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The purpose of this study was to inductively examine the content of the popular comic strip Calvin and Hobbes by analyzing its latent and subjective meaning to discover basic social psychological issues associated with family recreation. The entire collection of 1,360 Calvin and Hobbes strips was evaluated using Grounded Theory techniques influenced by the art scholarship evaluation tool iconography. Review of the strip suggests one way to assess the meaning associated with time use is through preemptive retrospection by which a person looks at current experiences through the lens of an anticipated future to estimate how meaningful that time will be. Overall, Calvin and Hobbes suggests that meaningful time use is a key attribute of a life well lived. One key element of meaningful time use is time spent with family. The strip also helps us see the value in continuing to seek that meaning with family despite apparent setbacks. This analysis brought to light issues associated with gathering meaning from comic strips, which are also discussed. Recommendations are made for future research in the field.

This qualitative study was designed to produce a theoretical model to illustrate marital adjustment as a husband becomes a bishop (a lay-clergy position) in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Individual interviews were conducted with the husband and wife of six married couples wherein the husband was currently serving as a bishop. Grounded theory methods and elements of phenomenological research were used to collect and analyze the data. The model presented depicts the adjustment process that begins with the marital relationship prior to the husband becoming an LDS bishop. The husband then becomes an LDS bishop and begins to perform the duties and responsibilities of his new lay-clergy position. Consistent with systemic thinking, the husband's acceptance of the position of bishop affects the husband and the wife individually in turn affecting the marital relationship. The mutual influences between the husband and wife as individuals and the marital relationship constantly change both in flow and direction. The effects of the calling included both points of satisfaction and points of dissatisfaction/disconnect or a parallel set of experiences both for the individual and for the marital relationship. The parallel set of experiences and the resulting effects of the husband's service as an LDS bishop on the marital relationship produce a dialectical tension between covenants or promises that both the husband and the wife have previously made. One covenant is to serve God by sacrificing to build His kingdom on earth through service to others and the other covenant is to have a strong marriage. Adjustment strategies which included both individual and couple strategies were identified. Several themes identified in this study are consistent with existing empirical and theoretical literature. However, new themes were identified including the husband experiencing increased empathy towards his wife, wives feeling "left behind" spiritually, the challenge of negotiating issues of confidentiality, the influence of family of origin and current stressors on the adjustment process, and couples seeking support from those in positions of higher authority.

Research indicates that students perform better academically in schools with higher levels of trust than in schools with lower levels of trust. School leaders are primarily responsible for building cultures of trust but are often at a loss as to how to do so effectively. With the assumption that as perceptions of school leader trustworthiness improve, teachers will be more likely to place their trust in that school leader, this research seeks to clarify how Ugandan headteachers improve teachers' perceptions of headteacher trustworthiness. In particular, we examined how specific types of headteacher visibility related to teachers' perceptions of headteacher relational and competence trustworthiness. This qualitative research used grounded theory methodology to interpret and analyze the interview responses of 28 Ugandan secondary school teachers in eight schools in Mukono District, Uganda. Findings from this research suggest that teachers' perceptions of headteacher relational trustworthiness were strongly related to both the level of risk and formality of headteacher visibility. Additional findings suggest that perceptions of both headteacher relational and competence trustworthiness were influenced by differences in teacher and headteacher personal characteristics. The final finding indicates that certain types of headteacher visibility moderated the influence that teacher characteristics have on perceptions of trustworthiness. These findings can inform school leaders about how to more effectively improve teachers' perceptions of school leader trustworthiness. The grounded theory model presented will provide opportunities for further theory building and testing with respect to the relationship between school leader visibility and teachers' perceptions of school leader trustworthiness.

In an attempt to help a class of high school AP Studio Art students find a more authentic sense of autonomy and ownership with their own art projects, the author has constructed a portable art gallery space designated for the exhibition of student artwork. Through a theoretical framework of post-structuralism, as well as a hybrid methodological approach, including tenets of both action research and grounded theory, he was able to explore how de-centralizing traditional, pedagogical notions of power in the classroom and utilizing contemporary art education practices affected AP Studio Art students' experience in the art classroom. By placing an emphasis on student exhibitions, the author was able to foster an environment of greater student autonomy and meaningful art making in the classroom.

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine family relationships in families where one adult member was diagnosed with chronic illness resulting in chronic pain to determine why the crucible, or trial, of chronic illness triggered some families to strengthen while others weakened. The introduction of chronic illness instigates a process of change in family life, yet there is a paucity of research examining families in this situation, specifically when the chronic illness results in chronic pain. Utilizing grounded theory methodology and qualitative data analysis methods, dyadic interviews and periods of observation were conducted with six families across the United States. Questions were focused on family relationships and the impact of adult-onset chronic illness on relationships and family life. Open, axial, and selective coding were conducted during the process of data analysis, illuminating the important role family unity played in helping families remain strong. Findings detail the relationship between family strength and family unity. Adult-onset chronic illness provided a catalyst for families to establish and/or maintain family unity. Five families established or maintained family unity and reported positive changes in family strength, while one family failed to maintain or establish family unity and reported negative changes in family strength leading to separation and eventually divorce. This study has important implications for families facing adult-onset chronic illness and for practitioners serving this population.

This is a thesis conducted qualitatively using the Grounded Theory approach where in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 legal Mexican Americans in order to understand how social media affect Mexican Americans' social identity. This effect was understood by discovering the relationships between social identity theory and integration. Results showed that Mexican Americans felt that social media helped them with their English skills and connected them to their friends and family in Mexico. Mexican Americans were able to use social media to connect to their in-group community, and Mexican American community leaders were able to connect Mexicans to their in-group within specific areas of the United States. Mexican Americans interviewed said they often felt disconnected from Americans who had spent their whole life in the United States. In regards to social media and disconnect, Mexican Americans felt that online news, especially news sites' comment boards, poorly represented their culture, often focusing on the negative more than the positive.

Individualism, the assumption that persons are self-contained and primarily act for the sake of the self, is prevalent in American culture and has arguably perpetuated numerous psychological and societal ills. Relationality, the assumption that persons are always and inextricably constituted by relationships, has been posited as a philosophical and practical alternative to individualist culture. Several scholars, both inside and outside of psychology, have developed relational concepts and practices, including some who have elucidated a relational approach to psychotherapy (e.g., Slife and Wiggins, 2009). This study examines the implications and effects of this therapeutic approach, particularly exploring relationality's therapeutic success in countering the implications of individualism. Greenbrier Academy, an adolescent female boarding school located in West Virginia, has adopted relationality as its guiding therapeutic ethic. This study utilized hermeneutically modified grounded-theory methods to inquire into the lived experience of students at Greenbrier Academy. Eight students were interviewed and the researcher recorded observations of daily programing over a six-day period. Results indicated that Greenbrier's students' experienced marked changes in the quality and meaning of their interpersonal relationships. They increasingly cared for and served their relationships, engaged in more intimate relationships with others, approached (rather than retreated from) others' differences, viewed others more holistically, and accepted personal responsibility in relation to their context.

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