In many countries the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially computers, into schools has been praised as the necessary (although not without problems) course of action for the qualitative improvement of teaching and learning methodology. However, one of the greatest barriers inhibiting the successful adoption of a range of strategies to improve learning in a new technologically enriched framework is resistance from teachers who may feel threatened and disempowered by the change brought about by the introduction of technology into their classrooms. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that influence the self-efficacy of teachers in the foundation phase: Which factors influence the computer self-efficacy of foundation phase teachers? What is the relation between the identified factors and the computer self-efficacy of teachers? 0 What are the implications of the results for future training of foundation phase teachers? All teachers (N=34) in the foundation phase in the central region of Lichtenburg, a town in the Northwest province of South Africa, participated in the study. They completed a questionnaire, which consisted of two sections: The first section determined the teachers' computer self-efficacy. a The second section identified the possible factors that may influence the computer self efficacy of foundation phase teachers. To ensure that all possible data, with regard to factors that might affect teachers' computer self efficacy, were collected, the researcher also made use of interviews and observations. The data was analysed by using frequency distributions, Pearson product-moment correlations as well as Analysis of Variance, (ANOVA). The results regarding age and computer efficacy was analysed using ANOVA. The results showed a slight difference in the computer efficacy of the teachers from different age groups. Therefore, it may be possible to enhance the computer efficacy of teachers from any age group. The results indicated a relation between the computer self-efficacy of foundation phase teachers and some of the identified factors, namely formal training, computer experience and school support. The relation was statistically as well as practically significant. Age and access to a computer did not seem to have a statistically significant effect on computer self-efficacy. The results of this study have implications for teacher training. Computer training will be to the benefit of Foundation phase teachers. Explicit guidance on the choice and use of software and the integration thereof with teaching methods is essential, because computer technology is an integrated part of the 21st century generation of learners. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The purpose of this capstone is to develop a program to address health literacy among African American adults. The social cognitive theory and the health belief model was used to create a model of an age appropriate, culturally sensitive program with a pre and post test to improve the health literacy in this population. The Community Health Literacy Improvement Program (CHIP) is a pilot program that will consist of a four week didactic intervention focused on combating prose, document, and quantitative health illiteracy. This program will be implemented through a community based nonprofit organization. Participants who complete the CHIP program will be able to identify risk factors for chronic diseases, assess their ability to avoid chronic diseases, and be able to locate community health resources. This proposed intervention will show that community based nonprofit organizations have an important role to play in building community buy in and establishing the agency necessary for community based, culturally sensitive programs such as CHIP to succeed.

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This study examines the use of songs, poems and drama to raise awareness of, and respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nakuru, Kenya. The primary focus is that of youth-oriented interventions, but additional examples are also examined and analyzed. A qualitative approach is used and the study is based on semi-structured interviews with teachers, performers, students, NGO-representatives and former students conducted during four weeks in November and December 2012. Additionally, songs, poems and dramas have been collected and observed and finally analyzed using a theoretical framework that combines the Health Belief Model, the Social Cognitive Theory as well as principles of the research discipline of Medical Ethnomusicology. The study shows that songs, poems and drama are important methods to communicate messages and play an important role in shaping the local HIV/AIDS discourse. Due to its effectiveness, it is vital that the messages promoted are culturally appropriate as well as correct since the study shows that false information through these methods can hamper a desired behavior change.

Bakgrund: Rehabilitering inom slutenvården innefattar ett samarbete mellan undersköterska och sjukgymnast. Undersköterskor har en viktig roll i rehabiliteringen men det saknas forskning om deras uppfattningar kring sin roll. Syfte: Att undersöka undersköterskors erfarenheter av delaktighet i sjukgymnastisk rehabilitering av patienter på en vårdavdelning inom slutenvården. Metod: En kvalitativ design med induktiv ansats användes. Datainsamlingen gjordes i form av semistrukturerade gruppintervjuer med undersköterskor. Materialet analyserades sedan med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i fem kategorier som blev två teman, Känsla av att vara viktiga och god egen tilltro till sin förmåga at utföra rehabiliterande insatser samt Samarbetet kring rehabiliteringen påverkas av individerna och omgivningen. Diskussion: Resultatet visar att undersköterskornas känsla av delaktighet påverkas av konsekvenser, individer, beteende och omgivning vilket kan ses i förhållande till den operanta inlärningsteorin och den socialkognitiva teorin. Slutsats: Undersköterskorna känner sig delaktiga i rehabilitering då de är engagerade, aktivt medverkande och känner att de är till nytta. En svaghet i delaktigheten är att kommunikationen kring rehabiliteringen upplevs vara bristfällig och därmed minskar undersköterskornas medinflytande. Vidare anser författarna att en upprepning av studien behövs samt att det saknas forskning om effekten av undersköterskors arbete och deras uppfattningar kring detta. Nyckelord: fysioterapi, kvalitativ forskning, sjukgymnastik, socialkognitiv teori, vårdpersonal / Background: Rehabilitation within hospital care involves teamwork between assistant nurses and physiotherapists. Assistant nurses have an important role in rehabilitation but there is a lack of research regarding their perceptions of their role. Aim: To investigate the assistant nurses’ experiences of participation in physiotherapy rehabilitation of patients in hospital care. Method: A qualitative design with inductive approach was used. The data was collected through semi-structured group interviews with assistant nurses and the material was analysed using qualitative content analysis. Result: The analysis resulted in five categories which became two themes, Good self-confidence and feeling of being important in the rehabilitation and Collaboration regarding the rehabilitation is affected by the individuals and the environment. Discussion: The assistant nurses’ perceptions of their participation is affected by consequences, individuals, behaviour and environment which is confirmed by the social cognitive theory and the operant conditioning theory. Conclusions: The assistant nurses experience participation in the rehabilitation because they are engaged, actively involved and feel useful. A weakness in their participation is insufficient communication about the rehabilitation. The authors consider that a replication of the study and more research on assistant nurses’ perceptions and the usefulness of their work are required. Keywords: nursing staff, physiotherapy, social cognitive theory, qualitative research

Increasing fruit and vegetable intake is important to obesity prevention but children’s vegetable intake remains low. This study aimed to enhance parent vegetable serving behaviour and child vegetable intake through an 8-week theory-based family cooking program. Sixty-five families with children aged 9-13 (11.1 ±1.4) were randomized into a home activity program or home activity plus cooking workshop program. There was no significant increase in parent vegetable serving habits or children’s intake. Both interventions enhanced feeding practices (F (1, 63) = 42.09, p=.000, ɳ2=0.40) and reduced perceived barriers (F (1, 63) = 13.01, p=.001, ɳ2=.017). Children in the cooking workshop condition liked vegetables more (F (1, 63) = 3.87, p=.050, ɳ2=0.06) and had greater diet-disease awareness (F (1, 63) = 3.97, p=.050, ɳ2=0.06) at follow-up (statistic). Family engagement in cooking was successful in enhancing some psychosocial measures for both children and parents, particularly for those receiving cooking workshops. A low sample size and sampling bias may have masked other findings. / Graduate / 0570 / 0573 / dtrill@uvic.ca

In many countries the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially computers, into schools has been praised as the necessary (although not without problems) course of action for the qualitative improvement of teaching and learning methodology. However, one of the greatest barriers inhibiting the successful adoption of a range of strategies to improve learning in a new technologically enriched framework is resistance from teachers who may feel threatened and disempowered by the change brought about by the introduction of technology into their classrooms. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that influence the self-efficacy of teachers in the foundation phase: Which factors influence the computer self-efficacy of foundation phase teachers? What is the relation between the identified factors and the computer self-efficacy of teachers? 0 What are the implications of the results for future training of foundation phase teachers? All teachers (N=34) in the foundation phase in the central region of Lichtenburg, a town in the Northwest province of South Africa, participated in the study. They completed a questionnaire, which consisted of two sections: The first section determined the teachers' computer self-efficacy. a The second section identified the possible factors that may influence the computer self efficacy of foundation phase teachers. To ensure that all possible data, with regard to factors that might affect teachers' computer self efficacy, were collected, the researcher also made use of interviews and observations. The data was analysed by using frequency distributions, Pearson product-moment correlations as well as Analysis of Variance, (ANOVA). The results regarding age and computer efficacy was analysed using ANOVA. The results showed a slight difference in the computer efficacy of the teachers from different age groups. Therefore, it may be possible to enhance the computer efficacy of teachers from any age group. The results indicated a relation between the computer self-efficacy of foundation phase teachers and some of the identified factors, namely formal training, computer experience and school support. The relation was statistically as well as practically significant. Age and access to a computer did not seem to have a statistically significant effect on computer self-efficacy. The results of this study have implications for teacher training. Computer training will be to the benefit of Foundation phase teachers. Explicit guidance on the choice and use of software and the integration thereof with teaching methods is essential, because computer technology is an integrated part of the 21st century generation of learners. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Increasing fruit and vegetable intake is important to obesity prevention but children’s vegetable intake remains low. This study aimed to enhance parent vegetable serving behaviour and child vegetable intake through an 8-week theory-based family cooking program. Sixty-five families with children aged 9-13 (11.1 ±1.4) were randomized into a home activity program or home activity plus cooking workshop program. There was no significant increase in parent vegetable serving habits or children’s intake. Both interventions enhanced feeding practices (F (1, 63) = 42.09, p=.000, ɳ2=0.40) and reduced perceived barriers (F (1, 63) = 13.01, p=.001, ɳ2=.017). Children in the cooking workshop condition liked vegetables more (F (1, 63) = 3.87, p=.050, ɳ2=0.06) and had greater diet-disease awareness (F (1, 63) = 3.97, p=.050, ɳ2=0.06) at follow-up (statistic). Family engagement in cooking was successful in enhancing some psychosocial measures for both children and parents, particularly for those receiving cooking workshops. A low sample size and sampling bias may have masked other findings. / Graduate / 0570 / 0573 / dtrill@uvic.ca

Abstract The role of regular physical activity for preventing ill health and chronic disease is well established. Despite the demonstrated role of physical activity for the prevention of ill health, population participation levels among adults remain at stable but unfavourably low levels. Evidence suggests that postnatal women (<12-months postpartum) living in disadvantaged communities are at particular risk of low physical activity participation, even though there are additional physical and mental health benefits of physical activity in the postpartum period. There is a need to develop effective physical activity interventions for postnatal women living in disadvantaged communities. Traditional physical activity interventions are often designed and implemented in ways that exclude disadvantaged groups. Unlike other methods of communication typically used to disseminate mass-reach interventions (e.g., internet, e-mail), mobile telephone short messaging service (SMS) is used equally by disadvantaged and advantaged groups. Few SMS-delivered health behaviour interventions have targeted preventive health behaviours, such as physical activity. The primary aim of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of an individually-tailored physical activity intervention delivered via SMS (“MobileMums”) for postnatal women living in a disadvantaged community. A secondary aim of this research was to explore the role of theory-derived mediators of physical activity behaviour change that were targeted in the intervention. A physical activity intervention was developed based on findings from formative focus groups conducted with postnatal women (n=48) and a pilot study of intervention procedures and content (n=12). This formative research highlighted the need for flexible delivery of a physical activity intervention for postnatal women and identified mobile telephone SMS as a highly used form of communication. Women indicated a willingness to receive health-related messages via their mobile telephones and reported a physical activity preference for walking. The 12-week intervention was delivered primarily via personally tailored SMS and aimed to increase health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) and more specifically Walking for Exercise. The SMS targeted constructs of the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (self efficacy, outcome expectancy, goal setting skills, social support and perceived environmental opportunity for exercise). Overall, the intervention employed practical strategies to help participants develop skills in physical activity goal setting and social support negotiations, and promoted local opportunities for physical activity. The intervention was evaluated in a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) involving 88 postnatal women. Data were collected at baseline, 6-weeks and 13-weeks. At each data collection point, HEPA was assessed using ActiGraph accelerometers and self-report measures. Walking for Exercise was assessed in the self-report measure. Validated self-report measures of the targeted SCT constructs were also administered at each data collection point. Following the RCT, intervention group participants were invited to participate in a one-on-one qualitative interview to explore their perceptions of the intervention. The intention-to-treat analysis of HEPA outcomes revealed significant group x time interaction effects for change in HEPA frequency (days per week) using both MTI-recorded (F(2,44)=9.17, p<0.001) and self-reported outcomes (F(2,85)=7.15, p=0.001). Intervention group participants increased MTI-recorded HEPA frequency (mean change 1.46 days/wk, SD± 2.16) and self-reported HEPA frequency (mean change 1.67 days/wk, SD± 1.71) from baseline to 13-weeks. There was no significant effect on HEPA duration (minutes per week) as a result of the intervention for either MTI-recorded or self-reported outcomes. Self-reported Walking for Exercise frequency had a significant between-group effect (F(1,86)=5.02, p=0.03) and within-group effect (F(2,85)=8.60, p<0.001) but there was no significant group x time interaction. There were significantly more intervention group participants than control group participants meeting the HEPA guidelines at 6-weeks (86% vs. 37%, χ2=10.25, p=0.001) and at 13-weeks (54% vs. 19%, χ2=5.18, p=0.04). There were significant group x time interaction effects for change in self efficacy (F(2,85)=3.69, p=0.03) and goal setting skills (F(2,85)=4.28, p=0.01) from baseline to 13-weeks. Based on the Baron and Kenny criteria for mediation, changes in self efficacy and goal setting skills mediated the significant intervention effect on change in HEPA frequency over the first 6-weeks of the intervention. None of the SCT constructs mediated the significant intervention effect on change in HEPA frequency during the second 6-weeks of the intervention. There was a generally positive response to the intervention from participants. Results from qualitative interviews showed that intervention group participants believed the intervention helped them to initiate physical activity, and that it was motivating and ‘mother-centred’. At 13-weeks, more intervention group participants (51%) rated the intervention program as ‘extremely useful’ or ‘useful’ than at 6-weeks (44%). Overall, the intervention developed as part of this research resulted in increases in HEPA among postnatal women, which were mediated in the short-term by changes in targeted SCT constructs. This study is an innovative extension of previous research investigating strategies to promote physical activity among postnatal women. The findings provide evidence to support further inter-disciplinary collaborations between researchers in physical activity (and other areas of health behaviour change) and information technology. This research contributes foundation knowledge to the emerging research area of SMS-delivered health behaviour change interventions and the potential for systematic population-wide delivery via an existing low-cost technology.

abstract: This study utilized targeted messages and expert and referent sources in an effort to promote physical activity behavior in college students. College students aged 18-25, excluding collegiate athletes, were randomized into three conditions using their current physical activity level. Two of the conditions received targeted messages highlighting three primary components of social cognitive theory - self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goals - while the third condition received no messages. In addition, the experimental conditions received the messages from either an expert (i.e., a personal trainer) or a referent (i.e., a close friend). In this way, this experiment analyzed whether receiving social cognitive theory messages increased physical activity indicators compared to the control condition, as well as if the message source caused differences in the physical activity indicators. Moreover, participants completed Time 1 and Time 2 measures to determine if receiving messages or not caused changes over a one week time period. Seven physical activity indicators were assessed: self-efficacy, positive outcome expectations, negative outcome expectations, attitudes, response-efficacy, intentions, and physical activity behavior. Results revealed that both the personal trainer and close friend conditions had significantly higher scores than the control condition for intentions at Time 1 and Time 2, as well as physical activity behavior at Time 2. Moreover, the personal trainer condition had significantly higher positive outcome expectations compared to both the friend and control conditions. No other significant differences were found across conditions for Time 1 attitudes, response-efficacy, negative outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and Time 2 attitudes, and self-efficacy. Overall, targeted messages were effective in increasing physical activity intentions and behavior regardless of the message source. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Communication 2012