Browsing by Author "McCool, Michael John"
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- ItemAchieving a place: a communography of disabled postgraduates : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Albany campus, New Zealand(Massey University, 2009) McCool, Michael JohnThis study is social anthropological insider research of disabled postgraduates, students and staff in tertiary educational institutions. This is also a study of enabling conditions for inclusion; and ways the participants build relationships between themselves and the wider community. I consider my participants as kin. This was a joint venture - we were related not by blood, but by the very fact that we share in communities of disabled people. We are connected even if not always interacting with each other; we seldom moved in the same circles on a day-to-day basis. These are stories of adversity, where the participants have developed successful coping strategies and made achievements, not despite their being ?othered?, but by living with and acknowledging their differences. These are reflections on our society where we compete in complex emotional relationships within employment and all other social institutions. The university seemed to be a psychologically safer setting probably because it is a place for higher learning and therefore all the people had a more highly developed consciousness. Even though in some cases there were some wider macro barriers, on the whole, the participantsā experience was positive. We found what we as joint participants shared in that feeling of disability was just the same as the feeling of communitas as students. Thinking about communitas (Turner, 1967), the Latin for community, convinced me that community was the central theme of this whole thesis. There are communities of practice in all organisations and institutions in society and they are used by the participants in this study not only in developing strategies for inclusion, but also for learning. Because the university is a series of communities of practice a major theorist for this study is Vygotsky and his concept of a culture of learning. We are also indebted to the social anthropologist Lave and her colleagues for bringing his ideas to Western academia.
- ItemMen with multiple sclerosis : a study of a mutual self-help support group : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master of Arts Degree in Social Anthropology at Massey University(Massey University, 2000) McCool, Michael JohnMultiple sclerosis is a condition that affects about twice as many women as men. I am a man with multiple sclerosis (an insider in this work) and my aim within this thesis is to relate the stories of our involvement within the support group environment. For the purpose of examining the individual and group process, I have found it useful to adopt a combination of narrative and feminist post modernist methods for understanding our ways of knowing and systems of helping. I was influenced by women of colour who argue about patriarchy and post colonialism to guide my thinking about the oppression of people with difference. The guiding principles of my study are inclusion, participation and emancipation. Inclusion occurred through involving the entire group in the research process. Active participation ensured that the theory presented in this study was grounded in the experiences of the individuals. Emancipation was achieved through presenting the voices of participants and working to provide better conditions for those concerned. This is an in-depth study of eight men who meet on a regular basis to share our interests, and life stories. We are people who are searching, surviving, succeeding and/or failing in our daily tasks. We are guys who are rational thinking human-beings and are just trying to be "normal" and included in our community. This thesis examines the process of surrendering power and the ways in which this causes the alienation of this group of individuals by our wider society. It looks at the social constructions of our disability, the fears, the chaos, dependency, our identity, and/or our visibility. Then we look at our "seizing the moment", through the process of reclaiming some of that power and control for ourselves through the benefit of mutual social support using camaraderie; the genuine need to help and care for each other and to be concerned. It is evident how our struggles and problems are not that dissimilar from other groups, for example, the emancipation of women and the plight of indigenous peoples. The discipline of social anthropology, being located within the humanities, provides an ideal base for studying the interconnections between oppressed groups.