This thesis argues that truth-telling in high level (nursing home) aged care is a undamentally important aspect of care that ought to reside equally alongside instrumental care. The health of the resident in a nursing home, as with individuals in other care contexts, is directly linked to care provision that allows the resident to be self determining about their care and thus allows them to make reasonable choices and decisions. This qualitative study explores the meaning of truth-telling in the care providerresident dyad in high level (nursing home) aged care. Grounded within the epistemology of social constructionism and the theoretical stance of symbolic interactionism, this study relied on oral and written text from care providers (personal care assistants and registered nurses) and residents. Thematic analysis of data relied on practices within grounded theory to determine their understanding and the conditions and consequences of their understanding about truth-telling in the nursing home. Through an understanding of the relationship-role-residency trinity, truth-telling in high level (nursing home) care comes to be understood. It has been determined that the link between truth-telling and the nature of the care provider-resident (and residents' families) relationship is that both personal carers and nurses in this study premise their understanding of truth disclosure on knowing a resident's (and resident's family's) capacity for coping with the truth and therefore catering for the resident's or family's best interests. The breadth and depth of this knowing and how the relationship is perceived and described determine what care providers will or will not tell. That is, the perceptions both personal carers and nurses have about the relationship - how they describe themselves as 'family like', 'friend' and 'stranger', has implications for the way disclosure operates and is described. Additionally, how care providers perceive and understand their role determines what care providers will or will not tell. That is, the perceptions both carers and nurses have about their own and each other's role - how they describe themselves for example as 'hands-on' carer and 'happy good nurse' has implications for the way disclosure operates and is described. Furthermore, care providers' meaning and understanding of truth-telling in aged care is not possible in the absence of an appreciation of how the care providers give meaning to and come to understand the care circumstance - residency, the aged care facility, the nursing home. That is, the perceptions both personal carers and nurses have about the aged care facility - how they describe residency as 'Home away from Home' (and what this means), as a place of little time and a plethora of situations have implications for the operation of truth-telling as a whole. Recommendations from the study include the implementation of a telling audit to better serve the truth-telling preferences of residents and the reorientation of care practices to emphasise affective care (talk rather than tasks). Furthermore, it is recommended that changes occur to the care provider roles, that care providers define themselves as facilitators rather than protectors, and education be ongoing to improve communication with and care of residents with dementia and those dying. Finally, the language of residency as 'home' needs to capture an alternate philosophy and attendant practices for improved open communication.

This study used narrative inquiry to answer the question “What are the stories of older adults who choose not to share information with health care professionals?” The study explored the experiences of older adults who did not share information with health care professionals (HCPs), who they defined as doctors. A thematic analysis of five participants’ stories revealed three themes: Illusions of Care, describing the participants’ experiences with doctors before they chose not to share information; The Last Straw, revealing the final incident that caused participants to choose not to share information; and The Mask of the Non-sharing Older Adult, describing how participants interacted with their doctors after they decided not to share information. Relationship development between older adults and their doctors, sensitive topics, issues and perceptions of ageing, and structure of the health care system contribute to the complex issue of older adults not sharing information. The decision not to share information with health care professionals may adversely affect the health and health care of older adults.

The aim of this study is to discover to what extent and in what way Peterson and Seligman’s (2004) twenty-four character strengths are present in Winnie the Pooh storybooks, and how they are depicted. Character strengths are a well-known theory in positive psychology and the analysis of children’s literature is a respected genre. A qualitative examination of the text was conducted using content and thematic analyses to extract examples of the strengths. The exemplars were coded and recoded before being subjected to a peer and supervisor review. The excerpts indicated that all strengths are depicted in the text, but Pooh is the only character to exhibit them all. A discussion of the findings revealed that no single strength could be deemed more prominent as they are intrinsically interconnected. It is recommended that the findings be reworked into a training manual for guardians to foster character strengths in young children. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

No description available.

In April 1997 Kainos Community in HMP The Verne, Dorset, England became the first faith-based prison unit to be established in the Western world. The foundations and ethos of Kainos are based on Christian concepts of ‘loving your neighbour’ and forgiveness. The community operates as a hybrid therapeutic community (TC) and cognitive behavioural programme (CBP). It is open to and inclusive of prisoners of all faiths and none. The aim of this study is to explore the Kainos community ethnographically, guided by the principles of grounded theory and thematic analysis, in order to investigate whether or not Kainos ameliorates some of the de-humanising aspects of prison, and if so, how it rehumanises the prison space. Theoretically, this study highlights the dehumanisation of imprisonment, and illuminates the role that a holistic, Christian-based approach can play in terms of making the prison environment ‘more human’. My findings reveal that on Kainos there are physical, liminal and spiritual spatial mechanisms, in which a family of sub-themes interact to enable flourishing to occur. Kainos has created a physical space in which spaces of architecture and design; sensory experience; movement; and home interact to enable flourishing, whereby prisoners feel ‘more homely’, ‘free’, safe, and calm. Kainos has created a liminal space in which spaces of atmosphere; identity; home; and creativity interact to enable flourishing, empowering prisoners in their self-expression; as a cathartic tool; and as a means of regaining or creating a new identity. Kainos has created a spiritual space in which spaces of Christian activism, love, and forgiveness enable self-worth, healing, transformation, and meaningful change. The implication is that Kainos has created spaces of flourishing, safety and peace within an otherwise dehumanising carceral space, and this plays an important role in the process of transformational change imperative in the desistance process. If society must have prisons, this study concludes that Kainos provides a model for how they should be.

The subject of this master's thesis called Family theme in Natalia Ginzburg's works is analysis of the chosen prosaic works of one of the biggest writers of the twentieth century, concentrated on the topic of the family. The introduction is a short presentation of the author (her biographical and bibliographical data). After that there is an analysis of her most known prosaic works with the family topic and with the topic of the relations in general. It is followed by more detailed analysis of her most known novel Lessico famigliare. In the final part, the work is concentrated on the biography of Manzoni's family in La famiglia Manzoni.

This study aimed at exploring chronic illness from both the perspectives of the patient, living with the illness and the professional, treating the illness. The epistemological framework is social constructionism. Qualitative research was selected as the research approach. Three in-depth interviews with three patients, suffering with a chronic illness were conducted, as well as three interviews with professionals, who had experience with patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses. Thematic analysis was the method used for the analysis of data. The stories of the participants were reconstructed in terms of themes. A comparative analysis for both participants groups was done, and linked to the relevant literature This study created an understanding of the complexity of chronic illness. The themes identified, highlighted the importance of the patient-professional relationship, specifically in the context of chronic illness. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Legislators are placing increased pressure on mining companies to improve their safety performance. The importance of safety leadership is highlighted by its role in safety culture and improving safety performance. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the impact of a coaching program on safety leadership. The main constructs namely safety culture, safety leadership and coaching was conceptualised along the humanistic paradigm, with theoretical definitions and models. In this study, safety culture is employees’ shared attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values about safety that affect their behaviour in the workplace. Safety leadership is the interpersonal influence that a leader exercises to achieve the organisation’s safety performance goals. Coaching is an interpersonal interaction that aims to improve individual performance through increased selfawareness and action plans. A theoretical model was developed to explain the elements that constitute effective safety leadership. A coaching program was developed based on executive coaching and leadership development principles. The empirical investigation was conducted in an organisation in the South African mining industry. A nested mixed methods design was followed. In the quantitative study, a 360 degree survey was employed to assess the ratings of a purposive sample (n=54) along eight dimensions before and after the coaching. Data was analysed with descriptive and inferential analysis. Results showed statistically significant improvements on accountability, collaboration, and feedback and recognition after the coaching. The results reflected differences in 360 degree ratings according to gender, race, job level, age and geographical location. The most significant improvements were for females, Africans, management, age 51-60 years, and site 2. In the qualitative study, a semi-structured interview was employed to study four cases to investigate managers’ personal experiences and changes in attitude toward safety. Data was analysed utilising thematic analysis. The findings revealed that coaching was a positive experience and contributed to changing managers’ attitudes toward safety. The research added to the field of organisational behaviour by presenting a theoretical model that enhances the understanding of safety leadership, the development of a coaching program and providing empirical evidence that the principles of coaching and leadership development can be applied to improve safety leadership. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Admin. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

In this dissertation, I investigate whether the conceptualisation of computerised technological phenomena is influenced by social variables, in particular exposure to the computer. The conceptualisation and behaviour of a group of students majoring in technology-related fields were studied. Through the application of Conceptual Blending Theory, the multi-modal desktop metaphorical blend (DMMB) (as an electronic representation of an actual office desktop) was focused on. The participants were provided with tasks with the aim of determining whether they conceptualise the electronic desktop as a literal ‘thing-in-itself’ or as an e-version of their actual desks. The intent was to examine to what extent social variables, especially exposure, motivate the nature of the conceptualisation. Therefore, it is hypothesised that exposure, regarded as the primary variable in this study, influences conceptualisation of the DMMB to the extent where the it either loses its metaphoric quality in participants, who maintain regular and prolonged exposure to the computer, or retains the metaphoric quality of the DMMB in participants, who are not exposed to the computer on a regular and prolonged basis. Two groups were distinguished based on the extent of the individual participants’ exposure to computer technology, namely a high-exposure group and a low-exposure group. A mixed method approach was used to test and analyse data collected from individual participants, as well as from the high- and low-exposure groups. Methods used to test these hypotheses included questionnaires, word association (a conceptual task), controlled observation (a behavioural task), and interviews. The resulting data were analysed by means of a thematic interview analysis and non-parametric statistical tests. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Linguistics)

Under de senaste decennierna har hållbarhetsrelaterade ämnen tagit allt större plats, både inom vetenskapen och också populärvetenskapen. Tidigare forskning visar att hållbarhetsredovisning och hållbarhetsarbete oftast studeras ur ett företagsperspektiv. Media är en viktig intressent för företag och är en av de främsta kommunikationsvägarna mellan företag och deras andra intressenter. Medias rapportering är på så sätt värdefull för båda parter. Vi har därför valt att utifrån ett intressentperspektiv studera medias rapportering av företags arbete med hållbarhet. Syftet med studien är att utifrån ett intressentperspektiv bidra med kunskap om medias roll som kritisk granskare i rapporteringen av hållbarhetsredovisning och hållbarhetsarbete. Resultatet visar att media inte axlar rollen som kritisk granskare fullt ut då rapporteringen inte är särskilt omfattande. Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av nyhetsartiklar från dagspress utifrån en abduktiv ansats. Studien har en tvärsnittsdesign i vår kvalitativa metodansats. Vår analys kan likställas med tematisk analys, då vi har skapat teman med tillhörande underkategorier för att koda vårt material. Studien utgår från tre tidningar för att fånga variationen som finns i sättet media kommunicerar och har ett interpretativistiskt angreppssätt med inspiration från det hermeneutiska perspektivet. Analysmodellen har utvecklats utifrån den teoretiska referensramen som består av litteraturöversikt och teorier. Vår forskning visar att nyhetsartiklar i regel är legitimitetsstjälpande för det omskrivna företaget. Nyhetsartiklarna berör både allmänna och specifika områden kopplat till hållbarhet och inkluderar vanligtvis opartiska röster som kommenterar texterna. Vidare kan vi konstatera att sökningen efter nyhetsartiklar utifrån våra kriterier genererade färre sökträffar än väntat. Med det sagt rapporterar media om hållbarhetsredovisning och hållbarhetsarbete i lägre grad än förväntat. I synnerhet är rapporteringen kring hållbarhetsredovisning mycket låg. Därmed kan vi påvisa att medias roll som kritisk granskare i rapporteringen av hållbarhetsredovisning och hållbarhetsarbete i nuläget är försumbar. / Over the past decades, sustainability-related subjects have become more significant, both in science and in popular science. Previous research shows that sustainability reports and sustainability work are usually studied from a business perspective. Media is an important stakeholder for businesses and is often one of the main intermediator between companies and its other stakeholders, making its reporting valuable to both parties. We have therefore chosen to adapt a stakeholder perspective that of the media is the main focus. The purpose of this study is to throughout a stakeholder perspective contribute knowledge about the role of media as a critical scrutinizer in the reporting of sustainability reports and sustainability work. The result shows that media does not take on the role as a critical scrutinizer to the fullest since the reporting is not particularly extensive. We have conducted a qualitative content analysis of popular science articles based on an abductive approach. We applied a cross-sectional design in our qualitative methodology. Our analysis can be compared to the thematic analysis, since we created themes with associated subcategories to encode our material. We based the study on three newspapers to capture the variation in the way media communicates. We adopted an interpretative approach with inspiration from the hermeneutical perspective. Our analysis model was developed based on the theoretical frame of reference based on our literature review and theories. Our research shows that news articles generally weakens the legitimacy regarding the current company. The news articles concern both general and specific areas linked to sustainability and usually include impartial voices that comment on the texts. Furthermore, we can find that the search for news articles based on our criteria generated fewer hits than we expected. In addition to this, the media coverage of sustainability reports and work is far less extensive than expected. In particular, the contribution from media on sustainability reporting is almost non-existent. Thus, we can demonstrate that the role of media as a critical scrutinizer in the reporting of sustainability reports and sustainability work in the present is negligible.