Low autonomic arousal, as measured through resting heart rate, has been shown to be one of the best-replicated biological correlates of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. According to the stimulation seeking theory, low arousal represents an unpleasant physiological state. In line with this theory, antisocial individuals purposely engage in antisocial and aggressive acts in an attempt to increase stimulation and achieve more agreeable arousal levels. If, as the stimulation seeking theory suggests, the function of antisocial behaviour is to increase physiological arousal levels, exposing antisocial individuals to functionally equivalent forms of arousing situations (e.g., aerobic exercise) should result in a reduction in aberrant conduct. Although a growing body of literature indicates that antecedent exercise is effective at reducing antisocial and aggressive behaviours, the present investigation sets out to explore two fundamental questions about this approach that remain unclear. First, there is a paucity of research examining the temporal effects of antecedent exercise. Secondly, little is known about the mechanism of action accounting for behavioural improvements following exercise. The present investigation involved 4 students (age range 11-14) enrolled in a closed behavioural classroom due to severe aggressive, disruptive, and oppositional behaviours. Through the use of an alternating treatment design with baseline, students were first exposed to baseline conditions and then to two experimental conditions, (i.e., an antecedent exercise condition and a control condition) in a randomized fashion. Results indicated that 30 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic exercise resulted in approximately 90 minutes of behavioural improvements. In addition, results suggest an inverse relationship between arousal levels and behavioural difficulties. The potential utility of antecedent exercise as a treatment alternative in schools for students with severe antisocial behaviours is discussed.

Low autonomic arousal, as measured through resting heart rate, has been shown to be one of the best-replicated biological correlates of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. According to the stimulation seeking theory, low arousal represents an unpleasant physiological state. In line with this theory, antisocial individuals purposely engage in antisocial and aggressive acts in an attempt to increase stimulation and achieve more agreeable arousal levels. If, as the stimulation seeking theory suggests, the function of antisocial behaviour is to increase physiological arousal levels, exposing antisocial individuals to functionally equivalent forms of arousing situations (e.g., aerobic exercise) should result in a reduction in aberrant conduct. Although a growing body of literature indicates that antecedent exercise is effective at reducing antisocial and aggressive behaviours, the present investigation sets out to explore two fundamental questions about this approach that remain unclear. First, there is a paucity of research examining the temporal effects of antecedent exercise. Secondly, little is known about the mechanism of action accounting for behavioural improvements following exercise. The present investigation involved 4 students (age range 11-14) enrolled in a closed behavioural classroom due to severe aggressive, disruptive, and oppositional behaviours. Through the use of an alternating treatment design with baseline, students were first exposed to baseline conditions and then to two experimental conditions, (i.e., an antecedent exercise condition and a control condition) in a randomized fashion. Results indicated that 30 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic exercise resulted in approximately 90 minutes of behavioural improvements. In addition, results suggest an inverse relationship between arousal levels and behavioural difficulties. The potential utility of antecedent exercise as a treatment alternative in schools for students with severe antisocial behaviours is discussed.

This study examined the relationship between helping (organizational citizenship behaviours) and workplace safety. It is the second study in a sequence, building on an initial study by Burt and Williams (2012). The aims of the current study are three-fold. Firstly, further evidence was sought to support the argument put forth by Burt and Williams (2012) suggesting that there are situations in which helping behaviours can lead to an increase in safety risk. Additionally, based on findings from Burt and Williams (2012), the following two situations were investigated: I) why do helpers often not tell the target of help that help has been given; and, II) in the instance where help inadvertently leads to a safety risk increase for the target, why does the target fail to communicate this risk increase back to the helper. The personality traits of humility and agreeableness were hypothesised to positively relate to the first and second situations, respectively. The sample consisted of 79 participants across a variety of high risk occupations. Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire, containing measures of job risk, negative outcomes of helping behaviours, humility, agreeableness, single item measures to assess situation I and II, and subsequent measures to further investigate these two situations. The results showed clear evidence that helping can be associated with safety risks. Both of the personality-based hypotheses failed to reach significance. However, the results suggest that helpers often fail to tell the target of help that help has been given, through a lack of understanding regarding the importance of communicating one’s helping behaviours, and a lack of time or opportunity. Additionally, results suggest that the instance where help inadvertently leads to an increased safety risk for the target (but the target fails to inform the helper of this risk increase), occurs through the target wanting to protect the helper’s confidence, and not wishing to be seen as ungrateful. The results provide valuable information to significantly add to the limited literature regarding helping behaviours and occupational safety. The findings from this study potentially allow organizations to decrease the negative safety outcomes of such behaviours. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This thesis comprises an analysis of ways to approach developing feminist pedagogies. Its main premise is that given the ideological, political and problematic nature of teaching and learning within educational institutions, it is not possible to define and prescribe a certain set of teaching behaviours that would constitute 'successful feminist pedagogy' in all circumstances. Instead, the thesis explores the changing nature of feminist theories, particularly the shift from essentialist feminism to feminisms of difference. It also considers a range of other influences on feminist teachers as they develop their approaches to teaching. These influences include critical and radical pedagogical theories; the impact of women on the teaching profession; postmodernism; using critique and reflection within the classroom; the nature of relationships in classrooms; the role of teacher education; and developments within English education. Since I am a feminist English teacher, I draw on my own classroom experiences, both at secondary and pre-service teacher education levels. I use these experiences not as models of feminist teaching practice, but as material to reflect on ways in which a feminist teacher might move towards creating intellectual imaginings for changing her classroom work so that it contributes to an ever-evolving vision of a different feminist future. The thesis is also concerned with the processes involved in intellectual work and in becoming a feminist teacher. Within the text I have used both journal writing, and personal reflection on classroom events, to disrupt the otherwise authoritative tendencies of thesis statements. This is why, rather than coming to conclusions about the specific attributes of feminist classrooms, I suggest ways in which feminist teachers can work on their own transition towards reflective, critical and feminist classroom practices.

Electronic commerce is increasingly applied in commercial fields, no exception to construction procurement process. But coming with it, also creates many problems, many of them remain as hot issues for both researchers and stakeholders in industries and have not been solved, though enormous efforts have been offered from different parties involved, among which, ethics in e-commerce enabled construction procurement process stays on top of all. This thesis investigates ethical issues related to the e-commerce application in the construction industry. Research methods used in this study include a thorough literature review, a questionnaire survey, interviews and a case study. These studies were conducted in August 2004. The samples studied in my thesis included a group of 30 experienced construction professionals who were attending a MBA distance learning programme offered by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Beijing. Through these studies, various construction ethical issues such as computer ethics and corruption in the e-commerce enabled construction procurement process are thoroughly discussed and patterns of ethical behaviors were identified. Specifically, through the questionnaire and interviews, it was identified that the majority of the respondents (70%) agreed that ethical atmosphere is almost nonexistent in the China construction industry. The majority (78%) also agreed that there was only a little ethical awareness. However, the majority of respondents (51%) believed that there is a positive relationship between ethical behavior and long-term profitability of the company. On the other hand, the respondents' views were divided when judging the relationship between ethical behaviour and short-term profitability as 40% believed the relationship between ethical behaviour and short-term profitability of the company was uncritical, while 43% believed there was a strong relationship between them. The majority of respondents (63%) also confirmed that ethics was never discussed with companies. When asked on the difficulties encountered in developing a strong ethical awareness in the company, respondents cited various reasons including the lack of support from senior management; prevailing trend in the industry, negative impact on long-term and short-term profitability. The majority of respondents (90%) also chose "keep silent" when asked if they spotted unethical behaviors. Finally, the majority of respondents (90%) believed that unethical behaviors increase the cost of procurement by at least 10%. The interviews and case study reinforced the findings and revealed reasons for the ethical behaviors in China construction industry. Based on these findings, this study has proposed several remedial measures in order to prevent unethical behaviors. In addition, scope for further research is also identified.

While emerging technologies such as interactive multimedia are increasingly being employed in computerised music instruction, understanding of participant music listening behaviours in interactive multimedia music instruction is currently very limited. With the aim of elucidating music listening behaviour, the central concern of this work is to identify and explain participant interactions with the audio components of interactive multimedia music instruction. The investigation employs a novel documentation procedure, which extends the application of digital audio recording technology, to provide a finely calibrated analysis of the audio activity of a sample of 20 undergraduate music education majors during individual sessions with two commercially-available interactive multimedia music instruction programs. Graphically-based Sound Activity Profiles, which the researcher developed specifically for the current investigation, characterise and summarise participant interactions with audio components, while an analysis of questionnaire responses and follow-up interview transcripts provides supplementary information that further explains participants' music listening behaviours. The results of the investigation show that music listening behaviours during the study sessions were highly variable. While extensive participant interaction with music examples occasionally reflected attentive music listening behaviours, many study sessions were characterised by brief, fragmentary music excerpts and lengthy periods of silence. Participants spent as little as five percent of their session time listening to music and as much as 88 percent of the session time in silence. A substantial number of the study cohort frequently interrupted the music examples they had activated. Participants' perceptions of the extent of their interaction with music examples were frequently inaccurate, as subjects often substantially overestimated the amount of session time they had spent listening to music. The study findings suggest that many interactive multimedia music instruction participants would benefit from interventions that elicit more extensive and prolonged interaction with music examples. Accordingly, recommendations include a call for research to develop and test software designs that incorporate automated monitoring of session audio activity so that dynamic on-screen information about music listening behaviour can be provided to interactive multimedia music instruction participants. Such information may encourage participants to modify inappropriate music listening behaviours.

We investigate whether there are green returns to education, where formal education encourages pro-environmental behaviours using nationally representative surveys on environmental issues in Thailand. To establish the causal relationship between education and green behaviours, we exploit the instrumental variables strategy using the supply of state primary schooling i.e. the corresponding number of teachers per 1000 children, which varies over time and across regions as the instrument, while controlling for regional, cohort and income effects. We find that more years of schooling lead to a greater probability of taking knowledge-based environmentally-friendly actions a great deal, but not cost-saving pro-environmental actions. In addition, the paper finds no significant impact of formal education on concern about global warming nor the willingness to pay for environmental tax.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The Health Promotion Model provides a theoretical framework exploring the relationships between healthy lifestyle behaviours of individuals. The three behavioral determinants affecting healthy lifestyle behaviours as posited by the model are (i) individual characteristics, (ii) behaviour-specific cognitions and affects, and (iii) behavioural outcomes that promote health. Research indicates that a number of health risk behaviours are established in adolescence and affect health and well-being in later life. In South Africa where young people account for more than 9 million of the population, and with adolescence being a period where the development of health risk behaviours is prevalent, it becomes important to research the associations that aid in healthy lifestyle behaviours of adolescence in this country, particularly in rural communities where research on adolescents remains limited. This study therefore aimed to develop and test a model that examined the effects of the interaction between perceived parenting styles and adolescent decision making styles on healthy lifestyle behaviours of adolescents in the rural Western Cape. The study employed a mixed methodological sequential exploratory design, using (i) systematic reviews and (ii) a quantitative methodology with a cross-sectional research design. Systematic reviews established the associations in existing empirical studies that examined the associations of parenting approaches with (a) healthy lifestyle behaviours and (b) decision making styles. Quantitative data was collected using a self-report questionnaire that consisted of four sections, demographical information, Parenting Style and Dimension Questionnaire, Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II and the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire among 457 Grade 9 learners in the Overberg Education District in the Western Cape, South Africa. The quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences V23 (SPSS) for descriptive and inferential statistics (correlations and multivariate analysis of variance) and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) for confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The systematic reviews suggested that empirical studies have found parenting approaches to be associated with (i) healthy lifestyle behaviours and (ii) decision making styles of children and adolescents in existing literature. The quantitative studies showed that perceived authoritative parenting, vigilant decision making styles, and frequent engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviours were the most prevalent among adolescents in the rural Western Cape. No significant main effects were established on the basis of participant gender or family structure. The model developed and tested, guided by the Health Promotion Model, suggests that a significant positive relationship exists between maternal parenting styles and decision making styles of adolescents. In addition, the findings demonstrated that paternal parenting styles positively affect the decision making styles of adolescents as well as their engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviours. Overall, the study suggested the important role that parents play in adolescent decision making styles and healthy lifestyle behaviours, and even more the role of paternal parental figures in the development of children and adolescents.

The overall aim of this research is to explore my interest in the influences on teachers’ attitudes towards behaviours which challenge them and to illuminate my experiences and perspectives through those of others. It sets out to explore and to gain understanding about what affects how teachers feel about supporting pupils in mainstream classrooms with behavioural difficulties. As a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) in a secondary school, I saw the difference a teacher’s style of classroom leadership could have on children’s engagement with school and learning. I became extremely frustrated with the way that some teachers appeared to have little inclination to meet the needs of some of the pupils in their classes, particularly those with special educational needs. Comments such as “S/he’s one of yours! YOU deal with it,” because the children were on the Special Educational Needs Register, summarised this. Here, I attempt to scrutinise what may affect teachers’ understanding of their responsibility towards the specific special need of challenging behaviour. For the research, fifteen in-depth interviews were carried out with a variety of professionals whose roles involved supporting the needs of pupils whose behaviour can challenge teachers. All the participants were asked the same questions and a hierarchical questioning structure was used (Tomlinson 1989). The responses indicated a diverse range of factors influencing teachers’ tolerance towards challenging behaviours and these were used to construct a framework which gathers these together. The research has implications in two main areas; the links between school ethos and teachers feeling supported and able to manage challenging behaviours and the development of opportunities to share good practice.

To help protect the environment people need to change current non-environmental behaviours into more sustainable behaviours. By understanding habits for pro-environmental behaviours, people can strive toward building a more sustainable future. The goal of this thesis was to identify different types of repeated pro-environmental behaviours and how to best foster strong habits for pro-environmental behaviours. To achieve this purpose we combined the theoretical framework of habits (Bargh, 1994; Verplanken, 2006) with the theoretical framework of self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; 2000) to address current gaps in the habit literature. The present thesis is comprised of two articles. The first article determined if the proposed indicators of habits (i.e., behaviour frequency, habit strength, and behaviour interference) could identify different patterns of repeated pro-environmental behaviours predicted by habit and self-determination theory using cluster analysis. The three studies provided support for the three proposed types of repeated behaviours: weak habits, repeated behaviours with interference, and strong habits. These results were very robust since the same pattern was found across three studies, three samples, and three different target behaviours. The second article used the groups (i.e., weak habit, repeated behaviour with interference, and strong habit) in exploratory multinomial logistic regression analyses to identify factors related to pro-environmental behaviours which distinguished between the different types of repeated behaviours. Once again, the same three types of repeated behaviours were found across these three studies, with three new samples and two different target behaviours. Three predictors fairly consistently identified differences between the groups: autonomous motivation toward the environment, perceived importance of the environment, and the frequency of other pro-environmental behaviours. The implications of the thesis findings are discussed in relation to self-determination theory and the study of habits.