In this study, the social experiences of a young adult growing up as an only-child were explored. A single case study with a female only-child, 23 years of age was used to elicit the themes related to these social experiences. The conceptual framework utilised for this study included the concepts of social identity, social relations and social learning, which incorporated the various social agents and contexts explored in this study. Data was generated through multiple sessions, which consisted of the participant’s life story, people and places maps, as well as unstructured and semi-structured interviews. In addition, field notes and observations were recorded in a reflective journal. The data was analysed and interpreted through thematic analysis, which involved an in-depth selection of themes evident in the participant’s written and verbal expressions. The results of the study were presented in the form of themes, subthemes and categories depicting the social experiences of the participant. The primary themes that seemed to have influenced the social experiences of the participant were her relationships (specifically that with her primary caregivers) and her experiences (attached to these relationships). This study yielded an additional category, which can be seen as contributing to the literature on the social experiences of only-children. This category focused on the cultural influences of the participants’ family, which seemed to be significant in shaping her identity. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

After the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa, democratic transformation included desegregating mono-ethnic environments, such as schools and higher education institutions, through the integration of learners and students from diverse multilingual and multicultural backgrounds. A further ideal encouraged mother-tongue education. Yet, a growing preference for English as the medium of instruction ensued, especially in multilingual urban areas. This study investigated the degree of ethnocentrism that student teachers studying at a mono-ethnic private higher education institution had and what their attitudes and beliefs about language-in-education issues were since such outlooks could potentially affect their classroom practices. Ethnocentrism, the tendency of an individual to identify strongly with their own ethnicity and to reject others’, draws on the premises of the social identity theory owing to the focus on in-group-out-group distinctions, racism and stereotyping. Using an online questionnaire to generate primarily quantitative data, this embedded mixed-methods study investigated 1 164 student teachers’ reasons for choosing to study at a mono-ethnic higher education institution. Their degree of ethnocentrism as well as their attitudes and beliefs about languages used for social and educational purposes were measured by the standardised Generalised Ethnocentrism and Language Attitudes of Teachers Scale. Key findings from the qualitative data indicated that student teachers chose to study at a particular institution because of a shared mono-ethnic social identity, which strongly relates to a common language (Afrikaans), culture (Afrikaner), religion (Christianity) and possible race (Caucasian). The quantitative data showed a statistically significant relationship between the student teachers’ degree of ethnocentrism and their attitudes and beliefs about language-in-education issues. Overall, in line with the social identity theory, findings pointed to the formation of social identities based on shared ethnic characteristics, such as language, culture, religion and race. The study provides a more comprehensive understanding of how ethnocentrism, social identities and particular perspectives of language-in-education issues exist on a continuum. Unchecked, such attitudes and beliefs may have far-reaching consequences for multilingual classroom practices, especially where English as the medium of instruction is the mother tongue of neither the learners nor the teacher. / Afrikaans: In Suid-Afrika het demokratiese transformasie die desegregasie van mono-etniese omgewings, soos skole en hoëronderwysinstellings, ingesluit. Dit het onder andere meegebring dat leerders en studente uit verskillende taal- en kultuuragtergronde saam in die leeromgewing verkeer. Moedertaalonderrig is ook veral tydens aanvangsonderrig aangemoedig. Tog het daar toenemend ʼn voorkeur vir Engels as onderrigmedium ontstaan, veral in meertalige stedelike gebiede. Hierdie studie stel ondersoek in na die mate van etnosentrisme wat studenteonderwysers openbaar terwyl hulle by ʼn mono-etniese private hoëronderwysinstelling ingeskryf is. Hulle houdings en oortuigings met betrekking tot taalonderrigkwessies is ook vasgestel. Etnosentrisme, die neiging van individue om sterk met hul eie etnisiteit te identifiseer en dié van ander te verwerp, is geskoei op die sosiale identiteitsteorie met ‘n fokus op binnegroep-buitegroeponderskeid, rassisme en stereotipering. ʼn Aanlyn vraelys is gebruik om hoofsaaklik kwantitatiewe data te genereer wat verskaf is deur 1 164 studenteonderwysers. Sowel hulle graad van etnosentrisme as hul houdings en oortuigings oor tale wat vir sosiale en opvoedkundige doeleindes gebruik word, is gemeet aan die hand van die gestandardiseerde Generalised Ethnocentrism en Language Attitudes of Teachers skaal. Sleutelbevindinge uit die kwalitatiewe data dui aan dat studenteonderwysers verkies om aan ʼn spesifieke instelling te studeer waar ʼn gedeelde mono-etniese sosiale identiteit, wat sterk verband hou met ʼn gemeenskaplike taal (Afrikaans), kultuur (Afrikaner), godsdiens (Christendom) en moontlik ras (blank) heers. Die kwantitatiewe data het ʼn statisties beduidende verband getoon tussen die studenteonderwyseres se graad van etnosentrisme en hul houdings en oortuigings rakende taal-in-onderwyskwessies. Die bevindinge dui ook op die ontwikkeling van sosiale identiteite gebaseer op samehorigheidseienskappe soos taal, kultuur, godsdiens en ras. Die studie bied ʼn meer omvattende begrip van hoe etnosentrisme, sosiale identiteite en bepaalde perspektiewe van taal-in-onderwys-kwessies op ʼn kontinuum bestaan. As voornemende onderwysers nie bewus gemaak word van hulle sterk etnosentriese oortuigings nie, kan dit verreikende gevolge vir meertalige praktyke in die klaskamer inhou, veral waar Engels as onderrigmedium gebruik word, maar nie die moedertaal van die leerders of die onderwyser is nie. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Disasters such as major floods and heat waves are taking an increasing toll on societies. Like other pressing policy issues, they are complex and cut across sectors, jurisdictions, and professional fields. Addressing these problems requires interorganizational collaboration between heterogeneous organizations and thus, interactions between representatives who may have different professional views and identities. Successful collaboration partly hinges on their capacity to integrate perspectives and develop sustainable working relationships despite differences. This thesis aimed to improve our understanding of the role played by professional differences in perspectives and identities in public-sector interorganizational collaboration. Three specific objectives were pursued in a multilevel approach: 1) To document the role of professional diversity for interorganizational collaboration when considered outside of sectoral or jurisdictional differences; 2) To investigate how salient differences in professional identity affect perceptions and reactions following task disagreement; and 3) To investigate the cognitive and relational pathways by which emotions, conflict perceptions, and information processing can predict decision quality and relationship quality following disagreement. Study 1 examined the experience of interorganizational collaboration in disaster management based on qualitative interviews with professional- and executive-level public servants from relevant Canadian federal organizations. Findings suggested that professional diversity was not by itself a salient issue. The most disempowering type of diversity was differences in mandates, especially when combined with differences in expertise or identities. Study 2 examined whether group composition based on professional identity was associated with differential perception of and reaction to disagreement during interorganizational problem solving. It was based on a small sample of experienced senior risk managers involved in a quasi-experimental simulation. In terms of disagreement perception, nonparametric analyses indicated that interprofessional teams reported more disagreement than homogeneous ones even if observed disagreement did not differ. In terms of reaction, disagreement showed consistent negative associations with reported measures of effectiveness, performance, and relationship quality in homogeneous teams. In contrast, these associations were either positive or nonsignificant in interprofessional teams. Study 3 experimentally tested in a disciplinary-defined university sample whether salient group professional composition affected how people perceived and reacted to a scripted task disagreement. Findings indicated that after experiencing the exact same task disagreement, participants in interprofessional teams were significantly more satisfied with their team than those in homogeneous teams. Path analyses supported the two hypothesized pathways linking emotion following disagreement to integrative decision making and satisfaction: a) a cognitive pathway whereby surprise predicted beneficial outcomes through increased reported task conflict and increased information processing and b) a relational pathway whereby negative emotions predicted detrimental outcomes through increased reported relationship conflict and decreased information processing. As a whole, the thesis improves our understanding of the cognitive and relational roles played by professional diversity in interorganizational collaboration. It provides evidence on the beneficial effects of salient diversity for group cohesion in the face of disagreement. It documents intervening cognitive and relational processes predicting performance and relational quality following task disagreement. Finally, it proposes research avenues whereby social psychology can be leveraged to support the adaptation of public-sector organizations to contemporary challenges in public policy.

Research on diversity in the workplace is expanding to include multiple categories including, race, gender, and LGBT identities. Government agencies should have a workforce that represents a diverse public. This is a challenge because agencies and their employees are not immune to the social processes that produce inequalities. A central question in public administration is how to improve practices in the recruitment, management, and retention of a diverse workforce. I theorized that employee perceptions are affected by inequalities based on the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. The purpose of this study was to determine if employee perceptions were influenced by intersectional identity patterns. The dominant framework in the literature proposes that the separate and additive effects of stigma, stereotypes, and bias influence employee perceptions at work. Intersectionality challenges this approach by conceptualizing social identity as the combination of identity categories. I provide a methodology for comparing the difference in fit between additive and intersectional models.The findings of this study demonstrate the greater explanatory power of intersectionality through replication and extension of Sabharwal et al.'s (2019) study of turnover intention. The replication analysis finds errors in the original models that, when corrected, provide stronger evidence for their hypotheses. Tests indicate that the intersectional model fit the data better than the additive model. The models show that patterns of turnover intention are conditional, shaped by intersectional combinations of race, gender, and sexuality. The patterns of diversity revealed in these models show that the effect of diversity is complex—it is more than the sum of its parts. The results change our understanding of diversity inclusion within the federal workforce, employee retention, and satisfaction. I discuss recommendations for managers in government agencies seeking to improve diversity inclusion practices in the federal workforce.

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This study aimed to examine how a company like Anamma creates a platform where people can connect and inspire others to buy vegan food and what strategies they use to do so. The empirical material consisted of eight posts on Instagram made by the Swedish vegan company Anamma. The posts are showing how vegan meals can be healthy, tasteful but also how it is good for the environment. Since the material in these posts were both text, pictures and animated videos a multimodal analysis was most suitable to get a valid and true result. Initially the posts were analyzed one by one. Then we summarized the result into three themes based on what was discovered during the first analysis. The study shows that Anamma is using strategic tools like the theory of Two-step-flow, or Word of mouth to make people hear about them. By using hashtags and tagging people they are creating a chain of equivalence, using the digital platform to spread their message. They also use words like, “together”, “all of us” and “save the planet” et cetera, which is assumed to make people want to be a part of making the world a better place. Also, they frequently use statistics as a strategy of persuasion to show how much less effluent vegan food is to the environment compared to meat. Using the word “Anamma-friends” is a strategy that helps create a strong community for their customers. All their strategies combined contributes to creating social identity and a feeling of belonging. However, this study is not a study of communication effects, since that would require a different approach. Therefore the conclusion of this study is that Anammas communication is effective and adequate towards the social context and can be seen as successful in relation to the purpose of the study.

In this thesis the author explores the portrayal of immigrants in the USA, more specifically how immigrants were portrayed by the last three presidents; Donald J. Trump, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush. While the majority of the US society sees immigration as a strength, the attitudes towards immigration remain divided within the political blocks. By the means of a critical discourse analysis I explore in which way presidential rhetoric has portrayed immigrants, and what are the differences in how the selected presidents have led the debate on immigration. Through the concepts of the ‘Other’ and ‘enemy images, and with an application of social identity theory, the author of this thesis further discusses the processes of intergroup comparison and its effects on the relationship between immigrants and natives.

This thesis examines how Palestinian ethnicity is negotiated and embodied in different contexts by young people with Palestinian background in Sweden. It is based on semi-structured interviews and uses Social Identity and Self Categorization theory. A main result is that the Palestinian ethnicity of the respondents play an essential role for their identity building, regardless of context. While being “Palestinian” is fore-fronted by all the interviewees as central to their identities, they ascribe somewhat different meanings to the concept of Palestinian-ness - what actually makes them “feel Palestinian” or can claim a Palestinian identity. Further, the interviewees’ perception of how Palestinian-ness is generally regarded in different contexts matter. Lastly, their notion of Palestinian ethnicity is strongly connected to the Palestinian territory and the historical-political situation and conflict with Israel. Together, these themes show the complexity of identity and ethnicity, however, the interviewees relation to their Palestinian background is solid.

Abstract Skin tone of an African American is a key primer for prejudicial attitudes among Whites, with darker skin tones eliciting more negative reactions. No previous studies have examined this phenomenon with African Americans as the evaluators. Social identity and social categorization theories, and Cross' theory of nigrescence, provided theoretical frameworks for this study. It was proposed that male African American observers' evaluations of another African American male may depend not only on the skin tone of the target (job candidate) and the quality of his credentials, but also on the observer's own skin tone and stage of racial identity. Using Harrison and Thomas' methodology with White observers, 136 self-identified African American males were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions that varied skin tone (light, medium, dark) of the male shown in a photo and the quality of the resume (lower, higher) presented with that job candidate. In addition, each participant was assessed for stage of racial identity and self reported skin tone. After viewing the photo and resume, participants evaluated the job candidate on hireability, trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness. There were no statistically significant findings. Outcomes suggested possible problems with the experimental materials that had been used previously with White observers. Further, there were problems with gaining adequate sample sizes for the person variables, suggesting a need for larger samples for future research. Despite the nonsignificant statistical findings, intraracial discrimination continues to be an important area for future study. Indeed, understanding intraracial social judgments related to skin tone among African Americans has as much social significance as understanding evaluations of African Americans by Whites and others.

The majority of information related to the postprison experiences of exonerated individuals is frequently found in reports by journalists, or based on the findings of scholars on systematic factors that contribute to wrongful incarcerations. There is a lack of social science research on the unexplored meanings and essence of the postprison lived experiences of exonerees exclusively from their perspectives. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe the postprison lived experiences of exonerated individuals, 1 year or longer after their prison release. The conceptual framework was guided by Tajfel's social identity theory and Becker's social reaction theory. Interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 8 exonerated males who were released from prison 1 year or longer. The data were analyzed using van Kaam's 7-step phenomenological analysis process as modified by Moustakas. The 7 themes that emerged from the data were employment and financial challenges, negative societal reaction, broken family relationships, unresolved emotional and psychological factors, self-imposed social isolation, role of family support, and resilience. Understanding the experiences of exonerees contribute to positive social change by providing knowledge to policymakers and others in the criminal justice system to assist in creating policies to expunge the records of exonerees without the necessity of litigation. Findings from this study also provide valuable insights on the need to offer monetary compensation and social services assistance to exonerees in all U.S. states to help in their reintegration experiences as they transition into their communities.