This research is a personal reflection and a self-study of two performances that have taken place over the course of two years. My Medium Project titled, When Memories Break, set out to navigate ways of decolonising oppressive dominance and investigating the ramifications of indoctrination in dance. In 2017, during my Honours Degree in Dance Studies at the University of Cape Town, I created a poster-painting with a fellow #FeesMustFall artist-activist. This poster-painting, entitled, Amputation, was introduced at UCT School of Dance' Confluences 9: Deciphering decolonisation in Dance Pedagogy in the 21st Century in Cape Town, South Africa. Since then, Amputation has become a personal credo that I have carried with me in my Practice as Research field of study. In 2018, as part of my Minor Project, I not only highlighted my memories and experiences in Classical Ballet, but also included my memories of other informal1 dance influences. The purpose of this essay is therefore not to depict ballet as a current colonialist art form but rather to draw attention to what it represented during the years of colonialism, apartheid, and the aftermath of that. It is against this background that I explore the issues related to the relationship I have with my dance training to date. As a performer-researcher, I will use my living experience as a case study. This article provides a perspective from a performer-researcher's position using selfreflexivity as a research methodology. My conclusion supports the notion that self-reflection in the quest for decolonisation in dance by performer-researchers is important for the evolution of a more democratic society.

The purpose of the thesis is to make a contribution to the development of an empirically informed theory of identity work in organisations on the basis of a gestalt paradigm. Since its emergence almost three quarters of a century ago, gestalt has been applied to therapy, personal development, leadership education and organisational consulting. Gestalt remains, however, fundamentally a paradigm, which preferentially projects onto and deals with complex and dynamic organisational phenomena at individual, dyadic or small group levels. It can be argued that, with its focus on phenomenology and awareness, the gestalt paradigm is predominantly methodological, with only ambiguous or weak links to explicitly articulated epistemology or ontology. A long-term professional, consulting relationship with a trade union branch enabled conducting action research in order to explore the constituents and dynamics of its organisational identity, prior to and following significant change. The subsequent dismantling and closure of the branch demanded an adjustment of research design. The new situation offered a unique opportunity to follow the existentially challenged organisation as its members reacted to and made sense of the closure. The research is contextualised in three analytical clusters: identity and identity work, gestalt paradigm, and trade unions as organisations, institutions and social movements. An ontology of the intersectional field is posited, and on this foundation, four statements, seen as fundamental conditions for identity work, are operationalised through six propositions explicating identity work in a gestalt paradigm perspective. Methodologically, the overall design is informed by a constructivist grounded theory approach, moving abductively - iteratively and even recursively - between inductive and deductive analysis and reflection. The empirical component of the thesis comprises participant observation, field notes, in-depth interviews during and subsequently two years after the closure, and memos. The data proved relevant and informative in terms of identity work in the organisation. The result of the research is a hypothesis about identity work in organisations, firmly anchored in and commensurate with a present-day revised gestalt paradigm, which contribute to a formal development of a gestalt organisational theory. The hypothesis states that: “Identity work in organisations is a dialectical positioning, both individual and collective, between the existential polar opposites of inclusion and exclusion. The processes through which identity work is enacted are cognitive, affective, and conative, instrumentally served by the contact boundary dynamics of egotisming, confluencing, projecting, retroflecting, introjecting, and deflecting. “ The empirical findings are considered robust, and the theory formulation meaningful. Acknowledging the specific circumstances of the study organisation and empirical design, however, a more general application of the hypothesis requires further research in diverse contexts for verification and possibly refinement of the gestalt theoretical concepts at the organisational level. The research results are of interest to gestalt practitioners who teach or work in or with organisations, and equally so for those interested in dynamic process perspectives in which attention shifts - whether at the level of the individual, group, or organisation - from static assessment of reified identity to real-time identity work; from structure to mutual interaction and influence, in order to balance the well-being of the human beings “in” and “profitability” of the organisation.

Cette recherche, menée en immersion sur le terrain, vise à rendre plus intelligible le mode projet dans le système de décision des organisations bureaucratiques. Ce sujet, manquant d’évidences tant conceptuelles qu’empiriques, a été analysé longitudinalement et en temps réel par le biais d’une étude de cas enchâssés, composée de cinq projets internes d’une même collectivité territoriale. Pour appréhender davantage la complexité de ce sujet, un cadre conceptuel a été spécifiquement développé sur la base d’une approche multidimensionnelle. Puis, différents dispositifs méthodologiques, oscillant de l’observation flottante jusqu’à la recherche-action, ont été mobilisés pour détecter ce qui relève du singulier ou de la répétition dans les pratiques. Au final, les résultats de cette thèse, largement révélés par l’exercice d’une réflexivité, suggèrent que l’analyse du mode projet dans le système de décision d’une organisation bureaucratique ne peut être menée sans l’usage du concept d’instanciation. Plus encore, au sein des bureaucraties publiques, les projets internes connaissent une instanciation incomplète, néfaste à leur efficience. / This research, performed on the field-based approach, aims to give a more intelligible view of the project mode in the decision-making system within bureaucratic organizations. As this subject lacked of both conceptual and empiric evidences, it was analyzed on a real-time and longitudinal basis by means of embedded case study, composed of five internal projects performed in a territorial community. To advance deeper with the complexity of the subject, a conceptual frame was specifically done on the basis of a multidimensional approach. Then, several methological tools, from floating observation to action-research, were mobilized in order to identify if the practices tackled are either originated in a singular or repetitive approach. Finally, this thesis results, highly revealed through the exercise of reflexivity, show us that the analysis of the mode project in decision-making system within a bureaucratic organization can’t be lead without using the concept of instantiation. Moreover, within the public bureaucracies, the internal projects suffer from an unachieved instantiation, undermining their efficiency.

Bakgrund: Svensk migrationslagstiftning har sin grund i en äldre rättsordning som uppkom i och med nationalstatens grundande. Efter andra världskriget växte en ny rättsordning fram baserad på mänskliga rättigheter. Barnets bästa är ett begrepp som har vuxit fram utifrån barns särskilda skyddsbehov och har sedan 1980-talet i ökande omfattning varit del av svensk lagstiftning. Sedan lagändringar i föräldrabalken 2018 ska barnets bästa ges största vikt vid alla frågor som rör adoption av ett barn. Dess-utom ska oftare begäras in ett yttrande från Migrationsverket. Migrationsverket bedömer om en adoption kan vara ett försök att få stanna i landet på ogiltiga skäl. Detta innebär att tingsrätten i beslutsfattandet samtidigt ska förhålla sig till, och resonera kring barnets bästa, och till misstanken om att adoptionen kan vara ett försök att kringgå gällande lagstiftning. Syfte: Att ge kunskap om hur tingsrätten förhåller sig till ett motstridigt område i rättsordningen där mänskliga rättigheter står mot nationens syn på medborgarskapet genom att ställa frågan: Hur resonerar tingsrätten runt barnets bästa i adoptionsärenden gällande barn som inte är svenska medborgare? Metod: Kritisk reflexiv metod och teori som den beskrivs av Alvesson och Sköldberg (2017). Material: Samtliga tingsrättsbeslut i adoptionsärenden från Södertörns tingsrätt under tidsperioden 1 september 2018 till 1 april 2020, gällande barn under 18 år som inte har svenskt medborgarskap. Urvalet resulterade i 16 ärenden. Resultat: Tingsrättens avvägningar och resonerande kring barnets bästa var inkonsekvent. Det tydligaste mönstret var att relationen mellan barn och sökande innan adoptionen avgjorde hur tingsrätten förhöll sig till barnets bästa. Utifrån denna skillnad skapades två resultatkategorier. När det saknades en relation mellan barn och sökande innan adoptionsprocessen utmärktes besluten av kort text med få argument. När en redan etablerad relation fanns mellan barn och sökande, eller då barnets behov var startpunkten för adoptionsansökan, var protokollen till stor del referenser till socialtjänstens och migrationsverkets yttranden. Tingsrätten redogjorde och resonerade både kring barnets bästa och migrationslagarna i större utsträckning, och kunde uttrycka tvivel om adoptionens syfte. Trots att tingsrättens bedömning av barnets bästa ska utgå från det individuella barnet så gjordes detta till stor del utifrån andra faktorer. Diskussion:  Utifrån det individuella barnets bästa borde inte relationen före adoptionsansökan vara avgörande för vare sig omfattningen av tingsrättens utforskande av nationella omvårdnadsmöjligheter eller risken för människohandel. Slutsats: I tingsrättens överväganden, i dessa internationella adoptionsärenden, vägde nationens bästa genomgående tyngre än barnets bästa. Detta tyder på att de nyare rättsordningarna med mänskliga rättigheter och barnets bästa med universella idéer, som det ser ut nu, både domineras av och används som rättfärdigande av den äldre rättsordningen om medborgarskap kopplat till nationalstaten. / Background: The best interests of the child (Sw. barnets bästa) is an expression that has arisen from children's special protection needs and has been a part of Swedish law since the 1980s. Since 2018 the best interests of the child should be given the largest concern in all adoption matters. Furthermore, in more cases an opinion should be received from the Swedish Migration Authority with an assessment if an adoption is an attempt to stay in the country on invalid grounds. This means the court in its judgement at the same time must consider and reason about the best interests of the child, and that the adoption could be an attempt to circumvent current immigration legislation. Purpose: To bring knowledge regarding how the district court reason about a conflicting area in current legislation where human rights stand against the nation's view on the citizenship by asking the question: How does the court reason about the best interests of the child in adoptions cases regarding children who aren't Swedish citizens? Method: Critical reflexive method and theory as described by Alvesson and Sköldberg (2017). Material: 16 district court rulings in adoption cases from Södertörns District Court between 1 September 2018 and 1 April 2020, regarding children under 18 who does not have Swedish citizenship. Results: The district court's reason about what constituted the best interests of the child was inconsistent. The clearest pattern was that the relationship between the child and the applicant(s) before the adoption decided how the court treated the child's best interests. When there was no relationship between the child and the applicant(s) before the adoption process, the decisions in general had short text with few arguments. When there was an established relationship between the child and the applicant(s), or when the child's need was the basis of the adoption application, the protocols was in large references to the Social Service Administration's and the Migration Authority's opinions. The District Court reported and reasoned both to a greater extent about the child's best interests and the migration laws and could express doubts about the purpose of the adoption. Although the district court's assessment of the best interests of the child should be based on the individual child, this was largely based on other factors. The scope of reasoning increased with the child's age, and decreased with the status of adults, respectively. When the applicant had Swedish citizenship, less reason was raised about the best interests of the child. In addition, patterns of gender stereotyped assessments of the applicant's parental ability were shown. Conclusions: In the district court's considerations, in these international adoption cases, the nation's best consistently weighed heavier than the child's best. This suggests that the newer human rights legal systems and the best interests of the child with universal ideas, as it now appears, are both dominated by and used to justify the older legal system of citizenship linked to the nation state.

The primary objective of this research was to determine if a specific set of reflective practices enhance university undergraduate students’ abilities to: 1) reflect on their thinking processes to become more aware of their own intellectual habits and how they form; 2) inquire with open-minded curiosity, including suspension of assumptions long enough for them to be challenged; and 3) generate justifiable, contextual understandings and judgments, individually and in collaboration. “Reflective practices” refers to a specific set of reflective learning activities introduced to undergraduates in two courses: mindfulness practice extended into journal writing, listening, inquiry and dialogue. The purpose of the reflective practices in this research was to support independent, critical thinking: well-reasoned, evaluative judgments based on evidence, contextual understanding, and respect for others. Students were instructed in both individual, introspective activity as well as in paired and group interaction while preserving a degree of mindfulness. Indicators of the dispositions for critical thinking were developed using grounded theory methods to study students’ experiences, as well as those dispositions previously identified in the research literature. Qualitative results showed increased self-confidence, engagement with multiple points of view, and an unexpected sense of connectedness that was stronger between students who disagreed with each other than between students who found easy agreement in their interaction. Quantitative results showed statistically significant gains in the average number of indicators of critical thinking dispositions appearing in student journals comparing week 1 to week 11. There was also positive correlation between final essay exam scores graded for critical thinking skills and the total number of indicators found in students’ journals. / This thesis presents primary research on the impacts of mindfulness applied to introspective and interactive learning activities in undergraduate university courses.