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The objective of the study was to examine how surface acting is used by middle managers to manage the emotional displays of executives in the health industry in Australia. The research was located within a social constructionist epistemology and the theoretical construct used to structure the study was surface acting. Data was generated through qualitative interviews with 49 middle managers. Analysis was undertaken using grounded theory and thematic analysis. The main finding was that unlike male managers, female managers took on the role of managing the emotional displays of senior staff and used surface acting as the means of doing this. They expressed optimism, calmness and empathy even when these were not the emotions that they were actually feeling. It is argued that the propensity for female managers to take on the role of managing the emotional displays of powerful others demonstrates the extent to which gender stereotypes still persist in the health system. The long-term impact of this is often detrimental in terms of female middle managers well-being. This is the first study to look at how surface acting is used by more junior staff to moderate the behaviour of executives.

This paper explores some of the issues that arise when one is dealing with data that has been produced by the researcher about their own experience. In particular, we are interested in exploring the ways that researchers can go about analyzing autobiographical data. Many researchers produce data that is autobiographical. Ethnographers produce field notes. Action Researchers often write about their own practice. Phenomenologists, sociologists and historians may write narratives that are autobiographical. There is a growing trend for researchers working in a range of settings to view themselves simultaneously being both a subject (or the subject) and a researcher. Data analysis techniques that work well when dealing with data about other people may not be as useful when one is working with one's own data. We will suggest a number of strategies that a researcher can employ to analyze such data including collaborative analysis, forms of grounded theory and alternative forms of representation such as poetry, art and drama. We will also discuss the use of frameworks such as particular psychodynamic theories, feminist theories and critical theories as ways of gaining additional insight from the analysis of the researcher's biographical writings.