More women than ever before are entering the halls of higher education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), more women than men are obtaining bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees (U.S. Department of Education, 2011a) According to Home (1998), at the end of the 20th century, women with families were the fastest growing population at the university level. At the beginning of the 20th century, students over the age of 25 were the fastest growing population in higher education (Carney-Crompton & Tan, 2002). These statistics beg the question, Why do women return to school? What are their challenges? What are their stories? More importantly, how do they do it all? How do they balance the demands of home and school and, most often, employment as well? My research examined the tensions women face going to school, specifically women who have children at home, commonly referred to as nontraditional age students. I was interested in the competitive demands of balancing two challenging roles, that of student and mother. Additionally, I wanted to know how these two roles affected their health and self-care. I designed a qualitative study to explore life as a graduate student mother. I specifically sought to learn about strategies of balancing the challenges as well as how, or if, schooling affected their health and self-care. Using the Roy Adaptation Model, I searched for ways in which women balance their multiple roles. With this research, I aim to help these women in their efforts to be successful in school and in life. I utilized both individual interviews and a focus group. Themes for interviews included I'm a Mother first, I'm the Captain of the Ship, "We got there together," the Adventure is Stressful, Finding Joy in the Journey, Attitude Determines Altitude, and Letting Go. Additionally, two overarching themes surfaced from the focus group: 1. Stress is Ubiquitous and 2. Identity Crisis. From this study, health educators can begin to understand how graduate school mothers experience graduate school, thus obtain a greater ability to develop and implement strategies to help this population.

Samtidigt som människor får allt bättre villkor inom arbetslivet och möjligheterna till en rik fritid är i det närmaste obegränsade, ökar antalet sjukskrivningar relaterade till psykisk ohälsa, och då främst mildare depressioner och utmattningssyndrom. Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka om och i sådana fall i vilken grad människors generella välmående stod i relation till positiva respektive negativa affekter de upplevde på arbetet respektive på fritiden. Mina hypoteser var att positiva affekter på arbetet och på fritiden ökade det generella välmåendet hos människor samt att negativa affekter på arbetet och på fritiden minskade detsamma. Åttiotre vuxna och yrkesaktiva personer deltagare deltog i studien, 59 kvinnor och 24 män. De fyllde i en enkät i fyra delar som inkluderade demografiska frågor; två förkortade varianter av Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) samt Välmåendeskalan. Resultaten av studien visade att negativa affekter på arbetet korrelerade allra mest med det generella välmåendet, därefter kom positiva affekter på arbetet och positiva affekter på fritiden. Det förelåg ingen signifikans i mätningarna när det kom till negativa affekter på fritiden och deras relation på välmåendet. Den slutsats man kan dra av denna studie är att människors generella välmående i hög grad står i relation till hög andel positiva respektive låg andel negativa affekter på arbetet.

Abstract The Swedish Armed Forces prioritize leadership, values, and employee satisfaction, aiming to create good conditions for career advancement and to foster diversity. However, despite recruitment efforts, significant personnel turnover continues, challenging the organization's ability to meet its own and parliamentary goals for capability and readiness. The purpose of this sociological study is to identify and analyze the circumstances that influence employees' decisions to stay or leave the organization within the navy. The methodology uses qualitative research with semi-structured interviews, selected for its ability to delve into social interactions and reveal nuanced perspectives. Semi-structured interviews provide flexibility while maintaining some structure, allowing for in-depth exploration of interviewees' thoughts and experiences. A thematic analysis is conducted to identify patterns and themes related to employment, motivation, organizational culture, leadership, and personal circumstances. The selection process ensures a diverse representation of former and current employees to capture a range of experiences and perspectives.Drawing upon the sociology of emotions, a field that underscores the centrality of emotions in social interactions, this study examines concepts such as trust, solidarity, and belonging. By integrating this theoretical framework with empirical research, a deeper comprehension of employees' decisions to stay or depart from the organization is achieved. Key findings from the study include insights into organizational belonging, trust, and leadership. Furthermore, the study explores the role of culture and emotional labor in shaping employees' sense of belonging. Additionally, the study explores interviewees' experiences in juggling family and personal life responsibilities and explores the impact of demands and workload on employee well-being.

Women have been underrepresented in administrative roles in education, due to a wide variety of barriers. In the province of Ontario, women comprise approximately seventy one percent of teachers, yet occupy only sixty percent of school principal and vice principal roles. More recently, there has been an increase in the ranks of women working as principals and vice-principals; this study examines one Ontario School Board using quantitative and qualitative data. It finds that the percentage of women working as administrators has moved closer to a reflection of the provincial percentage of women in teaching. Interviews with active school administrators reveal the barriers and supports that are important. Their contributions reveal three distinct themes: the importance of mentorship and peer networks, the challenges of maintaining a work / family balance, and the continued importance of gender in educational administration.

Women have been underrepresented in administrative roles in education, due to a wide variety of barriers. In the province of Ontario, women comprise approximately seventy one percent of teachers, yet occupy only sixty percent of school principal and vice principal roles. More recently, there has been an increase in the ranks of women working as principals and vice-principals; this study examines one Ontario School Board using quantitative and qualitative data. It finds that the percentage of women working as administrators has moved closer to a reflection of the provincial percentage of women in teaching. Interviews with active school administrators reveal the barriers and supports that are important. Their contributions reveal three distinct themes: the importance of mentorship and peer networks, the challenges of maintaining a work / family balance, and the continued importance of gender in educational administration.

<p>This thesis examines the relationship between work/life balance and Smartphones (Blackberry, iPhone, Android etc.)</p><p>Academic research has areas where not much research has been done previously including the qualitative research on work/life balance, positive crossover of work/life balance, newness of Smartphone technology, and consequences of constant connectivity. This study hopes to eliminate some of the gaps in these areas of research and proposes two research questions:  <strong>So what does owning a Smartphone mean for work life and home life?  Most importantly can this phone help people towards or assist with the balance they are so looking for or do the phones not impact this balance and just assist in the work life and home life realms separately?</strong></p><p>A qualitative approach using constructionist and interpretivist views were used to conduct the research. Empirical material was collected during phone interviews with participants in the USA, while supporting material was gathered from conference papers, academic articles, websites, and textbooks.</p><p>There are two major themes within this paper, work/life balance and Smartphone technology. For work/life balance a common understanding was reached that work and personal life should be kept happy but that doesn’t mean equal.  Also discussed is research about people that put up boundaries in their lives to try and separate things, one group of people likes to have work and personal separate but one group likes them combined.  Research also presents that there are consequences for setting up boundaries but that having the ability to choose where these boundaries are makes for a much happier situation.  On the technology side of research there is support for these devices being used to manage people’s different selves through communication from being more connected to people to feeling left out when the technology is not there. Also mentioned is how people adapt the devices to fit new and unique situations that the devices may not have been intended to be used for.</p>

Using a qualitative, gender-sensitive approach, this particular case study explores the narratives of a group of white, Afrikaans-speaking, women employed in the financial sector of Gauteng. All of the participants were managers on various levels of the management hierarchy at the time of the interviews. I have chosen various feminist approaches to frame my study. These include standpoint feminism, intersectionality and moral feminism. Furthermore, I have incorporated theories around socialisation and the interpretive social science approach. Based on semi-structured interviews this study has aimed to explore women's experiences regarding their political context and their socialisation process and how this affects their career choices and ideals on how to 'balance' work and home life. In terms of career life, this study has attempted to illustrate some of the obstacles that women face when it comes to being promoted, but it has also looked at the positive elements of being a so-called 'career woman'. It has further attempted to show how women exude agency when they attempt to challenge out-dated but present patriarchal norms and values. This study has attempted to show how working women try to manage spending the little free time they have with family and their children and how most of them still have to assume the bulk of the home responsibilities. This particular group's position is fairly ambiguous within contemporary South African society, since they have been known to have enjoyed certain privileges in the past relative to other groups, but they have also suffered and still suffer gender discrimination and gender inequality under patriarchy. Recently some have come to question whether white women should also benefit from Affirmative Action policies. This is not an easy question to answer since it has been widely acknowledged that women experienced discrimination and gender inequality during the apartheid era differently (Kongolo&Bojuwoye 2006: 364). Thus, it is important to understand their accounts of the past, as well as, the future. AFRIKAANS : Hierdie studie volg ʼn kwalitatiewe, gender-sensitiewe benadering wat die narratiewe ondersoek van ʼn geselekteerde groep wit, Afrikaans-sprekende vrouens wat tans aangestel is in die finansiële sektor van Gauteng. Al die deelnemers was aangestel as bestuurders op verskeie vlakke van die bestuurshiërargie. Ek het verskeie feministiese benaderings gebruik om my studie te raam, naamlik, standpunt feminisme, interseksionaliteit en morele feminisme. Verder het ek ook teorieë rondom sosialisering en die interpretatiewe sosiale wetenskap benadering, gebruik. Hierdie studie is gebaseer op semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude wat poog om vrouens se ervarings rondom hulle politieke konteks en hul sosialiseringsproses te ondersoek. Dit poog verder om te sien hoe die bogenoemde aspekte die deelnemers se keuses rondom loopbane en ideale beinvloed, veral ten opsigte van hoe hulle hul werk en huislewe 'balanseer'. Met betrekking tot loopbane, kyk hierdie studie na die potensiële struikelblokke wat kan voorkom in terme van verhogings en ander moontlikhede, maar ek ondersoek ook die positiewe elemente wat voorkom as mens ʼn loopbaan-gedrewe vrou is. Verder word daar gekyk na hoe vroue hul agentskap bewys wanneer hulle poog om argaïese, patriargale norme en waardes uit te daag in die werksomgewing asook die huishouding. Hierdie studie bestudeer hoe werkende vroue probeer om die beperkte tyd wat hulle het, te spandeer met hulle gesinne en kinders maar ook hoe hulle nog steeds die meerderheid van die huishoudelike take moet verrig. Hierdie spesifieke groep se posisie is dubbelsinnig in die kontemporêre Suid Afrikaanse konteks, want in die verlede het hulle sekere voordele bo ander groepe geniet, maar hulle het ook onderdrukking ondervind, en hulle ondervind dit steeds ten opsigte van patriargie. Onlangs was daar bevraagteken of wit vroue ook voordeel moet trek uit regstellende aksie wetgewing. Dit is nie ʼn maklike vraag om te beantwoord nie, maar dit is alombekend dat die meerderheid Suid Afrikaanse, vrouens diskriminasie en gender ongelykheid ervaar het tydens die apartheid era, al was hierdie ervarings verskillend (Kongolo&Bojuwoye 2006: 364). Dus, is dit belangrik om die perspektiewe oor die verlede en die toekoms in ag te neem wanneer daar gepoog word om huidige besluite te verstaan. Copyright / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Sociology / unrestricted

This thesis examines the relationship between work/life balance and Smartphones (Blackberry, iPhone, Android etc.) Academic research has areas where not much research has been done previously including the qualitative research on work/life balance, positive crossover of work/life balance, newness of Smartphone technology, and consequences of constant connectivity. This study hopes to eliminate some of the gaps in these areas of research and proposes two research questions:  So what does owning a Smartphone mean for work life and home life?  Most importantly can this phone help people towards or assist with the balance they are so looking for or do the phones not impact this balance and just assist in the work life and home life realms separately? A qualitative approach using constructionist and interpretivist views were used to conduct the research. Empirical material was collected during phone interviews with participants in the USA, while supporting material was gathered from conference papers, academic articles, websites, and textbooks. There are two major themes within this paper, work/life balance and Smartphone technology. For work/life balance a common understanding was reached that work and personal life should be kept happy but that doesn’t mean equal.  Also discussed is research about people that put up boundaries in their lives to try and separate things, one group of people likes to have work and personal separate but one group likes them combined.  Research also presents that there are consequences for setting up boundaries but that having the ability to choose where these boundaries are makes for a much happier situation.  On the technology side of research there is support for these devices being used to manage people’s different selves through communication from being more connected to people to feeling left out when the technology is not there. Also mentioned is how people adapt the devices to fit new and unique situations that the devices may not have been intended to be used for.

Der Vater stellt eine gewichtige gesellschaftliche Größe dar. Er ist neben der Mutter der bedeutendste Sozialisationsagent der frühen Kindheit. Er ist der Zeugende, wird Vater zu dem Zeitpunkt, zu dem die Frau das Kind zur Welt bringt. Eine soziale Rolle ,,Vaterschaft" entwickelt sich hieraus jedoch erst dadurch, dass er bestimmte Aufgaben, die sich im Zusammenhang mit dem Kind ergeben, erfüllt. Die Ausführungen nähern sich diesem überaus vielschichtigen Komplex ,,Vater" dermaßen, dass das Zusammenwirken von Vater und Kind als Interaktion aufgefasst wird und die Bedeutung des Vaters als Modell für das Kind dargestellt wird. ,,Christliche Erziehung" und ,,Rituale" sind die beiden anderen Dimensionen dieser Arbeit und erfahren durch das Thema ,,Vater" ihre inhaltliche Zuspitzung. Eine empirische Untersuchung von Vätern zu diesen Themen mittels Fragebogen ergänzt die theoretische Perspektive. Die vorliegende Arbeit hat das Ziel, die drei angedeuteten Spannungsfelder aufzugreifen, zusammenzudenken und als praktisch-theologische Arbeit einen Beitrag zur Reflexion und Förderung christlicher Vaterschaft zu leisten. / The father represents an important figure in society. Together with the mother he is the most important socialization-agent of early childhood. He is involved in the act of procreation and finally becomes father at the time his wife gives birth to their child. However, a social role "paternity" develops only through the fact that he fulfills certain tasks which are connected with the child. The dissertation approaches the extremely multilayered and complex subject "father" as follows: the cooperation between father and child is understood as interaction. The father´s role as model for the child is described. "Christian education" and "rituals" with regard to the topic "father" are the two other dimensions of this dissertation. An empirical survey of fathers about these topics by means of a questionnaire supplements the theoretical perspective. This Master-Dissertation would like to deal with the three mentioned areas, and - as practical-theological thesis - contribute to the reflection and promotion of Christian paternity. / Practical Theology / M.Th. (Practical theology)

Der Vater stellt eine gewichtige gesellschaftliche Größe dar. Er ist neben der Mutter der bedeutendste Sozialisationsagent der frühen Kindheit. Er ist der Zeugende, wird Vater zu dem Zeitpunkt, zu dem die Frau das Kind zur Welt bringt. Eine soziale Rolle ,,Vaterschaft" entwickelt sich hieraus jedoch erst dadurch, dass er bestimmte Aufgaben, die sich im Zusammenhang mit dem Kind ergeben, erfüllt. Die Ausführungen nähern sich diesem überaus vielschichtigen Komplex ,,Vater" dermaßen, dass das Zusammenwirken von Vater und Kind als Interaktion aufgefasst wird und die Bedeutung des Vaters als Modell für das Kind dargestellt wird. ,,Christliche Erziehung" und ,,Rituale" sind die beiden anderen Dimensionen dieser Arbeit und erfahren durch das Thema ,,Vater" ihre inhaltliche Zuspitzung. Eine empirische Untersuchung von Vätern zu diesen Themen mittels Fragebogen ergänzt die theoretische Perspektive. Die vorliegende Arbeit hat das Ziel, die drei angedeuteten Spannungsfelder aufzugreifen, zusammenzudenken und als praktisch-theologische Arbeit einen Beitrag zur Reflexion und Förderung christlicher Vaterschaft zu leisten. / The father represents an important figure in society. Together with the mother he is the most important socialization-agent of early childhood. He is involved in the act of procreation and finally becomes father at the time his wife gives birth to their child. However, a social role "paternity" develops only through the fact that he fulfills certain tasks which are connected with the child. The dissertation approaches the extremely multilayered and complex subject "father" as follows: the cooperation between father and child is understood as interaction. The father´s role as model for the child is described. "Christian education" and "rituals" with regard to the topic "father" are the two other dimensions of this dissertation. An empirical survey of fathers about these topics by means of a questionnaire supplements the theoretical perspective. This Master-Dissertation would like to deal with the three mentioned areas, and - as practical-theological thesis - contribute to the reflection and promotion of Christian paternity. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Practical theology)