Stories of life and death: undertakers' perspectives

• Main Author: Nel, Elsie Petronella
• Other Authors: Fourie DP
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Death; Bereavement; Undertaker; Funeral director; Existentialism; Death ritual; Anxiety; Denial; Meaning; Ecosystemic; Epistemology; Context; Constructivism; Second-order cybernetics; Qualitative research; Co-created realities; 363.75; Funeral supplies industry; Undertakers and undertaking; Funeral rites and ceremonies; Death > Psychological aspects; Constructivism (Psychology); Existential psychology; Funeral consultants; Ecosystemic psychology
• Online Access: Nel, Elsie Petronella (2002) Stories of life and death: undertakers' perspectives, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/610>; http://hdl.handle.net/10500/610

Like death, the defining human reality underlying our relationships and views of life's meaning, the experiences and activities of undertakers, remains an uncommon subject for psychological research. Existential anxiety roots a society-wide denial of the fundamental nature of death. which necessitates the development of institutions to take responsibility for the dying and dead. As the image and service of the stigmatised funeral industry improves, society's experience of death should become more meaningful. The overview of the research into these topics noted the need for further studies. Within a holistic, ecosystemic epistemology, this study adopted a qualitative approach and case study method, which provided descriptions of the ecology, contexts, and relationships characteristic .of the undertaker's vocation by focussing on patterned expressions of views and attitudes. The aim was to gain insight into the undertaker's experience of the many faces of death, with a genuine interest and deep respect for their world. === Psychology === M.A. (Clinical Psychology)