Thesis advisor: Bernard A. O'Brien / This study investigated factors associated with stable relationships among twelve gay male couples who had been together for a minimum of fifteen years and had not reared children together. Each partner of the participating couples was interviewed separately in a semi-structured retrospective interview that assessed the impact of selected factors during the beginning phase (the first 5 years), the middle phase (years 5-10), and the most recent phase (beyond 10 years) of the relationship. The interpersonal dynamics between the partners and the influences of several sociocultural factors were explored. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 1996. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling Psychology.

In what circumstances do individuals sacrifice direct self-interest for the good of their partner or their relationship? The research presented in this thesis used interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978; Thibaut & Kelley, 1959) as a theoretical framework for examining willingness to sacrifice in intimate relationship dilemmas. Two person specific variables, commitment and personal relationship needs, were examined alongside three situation specific variables, the cost of sacrificing, partners' relationship needs, and partners' strategy. The research had a varied methodological base consisting of two laboratory-based studies (outcome matrices represented relationship dilemmas), a scenario based paradigm, and a recall paradigm. The situation specific variables revealed tendencies for individuals to strive to maximise personal outcomes rather than joint outcomes. Individuals were consistently found to sacrifice less in dilemmas involving a high level costs and rewards, exhibited less sacrifice with a selfish partner as opposed to a sacrificial partner, and less sacrifice when paired with a partner who was described as being high in relationship needs. However, the person specific variables demonstrated factors within intimate relationships that may restrict this pursuit of self-interest. In line with previous research (e. g. Van Lange, Agnew, Harinck, & Steemers, 1997) a positive relationship was found between commitment and willingness to sacrifice. However the current research demonstrated that this relationship is only found in dilemmas that involve a high level of costs and rewards (e. g. moving home). When the costs and rewards involved are low (e. g. washing up), individuals classified as low in commitment exhibit similar levels, or sometimes even greater sacrifice, than individuals classified as high in commitment. It was demonstrated that individuals who are highly committed to their relationship hold more dyad-focused motives (e. g. concern for partner's well-being and needs) than less committed individuals. It is proposed that this increased focus on the dyad promotes a greater desire to maximise joint outcomes, resulting in the greater sacrificial behaviour exhibited in the high cost dilemmas. It was demonstrated that less committed individuals are more influenced by self-focused motivations for sacrificial behaviour, such as short-term exchange (i. e. getting something in return for their sacrifice) than high committed individuals. It is argued that these self-focused motives generally only justify sacrifice in dilemmas involving a low level of cost. The main conclusion drawn from this research is that both self-focused and dyad-focused motives underlie sacrifice. However, low committed individuals are more influenced by self-focused motives than high committed individuals, and high committed individuals are more influenced by dyad-focused motives than low committed individuals. This discrepancy results in situational differences (in terms of cost) in which low and high committed individuals are willing to sacrifice.

La famille est un lieu d’ambivalences et de contradictions. Si d’un côté, elle se définit comme une zone de réconfort, d’entraide, d’affection et surtout de protection contre les maltraitances de la vie de l’autre, elle est surtout le premier foyer d’émergence de la violence. Honteuse, celle-ci impose le silence et échappe donc très souvent aux autorités. Notre étude s’attache à lever le voile sur un sujet extrêmement tabou et méconnu à l’époque. Exposer et expliquer les relations très conflictuelles entre les différentes personnes, que compose la famille nucléaire. La violence n’est pas une mais multiple. Elle est de nature physique (coups, blessures, sévices à caractère sexuel) mais aussi économique (l’atteinte aux biens, le manque, la privation et la soustraction volontaire et consciente) ou encore morale (l’emprise psychologique, insultes, rabaissements). Une dérive comportementale exercée entre les époux (la violence dite conjugale) et aussi par les parents à l'encontre de leur progéniture (violence parentale) et réciproquement. Dans une ville, Paris et plus largement le département de la Seine, se voulant un pôle de modernité, précurseur en matière d’évolution des mœurs et des mentalités, la violence n’en n’est pas moins palpable. Son mode de vie, ses contraintes quotidiennes, influencent considérablement les comportements familiaux. À cela s’ajoute un contexte difficile : celui de l’avant-guerre marqué par la crise économique et politique puis celui de l’Occupation Allemande suite à la défaite française. Une situation exceptionnelle et difficile qui impacte les relations familiales et peut donner lieu à l’apparition de la violence. / Family is a place of ambivalence and contradiction. On the one hand, it can be defined as a zone of comfort, mutual aid, affection and above all protection against all kinds of mistreatment. On the other hand, it can be the very centre of abuse and its first source. This shameful violence compels people to silence and therefore often escapes the authorities. Our study aims at unveiling this important taboo, little known at the time. At exposing and explaining the highly antagonistic relationships between the members of a nuclear/conjugal family. Violence takes many forms. It can be physical (blows, injuries, sexual abuse) but also economic (property offences, need, deprivation, deliberate theft) or even moral (psychological hold on someone, insults, debasement). It can also derive from changes of behaviour, which generate conflicts between spouses (conjugal violence), but also between parents and their offspring (parental violence or child violence towards parents). In a city like Paris – and more generally in the Seine department – which claims to be a centre of modernity, a pioneer as regards changes in social mores and ways of thinking, violence is no less obvious. Its way of life and daily obligations affect family behaviours in a significant manner. Added to this is a difficult context: the pre-war period, marked by economic and political crises, then by German Occupation following French defeat. An exceptional and tragic situation, which has an impact on family relationships and can give rise to violence.

Doctor of Philosophy / The genus Poltys C.L. Koch is revised for Australia and partly examined for the wider Australasian region. Five of the ten species originally described from Australia are found to be synonymous with South East Asian species, a further three are synonymous with an Australian species and four which were previously overlooked are newly described, resulting in a total of eight current species recorded from Australia. Poltys coronatus Keyserling, P. keyserlingi Keyserling, P. multituberculatus Rainbow and P. penicillatus Rainbow are synonymised with P. illepidus C.L. Koch; P. microtuberculatus Rainbow is synonymised with P. stygius Thorell; P. bimaculatus Keyserling, P. mammeatus Keyserling and P. salebrosus Rainbow are synonymised with P. laciniosus Keyserling; P. sigillatus Chrysanthus from New Guinea is synonymised with P. frenchi Hogg. Five new species are described, four from Australia, P. grayi sp.nov., P. jujorum sp.nov., P. milledgei sp.nov. and P. noblei sp.nov., and P. timmeh sp.nov. from New Caledonia. A checklist of all Poltys types described from the region, including illustrations, is included. The delimitation of the Australian species is aided and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Sequences from two genes and morphological characters are used to reconstruct a phylogeny of the Australian species. The generic relationships of Poltys are examined in the context of the putative tribe Poltyini (Simon, 1895). No firm conclusions about the relationships of Poltys can be made, however the results indicate that the Poltyini is polyphyletic. The results of field studies are presented; these indicate that P. noblei is less likely to move between web sites than diurnal taxa referenced from other studies. Specimens were shown to sometimes occupy the same, or a closely adjacent web site, for over eight months. Spiders most often move during spring and summer but often remain in the same site throughout winter. Specimens of Poltys noblei are also shown to be unevenly distributed on trees and bushes in respect to aspect and position. It is suggested that these observations indicate the importance of camouflage to deter wasp and bird predators. Specimens of several Poltys species were reared from egg sacs, confirming male–female identification and showing the variation in abdominal shape between siblings. Growth data indicate that sibling males and females cannot normally interbreed; males mature after 2–4 moults, females after 8–11 moults. Field and cage observations of general aspects of Poltys biology are presented including preferred habitat, prey capture and handling, courtship and mating, competition and web construction.

Thesis (D.Min.)--Liberty Theological Seminary and Graduate School, 2006.

The goal of this research was (1) to identify the patterns or pattern pieces of development for heterosexual, dyadic, romantic relationships that emerge from mixed-sex, friendship groups and (2) to compare and contrast those patterns or pattern pieces to patterns in existing stage theories. To address these goals, data were collected from students at a mid-sized, northwestern, land-grant university. Grounded theory was selected to analyze the data to allow the potential emergence of new perspectives and patterns. Two conclusions about relationship development emerged from the collected data. First, some participants did not identify the friendship and the romance as two distinct relationships. On the other hand, a second set of participants indicated the friendship and romance were, in fact, two distinctly different relationships. Differences in conclusions drawn by these two groups generated six possible revisions to existing relationship development stage theories. / Graduation date: 2003

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1973. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

This study simultaneously examined the relationship of daily positive processes, daily negative processes, and the relative impact of each on marital satisfaction and likelihood of divorce in newlywed couples over time. Within six months of marriage, 120 newly married couples were asked to complete measures of relationship quality as well as daily diaries for 21- consecutive days to assess several positive and negative processes (i.e., positive and negative affect, positive and negative behaviors, and responsiveness of partner to attempts of social support and capitalization). This study used a dyadic path analysis in a structural equation modeling framework to examine the hypothesized relationships between positive and negative intra- and interpersonal processes and subsequent marital outcomes over time. Results supported the idea that positive processes within marriages are indicative of marital satisfaction and divorce proneness, over and above negative processes. Overall, the findings of this study contribute to the marital literature in that they provide further evidence that both positive and negative processes should be considered when looking at predictors that contribute to marital outcomes.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

Industry, business, military and other government agencies are increasingly recognizing the significance of human factors in the productivity of complex organizations. Educational institutions are no exception to this fact. It is assumed that morale and productivity are related to the managerial style of the supervisor. Leaders are faced with the challenge of directing the work group toward the target of increased productivity while at the same time maximizing member satisfaction. The basic research problem of this study was to investigate the relationship between leadership style of high school principals (in terms of their Concern for Production and Concern for People) and certain dimensions of teacher morale. The null hypothesis which guided this study was that there was no significant relationship between teacher perceptions of administrative behavior and teacher morale. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 132 teachers from ten high schools in the state of Oregon. The results are based on 126 returns, 90 male and 36 female respondents. Principal Leadership Style Questionnaire was used to measure two dimensions (Concern for People and Concern for Production) of administrative behavior. Purdue Teacher Opinionaire was used to measure ten factors of teacher morale. All hypotheses were tested at .05 level of confidence. The first primary hypothesis asserting that there would be no partial correlation between administrative dimensions and Teacher Rapport with Principal was rejected. The second primary hypothesis that there would be no partial correlation between administrative dimensions and Satisfaction with Teaching was accepted. Partial correlation was 4ppliedto analyze the primary hypotheses by eliminating the effects of secondary hypotheses (Rapport Among Teachers, Teacher Salary, Teacher Load, Curriculum Issues, Teacher Status, Community Support of Education, School Facilities, Community Pressures, Age and Sex). T-test based on regression coefficients was applied to analyze the secondary hypotheses. Out of 20 secondary hypotheses tested, five of them were rejected. Analysis of the primary and secondary hypotheses concluded that Curriculum Issues, Rapport with Principal and Teacher Salary are positively related to both the dimensions of administrative behavior. Rapport Among Teachers was positively related to Concern for People but not Production. Satisfaction with Teaching, Teacher Load, Teacher Status, Community Support of Education, School Facilities and Services, Community Pressures, Age and Sex of the teachers are not related to the perceived leadership style of the principal. Teachers Satisfaction with Teaching is probably related mostly to those things that happen directly with pupils inside the classroom over which principals have little influence. Results of the two administrative dimensions indicated that a principal's leadership behavior is perceived by his faculty in various ways. However, on the average, administrators were rated high on both the "Production" and "People" dimensions of administrative behavior and perceived as having a "6,7" or "7,8" leadership style as described by Blake and Mouton (1964). Analysis of this research further suggest that educational administrators investigated in this study seem to have above average skills in the eyes of their faculty in promoting both goal achievement and member satisfaction. It is recommended that the design of this study be replicated on a larger teacher population and sample size in different geographical areas. / Graduation date: 1975