The introduction of Antiretroviral (ARV) treatment has allowed for many children living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to survive to adolescence. However for this to be a reality adherence to treatment is important. Many studies suggest that during adolescence adherence can be very challenging. However not much research has been done within the South African context to understand what HIV positive adolescents are experiencing, particularly in relation to ARV adherence. The aim of this research study was to explore the experiences of adolescents on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in order to understand what helps them to adhere to their medication and the challenges that they may have with adherence. This was achieved by carrying out 5 semi-structured in-depth interviews with HIV positive adolescents on ARVS at a shelter for HIV positive women and children in Johannesburg. A thematic content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interviews. The results indicated several factors that both assist with adherence and those that challenge adherence. The participants reflected on the importance of full disclosure which increases their understanding of the importance of adherence, having people they trust whom they can confide in and who also support them to take and adhere to the ARVs, and having a positive experience at the hospital when they go for their regular checkups. Certain defence mechanisms adopted by the adolescents to help them cope with living with HIV and having to take medication every single day of their lives were also identified. The fact that acceptance is a process was also suggested by the research findings. The challenges the adolescents face were those of stigma and a fear of being rejected, bad experiences associated with taking medication, such as the negative side effects and the disruption of their leisure time, and negative experiences from going to the hospital. This study yielded some rich information that may aid in understanding what adolescents are experiencing and facing which may inform future research studies on this topic and policies which may assist with an increase in adherence.

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of the Witwatersrand December 2016 / Within a narrative paradigm, this research project had two elements. Firstly, the project aimed to enable the researcher to gain an understanding of the construction of adolescent identity from the perspective of a cohort of first-generation, post-Apartheid adolescents as members of an NGO’s after-school support programme. Secondly, a participatory action element aimed to provide the participants with an opportunity to reflect upon their own lives in a positive, empowering way thereby providing an understanding of their past lives, strengthening a realistic power of agency for their future lives, balanced between self-identity and self transcendence in the present (Crites, 1986). Within this research, the self is theorised psychosocially, presented as both a narrated and narrating subject in which identity construction is consolidated through story-telling and the adaption of these stories to different audiences and cultural contexts. 12 volunteer participants were provided with disposable cameras and asked to take photographs of people and objects that were important to them. Using these photographs, the participants then constructed art timelines of their lives in the narrative format of ‘past’, ‘present’, and ‘future’. Each participant was then narratively interviewed twice, four months apart. The two datasets (the art timelines and the interview transcripts) were subject to three levels of analysis. Firstly, the construction of each participant’s descriptive narrative portrait was analysed across the time zones of ‘past life’, ‘present life’, and ‘future life’; secondly, thematic analysis was horizontally conducted across the narrative portraits identifying the similarities and differences between the participants, extending the specific experiences discussed by the participants into generalised themes; and thirdly, the vertical analysis of portraiture was re-invoked in greater depth, examining how the different theoretical dimensions of narrative identity identified, coalesce in one case history. The first level of analysis focused specifically on the imagoes, or personified concepts of the self, identified within the narrative portraits of three participants. It was found that these imagoes had significant effects on the identity construction of these young people, specifically on those whose parents had died. In the second phase of analysis three different dimensions of, or ways of thinking about, narrative identity were distinguished: relationality and the sense of belonging or alienation experienced by the participants in their interaction with others; the consolidation of life stories at adolescence and the participants’ social positioning within the systems of structural identity markers of race, class, gender and sexuality; and lastly the participants’ hopes and dreams, their narrative imaginations and future-orientated lives. In the third level of analysis, one participant’s narrative was selected to illustrate the theoretical concepts that underpin the construction of narrative identity, particularly constructionist intersectionality (Prins, 2006) and cultural creolisation (Glissant, 1989). These young people’s narratives indicate a patent tension between their lives to date, the histories of their families marked by insecurity and feelings of being unsafe as the effects of racism, disease and poverty, and their future imagined lives characterised by the promise of freedom and agency, education, employment and health. Through listening to and analysing these young people’s past, present and future stories, this study gained an insight into the ambivalence that exists in their lives, the contradictions they face between their moments of belonging and their moments of alienation, and how all these experiences inform and contribute to their identity constructions. / MT2017

Abstract not available

This study has adopted the metaphor of �mind-forged manacles� to explore adolescent transformation within an educational context. It does this by examining the experiences of two groups of people who participated in an intensive, one-off personal development program for adolescents, known as Discovery. The first study involves secondary school students for whom the program was part of the school curriculum. The second study consists of an older group of people who did the program during their adolescence and outside the formal education system. The third study is a contemplation of transformation derived from my experience as researcher during the course of completing this thesis. In an attempt to reflect the perspectival worldview from within which the study is created I have drawn on a range of theorists. To integrate their ideas I created three different �lenses� or ways of viewing the data. The first lens is developed from consciousness theory, the second from process philosophy and complex self-organising systems theory, and the third from individual humanistic psychology. The educational pedagogy is holistic and embraces developmental models of thinking and learning. The study uses participant reflection to argue that a program of intentionally focussed challenges, combined with the support that enables these challenges to be successfully met, can be transformational for many young people. It suggests that the complex postmodern world requires teachers to be aware of their own and their students� consciousness, and demands learning experiences that are deliberately focussed on helping the process of consciousness transformation rather than only on achieving predetermined outcomes. Transformation is understood as a shift to a different order of consciousness in which it is how one sees rather than what one sees that changes. With each shift towards a new order of consciousness the mind-forged manacles are loosed and individuals accept increasing responsibility for their lives and how they live them. Educational programs can be developed to assist this process.

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1983.

The ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Jewish community includes the Hasidim and misnagdim who believe that they are the true followers of God's commandments, as He intended them to be followed when presented at Sinai, and as interpreted and codified by the Mishnah, Talmud, and other Rabbinic works. Little research has examined deviance within this group. This thesis delves into types of deviant behaviors taking place among haredi adolescents, as well as their causes, so that effective interventions, sensitive to the virtually unique needs of this group, can be implemented. Theoretical definitions of deviance are examined as they relate to this community and its emphasis on religious observance. Ultimately, deviance is defined as matters that can distract the individual from expected levels of religious observance. / Using Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model of Human Development, this thesis also explores the environmental factors contributing to a rise in deviant behavior in segments of the Montreal ultra-Orthodox community. From an analysis of data obtained from numerous interviews with community members as well as with mental health professionals familiar with this group, four contributing factors to the rise of deviant behavior among adolescent boys are identified. These factors test current haredi methods of maintaining strong cultural boundaries and may suggest that changes are necessary to cope with current challenges. The lure of mainstream culture is a strong draw for adolescents and advances in technology allow these individuals to easily engage in secret deviant behavior while remaining in good standing within the community. Moreover, the rigid structure of the school day with its long hours and intensive curriculum makes it difficult to accommodate the needs of all students. Changes in family structure, dynamics, and composition, as well as an increasingly stringent interpretation of religious law have also contributed to a rise in deviance. Finally, community financial weakness is explored as it relates to adolescence and a loss of religious identity.

The objectives of this work are to: - Explore the concept of adolescent vulnerability; - Establish easily administered, reliable means of early identification of the most vulnerable; and - Suggest some school level interventions. This research focuses on adolescents in a socially deprived area. The thesis contains two parts: Part I explores the theoretical contexts, examining the social, educational and moral climate, and concludes that potential vulnerability is not being identified early enough in young people's lives for effective interventions to be implemented. The phenomenon and experience of adolescence is explored from a variety of perspectives, and various definitions of adolescence examined. The broad range of experience representing both typical and atypical adolescence is considered. A range of socio-economic factors and psychometric measures are reviewed for potential use as early indicators of vulnerability. The four screening measures chosen from the range reviewed are social deprivation, selfesteem, locus of control (LoC) and coping strategies. Social deprivation indicators establish background levels of life chances and prospects. Selfesteem is used to identify the most vulnerable; locus of control adds information about the nature of their vulnerability, and coping strategies informs potential practical interventions. Part 2 focuses on practical research. The prospects of the subject population are explored using a range of indicators, including the social and educational alienation and dysfunction of its young adolescents. Six hypotheses are defined and the selected psychometric tools piloted and administered on all of Year 7 of the subject school. Pupils are identified as either vulnerable or not identifiably vulnerable. Case studies using semi-structured interviews are conducted, adding a qualitative, experiential dimension to the statistical, psychometric findings. Based on this research conclusions are drawn which have academic application and directly inform practical interventions which, if implemented in early adolescence, would potentially alleviate the identified vulnerability.

This study has adopted the metaphor of �mind-forged manacles� to explore adolescent transformation within an educational context. It does this by examining the experiences of two groups of people who participated in an intensive, one-off personal development program for adolescents, known as Discovery. The first study involves secondary school students for whom the program was part of the school curriculum. The second study consists of an older group of people who did the program during their adolescence and outside the formal education system. The third study is a contemplation of transformation derived from my experience as researcher during the course of completing this thesis. In an attempt to reflect the perspectival worldview from within which the study is created I have drawn on a range of theorists. To integrate their ideas I created three different �lenses� or ways of viewing the data. The first lens is developed from consciousness theory, the second from process philosophy and complex self-organising systems theory, and the third from individual humanistic psychology. The educational pedagogy is holistic and embraces developmental models of thinking and learning. The study uses participant reflection to argue that a program of intentionally focussed challenges, combined with the support that enables these challenges to be successfully met, can be transformational for many young people. It suggests that the complex postmodern world requires teachers to be aware of their own and their students� consciousness, and demands learning experiences that are deliberately focussed on helping the process of consciousness transformation rather than only on achieving predetermined outcomes. Transformation is understood as a shift to a different order of consciousness in which it is how one sees rather than what one sees that changes. With each shift towards a new order of consciousness the mind-forged manacles are loosed and individuals accept increasing responsibility for their lives and how they live them. Educational programs can be developed to assist this process.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.