Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Finance, Public Psychological aspects'
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1
Šedina, Jan. "Psychological and Sociological Aspects of Investing in Stock Markets." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2011. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-96356.
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This work is mainly focused on the environment of stock markets. It aims to identify some psychological and sociological factors relating to investors' behaviour which may help to justify occurrence of excessive movements in stock market prices resulting in price "bubbles" and stock market crashes. It emphasizes that the assumptions for the validity of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis based on dominant position of rational investors in stock markets have been empirically undermined by number of experiments and observations. As one of the most vigorous alternative challenging the Efficient Market Hypothesis is now considered the theory of behavioural finance stressing some imperfections of human behaviour which may substantially influence dynamics of stock market prices in both directions.
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Lau, Yvonne, and n/a. "The enthusiasm for disease screening : an ethical critique with a sociological perspective." University of Otago. Dunedin School of Medicine, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090121.085918.
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Screening is generally considered a useful strategy in the prevention of chronic diseases. The notion is that early detection through the use of certain screening tests can facilitate effective preventive measures to be undertaken which can then lead to improved prognosis from or ultimate avoidance of serious clinical diseases. The enthusiasm for screening in the United States is high and can be seen by the size of public demand for it. Rapid technological advances and knowledge expansion in the past decade have further facilitated the introduction of new tests and screening opportunities. In the mean time, the concept of screening has undergone subtle changes. Previous emphasis on clear and demonstrable population health benefits has been slowly replaced by an emphasis on individual responsibility for the surveillance of personal health risks. Disease screening is frequently advocated as part of a health promotion programme. As a clinician who has worked in breast cancer screening and who is wary of the complexities and problems associated with disease screening, my contention is that the enthusiasm for screening may not ultimately be conducive to health and well-being.
This thesis represents an effort to understand the popularity and enthusiasm for disease screening, how it has come about and, why it may not be conducive to health and well-being. The thesis begins with a description of the phenomenon to be followed by a detailed examination of the scientific principles behind disease screening. It then moves on to discover how the phenomenon might have come about by first considering the evolution of biomedicine over the centuries and then its present endeavour in the form of surveillance medicine as well as the latter�s relationship with today�s market economy. Using relevant case studies that involve, for example, cancer and prenatal genetic screening, this thesis explores different concerns relating to health and well-being, including such topics as the creation of health roles, the reconfiguration of human values and interpersonal relationships as well as medicalisation. A final chapter offers an account of health and well-being and sums up why the enthusiasm for screening may not be conducive to health and well-being.
The enthusiasm for screening compels people to assume health as a moral virtue. Screening is turned into a ritual that people consume to attain salvation. Since diseases may lead to death, diseases must be avoided though screening. Yet health is not just about the absence of disease. Health and well-being can only be realised by the individual within the context of the individual�s life as a whole. The institution of biomedicine has undeniable responsibility to ensure that screening will not be used to the detriment of individuals� health and well-being. Without condemning disease screening as a potentially useful tool in the prevention of disease, this thesis advocates prudence in its utilisation. People must not be compelled to attend screening through programmes of promotion (commercially related or not). Rather, autonomous decisions must be facilitated as far as possible through the provision of clear, accurate and factual information.
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Takase, Miyuki. "Influence of public image of nurses on nursing practice." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2000. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1346.
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Many researchers believe that nurses live in a dual structure, encompassing both the social and nursing worlds. They contend that these two worlds have contrasting views toward nurses. This is, while nurses are guided to establish professional status, society still expects them to remain in a dependent role. This conflict is assumed to have a negative impact on nurses’ psychological and functional states (Kalisch & Kalisch, 1983 & 1987). However, this assumption has not yet been explored sufficiently. The aim of this descriptive correlational study was therefore to investigate the relationships among the public image of nurses, nurses’ self concept, personal and collective self-esteem, job satisfaction, and performance. A total of eighty registered nursing students were invited to participate in this study by completing seven types of questionnaires (see Appendix C). The data were analysed by Pearson correlation and One-Way Analysis of Variance. The results of this study supported contention of the contemporary nursing scholars that the stereotypical public image of nurses could negatively affect nurses’ self-concept, self-esteem, job satisfaction and performance. The results, however, also demonstrated that the professional socialisation and cultivation of nurses’ personal self-esteem would help to buffer the negative effects of the public stereotypes on nursing practice. Based on these findings, this study suggests countermeasures to deal with the negative impacts of the public stereotypes. These strategies include public education, monitoring the media, changing nurses’ attitudes, encouraging professional socialisation, empowering nurses, and boosting nurses’ self-esteem. This study is expected to help nurses overcome the potential effects of the public stereotypes. The results of the study are also dedicated to nurses who have endeavoured to facilitate the process of professionalization in nursing.
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Sharp, Lee-Ann, and n/a. "The role of sport psychology consultant effectiveness within the consulting relationship." University of Otago. School of Physical Education, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090827.122540.
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Within the field of sport psychology the need for effective evaluation is now one of the most pressing requirements, yet it is a need that is often overlooked (Strean, 1998). The evaluation of the individual sport psychology consultant has been neglected in favour of the assessment and evaluation of the methods employed by these individuals. Despite this neglect, the relationship that exists between the sport psychology consultant (SPC) and the athletes they are consulting with is regarded as a significant component in successful sport psychology interventions (Petitpas, Giges & Danish, 1999). Clinical and counselling psychology literatures have demonstrated substantial evidence supporting the positive effect that an open, trusting and collaborative relationship between therapist and client has on therapeutic outcomes (e.g., Horvath, 2006). Yet little is known about the facilitative conditions needed to establish an effective collaborative relationship between the sport psychology consultant and athlete. The first purpose of this research project was to investigate SPCs, elite athletes and coaches' perceptions of the influence of SPC characteristics on the development of athletes' mental skills. The second purpose was to explore the facilitative conditions these individuals believed were necessary for establishing an effective consulting relationship. In order to accomplish these goals, four studies were conducted to assess what SPCs, athletes and coaches believed to be essential for effective consulting. The first study involved the completion of an online Consultant Effectiveness Form by 48 elite athletes; study two involved individual face-to-face interviews with nine elite athletes (6 male and 3 female, mean age = 32.67 years, SD = 11.05, mean competitive experience = 16.67 years, SD = 8.70) from a variety of sports (cricket, rugby, swimming, triathlon, dressage and wheelchair rugby) regarding their opinions of consulting effectiveness. In study three 13 accredited SPCs (9 males and 4 females, mean age = 44.8, SD = 10.6; mean years consulting experience = 11.1, SD = 4.7) were interviewed to examine their perceptions of consulting effectiveness. Finally, study four involved the interviewing of both members of four sport psychology consulting case studies regarding the effectiveness of their individual relationship. An inductive grounded theory approach was employed to analyse the interview data. Following extensive inductive content analysis the concepts and sub-categories that emerged were then organised into broader categories. Results indicated five categories important for an effective consulting relationship; (a) adopt a client-centred consulting approach, in which the SPC demonstrated trust, openness and a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities; (b) transference and countertransference were a reality of the consulting relationship which the SPC should be aware of; (c) an informal, flexible, collaborative relationship with clear boundaries and the SPC being friendly, but not friends with the client; (d) the client contributions to the consulting relationship included commitment, openness and honesty; and (e) the SPC contributed counselling skills, enthusiasm, fitted in with team culture and worked towards creating client independence. The findings provide clear guidelines for consulting practice to promote the development of effective consulting relationships between sport psychology consultants and their clients.
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Inglis, Sher Jaclyn. "Cognitive aspects of public sector accrual accounting in organizational context." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1995. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/35853/1/35853_Inglis_%201995.pdf.
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Original cross discipline applied research on cognitive aspects of accrual accounting in the public sector has been reported. Literature reviewed was relevant to accrual basis and cash basis accounting for the operations of government, accounting output and user orientation, leading to decision making as seen by accountants. Decision making and problem solving as seen by cognitive science was selectively reviewed in relation to heuristics, goal directedness, representation
and functional fixity, and expert novice differentiations.
In the work environment. fifty employees of a Government Department from managers to sub
managers were given the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Form A and a battery of eight in context unstructured work problems cross treated to examine accrual versus cash bases of accounting, accounting jargon versus plainer English representation, and goal directedness versus no goal directedness. The population sample also permitted study of distinctions of gender, age, and expert versus novice differences at three levels, being accountants versus non accountants,
managers versus potential managers and non managers, and successful problem solvers versus the rest. Trial design included unobtrusive process tracing by computer as to requests for additional data readily available at no extra cost.
Results revealed gender, age, and critical thinking measures were unimportant, and problem solving was not enhanced by either accrual or cash basis accounting output when either method provided full disclosure of relevant information. Plainer English representation shortened problem solving time, but did not enhance problem solving outcomes, and was in this way more efficient but not more effective across all subjects, including accountants. Solution outcomes were enhanced only by goal directedness, showing that. when accounting output was offered to internal users of accounting
to facilitate their decision making, the goal effect cognitive factor was more important than any
accounting and representation issues examined. For the introduction of accrual accounting to the public sector, attention to goal directedness was the major implication inferred from the study. Collectively neither managers nor accountants showed persistent results suggestive of expert status in the domain of contemporary accounting issues in government. When expertise was identified by
perfect score for a problem, experts called for more information that was available at no extra cost,
and spent longer time looking at it, increasing overall problem solving time.
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Antoni, Xolile Lucas. "Financial literacy and behaviour among the black community in Nelson Mandela Bay." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020027.
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South Africa has a poor savings culture. This means that South Africans do not save enough income for a later stage resulting in a relative large number of South African consumers living in debt and using more credit than what they have saved. Almost half of the South African consumers were in debt during the year 2010 and had a negative credit record. Thus consumers in South Africa are not living only in poor conditions but are also open to exploitation by the informal economy. Lenders in the informal economy are known as ‘loan sharks’ because they charge consumers interest rates of between 40 and 60 percent. This is because low income consumers have less access to savings products and credit facilities from the formal economy. These factors are more prevalent among the black consumers, as they use informal credit providers. The sources of credit for black consumers in the informal market are social networks such as friends and family. Furthermore, black consumers have low levels of knowledge regarding issues such as bad debts. Black consumers are also more likely to experience financial problems than other racial groups. This means that black consumers may need to improve their levels of financial knowledge, financial skills and adopt positive financial attitudes to manage their financial problems without obtaining more debt. Thus, financial education may be the way of ensuring that black consumers improve their financial decision-making ability and their financial behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour among the black community in Nelson Mandela Bay. To achieve the purpose of this study, a literature review was conducted on financial literacy, financial education, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. This was followed by an empirical investigation to establish the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as necessitated by the purpose of this study and also to be able to collect a vast amount of perceptions from the black community. The sample of this study consisted of low to middle income black consumers living in Nelson Mandela Bay.
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Darling, Helen Marie, and n/a. "School and personal factors associated with being a smoker." University of Otago. Dunedin School of Medicine, 2005. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20060830.120926.
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Most adult smokers begin smoking during adolescence; nicotine dependence can develop relatively quickly and, once established, most smokers smoke for approximately 40 years. For adolescents dependent upon nicotine, cessation interventions are not well established. It is, therefore, essential that public health interventions focus on preventing initiation and maintenance and decreasing the prevalence of youth smoking. In spite of legislation to protect New Zealand adolescents, a large proportion continues to use tobacco at least weekly. Recent surveys have shown a slight decrease in cigarette smoking prevalence, overall, but, no reduction and marked increases have been reported within some subgroups.
The overall aim of this research was to identify school and personal factors associated with secondary school students smoking. The specific research objectives included: a) identifying factors at the personal, family, peer, school and 'tobacco-genic' environment levels which were associated with regular and established cigarette smoking; b) describing the extent of smoke-free policy and health education programmes in secondary schools; and, c) evaluating the relations between cigarette smoking among students and potential protective factors, smoke-free policies and practices and health education programmes.
The research was based on data from 3,434 secondary school students from 82 schools. The multi-stage sampling procedures and data analyses ensured that the results were able to be generalised to the New Zealand secondary school student population. Smoking was more prevalent amongst girls for all measures of smoking frequency and significant differences were found for smoking prevalence between ethnic groups and school decile.
In terms of family influences, the smoking behaviours of parents were not associated with increased odds of smoking nor were perceived relationships between students and their parents, or exposure to SHS. In contrast, the smoking behaviour of siblings was associated with increased odds of smoking but it is likely that both student and sibling smoking are both influenced by the same processes within the family. Similarly, low levels of self-concept were not associated with increased odds for daily smoking. The smoking behaviour of a best friend was a pervasive risk factor as was a high level of disposable income, frequent episodes of unsupervised activities, and 'pro-smoking' knowledge. Being male, visiting a place of worship, and the intention to stay at school until after Year 13 reduced the odds of daily smoking among students.
Multilevel models were used to identify school level effects. After adjusting for student, family and school characteristics significant between-school variance in smoking prevalence remained and this suggests that there are factors, arguably beyond the immediate control of the student or family that may influence a student�s smoking behaviour. The presence of a school effect also supports the WHO concept of 'health promoting schools' in that schools can make a difference to health outcomes. Understanding how the health promoting schools model has been interpreted and implemented in NZ schools, along with critique of the implementation of the amended legislation making all schools smoke-free, would be a pertinent 'next-step' in identifying characteristics of schools which are associated with decreased tobacco use.
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Roesch, Stefan, and n/a. "There and back again - comparative case studies of film location tourists� on-site behaviour and experiences." University of Otago. Department of Tourism, 2008. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20080211.090920.
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Over the last decade, film location tourism has been established as a niche segment in the tourism industry. While this niche has attracted attention from both researchers and marketers alike, not much knowledge has been accumulated about the tourist encounter itself. It is the main purpose of this thesis to research on-site behavioural and experiential aspects of the film location encounter.
For the overall research design, an inductive, comparative case-study approach was implemented. Three cases were selected for this research: The Lord of the Rings locations in New Zealand, The Sound of Music locations in Austria and Star Wars locations in Tunisia. The applied methods are participant observation, image-based data and semi-structured interviews. The data collection was conducted while participating in organised film location tows in order to secure access to the informants.
The first fundamental outcome of this research is that there is no 'film location tourist' as such. People who travel to film locations come from different socio-economic backgrounds, comprise all age groups and possess varying degrees of fandom. The majority of film location tourists, however, have one thing in common, regardless of the underlying movie genre: the longing to connect with the imaginary world of the film by visiting the physical and thus 'real' location places. These places are consumed in two ways: as places of spectacle and as sacred places.
The nature of the location consumption is dependent on a number of factors, including the degree of fandom of the consumers, the attractiveness of the encountered locations, the consistency of the interpretive community, the amount and nature of external distortions and, if applicable, the structure of the location tour. Means of consumption of film locations as spectacle are formal posing, sight recordings and shot re-creations. When experiencing film locations as sacred places, shot re-creations, mental simulations and filmic re-enactments occur. The latter form of consumption can result in a symbiosis between the imaginary and the real place component: the gazing subject becomes the previously (photographed) object.
Regardless of the degree of experiential satisfaction, film location tourists want to bring some of the magic back home. This is achieved not only via mental pictures and physical photographs, but also through souvenirs. These can be off- or on-site. Regarding the latter, these souvenirs are almost holy relics, brought home from a successful pilgrimage and subsequently framed and displayed in an altar-like fashion. The benefits from this are not only self-pride and satisfaction, but also the distinction to other movie fans who have not been able to do the journey themselves. Thus, the person in possession of such a relic gains privileged status amongst peers which in turn raises the satisfaction with the location encounter.
The film location experience cycle comes to a full closure by re-watching the movie. This procedure involves a renewed connection to both the imaginary filmic places as well as the real locations visited. The filmic gaze is extended, as the movie scenes are now seen as part of a real place which extends beyond the filmic sight.
Keywords: Film location tourism - multiple, comparative on-site case study inquiry - film locations as spatial and temporal constructs - the film location tourist encounter - behavioural and experiential interactions with place.
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Hendrie, Delia Verbara. "Aspects of South African state welfare policy : a study in public finance and income redistribution." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16349.
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Bibliography: pages 242-256.International redistribution studies vary in scope from those which investigate the full range of all benefits and costs of the fiscal system to others restricting their coverage to the distributive impact of a single expenditure or tax. In South Africa relatively little research has been directed to the distributive consequences of state spending and taxing policies. The few existing studies have mainly concentrated on race as an explanatory variable in analyzing budget incidence. This thesis adopted a new technique of measuring the incidence of benefits obtained from state spending and the burdens imposed by tax payments. The first step involved constructing household-level microdata files for sample households. Secondly, allocation routines were developed for selected expenditures and taxes whereby the benefits and costs of fiscal action could be assigned to households. Lastly these routines were applied separately to the files of each household. The distributive effects of the expenditures and taxes could then be analyzed with respect to any relevant household variable.
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Henker, Julia Banking & Finance Australian School of Business UNSW. "A behavioural finance perspective on trade imbalance and stock prices." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Banking and Finance, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/30587.
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In this thesis I examine, within a behavioural finance framework, the impact on stock prices of order and trade imbalance in three separate but related studies. The first study, chapter two, begins with a question that plagues behavioural finance theories???do the investors most likely to be influenced by the behavioural biases described in the literature, i.e., individual investors, affect stock prices? My data enable me to consider the impact of net individual investor trading for the entire market over several years. I find that net individual investor purchasing Grangercauses stock price changes. The correlation is negative, however, contradicting common sense by demonstrating that individuals investor buying pressure makes prices go down and selling pressure forces them up. More investigation is required. Chapter three references order imbalance results from experimental finance. I use field data to test a robust laboratory model and my modified versions. My findings suggest that, with appropriate modifications, laboratory results can be applied to real financial markets. Chapter four combines the data from the chapters two and three to revisit the question of individual investor impact on stock prices. Other studies have argued that individual investor influence is strongest in smaller capitalization stocks. Moreover, various theories propose that individual investors are the driving force behind the irrational stock prices of a bubble. I focus on the stocks from chapter three, bubble stocks, and ask whether, in the context of the trading of the entire market, individual investor trades are influential. Once again I find Grangercausality, but in the wrong direction. Moreover, the activity and volume of the individual investor category of the holdings data is completely overshadowed by that of the two large investor categories, domestic and foreign institutions. I conclude that individual investor trades are not influential in determining stock prices. This conclusion has important implications for some behavioural finance models of asset pricing. I suggest that emphasis might be better placed on educating individual investors about the errors to which they are prone, rather than on trying to explain market anomalies with those errors.
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Payne, Kenneth L. "Financing instructional materials in Indiana public school corporations." Virtual Press, 1987. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/505144.
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The purpose of the study was to analyze current procedures utilized for financing textbooks and related instructional materials by Indiana public school corporations and public school corporations in selected states. Respective practices were examined in order to determine feasible methods/alternatives for Indiana school corporations to use in overcoming the contemporary financial and administrative dilemma which existed in the 1985-86 school year.A descriptive questionnaire was developed from a review of literature and with the assistance of colleagues. Data obtained by the instrument were analyzed using frequency tabulations and percentages. Based on information gained from the study and data collected in superintendents in Indiana, solutions to financing instructional materials for Indiana school corporations were determined.Data collected supported the following conclusions: 1. Public school corporations in Indiana charge fees for textbooks and related instructional materials and are experiencing difficulties in collecting textbook rental and related fees from parents or guardians of school children.2. The use of small claims court for recovering fees is not an effective method for most public school corporations in Indiana.3. Township trustees and/or county councils should pay for textbooks and instructional materials of students whose parents or guardians are declared by the courts to be indigent.4. The current formula for determining textbook rental rates is satisfactory.5. Legislation should be adopted to permit public school corporations to increase revenue in order to finance textbooks and related instructional materials.6. To be in concert with other states in the United States and more specifically within the Great Lakes Region, public school students should be supplied textbooks and related instructional materials without charge.7. The location and size of school corporations have implications to problems existing in public school corporations when administering textbook rental programs.8. Lack of additional finance has restricted public school corporations in implementing new programs to be funded by the general fund budget.9. Based on the average rankings of ten regions, public school corporations in Regions I, II, and VI encountered the greatest difficulty in financing textbooks and related instructional materials. Public school corporations have the least problems in supplying textbooks to school students.10. Based on the average rankings of six enrollment groups, public school corporations in the smallest three groups had the greatest success in financing textbooks and related instructional materials for students.11. Additional costs for school corporations are incurred when interest is paid to publishers for overdue accounts or for installment payment programs.12. School corporations with deficit balances or significantly decreasing balances in textbook rental accounts are in. need of assistance in collecting outstanding fees from constituents and/or means of generating sufficient revenue to account for required textbooks and related instructional materials for students.
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Brooks, Bradley Wilson. "Provoking public dialogue on architecture and urbanism through the dissemination of ad hoc guerrilla media." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/23440.
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De, Beer Carl Francois. "Can sport impact rational investor behaviour? : an evaluation of the impact of national sporting performance on stock market returns in South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002748.
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The finance industry is an extremely fast and complex world dominated by the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH). This theory contains many assumptions which include that investors are rational utility maximisers and that market prices reflect all relevant economic information available to the public. However, over the years, a new form of financial literature known as behavioural finance has been gaining momentum. Behavioural finance seeks to bridge the gap between psychology and economics in an attempt to gain a better understanding of how markets react to different situations. Behavioural finance has also gained much attention in recent years due to the EMH’s inability to explain many economic anomalies. This study first considers the differences between behavioural finance theory and EMH theory before explaining how an individual’s mood has the ability to influence one’s risk taking preferences. Mood changes were also found to be linked to changes in the way an individual reacts to different situations, the way they thinks and processes thoughts. Negative events were also found to have a greater influence on an individual’s mood than positive events did, resulting in an asymmetric relationship between positive and negative results. This study then examines numerous studies indicating how non-economic events can have a statistical and significant influence on stock market returns before analysing previous literature where sport was found to influence market prices. The aim of this study is to determine if South African national sporting performance can influence investors in such a way that it has the ability to impact on market returns. Using standard event study methodology, this study determines the constant mean return using the daily All-Share price index on the JSE for the period of 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2010. This study focuses on three of South Africa’s most popular sports, namely soccer, cricket and rugby and examine if these three sports have the ability to influence market returns. Although there is some evidence of a relationship between stock returns and sporting performance in the descriptive analysis, the regression results indicate that sporting performance in South Africa does not significantly explain abnormal market returns on the JSE. The study provides a number of possible reasons for this finding and concludes by suggesting areas for future research.
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Maclean, Joan. "Assessment and prediction of long term psychological outcome after intensive care." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2000. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/4869/.
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The aim of this research has been the examination of the long term psychological consequences of admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for critical illness. The major objectives were first, psychometric assessment at specified intervals post-discharge, using the General Health Questionnaire, Rosenberg Self Esteem scale, and the Impact of Event Scale, and secondly identification of ICU related variables which influence psychological wellbeing and recovery. The design was prospective and used survey methods. Seventy-two patients were recruited from the ICU at St James's University Hospital in Leeds. Data were collected at six weeks, six months and twelve months post-discharge. The initial analysis produced evidence of discrimination between subgroups, in particular age, length of stay in ICU, admission severity, indication for admission, communication, pre-existence of cancer, and the use of muscle relaxant drugs. Further analysis by way of a logistic regression identified four factors which may have predictive properties - age, admission severity, trauma and pre-existence of cancer. Patients from younger age groups reported more post traumatic stress symptoms than older patients; patients with pre-existing cancer also reported fewer post traumatic stress symptoms. Patients admitted following trauma reported poorer psychological outcome. Admission severity was negatively associated with psychological dysfunction, with those who were sickest on admission reporting fewer problems. Symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder were found in a number of patients; at final follow-up 27% of the surviving sample had medium levels, and 27% high levels of post traumatic stress symptoms. ICU patients form a fragile group to study and sample attrition was considerable. Nevertheless the findings are of interest to this developing research area and suggestions are made regarding their utilisation.
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Wang, Xing Tao. "Architectural dynamics and a suitable public space." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5579.
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Kaambwa, Billingsley Chimuka. "Statistical issues in service evaluation – a case of intermediate care." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2009. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/527/.
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The objective of this thesis was to identify statistical issues that are commonly associated with evaluations of services for older people with a view to establishing the most appropriate methods of addressing them. This goal was achieved in two stages. In the first stage, a comprehensive literature review of studies that have reported such evaluations on populations of older people in the UK was conducted. The second stage involved demonstrating approaches for dealing with these issues on a dataset drawn from largest evaluation of intermediate care done and published in the UK to date. The approaches were adapted from the studies reported in the literature review and where appropriate, from other sources. This thesis identified a number of statistical issues including those associated with distributional characteristics of variables, missing data and the need to predict utility outcome measures from non-utility ones. Robust approaches of dealing with these problems were demonstrated. The results obtained underlined the importance of avoiding erroneous results and conclusions by applying methods with a sound theoretical background.
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Croy, Gerry. "Psychological determinants of retirement savings behaviour: An application of the theory of planned behaviour." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2007. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/311.
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It is generally accepted that the rate at which any individuals presently save falls substantively short of that which will enable them to achieve their lifestyle aspirations in retirement. This, combined with the social-support funding demands of an ageing population makes the subject of retirement savings one of crucial importance to Australia and to most countries worldwide. An obvious approach to improving the quality of life in retirement and to alleviating the forecast social-support burden is to induce people to save in a more effective manner. This point is not lost on the Australian government, which, in recent times has introduced several initiatives that promote improved retirement savings. However, it is generally regarded that a good deal more needs to be done to motivate people to save more and to invest more efficiently for their retirement needs. Yet, much past research regarding the psychological determinants of individual’s retirement savings choices can be characterised as disparate in the sense that it fails to be couched within any integrative theoretical framework. One outcome of this situation is a lack of opportunity to assess the relative importance of various determinants of retirement savings behaviour.
Using the framework of the theory of planned behaviour, a pre-eminent social-psychological model for predicting human behaviour, the present research explored an extended range of psychological determinants in order to explain retirement savings behaviours within an Australian context and to test the sufficiency of the standard theoretical model for this purpose. The study chose two important retirement savings behaviours, namely volitional superannuation contribution behaviour and superannuation investment strategy-change behaviour to investigate a number of behavioural determinants. The intent of the research was to identify the relative importance of key behavioural determinants and to relate these to intervention possibilities applied to the individual, the workplace and the general public…
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Hayat, Roshanai Afsaneh. "Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Receiving Genetic Counseling for Hereditary Cancer." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Vårdvetenskap, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-128870.
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The overall aims of this thesis were to investigate psychological and behavioral effects of receiving cancer genetic counseling for breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer and/or with a family history of these cancer types and to determine whether counselees’ informational needs were met. Study I was performed 3-7 years post-counseling. Participants (n=214) reported a relatively high level of anxiety but a low level of depression compared to cancer patients in general. However, there was no indication that the distress experienced was due to the counseling. Moderate changes in life and family relations, high level of adherence to recommended controls and satisfaction was reported. Study II was a randomized control trial (RCT) intervention study which involved 147 counselees. An increase in the level of knowledge and correct estimation of personal risk was reported in both the intervention and control groups, although this increase declined at later follow-up. Enhanced information led to significantly greater satisfaction with the given information, and the way of informing relatives. Most counselees had shared information with their at-risk relatives. Study III focused on sharing information with at-risk relatives among participants in study II and their relatives (n=81). Counselees were interviewed and answered a questionnaire, whilst their relatives only answered the questionnaire. Counselees reported positive/neutral feelings about communicating genetic information and mostly interpreted their relatives’ reactions as positive/ neutral. Also, approximately 50% of relatives reported positive/neutral reactions and were generally satisfied with the received information. Study IV was conducted in Sweden and Norway based on 235 counselees. Counselees expected counselors to be skillful and thoughtful, take them seriously and provide risk estimations and medical information. Most important issues to counselees were satisfactorily addressed by the counselors. Analyzing importance rankings resulted in five categories of needs: a need for facts, caring communication and medical information, need for understanding and support in sharing genetic information, practical care and medical/practical information. In conclusion, no adverse psychological or behavioral effect on counselees was observed. Apparently, genetic counseling is managed properly and counselors successfully address counselees’ needs. Providing extended information does not seem necessary, however, tailoring information to individual counselees needs may create a more effective counseling.
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Lloyd, Sharni, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "Exploratory surgery of the female psyche." Deakin University, 1996. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20051111.115947.
Full textAbstract:
The thesis explores the visual narrative concerning a journey of empowerment for women. To enable the journey to advance the inquiry is directed into two areas. The first area is female gender, which is argued to be socially constructed and implicit in the marginalisation of women in western society. The second area is feminine authority, which is gained by developing an understanding and acceptance of the characteristics which have historically been considered as belonging to the feminine. Granting these characteristics agency would recognise their authority and assist in the elevation of the female to a position of equality in western society.
Beginning from a feminist position, the research supported the belief that the female is marginalised in western society. It also confirmed the notion that empowerment and authority can be attained by women if they actively pursue the following;
Explore their own psychology beyond the existing socially constructed gender roles.
Develop an understanding of their feminine self by applying Jung's theories on individuation and archetypes.
Expose the underlying patriarchal influence in western epistemology and science by challenging existing deeply held cultural and scientific beliefs and by actively contributing as feminists to the areas of epistemology and science.
Archetypal myths of the feminine have developed from an androcentric position. They enforce and perpetuate gender imbalance which contributes to the disenfranchisement of women in western society, Individuation is a process in which a person explores aspects of themselves to bring forth parts of their unconscious into their conscious mind in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of themselves. As a consequence the consciousness develops closer links with archetypal memories which assists the exploration. The true feminine is the feminine not restricted or defined by the dominant androcentric view. Knowledge of the feminine empowers women to address the marginalisation of the female in western society and assists in the process of gaining female authority.
This enquiry also investigated the four stages of female psychological development with regard to patriarchal influences. Of particular importance is the second stage of psychological development where the female identifies with historically perceived inferior characteristics of the female. This is when she rejects her connections with the primacy of female power and her deep connections with nature which were inherited from archaic times. It is at this stage that she absorbs the myths associated with western patriarchal society which effectively disempower her.
Western epistemology, with its emphasis on objective investigation and empiricism contributes to the support for and promotion of inferior female gender. This type of investigation is brought into question when areas of research into primates and human evolutionary theory is shown to develop from an androcentric view.
Western knowledge has associations with power and justice and power is commonly associated with dominance. Regard for truth and absolute can be viewed as key elements in the support for knowledge and its associations with power. Knowledge has historically maintained suppression of individual experience which promotes a universalised account. This suppression of beliefs other than the dominant authority maintains the existing dominant social structure.
Foucault's view of the genderised or inscribed body alerts us to areas where dominance, resistance and power play a part in maximising masculine power and control. Gender becomes an instrument of power within the existing patriarchal structure. Gender, knowledge and power are identified as areas obstructing female empowerment.
Part 3 of this exegesis examines the imagery which embodies the visual narrative. Particularly, the harlequin image, its historical background and connections with ancient mythology including reference to Jungian psychology. The harlequin image is developed sequentially in the earlier black and white drawings on paper. These drawings contained a female figure which was often placed in juxtaposition with a Venus or goddess image, reference was also made to eve and the siren. These elements provided the framework which enabled the harlequin image to emerge and evolve. The narrative developed with an understanding of the feminine aspects of the psyche which resulted in the harlequin acquiring the elevated authority of a goddess.
The Harlequin evolved from my need for symbolic representation of the female psyche. It represents contradiction and dualism. It is a composition of opposites, reflects masculine and feminine traits, the dark and light of the conscious and unconscious mind, it houses both comic and sinister elements, is a trickster and menace. The costume, colours and patterns are expressive elements conducive to fragmentation and layering within the composition of the paintings.
Jung examined the harlequin in Picasso's paintings. He concluded that as Picasso drew on his inner experiences the harlequin became important as a symbol; it was a pictorial representation from the unconscious psyche. It travelled freely from the conscious to the unconscious and represented the masculine and feminine, chthonian and apollonian.
The final painting in the series, a triptych, completes the narrative and stands alone as a salutatory work. It unites the series by combining existing compositional devices
and technique while making reference to imagery from previous works, The Three Graces Victorious, expresses the authority of the feminine. It completes a victorious stage of a journey where the harlequin is empowered by archaic memories and knowledge of the psyche. The feminine is hailed, elevated and venerated.
Other elements which assist in expressing the visual narrative are; colour, technique and influence. Colour is explored and its use as an emotive devise in expressionism. Paul Klee's writing on the use of colour and it's symbolic meaning and Julia Kristeva's investigation on colour from a psychoanalytic and semiotic view are also discussed.
To indicate influences and connections within my oeuvre, reference is also made to the following: Jasper Johns' for his use of imagery in his Four Seasons series with it's reference to a journey of maturation and Louise Bourgeois' work which deals with issues of gender, memories and past journeys.
Although The Three Graces Victorious; the concluding painting for the investigation is celebratory and represents a finality to the thesis, it points to further areas that impede feminine development and need future examination. Reference is made to a continuation of the exploratory journey by plotting the Harlequin/Goddesses future directions. Although the Harlequin/Goddess is empowered with newly acquired authority, her future journey does not need to be bound by mathematics or limited by rationality. She does not require power to dominate or gender structures to subjugate, but requires limitless boundaries and contexts. The Harlequin/Goddess's future journey is not fixed.
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Kemper, Matthew Thomas. "An assessment of curricular methods to reduce communication apprehension among public speaking students." Scholarly Commons, 2007. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/674.
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This study investigated curricular methods to reduce communication apprehension among public speaking students. Previous research has found many intervention strategies to be successful in reducing levels of communication apprehension, including both visualization and cognitive restructuring. However, prior research has failed to examine the efficacy of such techniques within the context of teaching a public speaking course that has limited time to devote to these techniques. Consequently, an experiment was conducted which examined whether a one hour instructional unit using cognitive restructuring and visualization can reduce levels of communication apprehension among public speaking students. The results of the study indicate that a one hour instructional unit does not reduce the anxiety of high communication apprehensive students in a public speaking course.
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Crawford, Maria Anne, and n/a. "Speed of retrieval after traumatic brain injury." University of Otago. Department of Psychology, 2005. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20060830.115029.
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Although it is well established that persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) experience word retrieval difficulties, the underlying cause of these deficits is not known. Difficulties with word retrieval have negative social implications as they can impact on the ability to converse with others. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to determine the underlying cause of problems with word retrieval after TBI.
To test word retrieval in this dissertation, participants were given a series of word fluency tasks and the speed of word generation was measured. In addition to measuring interresponse times, procedures used by Rohrer, Wixted, Salmon and Butters (1995) were also followed. This involved the calculation of parameter estimates to investigate whether slowed retrieval or degraded semantic stores were responsible for the patients� word retrieval difficulties. One parameter (N) was a measure of the total number of retrievable words and the second parameter (tau) was an estimate of mean latency.
Study 1 was designed to trial the procedure and equipment adopted throughout this dissertation to analyse speech. University students were presented with categories on a computer screen and asked to generate as many exemplars as possible in 60 seconds. A PowerLab Chart sound system was used to measure the time that each word was generated. The results of Study 1 showed that the methodology of previous research could be replicated using the PowerLab Chart sound system.
In Study 2, persons with postconcussion syndrome (PCS) and matched controls were given two word fluency tasks. Results showed that on both tasks patients recalled fewer words, had longer pauses between words, and took significantly longer to generate their first word than controls. Also, patients had a significantly reduced N relative to controls, but there was no difference in tau between patients and controls. Given that the participants had not finished responding and that parameter estimates require responses to be exhausted, Study 3 was designed to replicate the findings of Study 2 using an extended recall period.
In Study 3, patients with PCS and matched controls completed a series of word fluency tasks and were given extended periods of time to generate words. Results showed that the patients obtained significantly fewer words on two of the tasks, but no evidence of slowed retrieval was found. There was also no difference in the estimates of N and tau between patients and controls. As the patients in Study 3 sustained more minor injuries than those in Study 2, Study 4 tested patients with severe TBI.
In Study 4, patients with severe TBI and matched controls were given a series of word fluency tasks. Results showed that the patients generated fewer words and experienced slowed retrieval. Again, there was no difference in the estimates of N and tau between patients and controls. The results of Study 4 confirmed the hypothesis that slowed word retrieval is a consequence of TBI. Taken together, the results of this dissertation show that an underlying slowness of processing is the primary cause of problems with word retrieval in persons with TBI.
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Cohen, Scott Allen, and n/a. "The search for 'self' for lifestyle travellers." University of Otago. Department of Tourism, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090819.151427.
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This thesis examines the search for self in the context of lifestyle travellers. It has been suggested that maintaining a coherent sense of self has become problematic in late modernity as the socially constructed notion of a 'true self' has come to be regarded as concrete, whilst choice has increasingly replaced obligation or tradition as a basis in defining selves. Issues of self have been noted as especially important in the context of adopted lifestyles, as lifestyle can be a means through which individuals seek coherence in their lives. Furthermore, travelling to 'find one's self' has a lengthy tradition in popular literature that has also been reflected in tourism studies where research has been conducted into backpacker and traveller identities.
Lifestyle travel is a post-traditional way of life wherein individuals are voluntarily exposed to an array of cultural praxes. Thus, the literatures on self, lifestyle and tourism point to lifestyle travel as a context where issues of self may be particularly relevant. Whilst there is a significant and growing body of research within tourism studies on backpackers, there is a dearth of information on individuals that travel as a lifestyle. Therefore, this thesis contributes to academic knowledge not only through its investigation into the search for self, but also by its conceptualisation of and empirical research into lifestyle travellers.
With criteria for defining lifestyle travellers based on of a fluid combination of self-definition of travel as one's lifestyle and multiple trips of approximately six months or more, twenty-five semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out by the researcher with lifestyle travellers in northern Indian and southern Thailand from July through September 2007. In keeping with the paradigmatic ideals of interpretivism, emergent themes were identified from within the qualitative material including meanings that the lifestyle travellers attached to the search for self, surrounding issues of avoidance and seeking that influenced why they travelled as a lifestyle and their future travel intentions.
Although there were multiple perspectives on how the search for self was conceived and approached, searching for self was voiced as a critical motivating factor for the majority of the lifestyle travellers. With a common view among most of the respondents of self as an internal object to be developed, many lifestyle travellers had been or were still on a Romantic modern quest of searching for their true self. Escapism, freedom and learning through challenge were identified as important themes surrounding the search for self, as lifestyle travellers described varying degrees of success in escaping their home societies and finding increased free space and time to learn about and challenge their ideas of self. Paradoxically, most of the lifestyle travellers sought to experience an inner self that dominant sociological views posit does not exist. The tension of searching for a unified sense of self in a world of relational selves is highlighted as not only problematic for the interviewees, but also for previous tourism studies that have premised their contributions on the existence of an inner self.
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Blore, David Charles. "An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) investigation of positive psychological change (PPC), including post traumatic growth (PTG)." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3328/.
Full textAbstract:
Positive Psychological Change (PPC) following trauma is a developing field for which there is no standard terminology. The plethora of labels, of which Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) is probably the most common descriptor, arguably masks a significant gap in clinical and theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. One specific gap addressed by this study is PPC following psychological trauma stemming from a Road Traffic Accident (RTA) in which the person involved has subsequently received Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR). To investigate this gap in knowledge, an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was used and twelve participants recruited via a snowball sampling method. The participants were then interviewed using a Semi-structured Interview Questionnaire (SSIQ) and the interviews were then transcribed for IPA analysis. Key themes that emerged included Navigational Struggle (NS) to describe Negative Psychological Change (NPC), and Network Growth (NG), to describe PPC. At any one post-RTA/EMDR point there was a preponderance of one over the other, however, NS and NG were inseparable and found to co-exist along an NS-NG continuum. In addition, Figurative Language Use (FLU) had a significant role in both NS and NG yet was independent of both and apparently driving change towards the development of NG. Whilst NS and NG were both post-trauma phenomena, FLU seemed to hallmark expansion of memory networks as part of a general maturation process post-RTA. Furthermore, there was evidence that participants were incorporating their traumatic experiences via FLU into the rebuilding of their assumptive worlds. To account for these findings, an extension to Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) – the theory widely accepted to underpin EMDR - is proposed based upon a hypothesised Plasticity of Meaning (PoM), which is observable through FLU. PoM predicts which, why and how memory networks connect resulting in the adaptive processing predicted by AIP. The study’s findings are re-examined in terms of consequential modifications to the clinical use of EMDR. Extensive suggestions for further research are provided.
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Armeni, Elizabeth. "Menstruation goes public : aspects of womens's menstrual experience in Montreal, 1920-1975." Thesis, McGill University, 1996. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=26674.
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Menstruation is all at once a cultural, social, historical, and biological process. Intertwined, these forces create menstrual experiences which are neither fixed nor universal, but rather adaptable and transformable not only between cultures, but from within cultures as well. How these factors interrelate, what menstrual discourse they create, and how that translates into women's everyday lives, becomes the focus of this research. Structured around the relationship between prescription and reality, this study examines the interplay of those who defined the menstrual discourse: doctors, mothers, and the sanitary napkin industry, and those who experienced it.Listening to the lives of twenty-four women, born between 1910 and 1965, a complex and ambiguous tale of the menstrual experience emerges. Through their narratives, we learn the importance of early instruction by mothers; the emphasis placed on hygiene and concealment; the effect menstruation had on women's sexual, feminine, and (re)productive identity. Once women's voices are taken into consideration, it becomes clear that the dynamic between prescription deeming menstruation as unclean or deviant and women's reality is not straightforward. Women reacted to the menstrual discourse, at times they rejected it, other times adhered to it, but for the most part, simply transformed it to meet their daily needs.
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Herbert, Kate. "Overcoming traumatic experiences : psychological therapy, recovery and reflections on the research process." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2008. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2347/.
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This research examined therapeutic approaches to trauma and post traumatic growth and recovery as a result of brief psychological intervention. Chapter one is a critical review of current therapeutic approaches used in the treatment of trauma and post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. The PTSD treatment literature indicates that the therapy most rigorously assessed and currently recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Despite this, the literature review indicated that other forms of therapy have been effective in reducing the symptoms of PTSD. The research indicated that clinicians are successfully using psychodynamic, integrative and person centred approaches in both an individual and group therapy format. Regardless of therapeutic approach used, issues of client motivation, timing of therapy and therapeutic alliance were important determinants in outcome. Chapter two is an empirical study, which focuses on the effect of brief psychological intervention on recovery from trauma. A mixed methodological design was used and five participants took part in the research. The results indicated that those participants whose trauma symptoms reduced had experienced recovery from their trauma. Participants cited underlying beliefs towards adversity, personal and contextual factors as important in facilitating recovery. Recommendations for further research and clinical implications were discussed. Chapter three provides the authors reflections upon the research process and methodological and ethical issues that arise when carrying out qualitative research with a trauma population.
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Fitch, Jenelle C. "Further development of the parenting belief questionnaire." Virtual Press, 2002. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1236376.
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The psychometric properties of the Parenting Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ) were further explored. College students (176 males and 342 females) who were not parents completed the measure. Results of a series of principle components factor analyses with varimax rotation suggested retaining a two-factor solution accounting for 35.5% of the variance. Factor I measured the Promotion of Interpersonal Behaviors in children (alpha = .87), while Factor 2 assessed the Promotion of Autonomy in children (alpha = .73). A one-way MANOVA was employed to examine potential gender differences in participants' responses to the PBQ factors. A main effect was discovered whereby females rated both factors higher than males. Limitations of this study and the PBQ were discussed as were recommendations for future research and counseling.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
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Eggen, Josja Katelijne. "A literature review of the impact of a monitoring coping style on psychological adjustment in people with real or potentially life threatening illness, and, An investigation of psychological adjustment and coping style in patients undergoing bone marrow/stem cell transplantation." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2008. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/491/.
Full textAbstract:
Volume I contains a literature review and an empirical paper. The literature review, which is presented first, reviews recent findings for a relationship between informational coping style and psychological adjustment in patients confronted with potential or real life threatening illness. Empirical data is systematically reviewed within the theoretical framework of Miller's (1995) Monitoring Process Model. Suggestions are made for future research on order to develop effective interventions for those individuals who are most vulnerable to psychological, social, and emotional complications secondary to their illness. The empirical paper examines psychological distress in patients undergoing stem cell transplantation in a prospective longitudinal design. Specific aims are to examine the degree of psychological distress over the course of transplantation, which pre-treatment demographic, medical and psychosocial factors predict psychological distress and adjustment after transplantation, and whether informational coping style was associated with distress levels before and after transplantation. The findings of this study illustrate the need for pre-treatment assessment and intervention, focusing on treatment related anxiety management, depression, and dysfunctional illness attributions which may help reduce post-treatment distress. [Volume II contains a series of clinical practice reports and is not available online.].
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Holt, Kate Eloise, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "A clinical investigation of attachment theory and the manifestation of psychological disturbance." Deakin University. School of Psychology, 2005. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20050825.093259.
Full textAbstract:
The affectional bond that develops between caregiver and child during infancy can lead to the development of emotional distress and the manifestation of psychological disturbance if the relationship is severed and a sense of loss is experienced. Furthermore, the caregiver-child relationship formed during infancy can have implications for the development of interpersonal relationships in later life. The secure or insecure attachment relationships developed influence the capacity to form affectional bonds in later life and may lead to the manifestation of psychological disturbance, such as depression.
The focus of this thesis is on four case studies of three children and one adolescent who have suffered negative early life experiences. Harrison is an 8 year old Koori boy who has suffered from maternal deprivation. Diana is a 10 year old girl who has a Mild Intellectual Disability and Epilepsy. The influence of second generational trauma on the caregiver-infant attachment relationship will also be explored in the case study of Diana. The third case study focuses on Melanie who is a 9 year old girl who has suffered from paternal sexual abuse and exhibits indiscriminate attachment relationships. Finally, the fourth case study focuses on Tammie who is a 16 year girl who exhibits depressive symptomatology which may have developed as a result of early insecure attachment relationships. The case studies are described with reference to attachment theory, the language and social deficits associated with negative early life experiences, and implications for therapeutic interventions.
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Chiang, Yam-wang Allan, and 蔣任宏. "Motivation of middle level managers: a comparison of the public and private sectors in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1986. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31974715.
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Simon, Marta. "The two bears : how down markets get you down." University of Western Australia. Financial Studies Discipline Group, 2004. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2005.0022.
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In this study, we address two research questions: 1) Can we identify bear market episodes in Australia in the past 20 years? 2) How do investors’ moods change as stock market conditions enter into a bear phase. To address the first question, we use a pattern recognition algorithm, called the penalised LSE approach. By defining bear markets as those stock market regimes where the average returns are statistically significantly negative or below the risk free rate, we are able to detect two bear market periods in Australia in the past 20 years. These are the November 1987 to February 1988 and the April 2000 to May 2000 periods. To address the second question, we study the change in investors’ attitudes to varieties of systematic risk and the aggregate number and dollar value of shares traded in portfolios as a result of the regime switch from pre-bear to bear period. Out of the 7 categories of risk considered in this study, the transition from pre-bear to bear regime in both sample periods had a significant impact mainly on investors’ attitude toward the size risk factor. Investors systematically became more sensitive to firm size as stock market conditions entered into the 1987⁄1988 bear market. In the later sample period, investors’ reaction to firm size was more selective as it depended on the characteristics of the stocks that made up their portfolios. We also find that the regime switches resulted in lower portfolio trading volumes. Based on these results we infer that the November 1987-February 1988 bear market evoked a general sad mood, while the April 2000-May 2000 bear market stirred up both angry and sad feelings in market participants depending on the composition of stocks in their portfolios.
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Wryobeck, John M. "The role of fatigue, positive affect and negative affect in the reporting of quality of life in a group of radiation oncology patients." Virtual Press, 1998. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1074539.
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The use of quality of life instruments to evaluate the effect of cancer and its treatment on individuals has increased but the process by which the patient comes to make these quality of life evaluations has not been addressed. Earlier studies have shown the reporting of physical symptoms and the evaluation of one's health to be related to negative affect. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the relationship between negative affect and the evaluation of ones health would remain the same in a group of cancer patients, when a major disease and treatment symptom, fatigue was controlled for. The current study found no relationship between negative affect and the evaluation of health once fatigue was controlled for. Negative affect and fatigue were found to be moderately correlated and fatigue accounted for a large proportion of the variance in the quality of life domains of physical, functional and emotional well-being. Both empirical and theoretical issues are discussed.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
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Willis, Eileen. "Accelerating control : an ethnographic account of the impact of micro-economic reform on the work of health professionals /." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 2004. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phw7341.pdf.
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Geue, Claudia. "Population ageing in Scotland - implications for healthcare expenditure." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2012. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3370/.
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POPULATION AGEING IN SCOTLAND - IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE Population ageing is a major concern for developed countries in terms of public expenditure required to pay for health care (HC). The broad aim of this thesis is to contribute to and expand the debate on the independent effects that population ageing and the time immediately before death (TTD) have on HC expenditure in Scotland. This study analyses, for the first time in Scotland, how HC expenditure projections are influenced through the application of two approaches; the first only accounting for an increasing proportion of the elderly population, and the second also implementing a TTD component. Several issues that are under-researched or have not been addressed in TTD studies previously, are explored and alternative approaches are presented. Utilising two large linked datasets this thesis addresses important methodological issues. Alternative methods to cost inpatient hospital stays are examined as this has pivotal implications for any analysis undertaken to estimate the independent effect of TTD and age on HC expenditure. Explanatory variables that have previously not been considered, such as health risk and health status measures at baseline, are included in these analyses. The issue of sample selection, arising through the inclusion/exclusion of survivors in a TTD study is investigated and the impact of individuals’ socio-economic status on costs is examined. The analysis of alternative costing methods clearly showed that any inference that can be made from econometric modelling of costs, where the marginal effect of explanatory variables is assessed, is substantially influenced by the chosen costing method. The application of a Healthcare Resource Group (HRG) costing method was recommended. This study found that TTD, age and the interactions between these two factors were significant predictors for HC expenditure. The analysis further identified some of the health status and health risk measures to be important predictors of future HC expenditure. An examination of how sample selection impacts on estimated costs at the end of life showed that if survivors were excluded from the analysis, costs might be overestimated. Drawing on a representative sample of the Scottish population, the investigation of the association that the socio-economic status had with HC costs suggested that less is spent on individuals from more deprived areas. This might partly be explained through the decreased probability of accessing hospital services for individuals from more deprived areas. Furthermore, results showed that projected HC expenditure for acute inpatient care for the year 2028 was overestimated by ~7% when an approach that only accounts for the higher proportion of elderly people in a population in the future is being used as compared to an approach that also accounts for the effect that remaining TTD has on costs.
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Reis, Robson Costa. "Análise de desempenho de fundos comportamentais." reponame:Repositório Institucional do BNDES, 2015. https://web.bndes.gov.br/bib/jspui/handle/1408/13877.
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Este trabalho analisou o desempenho de 31 fundos mútuos comportamentais atuantes nos EUA, Europa e Japão descritos em Santoni e Kelshiker (2010). Foram observados os desempenhos dos fundos e seus respectivos benchmarks em quatro indicadores: Índice de Sharpe, Índice de Sortino, Medida Ômega e Medida de Desempenho Comportamental. O horizonte da análise foi de 10 anos (jan/04 a dez/14) dividido em intervalos de 6, 12, 36, 60 e 120 meses. A partir da consolidação dos indicadores os fundos foram ranqueados e classificados em três faixas de desempenho: superior, intermediário e inferior. No intervalo de 120 meses não houve, na média geral, diferença de desempenho significativa (a 5%) entre os fundos e os Benchmarks. A análise por intervalos indicou que o desempenho dos fundos em relação aos Benchmarks piora conforme aumenta o prazo de aplicação. Nos intervalos mais curtos (6 e 12 meses) não houve, na média, diferença de desempenho significativa enquanto nos prazos mais longos (36 e 60 meses) o desempenho médio dos fundos foi significativamente inferior aos Benchmarks. Na média de todos os intervalos o desempenho médio dos fundos foi significativamente inferior aos Benchmarks. Dentre os indicadores utilizados, o índice de Sortino foi o que apresentou maior correlação com o desempenho geral dos fundos.This work has analyzed the performance of 31 behavioral mutual funds operating in USA, Europe and Japan, as described in Santoni and Kelshiker (2010). It has been observed the performance of the funds and their respective Benchmarks according to four measures: Sharpe Index, Sortino Index, Omega Measure and Behavioral Perfomance Measure. The analysis covered a 10-year period (jan-04 to dec-14) slipt into intervals of 6, 12, 36, 60 and 120 months. Based on the consolidation of the performance measures, the funds have been ranked and classified into three performance categories: upper, intermediate and lower. In the 120-month interval there has not been, on average, a significant difference (at 5%) in performance between funds and Benchmarks. The analysis by intervals showed that the funds’ performance worsens in relation to the Benchmarks as the investment period increases. In shorter intervals (6 and 12 months) there has not been, on average, a significant difference in performance while in the longer intervals (36 and 60 months) the funds average performance was significantly lower than the Benchmarks. Computing the mean of all intervals, the funds average performance was significantly lower than the Benchmarks. Among the performance measures used, the Sortino Index presented the highest correlation with the general performance of the funds.
Dissertação (mestrado) - Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2015
Bibliografia: p. [77]-81
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Lira, Wellington Martins de. "Instituições de segurança pública e práticas psicológicas : a segurança emocional dos agentes de segurança." Universidade Católica de Pernambuco, 2011. http://www.unicap.br/tede//tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=567.
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A crise na segurança pública brasileira direciona os olhares para as chamadas forças de segurança pública. Especialistas afirmam o isolamento e a falência das mesmas, que não
estão preparadas para a democracia e as exigências do mundo contemporâneo. Os agentes de segurança pública, paradoxalmente, muitas vezes têm provocado violência,
em vez de combatê-la e mesmo grupos de elite vêm protagonizando ações desastrosas. Ex-integrante da Polícia Militar do Estado de Pernambuco e partindo de uma motivação
encarnada no próprio corpo, na medida em que sofreu na pele a dor imposta aos agentes de segurança pública, tanto pela natureza da função quanto pela dinâmica institucional,
o autor propôs-se a lançar um olhar diferente sobre o tema, buscando uma articulação, uma triangulação entre instituição de segurança pública, prática psicológica e o termo
que cunhamos como ―segurança emocional‖. A experiência como agente de segurança pública, aliada à formação psicológica e aos estudos e pesquisas desenvolvidos por
diversos autores, contribuíram para a compreensão do campo a ser investigado e, para tanto, realizado entrevistas semidirigidas com doze profissionais psicólogos e doze
agentes de segurança pública do Estado de Pernambuco, todos da Região Metropolitana do Recife/PE. Através de uma abordagem compreensiva e da análise dos conteúdos
explicitados em eixos temáticos e núcleos de sentido, as narrativas dos entrevistados possibilitaram a compreensão de que, apesar dos esforços dos profissionais psicólogos e
da percepção da necessidade por parte dos agentes de segurança pública, a ação clínica psicológica ainda é pífia em relação às necessidades, conforme afirmam ambos os
seguimentos. A falta de uma percepção adequada pela instituição de segurança pública quanto à importância da dimensão psicológica tem contribuído para o sofrimento dos
agentes de segurança e psicólogos, e interferido no resultado de suas práticas. Os desafios são grandes e sua superação, certamente, contribuirá significativamente com a
segurança pública cidadã e o chamado pacto pela vida, adotados pelo Governo de Pernambuco. Esperamos que os resultados dessa pesquisa contribuam para a formação
de uma postura crítica e reflexiva da ação dos profissionais psicólogos em instituições de segurança pública, a melhoria da qualidade dos serviços dirigidos à sociedade, pela
contribuição aos atores e gestores desse segmentoThe crisis in public security in Brazil looks directs calls to the security forces. Experts say the isolation and failure of those who are not ready for democracy and the demands of the contemporary world. The public security officers, paradoxically, often have provoked violence, rather than fight it, and elite groups that come starring unwholesome actions. A former member of the Military Police of Pernambuco, and starting with a motivation incarnated in the body itself, as it suffered the pain inflicted on the skin to the public security officers, both by nature and by function of institutional dynamics, the author proposed to launch a fresh perspective on the topic, seeking a joint institution of a triangulation between public safety, psychological practice and the term that we coined as "emotional safety". Experience as an agent of public safety, coupled with the psychological training and studies and research developed by several authors contributed to the understanding of the field to be investigated and, therefore, conducted interviews with twelve semidirected professional psychologists and twelve public security officers of Pernambuco State, all in the Metropolitan Region of Recife. Through a comprehensive approach and analysis of the explicit content in thematic areas and units of meaning, the narratives of respondents provided an understanding that, despite efforts by professional psychologists and the perceived need by the public security agents, the action clinical psychology is still minimum in relation to need, as claimed by both segments. The lack of an adequate perception of the institution of public security on the importance of the psychological dimension has contributed to the suffering of security officers and psychologists, and interfered in the results of their practices. The stakes are high and overcoming it certainly will contribute significantly to public safety and civic life called pact, adopted by the Government of Pernambuco. We hope the results of this research contribute to the formation of a critical and reflective action of professional psychologists in the public security institutions, improving the quality of services aimed at society, by contributing to the actors and managers that segment
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Cash, Penelope Anne, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "Women clinical nurses' constructions of collegiality: An ethnomethodological study." Deakin University. School of Nursing, 2000. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20051123.122031.
Full textAbstract:
This research is about a shared journey of being together. It involved thirteen women nurses (including myself) in a process approach to working with data collected through audio transcriptions of conversations during group get-togethers, field notes and journalling over twelve months. The project was conducted in a large acute care metropolitan hospital where the ward staff interests lie in a practice history of the medical specialty of gynaecology and women's health.
Prior to commencement ethical approval was gained from both the University and hospital ethics committees. Accessing the group was complicated by the political climate of the hospital, possibly exaggerated further by the health politics across the state of Victoria, at a time of major upheaval characterised by regionalism, rationalisation and debt servicing.
In order to ascertain women clinical nurses' constructions of collegiality I adopted an ethnomethodological approach informed by a critical feminist lens to enable the participants to engage in a process of openly ideological inquiry, in critiquing and transforming practice. I felt the choice of methodology had to be consistent with my own ideological position to enable me to be myself (as much as I could) during the project. I wanted to work with women to illuminate the ways in which dominant ideologies had come to be apprehended, inscribed, embodied and/or resisted in the everyday intersubjective realities of participants. The research itself became a site of resistance as the group became aware of how and in what ways their lives had become distorted, while at the same time it collaboratively transformed their individual and collective practice understandings, enabling them to see the self and other anew.
Set against the background of dominant discourses on collegiality, women's understandings of collegiality have remained a submerged discourse. Revealed in this work are complex inter-relationships that might be described by some as collegial!, but for others relations amongst these women depict alternative meanings in a rich picture of the fabric of ward life. The participants understand these relations through a connectedness that has empathy as its starting point.
In keeping with my commitment to engage with these women I endeavoured to remain faithful to the dialogical approach to this inquiry. Moreover I have brought the voices of the women to the foreground, peeling away the rhizomatic interconnections in and between understandings. What this has meant in terms of the thesis is that the work has become artificially distanced for the purposes of academic requirements. Nevertheless it speaks to the understandings the participants have of their relationships; of the various locations of the visible and invisible voices; of the many landscapes and images, genealogies, subjectivities and multiple selves that inform the selves with(in) others and being-in-relation. Throughout the journey meanings are revealed, revisited and reconstructed. Many nuances comprise the subtexts illuminating the depths of various moral locations underpinning the ways these women engage with one another in practice. The process of the research weaves through multiple positions, conveying the centrality of shared goals, multiple identities, resistances and differences which contribute to a holding environment, a location in which women value one another in their being-in-relation and in which they stand separately yet together.
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Batt, Richard, and n/a. "Aeronautical decision making : experience, training and behaviour." University of Otago. Department of Psychology, 2005. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20061016.164438.
Full textAbstract:
Decision making is fundamental to all aspects of flying operations. The results that flow from poor aeronautical decision making can be both swift and devastating.
The work of this thesis uses data from a variety of sources to investigate the following aspects of aeronautical decision making; accident and incident case histories and pilot decision making, case-based versus rule-based pilot decision training, pilot behaviours in the face of adverse weather.
The first part of thesis uses survey data to gain a better understanding of the role of accident and incident case histories in aviation safety and training. Anecdotal evidence suggests that exposure to case-based information can leave a lasting impression on a pilot and significantly influence their flying behaviour. To investigate this aspect more formally, information was obtained from a survey of 138 pilots. A questionnaire was then distributed to pilots worldwide and responses were received from 409 pilots, from all areas of aviation. The combined experience of pilots who responded was over 700,000 hours flying time.
The second part of the thesis uses experimental data to compare the effectiveness of aviation safety training using case-based material or rule-based material. Two experiments were carried out, based on the two areas that account for the majority of fatal general aviation accidents: flight into adverse weather and low flying. A total of 114 participants took part in the experimental studies.
The third part of the thesis is based on a set of 491 aviation accident and incident reports drawn from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau occurrence database. The study compares three groups of pilots who differed in their response to adverse weather conditions, as demonstrated by the following behaviours; VFR flight into IMC, a weather-related precautionary landing, some other significant weather avoidance action.
A number of common themes emerged from the three parts of the thesis. There is strong support for the importance of case-based material in aviation safety and training. However, the results also suggest that aeronautical decision making can be best understood in terms of a model that combines both case-based and rule-based reasoning. Rule-based material provides a basic framework of standard procedures and recommended practices, particularly for novices, while case-based material adds detail and salience to the framework, particularly in the form of affective markers linked to particular case histories.
One important aspect of the results can be summed up by the adage that 'a safe pilot is a proactive pilot'. That is, it is imperative for a pilot to take control of the situation before the situation takes control of them. The results also emphasise the dynamic nature of aeronautical decision making. A pilot may make a series of good decisions, but that is no automatic protection against a subsequent poor decision putting the safety of the flight at risk. Hence, it is critical that a pilot does not fly to the limit of their abilities, or let past success breed complacency.
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Hutchinson, Jacquie. "Workplace bullying in Australian public service administrations." UWA Business School, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0014.
Full textAbstract:
This is a study of workplace bullying policy in the public service. The research draws on interviews with policy actors from three groups located in four Australian states and one Australian territory. The groups are senior managers, policy implementors and employee advocates. The study is also informed by research and popular literature to examine how assumptions about what the problem is in workplace bullying dictates the direction taken in policy development. Unlike much of the research into workplace bullying that is based on psychological theorisations, this study is influenced by scholars who focus on the power imbalances that underpin workplace bullying. The key argument in this thesis is that the conceptual dominance of 'gender neutrality' operates to mask the gendered power imbalances which perpetuate bullying behaviour. Hence, to start to address workplace bullying, the effects of power must be acknowledged and addressed in the organisational policy responses to the growing phenomenon of workplace bullying. However, analysing the effects of power is insufficient if gender is not made visible in the analysis. The methodological touchstone for this is Carol Bacchi's 'whats the problem' approach (1999), which is taken further through feminist organisational theory, post modernist understandings of power realtions and a critique of New Public Management practices. The thesis shows how workplace bullying policies in Australian public service administrations have been carefully crafted as gender-neutral, and interweaves data and literature to develop a thesis for why such an approach is a deeply flawed outcome of gender politics. This thesis concludes with some modest suggestions about how organizations might more effectively develop more effective gender-sensitive approaches to workplace bullying.
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Powell, Tyrone. "Dysfunctional marital beliefs and marital satisfaction : a multicultural analysis." Virtual Press, 1995. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/955850.
Full textAbstract:
One hundred twenty African-American and Euro-American married individuals were asked to complete inventories measuring marital distress, dysfunctional beliefs about marital relationships, and socioeconomic status (SES). It was hypothesized there would be a negative relationship between the dysfunctional beliefs that married individuals held and their level of marital satisfaction; there would be no significant difference between the dysfunctional beliefs that married individuals held across gender and race; and finally, the dysfunctional beliefs of married individuals would provide a better prediction of marital satisfaction than SES, gender, age, or race.Results indicate that Disagreement is destructive (D), Mindreading is expected (M), Partners cannot change (C), Sexual perfectionism is a must (S), and The sexes are dramatically different (MF) each obtained a statistically significant negative association with marital satisfaction. Examining the relationship between gender and marital satisfaction, males reported higher levels of marital satisfaction than females. Furthermore, statistically significant differences were obtained for gender but not for race when considering all five dysfunctional marital beliefs simultaneously. Finally, the various factors considered in this study accounted for 30% of the variance in marital satisfaction.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
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Geaves, Linda Helen. "Public priorities and public goods : the drivers and responses to transitions in flood risk management." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6a5de60c-1920-403e-aaf7-0c8b8655edef.
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This thesis examines the role of the public in Flood Risk Management (FRM) service provision at a time when the perceptions of the distribution of benefits provided by FRM interventions are in flux, and the role the public should play in FRM highly contested among stakeholders. Two schemes have marked the revised role of the public in FRM - Partnership Funding and Flood Re - both of which challenge existing judgments of the excludability and rivalry of benefits delivered by FRM interventions. The Partnership Funding scheme allocates capital for FRM projects proportionately to the public benefits they provide, allowing communities to top-up grants through local contributions. In comparison, by increasing accessibility to affordable insurance through cross-subsidies and pricing signals, Flood Re highlights a growing recognition that the distribution of gains as a result of widespread insurance uptake is greater than the benefits received by the policyholder alone. Following the identification of these schemes, we tested their social feasibility, examining both the scale and distribution of benefits. Due to the different stages of implementation of each scheme at the time of writing this thesis, two distinct methods were developed. The Partnership Funding Chapter used field data to examine how public-private funding of flood defences has changed service provision and the public acceptance of this transition. Whereas the Flood Re chapter used computer-based experiments to hypothesize how Flood Re may make the purchase of insurance a more or less attractive investment for different types of consumer. We found that Partnership Funding enabled more FRM projects to go ahead, raised public awareness of flood risk, and improved collaboration between stakeholders, but encouraged lower-cost projects, which, in the longer term, could transfer the expense of managing residual risk to the householder. In comparison, Flood Re provided peace of mind to householders struggling to afford rises in insurance premiums, but disproportionately benefited those who annually purchased insurance. Combining this proposed inequity in Flood Re with increasing residual risks, we identify a gap in service provision for the public who cannot afford household mitigation measures. We propose that loss mitigation and flood defence should become increasingly collaborative in line with the complexities of flooding within a community. We seek a move away from the information asymmetry which currently exists between insurance providers and policyholders, and yet simultaneously call for local authorities to recognise the capacity of the public to participate in FRM, and sustain resilience in the face of rising flood risk.
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Torres, Jonathan. "HIV false-positives : the impact doctrine and negligent infliction of emotional distress." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2001. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/252.
Full textAbstract:
This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.Bachelors
Health and Public Affairs
Legal Studies
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Anderson, Kalin A. "Implicit models of the biological bases of weight loss." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1988. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/341.
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David, Onyekachi P. "Ethnic and gender differences in the relationship between psychological, socio-cognitive and socio-demographic variables in people with diabetes mellitus in Nigeria." Thesis, University of Gloucestershire, 2017. http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/4678/.
Full textAbstract:
Background: Diabetes is a growing public health problem affecting people worldwide both in the developed and developing countries, and poses a major socio-economic, psychological and Behavioral challenge. Consequently, diabetes takes a staggering toll on the people in Nigeria and the economic burden is very high. It is a well known fact that numerous factors influence diabetes self-care: such as patient’s physical, psychological, social, cognitive and health care system factors. In this study, the researcher set out to elicit an understanding of the association between socio-demographic, socio-cognitive, and psychological health and to specifically provide explanations for how these three factors are related and differ across ethnicity, gender and type of diabetes. Conversely, studies investigating the psychological health in people with diabetes have observed disparities in terms of gender, ethnicity and the type of diabetes. More so, the impact of socio-cognitive health indicators on psychological status in the Nigerian context remains invisible and unknown. Additional investigations were carried out to assess the pattern of the psychological health of diabetic patients using socio-demographic and socio-cognitive factors, to identify if differences occur in the psychological and socio-cognitive factors by gender, ethnicity and type of diabetes. Finally, an exploration of the contextual and explanatory factors perceived to have underlain the gender ethnicity and type of diabetes differences observed in the psychological status and socio- cognitive health was carried out. Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed methods design comprising a quantitative phase followed by a qualitative phase was employed. In the quantitative phase general survey, data from the N= 486 participants were analysed to test for significant differences of ethnic groups, gender, type of diabetes and the relationship they all have on psychological status and socio-cognitive health. The qualitative phase on the other hand, was based on a follow up of the significant results by using semi-structured focus group interviews with 18 recruited respondents across gender, ethnic groups and type of diabetes. Findings: A 2x4x2 MANOVA hypotheses: 2 and 3 from the quantitative study showed a significant interaction between gender, ethnicity and type of diabetes; ethnicity and type of diabetes; gender and type of diabetes; gender and ethnicity. From the partial eta squared 2 , type of diabetes explains more of the variance remaining (after excluding the variance attributable to other variables) (21.4% vs 20.1%); than gender (21.1% vs 13.3%); which, in turn, explains more of the variance than ethnicity (5.6% vs 6.5%) on the combined DVs Psychological and Socio-cognitive health respectively. The qualitative results revealed extreme and overwhelmingchallenges diabetes imposed on the sufferers. It provided specific insight and on patients contextual experiences such as non-adherence; concerns about the present and the future’ health care systems and the way medical practitioners interact with patients which negatively impact on psychological status. These factors broadened the quantitative result in terms of the consistence in the patients’ descriptions of living with and self-managing their diabetes. Conclusions: The outcome of the t study has extended knowledge on the complex and dynamic nature of individuals’ responses to the challenges of diabetes in day-to-day self-care management and how best diabetic patients should be supported in order to promote adherence, positive treatment processes, provide assistance to the physical discomfort associated with diabetes, and support pro-diabetes coping behaviors (diet), through psychotherapy so as to enhance optimal psycho-behavioral health.
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Lonsdale, Christopher Sean, and n/a. "Burning out or burning desire? : investigating athlete burnout and engagement in elite New Zealand athletes." University of Otago. School of Physical Education, 2006. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20070220.144258.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examined the utility of Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2002) as a framework for understanding athlete burnout and its hypothesized opposite - athlete engagement. Athlete burnout was defined as "a psychological syndrome of emotional/physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, and sport devaluation" (Raedeke, 1997, p.398). Athlete engagement was defined as a persistent, positive, cognitive-affective experience in sport that is characterized by vigour, dedication, and confidence. Based on the predictions of Vallerand�s (1997; Vallerand & Losier, 1999) motivational model, it was hypothesized that elite New Zealand athletes with higher perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (i.e., basic psychological needs) would also report more self-determined motives to participate in sport and that individuals with higher self-determined motivation would experience lower athlete burnout and higher athlete engagement. Before testing these hypotheses four preliminary studies were necessary. First, because of the nomadic lifestyles of many elite athletes, it was decided that an online survey delivered via the Internet would be the most appropriate and effective method for collecting data to test the central hypotheses. However, a literature search revealed that no studies in sport psychology had compared online and traditional paper and pencil survey methods and therefore a preliminary study was needed to investigate potential survey format effects. Results of measurement invariance and latent mean structures analyses indicated that there were no differences on the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire for randomly assigned online (n=117) and paper and pencil (n=97) groups. Second, recent research (e.g., Martens & Webber, 2002; Riemer, Fink, & Fitzgerald, 2002) has indicated that the only published measure of behavioural regulations (i.e., motives) in sport (Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, Tuson, & Blais, 1995) has psychometric problems. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a reliable and valid measure of behavioural regulations in sport. Following rigorous scale development procedures that included expert review and pilot testing, results from two studies (n=382 and n=343) supported the reliability and validity of this new measure - the Behavioural Regulations in Sport Questionnaire.
Third, while researchers in organizational and educational psychology have examined engagement experiences, no research has investigated athlete engagement. Results of a qualitative inquiry with elite New Zealand athletes (n=15) indicated that vigour, dedication, and confidence were core athlete engagement dimensions. Fourth, items for a quantitative athlete engagement questionnaire were created using operational definitions from the qualitative study and then reviewed by athlete burnout and positive psychology experts. Analysis of data from two samples (n=382 and n=343) supported the reliability and validity of the Athlete Engagement Questionnaire. Results from the final study (n=343) investigating the relationships amongst basic needs, behavioural regulations, burnout, and engagement generally supported the main hypotheses of the thesis. Indeed, athletes with higher perceptions of autonomy and competence reported more self-determined regulations; however, relatedness was not a significant predictor. Athletes� levels of self-determined motivation accounted for substantial portions of variance in athlete burnout symptoms: emotional/physical exhaustion (R�=.13), sport devaluation (R�=.43) and reduced accomplishment (R�=.42). Behavioural regulations were also strong predictors of athlete engagement, accounting for 49% of the variance in vigour, 42% of the variance in dedication, and 30% of the variance in confidence. Implications of these results for researchers and practitioners are discussed. Directions for research concerning SDT, athlete burnout, and athlete engagement are also highlighted.
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Mura, Paolo, and n/a. "Young tourists' perceptions of fear on holiday - a gendered perspective." University of Otago. Department of Tourism, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090904.110603.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores young tourists' perceptions of fear while they are on holiday. This work is important because it sheds light on tourists' emotional experiences on holiday, adding to our overall understanding of tourist behaviour. While the importance of investigating perceptions of fear has been recognized within a number of different disciplines (e.g. psychology, sociology, criminology, marketing), perceptions of fear have remained relatively unexplored within the tourism experience. This thesis also investigates young tourists' perceptions of fear from a gender perspective. Although gender has been regarded as one of the most important factors influencing perceptions of fear, gendered perceptions of fear among tourists in the holiday environment in general, and young tourists in particular, have received little attention.
The thesis is based on three months of fieldwork conducted in the summer of 2007 on the island of Ios, Greece. The choice of Ios as a study site was based on the fact that the island is promoted as the 'party island of Greece' and attracts many young tourists. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted among young tourists on the island. In order to explore gender-based similarities and differences in the perception and expression of fear, the interviews were conducted with 13 females and 12 males. Systematic observations were also carried out during the fieldwork.
The findings reveal that, although some respondents perceived fear as a negative emotion, others referred to fear as a positive component in the tourism experience. In particular, it was found that while on holiday on Ios young tourists participated in activities that they perceived as risky in order to experience fear. However, only optimal levels of fear were conceived as pleasant. With regard to gendered perceptions of fear, the results show that gender, despite having been traditionally constructed as a binary concept, did not play a major role in influencing young tourists' perceptions of fear on holiday. Rather, with the exception of women's concerns of sexual violence, the findings of this thesis demonstrate that more marked differences occurred in the perception and expression of fear among the various masculinities and femininities than between men and women.
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Longshore, Renee Michelle. "The rhetoric of state assessment: Educational politics in the public school system." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2004. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2721.
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In this thesis I explore the rhetoric behind the assessment push nation-wide and, particularly, in California. I take a close look at what politicians, educators, and citizens say about public education and their views of the current educational reform: whether they are speaking in support of or opposition to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. I look specifically at the finances of public education in California, the impact and current outcome of NCLB, and propose new reforms as suggested by those intimately involved in education.
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Ferguson, Colin B., and mikewood@deakin edu au. "An investigation of the effects of microcomputers on the work of professional accountants." Deakin University. School of Accounting and Finance, 1994. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20050915.155628.
Full textAbstract:
Information technology research over the past two decades suggests that the installation and use of computers fundamentally affects the structure and function of organisations and, m particular, the workers in these organizations. Following the release of the IBM Personal Computer in 1982, microcomputers have become an integral part of most work environments. The accounting services industry, in particular, has felt the impact of this microcomputer revolution. In Big Six accounting firms, there is almost one microcomputer for each professional accountant employed, Notwithstanding this, little research has been done on the effect of microcomputers on the work outcomes of professional accountants working in these firms.
This study addresses this issue. It assesses, in an organisational setting, how accountant perceptions of ease of use and usefulness of microcomputers act on their computer anxieties, microcomputer attitudes and use to affect their job satisfaction and job performance. The research also examines how different types of human-computer interfaces affect the relationships between accountants' beliefs about microcomputer utility and ease of use, computer anxiety, microcomputer attitudes and microcomputer use.
To attain this research objective, a conceptual model was first developed, The model indicates that work outcomes (job satisfaction and job performance) of professional accountants using microcomputers are influenced by users' perceptions of ease of use and usefulness of
microcomputers via paths through (a) the level of computer anxiety experienced by users, (b) the general attitude of users toward using microcomputers, and (c) the extent to which microcomputers are used by individuals. Empirically testable propositions were derived from the model to test the postulated relationships between these constructs. The study also tested whether or not users of different human-computer interfaces reacted differently to the perceptions and anxieties they hold about microcomputers and their use in the workplace. It was argued that users of graphical interfaces, because of the characteristics of those interfaces, react differently to their perceptions and anxieties about microcomputers compared with users of command-line (or textual-based) interfaces.
A passive-observational study in a field setting was used to test the model and the research propositions. Data was collected from 164 professional accountants working in a Big Six accounting firm in a metropolitan city in Australia. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to test the, hypothesised causal relationships between the components comprising the general research model. Path analysis and ordinary least squares regression was used to estimate the parameters of the model and analyse the data obtained. Multisample analysis (or stacked model analysis) using EQS was used to test the fit of the model to the data of the different human-computer interface groups and to estimate the parameters for the paths in those different groups.
The results show that the research model is a good description of the data. The job satisfaction of professional accountants is directly affected by their attitude toward using microcomputers and by microcomputer use itself. However, job performance appears to be only directly affected by microcomputer attitudes. Microcomputer use does not directly affect job performance. Along with perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, computer anxiety is shown to be an important determinant of attitudes toward using microcomputers - higher levels of computer anxiety negatively affect attitudes toward using microcomputers. Conversely, higher levels of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness heighten individuals' positive attitudes toward using microcomputers. Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness also indirectly affect microcomputer attitudes through their effect on computer anxiety. The results show that higher levels of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness result in lower levels of computer anxiety. A surprising result from the study is that while perceived ease of use is shown to directly affect the level of microcomputer usage, perceived usefulness and attitude toward using microcomputers does not.
The results of the multisample analysis confirm that the research model fits the stacked model and that the stacked model is a significantly better fit if specific parameters are allowed to vary between the two human-computer interface user groups. In general, these results confirm that an interaction exists between the type of human-computer interface (the variable providing the grouping) and the other variables in the model The results show a clear difference between the two groups in the way in which perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness affect microcomputer attitude. In the case of users of command-line interfaces, these variables appear to affect microcomputer attitude via an intervening variable, computer anxiety, whereas in the graphical interface user group the effect occurs directly. Related to this, the results show that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have a significant direct effect on computer anxiety in command-line interface users, but no effect at all for graphical interface users. Of the two exogenous variables only perceived ease of use, and that in the case of the command-line interface users, has a direct significant effect on extent of use of microcomputers.
In summary, the research has contributed to the development of a theory of individual adjustment to information technology in the workplace. It identifies certain perceptions, anxieties and attitudes about microcomputers and shows how they may affect work outcomes such as job satisfaction and job performance. It also shows that microcomputer-interface types have a differential effect on some of the hypothesised relationships represented in the general model. Future replication studies could sample a broader cross-section of the microcomputer user community.
Finally, the results should help Big Six accounting firms to maximise the benefits of microcomputer use by making them aware of how working with microcomputers affects job satisfaction and job performance.
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Prinsloo, Cindy Renee. "An exploratory investigation into the moneymax profile as predictor of optimal financial attitudes and behaviour." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86219.
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Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Financial independence is what most people strive for; however, world trends indicate that it eludes the majority of the population. In South Africa, financial independence figures, especially at retirement, range disconcertingly between 6% and 10%. Numerous factors contribute to and influence financial independence, such as the current economic climate, personality characteristics and attitudes and behaviour. In an attempt to understand the complexity of the interplay between finance and psychology, this research explores a commercial product, the Moneymax Profile (MMP), and endeavours to relate it to scientific literature that will contribute to the understanding of how personality characteristics and attitudes and behaviours toward money will influence financial independence. An ex post facto correlational research design was employed in this exploratory quantitative study (n = 67). The Financial Independence Scale (FIScale) was constructed for the purposes of the study. The concept of optimal financial attitudes and behaviour (OFAB) was developed and defined as measurable attitudes and behaviour that maximise the likelihood that individuals will experience financial security or independence. OFAB was measured by subscales of personality (locus of control, Type A/B personality, time orientation) and financial attitudes and behaviour (for example budgeting, social referents, financial discipline, control of investments). Results indicated that locus of control, time orientation, budgeting, social referents and control of investment were reliable measures of OFAB. The Moneymax traits with a moderate correlation that contributed significantly to OFAB were pride, emotionality, confidence, contentment, spending and trust. The traits of involvement, power and risk taking were significant, but the relationship with OFAB was weak. The remaining traits of altruism, work ethic, self-determination and reflectivity held little statistical value. The principle contributors to an individual’s financial habits and current status were noted to be education level, unexpected circumstances and trusting others. The lack of available psychometric properties for the MMP and the small sample were major limitations of this study. The disciplines of economics and psychology would do well to continue working together in an effort to comprehend money and money personality.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Finansiële onafhanklikheid is ‘n stand van sake waarna meeste individue streef. Wêreldwyd word hierdie nie vir die oorgrote mederheid behaal nie. In Suid-Afrika blyk die getal vir finansiële onafhanklikheid slegs 6% tot 10% te wees. Faktore soos die huidige ekonomiese klimaat, persoonlike eienskappe, gesindheid en gedrag word as bydraende faktore beskou. ‘n Poging word aangewend om die komplekse interaksie tussen finansies en sielkunde te ondersoek en dit deur middel van ‘n kommersiele produk, Moneymax Profile (MMP), en onderneem om wetenskaplike literatuur te gebruik om vas te stel wat se komponente van persoonlikheid, gesindheid en gedrag nodig is vir ‘n individu om finansiëel onafhanklik te kan wees. ‘n Ex post facto korrelasie navorsingsontwerp word in die kwantitatiewe navorsingstudie (n = 67) gebruik. Die Financial Independence Scale (FIScale) was vir die navorsing ontwikkel. Die konsep van optimale gesindheid en gedrag (OFAB) word voorgelê en word as volg gedefinieer: meetbare gesindheid en gedrag wat ‘n individu se waarskynlikheid vergroot om finansiele sekuriteit en onafhanklikheid te beleef. OFAB was gemeet deur subskale van persoonlikheidseienskappe (lokus van kontrole, Tipe A/B persoonlikheid, tydorienteering) en finansiële gedrag en gesindheid (byvoorbeeld begrotings, sosialegroepsdruk, finansiële disipline, beleggingsbestuur). Resultate wys dat lokus van kontrole, tydorienteering, begrotings optrek, sosialegroepsdruk, en beleggingsbestuur geldige metings van OFAB was. Die Moneymax trekke wat beduidend en matige verwantskappe het met OFAB was trots, emosienaliteit, sekerheid, tevredenheid, besteeding en vertroue. Die trekke van betrokkenheid, mag en risiko was beduidend maar die korrelasie was swak. Die oorblywende trekke van altruïsme, werksetiek, selfbeskikking en oordenking hou weinig statistiese waarde. Faktore wat bydra tot ‘n individu se finansiëlegedrag en huidige finansiëlestatus is opvoedkundevlak, onbeplande omstandighede en om andere te vertrou. Die gebrek aan psigometriese eienskappe van die MMP het die studie gekniehalter. Die dissiplines van die ekonomie en sielkunde word aangemoedig om geld en geldpersoonlikheid verder te verken.
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Lambert, Debra J. "Adult's visual perceptions of obese indivisuals." Virtual Press, 1991. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/834607.
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The purpose of this investigation was to identify college students' visual perceptions of obese individuals and to identify any differences that may exist due to gender or body build of the subject. The subjects who participated in this study were students randomly chosen from a beginning counseling psychology course at Ball State University. One hundred subjects volunteered to complete the necessary testing for this thesis. A cross tabulation and Chi Square analysis of gender and somatotype preference found significant differences in that female subjects chose to interact less often with endomorphs than did the male subjects. The differences between the subject's somatotype and somatotype preference were found to be insignificant.Institute for Wellness
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Ramrakha, Sandhya, and n/a. "The link between mental health problems and sexual risk taking in a general population sample." University of Otago. Dunedin School of Medicine, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090527.155127.
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This thesis examined whether mental health problems and sexual risk taking were associated in a general population sample and if so, the extent and direction of this association. The thesis begins with a review of theories of risk taking; sexual risk and mental health correlates; and the existing studies linking mental health and sexual risk taking. Three empirical studies were conducted.
Study One produced new evidence that a range of psychiatric disorders were linked to early sex (<16 years), risky sex (multiple partners and inconsistent condom use in the past year at age 21) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by the age of 21 years. Young people who present with schizophrenia spectrum disorder were also prone to early and risky sex and STIs. Second, depression, the single most common psychiatric problem in the population, was also associated with risky sex and STIs. The risk increased with comorbid psychiatric conditions.
Study Two addressed the issue of directionality, specifically examining if childhood behavioural and emotional problems and early adolescent psychiatric disorder predicted later sexual risk taking and STIs. Main findings showed that childhood antisocial behaviour increased the likelihood of risky and early sex, and that low levels of childhood anxiety increased the likelihood of later risky sex and having STIs. Involvement with delinquent peers mediated the association between childhood antisocial behaviour and risky and early sex. To a lesser degree, attachment to parents mediated the association between antisocial behaviour and early sex. These factors did not mediate the association between low levels of childhood anxiety and later sexual outcomes. No associations were found between adolescent psychiatric disorder and later sexual risk taking, with the exception of conduct disorder. However, it is important to note that by excluding the group who had early sex in order to establish temporality, other behaviours of interest exhibited by this group were also excluded.
The third study examined whether sexual risk taking was associated with an increased risk of subsequent mental health problems, addressing the issue of directionality in the other direction. Main findings showed that reports of early sex, multiple sex partners and STIs elevated the risk of later substance dependence disorders. Importantly, this association persisted after controlling for �baseline� levels of psychiatric disorder. Early sex also predicted later conduct disorder, even after controlling for prior conduct disorder. In contrast, early sex, multiple sex partners and acquisition of STIs were unrelated to later diagnoses of anxiety or depression. The significant associations with multiple sex partners and STIs were also shown for incident cases of substance dependence.
Moderation analyses revealed no differences between the sexes in any of the studies except in Study Three. Specifically, the association between multiple sex partners and substance dependence appeared to be stronger for males than females for up to 10 sex partners and substantially stronger for females than for males beyond ten sex partners.
The final chapter in this thesis reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the studies in this thesis before considering the implications of the results for theory, research and practice.