A growing body of research has emphasized the prevalent mental health problems faced by the fastest-growing demographic segment of Canada’s population, older adults, in addition to their particularly low rates of mental health service use. Research has also begun to demonstrate that although older adults express a desire to be involved in their health care decision-making, they are often not given sufficient information to participate in this process. In light of low rates of service use and generally poor mental health literacy, defined as knowledge and beliefs about the recognition, prevention, and management of mental health problems, several researchers posit that older adults experience a gap in the knowledge translation of mental health information. The present research explores older adults’ pathways to mental health information and treatment. In Study 1, individual interviews were conducted with older adults who came to seek psychological treatment for mental health problems (n = 15), and analyzed according to narrative analysis. The main storylines across participants’ narratives of treatment seeking included resistance to being labeled with mental health problems, muddling through the treatment seeking process, and interpretations of psychological treatment. Findings are discussed within the context of increasing efforts to enhance clarity in the complex process of seeking treatment for mental health problems. In Study 2, older adults’ mental health information preferences and predictors of information preferences were examined in a sample of community-dwelling older adults (n = 229). Results demonstrated that despite being unfamiliar with mental health treatment options, older adults reported a strong interest in receiving detailed information concerning a variety of mental health treatment options. Family, friends, and health care providers were highly rated informational sources; and written formats and discussions with health care providers were highly rated informational formats. The most consistent predictors of mental health information preferences included attitudes toward seeking psychological treatment and social support. Findings are contextualized within the importance of increasing the mental health literacy of older adults through knowledge translation efforts. Overall, findings of this research provide clear directions for decreasing the gap in mental health knowledge translation among older adults. / October 2016

This thesis examined to what extent a particular class of highly mobile professionals has internalized the contemporary discourse of corporate global nomadism, proposed by the researcher as an example of the kind of corporate discourses that are emerging to encompass the ideology of neoliberalism and which are inscribed in a particular genre of popular managerial and globalization literature through prescription of ideal attitudes and forms of behaviour. The researcher selected a representative sample of corporate texts that comprises books by management gurus and popular writers on globalization and corporate websites by consultancy firms, and collected personal narratives or life stories from a sample of professionals who in the pursuit of work have relocated internationally more than once. These texts were cross-analysed to identify how the discourse of corporate global nomadism is manifested, whether in similar or contradictory ways. This analysis combined the methodological framework of critical discourse analysis with narrative analysis, with a particular emphasis on deconstruction and intertextuality. A characteristic feature of this study is the use of online communication technologies to encompass research participants who are geographically dispersed. The principal original contribution to knowledge of this dissertation is the relationship made between the contemporary discourse of corporate global nomadism and the ideology of neoliberalism. The methodologies and methods used in the elaboration of this research are also important contributions. The most prominent finding of this study is that the attitudes of the research participants towards their own mobility are contradictory as their self-representation from the standpoints of the context of work and the private sphere are discursively confronted. This dissonance in the narratives represents struggles in the life of the research participants as they attempt to meet corporate demands for continuous global mobility. The findings of this study show that despite the persuasive power of certain corporate discourses they are not passively assumed by individuals, meaning that the hegemony of neoliberal capitalism as a dominant ideology underlying modern organizations is not absolute, because individuals consciously or subconsciously resist and challenge the messages it conveys.

Successful aging: coping strategies Abstract The goal of the present work is to explore strategies used by seniors in order to achieve the successful aging. Theoretical and methodological bases are formed by the hermeneutic-narrative approach. The empirical material consists of five narratives collected using the method of narrative interview. For narrative analysis of the interview there are two different interpretive perspectives used: Imagoes and Coping strategies. The work follows the concept of "The ninth stage of human development", whose authors are J. M. Erikson and E. H. Erikson, and focuses on the topic of how to be successful in the ninth stage. Keywords: successful aging, coping strategies, narrative analysis

The aim of this study is to examineindividuals talk about their experience of being exposed to hate crimes, how their exposure has influenced their everyday lives, how the individuals experience the policeinteraction, what affects the choice to report or not, but also to see if there is any difference between theexposure for females and males. Themain results that individuals feel because of the exposure, are a great concern and a limitation on everyday life. Individuals experience a positive first impression of the police, which turns to negativity when the investigation is not completed. This is often given as reason not to file a report. A view also develops that shows that females are both more concerned and exposed. One of the most important conclusionsare that social constructs in society have an impact on how the surrounding society, and the victim in person view their exposure. / Syftet är att studeraindividers berättelser om sina upplevelser av att utsättas för hatbrott. Hur utsattheten påverkat individer i deras vardag, hur individerna upplever bemötandet av polisen, vad som har betydelse för om man väljer att inte anmäla en händelse men också om man upplever skillnader mellan kvinnor och mäns utsatthet. Huvudresultaten visar att individer till följd av utsattheten känner en stark oro samt begränsning i vardagen. Individer upplever ofta första intrycket med polisen positivt vilket förändras till negativt då utredningen inte fullföljs. Detta anges ofta som förklaring till varför man inte anmäler. Framkommer gör också uppfattningen om att kvinnor både är mer rädda och utsatta. En av de viktigaste slutsatser som gjorts är att sociala konstruktioner i samhället har betydelse för hur omgivningen och offret själv ser på sin utsatthet

The aim of this thesis is to understand how a repertoire of municipal planning narratives evolved and how these were used as a means to explain, legitimise and produce change in a city that went through a process of urban transformation. The focus is set on the role of narratives in municipal plans as a mental preparation for change. In order to reach this aim, a framework for narrative analysis is developed that shall facilitate a critical reading of such municipal planning documents as comprehensive plans. This shall help to understand among other things how place and community are constructed. This framework is used to interpret four documents of the municipality of Karlskrona, one introductory guide for new inhabitants from 1980, and three consecutive comprehensive plans, adopted in 1991, 2002 and 2010. In short, the narrative analysis consists of four different ways of reading each respective document. First, more or less coherent narratives are identified in the texts. Second, they are analysed with respect to their literary and rhetoric form, in a way that is inspired by historian and literary theorist Hayden White. A third reading places the documents’ narratives into their historical context. Finally, they are classified as certain narratives of place identity on the basis of a typology developed by sociologist Manuel Castells. He states that identities can be constructed with help of narratives that legitimise the existing societal structures, that stand in opposition to these structures, or that create a new identity out of available resources. Based on these readings, I find that the four documents use very different literary and rhetorical forms and that they construct the place’s identity in ways clearly distinct from each other. They express various moral and political perspectives and convey clearly distinct social norms regarding the role of inhabitants and the municipality. Over the decades, there has been a clear shift of expressed values from those that support a leading role of the (local) state in fostering local development to those that highlight the importance of market actors and market forces. A similar change has occurred from the pronunciation of state responsibility for the inhabitant’s well-being to a greater focus on individual responsibility. This confirms the notion that municipal planning is increasingly influenced by ideas of neoliberal development. It could also be observed that storytelling and a purposeful narrative construction of place identity have become more prominent as instruments of planning. Planning narratives were clearly used to explain and legitimise shifts or persistence in municipal policymaking. Due to this it can be concluded that in the eyes of local policy makers, the municipality seems to have gone through a complete process of urban transformation from being in a state of decline to one of stabilised growth.

Thesis advisor: Dennis Shirley / Since 2010, many states in America have implemented the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. Yet there is a gap in the research when it comes to ELA teachers’ experiences with the CCSS. This dissertation uses narrative thematic analysis (Reissman, 2008) to explore how eight public school, grade 6-12 ELA teachers make sense of the CCSS. The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute a more complex picture of how educators make sense of national policy in light of their curricular choices, motivations for teaching, and their beliefs about the purposes of ELA education. Narrative thematic analysis revealed that the eight teachers in this study have conflicting views about the CCSS and its impact on their teaching and beliefs. Many of the teachers described significant worry regarding the CCSS during their initial involvement. However, as time progressed, teachers described a growing sense of excitement about the CCSS. Issues such as school climate, process of implementation, and amount of pressure were significant factors contributing to the teachers’ experiences. Regarding the specific shift prescribed by the CCSS towards more nonfiction in the curriculum for ELA classes, teachers discussed fear, confusion, and, eventually, enthusiasm as responses to this initiative. An outlier among the data set described feelings of loss and sadness regarding creative content that was lost due to the CCSS. In concert with narrative thematic analysis (Reissman, 2008) I utilized the conceptual framework of sensemaking theory (Weick, 1995; 2005), to contextualize the stories teachers shared in this study. Social and relational emphases emerged as dominant ways teachers made sense of their work and their responses to the CCSS. Experiences with the CCSS are far more complex than typically reported. More inclusion of teacher voices and experiences has immense power to shape future policy and implementation. Additionally, inclusion of teacher narratives can significantly contribute to the research on creating supportive cultures and contexts in which standards and educational expectations are both created and utilized. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

This research examined the stories of three teachers with learning disabilities at the inception of their teaching careers. The research explored the composition of the teacher's professional knowledge, described in the literature as consisting of academic knowledge and personal knowledge. Would the teacher with learning disabilities express her painful childhood school memories in her presentday professional deliberations, as is indicated in the literature relating to case descriptions and research studies? The research question was: what does the 'personal self' of the teacher with learning disabilities at the inception of her career contribute to her 'professional self'? Assisted by the narrative approach that sees a person as creating stories that structure and express his identity, the teachers' stories were collected, recorded and later analysed by interpretative analysis which related to the story's structure and contents. Research data were collected from three sources: the autobiographical story of the teacher presenting personal memories and interpretation for past life events, which illustrate the teacher's interpersonal self and the intrapersonal self. The teacher's reflective feedback regarding her lessons, presented the teacher's interpretations of her professional considerations and a description of an educational event from her work revealed her educativevalue world. All these demonstrated her professional knowledge. The research findings show that coherence exists between the personal story and the professional story and the organising positioning in each of the teacher's stories was identified. It was found that the professional considerations of the teacher, including didactic knowledge, pedagogic knowledge, use of reasoned rules and reading the class map, acted on a background of knowledge that was gathered from the 'personal self' and this enriched the teacher's 'professional self' at the inception of her career.

Esta pesquisa tem como objeto narrativas biográficas de meninas autoras de violência física. Analiso 22 narrativas biográficas de adolescentes mulheres cumprindo medida socioeducativa pelo cometimento de atos de violência física (homicídio, tentativa de homicídio, latrocínio e sequestro) no Centro de Atendimento Socioeducativo Feminino do Rio Grande do Sul (Casef-RS). Busco entender de que forma as experiências de violência (tanto sofridas quanto praticadas), as representações e as práticas de gênero figuram e se interseccionam nas narrativas biográficas das adolescentes entrevistadas. Analiso os tipos de relação que as adolescentes estabelecem entre violência física e sua posição como mulher nos espaços sociais por que transitam. Interessa-me entender como práticas e representações de gênero aparentemente contrárias à feminilidade enfatizada (como é o caso da violência física) são reguladas e significadas dentro de seus contextos específicos. Procuro apreender as condições em que o cometimento de violência é significado, pelas adolescentes, como coerente com sua posição como mulher, e em que condições isso não ocorre. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa se insere nos debates sobre a prevalência da agência (a resistência) ou da estrutura social (a vitimização) nas práticas e representações de mulheres autoras de violência. Como referencial teórico-metodológico, utilizo a teoria das práticas de Pierre Bourdieu. Diante da importância da análise de narrativas de mulheres criminalizadas para apreender tanto as estruturas sociais quanto os sentidos subjetivos que elas atribuem à violência, utilizo o conceito de habitus narrativo desenvolvido por Fleetwood, a partir do qual procuro conciliar as proposições de Bourdieu com a análise narrativa. Neste trabalho, analiso em profundidade oito narrativas, divididas em quatro grupos. Para cada grupo, foram selecionados relatos que estabelecem relações específicas entre feminilidade e cometimento de violência. São esses grupos: (i) narrativas de meninas envolvidas diretamente com o tráfico de drogas; (ii) de meninas que cometeram atos violentos contra outras mulheres; (iii) de meninas que foram obrigadas a cometer os atos pelos quais cumprem medida socioeducativa; e (iv) de meninas que cometeram violência em defesa própria ou de outras pessoas. Concluo que o cometimento de violência por parte das meninas é compreendido por elas como coerente com a manutenção de sua feminilidade em determinados contextos. Assim, certas práticas violentas não fazem delas menos mulheres, tampouco são praticadas em resistência ou desacordo com suas percepções sobre o que cabe a uma menina fazer. As posições tomadas pelas meninas, em situações nas quais a violência é percebida como legítima e coerente com a feminilidade, são: (i) como profissionais, na tomada de responsabilidade em uma situação de trabalho no narcotráfico; (ii) como rivais ou esposas, agindo em prol da manutenção das relações monogâmicas heterossexuais e (iii) como sobreviventes, por necessidade imediata, autodefesa ou proteção de outros. Logo, argumento que não há por parte das meninas uma negação da feminilidade enfatizada. Proponho que o que ocorre é uma transformação e uma negociação das condições de reprodução desta feminilidade, em um processo que torna práticas violentas condizentes com a ordem de gênero de tais contextos. / This research analyses the biographical narratives of teenage girls who committed violent acts. I have collected 22 narratives of female juvenile offenders currently incarcerated due to violent offenses (homicide, attempted homicide, robbery murder, and kidnapping) at the Center for Social and Educational Services for Teenage Women, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. I aim at understanding how these girls representations of gender and physical violence (both suffered and committed) intersect in their biographical narratives. Thus, I investigate the connections they establish between their violent practices and the positions they occupy as young women in their social space. I focus on how gender practices that seem contrary to emphasized femininity (such as the practice of violence) are regulated and negotiated in these girls social context. I aim at understanding under which conditions the practice of physical violence is regarded as coherent with the girls femininity, and under which conditions it is not. Thus, this research inserts itself in the ongoing debate about whether it is agency (in the form of a resistance to gender norms) or social structure (in the form of victimization) that prevails in violent womens practices and representations of gender. In order to escape this dichotomy, I analyse these narratives through the lens of Pierre Bourdieus theory of practice. Aiming at apprehending both material conditions and subjective meanings attributed to femininity and violence, I use the concept of narrative habitus, as established by Fleetwood, to analyse these stories. In this dissertation, I analyse eight narratives in depth, dividing them in four groups. Each group is composed by narratives which comprise similar associations between femininity and violence. These groups are: (i) narratives of girls who are directly involved in the drug trade; (ii) narratives of girls who attacked other women; (iii) narratives of girls who were forced to commit violence and (iv) narratives of girls who committed violence to defend themselves or others. I have found that girls perceive their violent acts as coherent to their femininity in some contexts. Thus, some violent practices do not put them in conflict with their feminine identity and are not perceived as a form of resistance to gender expectations. In these girls understanding, legitimate and intelligible reasons and positions to commit violence and maintain their status as women are: (i) as professionals, when they are in charge of the drug trade; (ii) as rivals or spouses, when they commit violence against other girls who threat their heterosexual relationships; and (iii) as survivors, when they feel they have no choice other than to commit violence, to protect themselves or others. I argue, then, that these girls do not deny emphasized femininity, but that the conditions under which this femininity is socially accepted and reproduced is transformed and negotiated in these girls social context to accommodate practices like violence.

Esta pesquisa tem como objeto narrativas biográficas de meninas autoras de violência física. Analiso 22 narrativas biográficas de adolescentes mulheres cumprindo medida socioeducativa pelo cometimento de atos de violência física (homicídio, tentativa de homicídio, latrocínio e sequestro) no Centro de Atendimento Socioeducativo Feminino do Rio Grande do Sul (Casef-RS). Busco entender de que forma as experiências de violência (tanto sofridas quanto praticadas), as representações e as práticas de gênero figuram e se interseccionam nas narrativas biográficas das adolescentes entrevistadas. Analiso os tipos de relação que as adolescentes estabelecem entre violência física e sua posição como mulher nos espaços sociais por que transitam. Interessa-me entender como práticas e representações de gênero aparentemente contrárias à feminilidade enfatizada (como é o caso da violência física) são reguladas e significadas dentro de seus contextos específicos. Procuro apreender as condições em que o cometimento de violência é significado, pelas adolescentes, como coerente com sua posição como mulher, e em que condições isso não ocorre. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa se insere nos debates sobre a prevalência da agência (a resistência) ou da estrutura social (a vitimização) nas práticas e representações de mulheres autoras de violência. Como referencial teórico-metodológico, utilizo a teoria das práticas de Pierre Bourdieu. Diante da importância da análise de narrativas de mulheres criminalizadas para apreender tanto as estruturas sociais quanto os sentidos subjetivos que elas atribuem à violência, utilizo o conceito de habitus narrativo desenvolvido por Fleetwood, a partir do qual procuro conciliar as proposições de Bourdieu com a análise narrativa. Neste trabalho, analiso em profundidade oito narrativas, divididas em quatro grupos. Para cada grupo, foram selecionados relatos que estabelecem relações específicas entre feminilidade e cometimento de violência. São esses grupos: (i) narrativas de meninas envolvidas diretamente com o tráfico de drogas; (ii) de meninas que cometeram atos violentos contra outras mulheres; (iii) de meninas que foram obrigadas a cometer os atos pelos quais cumprem medida socioeducativa; e (iv) de meninas que cometeram violência em defesa própria ou de outras pessoas. Concluo que o cometimento de violência por parte das meninas é compreendido por elas como coerente com a manutenção de sua feminilidade em determinados contextos. Assim, certas práticas violentas não fazem delas menos mulheres, tampouco são praticadas em resistência ou desacordo com suas percepções sobre o que cabe a uma menina fazer. As posições tomadas pelas meninas, em situações nas quais a violência é percebida como legítima e coerente com a feminilidade, são: (i) como profissionais, na tomada de responsabilidade em uma situação de trabalho no narcotráfico; (ii) como rivais ou esposas, agindo em prol da manutenção das relações monogâmicas heterossexuais e (iii) como sobreviventes, por necessidade imediata, autodefesa ou proteção de outros. Logo, argumento que não há por parte das meninas uma negação da feminilidade enfatizada. Proponho que o que ocorre é uma transformação e uma negociação das condições de reprodução desta feminilidade, em um processo que torna práticas violentas condizentes com a ordem de gênero de tais contextos. / This research analyses the biographical narratives of teenage girls who committed violent acts. I have collected 22 narratives of female juvenile offenders currently incarcerated due to violent offenses (homicide, attempted homicide, robbery murder, and kidnapping) at the Center for Social and Educational Services for Teenage Women, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. I aim at understanding how these girls representations of gender and physical violence (both suffered and committed) intersect in their biographical narratives. Thus, I investigate the connections they establish between their violent practices and the positions they occupy as young women in their social space. I focus on how gender practices that seem contrary to emphasized femininity (such as the practice of violence) are regulated and negotiated in these girls social context. I aim at understanding under which conditions the practice of physical violence is regarded as coherent with the girls femininity, and under which conditions it is not. Thus, this research inserts itself in the ongoing debate about whether it is agency (in the form of a resistance to gender norms) or social structure (in the form of victimization) that prevails in violent womens practices and representations of gender. In order to escape this dichotomy, I analyse these narratives through the lens of Pierre Bourdieus theory of practice. Aiming at apprehending both material conditions and subjective meanings attributed to femininity and violence, I use the concept of narrative habitus, as established by Fleetwood, to analyse these stories. In this dissertation, I analyse eight narratives in depth, dividing them in four groups. Each group is composed by narratives which comprise similar associations between femininity and violence. These groups are: (i) narratives of girls who are directly involved in the drug trade; (ii) narratives of girls who attacked other women; (iii) narratives of girls who were forced to commit violence and (iv) narratives of girls who committed violence to defend themselves or others. I have found that girls perceive their violent acts as coherent to their femininity in some contexts. Thus, some violent practices do not put them in conflict with their feminine identity and are not perceived as a form of resistance to gender expectations. In these girls understanding, legitimate and intelligible reasons and positions to commit violence and maintain their status as women are: (i) as professionals, when they are in charge of the drug trade; (ii) as rivals or spouses, when they commit violence against other girls who threat their heterosexual relationships; and (iii) as survivors, when they feel they have no choice other than to commit violence, to protect themselves or others. I argue, then, that these girls do not deny emphasized femininity, but that the conditions under which this femininity is socially accepted and reproduced is transformed and negotiated in these girls social context to accommodate practices like violence.

abstract: This study explores the online recruitment and mobilization of followers in a social movement. In this study, I identify and analyze how certain narratives were produced, distributed and recirculated online by a social movement organization that depicted players in the movement in ways that engaged followers in actions of advocacy and support. Also, I examine how particular narratives were taken up, negotiated, amplified, and distributed by online supporters who eventually become co-tellers of the narrative and ultimately advocates on behalf of the social movement. By examining a selection of media statements, open letters, protest speeches, blogs, videos and pictures, I show how online practices might contribute to inspiring and mobilizing action or responses from a large number of followers. Data include selected excerpts from an online social movement that began in Norway in 2015 and later gathered momentum and strength outside of Norway and Europe. This multi-modal analysis of digital practices demonstrates how collaboratively produced narratives (e.g., of suffering, sorrow, persecution or resilience) emerge and gain traction in the digital space, the relationship between the temporal and spatial dimensions of narrative, and the role of collective memory in building a sense of community and shared identity. Demonstrating the dialogic and interactional dimensions of meaning-making processes, this case study informs how we might theorize and understand the role of identity and narrative in the emergence and amplification of social movements. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2019