The focus of this research relates to physical activity (PA) among populations at risk for inactivity. Two studies were completed. Study 1 was an exploratory study examining the relationship between health literacy (HL) and PA as they relate to the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) constructs. Study 2 was an action research-based project in partnership with the staff and students of an alternative school. In Study 1 participants (N=65) completed measurements including the REALM to assess HL, and accelerometers to establish PA levels. The results of this study showed that even after controlling for covariates HL and PA are significantly linked (r = 0.37, p < 0.01), however, the TPB constructs were not found to mediate this relationship. However, Perceived Behavioural Control (r = 0.29, p < 0.05) and Intention to Exercise (r = 0.29, p < 0.05) were significantly linked to HL. Of particular interest, Difficulty Reading was cited as a significant barrier to PA for those with lower levels of HL (r = 0.37, p < 0.01). Finally, HL was found to be a significant moderator of the Education-PA relationship. Study 2 contained two components. First, focus groups with community partner organization (CPO) members to establish issues of relevance to them related to PA, to gather suggestions for incorporating PA into CPO programs, to gain an understanding of the barriers experienced by the community members, and to receive input regarding their current feelings and knowledge surrounding PA. Second, a process evaluation was conducted with administration to gauge how the CPO had progressed over the first academic year, using the TRACE process evaluation tool. The findings from the focus groups were organized by socio ecological level into PA facilitators and inhibitors, and were used to plan a new PA program for the school year. A repeated measures survey and process evaluation tool were used to assess these program objectives for the initial year. Perceived HL scores increased from baseline (M = 20.71,SD = 4.29) to follow-up (M = 22.58, SD = 5.15 ); t(-2.44), p < 0.05, as did perceived understanding of the importance of PA from September (M = 4.46 , SD = 1.60) to June (M = 5.54 , SD = 1.67); t(-3.06), p < 0.01. There was an increase in total minutes of MVPA among students as well, although this trend merely approached significance, from September (M = 526.60, SD = 557.63) to June (M=817.0, SD = 674.69), t(-1.97), p = 0.06. The evaluation tool revealed that the community was “Half Way There”, and identified areas where improvements could be made. These findings are relevant to creating equitable and comprehensive promotion and education of physical activity in the future and to understanding the mechanisms involved in PA disparities. These findings also support the need for health promoters and researchers to work with communities known to be at risk for low HL, and using action research methods to create locally relevant program development and research. / Graduate

abstract: Using a simple $SI$ infection model, I uncover the overall dynamics of the system and how they depend on the incidence function. I consider both an epidemic and endemic perspective of the model, but in both cases, three classes of incidence functions are identified. In the epidemic form, power incidences, where the infective portion $I^p$ has $p\in(0,1)$, cause unconditional host extinction, homogeneous incidences have host extinction for certain parameter constellations and host survival for others, and upper density-dependent incidences never cause host extinction. The case of non-extinction in upper density-dependent incidences extends to the case where a latent period is included. Using data from experiments with rhanavirus and salamanders, maximum likelihood estimates are applied to the data. With these estimates, I generate the corrected Akaike information criteria, which reward a low likelihood and punish the use of more parameters. This generates the Akaike weight, which is used to fit parameters to the data, and determine which incidence functions fit the data the best. From an endemic perspective, I observe that power incidences cause initial condition dependent host extinction for some parameter constellations and global stability for others, homogeneous incidences have host extinction for certain parameter constellations and host survival for others, and upper density-dependent incidences never cause host extinction. The dynamics when the incidence function is homogeneous are deeply explored. I expand the endemic considerations in the homogeneous case by adding a predator into the model. Using persistence theory, I show the conditions for the persistence of each of the predator, prey, and parasite species. Potential dynamics of the system include parasite mediated persistence of the predator, survival of the ecosystem at high initial predator levels and ecosystem collapse at low initial predator levels, persistence of all three species, and much more. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Mathematics 2017

The present study aims to integrate resilience concepts within the context of a theoretical model for child maltreatment, the ecological model, as well as to describe risks and protective factors leading to a better interaction as a dynamic process. Thinking deeply about maltreatment from the point of view of resilience implies focusing on the serious consequences it produces, as well as on the assessment of children’s resources to continue growing and developing despite the risks. We may promote children’s potential by understanding resilience within a child maltreatment framework based on this model (interactional, bidirectional and reciprocal). / El presente trabajo integra conceptos vinculados a la resiliencia en el ámbito del maltrato infantil desde el modelo ecológico, haciendo énfasis en la descripción de factores de riesgo y protectores, a fin de acercarnos a la comprensión de sus modalidades de interacción como proceso dinámico. Esto implica enfocarse, no solo en las graves consecuencias que el maltrato produce, sino también en el estudio de los recursos infantiles que permiten a los niños continuar con su desarrollo a pesar del riesgo. Se considera que la comprensión de la resiliencia en el ámbito del maltrato infantil desde este modelo interaccional, bidireccional y reciproco puede acercarnos a pensar mejores modos de promover potencialidades en la infancia.

Orientador: Alpina Begossi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T04:03:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oliveira_LuizEduardoChimellode_M.pdf: 1029295 bytes, checksum: fe23e158fcb7a3519ea40860de9a3446 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Este estudo utiliza modelos ecológicos derivados da Teoria do Forrageio Ótimo (TFO) para compreender os processos de tomada de decisão entre os pescadores de arrasto de camarão do bairro São Francisco, no município de São Sebastião, SP. Tendo a Ecologia Comportamental Humana como ferramental teórico, o objetivo geral deste trabalho foi analisar as estratégias dos pescadores utilizando os modelos da TFO para elaborar hipóteses sobre a atividade pesqueira de pequena escala. Considerando os benefícios e custos do comportamento de forrageio (procura, captura, aquisição e consumo do alimento), os modelos derivados da TFO predizem as soluções mais econômicas para o forrageador. Neste trabalho procurou-se testar as seguintes hipóteses: 1) quanto mais longe for o ponto de pesca utilizado pelo pescador, maior deve ser o tempo que ele permanecerá pescando e, conseqüentemente, maior o retorno obtido; 2) o pescador escolherá o ponto de pesca de acordo com o retorno da última viagem. Os métodos de coleta de dados utilizados consistiram basicamente em questionários padronizados e observações diretas realizadas durante os desembarques pesqueiros (N=77). As atividades de desembarque de 28 pescadores foram registradas de forma sistemática ao longo de 22 dias consecutivos, entre 16 de abril e sete de maio de 2008, no principal ponto de desembarque do bairro São Francisco. Do total de 6.766 Kg de pescado desembarcados, camarões representaram 76,04%. As espécies mais capturadas foram o camarão sete-barbas (Xiphopenaeus kroyeri) e o camarão branco (Litopenaeus schmitti). Os pescadores utilizaram 19 pontos de pesca no período de estudo. Conforme previsto pela TFO, os pescadores permaneceram mais tempo em atividade de arrasto quando viajaram a pontos de pesca mais distantes, obtendo maiores retornos (financeiro e em biomassa). Além disso, a média da taxa de retorno financeiro bruto dos pontos de pesca foi utilizada como parâmetro para avaliar a escolha dos pontos de pesca. Quando a taxa de retorno na última viagem foi menor do que a média, os pescadores mudaram de ponto de pesca mais freqüentemente ou, por outro lado, voltaram ao mesmo ponto de pesca quando a taxa de retorno na última viagem esteve acima da média (?2= 4.7; p<0.05; n=49; df=1). As decisões dos pescadores em relação à escolha dos pontos de pesca são baseadas em experiências prévias, numa escala de tempo diária. Os pescadores estão explorando o recurso local da forma mais eficiente possível, maximizando o retorno financeiro em curto prazo, o que pode ser um indício de que os recursos podem ser exauridos em longo prazo. Desta forma, é urgente e necessária a elaboração de estratégias de manejo no local. Os métodos utilizados para testar hipóteses da TFO fornecem informações importantes sobre o uso dos pontos de pesca, por exemplo, que podem ser usadas para guiar a escolha de áreas de proteção do recurso (refúgios) / Abstract: This study uses ecological models derived from the Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) to understand the decision-making processes among bottom trawling shrimp fishermen at the São Francisco Neighborhood, in the district of São Sebastião, SP, Brazil. Using the theoretical background of Human Behavioral Ecology the aim of this work was to analyze fishermen's strategies using OFT models to raise hypotheses about the smallscale fisheries activity. Taking into consideration benefits and costs associated to the foraging behavior (search, capture, handling, and consumption), models derived from OFT predict the most economic behavior of the foraging animal. In this work we tested two main hypotheses: 1) the further the fishing ground, the longer the time fishermen will stay fishing, and consequently, the higher the return obtained; 2) fisherman will choose the fishing ground according to the last trip's return. Sampling methods consisted basically in closed-end questionnaires and direct observations made during fishing landings (N=77). Fishing landing activities of 28 fishermen were registered during 22 consecutive days (from April 16th until May 7th, 2008) at the main landing point of São Francisco neighborhood. Shrimp represented 76.04% of the 6,766 Kg total landed. Among them, the most captured species were sea bob shrimp (Xiphopenaeus kroyeri) and the white shrimp (Litopenaeus schmitti). Fishermen used 19 different fishing grounds during the period studied. As predicted by OFT, fishermen trawled longer when they traveled to further fishing grounds, obtaining higher returns (money and biomass). The average gross return rate of the fishing grounds was a good parameter to evaluate different decisions concerning fishing ground choices. When the return rate of the previous trip was below the average, fishermen changed the fishing ground more often, returning to the same fishing ground more frequently when the return rate of the previous was above the average (?2= 4.7; p<0.05; n=49; df=1). Fishermen's decisions concerning the choice of fishing grounds were based on previous trips experiences, on a daily base. In addition, fishermen are exploiting local resources as efficiently as they can, maximizing the short term financial return. This behavior can lead to resource depression in the long term, thus it is very important to build local management strategies. Methods used to test OFT hypotheses provide important information about fishing grounds use, for example, which can be used to guide the choice of no-take areas (refugees) when developing management strategies / Mestrado / Mestre em Ecologia

Studies have highlighted the prevalence of sedentary behaviours in the university student population and have noted the significant potential for the promotion of physical activity in educational settings for young adults. Following the epidemiological procedure and ecological approach, the main purpose of this thesis focused on the university student population to review the previous research results by a systematic review method (first study), to compare the differences between UK and Taiwanese participants' and relevant effective variables by using a quantitative study method (second study), to have a deeper understanding of the Taiwanese university students' physical activity behaviours by using a qualitative study method (third study), then to evaluate the efficiency of designed interventions in university settings (fourth study). The whole thesis applied the ecological approach to classify the survey variables' effect to university students' physical activity behaviours. A total of 55 published papers were reviewed and majority of studies were conducted in the US using a cross-sectional design. Finding variables consistently related to university students physical activity level were female gender(-), attitude self-efficacy perceived barrier (-), family support (+), physical activity and sport history (+). These survey variables were more consistent in the literature and corresponded to previous adults' study. Some survey variables linked to university student were also found in the literature but still need more studies for this target population to come to a robust conclusion. Seven days recall design measurement and stage of changes survey for physical activity levels were more identified and have been more frequent using in the reviewed papers. Also, more studies on different ethnicity, environmental variables and intervention with different methodology such as qualitative study method are needed to enrich the knowledge of university's students' physical activity behaviours.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Trauma exposure during childhood increases the risk of multitude complex post-trauma symptomology. Extensive research has been conducted on the effects of trauma exposure on adults, and the findings have been thereafter applied to children. This is problematic due to the developmental differences between adults and children. There is thus a need to understand the unique symptomology of children, who have been exposed to trauma, as understanding the effects of childhood trauma will certainly aid in the prevention and treatment of childhood trauma. This study incorporated a systematic review methodology to analyse the effects of exposure to childhood trauma on children’s mental health and wellbeing. Relevant literature from all the methodological paradigms that were published during the specified time period of this study (2000 – 2016) were considered for. Furthermore, the inclusion criteria also specified that only studies of which the participants were children were allowed to be included in the review; studies focusing on adults and their exposure were deliberately excluded. The initial search strategy yielded a total of 316 articles; after all duplicates had been removed and, the titles and abstracts of the remaining articles had been assessed, the number of relevant articles was reduced to 22. These 22 articles were thereafter assessed by means of a critical appraisal tool to evaluate whether they were suitable for inclusion. Several articles were excluded as the focus of the studies were on treatment modalities and the effects of child trauma in adulthood. This signifies a gap in the literature with regard to studies that investigate the effects of child trauma. Ultimately, only 13 of the 22 articles remained. These underwent full-text evaluation and data extraction. Results of this study provide insight into the effects of child trauma on child mental health and well-being. Based on thematic analysis, the results clearly show that children, who are traumatised, have a negative worldview. In addition, the symptoms they manifest are complex, which often lead to misdiagnosis. Moreover, these studies also explain the resilience processes involved when a child is exposed to trauma. In essence, this study provides parents, caregivers, researchers and mental health professionals with an all-inclusive understanding of the effects of childhood trauma based on a scientific body of literature.

Home environment and family lifestyle practices have an influence on child obesity risk, thereby making it critical to systematically examine these factors. Thus, parents (n = 489) of preschool children completed a cross-sectional online survey which was the baseline data collection conducted, before randomization, in the HomeStyles program. The survey comprehensively assessed these factors using a socio-ecological approach, incorporating intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental measures. Healthy intrapersonal dietary behaviors identified were parent and child intakes of recommended amounts of 100% juice and low intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages. Unhealthy behaviors included low milk intake and high parent fat intake. The home environment's food supply was found to support healthy intakes of 100% juice and sugar-sweetened beverages, but provided too little milk and ample quantities of salty/fatty snacks. Physical activity levels, sedentary activity and the home's physical activity and media environment were found to be less than ideal. Environmental supports for active play inside homes were moderate and somewhat better in the area immediately outside homes and in the neighborhood. Family interpersonal interaction measures revealed several positive behaviors, including frequent family meals. Parents had considerable self-efficacy in their ability to perform food-and physical activity-related childhood obesity protective practices. This study identified lifestyle practices and home environment characteristics that health educators could target to help parents promote optimal child development and lower their children's risk for obesity.

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of Grade 5 learners after being taught Natural Sciences by means of an enriched curriculum in the Win-LIFE (Wellness in Lifestyle, Intake, Fitness and Environment intervention) project. My focus thus fell on learners’ voices and perceptions, and more specifically with regard to the knowledge and skills that they gained in the Natural Sciences subject, as a result of a health-promotion intervention. For this purpose, I relied on Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-Ecological model (2005) as theoretical framework, and explored the learners’ experiences in a specific sub-system, being the Natural Sciences classroom and curriculum. I furthermore aimed to gain insight into how this can potentially be applied to other systems such as their home environments and personal lives. I used the interpretivist paradigm as meta-theory and followed a qualitative approach. I selected a case study design, applying Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) principles, thereby aligning my study’s design to the broader research project for data generation and documentation I relied on multiple data generation sources, such as PRA-based workshops/discussions, observation, field notes, visual data documentation techniques and reflective journals to generate and document data. Following inductive thematic analysis three main themes and related subthemes emerged. Firstly, the experiential learning approach that was followed when implementing the intervention had positive outcomes in terms of learners’ attitudes toward learning, their commitment and self-confidence to make contributions in class, and their experiences of the learning process. Secondly, learners gained the necessary knowledge and skills of the Grade 5 Natural Sciences curriculum, and valued the practical experiences they acquired. In addition to their newly gained knowledge and skills being retained after a year, they finally also transferred the content to their parents, caregivers and family members, and reportedly applied what they had learned at home in their personal lives. Based on the findings of the study I can conclude that the learners experienced the enriched Natural Sciences curriculum in a positive manner and that their experiences resulted in positive outcomes and benefits for themselves and also those in their immediate environment. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

Researchers have not been able to ascertain how survivors of childhood trauma, especially sexual abuse, develop resilience. To explore resilience and what influences its development, this mixed-method study investigated the roles of cognitive emotion regulation and proactive coping by using a critical-realist ontology. The data was collected from eight women (between ages 25 and 56) who considered themselves to be resilient survivors of severe child sexual abuse. Harvey’s (2000) Multidimensional Trauma Recovery and Resiliency Interview (MTRR-I), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski, Kraaij&Spinhoven, 2002) and Greenglass’s (1999) Proactive Coping Inventory were used to gather the data necessary to determine whether resilience is influenced by cognitive emotion regulation strategies and proactive coping and to attempt to define what could be considered as traits of resilience in survivors or child sexual abuse. Through thematic analysis, approximately 50 a-priori codes were generated and grouped into 23 themes using the Atlas.ti program. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation, proactive coping and resilience in order to better understand, and develop intervention processes that can provide survivors of child sexual abuse and other trauma with the resources needed to be more resilient. Although causality could not be determined between these variables, it became evident that the more often a participant employs adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and the higher the scores on the Proactive Coping Inventory are, the more resilient the participant tends to be. The participants who displayed higher levels of resilience also verbalised that they felt they had dealt with the abuse and had managed to move on in their lives. Even though all the participants considered themselves to be resilient, half of them were functioning at a noticeably lower rate of resilience than the others. All the participants claimed to rely on spiritual strength in some way and attribute their resilience to their faith in God. The higher the levels of resilience, the more the participants used adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and proactive coping; and the more optimistic their views of the future and the more they considered their lives to be meaningful. Because the study was based on the ecological model of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1995, 2005,) the interplay of the proximal environment, the individual, the social context and the changes that have taken place over time, were all taken into consideration because resilience, cognitive emotion regulation and proactive coping skills all develop within and between the same systems in which an individual develops. However, Bronfenbrenner (2005) states that the family is no longer taking the responsibility for the upbringing of children as it should and that other settings in society have had to step in to fulfil the role. One aspect of mental health is the ability to develop spiritually and since schools may not include religious instruction because it is the responsibility of the family, it happens that children are not being developed spiritually and this could influence the way in which individuals deal with traumatic childhood experiences. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Children with special needs are often considered as a vulnerable group, who faces double risk  than general peer groups to be bullied. Bullying interventions are a useful method that can be used to help children enhance their self-esteem and coping skills. The aim of this systematic review is to explore anti-bullying interventions programs for children with special needs, and intervention outcomes. A search for scholarly articles has been carried out in four databases,739 articles were identified and six articles included in the analysis after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The anti-bullying interventions were beneficial for children with special needs to reduce risk of bullying , while the results were varied. This study combined  Bronfenbrenner's ecological model with various anti-bullying intervention designs to discuss the results. This study make up a lttle gap in the area of anti-bullying intervention for children with special needs, and provide an overview of  these program. Limitations of the study and further research will be discussed. / 有特殊需要的儿童通常被视为弱势群体， 并且面临着两倍于同龄人的被霸凌风险。欺凌干预作为一种有效手段，可以用来帮助儿童增强自尊和应对能力。本系统综述的目的是探讨针对有特殊需要的儿童的反欺凌干预方案和干预效果。在四个数据库中搜索了学术文章，得到738个结果，并最终得到满足条件的六篇文章。反欺凌干预措施对于有特殊需要的儿童有利于减少欺凌的风险，但干预结果却各不相同。这项研究结合了Bronfenbrenner的生态模型与各种反欺凌干预设计来讨论干预结果， 弥补了对有特殊需要的儿童的反欺凌干预方面的一点空白，并提供了这些计划的概述。研究的局限性和进一步的研究将讨论。