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This thesis explores recent Scottish penal culture through the biographical narrative accounts of retired judges. Insights from the sociology of punishment are used to develop a more fully cultural approach to the judiciary and to sentencing practice. This entails a view of the judiciary as a complex institution whose practices reflect tension and compromise, and which recognises judges as bearers of penal culture through their sentencing practices. The aims of the research are twofold: to provide insight into the changing conditions of judging in Scotland and into the judicial role in criminal justice. Narrative research methods were used to interview retired judges and gain contextual accounts of judicial life and practice. This approach focuses on subjectivity and on individual responses to experiences and constraints. Reflecting the judicial role in punishment, an interpretive position based on the hermeneutics of faith and suspicion is used to evaluate and interpret these narrative accounts. This conceptual and methodological framework is used to explore aspects of judicial occupational culture including training and early experiences, the status of criminal work, judicial conduct, collegiality, the influence of criminological research on sentencing practice, and the relevance of the ‘master narrative’ - judicial independence - to sentencing. It is also used to explore the frameworks of meaning and vocabularies of motive which judges bring to penal practice. What emerges from these judicial narratives is firstly the entanglement of individual life histories and organisational imperatives. Secondly, a picture emerges of a judicial habitus that includes complex motivations, some openness to new approaches, and capacity for reflecting on the conditions which structure and constrain criminal justice practice. This suggests the reflexive judge may be an important vector of penal change and there are implications for judicial training, penal reform and for the dissemination of criminological and criminal justice research.

This study examines people’s experiences of being a patient on an acute psychiatric inpatient ward in Scotland. Within the existing research base few studies focus on the patient’s experience of acute psychiatric inpatient care, and none of these is set in Scotland. Those that do, indicate that the patient experience of acute psychiatric inpatient care is often negative. The theoretical perspective of this study conceptualises experience as represented in narrative form, thus the data take the form of narratives. Thirteen participants were recruited through the acute ward. Each participant participated in two unstructured interviews focussed on gathering narratives of their experience. Data analysis was holistic, guided by Gee’s (1991) socio-linguistic theories. This holistic analysis culminated in the presentation of each participant’s narrative in poetic form. From the holistic analysis I identified three themes - help, safety and power - that were evident in the analyses of all participants’ interviews. The theme of help represents participants’ expectations that they will receive help on the ward, and their experiences of trying to get this help. Safety represents participants’ expectations pertaining to the ward’s function in keeping them safe, their experience of threat and strategies to keep safe. The theme of power represents participants’ experiences of power relations within the acute ward. I conclude that participants’ experiences of being a patient on the ward are characterised by feelings of frustration, concerns about safety, and the perceived need to focus on self-presentation as they attempt to reach their desired goal of discharge.

Originally conceived as Regional Technical Colleges and located in regions across Ireland, the Institutes of Technology (IoT) have evolved as a major sector of the binary system of higher education in Ireland. The Institutes of Technology are identified as focussed on teaching however recent years have also seen increasing focus on research. Following convergence in the sector, recent policy measures and changes signal a 'future higher education landscape' which opens the possibility of technological university status to Institutes of Technology who merge as part of the process for recognition as technological universities. The traditional orientation to practical, vocationally focussed teaching in Institutes of Technology is now challenged by the potential changes being driven at policy level and it is in the context of this changing higher education system that this study examines IoT lecturers' negotiation of professional identity. The research uses narrative enquiry to access the stories and narratives of lecturers working in a number of the institutes located in the Dublin region. Through an in depth qualitative study of eight lecturers in four IoTs, the study, in line with the research questions, identifies three major themes that underpin the professional identities of the sample - discipline; professional development; and external influences and policy decisions. Associated with these three themes are six constructs - Discipline; Professional Practice; Teaching; Development; Community Orientated Values; and Research - that resonate with this changing and volatile higher education environment and that intersect in different ways for individuals in the study to produce varying 'portraits' of professional identity. An analysis of how these identity portraits emerge is facilitated by a theoretical framework proposed by Paul Gee (2000) that gives appropriate insights into the dialogic process of the negotiation of professional identity. The study, through a synthesis of data generated themes and constructs and a theoretical identity perspective proposed by Gee (2000), contributes to knowledge in the field by creating a proposed framework for facilitating a generative analysis of the location and negotiation of professional identity. Such a framework enables, for example, explanations for both the strong links in the data between academic identity and subject discipline and yet also evidence of the fragmentation of an academic identity and an associated emphasis on practice-based experience. Given the way the framework allows for a multiplicity of factors to be combined in particular ways that reflect both structure and agency in individual lecturer's negotiation of professional identities, an argument is made for its application in the design and implementation of development structures at the level of the individual and the organisation - one that recognises that a Higher Education professional development model based on a "one size fits all" approach will not work. Instead the temporal nature of the impact of policy decisions and external influences is highlighted with a call for more focus on discourses on higher education, the associated importance of lecturer autonomy and the nature of professionalism and professional identity.

The study explores the experience of individuals who have lost a number of close people in their life, through death, over the course of their adult lifetime. Twelve individual interviews (11 women, 1 man) are presented in narrative form and explored for their content and meaning. The experience of multiple loss was revealed to be unique and varied for each participant and each loss was experienced independently from the others, concomitant on the relationship to the deceased, the nature and timing of the death and the relevance to the participant’s identity. Similar themes occurred across and within cases that are attributable to having lost a number of close others. Common effects were seen in participants’ experiential knowledge of grief and its vicissitudes, death and its processes, and life and its meaningfulness. Participants believed that their losses have had a profound effect on them, changing their lives immutably. Changes were perceived in terms of impact on the way they view the world, themselves and their relationships. Individuals perceived both positive and negative effects. Analogous with current research and theories in the field many of the participants reported experiencing personal growth as a result of their losses. The present study extends past research findings by attributing these effects to the accumulation of losses. A model for understanding the process of meaning-making in multiple loss was devised. Respondents were apt to process one death at a time, incorporate its meanings and effects on them, compare the effects to each other by contrasting the distinct experiences, and create a framework for meaning that was mutable. There were typical features of these meanings that were characteristic to the tone of the narrative. Stories of multiple loss tended to have an unresolved, a transformational or a growth related tone. An enhanced model of meaning- making in loss is described that augments current models of meaning-making in coping with loss. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

The study explores the experience of individuals who have lost a number of close people in their life, through death, over the course of their adult lifetime. Twelve individual interviews (11 women, 1 man) are presented in narrative form and explored for their content and meaning. The experience of multiple loss was revealed to be unique and varied for each participant and each loss was experienced independently from the others, concomitant on the relationship to the deceased, the nature and timing of the death and the relevance to the participant’s identity. Similar themes occurred across and within cases that are attributable to having lost a number of close others. Common effects were seen in participants’ experiential knowledge of grief and its vicissitudes, death and its processes, and life and its meaningfulness. Participants believed that their losses have had a profound effect on them, changing their lives immutably. Changes were perceived in terms of impact on the way they view the world, themselves and their relationships. Individuals perceived both positive and negative effects. Analogous with current research and theories in the field many of the participants reported experiencing personal growth as a result of their losses. The present study extends past research findings by attributing these effects to the accumulation of losses. A model for understanding the process of meaning-making in multiple loss was devised. Respondents were apt to process one death at a time, incorporate its meanings and effects on them, compare the effects to each other by contrasting the distinct experiences, and create a framework for meaning that was mutable. There were typical features of these meanings that were characteristic to the tone of the narrative. Stories of multiple loss tended to have an unresolved, a transformational or a growth related tone. An enhanced model of meaning- making in loss is described that augments current models of meaning-making in coping with loss. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

The objective of this study was to explore how meaning unfolded in the narratives of unemployed young adult graduates. South Africa has the highest youth unemployment rate in the world, which is affecting a growing number of university graduates. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge about this population by combining insights on unemployment, young adulthood as a distinctive developmental period, and meaning. A qualitative research design, incorporating an existential-humanistic paradigm, was utilised to explore the nuances of personal experiences regarding meaning. A total of 12 participants between the ages of 21 and 30 who had graduated and had been unemployed for at least six months took part in individual interviews. Rich data were gathered through narrative interviews, and a narrative analysis yielded findings that demonstrated the uniqueness of each story and common themes that emerged. The participants had experienced a loss of meaning when expectations of employment were disappointed, which inspired efforts to seek meaning. Commitment to their original purpose through further education, connecting with supportive people, being involved in meaningful activities, and reflecting on how to obtain new coherence and growth restored their sense of meaning. The findings suggest that the ability to pursue new avenues of meaning can be cultivated as a valuable resource during unemployment. Stakeholders involved in graduates’ transition to work should consider including meaning-focused interventions to prepare graduates for the labour market and to curb the deleterious effects of unemployment. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Psychology / PhD / Unrestricted

Background. This study investigates the ways in which former offenders tell their life stories and integrate explanations for their previous criminal activity and desistance from crime into their personal narratives. It addresses an important gap in the desistance literature by including non-offenders as a comparison group. The specific aims of this study were to explore the similarities and differences in the personal narratives of desisters and non-offenders and to investigate the presence of generativity, agency and communion themes as well as the use of redemption sequences and contamination sequences in the life stories of both groups. Methods. Respondents were identified through snowball sampling and targeted advertising (e.g., an organization that provides services to ex-offenders). Two groups were interviewed: men who had committed multiple crimes after turning 21 years old but were crime-free for the past year (desisting ex-offenders) and men who grew up in similar neighborhoods but reported no involvement in crime as adults (non-offenders). The final sample consisted of 19 desisters and 12 non-offenders; groups were matched on age and other background characteristics. Data collection included a life story interview and a set of open-ended questions about the respondent's juvenile offending and adult criminal history. Participants also completed two standardized instruments to assess generative concern and generative behavior: the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS) and the Generative Behavior Checklist (GBC). Analyses identified themes through open coding, examined the structure of life narratives, and applied pre-established coding schemes for agency, communion and generativity themes and redemption and contamination sequences. Results. Overall, the life stories of desisters and non-offenders were remarkably similar, even if they contained dramatically different content and reflected unique personal experiences. Respondents in both groups tended to craft narratives where they drew from earlier life experiences to identify reoccurring themes that helped to explain the trajectory of their lives and express deeply held beliefs about who they are as people. Desisters and non-offenders also were very similar in their use of redemption sequences and agency, communion and generativity themes. On the two generativity surveys, the desisting group reported levels of generative concern and generative behavior that were, at the very least, equivalent to average people their own age. While almost all desisting respondents reported some kind of cognitive transformation, the degree to which they saw themselves as changing and how they described that change differed depending on the type of offenses committed. Two types of desistance narratives were identified. The hustler desistance narrative was used by former drug dealers. These men believed that they were involved in drug sales primarily for economic gain and could replace this source of income with legal pursuits. They did not view their past illegal activities as inconsistent with who they were as people. In contrast, the “real me” narrative was used by respondents who had perpetrated acts of violence. They argued that they were innately good people. Conclusions. Overall, the study’s findings were consistent with previous research results that supported the “cognitive transformation and identity” view of desistance, which emphasizes behavioral change as resulting primarily from internal rather than external sources. Previous offending patterns played an influential role in how ex-offenders viewed their past criminal activity, the ways in which they decided to change their lives, and their understanding of the desistance process. Involvement in peer-based programming, mutual support groups and mentoring relationships, whether they were institutionalized, volunteer-oriented, or self-initiated, were identified as major life changing experiences by many desisting ex-offenders. These activities also played a key role in shaping personal narratives and self-concepts in important ways that helped to sustain desistance over time. / Criminal Justice

The overall interest of this thesis is to explore aesthetic experience in sport and its significance for learning in sport. The main purpose is to contribute to a theoretical and methodological development of studies relating to learning in sport. The exploration is undertaken within the field of pragmatism using the works of John Dewey and Ludwig Wittgenstein. The exploration consists of four case studies, consisting mainly of narrative analyses of people’s written stories of participating in different sporting activities. A practical epistemology analysis (PEA) with a focus on aesthetic experience is used in three of the studies. The theoretical contribution comprises exploring learning in sport as something that is connected to emotions and perceptions, where other elements of experience, such as the social, cultural, historical, physical and mental aspects, are also important. Examining learning in the light of aesthetic experience contributes to an examination of emotion s and perceptions as integral parts of sport, without reducing learning to only consisting of emotions and perceptions. The results of the study also contribute to the possibility of exploring values in sport-related learning and shed light on the importance of habits (feelings of familiarity) when learning sport. How people ‘bodying’ the world aesthetically as part of their participation in sport has also been shown in one of the studies. The methodological contributions of the thesis consist of the development of PEA to include the examination of written texts. Furthermore, one of the studies includes the development of aesthetic events as a tool for exploring aesthetic experience in sport. Finally, a methodological contribution is made by using PEA to examine sport, since in the past PEA has only been used in studies in science education.

PhD thesis - School of Education - Faculty of Humanities / In an attempt to add the voices of African feminist educators to the narrative field, and to address the critique that feminist discourses have generally been couched in theoretical abstraction, this study, which was conducted with five university women educators from various parts of Southern Africa, explores the enactment of feminist pedagogies in English language classrooms. The study was guided by the principles of feminist research methodologies, which advocate sensitivity to the subjective, emotional and biographic factors that shape the researcher and researched. Drawing from a suite of data sources, which comprised autobiographical and biographical narratives, lecture observations and interviews the study explores how the social variables of race, class, gender, politics, religion, etc. have influenced the participants’ feminist and language identity formation, and by extension how these inform their teaching of English from a feminist perspective, in terms of What they teach; How they teach, and Why they teach the curriculum content that they do. Taking the view that the personal is political and potentially pedagogical, the study provides a cursory commentary on the participants’ childhood and early adulthood, with the intention of exploring the potential a retrospective gaze of their identity formation has in terms of how they frame interpersonal relations with students and colleagues, and the enactment of their teaching identities. Identifying for more nuanced investigation the study tracks the trajectories of the participants’ coming to feminist consciousness, with a special focus on their adoption of project identities which they enact through their theorizing and teaching of English from a feminist perspective. Given their subscription and investment in narratives of emancipation that subvert social injustices and repressive domination, the study explores, at length, the complexities of feminist teacher identity in relation to the themes of difference, dialogue, and epistemologies of experience, all of which invariably encompass the overarching theme of feminist teacher authority. Acknowledging the slippery terrain of teacher and student identity calibrations, the study differentiates three ways in which authority is generally conceived of in feminist pedagogy, viz. authority versus nurturance, authority as authorship, and authority as power. In discussing the authority versus nurturance I argue for unhinging the female teacher from traditional associations of her with care-giver and intellectualised mammy. Urging for recognition of the woman teacher as female but non-maternal, I argue for a recontextualised and reconceptualised understanding of the female teacher – one that foregrounds her capability of offering critical intellectual nurturance. In exploring the delineation authority as authorship, which entails the mutual sharing of teacher-student personal experience in relation to broader public and academic discourses, the study cautions against the potential for personal epistemology to circulate within the realm of the familiar, narcissistic and sentimental, in the absence of meaningful critical and contextual pedagogic and educative relevance. In this regard, I suggest the consideration of two pertinent questions: viz. i) is there a shared assumption that the personal is good and the impersonal bad? and ii) given that other discourses of the personal are operating in the feminist classroom, exactly which personal are we referring to when we seek to validate the epistemology of experience? I argue that the pedagogic and educative worth of both teacher and students’ personal disclosures need to be subject to critical, analytical, and productive reflection to assess their value as knowledge. Critiquing enclaves of feminist pedagogical scholarship that suggest divesting the classroom of teacher authority as a way of rendering it more democratic, the discussion on authority as power agitates for an unmasking of the inevitable pedagogic and educative authority that the feminist teacher wields in the classroom. Through empirical evidence it illustrates variants of teacher authority that operate in the classroom and supports Gore’s (2002), proposition to develop a theory of pedagogy and power by acknowledging that: pedagogy is the enactment of power relations between teacher, student and other significant partners; bodies are the objects of pedagogical power relations, and in pedagogy, different differences matter; the kind of knowledge produced in pedagogy interacts with the institutional site and the techniques of power employed there; and pedagogy proceeds via a limited set of specific techniques of power. The study concludes with a theoretical and methodological reflective synthesis. The theoretical synthesis presents the central lines of argument that emerged from the issues investigated. The methodological reflective synthesis presents the participants’ comments on the validity of the study and the value that accrued to them by virtue of participating in the study.