Living with breast cancer : the lived experience and the role of social support among women of South Asian origin in Australia

It was estimated that in Australia in 2020, breast cancer was the fifth most common cause of death from all types of cancer and the second most common cause of death from cancer among females. There have been several qualitative studies which have examined the experiences of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia. However, none have examined the lived experience of women of South Asian origin living with breast cancer in Australia, the largest culturally and linguistically diverse group in Australia. This is a significant gap in the literature as cultural perspectives towards breast cancer may differ in this cultural group from Anglo-Australians. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the lived experience and role of social support among women of South Asian origin with breast cancer living in Australia. A meta-synthesis (published) of the existing qualitative literature around the breast cancer experiences among women in Australia was initially conducted to establish the research gap and to inform my thesis. A qualitative study, using in depth interviewing and photovoice methodologies, was subsequently undertaken to explore the aims of the thesis through the theoretical lens of Bury’s Biographical disruption and Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress and Coping theories. In the meta-synthesis, most women were emotionally supported following their diagnosis, yet there are still areas where women could be better supported such as when breaking the news of their diagnosis to their children, provision of ongoing emotional support for caregivers of women with breast cancer, emotional and informational support needs both at diagnosis and during treatment, and discussion of fertility treatments in a timely manner by healthcare professionals. Overall, the findings of my qualitative study revealed that South Asian culture has a significant impact on these women’s breast cancer experiences. Mixed healthcare experiences were apparent among the women who took part in this study. The lived experience of these women also differed from the existing literature exploring Anglo-Australian populations both in terms of coping strategies leveraged, and the support received while managing their cancer. While some similarities exist between the lived experiences of breast cancer among other Australian females as found in the meta-synthesis and the women of South Asian origin who took part in this study, multiple differences also exist which are connected to cultural norms and perceptions of the disease

13th International Postgraduate Research Conference 2017 : conference proceedings

Welcome to the 13th International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPGRC 2017) hosted by the School of the Built Environment at University of Salford, UK. This year’s IPGRC is organised as part of the International Research Week 2017- ‘Shaping Tomorrow’s Built Environment: Construction and Design for the Modern World’ and also the year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Salford as a University, which makes this year’s conference very special. This conference creates a unique opportunity for researchers from Salford and other parts of the world to share their research interests, and outputs and to network and interact within a professional and friendly environment, with high profile academics and leaders within the built environment. This year’s conference brings together participants from a number of countries including the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Ireland, Norway, India, Brazil, South Korea, Nigeria, Turkey, UAE, South Africa, Iraq, Ghana, Estonia, Saudi Arabia and many more. The conference received over 100 papers and posters covering the following themes: • Business, Economics and Finance • Property and Project Management • ICT, Technology and Engineering • People, Skills and Education • Design and Urban Development • Sustainability and Environmental Systems Conference will provide a forum for novel discussions into the development and application of new and emerging practices to challenge current design and construction practice in the areas of people, process and technology issues. On behalf of School of the Built Environment, the conference co-chairs and organisers, we wish you an enjoyable and fruitful experience. We hope that you will obtain useful feedback to your research work, gain insight from work of others and forge connections for future

Changing Cityscapes and the Process of Contemporary Gentrification: An examination of the transformation of Ringsend within the context of post-industrial growth in Dublin

The process of contemporary gentrification is a key feature of post-industrial growth and urban re-generation. A central concern of this research is to investigate the implications of the process of gentrification at the level of locality. This study approached this investigation by an examination of these processes within a particular inner city neighbourhood in Dublin called Ringsend. It is the understandings and experiences of contemporary processes that this research has aimed to capture. The aim of this research was to examine the changes occurring in Ringsend at a particular point in time and in a particular context. Ringsend is an inner city working-class ‘urban village’ in Dublin, Ireland. The identity of Ringsend as ‘place’ is deeply entwined in its industrial development. However, since the 1970s Ringsend’s industrial base has been constantly eroded. In recent years Ringsend has attracted considerable private investment as the area is undergoing a shift to a post-industrial landscape. The process of contemporary gentrification is extremely visible in the built environment. The aim of this study was to capture these shifts as they are occurring and as the landscape changes further the opportunity to explore this particular juncture may not arise again. The central findings of this research indicate the importance of ‘place’ in recent transitions. However within these changes place is being re-imaged and re-structured. Further this research also highlights the importance of the specificity of locality in gaining a deeper insight into the process of contemporary ‘gentrification’. Finally this thesis argues that the changes occurring in Ringsend are impacting on understandings of ‘community’ and community re-generation. A central theme within this study is that while the shift to a post­ industrial society is advantageous for capital accumulation contemporary gentrified sites, increasingly surrounded by walls and gates, function as symbols of the uneven development of contemporary urban renewa

Contested copper extraction & biodiversity conservation.

Competition over the future development of natural resources, especially biodiversity and land, and valuable mineralised deposits beneath, lies at the root of a conflict within farming communities and with a transnational mining company in Ecuador. This qualitative study uses political ecology's theoretical framework to examine compelling development planning themes---land-use conflicts, competing rural development perspectives, local sovereignty over decision making, poverty, unequal power relations, human and environmental rights, biodiversity conservation, and natural resource extraction activities. From a discourse analysis approach, the research goals are to understand and theorise: the environmental and development claim-making process within a contested land-use and development intervention how claim-makers utilise knowledge to construct development and environmental discourses which in turn articulate their opposing claims either supporting a large-scale open cast copper mining-based economy or promoting biodiversity conservation together with ecologically-adapted alternative forms of local economic development to extractive industries how multiscalar discourse coalitions use their claims and counter claims in this dynamic struggle for power to determine which of two competing visions for the future economic development of the Intag valley will prevail how the socio-environmental process of claim-making affects the balance of power between empowered and disempowered claim-makers through the use of discursive claims and finally the impacts of the conflict and the claim-making process on the structure and agency dimension and on the moments of the social process dialectic in terms of material practices, institutions, social relations, beliefs, discourse, knowledge and power. The findings advance understanding of the dialectical social process of claim-making from all sides and levels of a multiscalar socio-environmental conflict arising from the tensions between alternative forms of local economic development which can inform development planning practice and theory and ultimately contribute to the avoidance, reduction, and resolution of resource based conflicts in fast-developing Andean economies and transition economies elsewhere

The Impact of the Internationalisation of Higher Education on Scientists’ Multimodal Communication: A case study from Catalonia

Les universitats de tot el món són instades a participar en el procés d' ‘internacionalització’ com a distintiu de qualitat i com a reclam per atraure estudiants. Aquest estudi aborda aquesta qüestió des del context de les institucions catalanes d’educació superior, que afronten el dilema de donar suport a la/les llengua/gües local/s i, alhora, abraçar el multilingüisme i, sobretot, l’anglès. L'objectiu principal d'aquest estudi és examinar l'impacte de la internacionalització de l'educació superior en la comunicació diària dels científics. Les dades etnogràfiques s’han recopilat al llarg d’un període d’11 mesos d’observació de dos grups de recerca (RGs) multinacionals amb seu en una universitat catalana, i s’han contrastat amb dades extretes d’un RG amb seu a Alemanya i amb idees inspirades en les pràctiques del RG de la pròpia investigadora. De l'objectiu empíric n’ha derivat un objectiu teòric, que consisteix a dissenyar i provar un marc teòric adequat per estudiar el fenomen proposat de manera integral. Aquest estudi té l’objectiu de contribuir a la limitada literatura que descriu aquelles pràctiques comunicatives "informals" i inèdites dels científics, així com a la literatura sobre la internacionalització de l’ensenyament superior. A nivell pràctic, aquest treball pretén contribuir a la millora de les polítiques d’internacionalització de les institucions d’ensenyament superior de Catalunya, d’Europa i potencialment d’altres contextos arreu del món.Las universidades de todo el mundo son instadas a participar en el proceso de ‘internacionalización’ como distintivo de calidad y como reclamo para atraer estudiantes. Este estudio aborda esta cuestión desde el contexto de las instituciones catalanas de educación superior, que afrontan el dilema de apoyar la/s lengua/s local/es y, a la vez, abrazar el multilingüismo y, sobre todo, el inglés. El objetivo principal de este estudio es examinar el impacto de la internacionalización de la educación superior en la comunicación diaria de los científicos. Los datos etnográficos se han recopilado a lo largo de un período de 11 meses de observación de dos grupos de investigación (RGs) multinacionales con sede en una universidad catalana, y se han contrastado con datos extraídos de un RG con sede en Alemania y con ideas inspiradas en las prácticas del RG de la propia investigadora. Del objetivo empírico ha derivado un objetivo teórico, que consiste en diseñar y probar un marco teórico adecuado para estudiar el fenómeno propuesto de manera integral. Este estudio tiene el objetivo de contribuir a la limitada literatura que describe aquellas prácticas comunicativas "informales" e inéditas de los científicos, así como a la literatura sobre la internacionalización de la enseñanza superior. A nivel práctico, este trabajo pretende contribuir a la mejora de las políticas de internacionalización de las instituciones de enseñanza superior de Cataluña, de Europa y potencialmente de otros contextos en todo el mundo.Universities worldwide are urged to engage in the process of ‘internationalisation’ as a hallmark of quality and as a lure to attract students. The current study approaches this issue from the context of Catalan higher education institutions, which deal with the dilemma of supporting the local language(s) and at the same time embracing multilingualism and especially English. The main aim of this study is to examine the impact of the internationalisation of higher education on the daily communication of scientists. Ethnographic data have been collected throughout a period of 11 months from two multinational research groups (RGs) based in a Catalan state university, and contrasted with data taken from a RG based in Germany and with insights from the researcher’s own RG. From the empirical objective has derived a theoretical objective, consisting in designing and proving a suitable theoretical framework to study the phenomenon holistically. This study aims to contribute to the limited body of research describing scientists’ "informal" and unpublished communicative practices, as well as to the literature on the internationalisation of higher education. On a practical level, this work is intended to aid in the improvement of internationalisation policies of higher education institutions in Catalonia, in Europe and potentially in other contexts worldwide

Globalization and Labour in the Twenty-First Century

Globalisation has adversely affected working-class organisation and mobilisation; but international labour movement demobilisation is not necessarily an irreversible trend. Globalisation has prompted workers and their organisations to find new ways to mobilise. This book examines international labour movement opposition to globalisation. It chronicles and critically scrutinizes the emergence of distinctively new forms of labour movement organisation and mobilisation that constitute creative initiatives on the part of labour, which present capitalism with fresh challenges. The author identifies eight characteristics of globalisation that have proven problematic to workers and their organisations and describes and analyses how they have responded to these challenges since 1990 and especially in the past decade. In particular, it focuses attention on new types of labour movement organisation and mobilisation that are not simply defensive reactions but are offensive and innovative responses that compel corporations to behave more responsively and responsibly towards employees and society at large. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of globalisation, political economy, labour politics, economics, Marxism and sociology of work

Discourses We Live By

"What are the influences that govern how people view their worlds? What are the embedded values and practices that underpin the ways people think and act? Discourses We Live By approaches these questions through narrative research, in a process that uses words, images, activities or artefacts to ask people – either individually or collectively within social groupings – to examine, discuss, portray or otherwise make public their place in the world, their sense of belonging to (and identity within) the physical and cultural space they inhabit. This book is a rich and multifaceted collection of twenty-eight chapters that use varied lenses to examine the discourses that shape people’s lives. The contributors are themselves from many backgrounds – different academic disciplines within the humanities and social sciences, diverse professional practices and a range of countries and cultures. They represent a broad spectrum of age, status and outlook, and variously apply their research methods – but share a common interest in people, their lives, thoughts and actions. Gathering such eclectic experiences as those of student-teachers in Kenya, a released prisoner in Denmark, academics in Colombia, a group of migrants learning English, and gambling addiction support-workers in Italy, alongside more mainstream educational themes, the book presents a fascinating array of insights. Discourses We Live By will be essential reading for adult educators and practitioners, those involved with educational and professional practice, narrative researchers, and many sociologists. It will appeal to all who want to know how narratives shape the way we live and the way we talk about our lives.