Social Construction of Reality - Bad Request
Social Construction of Reality - Bad Request
Social Construction of Reality - Bad Request
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS<br />
The lessons I have learned and the gratitude I owe can be expressed in terms <strong>of</strong><br />
four emergent themes: strength within, just push the button, the importance <strong>of</strong> the<br />
collective mind, and love and acceptance. Together these themes inform my<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> the Japense word kansha, a term for what it means to have deep<br />
gratitude for the role other people play in one’s life.<br />
Strength within. The personification <strong>of</strong> strength within is my husband, Tom. He<br />
has been the guiding force behind this entire endeavor and the ultimate role model for<br />
living a tenacious, exhilarating life. For everything I didn’t think I could do, he had five<br />
or more reasons why I could. His insistence that I was more that I thought I was, made it<br />
so. Tom, thank you for making every day <strong>of</strong> my life wonderful and for ensuring that this<br />
program <strong>of</strong> study came to fruition. The dissertation is as much yours as it is mine.<br />
Just push the button. A second significant theme is embodied by the words “just<br />
push the button” (M. Smith, multiple personal communications) and their analogues “just<br />
Fedex the application” (J.Westfall, personal communication December, 2004) and<br />
“enough is enough” (Smith and Westfall, multiple personal communications). Dr.<br />
Melody Smith, thank you for being my mentor, my leader, my boss, and my friend, for<br />
inspiring not only this study but a vision for the future <strong>of</strong> our pr<strong>of</strong>ession, for standing by<br />
me, and for ensuring that I value learning more than being right. Dr. Jeanette Westfall,<br />
thank you for refusing to leave me behind, for all <strong>of</strong> the knowledge creation we managed<br />
on our marathon rides back and forth to MU, for constantly helping me frame and re-<br />
frame all <strong>of</strong> the “opportunities” that have come along these past few years, and for your<br />
steadfast friendship. Mel and JW-I owe you both a debt <strong>of</strong> gratitude beyond measure.<br />
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