We live in a society where the individual is prioritised over the collective. Newspaper articles abound lamenting adolescents' lack of personal responsibility and social commentators are increasingly highlighting the need to recapture and interweave an agenda of personal responsibility into the social fabric. Personal responsibility has been defined as being accountable to oneself and the needs and well-being of others (Ruyter, 2002). Doherty (1998) has argued that there is an increasing trend in society to refuse accountability and to blame others for one's situation. Despite these assertions, there is little empirical research that has attempted to define and examine personal responsibility. This dissertation is about the role of personal responsibility in the lives of adolescents. The research program was divided into three studies utilising quantitative and qualitative research methods to answer four research questions. Study 1: How do adolescents and teachers understand 'personal responsibility?' Study 2: Can a quantitative questionnaire define and measure an adolescent's level of personal responsibility? Study 3: Can a program aimed at enhancing the personal responsibility level of adolescents be taught in a high school and demonstrate measurable effect? Is there a relationship between personal responsibility, emotional intelligence and self-esteem? Study 1 used focus groups to address research question 1. Four focus groups with a total of 20 Year 11 students, and two focus groups with a total of 10 teachers were conducted. The results revealed that key components of the personal responsibility variable were choices and consequences, behavioural control, thoughts and feelings, and consideration for others. This finding complemented the definition derived from the literature review. Additionally, the focus group data served to inform Study 2, the development of the Personal Responsibility Questionnaire and Study 3, the creation, implementation and evaluation of the Personal Responsibility Program. Study 2 involved examining appropriate literature, focus group data from Study 1, and related measures to create a quantitative measure assessing personal responsibility in adolescents. A 100-item measure was created and tested on more than 500 adolescents. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to determine a final 30-item Personal Responsibility Questionnaire with two factors (factor 1 - 'self control of emotion and thoughts' and factor 2 - 'self control of behaviour'). This measure was to serve in the evaluation of the Personal Responsibility Program. A fundamental aim of the study was to determine whether a Personal Responsibility Program could be implemented in a high school and demonstrate measurable effect. Study 3 involved the creation of the Personal Responsibility Program through examining other values-based education programs and the focus group data obtained in Study 1. Once created, the five-lesson program was implemented twice in one high school, with approximately half of the Year 11 students undertaking the first implementation (the experimental group), and the remaining Year 11 students completing the program during its second implementation (the control group). To assess whether the program had generated any changes in the adolescents' levels of personal responsibility, the Personal Responsibility Questionnaire developed in Study 2 was administered pre- and post-intervention to both the experimental and control groups. Additionally, the well-established constructs of emotional intelligence and self-esteem were assessed using the Emotional Intelligence Scale (Schutte et al., 1998) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) to determine potential relationships between these variables and to provide additional construct validity for the measure. The results from Study 3 revealed no significant findings on any variable at any time (pre- or post-intervention). Despite this finding, certain data trends were apparent between males and females across the experimental and control groups. Overall, females demonstrated slightly higher mean scores on emotional intelligence and personal responsibility than males, while males had slightly higher mean scores than females on self-esteem. In order to gather additional feedback about the program and the students' learning, qualitative data were gathered from the students and the teachers by completion of a feedback sheet at the end of each lesson and a teacher focus group interview after the first implementation of the Personal Responsibility Program. In relation to student learning, the qualitative data offered by the students showed that learning in the key areas targeted had occurred, with students reflecting on their growth and changing understandings about personal responsibility. With reference to the program, the students commented that the program was fun, interesting, relevant, valuable, and enabled them to learn new things about themselves. Feedback from the teachers highlighted that the students appeared to engage with the program, and that teaching it was rewarding. This research program has contributed to the literature by providing a theoretically and empirically derived definition of personal responsibility. The focus group process highlighted that personal responsibility could be understood and considered by adolescents due to the cognitive and moral sophistication that develops early in this developmental timeframe. Study 2 generated a Personal Responsibility Questionnaire that can be used to assess personal responsibility in adolescents, and Study 3 contributed a Personal Responsibility Program which has been developed from conceptual and empirical literature. The program was designed to be "teacher friendly' and allowed the schools to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback on the success of the program's implementation. As school administrators and teachers often lament the lack of personal responsibility in their students (Lickona, 1992), this program could be used to address this concern and put the issue of personal responsibility firmly on the agenda in high schools.

The purpose of the following is to study whether there are gender differences in the sense of personal responsibility during the coronavirus pandemic. By using quantitative data from Ipsos,various quantitative methods were used to study whether these potential differences can be explained by factors such as level of concern, risk perception, social trust, institutional trust, and political ideology. All analyses have been conducted while considering control variables such as age, education, and income to ensure transparent results. The findings from the survey have been analyzed using Yvonne Hirdman's theories, focusing on the "gender contract." The theoretical framework assumes that there are differences between men and women in their behavior during crises, since previous research has indicated such assumptions. The results of this study indicate that there in fact are gender differences in personal responsibility during the Covid-19 pandemic,which shows that worry, risk perception and ideology could be a part of the explanation of these differences.

The diploma thesis describes the concept of responsibility within the education of generation Z, born between the years of 1995-⁠2010. While considering some of the current social changes, the focus is on the responsibility of generation Z within modern education, specifically on responsibility within the relationship to oneself and society. The theoretical part of the thesis presents the conceptual outcomes of responsibility and its possible definitions. Furthermore, it analyses selected concepts of developmental theories, education styles and trends. The empirical part of the thesis presents semi-structured interviews with parents of generation Z. The aim of these interviews is a description of the constructs of responsibility within the education of generation Z, from the perspective of their primary carers.

Text in German / Friedrich Durrenmatt hat die meisten seiner Dramen als Komodien oder Tragikomodien bezeichnet, da er davon uberzeugt war, daB es unmoglich sei, in der heutigen Zeit noch Tragodien zu schreiben. Diese Arbeit versucht am Beispiel einiger dramatischer Werke Durrenmatts zu zeigen, daB der Autor der "Physiker", der "Panne" und anderer Stucke, vor allem des "Besuchs der alten Dame", in weit hoherem MaBe der griechischen Tragodie verpflichtet war, als er erkannte oder zugeben wollte / Friedrich Durrenmatt has described most of his dramas either as comedies or as bitter comedies for he firmly believed that it was not suitable to write tragedies in our modern times. This paper was written to prove with the help of a few examples that the author of "The Physicists", "The Puncture" and others especially "The Visit" - was more bound to the classical Greek form of tragedy than he recognized or admitted / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (German)

The "work first" philosophy of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act sent millions of people into the labor force, many for the first time. The result was a dramatic increase in the number of workers whose earnings failed to pull them and their families out of poverty. Assistance in the form of childcare, transportation, medical coverage, and the Earned Income Tax Credit is beginning to receive attention as support mechanisms for people who do not earn adequate wages and receive little benefits from their employers. This study examines the effectiveness of Georgia's approach to providing work support programs to its working poor citizens. No single entity is responsible for making work supports accessible. Thus, services often go underutilized because those who might qualify are not aware of their potential eligibility. Further, there is no state level strategy for ensuring that wage advancement is considered by agencies providing work support services. Using client administrative wage data from the Georgia Department of Labor and qualitative interviews from program staff, the state's structure for assisting the working poor is examined.

霸凌事件頻繁出現在各大報章雜誌，霸凌受害者在霸凌事件中經常處於權力不均等的地位，無法主動求援。借鏡西方之成功反霸凌計畫，發現霸凌事件中旁觀者的反應對於揭露、制止霸凌有相當之重要性。本研究將霸凌旁觀者區分為保護者以及局外者，過往研究發現兩者雖同為霸凌事件之旁觀者，然其行為結果卻有截然不同的影響。保護者行為的出現，可使學生對校園安全感受提高並有助於降低霸凌發生率，局外者行為則否。本研究參考Latané 與 Darley（1970）提出之旁觀者決策歷程模式等助人行為理論，推論學生對霸凌的態度、個人責任感，以及同儕團體規範會影響旁觀者的行為傾向，期望透過本研究了解國中學生旁觀霸凌事件的反應傾向，以及影響旁觀者行為之個人及同儕因素。 本研究採取實證典範之調查研究方法，研究樣本包和高雄市都會區國民中學421位學生，並且採用描述性統計、T檢定、單因子變異數分析以及多元迴歸等研究方法，依據受試者在「旁觀者行為」量表、霸凌「態度」量表、「個人責任感」量表以及「同儕團體規範」量表之得分進行統計分析。研究發現如下： 一、高雄市都會區國中學生，具有中度之保護者行為以及局外者行為傾向。 二、女性相較於男性較傾向出現保護者行為，對霸凌持較高的反對態度，且對「朋友」具有較高之個人責任感。 三、學生對「同學」之「個人責任感」受到「年級」所影響，「七年級」學生對於同學之個人責任感高於「八、九年級」學生。 四、學生對於「同學」之「個人責任感」以及「同儕團體規範」可以預測「保護者行為傾向」以及「局外者行為傾向」。 最後，依據本研究的結果提出實務建議與未來研究方向。 / Bullying is frequently reported in major newspapers and magazines. Bullying victims are usually in a disadvantaged position making them unable to call for help on their own. Successful anti-bullying programs in the west have found that bystanders hold an important role in the disclosure or cessation of bullying incidents. This study classified bystanders into defenders and outsiders. Although both are bystanders, defenders could increase a sense of security on campus and reduce the incidence of bullying. Outsiders, on the other hand, could not achieve such effect. Using Latané & Darley, s decision-tree model of bystander intervention, this study hypothesized that personal attitude and responsibility and peer group norm toward bullying would affect bystander behavior in the incidence of bullying. This study aimed to understand the way Taiwanese junior high students responded to bullying and factors that might affect bystander behavior. Using survey research method, data were collected from 421 junior high school students in Kaohsiung Metropolitan Area as samples using questionnaires, including bystander behavior scale, bullying attitude scale, personal responsibility scale, and peer group norms scale. Statistical methods, such as descriptive statistics、t-tests、one way ANOVAs, and multiple regressions, were used, and the results are reported in the following: 1.Junior high school students in Kaohsiung Metropolitan Area had above average scores in their behavioral tendency as defenders or outsiders in incidence of bullying. 2.Female tended to have more defender behavior than male did. Also, female tended to oppose bullying more strongly and showed more sense of personal responsibility if “a friend” was bullied. 3.“Seventh graders” showed stronger sense of personal responsibility than 8th and 9th graders. 4.The sense of personal responsibility if “a classmate” was bullied and peer group norm (peers tended to aid the victims) both predicted behavioral tendency as defenders and outsider. Implications and future directions were discussed.

Text in German / Friedrich Durrenmatt hat die meisten seiner Dramen als Komodien oder Tragikomodien bezeichnet, da er davon uberzeugt war, daB es unmoglich sei, in der heutigen Zeit noch Tragodien zu schreiben. Diese Arbeit versucht am Beispiel einiger dramatischer Werke Durrenmatts zu zeigen, daB der Autor der "Physiker", der "Panne" und anderer Stucke, vor allem des "Besuchs der alten Dame", in weit hoherem MaBe der griechischen Tragodie verpflichtet war, als er erkannte oder zugeben wollte / Friedrich Durrenmatt has described most of his dramas either as comedies or as bitter comedies for he firmly believed that it was not suitable to write tragedies in our modern times. This paper was written to prove with the help of a few examples that the author of "The Physicists", "The Puncture" and others especially "The Visit" - was more bound to the classical Greek form of tragedy than he recognized or admitted / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (German)

In this paper, Ursula K Le Guin’s 1968 fantasy novel, A Wizard of Earthsea will be investigated in two ways. First, through a thematic analysis of the primary antagonist through a deconstructive close-reading technique. Second, through a pedagogic analysis of the depiction of hegemonic masculinity in the novel. The thematic analysis reveals that Le Guin departs from the typical expectations of the fantasy genre to highlight the themes of accepting personal responsibility and acknowledging the consequences of one’s actions, values which are reflected in the Swedish national curriculum. The pedagogic analysis of Le Guin’s treatment of hegemonic masculinity in school culture has the further potential to be used in an EFL classroom setting as part of a teaching unit problematizing the performance of hegemonic masculinity in modern school culture. This is also reflected in the central content for the English Syllabus. / <p>Due to Covid-19 restrictions/precautions, the final presentation seminar took place over Zoom.</p>

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Many scholars have discussed the sociopolitical consequences of belief in karma but few have investigated such relationships quantitatively. This study aims to establish empirical patterns concerning the connection between karmic beliefs and attitudes related to (i) political ideology, (ii) ableism, and (iii) views on the death penalty. The study’s theoretical framework is based on a Weberian approach to the study of beliefs (viewing beliefs as having attitudinal implications) and the theory of motivated social cognition. It uses original survey data from an MTurk sample of 330 Indians, which is analyzed through a series of regression models. When using demographic variables as controls, karmic beliefs are shown to correlate significantly (p&lt;0.001) with three conservative dispositions (status quo conservatism, laissez-faire conservatism, authoritarianism); political approval of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party; ideological self-placement; ableist attitudes, and with disapproval of the death penalty. Karmic beliefs are also shown to correlate significantly with social class, and with right-wing views across both social classes and castes. Given these findings, I argue that karmic beliefs are likely to affect various political outcomes in India via their role in shaping the moral and political frameworks of the Indian population.