Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 239-249). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1982.

Social interactions affect the onset and maintenance of major depressive disorder (MDD; e.g., Hammen, 2006). However, little research has examined depressed people’s communications in daily life. This dissertation’s primary aim is to test three models of the association between MDD and everyday communication. The disclosure model suggests that people with MDD, particularly if currently depressed, communicate about themselves and their distress. The social disengagement model suggests that people with MDD, particularly if currently depressed, communicate less. The selectivity model suggests that people with MDD, particularly if currently depressed, communicate more negatively only with people with whom they have closer relationships. This dissertation’s second aim is to investigate associations between communication patterns of individuals with MDD and residual depressive symptoms. Sixteen women with MDD and 15 never-depressed women submitted a year’s worth of their e-mails with up to ten correspondents. For participants with MDD the year included at least one month of depression and one month of remission. E-mails were submitted to computerized text analysis. For the primary research question, the study design was conceptualized as a 2x2 between-subjects (MDD vs. never-depressed) x within-subjects (currently depressed vs. not currently depressed) ANOVA missing one cell (never-depressed individuals with currently depression). Data were e-mails nested within correspondents within participants and were analyzed using multi-level regression. For the second research question, OLS regression analyses were used. People with MDD e-mailed their correspondents marginally more frequently when in a depressive episode, suggesting increased efforts at engagement. During episodes, however, participants showed less verbal synchrony with their correspondents. This suggests that despite reaching out more, currently depressed people are less attuned with others. People with major depressive disorder used more positive emotion words and fewer negative emotion words than never-depressed controls. Although there was a general pattern among participants of using more negative emotion words with correspondents with whom they had closer relationships, this tendency was accentuated in depressed individuals in current major depressive episodes. These findings are consistent with the view that individuals – particularly when depressed – regulate aspects of their communication to protect and manage their social relationships. / text

As the world advances and communications keep improving, most people understandably are looking for better living qualities instead of merely a 'shelter'. These include not only the middle or upper classes but also those residing in government subsidized public housing such as the ones in Hong Kong. Although public housing estates are only meant to offer a very low-cost environment meeting basic accommodation needs, people still wants to enjoy daily living in terms of community harmony, friendly and helpful neighborhood, mutual interaction, and common social activities. Thus, in Hong Kong, research studies have since been proposed to determine the possible factors that can increase the life quality for public housing, given that these budgeted estates do not carry much commercial values and are limited in space, location, and architectural merits. The term "tenant participation", introduced by Linneman and Megbolugbe, refers to the active participation of tenants in well-organized manner to influence and improve their own living conditions. Tenants will be able to seek more rights and involvement in the healthy and pleasant development for their own estates. In 1995, the Housing Authority launched the Estate Management Advisory Committee (EMAC) Scheme to address the rising aspiration of tenant participation. An EMAC estate allow tenants to participate in local management matters, design of housing units, provision of facilities, and partnering arrangements. Consequently, it is expected that tenants there will develop a stronger sense of belongings, foster a more harmony neighborhood, and enhance neighborly interaction. For non-EMAC estates, tenant participation would be weak due to lack of resources in organizing interesting activities, relatively less community attachment, and shorter length of resident period. The purpose of this research work aims to qualify and quantify the degree of tenant participation for EMAC estates, versus the non-EMAC ones. And hence we will be able to make recommendations to enhance neighborly interaction. Our research approach first depends on a survey exercise in three selected public rental housing estates. The survey is specially-designed to serve two purposes: 1) identifying the factors affecting neighborly interaction for both EMAC and non-EMAC estates; and 2) evaluating the degree of tenant participation in affecting neighborly interaction in three categories – EMAC with members taking active involvement, EMAC with less active involvement, and finally the non-EMAC. Approach next is to substantiate the survey findings with explanation by considering three orthogonal aspects: 1) the change of policy on EMAC Scheme, on EMAC funding arrangement, and on the enhanced partnering arrangement among EMACs and NGOs; 2) the design of housing blocks and community facilities provided in EMAC and non-EMAC estates; and 3) the sociological impact which considers the residents' aspiration and feeling on living environment as well as their desire on community building activities. Applying the above statistical approach on our targeted population, we have obtained reasonable sample sizes of normal distribution spanning working and non-working classes, genders, and various age groups. By analyzing the results, we have confirmed our hypothesis and further been able to make recommendations to strengthen neighborly interaction for our public rental housing estates. In concluding the research, we are putting forward three specific recommendations: 1) on top of establishing EMACs, we should extensively promote and facilitate the enhanced partnering arrangements jointly with NGOs, Voluntary Agencies (VA), and Residents Associations (RA); 2) for an estate which is still not EMAC-ready, we should help and fund to establish a local community service and activity task force to build up effective and attractive tenant participation; and 3) we should allow higher flexibility in the use of EMAC funding according to specific needs of an estate as some may demand more improvement works while some may want more partnering functions and activities due to dynamic population fluctuation. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

ABSTRACT This study empirically evaluates the theoretical impact of a telecommuting or online work environment on employee loyalty. While the concept of employee loyalty has been extensively researched, the concept of the impact of the work environment on employee loyalty is fairly new. Specifically, this study operationally defines the work environment characteristics that contribute to employee loyalty and examines the impact of the online or telecommuting work environment on employee loyalty. A survey instrument is utilized to collect perceptual data about the psychological components of the work environment and their impact on employee loyalty from the employee's perspective. Multiple linear regression analysis is used to analyze the data from one hundred and three respondents to determine correlation between the work environment characteristics and employee loyalty. Additional statistics utilized in the analysis of the data include: factor analysis, t-test, K-S test, and Cronbach's Alpha. While the study's findings confirm that the three work environment factors (job satisfaction, social interaction, and trust) contribute to employee loyalty as represented by the surrogate, intent to turnover, the dynamics underlying the perceptions of telecommuting and traditional collocated employees is complex. Telecommuting employees, as hypothesized, demonstrate higher levels of intention to turnover, the key construct in the study, than do traditional onsite employees. Similarly, job satisfaction is much lower for telecommuters. No statistically significant differences were found in trust or social interaction. When exploring casual impacts of satisfaction, social interaction and trust on intention to turnover, very different dynamics emerged between the telecommuting and traditional. In particular, job satisfaction, while very important to the traditional workers, was insignificant to intention to turnover to telecommuter employees. In addition, telecommuters apparently had derived alternative mechanisms to allow for social interactions, other than face-to-face ones. Trust, in both groups, is an overriding factor in ameliorating intention to turnover. This research adds to current perspectives on the effects of the work environment on employee loyalty. This research will enhance insights into this increasingly prevalent work environment, and organization researchers and managers will be able to use these results to enhance understanding of the impact on work environment. These contributions may help to decrease turnover and enhance the satisfaction derived in telecommuting work environments. The study ends with a discussion of limitations and suggestions for future research.

Följande studie behandlar delaktighet för brukarrepresentanter från olika sociala företag. Det övergripande syftet med studien är att undersöka hur delaktighet kan påverkas genom social interaktion mellan blivande socionomer och representanter från sociala företag. En kvalitativ studie har genomförts genom en deltagande observation under två dagar i en framtidsverkstad mellan socionomstudenter, lärare och brukarrepresentanter. Empirin har analyserats med hjälp av symbolisk interaktionism och Goffmans dramaturgiska teaterscen. Åldersspannet på deltagarna i studien ligger på 22 - 70 år, och det var en övervägande kvinnlig deltagarskara. Studiens resultat visar att delaktighet med ett reellt inflytande är något som eftersträvas både från politiskt håll bl.a. av socialstyrelsens riktlinjer och från samhällsmedborgarna, i den här studien i form av studenter och brukarrepresentanter. Detta är dock inget som visar sig i praktiken utan det handlar snarare om en pseudodelaktighet, som innefattar "mycket snack och lite verkstad", där delaktigheten inte leder till något reellt inflytande. Det krävs en jämn maktfördelning mellan olika grupprepresentanter för att ge rätt förutsättningar i skapandet av delaktighet på lika villkor. Tidsbrist är en förhindrande faktor. Det visas att en framgångsfaktor för delaktighet är att vi delar samma verklighetsförståelse och eftersträvar en maktutjämning för bekämpning av stigmatisering. För detta krävs gemensamma mötesplatser. Studien visar att det krävs en långsiktighet för en lyckad implementering i alla led från utbildning till arbetsplats till medborgare. Det är en lång kedja där mycket kan gå fel på vägen. Detta kan förklara den tröghet som påvisas i denna studie. / The following study deals with the participation of user-representatives from various social enterprises. The overall aim of the study is to examine how participation can be influenced by social interactions between future social workers and user-representatives from social enterprises. A qualified study has been carried out through a participant observation for two days in a future-workshop between social work students, teachers and user-representatives. Empirical data has been analyzed by means of symbolic interactionsm and Goffman's dramaturgical theater analysis. The age range of study participants is at 22-70 years and it was predominately female group of participants. The study-results show that the inclusion of real influence is something pursued both from the policies of the National board and from community citizens, in this study in terms of students and user representatives. However, this is nothing that shows in practice, it is rather a pseudoparticipation which includes a lot of talk and little action, where participation does not lead to any real influence. It requires an even division of power between different group representatives to provide the right conditions in the making of participation on equal terms. Lack of time is a preventing factor. It appears that the success of participation is that we share the same understanding of reality and pursue a power leveling to fight stigmatization. This requires common meeting places. The study shows that a long term approach for a successful implementation at all stages from education to the workplace to the citizen is required. There is at long chain where much can go wrong along the way. This may explain the inertia detected in this study.

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This thesis connects with and extends inter alia the recent but as yet peripheral move within the sociology of childhood to open up children's agency to empirical analysis. Drawing heuristically upon actor-network theory and thought of this kind its aim is to expose the networks of heterogeneous associations upon which children's agency and power depends. Focusing upon children's every day play activities; the analytical lens is extended to consider the role of nonhumans that are embedded in children's mundane play interactions within their local neighbourhood and within their school playground. In doing so, this thesis argues that nonhumans are crucial participants in social interaction that are implicated in and pivotal to the heterogeneous networks of associations that children, as heterogeneous engineers, actively create to achieve their particular goals and desires. As a corollary to this, an analytical incorporation of nonhumans has drawn attention to the wider role that nonhumans play in the life worlds of children. In respect to this, the argument this thesis advances is that nonhumans,in their diverse forms, are functionally important in holding children's social relations in place. Drawn from ethnographic fieldwork with children, this thesis argues that children's agency, power and social relations, take their form and are an outcome of the heterogeneous associations that take place between humans and `things'.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

The aim of this observational study was to see how social interaction works in nursing homesdayroom. The focus was to study the staff and the residents during lunch, afternoon coffee,and during the eventual common activity. The observation persons were passive and they didnot communicate with either staff nor with the residents. The theoretical framework usedwas Georetrendens theory, KASAM and Communication theory. The results showedthat social interaction in the dayroom of the nursing home is rarely spontaneous, but mustinstead be planned by the staff. The results also showed differences in theinteraction regarding the treatment of the residents. The younger and older staff had differentapproaches. Staff who had a different cultural background than the Swedish had anotherway to respond to the residents. The residents were unhappy about the lack of activities. Theyexpressed that they felt lonely when the staff had several tasks outside the nursinghome. Another thing we observed was that the staff often urged the residents to go and rest intheir apartments. There was also a difference in the various nursing homes that wereobserved; the smaller nursing home had one staffgroup that some of the residents had for longknown each other because of the small community they live in.