Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social construct'
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Baisley, Kerry Wade. "Aids : social construct and implications for social work." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/27284.
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The social construction of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), or the ways in which people perceive or think about it, is the focus of this thesis. Exploratory research is conducted through guided interviews with social workers involved in AIDS care. Their responses and perceptions are compared to those gathered from similar interviews with individuals diagnosed with AIDS or ARC (AIDS Related Complex) and family members and lovers of people with AIDS and ARC. The constructivist model is employed as the methodological framework in this process.
News magazines and professional literature augmented the data collection process. AIDS has been in the forum of public discussion for some time. Given this fact, news magazines were included as they contain data pertaining to the construct of AIDS distributed to the general public. Social workers confirmed the importance of such material by stating that much of their AIDS related information was gathered from newspapers, articles, and television programmes.
Foucault's analysis of sexuality contextualizes the news reporting of AIDS and the actions of those who live with AIDS. Sexuality is socially constructed and employed in the development of knowledge and the exertion of power. Sexuality exists as a form of social control. This perception clarifies the social construction of AIDS and the decisions and actions made by those living with AIDS.
The analysis of interviews and documentary materials concludes that AIDS has been constructed in three ways; medically, socially, and politically. Social workers and those who live personally with AIDS had the greatest perceptual agreement when they spoke of the social components of this syndrome. They were the furthest apart when they spoke of the political aspects of this illness. Individuals with AIDS and ARC spoke of their explorations of alternative therapies and their attempts to gather knowledge about their illnesses. They also spoke of the conflicting situations which sometimes developed between themselves and the authorities they dealt with through institutionalized medicine. Social workers mentioned some of these issues, but appeared to operate on the institutional side of certain issues rather than acting as advocates for those who live with AIDS. A clear example of this is terms of reference. Those who live with AIDS used terms such as "People with AIDS" or "PWA." Social workers, on the other hand, defended their use of the clinical term "patient."
Interviews with social workers revealed how stereotypes and attitudes towards gay men changed as health care providers had direct experience with those living with AIDS. Interviews discovered that in caring for "patients" many professionals grew to care about people. Discrepancies in financial assistance and institutional support were also noted. Private agencies such as AIDS Vancouver and the PWA Coalition were found to supply many of the services needed in the community outside of hospitals. Social workers noted that they depended on those agencies when making referrals to the community. Governments were chastized for their responses to this health crisis.
General questions for social work in health care are posed as the result of these findings. Where does social work "fit" in the political framework of health care? As professionals where should and do social workers place their allegiance while engaging in every day work? Social workers should be aware of the importance of their attitudes towards those they work with and realize how that work can be effected by such perceptions. Such work begins with an analysis of one's own attitudes and beliefs.Arts, Faculty of
Social Work, School of
Graduate
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Kusyk, Sophia Maria. "Corporate Social Responsibility: from Construct to Praxis." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Ramon Llull, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/9169.
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Aquesta tesi és organitzada en un compendi de tres articles, cada uns dels quals avança en el nostre coneixement sobre la responsabilitat social corporativa (RSC), des del constructe fins a la pràctica professional. Primerament, l'article 1, titulat "Construint La Torre de Babel: Una Aproximació Mitjançant Lògica Difusa" (escrit conjuntament amb el Dr. Josep Mª Lozano i F. Di Lorenzo), proposa i prova una aproximació epistemològica difusa per contestar a la pregunta: " Pot i hauria d'existir una definició de responsabilitat social? ". Emprant la teoria sobre conjunts difusos per a l'anàlisi sistemàtica de definicions en el camp de l'empresa i societat, demostra com aquestes definicions estan vinculades a les 3 metàfores més citades en el camp de l'empresa i societat (responsabilitat social de l'empresa (RSC), sostenibilitat corporativa (SC) i ciutadania corporativa (CC)). A continuació, l'article 2, titulat "Tipologia En Quatre Cel.les De Les Barreres i Oportunitats Clau Per a La Acció Social en les PYMEs" (escrit conjuntament amb el Dr. Josep Mª Lozano), és una revisió de literatura sobre " Quines són les barreres i oportunitats per a les PYMEs en el seu compromís amb l'acció socialment responsable (ASR)?". Aquest article proposa, partint de l'heteronimia de la notabilitat dels seus stakeholders, una tipologia de 4 classes de PYMEs en base el seu ASR. Finalment, l'article 3, titulat "Safari de Casos de Millors Pràctiques en ASR: utilitzant els prismàtics de l'orientació social de l'empresa (OSR) per identificar la RSC", és un estudi de casos multimètode, sobre la qüestió de " Com es veu la RSC a nivell empresarial? ". Les conclusions d'aquest estudi suggereixen que els dominis de la RSC són jeràrquics en la seva relació, amb l'econòmic com a base. A més, l'àmbit dels principis empresarials en matèria de RSC varia segons la seva àrea d'influència i el sentit del deure moral. En particular, l'estudi crida l'atenció sobre el domini discrecional com a factor diferencial entre les millors pràctiques en ASR i els casos de pràctiques habituals. Per acabar, aquest article construeix en la teoria sobre ASR mitjançant la integració de l'OSR i la seva reorientació per incloure el context de les PYMEs. D'aquesta forma, aquesta tesi doctoral obre diverses oportunitats per a noves línies d'investigació amb la teoria de lògica de conjunts difusos, la de RSC, CC. CS i PYMEs, i la teoria de OSR i ASR.Esta tesis está organizada en un compendio de tres artículos, cada uno de los cuales avanza en nuestro conocimiento sobre la responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC), desde el constructo hasta la práctica profesional. Primeramente, el artículo 1, titulado "Construyendo La Torre de Babel: Una Aproximación Mediante Lógica Difusa" (escrito conjuntamente con el Dr. Josep Mª Lozano y F. Di Lorenzo), propone y prueba una aproximación epistemológica difusa para contestar a la pregunta: "¿Puede y debería existir una definición de responsabilidad social?". Mediante la utilización de la teoría sobre conjuntos difusos para el análisis sistemático de definiciones en el campo de la empresa y sociedad, demuestra como estas definiciones están vinculadas a las 3 metáforas más citadas en el campo de la empresa y sociedad (responsabilidad social de la empresa (RSC), sostenibilidad corporativa (SC) y ciudadanía corporativa (CC)). A continuación, el artículo 2, titulado "Tipología En Cuatro Celdas De Las Barreras y Oportunidades Clave Para La Acción Social en las PYMEs" (escrito conjuntamente con el Dr. Josep Mª Lozano), es una revisión de literatura sobre "¿Cuales son las barreras y oportunidades para las PYMEs en su compromiso con la acción socialmente responsable (ASR)?". Este artículo propone, en base a la heteronimía de la notabilidad de sus stakeholders, una tipología de 4 clases de PYMEs en base su ASR. Finalmente, el artículo 3, titulado "Safari de Casos de Mejores Prácticas en ASR: utilizando los prismáticos de la orientación social de la empresa (OSE) para identificar la RSC", es un estudio de casos multi-método, sobre la cuestión de "¿Cómo se ve la RSC a nivel empresarial?". Las conclusiones de este estudio sugieren que los dominios de la RSC son jerárquicos en su relación, con el económico como base. Además, el ámbito de los principios empresariales en materia de RSC varía según su área de influencia y el sentido del deber moral. En particular, el estudio llama la atención sobre el dominio discrecional como factor diferencial entre las mejores prácticas en ASR y los casos de prácticas habituales. Para terminar, este artículo construye en la teoría sobre ASR mediante la integración de la OSR y su reorientación para incluir el contexto de las PYMEs. De esta forma, esta tesis doctoral abre varias oportunidades para nuevas líneas de investigación con la teoría de lógica de conjuntos difusos, la de RSC, CC. CS y PYMEs, y la teoría de OSE y ASR.
This thesis is organized in a compendium of three articles, each of which furthers our knowledge of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) from construct to practice. Firstly, article 1, entitled Constructing The Tower Of Babel: Towards A Fuzzy Logic Approach (co-authored with Dr. J.M. Lozano and F. Di Lorenzo) proposes and tests a fuzzy epistemological approach to answering the question "Does and can a definition for social accountability exist?". By employing fuzzy set theory for a systematic analysis of definitions within the business and society field demonstrates how they are linked to the 3 most cited metaphors (CSR, corporate sustainability (CS) and corporate citizenship (CC)) in the business and society field. Secondly, article 2, A Four-Cell Typology of Key Social Issue Drivers and Barriers of SME Social Performance (co-authored with Dr. J.M. Lozano) is a literature review of "What are the drivers and barriers to enterprise engagement in socially responsible action?". This article develops a small and medium sized enterprises (SME) four-cell ideal type of social issues management (SIM) response typology based on a proposed heteronomy of stakeholder salience. Thirdly, article 3, called A CSP Best Practice Case Safari: Using CSO Binoculars To Identify CSR, is an explanatory multi-method embedded multiple-case study design addressing the question of "What does corporate social responsibility at enterprise level look like?". The findings of this study suggest that the CSR domains are hierarchical in their relationship with the economic domain as a basis. Moreover that the scope of enterprise principles varies depending on their particular CSR domain influence and moral duty affiliation. In particular, the study calls attention to the discretionary domain as the differentiating factor between corporate social performance (CSP) best-practice and normal practice cases. Finally, this article builds CSP theory by integrating corporate social orientation (CSO) and reorienting it for the SME context. Therefore this thesis opens up several new lines of research opportunities for fuzzy set theory, CSR, CC, CS and SME theory, CSO and CSP theory.
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Buckenham, M. A. "Reconstructing personal construct psychology : personal and social worlds." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.264709.
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Wu, Mu-Chun. "The spatial construct of social relations : social transformation in early Kaushi, Taiwan." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:88dc5768-3800-46c4-960f-2266c9da3b5a.
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This research attempts to extend the application of spatial analysis to the investigation of human agency in social relations. Marcos Llobera's research framework on modelling daily experience and social space showcases great potentials of utilising Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to explore the perception and behaviour of individual agents. By expanding Llobera's work and incorporating Tim Ingold's wayfaring theory to explore the human agency in the context of social relations, this research proposes a new analytical method to investigate social relations through the accumulation of intimate interactions. Exemplified with detailed analysis on two settlements of Kaushi people in Taiwan, the proposed analytical method demonstrates great strength and yields fruitful insights into their social structure and transformation. In addition, this method is particularly instrumental in unravelling specific relations between individuals, as well as between social groups. The application of this method on Kaushi settlements yielded fruitful insights of their social structure and transformation. On the other hand, the side products of this approach can be further employed to investigate the visual structure and movement intensity of a site, as well as to experiment alternative 'what if' scenarios relating to visibility, movement, and interaction. In sum, this research augments the potential of spatial analysis to explore human agency in a social context and lays out a further platform for the investigation of social relations at a settlement scale.
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Richard, Tobias. "The Construct of PE." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Lärarutbildningen (LUT), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-28173.
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Syftet med studien var att undersöka gymnasieelevers kognitiva konstruktion av idrott och hälsa. Undersökningsdeltagarna var 3 kvinnliga och 5 mannliga gymnasieelever, 16-18 år gamla. Deltagarna kom från 3 olika skolor i Malmö och var olika mycket aktiva i fysisk aktivitet utanför skolan. Kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes och innehållsanalyserades. Resultatet visade att den kognitiva konstruktionen av Idrott och hälsa innehöll 4 dimensioner; Idrottsliga-, Kropp och Könsrolls-, Skolmässiga, och Sociala dimensioner. Resultatet kan underlätta förståelse, tolkning och analys av eleversbeteende under idrott och hälsa och utvecklingen av innehållet och genomförandet av idrott och hälsa i framtiden.The objective of the study was to investigate the construction of Physical education(PE) in high school students. Participants were 3 female and 5 male high school students, 16-18 years of age. The participants came from 3 different schools in Malmö and differed in amount of conducted physical activity outside of school. Qualitative interviews were conducted and content analyzed. The result showed that the construct of PE was composed by 4 dimensions; Athletic-, Body and Gender-, Scholastic- and Social dimensions. The result can be helpful to understand, interpret and analyze students’ behavior during PE and, in addition, to develop the content and execution of PE in the future.
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Maxted, Julia. "Race and class in a transforming metropolis : Los Angeles." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.321867.
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St, John Chris (Christopher Lynn). "Testing the Construct Validity of the Sulliman Scale of Social Interest." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1995. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc277658/.
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The purpose of the present study was to further explore evidence for the construct-related validity of the Sulliman Scale of Social Interest (SSSI) through the implementation of both convergent and discriminant procedures. This was done through (a) replicating St. John's 1992 study, (b) extending the findings of that study by incorporating additional psychological measures, and (c) examining SSI itself by means of principal axis factor analytic procedures. First, all nine of the relationships demonstrated between the SSSI and other variables in the St. John (1992) study were replicated in the present study. Second, in extending the findings of that study, 22 of 26 hypothesized relationships between the SSSI and other psychological measures were in the predicted direction. Third, the results of the factor analysis produced three factors labeled "contextual harmony," "positive treatment/response," and "confidence and trust." Taken together, the outcomes of both studies appear to offer some support for the SSI's construct validity and to provide possible directions for future research.
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Brown, Floyd. "The least preferred coworker scale : a construct validation study /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/9018.
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Williams, Sasha. "Drawing the line : an explanation of how lay people construct child neglect." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2015. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/25505/.
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This thesis uses a Foucauldian approach to explore how lay people construct child neglect in England. The concept of child neglect developed after the Industrial Revolution in conjunction with the construction of ‘normal’ childhood. Both depend on developmental models of childhood produced by psy-complex discourse. However, the knowledge producing the ‘normal’ family and the disciplinary institutions producing and protecting the ‘normal’ childhood have been challenged by late modernity, with a potential impact on what can be considered ‘abnormal’ and therefore neglectful. Recent years have seen an increasing professional and political focus on both the importance of child neglect, and the role of lay people in child protection – ‘everybody’s business’. It is unclear how lay people construct child neglect, a category that properly results from political and moral choices made by society. To analyse how lay people construct child neglect, data was collected from focus group discussions between 46 self-defined ‘lay’ people. Children were constructed as having developmental needs during childhood, which, if unmet, could cause long term problems for child and society. Four clusters of needs were identified: physical, emotional, training and supervisory. If these needs were unmet, children could be seen as Deprived, Unloved, Uncontrolled or Escaping. However, this did not mean they were positioned as neglected. Neglect required some abnormal adult/parent behaviour. The normal parent was non-neglectful although sometimes temporarily Overburdened, the abnormal parent was neglectful, categorised as Clueless, Underinvested or Unsuitable. Lay people were constructed as having a responsibility to support parents and families within their midst. However the forces of late modernity, particularly globalisation, challenged the normal/abnormal family binary, leaving lay people unclear about where society and/or child protection professionals draw the line between normal and neglectful childhoods. The implications of these constructions for children, parents, state, professionals and lay people are examined and recommendations made.
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Hopper, Mark A. "A study of the social support construct with a group of cancer patients." Virtual Press, 2003. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1266039.
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Since the mid-1970s, there have been an increasingly diverse range of research methods, instruments, and processes of studying social support (Cohen, Underwood, & Gottlieb, 2000) and many definitions of the construct (Hupcey, 1998). Along with the increased interest in the social factors that influence psychological and physical health (Cohen & Syme, 1985), the diverse ways of examining social support have lead to a large literature base ranging from work in the medical and epidemiological fields (Cohen & Syme, 1985; Hupcey, 1998) to social, clinical, and personality psychology (Cohen, Underwood, & Gottlieb, 2000).While there appears to be a great deal of interest in social support, some have argued that there is a basic problem with its definition (Cohen, Underwood, & Gottlieb, 2000; Hupcey, 1998; Shumaker & Brownell, 1984). In the present study, Laireiter and Baumann's (1992) taxonomy of social support was used to review 22 definitions. This taxonomy includes: a) social integration, b) social network, c) supportive climate, d) received support, and e) perceived support. Although most reviewed definitions lack an empirical basis, social support appears to be a valuable concept that deserves further attention (Hupcey, 1998; Laireiter & Baumann, 1992; Vaux, 1988).The present study uses data from a previous study of cancer patients' social support, personality characteristics, and adjustment to their illnesses (Barton, 2001). The five social support measures used in Barton, 2001 were: the Social Network Index, the Family Relationship Index, the Modes of Social Support scale, the Negative Interactions scale, and the Satisfaction with and Received Support scales, appeared to address each of the components of the Laireiter and Baumann's (1992) taxonomy.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
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Roepcke, Yvonna Marie. "Pronouns in discourse: International and United States TAs construct social groups and identities." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/288842.
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This study examines person pronoun use in the discourse of TAs teaching freshman composition. Specifically, it analyzes participant structures and construction of social groups/entities and identities in the classroom talk of four Chinese international TAs (ITAs) and four US TAs. Data are drawn from observation notes, audiotapes, and resulting transcriptions of sixteen class sessions, as well as interviews with each participant. The most common participant structure involves the teacher interacting with the whole class. Analysis of social constructions of you reveals preference for constructing you as the copresent students. I propose that we recognize two categories of you, Individuating and Distributive. These forms function outside the conscious awareness of the participants. Examination of we shows preference for constructing we as the inclusive group of teacher and students. Activities of this group function on a continuum with varying roles and levels of responsibility for teacher and students. Analysis reveals that in the composition classroom the semantic value of the verb write is broader than its core semantic value. Other inclusive wes include the teacher and students but are larger entities. The only common exclusive we is the group of 'experts in the field,' whose membership is in flux; students are invited to be members as they are socialized to the academy. In addition to canonical uses of pronouns, in moments of deictic shift TAs take other voices highlighting pedagogical points. Analysis of social identity through group membership maps illustrates the overlapping nature of group memberships. Some TAs disclose little about themselves in their classroom discourse. This style may be more damaging for ITAs. Analysis reveals that construction of identity as instructor of composition does not include the activity of writing. Statistical analysis of pronoun frequencies shows more consistency among participants as a group than differences between the groups of Chinese ITAs and USTAs. The participants use more yous than other pronouns. The single difference between the groups is the significantly higher frequency of second person plural pronouns for the Chinese TAs. This may reflect the cultural distance between the Chinese TAs and their US undergraduate students.
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Klatt, Maryanna Danis. "The social construct of the doctor-patient relationship : Origins and potential for change /." The Ohio State University, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1486457871784932.
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Nash, Hassan Khalid. "POLITICAL EVOLUTION:A Theory on the Phenomenon of Political Change in a Social Construct." Ohio University Art and Sciences Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouashonors1493399185427214.
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Kramp, Angela. "Depression in College Students: Construct Validity of the Student Experience Inventory." TopSCHOLAR®, 1987. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/2511.
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Research suggests that the population of undergraduate college students may be especially prone to depression. While the prevalence of depression within the general population ranges from 3 to 9 percent (Boyd & Weissman, 1981), it has been shown that between 15 and 46 percent of undergraduate college students suffer the symptoms of mild to severe depression (Beck & Young, 1978; Oliver & Burkham, 1979). Although depression is prevalent among college students, there are no known instruments yielding indices of depression specific to the college population. In fact, depression measures frequently employed in college settings seldom recognize the unique features of depression among college students (e.g., academic anxiety, scholastic difficulties).
The purpose of this study was to provide validity evidence for the Student Experience Inventory (SEI), which was specifically designed to assess depression among college students. Validation efforts consisted of: (a) cross validating the internal consistency results yielded by Kirkland and Redfield (1985) and (b) demonstrating the convergent and discriminant properties of the SEI.
The SEI, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Psychological Distress Inventory (PDI) were administered to 153 Introduction to Psychology students. Coefficient alpha for the SEI total scale was .90. Coefficient alphas for each of the seven hypothesized subscales ranged from .41 to .72. Stepwise multiple regression, using SEI scores as the criterion and BDI and PDI scores as the predictors, demonstrated that the best predictor model consisted only of the BDI total score. All Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients reflecting pairwise relationships between variables proved statistically significant (p<.01) and ranged from .23 to .61. The correlation of SEI and BDI scores yielded a coefficient of .61. A principle components factor analysis of SEI items produced eight factors, which cumulatively explained 62 percent of the total variance.
The results of this study suggest that the SEI may prove a useful tool in the measurement of depression in college students. If the SEI is to be used to discriminate between depressed and nondepressed college students, future research should include investigation of the SEI's ability to detect change in differing populations.
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Caldarella, Paul. "An Investigation of Social Skills and Antisocial Behaviors of At-Risk Youth: Construct Validation of the Home and Community Social Behavior Scales." DigitalCommons@USU, 1997. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6093.
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The major purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the construct validity of a new parent rating scale, the Home and Community Social Behavior Scales (HCSBS), that was used to measure the social skills and antisocial behaviors of at-risk youth in Northern Utah. The results indicate that the HCSBS possesses strong internal consistency with high alphas. Convergent validity with both teacher ratings and student self-ratings of social competence and antisocial behavior appeared slight. Discriminant validity was indicated by the near zero correlations between the HCSBS and the KTEA. The instrument appeared able to detect group differences as indicated by the large and clinically significant effect size differences between at-risk and non-at-risk sample mean scores, as well as a 92.37 correct classification percentage. Finally, the factor analysis of the HCSBS suggested four social competency factors and three antisocial behavior factors, which were extremely similar to the results obtained for the teacher version of the instrument. Directions for future research, as well as implications and limitations of the current study, are noted.
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Wilson, Richard J. "Self-Report Measures of Family Hierarchy: Construct and Predictive Validity." W&M ScholarWorks, 1989. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539625557.
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Owen, Clive John. "How police officers in England and Wales learn to construct and report 'official reality'." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1999. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/50484/.
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This research examines the way police officers learn to make sense of, and report, 'official reality'. 100 in-depth, tape recorded interviews were carried out with police officers at various stages of service including probationers, Tutor Constables, Trainers and a group of experienced officers. Full transcripts of the interviews were prepared and then subjected to a close-grained, qualitative analysis in which various themes were identified. The results were then subjected to a statistical technique known as logistic regression. The findings reveal, inter alia, that an officer's interpretation of incidents will change with experience. Probationers at first treat incidents as self-contained legal 'texts' with semiosis limited to consideration of 'points to prove'. Later they begin to take into consideration contextual factors. More experienced officers introduce experiential or 'intertextual' factors into their semiosic activity so that their interpretation includes not just synchronic but diachronic elements. Various 'interpretive communities' are identified linked to structural groupings within the policing institution and impacting on the way incidents are interpreted and reported. Police culture[s] is shown to largely determine what elements of an incident are seen as salient and what are ignored. Officers develop socio-spatial cognitive frameworks during their Tutor Constable attachments made up of detailed local knowledge and historical practices which shape the way they approach incidents, and interact with the public. The substantive criminal law was found to offer little guidance to patrol officers who utilise normative and evaluative conceptual frameworks grounded in personal and family value systems. Law is used by police officers to legitimise decisions arrived at through a parallel process of decision-making that is grounded in police operational culture. Anglo-Americanl egal discoursea ssumesa n unproblematicr elationshipb etween language and 'reality'. The present findings support a social constructionist theory of the semiotic encounter in which the patrol officer is not a passive observer of events, but constructs a version of 'reality' from various potential interpretations.
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Tannenbaum, Ilana J. "The impact of social context on the conceptualization of sexual orientation construct validity investigation /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1153031007.
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Wan, Chau-kuk, and 溫秋菊. "Social anxiety in Hong Kong: a study on its construct, prevalence and cultural expression." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45588673.
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Cieslak, Thomas J. II. "Describing and measuring the athletic identity construct: Scale development and validation." The Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1091219903.
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Apostle, Demetry Paris. "Exploring the use of the construct homonegativity in gay white men's discourse." Thesis, Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3594256.
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The effects of homonegativity for same-sex attracted individuals in the United States can lead to serious physical and/or mental health problems, affecting more than 9 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. While research into LGBT issues has been undertaken in earnest since the 1970s, there has been little examination on the role of homonegativity for gay men, nor the types of support that would be helpful to combat the effects of homonegativity. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of homonegativity among gay White men in the San Francisco Bay Area. Participants were recruited through the use of convenience sampling, snowball sampling, and strategically placed posters in locations frequented by gay men. The 12 participants were between the ages of 29 and 81 and identified as gay men who had experienced at least one significant gay relationship. The research questions explored these men's perceptions and experiences of homonegativity and its impact upon various aspects of their lives. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis utilized to identify relevant themes and interpretations. Participants acquired new knowledge and meaning through the exposure and discussion of in-depth concepts of homonegativity. They also identified experiences that included internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural homonegativity. Ten prominent themes emerged from this study. Among them were: prescriptive gender role compliance; a general unease with being gay; experiences of bullying, verbal and physical attacks; workplace discrimination; religious exclusion and discrimination; the effect of negative media portrayals of homosexuality; and experiences of governmental discrimination. Seven themes emerged from an exploration of homonegativity, prominent ones were: lack of family support, safety concerns, experiences of homonegativity from their partners, and an acknowledgement that homonegativity impacts their relationships. Participants reported that the process of being exposed to new and expanded concepts of homonegativity created insight into how homonegativity operates in their lives and relationships. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.
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Shafenberg, Stacey Sewell Kenneth W. "Cognitive complexity and construct extremity in social and life event construing in persons with varied trauma history." [Denton, Tex.] : University of North Texas, 2006. http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-5433.
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Nordström, Michael, and Sergej Sevcenko. "Internet Privacy : A look into the construct of Privacy Knowledge." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Marketing and Logistics, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-18313.
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Background: With the increasing use of personalized marketing and the increasing ability to collect information on consumers, the consumers’ concern of privacy is increasing. Therefore it is important to understand what effects privacy concern, and how marketers can minimize this concern. Previous research suggest that factors such as computer knowledge, internet knowledge, and regulation awareness all affect privacy concern, however we believe that these are all related to each other in a construct we call Privacy Knowledge. Purpose: To investigate the construct of Privacy Knowledge and to what degree it influences a consumer’s attitude towards informational privacy. Method: In order to validate the Privacy Knowledge construct and measure its relationship to Privacy Concern we employed a deductive methodology which was comprised of questionnaires. The questionnaires were composed of summative Likert Scales, three of which had been previous validated by previous research. We utilized a quota sampling technique in order to gather enough data from each age group. The results were then analyzed by tools such as Factor Analysis, ANOVA tests, and Multiple Regression Analysis. Conclusion: Through the Factor Analysis we found that the factors Internet Knowledge, Computer Knowledge, and Regulation Awareness were better organized as Basic IT Knowledge, Advanced IT Knowledge and Regulation Awareness. Privacy Knowledge was found to be positively related to Privacy Concern. However we could only conclude of the three factors which make up Privacy Knowledge, Basic IT Knowledge had an effect on Privacy Concern. We believe this is due to the exclusion of other factors affecting Privacy Concern such as situational factors and suggest conducting further research on the matter including these variables.
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Meares, Alison C. "Gender as a social construct of quality of life within farm families practicing sustainable agriculture /." This resource online, 1995. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-02132009-172509/.
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Tannenbaum, Ilana J. "The impact of social contest on the conceptualization of sexual orientation: a construct validity investigation." The Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1153031007.
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Sedikides, Constantine. "Social perception in communication settings : a test of the construct accessibility and communication game view /." The Ohio State University, 1988. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487595712157458.
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Meares, Alison. "Gender as a social construct of quality of life within farm families practicing sustainable agriculture." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/41104.
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Hamin, Dhakirah Amelia. "Strong Black Woman Cultural Construct: Revision and Validation." unrestricted, 2008. http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-06122008-160909/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2008.Title from file title page. Roderick Watts, committee chair; Leslie Jackson, Page Anderson, Tracie Stewart, committee members. Electronic text (113 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed November 25, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-94).
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Kazmi, Naveed. "How do middle class Pakistani young people construct contemporary international conflicts?" Thesis, London Metropolitan University, 2014. http://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/704/.
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This thesis examines how middle class Pakistani young people construct contemporary international conflicts. Little previous research has been conducted in this area, and none in Pakistan. This investigation is of interest because young people like the ones who participated in my research may become future leaders. Therefore, their perceptions and understanding of these issues may influence the way these are addressed in the future. This thesis draws on literature about the just war tradition – what are the just causes of war or jus ad bellum and how ethical warfare must be conducted or jus in bello. The theoretical framework used is that of social constructionism, especially drawing on the ideas of Jonathan Potter, Margaret Wetherell, Kenneth Gergen and Michel Foucault. The research involved six focus groups with Pakistani young people aged 17-18 years. The study found that the participants talked enthusiastically about issues related to international conflicts. They drew on a range of discourses and evidence to construct their arguments, some of which were grounded in not very reliable evidence. They argued that terrorism, whether perpetrated by state or non-state actors, was wrong, and they were highly critical of US policies and actions in the wider world. These findings are important because Pakistani society faces a serious challenge from militancy and terrorism. The thesis suggests that changes to the content and delivery of school curricula can help young people to develop a more informed and morally active sense of citizenship and world affairs.
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Masocha, Shepard. "How do social work professionals construct asylum seekers as objects of knowledge and targets for intervention." Thesis, University of Dundee, 2013. https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/4d2ac015-dac3-4ff0-85f8-c6d225dd2b49.
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Over the years, the issue of migrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom has been the subject of increasing media and political attention. The need to provide asylum seekers with culturally sensitive services is widely acknowledged within social work. However, the social work profession continues to draw heavily on outdated views and definitions of racism mainly based on skin colour and biological categorisation. This is in spite of the fact that the late 20th century has witnessed the emergence of “new racism” (Barker, 1981) and xenoracism (Sivanandan, 2001). This thesis uses the concept of xenoracism as a framework for understanding the ever-shifting parameters of exclusionary discourses, and seeks to provide a more in-depth understanding of current social policy for asylum seekers. It achieves this through an analysis of media, governmental and parliamentary discourses on the issues of immigration and asylum. This approach is based on an understanding of how asylum seekers as a social group are constructed and how this process – underpinned by xenoracism – plays a pivotal role in influencing the ways in which social policies relating to asylum seekers are formulated. The study argues that the construction of social policies relating to asylum seekers is inherently racist and as such is in direct conflict with social work’s value system. The study utilises discursive social psychology (Taylor, 2001, Potter and Wetherell, 1987)), as a methodology for understanding the various ways in which asylum seekers are constructed. This strand of discourse analysis is employed to examine the ways in which society talks and writes about asylum seekers, the social cognition that is the basis of the existing discourses, the socio-political and cultural functions of such discourses and their specific roles in the reproduction of social inequalities. The thesis explores the ways in which asylum seekers are constructed in social work professionals’ discourses. The study identifies a number of interpretative repertoires and linguistic resources that are deployed by social work professionals in their attempts to construct asylum seekers as objects of knowledge. The study illustrates that in addition to their professional discourses and repertoires social work professionals also draw on media and parliamentary discourses as discursive resources in their constructions of asylum seekers. These social work professionals’ discourses are shown to be argumentatively organised and oriented to these macro discourses. In this respect, this thesis establishes an understanding of how asylum seekers are constructed by social work professionals as it pays particular attention to the ideological basis of such constructs. The thesis also explores the everyday practices of social work professionals with asylum seeking service users and the specific ways in which these professionals explain and legitimate their practice with asylum seekers. Through paying attention to practitioners’ accounting practices, this study provides an insight into some of the ways in which social work professionals produce accounts of competent social work practice and how this is an integral part of a defensive social work discourse. This thesis highlights the fact that language is one of the central vehicles through which social work takes place. As such, the analysis of social work discourse in its own right as a topic of analysis is a legitimate area of social work research which can lead to an in-depth and enhanced understanding of social work practice. By using discourse analysis as a methodology, this thesis provides a new perspective for understanding not only social work practice with asylum seekers but also some of the concerns regarding the profession’s complicity in racist and oppressive practice.
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Conte, A. (Antonella). "How children construct a common ground during collaborative learning tasks:quality of social interactions and verbal exchange." Master's thesis, University of Oulu, 2014. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201406191768.
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Scientific evidence has proved that social situations are an enriching context for learning, because the acquisition of new knowledge implies active participation of the learner. Structuring an efficient collaborative situation is challenging and different factors can affect the quality of outcomes. The social context itself is not a guarantee of learning. Experts have deeply explored the collaborative learning approach and they have identified a concept crucial for effective collaboration, namely the process of grounding. When members of a group attempt to perform a task together, a shared understanding of concepts needs to be established and maintained. This has been recognized as a key process on which, consequently, new knowledge can be constructed. Exploring the dynamics that shape collaboration in an authentic classroom setting and investigating the process of common ground construction among children is fundamental to improve classrooms practices.
The aim of the research is to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of collaborative learning, through the lenses of interactions and grounding. The theoretical part of this study explores the fundaments of collaborative learning and the phenomenon of common ground. The empirical part aims at exploring an authentic classroom situation, in which students were asked to perform tasks of different nature jointly. The study was conducted in an elementary school located in the Northern Finland and the participants were eleven 4th graders. The investigation was held during 6 English language lessons that were entirely video recorded. Video observations are the main source of information of this study. The data analysis is conducted qualitatively and a coding frame for interactions is constructed according to the directions of qualitative content analysis. The results are presented in the form of descriptive summaries of the collaborative dynamics, tables of frequencies of interactions and examples of verbal exchanges occurred. Interpretation of group mechanisms is presented through theoretical concepts. The results of this study give evidence that collaborative learning is influenced by many factors, both personal and contextual. The composition of the group resulted to be important to children and in some situation was a critical trigger for effective interactions. Students silently agreed on determined dynamics, such as the symmetry of participants and their role within the group, and tended to perform the task individually. The frequencies of interactions support such evidence, where the most common behavior occurred was performing the task alone. Process of grounding occurred during the episodes under investigation. Clues of shared understanding were given through behavioral actions, such as shared focus, continued attention to the peer and indicative gestures. Verbal exchanges aimed to construct common ground occurred of highest quality mostly in asymmetrical group dynamics, where one of the children held (or were believed to hold) more knowledge or took the role of leader. The results of the research are in line with previous research findings and it confirms the potential benefits of collaborative learning. However, the construction of a shared understanding is not an automatic phenomenon among children and resulted highly related to their goal structure. The small scale of the research does not allow the results to be generalized, but the transparency of empirical process, the detailed explanation of data analysis and interpretation through the theoretical concepts make the investigation reliable. The study is also considered valuable because it provides an insight of the collaborative learning and grounding dynamics in an authentic context.
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Shafenberg, Stacey. "Cognitive Complexity and Construct Extremity in Social and Life Event Construing in Persons with Varied Trauma History." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2006. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5433/.
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The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive complexity, extremity, and the relationship between social repertory grids and life events repertory grids (LERG) in people who report a history of trauma. Effects of type of trauma on complexity and extremity scores of each type of grid were examined. Prior research into repertory grids and trauma has used only one type of grid, predominantly social grids or LERGs. Therefore, a natural, progressive step in the grid research involved investigating how individuals integrate social and life event constructs. It was hypothesized, and results show, that there is a positive correlation between complexity scores and extremity scores of social grids and LERGs. However it was not found that there was a negative correlation between trauma history and complexity scores, and that trauma acts as a moderator for cognitive complexity. Instead, it appears that the social facet of experience is key to understanding perception of traumatic experiences. Additionally, number of traumas experienced might affect social construct elaboration.
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Fiske, James Tutu. "Western Media use of the Third World Construct: A Framing Analysis of its Validity." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2011. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1246.
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This study will provide a clearer understanding of the construct, Third World, which may not seem to have a consensus meaning. This is because its perceived definition, which is linked, first to feudalism and then to the socio-politico conditions that existed during the period leading up to and immediately after the cold war means that its conceptual metamorphosis should have ceased once these periods were relegated to the annals of history.
Whether and how contemporary definitions of Third World have changed since then should be of interest to scholars and is the focus of this study. This is because anecdotally speaking the media have reframed this construct in a manner that recreates, so called, Third World nations into the three categories of very Third World, somewhat Third World, and not at all Third World. What this study reveals, however, is that these distinctions and to some extent the designations of nations as first, second, and third worlds are misleading colloquialisms.
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Murphy, Mark. "Using personal construct psychology to explore relationships for adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder." Thesis, Canterbury Christ Church University, 2014. http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/12861/.
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Individuals with high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) stand an increased risk of experiencing mental health problems during adolescence. The present study aimed to develop a better understanding of interpersonal relationships in the lives of adolescents with high functioning ASD. Eight adolescents with a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome or ASD without an identified intellectual disability engaged in a structured interview based on a personal construct psychology exercise exploring constructs about interpersonal relationships. Interviews were transcribed and subjected to a thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: 1) Relationships as a source of support, 2) Perceptions of similarity and difference, 3) Valued qualities in self and others and 4) The development of and maintenance of relationships. Whilst this exploratory study highlighted some commonality in terms of perceptions of family support and friendships as protective and desirable, the participant group differed in their ability to establish and maintain peer relationships. However, peers were seen by participants as being very important in the development of social skills - a finding which has implications for the delivery of social skills training and other supportive interventions. The personal construct exercise provided an accessible and useful platform for the exploration of the social worlds of adolescents with ASD.
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Burke, Randy Scott. "The relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption in college students: Scale development, construct validation, and testing of a social cognitive model." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/30525.
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Heavy drinking has been consistently associated with negative legal, academic, and health problems in college students and recent studies suggest that the frequency of undergraduates experiencing alcohol related problems may be increasing. Research aimed at lowering rates of consumption has begun to focus on individual differences in motivations for heavy alcohol use. The following study used a social-cognitive based model to prospectively examine heavy drinking among socially anxious college students. It was hypothesized that alcohol expectancies of social facilitation/anxiety reduction and self-efficacy for avoiding heavy drinking in socially anxious situations would be predictive of drinking in socially anxious college students.
Using group testing and individual interview formats questionnaires assessing alcohol expectancies of improved sociability and self-efficacy were developed and shown to have adequate levels of reliability and construct validity. These questionnaires, along with measures of dispositional social anxiety, and a quantity-frequency index of alcohol use were then administered to 372 undergraduates. Seventy-one participants, identified as dispositionally socially anxious, were followed-up six-weeks later and completed both a time-line-follow-back assessment of their alcohol use over the six week interval and a semi-structured interview that assessed the types of situations in which they drank.
Results of the study provided partial support for the hypothesized model as the expectancy X efficacy interaction accounted for a significant percentage of the variance in the quantity and frequency of alcohol use after controlling for the main effects of alcohol expectancies and self-efficacy. At the six-week follow-up however, the expectancy X efficacy interaction failed to account for significant variance beyond that accounted for by the expectancy and efficacy effects. Further examination of the follow-up data did provide partial support for the model, as it was found that the main effects of expectancy and efficacy were significant predictors of drinking behavior, but only in situations that were likely to elicit feelings of social anxiety. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between social anxiety, outcome expectancies and self-efficacy and implications for developing alcohol intervention programs with high-risk college student drinkers.Ph. D.
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Disque, J. Graham, and James R. Bitter. "Integrating Narrative Therapy with Adlerian Lifestyle Assessment: The Social Construction of Change." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 1997. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/2805.
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Bell, Emily K. "Assessing schizoid asociality in schizophrenia: determining the construct validity of two self-report scales." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1405606546.
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Reavis, Shaye Benton Mesibov Gary B. "Social orienting as a construct underlying joint attention and imitation skills deficits in preschool children with autism." Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006. http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/etd,636.
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Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006.Title from electronic title page (viewed Oct. 10, 2007). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)." Discipline: Psychology; Department/School: Psychology.
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Hall, Kurt Vassell. "The poverty construct and its resonance with the experiencing of deprivation : social relations in a Jamaican community." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5447.
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This research provides one account of the complex relationship between differentiated experiences of deprivation and the dominant poverty construct in the Jamaican context. It is based on research conducted over a period of nine months in a Jamaican 'squatter' community, Windsor, in the Parish of St. Ann. The study is organised into two 'positional' chapters (conceptual framework and methodology) and four direct 'response' chapters that demonstrate the ways in which the official poverty approach (from concept to policy) resonates with the living experiences of individuals. The 'response' chapters step back from debates on the measurement of poverty so as to critically and reflexively consider the construct's conceptual and definitional antinomies. This is done through: (i) an excavation of a partial social history of poverty discourses in Jamaica; (ii) an evaluation of problems with knowledge production in the participatory method; (iii) an examination of the implications of the abstraction of the poor from spatial relations; and (iv) an exploration of different ways in which individuals 'picture' living in their surroundings. The conclusion drawn is that it is necessary to begin engaging in a multidisciplinary project which accounts for difference within the poverty construct. This is because, insofar as it is possible, the removal of the most extreme forms of deprivation is not in itself sufficient for the eradication of the social relations that give rise to these privative 'conditions'. There instead needs to be critical engagement with relations of deprivation as resident in the social body as a whole in conceptualising poverty.
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Petrylaite, Edita. "Social pressure and how conflicted masculinities construct a balanced-self through monosocial, heterosocial and homosocial spa consumption." Thesis, Northumbria University, 2014. http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/26011/.
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This study investigates male consumer behaviour in the spa consumption context. With increasing attention to physical appearance in the postmodern era, contemporary men are becoming an appropriate focus for the attention of the beauty and wellbeing industries. Nevertheless, men’s body aestheticization and wellbeing practices have rarely been the topic of academic discussion in the marketing field. Hence, this study unveils the rationale behind male customers’ decisions to consume various spa services, known as enhancers of physical appearance and wellbeing.
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Hall, Kurt V. "The povery construct and it's resonance with the experiencing of deprivation. Social relations in a Jamaican community." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5447.
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This research provides one account of the complex relationship between differentiated experiences of deprivation and the dominant poverty construct in the Jamaican context. It is based on research conducted over a period of nine months in a Jamaican ¿squatter¿ community, Windsor, in the Parish of St. Ann. The study is organised into two ¿positional¿ chapters (conceptual framework and methodology) and four direct ¿response¿ chapters that demonstrate the ways in which the official poverty approach (from concept to policy) resonates with the living experiences of individuals.
The ¿response¿ chapters step back from debates on the measurement of poverty so as to critically and reflexively consider the construct¿s conceptual and definitional antinomies. This is done through: (i) an excavation of a partial social history of poverty discourses in Jamaica; (ii) an evaluation of problems with knowledge production in the participatory method; (iii) an examination of the implications of the abstraction of the poor from spatial relations; and (iv) an exploration of different ways in which individuals ¿picture¿ living in their surroundings.
The conclusion drawn is that it is necessary to begin engaging in a multidisciplinary project which accounts for difference within the poverty construct. This is because, insofar as it is possible, the removal of the most extreme forms of deprivation is not in itself sufficient for the eradication of the social relations that give rise to these privative ¿conditions¿. There instead needs to be critical engagement with relations of deprivation as resident in the social body as a whole in conceptualising poverty.
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McAteer, James. "Using a capability inspired approach to construct a reliable framework for analysing policy in the social economy." Thesis, Ulster University, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.654101.
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The aim of this research is to use a capability inspired approach to construct a reliable framework for analysing policy in the social economy. After examining theoretical approaches to explain the emergence of the social economy, and having critiqued the Capability Approach in relation to policy analysis, a literature review is carried out on the development of policy in the social economy in Quebec and Northern Ireland. A case study research design is adopted with regard to policy interventions affecting the social economy, with the aid of illustrations, limited to childcare and housing in both regions. Mapping and document analysis is used and specific policies are interrogated using policy related documents from the 1980s onwards to establish the issues relevant to people subject to those policies. Previous research, analysis, and commentary from various academic, government, and social economy sources are used, as well as communiques, letters, speeches, and input from citizens affected by the policies. An examination of the issues raised in relation to policy development, which affects the social economy, is carried out using Sen's Capability Approach which includes the five instrumental freedoms of political freedoms, economic facilities, social opportunities, transparency guarantees, and protective security which may, if taken into account, increase individual well-being, agency and political participation. From this a Capability Based Framework for analysing policy is developed, incorporating the associated theories of social choice, adaptive preferences, process freedom, agency, internal capabilities, and opportunity freedom. The social economy policies are then examined in relation to the dimensions and questions identified in the framework to establish its effectiveness. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the Capability Based Framework is supported by its ability to highlight issues in policy development, in the social economies examined, in the areas of participation, empowerment, autonomy, recognition, human capacity and equity.
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Jentzsch, Clarice E. "An Investigation of the Construct Validity of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales." DigitalCommons@USU, 1995. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6078.
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A relatively recent measure, the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS), has been developed to measure both problem behavior and social competence in young children. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the PKBS through the application of several validation procedures. Results of the study support construct validity of the PKBS. In a discriminant analysis, the PKBS classified correctly 89.36% of the 94 subjects. A secondary purpose of this study was to examine social-emotional behavior differences between kindergarten students who were divided into different behavioral status groups based on a teacher nomination procedure: a behaviorally at-risk group comprised of both internalizing and externalizing students and a comparison group of behaviorally typical students. Statistically significant differences were found between groups on most variables.
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Wincott, John. "Self-uncertainty and work-related stress : a personal construct investigation of the Type A and Type B behaviour pattern /." [Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong], 1986. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B12730312.
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Champion, Stephen. "A theoretical and empirical extension of the perceived organizational support construct : three papers examining the role of social comparison, organizational malevolence, and social resources." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2015. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3155/.
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The perceived organizational support (POS) construct has received a significant degree of attention within the literature, helping scholars and practitioners alike to better understand and interpret the relational dynamic between the employee and their employer. However, this thesis contends that there are a number of assumptions, gaps and confounds that limit the extent to which POS can offer greater construct validity. As such, this thesis presents a collection of three stand-alone scholarly papers that aim to further develop and extend the POS construct as well as organizational support theory (OST), both theoretically and empirically. The first paper explores the theoretical assumption that an individual’s POS is increased by both the direct (i.e. idiosyncratic) receipt of supportive organizational treatment, as well as the observation of coworker (i.e. the group/collective) receipt of such treatment. This presents a potential confound in that OST also holds that POS is systemic of notions that the individual is treated fairly; thus hypothetically, an individual’s appraisal that, in comparison, other coworkers have received more supportive organizational treatment, could lead to notions of unfair treatment due to relative under-benefit. As such this paper explores the influence the social context and social comparison processes have regarding POS, with findings suggesting that employees can and do differentiate between their idiosyncratic receipt of organizational support in comparison to others (perceived organizational support social comparison – POSSC), and that such a perception accounts for unique and meaningful variance with regards to the measurement of POS as well as possessing unique motivational and predictive influence on prosocial outcomes. The second paper examines the assumption that whilst accounting for organizational benevolence, the POS construct also accounts for organizational malevolence. By utilizing the recently proposed theoretical construct of perceived organizational cruelty (POC), this paper explores POS and POC’s convergent and discriminant validity, both theoretically and empirically, and suggests that whilst POS specifically concerns organizational benevolence, POC in turn specifically concerns organizational malevolence. Findings elucidate that the constructs are (antithetically) related, yet are distinct such that each construct possesses differential characteristics as they relate to certain attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Finally, the third paper explores the mechanisms and motivations that exist within the POS-prosocial outcome dynamic. Extant OST holds that this dynamic is subject to conscious and rational rules and norms relating to social exchange and reciprocity. Conversely, by utilizing conservation of resources and self-determination theories, this paper reasons that the POS-prosocial outcome dynamic could also be subject to subconscious influences relating to self-relevant resources and needs for relatedness. Findings that POS functions through emotional engagement (as opposed to cognitive and physical engagement) offer support for this reasoning, suggesting that rather than being instrumental in nature, POS acts as an emotional resource that facilitates greater emotionally based prosocial outcomes. Overall, in order to test hypotheses in each paper, data from one or a combination of three samples was utilized; with these samples being a longitudinal survey of employees from a large hospital/healthcare provider in the UK, a longitudinal survey of employees of a graduate development scheme within a large international logistics company based in the UK, and a convenience sample of individuals employed in the USA.
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Mattos, Athamis de. "Validade dimensional da escala de apoio social do Medical Outcomes Study adaptada para o português no estudo pró-saúde." reponame:Repositório Institucional da FIOCRUZ, 2009. https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/2457.
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Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-04T12:36:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0
Previous issue date: 2009Estudos sobre a importância de rede e apoio social nos desfechos em saúde têm sido desenvolvidos nos últimos 30 anos. Rede social é definida como o grupo de pessoas com as quais o indivíduo mantém contato ou alguma forma de vínculo social. Apoio social refere-se à funcionalidade da rede social (apoio emocional, apoio material entre outros). O presente estudo dá continuidade à avaliação das propriedades psicométricas da escala de apoio social utilizada em um estudo de coorte de trabalhadores de uma universidade pública no Rio de Janeiro - Estudo Pró-Saúde por meio da avaliação de sua validade de constructo através da análise fatorial confirmatória. Essa investigação baseia-se nos dados de 4030 participantes obtidos na primeira fase desse estudo (1999), onde um questionário multidimensional foi utilizado. Nesse foi incluída a escala de apoio social elaborada para o Medical Outcomes Study (MOS), que foi adaptada para o português, no âmbito do estudo. Foi realizada a análise fatorial confirmatória com o intuito de avaliar os modelos com três, quatro e cinco fatores quanto ao ajuste, validade convergente e validade discriminante. (...)
Studies about the importance of social support on health outcomes have been developed since 30 years. Social network is defined as a group of people which a person has contact with or any kind of social connections. Social support is related to the functionality of the social network. The present study continues the psychometric testing of the social support scale, used in a cohort of public university servents of Rio de Janeiro - Pró-Saúde Study – through evaluation of the construct validity using the confirmatory factor analysis. This investigation was based on information about 4030 participants in the first stage of the study (1999), which a multidimensional instrument was used. In this study, it was included the social support scale of the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS), which was adapted to Portuguese, in the study‟s environment. The confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the three, four and five factors models adjustment, the convergent and discriminant validity. The estimation method used was the WLSMV (robust weighted least squares) recommended to models with multivariate non-normal distributed indicators which is the case of the categorical indicators of the MOS social support scale. The fit indices used were the CFI (comparative fit index), the TLI (Tucker Lewis index), the RMSEA (root mean square error of approximation), the χ² statistic, and the WRMR ((weighted root mean square residual). The statistic program used was the Mplus. The four factor model was the one which presents the best goodness-of-fit measures (CFI=0,897; TLI=0,987). However, the residuals were high (RMSEA=0,131; WRMR=3,727), indicating a poor adjust. The convergent validity was good, presenting values above 0,50 of extracted variance and values above 0,70 of composed reliability in all dimensions. Only the material dimension presented good discriminant validity. In conclusion, nevertheless the four factor model presented some vantages compared with the other models, it is necessary implement changes to improve the adjust of the model. This modifications are related to itens exclusion, and not only about the dimentions addiction, which is suggested through insufficient results of the discriminant validity of that model - highly correlations in the “information” and “emotional‟ dimensions. A scale with a smaller numbers of itens should improve the measurements of social support and bring news conclusions in the investigations about the importance of social support in the social determinants and wellness.
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Neophytou, Koula, and res cand@acu edu au. "ADHD, a Social Construct? The Experience of families who have a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder." Australian Catholic University. School of Arts and Sciences, 2004. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp52.29082005.
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The diagnosis of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has increased over the last few years in Australia. ADHD is currently understood largely through a medical perspective, and in that context, the treatment recommended is stimulant medication. ADHD is a mental health label given to children who exhibit challenging behaviour. These children are diagnosed according to the categories stated in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) – IV. To date, there is no medical test children can undertake to show that they ‘have’ ADHD. This research focuses on an alternative view of ADHD. Focussing upon families’ experience of ADHD, and the medicalisation of children’s behaviour, it argues that behaviour is socially influenced and constructed. It is because insufficient attention has been given to the family experience and the social implications of ADHD, that the child is often seen as ‘the problem’. The gap in our understanding of ADHD is situated in our understanding of the broader social context. To challenge this I will explore perceptions of the ‘good child’, ‘good mothers’ and the social consequences of inappropriate behaviour. Each family was interviewed five times every three months over a two-year period. Their stories and experiences are presented in this thesis.
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Hinerman, Krystal M. "Construct Validation of the Social-Emotional Character Development Scale in Belize: Measurement Invariance Through Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2014. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc699875/.
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Social-emotional learning (SEL) measures assessing social-emotional learning and character development across a broad array of constructs have been developed but lack construct validity. Determining the efficacy of educational interventions requires structurally valid measures which are generalizable across settings, gender, and time. Utilizing recent factor analytic methods, the present study extends validity literature for SEL measures by investigating the structural validity and generalizability of the Social-Emotional and Character Development Scale (SECDS) with a large sample of children from schools in Belize (n = 1877, ages 8 to13). The SECDS exhibited structural and generalizability evidence of construct validity when examined under exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). While a higher order confirmatory factor structure with six secondary factors provided acceptable fit, the ESEM six-factor structure provided both substantive and methodological advantages. The ESEM structural model situates the SECDS into the larger body of SEL literature while also exhibiting generalizability evidence over both gender and time.
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Kresser, Mary Katharine. "A qualitative exploration of twelve licensed professional counselors' perspectives on the construct of shame." W&M ScholarWorks, 2003. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1550154108.
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King, Gabriel. "An ideological analysis of filter blogs : how Daily Kos and Powerline construct biased news." Scholarly Commons, 2013. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/857.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis analyzes how the news blogs Daily Kos and Power line construct news presented from an ideological viewpoint. Specifically the types of evidence used by the blogs to assert their viewpoints and their intended audiences were analyzed. This thesis utilized theory from Jean Francois Lyotard to explain how images and text were used by the blogs to legitimate their ideological narrative. Edwin Black's theory of second . ' persona was used to analyze the intended audience of the blogs. The ideology of the two blogs was described by the political spectrum developed by Barry Clark.
The analysis of the two blogs found that both blogs utilized various sources to legitimize their narratives. The two blogs constructed news stories in stylistically similar manners. News constructed in this manner reinforces ideological viewpoints and manifests itself in a partisan electorate and partisan politicians unwilling to be flexible with their political positions. This inflexibility is not beneficial in a democracy that needs compromise in order to function.