[pt] Este trabalho estuda o uso do metadiscurso em artigos pesquisa em diferentes culturas, áreas disciplinares e seções do artigo, tendo como objetivo investigar como esse recurso retórico varia em contextos lingüísticos e sócio-culturais diversos, contribui para a construção de sentido de textos escritos e reflete a construção de conhecimento em diferentes áreas disciplinares. A pesquisa adota como base teórica a abordagem sociointeracional de linguagem, a teoria da construção social do conhecimento e princípios da retórica contrastiva. O corpus utilizado compõe-se de 24 artigos científicos, divididos em duas línguas (português e inglês), duas áreas disciplinares (Ciências Biomédicas e Lingüística, Letras e Artes) e quatro seções (Introdução, Metodologia, Resultados e Discussão). O estudo da variação entre os textos escritos em inglês e português mostrou que há diferenças quanto ao uso de itens metadiscursivos que enfocam a micro ou a macroorganização do artigo de pesquisa. A variação interdisciplinar mostrou que o texto pode ser escrito de forma subjetiva ou objetiva, e que o conhecimento nas diferentes comunidades disciplinares pode ser construído com base em idéias ou fatos. Quanto às seções dos artigos, verificou-se que o uso do metadiscurso varia para alcançar objetivos retóricos diferenciados de acordo com a seção do artigo. Esta pesquisa reforça a possibilidade e necessidade de enfocar o metadiscurso e a linguagem sob uma ótica sociointeracional, confirmando que a escrita acadêmica é interativa e mostrando que a construção de sentidos de textos e a construção de conhecimento variam em diferentes culturas e comunidades disciplinares. / [en] This research studies the use of metadiscourse in research articles in different cultures, disciplinary areas and article sections, aiming at investigating how this rhetorical device varies in different linguistic and socio- cultural contexts, contributes to the construction of meaning in written texts and reflects the construction of knowledge in different disciplinary areas. This work adopts as theoretical basis a sociointeractional approach to language, the theory of social construction of knowledge and principles of contrastive rhetoric. The research corpus is composed of 24 scientific articles, divided into two languages (Portuguese and English), two disciplinary areas (Biomedical Sciences and Linguistics, Letters and Arts), and four sections (Introduction, Methodology, Results and Discussion). The study of variation between texts written in English and Portuguese shows that there are differences in the use of metadiscourse items which can focus on micro or macroorganization of the scientific article. Interdisciplinary variation shows that scientific texts can be written either in a subjective or objective manner, and that knowledge construction in different disciplinary communities can be based either on ideas or facts. As to research article sections, this study shows that the use of metadiscourse varies according to writers´ intention to reach rhetorical objectives in each section. This research study reinforces both the possibility and necessity to focus on metadiscourse and language under a sociointeractional perspective, confirming that academic writing is interactive, and showing that the construction of meaning in texts and the construction of knowledge vary in different cultures and disciplinary communities.

En France et au Royaume-Uni le terme dyslexie désigne une situation dans laquelle la maîtrise des compétences lectorales est considérée comme problématique: des critères d’inspiration médicale et psychologique sont appliqués à des performances scolaires dans des contextes où la scolarisation est la norme. L’objet de la thèse est de rendre compte de la construction sociale de la dyslexie, de comprendre comment des pratiques et des dispositifs rendent possible l’émergence d’un genre de personne dyslexique. La première partie traite de la construction de la dyslexie comme problème public des premiers cas au XIXe siècle à la reconnaissance de la catégorie au XXIe. Tandis que l’histoire du problème au Royaume-Uni est celle d’une réussite (les revendications sont structurées autour d’une définition précise et des solutions sont proposées) sa définition est longtemps incertaine et peu autonome en France. On montre dans la deuxième partie que la dyslexie est un problème scolaire, touchant aux savoirs enseignés et évalués par l’école, d’autant plus consistant qu’il est institué dans les normes et les pratiques de l’école. Au Royaume-Uni, sa reconnaissance peut être intégrée aux pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants du fait d’une logique psychologique. En France elle demeure un problème largement extrascolaire, les pratiques d’identification sont surtout paramédicales et sa reconnaissance s’inscrit dans les dispositifs relatifs au handicap. La troisième partie est consacrée à l’étude des outils d’objectivation donnant consistance à la dyslexie. Les difficultés en lecture de certains élèves ne sont appréhendées en ces termes que si elles peuvent être montrées et quantifiées. / In France and the United-Kingdom, the word dyslexia refers to a situation in which the mastery of reading skills is considered to be problematic: criteria inspired by medicine and psychology are applied to school performances, in contexts where schooling is the norm. The purpose of the thesis is to account for the social construction of dyslexia, to understand how practices and dispositives make possible the emergence of a kind of dyslexic people. The first part deals with the construction of dyslexia as a social problem, from the first cases at the end of the 19th century to the recognition of the category at the beginning of the 21st century. While the problem’s history in the United-Kingdom in that of success (claims are structured around a specific definition and solutions are offered), its definition remains uncertain and lacks autonomy for a long time in France. In the second part, I show that dyslexia is a school-related problem – concerning skills taught and assessed at school –all the more consistent that it is integrated into school norms and practices. In the United-Kingdom, its recognition can be part of teachers’ educational practices, due to a psychological logic. In France, it remains largely outside the educational institution (identification practices are mainly paramedical and its recognition is part dispositives related to disability). The third part is devoted to the study of objectification tools which give consistency to dyslexia. Some pupils’ reading difficulties can be comprehended as such only if they are demonstrated and quantified.

En adoptant une approche psychosociale, cette thèse vise à rendre compte de la façon dont nous jugeons une personne contaminée par le VIH dans le contexte de la Grèce. Nous étudions la construction sociale de la responsabilité en relation avec le VIH en s’appuyant sur l’approche des représentations sociales. Notre démarche s’inscrit dans une stratégie de triangulation méthodologique qui articule des approches qualitatives et des opérations quasi-expérimentales. Premièrement, nous avons mené une recherche qualitative par entretien auprès de 40 acteurs du monde politique et socio-sanitaire grec (politiques, personnels administratifs, scientifiques et associatifs) sur les politiques de prévention du VIH. Deuxièmement, une analyse de presse a été réalisée (corpus de 172 articles publiés dans 25 quotidiens grecs durant l’année 2004) sur la construction du sida via la communication sociale. Sur la base des principaux résultats issus des analyses de ces données (vision morale et stigmatisante de la maladie, maladie du dehors), deux recherches quasi-expérimentales ont été réalisées chez les futurs enseignants du primaire sur les explications et la responsabilisation d’une personne contaminée par le VIH dans des conditions socialement normées (mode de contraction, endo/exo-groupe). Les résultats montrent que les jugements à l’égard de la personne contaminée sont influencés par les représentations que les sujets ont de la maladie (contagieuse vs transmissible) et par le statut social de la personne cible (déviant, étranger). Les enjeux théoriques (dynamique sociocognitive de la responsabilisation et maladie marquée socialement) et les implications pratiques (responsabilité, VIH et prévention, formation des enseignants) de ces recherches sont discutés. / This thesis’ goal is to explore judgement formation about an HIV+ person in the sociocultural context of Greece, by implementing a psychosocial approach. We examine the social construction of responsibility of HIV through social representations, by utilising a strategy of triangulation methodology using both qualitative and quasi-experimental operations. First, we conducted a qualitative research by interviewing 40 actors involved in decision-making (politicians, state administrators, scientists, activists) chosen on the basis of their roles in the political, social and health sectors in Greece, on the topic of HIV prevention policies. Secondly, we carried out a press analysis, based on a 172 articles corpus, published in the Greek daily press (25 newspapers) over 2004, in order to understand how social communication affects construction of AIDS. Finally, two quasi-experimental researches based on the key findings of data analysis (moral and stigmatizing vision of the disease, disease of outside), were carried out among future primary school teachers on suggested explanations and responsibility’s attribution toward people infected with HIV under standardized social conditions (transmission mode, in/out group). The results show that judgments are influenced by subjects’ representations about the disease (contagious vs infectious) and social status of the target person (deviant, foreigner). The theoretical issues (socio-cognitive dynamics of responsibility attribution, socially significant disease) and practical implications (responsibility, HIV and prevention, teachers’ training) of this research are discussed.

Cette étude a cherché à explorer les significations socio-culturelles de la mort provoquée par le VIH / SIDA parmi les Abagusii du Kenya. Façonnée par l’ontologie sociale constructiviste et l’approche épistémologique, l’étude a spécifiquement cerné les significations socio-culturelles de la mort causé par le VIH / SIDA, les expériences vécues de la mort du VIH / SIDA et comment ces expériences vécues influencent l’action préventive au niveau individuel et collectif au regard du VIH/SIDA. L'étude a utilisé des données recueillies à partir d'entretiens conversationnels approfondis et de l'observation participante de 50 personnes séropositives pour le VIH qui étaient sélectionnées à travers la méthode de saturation et sélectionnées par des techniques d'échantillonnage en boule de neige et d'analyse raisonnée. Des données supplémentaires ont également été obtenues à partir de neuf informateurs clés choisis à dessein en utilisant un guide d'entretiens .Les données provenant d'entretiens approfondis et d'entretiens avec des informateurs-clés ont été enregistrées sur bande, transcrites ad verbatim et analysées thématiquement. Les résultats de l'étude ont montré qu'au niveau individuel, mourir du VIH / SIDA était une perturbation biographique, forçant ainsi les personnes infectées par le VIH à subir une réorientation existentielle en faisant de nouveaux arrangements et des quêtes pour leur nouvelle vie afin d’acquérir une sorte d’appartenance culturelle, sociale et morale à leurs réseaux sociaux culturels. Au niveau communautaire, la mort par le VIH/sida a été érigée en «mauvaise mort» par rapport aux discours traditionnels et chrétiens sur les croyances religieuses régissant la vie, la mort et l’après la vie. En conséquence, une telle mort était perçue comme une menace pour l'identité et la solidarité sociale et collective, ainsi que pour la régénération de la communauté à travers la reproduction sociale. L'étude a également révélé que les actions sociales en faveur de la mort et du décès dues au VIH / SIDA ne reposaient pas sur des connaissances biomédicales, mais plutôt sur les relations sociales en particulier les relations de parenté comme défini collectivement dans les discours moraux et sociaux de la personnalité. En conclusion, l'étude soutient que les croyances culturelles et les valeurs régissant la vie et la mort devraient être prises en compte dans la prévention du risque de VIH / SIDA dans des contextes culturels particuliers. / This study sought to explore the socio-cultural meaning of death from HIV/AIDS among the Abagusii-Kenya. Shaped by the social constructivist ontology and interpretative epistemological approach, the study specifically investigated the socio-cultural meanings of death from HIV/AIDS, the lived experiences of dying from HIV/AIDS and how lived experiences of dying and death from HIV/AIDS influence HIV/AIDS preventive action at individual and community level. The study used data collected from in-depth conversational interviews and participant observation from 50 HIV seropositive people who were arrived at through saturation method and selected through snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Augmentative data was also obtained from purposively selected nine key informants using an interview guide. Data from in-depth conversational and key informant interviews were tape recorded, transcribed ad verbatim and thematically analyzed. Findings from the study showed that at individual level, dying from HIV/AIDS was constructed as a biographical disruption, thus forcing those infected with HIV to undergo existential reorientation by making new arrangements and quests for their new life as a way of achieving a sense of cultural, social and moral belonging to their cultural social networks. At community level, death from HIV/AIDS was constructed as “bad death” in relation to traditional and Christian religious belief discourses governing life, death and after life. As a consequence, such death was perceived as a threat to the corporate social identity and solidarity, and to the regeneration of the community through social reproduction. The study further found that social actions towards dying and death from HIV/AIDS was not based on biomedical knowledge alone but on social relationships especially kinship relations as collectively defined in moral and social discourses of personhood. In conclusion, the study argues that cultural beliefs and values governing life and death should be taken into account in dealing with HIV/AIDS risk prevention in particular cultural contexts.

An increasing number of actions aimed at recovering the countryside as an active and transforming force in the agri-food field, which is known as quality turn within the international fields of study, has gained strength in recent years. In the center of the debate is the need to rethink the patterns of production, consumption and distribution of food of the modern agri-food system, recognized by the weaknesses revealed not only by food scandals, but also by social, economic, environmental, regulation and control problems. Studies emphasize the notion of an alternative food system, centralizing the characteristics of agriculture that the modern system nullifies such as the visibility of food, reconnection with the consumers and relocation. The objective of this study was to analyze and interpret the process of social construction of short circuit commerce in the city of Santiago (RS), using as reference the social practices and regulatory and cultural-cognitive frameworks previously established. This research is a case study of the commerce of fruit and vegetables. It was carried out using qualitative approach, and it was analyzed from the theoretical concepts of sociological institutionalism. Firstly, the study had an exploratory phase in order to understand the structure of the organizational field, meaningful events and organizational components. Secondly, there was an interpretative approach that aimed at understanding the process of social construction of markets by different institutional elements that provide guidance to the organizational field. It was observed that the structure of the field occurred through five simultaneous and interrelated processes: 1) cultural aspects increased interaction among agents. 2) There was a broad involvement of agents of different organizations. 3) The circuits were formed through adjustments between evaluative and cultural-cognitive institutions, which have become competitive advantages in the modern agri-food system. 4) Although the technical knowledge was scarce, it was not limiting for productive activities; and 5) the circuits had little interaction among them. The new institutionality is the historical, cultural, organizational and local policies, and it is the change that arise from professional discourse in the areas of health and nutrition informed by the press. There is an institutional change supported by five institutional factors of coordination of alternative food system: quality, reconnection with the past, territorial development, social relations and monetary value. In addition, the change is strengthened by the conditions on which the agents encounter in the formation of institutions, new institutionality. The strength of this change is supported on signs of weakening of regulative institutions of the modern agri-food system, which are subordinated to normative and cultural-cognitive influences in the alternative system. In order to contribute to the discussion of alternative agri-food systems, short circuits commerce result from social structures built in social interaction processes that were institutionalized in time, subject to change, and understood when analyzing the context of the institutional conditions in relation to other levels of the social system. / Nos últimos anos, tem ganhado força um conjunto de iniciativas que recaptura o espaço rural como uma força ativa e transformadora no campo agroalimentar, dentro do que os estudos internacionais nominam de quality turn. No centro do debate, encontra-se a necessidade de repensar os padrões de produção, consumo e distribuição dos alimentos do sistema agroalimentar moderno, reconhecidos pelas fragilidades reveladas por escândalos alimentares, mas também por problemas sociais, econômicos, ambientais, identitários e de ordem de regulação e controle. Os estudos privilegiam a noção de sistema agroalimentar alternativo, centralizando as características da agricultura que o sistema moderno torna sem efeito, dentre os quais a visibilidade dos alimentos, a reconexão com o consumidor e a relocalização. O objetivo desta tese foi analisar e interpretar o processo de construção social dos mercados de circuito curto no município de Santiago (RS), tendo como referência as práticas sociais e os marcos regulatórios, normativos e cultural-cognitivos estabelecidos. A pesquisa constituiu-se como um estudo de caso da comercialização de frutas e hortaliças, conduzido por meio da abordagem qualitativa e analisado a partir dos conceitos teóricos do neoinstitucionalismo sociológico. A pesquisa teve uma primeira fase exploratória para compreender a estruturação do campo organizacional, os acontecimentos marcantes e os componentes organizacionais. A segunda fase foi interpretativa, quando, a partir dos circuitos do Hortomercado, Orgânicos e Varejistas, buscou-se compreender o processo de construção social dos mercados pelos diferentes elementos institucionais que fornecem orientações no campo organizacional. Com o estudo percebeu-se que a estruturação do campo ocorreu por meio de cinco processos simultâneos e inter-relacionados: aspectos culturais aproximaram e aumentaram a interação entre os agentes; houve um amplo envolvimento de agentes de diferentes organizações; os circuitos se formaram por meio de ajustes entre instituições valorativas e cultural-cognitivas, que se tornaram vantagens competitivas frente ao sistema agroalimentar moderno; o conhecimento técnico, por mais que seja escasso, não foi limitador para as atividades produtivas; e os circuitos pouco interagiram entre si. As novas institucionalidades são as características históricas, culturais, organizacionais e políticas locais, mas também alterações provindas do discurso profissional das áreas da saúde e nutrição, informadas pelos veículos de comunicação. Existe uma mudança institucional apoiada por cinco fatores institucionais de coordenação do sistema agroalimentar alternativo: qualidade, reconexão com o passado, desenvolvimento territorial, relações sociais e valor monetário. Além disso, a mudança é fortalecida pelas condições sobre as quais os agentes se confrontam para a formação das instituições, as novas institucionalidades. A força dessa mudança está apoiada nos sinais de enfraquecimento das instituições regulativas do sistema agroalimentar moderno, as quais, no sistema alternativo, subordinam-se às influências normativas e cultural-cognitivas. De modo a contribuir na discussão dos sistemas agroalimentares alternativos, os mercados de circuito curto decorrem de estruturas sociais construídas em processos de interação social, institucionalizados no tempo, sujeitos a mudanças e entendidos quando analisadas as condições institucionais do contexto em relação a outros níveis do sistema social.

The aim of this study was to investigate the connection between an artists mental illness and his or her art and this was made with the artist Mathilde Wigert-Österlund (1873-1943) as an example. Wigert-Österlund was an artist who suffered from mental illness and was a patient at a mental institution during two periods throughout her life. After she became ill, she made textile artworks that have been considered to be products of her illness. To investigate if this is true or not and to understand Wigert-Österlunds means of expression, the study was based on the purpose that with Wigert-Österlund as example investigate the connection between mental illness and creative production and study the artist and the artists role as a social and cultural construction. This was done with the following questions: How did Mathilde Wigert-Österlunds artistic expression change when she became ill? What role did Wigert-Österlund take och recieve in the artistic field? And; what resemblances and differences were there between Wigert-Österlunds artworks and her contemporary textile art? The questions were answered with studies of literature and objects as material, together with a method of material culture. Theory of practice and a theory of the artist role were applied on the material and the results. The analysis shows that Wigert-Österlunds artistic expression primarily changed with her use of other techniques and materials than before and secondarily that she had a slight change in the choice of motif and especially symbols in her work. The works shows that Wigert-Österlund is to be considered as having the role of a melancholic artist due to the theory of the artists role. Her work had no distinct recemblances with the contemporary textile art but shows that she is considered to share habitus and expression with the artist group that were defined as painters. Wigert-Österlund and her textile artcan be considered as unique in the time they were made. The study also reveals that the groups within the field were changeable and that Wigert-Österlund and her variated expression made her belong to separate groups but that she might have identified herself with the one with highest social and cultural status. The study showed that there is a slight connection between mental illness and an artists expression and that an artist can correlate to an artistic role and at the same time be a production of and a construction of the society and its expectations connected to that construction.

The thesis entitled Comparative Semiotic Analysis of Czech and Korean version of Elle Magazine Advertisings deals with the comparison of advertisings in the Czech and South Korean versions of global lifestyle magazine ELLE in terms of semiotic analysis. The thesis is structured in classical terms with theoretical starting points representing three key areas needed for analysis. The first part deals with the concept of the media, media product and its content. It also provides information about the ELLE magazine and its internationalization with special emphasis on South Korean cultural specificities. Also it cannot be forgotten the chapter devoted to the theory of socail construction of reality based on the work of Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann. The second part is key because it brings knowledge about the semiotics and the main representatives of the field. The thesis thus represents Charles Sanders Peirce, Ferdinand de Saussure and especially the mythology of Roland Barthes. The last theoretical part looked at the essence of marketing communication and advertising and the use of celebrities in advertising campaigns. The analysis part as based on the theoretical basis focuses on the semiotic analysis of advertisements targeting the Czech and South Korean markets, with almost 470 campaigns in the...

L’absentéisme et le décrochage scolaire sont aujourd’hui au cœur du débat public. Les discours politiques et institutionnels semblent découvrir ces questions. Pourtant ces phénomènes ne sont pas nouveaux. En effet, pourquoi l’absentéisme et le décrochage scolaire qui étaient invisibles médiatiquement et socialement à une certaine époque deviennent-ils visibles et médiatiques aujourd’hui ? Faut- il y voir l’action de l’homme ou le coup du sort ? Cette recherche s’inscrit dans le champ de la sociologie de la connaissance. Il s’agit de savoir quelle connaissance on a de ces questions mais également de comprendre l’apparition de ces problématiques dans le champ du social .Sur le terrain, la réalité est tout autre car aux discours sur l’absentéisme et le décrochage scolaire succède l’action et les contraintes auxquelles les acteurs sont confrontés. Le regard porté par les acteurs scolaires devient plus distant, plus raisonné et raisonnable face aux problèmes auxquels ils doivent faire face et surtout trouver des solutions. L’hypothèse générale est que les discours institutionnels (circulaires et rapports d’inspection) et politiques, sur l’absentéisme et le décrochage scolaire davantage construits sur un discours globalisant et anxiogène lié à des problématiques sociales comme la délinquance, s’opposent aux acteurs de terrain dont les discours hétérogènes laissent place à des récits et réflexions mesurés et réalistes face à l’immensité des phénomènes auxquels ils sont confrontés. Dans cette recherche, il s’agit essentiellement de joindre à cette approche socio-historique dans une première partie, une approche empirique dans une deuxième partie dont l’objectif réside dans la confrontation du discours public et médiatique : le discours d’ « en haut » et du discours des acteurs de terrain : le discours d’ « en bas ». Si le Lycée Professionnel (LP) comme terrain de recherche s’inscrit dans un espace social et scolaire marginalisé depuis un certain nombre d’années , il n’en demeure pas moins que les discours et actions des acteurs ainsi que les résultats obtenus sur les questions d’absentéisme et de décrochage scolaire laissent à penser que chaque LP est singulier et développe un effet propre. / Absenteeism and dropping out are at the heart of public debate. The political and institutional discourses seem to find these issues. Yet these phenomena are not new. Indeed, why absenteeism and school dropout who were invisible mediatically socially and at one time they become visible and media today? Should we see the action of the man or the twist of fate? This research is in the field of sociology of knowledge. This is to know what knowledge we have of these issues but also to understand the occurrence of these problems in the social field .On the ground, the reality is quite different because the discourse on absenteeism and dropping succeeds the action and the constraints, the actors face. The look worn by school actors becomes more distant, more reasoned and reasonable deal with the problems they face and especially solutions. The general assumption is that institutional discourse (circular and inspection reports) and policy on absenteeism and dropping out more built on a globalizing discourse and anxiety related to social problems such as delinquency, are opposed to actors of land including heterogeneous discourse gave way to stories and reflections measured and realistic given the immensity of the phenomena they face. In this research, it's basically join this socio-historical approach in the first part, an empirical approach in the second part whose objective is the confrontation of the public and media discourse: the discourse of "top "and the speech field players: the discourse of " down ". If the vocational school as field research is part of a marginalized social and academic space for a number of years, the fact remains that the speeches and actions of the actors and the results obtained on the issues of absenteeism and dropout suggests that each LP is unique and develops its own effect.

The aim of this study is to examine how different actors of the society speak about and portrays the Råslätt neighborhood.Further we study how using different terms to describe the area can come to affect the area and its residents. This study is done by using a qualitative method in the form of document analysis based on official documents from three different actors of the society and we also conducted three interviews with representatives from each actor. Different themes are examined that have been identified using a discourse analysis. Through the themes three different discourses were created and identified which are being used by the actors in describing Råslätt. The discourses are then compared with each other. The result shows that there are similarities and differences between the discourses in how Råslätt is described. The result shows that the terms used in the different discourses create different versions of the Råslätt neighborhood. The result also shows that, within the discourses the actors of society consciously relate to their use of languageand that the decision of using or not using a particular term has been made with insight to the risk of stigmatization that might emerge. In conclusion the result shows that the language used by the actors of society affect how they justify their own work.

Cancer is a life threatening and hope inhibiting disease. Furthermore, as in the case of breast cancer and the concomitant loss of an intimate body part, it is an identity threatening disease. The disease, the mastectomy, as well as the treatment place high demands on the process of hope for the whole family. In various ways, the family is constantly busy constructing a hopeful story for the future. Hope develops from a conjunction of a rich variety of factors that consciously or unconsciously have an influence on the process of hope. For the Christian, faith is first and foremost anchored in God and his Word. Our hope grows, in various ways, when our own story becomes one with God’s Story of Hope. Many people with cancer experience spiritual growth, a transformation of faith narratives, and get to know God in a way that would not have been possible in any other conditions. However, hope is not only spiritual hope. Hope also grows in relationships in a social constructionist process. The woman who had undergone a mastectomy and experiences unconditional acceptance in various ways of support by family members and friends, can, as a result, construct a hopeful story for the future. Acceptance of the inevitable that is happening to her, as well as the consequential self-acceptance, helps her to establish a new identity. The ability to experience loss as only a small part of one’s self-identity is crucial for the process of emotional healing. During this process of healing, hope prospers. Positivism and hope are closely related and realism is always coupled with positivism. Hope is ingrained in reality. Positive, realistic people are able to make choices that will result in hope. In this freedom of choice lies the potential to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph. A viable system of belief with regard to the purpose of life of human existence, helps in creating a foundation of hope in a person’s life. The belief that a person’s existence is purposeful, despite the inevitable tragedies of life, equips the human being to live to the full, amidst tragedies. The return of a sense of humor is one of the most secure signs of a healthy recovery. Hope is stimulated within ourselves and others when we are able to laugh at ourselves and with others, amidst sad conditions. Reconstruction can be regarded as an aid in the process of growth of hope concerning the woman’s body image, providing her with feelings of balance and completeness, and enhancing her feeling of being a woman. Shared hope is one of the strongest sources of hope for people with cancer. To be able to talk to someone who had personally suffered from and outlived breast cancer has more value than merely taking note of the statistics of survivors. People suffering from cancer also experience oases of hope in things like a book that is significant to their situation, relationships, an unexpected meeting with a breast cancer survivor, or her work. Hope also becomes manifest in nature as a symbol of life and hope, in participation in research studies, in a reliable doctor. Even more hope will be established if all women have the privilege of having breast examinations performed at breast clinics where professional and sympathetic people can announce the diagnosis in cases where cancer is indeed diagnosed. Various treatment options can be discussed. Time can be made available to prepare the entire household and provide peace of mind for the children. / Thesis (PhD (Pastoral Family Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Practical Theology / unrestricted