This essay is going to be a reflection of my work process. It will describe different subjects and interests regarding my work. During the last years I have been making videos that deal with “scenes” and situations from our everyday life specifically from the subway. The subway is a closed, confined space where we coexist for different periods of time. There is a stage and an audience with every observed situation. I am interested in the subtle violence that often goes unnoticed, as we inhabit the public realm. I am interested in what type of roles are we playing? When are we communicating violence or xenophobia? When we are operating in this space, what roles are “on” and what roles are “off” when we invade or impose others in the public realm?

The dyadic-interactional perspective of personality suggests that behavior is a function of both stable personality traits and the dynamic interpersonal environment. According to this theory, interpersonal behavior generally follows the principle of complementarity where behavior tends to be complementary on a dimension of dominance-submissiveness and supplementary on a dimension of warmth-coldness. Implicit trait policies are thought to influence judgments of behavioral effectiveness and be influenced by personality traits. The current study examines the dyadic-interactional perspective using a situational judgment test (SJT) method in order to more fully understand both the relationship between personality traits and behavior but also to better understand the basic assumptions of the dyadic-interactional perspective. A 24-situation SJT was developed by the author to measure appropriate and inappropriate situations along the dimensions of dominance and warmth. Ten advanced psychology graduate students served as expert raters. Personality scales and the SJT were completed by 317 undergraduates for course credit. Interpersonal skills rated by 117 of the participants’ friends served as a performance criterion for Hypothesis 5. Results support a congruence effect where the fit between response and trait warmth has a positive effect on judgments of behavioral effectiveness. Although a quadratic implicit trait policy effect was observed, results did not support a congruence effect for dominance. Interpersonal rigidity was shown to moderate the effect of both dominant and warm responses but was not shown to moderate the effect of traits. Complementarity hypotheses were not supported, likely due to range restriction of analyzed situations. Exploratory analyses revealed effects in support of interpersonal theory. Situations and responses influenced perceived behavioral effectiveness in accordance with the propositions of interpersonal theory. Situational appropriateness was identified as a moderator of the relationship between situations and responses. Situational judgment test scores were scored in accordance with interpersonal theory. Scores were not shown to observable interpersonal skills as hypothesized, correlating with only one 4-item subscale. Results extend both implicit trait policies and interpersonal theory. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

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.

The communion between human is frequent in modern society, and mass media has become an important tool for people to obtain information about life and experience of the outside world as a result. TV is the medium that has the largest size, is the most common and the most contacted by people around the globe, and also has the largest influences on modern people. However, with the innovation of spreading technology, the Internet has become the second largest medium industry that is next to TV due to such features as two-way spreading, real time interaction, low cost and free selection etc. Both TV and the Internet are ranged side by side as the two great powerful medium nowadays, they are both capable of spreading words, graphics, sound, images and video data, leaving profound influences on the audience, but the two vary greatly in terms of their showed appearances and usage nature. This research is based on the theory of Belk situation, locks the audience¡¦s watching/ usage behaviors in a certain special time space; a questionnaire survey has been conducted on those audience who have the habit of watching TV and using the Internet in the three areas covering Pingtung, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the purpose of the survey is to explore the watching/usage ¡¥situation¡¦ and ¡¥behaviors¡¦ of those audience who watch TV and use the Internet and make contrast for the differences between the two groups; the main conclusions come after statistics and analysis as follows: I. The differences of watching/usage situations between TV and the Internet 1. Those audience who watch TV have their home as the main environment, while the Internet users have comparably more diversified network environment. 2. The social interactive capability of the Internet is better than that of TV; TV is the main interactive media with family members, while the Internet is the main interactive media with non family members. 3. The later the time interval is, the higher ratio of watching TV of the audience will be; the main time interval for using the Internet is in the morning and evening respectively. Furthermore, the interactive lasting time of using the Internet is longer than that of watching TV and so as the addiction. 4. Due to its own features different from that of the Internet, TV can guide the audience¡¦s purpose of behaviors. 5. Through the contact with the media, the audience can maintain various satisfaction levels in daily life at a certain stable one; watching TV can increase people¡¦s pleasure level and the mood is just so-so for most users of the Internet. II. Under different situations, the behavior differences between the audience of watching TV and using the Internet 1. In case the physical environment is different, the audience¡¦s watching/usage behaviors are varied in terms of purpose, time interval and the relation with the interactive objects. 2. In case the social life environment is different, and when the interactive objects of the audience are not family members, the time interval of starting using for their watching/usage behaviors become varied is in the morning. 3. In case the time structural surface is different, the time interval of starting using for their watching/usage behaviors become varied is in the morning, at the end of usage and become varied for the watching/using hours. 4. In case the task definition is different, the audience¡¦s watching/usage behaviors are varied in terms of ¡¥ceremonial usage¡¦ purpose and ¡¥tool usage¡¦ purpose. 5. In case the previous status is different, the two groups of audience have obvious relevant features for the physiology of watching/usage behaviors, and the influence from the Internet is higher than that from TV.

Adults who stutter (AWS) are reported to have increased levels of anxiety compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS), particularly in social interactions (Kraaimaat, Vanryckeyham, & Dan-Baggen, 2002; Mahr & Torosian, 1999; Messenger, Onslow, Packman, & Menzies, 2004). However, the level of perceived anxiety in AWS according to specific speaking situations has not been critically evaluated. In addition, most studies addressing state anxiety (i.e., communication apprehension) are based on self-judgments (Craig, 1990; Craig, Hancook, Tran, & Craig, 2003; Ezrati-Vinacour & Levin, 2004; Gabel, Colcord, & Petrosino, 2002; Lincoln, Onslow, & Menzies, 1996; Messenger et al., 2004; Miller & Watson, 1992; Mulcahy, Hennessey, Beilby & Byrnes, 2008) which have not been verified using a physiological evaluation of anxiety. The present study sought to examine the relationship between a physiological measure of anxiety (i.e., cortisol) and perceptual judgments of communication apprehension across different speaking situations. Ten AWS aged between 19-62 years, and ten sex- and aged-matched AWNS provided salivary cortisol samples during distinct speaking situations across a one-week period. The speaking situations consisted of (1) speaking face-to-face with a friend, (2) speaking face-to-face with a single stranger, (3) speaking in front of a group of four strangers, and (4) speaking to a stranger on the telephone. Each participant also provided self-perception assessments of their perceived anxiety levels using an adaptation of the Speaking Task Response Scale (STRS; Bray & James, 2009) before and after each speaking situation. Results of the cortisol analysis revealed no statistical difference in cortisol levels across the four speaking situations between AWS and AWNS. A significant difference was found between self-perceived anxiety levels in the pre-speaking situation between AWS and AWNS. Speaking face-to-face with a friend was perceived by the AWS to result in the lowest level of anxiety compared to the remaining three situations. Correlational analyses revealed a significant relationship between cortisol levels and self-reported anxiety in the AWS group but no such relationship was evident for AWNS. On the basis of the combined results from the cortisol and self-perception analyses it can be concluded that AWS differ from AWNS in their communication apprehension, most notably in regard to speaking in any situation other than a familiar person (e.g., friend). This difference between AWS and AWNS is most evident in measures of self-perception, although it is likely there is an associated physiological contributing factor.

Thèses (D.B.A. and M.A.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2004. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 20 juin 2006). Publié aussi en version papier.

The purposes of the present study are to attempt to discover if there is a predictable relationship between conflict and an increase in the number of choice alternatives, to specifically determine if this hypothesized relationship exists in a predictable order in children, to endeavor to show that this hypothesized relationship is such that generalization of application to a natural environment is credible, and to attempt to discover if there are sex differences that may influence this relationship.

Au fur et à mesure que le nombre de baby-boomers qui atteignent l’âge de la retraite s’accroît, le nombre d’employés issus de l’immigration augmente, compte tenu de leur présence de plus en plus grande dans la population active. La gestion de la diversité culturelle est donc devenue une réalité quotidienne pour de nombreux gestionnaires des organisations canadiennes, notamment au Québec. Cette nouvelle réalité pose de nouveaux défis pour l’ensemble des processus de gestion des organisations. Ceci demande aux gestionnaires de développer de nouvelles habiletés en matière de gestion de la diversité culturelle (GDC). Les approches actuelles de développement de compétence en GDC restent peu efficaces. Cette étude vise à identifier des stratégies qui peuvent s’avérer être les plus appropriées, pour améliorer chez les gestionnaires leur compétence de gestion en contexte pluriethnique. Une collecte de données a été réalisée au moyen d’entrevues de type semi-structuré auprès de 36 gestionnaires d’une grande entreprise située à Montréal. À travers une analyse de contenu, cette étude de type exploratoire a permis de contextualiser le développement de la compétence en identifiant en un premier temps les principales ressources jugées pertinentes à la GDC. Les résultats permettent ensuite de mettre en lumière l’importance de la complémentarité entre les situations d’apprentissage formelles et informelles dans ce contexte, les premières semblant être les plus appréciées par les participants. Au premier plan des résultats figurent comme assises au développement de la compétence en GDC l’ouverture à la différence et les interactions avec des personnes d’autres cultures, qu’elles soient internes à l’organisation ou dans l’environnement de celle-ci. En outre, les participants situent clairement leur besoin d’agir avec efficacité en matière de diversité culturelle dans le cadre de l’exercice d’un leadership rassembleur. La discussion des résultats permet de voir que la conception qu’ont les participants de stratégies efficaces de développement des compétences de GDC concorde avec les perspectives présentées par plusieurs auteurs ayant écrit sur le sujet. Les résultats de l’étude rapportée dans la présente thèse offrent aux dirigeants d’entreprises, aux gestionnaires et aux professionnels des paramètres importants à considérer dans l’élaboration de stratégies visant à soutenir les gestionnaires dans le développement de la compétence en GDC.

It has become a habit of our time to lament about the state of the world and simultaneously profess that there is not really anything we, as individuals, can do about it because there is just too much that needs fixing. In this thesis, I challenge this view on the basis that science teachers in particular are in a unique position to raise students' awareness of problematic issues in relation to the world around them by providing students with necessary knowledge. However, sound knowledge does not equate with a positive attitude, this is why I contend that providing students with factual knowledge might not be enough to enable them to participate in the public discourse on making the world a 'better place' in which to live. Given the pervading influence of science on our daily lives, this discourse necessarily includes a focus on science, scientific research and its uses. However, many science educators traditionally have taught science without addressing ethical questions. I argue that the inclusion of a discourse on ethical science-related issues into science teaching might open an avenue for science educators to offer students opportunity for practising their future engagement in the public discourse about science by learning to reflect critically and collaboratively on their attitudes, beliefs and values. This thesis presents an interpretive case study, situated in the 7th Moment of Qualitative Research, which investigated the planning and implementation of a specially designed 'Ethics in Science' curriculum, in the context of national curriculum reform in Austria. The 'Ethics in Science' curriculum was implemented in two science classes in a public senior high school in Austria by a biology teacher and a mathematics/physics teacher. / The study explored the appropriateness of a science teaching approach that uses dilemma stories as a pedagogical tool for initiating individual reflection and classroom discourse on ethical issues. The study was designed as a 'bricolage', drawing from ethnography, hermeneutic-phenomenology, feminism and biographical research. Autobiography caused me to engage in critical self-reflection on my own attitudes, beliefs and values, bringing to the fore the relationship between my personal history and my own ethical sensitivities. This was helpful as a 'primer' before engaging students in the act of reflection. The use of multiple methods for data-generation served the purpose of crystallisation. Integral philosophy and critical constructivism were theoretical referents for my research on the teaching and learning. The Theory of Transformative Learning and a perspective on moral learning that combines several types of ethics served as a referent for interpreting the analysis of student learning. I have drawn on the multiple perspectives of the students, teachers and myself as the researcher. It was very important to me to maintain the participants' original voices as often as possible in order to establish 'polyvocality'. Findings indicate that the teaching approach using dilemmas led to critical thinking, in some cases to critical self-reflection, and seemed to help with initiating a classroom discourse. Overall, it appears that the dilemma teaching approach can promote rational, social and emotional learning. On the teachers' side, this type of teaching seemed to challenge the teachers' existing skills with regard to facilitation and moderation of class discussion and the self-restraint needed to avoid imposing their opinion on students. / An issue for the teachers concerned their uncertainty about when to intervene in group-processes. The data-analysis also led to seemingly contradictory results which I interpreted using a dialectical 'dilemma' framework wherein the synthesis of two contradictory poles serves as a starting point for a higher level of understanding. I identified seven 'pedagogical dilemmas' - pedagogical because they are related to teaching and learning in the context of a dilemma teaching approach, and 'dilemma' because they require a choice on the side of the educator who intends to use a dilemma teaching approach. These pedagogical dilemmas were related to the dilemma stories, the individual reflection phases, the collaborative discourse phases, the ideal frequency of dilemma units, the teachers' skills, so-called problem students, and the time-requirements in relation to the dilemma units.

Older women and men were participants in this qualitative research of three case studies of community theatre. Their stories, gathered through in-depth interviews and participant observation of the theatre projects over a four year period, informed the development of a theoretical model of leisure as process. Through devising and presenting their theatre pieces, 50 older people, ranging in age from 45-8 5 years, with differing cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, reflected on personal experiences, negotiated their own processes for working collaboratively, and presented the stories of theft lives publicly in a way which affirmed their actions and understandings of themselves and theft world. Interviews with more than 30 of these people allowed an analysis of the ways in which older people negotiated the processes of play-building and constructed meaning in their lives at a time when the social structures of paid work and family were becoming less central as people moved into their third age. This research has located the study of individual agency through leisure in the context of the social structures which shape constraints to leisure and in turn limit individual agency. As such, the research has been concerned both with the self and with social relationship and has theorised leisure as a process of negotiation. Since process implies change over time, the research methods used and the leisure context selected for study were also process oriented. The research methodology was emergent and took on qualities of action research as the study progressed. By focusing on community theatre as the social context for leisure, the nexus between community development, community theatre and action research was examined and found to inform a broader understanding of leisure as process. The research has also expanded knowledge of community theatre as a collaborative process which draws on individual and collective reflections to build public presentations of issues of concern to participants. The processes of community theatre have received no attention to date in the leisure literature. The negotiation of self takes place in different social contexts for women and for men, for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, for old and young, and for people from different socio-economic backgrounds. This research demonstrated that changes in personal situations as a result of the aging process, changes in family context and changes in work context are associated with changes in the negotiation of self, and these changes are expressed through leisure activity as well as other involvements less clearly classified as leisure. Purposive aspects of leisure assumed greater significance as people grew older and this was expressed in the culture of busyness and a pride in 'never being home'. Older women, in particular, developed friendships and community networks outside the family unit as relationships with husbands and children changed. These social connections were found to facilitate difficult transitions such as divorce or the death of a spouse. Community theatre supported the development of community networks, and presented an opportunity to claim a voice in the public arena and challenge the invisibility of older age. The research added to knowledge about constraints on leisure involvement by older people, and identified personal, social and material constraints. The most significant of these were the personal constraints of fear and of ill-health. However, participants in this research continued to negotiate a path through constraint in order to live their lives to the full. Analysis of their stories indicated that whilst constraint sometimes operated as a hierarchical process of control pushing people into isolation, people who were supported in their efforts to negotiate constraint through the development of community networks gained self-confidence and a heightened sense of agency. The processes of community development used in community theatre were found to facilitate the negotiation of constraint by developing personal skills and strengthening social support. The constructivist orientation of the research acknowledged the dialectical nature of knowledge construction and the possibility of social change through research. Aspects of action research were demonstrated in the processes of community theatre, which also seeks social as well as personal change. The research has a political motivation in that it seeks to strengthen the position of participants. Concern with the power relationship between researcher and researched facilitated a deeper understanding of the role of power in the process of leisure. The research opens up one small window on the processes whereby people may continue to live life to the full through active engagement in life and leisure.