Text in Afrikaans / Die doel van die navorsing is om die individu se aanpassing tydens integrasie te ondersoek. 'n Gedragsprofiel vir aanpassing word in die literatuuroorsig voorgestel volgens sin van koherensie as konstruk van die salutogenese paradigma. Empiries word die lewensorientasievraelys as psigometriese instrument gebruik om sterkte van sin van koherensie te bepaal. K walitatiewe onderhoude, gegrond op fenomenologiese beginsels, word gebruik om aanpassing kwalitatief te evalueer. In die navorsingsontwerp is daar sprake van verkennende, beskrywende en verklarende navorsing en nie-waarskynlikheidsteekproeftrekking word gebruik. Kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe resultate word gekoppel ten einde inteme geldigheid op kontekstuele vlak te verseker. Bevindinge toon dat betekenisvolheid van die integrasieproses die vemaamste verskil maak tussen aanpassing en nie-aanpassing. Verstaanbaarheid binne grense van die onmiddellike omgewing en hantering van instrumentele eise sonder om die fokus op emosionele parameters te plaas, fasiliteer verdere aanpassing. Relevante sleutelwoorde is aanpassing, stres, patogenese, salutogenese, sin van koherensie, verstaanbaarheid, hanteerbaarheid, betekenisvolheid, fenomenologie en triangulasie. / The aim of this research is to study individual coping during integration. A behavioural profile for coping is proposed in the literature study based on sense of coherence, a construct of the salutogenesis paradigm. Empirically the psychometric instrument, orientation to life questionnaire, is used to determine the strength of sense of coherence. Qualitative interviewing, based on phenomenological principles, is used to evaluate coping qualitatively. In the research design there are signs of exploratory, descriptive and explanatory research and nonprobability sampling is used. Quantitative and qualitative results are combined to ensure internal validity on a contextual level. Findings showed that meaningfulness of the integration process is the major difference between coping and not coping. Comprehensibility within the boundaries of the immediate environment and the management of instrumental demands without focusing on the emotional parameters, facilitate further coping. / Industrial Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

The context of this research is the coping and wellness of call centre agents in a characteristically high-stress work environment. The purpose of the study was to construct a psychological coping profile by investigating the relationship between individuals‘ wellness-related dispositional attributes and their resiliency-related behavioural capacities which has been under researched in a call centre work environment. A quantitative cross-sectional survey approach was followed. The population comprised predominantly of a non –probability sample of (N=409) predominantly early career permanently employed black females employed in call centres in Africa. Correlation and multivariate statistics highlighted cognitive (cynicism and hardy-control), affective (managing own emotions) and conative (hardy-commitment) behavioural elements that should be considered in the psychological coping profile of call centre agents. Age and gender were also shown to be significant moderators of the relationship between the wellness-related attributes and the resiliency-related capacities. The main findings are reported and interpreted in terms of an empirically derived psychological coping profile. The findings may provide valuable pointers for the design of wellness intervention practices which add to the body of knowledge concerned with employee wellness in call centres / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Thesis (MA)- University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Family Sense of Coherence Questionnaire (FSoC) for use among Northern Sothos. Antonovsky and Sourani developed the FSoC-questionnaire to measure the sense of coherence of families. The family sense of coherence is based on the individual sense of coherence construct, which was developed by Antonovsky. According to Antonovsky, families with a strong sense of coherence will function better than families with a weak sense of coherence. Therefore family functioning was used as criteria to validate the external validity of the FSoC-questionnaire. Olson, Russell and Sprenkle developed the Family Attachment and Changeability Index (FACI-8) to measure family functioning according to the Circumplex model. For the purpose of this study the two questionnaires were translated to Sepedi (the language of the Northern Sotho). The reliability of the two questionnaires was assessed by means of Cronbach-alpha coefficients. The construct validity of the two questionnaires was assessed by means of JOreskog's Goodness of Fit Index (GFI). The statistical analysis was done with Statistica 6 software. The results drawn from the present study indicates that the FSoC-questionnaire is not a reliable and valid instrument to measure families' sense of coherence among Northern Sothos. Significant high correlations with the FACI-8 however, indicated that the FSoC might be considered for use among Northern Sothos, if only the total scores are taken into consideration. The FACI-8 however, proved to be a reliable and valid instrument to measure family functioning according to the Circumplex model among Northern Sothos. The conclusions drawn from the present study are that the FACI-8 is a suitable instrument for use among the Northern Sothos, whereas the FSoC-questionnaire is not. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die huidige ondersoek was om die psigometriese eienskappe van die Gesinskoherensie-vraelys (FSoC) wat deur Antonovsky en Sourani ontwikkel was, vir gebruik onder Noord-Sothos te bepaal. Om hierdie doeleindes te bereik, was die Gesinsfunksioneringsvraelys (FACI-8) wat deur McCubbin, Thompson en Elver ontwikkel was, as 'n kriterium gebruik om die eksterne geldigheid van die FSoC-vraelys te valideer. Die FACI-8 meet gesinsfunksionering volgens die Kontekstuele-model van gesinsfunksionering, wat deur Olson, Russell en Sprenkle ontwikkel was. Volgens Antonovsky sal gesinne wat oor 'n sterk ontwikkelde koherensiesin beskik, beter funksioneer as gesinne wat oor 'n swak ontwikkelde koherensiesin beskik. Gevolglik was gesinsfunksionering as 'n maatstaf van gesinskoherensie gebruik. Die vraelyste moes eers na Sepedi (die taal van die Noorcl-Sotho) vertaal word, alvorens die vraelyste afgeneem kon word. Die betroubaarheid van die vraelyste was deur middel van Cronbach-alfa koêffisiênte bereken. Die konstrukgeldigheid van die vraelyste was deur middel van JOreskog se Passingstoets bepaal. Die statistiese verwerkings was deur middel van die Statistica 6 rekenaarprogram behartig. Die resultate van die huidige ondersoek dui daarop dat die FSoC-vraelys met omsigtigheid benader moet word vir gebruik onder Noord-Sothos. Die FSoCvraelys het nie bevredigende betroubaarheids- en geldigheidsindekse gelewer nie. Die FSoC-vraelys het wel eksterne geldigheid getoon, wanneer dit met die FACI-8 gevalideer was. Die FACI-8 het betroubare en geldige metings van gesinsfunksionering volgens die Kontekstuele-model onder Noord-Sothos in die huidige ondersoek gelewer. Die gevolgtrekkings wat op grond van die huidige ondersoek gemaak word, is dat die FSoC-vraelys nie bruikbaar is onder Noorcl-Sothos nie, terwyl die FACI-8 wel gebruik kan word om gesinsfunksionering onder Noord-Sothos te meet.

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool in the field of biomedicine for disease diagnosis owing to its potential to provide the molecular fingerprint of biological samples. However due to the inherent weak nature of the Raman process, there is a constant quest for enhancing the sensitivity of this technique for enhanced diagnostic efficiency. This thesis focuses on achieving this goal by integrating advanced methods with Raman spectroscopy. Firstly this thesis explores the applicability of a laser based fluorescence suppression technique – Wavelength Modulated Raman Spectroscopy (WMRS) - for suppressing the broad luminescence background which often obscure the Raman peaks. The WMRS technique was optimized for its applications in single cell studies and tissue studies for enhanced sensing without compromising the throughput. It has been demonstrated that the optimized parameter would help to chemically profile single cell within 6 s. A two fold enhancement in SNR of Raman bands was demonstrated when WMRS was implemented in fiber Raman based systems for tissue analysis. The suitability of WMRS on highly sensitive single molecule detection techniques such as Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) and Surface Enhanced Resonance Raman Spectroscopy (SERRS) was also explored. Further this optimized technique was successfully used to address an important biological problem in the field of immunology. This involved label-free identification of major immune cell subsets from human blood. Later part of this thesis explores a multimodal approach where Raman spectroscopy was combined with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) for enhanced diagnostic sensitivity (>10%). This approach was used to successfully discriminate between ex-vivo adenocarcinoma tissues and normal colon tissues. Finally this thesis explores the design and implementation of a specialized fiber Raman probe that is compatible with surgical environments. This probe was originally developed to be compatible with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) environment. It has the potential to be used for performing minimally invasive optical biopsy during interventional MRI procedures.

The objective of this study was to get knowledge about teaching health in special schools through an investigation on how four teachers in physical education describe their teaching in health. To find out how the teachers describe their teaching the qualitative research interview method was used. On the basis of this study interviews with four teachers, teaching in physical education, was conducted. The result was analyzed using the perspective of KASAM (sense of coherence) by Antonovsky (2005) which showed a comprehensive view on the teachers concept of health. To mediate the health curriculum content to the students among others visualization and student interests were used as methods. The result showed furthermore that some teachers´ varied the lesson content a lot and that some teachers repeated a lot. Linked to the curriculums central content for special schools the result shows that the teachers´ lesson content only partly is included. Some parts of the central content of the curriculum are not included at all. Keywords Health, special school, physical education, KASAM (sense of coherence), teaching, central content / Syftet med studien är att få kunskap om hälsoundervisning i grundsärskolan genom att undersöka hur fyra lärare i idrott och hälsa beskriver sin hälsoundervisning. För att ta reda på hur lärarna beskriver sin undervisning användes den kvalitativa intervjun som metod. Studiens underlag bygger på intervjuer av fyra lärare som undervisar i idrott och hälsa i grundsärskolan. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt är Antonovskys (2005) KASAM (Känsla Av Sammanhang). Resultatet visade att lärarna har en helhetssyn på begreppet hälsa. För att förmedla läroplanens hälsoinnehåll till eleverna användes bland annat elevernas intresse och visualisering som metoder. Resultatet visade vidare att vissa av lärarna varierar lektionsinnehållet medan andra upprepar mycket. Kopplat till det centrala innehållet i läroplan för grundsärskolan (Skolverket, 2011) visar resultatet att det centrala innehållet i kursplanen tas upp i lärarnas lektionsinnehåll men bara delvis. Vissa delar i kursplanens centrala innehåll (Skolverket, 2011) finns inte med i lärarnas innehåll överhuvudtaget.       Nyckelord Hälsa, grundsärskola, idrott och hälsa, KASAM (Känsla Av Sammanhang), undervisning, centralt innehåll

Teachers’ work-related health has worsened in Sweden, seen in the rising number of teachers who are stressed, unmotivated and that have left work or are on sick leave (The Swedish National Agency for Education, 2013; Månsson, 2008). The thesis’s aim was to explore the relation between health, personal coping and job stress. As proposed by Antonovsky (1979; 1987), sense of coherence (SOC) was used as an important individual approach for Salutogenesis; health maintenance. Health was measured as self-reported health and job stress according to the demand-control model (DCM) by Karasek (1979). Data came from the Teacher survey, a questionnaire part of a larger research project based at the Centre for Health and Equity Studies, Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet, focused on school environment and health for pupils and teachers. The analytical sample consisted of teachers teaching 7-9th grade (n=1092), from both private and public schools. Results indicate an association for SOC and DCM independently with self-rated health, as well as a strong role for SOC in decreasing the odds of having less than good health due to psychosocial working conditions, especially for teachers who perceive their jobs as highly demanding.

I denna kvalitativa studie har enkäter insamlats från barn och unga som deltagit i stödgruppsverksamhet för barn och unga med en avliden nära anhörig i Dalarnas län. Syftet med studien har varit att beskriva deltagarnas erfarenheter av stödgrupperna. Genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys har tre kategorier identifierats; bearbetning, gemenskap och strukturens betydelse. Studien visar främst på betydelsen av att få träffa andra barn och unga i liknande situation samt indikerar till att deltagarnas KASAM (känsla av sammanhang) förhöjts genom deltagandet i stödgruppen. / In this qualitative study, questionnaires were collected from children and adolescents who had participated in a support group in Dalarnas län for children and adolescents with a deceased close relative. The purpose of this study was to enhance knowledge of children and adolescents’ experiences of participating in support groups through their descriptions in qualitative questionnaires. Qualitative content analysis was conducted and three categories were identified; kinship, processing and the significance of structure. The result highlights the importance of having the opportunity to meet other children and adolescents in similar situations, and indicates that the participants Sense of coherence enhanced through the participation in the support group.

Elderly people with a different cultural background than swedish is now a targeted group that is becoming more relevant in elderly care. The swedish elderly care has also focused much of the work to be carried out according to a salutogenic approach and several development projects in this perspective has been practiced in many parts of the country's municipalities. The purpose of this study was to create a greater understanding of the care managers work with foreign-born elderly people from a salutogenic approach. For us to be able to answer the purpose of the study we collected empirical material through semi-structured interviews from five care managers from two different municipalities in central Sweden. The results are presented and analyzed based on the collected empirical data that we then tied together with the key concepts and previous research. The results showed that the challenges that the care managers encounter in their salutogenic approach is the language deficiencies and demands for action because they differ from the Swedish culture. In the discussion we write our thought about the future development concidering the care managers work with foreign-born elderly. / Äldre med en annan kulturell bakgrund än svenskt är idag en målgrupp som blir allt mer aktuell inom äldreomsorgen. Den svenska äldreomsorgen har även på senare år fokuserat mycket på att arbetet ska utföras genom ett salutogent förhållningssätt och flera utvecklingsprojekt inom perspektivet har utövats i flera delar av landets kommuner. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att skapa en ökad förståelse för biståndshandläggarens arbete med utrikesfödda äldre utifrån ett salutogent förhållningssätt. För att besvara studiens syfte inhämtas studiens empiri genom semistrukturerade intervjuer från fem biståndshandläggare från två olika kommuner i Mellansverige. Resultatet presenteras och analyseras utifrån insamlad empiri som binds ihop med centrala begrepp och tidigare forskning. Resultatet visar till att de utmaningar som biståndshandläggare stöter på utifrån sitt salutogena förhållningssätt är språkbrister och krav på insatser som skiljer sig från den svenska kulturen. Slutligen lyfts en diskussion om framtidens utveckling för biståndshandläggarens arbete med utrikesfödda äldre.

Στο συγκεκριμένο ερευνητικό πρωτόκολλο μελετήθηκαν οι πιθανές ένοχες βλάβες σε φλεβικά μοσχεύματα ασθενών με οξέα στεφανιαία σύνδρομα με τη μέθοδο της Οπτικής Συνεκτικής Τομογραφίας (OCT). • Οι αθηροσκληρωτικές βλάβες των φλεβικών μοσχευμάτων έχουν μελετηθεί in vivo με τη μέθοδο της αγγειοσκόπησης και της ενδαγγειακής υπερηχογραφίας (IVUS). Απεναντίας, η απεικόνιση των μοσχευμάτων με τη μέθοδο της OCT, η οποία χαρακτηρίζεται από σημαντικά μεγαλύτερη διακριτική ικανότητα σε σχέση με το IVUS και βελτιωμένη διεισδυτική ικανότητα συγκρινόμενη με την αγγειοσκόπηση, δεν έχει μελετηθεί συστηματικά. • Μέθοδος: Η απεικόνιση των ένοχων βλαβών των μοσχευμάτων πραγματοποιήθηκε, κατόπιν αγγειογραφίας τους, με τη μέθοδο χωρίς απόφραξη της OCT σε ασθενείς με ασταθή στηθάγχη (UA), έμφραγμα μυοκαρδίου με ανάσπαση του διαστήματος ST (STEMI) και έμφραγμα μυοκαρδίου χωρίς ανάσπαση του διαστήματος ST (non-STEMI). Ο ινώδης ιστός, ο λιπώδης ιστός, οι εναποθέσεις ασβεστίου, ο θρόμβος και η ρήξη της πλάκας ορίστηκαν σύμφωνα με τα κριτήρια απεικόνισης στοιχείων για την OCT, όπως περιγράφηκαν και στο γενικό μέρος. • Αποτελέσματα: Απεικονίστηκαν 28 φλεβικά μοσχεύματα (μέσης ηλικίας 14.6 ετών) σε 26 ασθενείς. Οι βλάβες χαρακτηρίστηκαν ως σύμπλοκες αγγειογραφικά σε ποσοστό 96.4%, ενώ εμφάνιζαν εξέλκωση σε ποσοστό 32.1% και θρόμβο σε ποσοστό 21.4%. Η OCT αποκάλυψε ινολιπώδη σύσταση σε όλες τις βλάβες, εναπόθεση ασβεστίου στο 32.1% των βλαβών, ρήξη πλάκας σε ποσοστό 60.7% και παρουσία θρόμβου σε ποσοστό 46.4%. Η παρουσία του θρόμβου ήταν προοδευτικά συχνότερη ανάμεσα στις ομάδες ανάλογα με το κλινικό τους σύνδρομο (UA έως STEMI, p=0.003, UA έναντι εμφράγματος μυοκαρδίου, p=0.006). Η λεπτή ινώδης κάψα καταγράφηκε οριακά συχνότερα στους ασθενείς με οξύ έμφραγμα μυοκαρδίου (UA έναντι εμφράγματος μυοκαρδίου, p=0.06, STEMI 100% έναντι non-STEMI 53.3% έναντι UA 20%, p=0.03). Βλάβες με στοιχεία ευθρυπτότητας, όπως απεικονίζονταν στην OCT παρουσιάζονταν σε ποσοστό 67.9%, χωρίς όμως συσχέτιση με την κλινική εικόνα. • Συμπέρασμα: Οι ένοχες βλάβες φλεβικών μοσχευμάτων μεγάλης ηλικίας ασθενών με οξέα στεφανιαία σύνδρομα, όπως αυτές απεικονίζονται στην OCT, εμφανίζουν ινολιπώδη σύσταση, σχετικά λεπτή ινώδη κάψα, ρήξη πλάκας και θρόμβο που συσχετίζονται με το κλινικό φάσμα των οξέων στεφανιαίων συνδρόμων. Αυτά οδηγούν στο συμπέρασμα ότι οι ίδιοι μηχανισμοί αθηροσκλήρωσης που οδηγούν στην εμφάνιση οξέων στεφανιαίων συνδρόμων στα γηγενή στεφανιαία αγγεία, είναι πιθανόν να ενέχονται και στην πρόκληση οξέων στεφανιαίων συνδρόμων λόγω αποτυχίας των φλεβικών μοσχευμάτων. / This study sought to assess, with optical coherence tomography (OCT), presumably culprit atherosclerotic lesions of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Background: Atherosclerotic lesions of SVGs have been studied in vivo with angioscopy and intravascular ultrasound. However, imaging with OCT, which has a higher resolution than intravascular ultrasound and better penetration than angioscopy, has not been conducted systematically. Methods Using a nonocclusive OCT technique, we performed angiography and OCT of culprit SVG lesions in patients with unstable angina (UA), ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and non-STEMI. Fibrous and fatty tissue, calcification, thrombus, and plaque rupture were defined according to OCT objective criteria. Results: Twenty-eight SVGs (average age 14.6 years) in 26 patients were imaged. Lesions on angiography were complex (96.4%), with ulceration in 32.1% and thrombus in 21.4%. OCT disclosed a fibrofatty composition in all lesions, calcification in 32.1%, plaque rupture in 60.7%, and thrombus in 46.4%. Thrombus was progressively more frequent across groups (UA to STEMI, p=0.003; UA vs. myocardial infarction, p=0.006). A thin fibrous cap was marginally more frequent in myocardial infarction patients (UA vs. myocardial infarction, p=0.06; STEMI 100% vs. non-STEMI 53.3% vs. UA 20%, p=0.03). OCT features of friability were present in 67.9% of SVGs not correlating with clinical presentation. Conclusions: OCT of culprit lesions of old SVGs in patients with ACS demonstrates fibrofatty composition, relatively thin fibrous cap, plaque rupture, and thrombus, which correlate with the clinical spectrum of ACS. This suggests that similar mechanisms with native vessels’ atherosclerosis may be involved in SVG-related ACS.

No description available.