Narratives of redemption : memory and identity in Europe

After centuries of being torn apart by conflicts that remain deeply embedded in the European collective memory, Europe’s most recent history is being written as a narrative of redemption. In order to establish itself as a political, economic and social entity, Europe has been emphasizing its common cultural roots and historical features of unity. For this purpose, narratives of identity have been produced in the context of European and national institutions that seek to replace fractures by pluralisation and forgetfulness by redemption. However, the codification of European culture and identity has turned out to be an extremely difficult task: the conceptual devices for theorizing Europe as a social unity and cultural identity are insufficient and unsuitable. In addition, the conceptualization of identity tends to be primarily related to notions such as belonging, memory and continuity rather than to the idea of an in-progress project taking place in the present and in the future. Recent theoretical approaches reveal how European identity narratives require hybrid multilayered configurations in order to accommodate national, ethnic and cultural features, as well as post-national political and economic unification. This paper attempts to explore some processes of identity construction in an European context and to discuss how elements that embody the ambiguity that runs through European culture - unity and diversity, commemoration and forgetfulness - are registered in the social memory

Chronicle of Research in Legal and Constitutional History in Germany in 2013 (a Few Aspects)

The activity of the Max-Planck Institute was dominated by events held in cooperation with the Landes Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz (LOEWE)Focus GroupNon-judicialand Judicial Conflict Resolution. Members of this research group, established in 2012 to function for three years, focus on interdisciplinary and international investigation into the nature and resolution of conflicts in various cultures throughout history, from the Ancient Middle East to the wars of the 20th centur

Contextualising Individual Diversity Perceptions: A Relational Study across Egypt, Germany, and the United Kingdom Technology Industries

For this research, the influence of context on individual diversity perceptions was investigated. A relational approach was adopted to account for the influence of national culture, industry, organisation and identity on diversity perceptions. Current diversity literature has been criticised for being decontextualized and for not considering intersections between diversity dimensions. The dynamic and contextual nature of diversity has been, to a great extent, disregarded. Critical diversity studies call for a revitalisation of diversity research through comparative, contextual and intersectional research, which is the focus of this research. To preserve the context-specific nature of the diversity construct, a qualitative social constructionism epistemology was adopted. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with a total of 68 employees in the technology industry across three countries: Egypt, Germany and the United Kingdom. At the macro level, national culture was accounted for using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, cultural tightness-looseness theory and the World Values Survey. At the meso level, industry diversity dynamics and organisational diversity management were considered. At the micro individual level, identity was theoretically conceptualised through social identity theory, professional role identity and intersectionality. Findings have shown that perceived diversity is individually unique and is shaped by the interaction of the multiple contexts individuals exist within, as well as their social and professional identities. National culture has been shown to influence the diversity discourse, taboo topics, gender dynamics and individual diversity attitudes. The research has shown that in Egypt, individual diversity attitudes were avoidance and apprehension. In Germany, individual diversity attitudes were pragmatism and avoidance, and in the UK, individual diversity attitudes were evasiveness and simplification. The industry and organisation contexts have been found to influence individual diversity management perceptions. Three reactions to diversity management are proposed: frustration, incomprehension, and cynicism. The empirical study of perceived diversity is a conceptual contribution to knowledge. A framework of the influence of context on diversity perceptions has been proposed. The current study’s outcomes, in addition to theory and knowledge contributions, allow for explanations to be provided for diversity management practitioners regarding how employees perceive their diversity policies

Understanding human culture : theoretical and experimental studies of cumulative culture

There is something extraordinary about human culture. The striking complexity of our technologies, institutions, beliefs, and norms has allowed us to colonise the entire planet. One aspect in which human culture is unique relates to its cumulative nature – we accumulate and build on knowledge from the previous generations, leading to incremental improvement in skill, which allows us to produce technologies no one individual could have invented on their own. Understanding the drivers and dynamics of this type of cumulative culture is essential for understanding how human culture has interacted with human evolution. This thesis is concerned with precisely that, and uses a mixture of theoretical and experimental approaches linking individual-level decisions to population-level processes in cumulative culture contexts. Chapter 1 provides some essential background information. In Chapter 2 I used an agent-based simulation model to show that refinement, or incremental improvement in cultural traits, can lead to a drastic decrease of cultural diversity at the population level. This pattern was confirmed using experimental data from a collaborative programming competition in Chapter 3, where I showed that in a cumulative setting, the differential riskiness of copying and innovation drives participants to converge on very similar solutions, leading to a loss of cultural diversity. In Chapter 4 I explored individual differences in social learning strategies, finding considerable variation in how individuals rely on copying, with more successful individuals being more exploratory. I found that successful individuals had more influence on subsequent entries, which is consistent with a prestige bias. Finally, Chapter 5 addressed the link between group structure, diversity, and cumulative improvement. I found that larger groups accumulate more improvement than smaller groups, but smaller groups can also inhibit the convergence patterns we witnessed in larger groups, suggesting an optimal level of connectivity responsible for cumulative improvement

The Lived Experiences and Perceptions of African American Women in Federal Senior Leadership

In the United States, African American women remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions in many workforce sectors, including the federal sector. Despite this challenge, a few African American women have successfully attained senior leadership responsibilities in a public health service agency. Using intersectionality and social cognitive career theory as the theoretical frameworks, the purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of African American women leaders in their career advancement to senior leadership positions in a health service agency of the Department of Health and Human Services in the United States. The research questions explored the experiences and perceptions of these women leaders and ways the intersection of race and gender contributed to their leadership experiences. A qualitative research design using a transcendental phenomenological approach was the chosen method. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight African American women leaders at the General Schedule Grade 15 and Senior Executive Service levels. Data were analyzed using the van Kaam method modified by Moustakas. Results indicated that while African American women leaders faced challenges and barriers, strategies exist to enhance career advancement. The results from this study may support social change by elevating understanding of the experiences and perspectives whereby strategies for increasing the career advancement of aspiring African American women leaders can be identified. When organizational leaders become more culturally competent, they can implement approaches that promote diversity within the senior leadership positions, which can have an overall effect on meeting the needs of a diverse population

Experiences of a systems psychodynamic executive group coaching programme

Executive group coaching, as a development intervention, and interest in coaching research has steadily increased over the years. Psychodynamic group coaching and coaching programmes have, however, received limited empirical attention. In this study, the researcher argues the criticality for coaches in better understanding of unconscious group coaching dynamics. The researcher felt that by designing a Systems Psychodynamic Executive Group Coaching Programme (SPEGCP) as a psychoeducational developmentally focused learning opportunity would allow for an exploration of systemic conscious and unconscious group coaching dynamic behaviours. The researcher sought to explore, describe and analyse the lived experiences of coaches in the SPEGCP. Interpretative phenomenological hermeneutic, using systems psychodynamic perspective as a theoretical framework, served the study well by enabling the researcher to apply in-depth description and interpretation. A case study research strategy was adopted were individual participants were analysed and then integrated across participants analysis of findings. The study revealed the structured nature of the SPEGCP acted as a container, transitional object, and containment for coaches. SPEGCP contributed to the development of insights into the unconscious group coaching dynamics related to role, authority, boundary and identity manifested in uncertainties, role confusion, person-role-organisation dynamic influences and defensive structures in the paranoid-schizoid position, and reflective containment for learning in the depressive position. The quality of the relationship between the consultant-coach and group, and the systems psychodynamic consulting and coaching stance, were critical for exploration and reflective insights to emerge. As the systems psychodynamic group coaching and consulting stance can add significant value to the growth and functioning of coaches, and thus executives and their groups in which they operate, a study of this nature was important if not critical. The study provides an opportunity to consider that this third generation type of evidence based consulting and coaching be viewed as an integrated part of the development of coaches, consultants, and thus executive groups.PsychologyD. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology