The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate by critical consideration the suitability of various approaches of inquiry for exploring and enhancing motivation intervention in contemporary organisations; in particular, to spell out the need for a critical systemic approach of inquiry in relation to a social context based on critical systems thinking ideas. The thesis explores the question concerning the inducements associated with motivation (to work) and what this may mean in different organisational contexts, while taking into consideration cultural differences that affect the way that motivation is addressed. Furthermore, it raises questions, about power relations in terms of processes involved in developing motivation. It also poses questions about ideological differences in the way that performance orientations may affect general lifestyles and ways of working. It is suggested in the thesis that it is important to consider motivation by looking at a diversity of motivation approaches and by seeing what can be learnt from each, and how each can be developed. It is shown how critical systemic learning can be advanced as a way of encouraging learning by means of ideology-critique. The need for a critical systemic approach to motivation is also shown by drawing on aspects of critical systems thinking and extending such thinking to cover motivation explicitly.

Chapter one reviews the published literature and studies that reported a link between religion, spirituality, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). A review of eleven key studies, in context, produced three main findings. First that religion and spirituality are usually beneficial to people dealing with the aftermath of trauma. Second, that traumatic experiences often lead to a deepening of religion and spirituality. Third, that positive religious coping, religious openness, readiness to face existential questions, religious participation, and intrinsic religousness are typically associated with posttraumatic growth. Important directions for future research are suggested that centre on the need for more fine-grained analysis of religion and spirituality variables, together with longitudinal designs,t hat allow more detailed exploration of the links between religion, spirituality, and posttraurnaticg rowth. Chapter two explored the component structure of the Maltby & Day (1998) amended version of the quest orientation scale. The scale was administered to 286 Christians and churchgoers in the UK. It was then subjected to a principal components analysis followed by oblimin rotation, Analysis revealed a three factor model consistent with that proposed by Maltby& Day (1998 )of complexity, doubt and tentativeness. Chapter three examines relationships between three religious orientations and two posttraumatic growth variables: positive changes in outlook and posttraumatic growth. Other psychosocial variables were included in the analyses. Two hundred and ninety one UK adults returned a questionnaire battery of standardised self-report measures. Firstly, correlational statistics identified all significant relationships between variables. Secondly, multiple regression analyses of just the highly significant correlated variables found that two aspects of religious orientation were important in achieving PTG. Firstly, Intrinsic religion (having a personal faith) was highly associated with the ability to create positive changes in outlook following trauma and to enjoy new possibilitiesin life. Secondly, the 'extrinsic personal' religion (using religion as a source of comfort) was highly associated with the overall capacity to develop PTG to two of the PTG subscales: personal strength and spiritual change. Extrinsic personal religion is a variable that has not received any attention in the PTG literature to date. A number of methodological weaknesses are discussed. Results are discussed within the context of the current climate of religious coping research and recommendations for future research are made. Finally, chapter four provides a review of the research process including insights into my own personal faith along with methodological considerations for similar future research

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2002. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-01, Section: B, page: 0430. Chair: Nigel Field.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2007. / "A dissertation in counseling psychology." Advisor: LaVerne Berkel. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed July 16, 2008 Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-128 ). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2007. / "A dissertation in counseling psychology." Advisor: LaVerne Berkel. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Sept. 12, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-128 ). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1979. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-60).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (November 8, 2006) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union, 1981. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-90).

Religion was proposed to account for the relatively low personal death anxiety found among older adults. This dissertation sought to examine the influence of religious afterlife beliefs, religiously enhanced psychosocial maturity and religious management of a past major regret on personal death anxiety in later life. Terror Management Theory and Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory were used to describe these three religious pathways to coping with personal death anxiety in later life. The cross-sectional postal survey samples consisted of 143 older adult British Christians and 141 older adult Chinese Buddhists. Structural Equation Modelling results from the British Christian survey study showed that intrinsic religiosity predicted lower personal death anxiety through: (a) fostering more benign afterlife beliefs; (b) enhancing psychosocial maturity; and (c) promoting emotional stability. No significant relationship between belief in reincarnation and personal death anxiety was found in the Chinese Buddhist survey study. Both survey studies failed to support the personal death anxiety buffering power of religious management of a past major life regret, although some religious coping strategies were associated with lower negative emotional appraisal towards the major life regret among older adults. The British survey study has been the first to demonstrate both the personal death anxiety buffering and psychosocial maturity enhancing power of religion in an increasingly secular society. The lack of relationship between Buddhist reincarnation beliefs and personal death anxiety suggests that not all religious afterlife beliefs have death anxiety buffering power as proposed by Terror Management Theory. The development of Buddhist reincarnation belief and Buddhist coping scales is a pioneering step towards developing research on under-explored Eastern non-theistic afterlife beliefs and coping measures. Implications for ways that help religious older adults cope with their personal death anxiety were discussed. Prospective cross cultural and cross-religion studies were recommended to replicate the present survey findings. Finally, self detachment (self negation) was proposed as the basis of an alternative death transcendence theory to be researched in future studies on personal death anxiety.

This thesis explores collective phenomena, specifically mass visions of the Virgin Mary and examines the case of Marian apparitions in Zeitoun, Egypt. A review of the literature points to a prevailing socio-political approach to examining visions of the Virgin Mary while a psychoanalytical approach is generally lacking. The former approach suggests that Marian apparitions can be interpreted as a backlash against modernity, secularization, and political ideology. I argue that an important gap remains in this interpretation, as the socio-political approach does not address the psychological aspect of the apparitions, but rather research is stressed on social and political implications surrounding them. In particular, a Jungian perspective seems to be particularly suited for the objective of filling in this gap, thanks to Jung’s interest in investigating collective visions. This thesis draws from Jung’s compensation theoretical model in Flying Saucers with the aim of merging depth-psychology and historical material from the Zeitoun case. Weaknesses to Jung’s theoretical approach are discussed, and this is addressed through the employment of qualitative and quantitative empirical work in the form of survey, eyewitness testimonial case studies, and photographic material. Common themes and symbols are extracted and interpreted from the empirical material and analyzed along with Egyptian social and political data. This study concludes with a discussion on how depth psychological principles grounded in empirical and historical material could be applied in order to explicate cases of mass visions.