Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The relationship between stress and coping strategies in bereavement was examined in 70 recently widowed rural black women (mean age 36.53 years). Correlations were sought between coping strategies (as measured by the Coping Strategy Indicator) and anxiety (as measured by the S-scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), depression (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory), social support (as measured by the Social Support Scale) and biographical variables. Of the participants, 88.57% were at least mildly depressed, while 78.57% experienced anxiety of above average intensity. Depression scores were significantly higher for those who were unemployed than for those who had paid work. Those with an education of Standard 6 or below made significantly more use of social support-seeking strategies than those with high school and tertiary education. Those whose husbands had died suddenly made more use of problem-solving strategies, while those whose husbands had died of chronic illness made more use of social support-seeking coping strategies. Significant positive correlations were found between an avoidant coping strategy and both depression and anxiety. A significant positive correlation was found between a social support-seeking coping strategy and perceived social support. Significant negative correlations were found between both problem-solving and social support-seeking coping strategies and anxiety as well as depression scores. An avoidant coping strategy emerged as a significant positive predictor of both anxiety and depression, while problem-solving and social support-seeking coping strategies emerged as significant negative predictors of depression. A problem-solving coping strategy alone emerged as a significant negative predictor of anxiety. These findings point to the need for interventions aimed at more effective use of problemsolving and social support-seeking coping strategies, rather than avoidance, if the widowed are to effectively deal with their conjugal loss. Another implication of these findings is the importance of helping those who are undergoing bereavement to continuously re-define their social support structures for continued sustenance of social and emotional support. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die verband tussen stres en hanteringstrategieë is in 'n groep van 70 landelike swart vrouens (gemiddelde ouderdom 36.53 jaar) wat hul eggenote onlangs aan die dood afgestaan het, ondersoek. Korrelasies tussen hanteringstrategieë (gemeet deur die Coping Strategy Indicator) en angs (gemeet deur die S-skaal van die State- Trait Anxiety Inventory), depressie (gemeet deur die Beck Depression Inventory), sosiale ondersteuning (gemeet deur die Social Support Scale) en biografiese veranderlikes is ondersoek. Van die deelnemers was 88.57% minstens tot 'n ligte mate depressief, terwyl 78.57% bogemiddelde angsvlakke ervaar het. Depressietellings van werklose vroue was hoër as van diegene met 'n gesalarieerde werk. Diegene met Standerd 6 opleiding of laer het beduidend meer gebruik gemaak van sosiale ondersteuning-soekende strategieë as diegene met hoërskool en tersiêre opleiding. Diegene wie se eggenote skielik afgesterf het, het meer gebruik gemaak van probleemoplossende hanteringstrategieë terwyl diegene wie se eggenote afgesterf het as gevolg van 'n chroniese siekte, meer gebruik gemaak het van sosiale ondersteuning-soekende hanteringstrategieë. Beduidende positiewe korrelasies is aangetref tussen 'n vermydende hanteringstrategie en beide depressie en angs. 'n Beduidende positiewe korrelasie is aangetref tussen 'n sosiale ondersteuning-soekende hanteringstrategie en waargenome sosiale ondersteuning. Beduidende negatiewe korrelasies is aangetref tussen beide probleem-oplossende en sosiale ondersteuning-soekende hanteringstrategieë en angs sowel as depressie. 'n Vermydende hanteringstrategie was 'n beduidende positiewe voorspeller van beide angs en depressie, terwyl probleem-oplossende en sosiale ondersteuning-soekende hanteringstrategieë beduidende negatiewe voorspellers was van depressie. 'n Probleemoplossende hanteringstrategie was 'n beduidende negatiewe voorspellers van angs. Hierdie bevinding dui op die noodsaaklikheid van intervensies wat gemik is op die meer effektiewe gebruik van probleemoplossende en sosiale ondersteuning-soekende hanteringstrategieë, eerder as vermyding, vir die weduwee om die afsterwe van haar eggenoot effektief te kan hanteer. Nog 'n implikasie van die bevindinge is die belangrikheid daarvan om diegene wat rou te help om voortdurend hul sosiale ondersteuningstrukture te herdefinieer vir voortdurende onderhouding van sosiale en emosionele ondersteuning.

<p>Cilj istraživanja je da se dokumentuju različiti identiteti profesorki univerziteta koje su oti&scaron;le iz Srbije u razne akademske sredine u svetu i ostvarile profesionalnu karijeru.<br />Hipoteze su shodno cilju rada:<br />H-1: Prva hipoteza je da su profesorke u akademskoj dijaspori oti&scaron;le u inostranstvo kako bi uspe&scaron;no izgradile profesionalnu karijeru u vreme kada u zemlji porekla za to nisu postojali dovoljni uslovi u onim naučnim disciplinama za koje su se one opredelile.<br />H-2: Druga hipoteza je da sve profesorke u akademskoj dijaspori imaju promenljive, vi&scaron;estruke identitete.<br />H-3: Treća hipoteza je da empirijski podaci o životu profesorki u akademskoj dijaspori pomažu da se izgradi strategija saradnje profesorki iz dijaspore sa univerzitetskim centrima ovde.<br />Osnovni i kontrolni korpus za analizu čini 21 životna priča profesorki koje su obrazovanje za karijeru stekle na univerzitetima u Srbiji, a profesionalnu karijeru ostvarile u raznim zemljama Evrope i sveta. Audio zapisi snimljenog razgovora za ukupno 11 profesorki, zabeleženi tokom &scaron;est godina (2009-2015), audio zapisom (24 sata) na osnovu polustrukturiranog upitnika, transrkibovani u formu pisanog teksta (256 stranica). Kao kontrolni korpus empirijskih podatka su objavljenih 10 životnih priča profesorki sa Univerzitetu u Novom Sadu (Savić 2015). Osnovni kriterijumi za odbir žena su: da su rođene u Republici Srbiji (gde su provele detinjstvo, deo ili svo obrazovanje), a ostvarile akademsku karijeru u nekoj od zemalja sveta.<br />Podaci pokazuju da su sve profesorke uskladile profesionalni i privatni život i da je jedan hranio drugi u njihovoj uspe&scaron;noj karijeri.<br />Za profesionalni rad i za odlazak u zemlje destinacije (prijema) profesorke su imale podr&scaron;ku bračnih partnera, koja je bila neohodna, s obzirom na činjenicu da su sve profesorke u akademskoj dijaspori nailazile na brojne prepreke i izazove od momenta odlaska iz zemlje porekla i tokom građenja karijere (na primer, neke su visoko &scaron;kolovanje ponovile, ili su promenile profesiju ili oblast kojom se bave, a deo je nastavio usavr&scaron;avanje).<br />Obrazovanje je presudno i za vaspitanje potomstva - vrhunsko obrazovanje u skladu sa željama i afinitetima svoje dece.<br />Jezički identitet profesorki u akademskoj dijaspori povezan je sa profesionalnom orijentacijom vi&scaron;e nego sa nacionalnim identitetom.<br />Profesorke su se trudile da njihova deca u dijaspori nauče maternji jezik (jezike) roditelja, iako su deca rođena, ili najveći deo svog života, provode u zemlji destinacije, pa se može govoriti o dva (ili vi&scaron;e) maternjih jezika.<br />Najupečatljivija sličnost profesorki UNS i profesorki u akademskoj dijaspori je njihova jednaka želja i volja za obrazovanjem, usavr&scaron;avanjem i napredovanjem u struci i naučnom radu, bez obzira na cenu i prepreke sa kojima su suočene.<br />Takođe, jednako važna sličnost jeste diskriminacija sa kojom se susreću u građenju svojih karijera, profesorke UNS prilikom napredovanja, a profesorke u akademskoj dijaspori prilikom zaposlenja, bavljenja svojom strukom i, takođe, eventualnog napredovanja.<br />Sve profesorke u akademskoj dijaspori žele profesionalno da sarađuju sa univerzitetima i naučnim (i drugim) institucijama u Srbiji, ali ne postoji sistemsko re&scaron;enje za takvu saradnju u sada&scaron;njem trenutku u Srbiji.<br />Ženska iskustva ovde objedinjena svedoče o neiskori&scaron;ćenim resursima, izostalim u saradnji i angažmanu profesorki iz akademske dijaspore u Srbiji danas. Ona mogu dobro poslužiti za sačinjavanje dugoročne strategije o implementaciji znanja i postignuća akademskih profesorki u domaćem okuženju.<br />Značajno je &scaron;to se u okviru interdisciplinarnih rodnim studija objedinjuje problematika migracija žena, naročito povezano sa profesijama, jer je izvesno da će migracije biti dugoročna tema u budućnosti cele civilizacije. Postoje programi i predmeti koji se bave visokim obrazovanjem žena u profesijama i na kojima se izvode istraživački projekti na kojima se sakuplja empirijski materijal.<br />Mogućnost primene rezultata:<br />1. Empirijski podaci o identitetu akademski obrazovanih žena iz dijaspore, od kojih je jedan i rodni, poslužiće u teorijskoj raspravi o odnosu elemenata identiteta u odnosu na rod.<br />2. Empirijski podaci mogu dobro poslužiti u praksi za predlog strategije za saradnju, eventualni povratak, akademski usmerenih žena iz dijaspore u akademsku elitu u Republici Srbiji (i regionu biv&scaron;e Jugoslavije).<br />3. Bogaćenje postojeće baze podataka životnih priča žena u Republici Srbiji iz različitih nacionalnih zajednica koje su svoje živote ostvarile u 20. i 21. veku.<br />Rezultati doktorske disertacije treba da posluže u razvijanju strategije o implementaciji postignuća akademskih žena u domaćem okuženju.</p> / <p>The goal of the research is to document different identities of female university professors who left Serbia and went to other academic communities throughout the world, in order to achieve their professional career.<br />Hypothesis of the work:<br />H-1: First hypothesis is that female professors of the academic diaspora have left their countries in order to be able to successfully build their professional careers elsewhere, during times when it was impossible for them to do so in their own countries, due to lack of sufficient conditions which would facilitate their domestic careers.<br />H-2: Second hypothesis is that all professors in the academic diaspora have variable, multiple identities.<br />H-3: Third hypothesis: empirical data on lives of professors within the academic diaspora are helpful in building of the cooperation strategy between the professors from diaspora and domestic university centres.<br />The basic and control group of analysis consists of 21 life stories of female professors who have acquired their career education within Serbian universities, while their professional career was established in different countries in Europe and throughout the world. Audio recordings of 11 professors, made during a period of six years (2009-2015) in a form of conversations according to previously prepared semi-structured questionnaires (24h of audio material), were transcribed to a form of written text (256 pages in total). 10 life stories of University of Novi Sad&#39;s female professors were published as a control material (Savic 2015). The basic criteria for the selection of women: they were all born in the Republic of Serbia (where they have spent their childhood and finished some or all of their education), while achieving their career somewhere else in the world, outside Serbia.<br />The data shows that all professors have managed to balance their professional and private life, and it turned out that &quot;one&quot; was facilitating the &quot;other&quot;, during their successful career.<br />All professors had support of their spouses for their professional work as well as for relocation to foreign countries. Such support proved to be necessary, since all of them encountered obstacles and challenges within the academic diaspora, from the moment they left their country as well as during their professional career (e.g.: some of them had to repeat/retake their higher education, or to change the profession or area/field of work, while some of them continued with their academic specialization).<br />Education proved crucial for upbringing of their children, too. Top notch education according to desires and affinities of their children.<br />Language identity of the professors within the academic diaspora is more connected to their professional orientation than to their national identities.<br />Professors have tried to teach their children their mother tongue, even though they were born (or have spent the most of their lives) in foreign countries, so it wouold be safe to say that those children have two (or more) languages that they consider as their native.<br />The most striking resemblance between the professors of the Novi Sad University (UNS) and professors in academic diaspora is their equal desire and thrive for education and advancement within their science and field of work, regardless of the cost and obstacles they have encountered, during that journey.<br />Equaly important similarity is the discrimination they have faced during their careers. UNS professors have faced discrimination on their scientific path and advancement, while academic diaspora professors have faced it regarding their employment, their field of expertise and possible advancement, as well.<br />All professors from academic diaspora are willing to cooperate with universities and other scientific institutions in Serbia, but the lack of systematic solutions for such cooperation in Serbia at this point is preventing them to do so.<br />Female experiences encompassed here, are witnessing the unused resources, which are missing when it comes to cooperation and engagement of academic diaspora professors in Serbia today. They can serve as a starting point for making a longterm strategy on implementation of knowledge and achievements of female academic professors in domestic surroundings.<br />It is significant that the issue of female migration, especially when it is connected to their work and profession, is intertwined within the interdisciplinary gender studies, since it is certain that migrations will be a longterm subject in the future of the whole civilisation. There are programs and courses dealing with higher education of women, collecting empirical material during research projects.<br />Possibilities for application of results:<br />1. Empirical data on identitiy of academically educated women from diaspora (gender being one of them) will serve during theoretical discussions on relationship of the elements of identity and gender.<br />2.Empirical data have practical significance, as they may serve as a proposition and starting point of the cooperation strategy, as well as for the possible return of the female academic experts from the diaspora back to academic elite of Serbia (and the Ex-YU region).<br />3. Enrichment of the existing data base of life stories of women from the Republic of Serbia, members of different national communities, who have accomplished their lives in the 20th and 21st century.<br />The results of the PhD thesis should serve the development of a strategy on implementation of academic women&#39;s achievements, in domestic surroundings.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University, 1995. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-175). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

ABSTRACT POST-DIVORCE EXPERIENCE OF HIGHLY EDUCATED AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN Kavas, Serap Ph.D., Department of Sociology Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Ayse Gunduz Hosgor July 2010, 327 pages Based on life-story interviews with women this dissertation analyzes post divorce experience of highly-educated and professional women. Economic, social, psychological well-being of divorced women / specifically, how they manage to adapt to their new lives after legal dissolution were examined. As is shown in our research while divorce caused various difficulties including financial, social and parenting problems, it, on ther other hand provided relief, for the participants. The participants developed wide range of survival strategies in the face of difficulties and challenges they experience which attested to their agency during and after the divorce process. To the study, while an urbanite, educated and professional woman&rsquo / s termination of a failing relationship itself can be considered as liberation on her part, it will be an overstatement to say that women are enjoying their independence and start anew, just as men do. In this connection, this study searched for insights into the question: How does act of divorce affect these women with respect to their empowerment? Feminist theory is used over the duration of this study. The study scrutinized on the emergent themes such as societal attitudes, single parenting, remarriage, intergenerational and intra-family transmission of divorce, financial consequence, and women&rsquo / s varying coping strategies as well as many other common themes emerged. Studying post-divorce experience of women, which is an unexplored area in Turkish context, employing qualitative method and dwelling on grounded theory approach as an inductive way of data analysis, this study intends to be a considerable contribution to the literature.

This study investigates the role of resilience in women coping with the life transition of divorce. Five women were interviewed and an in-depth qualitative analysis undertaken, in order to explore the subjective experience of resilience during the period of separation and divorce, and its effect on post-divorce adjustment. In addition, the usefulness of formal divorce support groups to enhance resilience was examined. It was found that the most important aspects of resilience as reported by the women were social support; spirituality; personality traits such as optimism, courage and resourcefulness; an orientation toward the future; and competence/mastery of one's environment (including mastery of one's thoughts and emotions). It appeared that resilience facilitated adjustment in several ways; notably in providing a sense of purpose, control and competence resulting in an experience of personal growth. All of the women felt that they had developed a sense of their own identity and greater self-determination through the process of divorce. Support groups might be potentially effective in providing assistance in dealing with emotional issues such as anger and forgiveness; with skills development such as emotion regulation and cognitive techniques like reframing; as well as practical and informational support. Such groups might also provide a temporary community of social support where divorced women can interact with other people who are experiencing the same things. The study illuminated the subjective, often unique experience of separation and divorce; this emphasises the challenge for divorce groups to offer support which addresses this uniqueness. / Psychology / D.Litt. (Psychology)

This dissertation examines contemporary Iraqi North American women’s life narratives within the frame of postcolonial autobiography theory. Through narrating their experiences of oppression, war, and displacement these women reveal the fragmentation of identity that occurs under such unsettling situations. However, I argue that in the course of narrating their stories and in spite of the fragmentation they suffer, these women are able to establish selves that distinguish and recover from fragmentation and loss through a process I term defragmentation. They are able to defragment their identities by reconstructing unique selves through the act of life narration, through relational remembering, and finally by resisting patriarchal and Western influences on how they perceive themselves and their experiences. Thus they are able to defragment their sense of disjointedness and reaffirm their sense of Iraqiness, even in the diaspora. This study explores the major causes of fragmentation in the work, which are divided into trauma and displacement. Unlike the studies and statistics that political approaches and media coverage have provided, these works shed light on the disruptions caused by war, oppression, separation from loved ones, and exile in the daily lives of these narrators or the lives of their friends and relatives. Therefore, in addition to the new identity that these women create in order to cope with their new lives in the West, they also construct a hybrid identity that is capable of recollecting and narrating these traumatic experiences. Within the space of hybridity, Iraqi North American women have to deal with vast differences between Western and Middle Eastern cultures; the transformation entails not just a change of place but an acceptance or understanding of a new culture, a new religion, and a new identity. The struggle of settlement, or re-settlement, becomes that of establishing an identity that does reflect the stereotypical images of Middle Eastern women in Western perceptions and a struggle to maintain selves that can contain both the past life and the present in what can be considered a third space. Although the main topic of this dissertation is defragmentation in the life narrations of Iraqi North American women, this study also covers the cultural and political history of Arabs in general, and of Iraqis specifically. There are also references to the migrations of Arabs to North America and a brief background of the roots of Arab North American literature. These topics will be discussed in order to provide an understanding of the histories from which these women, or their families, have migrated and their positions within Western culture and scholarship. In addition, this approach provides an insight into the complexities of these women’s identities that reflect multi-layered affiliations, interests, and cultures. The works chosen for this study include written and oral life narratives by Iraqi North American women who write from Canada and the United States. These works are Zaineb Salbi’s Between Two Worlds: Escape From Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam (2005), Dunya Mikhail’s A Diary of a Wave Outside the Sea (2009) and a National Film Board documentary titled Baghdad Twist (2007), by Jewish Iraqi Canadian Joe Balass. In the documentary, Joe Balass interviews his mother, Valentine Balass, as she recounts growing up in Iraq and later experiencing exile from her homeland. The final work I address is The Orange Trees of Baghdad: In Search of My Lost Family (2007) by Leilah Nadir, a Canadian born Iraqi writer. Through her memoir Nadir tries to reconnect with her father’s family in Iraq while uncovering their traumatic experiences of the Gulf War. The narrators in my research belong to different social classes, age groups, and practice different religions, but they all identify themselves as Iraqi women. These women, through their interpretations of living life between two (or more) cultures, offer important perspectives not only on their own ethnic society, but also on the role of ethnic women in North American society in general. There has been a massive increase in the migration of Iraqi women to North America in the last thirty years; their perspectives on political, social, and religious changes are an important part of understanding the experiences of this ethnic group. Through their life narratives, these women are able to display their unique selves by portraying their ability to contest the boundaries and limitations of borders and societies that try to eliminate one identity or the other.

This study investigates the role of resilience in women coping with the life transition of divorce. Five women were interviewed and an in-depth qualitative analysis undertaken, in order to explore the subjective experience of resilience during the period of separation and divorce, and its effect on post-divorce adjustment. In addition, the usefulness of formal divorce support groups to enhance resilience was examined. It was found that the most important aspects of resilience as reported by the women were social support; spirituality; personality traits such as optimism, courage and resourcefulness; an orientation toward the future; and competence/mastery of one's environment (including mastery of one's thoughts and emotions). It appeared that resilience facilitated adjustment in several ways; notably in providing a sense of purpose, control and competence resulting in an experience of personal growth. All of the women felt that they had developed a sense of their own identity and greater self-determination through the process of divorce. Support groups might be potentially effective in providing assistance in dealing with emotional issues such as anger and forgiveness; with skills development such as emotion regulation and cognitive techniques like reframing; as well as practical and informational support. Such groups might also provide a temporary community of social support where divorced women can interact with other people who are experiencing the same things. The study illuminated the subjective, often unique experience of separation and divorce; this emphasises the challenge for divorce groups to offer support which addresses this uniqueness. / Psychology / D.Litt. (Psychology)

Thesis (PhD (Pscychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.

No description available.