et de compléter leur programme d’études. Un quatrième texte explore l’expérience d’accompagnement tel que perçu par les étudiants et les professionnels. L’analyse révèle que (a) l’accompagnatrice agissait à titre de guide et était attentive à la dimension de la confiance en soi et (b) le programme a aidé les étudiants à identifier leurs besoins, a soutenu leur adaptation au contexte universitaire, et a offert un soutien personnalisé par l’entremise d’une relation d’aide positive. Le cinquième texte se concentre sur les particularités d’une relation d’aide efficace en contexte de probation académique. Les résultats relèvent que cette expérience est qualifiée par (a) un rapport de présence empathique et empreinte de confiance réciproque et (b) une approche globale favorisant la responsabilité et la conscientisation. En dévoilant la richesse et l’unicité de l’expérience, ces résultats offrent une contribution intéressante. Illustrant la complexité des expériences de probation ils contribuent à s’éloigner d’une vision centrée sur les obstacles et les déficits des étudiants en probation académique.

Several cases of single repeat offenders in urban space have raised public concern in Sweden during recent decades. Few studies have been conducted on consequences of the kind of ‘hostage situations’ that emerge when one individual offender causes fear and affects a larger group of people in a specific place. The concern of this thesis is to examine consequences of the Haga Man phenomenon: the case of a serial rapist operating between 1998 and 2006 in Umeå, a medium-sized Swedish city. This thesis explores some of the ways not only women but also men in Umeå responded to this specific situation, the threat from a single repeat offender, and how fear of crime and changing public crime discourses influenced gendered power relations. The thesis examines different aspects of fear and safety in public space, such as the views of those who are fearful; of those who are feared; perceptions of both women’s and men’s bodies; their emotions and experiences in relation to fear of violence in public spaces; and the significance of space and place for our understanding of fear. The empirical data of this thesis consist of in-depth interviews with a total of 47 women and men in Umeå. The thesis is based on four empirical studies. The first (Paper I) sought to identify similarities and differences across narratives in terms of the major components of young people’s talk about fear.  In their stories women positioned themselves as fearful and in need of protection, while men in their stories positioned themselves as fearless protectors. Men and women reproduced ways of speaking considered appropriate to their gender, thus performing masculinity and femininity through their talk. Paper II, examines consequences of the Haga Man phenomenon on constructions of white masculinities. Three masculine positions; the dangerous stranger, the suspect and the protector were identified. These three constructions of masculinity were not clear-cut or ‘belonging’ to specific men – several of the interviewees articulated various forms of masculinities but stressed them in different ways depending on, for instance, age and/or ethnicity/race. Paper III, focuses on changing perceptions and representations of female and male bodies, and illustrates how a change took place; from a focus on how women should conduct themselves to be safe, towards men’s bodily behaviour in order to present themselves in non-threatening ways. In Paper IV, women’s fear of violence is discussed in relation to Swedish gender equality discourses and contextual constructions of femininity. The results show the difficulties of claiming the official position of a gender-equal femininity. Several female respondents expressed an ambivalent attitude about their own fear; they felt afraid, but also felt that as (equal) women they should be able to do what they wanted, whenever they wanted.  Result from this thesis shows that this situation produced a shared approach to fear for women of different ages, classes and ethnicities in Umeå. The similarity in the women’s responses to the threat from the Haga Man is as an expression of a normative femininity. The male respondents did on the other hand express complex emotional positions as they talked about their own fears, women’s fear of unknown men and how they felt they were under suspicion and compared to the perpetrator. As this thesis provides an understanding of how men and women responded and reacted to the threat from the Haga man, it contributes to a better understanding of how fear of violence affects people in their everyday lives.

The thesis deals with how technology as a school subject is presented to the pupils in the Swedish compulsory school at junior high school level. The main focus is on how teachers work with the subject matter in teaching, which is on the level of the enacted curriculum. The official documents established by the national school authorities, the intended curriculum, and the hidden curriculum are both of special interest in the study. The hidden curriculum refers to possible, but not intended consequences of the enacted curriculum for pupils’ understanding of technology as a school subject.            The empirical analysis of the study is based on a narrative analysis on the one hand and the variation theory on the other. The empirical data collection consists of data from: (a) interviews with five teachers and (b) a series of classroom observations, covering an entire section of each teacher’s course of the subject matter.           The data from the interviews with these teachers indicated that they understood the concept of technology as human made artefacts aiming to satisfy practical needs. When it came to the understanding of technology as a school subject the teachers differed between understanding the aim of the subject as to: (1) practice craftsmanship, (2) prepare the pupils for future careers as engineers, (3) illustrate science, (4) strengthen girls’ technical self-confidence and (5) get the pupils interested in technology in order to become inventors in the future. The data from the classroom observations indicated that the teaching presented in technology gave the pupils the opportunity to develop three specific capabilities: (1) evaluate and test functionality, (2) be precise and accurate and (3) construct, build and mount. The three capabilities were possible to develop when accomplishing tasks of practical character. Results also indicated that technology as a school subject was taught in different ways depending on the teachers’ educational background, the physical learning environment and the size of the school class. Variation theory was applied as a tool in the analysis of the data from the classroom observations, i.e. the teachers’ ways of working with the subject matter. The analysis indicated that the most frequently used pattern of variation was ‘contrast’.  Through the contrast-variation the teachers managed to contrast better or worse alternatives of constructing and using artefacts. It can be argued that this pattern of variation, ‘contrast’, is the proper pattern when pupils are working with limited or expensive material.           The overall conclusion of the study is that teachers’ interpretations of current intended curriculum and their choices of subject matter and teaching methods affect which abilities the pupils are offered to develop in technology as a school subject. Based on the results of the study it can be argued that the education and the teaching of technology lacks realism and the result is that technology as a school subject may be experienced by pupils as not very important. It is obvious that the school subject technology, as well as teaching in technology, in the Swedish compulsory school, demands more attention from the national school authorities, in order to develop the pupils’ understanding that technology as a subject is related to the future development of society and social welfare.

How do politician talk about the role of school in society, in an era of changing demands and challenges represented by the knowledge society and globalization? The material underlying the study consists of protocols from the Swedish parliament during a decade characterized by many reforms and with both a conservative government and a social democratic. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the contemporary debate on school policy in the Swedish Parliament between 1991 and 2002.  My research questions are: Which are the dominating narratives about schooling that emerge in the debate? What are the influences from contemporary policies and from educational research? What kind of rhetorical resources underpin the arguments in the plenary debate and are there any shifts, inconsistencies and contradictions that can be heard in the debates?  Inspired by Margaret Somers four dimensions of narratives: ontological narrative, public narrative, metanarrative and conceptual narrative and I am using them to interpret different aspects of school as a political narrative. Methodologically, I worked initially with a content analysis gradually moving to narrative analysis. The educational debates held during the three terms in office are characterised by different political initiatives and different kind of issues. I construct a number of dominating narratives with different plots, problems, solutions and promises of a better future for both the school and the nation. Key concepts seems to “float” depending on who uses them and in what context they are used. Important parts in the narratives are the rhetorical resources that politicians are using to get legitimacy and credibility. Perceptions of schools presented in the debate, may be seen as stories about what is desirable and possible, but also what is unwanted, threatening the progress of school and society. I have highlighted four public narratives in these debates and they are: A School for All, School on the Market, School in the Knowledge Society and A School in Crisis.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Abstract This thesis examines the experiences of Korean migrant women (KMW) in the Australian labour market. A review of the extant literature leads to two propositions, both of which assert that KMW are likely to experience labour market disadvantage or barriers to entry. These propositions take into account two significant theories of the labour market: segmentation theory and human capital theory. Segmentation theory argues that unchangeable gender and racial / cultural differences have the greatest impact upon labour market value, human capital theory describes the labour market value of individuals as based upon apparently objective and attainable skills (here English language skills). Using narrative analysis and, more specifically, antenarrative analysis, the study examines the life stories of 33 Australian KMW. In so doing, it identifies hitherto unheard discourses concerning the experiences of KMW in relation to the Australian labour market — discourses that challenge established academic thinking regarding this issue. Identification and analysis of these new discourses generates a number of alternative understandings of the labour market experiences of KMW. These alternative understandings both demonstrate the limitations of, and go beyond, the existing two propositions. In particular, the research shows that the impacts of gender and culture (segmentation theory) vary over time for KMW, do not always prevent labour market participation, and are experienced in terms of identity within a gendered Australian labour market. The research also demonstrates that while many KMW are in fact sufficiently skilled in the English language (human capital theory) to enter the Australian labour market, they nevertheless experience a sense of inferiority about their English language capacity that discourages them from entering, and limits their opportunities to participate in, the labour market. This in turn contributes to their social isolation. The thesis concludes that within the Australian academic literature, KMW have either been given little space and voice or have been misrepresented, reflecting and contributing to an ongoing ignorance of the experiences of Asian women in Australian workplaces. The KMW examined in this study are subject to numerous forms of subordination in Australian workplaces and society that cannot be adequately explained in terms of their human capital or their gender and cultural differences. The covert nature of the politics of difference within the work place makes exclusionary practices more difficult to identify and discuss. The thesis argues that in order to overcome these problems new policies of multiculturalism and productive diversity need to be developed. It asserts that narrative analytic techniques are an important means by which to inform such policy development. Abstract This thesis examines the experiences of Korean migrant women (KMW) in the Australian labour market. A review of the extant literature leads to two propositions, both of which assert that KMW are likely to experience labour market disadvantage or barriers to entry. These propositions take into account two significant theories of the labour market: segmentation theory and human capital theory. Segmentation theory argues that unchangeable gender and racial / cultural differences have the greatest impact upon labour market value, human capital theory describes the labour market value of individuals as based upon apparently objective and attainable skills (here English language skills). Using narrative analysis and, more specifically, antenarrative analysis, the study examines the life stories of 33 Australian KMW. In so doing, it identifies hitherto unheard discourses concerning the experiences of KMW in relation to the Australian labour market — discourses that challenge established academic thinking regarding this issue. Identification and analysis of these new discourses generates a number of alternative understandings of the labour market experiences of KMW. These alternative understandings both demonstrate the limitations of, and go beyond, the existing two propositions. In particular, the research shows that the impacts of gender and culture (segmentation theory) vary over time for KMW, do not always prevent labour market participation, and are experienced in terms of identity within a gendered Australian labour market. The research also demonstrates that while many KMW are in fact sufficiently skilled in the English language (human capital theory) to enter the Australian labour market, they nevertheless experience a sense of inferiority about their English language capacity that discourages them from entering, and limits their opportunities to participate in, the labour market. This in turn contributes to their social isolation. The thesis concludes that within the Australian academic literature, KMW have either been given little space and voice or have been misrepresented, reflecting and contributing to an ongoing ignorance of the experiences of Asian women in Australian workplaces. The KMW examined in this study are subject to numerous forms of subordination in Australian workplaces and society that cannot be adequately explained in terms of their human capital or their gender and cultural differences. The covert nature of the politics of difference within the work place makes exclusionary practices more difficult to identify and discuss. The thesis argues that in order to overcome these problems new policies of multiculturalism and productive diversity need to be developed. It asserts that narrative analytic techniques are an important means by which to inform such policy development.

[pt] Na modernidade, em que as relações são definidas como líquidas (BAUMAN, 2005), este trabalho procura entender, a partir da análise narrativa (BASTOS; BIAR, 2015), a popularidade/produtividade do sistema de crença da astrologia, especialmente na construção de um discurso essencializante sobre a identidade. Para isso, apresento 22 entrevistas de pesquisa (MISHLER, 1986) sobre o tema, realizadas com estudantes da PUC-Rio no período de 2016 a 2017 nas quais emerge uma considerável quantidade de pequenas histórias e histórias de vida (LINDE, 1993), aqui analisadas qualitativa e interpretativamente. Compreendo a narrativa como um importante instrumento para a construção de sentido no mundo social (BASTOS; BIAR, 2015) e para a formação de identidades autobiográficas (BRUNER, 1990; MOITA LOPES, 2001). Nestes termos, observo quais estratégias discursivas os entrevistados utilizam-se para construir histórias sobre si/outros, esforçando-se para apresentarem-se da melhor forma possível neste teatro (GOFFMAN, 1980, 2002 (1959), 2011 (1967), 2013 (1979)) que é a entrevista de pesquisa. Nota-se que muitas dessas histórias são costuradas a partir do sistema de coerência da astrologia (LINDE,1993). Isto é, os entrevistados constroem accounts (DE FINA, 2009) ou relações de causa e efeito, com o objetivo de reivindicar certo assujeitamento (BLOCK, 2012) no discurso, especialmente para comportamentos considerados socialmente negativos. Desse modo, os signos, ao livrarem seus narradores de agência, atuam no trabalho de face (GOFFMAN, 2011(1967)), colaborando para uma apresentação favorável dos entrevistados. / [en] In modernity, where relationships are defined as liquid (BAUMAN, 2005, 2006), this paper seeks from the standpoint of narrative analysis (BASTOS; BIAR, 2015), the popularity / productivity of astrology, especially in the construction of an essentializing discourse on identity. For this, I present 22 research interviews (MISHLER, 1986) on the subject, carried out with students from PUC- Rio from 2016 to 2017, in which a considerable amount of small histories and life stories emerge (LINDE, 1993), analyzed here qualitatively and interpretatively. I understand narrative as an important tool for the construction of meaning in the social world (BASTOS; BIAR, 2015) and for the formation of autobiographical identities (BRUNER, 1990; MOITA LOPES, 2001). In these terms, I observe which discursive strategies the interviewees use to build stories about themselves / others, striving to present themselves in the best possible way in this theater (GOFFMAN, 2002 (1959), 2011 (1967), 2013 (1979)), which is the research interview. It is noted that many of these stories are stitched from the system of coherence of astrology (LINDE, 1993). That is, the interviewees construct accounts (DE FINA, 2009) or cause-and-effect relationships, with the purpose of claiming some assumption (BLOCK, 2012) in discourse, especially for behaviors considered socially negative. In this way, signs, in relieving narrators of agency, act in the face work (GOFFMAN, 2011(1967)), collaborating for the favorable presentation of the interviewees.

A inovação, tanto tecnológica como organizacional, deixou de ser um modismo para ocupar um lugar de destaque dentro das organizações. Com a abertura dos mercados e a sofisticação do padrão de exigências de consumidores, tanto no mercado interno, como no exterior, a diferenciação passou a ser palavra de ordem e a inovação uma necessidade. Dentro da inovação tecnológica, as atividades de pesquisa e desenvolvimento são consideradas essenciais e tem merecido, cada vez mais, a atenção de pesquisadores. Considerada tradicionalmente uma área eminentemente técnica, com foco em concepção de soluções tecnológica e comercialmente viáveis, tem assumido novas atribuições, o que implicou na alteração do seu perfil, passando a interagir com as demais áreas organizacionais. Desta forma, o universo simbólico do grupo de técnicos da área foi ampliado e incluiu no seu repertório novos valores e imagens da organização, influenciando o processo decisório. O presente trabalho de pesquisa, para a tese de doutorado em administração, foi construído com o objetivo de analisar o processo por meio do qual esta dimensão subjetiva se manifesta na área de P&D, no tocante à forma de realizar as atividades desta unidade organizacional, ou seja, internamente ou através de contratos com agentes externos. Considerando as especificidades do referido estudo, optou-se pela abordagem qualitativa, estudo de caso múltiplo, coleta de evidências através de entrevistas não estruturadas e o método de análise de narrativas, em quatro empresas de base tecnológica, localizadas na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre. Apesar das possíveis fragilidades inerentes ao referido método, de natureza interpretativista simbólica, a análise dos quatro casos pesquisados permitiu evidenciar a inclusão de variáveis de cunho subjetivo no processo de decisão na área de P&D, com vista à definição da forma de realização de suas atividades. A referida dimensão subjetiva representou, na maioria das narrativas, a confluência de valores individuais, coletivos (dos grupos e subgrupos organizacionais) e da cultura organizacional, em seus aspectos objetivos e subjetivos, contidos em regras, procedimentos, normas, processos, práticas, imagens, símbolos, sinais, narrativas, mitos, etc. Foi possível verificar, também, que as diversas construções de realidade social, dentro das organizações, propiciam diferentes condições de manifestação de interesses individuais em processos de decisão na área de P&D, condicionando o posicionamento dos indivíduos no tocante à externalização das atividades desta unidade organizacional. Já a maneira como é exercida a influência da cultura organizacional, como também a intensidade e grau de sua efetividade, depende da forma pela qual a cultura foi constituída, da história subjacente à sua construção e da natureza comportamental dos integrantes da organização. No entanto, é importante destacar que o método de análise empregado faculta diferentes percepções, na dependência situacional e contextual, ou seja, permite ao analista "descobrir" novas nuances a cada releitura do mesmo texto, suscitando novas interpretações. / Innovations, technological and organizational, are not considered a fad anymore, occupying now a prominent place within organizations. With the opening of markets and the sophistication of the requirements of the consumers, both domestically and worldwide, differentiation has become something vital for the organizations and innovation a path to reach it. Within the technological innovation, research and development is considered essential and has become, increasingly, object of the attention of researchers. Traditionally considered a highly technical area, focused only on the development of the solutions technological and commercially viable, this unit has assumed new responsibilities, resulting in the change in its profile, through the interaction with other organizational areas. Thus, the symbolic universe of the group of the technicians of this unit was expanded and included in its repertoire new values and images of the organization, influencing decision-making. The research for the present management doctoral theses was built in order to analyze the process by which the subjective dimension is manifested in R & D, specifically in the decisions about how will be performed the activities of this organizational unit, that would be executed internally or through contracts with external agents. Because the specificities of the study, was opted for a qualitative, multiple case study, evidence collection through non structured interviews and the narrative analysis method in four organizations, technology-based, located in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. This methodology, considered adherent to the objectives of the research, despite its nature, interpretative and symbolic, the four cases investigated has highlighted the inclusion of the subjective variables in the decision-making process in R & D in order to define the form in which their activities should be performed. This subjective dimension was represented in the narratives through the confluence of the individual and collectives values, (groups and subgroups organization) oriented by organizational culture in their objective and subjective aspects, reflected in rules, procedures, standards, procedures, practices, images signs, symbols, narratives, myths, etc.. Was evidenced that the various constructions of the social reality within these four organizations provide different conditions for the expression of the interests in the individual decisionmaking in R & D. This different conditions influence individual and collective positions in the relation to the outsourcing of activities of this organizational unit. The way, effectiveness and the intensity of this influence depends on the organizational culture, the story behind its construction and behavioral characteristics of the members of the organization. However, it is important to emphasize that the employed method of analysis provides different perceptions, depending on the situation and context, that is, allows the analyst to "discover" new nuances with each new reading of the text that can inspire new interpretations.