During recent decades, lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) has become the most common indication for spine surgery, a change that coincides with a higher worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity. Thus, surgical treatment of LSS in the overweight and obese population is common and increasing in scope. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate whether body mass index (BMI) is related to the development of LSS, and whether BMI is linked to outcome after surgery for LSS. We further evaluated whether there are specific experiences of LSS from a patient perspective. Data were obtained for all patients registered in the Swedish Spine Register who had undergone surgery for LSS between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2008. After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics, patients with obesity showed both poorer results after surgery and a higher rate of dissatisfaction than patients with normal weight (odds ratio 1.73; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.36-2.19). Furthermore, patients with obesity in the cohort reported modest weight loss at follow-up (2.0 kg; 95% CI, 1.5-2.4), and only 8% reported a clinical important weight loss 2 years after surgery. Our analysis of 389,132 construction workers, showed that overweight (incidence rate ratio, IRR 1.68; 95% CI, 1.54-1.83) and obesity (IRR 2.18; 95% CI, 1.87-2.53) were associated with an increased future risk in developing LSS when compared with patients with normal weight. To gain insight into the patients' perspective of LSS, we performed interviews with 18 patients who were on a waiting list for LSS surgery. The transcripts, analyzed with content analysis, revealed that living with LSS is a physical, mental and social challenge in which resources to cope with the condition are of major importance. In summary, obesity is associated with poorer results after surgery, and patients with obesity report modest weight loss during follow-up. In addition, obesity is associated with an increased risk to develop LSS. Our findings revealed that being a patient with LSS, naturally involves considerable suffering and pain, but it also implies being a person with his or her own resources who is able to cope with these adverse conditions.

The study of people's capacity to remain healthy when exposed to constant stressors has long been the focus of research. Stress resistance research has focussed on the adaptive worth of successful coping strategies, certain personality characteristics as well as social support. Two concepts which have gained eminence as contributing to an individual's ability to deal effectively with life's stressors are: (1) Sense of coherence; and (2) Emotional intelligence. The aim of this study was to determine the possible relationship between sense of coherence and emotional intelligence. A once-off cross-sectional survey design was used. The sample population consisted of 54 South African marine officers serving in the merchant navy. The SOC-29 and the BarOn Emotional Intelligence Inventory (BarOn EQ-i) were used as measuring instruments. · Sense of coherence was positively related to emotional intelligence. The results showed that there is a correlation of large effect between total sense of coherence and total emotional intelligence (r = 0,73) in marine officers. The results also showed that there are correlations of large effect between the subscales of the SOC-29 and the BarOn EQi / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

This work is dedicated to a comprehensive experimental study on the interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with the nonlinear optical medium lithium niobate. The nonlinear optical response in the nanosecond regime was already studied extensively with a variety of techniques, whereas femtosecond pulses were mainly used in transient absorption or transient grating experiments. Naturally, the temporal resolution of these measurements depends on the pulse duration, however, dynamics during the pulse excitation were barely investigated. The motivation of this work is to widen the limits of femtosecond spectroscopy, not only to temporally resolve faster nonlinear optical processes, but further to show a sensitivity to other coupling mechanisms between the pulses and the material. Especially, the role of transient, dynamic holographic gratings is investigated with a careful determination of the pulse duration, bandwidth and frequency chirp. A basis of this work is established in the first part by studying the material response via light-induced absorption before focusing on the main topic, the pulse interaction with elementary (holographic) gratings, both self-induced and static, in the second part. By this detailed study, several features of femtosecond laser pulses, holographic gratings and the ultrafast material response can be revealed: (i) grating recording is feasible even with pulses of different frequencies, provided that their pulse duration is sufficiently short, (ii) grating based pulse coupling causes a pronounced energy transfer even in a common pump-probe setup for transient absorption measurements with (non-)degenerated frequencies, (iii) beyond expectation, oscillations in the phonon frequency range become apparent in different measurements. The presented results point towards appropriate future experiments to obtain a more consistent, microscopic model for the ultrafast response of the crystal, involving the interplay between photo-generated polarons, self-induced gratings, and phonons.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how positive discipline of Grade 9 boys should be managed at a selected public fee paying school in KwaZulu-Natal and to determine how learner behaviour would improve through educators acting as mentors. Furthermore, how educators could assist in implementing positive discipline management strategies to help in improving learner behaviour, and which positive discipline management strategies have been successful. This study could be regarded as primarily descriptive and exploratory in nature, incorporating the basic characteristics associated with quantitative research. As such, it was predominantly deductive and positivistic in nature. This study highlighted the importance of effective management systems that would assist the educator in the classroom. Several theories regarding learner management were explained and the literature review focused on the need for positive discipline strategies to be employed in the classroom, which would ultimately make for better relationships between the educator and the learner. The study found that it is essential that the SGB, principal and senior management all get behind and support a managing behaviour mentor system as it has the potential to create a pleasurable work environment resulting in a reduction in the number of disciplinary matters for both the educator and the learner. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

We develop a theory of vectorial wave coupling in cubic photorefractive crystals placed in an alternating ac-field to enhance the nonlinear response. First we analytically and numerically investigate the dependences of the first Fourier harmonics of the space-charge field, induced in an AC-biased sillenite crystal by a light-interference pattern, on the light contrast m. The data obtained was used to extend the vectorial beam-coupling theory on the whole contrast region. In particular, we proved in the general case that despite of essential differences between thediffusion and AC nonlocal responses the later keeps the light interference fringes straight during the interaction. This fundamental feature allows, under certain restrictions, to reduce the nonlinear problem of vectorial coupling to the known linear problem of vectorial Bragg diffraction from a spatially uniform grating, which admits an exact solution. As a result, the nonlinear vectorial problem can be effectively solved for a number of practically important cases.The developed theory was applied to describe the transformation of a momentary phase changes of one of the input beams into the output intensity modulation (so-called grating translation technique). In contrast to the previous studies, we take into account the change of the space-charge field amplitude across the crystal (the coupling effects). The theory developed is employed to optimize the conditions for the linear signal detection under polarization filtering for the transverse and longitudinal optical configurations. We also analyze the possibility of the linear detection without polarization filtering.Illumination of AC-biased photorefractive BTO crystals with a coherent light beam results in development of strong nonlinear scattering. We investigate the angular and polarization characteristics of the scattered light for the diagonal optical configuration and different polarization states of the pump.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die nichtlinearen optischen Eigenschaften der Materialien Lithiumniobat und Di-Zinn-Hexathiohypodiphosphat aufgrund der Suszeptibilität 3. Ordnung und kleiner Polaronen untersucht. Zudem wird gezeigt, dass die Interferenz verschiedenfarbiger Laserpulse die Aufzeichnung von statischen und dynamischen holographischen Gittern ermöglicht. Ein Teil dieser Arbeit ist in den im Anhang angegebenen 6 Publikationen bereits veröffentlicht. Lithiumniobat wird mit einer Erweiterung des Z-Scan Experiments untersucht, welches die Pulslängenabhängige Messung der nichtlinearen Absorption und der nichtlinearen Brechungsindexänderung ermöglicht. Dabei konnte festgestellt werden, dass bei sehr kurzen Pulslängen von 70 fs ein Effekt der Polaronen auf die nichtlineare Absorption vernachlässigbar ist und die Zwei-Photonen-Absorption die nichtlineare Absorption dominiert. Mit größerer Pulslänge gibt es allerdings Abweichungen zwischen der Theorie der Zwei-Photonen-Absorption und den Messergebnissen. Mit der Entwicklung eines Polaronen-Anregungs-Modells, welches eine polaronische Absorption aufgrund wiederholtem optisch induziertem Hopping annimmt, konnte dieser Effekt konsistent erklärt werden. Die Messungen der nichtlinearen Brechungsindexänderung lassen darauf schließen, dass sowohl freie Ladungsträger als auch kleine Polaronen neben der Suszeptibilität 3. Ordnung einen Einfluss auf die Brechungsindexänderung haben, da eine nichtlineare Abhängigkeit von der Intensität auch bei Pulslängen von 70 fs festgestellt werden konnte. Analog dazu konnte in Di-Zinn-Hexathiohypodiphosphat ein großer Zwei-Photonen-Absorptionskoeffizient festgestellt werden, welcher für Photonenenergien nahe der Bandkante Werte zeigt, die größer sind als theoretischen Überlegungen zeigen. Eine transiente Absorption nach optischer Anregung, gemessen durch ein Anreg-Abtast-Experiment, sowie Literatur legen nahe, dass in Di-Zinn-Hexathiohypodiphosphat gebundene Lochpolaronen durch optische Anregung entstehen können. Durch den hohen Zwei-Photonen-Absorptionskoeffizienten konnte das Aufzeichnen eines kontrastreichen, dynamischen Amplitudengitters mittels Femtosekundenpulsen gezeigt und nachgewiesen werden. Die Kürze der Femtosekundenpulse ermöglicht aber nicht nur das Aufzeichnen eines Zwei-Photonen-Absorptionsgitters aufgrund der hohen Intensitäten, sondern erlaubt zudem die Beobachtung von Interferenz zwischen verschiedenfarbigen Pulsen. In der Zeitspanne der Pulslänge beträgt die Bewegung der Interferenzstreifen, welche in der Größenordnung der Lichtgeschwindigkeit liegt, nur ein Bruchteil der Streifendistanz, sodass das Interferenzmuster eingefroren und beobachtbar erscheint. Somit lassen sich statische Hologramme in holographischen Filmen, wie auch dynamische Hologramme aufzeichnen. Über ein dynamisches holographisches Gitter mittels Zwei-Photonen-Absorption konnte so eine Frequenzkonversion durch Dopplerverschiebung in Lithiumniobat gezeigt werden.

No description available.

Background InVietnam, the proportion of people aged 60 and above has increased rapidly in recent decades. The majority live in rural areas where socioeconomic status is more disadvantaged than in urban areas.Vietnam’s economic status is improving but disparities in income and living conditions are widening between groups and regions. A consistent and emerging danger of communicable diseases and an increase of non-communicable diseases exist concurrently. The emigration of young people and the impact of other socioeconomic changes leave more elderly on their own and with less family support. Introduction of user fees and development of a private sector improve the coverage and quality of health care but increase household health expenditures and inequalities in health care. Life expectancy at birth has increased, but not much is known about changes during old age. There is a lack of evidence, particularly in rural settings, about health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among older people within the context of socioeconomic changes and health-sector reform. Knowledge of long-term elderly care needs in the community and the relevant models are still limited. To provide evidence for developing new policies and models of care, this thesis aimed to assess general health status, health care needs, and perspectives on future health care options for community-dwelling older people. Methods An abridged life table was used to estimate cohort life expectancies at old age from longitudinal data collected by FilaBavi DSS during 1999-2006. This covered 7,668 people aged 60 and above with 43,272 person-years. A 2007 cross-sectional survey was conducted among people aged 60 and over living in 2,240 households that were randomly selected from the FilaBavi DSS. Interviews used a structured questionnaire to assess HRQoL, daily care needs, and willingness to use and to pay for models of care. Participant and household socioeconomic characteristics were extracted from the 2007 DSS re-census. Differences in life expectancy are examined by socioeconomic factors. The EQ-5D index is calculated based on the time trade-off tariff. Distributions of study subjects by study variables are described with 95% confidence intervals. Multivariate analyses are performed to identify socioeconomic determinants of HRQoL, need of support, ADL index, and willingness to use and pay for models of care. In addition, four focus group discussions with the elderly, their household members, and community association representatives were conducted to explore perspectives on the use of services by applying content analysis. Results Life expectancy at age 60 increased by approximately one year from 1999-2002 to 2003-2006, but tended to decrease in the most vulnerable groups. There is a wide gap in life expectancy by poverty status and living arrangement. The sex gap in life expectancy is consistent across all socioeconomic groups and is wider among the more disadvantaged populations.  The EQ-5D index at old age is 0.876. Younger age groups, position as household head, working, literacy, and belonging to better wealth quintiles are determinants of higher HRQoL. Ageing has a primary influence on HRQoL that is mainly due to reduction in physical (rather than mental) functions. Being a household head and working at old age are advantageous for attaining better HRQoL in physical rather than psychological terms. Economic conditions affect HRQoL through sensory rather than physical functions. Long-term living conditions are more likely to affect HRQoL than short-term economic conditions. Dependence in instrumental or intellectual activities of daily living (ADLs) is more common than in basic ADLs. People who need complete help are fewer than those who need some help in almost all ADLs. Over two-fifths of people who needed help received enough support in all ADL dimensions. Children and grand-children are confirmed to be the main caregivers. Presence of chronic illness, age groups, sex, educational level, marital status, household membership, working status, household size, living arrangement, residential area, household wealth, and poverty status are determinants of the need for care. Use of mobile teams is the most requested service; the fewest respondents intend to use a nursing centre. Households expect to use services for their elderly to a greater extent than did the elderly themselves. Willingness to use services decreases when potential fees increase. The proportion of respondents who require free services is 2 to 3 times higher than those willing to pay full cost. Households are willing to pay more for day care and nursing centres than are the elderly. The elderly are more willing to pay for mobile teams than are their households. ADL index, age group, sex, literacy, marital status, living arrangement, head of household status, living area, working status, poverty and household wealth are factors related to willingness to use services.   Conclusions                                                                                         There is a trend of increasing life expectancy at older ages in ruralVietnam. Inequalities in life expectancy exist between socioeconomic groups. HRQoL at old age is at a high level, but varies substantially according to socioeconomic factors. An unmet need of daily care for older people remains. Family is the main source of support for care. Need for care is in more demand among disadvantaged groups.  Development of a social network for community-based long-term elderly care is needed. The network should focus on instrumental and intellectual ADLs rather than basic ADLs. Home-based care is more essential than institutionalized care. Community-based elderly care will be used and partly paid for if it is provided by the government or associations. The determinants of elderly health and care needs should be addressed by appropriate social and health policies with greater targeting of the poorest and most disadvantaged groups. Building capacity for health professionals and informal caregivers, as well as support for the most vulnerable elderly groups, is essential for providing and assessing the services. / Aging and Living Conditions Program / Vietnam-Sweden Collaborative Program in Health, SIDA/Sarec

Text in Afrikaans. Abstracts in Afrikaans, English and Zulu / This study explored how nine adolescent learner-participants with cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities responded to an emotional support programme (EOP) of 20 intervention sessions, aimed at developing their emotional intelligence. The research study highlighted the utilisational value and importance of emotional intelligence, which is associated with problem-solving skills, career success, selfactualisation, stress management and the like. The rationale for compiling the EOP was in accordance with the rationale for the research study, being embedded in diverse learning needs, support for learners, and the design of learner opportunities. The study focused among others on the development and implementation of an EOP based on Bar-On as conceptual model (2000), together with the five core competencies of social and emotional learning (SEL), namely: responsible decision-making, emotional self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship skills. The Lions Quest SEL-programme, Skills for Adolescence, formed the basis of the EOP, although the researcher had to adapt it for her learner-participants’ special educational needs. The EOP was further extended with the knowledge obtained through the literature study regarding emotional intelligence and adolescence, and was aligned with the aims of the South African school curriculum in respect of emotional intelligence skills, as stated in the aims of the subject Life Skills. The researcher’s embedded, mixed-method research design allowed the larger qualitative component to include the smaller quantitative component, so that the specific phenomenon could be understood from different participants’ perspectives. Qualitative data was collected by means of metaphor interviews and collage activities. The quantitative research component of the study refers to the standardised Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (EQ-i:YV) together with the researcher’s own structured questionnaire. The researcher did not interpret the data obtained from the quantitative data collection instruments in isolation, but used it to expand and verify the results of her qualitative generated data. The integrated data results of the learner-participants brought the answer to the research problem: most of the adolescent learner-participants with special educational needs who had participated in the EOP, did indeed benefit through their involvement, and their emotional intelligence (the phenomenon under scrutiny) had improved. / Die studie ondersoek hoe nege adolessente leerder-deelnemers met serebrale en fisieke gestremdhede op ’n emosionele ondersteuningsprogram (EOP) van 20 intervensiesessies reageer met die doel om hulle emosionele intelligensie te ontwikkel. Die benuttingswaarde en belangrikheid van emosionele intelligensie word deur die navorsingstudie uitgelig. Hoë emosionele intelligensie word geassosieer met probleemoplossingsvaardighede, werksukses, selfverwesenliking en streshantering, onder andere. Die rasionaal vir die samestelling van die EOP stem ooreen met die rasionaal vir die navorsingstudie en is gevestig in uiteenlopende leerbehoeftes, ondersteuning aan leerders, en die skep van leergeleenthede. Die studie fokus op die samestelling en implementering van ’n emosionele ondersteuningsprogram (EOP) gebaseer op Bar-On (2000) se konstruk van emosionele intelligensie as konseptuele model van die studie saam met die vyf kernbevoegdhede van sosiale en emosionele leer (SEL), naamlik: verantwoordelike besluitneming, emosionele selfbewussyn, selfbestuur, sosiale bewussyn en verhoudingsvaardighede. Die Lions Quest SEL-program, Skills for Adolescence, vorm die grondslag van die EOP, alhoewel die navorser baie aanpassings vir haar leerder-deelnemers se spesiale onderwysbehoeftes moes maak. Die EOP is verder uitgebrei deur die kennis wat die navorser tydens die literatuurstudie ingewin het ten opsigte van emosionele intelligensie en adolessensie, en sluit aan by die Suid-Afrikaanse skoolkurrikulum-doelwitte wat verband hou met emosionele intelligensie-vaardighede soos uiteengesit in die doelwitte vir die vak Lewensvaardighede. Die navorser se ingebedde, gemengdemetode-navorsingsontwerp laat toe dat die groter kwalitatiewe komponent die kleiner kwantitatiewe komponent insluit, sodat die spesifieke fenomeen vanuit verskillende deelnemers se perspektiewe verstaan kon word. Kwalitatiewe data is deur middel van die metafooronderhoud en collage-aktiwiteit ingesamel. Die kwantitatiewe navorsingskomponent van die studie verwys na die gestandaardiseerde Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (EQ-i:YV) tesame met die navorser se eie gestruktureerde vraelys. Die navorser het die data wat sy uit die kwantitatiewe datainsamelingsinstrumente verkry het, nie net in isolasie geïnterpreteer nie, maar dit ook gebruik om die resultate van haar kwalitatief-gegenereerde data uit te brei en te verifieer. Die geïntegreerde data-resultate van die leerder-deelnemers bied die antwoord op die: die meerderheid van die adolessente leerderdeelnemers met spesiale onderwysbehoeftes wat aan die EOP deelgeneem het, het inderdaad gebaat by hulle deelname, en hulle emosionele intelligensie (die fenomeen wat ondersoek is) het verbeter. / Ucwaningo luhlola ukuthi ngabe ukuzibandakanya kwabafundi abangabadlalindima abayisishiyagalolunye abasesigabeni sobubhungu/sobutshitshi abakhubazeke ngokwengqondo noma ngayiphi indlela emzimbeni baphendule kanjani kuhlelo oluxhasa ngokommoya (emotional support programme) kumihlangano engama- 20 yokunceda, ehlose ekuqiniseni ubuhlakani bommoya. Isifundo socwaningo siveze ukubaluleka kokusebenzisa kanye nokubaluleka kobuhlakani bommoya, okuhambisana namakhono okuxazulula izinkinga, impumelelo yobizo lomsebenzi, ukuzibonakalisa, ukulawula ingcindezi yengqondo kanye nokunye. Isizathu sokuhlela i-ESP sasihambisana nenhloso yesifundo socwaningo, esitholakala kwizidingo zemfundo ezahlukahlukene, kanye nokuhleleka kwamathuba omfundi. Ucwaningo lubheke hlangana nokunye nokuthuthukiswa kanye nokusetshenziswa kohlelo lwe-ESP olususelwa ku-Bar-On njengemodeli yegama (2000), kanye namanye amacebo abalulekile amahlanu ohlelo lokufunda kwabantu kanye nokufunda ngokwemizwa (SEL), wona yilawa alandelayo: Ukumelana nezinqumo ozithethe, ukwazi imizwa yakho, ukuziphatha ngokwakho, ukuxwayiswa komphakathi kanye namakhono okwenza ubudlelwano. Uhlelo lwe- Lions Quest SEL, Skills for Adolescence, akha isisekelo se-ESP, yize umcwaningi kwakufanele aluguqule lolu hlelo ukwenzela ukuba luhambisane nezidingo ezikhethekile zemfundo yafundi abadlala indima. . Uhlelo lwe--ESP lwaqhubeka nokukhuliswa ngolwazi olwalutholakala ngocwaningo lombhalo wobuciko obumayelana nobuhlakani bokusebenzisa imizwa kanye nesigaba sobutshitshi/sobubhungu, kanti lolu hlelo lwaluhambisana nezinhloso zekharikhulami yezikole zaseNingizimu Afrika mayelana namakhono okusebenzisa obuhlakani bokusebenzisa imizwa, njengoba kushiwobkwizinhloso zesifundo samaKhono Empilo (Life Skills). Isakhiwo somcwaningi esequkethwe, sohlelo-oluvangene locwaningo siye savumela isigaba esikhulu socwaningo olugxile kukhwalithi (qualitative) ukuba sixube isigaba esincane esigxile kumanani (quantitative), ukuze kuzwisiseke uhlelo oluthize ngokwemiqondo yabadlalindima abehlukahlukene. Idatha yohlelo lwequalitative yaqoqwa ngokusebenzisa izinhlolombono zokungathekisa kanye nemisebenzi yokuhlanganisa imifanekiso eminingi. Isigaba socwaningo olugxile kumanani sichaza uhlelo olufanayo lwe--Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (EQi:YV) kanye nemibhalo yemibuzo ehlelwe wumcwaningi. Umcwaningi akazange achaze idatha etholakele kumathuluzi okuqoqa idatha encike kumanani yodwa, kodwa le datha iye yasetshenziselwa ukukhulisa kanye nokuqinisekisa imiphumela yakhe eyakhiwe ngokwendlela yekhwalithi. Imiphumelo ehlangene yedatha yomfundi ongumdlalindima ilethe impendulo kwinkinga yocwaningo: Iningi labafundi abadlala indima abasesesigabeni sobubhungu/sobutshitshi abadinga imfundo ekhethekile abazibandakanye ohlelweni lwe-ESP, ngempela baye bazuza ngokuzibandakanya kwabo, kanti-ke izinga labo lokusebenzisa ikhono lobuhlakani bemizwa buye bathuthuka kakhulu (the phenomenon under scrutiny). / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inklusiewe Onderwys)