Yes / Death, bereavement, and grief are experiences suffused with conflict and disenfranchisement. Intricately connected is ‘etiquette’ – the sense of ‘should’ ‘must’ ‘right’ ‘wrong’ ‘appropriate’ and ‘inappropriate’ individuals feel in death and bereavement situations. This paper is the first of two answering the question, ‘where does etiquette arise in death and bereavement situations and what does this ‘look like?’’ The theme The etiquette of communication and conversation is described, highlighting the importance of early communication for resolving conflict, what is considered ‘appropriate’ communication and support, and the social values underpinning these. Data highlighted how the CBT concept of ‘shoulding and musting’ manifests in death and bereavement situations, gave insight into etiquette’s role in disenfranchising grief through shaping conversations, and offered suggestions for bereavement support. Though the term ‘etiquette’ may be misleading out of context, the concept resonated with the bereaved community and provided language to discuss the nuances of their experiences. / Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

This study seeks to identify, understand, and compare the themes created, by the print media, utilized to ascribe identity to college quarterbacks as they are entering the NFL Draft. The study will compare the four first-round quarterbacks from the 2020 NFL Draft and four first-round quarterbacks from the 2012 NFL Draft; which because of its historic nature of being the first draft to include a white and Black quarterback of drafted number one and two, respectively, is used as a baseline. The study uses framing theory and previous research to understand the themes present in the media coverage of these quarterbacks from the 2020 NFL Draft and the 2012 NFL Draft. A total of 112 newspaper articles from the Newsbank database were analyzed using qualitative research methods to compare the differences in frames that exist due to the racial background of each quarterback. Additionally, the difference in narratives and expressed frames, depicted by the print media over an eight-year time span were compared and examined using framing theory. The findings reveal that in both 2012 and 2020 there was racial framing utilized, in the sports media, when describing college quarterbacks and these racial frames functioned as a reflection of the existing racial views within society. The findings also displayed a clear difference between the frames present in 2012 and 2020. This difference, however, did not point toward a lessening of racial framing, but rather to a shift in the formation of the themes utilized, by the sports media, to create the racial frames. / Master of Arts / This study examines the sports media and its coverage of eight college quarterbacks as they enter the NFL Draft. The study utilizes the four quarterbacks drafted in both the 2012 and 2020 NFL Draft in order to understand the racial themes that are present throughout 112 newspaper articles. The unique history of the 2012 NFL Draft which featured a white and Black quarterback drafted one and two, respectively, serves as a baseline for the comparison of racially driven themes used by the media. Racially driven themes are used throughout sports media to produce narratives about sports topics for the public's consumption. This study seeks to understand the presence of racial themes throughout the sports media's coverage of college quarterbacks as well as the difference in these themes during the eight-year gap between 2012 and 2020. Previous research has shown the sports media to create narratives about athletes that attempt to mirror society. The changing racial landscape present in today's society serves as a backdrop to understand how the sports media alters its narrative choices in order to mimic society. The findings reveal a presence of racially driven themes throughout the 112 articles for both the 2012 and 2020 NFL Drafts and display a clear difference between the formation and utilization of the themes used to create these narratives within the eight-year gap. Although the findings communicate a clear shift in the racial themes, they do not demonstrate a less racially driven form of theme development.

Yes / Background: Positive birth (PB) experiences assist with successful transition into parenthood and psychological growth. Identifying contributing factors, which assist in the achievement of such experiences, could inform birth workers and maternity service providers and improve experiences for future parents. Objective: To undertake a systematic review of factors which the birthing person perceived as contributing to their PB experience. Search strategy: Six databases were searched with English language restriction. Grey literature sources and relevant journal content were searched. Main results: Sixty-eight participants were included from studies conducted in Norway, Sweden, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). The major themes of the thematic synthesis were: strength through preparation; a positive mental attitude; feeling safe and connected through autonomy; the presence of others; and fond memories that were formulated. Findings informed birth workers that their authentic presence is valued by birthing people, and that a person’s or provider’s birthing culture impacts on a person’s perception of their birth experiences. In order to experience PB, maternity services should support individualised care. Conclusions: A PB experience matters to families, and enables self-esteem and confidence to be felt as a new parent. The unique individualised care and authentic presence of the birth workers provided strength, reassurance and encouragement during the birth process. / The author’s master’s was supported by funding from the Yorkshire and Humberside Strategic Health Authority.

No description available.

In South Africa, where a large portion of the population lives in townships, more often than not, the therapist and client do not share a similar cultural context. Cultural knowledge is therefore pertinent to generating a complex and thorough interpretation of any psychological assessments. This study aims to explore possible cultural narratives evoked in the responses to the Thematic Apperception Test so that cross-cultural use of the test would be more effective in the Mamelodi township. The research is done from a narrative point of view, where lived experience is understood by organising it into structured narratives or stories that repeat throughout a person’s life. The pictures of the TAT were viewed as a context that could elicit such life narratives from respondents. TAT stories from five adolescent residents in Mamelodi were thematically analysed as a method of identifying common stories that could reflect the cultural narratives that young persons in Mamelodi draw from to make sense of their world. The results indicated common narratives concerning the following: the experience of violence and danger, the experience of close relationships, dealing with challenges, and the role that clothes play. These findings, and possible findings from similar future research, might aid psychologists towards a better understanding of the TAT in the township context. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Psychology / unrestricted

As the title of this essay suggests, Paul Auster’s 2003 novel Oracle Night is studied with regard to what is here considered to be a search for a way out of estrangement. This search, as narrated from the point of view of the protagonist, is followed by a certain recognition of the limits of human existence – which may be essentially meaningless but is nevertheless portrayed as an intentional state of being, not least through the act of writing as a means of subjectification. Thus, the novel is read with a special focus on the thematic representation of writing and human subjectivity. These overarching themes may be approached with reference to two different philosophies or theoretical positions – postmodernism and existentialism. The purpose of the essay is to study the extent to which Oracle Night may be understood in terms of an existentialist (reconstructive) critique of, or challenge to, a postmodernist (deconstructive) perspective. In order to follow this line of inquiry, the analytic method rests on narrative thematics. This kind of narratological study answers the question what Auster’s novel is about and in what ways the theoretical perspectives in question are expressed in the novel. Thematic motifs are examined within the frame of a six-step model of narrative units. These units are based on Carsten Springer’s (2001) elaboration on the theme of identity crisis in Auster’s fiction and made it possible to put different motifs into a context and convey the point of view of the text in a systematic way.

Le concept de mentalisation désigne la capacité de l’individu à comprendre que les autres et lui-même sont habités par des états mentaux, soit des croyances, des désirs, des émotions et des intentions qui leurs sont propres. La capacité de mentalisation est associée au développement de la régulation émotionnelle, à la construction d’une identité cohérente, stable et différenciée ainsi qu’au maintien de relations saines et réciproques. Inversement, des déficits au niveau de la capacité de mentalisation sont liés à des difficultés aux plans de la régulation émotionnelle, du sentiment de cohérence identitaire et des relations interpersonnelles. Ainsi, les déficits au plan de la capacité de mentalisation semblent être un facteur commun de plusieurs psychopathologies chez l’enfant, ce qui se manifeste notamment par un fonctionnement sous le mode de l’agir, une impulsivité, une explosivité et des difficultés de socialisation. Le concept de mentalisation s’avère donc très utile à la compréhension clinique des difficultés que présentent les enfants souffrant de psychopathologie. Bien qu’il soit de mieux en mieux établi dans le cadre de traitements thérapeutiques effectués auprès d’adultes, le recours à ce concept s’introduit plus lentement dans le travail clinique réalisé auprès des enfants. De plus, peu d’outils cliniques sont disponibles pour son évaluation chez l’enfant. L’auteure propose l’élaboration d’une grille d’évaluation de la capacité de mentalisation (GÉCM) pour les enfants de huit à dix ans convenant à un outil d’évaluation très utilisé en clinique pour l’évaluation de l’enfant et de l’adolescent, soit le Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943). La GÉCM-TAT a été élaborée à partir des écrits scientifiques portant sur le développement de la capacité de mentalisation et de ses déficits, ainsi que sur l’analyse des épreuves projectives. Une étude pilote a permis de tester la grille d’évaluation auprès de cinq enfants issus des populations clinique et générale. Afin d’obtenir des indices préliminaires de la fidélité inter-juges et de la validité de la GÉCM-TAT, une analyse à cas multiples a été effectuée. Une telle méthode de recherche a permis d’analyser les résultats obtenus à la GÉCM-TAT de chacun des participants en les comparant à ceux obtenus à une mesure validée de la capacité de mentalisation chez l’enfant, la Child and Adolescent Reflective Functioning Scale (CRFS; Ensink, Target, Oandasan, & Duval, 2015) appliquée à l’Entrevue d’attachement de l’enfant, version française du Child Attachment Interview (CAI; Target, Fonagy, Shmueli-Goetz, Datta, & Schneider, 1998) ainsi qu’à la Liste de vérification du comportement des jeunes de 6 à 18 ans (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). Les résultats témoignent d’indices préliminaires de propriétés psychométriques prometteurs. En effet, les indices de fidélité inter-juges sont satisfaisants et les indices de validité convergente, divergente et de contenu sont partiellement satisfaisants. L’analyse des divergences entre les cotations des deux juges à la GÉCM-TAT et entre les tests a permis d’émettre des hypothèses explicatives de ces divergences. Des ajustements à la GÉCM-TAT sont proposés à la lumière des résultats obtenus. Incorporée dans un processus d’évaluation psychologique, la GÉCM-TAT facilitera l’évaluation d’un aspect important du fonctionnement de l’enfant, contribuant ainsi à bonifier la compréhension clinique de ses difficultés et à déterminer les orientations thérapeutiques à privilégier.

An overview of the research In November 2009, considerable interest was generated by a study day of the National Association of Principal Educational Psychologists (NAPEP) on evaluation of outcomes of the work of Educational Psychology Services (EPSs). Following this, my service requested that I investigate this area during my training placement, as a topic for my doctoral research. A review of the literature and professional networking sites (for example, EPNET) revealed that although many services at the time were considering or actively seeking valid and reliable ‘tools’ to evaluate services, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, in practice, few were undertaking evaluation systematically, and those that were did not feel confident that they were doing it well. While a number of services were regularly collecting data on how much service (quantity) they were delivering, to whom and in what ways, and on the subjective experience for a range of service users, few were focussing on outcomes, and even fewer were measuring these in any systematic way (Norgate, 2010). My service was one of those that already collected data on delivery in terms of quantity and subjective quality, and they had just introduced Target Monitoring and Evaluation (TME) (Dunsmuir, Brown, Iyadurai and Monsen, 2009), as a goals-based approach to informing service delivery, and a way of recording consultation and engagement with children, families and schools. While this was a positive step towards more systematic evaluation, it was noted that a missing dimension was what the children themselves felt about the outcome of engagement with an EP, and whether they felt that things had been improved in domains that were significant to them. While there was considerable interest in hearing children’s voices driven by international agreements, legislation, policy initiatives and research, a review of the literature suggested that engaging with children in meaningful ways, and eliciting valid views, was a challenging endeavour. This was particularly true for certain groups of children and young people; those with additional needs, particularly those with profound and multiple difficulties or severe language difficulties, and also for the youngest children in the pre-school and primary years. The two research studies presented here aimed to begin to redress that balance. I chose to focus on the collective voice of local children aged 7 – 11 years in Key Stage 2 (KS2), in mainstream primary schools, and of all abilities, including children with additional needs at all three stages of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. My reason for this was to ascertain the views of ‘typical’ children in mainstream education, so that they might be better understood by adults (presented in Paper 1), and in order to produce a general measure (presented in Paper 2), which could later be modified and refined, as appropriate, for other groups, for example, younger age groups, or children with more significant difficulties. Paper 1 briefly reviews the literature on hearing children’s voices, some of the difficulties encountered in this enterprise, and approaches that have been proposed to overcome these, including attempts to actively involve them in decision making and research about issues that affect their lives. The findings of a selection of studies, which have explored what children and young people have identified as being important factors in their school lives, are presented. The qualitative research study that follows is informed by this review of the selected literature. The approach is informed by ‘positive psychology’, with an explicit focus on ‘what works’, while not denying or ignoring what children say does not work for them. Forty primary school children in Key stage 2 were interviewed using a range of approaches. The children were recruited from local schools with differing demographics in the South West of the United Kingdom. The research approach was pragmatic, and adopted a critical realist perspective and mixed methodology. A thematic analysis was carried out to explore children’s understandings of what helped them to learn at school (Paper 1), and these understandings were subsequently used within a realist approach to develop a tool co-designed with the children (Paper 2). The approach was also inductive, being driven by the data rather than theory. The aim was to put the children at the centre of the research, not just as participants, but as collaborators and co-constructors of the interpretations made of their ‘talk’, and of the subsequent design of a ‘tool’ to facilitate helpful conversations about what they might like to change, and to subsequently measure any impact of interventions. The interview data were analysed using a thematic approach, and the findings were discussed, modified and validated through focus groups with the original interviewees. A thematic network or ‘map of the child’s-eye view’ is presented. A descriptive reading of three emerging topics; academic competence, social competence and social recognition, is offered and discussed, and exemplified by original quotes from the children. (Due to the word limit, additional descriptive analysis is presented in the appendices). Finally, at a deeper level of analysis, two overarching themes, ‘competence’ and ‘connectedness’ are suggested as having emerged from the data. The results of the thematic analysis are linked to previous research, and it is proposed that, while this is only one possible reading of the data presented, there are significant resonances with data collected for children and young people across cultures and age ranges. Therefore findings may tentatively be generalised beyond the local culture. The implications of the findings for EP practice are discussed. In Paper 2, the previous study is used to inform the design of a measure to assess children’s satisfaction with their school life, in terms of issues that are important to them. Current literature on evaluating outcomes in EP services is briefly reviewed. This is followed by discussion of a selection of the measures currently available which target aspects of children’s life in schools, and the advantages and drawbacks of using these in evaluation. Finally, I discuss why it might be advantageous to view school life from the perspective of children’s subjective well-being or ‘happiness’, and review evidence from experimental research, within a positive psychology framework, and particularly the ‘Broaden-and-Build’ Theory of Positive Emotions (Frederickson, 2005). Subsequently, the thematic network, created in Paper 1, was used with four focus groups of the original interviewees, to design items for an instrument to assess subjective satisfaction with school life; what makes them ‘happy’ and ‘ready-to-learn’ in school. The children were included in every step of the design, including; choosing and wording the items (guided by frequency data and the range of topics and themes identified in Study 1), choice of the rating system, instructions for completion and layout, and naming of the instrument (the ‘Ready-to-Learn’ Scale). Following piloting and minor modification, the ‘Ready-to-Learn’ Scale was administered to an opportunity sample of 344 children from the four participating schools over the summer term of 2011. Principal components analysis on the data generated a six factor solution, interpreted as six sub-scales: school competence (α = .81), social competence (α = .80), academic competence (α = .78), distress and discomfort in school (α = .68), environmental support for learning (α = .70), and acceptance and recognition by adults (α = .80), with an overall scale reliability, α = .92, and a 95% confidence interval of 17 (16.72). The scale now requires further validity checks and standardisation, but is offered as a useful instrument for initial engagement with children in this age group.

This study used thematic analysis to investigate the blogs of parents of children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Condition, with a particular focus on themes that emerge when parents write about themselves, their child and their family relationships. The first stage of the study involved a broad analysis of the first six months of entries presented within eight blogs. Themes which emerged during this stage included ‘Coping’, ‘Searching for an explanation - Meaning making’ and ‘Sense of belonging vs not belonging’. The second stage of the study involved a deeper analysis of two of the eight blogs, used as case studies, which were selected due to differing on aspects of the themes found during the first stage of analysis. Themes which emerged from the second stage were a superordinate theme of ‘Searching for an explanation - Meaning making’, with subordinate themes of ‘Relationship with ASC’ and ‘Relationship with society’. There were only brief mentions of family relationships within the blogs, except the relationship with the child and it seemed that parents often made sense of their experiences through their relationship with ASC and their relationship with society. Many of the parents who blogged reported changes in their relationship with society due to feeling that others do not understand and a sense of not belonging. It seemed that blogging provided a sense of belonging and a way of being understood for these parents, as well as a source of information to help parents explore ASC and their relationship with ASC. The themes that emerged may provide important information for clinicians and the implications of the research findings are discussed. The limitations of the study are noted and there are suggestions for future research.

This study attempted to determine the relationship between fantasy aggression and behavioral aggression, and whether fantasy aggression measured by the Thematic Apperception Test is related to behavioral aggression. Participant TAT protocols from psychology clinic files were scored for fantasy aggression, and these scores were correlated with self-reported presence or absence of behavioral aggression. The scoring system used was a blend of popular aggression scales used in the 1960s and newer theory. Other variables that were examined were story length and gender in relation to the measured amount of fantasy and behavioral aggression.