Humans are relational beings, as they are constantly in interaction with others and with their environment. In schools, learners spend at least nine years of their lives in formal schooling, and the relationships they have with their teachers are bound to have an impact on their self-configuration. According to the Field theory, the Bioecological theory and the Dialogical theory of self, which were used as theoretical frameworks for this study, individuals’ self-configuration is impacted by their environment, experiences and interactions with others. The focus of this study was on Grade 7 learners’ self-configuration experiences within the teacher-learner relationship. Grade 7 learners are at the beginning of the adolescent phase, which is characterised by many changes, transitions, challenges and uncertainties. One of these transitions is the forthcoming transition from primary school to high school and a healthy self-configuration could assist learners to adapt to these changes in a positive manner. The research was qualitative in nature and made use of the case study method. This allowed the researcher to use data gathering approaches through which the subjective experiences of the participants could be explored. Twelve participants volunteered to take part in this study, and data was gathered by means of individual interviews as well as group discussions. All interviews and group discussions were voice and video recorded, where after they were transcribed and analysed by means of thematic analysis. The analysis allowed for data to be organised into meaningful themes. It was found that learners’ experiences of relationships with teachers are both positive and negative. Self-regulation in learners takes place through encouragement and disapproval from teachers, as well as through lessons learnt from teachers and from past experiences. Further studies around self-configuration and teacher-learner relationships are recommended, in order to make teachers more aware of the importance of the teacher-learner relationship, and also to determine what the obstacles are in developing supportive and caring teacher-learner relationships. By highlighting the importance, and by determining the obstacles, more meaningful teacher-learner relationships could be encouraged and developed in order to enhance learners’ self-configuration experiences. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

More often than not learners with learning difficulties are treated differently from normal mainstream learners. Often they experience themselves in a less positive manner because of the interactions with various teachers who may not always have enough patience to deal with these learners while trying to cope with large numbers of learners on a daily base. This study was conducted to explore self-configuration experiences of Intermediate Phase learners with learning difficulties within the learner-teacher relationship. Literature indicates that the self is a complex construct to define and can be interpreted in various ways. The researcher aimed to understand how the self is configured in experiences that learners have with their teachers and how these experiences contribute to and affect self-configuration. The theoretical frameworks of the Dialogical Theory of Self and the Gestalt Field Theory were used to gain an understanding of how vital relations and context are in the configuration experiences of the self. A qualitative case study with purposive sampling was conducted. The study was done at a single school where all the learners in the school have learning difficulties. There were nine learners that fell in the Intermediate Phase category and all of them were boys who voluntarily participated in the research. Data were collected by means of a semi-structured interview in which the participants were asked to use incomplete sentences and a visual map that they made to help them express their experiences. A follow-up interview was conducted to check that the meaning that the learner ascribed to his incomplete sentences and visual map was accurate and an opportunity was given to add something should the participant want to. Participants were given this opportunity as some of them had difficulty in expressing themselves adequately during the first session as a result of their learning difficulties in so much as they struggle to find words that express their feelings and what they wanted to communicate. Data were transcribed and analysed by means of thematic analysis. The study indicated that it was aspects such as quality time the teachers spent with the learners and the tone of voice of the teacher that contributed to the self-configuration experiences of the learners. Further research is necessary to determine whether this is the experience in other schools that cater for learners with learning difficulties and how this knowledge may be used to bring greater awareness to teachers to better understand how learners experience their relationship with regards to self-configuration. Quantitative studies can also be conducted to investigate the impact of teacher-learner relationships on self-configuration. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Humans are relational beings, as they are constantly in interaction with others and with their environment. In schools, learners spend at least nine years of their lives in formal schooling, and the relationships they have with their teachers are bound to have an impact on their self-configuration. According to the Field theory, the Bioecological theory and the Dialogical theory of self, which were used as theoretical frameworks for this study, individuals’ self-configuration is impacted by their environment, experiences and interactions with others. The focus of this study was on Grade 7 learners’ self-configuration experiences within the teacher-learner relationship. Grade 7 learners are at the beginning of the adolescent phase, which is characterised by many changes, transitions, challenges and uncertainties. One of these transitions is the forthcoming transition from primary school to high school and a healthy self-configuration could assist learners to adapt to these changes in a positive manner. The research was qualitative in nature and made use of the case study method. This allowed the researcher to use data gathering approaches through which the subjective experiences of the participants could be explored. Twelve participants volunteered to take part in this study, and data was gathered by means of individual interviews as well as group discussions. All interviews and group discussions were voice and video recorded, where after they were transcribed and analysed by means of thematic analysis. The analysis allowed for data to be organised into meaningful themes. It was found that learners’ experiences of relationships with teachers are both positive and negative. Self-regulation in learners takes place through encouragement and disapproval from teachers, as well as through lessons learnt from teachers and from past experiences. Further studies around self-configuration and teacher-learner relationships are recommended, in order to make teachers more aware of the importance of the teacher-learner relationship, and also to determine what the obstacles are in developing supportive and caring teacher-learner relationships. By highlighting the importance, and by determining the obstacles, more meaningful teacher-learner relationships could be encouraged and developed in order to enhance learners’ self-configuration experiences. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

More often than not learners with learning difficulties are treated differently from normal mainstream learners. Often they experience themselves in a less positive manner because of the interactions with various teachers who may not always have enough patience to deal with these learners while trying to cope with large numbers of learners on a daily base. This study was conducted to explore self-configuration experiences of Intermediate Phase learners with learning difficulties within the learner-teacher relationship. Literature indicates that the self is a complex construct to define and can be interpreted in various ways. The researcher aimed to understand how the self is configured in experiences that learners have with their teachers and how these experiences contribute to and affect self-configuration. The theoretical frameworks of the Dialogical Theory of Self and the Gestalt Field Theory were used to gain an understanding of how vital relations and context are in the configuration experiences of the self. A qualitative case study with purposive sampling was conducted. The study was done at a single school where all the learners in the school have learning difficulties. There were nine learners that fell in the Intermediate Phase category and all of them were boys who voluntarily participated in the research. Data were collected by means of a semi-structured interview in which the participants were asked to use incomplete sentences and a visual map that they made to help them express their experiences. A follow-up interview was conducted to check that the meaning that the learner ascribed to his incomplete sentences and visual map was accurate and an opportunity was given to add something should the participant want to. Participants were given this opportunity as some of them had difficulty in expressing themselves adequately during the first session as a result of their learning difficulties in so much as they struggle to find words that express their feelings and what they wanted to communicate. Data were transcribed and analysed by means of thematic analysis. The study indicated that it was aspects such as quality time the teachers spent with the learners and the tone of voice of the teacher that contributed to the self-configuration experiences of the learners. Further research is necessary to determine whether this is the experience in other schools that cater for learners with learning difficulties and how this knowledge may be used to bring greater awareness to teachers to better understand how learners experience their relationship with regards to self-configuration. Quantitative studies can also be conducted to investigate the impact of teacher-learner relationships on self-configuration. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Neste trabalho, concentramo-nos em uma grande questão norteadora: a produção do discurso decisório, pelos representantes do Estado (juízes e desembargadores), no processo de subsunção da norma abstrata ao caso concreto, resulta em discursos imparciais, pautados exclusivamente na lei, ou estes discursos podem refletir decisões totalmente influenciadas e permeadas por outros discursos, representando as outras vozes que comporão conjuntamente estes discursos dialógicos? Para responder a esta questão, realizamos uma análise de sete sentenças judiciais e sete acórdãos, versantes sobre a situação jurídica de negros escravos. Como são decisões proferidas no século XIX, anos de 1873, 1874(3), 1875(3), 1876(4), 1877(3) e 1878, período de pré-vigência da Lei Áurea, encontram-se manuscritas. Por isso, utilizamos, para compreensão linguística dos manuscritos, da ciência filológica e de uma de suas formas de transcrição, a edição semidiplomática. Após a edição destas decisões, levantamos todos os aspectos do campo de produção deste gênero e do processo enunciativo, para então, posteriormente, detectarmos os recursos linguísticos e discursivos utilizados pelos magistrados em suas decisões, que revelaram como este juiz-autor de seu discurso- maneja as diversas vozes que os perpassam, as vozes dos personagens (autor, réu do processo, testemunhas), as vozes de outros julgamentos, outros tribunais ou a própria voz interior deste sujeito-autor-juiz, como uma singularidade. Com isto, objetivamos, debater o estatuto discursivo destas decisões judiciais e de suas constituição como gênero e como práxis discursiva dialógica, discussão esta amparada pelo arcabouço da teoria dialógica do discurso. / In this work, we concentrate on one major leading question: the decisive speech production by the representatives of the State (judges and high level court judges), the process of subsumption of the abstract norm to the concrete case, results on impartial speeches, guided only by the law or these speeches may reflect decisions totally permeated and influenced by other discourses, representing the other voices that compose together these dialogical discourses? To answer this question, we analyzed seven judicial judgment sentences and seven high level court judgments, about the legal status of slaves. As the decisions were made in the nineteenth century, years of 1873, 1874 (3), 1875 (3), 1876 (4), 1877 (3) and 1878, period of the Golden Law pre-term, they are handwritten. Therefore, we used, for linguistic understanding of the manuscripts, philological science and one of its forms of copying, the semidiplomatic edition. After editing these decisions, we raised all aspects of the production field of this gender and the enunciation process, and then, subsequently, detect the linguistic and discursive resources used by judges in their decisions, which showed how this Judge-author of their speech manages the several voices that permeate them, the characters voices (author, accused of the case, witnesses), the voices of other judgments, other courts or their own interior voice within this subject-author-judge, as a singularity. With this, we intend to discuss the discursive policy (statute) of these decisions and their constitution as a genre and as a dialogical discursive praxis, such discussion supported by the theoretical framework of the dialogical theory of discourse.

Neste trabalho, concentramo-nos em uma grande questão norteadora: a produção do discurso decisório, pelos representantes do Estado (juízes e desembargadores), no processo de subsunção da norma abstrata ao caso concreto, resulta em discursos imparciais, pautados exclusivamente na lei, ou estes discursos podem refletir decisões totalmente influenciadas e permeadas por outros discursos, representando as outras vozes que comporão conjuntamente estes discursos dialógicos? Para responder a esta questão, realizamos uma análise de sete sentenças judiciais e sete acórdãos, versantes sobre a situação jurídica de negros escravos. Como são decisões proferidas no século XIX, anos de 1873, 1874(3), 1875(3), 1876(4), 1877(3) e 1878, período de pré-vigência da Lei Áurea, encontram-se manuscritas. Por isso, utilizamos, para compreensão linguística dos manuscritos, da ciência filológica e de uma de suas formas de transcrição, a edição semidiplomática. Após a edição destas decisões, levantamos todos os aspectos do campo de produção deste gênero e do processo enunciativo, para então, posteriormente, detectarmos os recursos linguísticos e discursivos utilizados pelos magistrados em suas decisões, que revelaram como este juiz-autor de seu discurso- maneja as diversas vozes que os perpassam, as vozes dos personagens (autor, réu do processo, testemunhas), as vozes de outros julgamentos, outros tribunais ou a própria voz interior deste sujeito-autor-juiz, como uma singularidade. Com isto, objetivamos, debater o estatuto discursivo destas decisões judiciais e de suas constituição como gênero e como práxis discursiva dialógica, discussão esta amparada pelo arcabouço da teoria dialógica do discurso. / In this work, we concentrate on one major leading question: the decisive speech production by the representatives of the State (judges and high level court judges), the process of subsumption of the abstract norm to the concrete case, results on impartial speeches, guided only by the law or these speeches may reflect decisions totally permeated and influenced by other discourses, representing the other voices that compose together these dialogical discourses? To answer this question, we analyzed seven judicial judgment sentences and seven high level court judgments, about the legal status of slaves. As the decisions were made in the nineteenth century, years of 1873, 1874 (3), 1875 (3), 1876 (4), 1877 (3) and 1878, period of the Golden Law pre-term, they are handwritten. Therefore, we used, for linguistic understanding of the manuscripts, philological science and one of its forms of copying, the semidiplomatic edition. After editing these decisions, we raised all aspects of the production field of this gender and the enunciation process, and then, subsequently, detect the linguistic and discursive resources used by judges in their decisions, which showed how this Judge-author of their speech manages the several voices that permeate them, the characters voices (author, accused of the case, witnesses), the voices of other judgments, other courts or their own interior voice within this subject-author-judge, as a singularity. With this, we intend to discuss the discursive policy (statute) of these decisions and their constitution as a genre and as a dialogical discursive praxis, such discussion supported by the theoretical framework of the dialogical theory of discourse.

Submitted by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-07-03T13:51:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TesePZB.pdf: 1211580 bytes, checksum: cc84f624bc00d18d6c7ce9899f086781 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-07-03T13:51:47Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TesePZB.pdf: 1211580 bytes, checksum: cc84f624bc00d18d6c7ce9899f086781 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-07-03T13:51:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TesePZB.pdf: 1211580 bytes, checksum: cc84f624bc00d18d6c7ce9899f086781 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-03T13:57:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TesePZB.pdf: 1211580 bytes, checksum: cc84f624bc00d18d6c7ce9899f086781 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-24 / Não recebi financiamento / In this passage we set out to offer our counterwords to the theoretical-methodological and conception senses of Tourism produced in the academic-scientific sphere, starting from the contributions of a dialogical philosophy of Bakhtin's Circle language. Encouraged to enrich, advance and broaden an epistemological and philosophical discussion that Tourism, as a field of studies, has been providing theoretical positions, we are betting first on building approximations and understandings about knowledge in Tourism from the dialogue with two renowned authors with international insertion in the area, who together are dedicated to studies that deal with epistemology and the theoretical approaches of Tourism. Assuming as a philosophical and methodological approach the perspective of Bakhtinian studies, we take as central sign materiality the statements of these authors, extracted from a work and articles frequently revisited by the national and international scientific community. The focus of the analysis of the excerpts taken as object is to study the discursive events that focused on the production of the senses by the authors. In this meeting we seek to highlight other possible meanings and ways to build knowledge through a collating movement and openness to the multiple relationships that make it possible to build understandings and new interpretations about our objects of study. We also realize that we can establish a movement of criticism of dialogic reason in tourism studies, through the road of otherness, as a construct and a more humane path for this area and a field of growing knowledge and scientific maturity.In this sense,, we get to meet the listening to the other word in Tourism and we are looking for build our narrative project for this area. We find another word in singular narratives of life, extracted from unofficial and scientific channels of the tourist discourse, that gave the opportunity to direct other fronts of understanding for Tourism and its practices, such as the time of otherness in Tourism, which is the available(unfunctional) time for the other as a meeting of historical and cultural alterities in the multiplicity of our singular and unique relations, in the lived experience. We also reinforce the existence of a tourist language which is and has been done in daily life too, in a living esthetic of daily life that spreads through the whole day and destiny and attractive tourist and that invades every experiential space, every unfinished language.The revolution proposed by the Bakhtin Circle, carried out by the listening to the other word and loving-kindness in all relations for a possible way of building another humanism, even in the case of Tourism, once in the heart of identity lies the beauty of Otherness. We believe that this journey made it possible to broaden the epistemological horizons of tourism through a dialogical movement of deconstruction of "identity masks" for the consolidation of more solidary and human realities in Tourism, thus re-signifying its practices. / Nesta viagem, propusemo-nos a oferecer nossas contrapalavras aos sentidos teórico-metodológicos e de concepção do Turismo produzidos na esfera acadêmico-científica, partindo das contribuições de uma filosofia dialógica da linguagem do Círculo de Bakhtin. Instigados em enriquecer, avançar e alargar uma discussão epistemológica e filosófica que o Turismo como campo de estudos vem proporcionando, apostamos, primeiramente, em construir aproximações e compreensões sobre o conhecimento em Turismo a partir do diálogo com dois autores renomados e com inserção internacional na área, os quais, em conjunto, se dedicam aos estudos que versam sobre epistemologia e sobre as abordagens teóricas do Turismo. Assumindo como postura filosófica e metodológica a perspectiva dos estudos bakhtinianos, tomamos como materialidade sígnica central os enunciados dos referidos autores, extraídos de uma obra e de artigos constantemente revisitados pela comunidade científica nacional e internacional O foco da análise dos trechos tomados como objeto é estudar os eventos discursivos que incidiram na produção dos sentidos pelos autores. Nesse encontro, buscamos evidenciar outros sentidos e caminhos possíveis para construir conhecimento através de um movimento de cotejo e abertura às múltiplas relações que possibilitam construir compreensões e novas interpretações sobre nossos objetos de estudo. Percebemos que, também, podemos instaurar um movimento de crítica da razão dialógica nos estudos turísticos, pela estrada da alteridade, como constructo e caminho mais humano para essa área e campo do saber em crescimento e maturidade científica. Nesse sentido, colocamo-nos à escuta da outra palavra no Turismo e procuramos, assim, construir o nosso projeto de dizer para essa área. Encontramos uma palavra outra em narrativas singulares de vida, extraídas de canais do discurso turístico não oficiais e científicos que oportunizaram direcionar outras frentes de compreensão para o Turismo e suas práticas, como a do tempo de alteridade no Turismo, que é o tempo disponível (infuncional), para o outro como encontro de alteridades históricas e culturais na multiplicidade de nossas relações singulares e únicas na experiência vivida. Também reforçamos a existência de uma linguagem do turismo que está se faz na vida cotidiana, em uma estética viva do cotidiano que se espalha pelo dia todo e por todo o destino e atrativo turístico e que vai invadindo cada espaço vivencial, cada linguagem inacabada. A revolução bakhtiniana, leva a cabo pela escuta da outra palavra e pela amorosidade em todas as relações é um caminho possível de construção de outro humanismo, mesmo para caso do Turismo, pois no coração da identidade, encontra-se ao seu lado a beleza da alteridade. Acreditamos que essa viagem possibilitou ampliar os horizontes epistemológicos do Turismo a partir de um movimento dialógico de desconstrução de “máscaras identitárias” para a consolidação de realidades mais solidárias e humanas no Turismo, ressignificando, assim, suas práticas.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T17:27:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 regina zauk.pdf: 844467 bytes, checksum: 71615bf2938e821dea0c10753d990978 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-12 / This work is characterized as a dialogical analysis of the architectonics of the movie Amores Perros (Iñarritu, Mexico, 2000). It takes Bakhtin s dialogical theory as it basis, more specifically the concepts of architectonics and authorship (which implies those of chronotope and exotopy, as well as some proposals of authors from Film Theory, especially Robert Stam. Having a practical character, it aims to examine in which way the movie is architectonically organized for senses creation based on the articulation of different chronotopical perspectives. We discuss how the cinematographic work in analysis works with time, as well as the way this reveals the specificity of the authorial project, in order to show in which aspects this work of Iñárritu is emblematic regarding the possibility of creating simultaneity amid a chronological scenes succession. The work resorts to the concept of spheres-worlds, which refers to the ambience in which live the characters, spheres that join in terms of what we call a shattered mirror . As for the adopted proceedings, we describe the characters and their relationships and existences, considering more carefully three insertions of the same accident, vital for the narrative, and we evaluate the points of view of key characters regarding the accident, aiming at revealing the dynamics of architectonics concerning the enunciatively project of the author and the production of senses in the studied film narrative / Este trabalho caracteriza-se como uma análise dialógica da arquitetônica do filme Amores Perros (Iñarritu, México, 2000). Tem como referencial a teoria dialógica de Mikhail Bakhtin, mais especificamente os conceitos de arquitetônica e autoria (que envolvem o cronotopo e a exotopia), bem como o de teóricos de Teoria de Cinema, notadamente, Robert Stam. De caráter prático, busca examinar de que maneira se organiza arquitetonicamente o filme na criação de sentidos, a partir da articulação de diferentes perspectivas cronotópicas. Problematizamos a maneira como a obra cinematográfica, em análise, lida com o tempo, assim como a maneira como isso revela a especificidade do projeto autoral, a fim de demonstrar em que aspectos essa obra de Iñárritu é emblemática em relação à possibilidade de criar simultaneidade em meio a uma sucessão cronológica de cenas. O trabalho recorre ao conceito de esferas-mundo que remete às ambiências em que vivem as personagens, esferas que se integram nos termos do que denominamos espelho estilhaçado . Quanto aos procedimentos adotados, são descritas as personagens e suas relações e vivências, considerando, mais detidamente, as três inserções de um mesmo acidente, vital para a narrativa, e avaliamos os pontos de vista de personagens-chave quando do acidente, buscando verificar as dinâmicas da arquitetônica quanto ao projeto enunciativo do autor e à produção de sentidos na narrativa fílmica em questão

La question de l’existence de la littérature africaine n’emporte pas le sens et la valeur de cette recherche mais en constitue un enjeu essentiel. Car c’est en fonction de leurs positionnements par rapport à cette question que les travaux d’Alain Mabanckou, Léonora Miano et d’autres “enfants de la postcolonie” seront analysés comme voie d’accès à leurs identités multiples. Cette thèse est menée sous le signe de Bakhtine et du principe dialogique. Elle s’intéresse aux écrivains migrants africains et à leurs œuvres. L’approche est interdisciplinaire: elle articule recherche littéraire et psychologie sociale et culturelle. La méthodologie s’appuie sur le paradigme interprétatif, et consiste en deux corps de corpus: l’analyse littéraire d’œuvres choisies -et l’étude du fait littéraire de la migritude; et des analyses des verbatim des entretiens approfondis menés en Europe et aux Etats-Unis. En nous appuyant donc sur un corpus d'œuvres marquantes et des entretiens avec des écrivains importants, tous contemporains, nous appréhendons le Soi (self) des écrivains migrants africains comme une arène du Moi et un récit polyphonique (Bakhtine, [1987] 2013; Valsiner, 2000; Hermans et Kempen, 2010) ou comme un répertoire de Moi: les Moi-positions, lesquelles regroupent une infinité de voix narratives. Chaque voix possède un lien unique de rattachement au lieu d’accueil, une mémoire particulière de l’origine, des croyances et des poétiques propres, des convictions personnelles. Nos résultats enrichissent les débats constants au sujet de l’existence d’une littérature africaine et au sujet des positionnements identitaires des écrivains d’origine africaine. La contribution essentielle de cette thèse est la proposition d’un modèle dialogique qui reprend les étapes de la construction identitaire des écrivains migrants. Nos travaux contribuent également à la recherche sur la relation entre les œuvres et les expériences des écrivains africains en Occident. / Does African literature exist? The answer to this complex issue has been addressed in different ways. Along this research, focused on how African migrants writers negotiate and manage their muliple and often-conflicting roots in their writing worlds. In which way do they articulate different « voices » when they both live and write in countries such as France, Switzerland and the United States ? Alain Mabanckou and Leonora Miano's works for example provide contrasted narratives in terms of positionings. This dissertation goes along with the growing field of African Studies which emphasizes on identity dynamics, postcolonial and cultural matters in litterature. Drawing on a dialogical and sociocultural perspective in psychology, our findings will contribute to a better understanding of identity dynamics for people facing multiple cultural references in contexts shaped by issues of art, power, and history. This research, conducted within the framework of Bakhtin’s dialogical principle, addresses the issues of African migrant writers and their works. Its interdisciplinary approach merges literary research with social psychology. The methodology is based upon the interpretative paradigm, and consists of the literary analysis of selected works, the study of the literary fact of migritude, and an analysis of the extensive verbatim accounts recorded in Western countries.Based on a corpus of important works and of interviews with major writers, it analyzes the Dialogical Self of African migrant writers either as an “I arena” or as a “polyphonic narrative” (Bakhtine, [1987] Valsiner, 2000 ; Hermans and Kempen, 2010). The self of migrant writers is apprehended as a repertoire of “I” : I-positions that bring together an infinity of narrative voices. Each voice has a unique bond to the host country, a particular memory of origin, beliefs and poetics, personal convictions. Our results enrich the constant debates about both the existence of an African literature and the identity positions of writers of African origin living in the West. Our essential contribution is the design of a model which takes into consideration the stages of their identity construction. This work also contributes to the research on the relationship between their works and the experiences of authors, within their place of transit or establishment.

The inter-subjective and dialogical nature of narrative therapy, as commonly practiced, remains unarticulated. Further, there currently exists no rigorous empirical research investigating the process or outcome of narrative therapy. The research aim, to investigate the process and outcome of narrative therapy, comprised theoretical and empirical objectives. The first objective was to articulate a theoretical synthesis of narrative theory, research and practice. The process of narrative reflexivity was identified as a theoretical construct linking narrative theory with narrative research and practice. The second objective was to substantiate this synthesis empirically by examining narrative therapy processes, specifically narrative reflexivity and the therapeutic alliance, and their relation to therapy outcomes. The third objective was to support the proposed synthesis of theory, research and practice and provide quantitative evidence for the utility of narrative therapy, by evaluating depressive symptom and inter-personal relatedness outcomes through analyses of statistical significance, clinical significance and benchmarking. Founded in theories of self, language and narrative (James, 1890; Bruner, 1986; Gergen, 1991; Hollway, 2006; Vygotsky, 1934/ 1987), narrative therapy was conceptualized as involving dialogical and intra-personal processes. Narrative therapists generally apply a story metaphor and commonly focus on the inter-personal field (White, 2007). This thesis recognised the storied and inter-personal nature of narrative therapy, but proposed this does not represent narrative therapy in its entirety. The notion of story connotes monological processes, inconsistent with the conversations of narrative practice, and neglect of intra-personal dimensions is inconsistent with narrative notions of inter-subjectivity. This thesis proposed an integration of dialogical narrative theory (Cooper, 2003; Hermans & Kempen, 1993; Lysaker & Lysaker, 2006) and narrative research (Angus, Levitt, & Hardtke, 1999) provides a model for understanding narrative therapy (White, 2007) as involving the inter-subjective and dialogical process of narrative reflexivity. During the process of narrative reflexivity, a person engages in dialogue with his or her own self and others as extensions of self, interpreting experience from diverse perspectives in the context of personal aspects, such as beliefs, values and intentions that give meaning to experience, to achieve a rich narrative and a sense of well-being. To support this theoretical synthesis, a process-outcome trial evaluated eight-sessions of narrative therapy for 47 adults with major depressive disorder. Dependent process variables were narrative reflexivity (assessed at Sessions 1 and 8) and therapeutic alliance (assessed at Sessions 1, 3 and 8). Primary dependent outcome variables were depressive symptoms and inter-personal relatedness. Primary analyses assessed therapy outcome at pre-therapy, post-therapy and three-month follow-up and utilized a benchmarking strategy to the evaluate pre-therapy to post-therapy and post-therapy to follow-up gains, effect size and pre-therapy to post-therapy clinical significance. Results indicated that when a sub-sample of clients were categorised into five least-improved and five most-improved groups (according to depressive symptom change), there was a differential change in the percentage of reflexive sequences in the discourse of clients at the end of therapy depending on outcome. Improvement in the quality of the working alliance was associated with improvements in depressive symptoms and inter-personal relatedness, with working alliance improvement from Session 1 to 8 sharing 19% of the variance in depressive symptom improvement and 17% of the variance in inter-personal relatedness improvement from pre-therapy to post-therapy. The clinical trial provided empirical support for the utility of narrative therapy in improving depressive symptoms and inter-personal relatedness from pre-therapy to post-therapy: the magnitude of change indicating large effect sizes (d = 1.10 to 1.36) for depressive symptoms and medium effect sizes (d = .52 to .62) for inter-personal relatedness. Therapy was effective in reducing depressive symptoms in clients with moderate and severe pre-therapy depressive symptom severity. Improvements in depressive symptoms, but not inter-personal relatedness, were maintained three-months following therapy. The reduction in depressive symptoms and the proportion of clients who achieved clinically significant improvement (53%) in depressive symptoms at post-therapy were comparable to improvements from standard psychotherapies, reported in benchmark research. This research has implications for assisting our understanding of narrative approaches, refining strategies that will facilitate recovery from psychological disorder and providing clinicians with a broader evidence base for narrative practice. Despite limitations of a repeated-measures research design, use of a standardised intervention protocol, coupled with outcome evaluation of clinical significance enhanced internal validity. Future research could examine narrative therapy in a larger sample, with different disorders, and with an alternative therapy or control group. Coding a greater number of therapy transcripts for evaluating associations of narrative reflexivity with working alliance and outcomes could enhance understanding of narrative reflexivity. Thesis strengths included a strong theoretical foundation underpinning the research design and arguments, examination of therapy process in the context of outcome, and a parsimonious evaluation of narrative therapy outcomes.