Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, San Francisco, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-04, Section: A, page: 1434. Adviser: Carroll Estes.

<p> The purpose of this study is to identify sources of psychopathology outside of the fundamental ideology of mainstream clinical psychology. Contemporary western clinical psychology has aligned itself with a fundamental ideology which maintains that pathogenesis is found in the individual and not in the social or political world. This paper will argue that psychology has become oppressive. The clinical application of this exposition will include a psychological interpretation of the collective Jewish narrative, thereby demonstrating the importance of identifying the source of psychopathology as originating in cultural and historical contexts, not simply within the person. The dissertation therefore encompasses individual and social psychology. The design used will be narrative. At this stage in the research, the collective Jewish narratives will be defined as the combined narratives of Jewish persons and Jewish history. </p>

<p>This qualitative study explores narratives of youth affected by the BP oil spill in Bayou la Batre, Alabama, focusing on adolescents whose parents worked in commercial seafood and/or shipbuilding industries. The research draws on 40 face-to-face, in-depth interviews with youth; 40 informal interviews with adult informants (educators, and community leaders, mental health professionals); and more than 100 hours of participant observation. Findings contribute to our understanding of ways in which youth experience, make sense of, and cope with disasters, particularly in the case of technological disasters. Although many studies have focused on the ecological, economic, and social effects of technological disasters such as the BP oil spill on adults, few have specifically investigated the impacts of these events on children. </p><p> Using an ecological-symbolic theoretical perspective, and drawing heavily on the sociological studies of children and disasters, I present an in-depth look at youth&rsquo;s post-disaster experiences. Specifically, findings explore youth&rsquo;s early perceptions concerning how the spill might affect themselves, their families, and their community in the more immediate aftermath of the spill, as well as their observations regarding how the actual impacts unfolded in the year following the disaster. Study results suggest that the concept of lifestyle change is a useful framework for examining disruptions of everyday routines and patterns that occurred in the aftermath of the disaster. This research focuses on two core lifestyle changes: ways in which changes in interviewees&rsquo; parents&rsquo; jobs affected the amount of time families spent together and how the closure of the Gulf of Mexico shifted family-centered recreational time. Lastly, findings highlight coping strategies (blame, distraction, and emotional processing) that youth employed in dealing with the disaster and its implications. </p>

<p> This phenomenological study explored the concept of wisdom as perceived and experienced by adolescents. The research questions were: How do adolescents conceptualize wisdom?; Which aspects of 'being wise,' if any, do adolescents believe they possess?; Do adolescents believe wisdom is attainable or desirable?; and Do adolescents believe that their formal education (school) is guiding them toward the development of wisdom? From these research questions, interview questions were created and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 adolescents between the ages of 10-14 across two school locations. Through a process of coding the interview data for emergent themes, the findings of this study revealed that adolescent beliefs about and definitions of wisdom are in line with the existing literature and that adolescents find wisdom both desirable and attainable. Moreover, since formal education experiences are expected to play a role in wisdom development in adolescents, implications for educator practice are discussed. In particular, critical pedagogy and experiential education may be key elements for educator practice in facilitating learning experiences which cultivate wisdom, particularly in the context of the transformation economy.</p>

<p> Abstract This study explored the lived experience of subordinates in interracial supervisor-subordinate dyadic working relationships in nonprofit social welfare organizations. Although contemporary leadership theories explore leaders' traits, characteristics, skills, competencies of, and the relationship between leaders and followers, there is a dearth of empirical research that explores how followers experience racial differences with their leaders in hierarchical vertical dyadic working relationships in nonprofit social welfare organizations. This study provides insights toward improving the social capital generated from these dyadic working relationships, in the context of the organization and the community it serves. </p><p> The essence of subordinates' lived working relationship experience that emerged from the findings of this study indicates that subordinates will experience their racially-dissimilar supervisor based on the perceived influence that the supervisor's race has on the relationship. In other words, racial dissimilarity between subordinates and their supervisor influences the subordinate's perception of his or her working relationship with the supervisor, when the racial difference is perceived by the subordinate as an influence on the supervisor's behavior toward the subordinate. </p><p> The following four aspects of the lived interracial working relationship experience characterize the essence of the subordinates' experience: (1) subordinates make meaning of race differently, (2) the organization, or job, and/or peers influence the interracial working relationship between the supervisors and subordinates, (3) the salience of racial dissimilarity is determined by subordinates' perception of its impact on the supervisor's relational behaviors, and (4) subordinates assess the quality of the working relationship based on perceptions of his or her supervisor's relational behaviors in light of the subordinate's expectations. </p><p> The understanding of the essence of the lived interracial working relationship has significant implications for practice that include implementing new, or enhancing existing approaches and strategies aimed to ensure effective and efficient interracial supervisor-subordinate dyadic working relationships that will allow for positive relational and organizational outcomes. The implications for research extend the existing body of knowledge with regard to influencers on interracial supervisor-subordinate working relationships by conducting an in-depth exploration of interracial hierarchical dyadic relationships that has not been sufficiently examined before.</p>

<p> Aviation accidents are pervasive and ubiquitous enough that they transcend the boundaries of all aviation organizations&mdash;general, corporate, commercial, and military organizations. All aviation bodies have experienced loss of life and total destruction of aircraft during their respective operations. Historical research indicates that some pilots make egregious errors (Bisignani, 2010; NTSB, 2010; Boeing, 2009) when they do not complete checklists and ultimately deviate from normal procedural practices during high-stress events. <i> Why</i> otherwise competent and qualified pilots make these kinds of egregious errors is elusive and has escaped the grasp of quantitative researcher understanding. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews so pilots could tell their stories and share their perspectives on why they had to repeat a simulator evaluation checkride. Through the lenses of the pilots' perspectives, the pilots' voices established a database from which data were coded, compared, categorized, further coded, and analyzed using grounded theory methodologies as espoused by Corbin and Strauss (2008). Qualitative analysis generated substantive theory grounded in the data. Two conceptual models are presented to support the substantive theory. The substantive theory indicates that pilots can become so <i>distracted</i> by abnormal and nonstandard events that their awareness of what needs to be done next is overshadowed by those distractions. In other words, pilots lose their situational awareness and engage in non-standard activities that result in process errors. Pilots must learn distraction mitigation strategies to maintain their focus and avoid becoming overtasked. This theory is presumed to be transferable to other high-stress professions.</p>

<p> The phenomenon of user-generated content and modification for video games, known as modding, is increasingly common, but why individuals are motivated to engage in significant work for no pay is still poorly understood. Drawing upon the Communities of Practice theories proposed by Jean Lave and Ettienne Wenger, this paper explored the similarities and differences between a community of addon software developers for Blizzard Entertainment's popular Massively Multiplayer Online Game, <i>World of Warcraft,</i> and other Free/Open Source Software communities. Through a series of ethnographic interviews, and an online survey of addon developers, research found the addon development community describes itself primarily as devoted game players rather than software developers, motivated primarily by a desire to fill personal in-game needs, and only later, by the more unclear rewards of contributing to the Community of Practice surrounding addon development. </p><p> Similarly, though addon developers have a strong affinity with many practices and attitudes toward intellectual property espoused by F/OSS communities, they have ultimately coalesced around shared practices which encourage and honor individual ownership of intellectual property, rather than more "free" distribution models. Considering these findings, a new understanding emerges for a specific type of Community of Practice, termed a <i>Community of Passion,</i> that allows future research to more clearly identify and describe a playful and passionate approach to productive activity increasingly seen not only in online gaming communities, but also in other settings such as the emergent <i>Maker</i> communities where creativity and democratized production are valued.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4532. Adviser: Jan Nederveen Pieterse. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-150) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.