This study investigated whether a relationship exists between levels of marital dedication and student-life stress among married undergraduate students. Student-life stress was examined using the Student-Life Stress Inventory (SLI) (Gadzella, 1991). Student-life stress was compared to levels of marital dedication (low, moderate, high) using the Relationship Scale (Stanley & Markman, 1992). Differences in student-life stress were examined between male and female students. In addition, differences in levels of marital dedication were examined between students and spouses. Levels of marital dedication were compared to a national sample of relatively happy and committed couples. Lastly, spouses ranked categories that have had the greatest impact upon them as spouse of students. Ninety married couples (180 participants) at four universities and one community college in the Southeast participated in the study. No statistically significant difference was found on the Student-life Stress Inventory (SLI) between male and female students. In the highly dedicated category, there was a statistically significant difference in levels of marital dedication between students and spouses. A greater proportion of spouses were more highly dedicated than students. No statistically significant difference in overall levels of marital dedication was found between spouses of male and female students. Male students were as equally dedicated to the national sample of males, whereas female students were less dedicated than the national sample of females. Lastly, male spouses scored higher than female spouses on every category concerning areas that have been most greatly impacted by being a spouse of a student. Though Recreation and Housework were highly ranked categories, the only category showing a significant difference was Sex. Husbands were more severely impacted in the Category of Sex than wives. Although previous research found marital dedication to be higher among females than males, this was not the case for student wives. This may suggest that student wives prioritize their academic studies while they are in school. Male spouses struggle with multiple demands while their wives are in school, calling for more attention to preclude the negative marital effects for male spouses.

The current study explored coping strategies toward the context of discovering a partner's sexual infidelity. There were two primary goals for the current study. First, the current study examined the gender and national differences in conflict styles toward the context of discovering a partner's sexual infidelity. Second, the current study examined the relationship between face concerns and commitment. There were national and gender differences on self-construal face concern, face-concern and conflict styles in the current study. The current findings also suggested that face concern is moderating the relationship between commitment and conflict styles. The limitation and future directions were discussed as well as the clinical implications in the current study. / Ph. D.

This study has examined organizational commitment among employees at a small office belonging to a larger auditing firm that is not part of the Big Four, and the role this commitment plays in the decision to stay or to resign. The industry is characterized by a high overall turnover rate, with a large portion of employees leaving within three years. This creates problems in the form of skill shortages, high workloads, and the risk of stress and burnout. Research indicates that engaged employees are more likely to stay with their employer, making it interesting to investigate how employees express their commitment. This has been done using organizational commitment theory and its components: affective, continuance, and normative commitment. By conducting five semi-structured interviews with employees, data for analysis was collected. The results show that the different components play different roles at different times, but it appears that affective commitment is the primary factor that makes them stay. The affective component is also something the employer can work to promote among employees through various activities, such as implementing a mentor and ensuring that employees develop and feel trusted by the organization, which this organization has managed well. Continuance and normative commitment seem to be more prominent according to different situations and individuals. / Detta arbete har undersökt organisatoriskt engagemang hos medarbetare på ett mindre kontor tillhörande en större revisionsbyrå som inte tillhör Big Four, och vilken roll detta engagemang har i beslutet att stanna kvar eller säga upp sig. Branschen präglas av en hög generell personalomsättning där en stor del av personalen slutar inom tre år. Det skapar problem i form av kompetensbrist, hög arbetsbelastning och risk för stress och utbrändhet. Det finns forskning som pekar på att engagerad personal stannar hos sin arbetsgivare i högre utsträckning, vilket gör det intressant att undersöka hur anställda uttrycker sitt engagemang. Detta har gjorts med hjälp av organisatorisk engagemangsteori och dess komponenter: affektivt, kontinuerligt och normativt engagemang. Genom att hålla fem stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda har underlag för analys insamlats. Resultatet visar att de olika komponenterna spelar olika roller vid olika tillfällen, men det framstår att det affektiva engagemanget är den främsta komponenten som får dem att stanna kvar. Den affektiva komponenten är även något arbetsgivaren kan arbeta för att främja hos medarbetare genom att bland annat implementera en handledare samt se till att medarbetarna utvecklas och känner ett förtroende från organisationen, vilket är något denna arbetsgivare har lyckats bra med. Det kontinuerliga och normativa engagemanget ter sig vara mer framträdande efter olika situationer och individer.

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Le travail doctoral concerne l’étude des dynamiques de changement en faveur de pratiques éco-citoyennes et liées à la mobilité via la communication numérique engageante. La question de recherche qui en découle relève de la définition des conditions et des modalités portant sur la possibilité de transposer les travaux fondateurs antérieurs consacrés à la communication engageante dans le cadre élargi d’interactions médiatées et médiatisées sur l’internet, en milieu naturel.Pour tenter de répondre à cette question, nous avons situé notre propos dans un cadre théorique et méthodologique ouvert en montrant les relations entre la communication engageante et d’autres perspectives relevant du lien, du rite d’interaction ; nous abordons également la problématisation du changement individuel et collectif. Nos travaux apportent une contribution à la réflexion concernant la relation entre information et communication. Sur le plan empirique, nous avons mené une recherche-action dans une Université du Sud de la France. Il s’agissait, dans le contexte d’un partenariat avec cette institution, d’amener des étudiants à s’inscrire sur un dispositif Web de mise en relation de covoitureurs potentiels. Nous avons mené deux expériences mobilisant le paradigme de la communication numérique engageante.Notre approche, replacée dans les problématiques et la méthode de la recherche-action, n’est pas exempte de limites, notamment liées à une validité interne modérée par certains éléments hors de notre contrôle : facteurs historiques, mortalité expérimentale, variables parasites…Tous ces éléments sont présentés, discutés, mis en perspective. / This doctoral work relates to the study of change dynamics in favor of eco-friendly practices and tied to mobility through digital binding communication. The research question that ensues concerns the definition of the terms and conditions about the possibility of incorporating previous work on digital binding communication in the broader context of mediated and mediatized interactions on the internet, in a natural environment.In order to try answering this question, we set our discussion on an open theoretical and methodological framework by showing the relationships between binding communication and other perspectives concerning links, interaction rituals, we also broach upon the problematization of individual and collective change. Our work provides a contribution to the debate on the relationship between information and communication. From an empirical standpoint, we conducted an action research at a southern French university. Our goal was within the context of a partnership with this institution, to encourage students to register to a Web device putting potential carpoolers in touch. We conducted two experiments mobilizing the digital binding communication paradigm.Our approach, put in the context of the set of problems and the action research method is not without flaws, especially insofar as its internal validity is weakened by elements beyond our control: historical factors, experimental mortality, confounding variables…All these elements are presented, discussed, put into perspective.