Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-49).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2007. / Vita. Appendix: leaves 173-189. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-203).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 89 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2005. / Title from title screen. Frank J Floyd, committee chair; Martha A. Foster, Lawrence P. Riso, Gregory J. Jurkovic, committee members. Electronic text (121 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed June 12, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p.104-121).

In the course of figuring out one’s identity, the proactive manner in which an individual defines one’s self or builds one’s character is an important aspect of the venture. Markus and Kitayama (1991) described and contrasted interdependent self-construal and independent self-construal, two forms of self-construction. This paper presents the theoretical link between interdependent self-construal and psychological resilience. Identity development is viewed through the interdependent self-construal perspective and it is explained how interdependence provides an individual with more and better opportunities for identity development. Through a conceptual tie to self-compassion, interdependent self-construal may be a key component to experiencing psychological resilience.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Drawing from the fields of positive psychology and career psychology, this research endeavours to study the manifestation of resilience in the workforce population and the elements or attributes which contribute to resilience. More particularly, this paper examines the evident paradigm shift in the changing world of work, as well as whether the culture of the organisation has the potential to play a role in the manifestation of such resilience. The RS-25 by Wagnild and Young (1993) was used to determine levels of resilience and in-depth interviews were conducted in order to expand upon the evidence of resilience. The outcome was that many factors such as positive emotions, individual differences, learned resourcefulness, positive appraisal, positive affectivity, altruism, gender, birth order, emotional intelligence, locus of control, self-directedness, human agency, motivational forces and challenges experienced, sense of coherence and psychological stamina were identified as contributing factors to the level of resilience in an individual. The amalgamation of these factors was solely reliant on the different appraisal of situations and the perceived level of difficulty that was presented by a challenge or hardship, which differed from one person to another. It was largely recognized that resilience is a construct that is learnt and accrued from a very young age. In addition, the greater the hardships experienced, the more resilient a person could become. Moreover, organisational cultures seemed to play a particular role in preparing or enabling employees to become acclimatized or more accustomed to a harsher working world, which required more acts of resilience pertinent to growth and survival. Whether resilience is an inherited trait or learned attribute is not clear. The main aim of this study is to gain insight into the manifestation of resilience in the lived worlds of individuals who overcame severe tribulations. An existential-phenomenological epistemology informed the in-depth interview method applied. The persons interviewed had different ideas about this problem, ranging from the viewpoint that either nature or nurture, or an interaction between the influence of the social environment and inner individual personality qualities, were contributory factors. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Binne die vakterrein van die Positiewe Sielkunde en Loopbaansielkunde, strewe hierdie studie daarna om die manifistasie van die konstruk “veerkragtigheid” in die arbeidsmag van naderby te ondersoek. Daar word gelet op verskeie bydraende faktore wat veerkragtigheid kan bevorder. Klem word geplaas op die paradigmaskuif teweeggebring deur ‘n veranderende arbeidswêreld asook die kultuur binne organisasies wat die potensiaal het om in te speel op die bevordering van veerkragtigheid. Die RS-25 deur Wagnild en Young (1993) is gebruik om die vlakke van veerkragtigheid kwantitatief te bepaal. In-diepte onderhoude is gevoer met persone wie sodanig deur die kwantitatiewe metode as hoog op in veerkragtigheid geidentifiseer is. Die doel is om insigte aangaande die manifestasie en persoonlike belewenis van die konstruk te bekom deur middel van ‘n eksitensieël –fenomenologiese benadering. Die bevinding was dat daar verskeie persoonlikheidsfaktore bydraend was tot veerkragtigheid. Aspekte wat vanuit die teorie asook vanuit die praktiese navorsing na vore gekom het en bespreek word, sluit in: positiewe emosies, individuele verskille, vindingrykheid, positiewe selfbeoordeling, effektiwiteit, altruïsme, geslag, geboorte-orde, emosionele intelligensie, lokus van beheer, selfgerigtheid en verantwoordelikhied. Motiverende kragte, vorige uitdagings, ‘n gevoel van koherensie en sielkundige stamina is ook elemente waarna verwys word. Hoe elkeen sy spesifieke situasie geëvalueer het, asook watter vlak van uitdaging in probleme aanvaar word, sou afhang van die kombinasie van hierdie faktore en persoonlike eienskappe soos dit afspeel in die persoonlike ontwikkeling van die individu binne ‘n bepaalde omgewingskonteks. Dit wil voorkom asof veerkragtigheid ‘n eienskap is wat vanaf ‘n jong ouderdom aangeleer word en dat daar ‘n verband ontstaan tussen die mate van swaarkry en gevolglike versterking van hierdie konstruk. ’ n Komplekse interaksie tussen persoonlikhied, ondersteunende omgewing en intensiteit van ervarings word uiteindellik geidentifiseer as die boustene van die konstruk . Daarbenewens sal verskeie organisasie kulture ’n bepalende rol speel in die voorbereiding of ondersteuning van werknemers om te kan aanpas by ‘n veeleisender arbeidsomgewing, om sodoende, meer veerkragtigheid te kan ontwikkel vir toekomstige uitdagings by die werkplek. Of veerkragtigheid suiwer ‘n aangeleerde of suiwer oorerflike eienskap is, is nie onbevange duidelik belig deur die antwoorde wat uit die onderhoude verkry is nie. Die persone waarmee onderhoude gevoer is, het verskil ten opsigte van hul siening hieromtrent. Dit wil tog voorkom dat daar ‘n komplekse interaksie is ten opsigte van die rol van ‘n verskeidenheid persoonlikheids- en omgewingsfaktore en dat organisasies wel kan bydra tot die skepping van ‘n klimaat wat veerkragtigheid kan ontgin en bevorder. Daar word van die standpunt uitgegaan dat veerkragtighied ‘n positiewe eienskap is wat algemeen tot voordeel van die werker sowel as die organisie sal strek, veral in ‘n dinamiese, vinnig veranderende tegnologiese werksomgewing.

Background: There is an emerging literature suggesting that clinicians can go through a process of personal change when engaging in psychotherapeutic work with trauma survivors, which parallels that experienced by clients themselves. The current evidence regarding the relationship between engaging in psychological therapy and compassion satisfaction, vicarious post-traumatic growth and vicarious resilience is inconclusive. A number of methodological weaknesses in the existing literature were identified. The review highlights the need for future research to examine the contextual, demographic and psychological factors which allow therapists to experience positive psychological outcomes from their trauma work. Objective: This study aims to explore vicarious post-traumatic changes in clinicians who work with adult survivors of complex trauma and the role of organisational factors in these changes. Method: Grounded theory methodology was used to analyse interview data with twelve participants (nine female and three male), all of whom had high complex trauma caseloads. Results: The study generated a theory proposing that undertaking trauma work involves the interplay between numerous challenges pertaining to clinicians’ expectations of themselves, therapeutic challenges and organisational neglect. Engaging in trauma work with clients leads to psychological and emotional changes in therapists. A lack of organisational support further contributes to such changes, leaving clinicians feeling isolated and overwhelmed. In order to cope with these challenges, clinicians develop coping mechanisms in the form of emotional detachment and accessing external supports. Alongside this, clinicians identify positive effects of trauma work arising from the therapeutic relationship. These positive outcomes appear to mediate the more negative effects of trauma work, relating to psychoemotional changes and lack of organisational support. Conclusion: These findings suggest a need for a greater understanding of the degree of reciprocity between clients, clinicians and services and the provision of trauma-informed services both for clients and clinicians.

Disruptions can cause projects to fail. Within the project management literature, approaches to managing disruptions consist of uncertainty, risk, opportunity, change, and crisis management. These approaches focus on developing strategies to manage perceived threats and also work towards predicting risk, therefore, reducing vulnerability. This vulnerability-reduction only focus is limiting because it takes the focus away from the development of a general capacity for readiness and for responding to uncertain situations. A resiliency approach enables a simultaneous focus on vulnerability reduction, readiness and response and thus ensures recovery. Given the context and discipline specific nature of the resilience concept, and the little or no attention in projects, this thesis conceptualises resilience in projects. This conceptualisation is to enable the identification of factors to consider and indicators to ensure overall project recovery, through the identification of dimensions and antecedents of resilience respectively. The aim of this study therefore, is to develop a framework to conceptualise resilience in projects. To achieve this aim, three case studies, namely; building, civil engineering and engineering construction projects were investigated. Within each case study, the critical incident technique was employed to identify disruptions and their management through direct observations of human activities, narration of critical incidents and review of documents on disruption. Following this, a comparative analysis and synthesis of the case studies was carried out and findings revealed definition, dimensions, antecedents and consequences of resilience in projects. Specifically, resilience in projects is defined as; the capability of a project to respond to, prepare for and reduce the impact of disruption caused by the drifting environment and project complexity. The dimensions of resilience are; proactivity, coping ability, flexibility and persistence. Proactivity can be defined as an anticipatory capability that the project takes to influence their endeavours whilst coping ability can be defined as the capability to manage and deal with stress caused by disruptions within the projects. Furthermore, flexibility can be defined as the capability of a project to manage disruption by allowing change but ultimately making sure that the aim is maintained and persistence is the capability to continue despite difficult situations. Several antecedents of these dimensions of resilience are identified. For proactivity these include contract, training, monitoring, contingency and experience. For coping ability these include the contract, training, contingency and experience. For flexibility these include open-mindedness, planning, continual monitoring and continual identification of ideas and for persistence these include continual monitoring, planning and negotiation. Also, the consequence of resilience in projects is recovery through response, readiness and vulnerability reduction. This conceptualisation of resilience is then synthesised into a validated framework for resilience in projects. Theoretically, this research provides definition, dimensions, antecedents and consequence for resilience in projects and a theoretical starting point for the concept of resilience in projects. The significance of this research to practice is the identification and development of a more holistic perspective of managing disruptions in projects through the identified dimensions, antecedents and consequences. These dimensions, antecedents and consequences provide clarity for the roles of project managers and team members in managing disruptions and thus, expand the eleventh knowledge area; project risk management, of the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). In addition, the dimensions, antecedents and consequences of resilience in projects contribute to the curriculum development in project management and thus, provide factors and indicators that project managers require in managing disruptions.

Times of transition offer the greatest potential for changing direction, for better or worse in young people’s lives. Yet it seems that many young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) fail to make the most of this window of opportunity as they make the transition out of school into adult life. Existing research into the transitional experiences and outcomes of school-leavers with SEBD reveal that they experience high levels of unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health problems and involvement in criminal activity, with the consequent costs, social and economic, to the individual and society being too great to ignore. However, whilst there is evidence on the outcomes of this group (predominantly from the US) there is little research into the processes which influence their success or failure in transition. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an in-depth understanding of the transitions of a small group of school leavers with SEBD, by following them for the first 15 months out of school. I collected interview data from the participants, their parents and those working with them, which was subjected to thematic and narrative analysis and used to develop individual case studies. The case studies were subjected to within- and cross-case analysis, which facilitated understanding of the individual’s influences and pathways, and extraction of common themes. The school-leavers took widely varying paths, and were subject to a range of influences on an individual, family, and institutional level. These influences operated in complex and interactive ways, and each participant’s experience was unique. However, there were common themes which emerged from the cross case analysis. On a practical level, the main influences of the participants’ transitions were:• their personal drive, goal motivation, perseverance and likeability;• the capacity of their families to provide all forms of support (emotional, esteem practical and informational), or for professional supporters to fill any gaps;• the quality of the communication channels between all those working with them;• the capacity of their post-16 provision to fulfil their social and emotional as well as educational needs;• the formation of productive relationships with their workers, and the extent to which the institutions they attended supported their development. The study also had a theoretical dimension being underpinned by bioecological understandings of development and rooted in the concept of resilience. The presence of supportive relationships in the participants’ lives was a key influence on their resilience in coping with transition. The application of identity theory to the data helped to explain how these relationships developed and how supportive relationships in one context helped the young person to cope in a situation in which they were unsupported.