HNC incidence and mortality is greater in men and is associated with high risk behaviours and social deprivation. HNC is frequently diagnosed at advanced stages requiring multi-modality treatment which can have a significant impact on appearance and function. Gender can influence health behaviours yet research into male experiences of cancer has primarily focussed on prostate cancer and HNC is an area which is under investigated. The aim of this study was to explore how men with HNC experience appearance and functional change in the first 12 months following diagnosis. Grounded theory methodology (GT) was chosen as the overall purpose of GT is the generation of theory from the data which has explanatory power and advances the understanding of social and psychological phenomena. Retrospective semi-structured interviews were performed with 12 men who were 12 to 24 months post-diagnosis. Key components of GT practice used were simultaneous data collection and analysis, constructing analytic categories from the data, constant comparison, memo-writing and theoretical sampling. Three categories emerged from the data which were inter-related: normalising change; “under siege”: getting through treatment; and reclaiming self. The core category was reconciling change; a new normal which reflects the social and psychological processes involved in accommodating and assimilating change in appearance and function for men with HNC. The substantive theory provides insight into how men with HNC prioritise function and actively distance themselves from concerns regarding appearance. Furthermore, it identifies men who are at risk of social anxiety and isolation due to multiple changes or body incompetence. This study builds on theories of masculinity, body image and disfigurement. The substantive theory developed provides health and social care professionals with new knowledge to support clinical practice and improve care provision.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:56:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CinthiaSO_TESE.pdf: 4439176 bytes, checksum: 4a9fb3c961f80971e11ea214049dd828 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-17 / This paper presents the theoretical-methodological possibilities of the French philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre, for the discipline of architecture and urbanism in an effort to overcome the fragmentation imposed by the institutionalization of science in general. From Du rural ? l'urbain (Lefebvre, 1970) compilation, it brings the author's other works from the period between 1968 and 1974, indicating the conduits for reflection and their interrelationships with methods, types of analyses and other procedures to treat the space-time urban. The methodology involves a research on the author s 'today and yesterday' in the scientific field, a research and analysis of his procedures in highlight of philosophical, social, economic and political aspects, the historical context of his references and provides significant and possible elements for the study, research and extension in the area in question / Este trabalho apresenta possibilidades te?rico metodol?gicas do fil?sofo e soci?logo franc?s, Henri Lefebvre, para a disciplina de arquitetura e urbanismo, no esfor?o de ultrapassar a fragmenta??o imposta pela institucionaliza??o das ci?ncias de modo geral. A partir da compila??o Du rural ? l urbain (LEFEBVRE, 1970), abrange outras obras do autor do per?odo entre 1968 e 1974, indicando condutas para a reflex?o e suas inter-rela??es com m?todos, categorias de an?lises e outros procedimentos para tratar o espa?o-tempo de vida urbana. A metodologia envolve pesquisas sobre o ontem e o hoje do autor no meio cient?fico, investiga??es e an?lises dos seus procedimentos ? luz de aspectos filos?ficos, sociais, econ?micos e pol?ticos, a contextualiza??o hist?rica de suas refer?ncias e apresenta elementos significativos e poss?veis para o estudo, a pesquisa e a extens?o na ?rea em quest?o

This thesis examines pupils’ justice conceptions regarding educational assessment. Due to the context-dependency of norms and values as well as of assessment, the study compares the justice conceptions of pupils in two different’socio-educational’ contexts: Sweden and Germany. The main interest of the study is to understand and to reconstruct pupils’ own relevance structures and what just assessment means from a pupils’ point of view. Here, the study aims to reach beyond the level of mere description by providing theoretical conceptualisations of pupils’ justice conceptions regarding assessment. Thus, the study´s methodological foundation is characterised by a combination of a context-sensitive comparative approach on the one hand, and on the other hand a pragmatist Grounded Theory approach. Data were mainly generated through focus group interviews with pupils attending the last year of the lower secondary level in the Swedish comprehensive school as well as in different school types in the German school system. In total, the sample consists of 95 pupils, who were interviewed in 21 focus group interviews. In addition, other sources of data were included, such as regulations and guidelines that supported a context-sensitive analysis of pupils’ conceptions. The theoretical conceptualisation that explains pupils’ justice conceptions is ‘meta-assessment’. ‘Meta-assessment’ refers to pupils’ evaluation of the assessment they experience in terms of justice and represents the shared, abductively derived and overlying analytical category regarding pupils’ conceptions. Pupils’ ‘meta-assessment’ is based on normative justice conceptions as well as on justice conceptions that are related to pupils’ situation and context-bound experiences with assessment. The first ones are about the ethico-moral character of pupils’ justice conceptions. The second shed light on the contextual conditions and consequences of the logics and practices underlying educational assessment as experienced by pupils on an everyday basis. This implies that just assessment from a pupils’ perspective needs to be understood in its wider contextual embedment; and in relation to teaching and learning in order to understand the complex interrelations of what just assessment ‘is’, and ‘should be’ from the perspective of those, who are mainly affected by it.

This chapter presents a grounded-theory-oriented analysis of central discussions of the ICMLV symposium which tries to clarify which tertia comparationis the participants referred upon. In total, nine implicitly and seven explicitly used T.C. are presented. An additional analysis yields that a meaning-oriented understanding of culture was in majority used throughout the symposium.

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This thesis considers a theoretical tradition which is concerned with how adult literacies education might not always serve to socialise students into existing society, instead encouraging possibilities for desirable alternatives to it. Without this possibility, adult literacies education might only be understood as a socialising machine that slots students into society as it stands and where the role of research is to describe its operation. My research describes a long-standing refusal by educators, researchers and students to accept this possibility and my thesis continues this tradition. Through the analysis and interplay of the work of Pierre Bourdieu, James Paul Gee, Paulo Freire, Jacques Rancière, I distinguish between empowerment and emancipation in the context of literacies education. I set out the assumptions that Bourdieu and Gee make, how they understand power, identity, discourse and oppression, and what this means for the practice of an empowering adult literacies education. I also present assumptions made by Freire and Rancière, how they understand equality and oppression, and how an emancipatory literacies education might be understood and practiced. In particular, I describe how education for ‘empowerment’ encourages practices underpinned by the assumption that ideological processes prevent students from understanding how oppression is manifested. In contrast, I describe how an emancipatory education implies enacting educational relationships that are not reliant on this assumption, whilst exerting a social response to societal oppression. I make three claims. Firstly, that the idea of an emancipatory literacies education has come to be neglected or conflated with the idea that literacies education might empower, which has come to hold great sway. In so doing, I critique Freire’s work whilst reclaiming it as an emancipatory project. Secondly, that the educational practices associated with adult literacies for empowerment can be understood to encourage the socialisation of students into society as it stands. This emphasises the importance of distinguishing between empowerment and emancipation in the context of adult literacies education. Finally, that emancipation is a notion that must continue to be questioned and explored if educators, students and academics are to take responsibility for the practice of adult literacies education and its consequences. An emancipatory literacies education cannot be reliant upon the assumption that discourse is inherently ideological. Instead, it is predicated upon teachers and students assuming that emancipation is possible and acting on that assumption.

This qualitative study develops a model of a virtual community for people with longterm, severe physical or mobility disabilities. The model also has implications for the wider community of people with disabilities. The study uses the Strauss and Corbin grounded theory methodology to inform the investigation from which a systematic theory has been developed. On the basis of this theory, the study proposes strategies for implementing the virtual community model. In-depth interviews were conducted with twelve Queenslanders with paraplegia, quadriplegia or other severe, long-term physical or mobility disabilities and with six health care professionals, service providers, information personnel and policy advisers involved in their well-being. The methodology used one interview question to determine their experiences and perceptions regarding virtual communities and the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Each interview explored in detail the elements, enablers and barriers behind the usage of ICT and/or assistive technology. The personal responses and narratives of the people with disabilities who use the technology and their allied health care professionals were analysed and interpreted for meaning before the transcripts were returned to these participants for validation. Rich explanations were derived. Details of the various response categories of these interviews were analysed as part of the grounded theory, constant comparison methodology, and the relationship to the literature was considered. These de-constructed meanings were compared and contrasted with those in the current literature. The central theme to emerge from these narratives is that people with long-term disabilities regain a sense of control and independence in their lives through the use of ICT, as they move towards an on-line community. Other major themes that emerged from being on-line indicated that being on-line tended to break down people's isolation, while potentially changing the work paradigm (both vexed issues for people with disabilities). Information and communications technology and on-line communities offer ways to enhance every person's inclusion, participation and empowerment in our society. The primary outcome of the study is a theory regarding the character of virtual communities for people with long-term, severe mobility impairments that stakeholders may consider whenever such a virtual community is proposed. The theory is represented as a virtual community model. The model identifies the need for "a sense of control" as the foundational element of virtual communities for the disabled, and distinguishes the key domains in which disabled people participate in virtual communities. The barriers and enablers to their participation are specified within it. The model also provides a framework within which virtual communities can be facilitated. It melds six types of e-communities or sets of well-developed discrete categories (for example, themes, concepts) that the data from this study revealed: education-oriented, fantasy-oriented, information-oriented, interestoriented, relationship-oriented and transaction-oriented, depending on the type(s) of consumer need(s) to be met. The study concludes that although the technology itself provides strategies for independence and thus facilitates self-empowerment, it is also capable of being disempowering. Many interviewees referred to this aspect as a "double-edged sword". Empowerment and dis-empowerment are intersecting processes because of digital divide and information literacy issues and this "double-edged sword", which virtual reality presents for people with physical disabilities. Based on the new knowledge and the model as the outcomes of this study, a range of recommendations are discussed that have application in the community for persons with mobility impairments.

Abstract The prevalence of memory disorders is increasing worldwide due to an aging population. The condition affects not only those with the disorder, but also their families and the wider social network. Establishing services that meet the needs of patients and their families is a topical issue and requires knowledge produced from service user viewpoints. However there remains limited knowledge of how families manage their lives when there is a memory disorder. This study produces a substantive theory that describes the processes of managing life after disclosure of a progressive memory disorder from the viewpoint of individuals with that diagnosis and their family caregivers. A qualitative longitudinal research design informed by grounded theory methodology was undertaken. Research data were gathered for 2006–2009 using in-depth interviews (n=40) from those with the memory disorder (n=8) and their family caregivers (n=8). The data were analyzed using a constant comparative analysis. A core category ‘Accepting memory disorder as part of family life’ with related categories and subcategories was formulated from the gathered data. Family illness trajectory begins when patients or close relatives recognize the symptoms. Diagnosis of memory disorder is a turning point in that trajectory. It changes the course of lives for both individuals and their whole family and leads families to seek a new equilibrium. Altering life challenges people with the diagnosis and their family caregivers to restructure their roles and identities. Adjusting to altering self and adapting to the new role of caregiver are intertwined processes. Families strive to manage these changes by acknowledging available qualities and resources, seeking meaningful social support and living for today. Managing life with a memory disorder produces mutual processes in families that contain both positive and negative factors. Accepting memory disorder as part of family life represents a hope-fostering adjustment. The findings confirm and supplement the knowledge base in nursing science of family experiences and the means families use for managing life after diagnosis of a progressive memory disorder. These findings can be well utilized by professionals working with patients and their families who are living with newly diagnosed memory disorder while also advancing nursing education. / Tiivistelmä Väestön ikääntymisen vuoksi muistisairauksien esiintyvyys on kasvussa koko maailmassa. Etenevä muistisairaus vaikuttaa sekä sairastuneiden että perheiden elämään, ja heidän tarpeisiinsa vastaavien palvelujen kehittäminen on ajankohtaista. Perheiden selviytymistä koskevaa tutkimustietoa palvelujen kehittämiseksi on kuitenkin rajallisesti. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kehittää aineistolähtöinen teoria, joka kuvaa muistisairaiden ja omaishoitajien elämänhallinnan prosesseja muistisairausdiagnoosin varmistumisen jälkeen. Tutkimus oli laadullinen pitkittäistutkimus, jossa aineisto kerättiin vuosina 2006–2009 syvähaastattelemalla (n=40) sekä sairastuneita (n=8) että heidän omaisiaan (n=8). Aineisto analysoitiin grounded theory -metodologian jatkuvan vertailun analyysimenetelmällä. Tutkimuksessa tuotetun aineistolähtöisen teorian ydinkategoriaksi muodostui ’Muistisairauden hyväksyminen osaksi perheen elämää’. Ydinkategoriaan olivat yhteydessä pää- ja alakategoriat, jotka kuvasivat vastavuoroisia elämänhallinnan prosesseja perheessä. Perheiden kehityskulku muistisairauden kanssa käynnistyi ennen diagnoosin varmistumista, kun sairastunut itse tai hänen läheisensä kiinnittivät huomiota oireisiin. Muistisairausdiagnoosi oli käännekohta, joka muutti perheiden elämänkulun suuntaa ja johti etsimään uutta tasapainoa elämässä. Muuttuva elämäntilanne haastoi sairastuneet ja heidän omaisensa rakentamaan uudelleen käsitystä itsestään ja sosiaalisista rooleistaan. Sairastuneiden kokemuksena tämä tarkoitti sopeutumista muuttuvaan itseen ja omaisten kokemuksena mukautumista uuteen omaishoitajan rooliin. Nämä kehityshaasteet kytkeytyivät toisiinsa. Perheet pyrkivät selviytymään muuttuvassa elämäntilanteessaan huomioimalla käytettävissä olevat voimavarat, hyödyntämällä merkityksellistä sosiaalista tukea ja tavoittelemalla elämää tässä ja nyt. Muistisairaiden ja omaishoitajien vastavuoroiset elämänhallinnan prosessit sisälsivät sekä myönteisiä että kielteisiä tekijöitä. Muistisairauden hyväksyminen osaksi perheen elämää merkitsi toivoa vahvistavaa sopeutumista. Tutkimustulokset täydentävät hoitotieteen tietoperustaa perheiden kokemuksista ja elämänhallinnan keinoista muistisairausdiagnoosin varmistumisen jälkeen. Tutkimustuloksia voidaan hyödyntää sekä käytännön hoitotyössä tuettaessa muistisairaita ja heidän perheitään diagnoosin jälkeen että hoitotyön koulutuksessa.

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