Student Number : 8710695F - MA dissertation - School of Arts - Faculty of Humanities / In this dissertation several instances of President Mbeki’s discourse are identified and shown to reveal an excessive attachment, or “passionate attachment” to ‘race’ as a marker of social and political identity. It is proposed that this is a pattern cutting across different (discursive) interventions by the President. The interventions examined include: Letters from the President, Mbeki’s Two Nations’ Theory, Black Economic Empowerment, African Renaissance, Nepad and HIV/AIDS. Several theorists have been referred to in order to begin putting together a conceptual theoretical framework with which to clarify and account for this emergent pattern. The conceptual framework adumbrated here and employed in the analysis of Mbeki’s discourse borrows heavily from Butler and Zizek in particular. The concept of “passionate attachment” comes from Butler and those of “rigid designator” and “social fantasy” from Zizek. Use is made of these theoretical references in order to start accounting for the compulsion that characterizes these discursive interventions which are always in some respect ‘inappropriate’ or in ‘excess’ of expectations. They also seem self enclosed and to play a very specific role in Mbeki’s discourse. It is in this connection that the concepts of “passionate attachment”, “fantasy” and “rigid designator” are deployed.

It has long been believed that passionate love wanes over time, whereas companionate love grows stronger with time. Using a sample of individuals in dating relationships who reported on their feelings of love for their partners up to 20 times over the course of several months, I tested whether passionate love and companionate love develop across the early months of romantic involvement in a manner consistent with theory. Additionally, I investigated whether certain developmental trajectories of both varieties of love are more predictive of relationship dissolution than others. To do this, I first examined the average trajectories of passionate and companionate love for those who stayed together with their partners and those who experienced a breakup, paying special attention to extraneous factors that were expected to influence the manner in which both varieties of love changed over time. The amount of time individuals knew their partners prior to becoming romantically involved, their feelings of the opposing variety of love, the extent to which individuals wanted to break up with their partners, their perceptions of their partners’ desire to break up, and gender all informed the ways in which love changed over time. Because it was expected that passionate love and companionate love would show substantial heterogeneity in their temporal trajectories, I then identified the prototypical patterns of development for passionate and companionate love. The results for passionate love revealed eight distinct linear trajectories, and six unique linear trajectories were identified for companionate love. For passionate love, individuals who experienced stable or declining levels of love were more likely to experience a breakup, but the connection between companionate love and relationship dissolution was less straightforward. Perhaps most importantly, passionate and companionate love interacted to predict the likelihood of dissolution, such that, to the extent that individuals who reported higher levels of passionate love also reported stronger feelings of companionate love, the lower their odds of dissolution. The current findings both complement and extend prior theoretical and empirical work on the developmental trajectories of passionate and companionate love and their connections to relationship dissolution. / text

Scholars historically have separated friendships and romantic relationships into two qualitatively distinct relationship categories. Contemporary research examining passionate friendships, however, has identified qualities within platonic relationships that appear to mimic characteristics typically associated with romantic relationships. Primary critiques of the existing passionate friendship literature include exclusively examining females, including samples that predominately identified as lesbian, bisexual or questioning, and research utilizing solely qualitative designs. The current study used a quantitative design to investigate 375 emerging adults' (18-26 years of age; 149 males, 226 females) friendship experiences. Specifically, four quasi-independent variables (i.e., biological sex, sexual orientation, gender-role orientation, and cross vs. same-sex dyads) were examined as factors associated with passionate friendship. Findings from this study indicated that both males and females experience passionate friendship, and that these experiences are not specific to individuals who identify as non-heterosexual. Additionally, results from this study shed light on the occurrence of passionate friendship experiences observed in both cross- and same-sex dyads. Characteristics of passionate friendships (e.g., levels of attachment, thought preoccupation, intensity of the relationship) were also examined using a newly created measure. Female participants and individuals whose closest friend was described a cross-sex friend scored higher on nearly every continuous scale of the designed measure. Additionally, sexual orientation and gender-role orientation yielded significant results on several of the identified subscales, with sexual-minority individuals and those who claimed androgynous or masculine gender-role orientation obtaining higher scores. Finally, predictability of passionate friendship occurrence was evaluated and indicated that passionate friendships may be predicted based on existing demographics or personality characteristics of an individual.

Little has been published regarding the experiences of seasoned MFTs who not only manage to survive the demands and pressures in the mental health field, but also thrive and find enjoyment in their work. This qualitative study, guided by a phenomenological perspective, provides a rich understanding of the experiences of seasoned MFTs who continue to remain joyous and passionate in their work. Six female peer-nominated therapists, with at least 15 years of clinical experience, from the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area participated in semi-structured interviews. Results from the interviews are organized around six themes: Portrait of passionate seasoned therapist; getting renewed by clinical work; managing spillover; sustaining balance; changing commitment to the profession; and advice to novice therapists. The findings are both consistent with, and add to the literature indicating that accumulated experience is a major resource for therapists and sustaining balance through the use of various self-care strategies is vital. Limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications of this study also discussed. / Master of Science

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:38:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Glaucia Valeria Pinheiro de Brida.pdf: 1065196 bytes, checksum: 746d7a48ae0f34ea8e0a02fac70f4004 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present psychoanalytical research aims to investigate the repercussions of incestuous sexual abuse engendered by the father on daughter s psychic constitution. This is a clinical research based on supervision of psychological treatment to people in situation of sexual violence. The theoretical reference that based this thesis is psychoanalysis, which settles that the incestuous sexual abuse of girls is linked to children sexual fantasies and with femininity structuring. Having observed passionate relationships in clinic cases of women who were victims of incest when children, the present work defends the thesis that incestuous sexual abuse engendered by the father promotes the establishment of the daughter s perversion. Such thesis is founded on Sigmund Freud s work on his theory concerning feminine psychic and perversion, and also on Piera Aulagnier s theory concerning historic reality and the desire and parents speech on dialectic of identification and self constitution, and on perversion and passionate relationships as manifestations of polymorphic potential. Two supervision clinic cases were examined and we conclude that incestuous sexual abuse engendered by the father during childhood perverts femininity through the girl s narcissistic disqualification as object of desire / A presente pesquisa psicanalítica objetiva investigar as repercussões do abuso sexual incestuoso praticado pelo pai sobre a constituição psíquica feminina. Trata-se de uma pesquisa clínica com base na supervisão de atendimento psicológico às pessoas em situação de violência sexual. O referencial teórico-metodológico que fundamenta esta tese é a psicanálise, segundo a qual o abuso sexual incestuoso da menina está imbricado com as fantasias sexuais infantis e com a estruturação da feminilidade. Ante a constatação de que na vida adulta mulheres vítimas de incesto na infância estabelecem com seus parceiros relações passionais, no presente trabalho defendo a tese de que as práticas incestuosas praticadas pelo pai na infância favorecem o estabelecimento da perversão na filha. Esta tese está fundamentada na obra de Sigmund Freud em suas teorizações acerca da constituição psíquica feminina e acerca da perversão, bem como nas teorizações de Piera Aulagnier sobre o desejo dos pais e a dialética identificatória na constituição do Eu e sobre a perversão e as relações passionais como manifestações da potencialidade polimorfa. Foram examinados dois casos clínicos de supervisão. Conclui-se que o abuso sexual incestuoso do pai na infância perverte a feminilidade por meio de uma desqualificação narcísica da menina como objeto de desejo

This study was designed to further understand passionate friendships in a sample of heterosexual and lesbian, bisexual, and questioning (LBQ) women. Previous research has established that LBQ women engage in same-sex passionate friendships (unusually intense friendships that are similar to romantic relationships but devoid of sexual intimacy), but no systematic classification system has been established to identify these relationships in a general sample of women. A new quantitative measure, the Passionate Friendship Survey, was developed to measure passionate friendship experiences in women across adolescence and young adulthood. Qualitative interviews were also conducted to understand the subjective experience of passionate friendships in heterosexual and LBQ women.

O objetivo desta tese é investigar a forma como crimes femininos em contexto de relações amorosas eram pensados entre 1890 a 1940 no Rio de Janeiro. Para tanto, foram pesquisados processos criminais abertos para apurar delitos femininos contra companheiros amorosos ou contra rivais. Além destes documentos, foi investigada a produção científica sobre crime feminino, realizada por psiquiatras, neurologistas, médico-legistas e juristas, profissionais que publicavam em revistas vinculadas aos campos jurídico e médico-legal. Esse percurso foi feito a fim de apreender como, nas produções eruditas, profissionais ligados aos campos jurídico e médico-legal conectavam o debate sobre crime e sobre o feminino. Através da pesquisa documental chegou-se a conclusão que esses criminologistas sexualizavam os crimes, procurando construir suportes científicos capazes de atestar a hipótese de que homens e mulheres, por serem diferentes, produziriam delitos distintos. Por meio das pesquisas em processos criminais, foi apreendido que o universo jurídico, no período pesquisado, tendia a absolver os crimes femininos em contextos de relações amorosas, considerando-os modalidades de delitos pouco danosos à sociedade. / The goal of this thesis is to investigate the aspect of how female crimes in the passionate relationship context, were thought of between the years of 1890 and 1940 in Rio de Janeiro. Therefore, opened criminal cases were observed to study female criminal offenses against their love mates or rivals. Besides these documents, the scientific enactment of female crimes were being investigated by psychiatrists, neurologists, forensic doctors and jurists, all professionals with articles published in alike forensic and jurist magazines. This course was taken with the purpose of learning how, on erudite productions, forensic and jurist professionals would deliberate about the connection between crime and female. Through a documented research they came to the conclusion these "criminologists" sexualized all crimes, looking to build scientific support, capable of vouching hypothetically that men and women, for their differences, would commit distinct felonies. During research of criminal lawsuits, it was learned a tendency to acquit female crimes in passionate relationships, considering them one modality of felony harmless to society

O objetivo desta tese é investigar a forma como crimes femininos em contexto de relações amorosas eram pensados entre 1890 a 1940 no Rio de Janeiro. Para tanto, foram pesquisados processos criminais abertos para apurar delitos femininos contra companheiros amorosos ou contra rivais. Além destes documentos, foi investigada a produção científica sobre crime feminino, realizada por psiquiatras, neurologistas, médico-legistas e juristas, profissionais que publicavam em revistas vinculadas aos campos jurídico e médico-legal. Esse percurso foi feito a fim de apreender como, nas produções eruditas, profissionais ligados aos campos jurídico e médico-legal conectavam o debate sobre crime e sobre o feminino. Através da pesquisa documental chegou-se a conclusão que esses criminologistas sexualizavam os crimes, procurando construir suportes científicos capazes de atestar a hipótese de que homens e mulheres, por serem diferentes, produziriam delitos distintos. Por meio das pesquisas em processos criminais, foi apreendido que o universo jurídico, no período pesquisado, tendia a absolver os crimes femininos em contextos de relações amorosas, considerando-os modalidades de delitos pouco danosos à sociedade. / The goal of this thesis is to investigate the aspect of how female crimes in the passionate relationship context, were thought of between the years of 1890 and 1940 in Rio de Janeiro. Therefore, opened criminal cases were observed to study female criminal offenses against their love mates or rivals. Besides these documents, the scientific enactment of female crimes were being investigated by psychiatrists, neurologists, forensic doctors and jurists, all professionals with articles published in alike forensic and jurist magazines. This course was taken with the purpose of learning how, on erudite productions, forensic and jurist professionals would deliberate about the connection between crime and female. Through a documented research they came to the conclusion these "criminologists" sexualized all crimes, looking to build scientific support, capable of vouching hypothetically that men and women, for their differences, would commit distinct felonies. During research of criminal lawsuits, it was learned a tendency to acquit female crimes in passionate relationships, considering them one modality of felony harmless to society

Le but principal de cette thèse est d'explorer le sentiment d'amour passionnel dans les relations romantiques. L'amour passionnel est définit comme « un état de désir intense à d'union avec un autre ». Ce construit est généralement considéré comme une expérience universelle fortement associée à l'attraction sexuelle et possédant un impact considérable sur les dimensions émotionnelles, cognitives et comportementales. Le but principal de cette thèse était d'apporter de nouveaux éléments montrant que les expériences subjectives de l'amour passionnel sont culturellement et contextuellement déterminées et qu'il existe néanmoins une certaine universalité des cognitions et comportements lorsque les personnes déclarent être amoureuses. De plus, nous avons étudié l'effet de l'amour passionnel sur les processus cognitifs. Au total, 1000 étudiants ont participé à 4 études différentes. Des sujets français et brésiliens ont répondu à l’Échelle d'Amour Passionnel (PLS) dans le but d'étudier leurs sentiments d'amour passionnel sur la base des composantes cognitive, émotionnelle et comportementale. Les représentations sociales de l'amour passionnel de ces mêmes groupes ont été explorées à partir d'analyses structurelles d'associations de mots. Les processus cognitifs de l'amour passionnel ont été testés dans une étude sur la relation entre l'amour passionnel et les expériences sensorielles et une étude sur l'effet de l'amour passionnel sur les productions créatives. Les résultats obtenus avec la PLS ont montré les mêmes propriétés psychométriques en France et au Brésil. Dans les deux cas, l'analyse factorielle a révélé une composante principale avec des consistances internes élevées. Les sujets qui ont déclaré être amoureux ont semblé aimer avec le même niveau de passion dans les deux cultures mais des différences de genre ont été retrouvées au Brésil. L'analyse des associations de mots a indiqué des différences contextuelles, culturelles et de genre. En ce qui concerne les processus cognitifs, l'amour passionnel a un effet positif sur l'attraction physique et l'expérience sensorielle mais nous n'avons pas trouvé de relation entre l'amour passionnel et la créativité (pensées divergentes et convergentes). Les résultats de ces différentes études sont présentés et discutés en s'appuyant sur les perspectives interculturelle, neuropsychologique et évolutionniste de l'amour romantique. L'amour passionnel peut être vécu de plusieurs façons mais ses manifestations sont universelles. Nous concluons que l'amour passionnel est principalement un phénomène biologique qui peut être influencé par la culture, assurant des reproductions réussies de notre espèce. / The main goal of this thesis is to explore the romantic feelings of passionate love widely defined as a state of longing with another. This construct is generally considered to be a universal experience strongly associated with sexual arousal and capable of having a strong effect in emotional, cognitive and behavioral dimensions. The main goal of this project is to provide further evidence about the contention that although subjective experiences of passionate love are culturally and contextually determinate, people all over the world present the same symptoms of passionate love with the same intensity when they consider being in love. Plus, the influences of passionate love on cognitive processes were tested in other studies. A total of 1000 college students participated in 4 different studies. The Passionate Love Scale (PLS) was administrated on Brazilian and French subjects in order to explore their evaluation of passionate love through cognitive, emotional and behavioral components. The social representations of these same groups about passionate love were explored with a structural analysis of word associations. Cognitive processes were tested through one study about the relationship between passionate love and sensory experience and another one about the effect of passionate love in creative productions. The results found with the PLS indicated the same psychometric properties in France and in Brazil. In both cases, the factorial analysis indicated one stronger dimension with high internal consistencies. Subjects in love seemed to love with equal passion in both cultures but gender differences were found in Brazil. The analysis of the word association revealed contextual, cultural and gender differences. Passionate love had a positive effect in low cognitive processes (physical attraction and sensory experience) but no effect in high cognitive tasks (divergent and convergent thinking). The results of these different studies are presented and discussed in the light of cross-cultural, neuropsychological and evolutionary perspectives on romantic love. Passionate love might be experienced in a number of ways but its manifestation is universally the same. It is concluded that passionate love might be mainly a biological phenomenon with minor cultural variations directed to insure reproductive success in our species.

Work structures our daily experiences across all spheres of life, including what we do outside of work. But our theories of work have largely sidestepped a deeper probe into the significance of leisure. This dissertation explores the process and consequences of turning leisure into labor. At the intersection of sport, technology, and entertainment, esports has created a market for professional gamers— those who make a living playing video games. My qualitative study draws on interviews with 75 esports professionals alongside digital ethnographic practices. Video gaming begins as a hobby, a self-driven pursuit undertaken purely for fun. Competitive gamers who take their play seriously find themselves not just playing but training with purpose and discipline. Professional gaming is more than a job; it is an immersive lifestyle that demands arduous work in exchange for fun. But in in getting paid to play, professional gamers enter an uncertain, unstable, short-lived career, with long demanding hours, limited future prospects, and sometimes little to no pay. In the end, some gamers choose to stay, some leave, while others push past the fun. The professionalization and commodification of professional gaming offers a unique take on the boundaries of work, and the meaning and value of our time, effort, skills, and selves. This dissertation presents two papers tracing the career arc of a professional gamer: becoming, being, and retiring. In the first paper I ask: what are the structures and practices of creating and sustaining consent to work? I examine consent through two perspectives: consent at work—high effort and productivity— and consent to work—opting into and staying committed to work itself. The second paper investigates how people balance their intrinsic motivations to work—passion, fulfillment, excitement—with the constraints of work—routine, obligations, necessity— and how this negotiation shapes their career paths. / 2026-05-21T00:00:00Z