This bachelor is a qualitative study about the social phenomena social media and how it affects young women’s consumption behavior and self-identity. The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how young women experience that social media affects their consumption behavior and self-identity. Hence the research questions will be the following: In what way do young women experience that their consumption patterns are influenced by social media? Do young women experience that social media, in a positive or negative sense, influences their attitudes and attitudes towards their identity and body? The study is based on six semi-structured interviews with women in the ages of 18-30. The theories being used are Erving Goffman's dramaturgical perspective, Anthony Giddens modernity and self-identity, Uses and Gratification Theory and previous research, using a thematic approach. The results show that women experience that social media influences their consumption behavior, there are also both positive and negative impacts about how it affects their self-identity.

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of changes that take place in surviving HIVpositive spouses’ explanations of themselves in relation to their acquired positive status, and in relation to the role that forgiveness may play, all through Hermans’ theory of dialogical self in the self-identity reconstruction process. The interpretive qualitative paradigm was used, along with a phenomenological research design. Research was carried out in a rural area of Gwanda South Constituency in Zimbabwe. Homogenous purposive sampling was used to select five HIVpositive widows and five HIV-positive widowers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used and thematic, narrative and interpretive phenomenological analyses were employed to analyse the data. The results showed that the surviving HIV-positive spouses faced a plethora of challenges following the deaths of their partners. Identified key relations to the reconstruction of a new self were found to be: a good knowledge of HIV; being at peace with the past self; forgiveness of self; and reconciliation with what has happened. These were found to be good ingredients for quick recovery and self-identity reconstruction. Significant others play an important role in self-identity reconstruction as they offer an environment that is supportive of HIV disclosure, thereby reducing the occurrence of stigma and discrimination. The study recommends that HIV activists and all education systems that are involved in the HIV campaigns in Gwanda South Constituency incorporate teachings about and awareness of forgiveness, reconciliation, stigma and discrimination at all levels of their education efforts and campaigns. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This study is a part of the social science program on Linnaeus University. The purpose of this study is to understand how Somali women in Sweden look upon their cultural identity. We also aim to understand how their cultural identity is affected by living there life with an influence from two different cultures. In this perspective we are focusing on how media in Sweden is presenting Somalia and Somali people. The data in this study has been collected through qualitative interviews with 7 Somali women. These women have been identified through a contact person or by the women that has participated in the interviews. The number of women in this survey has been limited by the possibility to find candidates that fitted with the defined research criteria’s. One essential part in our findings is that the women’s view on their cultural identity tends to be dynamic and depending on the situation. Though there might also be a conflict in the women’s feelings towards their cultural identity and ambivalent emotions might be present. We have also concluded that the women see the media picture as one dimensional and negative. The media reflection might have an impact on the identity for the individuals since the self-identity must relate to the stereotyped reflection.

published_or_final_version / Philosophy / Master / Master of Philosophy

Abstract of “A meaningful work” The aim of this paper is to make a cultural analysis of Swedish voluntary workers’ experiences of their engagement with refugees during the fall and winter of 2015/2016. I have interviewed eight people between the age of 19 and 61 with experiences from working as volunteers with refugees. In addition to the interviews, I have conducted a participant observation on a refugee accommodation.      I have highlighted interesting themes brought up by the informants during the interviews.  These themes have been further analyzed from the theoretical concepts of self-identity, class and gender.       As the results show, my informants have had different motives and driving forces for engaging as volunteers, depending on their habitus and self-identities. For many the volunteer work fulfilled an important social aspect in their life. As volunteers they also got first hand information about the refugee situation, which they could pass on to their environment.       One of my informants had more negative experiences than the others. She experienced a lot of critique for her engagement, which partly was because of her norm-breaking leader position as a black, young woman.       Through my participant observation I got to experience the gloomy facilities of a refugee accommodation located in a distant, secluded environment. But I also experienced the informants’ joy when playing with the kids, and how their engagement created a more cheerful atmosphere.

This research is concerned with the construction and expression of selfidentity in a sample of lay Christians working in a contemporary workplace. It seeks to understand how these believers construct and sustain, in and through autobiographical narrative, a faith-full self-identity at work. It is inspired by my own experience as a Christian believer in a secular workplace. The results of the study contribute to the discipline of practical theology in the specific area of understanding autobiographical construction of Christian self-identity. Although the study takes an overt Christian theological stance, it draws not only from the theory of autobiographical narrative in theology, but also from corresponding theory in philosophy, sociology and psychology. In particular the research draws on the Confessions of St. Augustine (c AD 400), using this patristic text as a benchmark expression of Christian selfidentity. Augustine’s neo-platonic thinking informs the central research question which asks whether fragmentation of self-identity is experienced by Christians in the challenging environment of the present-day workplace. Narrative is both phenomenon under study and research methodology. It is a particularly appropriate means by which to study faith identity. The concept is a fluid one and narrative inquiry is more concerned with establishing meaning and significance than facts and truth. The research resides within a constructivist paradigm and acknowledges that the findings are limited and specific. The findings suggest that fragmentation of self-identity is experienced by the research actors in work/faith tensions. However, these believers move through a process of growing self-awareness and awareness of God’s action in their lives as they construct personal work/life narratives. The research findings explore this process of self-identity construction and offer conclusions about the discovery of a sense of deep self-identity amidst the experience of fragmentation.

This project seeks to communicate the cultural identity of a specific group of people, a select group of Koreans who were adopted by Western families and brought to this country at an early age. I have combined the language of masquerade with personal stories to help illustrate the complex psychological challenges facing adopted Koreans as they live between cultures.

This study examined associations between attachment styles, relational aggression and victimization, and sexual behavior in the context of romantic relationships during emerging adulthood. The sample included 306 college students attending an urban university in the southeastern United States. Multiple regression analyses indicated that individuals with dismissive and fearful attachment reported higher levels of relational aggression, and individuals with fearful and preoccupied attachment reported higher rates of relational victimization as compared to those with secure attachment. Neither relational aggression nor relational victimization accounted for a significant portion of the variance in sexual behaviors. However, significant three-way interactions were found that indicated dismissive and secure attachment style, as compared to other attachment styles, moderated associations between relational victimization and sexual behavior and that the strength of these relations differed by gender. These findings highlight the complexity of these interrelations and have important implications for prevention and intervention efforts.

This creative thesis of poems explores the relationship between traveling literally and traveling metaphorically as the speaker grapples with the reality of her mother's Alzheimer's disease. In the process, she uncovers her own potentialities and limitations.

This thesis is designed to invite scholars, writers, and teachers of rhetoric and composition pedagogy to re-evaluate the revision process as a means of inspiring and supporting first-year writers to become acquainted with their “writer’s voice.” This study explores students’ resistance towards revision and argues that recognizing and developing revision habits will help students revise independently. Self-directed revision not only strengthens a writer’s ability to engage in the writing process more astutely, but it is also a fundamental component to the self-identification process from which the writer draws inspiration. This thesis is structured into four main sections: (1) Introduction, referring to aim and methodology; (2) Chapter 1, addressing the importance of “self-directed” revision; (3) Chapter 2, a case study presenting first-year student responses to writing and revision; (4) Conclusion, discussing the relevance of implementing a strategic and shared value approach to first-year composition revision assignments. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection