Research has demonstrated that young children with problem behaviours are at risk of developing anti-social attitudes and behaviours that will follow them throughout their schooling and into their adult years. Effective intervention can alter this developmental trajectory. This needs to include the involvement of early childhood teachers because even early childhood teachers report that children’s inappropriate behaviours are one of the major challenges they face in the classroom. However, many early childhood teachers are unaware of the evidence-based practices that have the potential to decrease problem behaviour. The aim of this study was to uncover the current behaviour management strategies used by teachers at a preschool and to examine the effects of training early childhood teachers in the effective use positive teaching strategies to increase appropriate behaviour and decrease inappropriate behaviour in three and a half to five year old children. A variety of methodologies were employed in this study including direct observations, use of the Canterbury Social Development Scale and reflective teacher questionnaires. The study found that teachers’ initial understandings of simple strategies such as contingent praise and attention were limited and that they would benefit from an in-service training programme. After implementing the training it was found that all teachers increased their ordinary and descriptive praise statements and they increased in their contingent responses following requests. These changes were maintained above Baseline levels for all teachers. The number of discouragements remained consistent across all phases. An increase in teacher praise was accompanied by an increase in appropriate child behaviour and a decrease in inappropriate child behaviour. Though this study was successful in changing both teacher and child behaviour it also raised a number of important implications, including issues of the maintenance of behaviour change and the importance of feedback and the use of one-on-one coaching when conducting professional development in behaviour management at the preschool level.

With social structure and technology rapidly changing, business globalisation has been regarded as a worldwide trend. While there have been many cases and literature on management of culture integration for merger and acquisition from a Western perspective, few have discussed cultural integration in an Asian context. This study provides a case study of cultural integration strategies Lenovo has undertaken to manage employees from both teams after the M&A. It adopts a semi-structure face-to-face interview research method, which 5 participants were selected from the culture integration committee for interview. During the interview, each participant answered the questions from their perspective of the job position they are currently in. The method would enhance the quality of the research as it looks into the problems and strategy that Lenovo has encountered and undertaken from various points of view. However, as no employees from IBM PC-D on the committee were available to participate in the research, it might place some limitations on the research simply because IBM team’s opinions were not taken into account. After analysing the results obtained from the participants, the researcher found that there were several motives for Lenovo to acquire IBM PC-D, including: - 1) internationalization, 2) acquiring technology and skills, 3) acquiring a brand, 4) obtaining access to new customers, 5) increase bargaining position to suppliers. Among these five motives, acquiring brand was considered to be the most important motive. As Chinese product has always been marketed at the lower end of the product line with low costs and poor quality, acquiring IBM’s brand would enable Lenovo to boost its product image and to gain access to customers outside the Chinese market. In managing two teams within the organisation, Lenovo has taken very few steps to integrate two teams into one. Instead, a separate management mode was encouraged by Lenovo to allow IBM PC-D to maintain its own management system and procedures. In addition, a culture integration committee was voluntarily set up by employees from various departments to design initiatives to encourage communication between two teams. When problems arise due to the difference between two teams, Lenovo has adopted an accommodation strategy by making adjustments to the work schedule of its employee in the Lenovo team in order to accommodate employees in IBM team. As a result, it has increased the workload for staff in Lenovo team and this may thus lead to stress and work-life imbalance to its employees. Overall, the strategy that Lenovo has adopted to manage two teams seems to have worked well and the culture integration committee appears to have served well in encouraging the communication between two teams. On the other hand, as the participants in the interview were not directly involved with the designing and crafting the strategy of culture integration, that might have some limitation on the result. Therefore, it is suggested that further research can be done to capture the opinion from members that are directly involved in the design of culture integration strategy as well as teams from IBM PC-D in order to ensure a well provided empirical and consistent view.

With the introduction of the technological age, increasing mechanisation has led to labour saving devices which have all-but engineered physical activity out of our lives and sedentary behaviour has now become the default behaviour during waking hours. Interventions that previously focused on improving levels of physical activity are now attempting to concurrently increase levels of physical activity and decrease time spent in sedentary behaviour. One method that has shown promise in interventions to increase physical activity and healthy eating in adults is the behaviour change technique of self-monitoring. There is now a robust set of literature indicating self-monitoring as the most promising behaviour change technique in this area. Self-monitoring is tied inherently into the recent rise in wearable technology. These new devices have the ability to track a variety of behavioural and physiological parameters and immediately make the information returnable to the user via connected mobile applications. The potential pervasive nature of these technologies and their use of robust behaviour change techniques could make them a useful tool in interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour. Therefore the overall purpose of this three study dissertation was to identify and validate technology that can self-monitor sedentary behaviour and to determine its feasibility in reducing sedentary behaviour. Study 1 Purpose: The aim of this study was to review the characteristics and measurement properties of currently available self-monitoring devices for sedentary behaviour and/or physical activity. Methods: To identify technologies, four scientific databases were systematically searched using key terms related to behaviour, measurement, and population. Articles published through October 2015 were identified. To identify technologies from the consumer electronic sector, systematic searches of three Internet search engines were also performed through to October 1st, 2015. Results: The initial database searches identified 46 devices and the Internet search engines identified 100 devices yielding a total of 146 technologies. Of these, 64 were further removed because they were currently unavailable for purchase or there was no evidence that they were designed for, had been used in, or could readily be modified for self-monitoring purposes. The remaining 82 technologies were included in this review (73 devices self-monitored physical activity, 9 devices self-monitored sedentary time). Of the 82 devices included, this review identified no published articles in which these devices were used for the purpose of self-monitoring physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour; however, a number of technologies were found via Internet searches that matched the criteria for self-monitoring and provided immediate feedback on physical activity (ActiGraph Link, Microsoft Band, and Garmin Vivofit) and sedentary behaviour (activPAL VT, the LumoBack, and Darma). Conclusions: There are a large number of devices that self-monitor physical activity; however, there is a greater need for the development of tools to self-monitor sedentary time. The novelty of these devices means they have yet to be used in behaviour change interventions, although the growing field of wearable technology may facilitate this to change. Study 2 Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the criterion and convergent validity of the LumoBack as a measure of sedentary behaviour compared to direct observation, the ActiGraph wGT3X+ and the activPAL under laboratory and free-living conditions in a sample of healthy adults. Methods: In the laboratory experiment, 34 participants wore a LumoBack, ActiGraph and activPAL monitor and were put through seven different sitting conditions. In the free-living experiment, a sub-sample of 12 participants wore the LumoBack, ActiGraph and activPAL monitor for seven days. Validity were assessed using Bland-Altman plots, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). T-test and Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance were also used to determine any significant difference in measured behaviours. Results: In the laboratory setting, the LumoBack had a mean bias of 76.2, 72.1 and -92.3 seconds when compared to direct observation, ActiGraph and activPAL, respectively, whilst MAPE was less than 4%. Furthermore, the ICC was 0.82 compared to the ActiGraph and 0.73 compared to the activPAL. In the free-living experiment, mean bias was -4.64, 8.90 and 2.34 seconds when compared to the activPAL for sedentary behaviour, standing time and stepping time respectively. Mean bias was -38.44 minutes when compared to the ActiGraph for sedentary time. MAPE for all behaviours were < 9%, and the ICC were all > 0.75. Conclusion: The LumoBack has acceptable validity and reliability as a measure of sedentary behaviour. Study 3 Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the use of the LumoBack as a behaviour change tool to reduce sedentary behaviour in adults. Methods: Forty-two participants (≥25 years) who had an iPhone 4S or later model wore the LumoBack without any feedback for one week for baseline measures of behaviour. Participants then wore the LumoBack for a further five weeks whilst receiving feedback on sedentary behaviour via a sedentary vibration from the device and feedback on the mobile application. Sedentary behaviour, standing time, and stepping time were objectively assessed using the LumoBack. Differences in behaviour were determined between baseline, week 1 and week 5. Participant engagement with the LumoBack was determined using Mobile app analytics software. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in behaviour between baseline and the LumoBack intervention period (p > 0.05). Participants engaged most with the Steps card on the LumoBack app with peaks in engagement seen at week 5. Conclusion: This study indicates that using the LumoBack on its own was not effective in reducing sedentary behaviour in adults. Self-monitoring and feedback may need to be combined with other behaviour change strategies such as environmental restructuring to be effective. General Conclusion This thesis found that there are currently an abundance of technologies which self-monitors physical activity but a lack of devices which measuring sedentary behaviour. One such device, the LumoBack, has shown to have acceptable validity as a measure of sedentary behaviour. Whilst the use of the LumoBack as a behaviour change tool did not elicit any significant changes, its ability to be a pervasive behavioural intervention and the use of user-defined nudging can make the LumoBack, and other similar low cost, valid objective sedentary behaviour self-monitors key components in multi-faceted interventions.

It has been widely accepted that information is an asset and it needs to be protected. Many types of countermeasures were developed and implemented to ensure continuous protection of information where it is deemed necessary. Unfortunately, in many cases, breaches of security are the result of non-compliance behaviours of users or stakeholders of the system. These non-compliance behaviours increase the vulnerability of such system. Organisations are trying to improve their stakeholders compliance behaviour through different ways for example by providing necessary awareness, education and training and to the extent of providing rewards for healthy behaviours and reprimanding and penalising stakeholders for breaches of security. Despite all these efforts, information security breaches are still on the rise and many types of research have been done to understand this issue. It is postulated that an object is protected if it is appreciated. Appreciation of an object might relate to a value perceived by the owner in association with the object. For the similar reason, this thesis investigates the role of perceptions of information value in the context of its security. It is postulated that perceptions of information value could become an alternative way to understand information security compliance behaviour. Utilising a conceptual framework deduced from current literature to structurally analyse a list of research objectives, empirical evidence of the potential role of information perceived value in promoting better compliance behaviour have indeed been discovered. There is evidence that a perception of information value is developed through a systematic process of value assignment or information value assignment process. These processes are significant to the development of stakeholders intention to behave. The finding of this process has provided a platform for the organisation to understand the casual behind the information security behaviours displayed by stakeholders in the organisation. Further evidence has also suggested that the information value assignment is fuelled or influenced by several factors. These factors have provided a unique opportunity for the organisation to manipulate and nurture to have maximum impact on their information value assignment process, resulting in a possible improved intention to behave, thus, subsequently might affect the actual information security compliance behaviour.

The study of consumer behaviour is a dynamic and longstanding challenge to continuously understand the factors which influence consumers’ buying behaviour. Though internal (for example attitude, motivation and learning) and external factors (marketing stimuli) are equally important, the focus of this study is on external influences and market trends. Consumer markets around the world have recently seen the increase of ethical products. Those products that are differentiated by their moral or sustainable values and attributes, for example environmentally friendly products or body lotions not tested on animals. The provision of these products is a result of organisations’ realisation that in order to increase their customer base, their values must be centred on doing good for the community as well as the environment and should be visible to consumers. For a number of organisations this means marketing the ethical values and attributes of the products they provide so that consumers will ultimately choose their products. However, in order to understand consumers’ willingness to pay for these products, marketers need to understand the price perceptions consumers have towards these products. The purpose of this study relates to this and aims to determine the influence that the marketing of ethically framed personal care products, as an external influence, has on consumers’ willingness to pay for these products. More specifically, this study aims to determine whether South African females are willing to pay more for ethically framed personal care products than for ordinary personal care products. This will be done by specifically assessing their reference, fair and reservation price perceptions. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Marketing Management / unrestricted

M.Ed.

Ever-evolving information technology influences the information behaviour of users. This enforces both academic libraries and other libraries to try by all means to cope with the accelerating rate of information technology. The abundance of electronic and digital resources and tools have been reported to have a strong impact on the information behaviour of researchers (Vilar and Žumer 2011). / Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Carnegie Corporation of New York / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

Despite the growing need for depression prevention programming for university students, few programs exist and those that do are too resource-intensive for broad dissemination. Furthermore, limited research has been conducted on mechanisms of change in CBT-based prevention programs and similar research conducted on CBT for depression demonstrates mixed findings. Therefore, there is a need to incorporate a formal model of health-behaviour change in prevention (and intervention) programs to clarify mechanisms of change and improve outcomes, such as the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). This series of studies developed and tested a formal CBT-TPB “hybrid” model to predict intention to change thinking patterns and a brief depression prevention program for university students and to examine the program’s potential to change the hypothesized constructs in the hybrid model. Results indicated support for the hybrid model, in that TPB factors predict intention to change thinking patterns. In addition, across an open and randomized control trial, my “Start Making a Change” intervention promotes change in TPB factors, as well as improvement in relevant CBT and well-being outcomes. The implication of this work is that brief, easy-to-disseminate, programs, based on a formal model of change, can effectively, at least in the short term, target and change important risk factors for depression onset in university students.

L'omniprésence des horloges circadiennes à travers une vaste gamme de taxons démontre la valeur adaptative de connaître l'heure du jour. Ces horloges permettent aux organismes de synchroniser leurs processus biologiques quotidiens à des environnements externes et internes changeants. Dans mon projet de doctorat, j'ai utilisé la drosophile comme système modèle pour étudier les bases neurales de l'adaptation saisonnière de l'activité quotidienne par l'horloge. Chez la drosophile, l'horloge cérébrale régulant l'activité locomotrice, suivant un modèle bimodale, fonctionne comme un réseau multi-oscillateurs. Deux ensembles distincts de neurones contrôlent l'activité du matin et l’activité du soir quotidiennement. Les neurones contribuant à l'activité du soir sont nombreux (oscillateurs E : 6 LNds, 1 sLNv et environ 12 à 15 DN1ps dans chaque hémisphère) et très divers en termes de localisations anatomiques, de motifs de projection, de neurochimie et de modalités photoréceptives. Mon travail indique que les différents oscillateurs E possèdent également des activités fonctionnelles distinctes dans le réseau neuronal d'horloge. J’ai démontré que seulement 2 paires d'oscillateurs E (ITP + CRY +) sur environ 150 neurones d'horloge sont suffisantes pour l'activité d'anticipation du soir. La dissection génétique de divers sous-ensembles d'oscillateurs du soir indique que non seulement ces deux paires de neurones sont suffisantes pour l'activité du soir, mais également qu'elles sont fonctionnellement supérieures aux autres oscillateurs du soir. Par conséquent, une hiérarchie opérationnelle existe parmi les oscillateurs du soir dans lesquels les neurones oscillateurs ITP + CRY + (dorénavant, ITP E) occupent l'échelon le plus élevé. J’ai par ailleurs démontré que cette hiérarchie est plutôt flexible, et que les partenaires de cette relation hiérarchique changent de rôle en fonction des entrées neuropeptidergiques (à savoir, le PDF). Les comportement et les réponses calciques des divers neurones du soir suggèrent que le PDF et les signaux saisonniers agissent sur un cadre fonctionnel, dans lequel certains neurones construisent l'activité du soir en augmentant l’activité en fin de journée et que d'autres neurones y contribuent en inhibant l'activité du début d'après-midi. Mise à part le PDF, les indices saisonniers, tels que la durée du jour, l'intensité lumineuse et la température, déterminent la pondération fonctionnelle parmi les oscillateurs du soir. Les signaux saisonniers influencent différents oscillateurs pour remplir la même fonction sous différentes saisons. Les oscillateurs ITP E sont recrutés principalement dans des conditions hivernales, tandis que les oscillateurs non-ITP E contribuent davantage dans des conditions semblables à celles de l'été. Ce recrutement biaisé d'oscillateurs se produit en partie via la modulation des niveaux de PDF par des indices saisonniers.Même s'il existe de nombreux oscillateurs E dans le circuit neuronal circadien, leur pertinence fonctionnelle est définie par des stimuli externes (indices saisonniers) et internes (neuropeptides) grâce au recrutement de différents oscillateurs.En résumé, mon étude de doctorat tente de fournir une explication plausible sur la manière dont l'adaptation saisonnière de l'horloge circadienne est réalisée au niveau neuronal. Mes résultats supportent l'idée que le recrutement d'oscillateurs, contrôlé par l'environnement, facilite l'ajustement saisonnier sculpté par l'horloge circadienne multi-oscillateurs.LNd: dorsal-lateral neuronssLNv: small ventral-lateral neuronsDN1p: dorsal neurons 1 (posterior)ITP: Ion Transport PeptideCRY: CryptochromePDF: Pigment Dispersing Factor / The ubiquity of circadian clocks across a vast range of taxa signifies the adaptive value of knowing the time of the day. These clocks enable organisms to synchronize their daily biological processes to changing external and internal environments. In my PhD project, I used Drosophila as a model system to test hypotheses regarding the neural basis of the seasonal adaptation of the clock-driven daily activity pattern. In Drosophila, the brain clock regulating bimodal locomotor activity functions as a multi-oscillator network. Two distinct sets of neurons control morning and evening bouts of daily locomotor activity. Neurons contributing to the evening activity (E oscillators; 6 LNds, 1 sLNv and around 12 to 15 DN1ps in each hemisphere) are numerous and quite diverse within themselves in terms of their anatomical loci, projection patterns, neurochemistry, and photoreceptive modalities. My work indicates that the different E oscillators also possess distinct functional loci in the clock neuronal network. I show that only 2 pairs of E oscillators (ITP+ CRY+) out of around 150 clock neurons are sufficient for the evening anticipatory activity. Genetic dissection of various evening oscillator subsets further indicates that not only these two pairs of neurons are sufficient for the evening activity, but also, they are functionally superior to other evening oscillators in their contribution to the evening activity. Hence, an operational hierarchy exists among the evening oscillators in which the ITP+ CRY+ (henceforth, ITP E) oscillator neurons inhabit the highest rung. I further show that this hierarchy is rather flexible, and the partners of this hierarchical relationship switch roles depending on neuropeptidergic inputs (namely, PDF). Studying behavior and calcium responses in diverse evening neurons suggest that PDF and seasonal cues act on a functional framework of E neurons in which some build evening activity by promotion of activity in the later parts of the day and while others, by inhibiting activity in the earlier afternoon. Alongside PDF, seasonal cues such as day-length, light intensity and temperature, determine the functional weightage among evening oscillators. Specific seasonal cues recruit different oscillators to carry out the same function under different seasons. ITP E oscillators are recruited mostly by winter-like conditions whereas non- ITP E oscillators contribute more under summer-like conditions. This biased recruitment of oscillators partly occurs via modulation of the PDF levels by seasonal cues. Even though there are numerous E oscillators in the brain circadian circuit, their functional relevance is defined by external (seasonal cues) and internal (neuropeptides) environments through conditional oscillator recruitment. In summary, my PhD study attempts to provide a plausible explanation of how seasonal adaptation of the circadian clock and the behaviours that it times, is achieved at the neural level. My results support the idea that environmentally gated recruitment of oscillators facilitates seasonal adjustment of the daily activity pattern sculpted by the multi-oscillator circadian clock.LNd: dorsal-lateral neuronssLNv: small ventral-lateral neuronsDN1p: dorsal neurons 1 (posterior)ITP: Ion Transport PeptideCRY: CryptochromePDF: Pigment Dispersing Factor

The study investigates how the church in Zambia can effectively facilitate change toward reducing HIV-risky behaviour. The researcher posits that an intricate connection exists between HIV-risky behaviour and the socio-cultural context of majority people groups in Zambia. He further argues that much risky behaviour is imbedded in pervasive socio-cultural norms and traditions propelled by a worldview which essentially resists transformation. From an insider’s perspective the researcher will design a praxis model for transforming Zambian worldview facets with regard to HIV/AIDS predisposing behaviours in order to achieve enduring HIV risk reduction. The study reviews current literature on HIV behavioural change theories and models to understand where the theories have taken all the stakeholders, including theological praxis. The study will demonstrate the link between Zambian cultural worldviews and trends in sexual behaviour which, arguably, facilitates the proliferation of HIV risky behaviour. The study culminates in designing an evangelical theological praxis/model for transforming relevant cultural worldviews toward changing HIV risky behaviour in Zambia. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Practical Theology / unrestricted