The thesis is an exploratory and descriptive study focusing on the emotional dimensions of collegial relationships in a primary school. The research is timely given the current pressures to develop cultures of collaboration and shared leadership in schools today. The study concentrates on the non-classroom work of teachers and investigates three particular areas of school life: the collegial practices of staff; the emotional milieu of teachers' work; and the contributions of members towards an emotionally healthy staff community. An interpretive tradition has been used in conducting the research, thus giving voice to the perceptions of research participants about their work. The research was conducted as an ethnographic case study. Data were gathered largely through participant observation and interviews. The researcher visited the school on a regular basis through the course of one school year, averaging over one day per week working in the school. Eighteen staff members were formally interviewed, the principal and assistant principal on several occasions. Extensive fieldnotes and interview transcripts were created and, aided by NVivo, a computer package for the analysis of non-statistical data, data were broken down into categories and resynthesised to bring to life a picture of the lived reality of collegiality for staff members in a primary school. The study adds to new knowledge in several important ways. First, it allows for a reconceptualisation of teachers' work. It shows how many different practices contribute to a collegial culture within a primary school and demonstrates how the social and emotional dimensions of collegiality are significant in the development of professional relationships. Second, the study develops an understanding of emotional labour for school personnel and contributes importantly to a broader picture of how emotional labour can be practiced, particularly for the sake of collegiality. It is posited that different kinds of emotional labour exist within the school setting, and that emotional labour in schools may be different from that in some other service organisations. The study explores bounded emotionality as a cultural practice among staff, suggesting that it allows expression of emotions about classroom work while at the same time constrains negative emotional displays so as to build and maintain community. The study suggests that the principles of bounded emotionality, as they operate within the primary school, present both benefits and burdens for a collegial staff, but may encourage an emotionally healthy workplace.

Professional operatic singing can be performed technically for practice and rehearsal, or with heightened emotion through intention to communicate with an audience. Previous studies of respiration in operatic singing have not taken into account the professional performer�s ability to differentiate at will between rehearsal and performance modes of singing. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the differences between singing �with intention to communicate� (as if performing) and singing �technically� (as if in rehearsal). The hypothesis is that this specified change of condition would change the respiratory patterns employed by the singers. Estimation of respiratory patterns was obtained using magnetometers. Performance singing was labelled �IC� (intention to communicate). Rehearsal singing was labelled �T� (technical) and also included �TL� (technical loud) and �TS� (technical soft). Each of the five singers performed two tasks (a free choice aria in Italian, and a set song). Only intra-subject analysis was used. One thousand and one breaths were analysed. These were then matched, so that only complete musical phrases (sung six times by the same singer) were compared with each other. Seven hundred and sixty-two matched phrases were analysed in this way. Measured variables were initiation lung volume (ILV), termination lung volume (TLV), the amount of lung volume expired (LVE), %VC released per second (Flow), the expiratory time (Te), and inspiratory time (Ti). Sound pressure level (SPL) was measured. This study also examined the ability of experienced listeners to distinguish between the T and IC performances from DAT recordings. Findings show that in comparison with T singing, IC singing used more air, with a greater percentage of vital capacity expired per second, but without a simple association with sound pressure level or expiratory time. Listeners were able to distinguish IC from T performances, demonstrating a perceived difference in the quality of the vocal output. These results demonstrate that performance intention to communicate, compared to rehearsal, results in a measurable difference in respiratory parameters, and therefore needs to be specified in future research.

<p>Preferential processing favouring threatening information has received increased attention because cognitive formulations have placed increased emphasis on its role as a key cognitive factor underlying vulnerability to and maintenance of anxiety disorders. The present dissertation comprises four empirical studies within the area of preferential processing. Two different outcome measures were used to index preferential processing of threat-related information: Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were used in Studies I, II, and III. The emotional Stroop task was used in Study IV. The main focus has been on preferential processing of threat-related information that occurs outside awareness, thus <i>preferential preattentive processing</i>. Study I investigated the role of traumatic combat experience with regard to preferential processing among UN soldiers following a presentation of threat-related pictures. Results indicated that soldiers with combat experience consistently reacted with lower SCRs compared to soldiers without combat experience. One issue addressed in the individual studies was the association between preferential preattentive processing and trait anxiety. Studies II, III, and IV showed that elevated levels of trait anxiety promote preferential preattentive processing of negatively valenced information, whereas elevated levels of social desirability generally prevent preferential preattentive processing of negatively valenced information. Study II highlighted the importance of including the social desirability factor when studying effects of trait anxiety on preferential processing. In addition, Studies III and IV explored the relationship between preferential processing and emotional vulnerability. The main findings support the notion of preferential preattentive processing of threat representing an underlying predisposition to heightened emotional vulnerability in response to stressful events.</p>

<p>In recent years, large efforts have been put on enhancing effectiveness in organizations. No resources are dispensable, and a dollar saved is a dollar earned. This is probably something that is rather easy to compute and control within the production sector. However, the service sector is another thing, how do we squeeze everything out of the resources in service organizations? This question caught our interest, and made us want to investigate the subject in the context of the airline business, and especially in its interaction with passengers.</p><p> </p><p>We have asked 100 respondents of their opinions of interaction with the airline when traveling by air – from the booking step to disembarking of the aircraft. The respondents were asked about what different attributes they thought were important in every step, and in relation how their real experience really was. By comparing these two factors, we can present the differences between desired and perceived levels of service quality, regarding the interaction with airlines.</p><p> </p><p>Six hypotheses were stated prior to our work. The results were rather expected, with a few exceptions. Our regression analysis told us that we could statistically verify almost everything we had assumed, but falsify parts of some hypotheses. For instance, friendliness in interaction is extremely appreciated throughout the entire process. How is that observed in reality and to who is that necessary? Read the study to find out.</p>

<p>The present study examines six young men’s, born in the 1980’s, experiences of their relationships with their fathers. The focus of the study lies on the son’s evaluations of their fathers’ influence on them, the men’s emotional language and the experience of the fathers’ presence versus absence. The relationship with the fathers and the fathers’ emotionality are also being discussed. The method used is semistructured interview. The interviews lasted circa 40 minutes. The results show that half of the men experienced their fathers as present during their childhoods and half, as absent. This shows a more present father than previous studies have shown. All the interviewed men feel that their fathers have influenced them in some way, either positively, negatively or both. This result differs from a previous study which shows a primarily negative influence of the father. A majority of the men experiences their fathers’ emotionality to be similar to the male stereotype. Anger is prominent, whereas sadness is a less prominet emotion of the fathers’. The results further showed that the men in the present study verbally expresses emotions mainly through distansing constructions.</p><p>Keywords: Fatherhood, Father Son relationship, men´s emotional language, men’s emotions</p>

No description available.

<p><p>When speaking about service encounters, one most often speaks about encounters in the private sector and about customers. This study explores the public sector and the service encounter between street-level bureaucrats and clients as opposed to the encounter between salesmen and customers. The focus lies on the conflicting demands that the bureaucrat is experiencing and how she handles the emotional labour that this conflict brings. The conflicting demands have been identified as commercial, bureaucratic and social, all of which are put into the context of the opposing demands of client and organisation.</p></p>

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.A. (Human Resource Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.