Dissertations / Theses: 'Object relations theory'

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China, Jaques Lefebvre. "Attachment and object relations theory." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.336335.

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Rasile, Karen D. "Object Relations Theory and Personal Construct Theory: Rapprochement Opportunity." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1987. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500772/.

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Empirical investigation of the tenets of Object Relations Theory is recent. This study of the theoretical convergence between Object Relations Theory and Personal Construct Theory brought a new direction to the empirical investigation. It was hypothesized that individuals who displayed a well developed level of object relations, as measured by Object Relations Theory, would also display a highly adaptive blend of cognitive complexity and ordination, as described by Personal Construct Theory, and vice versa. A correlational analysis of personality measures on 136 college students approached but did not attain statistical significance. Results indicated no significant theoretical convergence between Object Relations Theory and Personal Construct Theory. Further research is warranted only if greater variability in sample age, life experience, and psychopathology is assured.

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Welch, Elizabeth Katherine. "The use of object relations theory in clinical social work practice : a case study." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14973.

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Includes bibliographical references.
The purpose of this study was to explore the value of a particular theoretical framework in terms of several issues relating to clinical social work practice. The selected theoretical framework was that of Object Relations theory, specifically the works of Melanie Klein and Margaret Mahler. The method of inquiry was that of a single case study. The investigation centred around the theories' usefulness in clinical social work practice regarding: assessment, particularly in terms of the development of insight into and understanding of human psychological development, and guiding practice and informing intervention. The selected theoretical framework was also evaluated according to: its sufficiency, in and of itself, and the extent to which its utilization facilitates avoidance of stereotyping and pathologizing. The study was undertaken in a psychiatric unit, run according to the principles of a therapeutic milieu, in a local hospital. The subject of the study had been admitted to the unit after a parasuicide attempt. He manifested many of the affects and behaviours associated with Borderline Personality Disorder, and was a transsexual who had undergone reassignment surgery. Ongoing assessment and intervention were undertaken in the residential unit on an individual basis and in group activities. Reference to literature, the writings of Klein and Mahler in particular, was a crucial and essential aspect of the study. The selected theoretical framework was found to be of great value in terms of the development of insight into and understanding of human psychological development, which in turn aided the assessment process. Whilst neither Klein nor Mahler wrote extensively or specifically of intervention, a model compatible with their opinions was identified in the literature and effectively used for this purpose. The approach used, both from a theoretical and a practical standpoint, encouraged expression and maintenance of individual uniqueness. The study highlighted the importance of a sound theoretical knowledge base underpinning clinical practice, particularly when practitioners are challenged by difficult cases. In addition, the need for practitioners to assume responsibility for continued dynamic learning, and the significant role of supervision were apparent. Further avenues for study and research were also identified.

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Michaelis, Stephen Henry. "A Model of Suicidal Behavior In Latency Age Children Based on Developmental Object Relations Theory." PDXScholar, 1989. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2939.

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This thesis attempts to explicate the manifestation of suicidal behavior in latency age children based on developmental object relations theory. It asserts that the susceptibility to suicidal behavior becomes part of the child's developing ego organization during the first three years of life as the result of deviant or distorted emotional development. These disturbances interfere with the normal internalizing processes of the separation individuation phases, including the development of psychological mechanisms. To accomplish the purpose of the study, the thesis generally classifies object relations theory within the parameters of developmental psychopathology and specifically classifies it as a component of contemporary psychodynamic theory. Then follows an exposition of the separation individuation process and attendant development of psychological mechanisms in normal and disturbed development. This section concludes by identifying the normally developing child around thirty-six months of age as possessing the capacity to unite disparate self and object images into a single, whole person for appropriate self comfort, self-image formation, and self-esteem regulation through having received primarily gratifying interactions with caregivers. The child with disturbed development lacks this capacity because of the internalization of primarily negative object-images through primarily negative interactions with caregivers. The child lacks trust in itself and in others, tends to perceive itself and others as all-good or all-bad, and experiences hostility and depression. A definition of latency and a description of this developmental stage follows. Cognitive development marked by secondary thought processes and reliance upon dynamic psychological mechanisms--ego defenses--to sustain a behavioral and emotional equilibrium, rather than a diminution of drives, permit latency to become established. As part of the structure of latency, fantasy serves a defensive and adaptive function by providing an outlet for drive expression and for mastery of situations intrapsychically. Children with disturbances in ego organization have a less established structure of latency than do normal children, that is, they rely to a greater extent on psychological mechanisms characteristic of the separation-individuation phases. A review of empirical and clinical research of suicidal children encompasses family environment; loss, depression, and hopelessness; cognitive functioning; and defense mechanisms. Suicidal children live in stressful, chaotic families with confused role relationships. Findings regarding the relationships among loss, depression, and hopelessness appear mixed although integrally related. Suicidal children conceive of impersonal death as final while construing personal death as reversible as a defensive maneuver. Suicidal fantasies constitute the precursors to suicidal planning and actions. Suicidal children show impaired ability to devise active coping strategies. They seem to rely excessively on ego defenses considered developmentally appropriate in early stages of development, such as introjection. A synthesis of theoretical formulations and research findings sets forth the developmental sequence culminating in suicidal behavior. The model depicts a child's developing ego organization predisposed to depression, hostility, and low self-esteem caused by the internalization of a predominance of negative self- and object-images. It portrays susceptibility to suicidal behavior through the incapacity to exercise self-protection under stressful situations because of a reliance upon maladaptive ego defenses. Fantasies to relieve psychic pain as part of latency defenses transform into fantasies of suicide; these presage and allow for planning and, given the failure of ego defenses, suicidal behavior results.

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Greenhalgh, Kenneth. "On reading narcissistic texts : an object relations theory view of the life and works of Soren Kierkegaard." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/1057.

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This thesis is concerned with the psychoanalytical concept of narcissism, and the effect that texts written by narcissistic writers have upon their readers. I use Søren Kierkegaard as an example of a narcissistic writer who produced narcissistic texts. In order to follow through the logic of the thesis, it is necessary to explain first the Freudian idea of narcissism, and then narcissism as considered by one post-Freudian school called Object Relations theory. It is also necessary, second, to summarise a psychoanalytic model of what happens when we read any kind of text. The methodology of this thesis is usually called psychobiography, the systematic application of psychodynamic principles to the study of a life, and so, third, both the principles and some of the issues of this methodology are presented. Having established an operational definition of narcissism, the thesis looks first at Kierkegaard’s life, identifying a series of key events or stages that can be re-interpreted on the assumption that Kierkegaard was narcissistic. Three of his key texts are considered next - Fear and Trembling, Works of Love and The Sickness Unto Death. Each of these can be interpreted to show how his narcissism influenced his writing. Two substantial appendices are included. The first is a comment upon the relationship between God and psychoanalysis, presented primarily to introduce the ideas of Donald Winnicott. The second is on the concept of psychopathology, a difficult topic, since it is at once both heavily value laden, but is also persistent in any analysis of psychological difference. In conclusion I refer to several key Kierkegaardian themes, emphasising their narcissistic origins, and ask the reader to reflect upon their own responses to these issues, to consider how Kierkegaard’s narcissism influences their own emotions, and how these in turn affect any cognitive understanding of Søren Kierkegaard.

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Wier, Stewart Scott. "Object relations middle group and attachment theory : gender development, spousal abuse and qualitative research on youth crime." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2003. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/14759/.

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The basis to Freud's view that men and women are essentially separate entities with their own unique psychological construction and human potential which arises from their anatomical differences, will be challenged from the paradigm of object relations theory and related research from attachment theory. It will be argued that while a substantive understanding of gender development and the related issue of spousal abuse are influenced by such important factors as patriarchal domination, social oppression, socialized roles, and economic inequality between the sexes, these forces are considered to have a secondary psychological effect when compared with the formative influence of early object relations. The object relational paradigm to be outlined is that it is the distinctive emotional impact of the contents and attitudes that occur between the members of each family that establish the blueprints for subsequent feelings about oneself and others, from which particular relational patterns with others are pursued and acted upon within the larger social structure. Freud may be credited for his recognition and pioneering systematic investigation into the central importance of the unconscious in the development and functioning of human beings. Beyond this being a theoretical entity that is devoid of any scientific rigour which cannot be tested, proven, and therefore accepted as a legitimate therapeutic modality, information will be offered that suggests otherwise. Spousal relationships in which abuse constitutes a chronic pattern of interaction between the persons involved is understood to occur within contemporary North American society as a collusive arrangement between two emotionally impaired individuals. The argument will be made that they enter into an unconscious dialogue wherein each perpetrates and perpetuates the hopes and disappointments of their own and their partner's past intrapsychic relational experiences. Incarceration alone does not serve the emotional needs of young offenders, but instead, generally provides conditions which advance what is accepted, within this paper, to be a frequently disturbed psychic structure. The emphasis within the Canadian correctional system seems to emphasize incarceration over rehabilitation with the expectation that punishing those who break the law will result in an abstention from such acts in the future. The argument will be presented that in addition to ensuring public safety through imprisonment for some, there is mounting evidence which demonstrates the success of treatment programmes both within and outside of correctional institutions for those who break the law, and whose primary emphasis is on treatment and rehabilitation rather than detention and retribution. Contrary to therapeutic intervention being carried out as an adjunct to existing penal institutions, or that it be directed principally at the conscious acquisition of skills and information, it is proposed that such efforts are best administered within 2 comprehensive therapeutic environments. Further, it will be argued that rather than the previous and current emphasis which is directed primarily at a cognitive and behavioural level of the offender, it is the emotional foundation of the individual which has a direct influence on their long-term behaviour. Therefore, this aspect should constitute a fundamental component of the treatment program for the forensic patient for which psychoanalytic psychotherapy may play an important role.

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Cookman, Craig Alan. "Attachment structures of older adults: Theory development using a mixed qualitative-quantitative research design." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/185906.

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This study used a mixed qualitative-quantitative design to describe attachment in a sample of one-hundred fifty-four healthy community-living older adults. Life-span development and attachment theory combined to define the philosophical and theoretical orientation that guided the investigation. The idea of an "attachment structure" was conceptualized by the investigator to frame attachment--an approach that allowed attachment to involve multiple attachment objects from any or all of six different attachment object types (things, ideas, people, groups of people, animals, or places). The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the attachment structure as it presented in, and developed in later life. In phase one of the study, 154 older adults were administered a questionnaire designed to elicit descriptive information about the newly conceptualized "attachment structure". This information was used to guide theoretical sampling in the qualitative, second phase. In phase two, a grounded theory methodology was used to explore the developmental changes that occurred in attachment structures in later life. Sixteen subjects from phase one were selected, based on their responses to the quantitative phase, as those subjects most likely to advance the theory developing focus of this study. Analysis supported the attachment structure as a meaningful representation of socio-emotional development in later life. The existence of multiple attachment objects of multiple object types was supported by both quantitative and qualitative data. Significantly, in addition to close family and friends, subjects reported attachments to ideas like independence and freedom. A grounded process called "reconfiguring" was identified from qualitative analysis that described how older people make changes in their attachment structures to maintain a sense of security in the face of diminishing contact with attachment objects. Two pathways, the structural stimulation pathway and the reconfiguring pathway, describe the dynamics of the attachment structure. The reconfiguring pathway was identified as a developmental resource of aging--a process available to older people to address developmental challenges in aging that affect one's quality and quantity of interaction with attachment objects.

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Scarborough, Janet. "Predicting life satisfaction from psychoanalytic personality theory : an examination of ego integration, quality of object relations, and attachment style /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3008436.

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Junqueira, Camila. "Rumo à \'metapsicologia dos limites\': o diálogo possível entre a teoria pulsional e a teoria das relações de objeto e algumas de suas consequências - Freud, Winnicott e Green." Universidade de São Paulo, 2010. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47132/tde-16042010-113841/.

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Este trabalho fundamenta-se na compreensão da metapsicologia dos limites como parte da teoria psicanalítica que visa compreender a estruturação e o funcionamento dos limites do psiquismo, bem como parte da teoria psicanalítica que se destina a compreender a etiologia, o funcionamento e o tratamento das patologias-limite, manifestações decorrentes de falhas na constituição e no funcionamento dos limites do psiquismo. Tem como hipótese de pesquisa que o giro metapsicológico exigido pelos estados-limite se coloca menos no sentido de ampliar a diversidade de modelos teóricos e mais no sentido de fazer dialogar dois modelos teóricos que estão na base do pensamento psicanalítico, mas que foram historicamente separados e considerados incompatíveis, a saber: o modelo pulsional e o modelo das relações objetais. Os objetivos deste trabalho são os de (1) questionar os limites da oposição entre a teoria pulsional de Freud e a teoria relacional de Winnicott, (2) apresentar a alternativa que André Green propõe para essa aparente oposição, argumentando a favor da concepção de pulsão e objeto como um par inseparável, bem como (3) apresentar e discutir algumas consequências metapsicológicas do diálogo possível entre essas duas teorias a partir do estudo de Freud e de Winnicott, dando também destaque para as contribuições de André Green para esse diálogo a fim de verificar se a hipótese explicitada acima se sustenta. A presença do objeto na teoria freudiana e a presença do instinto na teoria winnicottiana num segundo momento do desenvolvimento emocional denotam certa abertura nessas teorias para o diálogo entre elas. A forte oposição entre essas teorias apontada pela literatura psicanalítica parece ser fruto de um momento histórico. Contudo, conclui-se também que o diálogo entre essas teorias deve ser realizado dentro de certos limites que contemplem a constatação que Freud e Winnicott se dedicaram ao estudo de dois níveis diferentes de apreensão do Self, que estão relacionados, mas não se sobrepõem. André Green, a princípio, desconsidera o limite desse diálogo a partir da argumentação de que a pulsão e o objeto formam um par inseparável, o que torna inadmissível uma teoria que se organize apenas em um desses pólos, promovendo, com isso, uma releitura de Freud e Winnicott e produzindo importantes avanços para a metapsicologia dos limites. Entretanto, mais recentemente, Green apresenta o que denomina de teoria dos gradientes, que corrobora com a constatação de que há limites nesse diálogo. O exame das consequências desse diálogo produziu algumas propostas, entre elas: uma nova reorganização da tópica psíquica a fim de incluir o não-psíquico, produto da desobjetalização e da clivagem, também denominado de terceira tópica; a compreensão das patologias-limite como um tipo específico de neurose narcísica; e o pensamento metapsicológico como auxílio ao analista aos desafios clínicos propostos por esses casos. Por fim, o exame realizado nesta tese demonstra que o giro metapsicológico exigido por essas patologias está na direção do diálogo entre a teoria pulsional e a teoria das relações de objeto, confirmando a hipótese inicial desta pesquisa
Understanding the metapsychology of limits as a part of the psychoanalytic theory which aim to understand the framing and the functioning of the psychic limits as well as a part of the psychoanalytic theory which aim to understand the etiology, the functioning and the treatment of the borderline cases, manifestations which occur due to failures at the constitutioning and functioning of the psychic limits. And departing of the hypothesis that the metapsychologycal turn demanded by the borderline states is less in the sense of amplify the diversity of metapsychological models and much more in the sense of set in dialogue two theoretical models which are in the base of the psychoanalytic thought, but which were historically split off and considered incompatible: the drive theory and the object relation theory. The aims of this research were (1) to question the limits of the opposition between Freuds drive theory and Winnicotts object relation theory, (2) to present the solution Andre Green propose to this apparent opposition, arguing in favor of the conception of drive and instinct as an inseparable pair, (3) to present and to discuss some of the metapsychological consequences of the possible dialogue between these two theories since study of Freuds and Winnicotts theories, also giving emphasis to the Greens contributions to this dialogue, in order to verify if the hypothesis describe above can be maintained. The presence of object in Freuds theory and the presence of instinct in Winnicotts theory in a second moment of the emotional development denote some overture on theses theories for dialogue. The strong opposition between then, pointed by the psychoanalytic literature, seems to be result of a historical moment. Nevertheless, it follows that the dialogue between these two theories must be done inside certain limits which regard the evidence that Freuds and Winnicotts studies concerned two different levels of apprehension of the Self, which are related, but not superpose each other. Andre Green, at first, disrespect the limits of this dialogue arguing in favor that drive and instinct constitute an inseparable pair, which turns unacceptable one theory which is organized upon one of these two poles, promoting then a re-reading of Freuds and Winnicotts theories and producing important advances for the metapsychology of limits. Meanwhile, more recently, Green brings up what he calls the gradients theory, which corroborate with the evidence that there are limits in this dialogue. The examination of the consequences of this dialogue have produced some proposals, among them: a new reorganization of the psychic topic in order to include the no-psychic, product of the desobjatalization and splitting process, also named third topic; the understanding of borderline pathologies as a specific type of narcissistic neurosis; and also the metapsychological thought as a help to the analyst in front of the clinical challenges proposed by these cases. Finally, the exam accomplished on this research give evidence that the metapsychological turn demanded the borderline states is towards a dialogue between drive theory and object relational theory, confirming the initial hypothesis of this research

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Stenlöv, Camilla. "Beloved as a Good Object : A Kleinian Reading of Toni Morrison's Beloved." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Sektionen för humaniora (HUM), 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-17673.

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The text of Beloved will be analyzed with a Kleinian and Freudian approach in order to show how the characters see each other as good or bad objects. This essay begins with an explanation of terms and a short presentation of psychoanalysis and object relations theory. Thereafter, each main character and their relation to Beloved will be examined and discussed as well as their relation to each other.

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Grassow, Howard. "Exploring how object relations theory can be used to understand the response of individuals to organisational change : three case studies." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7674.

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Bibliography : leaves 101-104.
The study set out to explore why people who were not at risk of being retrenched at the time of organisational change presented to the employee assistance program with signs of depression and anxiety. The study examined the, 'unconscious aspects' of the relationship between the individual and work colleagues; the importance of the individual's relationship with the organisation, and how early unresolved feelings of loss can be evoked during organisational change. The study was informed by psychoanalytic object relations theory. The study presents a theoretical examination of infant development that focuses on the sources of early anxieties, the way in which the infant defends against these anxieties, and the mother's role in helping the infant to contain them. This examination suggests that although many of these primitive anxieties are resolved during infancy and childhood, they remain present in adulthood and therefore people continue to seek out places that can contain their primitive anxieties. The theoretical constructs are then used to examine three areas, those being, the employees relationship with the organisation, relationships with colleagues, and the loss of the organisation. Three case studies are presented to illustrate the theoretical constructs. The three participants, all of whom were not at risk of being retrenched, presented to the employee assistance programme with signs of anxiety and depression. The data presented was collected during ten therapy sessions. This data was then analyzed using psychoanalytical object relations theory. The study seemed to Show that: early maternal relationships play an important role in how the employee will relate to the organisation and work colleagues; that the organisation plays an important role in providing a forum for reparation for employees; that the employee organisation relationship plays an important role in containing employee's anxieties; that changes within the organisation may be experienced by members as a loss of an important containing relationship. It is helpful for social workers working with employees to understand these so as to help both employees and management during organisational change.

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Naude, Bianca. "State personhood and world politics: a personology of the South African state." Doctoral thesis, Faculty of Humanities, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30874.

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South Africa’s foreign policy decisions and behaviours are routinely referred to as “schizophrenic” by scholars and political commentators alike. A malady of the human brain, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines “schizophrenia” as “a severe mental disorder, characterized by profound disruptions in thinking, affecting language, perception, and the sense of self [that] can impair functioning through the loss of an acquired capability to earn a livelihood, or the disruption of studies”. If schizophrenia is a disorder of the human mind, then diagnosing a state with this disorder implies an acceptance of the argument that, indeed, “states are people too”. Yet, for all of the diagnoses of foreign policy schizophrenia handed to the South African state on such a regular basis, very few scholars have seriously contemplated the implications of state personhood for our understanding of politics among nations, and the importance of this approach to International Relations (IR) for research on state behaviours. Pushing Alexander Wendt’s (1999) claim that “states are people too” beyond its present conceptual limits, this research undertakes a personology of South Africa as state-person. “Personology” is, in its simplest form, a science of persons: how they exist in relation to others, how they differ from others, and how their experiences of the world affect their cognitions and behaviours. Persons are more than just identities. Persons have emotions, they maintain relationships with significant Others, and they experience internal conflicts that spark certain defensive behaviours. Behaviours, in turn, take on specific patterns in individuals based on historical experiences of the external world, and on the individual’s internal configuration that predisposes it to certain courses of action that are again based in past experiences of the individual’s interactions with Others. In this sense, the project distinguishes between “identity” and “personality” as two interrelated, but distinct, components of personhood. While constructivist IR to date has contributed significantly to our understanding of state identities, considerations surrounding personality remain unexplored. In the context of the above, the thesis asks the question “how do South Africa’s experiences of relationships with other state-persons shape its behaviour in international politics, and why do these behaviours take on these unique dynamics?” Departing from a reexamination of the South African state’s identity as both difference from and likeness to Others, the thesis incorporates insights from personality theory and psychoanalysis to propose a workable model for analysing state behaviours. Through an examination of significant events from South Africa’s recent foreign relations, the thesis considers both defensive mechanisms employed by the state to protect its Self when faced with criticism from peers, and the reasons why these specific defences are employed in the way that they are employed. An understanding of the functions of narcissistic defences in individuals allows us to make sense of seemingly inconsistent, self-contradictory or incoherent behaviours beyond unexplored accusations of a disordered mind. Persons communicate their Selves, and their experiences of the world, through carefully selected symbols – both linguistic and non-linguistic. The study of these symbols, or semiotics, has long been the purview of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which takes both linguistic and non-linguistic forms of communication as the foundations of social practice. Drawing heavily on the work of, among others, Foucault, Derrida and Lacan, CDA concerns itself with the social and political context of agency and structure, observable through the lenses of representation, manipulation, interpretation, that is embedded in the discourses of individuals or groups within societies. Discourse is produced with the aim of achieving something; this may simply include positioning the Self within society, communicating with Others to achieve the common aims of the group, or eventually, to change the external world in a way that corresponds to the individual’s inner image of its Self in relation to outside world. Informed by this understanding of discourse as the performance of the Self, and the means through which to satisfy internal desires, the project looks at ways in which the South African Self is narratively constructed and performed in relation to significant Others, and how South Africa attempts to shape the external world according to its own mentalistic images of itself-in-theworld.

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Tobler, Samuel B. "Women's Perceptions of Parents, Peers, Romantic Partner and God as Predictive of Symptoms Severity Among Women in Treatment for Eating Disorders at an Inpatient Facility." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2007. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1266.

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The present study examined whether perceptions of parents, peers, romantic partners and God were predictive of eating disorder symptom severity among women in treatment for eating disorders. The sample included 417 women (ages 12 to 56 years) at an inpatient treatment facility for eating disorders. Participants completed a battery of assessment measures at intake and discharge. Change scores were also computed on all measures. Measures included indices of eating disorder symptomology, parental relationships, peer relationships, romantic partner relationships, and religious well-being. Multiple regression analysis showed perceptions of peers and romantic partner to be significant predictors in all analyses; however perceptions of God failed to predict eating disorder symptom severity in all but one analysis. Differences between perceptions of mothers and fathers were also found. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

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McConchie, Ruth Franziska. "Revolving kaleidoscope : site-specificity and the part object in contemporary installation art." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2014. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/71397/1/Ruth_McConchie_Thesis.pdf.

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This practice-led research project explores the possibilities for restaging and reconfiguring contemporary art installations in multiple and different locations. By exploring ideas and art that demonstrate a kaleidoscopic approach to creative practice, this project examines how analysing artists' particular processes can achieve new understandings and experiences of installation art. This project achieves this through reflection on, and analysis of creative works made throughout the research, and a critical examination of contemporary art practices.

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Winston, Summer D. "Not Just a Symbol But a Status Symbol." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2012. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1505.

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I create art, not out of a deep understanding of the world around me, but out of a lack of one. Human psychology, motives, behaviors, stressors, intentions and identity are the themes that boggle me the most. Therefore, it is only natural that my work would be fueled by the questions these themes pose. In the past I sought to understand what pushes people to make certain choices and how can the world around us affect the formation of identity. Currently I wonder about identity in terms of what do people use to form and reinforce identity both real and fabricated. In addition to this I am working through the question of what creates worth for an object; it’s function or its fabricated identity. Through the use of photography, video, sculpture and installation I explore the possibilities of questions and also understandings that my work can create.

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Feeney, Michael E. "Relational Influences of Self-Perceptions in Late Adolescence." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2020. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3803.

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Self-perceptions are rooted in our relationships, interactions, and comparisons with others. The relational influences that impact self-perceptions may range from family members and friends to celebrities or characters in books, all of whom differ in terms of relational and psychological distance, such that some are more proximal (e.g., friends and family) while others are more distal (e.g., celebrities or characters in a book). Self-perceptions are meaningful given the bulk of research indicating that low self-perceptions are related to numerous clinical problems, especially in young people. Yet, researchers have yet to study the junction between late adolescents’ evaluations of the self in relation to proximal and distal influences. This dissertation begins by defining the constructs of the self and self-perception. The manner in which relational influences and a healthy sense of self develop are discussed within psychodynamic and social-psychological frameworks. A study is then presented that examines the relationships between individuals’ self-perception within different domains and with whom they identify in those domains. Late adolescents were asked about their self-perceptions across nine domains of perceived competency and then asked about with whom they relate, both positively (someone good) and negatively (someone bad), in each of those domains. Results demonstrated that higher levels of self-perception in three domains (job, social, and friends) increased the odds of identifying a proximal influence when asked about negative relational influences. Proximal influences (people close in relationships) were more prevalent than distal objects across all domains for a majority of the sample. However, high self-perception did increase the likelihood within these three domains. Gathering information regarding relational influences while also measuring self-perceptions contributes to understanding the construct of the self and the theoretical orientations presented. Current results may also inform clinical interventions aimed at strengthening self-concept in youth.

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Williamson, Peter Burnett. "The social construction of illiteracy: a study of the construction of illiteracy within schooling and methods to overcome it." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/494.

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Pre-literate children experience written text as a meaningless material object, the word-object, but the compulsory and institutional aspects of reading pedagogy make this an experience from which they cannot escape. Some children begin to associate their own negative experiental sense with the word-object before they are able to learn to read. As reading pedagogy continues, these children begin to read back experiental sense which prevents them from converting the word-object to meaningful text. Experiental sense is repressed because it is psychically painful. It retains qualities of phenomena repressed from childhood: it is active and intractable to reason. The result is an intractable illiteracy which may be interpreted as biologically based �dyslexia.� Further attempts at reading pedagogy in childhood and adulthood generally result in reproduction of the inability because this pedagogy requires learners to attempt to read linguistically which elicits experiental sense. As these children become adults, their avoidance of reading sometimes structures their social relations to accommodate and compound their problems. The method to overcome the problem replaces experiental sense with positive feelings about written language. The power of language to denote emotions of pleasure and affirmation from learners� lives is used. These emotions are enhanced through a technique of affirmative intersubjectivity. Short spoken affirmative texts are made by learners, tape recorded and reproduced as written texts by the literacy worker. Through allowing learners control and autonomy over their spoken and written texts, the positive emotions in them are associated by learners with the written texts. Exercises on the affirmative written texts are used to demonstrate regularities about written language. Learners then progress to reading suitable independent texts and other activities. There are suggestions about how to enhance learners� feelings as competent readers and writers. The thesis uses a methodology of action research and includes five case studies of adults with literacy problems. Concepts from social theory, psychoanalysis and object relations theory are used and adapted to understand written language, schooling and illiteracy.

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Williamson, Peter Burnett. "The social construction of illiteracy a study of the construction of illiteracy within schooling and methods to overcome it /." University of Sydney. Social Policy and Curriculum Studies, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/494.

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Pre-literate children experience written text as a meaningless material object, the word-object, but the compulsory and institutional aspects of reading pedagogy make this an experience from which they cannot escape. Some children begin to associate their own negative experiental sense with the word-object before they are able to learn to read. As reading pedagogy continues, these children begin to read back experiental sense which prevents them from converting the word-object to meaningful text. Experiental sense is repressed because it is psychically painful. It retains qualities of phenomena repressed from childhood: it is active and intractable to reason. The result is an intractable illiteracy which may be interpreted as biologically based �dyslexia.� Further attempts at reading pedagogy in childhood and adulthood generally result in reproduction of the inability because this pedagogy requires learners to attempt to read linguistically which elicits experiental sense. As these children become adults, their avoidance of reading sometimes structures their social relations to accommodate and compound their problems. The method to overcome the problem replaces experiental sense with positive feelings about written language. The power of language to denote emotions of pleasure and affirmation from learners� lives is used. These emotions are enhanced through a technique of affirmative intersubjectivity. Short spoken affirmative texts are made by learners, tape recorded and reproduced as written texts by the literacy worker. Through allowing learners control and autonomy over their spoken and written texts, the positive emotions in them are associated by learners with the written texts. Exercises on the affirmative written texts are used to demonstrate regularities about written language. Learners then progress to reading suitable independent texts and other activities. There are suggestions about how to enhance learners� feelings as competent readers and writers. The thesis uses a methodology of action research and includes five case studies of adults with literacy problems. Concepts from social theory, psychoanalysis and object relations theory are used and adapted to understand written language, schooling and illiteracy.

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Araujo, Teo Weingrill. "Nas brechas do sistema: uma leitura da obra do psicanalista Ronald Fairbairn." Universidade de São Paulo, 2014. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47132/tde-07012015-093758/.

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O personagem principal da presente tese é William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn, psicanalista escocês que viveu entre 1889 e 1965 em Edimburgo, na Escócia e dedicou toda uma vida a mapear as repercussões das experiências traumáticas precoces no processo de constituição da estrutura psíquica. Fairbairn fez parte, junto com Winnicott, Balint e alguns outros, do que viria a ser conhecido dentro da tradição da psicanálise inglesa como Middle Group, ao mesmo tempo em que foi muito influenciado pelo pensamento kleiniano. Por ser alguém que vivia a milhas de distância dos principais centros de formação psicanalítica, produzia sua obra em relativo isolamento, proclamava-se como alguém que tornou superado o modelo teórico proposto por Freud e mesmo assim, continuava sendo reconhecido como psicanalista pelas instituições oficiais, Fairbairn ocupava um lugar único na cena psicanalítica da época. Na presente tese, buscamos dar o destaque devido para os singulares e refrescantes sentidos que Fairbairn confere à dimensão das forças libidinais, ao afirmar que o movimento primordial do humano não visaria o alivio das tensões, como propusera Freud, mas o estabelecimento de ligações amorosas com os objetos. Além disso, discutimos o modelo de mente proposto por Fairbairn, que incorpora em sua própria estrutura uma concepção do desenvolvimento inicial primitivo que não é encontrada nos escritos de nenhum dos principais teóricos da psicanálise do século XX (Ogden, 2010). Ao mesmo tempo em que damos o devido destaque para as grandes contribuições do autor à tradição psicanalítica, também nos propomos a garimpar as construções mais inacabadas dele sobre os processos intersubjetivos, que são muito pouco conhecidas, mas nem por isso são menos relevantes ou menos férteis. A partir disso, defendemos que o autor trouxe para a psicanálise, de modo rudimentar, contribuições originais sobre a brincadeira e a arte. Também se permitiu recriar o setting psicanalítico de modo a adaptá-lo às necessidades emocionais de seus pacientes. Lançou novas luzes para a discussão sobre a experiência de perda e o sentimento de culpa. Propôs, a partir de sua experiência pessoal, um novo modo de compreender a repercussão das experiências traumáticas na relação do sujeito com o seu corpo. A nosso ver, ao enfatizarmos as construções mais rudimentares da obra de Fairbairn, que surgem nas brechas do grande sistema teórico que ele estava construindo, o nosso esforço é de criar um autor muito menos sólido do que ele se pretendia, muito menos consolidado. Esse trabalho de criar um autor nos exigirá um esforço detido de leitura de todo e qualquer texto de Fairbairn, principalmente daqueles que pareçam menos relevantes, de modo que a nossa tarefa será a de criar um autor que, paradoxalmente, sempre esteve lá, a espera de ser criado
The main character of this work is William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn, a psychoanalyst who lived between 1889 and 1965 in Edinburgh, Scotland and who devoted a lifetime to describe the impact of early traumatic experiences in the formation process of the psychic structure. Together with Winnicott and Balint, Fairbairn was a member of what would be known as the Middle Group in the British psychoanalytic tradition. At the same time, he was influenced by Kleins ideas. Fairbairn occupied a unique place in the psychoanalytic scene because he was someone who lived miles away from his colleagues, who produced his work in relative isolation, who used to proclaim himself as the one who surpassed Freud and, despite all this, he was still recognized as a psychoanalyst by the official institutions. Throughout the present work, we highlight the unique and refreshing meaning proposed by the author to the libido forces, according to which the primary human intention is not to seek relief from tension, as proposed by Freud, but to establish affectionate bonds with objects. Beside this, we discuss the model of the mind proposed by Fairbairn, which incorporates into its very structure a conceptualization of early psychic development that is not found in the writings of any other major 20th century psychoanalytic theorist (Ogden, 2010). Inasmuch as we intend to shed light on the great contributions of the author to the psychoanalytic tradition, we endeavor to research his unfinished and very unknown constructions about the intersubjective processes, which are equally relevant and fertile. From this, we argue that the author brought to psychoanalysis original contributions to playing and arts. He also recreated the psychoanalytic setting in order to adapt it to his patients emotional needs. He cast new light on the discussion about the experiences of loss and guilt. He proposed a new way of understanding the impact of traumatic experiences on the subject\'s relation to his body. In our view, by emphasizing the most rudimentary constructions of Fairbairn´s work that arise in the gaps of the great theoretical system he was building, our effort is to create an author less solid and consolidated than he intended to be. This work of creating an author will require from us an effort of reading carefully all of Fairbairn´s texts, especially those that seem less relevant, so our task will be to create an author who has always been there, waiting to be created

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Pavanelli, Camila Lousana. "A teoria como objeto interno do analista e seus destinos na clínica : luto e melancolia como metáfora." Universidade de São Paulo, 2007. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47132/tde-14012008-162059/.

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As relações que se estabelecem entre teorias e práticas na clínica psicanalítica não costumam ser abordadas explicitamente nos escritos teóricos de psicanalistas; necessariamente, porém, elas subjazem às suas práticas e discursos. O presente trabalho propõe-se a investigar a complexidade inerente a essas relações, que a nosso ver não se restringem a uma concepção bidirecional e causal. Para tanto, recorremos a conceitos da epistemologia e, fundamentalmente, da própria psicanálise. O texto \"Uma nova leitura das origens da teoria das relações de objeto\" de Ogden permitiu-nos pensar as teorias como objetos passíveis de sofrerem investimentos libidinais: uma vez perdidas, exigirão do analista um trabalho de luto. Consideramos que essa perda ocorre quando a teoria deixa de responder às exigências da clínica, isto é, quando deixa de amparar o analista em seu contato com os pacientes. Luto e melancolia, assim, serviram-nos como metáfora para investigar os modos pelos quais as teorias se fazem presentes no analista e, conseqüentemente, na clínica, pois engendram objetos internos distintos. Se o analista faz o luto da teoria, ela é incorporada a seu conhecimento subsidiário, provendo as bases para um encontro traumático com os pacientes e com novas teorias. Se, por outro lado, esse luto não pode ser elaborado, a teoria fica então cristalizada no conhecimento subsidiário do analista, impedindo a clínica de irromper em sua dimensão traumática de alteridade.
Relationships established between theories and practices in the psychoanalytic clinical situation are not usually explicitly examined in the theoretical writings of psychoanalysts; such relationships, however, are necessarily implicit to their practices and discourses. The present work intends to investigate the complexities inherent to these relationships, which in our view are not limited to a causal and bidirectional conception. In order to do so, we have referred to concepts from epistemology and, most fundamentally, psychoanalysis itself. Ogden\'s \"A new reading of the origins of object relations theory\" has allowed us the consideration of theories as objects liable to receive libidinal cathexes, so that once they are lost, they will need to be mourned by the analyst. Such a loss occurs once the theory stops responding to clinical demands, that is, once it stops supporting the analyst in his contact with patients. Mourning and melancholia have thus served us as a metaphor to investigate the ways in which theories become present in the analyst and, consequently, in the clinical situation, for they engender different internal objects. If the analyst mourns the loss of the theory, it gets incorporated into his subsidiary knowledge, providing thus the bases for traumatic encounters with patients and new theories. If, on the other hand, the analyst cannot mourn, the theory gets then rigidly fixed into the analyst\'s subsidiary knowledge, therefore preventing the clinical situation to come forward in its full traumatic otherness.

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Langlet, Bruno. "Psychologie et ontologie dans l'oeuvre d'Alexius Meinong." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013AIXM3099.

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On soutient ici que la théorie des relations de Meinong, bien qu’elle s’établisse selon une visée psychologique, a des implications ontologiques fortes en raison d’un aspect propre à la perspective de Meinong. C’est à la lumière des exigences issues du rapport entre psychologie et ontologie que le réalisme meinongien peut être éclairé. Associée à la problématique des complexions que Meinong élabore suite à la découverte des qualités gestaltiques par Ehrenfels, et à certaines applications qui en sont faites dans la théorie de la mesure, sa théorie des relations conduit Meinong à distinguer les activités de l’esprit et les propriétés des objets de ces activités – certaines de ses propriétés ne pouvant ontologiquement dépendre de l’esprit. Dans ces conditions, et au vu des textes, on soutient que la distinction de Twardowski entre contenu et objet n’est pas ce qui détermine la position de Meinong sur les objets, dont les objets dits d’ordre supérieur. Par contre, Meinong semble disposer d’une distinction très semblable à celle de Twardowski dans ses recherches sur les relations et les complexions, encore qu’il semble adopter une posture critique envers les implications de la distinction de Twardowski, cette posture traduisant la spécificité du réalisme meinongien. La théorie des relations conditionne aussi la position de Meinong quant à la distinction entre jugements existentiels et jugements catégoriques. Son refus du représentationnalisme twar-dowskien comme de la perspective Brentano-martyenne sur la réductibilité des jugements catégoriques aux jugements existentiels est intrinsèquement lié à sa thèse sur les assomptions et les objets qui sont « hors-l’être »
In this work, it is claimed that Meinong’s theory of relations, although established in a psychological aim, has strong ontological implications under a particular aspect and peculiar to Meinong’s view. The requirements appearing from this relationship between psychology and ontology enlighten the meinongian realism. Associated with the problem of complexions which Meinong inherited from the discovery of gestalt qualities by Ehrenfels ; and regarding some applications which are made in the theory of the measure ; such a theory of relations leads Meinong to distinguishing the activities of the mind and the properties of the objects of these activities – properties that cannot ontologically depend on the mind. We claim that the distinction of Twardowski between content and object is not what determines the position of Meinong on objects and on objects of higher order. Meinong seems to have conceived a very similar distinction along his researches on relations and complexions. He even seemed to adopt a critical posture toward some implications of the Twardowski’s distinction - this posture clarifying the specificity of the meinongian realism. The theory of relations also grounds the Meinong’s view on the distinction between existential judgments and categorical judgments. His refusal of Twardowski’s representationalism, and his refusal of the Brentano-martyan view on the reducibility of the categorical judgments to existential ones, are internally connected with his thesis on assumptions and on “absistent” objects

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22

Jones, Carole. "George Eliot's sympathy and duty : the nature and function of sympathy and duty in George Eliot's fiction in relation to nineteenth-century theories of egoism, altruism and gender and twentieth-century feminist object-relations theory." Thesis, University of Hull, 2001. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:5419.

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Strömfors, Jan. "Skall man lita på sig själv eller be om hjälp? : Om attributionsprocesser i terapeutiskt förändringsarbete inom beroendefältet." Thesis, Ersta Sköndal högskola, S:t Lukas utbildningsinstitut, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:esh:diva-4041.

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Inledning: I yrkesrollen kommer de flesta psykoterapeuter regelmässigt i kontakt med missbrukare som försöker ta sig ur sitt beroende. Ofta refererar de som lyckas med detta till begreppet "En kraft starkare än vi själva" som de menar sig ha tagit hjälp av för att tillfriskna. Föreliggande arbete är ett försök att tränga djupare i denna fråga kring hur tillfrisknande missbrukare använder sig av detta begrepp. Frågeställningar: 1. Existerar en skillnad i attributionsstil vad det gäller den verksamma agensen för drogfrihet mellan deltagarna i olika behandlingsmo-deller/behandlingsmiljöer och hur ser den i så fall ut? 2. Har olika behandlingsmodeller olika sätt att skapa ett övergångsområde där at-tributionerna genereras? Metod: En kvalitativ forskningsmetod med en fenomenologisk ansats eftersom före-satsen är att beskriva och förstå informanternas livsvärld. I syfte att skapa empiri har tre fokusgruppstudier genomförts hos tre behandlingsorganisationer. Resultat: Studien visar på en skillnad i attributionsstilar mellan informanterna Iris, NA-Anonyma Narkomaner och Kuröns HVB. Det är också stor skillnad hur infor-manterna kan tillskapa ett övergångsområde där attributionerna genereras. Diskussion: De uppvisade skillnaderna mellan de olika informanterna i fråga om att skapa ett övergångsområde kan antas bestå i hur väl deltagarnas integration med be-handlingsorganisationens diskursiva praktik har uppnåtts. Vidare kan det antas att skapandet av ett integrerat övergångsområde kan bidra till upplevelsen av överlåtelse och bärande, vilka i föreliggande såväl som tidigare studier har visat sig ha betydelse för bibehållen nykterhet. Till yttermera visso framläggs hypotesen att en kunskap – hos behandlingsorganisation eller den enskilde psykoterapeuten – om klientens attribution-er kring gudsrepresentationen är till gagn för behandlingsresultaten.

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Alexander, Jessica L. "‘World Wisdom’: Difference And Identity In Gertrude Stein’s “Melanctha”." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1213987268.

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25

Ferreira, Marta Anna. ""Judas' Kiss", the experience of betrayal A Kleinian approach/." Thesis, Pretoria, [s.n.], 2007. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-09112007-115103.

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Melder, Cecilia A. "Vilsenhetens epidemiologi : en religionspsykologisk studie i existentiell folkhälsa." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Religionspsykologi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-134249.

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The existential dimension has gained importance in health studies in the last decades (Moreira-Almeida & Koenig, 2006; DeMarinis, 2008). Little Swedish research exists in this area. A pilot study was conducted in a suburban Stockholm, Church of Sweden parish. Research question was: “How does the existential dimension of health, understood as the ability to create and maintain a functional meaning-makings system, affect the person’s self-rated health and quality of life?” Theoretical framework included: health research focusing the existential dimension; public health through psychology of religion; and, object-relations theory. The mixed-methods format included semi-structured interviews, and surveys: 1) on meaning-making, and 2) Swedish pilot translation of WHOQOL-SRPB (self-rated health and quality of life including spirituality, religiousness and personal beliefs). Central results showed a positive relation between the existential health dimension and: overall ratings of physical, mental, social, and environmental health (p = .008); the overall existential health dimension and mental health (p = .008); and, social health (p = .046) and, the combined health items “How do you feel?” and “How satisfied are you with your health?” (p = .001). These results find support in WHO’s health perspective, and are linked to DeMarinis’ health dimensions and Winnicott’s understanding of potential space. Health dimensions: physical, mental, social, ecological and existential, are closely interlinked. The existential dimension is important through interaction with the others, and through its function as an autonomous health dimension. The study underlines the need for – and offers a culturally-tested method and model to explore existential needs in this secularized context.

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Rosaler, Joshua S. "Inter-theory relations in physics : case studies from quantum mechanics and quantum field theory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1fc6c67d-8c8e-4e92-a9ee-41eeae80e145.

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I defend three general claims concerning inter-theoretic reduction in physics. First, the popular notion that a superseded theory in physics is generally a simple limit of the theory that supersedes it paints an oversimplified picture of reductive relations in physics. Second, where reduction specifically between two dynamical systems models of a single system is concerned, reduction requires the existence of a particular sort of function from the state space of the low-level (purportedly more accurate and encompassing) model to that of the high-level (purportedly less accurate and encompassing) model that approximately commutes, in a specific sense, with the rules of dynamical evolution prescribed by the models. The third point addresses a tension between, on the one hand, the frequent need to take into account system-specific details in providing a full derivation of the high-level theory’s success in a particular context, and, on the other hand, a desire to understand the general mechanisms and results that under- write reduction between two theories across a wide and disparate range of different systems; I suggest a reconciliation based on the use of partial proofs of reduction, designed to reveal these general mechanisms of reduction at work across a range of systems, while leaving certain gaps to be filled in on the basis of system-specific details. After discussing these points of general methodology, I go on to demonstrate their application to a number of particular inter-theory reductions in physics involving quantum theory. I consider three reductions: first, connecting classical mechanics and non-relativistic quantum mechanics; second,connecting classical electrodynamics and quantum electrodynamics; and third, connecting non-relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. I approach these reductions from a realist perspective, and for this reason consider two realist interpretations of quantum theory - the Everett and Bohm theories - as potential bases for these reductions. Nevertheless, many of the technical results concerning these reductions pertain also more generally to the bare, uninterpreted formalism of quantum theory. Throughout my analysis, I make the application of the general methodological claims of the thesis explicit, so as to provide concrete illustration of their validity.

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Humphreys, Adam Richard Copeland. "Kenneth Waltz and the limits of explanatory theory in international relations." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2007. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d21f41ff-ba18-453f-ba70-ecb7bf8ec3db.

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Kenneth Waltz's seminal work Theory of international politics (1979) conceptualizes international relations as a complex system in which the structure of the system and the interacting units (sovereign states) that comprise it are mutually affecting. Nevertheless, Waltz seeks to develop a nomothetic theory in which the structure of the international political system is isolated as an independent variable, state behaviour being the dependent variable. Waltz's explanatory strategy is therefore characterized by a deep tension: he treats structure as an independent variable whilst also arguing that structure and units are mutually affecting. Consequently, his systemic theory only generates partial explanations: it indicates how structure affects behaviour, but not how structure interacts with other variables to produce specific behavioural outcomes. This thesis draws on Waltz's theoretical writings, on Waltz's applications of his theory to empirical subjects in international relations (superpower relations during the Cold War, Soviet socialization into international society, and NATO's role after the Cold War), and on a wide range of theoretical literature. It explores the implications of the tension in Waltz's approach for explanatory theory in International Relations. It shows that Waltz's theory cannot ground many of his substantive arguments, that realists who attempt to improve Waltz's theory misunderstand the problems Waltz encounters, and that constructivists are unable to offer causal generalizations about complex systems. It concludes that explanatory theory in International Relations is currently poorly equipped to address complex systems in which structure and units are mutually affecting.

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Finchilescu, Gillian. "Social identity theory and intergroup attributions." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1991. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cc771223-b470-45c3-8584-3bcd4c3fd142.

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The central proposition of this thesis is that intergroup attributions and explanations, like any other intergroup behaviour, are affected by the perceived relations between the groups. Social Identity Theory (SIT) was adopted as the theoretical framework within which to investigate intergroup relations. According to this theory, intergroup behaviour is affected by the relative status the groups bear to each other, together with the perceived legitimacy and stability of this status hierarchy. The thesis proposes two amendments to the theory. It is argued that perceived legitimacy and perceived stability have different effects on intergroup behaviour and hence can not be subsumed under the general category of "insecure comparisons". It is also suggested that intragroup variability exists in these perceptions. A study was conducted which confirmed these propositions, and predictions emerging from SIT concerning the effect of these perceptions on intergroup behaviour and attitudes received considerable support. In examining the effect of the intergroup perception factors on bias in intergroup attributions, the thesis focuses on two types of groups: race and gender. Three types of attribution were considered in different studies: explanations of intergroup inequality, attributions of blame for rape or robbery and attributions for individual group members' actions and outcomes. The results indicate that the relative status of the groups, together with the perceptions of the legitimacy of this status hierarchy influence the first two - the explanations for inequality and the attributions of blame made to the victim and perpetrator of crimes. In general, it appears that the 'prise de conscience' of the illegitimacy of the intergroup situation is the motivating force in rejecting the domination of the high status group over the low status group, by members of both the high and low status groups. However, the third type of attributions, the intergroup explanations made for individual group members' actions and outcomes were not in general affected by these factors. It was suggested that either the intergroup aspect of these vignettes lacked the salience to elicit an intergroup response, or that the actors in the vignettes were treated as atypical of the groups.

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Zlatkin, Rachel L. "Remembering Mothers: Representations of Maternity in Early Modern English Literature." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368014379.

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Genovese, Fabrizio Romano. "Generalized relations for compositional models of meaning." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3b555c2a-6067-422c-9f1b-b1a5af8053ff.

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In this thesis, tools of categorical quantum mechanics are used to explain natural language from a cognitive point of view. Categories of generalized relations are developed for the task, examples are provided, and languages that are particularly tricky to describe using this approach are taken into consideration.

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32

Nasraoui, Olfa. "Object and relational clustering based on new robust estimators and genetic niching with applications to web mining /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9953886.

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33

Basave, Benítez Agustín Francisco. "A current of Mexican nationalism : Andrés Molina Enriquez's theory of miscegenation." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1991. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:323ace75-06f1-4a41-a284-645f3375db5f.

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The thesis deals with Andrés Molina Enriquez's pro-miscegenation theory. Molina (1868-1940), a Spencirian evolutionist who believed race struggle is history's driving force, departs from the premise that Mexico will not be a cohesive, progressive nation until all Mexicans become Mestizos - i.e., the product of racial intermingling between Spaniards and Indians. Thus, the analysis of this theory is the main objective of the thesis. In order to analyse Molina's theory within its historical context, however, the preliminary section of the thesis briefly describes the thoughts of those Mexican intellectuals who had previously proclaimed ethnic homogeneity -via miscegenation- the key to national stability and development. Similarly, the last part of the thesis presents the ideas of some of Molina's successors, those who were in favor of miscegenation - not only a racial one but also a cultural one - in postrevolutionary Mexico. The first and last parts of the thesis allow us to see pro-miscegenation as a current of the Mexican intelligentsia's quest for national identity. The central part of it - the one devoted to Molina's theory, undoubtedly the most important and sophisticated contribution in the field - gives us a general picture of the contradictory nature of this current of thought. Even though it is clear that a pervasive miscegenation made ever more Mexican intellectuals endorse the idea that Mestizos are the real people of Mexico. The analysis of Molina's writings shows that he attempted to predict the supremacy of Mestizos with a theoretical framework that leads him to the opposite direction. Indeed, no matter how much he twisted it, Spencerian evolutionism did not serve him (or his contemporary pro-miscegenationists) to prove white-racism wrong. The conclusion is that Molina, as most of his fellow "Mestizophilia" supporters, chose to hail the ethnic group that represented an ever-growing majority of the Mexican population, and tried to build a scientific theory to prove the supremacy of that group. But in doing so he had to use the only methodological tools he had learned at the positivist schools of Porfirian Mexico. The result is a contradictory theory that, nevertheless, sheds light on the path to national identity in Mexico.

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Urban, Michael Crawford. "Imagined security : collective identification, trust, and the liberal peace." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:92c67271-8953-46a8-b155-058fb5733881.

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While not uncontested, the finding that liberal democracies rarely, if ever, fight wars against each other represents one of the seminal discoveries of international relations (IR) scholarship. Nevertheless, 'democratic peace theory' (DPT) – the body of scholarship that seeks to explain the democratic peace finding – still lacks a satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon. In this thesis, I argue that a primary source of this failure has been DPT's failure to recognize the importance of collective identification and trust for the eventuation of the 'liberal peace'. Building on existing DPT scholarship, most of it Realist or Rationalist in its inspiration, but also employing insights from Constructivist and Cognitivist scholarship, I develop a new model of how specific forms of collective identification can produce specific forms of trust. On this basis, I elaborate a new explanation of the liberal peace which sees it as arising out of a network of trusting liberal security communities. I then elaborate a new research design that enables a more rigorous and replicable empirical investigation of these ideas through the analysis of three historical cases studies, namely the Canada-USA, India-Pakistan, and France-Germany relationships. The results of this analysis support the plausibility of my theoretical framework, and also illuminate four additional findings. Specifically, I find that (1) IR scholarship needs a more nuanced understanding of the interaction between agents and structures; (2) 'institutionalized collaboration' is especially important for promoting collective identification; (3) DPT scholarship needs to focus more attention on the content of the narratives around which collective identification takes place; and (4) dramatic events play an important role in collective identification by triggering what I term catharses and epiphanies. I close the thesis by reviewing the implications of my findings for IR and for policymakers and by suggesting some areas worthy of additional research.

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Patta, Vaia. "Aspects of categorical physics : a category for modelling dependence relations and a generalised entropy functor." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2018. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:8bfd2a2d-524e-4ffa-953b-33d66ba186ed.

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Two applications of Category Theory are considered. The link between them is applications to Physics and more specifically to Entropy. The first research chapter is broader in scope and not explicitly about Physics, although connections to Statistical Mechanics are made towards the end of the chapter. Matroids are abstract structures that describe dependence, and strong maps are certain structure-preserving functions between them with desirable properties. We examine properties of various categories of matroids and strong maps: we compute limits and colimits; we find free and cofree constructions of various subcategories; we examine factorisation structures, including a translation principle from geometric lattices; we find functors with convenient properties to/from vector spaces, multisets of vectors, geometric lattices, and graphs; we determine which widely used operations on matroids are functorial (these include deletion, contraction, series and parallel connection, and a simplification monad); lastly, we find a categorical characterisation of the greedy algorithm. In conclusion, this project determines which aspects of Matroid Theory are most and least conducive to categorical treatment. The purpose of the second research chapter is to provide a categorical framework for generalising and unifying notions of Entropy in various settings, exploiting the fact that Entropy is a monotone subadditive function. A categorical characterisation of Entropy through a category of thermodynamical systems and adiabatic processes is found. A modelling perspective (adiabatic categories) that directly generalises an existing model is compared to an axiomatisation through topological and linear structures (topological weak semimodules), where the latter is based on a categorification of semimodules. Properties of each class of categories are examined; most notably a cancellation property of adiabatic categories generalising an existing result, and an adjunction between the categories of weak semimodules and symmetric monoidal categories. An adjunction between categories of adiabatic categories and topological weak semimodules is found. We examine in which cases each of these classes of categories constitutes a traced monoidal category. Lastly, examples of physical applications are provided. In conclusion, this project uncovers a way of, and makes progress towards, retrieving the statistical formulation of Entropy from simple axioms.

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Millar, Katharine M. "Support is the new service : gendered political obligation, the military, and collective subject formation in international relations : an examination of support the troops discourse and civil-military relations in the US and UK from 2001-2010." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4cbb21f4-2e5a-4089-b78a-f1d349e8d409.

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Military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq highlighted a key characteristic of contemporary Western civil- military relations. Today, a small group of volunteers fights a distant conflict while popular familiarity with military service and war declines. There is a disconnect between this way of war and enduring cultural understandings of the appropriate normative relationship between gender (particularly masculinity), military service, and citizenship. This study examines "support the troops" (StT) discourses in the United States and United Kingdom during the "global war on terror" (2001-2010) as a representation of this on-going transformation in gendered/ing civil-military relations. Methodologically, the study employs structured discourse analysis to map an original data set of previously unexamined documents produced by UK and US state and military officials, pro-military non-governmental organizations, peace and anti-war movements, and media. It is the first systematic social scientific study of the "support the troops" phenomenon. The patterns inductively generated within the mapping are interpreted using a poststructural (re)conceptualisation of the military as a discursive structural effect, as well a formal institution and social relation. The study argues that StT is a means of addressing the gendered civilian anxiety that accompanies non-service in wartime. It finds that StT is a political contestation over the appropriate normative structure of gendered civil-military relations. Through the articulation of three ideal-typical, intertwined logics of gendered political obligation, StT discourse reconstitutes military support, rather than military service, as the sine qua non of contemporary normative citizenship. Via a series of gendered associations and contrasts with "the troops", support is further produced as a means of military participation. Correspondingly, ostensibly separate "civil" society is (re)masculinised. Together, the underlying logics of gendered political obligation work to discursively instantiate and (re)produce an idealised vision of the political community, extending and legitimating the transnational liberal social order.

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Gadzala, Aleksandra Weronika. "China and Ethiopia : the political dynamics of economic relations in the new global order." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5ff4c53a-029e-42b5-a82b-1c13895ddf16.

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How can political science account for the decision of African states to strengthen their ties with China, often at the expense of other alliances and often in the face of economic risks? This thesis explores this question in the context of relations between Ethiopia and China, especially in the context of investments made by Chinese sovereign wealth funds in the Ethiopian economy. To begin to answer this question this thesis recasts the China-Africa debate to focus on African, i.e. Ethiopian, agency. The focus is on how Ethiopia's political leaders make foreign policy decisions and on the factors that shape their preferences. This focus reveals the influence of cognitive variables on their foreign policy decisions; the influence of their guiding ideology, 'revolutionary democracy,' is especially key. An analysis of Ethiopia's formal institutions demonstrates they are inadequate to explain the policy choices of Ethiopian leaders; they have been designed to reflect the concepts of revolutionary democracy. Using the language of prospect theory, a descriptive theory of decision-making under risk, this thesis contends that Ethiopian leaders select foreign policy options by weighing their possible outcomes as gains or losses relative to revolutionary democracy as their reference frame. Ethiopian leaders sanctioned China's finance of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation despite the monopoly it gave to China and its impact on Ethiopia's debt. They formed a front company between Ethiopia and China's military industrial complexes despite its negative effects on economic development. They opened Ethiopia’s regions to Chinese capital although capital flows only to state-owned enterprises. Yet in each case, ideological objectives were advanced. This examination demonstrates how non-structural factors play a critical role in a bureaucratized state. Theoretical frameworks that account for these factors, like prospect theory, are therefore valuable to more robust understandings of Ethiopia, and Africa's, deepening relations with China.

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Travers, Richard Patrick. "Confronting crisis : norms, argumentation, and humanitarian intervention." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3844fb71-e9d7-4a37-a77d-8b51ce51b452.

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The purpose of this thesis is theory development. It begins by evaluating existing explanations of why states undertake humanitarian intervention. Realists argue that states only intervene when their national interests are at stake. Normative scholars argue that states are at times motivated to save foreign citizens. Neither approach adequately accounts for the pattern of post-Cold War state practice. Building from this conclusion, the thesis conducts research based on two propositions derived from an analysis of existing debates: that examining state motive holds promise for elucidating the weaknesses in current approaches and that studying state argumentation can provide insight into state motives. To better investigate state motives, a theoretical framework is developed to explain how motives translate into state decision-making and manifest themselves in state argumentation. By employing process tracing, argumentation analysis, and elite interviews, this framework is applied to three cases: Northern Iraq in 1991, Rwanda in 1994, and East Timor in 1999. Each case study constructs a theoretically informed narrative, assesses debates between states at the United Nations Security Council, and evaluates the consistency between state discourse and state practice. The cases are then used heuristically to identify opportunities for improving existing theory and developing new theory. This yields several conclusions. First, not only do states often possess mixed motives, but the humanitarian impulse also appears in some cases to have been a necessary condition for humanitarian intervention. Second, the norm of humanitarian intervention does not function as a general rule. Rather, it is a cluster of principles derived from just war theory and international law, but also connected to related norms about sovereignty, human rights, and self-determination. Third, state decision-making is a collective process structured by the prevailing post-Cold War institutional and normative context. The thesis concludes by outlining promising avenues of research for better understanding why states respond to some occurrences of mass atrocities and not others.

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Lees, Nicholas D. M. "The evolution of international inequality : justice, order and north-south relations from the NIEO to the G20." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5ae4a460-7eb7-4f6b-8b17-1556d3957eef.

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Within the contemporary international order, deep structural inequalities coexist alongside a nominally pluralistic society of states that grants international personality to politically organised communities. Asymmetric interactions between distinct political communities have shaped the development of the international system from the colonial era to the present phase of global economic integration. Rising interdependence, problems of unequal development and the democratic mobilisation of peoples around the world have generated moral claims regarding the injustice of global inequality. In this context the international politics of inequality have taken the format of challenges by the political representatives of the global South to the dominance of the advanced industrialised North. The normative dimensions of this process can be understood through a focus on this process of political argument between unequals. Political argument is contestation over the principles appropriate to govern a sphere of social interaction. The thesis seeks to vindicate the notion that the challenges by the global South have given rise to a dynamic of political argument within a norm-governed international society. Changes in patterns of normative belief, material power and forms of political organisation have historically shaped North-South relations. Therefore, through the analysis of particular episodes of North-South argument, the thesis attempts to provide insights into the moral limits and possibilities of an evolving international society. Analysing the organised attempts to challenge inequality on the part of the representatives of the global South, the thesis seeks to advance the position the tensions generated by claims over inequality might provide the nucleus for the incorporation of egalitarian concerns into the operation of international society. Through participation in common practices of statehood, the peoples of the global South possess at least some ability to challenge structural inequalities and thus the potential to expand the moral limits of international society.

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Vranaki, Asma A. I. "Rethinking relations and regimes of power in online social networking sites : tales of control, strife, and negotiations in Facebook and YouTube." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a0872883-98b3-4215-b000-0974a80cad97.

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This thesis investigates the potentially complex power effects generated in Online Social Networking Sites (‘OSNS’), such as YouTube and Facebook, when legal values, such as copyright and personal data, are protected and/or violated. In order to develop this analysis, in Chapter Two, I critically analyse key academic writings on internet regulation and argue that I need to move away from the dominant ‘regulatory’ lens to my Actor-Network Theory-Foucauldian Power Lens (‘ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens’) in order to be able to capture the potentially complex web of power effects generated in YouTube and Facebook when copyright and personal data are protected and/or violated. In Chapter Three, I develop my ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens and explore how key ANT ideas such as translation can be used in conjunction with Foucauldian ideas such as governmentality. I utilise my ANT-Foucauldian Power Lens in Chapters Four to Seven to analyse how YouTube and Facebook are constructed as heterogeneous, contingent and precarious ‘actor-networks’ and I map in detail the complex power effects generated from specific local connections. I argue five key points. Firstly, I suggest that complex, multiple, and contingent power effects are generated when key social, legal, and technological actants are locally, contingently, and precariously ‘fitted together’ in YouTube and Facebook when copyright and personal data are protected and/or violated. Secondly, I argue that ‘materialities’ play key roles in maintaining the power effects generated by specific local connections. Thirdly, I argue that there are close links between power and ‘spatialities’ through my analysis of the Privacy Settings and Tagging in Facebook. Fourthly, I argue that my relational understandings of YouTube and Facebook generate a more comprehensive view of the power effects of specific legal elements such as how specific territorial laws in YouTube gain their authority by virtue of their durable and heterogeneous connections. Finally, I argue that we can extrapolate from my empirical findings to build a small-scale theory about the power effects generated in OSNS when legal values are protected and/or violated. Here I also consider the contributions made by my research to three distinct fields, namely, internet regulation, socio-legal studies, and actor-network theory.

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Malone, Christopher David. "The foundations of international political virtue." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0f14f2a6-0d49-4c8d-8ebb-cb5af2cc444d.

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This thesis provides the theoretical groundwork for a 'virtue ethical' account of international political conduct. The project begins by investigating the distinct patterns of normative theorising within international scholarship, noting not only that moral philosophical foundations are unpronounced and interchangeable, but that even in this diminished capacity the influence of virtue ethical thought is limited and fragmentary relative to its competitors. Redressing this underrepresentation is thus dually motivated: developing a fresh perspective on important global issues, whilst also subjecting the theory to an atypical angle of scrutiny. Adapting virtue ethics to the international realm requires, most essentially, that we settle the level at which its concepts should be applied. Can the theory’s central focus on character be reconciled with the collective nature of global political interaction? Can we accurately ascribe virtues and vices to governments and states? These questions of group agency form the heart of thesis investigation. Beginning from abstract foundations, the possible justification for such ascriptions is sought in competing theories of joint action and attitude. The 'individualist' accounts of Searle and Bratman are ultimately rejected in favour of Gilbert's non-reductive 'plural subject' theory, and - presenting group-level accounts of intention, motivation, practical wisdom, emotion and disposition around her concept of 'joint commitment' - a general model of collective character is constructed. Allied to additional requirements of moral responsibility, this framework is then used to assess the virtue-capability of actual political bodies, considering the decision-making hierarchy of the United Kingdom as a case study for the modern state. Tracing the route of policy authorisation across cabinet, government and parliament, a sophisticated yet ultimately impermanent picture of group-virtue-ethical agency is established, in tension with the notion of enduring state liability. By shifting focus to the national level, it is argued that this fluctuating footprint of agency can nevertheless be unified, modifying Gilbert’s notion of a 'population joint commitment' to tie institutional virtue and vice to a persisting state identity. This provides a template for international character evaluation.

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Kugeler, Heidrun. "'Le parfait Ambassadeur' : the theory and practice of diplomacy in the century following the Peace of Westphalia." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2009. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:be69b6b3-d886-4cc0-8ae3-884da096e267.

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This thesis examines the theory of diplomacy in the formative phase of the European states-system. From the viewpoint of the discourse on the 'ideal ambassador', it explores early modern diplomacy as cultural history encompassing ideas, discourses, perceptions and 'codes'. The scope of study is the century following the Peace of Westphalia (1648), and three states and regions (France, Britain, the Holy Roman Empire) serve as case studies for a comparative approach of diplomatic theory and practice. In five parts, the adaptation of the theory and practice of diplomacy to the new demands of international relations after 1648 are considered. The first section sets the stage by illustrating that the mid-seventeenth century was regarded as a turning point in the practice of diplomacy. Part II examines diplomatic theory as a particular 'language' in its intellectual and socio-professional contexts. While published treatises on the 'ideal ambassador' build the core of this study, related genres of international law theory, ceremonial theory and political and state science are also taken into account. From the viewpoint of this diplomatic theory, the following section examines the ways in which the instruments and practices of diplomacy were aligned to the new framework. These ranged from changes in the structural framework of diplomacy to the evolution of norms and procedures of negotiation, international law and ceremonial. Part IV reconsiders the issue of 'professionalism' in diplomatic theory with regard to the preparation and training of diplomats. Special attention is given to proposals for diplomatic 'academies', which are for the first time examined in comparison. Finally, section V recasts the findings of this thesis in a comparative perspective. It underlines that, with the emergence of a states-system, the techniques of diplomacy became formalised and uniform, constituting a common European diplomatic practice. Against the background of the different regional and structural conditions, the alleged model role of France in the evolution of diplomatic theory and practice is re-evaluated.

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Macdonald, Emily Jane Camilla. "The shape of things to come : global order and democracy in 1940s international thought." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ec798d71-0b4d-4595-8592-d3099a9a3fc9.

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This thesis examines the role of democracy in British, French and American visions of global order in the 1940s. It argues that 'democracy' in a global context did not reflect 'Wilsonian' or 'Cosmopolitan' dreams, nor did it refer to the questions of state representation and institutional accountability that dominate contemporary debates. Instead, it shows that building a 'democratic' global order in the 1940s meant, above all, an attempt to address the challenge of democratic modernity, summarised by Karl Polanyi in 1944 as the search for 'freedom in a complex society', in the new global environment of the mid-century. This challenge was composed of five core concerns, ranging from the protection of the individual from the modern state and the transformation of democratic participation, to the use of expert planning and modern technology to secure economic justice. Achieving a balance between these competing and at times contradictory imperatives was seen as the key to securing a new democratic order that could resist the temptations of nationalism and totalitarianism and secure peace. Crucially, it was only through the structures of a new global order that, internationalists argued, there could be any chance of success. The task was not an easy one, and the historical investigation shows how the choices and trade-offs internationalists made in relation to these imperatives entailed costs in terms of inclusivity, participation and even rights within visions of democratic global order. The thesis has both historical and conceptual goals. First, it recovers important ideas about global order that have been largely written out of the history of this period by taking the language of democracy in world order debates seriously and understanding these visions in context. Conceptually, its aim is to contest and transform how we think about global order and democracy in the history of international thought and in the present day. Instead of Cosmopolitan, Wilsonian, liberal or other normative blueprints for a democratic world order, the conclusion argues that we should, following the example of the 1940s, reconceptualise the relationship between global order and democracy today in relation to the persistent dilemmas of democratic modernity. In a global context, these continue to have interlocking domestic and international dimensions and, more importantly, continue to require choices that entail normatively contestable costs in the construction of a democratic global order. Only then, it argues, will it be possible to think about how these shortcomings can be mitigated and whether and what kind of democratic order we want to pursue at all.

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Johannes, Ben. "Organizational modes of non-state armed groups." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4c99d9ff-3b7f-4c6b-969f-978138197a78.

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To what extent can two 'Modes' be found amongst non-state armed groups (NSAGs)? The Modes theory hypotheses that NSAGs are organized into two distinct Modes, either the 'Imagistic' or the 'Doctrinal' Mode, with each Mode characterised by a particular organisational structure and type of resource extraction. Previous preliminary research on this had three limitations: 1) it used a sample of only five groups; 2) "Galton's problem", i.e. non-independence of groups was not taken into account, and 3) the theory of resource extraction was underdeveloped. The present research overcomes each of these limitations. First, can the patterns found in the 5-group case study be replicated with a larger sample? A dataset with 50 NSAGs was constructed, with variables that were derived from the theory and resembling those used for the 5-group case study. Analysis results showed that a few 'Doctrinal' variables were significantly correlated and 'Doctrinal' rituals had a frequency distribution as predicted. Yet, most correlations between all Modes variables were not significant, and analyses did not convincingly show that there were two distinct Modes. Second, to what extent does "Galton's problem" (autocorrelation) play a role amongst NSAGs regarding their Modes properties? Data on relations between armed groups and their geographical locations were added to the sample. Using Moran's I, it appeared that two to four Modes properties were significantly autocorrelated. With geographical region as covariate, analyses were redone. Results remained basically the same as without regional covariate. Third, what is the relationship between Modes and the type of Resource extraction? Resource types were operationalized and Resource type data were added to the sample of NSAGs. A theory on Risk, and a ROI (Return on Investment) and Risk index were developed. Regressions showed no change in ROI or Risk over time. Low ROI did not typically predict Doctrinal-related Modes properties, and high-ROI did not typically predict Imagistic-related Modes properties. The significance of relations between Modes properties and Resource types strongly depended on whether the analysis was a correlation or a regression. Overall, only a few relationships were significant and no consistent pattern emerged. Limitations of the present research, and suggestions for further research are discussed, as well as an overall assessment of the Modes theory.

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Rao, Rahul. "Postcolonial cosmopolitanism : between home and the world." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2008. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6eb91e22-9563-49a2-be2b-402a4edd99b5.

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The thesis aims to address criticisms of cosmopolitanism that characterise it as an elite discourse, by exploring the role that it might play in Third World resistance movements. In doing so, it complicates the landscape of international normative theory, which has traditionally been mapped as a debate between cosmopolitanism and communitarianism. Part I of the thesis argues that cosmopolitanism and communitarianism can function as languages in which First and Third World states respectively justify exercises of power that impede the self-determination of Third World societies. These discourses of power frame the condition of postcoloniality, which might be understood – borrowing the terminology of International Society theorists – as an entrapment of Third World societies between 'coercive solidarism' and 'authoritarian pluralism'. A normative worldview committed to enhancing the scope for self-determination of such societies must be critical of the production of both external and internal environments that are hostile to the enjoyment of self-determination by Third World peoples. Part II of the thesis explores the political challenges of sustaining such a critique by studying four theorists of resistance who perceive themselves as manoeuvring between hostile external and internal environments. It analyses the political thought of Rabindranath Tagore and Edward Said, who were both leading figures of anti-colonial nationalist movements but also fierce critics of nationalism. It also studies the activism of two leaders in the field of 'anti-globalisation' protest – Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas in Mexico and Professor Nanjundaswamy of the Karnataka State Farmers' Association in India – who struggle against both national elites and global capital. Part II concludes that if resistance in the condition of postcoloniality must grapple simultaneously with both a hostile 'outside' and 'inside', it must speak in mixed registers of universalism and particularity. Cumulatively, the thesis demonstrates that the language of common humanity operates in ways that are both oppressive and emancipatory, just as the language of community is a source of both repression and refuge. Normative theory that does not seek to hold both in tension fails the needs of our non-ideal world.

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Volsky, Alexander. "Tying down the Gullivers : tripartite strategic balancing in unipolar international systems." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:143e926b-3101-4131-b17a-16fa67b51471.

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This dissertation seeks to conceptualise and operationalise the concept of soft balancing in international relations by articulating a “theory of tripartite strategic balancing” which is applicable to both international and regional unipolar systems. It has a twofold purpose: one theoretical and the other empirical. First, it seeks to develop a theory of tripartite strategic balancing which encompasses three forms of strategic balancing: internal, external, and soft balancing. The second part seeks to test the theory’s utility in explaining international political outcomes in the post-Cold War international system. In particular, it seeks to ascertain whether and how “second-tier great powers” have strategically balanced against the United States on a global level since the end of the Cold War. The analyses will focus largely on the foreign policies of Russia and France – the chief soft balancers. However, this dissertation also seeks to extend the concept of soft balancing into the regional level of analysis by examining whether and how minor-regional powers soft balance against regional unipolar leaders. For instance, it will examine whether and how the Russian Federation has been soft balanced against by states in the “European Near Abroad.” The analyses will focus primarily on the foreign policies of Poland – the chief soft balancer in the region. The dissertation will employ three in-depth case studies – the Kosovo Crisis (1999), the Iraqi wars (1991-2003), and the Georgia Crisis (2008) – to verify whether or not tripartite strategic balancing is actually occurring as the theory predicts. It will heavily rely on sources and interviews conducted during my time working at the United Nations Security Council and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These findings seek to contribute a more nuanced strand of thinking to the realist paradigm in international relations, and they offer practical implications for both US and Russian foreign policymaking.

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Häggblom, Gunilla. "Livsmystik och destruktiv maktsträvan - två poler i Per Olof Sundmans författarskap : en undersökning med särskilt fokus på romanerna Expeditionen och Två dagar, två nätter." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för kultur- och medievetenskaper, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-101990.

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My thesis addresses the antagonism between the mystery of life and the destructive pursuit of power which forms a central theme in the works of Per Olof Sundman (1922–1992). The purpose is to show that Sundman uses the theme of the encounter/non-encounter and the destructive leader to examine the conditions for allowing a deeper experience of reality and the destructive exercise of power. I analyse these themes using concepts borrowed from literary studies (Atle Kittang, Paul Ricoeur, Bertil Romberg, Staffan Björck, Gérard Genette), the philosophy of religion (Martin Buber, Göran Bergstrand) and psychoanalysis (Ludvig Igra, Otto Kernberg, Erich Fromm, Julia Kristeva). My study highlights the problems associated with the destructive exercise of power, which is the overriding theme of Sundman's work. I explore the theme of the encounter by using the concept pair I-You/I-It. With the aid of this concept pair, I throw light on the aspect of depth in our existence by describing the human encounter. In my analysis on the theme of power, I point out the personal qualities inherent in the destructive leader. I also explore the link between the destructive leader's inner conflict of narcissism and repressed weakness – a conflict projected to the outside world – and the emergence of violence. In order to reveal this inner process, I unearth on a latent level the theme of the destructive leader/stranger in Sundman's work. This enables me to single out the mechanism responsible for the emergence of destructivity in the human psyche, while showing the close link between this pattern of narcissism and projected weakness and a distorted view of reality. Sundman contrasts this world of power with an integrative attitude to life. In his novel The Expedition, Sundman depicts life in the other world as being a state of human coexistence in which no one is seen to be a stranger. This idea of unity is reinforced by the choice of name for the first-person narrator of the other world. In this novel, the conditions enabling the flourishing of universalism as an attitude to life are also those that give expression in the I-You encounter to the experience of a deeper aspect to our existence.

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Pillion, Owen L. "On Objects and Affections: Contemporary Representations of the Gay Man/Straight Woman Dyad in Popular Film and Television." Thesis, Connect to this title online, 2000. http://www.library.unt.edu/theses/open/20003/pillion%5Fowen%5Fl/index.htm.

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Decaix, Véronique. "Le mode d'être des objets intentionnels : une étude du rôle constituant de l'intellect chez Thierry de Freiberg." Thesis, Tours, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013TOUR2028/document.

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Cette thèse traite de la doctrine catégorielle, de l’ontologie et de la théorie de la connaissance de Dietrich de Freiberg dans le De origine rerum praedicamentalium. L’enjeu principal est d’étudier la fonction constitutive que l’intellect opère sur catégories et sur l’étant en tant que tel. La première partie replace le traité dans le contexte historique des débats à l’université de Paris à la fin du XIIIe siècle touchant au statut des catégories et à la manière d’ordonner les genres réels de l’étant. Elle confronte la dérivation essentielle des prédicaments chez Dietrich aux modèles de systématisation élaborées par ses prédécesseurs, tels qu’Albert le Grand, Thomas d’Aquin, Henri de Gand. La deuxième partie s’attache aux objets constitués par l’intellect : l’Un comme principe du nombre et de la division, la relation et le temps. La dernière partie enquête la modalité sur laquelle l’intellect opère cette activité sur l’étant et montre en définitive que le sujet de la métaphysique, l’être quiditatif des étants, se situe à la croisée de la logique et du réel
This thesis deals with Dietrich of Freiberg’s doctrine of categories, ontology and theory of knowledge, as present in the treatise De origine rerum praedicamentalium. The primary aim is to examine the constitutive function the intellect exercises on the categories and being as being. The first part of this thesis replaces the treatise in the historical background of the late 13th century debates from the University of Paris regarding the nature of categories and the manner of organizing the real genera of being. It compares Dietrich’s deduction of the categories with the systematization of some of his predecessors such as Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas and Henry of Ghent. The second part of the thesis deals with the objects caused by the intellect: the One as principle of number and division, relation and time. The last part investigates the manner in which the intellect exercises its constitutive power on being and demonstrates in the final analysis that the subject of metaphysics, the quiditative being of things, is placed at the intersection of logic and reality

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Heimburger, Robert Whitaker. "A theological response to the "illegal alien" in federal United States law." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:43010cbe-32a9-4ecd-abcf-cf57f729bbd5.

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Today, some twelve million immigrants are unlawfully present in the United States. What response to this situation does Christian theology suggest for these immigrants and those who receive them? To this question about the status of immigrants before the law, the theological literature lacks an understanding of how federal U.S. immigration law developed, and it lacks a robust theological account of the governance of immigration. To fill this gap, the thesis presents three stages in the formation of the laws that designate some immigrants as aliens unlawfully present or illegal aliens, drawing out the moral argumentation in each phase and responding with moral theology. In the first stage, non-citizens were called aliens in U.S. law. In response to the argument that aliens exist as a consequence of natural law, Christian teaching indicates that immigrants are not alien either in creation or for the church. In the second stage, the authority of the federal government to exclude and expel aliens was established, leaving those who do not comply to be designated illegal aliens. To the claim that the federal government has unlimited sovereignty over immigration, interpretations of the Christian Scriptures respond that divine sovereignty limits and directs civil authority over immigration. In the third stage, legal reforms that were intended to end discrimination between countries allowed millions from countries neighboring the U.S. to become illegal aliens. These reforms turn out to be unjust on philosophical grounds and unneighborly on theological grounds. While federal law classes many as aliens unlawfully present in the United States, Christian political theology indicates that immigrants are not alien, the government of immigration is limited by divine judgment, and nationals of neighboring countries deserve special regard.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Object relations theory'

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