In Canada, one in five women can now expect to deliver their baby by caesarean section. For some women, this method of delivery creates little concern, but for others, birth by caesarean causes emotional trauma that can last for years. Childbirth was historically regarded as a natural event and was undertaken with little assistance from health professionals. However, with urbanization and medical advancements, childbirth soon became a medically managed process. During the Women's Health Movement of the 1970's, women reacted to the medicalization of birth by calling attention to the emotional reactions of women following childbirth, with particular attention paid to deliveries by caesarean section. This paper discusses interviews with five women who sought the assistance of a community support and awareness group following a negative emotional response to an unplanned caesarean section. Qualitative research methods were used in order to capture the participants' unique experiences during and after childbirth. The women described feelings of fear, failure, disappointment, and loss of control. They perceived that the medical staff was generally uncaring and dismissive of their concerns. Each participant felt that the support group was instrumental in helping them to recover from the trauma of their birth experience, but also reported that they would have appreciated the opportunity to speak with a social worker following the birth. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

The effects of intensity of the unconditioned stimulus (US) on the acquisition and extinction of the conditioned emotional response (CER) in rats were investigated. The US intensities studied were 0.28, 0.49, 0.85, 1.55, and 2.91 ma. Both acquisition and extinction of the CER were found to be monotonic functions of US intensity, with the higher US intensities producing more rapid acquisition and more resistance to extinction. The lowest shock intensity failed to produce suppression. The 0.49 ma. subjects typically showed a partial recovery of normal operant behavior after development of a fairly profound CER. The results were interpreted as consistent with the supposition that the CER is acquired in accordance with Pavlovian laws of classical conditioning. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

TESTIMONIALS, a novella and other stories, is set within the Bay Area — deep in the districts long removed from the municipal budget — and delves into the lives of men, women, and adolescents longing for acknowledgment, reinvention, and peace amongst the many spirits, past and present. In ‘Yard Range,’ a woman finds a surrogate in her Senator’s child and wonders what it would take to change one man’s vote. ‘Body Known’ follows a masseuse treating clients whose bodies archive stories, songs, jokes, and confessions. In ‘Height Marks,’ an elder passes on survival tips to a nephew ostracized from the family. ‘Spirit Per Capita’ chronicles one woman's desperate search for the woman who changed her life. In ‘Autofiction,’ a man must negotiate the cruelest of requests: tell us a story. And in the novella ‘The Snow,’ a child and a night janitor navigate the worst summer camp in San Francisco, where strange messes happen overnight, and where words must be stolen. Utilizing first, second, and collective narrations, these stories explore lives not defined by victimhood or race but by irretrievable and fleeting choices, unforgivable compromises, and loyalty to one’s people and one’s self. Here, history doesn’t repeat: it echoes, couplets, and yearns for you.

Kindergarten school readiness and the phenomenon of students entering kindergarten without the necessary personal and social skills they need to be successful in kindergarten was explored in this qualitative study. How this phenomenon impacts the school setting, including administrative support systems and classroom instructional practices implemented by kindergarten teachers, was explored. Elementary principals and kindergarten teachers who experienced this phenomenon were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Official documents relating to the phenomenon being studied were collected and analyzed to provide for triangulation of the data. Findings of this study provide insights into current classroom practices that are currently being implemented to solve the problem of students' personal and social skill deficits. Findings will assist division level leaders, elementary principals and kindergarten teachers to guide and shape classroom practices designed for enhancing and improving students' personal and social skills. Findings report what current resources are being used by kindergarten teachers to provide personal and social skill instruction and how teachers' instructional practices in this domain are being guided and directed by administrators. Division level leaders and school level leaders are provided with information about instructional practices for improving kindergarten students' personal and social skills. Findings of the study show how elementary principals' and kindergarten teachers' beliefs about kindergarten students' personal and social skill development are aligned to the Virginia Department of Education's Foundation Blocks for Early Learning for certain skills and how they are not aligned for other skills. / Ph. D.

Increasing physical activity and adopting a healthy diet have the goal to enhance consumer welfare. The goal of this set of studies is to contribute to a research agenda that tries to support and enhance the life of consumers, through the exploration of emotional intelligence as a new possible avenue of research related to consumer behavior and health. Four studies are proposed that look at the possibility to introduce emotional intelligence in decision making and performance related to health (i.e. adoption and maintenance of a healthy diet/weight). The findings suggest the salient role of emotional reasoning (i.e. understanding and regulation of emotions) on decision making and performance related to health. Training on emotional intelligence and health seems to activate mechanisms that help people to use their knowledge in the right direction in order to make better decisions and improve performance related to health (i.e. adoption/maintenance of healthy diet/weight). / Ph. D.

A recent focus on understanding emotions in organizations has resulted in increased attention to the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI). Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a type of intelligence that helps individuals to perceive, assimilate, understand, and manage emotions (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). The aim of this study is to understand the role of EI on individual attitudinal and performance outcomes. Specifically, this paper argues that EI may be an important determinant of employee job satisfaction, turnover intention, and performance. Further, these effects are expected to be most pronounced in job functions with higher emotional requirements. Data collected from 278 law enforcement and healthcare employees provide no support for these propositions. These findings, their implications, and potential future studies are discussed. / Ph. D.

Relationships in which one partner is transgender are disproportionately challenging compared to other LGBQ+ relationships (Gamarel et al., 2014; Pulice-Farrow et al., 2017). While research has yet to examine how transgender-cisgender couples experience emotional intimacy, it is theorized that this process may be critical for relationship health during gender transition. This study explored how transgender-cisgender couples experience emotional intimacy during their transition process. Symbolic interactionism was used to examine the questions: (1) How do perceptions of couple emotional intimacy influence how each partner assigns meaning to their experiences with transitioning? and (2) How do partners communicate about their emotional experiences during their transition process? Constructivist grounded theory was used to analyze individual interviews with 20 transgender and cisgender participants (ten couples) using group-level analysis. The process model that emerged from the data indicated that transgender and cisgender partners experienced emotional tensions internally and within their relationships as they created meaning from their experiences with transitioning. Tensions created pathways for partners to emotionally withdraw from or engage in communication about their experiences. Communication processes ebbed and flowed as partners created meaning for their relationship in transition. When couples engaged in communication, they created shared meaning about their experiences and strengthened emotional intimacy. Data revealed that these processes of building and sustaining emotional intimacy were interactional and iterative. Recommendations for research and clinical work with these couples are provided, in light of these findings. / Doctor of Philosophy / Relationships in which one partner is transgender are particularly challenging compared to other LGBQ+ relationships (Gamarel et al., 2014; Pulice-Farrow et al., 2017). Research has yet to examine how transgender (a person whose gender identity does not align with their assigned sex at birth) and cisgender (a person whose gender identity aligns with their assigned sex at birth) intimate partners experience emotional intimacy. However, emotional intimacy may be critical for relationship health during transition (a person's process of developing a gender expression that matches their gender identity). This study explored how transgender-cisgender couples experience emotional intimacy during their transition process. I explored how each partner emotionally experienced their relationship during transition and how partners communicated about their emotional experiences during their transition process. I analyzed individual interviews with 20 transgender and cisgender participants (ten couples) (Charmaz, 2006). The findings revealed that both transgender and cisgender partners experienced emotional tensions within themselves and within their relationships as they created meaning from their experiences with transitioning. While experiencing tensions, partners chose to either engage or withdraw from communication. Communication ebbed and flowed as partners created meaning for their relationship as they transitioned. Efforts to communicate brought couples closer and strengthened emotional intimacy. Recommendations for research and clinical work with these couples are provided.

The focus of this research is to examine the impact of emotional intelligence on consumer decision making. Several research goals are presented: 1) to develop and test a practical domain-specific scale of emotional ability, 2) to identify the influence of emotional ability on behavioral individual and group level performance in a consumer context, 3) and to identify how performance is further influenced by cognitive ability, cognitive and emotional confidence and calibration between perceived (i.e., confidence) and actual ability. Three studies were conducted to meet these goals. Study 1 involved the development and validation of a consumer emotional ability scale (CEAS), based on four underlying emotional abilities (i.e., perceiving, facilitating, understanding, managing). This instrument allowed for further examination of how emotional intelligence affected performance among consumer relationships. A proposed conceptual model was examined in an individual (study 2) and small group (study 3) context using the CEAS scale, along with additional items to assess the influence of cognitive ability, cognitive and emotional confidence, and calibration on performance in the consumer domain of healthy food choices. / Ph. D.

Although emotional maltreatment is clearly a very important issue that impedes youths' development, it has only recently begun to receive the attention it deserves. The present study hypothesized that for adolescents with high self-worth, high religiosity, high parent and peer support, high family cohesion, and low family conflict the negative effects of emotional abuse on internalizing symptomatology would attenuate. Additionally, the same protective factors were hypothesized to moderate the relationship between emotional and physical abuse and adolescent internalizing symptomatology. Two samples were used in order to test the aforementioned hypotheses: 1) a whole sample that consisted of adolescents with no or any emotional and physical abuse (N = 220) and 2) a no physical abuse sample that consisted of adolescents with no or any emotional abuse (N = 118). In order to assess the study variables the following measures were used: Conflict Tactics Scale-PC, Self-Perception Profile, Youth Religiosity Scale, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, Family Environment Scale, and Youth Self Report. None of the study's hypotheses were supported by the current data. It is assumed that this might be due to the sample's nature and it is suggested that future studies utilize a sample with different age groups and with higher reports (means) of emotional and physical abuse. However, the findings suggested that emotional abuse had a stronger effect on internalizing symptomatology than physical abuse, and the significant main effects of self-worth, parent support, peer support, and family cohesion indicated the importance of their presence in adolescents' psychological adjustment. / Ph. D.

In the construction industry, the major project participants include the owner, the architect, the contractor and the subcontractors. Traditionally, each participant's activity in the construction process has been isolated to its particular organization's goals. In recent years, one of the leading trends of project deliveries has been a movement toward a more collaborative, teaming environment. Successful collaboration requires effective interaction among project participants. A fundamental understanding of barriers and challenges to effective interaction among a diverse project team is necessary towards creating truly collaborative project teams in construction. Emotional intelligence reflects an individual's emotional awareness and emotional regulation, both important factors of social interaction. An initial understanding of the project participant's emotional intelligence would provide meaningful direction for the construction industry in regards where improvements should be focused. As such, the present research study investigates the 21 components of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) within the construction industry. This investigation creates an emotional intelligence yardstick by which to measure and compare future research. This study also explores several trends and relationships within this benchmarking in regards to demographics and General Contractor characteristics. In addition, this current research explores the General Contracting sector's perception of other A/E/C industry sectors. This research study adds to the already growing research that is focusing on the impact of social factors on the success of the A/E/C industry. The results of this study provide a meaningful initial understanding of the emotional intelligence levels of the General Contracting sector. This initial understanding provides academia and industry with several key findings and directions for future research. / Master of Science