Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Life struggles'

This thesis analyses borders as sites of struggle in everyday life. Drawing on critical approaches across disciplines including international relations, security studies, citizenship, border, and migration studies, it argues for a perspective on borders as embodied encounters in everyday life as both a method and ethos of critical analysis. Drawing on empirical research in the contexts of the UK and Calais, this thesis presents an account of borders as everyday practices of segregation. In highlighting the everydayness of borders it points to the ordinary and often messy ways in which borders are made real in people's lives and also come undone. Framing the border in terms of segregation it traces how ongoing global histories of discrimination, domination, and racism underlying contemporary nation-state border-making are reproduced in everyday contexts and ordinary encounters in which we all become complicit. At the same time, this thesis elaborates a post-Wittgensteinian 'grammatical reading' (Pin-Fat, 2010; 2013; 2016) in order to trace how key debates within prominent critical approaches to borders, migration, sovereignty, and (bio)politics continue to be framed by the metaphysical seduction of nation-states and their borders as ontologically 'hard'. In doing so, it argues that several critical approaches risk reproducing the very borders they are often committed to challenging and risk undermining the possibility of solidarity and struggle. Instead, in turning to everyday life, this thesis proposes to read the ethical politics of borders and migration as ontologically 'soft': that is, contingent, socially constructed, and ordinary. Whilst this in no way makes borders less powerfully real or violent such a perspective, this thesis argues, provides critical insight into the politics of borders as sites and practices of struggle as well as into the ordinary ethics of 'migrant solidarity'.

This study is the result of observations and questions that stem from my professional role as a senior key worker with families where a child has a life-threatening or life-shortening illness. This project explores the cultures of families where a child has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal medical condition. By examining parents' accounts, other family members' accounts and professionals' accounts of the ways treatment regimes are experienced, the study indicates typical differences in the ways life-threatening and life-shortening illnesses affect family relationships. The study also examines variations in what these illnesses 'mean' for families and the ways that treatment regimes help to shape these meanings. A combination of qualitative research methods was used via in depth, semi-structured and informal interviews with families and professionals, and included participant observation. Data was collected from five informant groups: a) mothers where a child had been diagnosed with cancer or was living with a life-shortening condition; b) families of the ill children, suffering from both cancer and from a number of severe chronic medical conditions; c) well siblings living alongside an ill sibling; d) ill children themselves; e) professionals from health and psychosocial backgrounds who worked with the families. A detailed summary of the sample may be found in Appendix 1 page 291 Although limited, the findings have helped to provide a hypothesis outlining typical differences in the ways life-threatening illnesses and lifeshortening illnesses affect family relationships. They also offer health professionals and others working with ill children insight into the crises and challenges which might typically face families during the course of their children's treatment. Medical technology is successfully prolonging the lives of children diagnosed with lifethreatening and life-shortening illnesses who would not have survived the same illness some years ago. In the light of these improvements, findings from this study indicate that when the illness is life-threatening as in childhood cancer, the treatment regimes and the sudden and frequent hospitalisation of the mother and ill child impact on the daily life of the family, changing the family dynamic and creating a sense of an emotional rollercoaster ride - with horror, hope, fear, relapse and remission all part of their journey. Conversely, findings suggest that in cases of rare, often difficult to diagnose, lifeshortening conditions, the family is drawn into a life-long up-hill struggle where the medical management of the child takes priority over, and increasingly dictates, other family members' relationships, roles and activities. Unlike the intermittent but extreme crises of life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, life-shortening conditions continue for the lifetime of the child, creating enduring long-term pressures on the family. However, in both categories of illness the families' lives are entwined with various professionals who appear largely unaware of how the medical management of these illnesses drain the practical, financial and emotional resources of the family. The findings of this research raise implications for practice and future policy. I conclude by suggesting that there is a need for an increased understanding, acknowledgement and respect from professionals that the primary carers in both categories of illness are to a greater or lesser extent, experts in their own children's illnesses. NHS Trusts, Children's Hospices and Children's Agencies produce a variety of care pathways for sick children, and although training in communication with patients is already in place, there is considerable room for improving the day-to day skills and approaches of the various professionals, particularly health professionals involved in paediatrics and their communication with the parents and the ill child. There is also a need for increased understanding by professionals of the particular daily challenges faced by families with children undergoing treatment for these conditions.

Historical sources suggest that the bad reputation of Bioko island ―a product of mixed exoticism, fear of death and allure for profit— might have started as early as the first European explorations of sub-Saharan Africa. Today, the same elements seem to have been reconfigured, producing a similar result in the Western imagination: cultural exoticization, fear of state-sponsored violence and allure for profit are as actual as ever in popular conceptions of Equatorial Guinea. A notion of ongoing terror keeps conditioning the study of the tiny African nation, resulting in media trends and academic discourses polarized by the grand themes of oil/money/corruption and human rights violations —which are highly counterproductive when trying to account for Equatoguineans’ everyday practices, mainly because the violence exerted by the state has shifted in nature. Deploying a triple theoretical framework made up by Michel de Certeau’s (1984) concepts of readers/writers/texts and strategies, Michael Jackson’s (2005) work on being, agency and intersubjectivity, as well as Bayart’s (1993) ‘politics of the belly’, this thesis explores some of the complex cultural and social-psychological strategies that urban populations in Malabo have developed in order to create, sustain and protect the integrity of their social selves while living in inherently oppressive environments. People’s means of personhood negotiation are observed through contemporary systems of beliefs, narratives and practices. I suggest that negotiations are products of, but also preconditions for, the existence of a social apparatus and the integrity of the selves moving within its discursive boundaries. Consequently, Equatoguineans’ strategies for self-making are seen as potentially responsible for reproducing a destructive status quo. This idea is further developed through the concept of lateral struggle, a form of social violence alternative to top-down flows which builds on sociality as culturally calibrated forms of symbolic interaction between selves constructed in a zero sum fashion. The dynamics of lateral struggles are illustrated through ethnographic data on what people phrase as el Guineano’s innate ‘rebelliousness’, which in turn visibilizes processes of collective self-making and the verbalization of negative national stereotypes. Possibilities for the rise of more positive types of personhood based on a habitual splitting of individual self from national other are explored. Finally, a brief assessment of how such splitting could be hindering people from collectively writing a ‘homeland’ is made.
Fuentes históricas sugieren que la mala reputación de la isla de Bioko ―producto de una mezcla de exoticismo, miedo a la muerte y deseo de ganacias económicas― pudo haber comenzado desde las primeras exploraciones europeas del África sub-sahariana. Hoy, los mismos elementos parecen haber sido reconfigurados, produciendo un resultado similar en el imaginario occidental: exotización cultural, miedo a la violencia perpetrada por el estado, y deseo de ganancias económicas dada la prominencia de su industria extractiva son elementos importantes en la concepción popular de Guinea Ecuatorial. Una noción de terror prevalente condiciona el estudio de la pequeña nación africana, lo cual resulta en tendencias mediáticas y discursos académicos polarizados por los grandes temas de petróleo/dinero/corrupción y violaciones de derechos humanos ―discursos que resultan contraproducentes a la hora de dar cuenta de las prácticas cotidianas de los Ecuatoguineanos, principalmente porque la violencia ejercida por el estado ha cambiado en lo cualitativo. Haciendo uso de un marco teórico compuesto por los conceptos de lectores/escritores/textos y estrategias desarrollados por Michel de Certeau (1984), el trabajo de Michael Jackson (2005) sobre el ser, la agencia y la intersubjetividad; así como por ‘la política del vientre’ de Bayart (1993), el presente estudio explora algunas de las complejas estrategias culturales y sociopsicológicas que las poblaciones urbanas de Malabo han desarrollado con el fin de crear, mantener y proteger la integridad de su yo social viviendo en ambientes inherentemente opresivos. Los medios utilizados por la gente para el posicionamiento de su yo social son observados mediante sistemas de creencias contemporáneos, narrativas y prácticas. La autora sugiere que dichas negociaciones son productos de, pero también condiciones para, la existencia del aparato social y la integridad de los entes culturales moviéndose dentro de sus fronteras discursivas. En consecuencia, las estrategias que los ecuatoguineanos utilizan para la formación y el mantenimiento de su yo social son consideradas potencialmente responsables de la reproducción de un status quo destructivo. Esta idea es desarrollada mediante el concepto de conflicto lateral ―una forma de violencia social alternativa a flujos ‘top-down’― basado en el principio de la socialidad como una forma culturalmente calibrada de interacción simbólica entre yoes creados como en un juego de suma cero. Las dinámicas de los conflictos laterales son ilustradas mediante material etnográfico sobre lo que la gente denomina “la rebeldía innata del Guineano”, la cual visibiliza además procesos de formación de la identidad colectiva y la verbalización de estereotipos nacionales negativos. Las posibilidades para la creación de identidades individuales más positivas basadas en una diferenciación habitual entre yo-individual y otro-nacional son exploradas. Finalmente, la autora hace un breve comentario sobre cómo dicha diferenciación podría estar impidiendo la formación colectiva de una idea de ‘patria’ en el imaginario ecuatoguineano contemporáneo.

This study aims to analyze the application of twentieth century sociologist George Mead's role theory to Henry VIII and Mary I, of Britain's Tudor Dynasty, regarding their treatment of their families during the early to mid-sixteenth century. Contemporary role theory can offer a useful lens to study sixteenth century royal family functionality through an analysis of Henry VIII and Mary I's lives as monarchs of England. Role theory can illuminate the role conflict that led to a separation between Henry and Mary as people and as sovereigns. Their roles, derived from traditional authority, set them apart as people and led them to behave in a way that would not have been true to their characters if they were not monarchs. The roles will therefore be given particular attention pertaining to family issues within a sixteenth century social, religious and political context. The findings of this study include an explanation of conflict with identity as well as a conflict with roles using transformation as the catalyst in the case of both of these monarchs. This study includes a qualitative content analysis, while also employing methods from the humanities to create a unique blend of methodology from both the social sciences and the field of history. This blend of methodology aids in creating a model to ensure further understanding of conflict analysis from a historical perspective.

This thesis generates an account of life in a marketplace in Kampala, Uganda, through an ethnographic engagement with its vendors, traders, hawkers, transporters and service providers. It traces the development of Nakasero market from a colonial facility to a dense assemblage of products, peoples and practices from across Uganda and the broader region. Faced with the challenge of getting along amid ongoing processes of social, economic and political change, I argue that people in the market invest considerable time and energy in relationships and associations, drawing together ideas and practices from institutions with long histories in Kampala and Buganda. Nakasero market has been witness to many of the political and economic disturbances of postcolonial Uganda: from the Asian expulsion and the magendo (black market) of the 1970s, to the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) and privatisation initiatives of the 1990s. However, rather than being passive recipients of these events, people in the market have engaged in collective subjective practices to reinterpret and remake them, producing alternative visions of social and moral prosperity. The findings of the thesis inform two separate literatures. First, they challenge studies of change in urban African settings conducted under the metanarratives of ‘crisis’ and ‘informality’, which tend to conceal the multiplicity of forms through which life in the city is articulated and expressed. Second, they suggest the need for post-structural accounts of African cities to consider the enduring role of cultural idioms, such as that of ‘heart’ (omutima), in shaping the actions and perspectives of urban African inhabitants.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 24, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The overall aim of this thesis is to explore experiences and self-reported outcomes from Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation, TAVI, among people with severe aortic stenosis. The thesis includes four studies. Study I-II are based on interviews performed the day before TAVI and Qualitative Concept Analysis was used for analysis. Study III is based on interviews at six months’ follow-up and Grounded Theory was used for analysis. Study IV is quantitative and based on questionnaires at baseline and at six months’ follow-up. Nonparametric, descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. Study I described the vulnerable situation for patients with severe aortic stenosis before TAVI. They were facing death and at the same time struggling to cope with their symptoms and to maintain independent. TAVI offered hope but also caused uncertainty about the new method. Study II focused on the patients’ decision-making process. Three patterns were identified; ambivalent, obedient, and reconciled. The ambivalent patient is unsure of the value of treatment and aware of the risks; the obedient patient is unsure of the value of one's own decision and wants to leave the decision to others; the reconciled patient has reached a point where there is no choice anymore and is always sure that the decision to undergo TAVI is right. Study III offered a deeper understanding of the TAVI trajectory. A journey of balancing between hope and life-struggle was the core category of the analysis. Before TAVI patients felt threatened, but also experienced hope. The rehabilitation phase was described as demanding and depressing or surprisingly simple. At the six months’ followup patients described being pleased to return to life, however, many were still struggling with limitations. Study IV focused on quantifying the symptom burden, function and health related quality of life before and after TAVI. The results were reflected against that of patients treated with open surgery. Self-rated function and health related quality of life increased and symptoms were reduced at follow-up, but breathlessness and fatigue were still common. Conclusively, TAVI patients are struggling with limitations, both because of their comorbidities and because of their valve disease which also poses a threat to their lives. TAVI gives an opportunity to survive, to stay independent and to increase quality of life. To feel and preserve hope is essential for patients’ wellbeing, both before and during the recovery process.

This written thesis gives an account of the creative production of Two Fingers: Michael's Struggle, a twenty-nine minute documentary video that explores the life of Michael Alan Rasch who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It explains in detail the process of pre-production, production, and post-production of the documentary. It also discuses the integration of theories applied in the documentary. Two Fingers shows that although Michael has lived with the disease almost his entire life, his perspective and attitude are more about living and enjoying life. Through it, the filmmaker intends the viewer to gain a tremendously important lesson about the human spirit.

We all want to live good lives, but due to the difficulty involved, few of us ever succeed. We usually either fail in our attempts to live well or remain with our safer, and less worthwhile, options. In spite of this, there has been little, if any, investigation of the role that difficulty plays in our attempts to live well, and thus in our conceptions of the good life. Within the field of the good life, philosophers tend to acknowledge the fact that good lives are difficult to live, and leave it at that. Since we must all face the difficulty of living well, the lack of analysis of the implications of difficulty seems a glaring oversight. In order to redress this, I explore the role that difficulty plays in two requirements for living well, namely achievement and reflection. Firstly, I examine the relationship between effort and achievement. I argue that difficulty just is the requirement of effort, and that it is required in order for our achievements to be meaningful and for us to value them. Secondly, I look at the relationship between failure and reflection. I argue that reflection on our failures can lead us to knowledge that helps us to live well and that we would not usually come to if we did not fail. Finally, I look at the roles of effort and failure in some accounts of the good life and I draw on psychological research and theory to provide support for my conclusions about the positive effects of effort. I conclude by examining the implications of reducing difficulty for the future of humankind.

Through the life story narratives of Ethiopian women activists, this research explores the journey of Ethiopian women activists during three political and historical periods (1955–1974; 1974–1991; 1991–2015). Thus, the study proposes a new perspective on the forms of Ethiopian women’s activism and subsequently the different types of feminism emerging from their narratives. Through examination of how the activists reflect on, reconstruct and give meaning to their life stories, this research unravels that their activism is informed by feminist principles. It also exposes that it is shaped by a long history of resistance to patriarchy, which enabled women in traditional Ethiopia to negotiate a certain level of “autonomy and liberty”. Contrary to the general expectation, the research demonstrates that the process of modernization (read: westernization) came with its own structure based on western patriarchy, and reinforced local patriarchy. In this new, formalized patriarchy, the rights that women had negotiated through their resistance in earlier times were diminished. This study on women activists, categorized for the purpose of this research as pioneers, revolutionaries and negotiators, suggests that Ethiopian women activists have since adopted different forms of engagement that tend to improve the social, cultural, economic and political conditions of Ethiopian women. Consequently, I argue that, while Ethiopian women’s activism and feminism is firmly embedded in the history of resistance of previous generations of Ethiopian women, the form of activism varies according to the political and historical context in which the activists negotiate and adapt the way they act.

Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(人間・環境学)
甲第10965号
人博第252号
15||207(吉田南総合図書館)
新制||人||63(附属図書館)
UT51-2004-G812
京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科文化・地域環境学専攻
(主査)教授 福岡 和子, 教授 丹羽 隆昭, 助教授 水野 尚之, 助教授 廣野 由美子
学位規則第4条第1項該当

This research aims to identify any patterns in participants’ biographical narratives that might enable therapy to be more effectively directed to help with the growing challenge of obesity. Existing approaches to obesity treatment have largely focused on weight loss (and maintenance) as a discrete problem, isolated from the individual’s wider psychological condition and from their individual history, and there has been some suggestion in the literature that many patients feel that this approach fails to address ‘deeper’ problems influencing their eating and lifestyle behaviours.

This is a study of problem solving by social workers and analyses what supported or prevented creative thinking. It is a multiple-case study of three social work teams working with vulnerable adults at risk of abuse and those with borderline traits. The three teams respectively: supported people with disabilities in the community; arranged care for people discharged from hospital; and helped homeless mentally ill people. The psychoanalytically informed observations provided depth insights into the unconscious preoccupations of the teams through counter-transference. These allowed understanding of the emotional meaning of the work for each team, the anxieties against which the teams were defending, and the unconscious contribution of the service users. Interviews informed a meta-comparison between the teams. This identified five enabling factors that influenced their ability to function well: the coherence of policies, the degree of professional development among staff, the availability of mental space for creative problem solving, the level of autonomy assumed, and the availability of support structures. The importance of sensitivity to the emotional meaning of the work became evident, and the value of training and learning opportunities. The study found that the team which used mental space - through case discussions, supervision and shared working - helped a challenging client group, made a business case for resources, and was sensitive to the emotional undercurrents. But it found that the teams which had limited mental space and supervision, due to lack of staff and high demand, were less able to focus on creative problem solving. The research concludes that all five enabling factors are crucial for social work teams. It makes a number of recommendations to encourage best practice, including training in clinical supervision and management.

This thesis contends that a corporate merger, on the scale of a global order, is a 'catastrophic change' and depends on 'killing off' parts of the former organisations for its success. The act of annihilating parts of the former organisations is experienced as disengaged and murderous by organisational members. This arouses persecutory anxiety of an unbearable intensity amongst members from which they defend themselves by emotionally disconnecting from the psychic reality of the organisation. Several contentions underpin the hypothesis: 1. that a merger involves a developmental process in the creation and growth of a new organisation; 2. the event of a merger causes disruptions to roles and relationships that are experienced as a loss of power, status and identity, and also as an emotional loss for what had been cherished and valued in the former organisation/s; 3. the emotional loss evokes the symbolic experience of the loss of a 'loved object', and an instinctual loss becomes attached thereby to the real losses; and thus, 4. the process of merger involves a symbolic destruction of the 'loved organisational object' of the former organisations, as held in the minds of organisational members. The thesis is based on case study research conducted on the topic of emotional connectedness in a network organisation over a three year period. Fieldwork began at the time when the participating firm had just formed from a global merger of two large global enterprises. The Australia-New Zealand regional operations were the focus of the study. The research discovered a significant degree of emotional disconnectedness due to: 1. the nature of the work that required staff to work on client sites, away from home and often alone; 2. a multiplicity of organisational structures that engendered fragmentary connections; 3. valuing individuals' self-reliance over and above the interdependence of organisational members; 4. the many external changes experienced by the firm from the effects of the merger and from market economics, political and business turmoil, and for the Australia- New Zealand operations, a shift in the location of their corporate head office from North America to Europe; 5. increasing uncertainty within the industry, and a commensurate increase in competitiveness; 6. a loss of profitability in the Asia-Pacific region in which the case study participants were located; 7. the turnover in the regional director's role, with three appointments in less than two years; 8. dramatic rises and falls in staff numbers, ranging from an initial 450, to a high of 750, and sudden decline to 120 people during the period of the study; 9. the reluctance of vice-presidents and directors to take up a corporate management role, preferring to work as 'project managers' on client assignments; and 10. all these factors contributing to an anxiety about the future of the Australia-New Zealand (A-NZ) operations which was expressed as a fear of survival. In response to these many factors, staff and management felt vulnerable and insecure, experiencing the merger as an annihilation of 'loved objects'. These included the loss of a partner's autonomy and ownership in the firm, familiar work procedures, and the loss of belonging to a partner's work group and associated long-term relationships. The emotional aspects of dealing with these losses and feelings were placed upon individuals to manage for themselves. The burden of ensuring the survival of the firm was displaced upon individuals, such that consultants became not only the 'container for work', but also the 'container for the organisation's survival'. As the merger progressed and more changes to the business were implemented with little to no containment of people's felt experiences, the psychic reality of the A-NZ operations became saturated with persecutory anxiety. In some parts of these operations, the anxiety became so great that group interactions (what there were of them) seemed psychotic. Those in management roles displayed a level of anxiety that appeared to be unbearable for the individuals concerned, and which resulted at times in manic responses to the human and commercial needs of the business. Bion's theories of catastrophic change and emotional links, and Klein's theories on persecutory and depressive anxieties are applied to understanding the systems psychodynamics of the effects of the merger upon the organisation. The case reveals the presence of persecutory anxiety in the immediate aftermath of the merger, lasting for nearly three years. Various social defence mechanisms are identified as being used by organisational members against this anxiety. They are: the co-existence of multiple organisational structures; a sentient sub-system of 'counselling families'; idealisation of autonomous individuals; plus, the mechanisms of projection, denial and regression. Four factors are identified as significant for containing destructive forces in a corporate merger: a) the role of emotional links to understanding the internal reality of a newly merged organisation; b) the containment of experiences of catastrophic change and projective processes; c) managing the realistic and neurotic anxieties of organisational members; and, d) identifying and managing the primary risk in a merger. A model is presented on the systems psychodynamics of a corporate merger. It identifies the change process that a merger entails, and the psychodynamics of this process using Bion's concept of container'contained. The thesis contributes to understanding the psychic reality of organisational mergers and offers a perspective that being alert to staff members' felt experiences and their emotional connectedness, as a normal part of business, provides 'leading data' on the health of the enterprise. Managers who are more 'wholly' informed about organisational realities, both external and psychic realities, can work more realistically on resolving problems, assessing risks, or making strategic business decisions.

Thesis (PhD) -- Swinburne University of Technology, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, 2006.
Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy - Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-263).

This thesis seeks to clarify the role that democratic decentralisation reforms play in dynamics of state building in developing societies where states are often qualified as weak. Within the literature, on natural resource management, democratic decentralisation is seen to either erode public authority in favour of non-state actors, or to strengthen it, as a repertoire of domination hiding an illegitimate recentralisation of control. In the light of these contradictory statements, I propose positing the exercise of public authority as an empirical question. Situating my work within geography and anthropology, I examine the exercise of public authority, that I call institutional power, in a context of competing claims to gold and forest resources in the commune of Séguénéga in North Burkina Faso. An analysis of the way overlapping and competing institutions of power relate in the everyday in the field of decentralisation brings to light the significance of autonomy, and I argue that the relevance of the state is enhanced under decentralisation through the politics of autonomy. Three concepts are mobilised to make this case. Regulation sheds light on the fact that the forms of institutional power over gold and woodfuel are characterised by the degree of autonomy that they enjoy vis-à-vis government. Recognition as a concept queries the durability of institutional power. It shows that where the rule of law weak, or where autonomy vis-à-vis the rule of law in greater, institutions of power emerge from the relations of recognition between government and non-government sanctioned institutions of power. As these institutions operate at the twilight of lawfulness and lawlessness, the democratic decentralisation reform presents an opportunity for these institutions to increase their authority. This claim is made through the operation of the concept of political field. I show that democratic decentralisation has created a democratic field, which is semi-autonomous from the bureaucratic and customary fields. As institutions of power struggle for authority over gold and forest resources in the democratic field, a particular kind of politics emerges and is articulated around claims of autonomy. Through the politics of autonomy, the rule of law is recognised by both state and non-state sanctioned institutions of power, and the state is being built.

This study concerns a rural development project in a village in Bangladesh, initiated in 1973 and followed up regularly until 1991. The original project included the development of a jute handicraft cooperative for women, started and supervised by the author The aims of the thesis are: to describe and analyze the process of change in the lives of some women, engaged in the cooperative, to shed light on this process from the women's perspective, and to discuss what can and should be a target for development education for rural women, coming from the lowest social stratum of society. The ten women who first joined the cooperative are focused in this thesis. The thesis includes their own tales of their experience of the training involved in participation in the cooperative, and their own development process. In the study, the concept of dialogue is used both as a pedagogical method of imparting knowledge, as a form of conversation/interview, aiming at obtaining information from an insider perspective, and also as a concept when compiling data in life histories. The life history approach has been helpful in investigating the educational and developmental process from the women's point of view. Beside skills training, the content of the education for the cooperative was alphabetization, cooperative training and management. Other topics such as nutrition, hygiene, health- and child-care and family planning, were eventually included after the need for training in such areas was articulated in the dialogue between the participating women and the project leader. In contrast to many development projects managed entirely from the top down, all aspects of the training programme were discussed with and approved by the targeted group. The main effect of the training programme was empowerment of the women, which was expressed as an articulated consciousness of their human dignity and a feeling of freedom. The women had developed a professional identity and an awareness of the relevance of contextualised education. A further effect of their new identity was a reduced birth rate. The results of the project are discussed in relation to development education.
digitalisering@umu

The collapse of the Spanish real-estate market in 2007-8, and the colossal destruction of jobs it provoked, put an abrupt end to a decade-long model of growth, which was based on the construction and tourism industries as its primary motors as well as on the massive indebtedness of the labouring masses. In the severe economic downturn that ensued, a social conflict appeared: on the one side, the many indebted people forming the movement of the Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH) and, on the other side, the financial industry. This study offers an ethnographic account of the aforementioned conflict as it unfolds in the precarious reality of Barcelona and Santa Coloma de Gramenet, with a particular emphasis on the experience and struggle of the affected persons. The argument advanced is that the main predicament of the debt conflict is the subordination of life processes to the imperatives of financial accumulation; a situation enabled by a specific constellation of forces, involving the successive governments of Spain, the financial elite, the police, and the courts.

This study attempts to develop an understanding of the iterative and multi-scaled process involved in transforming the state from below by examining the relationship between two of the most politicised rights-based legislations in India: the Right to Information Act (RTI) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). Based on one and a half years of ethnographic and interview based research, and five years of working with the RTI campaign, I examine the reciprocal relationship between the rights to information and work, and the multi-scaled activism necessary to instantiate both. First, I trace different phases of the struggle for the right to information, beginning with the creation of alternative public spheres, Jan sunwais (or rural public hearings) that responded to demands for the right to work in rural Rajasthan. Second, as this demand culminated in a broad-based advocacy network, I examine the role of actors from diverse institutional arenas that succeeded in passing the national RTI legislation. I also look at how the same national network of activists introduced the public accountability mechanism of social audits, inspired by the Jan sunwai, into the new right to work law or NREGA. Finally, bringing the process full circle, I look at the ongoing efforts of the MKKS and the Suchna Evum Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan (The Right to Information and Work Campaign) to implement the right to work on the ground in rural Rajasthan. In contrast to existing studies, I provide a more comprehensive analysis of the interdependent struggle for rights to information and work as one long iterative process to transform the state from below. I conclude with some reflections on the different vision of “transparency” and “accountability” emerging from rural grassroots struggles and what the RTI and NREGA experiences teach us about the possibilities for their realisation.

Thesis advisor: Carlo Rotella
Thesis advisor: Cynthia A. Young
From the BLKARTSOUTH literary collective in the 1970s, to public-storytelling-based education and performance forms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and fiction and nonfiction collections in the years since the storm, this study traces how New Orleans authors, playwrights, educators, and digital media makers concerned with social justice have mirrored the aesthetics and epistemologies of the collaborative African diasporic expressive traditions that began in the antebellum space of Congo Square and continue in the traditions of second-line parading and Mardi Gras Indian performances today. Combining literary analysis, democratic and performance theory, and critical geography with interviews and participant observation, I show how New Orleans authors, theatre makers, and teachers have drawn on "second-line" knowledges and geographies to encourage urban residents to recognize each other as "divided subjects" whose very divisions are the key to keeping our social and political systems from stabilizing and fixing borders and ethics in a way that shuts down possibilities for dissent, flux, and movement. Building on diverse scholarly arguments that make a case both for New Orleans's exceptionalism and its position, especially in recent years, as a model for neoliberal urban reform, this study also shows how the call and response aesthetics of community-based artists in New Orleans have influenced and benefited from the rise of global democratic performance and media forms. This dual focus on local cultures of resistance and New Orleans's role in the production of national and transnational social justice movements enables me to evaluate New Orleans's enduring central role in the production of U.S. and transnational constructs of African diasporic identity and radical democratic politics and aesthetics. Chapter One, "Second Line Knowledges and the Re-Spatialization of Resistance in New Orleans," synthesizes academic and grassroots analyses and descriptions of second lines, Mardi Gras Indian performances, and related practices in New Orleans through the lenses of critical geography and democratic theory to analyze the democratic dreams and blues approaches to history and geography that have been expressed in dynamic ways in the public spaces of New Orleans since the era of Congo Square. My second chapter, "'We Are Black Mind Jockeys': Tom Dent, The Free Southern Theater, and the Search for a Second Line Literary Aesthetic," explores the unique encounter in New Orleans between the city's working-class African American cultural traditions and the national Black Arts movement. I argue that poet and activist Tom Dent's interest in black working-class cultural traditions in New Orleans allowed him to use his three-year directorship of the Free Southern Theater to produce new and lasting interconnections between African American street performances and African American theatre and literature in the city. Chapter Three, "Story Circles, Educational Resistance, and the Students at the Center Program Before and After Hurricane Katrina," outlines how Students at the Center (SAC), a writing and digital media program in the New Orleans public schools, worked in the years just before Hurricane Katrina to re-make public schools as places that facilitated the collaborative sounding and expression of second-line knowledges and geographies and engaged youth and families in dis-privileged local neighborhoods in generating new democratic visions for the city. This chapter contrasts SAC's pre-Katrina work with their post-Katrina struggles to reformulate their philosophies in the face of the privatization of New Orleans's public schools in order to highlight the role that educational organizing in New Orleans has played in rising conversations throughout the US about the impact of neo-liberal school reform on urban social formations, public memory, and possibilities for organized resistance. Chapter Four, "'Running and Jumping to Join the Parade': Race and Gender in Post-Katrina Second Line Literature" shows how authors during the post-Katrina crisis era sought to manipulate mass market publication methods in order to critically reflect on, advocate for, and spread second-line knowledges. My analysis of the fiction of Tom Piazza and Mike Molina, the non-fiction work of Dan Baum, and the grassroots publications of the Neighborhood Story Project asks how these authors' divergent interrogations of the novel and non-fiction book forms with the form of the second line parade enable them to question, with varying degrees of success, the role of white patriarchy on shaping prevailing media and literary forms for imagining and narrating the city. Finally, Chapter Five, "Cross-Racial Storytelling and Second-Line Theatre Making After the Deluge," analyzes how New Orleans's community-based theatre makers have drawn on second-line knowledges and geographies to build a theatre-based racial healing movement in the post-Katrina city. Because they were unable and unwilling, after the Flood, to continue to "do" theatre in privatized sites removed from the lives and daily spatial practices of local residents, the network of theater companies and community centers whose work I describe (such as John O'Neal's Junebug Productions, Mondo Bizarro Productions, ArtSpot Productions, and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center) have made New Orleans's theatrical landscape into a central site for trans-national scholarly and practitioner dialogues about the relationship of community-engaged theatre making to the construction of just and sustainable urban democracies
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: English

Background This thesis explores the division of work, work-family perceptions and well-being in different policy contexts. Work (both paid and unpaid) is an arena where gender order is emphasised. Work task specialisation is often based on our ideas of femininity and masculinity. A gender order results in different chances and possibilities in life for men and women, influencing for example access to paid work. Genders are constructed differently across contexts, and countries policies and norms seem to play an important role in for instance the possibilities to combine work and children. Also, gender is important for the understanding and for the experiences of health and well-being. Two main research question are investigated in this thesis. First, how do gendered work division and work-family perceptions relate to well-being? Second, what are the contextual differences (policies and norms) with regard to gendered time use, gender attitude, work-family perceptions and well-being? Methods The thesis is based on data from three sources: the European Social Survey (ESS), the International Social Survey programme (ISSP) and Multinational Time Use Data (MTUS). With these sources, the aim is to capture patterns of behaviours, attitudes and perceptions on both individual level and national level. The methods used are logistic regression (Study I), OLS regression (Study III) and two different types of multilevel analyses (Studies II and IV). Results The results indicate that work-family perceptions are more important for individuals' well-being than actual time spent on paid and unpaid work. Further, the relationship between experiences of imbalance between work and family and low well-being differs by country. In countries where labour markets are more gender-equal the experience of imbalance to a higher degree relate to lower well-being, indicating that those who do experience imbalance in these gender-equal countries report lower levels of well-being than in countries which are less gender-equal. There have been changes in division of work and attitudes towards women's employment over the last few decades. Institutions and policies play a role for the division of work, and to some extent for changes in work task specialisation, as well as attitudes towards women's employment. Conclusion Central findings in this thesis show that it seems as if the experience of balance in life is more important for individuals' well-being than time use. The context in which gender is constructed is important for the relationship between paid work and family life imbalance and well-being and should be taken into consideration in cross-country studies. The fact that individuals in more gender-equal countries report lower well-being when experiencing imbalance could be a result of the multiple burden for both men and women in more gender-equal contexts. Also, the role of context and policies for attitudes and behaviours in relation to work is complex, and although this thesis adds to previous knowledge more research is needed. From a gender perspective the conclusion is that there are dual expectations in relation to work. In more gender-equal countries, women are expected to be equal to men by participating in the labour market. Meanwhile women still have the main responsibility for the home. Thus, it seems as if the equality of work is based on a masculine norm where paid work is highly valued.

Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbeten opublicerade: delarbete 3 och 4 inskickade

At the time of the doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished: paper 3 and 4 submitted

This study investigates resistance against female local government politicians in Sri Lanka during their first year and a half as members of local government councils, as a result of the 25 % gender quota introduced in 2018. Further, the study investigates these newly elected female politicians’ perceived ability to influence local government politics; experienced substantive representation. Through a minor field study, in-depth interviews were conducted to examine forms of resistance and perceived political influence of these newly appointed women. Several types of resistance were found and divided into three categories; Patronizing Behavior from Male Politicians; the Dispute Between Elected and Appointed Women; Public Distrust. Some evidence of the mandate effect and the label effect were detected, further hampering substantive representation. The study concludes that despite a significant increase in descriptive representation, substantive representation was not necessarily experienced by the interview subjects. Further studies are encouraged to deepen the understanding of the resistance towards appointed female politicians in Sri Lanka, and moreover the problematic effects of the implementation of gender quotas in highly unequal states.

This research uses a questionnaire and a bridge drawing directive to explore the lived experience of transitioning out of a high-demand religion. Subjects include disaffiliated Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Fundamentalist Protestants who were recruited through a dedicated website via limited promotion in online communities for disaffiliates. Visual and textual responses are analyzed through qualitative coding, with additional analysis performed on the artwork using Hays and Lyons’ (1981) bridge drawing criteria. Results reveal the psychological, social, behavioral, identity, and existential effects of disaffiliation. Results also produce seven emergent themes: ambivalence; embracing uncertainty; social justice; simultaneous transitions; freedom and constraint; growth; and remaining ties. The paper then explores the subjects’ lived experiences, latent content in the artwork, and the role and value of artmaking in healing from these difficult transitions. Lastly, this paper discusses treatment considerations, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research on religious struggles and disaffiliation.

A number of articles in books and newspapers have been written on the life and work of Nicholas Bhengu, in the past four decades. However, to date no focused academic research had been devoted to his life, his mission, his message and his influence in South Africa as well as beyond the borders of South Africa. The different chapters in the thesis focus on Bhengu’s life, his call to ministry and the role he played in South Africa, in rest of Africa, and beyond the borders of our continent. Although Bhengu did not overtly address political issues by supporting either the liberation movements nor the Nationalist Government, the impact of his work was felt by both to the extent that liberation movements such as ANC criticised him for not lending his public support to the struggle they waged against apartheid. On the other hand, the South African government also tried to co-opt him as an ally of their socio-political ideology. The government disappointed by Bhengu’s lack of support for its political programme, became suspicious of his intentions and set the Special Branch of the South African Police to monitor his movements, teaching and preaching. Bhengu ministered during a tumultuous period in the history of South Africa which called for people as well as the faith communities to take sides for or against the system of apartheid. Bhengu’s teaching and preaching had a great impact on the social and political psyche of the people in South Africa. Through his Back to God Crusade he, with great effectiveness, called people to return to God. Thousands devoted their lives to God. Wherever Bhengu conducted his crusades, crime went down significantly, with criminals turning in their weapons of trade and returning stolen goods to the police. He also performed spectacular healings and miracles. Apart from his evangelistic campaigns, Bhengu planted churches, established a formidable women’s ministry that to this day continues to raise millions of Rand to fund the Back to God Crusade. The Youth Ministry provides bursaries for young people to study in any field of their choice. Bhengu’s goal for providing these bursaries was to empower a new generation to contribute to the development of their country. He also established self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating churches, at a time when Black Churches were dependent on handouts from missionary sending agencies. The study finally evaluates the contribution and lasting legacy of Bhengu: his example, his missionary endeavours, his preaching and church planting efforts, his socio-political involvement, and his leadership. The strategies that he employed to building a cohesive and successful movement – the Back to God/Assemblies of God Movement – receive special attention. The impact of the movement is still felt in South Africa and the neighbouring countries, Swaziland, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, twenty five years after his death. There is every reason to consider Nicholas Bhengu to be the Billy Graham of Africa.
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010.
Science of Religion and Missiology
unrestricted

The special needs domain has long been recognised as problematic and adversarial. Much research has focused on areas of contention, such as the relationships between parents and practitioners, especially in educational settings, or on problems within the structure and operation of the domain. This study adopts a whole system approach in combining discussion of the structural basis of tension within the domain with an investigation of how both parents and practitioners describe, experience and respond to tensions within the special needs domain; such tensions being viewed as facets of the 'struggle' and 'fight' metaphor. Whole systems approaches are derived from the systems discipline, which developed initially out of the nineteenth century interest in organic and engineering systems, but more recently has focused on organisational and inter-organisational arrangements, including the part people play in enabling or disabling such arrangements. It is a strongly interdisciplinary approach more commonly found in organisational studies than in the social sciences more generally. Fifteen practitioners, from health and education settings, and twelve parents of children and young people with diagnoses of high functioning autism spectrum conditions participated in the study. The participants' stories of their experiences of the special needs domain were collected using a narrative inquiry approach. The data was analysed using concepts and theoretical frameworks derived from the work of Pierre Bourdieu, Uri Bronfenbrenner and Charles Wright Mills. An exploration of the influences shaping the special needs domain revealed a number of areas of unresolved tension, some of which result in tensions for those involved in the domain such as can be described as 'fight', and some of which might be addressed by structural changes to the systems comprising the special needs domain such as those envisaged in forthcoming legislation. However importantly the empirical study found that many tensions and struggles experienced by both parents and practitioners did not emanate from the structures of the domain and therefore were unlikely to be amenable to structural changes. Parents 'struggle' to maintain their identity as 'good' parents, to acquire information and to navigate the system in order to access services and resources. Practitioners experience conflict as they seek to access information and training, engage in the complex choreography of cooperating and collaborating in interagency and interprofessional working and endeavour to harmonise their professional practice with agency and public policy priorities. The thesis concludes with a brief discussion of the relationship between whole system approaches and other interdisciplinary approaches to investigating complex problems in the human sciences. It is suggested that systems diagramming techniques such as systems mapping and rich pictures are useful additions to the sociologist's toolkit.

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Funda??o Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado do RJ - FAPERJ
The postgraduate education field in Brazil has gone through several changes over time, mainly related to its evaluation system. Such a system was implemented in 1976 original form and function was to develop education and research in the country. The first evaluation was mainly a result of the proposed development in each particular program (CAPES, 2014 s / p). The last major change in the system occurred in 1998, when it was deployed Qualis Ranking (VI PGNP, 2010), a stratification system that classifies vehicles disclosure of intellectual production (CAPES, 2004 s / p). Thus, the evaluation shall be taken from the analysis of the quality of the disclosure vehicles, or work quality is considered accepted if a vehicle which has good score QUALIS system. Thus, educational organizations tend to require their professors / researchers more production items to convert them into publication, aiming to win dominant positions on the field. In this sense, the logic of productivity is within the field of the country graduate governed by the excessive production of articles to achieve maximum points. These changes now reach the field of teaching in graduate management in the state of Rio de Janeiro, an area where are concentrated the main field programs. It seems possible to say that this marked change in the evaluation system led to a restructuring of the field, where the agents begin to modify their practices to suit the evaluation and gain more power. Thus, the objective of the study is to understand how the logic of productivity influenced the power struggles among organizations that make up the administration in post-graduate course in the state of Rio de Janeiro, from the theoretical perspectives of Bourdieu. The author sees the field as a force interactions of space between the officers with a particular type of capital among the different existing types, to conquer the field domain.
O campo de p?s-gradua??o no Brasil passou por diversas mudan?as ao longo do tempo, principalmente relacionadas ao seu sistema de avalia??o. Tal sistema foi implantado em 1976 de forma inicial, e tinha como fun??o desenvolver a educa??o e a pesquisa no pa?s. A primeira avalia??o teve como principal resultado a proposta de evolu??o de cada programa em particular (CAPES, 2014, s/p). A ?ltima grande mudan?a no sistema ocorreu em 1998, quando foi implantado o Ranking Qualis (VI PNPG, 2010), um sistema de estratifica??o que classifica os ve?culos de divulga??o da produ??o intelectual (CAPES, 2004,s/p). Sendo assim, a avalia??o passa a ser feita a partir da an?lise da qualidade dos ve?culos de divulga??o, ou seja, o trabalho ? considerado de qualidade se for aceito em um ve?culo que possui boa pontua??o no sistema Qualis. Com isso, as organiza??es educacionais tendem a exigir de seus professores/pesquisadores mais produ??o de artigos para convert?-los em publica??o, almejando conquistar posi??es dominantes no campo. Nesse sentido, a l?gica produtivista se insere no campo da p?s-gradua??o do pa?s, regida pela a produ??o excessiva de artigos para alcan?ar o m?ximo de pontos. Essas mudan?as atingem hoje o campo do ensino da p?s-gradua??o em administra??o no estado do Rio de Janeiro, ?rea onde o est?o concentrados os principais programas do campo. Parece ser poss?vel afirmar que essa marcante mudan?a no sistema de avalia??o provocou uma reestrutura??o do campo, onde os agentes come?am a modificar suas pr?ticas para se adequar a avalia??o e ganhar mais poder. Dessa forma, o objetivo do estudo ? compreender como a l?gica produtivista influenciou as disputas de poder entre as organiza??es que comp?em o campo de p?s-gradua??o em administra??o no estado do Rio de Janeiro, a partir das perspectivas te?ricas de Bourdieu. O autor percebe o campo como um espa?o de intera??es de for?as entre os agentes dotados de um determinado tipo de capital, dentre os diferentes tipos existentes, para conquistarem o dom?nio do campo.

Através da etnografia entre interlocutores da etnia kaingang, a tese trata das “lutas” destes em busca de seus “direitos civis”. Esta problemática kaingang vem sendo percebida a partir de suas relações conflitivas com um denominado “mundo dos brancos”. Este conflito é percebido desde o tempo de fugas ancestrais em êxodo, até a contemporaneidade do atual “tempo das retomadas”. Os “brancos”, “não-índios”, ou os não-kaingang, em “idioma” da etnia, os fog, vem consolidando sua “civilização” sobre território kaingang, através de suas “frentes pioneiras” de “colonização” e “expansão”. Se percebeu estruturalmente uma presente colonialidade do poder nas redes de relações entre os fog e os kaingang, que perspassaram tempo e espaço. Um processo inicial de acumulação primitiva de capital, o denominado “colonialismo”, sobre os povos indígenas e seus territórios, passou a um “capitalismo”, de caráter “ordenador”, “progressivo” e “desenvolvimentista”, a partir de uma metafísica fundada em uma economia da “posse”. Estes processos econômicos fog vem sendo aplicados num processo de conquista dos territórios ancestrais da etnia, o Planalto Meridional Brasileiro. O outrora “mundo indígena kaingang”, o mundo dos “tronco-velhos”, de uma totalidade de densas matas, campos e afluentes de água doce em abundância, de seres e coisas, é progressivamente ocupado pelo “mundo dos brancos”, infra-estrutural antrópico, da ordem cultural da “racionalidade”, refletida na “materializada” instrumentalidade técnica baseada na “funcionalidade” de “materiais” e recursos de uma dita “natureza”. Esta instrumentalidade gera um mundo de destruição ambiental, somado a regimes territoriais de “propriedades” dos fog, que restringem a livre circulação dos grupos comunitários kaingang por sobre suas terras até a busca por um total confino destes últimos em “reduções” territoriais. A etnografia acompanhou a “luta pela Terra” dos grupos cosmopolíticos da etnia, onde agentes kaingang mantém um modo de vida baseado em uma cosmologia de “pertença a Terra”, em choque e conflitos com o “mundo dos brancos” e seus agentes fog, que mantém um modo de vida baseado no individualismo, numa lógica dita “racional”, de “mercado” e de “ciência” e “posse” da Terra. Esta “luta pela Terra kaingang” hoje está colocada em reivindicações territoriais da etnia, através de “Territórios Indígenas” garantidos pela Constituição Federal (CF/88), em um território em sua quase totalidade hoje ocupado pelos “empreendimentos” dos fog, “fazendas”, “granjas”, “lavouras de cultivo”, “moradas dos brancos”, “rodovias”, “cidades”, “indústrias” e ou mesmo “parques” e demais “áreas públicas”.
Through Ethnography between interlocutors kaingang ethnicity, the thesis deals with the "struggles" of those in the quest of their "civil rights". Kaingang this problem has been perceived from their conflictual relations with a so-called "white world". This conflict is perceived since the time of ancient trails in exodus until nowadays the current "time of the land retakes". "Whites", "non-Indians", or non-kaingang in "language" of ethnicity, the fóg, has been consolidating its "civilization" on kaingang territory, through its "pioneer fronts" of "colonization" and "expansion". It's been realized structurally a present coloniality of power in networks of relations between fóg and kaingang that came throught time and space. An initial process of primitive accumulation of capital, the so-called "colonialism" over indigenous peoples and their territories became to a "capitalist" character "originator", "progressive" and "developmental", from a metaphysics founded at a cost of "ownership". These fog economic processes has been applied to a conquest process of the ancestral territories of ethnic, the Brazilian Southern Plateau. The once "kaingang indigenous world", the world of "old trunk", a totality of dense forests, fields, and freshwater tributaries in plenty, of beings and things, are gradually occupied by the "white world", infra-anthropic structural, cultural order of "rationality", reflected in the "embodied" technical instrumentality based on the "functionality" of "material" and features a so-called "nature." This creates a world of environmental destruction, coupled with territorial regimes "properties" of the fóg, which restrict the free movement of kaingang community groups over their lands to search for a total confine of the latter in territorial "reductions". Ethnography accompanied the "struggle for land" of cosmopolitic ethnic groups, where kaingang agents maintains a way of life based on a universe of "belonging to Land" in shock and conflicts with the "white world" and their fóg agents, that maintains a way of life based on individualism, in a logic that dictates it's self as "rational", "market" and "science" and "ownership" of the Earth. This "struggle for kaingang Land" today is placed on territorial claims of ethnicity, through "Indian Territory" guaranteed by the Federal Constitution (FC / 88), in a territory almost entirely occupied today by the "projects" of the fóg, "farms","plantations","growing crops","white homes","highway","cities","industries "and or" parks "and other" public areas".

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Não recebi financiamento
This work is a result of various concerns that have marked the personal and professional life of the researcher. We undertook efforts to investigate the social practice of the School Life of adult students who attend the Novo Horizonte School located in rural settlement called Santa Helena in São Carlos city - São Paulo state - and we seek to answer which educational processes are emerging from this social practice. To understand how seated teenagers and adults are educated regarding the social practice of the School Life; to describe those educational process and to analyze the meanings of this social practice in the life of its participants, we opted to utilize a methodological approach with a qualitative focus guided by a participative research. To collect the data, we used informal notes, informal chats and semi-structured interviews. As a result of this study, we identified that: participate in the struggle for a place to live is a way to educate; the absent of schooling does not mean the removal of fundamental knowledge for the life of the settlers of Santa Helena; the school life is configured as an important tool for strengthening the bonds of those who attends the literacy room of Novo Horizonte school, identified as a place for meetings and for the promotion of sociability; the field requires a different kind of school that promotes sociability of their subjects and respect their way of life, which should serve as a basis for their schooling. We hope that this work provokes new reflections about the social practice of the School Life and the way of life of men and women in rural settlements and, from these considerations, the resizing of new and other pedagogical approaches that consider their social and political reality and perceptions, desires and educational needs of these individuals.
O presente trabalho surgiu em decorrência de várias inquietações que marcaram a vida pessoal e profissional da pesquisadora. Nele empreendemos esforços para investigar a prática social do Convívio Escolar de pessoas adultas que freqüentam a Escola Novo Horizonte situada no Assentamento Rural Santa Helena, na cidade de São Carlos - SP, e buscamos responder que processos educativos emergem dessa prática social. Com o objetivo de compreender como os jovens e adultos assentados se educam tomando como base a prática social do Convívio Escolar; descrever esses processos educativos e analisar os significados dessa prática social para a vida dos seus participantes, optou-se por uma abordagem metodológica de caráter qualitativo direcionada pela pesquisa participante. Para coleta dos dados utilizamos como instrumentos o Diário de Campo; a Roda de Conversa e Entrevistas semi-estruturadas. Como resultados desse estudo, identificamos que: participar da luta pela terra educa; a não escolarização, não significa a destituição de saberes fundamentais para a vida dos assentados e assentadas do Santa Helena; o convívio escolar configura-se como ferramenta importante para o fortalecimento dos vínculos daqueles e daquelas que frequentam a sala de alfabetização da Escola Novo Horizonte, identificada como lugar de encontro e promoção da sociabilidade; o campo exige um outro tipo de escola, que promova a sociabilidade dos seus sujeitos e o respeito aos seus modos de vida, que deve servir como base para a sua escolarização. Esperamos que esse trabalho provoque novas reflexões sobre a prática social do Convívio Escolar e os modos de vida dos homens e mulheres em contextos de assentamentos rurais e, a partir de tais reflexões, o redimensionamento de novas e outras propostas pedagógicas que levem em conta a sua realidade social e política, bem como as percepções, desejos e necessidades educativas desses sujeitos.

Since the US National Security Agency’s former contractor Edward Snowden exposed the Agency’s mass surveillance, the EU has been making a series of attempts toward a more safeguarded and stricter path concerning its data privacy protection. On 8 April 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) invalidated the EU Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC on the basis of incompatibility with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter). After this judgment, the CJEU examined the legality of the Safe Harbour Agreement, which had been the main legal basis for transfers of personal data from the EU to the US under Decision 2000/520/EC. Subsequently, on 6 October 2015, in the case of Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner, the CJEU declared the Safe Harbour Decision invalid. The ground for the Court’s judgment was the fact that the Decision enabled interference, by US public authorities, with the fundamental rights to privacy and personal data protection under Article 7 and 8 of the Charter, when processing the personal data of EU citizens. According to the judgment, this interference has been beyond what is strictly necessary and proportionate to the protection of national security and the persons concerned were not offered any administrative or judicial means of redress enabling the data relating to them to be accessed, rectified or erased. The Court’s analysis of the Safe Harbour was borne out of the EU Commission’s own previous assessments. Consequently, since the transfers of personal data between the EU and the US can no longer be carried out through the Safe Harbour, the EU legislature is left with the task to create a safer option, which will guarantee that the fundamental rights to privacy and protection of personal data of the EU citizens will be respected. However, although the EU is the party dictating the terms for these transatlantic transfers of personal data, the current provisions of the US law are able to provide for derogations from every possible renewed agreement unless they become compatible with the EU data privacy law. Moreover, as much business is at stake and prominent US companies are involved in this battle, the pressure toward the US is not only coming from the EU, but some American companies are also taking the fight for EU citizens’ right to privacy and protection of their personal data.

Sammanfattning Sedan början av 2000-talet har det skett en markant ökning av studier gällande barn och ungdomar och Autism. Dock är det så att den mesta forskningen fortfarande är inom det medicinska området. Endast ett fåtal av studierna rör vuxna med Asperger syndrom (AS) som studerar på högskola/universitet. Samtidigt sker en ökning av personer med AS som söker högre utbildning såsom högskola/universitet, vilket gör forskning gällande personer med diagnosen AS högaktuell. Antalet studenter med kognitiva funktionshinder, dit AS räknas, som sökt pedagogiskt stöd på högskola/universitet i Sverige, har ökat från 1 427 studenter 2010 till 1 943 studenter 2012. När man studerar på högskola/universitet så finns det pedagogiska stöd att tillgå, och till vardagen finns Lagen om stöd och service till vissa funktionshindrade (LSS) och Socialtjänstlagen (SoL) som personer med AS har möjligheter att söka stöd genom.  Personer med AS kan ibland ha svårt att utnyttja stödsystem som kräver att man själv identifierar och uttalar sina behov av stöd. Denna avhandling fokuserar på personer med AS i högre utbildning och stöd. I doktorsavhandlingen ingår två studier: Studie I som är en fallstudie och Studie II, som är en enkätstudie. Bindningspunkten för studierna är studenter med AS som fått pedagogiskt stöd i sin utbildning vid högskola/universitet. Studie I Studie I består av en fallstudie (Merriam, 1994, 2009; Patton, 2002) som innefattade tre fall. Studien redovisas i artikel I och II, där artikel I bygger på studenternas berättelser och artikel II på anhörigas och samordnares berättelser. Insamlandet av data har byggt på berättelser genom samtal (Doecke, Brown, & Loughran, 2000; Hydén & Brockmeier, 2008; Johansson, 2005; Skott, 2004). Valet av berättelser som metod, innebär att man som forskare fokuserar på att få möjligheter att lära känna en annan person, få kunskap om denna persons erfarenheter, känslor och förväntningar. För att säkerhetsställa undersökningens validitet, användes triangulering mellan tre olika källor: intervjuer med studenter, anhöriga och samordnare. Urvalet av högskola/universitet gjordes med avsikten att inkludera högskolor/universitet från olika delar av Sverige, olika stora högskolor/universitet med olika studieinriktningar. Syfte med Studie I är att undersöka hur studenter med AS i högre utbildning beskriver och förstår sin livshistoria och sin studievardag, vilket redovisas i artikel I och i kappans resultat. Anhöriga är en central resurs för personer med AS. Därför undersöks i den andra artikeln hur anhöriga uppfattar sina barns eller syskons studier och det stöd de tidigare fått i skolan och på högskola/universitet. I artikeln redovisas även hur man upplever det pedagogiska stöd som högskola/universitet erbjuder. Samordnare för studenter med funktionshinder har en central roll i vilka pedagogiska stöd som beslutas att students ska få, därför är det också av vikt att undersöka hur samordnare beskriver den stödverksamhet som finns på högskola/universitet. Även detta redovisas i andra artikeln samt i kappans resultat. Vid insamling av data var fokus på studenternas berättelser om sin studievardag och hur de beskrev sina skolerfarenheter, från förskola fram till högskola/universitet samt hur de såg på sin framtid (Hydén & Brockmeier, 2008). Vid samtalen med anhöriga och samordnare använde forskaren sina yrkeserfarenheter som berör AS, diagnossättande, mediciner, lagar och forskning samt personliga erfarenheter. De anhöriga som intervjuades bestämdes av studenterna och bestod av en mamma, en pappa och en syster. Samordnarna bestod av de som arbetade på den högskola/universitet som studenten studerade på. Samtalsmanual har använts som stöd vid varje samtal. Totalt har tolv samtalsmanualer använts. Samtalens längd för studenterna varierade mellan 1 timma och 4 minuter till 4 timmar och 50 minuter. Samtalens längd varierade mellan 1 timma och 10 minuter till 3 timmar och 23 minuter för de anhöriga. Samtalens längd varierade mellan 1 timma och 13 minuter till 3 timmar och 40 minuter för samordnare. Varje samtal anpassades helt efter varje anhörigs och samordnares intresse av att vilja samtala.  De tre fallbeskrivningarna omfattade femton transkriberade samtal: tre vardera för varje student, en för vardera anhörig och en för vardera samordnare. Första steget i analysen var att forskaren läste igenom det transkriberade materialet kring varje student upprepade gånger så att en känsla för helheten uppstod. Vid tredje genomläsningen gjordes noteringar i form av nyckelord som beskrev innehållet. Därefter plockades de meningar ut som innehöll information som byggde på nyckelorden och var relevanta för frågeställningarna. Den omgivande texten togs med så att sammanhanget kvarstod, det bildade meningsbärande enheter. De meningsbärande enheterna i samtalstexterna kondenserades i syfte att korta ner texten men ändå behålla innehållet. De kodades därefter och grupperades i kategorier som återspeglade det centrala budskapet i samtalen i relation till studenterna. Samma process gjordes med de anhörigas och samordnarnas transkriberade material. I Studie I framkom det att studenter med AS ofta behöver stöd i sin studievardag, det vill säga både i studierna och i vardagslivet, för att klara sina studier. Personer med AS har en kognitiv funktionsnedsättning som kan ge svårigheter i deras studievardag, och de har ofta en nedsatt förmåga att beskriva sina svårigheter och kan därför inte alltid redogöra för vilka behov de har. När man söker stöd bygger ansökan på att man själv kan beskriva sina behov av stöd och framför allt välja bland de stöd som finns utifrån det behov och de svårigheter man har, det vill säga man ges en stor valfrihet. För studenter med AS kan detta bli till en stor svårighet då de ofta inte själva vet vilka stöd de har behov av och vad de olika stöden skulle innebära för de studiesvårigheter de har. Studenterna i studierna angav att när de fick stöd hade de svårt att förstå hur stödet skulle fungera och hur det skulle kunna förbättra deras studier, och att det pedagogiska stödet i stället blev till ytterligare ett hinder, som tog tid och fokus från studierna. Stödinsatsen med vidhängande valfrihet kan ses som ett uttryck för en ekvifinalitet: stödsystemet har designats för att ge olika funktionshindrade samma möjlighet, och utgångspunkten är att valfrihet är bra för alla. Många av studenterna har beskrivit att de känner sig socialt begränsade och har kommunikationssvårigheter och de upplever att de är stigmatiserade och känner sig alienerade. I analysen av studenternas beskrivning av sin livshistoria och studievardag framstod två teman, Kamp och Utanförskap. Anhöriga beskrev att kraven på fokusering, både på vardags- och studentaktiviteter, blev övermäktiga för deras barn eller syskon. De kunde se att deras barn eller syskon hade svårigheter med att planera inköp av exempelvis mat, att laga mat, att tvätta och sköta andra vardagsrutiner i hemmet. Samordnare för studenter med funktionshinder utryckte att även om de kunde se att studenter hade problem med vardagsrutiner i hemmet,  kunde de inte ge något stöd för detta. De hade också svårt att erbjuda stöd i vissa studietekniska frågor. Samordnarna beskrev att det är svårt att ställa frågor om en students funktionshinder, diagnos och livssituation och att det är svårt att få grepp om vilket stöd som skulle kunna bli bra för varje enskild student. Sammantaget så har det framkommit att studenter med AS har behov av både pedagogiskt stöd och stöd i vardagsrutiner och det framkom också i studierna att de olika stöden behöver samordnas så att studenter med AS erhåller stöd i hela studievardagen. Det framkom också att det finns behov av ett kunskaps- och kommunikationsverktyg för framför allt samordnare och studenter. Detta verktyg skulle kunna användas av samordnare och student så att en tydlig agenda upprättas och följs vid samtalen och beslut om vad eller vilka pedagogiska stöd som studenten skulle kunna få som stöd i studierna. Studie II Studie II består av en enkätstudie, bestående av 55 frågor med både öppna och slutna svarsalternativ, riktat till studenter med AS, studenter med rörelsehinder (RH) och studenter med hörselnedsättning (HN). Även i denna studie står studenter med AS i fokus, men med mer generell frågeställningar: Hur beskriver studenter med AS, RH och HN upplevda problem, erhållet stöd och upplevt stöd? Finns det skillnader och likheter mellan dessa tre grupper av studenter? Resultatet redovisas i artikel III samt kappans resultat. Syftet med studie II är också att undersöka vilka karaktäristika för studenter med AS som kan identifieras och bedömas som så viktiga att de med stöd av Internationella klassifikation för funktionstillstånd, funktionshinder och hälsa kan behöva ingå i ett code set. Resultatet redovisas i artikel IV samt i kappans resultat. Under arbetet med Studie I uppkom funderingar på om det fanns studentgrupper med andra funktionshinder som har samma erfarenheter som studenter med AS. Därför utökades urvalet till studenter RH och HN. Studie II var beskrivande med en mixed methods design. Den första delen hade en huvudsakligen kvantitativ ansats med data insamlade via en enkät. Till enkätstudien tillfrågades alla högskolor/universitet om de var intresserade att delta i undersökningen. Det var 14 samordnare på 12 högskolor/universitet som tackade ja till att medverka och de tillfrågade sedan de studenter som kunde vara aktuella att medverka i undersökningen. Respondenter blev 34 studenter som studerade vid 12 svenska högskolor/universitet, 16 studenter med AS, 11 med RH och 7 med HN. Eftersom endast 34 studenter kunde rekryteras betraktas detta som en pilotstudie. Den kan ge en första antydan om hur studievardagen upplevs av studenter med funktionshinder och om det finns någon skillnad mellan de tre undersökta grupperna av studenter när det gäller svårigheter och behov av stöd.  I den andra delen av studie II togs ett första steg till ett code set, en början till ett kommunikationsverktyg, det vill säga en samtalsmanual mellan samordnare och studenter, samt som information till anhöriga. Analysen hade en deduktiv, kvalitativ ansats. Data från flera olika källor, bland annat enkäterna, analyserades och jämfördes genom att innehållet länkades till ICF-koder. Avsikten var att identifiera preliminärt innehåll i ett code set.   Analysen av enkäterna var kvantitativ så långt materialet medgav det, och grupperna jämfördes genom så kallad korstabulering. Nästa steg i analysen (Code set förberedelsen) fokuserade endast på studenter med AS. Information i enkäten länkades kvalitativt deduktivt till ICF tillsammans med information från fem olika källor som representerar olika perspektiv: 1) Studenters egna beskrivningar, 2) Internationella diagnosklassifikationer, 3) Nationella policy-dokument för högre utbildning, 4) Hälso- och sjukvården, 5) Brukarorganisationen Autism och Aspergerförbundet. De fem olika källorna innefattade tio dokument som valts utifrån inklusionskriterierna målgruppen AS, åldersgruppen unga vuxna, undervisning/utbildnings-krav för högre utbildning, insatser/behov av stöd samt nationella/internationella källor med anknytning till målgruppen. Syftet var att integrera flera olika perspektiv på behov av stöd i studievardagen för studenter med AS. Därmed kunde en första lista med ICF-koder identifieras som underlag till ett code set för studenter med AS på högskola/universitet. I Studie II framkom det att även om studenter med AS verkade rapportera samma svårigheter, varierade förklaringarna som gavs till problemen mellan grupperna. När det gällde förklaringar verkade det för studenter med AS vara kopplat till kognitiva svårigheter medan det för studenter med rörelsehinder (RH) och hörselnedsättning (HN) var kopplat till fysiska svårigheter. På ytan kan de olika gruppernas svårigheter alltså se lika ut och de kommer då att erbjudas samma pedagogiska stöd från sin högskola/universitet. I enkätsvaren framhölls att det var väldigt viktigt för studenterna att kunna få ett arbete efter avslutade studier för att därmed få möjligheter att kunna försörja sig och leva ett vanligt liv som alla andra. Innan dess måste dock studierna genomföras och i den studievardag som beskrevs, talades det om kamp och utanförskap. Några av de erfarenheter som lyftes fram av alla grupperna studenter var, stress och koncentrationssvårigheter, trötthet, och social begränsning . I Studie II framkom alltså samma problem som i Studie I med att tydligt uttrycka svårigheter och behov. Det indikerar att det finns behov av ett kunskaps- och kommunikationsverktyg för samtal mellan samordnare och studenter. Ett ICF baserat code set för högre utbildning för studenter med AS skulle kunna vara ett sådant verktyg. Ett code set består av ett antal kategorier från ICF och beskriver de svårigheter som studenter med AS kan ha och som kan bilda en checklista att arbeta utifrån vid samtal, planering av stöd och information till annan personal. Det ska vara så tydligt att det kan ges till studenten i förväg så att studenten får möjligheter att förbereda sig på vad samtalet och mötet innebär. Avslutningsvis har det framkommit att om studenter med AS ska bli inkluderade i högre utbildning och om uteslutningsmekanismer såsom stigmatisering och alienation ska motverkas, krävs det troligen tydligt strukturerade individuella lösningar: Stödet ska ge en öppning mot en multifinalitet istället för den ekvifinalitet som idag råder vid erbjudande av stöd. Lösningar och stöd ska inte bara vara baserade på en diagnos, utan på en analys av varje students upplevda svårigheter sett ur perspektivet hela studievardagen. Först då kan stöden bli till de verkligt frigörande möjligheter som är avsikten.
Summary Since the beginning of the 21st century there has been a significantly increased number of studies on children and young adults with Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD). Most of this research falls within the domain of Medicine and only limited number of studies focusses on adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) as students at university. Considering that there is an increase in numbers of individuals diagnosed with AS attending tertiary education researching this group of individuals is both timely and opportune. The number of students with cognitive disabilities, such as AS, seeking assistance to help their study efforts along at universities has increased in Sweden from 1427 students in 2010 to 1943 students in 2012. It should be noted that support in everyday student-life is guaranteed by legislation (that is, by Social Service Act (SoL) and  Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS)) and that this same guarantee is valid also of studying at university. However, individuals with AS may at times have difficulty using available support, since they must identify their own needs and also communicate the nature of their need. This doctoral thesis is focusing on individuals with AS in need of such support in tertiary education. The thesis is comprised by two main studies: Study I, which is a case study, and Study II, which is a survey. Their common denominator is students with AS who have received legally guaranteed support as university students. study I The first study is a case study of three cases. This research is reported in the two first articles of the four articles comprising the entire thesis. The first article focusses on student narratives, whereas article two rather focusses on the accounts of next of kin as well as those of university coordinators I charge of assisting students in need. Data were collected through conversations.  The particular choice of method allows for the researcher to acquire more intimate knowledge of the participants learning of their experiences, feelings and expectations. To secure validity the data from students, next of kin and university coordinators was triangulated. Number and type of universities included in the study were sampled on the principle that there should be included universities from different parts of Sweden, of different sizes and with different academic profiles. The aim of Study I was to investigate how students with AS, as students in tertiary education, describe their life history and their everyday student-life. This particular focus is reported in the first article. Next of kin are central to individuals with AS. In the second article therefore, the perceptions of next of kind and how these understand their children’s or sibling’s university studies as well as the available support for them are accounted for. Also university coordinators in charge of study assistance at universities are of considerable importance. They decide the manner of support provided. It is therefore important to also describe how these outline and assess the existing support. This too is the focus of the second article. During data collection the focus was on students’ narratives of their everyday student-life at university as well as how they experienced their entire education experience from pre-school and to tertiary education. The views of their own future was also an issue that was addressed. The conversations with participants were facilitated by the researcher in terms of conveying previous research results on the nature of AS individuals’ experience of university education; of the researcher’s professional experiences of the situation and also of herself being next of kin to an individual with an AS diagnosis. As a means of helping conversations with next of kin and coordinators along the researcher used her own professional experience in relation to AS individuals, diagnosing, medication, legal framework, previous research and personal experience. Which next of kin to be interviewed - a mother, father and a sibling - was decided by the participating students themselves. For each university there is generally only one coordinator. These participated in the study. A conversation manual has been used as support for each data collecting conversation. In all, twelve such manuals have been used. The length of the conversations with participating students varied between 1 hour and 4 minutes to 4 hours and 50 minutes. Conversations with next of kind varied between 1 hour and 10 minutes to 3 hours and 23 minutes and for coordinators the duration varied between 1 hour and 10 minutes to 3 hours and 40 minutes. Every conversation was entirely adapted to each participating individual and their willingness to converse about the subject matter. The three cases were comprised of 15 transcribed conversations: three for each student, one for each next of kin, and also one for each university coordinator. As a first step in analysing the data the researcher read transcriptions multiple times to lay foundations for an understanding of entirety. During the third read notes were taken in the form of key words significant to content. Extraction of sentences containing these keywords followed. Key words were always significant in relation to the research questions. The surrounding text was taken too in order to preserve context. Together the keywords, the sentences and the surrounding contexts constituted meaningful units of text. These units, in every transcribed conversation, were condensed in order to shorten texts but still maintain the essence of its meaningful content. The condensed text units were coded and grouped in categories that reflected the essential and meaningful content of the conversations. Data culled from the next of kin and the coordinators were submitted to the same process of data analysis. Results showed that students with AS often do need assistance at university both in terms of studying as well as in their daily life off campus in order to manage an existence as students. Individuals with AS however have a cognitive disability that may challenge their efforts as students. In addition, they have difficulties describing their problems and often find it hard to define which needs for assistance they do have. When applying for assistance students are required to specify their special needs of support, and more importantly, also choose what kind of assistance they require. In other words, they are given a considerable freedom of choice. To students with AS this presents an obstacle. They often do not know what kind of assistance they require and what a certain kind of support would entail. Participating students reported that it was difficult for them to grasp how the support would actually function and how it would improve their studying. Instead, the possibility of acquiring support became yet another problem which made studying even more difficult for them. The availability of support with the accompanying freedom of choice as to the manner and content of the support may be seen as an expression of equifinality. That is, the support system has been designed to provide each disabled individual with equal opportunity of attaining support. The basic value underpinning the support system is that freedom of choice is valuable to each and every one. However, many students with AS have reported that they feel socially limited, alienated even stigmatised and that they communicate poorly. In analysing the narratives of students’ life histories as well as their everyday student-life as students two themes emerged: Struggle and Alienation. The next of kin described the demands of focus, both on and off campus, to be overwhelming for their children or siblings. They observed difficulties with planning ahead to shop for groceries, to do laundry, to cook or to do sundry domestic chores at home. University coordinators understood that students had such problems off campus but could not offer assistance relating to off-campus difficulties. However, they also found it difficult to offer these students assistance pertaining to certain aspects of student life. They found it tricky to pose questions regarding students’ disability, diagnosis and general life situation. It was thus a problem for them to acquire an understanding of what kind of assistance that would be suitable for each individual student. In all, the research clearly showed that students with AS are in need of both educational support and everyday student-life support and that these two aspects of assistance need to be coordinated. Results also suggested the need of a tool for knowledge and communication, especially for students and university coordinators. Such a tool would facilitate the communication and would serve as a basis in deciding what kind of remedial action that needs to be taken for the benefit of students with AS. Study II The second study was operationalized as a survey study employing a questionnaire consisting of 55 questions of which some were open-ended. This instrument was administered to students with Asperger Syndrome (AS), to students with mobility impairment (MD) and to students with impaired hearing (HD). Note that abbreviations relate to the Swedish nomenclature for these disabilities. This study also focussed on students with AS but addressed more general questions: How do students with AS, MD and HD describe problems, provided support and the experience of being given support? Are there similarities or differences between these three groups of students? This research is presented in the third article of the doctoral thesis. The aim of the second study was also to explore what characteristics of students with AS could be identified as particularly important in an effort to classify them as a code set with the framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). A code set consists of a number of categories derived from the ICF classification system. It describes the type and nature of difficulties that for example students with AS may experience, thus constituting a checklist from which to work when university coordinators and students discuss the nature and manner of support needed and then succinctly be able to convey such information to other relevant staff. Such a tool will need to be straight-forward and given to students prior to meeting the coordinators in order to help students prepare for the meeting being fully informed of its content and purpose. The result of this exploratory second study is presented in the fourth article.  As the study of AS student cases progressed there arose questions regarding other students with different kinds of disability also. Do they have the same or similar problems? For this reason a second study was launched and mobility impaired students (MD) and hearing impaired students (HD) were included also. This study was descriptive but operationalized as a mixed methods design. The first part of it consisted of a quantitatively based questionnaire. All Swedish universities and higher education institutions were invited to take part. Fourteen coordinators from 12 universities accepted. They in turn asked students to take part. In all, 34 students decided to participate. These were divided into the following categories: 16 (AS), 11 (MD) and 7 (HD). Due to the relatively low number of participants the study is best considered to be a pilot study. It could be suggestive in reference to how everyday student-life on campus might be experienced by students with different disabilities and whether there are differences between the three studied groups in need of support. In the second part of the second study a first step was taken towards creating a code set; the beginning of a communication tool serving as a conversation manual between coordinator and students. The analysis of the data was qualitative but deductive. Data from several sources, including the questionnaire, were analysed, compared and linked to ICF-codes in order to identify a tentative content of a potential code set. The data culled by the questionnaires was first cross-tabulated. The next phase of the analysis was the code set preparation, focussing only on students with AS. Analysed data were linked qualitatively and deductively to ICF together with information from five different sources: 1) Student narratives, 2) International diagnosis classifications, 3) National policy-documents of higher education, 4) National healthcare and 5) The Swedish Autism and Asperger Syndrome Association. In all, 10 documents were included on the basis of  the AS target group, age group young adults, education and education guidelines for higher education, remedial work, need of support as well as national and international sources relating to the target group. The aim was to integrate several perspectives of needs of support in reference to AS students and their everyday student-life on a university campus. Results of the second study showed that even though other groups also reported problems similar to those of the AS students their explanations varied. While the problems of AS students appeared linked to cognitive difficulties, the problems of mobility impaired students (MD) and hearing impaired students (HD) were linked to physical difficulties. The difficulties and each group would appear similar at first sight which in practical terms means that they also would be offered the same kind of support as students at university The analysis of the questionnaire suggested the importance of students acquiring a job after graduation, to be able to earn a living and lead a normal everyday student-life like most others. However, prior to such a possible future studies must be completed and participants’ experiences of being university students appeared not the best. They spoke of struggle and alienation. Some of the experiences common to all three groups were stress and concentration difficulties, fatigue and social limitations. Hence, the second study, just like the first study, clearly showed both problems and needs, which suggested the necessity of a knowledge and communication tool for coordinators and students. An ICF-based code set for students with AS in higher education could serve as such a tool. In conclusion, results also suggested that if students with AS are to be included in higher education, and exclusion mechanisms such as stigmatisation and alienation be overcome, then clearly structured solutions - individual to each student - are also needed. Offered support must conform to multifinality rather than to equifinality as is currently the case in Sweden. Individual support cannot be based entirely on a diagnosis but also on an analysis of each student’s experienced difficulties in their immediate university environment of studying. Then, possibly, the available and legally guaranteed support would become as empowering as it was intended to actually be.

When collective action for community is defined as local development or as a struggle for survival different understandings are in focus. Politically, this kind of community action is defined as local development and understood in terms of growth and economics. An economic approach to community action is also emphasised in the EU-programmes that support local development groups and projects. On the other hand local groups describe their activities as a struggle for community and community survival. Inspired by feministic research approaches and with an interest in human aspects and values this study investigates meanings of community action as experienced and expressed by rural inhabitants and activists. The study is based on fieldwork that was carried out in a small rural community in the northern inlands of Sweden: Trehörningsjö. Since the middle of the 1990s, the women in Trehörningsjö have driven collective action to uphold the community. With its point of departure in the community and expanding into the arenas of reserach and politics, the study takes on the form of a reflexive research process in which the researcher's former knowledge and new understandings are made visible and discussed parallel with the interpretations made. The main focus of the study is the activist's demand of voice, visibility and worth. The first chapter presents the local community and provides a background to the study. The chapter includes an account of the reflexive approach that widened the field of research from a local to a translocal study of community action. In chapters two, three, four and five the struggle for community is reflected through fieldwork experiences in Trehörningsjö and other arenas beyond the village. Situated events and instances of collective action such as the fight for the local health care centre, are analysed as symbolic expressions of community values and rural importance. From chapter two and onwards, the study follows the footsteps of the leading female activist in and beyond the community itself; that is, the day-to-day work, meetings, conferences and other places where community action is acted out. The struggle for community is proven to focus on translocal rather than local action. In chapter six the fieldwork experiences - that tell about resistance and a struggle for community values and perspectives - are placed in the wider context of the rural development movement, local development research and governmental rural policy in Sweden. On all these arenas community action tend to be interpreted as local development in line with a growth perspective, rather than as community protests and struggles that expresses other meanings. Chapter seven takes the analyses and discussion further, and relates community struggle to concepts such as civil society and social economy. Anthony Giddens concept of life politics and Alberto Meluccis concept of collective action are used to deepen the analysis on how humane meanings and relation based aspects of community action are made invisible on the political "growht and development" agenda. Community struggle presents a possibility for rural inhabitants to (re)define and reclaim their community and themselves as important and valuable. However, to be able to understand what the concept of community struggle expresses, and demands, it needs to be acknowledged as a form of action that has the potential to challenge established bureaucratic and political defintions, which, in practice, proves to be difficult.

碩士
國立中正大學
外國文學所
94
Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours (1998), which was awarded the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999, deals with three women’s lives in a single day. These three women are: Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), the original writer of Mrs. Dalloway (1925), who is writing the novel in the suburbs of London, 1923; Laura Brown, a housewife in postwar Los Angeles, who is reading the novel in 1949; Clarissa Vaughan, an editor in contemporary New York, who is taking care of a dying AIDS-stricken gay poet. In different times and spaces, Cunningham depicts the significance of human existence and dilemmas toward life and death. And each woman has to face plights and dilemmas in order to search for her existence in the world. This thesis aims to evaluate these three women’s struggles between life and death and their realizations of existence by Jean-Paul Sartre’s (1905-1980) ideas of existentialism, which are stated in his work, Being and Nothingness (1943). And it will evaluate other characters that interweave in The Hours, particularly through representation of Virginia Woolf’s work, Mrs. Dalloway. During the process of analyzing Cunningham’s The Hours, I show how the author created a fictional Virginia Woolf. And I show the other two women’s connections with different ages to explore how they live in their societies. This thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter One introduces Michael Cunningham’s life and work, the main ideas of my thesis, as well as the context of these two novels, The Hours and Mrs. Dalloway. And I adopt Sartre’s conceptions of “Freedom and Responsibility” from his Being and Nothingness (1943) to evaluate each woman’s knowledge of existence. Chapter Two discusses the first two parts of The Hours: “Mrs. Dalloway” and “ Mrs. Brown.” With Sartre’s ideas about existentialism, I evaluate the realization of each woman’s existence and inner struggles toward their dilemmas between life and death. Chapter Three focuses on the significance of life by analyzing Cunningham’s Virginia Woolf. Cunningham creates a fictional character of Woolf by representing her life and the process of how she created her work, Mrs. Dalloway. In The Hours, I evaluate Cunningham’s perception of Woolf’s life and work. In this part, Cunningham not only depicts Woolf’s own failure as a writer and but also her struggles for her own insanity. Woolf’s suicide in “The Prologue” is very significant. Her suicide influences the other two women’s’ stories. Chapter Four is the conclusion. I conclude that Cunningham is not only a new creator of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway but that he also expresses these three women’s lives as a study of human existence. Even though Sartre thought life actually has no meaning at all except that which the individual chooses to give it, he strongly emphasized human freedom, choice, and responsibility in one’s existence. Through each woman’s struggle between life and death, we may perceive each woman’s life as a study of existence in The Hours.

博士
東海大學
社會工作學系
107
Abstract It is difficulty to do the medical decision-making of end-of-life about their family members, even for physicians. The objective of this research was to explore the struggles between the professional and domestic role for the emergency and critical care physicians. The study was designed as qualitative research using in-depth interviews for the emergency and critical care physicians. Six physicians who were ever faced with the medical decision-making of end-of-life about their family members after 2000 were recruited. The narrative analysis was used to comprehend their experiences. The research disclosed the participants’ cognition change model for the end-of-life decision-making, and modified the double ABCX model when the end-of-life issue among physicians' families applied it. The results showed the physician’s stage of development, working place, experiences of learning and being a doctor, and the attitude toward to life were all crucial in the cognitional level. In the reality level, the physicians were the key person in their families and found the necessary of the companion. In the clinical level, the invasive treatment and communication among their family’s members wound affect the medical decision-making. In the level of role behavior, the expectation and a feeling of detachment wound influence the physicians. The qualitative research revealed the struggles among these physicians. At last, the suggestions of the health care providers, the medical education, the double ABCX model applied to the end-of-life issue, the development of medical social work, the policy of end-of-life, and the further study could take this study as reference. For medical social workers, we can be aware of the struggles of the family and medical teams to help them. Key words: the emergency and critical care physicians, end-of-life, medical decision-making, professional role, domestic role