Through the lenses of Social Identity Theory, this thesis endeavours to understand how perceptions of intergroup relations and in-group identifications affect the choice for different mobility strategies and forms of political participation among the second-generation Turkish migrants in the Netherlands. To this end, two political participation paths are specified: ethnic and mainstream. The former is defined as promoting ethnic group interests in the political arena while the latter is defined as participation in national Dutch politics. Perceptions of illegitimate and unstable status differences, of impermeable group boundaries, and of discriminatory intergroup relations are expected to contribute to the choice for collective mobility strategy and ethnic political participation mediated by Turkish identification. Conversely, legitimate, stable and permeable intergroup conditions are hypothesized to lead to the choice for individual mobility strategy and mainstream political participation through affecting Dutch identification. Three path models including perceptions of legitimacy, stability, permeability and discrimination as predictors, Dutch and Turkish identification as mediators, mobility strategies as both outcomes and mediators, and ethnic and mainstream political participation as outcomes were tested in a sample of 161 participants. Results generally confirmed the expectations except for the stability hypothesis. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.

There is a dearth of research focusing on fathering in families of color. The present study argues that ecological factors, especially SES and neighborhood quality, exert a strong influence on racial and ethnic differences in fathering role identity, which in turn affect fathering role performance. The primary goal of the present study is thus to investigate the impact of ecological factors on what it means to be a good father among African American (n = 308), Latino American (n = 598), Asian American (n = 580), and white fathers (n = 2813) by using a nationally representative sample from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), and to test identity theory by examining fathering identity as a primary determinant of fathering role performance. The core premise of identity theory is that society is the main source in shaping self (i.e., identity), and in turn, contributes to the way people behave (Stryker, 1968). The present study tested identity theory by examining the associations between domain-level psychological centralities and domain-specific fathering performances, and also to test whether effects of psychological centralities and contextual factors override those of race and ethnicity. Overall, the results from this study considerably buttressed identity theory. Consistent with the cultural-ecological model (Ogbu, 1981), which posits that ecological conditions shapes culture-specific socialization goals, racial and ethnic differences in the fathering psychological centrality were found because fathers in the same group historically share similar circumstances. However, the heterogeneity of the psychological centrality within each group was remarkable because their current conditions are vastly multifarious. Specifically, the lower their SES, the more likely that they believe that providing for their children is central to their identity as a father. In studying fathers of color, previous approaches often resulted in the unwitting spread of stereotypical images by contrasting minority fathers from at-risk population with middle-class white fathers, because such approaches failed to consider the effects of contextual factors on fathering and to include multiple forms of father involvement. The results from this study clearly show that racial and ethnic differences are subtle once contextual factors are taken into account. / text

In many Western societies grandparents take on the role of occasional or short-term care providers of their grandchildren. However, recent years have witnessed a significant increase, both in Australia and overseas, in the number of children being raised by their grandparents due to the inability of the children’s parents to effectively meet their parenting responsibilities.This study is an interpretive inquiry that seeks to understand the meanings grandparents attach to their experiences of the grandparent-as-parent role, rather than the traditional grandparent role. The study also investigates how assuming the non-traditional grandparent role has influenced the identity of grandparent caregivers. A narrative inquiry approach was employed to ‘hear the voices’ of 34 grandparents who were raising their grandchildren in NSW, Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with each of the participants and their narratives were subsequently analysed through the lens of identity theory.Findings from the study reveal that grandparents experience a significant degree of roleidentity conflict in their grandparent-as-parent role. The loss of their traditional grandparent role, together with the shift in commitment to the grandparent-as-parent role, has resulted in a ‘space of difference’ between the ‘ideal’ and the ‘real’ of being a grandparent. This ‘space of difference’ is made up of a series of binary experiences described as myth/reality, visible/invisible, deserving/undeserving, voice/silenced, included/excluded, which appear to have consequentially impacted grandparents’ selfesteem and self-verification processes. The study posits that grandparents lack adequate support, or doulia, resulting in a prevailing belief that their commitment to the grandparentas- parent role is not publicly acknowledged nor afforded the justice it deserves.The study concludes that both policy and practice in NSW have failed to recognise and address the complexity of experience, or the ‘space of difference’ occupied by grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, and provides a number of recommendations in response to the grandparent experiences narrated through this research.

In many Western societies grandparents take on the role of occasional or short-term care providers of their grandchildren. However, recent years have witnessed a significant increase, both in Australia and overseas, in the number of children being raised by their grandparents due to the inability of the children’s parents to effectively meet their parenting responsibilities.This study is an interpretive inquiry that seeks to understand the meanings grandparents attach to their experiences of the grandparent-as-parent role, rather than the traditional grandparent role. The study also investigates how assuming the non-traditional grandparent role has influenced the identity of grandparent caregivers. A narrative inquiry approach was employed to ‘hear the voices’ of 34 grandparents who were raising their grandchildren in NSW, Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with each of the participants and their narratives were subsequently analysed through the lens of identity theory.Findings from the study reveal that grandparents experience a significant degree of roleidentity conflict in their grandparent-as-parent role. The loss of their traditional grandparent role, together with the shift in commitment to the grandparent-as-parent role, has resulted in a ‘space of difference’ between the ‘ideal’ and the ‘real’ of being a grandparent. This ‘space of difference’ is made up of a series of binary experiences described as myth/reality, visible/invisible, deserving/undeserving, voice/silenced, included/excluded, which appear to have consequentially impacted grandparents’ selfesteem and self-verification processes. The study posits that grandparents lack adequate support, or doulia, resulting in a prevailing belief that their commitment to the grandparentas- parent role is not publicly acknowledged nor afforded the justice it deserves.The study concludes that both policy and practice in NSW have failed to recognise and address the complexity of experience, or the ‘space of difference’ occupied by grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, and provides a number of recommendations in response to the grandparent experiences narrated through this research.

Det övergripande syftet med studien var att studera hur terroristen, representerad av Anders Behring Breivik och Rakhmat Akilov, konstruerades i fyra svenska dagstidningar efter två händelser benämnda terrordåd: attentaten i Oslo och på Utøya 22 juli 2011, och lastbilsattacken i Stockholm 7 april 2017. Detta utifrån ett socialpsykologiskt och diskursanalytiskt perspektiv med den sociala identitetsteorin som ramverk och ingrupper och utgrupper i fokus. Resultatet visar att det förekom olika diskurser för de två gärningsmännen, där Breivik framställdes som en individ som är en målmedveten, kallblodig ensamvarg, medan Akilov definierades utifrån sina presumtiva grupptillhörigheter som en passiv och kollektiv främling som agerat på terrororganisationen IS initiativ. Breivik kan utifrån resultatet placeras i en ingrupp och Akilov i en utgrupp, vilket indikerar ett samhällsklimat där ”vi” ställs mot ”dom”, något som i sin tur kan påverka individens identitet och värderingar. / The purpose of this paper was to study how the terrorist, represented by Anders Behring Breivik and Rakhmat Akilov, was constructed in four Swedish newspapers after two terrorist attacks in Norway July 22, 2011, and in Sweden, April 7, 2017. The study takes on a social psychological and discourse analytic perspective, where the social identity theory with its ingroups and outgroups is central. The result shows that there were different discourses for the two offenders, where Breivik was portraied as an individual who is a purposeful cold-blooded loner, while Akilov was defined on the basis of his presumptive group affiliations as a passive and collective alien. Based on the results, Breivik can be placed in an ingroup and Akilov in an outgroup, which indicates a social climate where ”we” are set against ”them”, something that in turn can influence the individuals identity and values.

This study is an analysis of a three-phase study with twelve professional scientists and non-scientists (Phase One), one-hundred and twenty-three science and non-science university students (Phase Two) and thirty secondary school girls (Phase Three), to illustrate their ‘science lives’. I have used identity theories and transformational learning theory (TLT) to illustrate transformation or movement of learners towards, or away from, science. The understanding of these models and theories have led me to design a theoretical model of science identity (Sci-ID) that represents the global forces (GF) experienced by learners, the social agencies and agents (SA) that embody those forces, the transformational learning (TL) experiences (events, triggers and interventions) that shape personal meaning, and the inclinations and individual internal agency (IIA) that impact upon individuals’ subject and career choices. I have adopted semi-structured ‘narrative’ styled interviews, a descriptive questionnaire and science ‘intervention evaluation’ approaches from the three cohorts. The data generated has been analysed in several ways, including the use of synoptic analysis to construct individual stories about the participants, in third-person voice, from their responses. These stories and the broader, aggregated, thematic, outcomes have been used to examine the Sci-ID model. These outcomes stress three main themes related to the study (or not) of science, that include (i) progressive transformational learning and smooth transformation, (ii) progressive transformational learning and wavering transformation and (iii) reconstructive transformational learning and wavering transformation. These themes indicates that people in life accept and reject certain TL experiences that either ‘go with their IIA’ or ‘go against it’. The majority find their way, choose and select TL experiences exhibiting small or medium movement towards or away from science. However, very few people exhibit large movement accompanied by regressive TL experiences. This study also reveals the existence of two very broad kinds of people (i) people who demonstrate stable pro-science or anti science and (ii) ‘fluid’ people who populate the centre-ground between pro-science and anti-science people. The fluid group caught my attention because their IIA shows greater ambivalence and the impact of GF, SA, incorporating events, triggers and interventions appear to have more impact than on those with a more stable science identity. Therefore, through six science education-based interventions I was able to work with – and influence - more ‘fluid’ kinds of secondary school girls. I used a number of mini-transformative experiences that led them to gain appreciation of science-based education and possible future science careers.

An aging population results in retirement ages going up and the age difference between subordinates and managers growing bigger. Despite an extensive literature review on trust within organizations, we have not been able to identify studies related to the influence of age difference between managers and their subordinates. The main purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of age difference on trust in relationships between managers and subordinates, and more specifically how the age difference influences the trust in the relationship with their older subordinates. Our research question has been formulated as follows: How does age difference influence trust between young managers and their older subordinates? Despite studies on trust increasing in popularity over the last years, we identified a research gap since there is no previous studies addressing the influence of age difference on trust between managers and subordinates. Specifically, the influence of the age difference between young managers and older subordinates and the trust between them in their relationship. In order to fulfil the purpose of our thesis we have conducted a qualitative research, where we gathered qualitative data through the use of semi-structured interviews. These interviews were conducted in a Dutch multinational production company employing approximately 25.000 employees. By analysing the data we gathered through our semi-structured interviews and relating it to the theoretical framework we built up from pre-existing literature, we were able to answer our research question. As a theoretical foundation, we have used the key theories on trust: trust, factors of perceived trustworthiness, antecedent of trustworthy behaviour and employee-organisation relationship. The findings demonstrate that the age difference has influence on an individual’s behaviour, employee expectations and factors of trust. We found an influence of the age difference on benevolence as well as for ability. Young managers are perceived to have different values than older subordinates, resulting in an influence on integrity. Factors related to the social exchange influence trust in other ways as interpersonal relationships have been found to influence the age difference. Finally, the age difference does influence individuals and relational factors due to the expectations of young managers being perceived as strengthening trust with their subordinates. Our thesis has contributed to the theory of trust by gaining a deeper knowledge of the influence of age difference on trust between managers and their subordinates. Also we have opened up new areas for research concerning the influence of age difference on trust in other industries or reversed situations. Our thesis has provided management scholars and managers with a deeper understanding of trust in manager-subordinate relationships, providing young managers with theories on how to improve their relationships with their older subordinates.

Women leaders are grossly underrepresented in police and Army organizations and relevant research suggests that women face the most significant challenges in reaching leadership positions in male dominant organizations. Although there have been recent policy changes to increase opportunities for women in police and Army organizations, women are still barely represented in senior command and primary staff positions in police and Army organizations. When women are underrepresented, particularly at the most senior ranks, there are implications regarding cultural, structural, and attitudinal challenges that simply should not still exist in these organizations. Using qualitative methods, this study examined the experiences of women leaders, specifically senior leaders, in selected police departments and representative Army commands and staff support agencies. Specifically, the study explored the characteristics of effective women leaders to assess the perceived group affiliation of these leaders as it relates to these leadership characteristics and personal assessments of their leadership capabilities. The findings revealed that women leaders possess a multitude of characteristics that have set the conditions for them to break through the “Glass Ceiling” despite the many challenges and obstacles that exist within male dominant organizations. The findings indicate that women leaders in police and Army organizations are care-givers, selfless servants, over-achievers, and great communicators. They identify themselves by their performance and leadership acumen as opposed to their gender, race, or any other demographic descriptors. The findings also suggest that women leaders continue to be faced with challenges and obstacles that make it extremely difficult for them to become senior leaders and navigate up the chain of command within their organization, which impacts their ability to influence policy changes that could address some of these cultural, structural, and attitudinal challenges.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The purpose of this case study was to investigate how the Francophone students from Congo, Gabon and Cameroon negotiated competence and identities in English (L2) in and outside the classroom. The study also aimed at understanding the nature and extent of academic support that was made available to the Francophone students who had to learn through the medium of English (L2) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Through the lens of the sociocultural and poststructural theories, the study argues that identity construction in a second language is a fluid phenomenon which should be understood within a particular context, particularly in multilingual environments like UWC. The study followed a qualitative research design which involved three methods of data collection, namely, observations, semi-structured interviews and student narratives. A thematic analytical framework was used to understand the Francophone students’ experiences, and how they negotiated and (re)constructed competence and identity in English (L2) in the lecture rooms and in local communities. The findings of the study indicate that English (L2) was perceived as an investment by the Francophone students. They show that competence in English (L2) was a source of voice and agency for the students. They also illustrate that there is a close relationship between (second) language learning and identity construction, and that identity is socially constructed. The study concludes that identity construction is a fluid phenomenon which should be understood in relation to the changing social context, which is embedded in language competence.

Problem formulation: What factors affect the consumers perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media? How and why do certain factors affect the credibility of influencer marketing? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to understand what factors affect the perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media. Moreover, the aim is to understand how and why certain factors affect the credibility in influencer marketing in order to elaborate a conceptual model consisting of factors generating credible influencer marketing. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this paper consists of existing theories regarding social identity theory, perception, brand communication, word-of-mouth (WOM), celebrity endorsement and social influencers. Methodology: This study is conducted through both a quantitative and a qualitative study with a deductive approach. The collection of primary data consists of an online survey where 120 respondents participated followed by five qualitative interviews. In order to determine what aspects to examine, a conceptual model was created based on the previous findings within credibility in WOM and celebrity endorsement. The secondary data building the theoretical framework of this thesis are collected from peer reviewed articles published in scientific journals as well as books. Empirical findings: The empirical findings consist of the result from the qualitative and quantitative study. The result of the quantitative study presents the outcome from 24 Likert scale items presented in text, charts and tables. The empirical findings from the qualitative study presents the outcome from the interviews conducted through personal communication face to face or through Skype and are presented in text that are strengthened with citation from the interviews. Conclusion: The findings show that the credibility in influencer marketing is positively affected by the perception of the influencer being a credible source and the influencer and the brand being a good fit.