There are many facets of the institution of the presidency that warrant examination. Individual presidents, cabinets, staffs, wives...have all been studied in depth but one aspect of the presidency still remains fundamentally unexplored: the presidents' children and the political roles that each has had or has the potential to have. This thesis is based upon role analysis and the basic assumption that all presidential children from FDR through Clinton have performed political roles. Among the 32 presidential children studied, four roles were designated. First is the role of symbol. Symbols serve to display the presidential candidate or president as a person that is a good family man, loving father, and someone with high moral integrity. Surrogates serve to stand in for the president when the president cannot be present. The bulk of a surrogate's role takes place on the campaign trail. Informal advisors/confidant(e)s provide opinions and advice to the president. Lastly, skeletons tend to embarrass the president. If an individual presidential child performs several of these roles equally, they have been labeled as hybrids. Each of the 32 children from FDR through Clinton have been categorized in one of the above roles and their actions are analyzed in depth. Through the course of the thesis, three hypotheses are tested. The first two are whether or not the political roles of presidential children vary be age and by sex. The third hypothesis is whether or not there is an increased need for symbols and surrogates as 1960 as opposed to before. / Master of Arts

<p>This study is about how older people are portrayed in TV- commercials, and what those images are saying about senior citizens as consumers. I’ve chosen two of Sweden’s most popular TV channels that are broadcasting commercials and from those two channels recorded commercials in a period of one week, three times a day (morning, afternoon and evening/night). My purpose with this study was to see when older people stared in commercials, which kind of merchandises they were marketing, in which manor they acted out their roles, and (if possible) say something about the elderly people as consumers.</p>

This study is about how older people are portrayed in TV- commercials, and what those images are saying about senior citizens as consumers. I’ve chosen two of Sweden’s most popular TV channels that are broadcasting commercials and from those two channels recorded commercials in a period of one week, three times a day (morning, afternoon and evening/night). My purpose with this study was to see when older people stared in commercials, which kind of merchandises they were marketing, in which manor they acted out their roles, and (if possible) say something about the elderly people as consumers.

This thesis aims to explore the complex role of consecutive interpreters in relation to context. Context shapes how interpreters are positioned within an interaction, conceived of as a multi-level framework comprising the textual level, the interactional level, and the institutional level. The empirical focus is interpreting in seminars run by a Turkish public institution and supported by an international organization in the framework of the country’s development towards EU accession. The case study relies on the triangulation of several types of data, different research methods and settings in order to provide a deeper understanding of the interpreter’s role in context. In accordance with the fieldwork strategy, the focus is on naturally occurring data, including user and interpreter surveys, interviews, and video-recordings of interpreted interactions. The findings of the study reveal that there may be a gap between the general role definitions of interpreters and the strategies they are expected to adopt. User expectations vary depending on situational factors and the role perceptions of interpreters do not necessarily match reality. The analysis of the interpreter’s role in two different events exhibiting a varying degree of formality and interactivity but sharing the same institutional context, interpreting mode, and interpreter, demonstrates the influence of context on the interpreter’s role.

Executive group coaching, as a development intervention, and interest in coaching research has steadily increased over the years. Psychodynamic group coaching and coaching programmes have, however, received limited empirical attention. In this study, the researcher argues the criticality for coaches in better understanding of unconscious group coaching dynamics. The researcher felt that by designing a Systems Psychodynamic Executive Group Coaching Programme (SPEGCP) as a psychoeducational developmentally focused learning opportunity would allow for an exploration of systemic conscious and unconscious group coaching dynamic behaviours. The researcher sought to explore, describe and analyse the lived experiences of coaches in the SPEGCP. Interpretative phenomenological hermeneutic, using systems psychodynamic perspective as a theoretical framework, served the study well by enabling the researcher to apply in-depth description and interpretation. A case study research strategy was adopted were individual participants were analysed and then integrated across participants analysis of findings. The study revealed the structured nature of the SPEGCP acted as a container, transitional object, and containment for coaches. SPEGCP contributed to the development of insights into the unconscious group coaching dynamics related to role, authority, boundary and identity manifested in uncertainties, role confusion, person-role-organisation dynamic influences and defensive structures in the paranoid-schizoid position, and reflective containment for learning in the depressive position. The quality of the relationship between the consultant-coach and group, and the systems psychodynamic consulting and coaching stance, were critical for exploration and reflective insights to emerge. As the systems psychodynamic group coaching and consulting stance can add significant value to the growth and functioning of coaches, and thus executives and their groups in which they operate, a study of this nature was important if not critical. The study provides an opportunity to consider that this third generation type of evidence based consulting and coaching be viewed as an integrated part of the development of coaches, consultants, and thus executive groups. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The 21st century is characterised by globalisation, turbulent change, an information explosion and an electronic revolution. The result is organisations with decentralised structures, increased employee empowerment and growth alliances. This changing landscape calls for a more holistic, collaborative outlook on leadership, placing the emphasis on relationships, context and transformation where leadership occurs at multiple levels in organisations. While organisations work towards future sustainability in response to the demands of this landscape, leaders are faced with their own personal transition within their roles. Leadership is a socially constructed process that is co-created amidst pressure from self-expectations, follower expectations and organisational requirements. Leadership as a boundary-keeping role that functions on the periphery between the organisation and the external environment, evokes anxiety. The researcher sought to explore, describe and analyse the lived leadership role experience of 21st century leaders as it plays out above and below the surface of consciousness. At the conscious level, the normative role refers to job description and content. At the unconscious level, the existential role deals with the role in the mind of the individual, while the phenomenal role relates to what others perceive and project onto the individual fulfilling the role. The level of congruence between these three roles and its consequent impact on the individual leadership experience were explored. Hermeneutic phenomenology, using the systems psychodynamic perspective as a theoretical framework, enabled the researcher to apply in-depth description and interpretation. A case study research approach was adopted where individual cases were analysed and then consolidated into a cross-case analysis of findings. The study revealed the underlying mental activity and irrational behaviour relating to anxiety, conflict and defences that manifest for 21st century leaders. By integrating the findings with both systems psychodynamic literature and leadership literature, nine themes emerged, namely anxiety, leadership identity, boundaries, authority, role, task, containment, valence and perceived performance. These themes culminated in a research hypothesis about the constant evolution of the leadership role in the context of the current business landscape. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Consulting Psychology)

It is argued that key to gender empowerment and the success of women in leadership is the exploration of the work-family interface which serves to enhance the understanding of issues faced by women leaders as they navigate through their domestic and management roles. It is also contended that work-family scholarship move beyond the study of objective characteristics, and the overt conscious level of functioning of the interface, to an understanding of the intra-psychic experiences of individuals. Recognising the preoccupation with the role strain perspective, it is argued that work-family scholarship adopts a more balanced view and considers the positive and negative effects of participating in multiple roles. Hence the general aim of this qualitative study was to understand the systems psychodynamics underlying the work-family interface that influence the processes of enrichment and conflict among managerial women in the public sector. In the empirical study, data was gathered using the organisational role analysis method, and analysed by means of systems psychodynamic discourse analysis. Six themes and their related subthemes were identified, namely anxiety and conflict, identity, boundary management, authority, role and task. The findings explored the manner in which these behavioural dynamics of participants, and their family and organisational systems interacted, mutually influencing each other, and shaping the way managerial women found, made and took up their domestic and management roles at the work-family interface. This led to resource generation and role enhancement, or resource depletion and role strain in the role (domestic or management). Through relatedness, projection and introjection between the systems and roles, the quality of life in one role influenced the other role, promoting enrichment and conflict at the interface. This study concluded that both enrichment and conflict occur at the interface. While participants oscillated between experiencing enrichment and conflict, some participants experienced more enrichment than conflict, while others experienced more conflict than enrichment at the work-family interface. The extent to which enrichment or conflict occurred between the systems was mediated by participants’ ability to self-contain, and/or the receiving system’s ability to serve as a “good enough” holding environment containing the anxieties experienced in the other role. / D. Litt et Phil. (Industrial & Organisational Psychology)

It is argued that key to gender empowerment and the success of women in leadership is the exploration of the work-family interface which serves to enhance the understanding of issues faced by women leaders as they navigate through their domestic and management roles. It is also contended that work-family scholarship move beyond the study of objective characteristics, and the overt conscious level of functioning of the interface, to an understanding of the intra-psychic experiences of individuals. Recognising the preoccupation with the role strain perspective, it is argued that work-family scholarship adopts a more balanced view and considers the positive and negative effects of participating in multiple roles. Hence the general aim of this qualitative study was to understand the systems psychodynamics underlying the work-family interface that influence the processes of enrichment and conflict among managerial women in the public sector. In the empirical study, data was gathered using the organisational role analysis method, and analysed by means of systems psychodynamic discourse analysis. Six themes and their related subthemes were identified, namely anxiety and conflict, identity, boundary management, authority, role and task. The findings explored the manner in which these behavioural dynamics of participants, and their family and organisational systems interacted, mutually influencing each other, and shaping the way managerial women found, made and took up their domestic and management roles at the work-family interface. This led to resource generation and role enhancement, or resource depletion and role strain in the role (domestic or management). Through relatedness, projection and introjection between the systems and roles, the quality of life in one role influenced the other role, promoting enrichment and conflict at the interface. This study concluded that both enrichment and conflict occur at the interface. While participants oscillated between experiencing enrichment and conflict, some participants experienced more enrichment than conflict, while others experienced more conflict than enrichment at the work-family interface. The extent to which enrichment or conflict occurred between the systems was mediated by participants’ ability to self-contain, and/or the receiving system’s ability to serve as a “good enough” holding environment containing the anxieties experienced in the other role. / D. Litt et Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study is a hermeneutic phenomenology of transgenderism as it is valued and appreciated by adults who self-identify along the transgender spectrum. As a population-at-risk due to a social environment reliant on a dualistic notion of gender, transgender people are of particular concern to social workers, who are charged with identifying and building on client strengths. Yet the preponderance of the academic literature has reinforced a negative, problematic, or even pathological view of transgenderism. The literature also has tended to focus narrowly on transsexualism, leaving a gap in our knowledge of other forms of transgenderism. The present study—grounded primarily in the philosophy and methodology of Heideggerian phenomenology, but also drawing on Gadamerian hermeneutics—sought to understand the lived experience of transgenderism as it is appreciated by a range of transgender adults. A purposive sample of fifteen self-identified transgender adults who reported appreciating being transgender was recruited using snowball sampling across three Midwestern states. Each participated in an individual, open-ended interview designed to tap their lived experience with transgenderism as a valued aspect of life. Transcribed interview data were analyzed using Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenological processes as suggested by various researchers in nursing, social work, and other disciplines. The results of this study suggest that intimate connections (with one’s self, with others, and with a larger purpose) constitute the essence of the lived experience of appreciating one’s transgenderism. These findings help prepare social workers to recognize the strengths of the transgender population and to engage in culturally competent practice. In addition, this research offers new knowledge for improving social work curricular content on transgenderism and for justifying trans-inclusive social policies. The study also contributes to the overall research literature on transgenderism and qualitative methods.