Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 235-272). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11800

Use of the term "ritual" in PsycLit from 1975-1995 was examined through an archival study. Abstracts identified as including any form of the term were coded for valence, target population, study type, and differential area of interest. Valence was predominantly positive, consistent across time, with a growing negative trend. Interest in ritual has increased. Key elements of adaptive ritual were identified as recurrence across time, shared symbolism and volitional participation. A Dynamic Process of Ritual is proposed which includes the individual, society, and chaos in a fluctuating relationship, all operating within an additional dimension of a continuum of ritualization in which the individual's position is determined by personal and societal complexity and individual response to crisis.

Prevalence rates for males and females with ADHD range from 2:1 to 9:1 depending on ADHD subtype and setting (APA, 2000). The purpose of the current study was to empirically review articles published between 2001-2010 from discipline-representative (psychology, pediatrics, and interdisciplinary) high- impact journals (JACP, JCCP, Pediatrics) to identify potential differences in the sampling or procedures of ADHD studies involving females and males. Results indicate females and minorities were both well represented across the three discipline-representative journals. However, no meaningful data were provided on minority ADHD females (0.04% of the overall N = 107,144 ADHD participants included in 212 studies). Recommendations to researchers and editors include a) increasing inclusion of minority ADHD females, b) requesting better documentation of overall inclusionary/exclusionary criteria, and c) increasing attention to potential biases in sampling procedures, referral practices, and data presentation approaches that hinder development of the literature concerning ADHD in minority females.

This study was an exploratory thematic and categorical analysis of the titles and abstracts of women and men psychology master's dissertations completed from 1964 to 1998. These dissertations represent research undertaken at all South African universities. They are located on the Nexus database, developed by the Centre for Science Development (CSD) at the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) and maintained by the National Research Foundation (NRF). This research is an investigation of trends, which might lead to conclusions regarding the areas of psychological specialisations chosen for research, the methodologies of research applied and the sample type employed in the research. Secondly, a longitudinal analysis was conducted to examine if any shifts of focus over time in any of the three areas already mentioned (i.e. specialisation, methodology and sample type) had occurred. The methodology used was a combination of both quantitative statistical analysis and qualitative analysis of selected women's and men's dissertations. Content analysis was the preliminary research method used to code the data which was then statistically analysed by means of correspondence analysis. The literature review examined psychology's historical exclusion of women both as professionals and as potential subjects of research. The literature also examines the founding premise of psychological research dominated by scientific empiricism underpinned by logical positivism. Feminist literature was then reviewed in order to offer a commentary on the patriarchal underpinnings embedded in the discipline and to offer and explore alternatives. The outcome of this study revealed a number of valuable findings. First, there had been a major increase in the selection of women masters' students in psychology. Second, the dominant methodology remains quantitative in nature. There is however a slight increase in qualitative and combined research by both women and men in the 1990s. Third, there has been a radical increase in the 1990s of women entering the male domain of industrial psychology. Fourth, no major differences were found between women and men masters' students and their choice of specialisation area, methodology and sample type selected. Finally, women more often than men recognised the gender and ethnicity of their sample subjects. It must however be noted that gender and ethnicity of the sample subjects were still relatively infrequently registered in the titles and abstracts of both women and men's masters' dissertations. In conclusion the plethora of data available on Nexus and the findings identified in the present study a window has opened up to the potential for many future projects in terms of South African psychology masters' research.

This research sought to explore the patterns of co-authorship collaboration between African and international authors who have published together in journals relating to the field of social psychology. Bibliographic data was used to extract and produce social network maps of academic co-author collaborations in which one of the authors was African or affiliated to an author from an African country. These patterns of collaboration were analysed using social network analysis and it was found that, on average, African authors are poorly interconnected with other international authors in the field of social psychology and are also poorly interconnected with other African authors across the continent. It is likely that these structures of collaboration constrain the ability of African authors to produce their own relevant knowledge within the field of social psychology, in that their collaborations are limited and usually mediated by international connections. This pattern of interconnection makes it more likely that African social psychologists will operate within paradigms generated by academics in international and well-resourced countries and militates against the development of African paradigms. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2014.