Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Psychology of the life cycle'

Almost 40% of the Canadian workforce shows signs of progressive burnout. For a variety of reasons, stress within the workplace appears to be increasing. The popular press and academic journals suggest that chronic job stres, burnout, will be most significant workplace issue in the new millennium. Although both men and women suffer from stress and burnout, it appears that women are at a greater risk than men. Unfortunately, research on the relationship between women's stress and their heatlh has not kept pace with the popularization of the problem. We could understand this relationship better if we had more information about women, their health history (including phases of development over the life span), and occupational history. Relatedly, as the baby-boomer generation ages to mid-life, there appears to be a sea change on the horizon: one in which women are demanding answers and knowledge about the process of menopause and its effect on their lives, inside and outside the home. To fill this void, the proposed research will address the life change of women, and specifically, how their stages of development and occupational and health histories relate to the experience of burnout.
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The thesis addressed the saving behaviour of adolescents within the social context of the family, which has received little attention to date. The research regarded adolescent economic socialization and the development of saving behaviour as an integral part of general socialization and adolescent psychological development. The importance of saving was investigated relative to alternative ways for getting larger sums of money. Three large survey studies with adolescents and one survey study with adolescents and their parents were carried out. In Study 1, 470 students between the ages of 11 and 18 took part. The results of this study revealed that adolescents do think of saving as a means of accumulating larger sums of money. Studies 2 and 3 sampled 290 and 443 students between the ages of 11 and 17 and 13 to 14, respectively, providing empirical evidence of adolescents’ endeavour for independence, reflected by their saving motives as well as the changing of their attitudes towards saving as a skill. The thesis examined a number of significant predictors for adolescents’ general tendency to save. The studies linked adolescent saving with home atmosphere and perceived parenting style empirically for the first time. A path model illustrates the associations that were found between the behaviour and attitudes of the parents and the saving behaviour and attitudes of their adolescent child. It demonstrates that the development of saving behaviour is linked to the power relationship between parent and child. The findings support the behavioural life-cycle hypothesis as well as the benefits of being raised in an ‘authoritative home’ with regard to skills in saving.

This study was designed to investigate if adult children who have returned home to live affect their parents' marital satisfaction. The contributing factors that preceded the return of these adult children were also examined. To measure marital satisfaction, the Kansas Marital Satisfaction (KMS) Scale was used. The Marital Conventionalization Scale (MCS) was also utilized to measure marital social desirability distortion. Seventy-seven married individuals, recruited from the general population, were divided into three subgroups consisting of parents whose adult children have either returned, departed from, or remained at home. Participants were administered a questionnaire containing specific questions regarding one's adult children along with the two test instruments. The findings indicate no significant differences in marital satisfaction between parents who have returning adult children and the other 2 subgroups. However, many factors (financial problems, college, divorce, etc.) contributing to an adult child's presence at home were discovered.

Il y a encore quelques années, être homosexuel, en couple et adopter un enfant relevait de l’utopie. Aujourd’hui, l’adoption par des couples homosexuels est devenue une réalité légale et une possibilité concrète dans plusieurs pays du monde.Pourtant, lorsqu’il faut placer les enfants dans des familles adoptives, l’orientation sexuelle des futurs parents demeure une question controversée qui divise l’opinion publique (Patterson, 2009). Souvent, le débat oppose « le droit de l’enfant », défendu par la Convention internationale des droits de l’enfant, et « le droit à l’enfant », réclamé par les homosexuels ou sympathisants (Herbrand 2006).Entre les débats socio-politiques, les controverses de nature idéologique et éthique, ces nouvelles familles, de plus en plus nombreuses, affirment haut et fort leur droit à « sortir de l’oubli » et s’engagent dans une bataille dont l’objectif est de normaliser leur contexte familial aux yeux de la société.Malgré l’expansion de l’adoption homoparentale, l’expérience de vie de ces nouvelles familles est à peine abordée dans la littérature scientifique actuelle. En effet, même si, ces quarante dernières années, de nombreuses recherches ont été consacrées à l’homoparentalité, très peu d’études se sont focalisées sur les familles ayant choisi l’adoption comme mode de filiation, surtout dans le contexte européen.L’objectif de la présente recherche était de combler ce vide dans la littérature, en analysant les expériences de la première génération de familles adoptives homoparentales résidant en Europe. Pour ce faire, nous avons donné la parole à 31 familles adoptives homoparentales, sur un total de 62 parents adoptifs (46 gays et 16 lesbiennes) et de 44 enfants adoptés (entre 3 et 18 ans) en Belgique, France et Espagne.Ces trois pays ont été choisis pour les éléments qu’ils partagent ou qui les opposent dans le contexte socio-politique des droits des minorités sexuelles et la procédure d’adoption. La Belgique et l’Espagne sont considérées aujourd’hui comme deux des pays les plus avant-gardistes et gay- friendly en Europe et dans le monde entier. De fait, ces deux pays ont été parmi les premiers à ouvrir l’adoption aux couples de même sexe(respectivement en 2006 et 2005). En revanche, la France n’a légiféré sur cette question qu’en 2013, après des débats longs et houleux qui ont suscité de nombreuses réactions.Etudier les familles homoparentales dans ces trois pays nous a permis d’avoir accès à des situations d’adoption différentes: en effet, tous les participants belges ont adopté des enfants en bas âge via une procédure d’adoption conjointe nationale, tandis que tous les participants français et la plupart des espagnols ont adopté des enfants à l’étranger et généralement plus âgés, via une procédure où seul l’un des deux partenaires adoptait légalement l’enfant.La théorie qui a orienté notre étude est celle du cycle de vie de la famille adoptive (Brodzinsky, Smith & Brodzinsky, 1998; Brodzinsky & Pinderhughes, 2002; Hajal & Rosenberg, 1991). S’inspirant du schéma « classique » du cycle de vie (Carter & McGoldrick, 1980) cette théorie identifie des phases clef à travers lesquelles la famille adoptive transite :la phase pré-adoption, durant laquelle le couple est souvent confronté à l’infertilité et décide d’entamer un parcours adoptif ;la procédure d’adoption, souvent vécue comme un moment de stress et d’incertitude; l’arrivée de l’enfant dans la famille, suivie du processus de « parentage » de l’enfant adopté, différent en fonction de l’âge de celui-ci (préscolaire, scolaire, ou adolescent). Selon cette conception, à chaque étape du cycle de vie, la famille adoptive est confrontée à de nouveaux défis et tâches développementales, qui sont à la fois similaires et différents de ceux vécus par des familles non-adoptives.Cette recherche avait pour but d’éclairer à la fois le vécu des homoparents adoptifs et des enfants adoptés au sein de ces nouvelles familles, en analysant leurs expériences en fonction de l’étape de leur cycle de vie.En ce qui concerne les parents, nous avons analysé trois moments clefs: le processus décisionnel, le parcours d'adoption et leurs expériences en tant qu’homoparents suite à l'arrivée de l'enfant dans la famille. Plus précisément, les questions suivantes ont guidé notre recherche :quel cheminement a été celui des homoparents avant de choisir l'adoption ?Quels sont les enjeux de la transition à l’homoparentalité adoptive ?Et quels sont les défis et les tâches parentales auxquels ils sont confrontés suite à l’adoption ?Concernant les enfants, nous avons analysé leur construction identitaire à différentes étapes de leur développement. Notre attention s’est portée sur les questions suivantes :quelle est l’expérience subjective de ces enfants ?Quelles sont les spécificités de leur construction identitaire à l’intersection de la situation adoptive et homoparentale ?Quelles sont leurs questions, leurs demandes tout au long de leur développement ?Ainsi, un intérêt particulier a été consacré à la thématique de la perte des parents de naissance et à l'exploration de dynamiques familiales au tour de cette issue. Plus précisément, nous avons analysé la communication familiale concernant la « double appartenance » des enfants (famille d’origine et famille adoptive) afin de répondre aux questions de recherche suivantes :comment ces familles gèrent- elles la perte des parents d’origine ?Quels sont les sentiments des homoparents et des enfants adoptés vis-à-vis des parents de naissance? Et comment cela impacte-t-il les dynamiques familiales ?Du point de vue méthodologique, nous avons conduit des entretiens semi-structurés et soumis les homoparents et leurs enfants à un test projectif graphique (La Double Lune, Greco 1999). L’entretien visait à approfondir les expériences des participants ;le test projectif, en permettant d’accéder à une dimension «plus inconsciente », a complété les informations obtenues. Cet instrument projectif s’est révélé particulièrement utile pour l’exploration des sentiments et des dynamiques relationnelles autour de la thématique de la perte de la famille d’origine.L’originalité de la présente recherche consiste dans le fait qu’elle est pionnière dans le contexte européen ainsi que dans le domaine psychologique. Notre étude a le mérite de fournir des réponses scientifiques à une question sociale de grande actualité, en recentrant les débats sur les principaux intéressés :les homoparents et leurs enfants. Leurs récits nous ouvrent la porte à un nouvel univers familial, dont les « points de repères » et les critères sont uniques et nouveaux. Les familles adoptives homoparentales sont des avant-gardistes de la société, des petits laboratoires de nouveaux mondes possibles. Ces familles anticipent et précèdent. Par leur exemple, elles accélèrent les changements de la société, elles poussent vers le futur.Les expériences des familles rapportées dans la présente thèse nous amèneront, page après page, à déconstruire nos propres préconceptions de la famille, du couple et de la filiation et à porter de « nouveaux regards » qui permettent de saisir l’incontestable richesse dont ces nouvelles géométries familiales sont dépositaires. Leurs témoignages nous permettront de concevoir une nouvelle manière de faire famille, mais aussi de « repenser » et « réinventer » le principe de l’adoption, sur base de leur expérience inédite.
Only a few years ago, being homosexual, in a relationship, and adopting a child was a utopia. Nowadays, same-sex adoption is a legal reality and a concrete possibility in many countries in the world. However, the right of gay and lesbian people to adopt a child remains a controversial issue that strongly divides public opinion. In the debate there are often those who defend “the right of the child” (according to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child) and those, these being sexual minorities and their sympathisers, who defend “the right to a child” (Herbrand 2006). Among socio-political debates, ideological and ethical controversies, these new families, who are becoming more and more numerous, claim, loud and clear, their right to "emerge from oblivion" and engage in a "battle" of which the objective is to normalise their family context in the eyes of society.Despite the progressive diffusion of same-sex adoption, the life experiences of these new families remain practically unexplored in scientific literature. In fact, even if in the last 40 years a great deal of research was dedicated to same-sex parenting, very few studies focused on families who chose adoption as a pathway to parenthood. Especially in the European context, there is a dearth of data on this topic. In order to fill this gap in literature, the present research aimed to analyse the experiences of the first generation of gay and lesbian adoptive families living in Europe. To this end, we gave the floor to 31 adoptive same-sex families, totalling 62 adoptive parents (46 gay men and 16 lesbians) and 44 adopted children (between 3 and 18 years old) living in Belgium, France and Spain.The choice for these three countries was motivated by the fact that they have a number of elements in common but also differ at some points as to the socio-political context of the rights of sexual minorities and the adoption process.Nowadays, Belgium and Spain are considered to be two of the most avant-garde and gay friendly countries both in Europe and worldwide. These two countries were among the first to open adoption to same-sex couples (respectively in 2006 and 2005). In turn, France legislated this aspect only in 2013, after long and controversial social debates. Studying same-sex families in these three countries enabled us to have access to varied adoption situations: in fact, all Belgian participants adopted infants through a joint national adoption procedure, while all the French and most of Spanish participants adopted generally older children abroad, through an international adoption procedure in which only one of the two partners legally adopted the child.Our study was oriented by the adoptive family cycle theory (Brodzinsky et al. 1998; Brodzinsky & Pinderhughes, 2002; Hajal & Rosenberg, 1991). Inspired by the classic theory of the family life cycle (Carter & McGoldrick, 1980), this theory identifies key phases through which the adoptive family transits: the pre-adoptive phase, during which the couple is often confronted with infertility and decides to start an adoption path; the adoption process, often experienced as a period of stress and uncertainty; the arrival of the child in the family, and the successive process of parenting the adopted child which changes according to the child’s age (infancy, preschool, school, or adolescence years). According to this theory, in each stage of the life cycle adoptive families encounter new challenges and developmental tasks, which are both similar and different from those experienced by non-adoptive families.This research aimed to study the experiences of both same-sex parents and the adopted children in these new families, by taking the stage of the family life cycle in which they were into account.On the side of the same-sex parents, we analysed three key moments: the decision-making process, the adoption procedure and their daily experiences as same-sex parents after the arrival of the child in the family.More precisely, the following questions guided our research: What is the personal journey of gay and lesbian people before choosing adoption? What are the main barriers encountered during the transition to same-sex adoptive parenthood? What are the main challenges and parental tasks they face after adoption? On the side of the adopted children, we were interested in exploring their identity construction process at different stages of their development. Our attention was focused on the following research questions: What is the personal experience of these children? What are the specificities of their identity construction at the intersection of their adoptive and family minority statuses? What are their questions and their developmental issues during their growing years?In addition, special attention was paid to the theme of the loss of birth parents and to the exploration of family dynamics surrounding this issue.We particularly studied the family communication concerning the double family connection of adopted children (family of origin and adoptive family), answering the following research questions: How do these families deal with the theme of the loss of the birth family? What are the feelings of same-sex parents and their adopted children towards the birth family? How does this element impact the family dynamics?From a methodological point of view, we conducted semi-structured interviews and applied a projective graphical test (the Double Moon Test, Greco, 1999) to both same-sex parents and their children. The purpose of the interviews was to explore the participants' experiences, while the projective test enriched the information obtained through the interviews, giving access to a more "unconscious" dimension. This projective instrument in particular, proved to be very useful for the exploration of feelings and relational dynamics connected with the theme of the loss of the birth family.The originality of this research is that it is pioneering in the European context as well as in the field of psychology. Our study has the merit of providing scientific answers to a very topical social question, by refocusing debates on the main stakeholders: gay and lesbian parents and their children. Their stories lead us into a new family universe whose distinguishing features and criteria are unique and new. Same-sex families are the avant-garde of society, small laboratories of possible new worlds. These families anticipate and precede. By their example, they accelerate changes in society, they push towards the future. The experiences of the families reported in this thesis will induce us, page after page, to deconstruct our own preconceptions of family, couples and filiation and bring about "a new perspective" that allows us to grasp the undeniable wealth for which these new family geometries are custodians. Their testimonies will allow us to imagine a new way of being a family, but also to "rethink" and "reinvent" the adoption clinic, based on their unique experience.
Doctorat en Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Psychobiography is a qualitative research design used to explore and understand the life story of an individual through the lens of psychological theory. The application of theory is typically done to finished lives of well-known or enigmatic people, and covers the person’s entire lifespan. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the personality development of the Rastafarian reggae musician Bob Marley.To meet this aim the study created a comprehensive picture of Marley’s life within the particular social, economic and historical context in which he lived. Marley’s work was considered influential both during and after his life. His music is listened to by diverse groups of people, and is known internationally. Marley’s personality was explored by applying Eric Berne’s theory of Transactional Analysis (TA) to his life story. Data was collected and analyzed using a strategy consisting of three steps, namely, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. Results of the study indicated that TA is a suitable theory for creating insight into the life of this historical figure, and has led to an increased understanding of the application of this psychological theory. Lastly, the study has contributed towards increasing the number of psychobiographical studies conducted in the South African context.

While the value of psychobiographical research continues to be debated, interest in this area is growing on an international basis. From the ever increasing number of studies being conducted in connection with academic institutions in South Africa, the vitality and worthiness of studying lives lived in conjunction with the applicability of psychological theories is showing itself to be an exciting world in which to participate. This particular research study aimed to explore and describe the developmental life stages of Paul Jackson Pollock. Pollock was, and continues to be, a controversial figure in the art world as there is much debate over the artistic merit of his paintings. Unconventional in all that he did, Pollock challenged the art world by moving beyond paintbrush and easel to throwing paint across canvasses laid out on the floor. Around these emerging artworks he would move in a staccato dance, mesmerising those present by the way he made art immediate using his entire body to create the abstract image. Pollock is credited with being the pioneer of abstract expressionism in the United States, and to date his paintings are credited as being among the most expensive ever sold. He struggled with alcoholism and emotional instability throughout his teens and adult life. His alcoholism eventually caused his death at the age of 44 when, while heavily intoxicated, he drove his car into a tree a few metres from his home. No known literature has adopted an exclusively psychological stance when studying the life of this individual. The progression of Pollock’s lifespan development was filtered through Erikson’s (1950) theory of psychosocial stages. Erikson’s (1950) theory takes a holistic, biopsychosocial approach to human development, with an emphasis on ego development. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources to enhance internal validity, and the data was then analysed according to Miles and Huberman’s 1994 general approach, taking Alexander’s (1990) nine identifiers of salience into necessary consideration. Using this framework, it was found that Jackson Pollock’s development coincides with Erikson’s theoretical psychosocial stage constructs, lending weight to Erikson’s theory. While Pollock’s life paralleled Erikson’s (1950) theory in many ways, the theory failed to provide enough definition with regards to constructs and intrapsychic processes. However, this study has also shown that there is great value and relevance to be found in Erikson’s (1950) theory, even though it was developed over fifty years ago.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The mother-daughter relationship and the feminine principle in the process of individuation are explored in this study. The mother-daughter relationship as the focus of the study is presented as the womb where the stories and experiences are in gestation. In presenting this research as a transpersonal exploration, the principles and practices of transpersonal psychology and transpersonal research are used as the lens through which the process of research is viewed. The study tells the stories of adolescent daughters and their menopausal mothers and their lives as girls and women in transitional life cycles. It also tells the stories of the author's mother and of herself, and offers their shared experiences of being daughters, and remembering that they are also the daughters of daughters, the mothers of whom have passed away a long time ago. The stories are presented in the mode of a narrative inquiry, becoming an exploration in itself. The author looks into the stories of what has been written by those who have mapped the territory of the transpersonal and narrative landscapes in psychology, education, research and psychotherapy. A research collage of the mother-daughter relationship, transitional life cycles, and also of aspects of the feminine and the process of individuation is created. Images of alchemy, archetypes, mythological figures and archetypal goddesses are added to allow this collage to become its own story. The study combines research methods used in transpersonal research and narrative inquiry. Data were gathered by making use of journal writing, mandala drawings, interviews, visual imagery and photographs, collage, writing letters, personal documentation, dreamwork, working with words and personal mythology. Transpersonal principles such as meditation, reflection, mandala drawings, intuitive listening and so forth were applied in working with the data. The researcher also used principles of narrative inquiry to assist in the process of processing the information and finding the stories. The research findings that emerged indicate that a mother and daughter can hold up a mirror to each other in order to see that there are experiences of abandonment and dependency in their relationship; another mother and daughter pair related to each other from a basis of limiting self-experience; and yet another mother and her daughter were seen to have a relationship that contains powerful potential for individuation through the process of growth and transformation. These findings may be relevant to the therapeutic and educational spheres of psychology, in training and in application. This research journey is an adventure that can be seen as symbolically walking the labyrinth, following the circular path towards the centre, and then back again, out into life. This journey is symbolic of the process of individuation as based on the mythology of the serpent Ouroboros that swallows its tail in order to become whole. The process of alchemy in psychology forms the container for this journey into wholeness. Like Theseus, beloved of Ariadne of antiquity, I took the golden thread in hand and stepped into the labyrinth. The journey could begin …
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie verken die moeder-dogter verhouding en die vroulike beginsel in die individuasieproses. Die moeder-dogterverhouding as die fokus van hierdie studie word voorgestel as 'n houer vir die bewaring van belangrike aspekte van die vroulike beginsel. Die modus van transpersoonlike sielkunde en navorsing is gebruik om as 'n lens te dien waardeur hierdie proses ondersoek is. Die narratiewe navorsingsmetode is gebruik om die stories te vertel wat in hierdie studie aangebied word. Hierdie stories gaan oor die navorsingsreis, die reis van dogter-wees en moeder-wees, die reis van vrou-wording en vrou-wees in die oorgangsfases van vroue se lewens. Dit behels stories van adolessensie en die menopouse. Daarnaas geplaas is die stories van my moeder, van myself, en van ons verhouding. In hierdie vertelling oor die moeder skryf ek dit as die dogter van 'n dogter wie se moeder lank reeds oorlede is. Ek onderneem 'n reis deur die landskap van die literatuur en neem daaruit stories van aspekte van vrou-wees, van die vroulike beginsel, asook van transpersoonlike sielkunde en transpersoonlike navorsing. Dit gaan ook oor die narratiewe wyse van ondersoek en die waarde van stories in narratiewe terapie word bespreek. Hierdie navorsingsreis is 'n speurtog; soos in 'n labirint is dit 'n sirkelvormige reis, wat die mitologiese slang, Ouroboros, wat sy eie stert insluk om heel te word weerspieël. Die labirinte van die mitologie en argetipiese vroubeelde en godinne stem tot nadenke oor die sielkundige ervaring van individuasie. In die nadenke is daar, soos met die alchemiste van weleer, 'n soeke die goud in die lood en die bevindinge wat die navorsingsreis oplewer, word bekendgemaak. In hierdie reis is gebruik gemaak van transpersoonlike en narratiewe navorsingsmetodes en beginsels om die inligting te verkry waarmee die stories vertel kon word. Hierdie metodes maak onder meer gebruik van joernaalskryf, mandalas teken, onderhoude, visuele beelde en foto's, collage, briewe, persoonlike dokumente, droomwerk, woorde en woordassosiasie en persoonlike mitologie. Transpersoonlike werkswyses soos meditasie, refleksie, intuitiewe luister, joernaal skrywe en so meer is gekombineer met narratiewe werkswyses om die inligting te verwerk en die stories te ontgin. Die navorsingsbevindinge dui op ervaringe van afhanklikheid en vrese van verlating; van 'n moeder en dogter wat gebuk gaan onder beperkende ervaringe van selfvertwyfeling en die implikasie wat dit het vir hulle vrou-wees; van 'n moeder en haar dogter wat die potensiaal vir die proses van individuasie in hulle verhoudinge met hul vroueliggame vind. Die implikasies van hierdie bevindinge mag moontlik van belang wees vir sielkundiges en opvoedkundiges wat hulle in hierdie sfere van hulpverlening bevind. Soos Theseus, beminde van Ariadne van ouds, het ek die goue draad ter hand geneem en daarmee die ingang van die labirint betree. Die reis moes begin …

Psychobiographies offer the illuminating experience of uncovering the story of an individual’s life through the lens of a psychological theory. Psychobiographies offer the chance to gain a deeper understanding of what makes that individual unique. This study aimed to explore and describe the emotional intelligence of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu according to Goleman’s (1998) theory of Emotional Intelligence. Tutu was chosen as a subject for this study because of his extraordinary life and accomplishments, and because he is regarded as a prominent figure of moral leadership in South Africa. A qualitative psychobiographical research method was utilised. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources to enhance internal validity, and was then analysed according to Miles and Huberman’s (1994) approach. The findings suggest that Tutu applied all of the twenty five emotional intelligence capacities during his life, and that at times, some were used more extensively than others. This study is groundbreaking in that it is the first psychobiography on Desmond Tutu, and it is the first psychobiography undertaken at the University of Fort Hare. Psychobiographies offer an opportunity to evaluate the psychological theory which is applied. It was found that Goleman’s (1998) theory of Emotional Intelligence is supported by this study.

This psychobiographical study of Helen Keller’s life is exploratory-descriptive in nature. The subject was chosen through purposive sampling. The choice was based on the researcher’s personal interest and the remarkable impact this profoundly handicapped woman had within her society. Helen Keller also meets the psychobiographical requirements. These include that she is historically well known, inspirational, and her life has been completed. The study uses a qualitative, single case, interpretive research design. The design is employed to study Helen Keller’s entire life span within a formal psychological theory. The theory used in this study is Daniel Levinson’s (1996) Life Structure theory of adult development. Data for this study were collected from a variety of primary and secondary sources which provided alternative perspectives on her life. In addition, the data have been corroborated by historical texts, and newspaper and journal articles. Levinson’s (1996) theory divides the lifespan into four developmental eras, each with its own biopsychosocial character. Each era in turn is divided into shorter periods of development, each with particular developmental tasks. Cross-era transitions separate the eras. By describing and exploring the data according to this theory, Helen Keller as a profoundly handicapped person is shown to display universal patterns of development as suggested by Levinson. At the same time, the Life Structure she developed, her life components, and Satisfactoriness illuminated her uniqueness. Through the application of the theory to Helen Keller’s life, this psychobiographical study facilitated an examination of the theory. This led to suggestions for potential development of the theory.

[Truncated abstract] Early psychosocial stress is conjectured to place individuals on a developmental trajectory leading to earlier pubertal maturation, earlier initiation of sexual activity and earlier reproduction than those with less early psychosocial stress. This may have an adaptive function to minimise the chances of lineage extinction, which is more likely in environments of high risk and uncertainty. Previous studies have examined the relationship between early psychosocial stress and life history stages (e.g., age at puberty, age at first sex and age at first birth). However, these studies are limited in that they either examined only a few early psychosocial stressors, examined psychosocial stress relatively late in individuals' lives and/or were restricted to women. Thus, the first aim of the present thesis was to examine these findings in both genders using a measure of early psychosocial stress comprised of 24 categories of retrospectively assessed stressors (e.g., sexual abuse, physical abuse, parental divorce, rated quality of family life) during the first 7 years of life. It was hypothesised that individuals with high, as opposed to low, levels of early psychosocial stress would pass through life history stages earlier. The second aim was to examine how early psychosocial stress affects characteristics associated with life history traits, such as individuals? length, number and type of heterosexual relationships, number of sex partners, adult attachment styles, number of pregnancy terminations, and attitudes and behaviours towards contraceptive use. High levels of early psychosocial stress were predicted to be associated with characteristics reflecting a quantitative, as opposed to a qualitative, reproductive approach (e.g., more sex partners, more short-term relationships, insecure attachment styles). The third aim was to examine how early psychosocial stress is related to mate choice because numerous studies have identified what traits individuals' desire in a mate but not whether early psychosocial stress affects these choices. ... Early psychosocial stress generally had no effects on age at first sex, age at first birth, the number of pregnancy terminations, and mate choices. On the other hand, individuals with high, as opposed to low, levels of early psychosocial stress were more likely to be insecurely attached, had more short-term sexual relationships (men only), had more extra-pair copulations, were more likely to be divorced/separated, had a greater lifetime number of sex partners (men only), and had lower self-rated frequencies of contraception use. Overall, some of these findings are consistent with life history theory, which suggests that individuals with high levels of early psychosocial stress (i.e., those living in environments of high risk and uncertainty) should reach biological maturation earlier, engage in behaviours that facilitate earlier and more frequent reproduction to minimise the chances of lineage extinction. Implications for public health, limitations of the present study and future directions are also discussed.

The current study is a psychobiography. The subject was chosen through purposive sampling based on the researcher’s personal interest and the remarkable impact this woman had within her society. Ellen Kuzwayo also meets the requirements of a psychobiography in that she is historically well known, inspirational, and her life has been completed. The study applies a qualitative research method in the form of a psychobiography, which aimed to describe Ellen Kuzwayo`s life accordingto Daniel Levinson`s Life Structure Theory of Adult Development. Levinson`s theory divides the lifespan into four developmental eras, each with its own biopsychosocial character. Each era in turn is divided into shorter periods of development. Levinson`s theory was chosenbecause it is specifically relevant to the development of women. The findings of the study indicate that Kuzwayo’s life was consistent with the pattern of development which Levinson (1996) identified. Kuzwayo was relatively successful in resolving the life tasks and transitional periods proposed by Levinson. This research study has given a positive demonstration of the value of development theory to investigate a particular human life. Furthermore, it emphasized the uniqueness of individuals in coping with the challenges of life. As a result it has opened up the possibility of perceiving people and their actions in a different way. Consequently, recommendations are offered in order to extend psychobiographical research on the life of Ellen Kuzwayo.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The family life cycle perspective (McGoldrick & Carter, 2003) recognises that one normative life stressor for families is the transition to parenthood. Still, the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & McCubbin, 1996) holds that one protective resource that could help the family in the face of a stressor is family routines. Even though the Ecological-cultural Niche Model (Gallimore, Goldenberg & Weisner, 1993) gives us some understanding of the family routine as a psychological construct, many gaps exist in the literature. The aim of this qualitative grounded theory study was to better understand family routines as a resilience resource during the transition to parenthood. This aim was broken down into five research questions: (1) What do daily routines look like in the lives of firsttime parents? (2) Why are these family routines important to first-time parents? (3) What challenges do first-time parents face in sustaining their daily routines? (4) What assists firsttime parents in maintaining their daily routines? (5) What accommodations do first-time parents make to adapt to the arrival of their first child? In terms of methodology, ten Coloured couples whose first child was between one and four years of age and who resided in one northern suburb of Cape Town took part in semi-structured interviews. In terms of research question one, the data analysis revealed that family routines look like a sequence of unfolding activities and that this sequence is situated within a temporal structure; that the specific sequence and temporal structure are designed by the family to be functional; but that there also is temporal incongruence in the sequence of routines. Related to question two, the participants felt that their routines were important because a family routine is an opportunity to spend time together, and it is an opportunity for improving child development. For question three, the data analysis revealed that the challenges first-time parents face in sustaining their routines are extra-familial and intra-familial barriers that increase the task and temporal complexity of routines. The analysis of question four revealed that what assists parents in maintaining routines are extra-familial and intra-familial resources that decrease the task and temporal complexity of routines. Lastly, themes related to research question five showed that the accommodations that parents make in routines that help them adapt are temporal accommodations and idiosyncratic accommodations. In future, researchers and theorists should not only investigate an individual family routine in isolation (e.g. just dinnertime or just bedtime), but also look at the structure of the entire daily schedule, the scheduling process, and how the functionality of this daily schedule affects the experience of individual routines. Greater emphasis should also be placed on diverse samples from many ecological and cultural contexts in order to identify more extra-familial and intra-familial barriers and resources that affect the maintenance of a satisfying daily schedule.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die gesinslewensiklusraamwerk (McGoldrick & Carter, 2003) beklemtoon dat een normatiewe lewenstressor vir gesinne die oorgang na ouerskap is. Tog dui die Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & McCubbin, 1996) aan dat gesinsroetines een bron van beskerming is wat die gesin tydens ’n groot lewensstressor kan help. Al bied die Ekologies-kulturele Nismodel (Gallimore, Goldenberg & Weisner, 1993) ons ’n sekere mate van begrip van gesinsroetine as ‘n sielkundige konstruk, is daar steeds leemtes in die literatuur. Die doel van hierdie kwalitatiewe gegronde-teorie navorsing was om beter begrip te ontwikkel van gesinsroetines as ’n veerkragtigheidsfaktor tydens die oorgang na ouerskap. Hierdie doel is in vyf navorsingsvrae verdeel: (1) Hoe lyk daaglikse gesinsroetines in die lewens van nuwe ouers? (2) Hoekom is hierdie gesinsroetines belangrik vir nuwe ouers? (3) Watter uitdagings staar nuwe ouers in die gesig wanneer hulle daaglikse roetines probeer volhou? (4) Wat help nuwe ouers om met hul daaglikse roetines vol te hou? en (5) Watter akkommodasies maak nuwe ouers om aan te pas by die koms van hul eerste kind? Wat metodologie betref het tien bruin ouerpare wat se eerste kind tussen die ouderdom van een en vier jaar was en wat in ’n noordelike voorstad van Kaapstad woon aan semigestruktureerde onderhoude deelgeneem. Wat die eerste navorsingsvraag betref, het die dataontleding onthul dat gesinsroetines ’n reeks opeenvolgende aktiwiteite is wat een na die ander ontvou. Hierdie reeks van roetines is geleë binne ’n tydsraamwerk; dit word deur die gesin ontwerp om funksioneel te wees; maar daar bestaan ook tyd-inkongruensies in die reeks roetines. In verband met vraag twee het die deelnemers gevoel roetines is belangrik omdat dit hulle die geleentheid bied om tyd saam deur te bring en dit verskaf ook ’n geleentheid om die ontwikkeling van die kind te bevorder. Op grond van die derde navorsingsvraag het die dataontleding getoon dat die uitdagings wat nuwe ouers in die gesig staar wanneer hulle probeer om hulle gesinsroetines te volhou, buite-gesins en binne-gesins hindernisse is wat take bemoeilik en tyd-kompleksiteit verhoog. Ontledings na aanleiding van vraag vier het getoon dat dit buite-gesins en binne-gesins bronne is wat help om take makliker te maak en tydskompleksiteid te verminder sodat nuwe ouers met roetines kan volhou. Laastens, temas wat na vore gekom het na aanleiding van die vyfde navorsingsvraag toon dat dit tyd- en idiosinkratiese akkommodasies is wat ouers help om aan te pas. In die toekoms moet navorsers en teoretici nie net ‘n individuele gesinsroetine in isolasie bestudeer nie (bv. net ’n aandete-roetine of net ’n slapenstyd-roetine), maar ook kyk na die struktuur van die hele daaglikse skedule, skeduleringsprosesse, en hoe die funksionaliteit van hierdie daaglikse skedule die ervaring van individuele roetines beïnvloed. Meer klem moet ook geplaas word op steekproewe vanuit ekologies en kultureel diverse kontekste ten einde meer buite-gesins en binne-gesins hindernisse en bronne wat die instandhouding van bevredigende skedules beïnvloed, te identifiseer. Kernwoorde: gesinsroetines, oorgang na ouerskap, gesinsveerkragtigheid, gesinslewenssiklus, Ekologies-kulturele nis.

This collection of short stories is about being a twenty-something in the 90s, trying to get by, have a little fun and make somewhat of a mark in the process. It’s about the process of growing up, and the seemingly desperate need to hold onto all those youthful pursuits. It’s about finding out that life as an adult tries to suck the life out of you, rather than allowing you to suck the life out of it. That constant struggle, the battle of wills between attending to your needs or just satisfying your wants. This is a time for you when your needs and wants are siblings, bickering in the back of the car on a long drive up the coast. The characters in these stories are having their good time while it lasts. Avoiding the inevitable: maturity, responsibility, adulthood. And so they should. After all, these aren’t called ‘the best years of our lives’ for nothing. The stories celebrate your life as a twenty-something.

This work is a study of the day to day experiences of older people in receipt of in-home care, the experiences of their family carers, and of their careworkers, resulting in a hypothesis about the structure of the lifecycle towards the end of life, and a consideration of both structured transition and individual transitions to and within this life stage. It has taken off from Laslett�s (1989,1996) seminal work on age divisions, into Third and Fourth Ages. Through an initial examination of secondary sources, I have hypothesized that the older people in this care bracket are in fact in a new life stage, between that of the independent Third Age and the dependent Fourth Age. I call this life stage the stage of 'Supported Independence'. Further references to the secondary sources, and references to the data, have supported this hypothesis, and have shown that there is a structured transition from the stage of independence to that of supported independence. The value of building such a life stage lies in the ability we then have to emphasize the situation of in-home care, bringing to prominence the experiences of the three stakeholders in this care environment. I have used the rites of passage concept to make known the issues involving the move from independence to dependence and those issues predominant in receiving in-home care, in being the carer at such a time, and in being the careworker within the invisibility of home. This has shown a formalized separation from the independent identity, and a prolonged stage of liminality because of an often uncertain form of service delivery. In this liminal stage also are revealed the emotions of living at home with a disability and with care, the improvisatory practices, the passivity and the assertiveness of this time of ageing. By applying this concept also to the family carers, I show the movement of families into and through the caring role, the joy of caring and the difficulties of taking responsibility without authority. I have shown carers� own improvisatory practices, and their determination to maintain the care recipient at home as long as possible. For the careworker, the rites of passage concept shows how she (and the careworker participants in this study are all women), can act to either maintain the liminal position of the recipients or assist in their reconnection to greater autonomy. Exploring the careworkers� own positions by means of the rites of passage concept highlights their inter-structural position between the public and private sectors, and highlights too, the care industry�s position, between that of a time managed industry and a recipient-directed industry. Whether this can be regarded as liminal depends on the philosophies of care adopted by the industry. In summary, the study examines the significance of the place of care, challenging the dominant ideology that home is best, and putting forward for consideration principles of care for other models of service delivery.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The present research aims to describe how a senior male, who lived in the 20th century, passing by all the stages of his life cycle, signified the parental function, inserted in a social context of changes, in which, little years ago, the patriarchal model was used to establish the relation between father and son, determined by remote friendship, in a society in which the life expectancy decreased and do not give to the individual the opportunity of living all the stages of the male parental function. These research included the report of the life biography of a man aged 80, of high middle class backgrounds, living in city and drawn from a non clinical population. The theoretical approaches which formed the basis for the conceptual framework of this investigation was: studies on masculinity and the gender perspective, Bioecological perspective of development and life cycle. The results show that besides the contemporary division of the life cycle in different stages, the biography of this individual only unveil three phases, and the transition of each one are influenced of word. Besides, it is possible to observe that the individual is influenced by a social context of changes, make signification an negotiation in his way of looking after, not based on the patriarchal model learned by his father and grandfather. At the same way, the individual remains his authority and position in the family
O presente trabalho teve como objetivo discutir como um homem idoso que atravessou o século XX e pode vivenciar todas as etapas do ciclo vital, foi significando a função parental em um contexto social de mudanças, em que até pouco tempo o modelo patriarcal geralmente estabelecia uma relação entre pai e filho de distanciamento afetivo, em uma sociedade na qual a expectativa de vida era menor e, por isso, não oportunizava ao indivíduo a vivência da função parental masculina em todas as etapas do ciclo vital. Foi utilizado o relato de história de vida de um indivíduo de 80 anos pertencente à camada média alta urbana de uma população não clínica. Os aportes teóricos que respaldaram a investigação foram: estudos sobre masculinidades e a perspectiva de gênero, a perspectiva bioecológica de desenvolvimento e ciclo vital. Os resultados revelam que mesmo com as contemporâneas divisões do ciclo vital em diversas fases, a história de vida desse indivíduo apenas revela três fases, e a transição entre elas relaciona-se ao trabalho. Além disso, podese observar que o indivíduo, inserido em um contexto social de mudanças, não passou incólume, mas ao contrário, fez significações e negociações em seu modo de cuidado, sem repetir o modelo patriarcal recebido por seu pai e avô e sem deixar de lado a sua autoridade e referência em sua família

Dissertação de Mestrado em Psicopatologia e Psicologia Clínica
O objectivo da presente investigação foi a avaliação do funcionamento sexual, da satisfação sexual, dos comportamentos sexuais, e da prevalência de dificuldades sexuais em mulheres portuguesas numa perspectiva de ciclo-de-vida. Optou-se por proceder à validação do índice de Funcionamento Sexual Feminino (FSFI; Rosen et al., 2000) e do índice de Satisfação Sexual (ISS; Hudson, Harrison & Crosscup, 1981). Recorreu-se a uma amostra de conveniência recrutada da população geral com N = 152 (leque etário = 26-70 anos; M = 41 anos), subdividida em três grupos etários: o Grupo 1 ficou com n = 66 (leque etário = 26-35 anos; M= 29 anos), o Grupo 2 ficou com n = 44 (leque etário = 40-49 anos; M- 43 anos), e o Grupo 3 ficou com n = 42 (leque etário = 54-70 anos; M= 58 anos). A validação do FSFI e do ISS, em termos de estrutura factorial e consistência interna, demonstrou boas propriedades psicométricas. Os resultados obtidos não demonstraram uma relação significativa entre a satisfação sexual e certas fases do ciclo de resposta sexual (e.g., orgasmo), mas demonstraram uma relação significativa entre a satisfação sexual e o comportamento sexual Carícias e preliminares. Os comportamentos sexuais na sua generalidade revelaram um declínio abrupto no grupo das mulheres mais velhas (grupo 3), enquanto que o declínio progressivo ao longo dos três grupos etários só se verificou para o Sexo vaginal; a Masturbação sozinha, por sua vez, aumentou na meia-idade (grupo 2). O funcionamento sexual revelou na sua generalidade um declínio abrupto no grupo das mulheres mais velhas (grupo 3), enquanto que um declínio progressivo só se verificou para a dimensão mista Desejo-Excitação; a satisfação sexual revelou declinar progressivamente. Relativamente à prevalência de dificuldades sexuais na população geral as mais prevalentes foram o desejo sexual hipoactivo (53.3%) e a perturbação do orgasmo (24.3%), seguidas da perturbação da excitação (20.4%), da perturbação da lubrificação (19.1%) e da dispareunia (9.9%); a prevalência de insatisfação sexual foi de 21.7%.

The main objective is to perform a life cycle assessment (LCA) on a hot milk high-speed centrifugal separator (HMRPX 918-HGV-74C, product number 881275 01 01. The purpose of a life cycle assessment (LCA) is to provide a picture of a product’s total environmental impact during its lifecycle. The study is carried out according to ISO 14 040, i.e. all methods, data and assumptions are accounted for in order to make an external review possible. An LCA could provide the basis for an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The LCA clearly shows that the main environmental impact of the separator is caused by CIP and electricity used during operation. The major part of the impact from the CIP chemicals is due to the energy needed for their manufacture. Fossil fuels account for most of the impact for both operation and manufacture of chemicals. Therefore customers should be encouraged to use environmentally friendly electricity and chemicals, such as renewable energy sources and sodium hydroxide made with membrane technology. It is also important to use as little as possible of cleaning agents and make sure that waste is treated properly.
www.ima.kth.se

Maintenance is an extremely important issue in the industry. Testimony to this fact is that European companies spend about 140 billion euro per year on maintenance activities. In Sweden alone, the annual cost of maintenance and related activities reaches 250 billion crowns and these costs are the costs incurred when maintenance jobs are performed and does not include the consequences of poor maintenance with which the costs would be significantly higher. The new paradigm in the manufacturing sector identifies utilization of production resources as a main competitive weapon. To meet the high demands of the industry like high efficiency, enhanced customization and high speed of delivery, a much higher operational availability and capability of production systems have to be achieved. In this context, maintenance becomes an important strategic issue. The objectives of this study are to develop a dynamic LCC model supporting decision making in the early stages of investment and production development process allowing estimating and optimizing life cycle costs of production equipment including maintenance considerations. It will give the concerned stakeholders a better chance of estimating the whole life cycle costs and select proper design alternative for new investments. It can be used as a tool for the justification of investment in Condition Based Maintenance technologies which is underestimated in present calculation models.

The building industry is responsible for 35% of final energy use and 38% of CO2 emissions at a global level. The European Union aims to reduce CO2 emissions in the building industry by up to 90% by the year 2050. Therefore, it is important to consider the environmental impacts buildings have. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the environmental impacts and costs of a single-family house in Sweden. In the study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and the life cycle cost (LCC) methods have been used by following the “cradle to grave” life cycle perspective.  This study shows a significant reduction of global warming potential (GWP), primary energy (PE) use and costs when the lifespan of the house is shifted from 50 to 100 years. The findings illustrate a total decrease in LCA outcome, of GWP to 27% and PE to 18%. Considering the total LCC outcome, when the discount rate increases from 3% to 5% and then 7%, the total costs decrease significantly (60%, 85% to 95%). The embodied carbon, PE use and costs from the production stage/construction stage are significantly reduced, while the maintenance/replacement stage displays the opposite trend. Operational energy use, water consumption and end-of-life, however, remain largely unchanged. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the importance of using wood-based building materials due to its lower carbon-intensive manufacturing process compared to non-wood choices.   The results of the LCA and LCC were systematically studied and are presented visually. Low carbon and cost-effective materials and installations have to be identified in the early stage of a building design so that the appropriate investment choices can be made that will reduce a building’s total environmental and economic impact in the long run. Findings from this thesis provide a greater understanding of the environmental and economic impacts that are relevant for decision-makers when building single-family houses.
Byggbranschen svarar för 35% av den slutliga energianvändningen och 38 % av koldioxidutsläppen på global nivå. Europeiska unionen strävar efter att minska koldioxidutsläppen i byggnadsindustrin med upp till 90% fram till 2050. Därför är det viktigt att beakta byggnaders miljöpåverkan. Syftet med denna avhandling var att undersöka miljöpåverkan och kostnader för ett enfamiljshus i Sverige. I studien har livscykelbedömningen (LCA) och livscykelkostnadsmetoderna (LCC) använts genom att tillämpa livscykelperspektivet ”vagga till grav”. Studien visar en stor minskning av global uppvärmningspotential (GWP), användning av primärenergi (PE) och kostnader vid växling från 50 till 100 års husets livslängd. Resultaten visar en årlig minskning med 27% för utsläpp av växthusgaser och med 18% för användningen av primärenergi. Med tanke på det totala LCC-utfallet, när diskonteringsräntan ökar från 3%, 5% till 7%, minskar de totala kostnaderna avsevärt (60%, 85% till 95%). Det noteras att klimatavtrycket, primärenergianvändningen och kostnaderna från produktionssteget/konstruktionssteget minskar avsevärt, medan underhålls- / utbytessteget visar den motsatta trenden när man byter från 50 till 100 års livslängd. Den operativa energianvändningen, vattenförbrukningen och avfallshanteringen är fortfarande nästan samma när man ändrar livslängden. Vidare betonar resultaten vikten av att använda träbaserade byggmaterial på grund av lägre klimatpåverkan från tillverkningsprocessen jämfört med alternativen. LCA- och LCC-resultaten studerades systematiskt och redovisades visuellt. De koldioxidsnåla och kostnadseffektiva materialen och installationerna måste identifieras i ett tidigt skede av en byggnadskonstruktion genom att välja lämpliga investeringsval som kommer att minska de totala miljö och ekonomiska effekterna på lång sikt. Resultaten från denna avhandling ger ökad förståelse för miljömässiga och ekonomiska konsekvenser som är relevanta för beslutsfattare vid byggnation av ett enfamiljshus.

"Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration from the Naval Postgraduate School, June 2010."
Advisor(s): Kang, Keebom ; E. Cory Yoder. "June 2010." "MBA Professional report"--Cover. Description based on title screen as viewed on July 14, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Operational Availability, Readiness Risk, Total Life Cycle Cost, Performance-Based Logistics, Reliability, Maintainability, Operational Tempo. Includes bibliographical references (p.103-106). Also available in print.

MBA Professional Report
Operational commanders are concerned with maintaining an optimal operational availability (Ao) for their weapons systems while balancing with readiness risk (probability of not achieving a threshold Ao), and cost. Operational availability has been integrated in the acquisition process (Department of Defense, 2009), affecting decision making to a great extent. In the early phase of an acquisition, an initial Ao threshold is created to support mission requirements. The initial Ao threshold is used in performancebased contracts in order to reduce the buyers' risk and the total life cycle cost (TLCC). Utilizing logistics modeling, cost analysis, a test platform, which is the Light Armored Vehicle equipped with a 25mm Gun System (LAV-25) currently employed by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), the authors will determine the effects of logistics on Ao and the TLCC utilizing specific critical factors, such as mean time between maintenance (MTBM), mean down time (MDT), and operational tempo. The authors' research will show which of the Ao's synthetic parameters are more sensitive to maintaining specific levels of Ao and readiness risk in conjunction with the cost, and the authors will suggest alternatives to achieve Ao and readiness risk thresholds under specific cost constraints.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2000.
Also available online at the MIT Theses Online homepage .
Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-119).
by Stephen P. Czerwonka.
S.M.

Longevity is increasing and retirees face the risk of outliving their income resources, perceived by the (compulsory) second pillar pension scheme. In this regard the European Commission has launched the pan-European pension program (PEPP) to help workers to deal with this type of risk. In the thesis I address the potential risks and benefits of different life-cycle strategies, which could be adopted in a (voluntary) third pillar pension scheme. I run a simulation and compare the results of eight strategies. The analysis aims at suggesting which one fits best the capital protection characteristics required by a default option in PEPP. The main results of the thesis concern the greater ability of life-cycle strategies in providing a higher wealth realization at retirement with respect to a minimum capital guarantee policy, and the very low probability that these strategies cannot recoup the amount of contributions paid by the worker.

Wind power capacity is currently growing fast around the world. At the same time different forms of life cycle analysis are becoming common for measuring the environmental impact of wind energy systems. This thesis identifies several problems with current methods for assessing the environmental impact of wind energy and suggests improvements that will make these assessments more robust. The use of the exergy concept combined with life cycle analysis has been proposed by several researchers over the years. One method that has been described theoretically is life cycle exergy analysis (LCEA). In this thesis, the method of LCEA is evaluated and further developed from earlier theoretical definitions. Both benefits and drawbacks with using exergy based life cycle analysis are found. For some applications the use of exergy can solve many of the issues with current life cycle analysis methods, while other problems still remain. The method of life cycle exergy analysis is used to evaluate the sustainability of an existing wind turbine. The wind turbine assessed appears to be sustainable in the way that it gives back many times more exergy than it uses during the life cycle.

The present work is included in the context of the assessment of sustainability in the construction field and is aimed at estimating and analyzing life cycle cost of the existing reinforced concrete bridge “Viadotto delle Capre” during its entire life. This was accomplished by a comprehensive data collection and results evaluation. In detail, the economic analysis of the project is performed. The work has investigated possible design alternatives for maintenance/rehabilitation and end-of-life operations, when structural, functional, economic and also environmental requirements have to be fulfilled. In detail, the economic impact of different design options for the given reinforced concrete bridge have been assessed, whereupon the most economically, structurally and environmentally efficient scenario was chosen. The Integrated Life-Cycle Analysis procedure and Environmental Impact Assessment were also discussed in this work. The scope of this thesis is to illustrate that Life Cycle Cost analysis as part of Life Cycle Assessment approach could be effectively used to drive the design and management strategy of new and existing structures. The final objective of this contribution is to show how an economic analysis can influence decision-making in the definition of the most sustainable design alternatives. The designers can monitor the economic impact of different design strategies in order to identify the most appropriate option.

The transport industry is in the middle of a conceptual shift driven by delivering the targets set by the Paris Agreement. Proactive heavy-duty vehicle companies seek to further gather knowledge in a structured way on environmental impacts of its products and services. The method to be implemented is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). For implementation of LCA certain organisational and operational factors pre-requirements need to be addressed. The study takes key factors of Life Cycle Management (LCM) as a framework for assessing the readiness of Scania CV AB to implement LCA. Said key factors of LCM are analysed through company-based case study observations and literature review. The results indicate the company is in the process of introducing majority of the key factors of LCM. The case study tested the possibilities of the company for LCA, and attempted second phase of LCA, Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). The greatest challenge to LCA is low availability and format of data for LCA. However, the case study deeply tested the data limits and offers good insight in actions to be taken.

Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht Wesensmerkmale des Life Cycle Costing (LCC, dt. Lebenszykluskostenrechnung) und dessen Anwendung veröffentlicht in Fachzeitschriften. Aufgrund der langen Historie des LCC seit Beginn der 30er Jahre, gibt es zu dem Forschungsthema bereits eine Vielzahl theoretischer und empirischer Studien. Dennoch existiert bis heute keine einheitliche Definition oder ein standardisierter methodischer Rahmen. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, LCC zu charakterisieren und eine sinnvolle Methode für die Klassifizierung der vorhandenen Forschungsarbeiten zu identifizieren um methodische und inhaltliche Unterschiede darzustellen. Angewandt wird die Methodik des Literature Review, respektive einer Mischform explorativ-induktiver, qualitativer und quantitativer Inhaltsanalyse. Den Prozess der Charakterisierung und Systematisierung leiten folgende Fragestellungen: Was sind die Motivatoren der Anwendung von LCC in Firmen? Gibt es ein standardisiertes Konzept analog zur Ökobilanz (LCA)? Was sind die wesentlichen Vorteile von LCC? Was ist momentan unbefriedigend erforscht? Wo und in welcher Form wird LCC angewandt? Ergeben sich aus F-1 bis F-4 spezifische Anwendungsbereiche? Zu Beginn erfolgt im Sinne der Vision des Life Cycle Thinking eine Erörterung möglicher Motivationen einer Zuwendung zu LCC aus unternehmerischer Entscheidungsperspektive. Dem folgt eine umfangreiche Analyse und Diskussion der wesentlichen Charakterzüge. Ausgehend dieser Erkenntnis ist ein Analyseraster abgeleitet um die zu bewertenden Studien geeignet zu kategorisieren. Ein direktes Ergebnis stellt die Evaluierung von 34 Studien zu LCC dar. Als mittelbare Ergebnisse der Systematisierung gelten die Erkenntnisse zur Wahl einer optimierten Suchstrategie und die Schaffung eines Startpunkts für Forscher, die sich zukünftig mit Detailfragen des LCC beschäftigen.

Making correct design decisions during the early stages of the engineering design process is increasingly seen to be important, as changes during the later stage can be costly. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used as a method to evaluate the design from 'cradle to grave'. In concept design, decisions are made that have a most significant influence on the life cycle, but at this stage the lack of detail makes LCA very difficult if not impossible. This thesis introduces a method that enables an 'order-of-magnitude' life cycle assessment during the concept stage of the design process. This is achieved by modelling the life cycle inventory as a function of design parameters for complete product families used in engineering design. The hypothesis is that relatively few so-called life cycle parameters determine the largest part of the life cycle inventory. Furthermore, design parameters are related to life cycle parameters, which are mathematically modelled. Design parameters are chosen so that they can be estimated early during the design process. The models of the life cycle parameters are expressed in terms of upper and lower limits, summarising data from many product families. More detailed models describe the relationships of single product families. The method is suitable for software implementation, which will especially aid the handling of sensitivity analysis. Two case studies (sealed lead acid batteries, three-phase asynchronous motors) are used to illustrate how the life cycle parameters are related to the design parameters. An overall outline of how the method is implemented into the overall design process completes the thesis (evaluation of parallel and series configuration hybrid electric vehicle).

In this thesis, I investigate several aspects of life cycle evolution using mathematical models. (1) We expect natural selection to favour organisms that reproduce as often and as quickly as possible. However, many species delay development unless particular environments or rare disturbance events occur. I use models to ask when delayed development (e.g., seed dormancy) in long-lived species can be favoured by selection. I find that long-lived plants experience `immaturity risk': the risk of death due to a population-scale disturbance, such as a fire, before reproducing. This risk can be sufficient to favour germination in the disturbance years only. I show how demographic models can be constructed in order to estimate the contribution of this mechanism (and two other mechanisms) to the evolution of dormancy in a particular environment. (2) All sexually reproducing eukaryotes alternate between haploid and diploid phases. However, selection may not occur in both phases to the same extent. I use models to investigate the evolution of the time spent in haploid versus diploid phases. The presence of a homologous gene copy in diploids has important population genetic effects because it can mask the other gene copy from selection. A key innovation of my investigation is to allow haploids and homozygous diploids to have different fitnesses (intrinsic fitness differences). This reveals a novel hypothesis for the evolution of haploid-diploid strategies (where selection occurs in both phases), where the genetic effects of ploidy are balanced against intrinsic fitness differences. (3) Many sex chromosome systems are characterized by a lack of recombination between sex chromosome types. The predominant explanation for this phenomenon involves differences in selection between diploid sexes. I develop a model for the evolution of recombination between the sex chromosomes in which there is a period of selection among haploid genotypes in pollen or sperm. I find that a period of haploid selection can also drive the evolution of suppressed recombination between sex chromosomes, which should become enriched for genes selected in the haploid phase. This model predicts that the tempo of sex chromosome evolution can depend on the degree of competition among haploids.
Science, Faculty of
Botany, Department of
Graduate

In the present work, life cycle information is developed to provide environmental input into process development and chemical selection within the pharmaceutical industry. The evaluation at various stages of the development process for Sertraline Hydrochloride, an effective chiral antidepressant, was conducted. This evaluation included the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and further Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare several synthetic routes and production processes of this pharmaceutical product. To complete the Sertraline analysis, a methodology to generate gate-to-gate life cycle information of chemical substances was developed based on a transparent methodology of chemical engineering process design (an ab initio approach). In the broader concept of an LCI, the information of each gate-to-gate module can be linked accordingly in a production chain, including the extraction of raw materials, transportation, disposal, reuse, etc. to provide a full cradle-to-gate evaluation. Furthermore, the refinery, energy and treatment sub-modules were developed to assess the environmental burdens related to energy requirements and waste treatment. Finally, the concept of a Á¤lean/Green Technology GuideÃ?was also proposed as an expert system that would provide the scientists with comparative environmental and safety performance information on available technologies for commonly performed unit operations in the pharmaceutical industry. With the expected future application of computer-aid techniques for combinatorial synthesis, an increase of the number of parallel routes to be evaluated in the laboratory scale might be predicted. Life cycle information might also be added to this combinatorial synthesis approach for R&D. This input could be introduced in the earlier stages of process design in order to select cleaner materials or processes using a holistic perspective. This life cycle approach in pharmaceutical synthesis is intended to facilitate the evaluation, comparison, and selection of alternative synthesis routes, by incorporating the overall environmental impact of routes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Oct. 10, 2007). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Economics." Discipline: Economics; Department/School: Economics.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-77).
Market leadership requires effective management of product life cycle, starting from the launch of a new product until its retirement. In this particular project, an exploratory study of business practices in the management of products in the decline phase and the eventual decision of product abandonment is conducted through surveys and interviews of senior executives from Fortune 500 companies, focusing mainly on food, networking equipment, medical devices, consumer electronics and retail industries. Actual names of the companies are not revealed for confidentiality reasons. Also, the implementations, assumptions and level of acceptance of decision support system (DSS) modules on product lifecycle management are analyzed. Finally, companies' business processes are compared and enhancements to current DSS systems are proposed.
by Gokhan Usanmaz.
M.Eng.

This thesis deals with the application of the Life Cycle concept to the design of bridges. Its focus is on methodology rather than on any particular application, with emphasis on the preliminary design stage. With the help of conceptual equations for the construction, maintenance, and vehicle delay costs, a procedure for making decisions at the preliminary design stage is presented. Decisions are made on the basis of minimum present equivalent total cost and include the number of lanes to be provided, the span between piers, and the design alternative (type of bridge) to be adopted for detail design. Minimization is done by a total enumeration procedure. Sensitivity of the decisions with respect to the interest rate and the study period is analyzed, and design decision reversals are noted. This includes a joint sensitivity analysis with respect to these design independent parameters. Limited analysis of errors in cost estimating equations is also performed. A FORTRAN code, implementable on mainframe and personal computers is developed to aid calculations.
Master of Science

Our research is based on data triangulation methodology by which we are going to answer the question with a combination of two elements: the design and development in combination with life cycle perspective according to ISO 14001:2015 and organization consider the life cycle perspective when they design and develop their products, in a modified form introducing many new aspects of life-cycle thinking. This Master’sthesis aims to discuss the Sustainability approach through the use of Environmental Management Standards (EMS), the results achieved by organizations that implement and certify those EMS, and a special focus on the current process of ISO 14001:2015 revision and the logic behind it. Revisiting the concept of Sustainability, the status of the International Organization for Standardization 14001, requirements that related to that life cycle perspective in ISO 14001:2015, eco-design, circular economy and its expected outcomes are discussed. The ISO 14001:2015 revision will have major impacts on the more than 300,000 worldwide certified organizations and on the many professionals that work with it. Analysis of the development of a sustainability portfolio within a globally-operating manufacturing company, we came different illustrate the kinds of life cycle work involved in dealing with activities and interests, connecting activities and interests into action-nets, performing life cycle practices, and spreading the life cycle idea. Finally, we discuss implications of life cycle work for research in the field of organization and management studies and questions related to the topic with quality engineers within the organization.

Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(経済学)
甲第11170号
経博第198号
新制||経||195(附属図書館)
22754
UT51-2004-T140
京都大学大学院経済学研究科現代経済学専攻
(主査)教授 橘木 俊詔, 教授 西村 周三, 教授 久本 憲夫
学位規則第4条第1項該当