Power issues in the relationship between service users and clinical psychologists have received little attention from a postmodern perspective. The recovery approach and the scientist-practitioner model as recommended in best practice guidelines creates an argument for investigating power dynamics in academic and practical disseminations. This study aimed to investigate the social construction of service users and clinical psychologists in articles. Twelve articles and opinion pieces written by clinical psychologists and service users were sampled from publications of the Clinical Psychology Forum. A Foucauldian Discourse Analytic method was used to identify dominant discourses and counter-discourses. The discourses were linked to the power dynamics in play between relevant institutions. The analysis identified an economic discourse, a technical-rational discourse and an expert discourse as constructing service users and clinical psychologists. Clinical psychologists were found to have more discourse availability than service users, and in a position to make choices, whereas service users were found to have availability to a limited number of discourses with fewer options of subjectivity. A need for clinical psychologists to make conscious choices in practice was implied.

L'implantation par les collectivités locales d'un ENT (Espace Numérique de Travail) dans les lycées et collèges n'est pas sans conséquences pour le quotidien de la communauté éducative. Notre étude s'intéresse ainsi à comprendre les usages émergents en procédant à une décomposition du processus d'appropriation. Elle répond également à une commande institutionnelle dont l'objectif politique est tourné vers l'encouragement et la stimulation des usages de ce type d'outil. Par conséquent, nous avons cherché à créer un modèle permettant de comprendre qui sont les utilisateurs de l'ENT et comment s'enclenche le passage des usages prescrits par les concepteurs aux comportements d'usages constatés sur le terrain.Pour sa concrétisation, notre modèle s'est construit sur la base d'un ensemble de travaux préalables.- L'étude du cadre de fonctionnement, à partir d'entretiens auprès des prescripteurs et de l'analyse du cahier des charges de l'ENT lorrain.- L'étude du cadre d'usage, d'une part, grâce aux mesures d'audiences de la CDC (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignation), d'autre part, par des questionnaires chargés de rendre compte des premiers usages ainsi que de la représentation sociale de l'ENT et de son cahier de textes pour les élèves, leurs enseignants et parents.Le modèle ainsi formalisé, soutenu par une littérature déjà robuste, est nommé : DAME (Dynamic Acceptance Model for Education). Il a été élaboré sur une population de 3 100 élèves, 774 parents, 617 enseignants et 44 membres du personnel de la vie scolaire.Les résultats obtenus, témoignent dans un premier temps, de l'importance à accorder aux perceptions d'« utilité » et d'« utilisabilité ». Pour favoriser l'adoption d'un l'ENT et donc son acceptabilité dans le cadre des activités quotidiennes d'enseignement, il est essentiel que sa prise en main ainsi que sa plus-value liée à son usage soit pleinement perçue. Dans un deuxième temps, il apparaît nécessaire de tenir compte des personnes qui entourent l'utilisateur, ce que nous qualifions dans notre modèle de « pression sociale », les élèves et le personnel de vie scolaire y étant particulièrement réceptifs. Dans un troisième temps, nous observons que les propriétés de l'outil peuvent engendrer ce que nous désignons par une « pression instrumentale » qui agit de manière rétroactive sur les précédentes variables. Du fait d'un usage répété, une dépendance à l'ENT peut s'installer lorsque celui-ci devient essentiel au bon déroulement de son activité, qu'elle soit professionnelle ou d'apprentissage, ce qui est notamment le cas pour les fonctionnalités : cahier de textes et espace d'informations. Néanmoins, notre modèle met également en évidence que d'autres facteurs sont susceptibles d'intervenir pour expliquer les usages, de nouvelles perspectives de recherches sont par conséquent à prévoir. Enfin, il apparaît évident, sur la base de nos différentes enquêtes, que les principaux bénéficiaires des ENT restent incontestablement les parents et les élèves. Ils manifestent tous deux de forts intérêts pour son usage mais se heurtent à la résistance de certains enseignants dénonçant une charge de travail supplémentaire et une trop grande transparence des informations qu'ils y déposent. / The implementation, by local collectivity, of a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) in secondary schools and high school is not without consequences for the educational community daily activities. Our study aims to understand emerging uses by carry out a decomposition of the appropriation process. It also responds to an institutional command whose aim is turned toward the promotion and stimulation of the utilisation of this type of tool. Therefore, our objective is to create a model to understand which are VLE users and how is managed the transition between uses prescribed by the creators and observed behaviors.For its concretization, our model is built on a set of preliminary work.- The operating frame study based on interviews with prescribers and the analysis of the Lorraine VLE project specification chart.- The use frame study, on one hand, through uses counter measures from the CDC (Caisse des Dépôts group), on the other hand, by questionnaires upon which functions we report first uses and social representation of a VLE and his book-texts by students, teachers and parents.The model pattern, supported by a robust literature, is called: DAME (Dynamic Acceptance Model for Education). It was applied to a population of 3,100 students, 774 parents, 617 teachers and 44 staff members of school life.The results show in a first step, the importance given to "usefulness" and "usability" perceptions. To promote the adoption of a VLA, and therefore its acceptability in the daily teaching activities, it's crucial that its handling and its added value were associated with its use are fully perceived. In a second step, it seems necessary to take into account, the social network of the user, what we call in our model "social pressure", students and staff of school life being particularly responsive to it. In a third step, we observe that tool properties can generate what we designate by "instrumental pressure" which retroactively impact on previous variables. Due to repeated use, addiction to ENT may be installed when it becomes essential for the quality of his professional or learning activity, which is notably the case for two functionalities: text-book and information space. Nevertheless, our model shows that other factors can be able to explain uses; therefore, new research prospects can be expected. Finally, it seems clear, on the basis of our various surveys, that the main beneficiaries of VLE are mainly parents and students. But if both show strong interest for its use, they are confronted to the resistance of some teachers denouncing an overwork and an excessive transparency of uploaded information.

This paper is studying what kind of mental factors could possibly affect esports players. Qualitative data collection method was chosen for the paper’s method. Thus, we gathered 5 individuals that were, or is in the professional esports scene and interviewed them. With the information we gathered from the interviews we could see that most of our expectation about the mental factors were right. This paper will bring up some mental factors that affects the players from their parents, spectators of esports, other competitors and what they do to handle the different factors.

Research has shown that social pressure is related to treatment motivation and plays an important role in treatment engagement in adults with problematic substance use. Despite the shifts in autonomy and decision-making in emerging adulthood, the factors affecting treatment motivation (e.g., readiness to comply with treatment) and motivation to change (e.g., problem recognition and taking steps towards change) during this period have been largely ignored. In this study, 134 youth presenting to an outpatient substance abuse program completed questionnaires investigating substance use history, mental health, social pressure to reduce use and enter treatment, and motivation. Results indicated that peer pressure accounted for significant variance in internal positive and internal negative treatment motivation. Family pressure was related only to external treatment motivation. Neither social network source had a significant impact on motivation to change. Limitations, directions for future research and treatment implications are discussed.

Research has shown that social pressure is related to treatment motivation and plays an important role in treatment engagement in adults with problematic substance use. Despite the shifts in autonomy and decision-making in emerging adulthood, the factors affecting treatment motivation (e.g., readiness to comply with treatment) and motivation to change (e.g., problem recognition and taking steps towards change) during this period have been largely ignored. In this study, 134 youth presenting to an outpatient substance abuse program completed questionnaires investigating substance use history, mental health, social pressure to reduce use and enter treatment, and motivation. Results indicated that peer pressure accounted for significant variance in internal positive and internal negative treatment motivation. Family pressure was related only to external treatment motivation. Neither social network source had a significant impact on motivation to change. Limitations, directions for future research and treatment implications are discussed.

Körperliche Attraktivität und gutes Aussehen spielen in der heutigen Gesellschaft eine entscheidende Rolle, was bereits frühzeitig auch Kinder und Jugendliche in ihren Einstellungen und der Wahrnehmung ihres Körpers prägt. Sorgen um den eigenen Körper gelten als normatives Problem unter Jugendlichen und bergen nicht selten das Risiko für gesundheitsgefährdendes Verhalten und psychische Erkrankungen. In der Suche nach den Ursachen gerieten in den letzten Jahren insbesondere soziokulturelle Faktoren, insbesondere der Einfluss von medial vermittelten Schönheitsidealen, in den Fokus der Forschung. Es ist jedoch fraglich, warum nicht alle Jugendlichen in gleicher Weise auf den allgegenwärtigen Mediendruck reagieren. Naheliegend ist, dass die Jugendlichen besonders gefährdet sind, deren unmittelbares soziales Umfeld das geltende Schönheitsideal direkt oder indirekt vermittelt und verstärkt. Das Verständnis der Rolle sozialen Drucks ist jedoch bislang noch durch zahlreiche inhaltliche und methodische Aspekte beschränkt (z.B. Einschränkungen in der Operationalisierung, ungenügende Berücksichtigung geschlechtsspezifischer Mechanismen, fehlende längsschnittliche Belege). Daher widmet sich die vorliegende Arbeit der Bedeutung aussehensbezogenen sozialen Drucks in der Entstehung von Körperunzufriedenheit im Jugendalter in drei aufeinander aufbauenden Untersuchungsschritten. Ausgehend von der Entwicklung eines umfassenden und zuverlässigen Erhebungsinstruments zielt die Arbeit darauf ab, unterschiedliche Aspekte sozialen Drucks gegenüberzustellen und hinsichtlich ihrer Verbreitung und Risikowirkung zu vergleichen. Die Umsetzung des Forschungsvorhabens erfolgte in unterschiedlichen Schülerstichproben der Klassen 7 bis 9 unterschiedlicher Gymnasien und Gesamtschulen (Hauptstichprobe N = 1112, im Mittel = 13.4 ± 0.8 Jahre). Dabei wurden sowohl quer- als auch längsschnittliche Analysen durchgeführt. Zusätzlich wurden zur Erprobung des Fragebogenverfahrens klinische Stichproben mit Ess- und Gewichtsstörungen herangezogen. Zur detaillierten Erfassung unterschiedlicher Formen aussehensbezogenen sozialen Drucks erfolgte im ersten Schritt die Entwicklung des Fragebogen zum aussehensbezogen sozialen Druck (FASD), welcher acht unterschiedliche Formen aussehensbezogene sozialen Drucks ausgehend von Eltern und Gleichaltrigen reliabel und valide erfasst. Dabei erwies sich das Verfahren gleichermaßen für Jungen und Mädchen, wie für Jugendliche mit unterschiedlichem Gewichtsstatus geeignet. Die psychometrische Güte des Verfahrens konnte sowohl für populationsbasierte als auch für klinische Stichproben mit Ess- und Gewichtsstörung belegt werden, wodurch eine breite Einsatzmöglichkeit in Forschung und Praxis denkbar ist. Im zweiten Schritt erfolgte die Untersuchung der Verbreitung aussehensbezogenen sozialen Drucks unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Geschlechts-, Alters- und Gewichtsgruppenunterschieden. Dabei erwiesen sich Mädchen als stärker von aussehensbezogenem Druck durch Gleichaltrige betroffen als Jungen. Darüberhinaus legen die Ergebnisse nahe, dass Übergewicht ungeachtet des Geschlechts mit verstärkten aussehensbezogenen Abwertungen und Ausgrenzungserfahrungen verbunden ist. Zudem deuten die Alterseffekte der Studie darauf hin, dass der Übergang von früher zu mittlerer Adoleszenz aber auch Schulwechsel besonderes kritische Zeitpunkte für die Etablierung aussehensbezogener Einflüsse darstellen. Abschließend widmete sich die Arbeit der längsschnittlichen Risikowirkung unterschiedlicher Aspekte aussehensbezogenen sozialen Drucks in der Entstehung von Körperunzufriedenheit. Aussehensbezogene Einflüsse von Freunden verstärkten längsschnittlich Körpersorgen sowohl bei Mädchen als auch bei Jungen. Zudem ergab sich das Erleben von Ausgrenzung durch Gleichaltrige als entscheidender Risikofaktor für gewichtsbezogene Körpersorgen unter Jungen. Als bedeutsamster elterlicher Einfluss erwiesen sich Aufforderungen auf die Figur zu achten. Diese Aufforderungen verstärkten gleichermaßen für Mädchen und Jungen gewichtsbezogene Körpersorgen. Die vorliegende Arbeit widmete sich dem Ziel, die Rolle aussehensbezogener sozialer Einflüsse weiter aufzuklären. Das dazu vorgelegte umfassende Instrument ermöglichte eine differenzierte Betrachtung der Verbreitung und Wirkung unterschiedlicher Formen sozialen Drucks. Hierdurch weisen die Ergebnisse nicht nur auf wichtige geschlechtsspezifische Mechanismen hin, sondern leisten ebenso einen Beitrag zum vertieften Verständnis der Risikowirkung sozialen Drucks. Diese Erkenntnisse liefern somit einerseits konkrete Ansatzpunkte für Prävention und Intervention und ermöglichen andererseits auch eine weitere Konkretisierung bereits etablierter soziokultureller Wirkmodelle. / Physical appearance and attractiveness play a major role in today’s society, which affects also children and adolescents in their attitudes and the perception of their bodys. Body concerns, which have become normative among adolescents, however, bear the risk of health-endangering behavior as well as severe mental diseases. While investigating the reasons for this development, sociocultural pressures especially media promoted beauty ideals got into the focus of research. But the findings provoke the question why the media ideal does not affect all adolescents to the same extent. However, it seems likely that those adolescents who grow up in an appearance-focused social environment are particularly at risk of developing body concerns. The knowledge on the mechanisms of social pressure is still limited by several constraints, e.g. limitations in the assessment, insufficient consideration of gender-specific mechanisms as well as a lack of longitudinal findings. Hence, the dissertation examines the role of appearance-related pressure in the development of body dissatisfaction during adolescence by conducting three consecutive steps of investigation. By the development of a comprehensive and reliable instrument (1) this work aims at comparing the occurrence while considering interpersonal variations in the perception of different kinds of social pressure (2) as well as investigating the potential risk of these factors in the development of body dissatisfaction (3). The investigation was conducted in different samples of high school students from grade 7 to 9 (main sample: N = 1112, mean: 13.4 ± 0.8 years of age) using cross-sectional as well as longitudinal design. Additionally the psychometric quality of the questionnaire has been determined in clinical samples with eating and weight disorders. First, the Appearance-Related Social Pressure Questionnaire (FASD, Fragebogen zum aussehensbezogenen sozialen Druck) was developed which measures social pressure from peers and parents simultaneously while distinguishing eight types of pressure. The instrument has proved to be suitable for both, girls and boys, as well as for adolescents with different weight statuses. Evidence for its psychometric quality has been determined among population-based and clinical samples, which opens different fields of application. In a second step, the occurrence of the different aspects of pressure as well as variations according to individual characteristics (gender, age and weight status) have been investigated, revealing that girls as well as overweight students are particularly faced with social pressure. Moreover, the transition from early to middle adolescence as well as school transitions appear to be a crucial periods for the establishment of appearance related social pressure. Finally, the study delivers longitudinal evidence of the crucial impact of three types of social pressure on changes in body dissatisfaction over a one-year period. First of all, the results point to the crucial impact of friends in the development of body concerns among girls and boys alike. Second, the feeling of exclusion emerged as an important predictor of weight concerns in boys. Third, parental encouragement to control weight and shape play a crucial part in the development of body concerns. Summing up, the dissertation aimed at clarifying the role of appearance-related social pressure as a risk factor of body concerns during adolescence. The provided instrument allowed a reliable and differentiated analysis of different aspects of pressure. By this means, the results do not only point to interesting gender-specific mechanisms but also contribute to a better understanding of the impact of social pressure. These findings provide concrete targets for prevention and intervention and can also contribute to concretize already established sociocultural models.

Two significant differences were found between theoretical expectation and empirical results to budgetary slack in managerial accounting study. First, subjects under the slack-inducing pay schemes set their budgets well above zero regardless of their risk-neutral or risk-averse characteristics, although their maximum rewards arise from setting their budgets at zero (Waller, 1988; Chow, Cooper, and Waller, 1988; Chow, Cooper, and Haddad, 1991). Second, theoretically subjects operating under truth-inducing pay schemes set budgets at their best estimate performance, that is, no budgetary slack. But in violation of traditional economic theory, truth-inducing pay schemes have not been found to drive all slack out of the budget (Chow, Cooper, and Haddad, 1991). These results suggest that the existence of other non-pecuniary factors impacting slack, such as personal integrity and conscience, or social pressure (Chow, Cooper, and Waller, 1988). Moreover, the other potential causes in methodology may affect the congruence with theoretical expectation: (1) single-period experimental setting may limit the subjects¡¦ learning effect (Chow, Cooper, and Haddad, 1991), or (2) social pressure that was not controlled between subjects results in measurement errors. This study investigates the impacts of pay scheme, social pressure, internal norm and organizational commitment on budgetary slack in the participative budgeting setting. Specifically, this research executes an experimental test of the effects of a truth-inducing pay scheme, superior-generated social pressure, and subordinates¡¦ intern norm and their organizational commitment on the propensity to set their budgets below expected performance. In the experimental setting budgets were participatively set under three kinds of pay scheme and under the condition of either existence of social pressure or no social pressure. Pay schemes are categorized by three factors: truth-inducing pay scheme, fixed-pay-plus-bonus pay scheme, and fixed-pay-plus-bonus pay scheme with ratchet. The social pressure manipulation involved having subordinates either personally submit their budgets and performance to a superior, or enter their budgets into a computer with no personal interaction. Moreover, internal norm and organizational commitment are measured by questionnaires built in the personal computer. The experiment was conducted by computerizing the multi-period task on the screen of man-machine interactive personal computer. To eliminate the potential social pressure, subjects in the group with no social pressure executed the computerized procedure to create a ¡¨doubled-blinded¡¨ environment where there was inter-participant anonymity (anonymity between subjects) and experimenter-participant anonymity (anonymity between experimenter and subjects), hence the effects of internal norm and organizational commitment on budgetary slack were investigated. This study tested the following hypotheses with 120 production unit managers that sampled from one manufacturing company in Kaohsiung. (1) Managers will build the least slack into their budget under a truth-inducing pay scheme, the second slack under a fixed-pay-plus-bonus pay scheme with ratchet, and the most slack under a fixed-pay-plus-bonus pay scheme. (2) Managers will build less slack into their budget as social pressure from superior is increased. (3) The difference in budgetary slack between the truth-inducing pay scheme and fixed-pay-plus-bonus pay scheme with ratchet will be reduced as social pressure from superior is increased. That is, there is an interaction between pay scheme and social pressure. (4) The level of slack built into the budget will be negatively correlated with the managers¡¦ degree of internal norm in condition of no social pressure. (5) The level of slack built into the budget will be negatively correlated with the managers¡¦ degree of organizational commitment in condition of no social pressure. The test result verified the mentioned-above hypotheses except item (1) that is partially supported. This study not only extends the management accounting literature that investigates the effects of pay schemes, but also further examines the potential effects of social pressure from superior, subordinates¡¦ internal norm and organizational commitment on budgetary slack. Especially, the results that isolated the effects of internal norm from social pressure on budgetary slack have shown the implications of personnel recruitment and managerial style in the enterprises organization.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Sociology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 379-409). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ67936.

Understanding the political nature of adult education program planning is important for practitioners and researchers. This multivariate study clarified the relationships between contextual factors (nature of the power relationship and degree of situational conflict), individual planner's characteristics (perceived problem solving effectiveness, years of experience program planning), and the use of different power and influencing tactics in adult education program planning. Based on theoretical models specified by Cervero and Wilson (1994) and later Yang (1996), the Problem Solving Inventory (Heppner, 1988) and the Power and Influencing Tactics Scale (Yang, 1996) provided instrumentation.A sample of 245 graduate students and faculty in Adult and/or Continuing Education programs completed the informed consent and all the self-report study instruments. Participants were middle-aged (M = 40.84), female (65.1%), and white (82.0%). Most held master's degrees (50.8%) or bachelor's degrees (41.1%) and worked in a public organization (57.1%) of moderate size. Most participants reported low conflict situations and strong perceived problem solving ability.Two significant canonical correlations were initially identified, though only the first held practical importance. In the first canonical correlation (Rc = 0.524; Rc ² = 0.275; p>0.01), high conflict was the singular meaningful predictor variable and there were several moderately strong criterion variables: high counteracting, low reasoning, and low consulting. This canonical correlation was named "When reasoning and consulting fail: counteracting in the face of conflict." Furthermore, in consensual planning situations, reasoning and consulting were favored, while counteracting was not. Three of the hypotheses that were generated to specifically test different uses of influencing tactics under different individual and contextual conditions were partially accepted. Being an early attempt to characterize complex constructs quantitatively, this study suggests that further work is needed to identify and measure the factors that are most critical. Future qualitative research should clarify the nature of power and conflict, and focus on describing the actual use of different influencing tactics in the field. Quantitative research should focus on reliability of instruments and theoretical model clarification with a broader range of adult education program planners. / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 219-237.