This thesis presents a qualitative analysis of organized amateur dance participation as an example of human group life. Organized amateur dance typically occurs within a studio or school setting and is differentiated from professional dance by the lack of monetary compensation provided to performers. Consequently, this thesis considers the dance studio as an arena for pursuing hobby-based interests and activities, as well as notions of providing entertainment as entertainment in and of itself. Using a symbolic interactionist theoretical perspective in conjunction with ethnographic methodology, this thesis analyzes the centrality of performance among amateur dance participants, related to group-based definitions of competitions and recitals as the most significant aspects of their dance involvements. By envisioning competitions and recitals as instances of coordinated activity, this thesis employs Prus’ (1997: 135) conceptual model for participating in collective events as a means of highlighting the processual quality characteristic of developing performance events. Further, this thesis uses Goffman’s (1959) conceptualization of team-based dynamics as a means of illustrating how meanings about the group, the activity at hand and the event being anticipated are created, negotiated and perpetuated in a group-based setting. Data obtained from the observation of dance groups as they prepared for and engaged in competitions and recitals as well as open-ended interviews with twenty members of the amateur dance community is used to illustrate the various stages of accomplishing performance events. This analysis begins with participant experiences in initiating events and becoming involved with them, followed by a discussion on how these groups prepare for, sustain and participate in performance events. While this thesis focuses predominantly on amateur dance involvements, it also provides a transcontextual analysis of the interactionist concept of the collective event, through comparisons with research conducted on groups based on activities other than dance. Through field data and these various comparisons, this thesis finds that working toward and participating in group-based ventures encourages the development of a team- based awareness and sense of purpose among the participants of a wide variety of activities. Because having a central focus and common awareness with regard to an activity is integral to the sustained commitments and involvements of participants, this thesis finds the interactionist notion of collective events to be a central feature of human lived experience.

This thesis presents a qualitative analysis of organized amateur dance participation as an example of human group life. Organized amateur dance typically occurs within a studio or school setting and is differentiated from professional dance by the lack of monetary compensation provided to performers. Consequently, this thesis considers the dance studio as an arena for pursuing hobby-based interests and activities, as well as notions of providing entertainment as entertainment in and of itself. Using a symbolic interactionist theoretical perspective in conjunction with ethnographic methodology, this thesis analyzes the centrality of performance among amateur dance participants, related to group-based definitions of competitions and recitals as the most significant aspects of their dance involvements. By envisioning competitions and recitals as instances of coordinated activity, this thesis employs Prus’ (1997: 135) conceptual model for participating in collective events as a means of highlighting the processual quality characteristic of developing performance events. Further, this thesis uses Goffman’s (1959) conceptualization of team-based dynamics as a means of illustrating how meanings about the group, the activity at hand and the event being anticipated are created, negotiated and perpetuated in a group-based setting. Data obtained from the observation of dance groups as they prepared for and engaged in competitions and recitals as well as open-ended interviews with twenty members of the amateur dance community is used to illustrate the various stages of accomplishing performance events. This analysis begins with participant experiences in initiating events and becoming involved with them, followed by a discussion on how these groups prepare for, sustain and participate in performance events. While this thesis focuses predominantly on amateur dance involvements, it also provides a transcontextual analysis of the interactionist concept of the collective event, through comparisons with research conducted on groups based on activities other than dance. Through field data and these various comparisons, this thesis finds that working toward and participating in group-based ventures encourages the development of a team- based awareness and sense of purpose among the participants of a wide variety of activities. Because having a central focus and common awareness with regard to an activity is integral to the sustained commitments and involvements of participants, this thesis finds the interactionist notion of collective events to be a central feature of human lived experience.

No description available.

This dissertation critically reviews prior labeling theory research concerning juvenile delinquency and adult criminality, and presents a structural equation model utilizing the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The labeling perspective is outlined as it was originally presented, and the theoretical elaborations that have taken place since are highlighted. Distinctions are made between formally applied criminal justice labels and the informal labels that are applied by significant others and parents. An interactionist labeling model that incorporates respondents’ levels of self-control is presented to explain formal labeling, levels of juvenile delinquency, and future criminality among a nationally representative sample of American adolescents: three waves of Add Health. The findings show that formal labeling was the strongest significant predictor of subsequent criminal involvement and that it mediated the effect of prior delinquency on subsequent criminal involvement.

This thesis critically reviews prior labeling theory research concerning juvenile delinquency and crime; it adds to current work by using contemporary data. Labeling events are described in detail to provide an overall understanding of where labels originate, who is casting the label, and what research suggests concerning different types of labels. An interactionist labeling model is tested to explain levels of juvenile delinquency among a nationally representative sample of American adolescents: the first three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Finally, negative binomial regression models are estimated in order to better explain the dynamic relationship between labels and delinquency.

No description available.

No description available.

Nos actions sont nécessairement influencées par notre appartenance à un certain nombre de milieux formels, organisés selon des règles bien connues. Ce sont elles qui rendent possibles les entreprises collectives, aussi diverses soient-elles, et qui entretiennent notre impression de permanence des sciences, de la politique, de la technique, du commerce, de la religion ou des arts : nos règles communes organisent notre vivre ensemble. Toutes nos organisations, pourtant, se trouvent plongées dans des circonstances où leur structure formelle, telle que perçue et répétée par leurs acteurs, est prise en défaut : ils parlent alors de crise, et c'est premièrement à une investigation des limites de la pertinence de cette dimension formelle du phénomène organisationnel qu'invite cette thèse. Nous avons rencontré à cette fin des gestionnaires de différentes organisations dont l'expérience concrète en situation de crise, recueillie et analysée en suivant les procédures d'une recherche qualitative selon la théorie enracinée de Strauss et Corbin (1990), nous a permis de préciser les circonstances, vécues comme intenses, conduisant les membres des organisations à déroger à la convention formelle, lorsqu'ils la perçoivent comme inadéquate. Le phénomène organisant ne semble alors plus dépendre que de la confiance entre ces individus réunis en situation, occupés à lui donner un sens pour y agir ensemble. Nous répondons ainsi à une problématique managériale faisant le constat de l'importance de la confiance entre les gestionnaires de crise des différentes organisations impliquées dans sa réponse, rassemblés pour agir ensemble. Nous en clarifions les raisons, et nous intégrons ce processus de retour à la confiance comme dernier rempart du phénomène organisant, au processus plus général de l'expérience de la crise par les gestionnaires. Outre les recommandations pratiques aux gestionnaires susceptibles de faire face à des situations de crise relativement à l'utilité de la règle formelle, cette recherche contribue à une meilleure connaissance théorique de la relation interpersonnelle de confiance, ici envisagée entre les gestionnaires de différentes organisations, en décrivant un processus de confiance influencé par leur expérience de l'intensité du contexte de la relation.

Thesis--Gothenburg. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-234).

Master of Science / Department of Communication Studies / William Schenck-Hamlin / Although some literature exists to describe the difference between Millennials and other generations in the workplace, I have developed my own ten steps that will help match what Millennials want from their bosses and workplace with what the company needs from them based on the research available and my own personal experience in a a workplace that did not cater to Millennials.