This dissertation adds to the growing body of research on L2 academic discourse socialization in classroom contexts. Although the importance of students' writing in socializing them into their target discourse communities has been well documented, much less has been made of how students learn through online activities when the division between more and less knowledgeable individuals are blurred. Addressing this gap, this qualitative extended case study explored the experiences and perspectives of novice L2 graduate students in academic literacy practices that involved online writing activities. The focal participants included five first-year female graduate students from different cultural backgrounds enrolled in a graduate class during fall 2008 semester. Data sources included interviews with focal students and with the professor, class observations, field notes, questionnaires, handouts, and students' reflective essays. Anchored in language socialization theories (Duff, 1996, 2003; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986) and the notion of community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998), this study provides an ecological perspective on these five L2 students' socialization into academic literacy activities. The findings revealed how the students negotiated competence, relations, and identities to participate legitimately as competent members of their classroom communities. This study also contributes to an understanding of the changing role of novice learners in a given academic community by analyzing how they variably exercise their agency and develop their subject positioning in academic literacy activities that are imbricated in social, cultural, and discoursal contexts. Ultimately, this study enriches the notions of academic discourse socialization by demonstrating the dialogic and transformative nature of academic literacy practices mediated by online discourses in order to highlight ever more contextual information. / text

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of changes that take place in surviving HIVpositive spouses’ explanations of themselves in relation to their acquired positive status, and in relation to the role that forgiveness may play, all through Hermans’ theory of dialogical self in the self-identity reconstruction process. The interpretive qualitative paradigm was used, along with a phenomenological research design. Research was carried out in a rural area of Gwanda South Constituency in Zimbabwe. Homogenous purposive sampling was used to select five HIVpositive widows and five HIV-positive widowers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used and thematic, narrative and interpretive phenomenological analyses were employed to analyse the data. The results showed that the surviving HIV-positive spouses faced a plethora of challenges following the deaths of their partners. Identified key relations to the reconstruction of a new self were found to be: a good knowledge of HIV; being at peace with the past self; forgiveness of self; and reconciliation with what has happened. These were found to be good ingredients for quick recovery and self-identity reconstruction. Significant others play an important role in self-identity reconstruction as they offer an environment that is supportive of HIV disclosure, thereby reducing the occurrence of stigma and discrimination. The study recommends that HIV activists and all education systems that are involved in the HIV campaigns in Gwanda South Constituency incorporate teachings about and awareness of forgiveness, reconciliation, stigma and discrimination at all levels of their education efforts and campaigns. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)