The aim of this dissertation is to explore the stories of women who have been trapped in abusive relationships (victims of intimate partner violence (IPV)) and the process of how they moved on from these relationships to non-abusive relationships, thereby becoming survivors. The primary research question guiding the study is; How do the women describe their experiences of the processes that they underwent in leaving an abusive relationship and entering into a new, non-abusive, relationship? The study generates a rich description of their experiences, exploring what it is that makes these women unique in changing their identities from victim of abuse to survivor. This is done by taking an in-depth look at each participant’s story and uncovering the personal meanings that they ascribed to these experiences. Literature from past studies is also explored as various authors describe IPV, factors related to IPV and how their illustrations coincide or differ from the findings of this study. A narrative research approach is used in this study. Narrative research falls under the umbrella of postmodernism and is conducted with a social constructionist outlook. The narrative approach views knowledge as generated by exploring subjective experience and how the individual makes meaning with emphasis on context. This study, therefore, focuses on how the participant’s identities are constructed over time as a result of making meaning from their experiences, through self-exploration, social processes and through interactions with others. Data was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews. The tool used for analysis of the stories was the Three-Dimensional Space Approach, the specific tools being; analysis of situation, interaction and continuity. This approach allows for the data to be analysed, not as a given truth but rather, as meaning is generated from the unique perspective of each individual participant in the context, as well as how it was interpreted by myself, the researcher. The results explore this process through the themes of a message from each participant: commitment as it preceded the abuse, identity, control and manipulation at the hands of the perpetrator, and everyone needs someone to help. These themes were then integrated with the literature. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Psychology / unrestricted

The Refugee Act of 1980 established the first comprehensive U.S. refugee policy. It codified a refugee definition and created the annual consultation process, which requires the president to consult with Congress before determining annual refugee ceilings and resettlement plans. While the Refugee Act of 1980 remains intact, the annual refugee admissions and resettlement plans have changed considerably. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze this policy to explore its changes from 1980-2018 through the lens of social construction theory. According to this theory, the social constructions of target populations affect policy designs that are adopted with respect to these populations. Policy designs can create and legitimize divisions among different target populations causing some to be perceived and treated as more deserving than others. This dissertation uses a qualitative research design to analyze narratives within presidential proposal documents and congressional hearings that are held as part of the annual consultation process. These documents serve as the data for this dissertation. I undertake a detailed analysis of the documents of one annual consultation process and related congressional hearings for each president in the period between 1980-2018. In these documents and hearings, different policy actors (congressional members, representatives of the executive branch and state and local governments, and other experts) provide testimony and expert opinions on refugee admissions and resettlement. It is in this context that refugees as a target population are constructed and policies to deal with refugees are debated and discussed by various policy actors. To understand these constructions and the context in which they are created, the narrative analysis elements offered by the narrative policy framework are used as a method. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of this study was to explore the childbirth narratives of first-time mothers in order to understand and describe the ways in which experiencing birth for the first time shaped their personal identities and identities as women. The study was guided by a qualitative postmodern research approach and involved conducting in-depth interviews with eight South African first-time mothers. The narrative accounts of these mothers were then analysed in two stages in order to present the findings. Firstly, using a holistic-content narrative analysis approach, significant themes that emerged from the data analysis were contextualised and organised in relation to the holistic accounts and interpretations of participants’ experiences in order to present how their personal identities were shaped through the experience of giving birth for the first time. Secondly, by conducting a qualitative thematic content analysis, shared common themes emerging from participant’s narratives were presented to understand in what ways individual elements interrelated to all participants’ identities in general, with a focus on female-gender identity. The findings reinforce the message that women’s personal and shared social identities are indeed significantly shaped by their first time childbirth experiences. These findings lend voice to women’s experiences and may serve to deepen insight for individuals and professionals working with perinatal women.

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Orientador: Laura Noemi Chaluh / Resumo: O presente estudo disserta sobre a experiência formativa de três profissionais ligadas à docência. Eu, professora em exercício efetivo em escolas de Ensino Fundamental da rede municipal de ensino de Rio Claro, e, duas discentes do curso de Licenciatura Plena em Pedagogia também bolsistas vinculadas ao Programa do Núcleo de Ensino da Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) articulado à Pró-reitoria de Graduação. Nossa parceria se constitui por meio dos projetos “Prática de Leitura e Literatura e Formação de Professores” (2014-2015) e “Do exercício de leitura e escrita na formação do professor: horizontes para promover a autoria e o trabalho coletivo” (2016) sob coordenação de uma docente do Departamento de Educação do Instituto de Biociências da UNESP/Rio Claro. A partir da proposta de compartilhar a docência de uma forma outra na escola, surgiu a seguinte questão de pesquisa: quais as contribuições que uma proposta de trabalho pedagógico (com crianças na sala de aula) desenvolvida por graduandas e professora em exercício podem trazer para a formação e constituição docente? O objetivo geral da pesquisa foi compreender as contribuições para a formação docente (inicial e continuada) possibilitadas a partir do encontro entre professora em exercício e bolsista em sala de aula. Foram definidos os seguintes objetivos específicos: apresentar e diferenciar programas e projetos existentes no campo da formação inicial de professores no Brasil que possibilitam a inserção dos futuros profe... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present research discourse about the formative experience of three professionals related to teaching. I, a practicing teacher at Rio Claro’s municipal schools and, two undergraduate students from the Undergraduate Program in Pedagogy also fellowships linked to the Program of the Teaching Nucleus os the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), articulated to Pró- Graduation Rectory (PROGRAD). Our partnership is formed through the projects "Practice Reading and Literature and Training of Teachers” and “From the reading and writing practice in teacher training: perspectives to promote the authorship and the collective work” (2016) under coordination of a professor in Department of Education at UNESP’S Bioscience Institute. Based on a proposal to share teaching in a different way in school, the research question arise: what are the proposal of pedagogical work’s contributions (with kids in the classroom) developed by undergraduates and a current teacher can bring to the formation and teacher constitution? The general objective of the research was to understand the contributions to the teacher training (initial and continued) made possible by the meeting between practicing teacher and student in the classroom. The following specific objectives were defined: to present and differentiate existing programs and projects in the field of initial training of teachers in Brazil that allow the insertion of future teachers in the daily life of the school; systematize studies that deal wi... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

<p>Studien handlar om självskadebeteende. Syftet med undersökningen var att få reda på vilka yttre faktorer som påverkade tre unga tjejer att börja skada sig själva. Forskningen på området anser att personer börjar skada sig själva pågrund av sexuella övergrepp i ung ålder, men det framgår tydligt i resultatet att sexuella övergrepp i detta fall inte påverkade tjejerna i studien. Till grund för tjejernas destruktiva beteende ligger traumatiska händelser i deras uppväxt både i lågstadieålder samt högstadieålder.</p><p>Metoden som användes i studien var semistrukturerade intervjuer eftersom intervjuaren då kan rikta sin fulla uppmärksamhet mot respondenten.</p><p>Resultatet är utformat på ett narrativt sätt vilket gjorde att resultatet kunde presenteras i berättelseform. I resultatet framkom vilka yttre påverkansfaktorer som påverkade tjejerna att börja skada sig, som till exempel föräldrars skilsmässa, eller plötslig död i deras nära omgivning.</p>

<p>The aim of this study is to investigate how employees in consulting companies develop their competence in order to perform their daily work. The focus is on informal competence development. The theoretical framework consists of theories concerning learning and competence development in working life, theories on organizational change and evaluation, a well as professional reflection. The methods applied are narrative research and interviews based on the assumption that knowledge about reality is only obtainable through language and communication.</p><p>The main results show that competence is developed through experience, social interaction, communication and dialog with co-workers and customers. The post-modern conceptions of the rapid (technical) development and need to be up-to-date has a strong hold on the informants apprehension of working life, as does the notion of not having enough time for all the competence development they would like. Time also work in favour of competence as experience is developed over time. The results lead to the conclusion that both the motive for and the aim of competence development is the creation of a meaningful and manageable reality.</p> / <p>Undersökningens syfte är att studera hur anställda i kunskapsföretag utvecklar kompetens för att klara det dagliga arbetet Fokus ligger på den informella kompetensutvecklingen. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna innefattar teorier om lärande och kompetensutveckling, organisationsförändring och utvärdering samt professionell reflektion. I undersökningen används narrativ analys och intervjuer vilket baseras på uppfattningen att kunskap om verkligheten bara kan nås genom språk och kommunikation.</p><p>De huvudsakliga resultaten visar att kompetens utvecklas genom erfarenhet, social interaktion, kommunikation och dialog med medarbetare och kunder. De postmoderna uppfattningarna om den snabba (tekniska) utvecklingen och kravet på att vara uppdaterad påverkar starkt informanternas syn på arbetslivet, liksom känslan av att inte ha tillräckligt med tid för all den kompetensutveckling som önskas. Men tiden arbetar också för kompetensen eftersom erfarenhet är något som utvecklas över tid. Resultaten leder fram till slutsatsen att både drivkrafterna till och målet för kompetensutveckling är att skapa en begriplig och hanterbar verklighet.</p>

Bakgrund: I Sverige är bröstcancer den vanligaste formen av kvinnlig cancer och utgör nära en tredjedel av kvinnlig cancer. I behandlingen av bröstcancer har kirurgi en betydande roll. Nära hälften av kvinnorna genomgår mastektomi, men det finns en stor variation inom landet. Att förlora ett bröst efter mastektomi har såväl en kroppslig som psykologisk innebörd. Avhandlingen omfattar fyra delstudier som beskriver detta på olika sätt. Syfte: Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att studera betydelsen av att förlora ett bröst på grund av cancersjukdom samt motiv och beslutsprocess i ställningstagande till att leva med eller utan ett rekonstruerat bröst. Metod: Avhandlingen baseras på två populationer av kvinnor boende i norra Sverige som genomgått mastektomi på grund av bröstcancer: de kvinnor som genomgått mastektomi under 2003 (delstudie I–III) samt de kvinnor som genomgått mastektomi mellan oktober 2006 och september 2007 (delstudie IV). Dessa kvinnor identifierades via det regionala cancerregistret, onkologiskt centrum, Norrlands universitetssjukhus. Statistiska analyser genomfördes i delstudie I och IV och tematisk narrativ analys har tillämpats i delstudie II och III. Resultat: Delstudie I: År 2007 skickades ett nykonstruerat självskattningsformulär ”Life After Mastectomy” (LAM) ut till 149 kvinnor varav 85% (n=126) besvarades. Av dessa kvinnor hade 25% genomgått bröstrekonstruktion. Resultaten av en multipel regressionsanalys visade att bröstrekonstruktion var signifikant relaterat till lägre ålder, känsla av att vara attraktiv och sexuellt intresse. För att få en djupare och mer nyanserad förståelse kring innebörder av att förlora ett bröst efter mastektomi och motiv till att avstå från eller genomgå bröstrekonstruktion gjordes ett strategiskt urval av 15 kvinnor från delstudie I som deltog i en forskningsintervju(delstudie II). I den tematiska narrativa analysen identifierades tre typberättelser. I den första typberättelsen beskrevs mastektomin som ”no big deal” och att genomgå en bröstrekonstruktion var inte ens värt att överväga. I den andra typberättelsen beskrevs mastektomin som ”att förlora sig själv” och en bröstrekonstruktion beskrevs som ett sätt att återställa sig som person, kvinna och sexuell varelse. Den tredje typberättelsen intog en position mellan ”no big deal” och ”att förlora sig själv” och en bröstrekonstruktion beskrevs som ett välkommet erbjudande vilket gjorde det enklare att se och känna sig som kvinna. I delstudie III undersöktes sex kvinnors erfarenheter av att genomgå bröstrekonstruktion. Samtliga kvinnor var oförberedda på den krävande procedur som de genomgick. De beskrev processen som svår och smärtsam med upprepade operationer och en oväntat lång konvalescenstid. Även om kvinnorna var oförberedda på hur tufft det skulle komma att bli både fysiskt och emotionellt beskrevs bröstrekonstruktionen  som betydelsefull för dem. Delstudie IV: I denna uppföljningsstudie inkluderades kvinnorna 10 månader efter mastektomin då självskattningsformuläret LAM skickades ut. Datainsamlingen med samma formulär upprepades två år senare (tre år efter mastektomin). Kvinnornas (n=76) känsla av attraktivitet och kvinnlighet hade inte förändrats mellan de två mättillfällena, med undantag för vissa aspekter av sexualitet som hade försämrats. Vid uppföljningen hade 21% av kvinnorna genomgått bröstrekonstruktion och dessa kvinnor var yngre. I övrigt kundeinga signifikanta skillnader ses mellan de kvinnor som genomgått respektiveej genomgått bröstrekonstruktion. Slutsats: Denna avhandling ger en inblick i betydelsen av att förlora ett bröst efter mastektomi. Att förlora ett bröst efter mastektomi kan vara av mindre eller större betydelse. För de kvinnor som upplevde bröstförlusten som en förlust av sig själva, kom en bröstrekonstruktion att betraktas som en livsnödvändighet (delstudie II). De flesta av kvinnorna 75% i delstudie I och 79% i delstudie IV genomgick inte någon bröstrekonstruktion. De kvinnor som genomgick rekonstruktiv kirurgi beskrev proceduren som svår fysiskt och emotionellt, men trots detta sågs den som viktig för dem (delstudie III). Vid uppföljningen i delstudie IV, var kvinnornas upplevelse av attraktivitet och kvinnlighet oförändrade, men upplevelsen av att känna sig bekväm vid sexuell intimitet utvecklades negativt. Detta var oberoende av om kvinnan genomgått bröstrekonstruktion eller inte, vilket kan ses som överraskande. Det är viktigt att som sjukvårdpersonal uppmärksamma hur den enskilda kvinnan själv upplever betydelsen av att ha förlorat ett bröst för att inte låta sig styras av vaga schabloner kring relationen bröst–sexualitet–kvinnlighet. / Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, representing nearly one-third of all cancer cases among women in Sweden. The mainstay in breast cancer treatment is surgery and nearly half of the women undergo a mastectomy but there is considerable variation between different counties. Understanding the impact of losing a breast and what motivates women to decide for or against breast reconstructive surgery after mastectomy is necessary in caring for women affected by breast cancer. This PhD thesis comprises four studies that examine this topic in different ways. Aim: The overall aim of the thesis is to explore meanings of losing a breast after mastectomy and what motivates women to opt for reconstruction or no reconstruction of the lost breast. Methods: The thesis is based on two populations, all women who underwent mastectomy in 2003 (Studies I–III) and all women living in northern Sweden who underwent mastectomy during November 2006 to October 2007 (Study IV). The women were identified by the Oncological Centre, at Umeå University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden. In Studies I and IV statistical analyses were performed while in Studies II and III thematic narrative analyses were applied. Results: Study I: in 2007 149 women received a newly developed selfreported questionnaire titled ‘Life After Mastectomy (LAM)’. In total 85% (n=126) of the women completed and returned the questionnaire, 25% of whom had undergone breast reconstruction. Multiple regression analysis showed that these women were younger and scored lower on feelings of attractiveness and higher on sexual activity compared with the women who had opted not to have breast reconstruction. In Study II, to gain a more nuanced understanding of the women’s lived experiences of losing a breast and what had motivated them to opt for or against breast reconstruction, a strategic sample of 15 women from Study I were selected to participate in a research interview. Using thematic narrative analysis of the interviews we identified three types of storylines. In the first storyline the mastectomy was described as ‘no big deal’ and breast reconstruction was not even worth considering. In the second storyline the mastectomy was described as a ‘loss of self’ and the breast reconstruction was perceived as a means to be restored as a person, a woman and a sexual being. The third storyline fell in between ‘no big deal’ and ‘loss of self’, with breast reconstruction described as a welcome offer that made it easier to look and feel like a woman. In Study III, a pilot study, we explored six women’s experiences of undergoing breast reconstructive surgery. All women had not been prepared for the strenuous experience: the process was described as difficult and painful, consisting of several operations and an unexpectedly long recovery period. Although the women were ill prepared for how arduous it would be, both physically and emotionally, having a breast reconstruction had been important to all of them. Study IV: in this follow-up study, women completed the self-reported LAM questionnaire 10 months after mastectomy and again 2 years later, i.e. about 3 years after mastectomy. It appeared that their feelings of attractiveness and femininity had not changed during the follow-up time, except for some aspects of sexuality which had been negatively affected. At follow-up, 21% of the women had undergone breast reconstruction. When comparing these women with those who had not undergone reconstructive surgery, we found no significant differences apart from their younger age. Conclusion: This thesis provides insight into the meanings of losing a breast due to mastectomy. Loss of a breast can be of minor or major importance. For those women who experienced the loss of a breast as a loss of the self, breast reconstruction became a necessity for restoring personhood (Study II). However, most women studied, 75% in study I and 79% in study IV, chose not to undergo breast reconstruction. Those who did, described it as a very tough procedure, both physically and emotionally. Having a breast reconstruction had been important for them (Study III). After a 2-year follow-up of the women (Study IV), their feelings of attractiveness and femininity were unchanged, but not their experiences of sexual intimacy and comfort, which had decreased regardless of whether they had undergone breast reconstruction or not. This finding was unexpected. It is important for health care professionals to be attentive to how women themselves experience the personal meaning of losing a breast. Care professionals should guard against popular preconceptions of the female breast and how it is associated with sexuality and womanliness, and hence of the patient’s needs.

The aim of this study is to investigate how employees in consulting companies develop their competence in order to perform their daily work. The focus is on informal competence development. The theoretical framework consists of theories concerning learning and competence development in working life, theories on organizational change and evaluation, a well as professional reflection. The methods applied are narrative research and interviews based on the assumption that knowledge about reality is only obtainable through language and communication. The main results show that competence is developed through experience, social interaction, communication and dialog with co-workers and customers. The post-modern conceptions of the rapid (technical) development and need to be up-to-date has a strong hold on the informants apprehension of working life, as does the notion of not having enough time for all the competence development they would like. Time also work in favour of competence as experience is developed over time. The results lead to the conclusion that both the motive for and the aim of competence development is the creation of a meaningful and manageable reality. / Undersökningens syfte är att studera hur anställda i kunskapsföretag utvecklar kompetens för att klara det dagliga arbetet Fokus ligger på den informella kompetensutvecklingen. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna innefattar teorier om lärande och kompetensutveckling, organisationsförändring och utvärdering samt professionell reflektion. I undersökningen används narrativ analys och intervjuer vilket baseras på uppfattningen att kunskap om verkligheten bara kan nås genom språk och kommunikation. De huvudsakliga resultaten visar att kompetens utvecklas genom erfarenhet, social interaktion, kommunikation och dialog med medarbetare och kunder. De postmoderna uppfattningarna om den snabba (tekniska) utvecklingen och kravet på att vara uppdaterad påverkar starkt informanternas syn på arbetslivet, liksom känslan av att inte ha tillräckligt med tid för all den kompetensutveckling som önskas. Men tiden arbetar också för kompetensen eftersom erfarenhet är något som utvecklas över tid. Resultaten leder fram till slutsatsen att både drivkrafterna till och målet för kompetensutveckling är att skapa en begriplig och hanterbar verklighet.

The health of women is compromised by the experience of sexual abuse in childhood. Women who have been sexually abused in childhood say they are `healing', but there is little literature on this healing process. The purpose of my research is to gather stories of healing from women who were sexually abused in childhood, analyze them, and learn about healing. The themes that emerged were integrated with a chronological restorying of the women's narratives and the literature, resulting in a model of healing that addresses the complexities of women's lives.