This study examines the theory of social presence and its relevancy to distance learning. Short, William, and Christie (1976) originally designed social presence to evaluate the difference between types of dyads (one-to-one interactions) and the quality of the communication media used for those interactions (Rafaeli, 1988; Rice, 1984; Walther, 1992). However, the theory of social presence was not design to explain mediated communication between multiple individuals. Although studies have investigated the effects of social presence in computer-mediated conferencing, little field research exist on the importance of social presence with multiple individuals communicating together within a Web-based instructional program. Moreover, it is evident from the body of literature that a universal meaning of social presence is lacking. For this reason, social presence in this study referred to the degree to which adult learners perceived that they had established some form of rapport with members of an online community. This includes interactions with other learners and support personnel (i.e., faculty, staff, technical support, graders, etc.). Social presence has emerged as an important social factor in the field of distance learning (Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997; Rourke, Anderson, Garrison, & Archer, 1999). Recent field studies emphasize the importance of examining social and psychological factors that affect student satisfaction, impact learning, and influences the way people communicate in distance learning environments (Blocher, 1997; Gunawardena, 1995, Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997; Hackman, 1990, 1996; Hiltz, 1997; Rourke, 1999; Walther, 1992). Researchers in the fields of education and human interpersonal communication have identified "interactivity" (i.e., interaction), "intimacy," and "immediacy" as attributes that enhance social presence (Christophel, 1990; Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997; McIsaac & Gunawardena, 1996; Mehrabian, 1989; Moore, 1989b; Short et al., 1976). Although social presence has been characterized as an important construct in distance learning (McIsaac & Gunawardena, 1996), little existing field research describes the value adult learners place on it, and whether it affects their satisfaction within a mediated learning environment. This descriptive study examined the adult distance learners' perceived value of social presence (based on interactions, intimacy, and immediacy), in addition to whether it existed within an asynchronous Web-based instructional program. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the complex process adults traverse in their passage through divorce and in their establishment of post-divorce intimate relationships. The goal of this work was to describe how adults interpret their divorce experience, particularly in terms of how it connects with their ideas about intimacy and post-divorce intimate relationships. Four theoretical frameworks guided this study. Social constructionism provided a framework for understanding that reaction to a divorce may be impacted by language, in terms of the explanations an individual makes, by social interchange with others, and by the cultural meanings of marriage and divorce that have influenced a person’s thinking and perceptions. Attribution theory contributed a systematic approach to understanding how people may construe their divorce in ways that may damage trust, promote a sense of mastery and optimism regarding future relationships, or encourage creative change. Attachment theory provided a conceptual basis for examining the interplay between stability and change in adult conceptualizations of intimate relationships, processes that underlie how adults cope with changing interpersonal situations. Finally, theories of loss and renewal offered a conceptual basis for understanding how reactions to loss evolve over time, and enter post-divorce relationships. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 21 divorced men and women. Analysis of data was guided by the research questions and structured by a phenomenological approach to the analysis of themes and variations of themes found in the interviews. Peer review and triangulation of data were used to ensure trustworthiness in the findings. This study contributes new understandings about the connection between divorce experiences and post-divorce intimacy. Three conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, data analysis revealed divorce served consistently as a catalyst for interpretation and personal growth. An important component of this interpretive endeavor was the social context within which divorce occurred. Because divorce still carries some stigma in our society, divorce provided a challenge to create positive meanings from this experience. Second, the idiosyncratic understandings developed through the interpretive process shaped adults’ post-divorce perceptions and experiences in intimate relationships. From the attributions made regarding causes of divorce, these adults claim to have made deliberate changes in communication patterns, interactions, attitudes, and expectations from self and partner in intimate relationships. Third, during this process, some fundamental shifts in mental representations occurred. Changes were linked to gender, with women viewing themselves as more assertive in relationships, and men viewing themselves as more egalitarian and responsible for relationship maintenance. / Ph. D.

The major purpose of this study was to test Erik Erikson's epigenetic concept that the achievement of a reasonable sense of ego identity during adolescence is a prerequisite to the establishment of intimate relationships in adulthood. The sample consisted of 400 couples. Their names were drawn from a population of 1600 names which had been compiled from twelve church directories. The adjusted sample was 378 couples of which 88 chose to participate by returning completed questionnaires. The participants were typically white, well educated, well employed, in first marriages and fairly consistent in religious attendance. The project questionnaire was completed by both marital partners. It consisted of two scales and demographic questions. The Ego Identity Scale as developed by Rasmussen (1961) was used to measure the degree of identity obtained by all participants. The Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships as developed by Olson and Schaefer (1981) was used to measure the degree of perceived intimacy on five dimensions within dyadic relationships. The hypotheses tested were designed to examine Erikson's epigenetic theory. Briefly, it was hypothesized that (1) spouses would have similar levels of ego identity development; (2) the identity of one spouse would be related to the intimacy of the other; (3) an individual's ego identity would be related to his/her achieved intimacy; and (4) demographic variables would not be found to influence ego identity. Husband and wife models were also compared. The ego identity scores of spouses were found to be related; no relationship was found between the ego identity of one spouse and the perceived intimacy of the mate; a significant relationship was found to exist between an individual's degree of ego identity development and his/her perceived level of intimacy across five intimacy dimensions; and demographic variables were not found to influence ego identity development. Interesting similarities and differences were found between husband and wife models. Generally, results reinforced Erikson's epigenetic concept. Further research was suggested to differentiate between male and female models and to assess the effectiveness of various therapeutic interventions by levels of couple identity development. / Ph. D.

Yes / Over half a million people aged 65+ live in care homes (ONS 2011). Yet, sex, sexuality and intimacy and old people remain overlooked in social policy and professional practice (Hafford-Letchfield 2008). We explore narratives from a feasibility study based in Northwest England that consulted on the significance of researching sexuality and intimacy. We draw on narratives generated with two focus groups of professional carers (n = 16) and interviews with three residents, (two male and one female) and four female spouses (n = 7). All three types of stakeholders expressed concern about privacy and environmental impediments to intimacy (e.g. shortage of double rooms). However, distinct concerns were expressed by each group. Residents’ expressed scepticism that the topic was ‘too personal’, that old people were post-sexual or that sex/intimacy were part of range of needs and could be eclipsed by those relating to grand-parenting, avoiding isolation and personalization of care. Spouses emphasized the importance of intimacy over sex/sexuality as an indicator of the depth and longevity of a relationship but were concerned about unmet needs and loss of influence over their partners’ care. Obliged to meet a complex of legal, professional, ethical and interpersonal obligations, care staff articulated a need for guidance to help them support residents and their significant others. We conclude with practical recommendations that address barriers to enabling intimacy.

The loss of intimacy is a pervasive tale, felt especially poignantly when the particular story, with its plot lines of love and betrayal, soaked as they are in rage and grief, is my own. By inverting the research process, whereby I call upon friends, and strangers who become friends, to assist me in the meaning-making process, this autoethnographic account of the twenty year downward spiral of my now defunct marriage makes tangible the shared project of making sense of intimacy, love and loss. It connects the personal to the social, cultural, and (most especially) the politically gendered nature of heterosexual relationship experience. It speaks of the process that makes it possible for me to tell my story and of the ethical tensions involved in telling a story of

Background Relational intimacy is hypothesized to underlie the association between female sexual functioning and various sexual outcomes, and married women and women with sexual dysfunction have been generally absent from prior studies investigating these associations, thus restricting generalizability. Aim To investigate whether relational intimacy mediates sexual outcomes (sexual satisfaction, coital frequency, and sexual distress) in a sample of married women with and without impaired sexual functioning presenting in clinical settings. Methods Using a cross-sectional design, 64 heterosexual married women with (n = 44) and without (n = 20) impaired sexual functioning completed a battery of validated measurements assessing relational intimacy, sexual dysfunction, sexual frequency, satisfaction, and distress. Intimacy measurements were combined using latent factor scores before analysis. Bias-corrected mediation models of the indirect effect were used to test mediation effects. Moderated mediation models examined whether indirect effects were influenced by age and marital duration. Outcomes Patients completed the Female Sexual Function Index, the Couple's Satisfaction Index, the Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women, the Inclusion of the Other in the Self Scale, and the Miller Social Intimacy Test. Results Mediation models showed that impaired sexual functioning is associated with all sexual outcomes directly and indirectly through relational intimacy. Results were predominantly independent of age and marital duration. Clinical Implications Findings have important treatment implications for modifying interventions to focus on enhancing relational intimacy to improve the sexual functioning of women with impaired sexual functioning. Strengths and Limitations The importance of the role relational intimacy plays in broad sexual outcomes of women with impaired sexual functioning is supported in clinically referred and married women. Latent factor scores to improve estimation of study constructs and the use of contemporary mediation analysis also are strengths. The cross-sectional design precludes any causal conclusions and it is unknown whether the results generalize to male partners, partners within other relationship structures, and non-heterosexual couples. Conclusion Greater relational intimacy mitigates the adverse impact of impaired sexual functioning on sexual behavior and satisfaction in women. Witherow MP, Chandraiah S, Seals SR, et al. Relational Intimacy Mediates Sexual Outcomes Associated With Impaired Sexual Function: Examination in a Clinical Sample. J Sex Med 2017;14:843–851.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Intimate and satisfying relationships in adolescence are connected to mental health and well-being and have significant implications for adolescent psychosocial development. Despite the benefits of romantic involvement, research into adolescents’ experiences within their romantic relationships is limited. Few studies on adolescent intimacy experiences, especially those leading to conceptualizations of intimacy, have been undertaken. The majority of studies that have been conducted on adolescents’ intimacy experiences have been conducted in White, Euro-American, middle-class samples, using quantitative methodology and researchers’ definitions of the construct. In South Africa adolescent romantic relationships are often studied because of their links with pressing social issues, such as teenage pregnancy, intimate partner violence and risky sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS, rather than for the value of understanding the relationships themselves. The resultant negative constructions of adolescent romance in research literature serve to continue the narrow scope of inquiry into adolescent intimate relationships and also limit the ability of professionals and care-givers to respond to the relationship challenges of South African youth. The present study was aimed at addressing some of the limitations of previous research on adolescent romantic relationship experiences, with a particular focus on intimacy. Coloured adolescents from a low-income, semi-rural community in the Western Cape were selected as participants for the inquiry due to the overwhelming lack of knowledge about the constructions of intimacy in this group. Social constructionism was used as a theoretical framework to ground and inform the study. The research objective was to develop an understanding of the constructions and experiences of intimacy of middle adolescents within the specific target community. A social constructionist grounded theory method was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 young men and women. The social constructionist grounded theory analysis indicated that participants appeared to strive toward having ideal relationships as portrayed in the Western popular media. Participants’ constructions of intimacy centred on behaviour rather than on abstract, emotional experience, Their relationship experiences and behaviours reflected discourses of gendered romantic relationship interaction, with boys emphasizing commitment and girls focusing on “doing emotion work” as pathways to experiencing and expressing intimacy. The researcher raises the possibility that adolescent boy’s and girl’s striving toward ideal Western relationships, media and peer reinforcement of these ideal relationships and adolescents’ specific developmental cognitive limitations may limit their capacity for knowing themselves and their partners in their romantic relationships and contribute to inauthenticity in romantic relationships. As Western mainstream intimacy discourses stress the importance of self and partner knowledge, as well as authenticity in romantic relationships, these discourses therefore make it difficult to recognize and validate adolescents’ intimacy experiences. In fact these discourses imply that adolescents have a limited ability to experience intimacy. The researcher argues that by situating intimacy in the context of behaviours rather than emotional experience, understandings of intimacy can move beyond the essentialist depictions of what is and is not intimate, thus allowing for a range of behaviours to count as intimate, broadening the possibilities for conceptualizing and acknowledging intimacy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Intieme en bevredigende verhoudings in adolessensie is verbind aan geestelike gesondheid en welsyn en het beduidende implikasies vir die adolessent se psigososiale ontwikkeling Ten spyte hiervan, is navorsingoor adolessentese ervaringsin hulromantiese verhoudingsbeperk. Minstudies ooradolessenteintimiteit, veral dié wat lei totbegrippevanintimiteit, isonderneem.Diemeerderheid van studiesooradolessente seintimiteitservaringsis uitgevoer inWit,Euro-Amerikaanse, middelklas steekproewe. In Suid-Afrika word adolessente se romantiese verhoudings dikwels bestudeervanweehul assosiasie met dreigende sosiale kwessies soos tienerswangerskappe, intieme maatgeweld, riskante seksuele gedrag en MIV/VIGS, eerder as vir die waarde van die begrip van die verhoudings self. Die gevolglike negatiewe konstruksies van adolessente se romantiese betrokkenheid dra by tot die beperkte fokus en omvang van ondersoekeoor adolessente se romantiese verhoudings, en ook die beperkte vermoë van professionele mense en versorgers om te reageer op die verhoudingsuitdagings van die Suid-Afrikaanse jeug te beperk. Die huidige studie was daarop gemik om van die beperkings van vorige navorsing oor adolessente se romantiese verhoudingservarings, met 'n besondere fokus op intimiteit, aan te spreek. Kleurling adolessente van 'n semi-landelike gemeenskap in die Wes Kaap is gekies as deelnemers as gevolg van die oorweldigende gebrek aan kennis oor die konstruksie van intimiteit in hierdie groep. ‘nSosiaal-konstruktionistiese raamwerk is gebruik om die studie te begrond en te rig. Die navorsingsdoelwit was om 'n begrip van die ervarings van intimiteit van middel-adolessente binne die spesifieke teikengemeenskap te ontwikkel. Hierdie doel is bereik deur gebruik te maak van 'n sosiaal-konstruksionistiese gegrondeteoriemetode.In-diepte onderhoude is gevoer met 20 adolessente mans en vrouens. Die sosiaal konstruktionistiese gegronde teorie analise het aangedui dat deelnemers se konstruksies van intimiteit gedrag eerder as emosionele ervaring in hul intimiteitsvertellings beklemtoon het. Hul verhouding ervarings en gedrag weerspieël diskoerse van geslagtelike romantiese verhoudinginteraksie met seuns wattoewyding en meisies wat die "doen van emosie werk" beklemtoon as roetes na intimiteit. Deelnemers blyk om te streef na ideale verhoudings soos uitgebeeld is in die Wes-populêre media, duer ‘n behoefte om in te pas en aanvaar te word deur hul eweknieë. Hierdie proses kan deelnemers lei om op te tree en hulle gedagtes oor romantiese verhoudings uit te spreek in ooreenstemming met wat algemeen aanvaar word binne hul portuurgroep, eerder as in die maniere wat hulle eie oortuigings, begrip en begeertes weerspieël. Hierdie proses lei tot 'n beperkte kennis en bewustheid van die self as' n romantiese vennoot sowel as 'n neiging tot onoutentieke grdrag in romantiese verhoudings. Hierdie beperkte self-bewustheid en onoutentieke gedrag inhibeer dan adolessente se vermoë om intimiteit te ervaar wanneer dit volgens die hoofstroom konstruksies daarvan beskou is. Die bevindinge dui op die behoefte aan die gebruik van breër definisies van intimiteit in die oorweging van adolessente romantiese verhoudings, die bou van alternatiewe diskoerse van intimiteit en‘n verhoging van leiding deur volwassenes ten opsigte vanadoloesente se romantiese verhoudings Sekere beperkings van die huidige navorsing het ook verwys na 'n behoefte aan meer navorsing oor die invloed van' n wyer kontekstuele faktore in adolessente se konstruksies van intimiteit.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigated the correlation between sexual beliefs, as well as the interpersonal perception of sexual beliefs within a marriage, and the dyadic adjustment and sexual satisfaction. Participants were 38 couples, married less than 10 years. Each participant completed the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Index of Sexual Satisfaction and the Sexual Irrationality Questionnaire. Each participant was also requested to complete the latter questionnaire as he/she would expect hislher partner to complete it. A significant relationship was found between sexual satisfaction and dyadic adjustment, as well as between spouses' sexual beliefs and their perceptions of their partners' sexual beliefs. No support was found for the hypotheses that the interpersonal perception of sexual beliefs would correlate with either sexual satisfaction or marital adjustment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie is die verband tussen seksuele kognisies, sowel as die interpersoonlike persepsie van seksuele kognisies binne huweliksverband, en huweliksaanpassing en seksuele satisfaksie nagegaan. Deelnemers aan die ondersoek was 38 pare wat korter as 10 jaar getroud was. Hulle het elkeen die Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Index of Sexual Satisfaction en die Sexual Irrationality Questionnaire voltooi. Elke deelnemer moes laasgenoemde vraelys ook voltooi soos hy/sy verwag het sy/haar huweliksmaat dit sou voltooi. 'n Beduidende verband is tussen seksuele satisfaksie en huweliksaanpassing gevind, asook tussen egliede se eie seksuele kognisies en hulle beoordelings van hulle huweliksmaats se seksuele kognisies. Geen ondersteuning kon in die hipotese gevind word aan die interpersoonlike persepsie van seksuele kognisies met óf seksuele satisfaksie óf huweliksaanpassing verband sou hou nie.

There is an ongoing change in our society within the fields of sexual relationships. Along with new experiences there is a need for a shifting Christian ethical and theological reflection. The first aim of the dissertation is to analyze four models of Christian sexual ethics, all with an ambition to be reconstructive towards more traditional sexual ethics. The second aim is to criticize the models and make constructive proposals to a Christian and feminist sexual ethics. The theoretical outlook of the study is feminist theology with inspiration from the work of Michel Foucault on sexuality and Anthony Giddens on relationship. Lisa Sowle Cahill provides and argues for a sexual ideal from a Catholic tradition. By observing the functions of the body she distinguishes an ideal of heterosexual and fertile sexual relationships in a context of equality. Margaret Farley, representing the second model, is with Cahill arguing for a feminist view. Farley though turns to the norm of justice and puts the questions of just relationship in the center of her sexual ethical reflection. The third model is from the work of the Anglican theologian Adrian Thatcher. He puts the love of Christ and a life for others in focus. Mark Jordan is the last model and is working with the Christian tradition from a queer perspective. The work and life of eros, together with sexual pleasure, is what should govern sexual relations. My main objections are the idea of an essence of sexuality and a supposed connection between the same essence of sexuality and norms for relationships. Instead I suggest a strategic understanding of sexuality, where the norm of right relationships should decide how sexuality should be understood. What I propose in the constructive part of the dissertation is that a person should be understood as both having authority and responsibility. What is of importance is to pay attention and criticize social structures that prevent people to act with authority and responsibility in their intimate affairs. From the norms of Margaret Farley, I draw the importance of commitment, making authority as well as responsibility possible within relationships.

Critical discourses on contemporary digital cinema tend to be either overtly negative, framed within a rhetoric of loss or disenfranchisement, or unilaterally positive, celebrating the user agency and freedom digital technologies enable. Both these conceptual positions are unhelpful because they either focus on what contemporary digital cinema fails to do or what it should do, without examining more closely how it actually functions. What is needed is a third, neutral approach which takes both sides into consideration but is also aware of their limitations and weaknesses. This thesis takes as its impetus Giles Deleuze’s suggestion that, just like the cinemas of the movement-image and the time-image before it, contemporary digital cinema needs a basic will to art – a new aesthetic principle, a new function of the image, a new politics, a new representational potential distinct from those that have come before it. The aim of this thesis is therefore to establish this will to art and explore its ramifications for and manifestations in contemporary digital cinema. Taking into consideration a variety of filmic texts from the 1980s to the present day which prominently feature diegetically recorded footage, as well as amateur film-making practices from the home movies of the 1960s to the video clips now uploaded to online media sharing platforms, the increasing relevance of home media in the reception of contemporary digital cinema, and most crucially the process of convergence inherent in digital media, this thesis argues that the will to art of contemporary digital cinema is intimacy.