Recent demographic trends show that multiple partner fertility (MPF; having children by more than one partner) is prevalent in American family life, particularly among unmarried men and women. MPF challenges family relationships and leads to poor economic and socio-emotional outcomes for parents and children, and paternal MPF is particularly problematic as it often results in fathers parenting multiple groups of children across households. Whereas some research shows that paternal MPF is associated with less supportive coparenting relationships among non-resident fathers and mothers and less father involvement, little is known about the mechanisms linking MPF with coparenting support and father involvement. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and the family chaos perspective as a guide, the current project included three studies addressing the role of family chaos in the lives of unmarried non-resident fathers and their relationships with mothers and children. In Study 1, I examined the association between paternal MPF and family chaos, indicated by partnership instability, residential instability, work stability, number of different work shifts, work flexibility, material hardship, and perceived social support. In Study 2, I tested a mediation model hypothesizing that paternal MPF is associated with higher levels of family chaos, and family chaos, in turn, is associated with less coparenting support as perceived by both non-resident fathers and mothers of a focal child. Building on Study 2, Study 3 tested a mediation model hypothesizing that both family chaos and coparenting support mediate the association between MPF and father involvement with the focal child. As the timing of MPF may also matter, the effects of both early MPF (fathering a child by another partner before the focal child's first birthday) and later MPF (fathering another child between the focal child's first and third birthdays) on family chaos, coparenting support, and father involvement were examined with no MPF fathers as the comparison group. Overall, findings from Study 1 were that paternal MPF was associated with some indicators of family chaos (greater partnership instability, residential instability, material hardship, less work stability), but not others (work hours, number of work shifts, work flexibility, social support). Early MPF and later MPF were similarly related with work stability and material hardship, although later MPF was more strongly associated with partnership instability than was early MPF. Associations between MPF and family chaos were generally small. Results from Study 2 showed that most indicators of family chaos did not mediate associations among paternal MPF and coparenting support two years later. One exception was that both early and later MPF were associated with partnership instability which, in turn, was negatively, though only marginally, associated with fathers' perceptions of coparenting support. Results from Study 3 were similar to those of Study 2 and showed that most indicators of family chaos did not mediate the associations among paternal MPF, coparenting support, and father involvement two years later. Early MPF was negatively, though marginally, associated with social support which, in turn, was positively associated with concurrent reports of mothers' coparenting support, and mothers' perceptions of coparenting support were associated with father involvement two years later. Later MPF was directly associated with father involvement two years later, but this association was not mediated by family chaos or either parents' perceptions of coparenting support. Overall, findings suggest that family chaos may be a factor in the lives of fathers who experience MPF; however, further research is needed understand these associations. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2014. / July 31, 2014. / coparenting, family chaos, fathers, fragile families, multiple partner fertility / Includes bibliographical references. / Kay Pasley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ming Cui, Committee Member; Melinda Gonzales-Backen, Committee Member.

The transition from high school to college represents a major source of distress as students experience the challenges of academic demands, changing relationships, and scheduling responsibilities. The impact of these stressors may affect a student's academic achievement, self-esteem, physical health, and mental health, with suicide believed to be a second leading cause of death among this population. The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidality indicates the importance of social connection in reducing the occurrence of suicidal desires and behaviors, stating that experiences of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness are causally related to suicide risk. Resident Assistants (RAs) function as a persistent social connection in the lives of student residents. As research supports, RAs often act as gatekeepers to residents, and have recently been used in this role to support suicide prevention on college campuses. This study analyzes the intervention behaviors of RAs during the semester following the training. Using a university-wide, de-identified data set of 81 campus RAs, this project seeks to determine how an RA's perceived competency and knowledge following a suicide prevention training predicts the number of residents believed by an RA to have had thoughts of suicide, RA intervention, and the frequency by which RAs wished they had offered support in the subsequent semester. Results of this study found no significant relationship between perceived competence and knowledge post-training and intervention behaviors post-semester. Despite a lack of a significant relationship between variables, results are valuable in demonstrating the need to improve RA suicide prevention training program quality and frequency, and to consider other potential mediating variables which might explain intervention behaviors. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 4, 2016. / gatekeeper, intervention, prevention, resident assistants, suicide, suicide prevention training / Includes bibliographical references. / Martin Swanbrow Becker, Professor Directing Thesis; Frances Prevatt, Committee Member; Alysia Roehrig, Committee Member.

Family leisure is conceptualized as engagement and satisfaction with experiences that involve joint participation in activities with other family members during one’s free time. Although family leisure has been linked to family functioning, the process by which family leisure contributes to family functioning, particularly in the context of leisure constraints, has yet to be explicated. Guided by theory, this study examined the relationships between leisure constraints and family functioning of United States Army personnel who have recently experienced deployments and evaluated the role of family leisure between these relationships. Two theoretically competing models were empirically tested to determine whether family leisure mediated or moderated the relationships between leisure constraints and family functioning. Leisure constraints were conceptualized as factors that inhibit a person’s ability to engage in leisure or derive satisfaction from leisure; these leisure constraints fall under one of three domains: structural constraints, interpersonal constraints, and intrapersonal constraints. For this study, relevant leisure constraints for United States Army personnel were identified. Structural constraints were defined as tangible, contextual factors that influence a person’s ability to function effectively in a leisure setting; perceptions of financial management were identified as a salient structural constraint for this population. Interpersonal constraints were defined as relationship factors that inhibit a person’s ability to function in a leisure setting; relationship warmth was identified as a salient interpersonal constraint for this population. Intrapersonal constraints were defined as perceptions of personal or internal processes that inhibit a person’s ability to function in a leisure setting; coping with the military lifestyle was identified as a salient intrapersonal constraint for this population. Family functioning was measured as a latent concept that included dimensions of family flexibility and family communication, both of which have been identified by the military as vital components to creating military family readiness. The construct of family leisure encompassed aspects of leisure engagement and leisure satisfaction. The first model was theoretically derived from leisure constraint theory and examined whether family leisure served as a mediating influence between leisure constraints and family functioning. The second model, theoretically derived from effort recovery theory, evaluated family leisure as a moderating influence between the variables of interest, leisure constraints and family functioning. The study sample consisted of 222 active duty United States Army personnel stationed in the continental United States, who were in a committed romantic relationship for at least two years, and had at least one adolescent child between the ages of 11 and 18. Studying military members who have significant others and adolescent children is important as the military operating environment is one characterized by high rates of transition and instability that can have a significant influence on informal networks, namely familial relationships. Family relationships are highly correlated with military family readiness, the ability of the family to effectively respond to military needs. Results indicated that family leisure fit best as a mediator and did not fit as well as a moderator for this sample of military members. More specifically, family leisure partially mediated the relationships between the leisure constraint variables of interest and family functioning. The leisure constraints of financial management and relationship warmth were significantly associated with family functioning. However, the direct relationship between military coping and family functioning was non-significant. For the indirect relationships, all leisure constraints were significantly associated with family leisure, and, in turn, family leisure was significantly associated with family functioning. This model fit similarly when accounting for the depressive symptomology of the active duty service member. In the competing model, no moderating effects were found for the study variables of interest. Results from this study can be used by service providers and policy makers who can advocate for family leisure as a leverage point for promoting healthy military families post-deployment. Practical applications include disseminating information to military families about leisure resources to provide families with new avenues to promote positive family functioning. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2017. / June 13, 2017. / active duty U.S. Army personnel, deployment, family functioning, family leisure, leisure constraints, military family readiness / Includes bibliographical references. / Mallory Lucier-Greer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Thomas Joiner, University Representative; Kendal Holtrop, Committee Member; Lenore McWey, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between early familial racial/ethnic socialization and the self-efficacy and academic achievement of African American children during the elementary years, and across the transition to middle school. In particular, the mediatory effects of self-efficacy were examined longitudinally. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten class of 1998 - 1999 (ECLS-K) was used to examine the impact of kindergarteners' at-home exposure to racial/ethnic socialization on levels of school-related self-efficacy and academic achievement of the same children in fifth and eighth grades. African American students (N = 3224) from this nationally representative dataset were a part of this study. Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (also referred to as the Social Learning Theory) with particular focus on his conceptualization of Self-Efficacy, was used as a guiding framework for this study. Analyses were conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between early childhood racial/ethnic socialization and the later academic achievement of pre-adolescent and adolescent African American school children in both fifth and eighth grades. However, the results also indicated that that self-efficacy had only minimal and insignificant mediating effects on the relationship between racial/ethnic socialization and academic achievement. The implications from these findings include impetus for marriage and family therapists and other practitioners and educators to include more family-centered and ethnically/racially relevant strategies and interventions to support families faced with school-based difficulties. Additional implications for therapists, educators, and researchers, were discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2014. / October 22, 2014. / Academic Achievement, African American, Ethnic Socialization, Racial Socialization, Self-Efficacy / Includes bibliographical references. / Lenore McWey, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ming Cui, Committee Member; Wayne Denton, Committee Member.

In 2011, Porismita Borah published "Conceptual Issues in Framing Theory: A Systematic Examination of a Decade’s Literature" to shed light on the status of framing research, and attempt to answer several scholars' criticisms of framing research practices (Carragee and Roefs 2004, D'Angelo, 2002, Entman, 1993). Borah argues that framing research has several areas of necessary improvement, and her prescription is for future research to be able to examine specific framing issues or effects, but also be able to connect with broader understandings of framing. The following content analysis of framing research, conducted between the year 2000 and 2013, seeks to examine the current state of framing literature, and whether or not scholarship is advancing optimally. The hope is to examine partially if Borah's concerns remain relevant to current framing research. Additionally, the current study seeks to expand the questions asked of framing research in multiple ways. What follows is an account of framing, as a theory broadly. Borah's role in attempting to measure the state of framing research is explained, and then I show how research can be expanded in several areas to be more inclusive. Then, new avenues of inquiry will be opened, particularly in regard to power, and social relationships, to delve deeper into whether or not framing research can be improved in terms of accuracy and efficacy. Following those sections is an explanation of the way my research questions have been operationalized, an account of the methodology employed by this study, our findings, and a discussion of the data and it’s meaningful portions.

Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African society presents a complex and diverse environment to social scientists. Within immense economic stratification; a multitude of cultures and classes; languages and their dialects; and varied racial groups, researchers attempt to produce information that contributes constructively to policy, programs and a host of services. Beneath the surface also lay complex power issues informed by both political and cultural histories. Many contexts in which researchers find themselves continue to be marginalised and oppressed due to factors such as illiteracy and low-levels of education, age, gender and poverty. These groups often include women and children, in particular adolescents. Qualitative visual methods may provide researchers with a tool by which to address many of the concerns raised in the literature surrounding research carried out under such conditions. Visual methods may remove inherent power imbalances, as well as traditional barriers, such as culture and language, that stem from more 'conservative' research methods. Images may allow participants to vocalise the taken-for-granted in their lives in an empowering manner. The recognition and use of visual images in research with marginalised and oppressed groups is being increasingly recognised by the larger research community. A preliminary overview of the available literature highlights existing disagreement surrounding the theoretical underpinnings of visual methods. This is particularly seen in the various and confusing levels of abstraction presented in the literature. The primary aim of this study is therefore, to gain clarity and understanding as regards the methodological and epistemological underpinnings of visual research methods within the social sciences. As such, a comprehensive literature review has been conducted. A second aim of the study is to set out a typology of methods that would be relevant for use in marginalised communities. The third aim of the study is empirical in nature and aims to highlight the role and/or possibilities of visual research methods within the South African social sciences research context. This is achieved by means of a case study which explores how motherhood is experienced by five teenagers in a sub-economic community outside of Cape Town. It does this by providing participants cameras with which to visually express their understanding and experiences of motherhood. Processed photographs in this case study have been analysed by means of informal discussion, directed by the images, with the participants themselves. These discussions were recorded and transcribed. The results of the interviews were then analysed using grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The results emerging from this have been compared with relevant literature. In this way, results are also triangulated, adding to their reliability (Lucchinni, 1996). Consequently, results of this case study provide a comparative component by which to assess the applicability of visual methods in the South African research context. Both the literature review as well as experiences of the case study also form the basis of suggestions for further exploration. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap bied 'n komplekse en diverse omgewing aan sosiale wetenskaplikes. Binne hewige ekonomiese stratifikasie; 'n verskeidenheid kulture en klasse; tale en dialekte en diverse rassegroepe, poog navorsers om inligting te verskaf om 'n konstruktiewe bydrae te maak aan riglyne, programme en 'n legio dienste. Onder die oppervlakte lê daar ook komplekse magstryde afkomstig van beide 'n kuitereie en politieke geskiedenis. Vele omstandighede waarin navorsers hulself vind word steeds oorheers deur marginalisasie en onderdrukking as gevolg van faktore soos ongeletterdheid, lae vlakke van opvoeding, ouderdom, geslag en armoede. Hierdie groepe bestaan dikwels uit, onder andere, vroue en kinders. Kwalitatiewe visuele tegnieke mag navorsers van die nodige metodes voorsien waarmee verskeie probleme wat in die literatuur uitgelig word aangaande hierdie navorsing, aangespreek kan word. Visuele tegnieke mag inherente magsongelykhede, sowel as tradisionele struikelblokke, soos kultuur en taal wat afkomstig is uit meer 'konserwatiewe' navorsingstegnieke, verwyder. Uitbeeldings mag deelnemers toelaat om die vanselfsprekende in hullewens in 'n opbouende wyse te vokaliseer. Die identifisering en gebruik van visuele uitbeeldings in navorsing met gemarganaliseerde en onderdrukte groepe word tot 'n toenemende mate erken deur die uitgebreide navorsingsgemeenskap. 'n Voorlopige oorsig van die beskikbare literatuur beklemtoon bestaande onenigheid met betrekking tot die teoretiese fondamente van visuele tegnieke. Dit is veral duidelik sigbaar in die uitgebreide en verwarde vlakke van abstraktheid wat in die literatuur voorgestel word. Die primêre doelwit van hierdie studie is dus om groter helderheid en insig met betrekking tot die metodologiese en epistemologiese grondbeginsels van visuele metodes, soos dit in die sosiale wetenskappe voorkom, te verkry. Met hierdie doel voor oë is 'n uitgebreide literatuurondersoek onderneem. 'n Tweede doel van die studie is om 'n tipologie van metodes uiteen te sit wat relevant kan wees in gemarginaliseerde gemeenskappe. 'n Derde doel van die studie is empiries van aard en beoog om die rol en/of moontlikhede van visuele tegnieke binne die Suid-Afrikaanse sosiale wetenskaplike navorsings konteks te beklemtoon. Dit word bereik deur middel van 'n studie wat ondersoek hoe moederskap ondervind word deur vyf tieners in 'n sub-ekonomiese gemeenskap in die buitewyke van Kaapstad. Dit word uitgevoer deur deelnemers te voorsien van kameras waarmee hul begrip en ondervindings van moederskap visueel uitbeeld. 'n Verdere analise van hierdie studie is deur middel van informele besprekings uitgevoer met die deelnemers, begelei deur die uitbeeldings. Sodanige besprekings is opgeneem en getranskribeer. Die resultate verkry vanuit die onderhoude is daarna geanaliseer deur middel van begronde teorie (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Die resultate wat hieruit afkomstig was, is vergelyk met relevante literatuur. Op hierdie wyse is resultate bevestig, wat ook verder tot hul betroubaarheid gespreek het (Lucchinni, 1996). Die gevolg is dat die resultate van hierdie studie 'n vergelykende komponent verskaf waarmee die toepaslikheid van visuele tegnieke in die Suid-Afrikaanse navorsingskonteks gemeet kan word. Beide die literatuurstudie, asook die ondervindings vanuit die gevallestudie vorm die basis vir aanbevelings vir verdere ondersoek.

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This thesis explores sociologists' routine research activities, including observation, participant observation, interviewing, and transcription. It suggests that the constitutive activities of sociological research methods - writing field-notes, doing looking and categorising, and the endogenous structure of members' ordinary language transactions are suffused with culturally methodic, i.e. ordinary language activities. "Membership categories" are the ordinary organising practices of description that society-members - including sociologists - routinely use in assembling sense of settings. This thesis addresses the procedural bases of activities which are constituent features of the research: disguising identities of informants, reviewing literature, writing-up research outcomes, and compiling bibliographies. These activities are themselves loci of practical reasoning. Whilst these activities are assemblages of members' cultural methods, they have not been recognised as "research practices" by methodologically ironic sociology. The thesis presents a series of studies in Membership Categorisation Analysis. Using both sequential and membership categorisational aspects of Conversation Analysis, as well as textual analysis of published research, this thesis examines how members' cultural practices coincide with research practices. Data are derived from a period of participant observation in an organisation, video-recordings of the organisation's work; and interviews following the 1996 bombing in Manchester. A major, cumulative theme within this thesis is confidentiality - within an organisation, within a research project and within sociology itself. Features of confidentiality are explored through ethnographic observation, textual analysis and Membership Categorisation Analysis. Membership Categorisation Analysis brings seen-but-unnoticed features of confidentiality into relief. Central to the thesis are the works of Edward Rose, particularly his ethnographic inquiries of Skid Row, and Harvey Sacks, on the cultural logic shared by society-members. Rose and Sacks explicate the visibility and recognition of members' activities to other members, and research activities as linguistic activities.

A study of the available literature on Psychological WellQBeing and Positive Organisational Scholarship revealed that enormous potential existed for further research. This is a relatively new field with limited literature and research evidence available. It became very clear from the beginning that the relationships between these constructs could successfully be researched. It was therefore decided to embark on an academic research journey in order to contribute to the existing knowledge available on these constructs within the South African Private Healthcare Industry. This quantitative research was used to obtain more clarity about the relationships between the two constructs and to gather the responses from the research population. The research sample consisted of 152 nursing staff. Two questionnaires were integrated to develop the Nursing Psychological WellQBeing Questionnaire and consisted of i) PsyCap Questionnaire developed by Luthans, Youssef and Avolio2007, and ii) Psychological WellQBeing Questionnaire developed by Ryff 2000. A total of 152 nursing staff responded to an 87–item paperQbased questionnaire. Four research questions were formulated and covered the following: •The content, validity and portability of the measuring instruments; •The configuration of the various constructs; • Relationships between some of the variables . The content and the structure of the measuring instruments were assessed by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and) Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA). These assessments showed that the original measuring instruments are not portable to a culture which is different to the one where they were originally developed. The relationship between dimensions of Psychological WellQBeing and PsyCap sense of achievement and optimism is a significant finding. The significance of the findings of this study and the contribution that it makes to the existing theory is seen in the importance of the portability of measuring instruments. Recommendations in this regard have been made in Chapter 5. Various findings have also highlighted the relationships between Psychological WellQBeing and PsyCap. The importance of future research topics has been recommended.

Thesis (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The area of study is the notion of validity in image-based research, i.e. research approaches where visual images such as photographs or video recordings form an integral part of one or more of the methods used. In the literature investigation chapters of the study, (1) the notion of validity is reviewed with special reference to contributions by Cook and Campbell, Guba and Lincoln, Kvale, Lather and Morse; (2) the inherent properties of visual images are discussed from a semiotic perspective, and (3) following a discussion of reflexivity in image-based research, the various domains of image-based research practice are demarcated according to the unit of analysis, the data format, the researcher role (outsider, insider, participant) and the production of the visual material (ex ante or ex post with weak or strong researcher control). The literature investigation chapters were taken as the point of departure for the development of a conceptual framework for assessing validity in image-based research, the mechanics of which are illustrated with reference to selected aspects of image-based research projects by Lomax and Casey, Clark and Zimmer, Rich and Chalfen, DuFon and Chaplin. The conceptual framework was refined on the strength of a Delphi study. The Delphi procedure involved canvassing and pooling the opinions of experts in the field of image-based research about issues of validity with a view to ensure that the assumptions made during the development of the conceptual framework fit sufficiently with image-based research practice. Flowing from the literature investigation chapters as well as the Delphi procedure, the central thesis of the study is that the notion of validity is in the first instance contextdependent and that this is compounded in the case of image-based research by the relative instability of iconic codes and the strong drift towards 'unlimited' semiosis inherent in the visual communication process. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studieveld behels ‘n ondersoek na die gedagte van geldigheid soos van toepassing op beeldgebaseerde navorsing, d.w.s. navorsingsbenaderings waar visuele beelde soos foto’s of video-opnames ‘n integrale deel uitmaak maak een of meer van die metodes wat gebruik word. In die hoofstukke wat die literatuurstudie uitmaak, word (1) die gedagte van geldigheid onder die loep geneem met spesifieke verwysing na die bydraes van Cook en Campbell, Guba en Lincoln, Kvale, Lather en Morse, (2) word die inherente eienskappe van visuele beelde vanaf 'n semiotiese oogpunt bespreek, en (3) word die verskeie velde van beeldgebaseerde navorsingspraktyk afgebaken volgens die eenheid van ontleding, die dataformaat, die rol van die navorser (buitestaander, binnestaander, deelnemer) en die produksie van die visuele materiaal (ex ante of ex post met sterk of swak navorserkontrole). Die hoofstukke wat gemoeid is met die literatuurstudie is as vertrekpunt geneem vir die daarstelling van ‘n konsepsuele raamwerk vir geldigheid aangaande beeldgebaseerde navorsing, en die werking hiervan is geïllustreer met verwysing na geselekteerde aspekte van beeldgebaseerde navorsing deur Lomax en Casey, Clark en Zimmer, Rich en Chalfen, DuFon end Chaplin. Hierdie konsepsuele raamwerk is verder verfyn op grond van ‘n Delphi-prosedure. Die Delphi-prosedure het behels dat die opinies van deskundiges in die veld van beeldgebaseerde navorsing aangaande kwessies van geldigheid ingewin en saamgevoeg is met die oog om te verseker dat die aannames wat gemaak is ten tyde van die ontwikkeling van die konsepsuele raamwerk genoegsaam gepas is vir die praktyk van beeldgebaseerde navorsing. Die tesis van die studie, gebaseer op die uitkomste van die literatuurstudie en die Delphi-prosedure, is dat die gedagte van geldigheid konteks-afhanklik is, wat in die geval van beeldgebaseerde navorsing vererger word deur die feit dat ikoniese kodes relatiefonstabiel is en dat die proses van visuele kommunikasie 'n sterk tendens na 'eindelose' semiosis toon.