While we are witnessing an acceleration of the phenomenon of demographic aging in Canada, a spectacular increase in the participation rate of the elderly has been felt since the end of the 1990s. Several factors may be at the origin of this increase, but few studies really focus on empirically verifying these. It is in this register that this research is focused. In fact, in 2012, the government of Quebec implemented a tax initiative dedicated to the maintenance and return to the labor market of the elderly, namely the “Tax credit for experienced workers”, today. renamed as the “Tax Credit for career extension”. However, to date, no study has been carried out on the effectiveness of this Quebec tax measure in which the government has spent nearly $ 700 million and is preparing to spend more in the coming years. Testing the effect of this incentive policy for experienced workers will therefore be the main objective of this research. In order to meet this objective, we performed multivariate regression analyzes using a statistical model developed from our review of the literature on labor force participation rates of people aged 55 and over. Our sample consists of 360 data or 36 observations (one for each of the years covering the period 1983 to 2018) for each of the 10 provinces of Canada. For the purposes of our analyzes, we selected the participation rate of those aged 55 and over as the dependent variable as well as a realistic selection of 10 independent variables divisible into three categories, i.e., trend and non-trend structural variables (term linear trend, squared trend term and set of 9 provincial dichotomies), economic variables (unemployment rate, interest rate and average weekly earnings) and public policy variables (income tax benefit work, incentive nature within pension schemes and tax credit for experienced workers). Our results show that the Quebec incentive, the tax credit for career extension, did not have the expected effects on workers aged 55 and over, while particularly noticeable changes are observable for this age group. It seems that the good performance of the economic situation is sufficient to explain a good part of the behavior of the participation rates of people aged 55 and over in Quebec. These results are sufficient to encourage further evaluation of the tax credit program, as well as all current and future incentive policies put in place by governments. / Alors que nous assistons à une accélération du phénomène du vieillissement démographique au Canada, une remontée spectaculaire du taux d’activité des personnes âgées se fait sentir depuis la fin des années 1990. Plusieurs facteurs peuvent être à l’origine de cette hausse, mais peu d’études se concentrent réellement sur la vérification empirique de ceux-ci. C’est d’ailleurs dans ce registre que se concentre cette recherche. En effet, en 2012, le gouvernement du Québec s’est vu mettre en place une initiative fiscale explicitement dédiée au maintien et au retour sur le marché du travail des personnes âgées, soit le crédit d’impôt pour les travailleurs expérimentés, aujourd’hui renommée sous le nom de « crédit d’impôt pour le prolongement de carrière ». Or, à ce jour, aucune étude n’a été réalisée sur l’efficacité de cette mesure fiscale québécoise dans laquelle le gouvernement a dépensé près de 700 millions de dollars et s’apprête à en dépenser davantage dans les prochaines années. Tester l’effet de cette politique d’incitation pour les travailleurs expérimentés sera donc l’objectif principal de cette recherche. Afin de répondre à cet objectif, nous avons réalisé des analyses de régression multivariée à l’aide d’un modèle statistique développé à partir de notre recension des écrits sur les taux d’activité des personnes âgées de 55 ans et plus. Notre échantillon se compose de 360 données, soit 36 observations (une pour chacune des années couvrant la période de 1983 à 2018) pour chacune des 10 provinces du Canada. Pour les fins de nos analyses, nous avons choisi le taux d’activité des 55 ans et plus à titre de variable dépendante ainsi qu’une sélection réaliste de 10 variables indépendantes divisibles en trois catégories, soit des variables structurelles tendancielles et non tendancielles (terme de tendance linéaire, terme de tendance au carré et ensemble de 9 dichotomiques provinciales), des variables économiques (taux de chômage, taux d’intérêt et rémunération hebdomadaire moyenne) et des variables de politiques publiques (prime au travail, prestation fiscale pour revenu de travail, caractère incitatif à l’intérieur des régimes de pensions et crédit d’impôt pour les travailleurs expérimentés). Nos résultats démontrent d’ailleurs que l’incitative québécoise, soit le crédit d’impôt pour le prolongement de carrière n’a pas eu les effets escomptés sur les travailleurs âgés de 55 ans et plus, alors que des changements particulièrement marquant sont observables pour ce groupe d’âge. Il semble que la bonne tenue de la conjoncture économique soit suffisante afin d’expliquer une bonne part des comportements des taux d’activité des 55 ans et plus au Québec. Ces résultats sont suffisants afin d’inciter à la poursuite de l’évaluation du programme de crédit d’impôt, de même que l’ensemble des politiques d’incitation actuelles et futures mises en place par les gouvernements.

Working mothers face various challenges today, one of which is to be a mother, wife,caretaker and employee all at the same time. Fulfilling these challenging and sometimes demanding roles can contribute to role overload and conflict, which can have a negative impact on organisational effectiveness, as well as the overall wellbeing of the working mother. This dissertation outlines the relationship between personality dimensions, sense of coherence and the coping styles of working mothers from a salutogenic perspective. The Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ), Orientations to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) and the Coping Orientations to the Problems Experienced (COPE) Questionnaire were used to measure the relationship between personality dimensions, sense of coherence and the coping styles of working mothers. The study was conducted with 102 working mothers representing different ethnic groups and occupational levels in different occupational fields and organisations. A theoretical relationship was established. The empirical investigation provided evidence of such a relationship and it seems that coping styles can be predicted from considering personality dimensions and sense of coherence. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans with summaries in Afrikaans and English / The child in his middle childhood years are confronted with physical, emotional, psychological and intellectual demands. The support from his parents enables him to make changes by using them as male and female role models. With a physically absent father the child has to face his absence and learn to handle it. The aim of this study was to investigate the child in the middle childhood’s experience of a physically absent father. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen respondents within the middle childhood years with the aim to explore their perceptions, experiences and how they manage with a physically absent father. The data collected during the empirical study was analyzed and compared with existing literature as a control mechanism. The study was completed with conclusions and recommendations that could be of value during an intervention with children in the middle childhood years experiencing a physically absent father. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Spelterapie)

In the past 30 years there has been a steady and growing appreciation in the literature of the importance and value of teachers' practical wisdom (TPW) - or phronesis as it is also known - to further an understanding of classroom practice and of the need to find ways to help teachers generate and share their perspectives with others. Nevertheless, the potential of this kind of knowledge (understood by Aristotle to be both practical and moral in its orientation) to contribute valuable insights to educational debates has still to be realised. Rather, educational decisions about policy and practice in many contexts (whether at a national or institutional level) are still largely driven by theoretical and technical knowledge perspectives and teacher practical wisdom perspectives are still often under-valued and remain under-represented in educational literature. One of the main reasons for this put forward in this thesis is the tendency in much of the literature to see this form of knowledge as classroom bound rather than to realise the ways in which it can inform broader pedagogical discussions. Bearing all of the above in mind, the aim of the study reported in this thesis into the TPW of 14 experienced expatriate English as a foreign language teachers (EEEFLTs) working in English language centres (ELCs) across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is threefold. Its first aim is to provide a platform for the EEEFLTs to demonstrate the contribution their TPW can potentially make in addressing syllabus related issues in the KSA ELCs they have worked and, in doing so, show how the use of TPW is not confined to the classroom. Its second aim is to increase the visibility of the participants' TPW and thus raise awareness of the importance of research into TPW and to provide a model for how this can be conducted. The study's final aim is to provide a deeper understanding of the nature of TPW. Located in the interpretive paradigm, this study uses a TPW-friendly methodology to investigate TPW: interpretive phronetic educational research (IPER), which approaches and conducts educational research through a moral and practical problem-driven lens. This understanding drives the study's methodology and all stages of its data collection and analysis and the methods used in both. The goal of such methods is an epistemological one to generate TPW whilst empowering it also by highlighting its validity and how it is easily articulated - and thus captured - and not confined to the classroom. To assist with its articulation and capture, the study employs a process defined as Problematisation: a four-stage process consisting of reflection, problematisation, deliberation and articulation which drives and shapes the semi-structured interviews the study employs and the secondary research questions that inform the primary research question. The study concludes that the EEEFLTs use their TPW as a lens (that has 12 qualities) through which to view KSA ELC syllabi and, in doing so, identify many problems with the syllabi and subsequent consequences and suggest solutions to address both. These problems, consequences and solutions have been organised under six prominent categories that represent six main problem areas to emerge from the data that suggest the syllabi are teacher, textbook and test-centred, top-down, teacher-proof and time-driven. These categories represent six problem areas that in turn reflect the problematic, negative and disempowering context from which the data informing such categories and themes have been drawn. In this study, TPW is considered disempowered knowledge as a result of the disempowering context within which it has been acquired and is used. Previous TPW studies have been conducted in more positive settings and have perhaps for this reason not focused on TPW's disempowerment. In contrast, this study takes on a much more political role as it explores TPW's disempowerment in the KSA ELC context as well as in the broader context of academia and the literature. TPW's lack of visibility in TESOL and education has several implications because unless TPW achieves greater visibility, it may fade into extinction and its potential may never be realised. This study has been conducted in an attempt to prevent this happening.

Despite the ongoing investments in programs to increase sexual health awareness among young adults globally, many youths remain vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Two-thirds of all STDs occur among youths engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors, which put young adults at higher risk of STDs and can result in serious consequences including infertility. Additionally, the social consequences of STD affect families and communities. While a need exists for increased public awareness of STDs among young adults, extant intervention and prevention activities should be informed by a cultural perspective, including the integration of community and government roles. The purpose of this social ecological study was to investigate the perceptions of STDs and the potential factors responsible for the increased frequency of STDs based on the lived experiences of 20 young adults with STDs in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Through a qualitative approach using a phenomenological research design, this study employed semi-structured interviews, and the resultant data were analyzed and coded. The findings indicated that college-aged students increasingly engaged in sexually risky behavior with multiple sexual partners for financial gain and power. Additionally, while institutions promoted abstinence as an effective strategy to reduce STD infections, the findings indicated a strong relationship between the phenomenon and individual interconnectedness with the larger society. Because the sexual behavior of young adults in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, is influenced at multiple ecological levels, effective and sustaining culturally appropriate STD interventions must involve the larger society including young adults in all stages of intervention development and implementation.

The aim of this study has been to investigate, through the narratives of ex-perienced teachers, insights and strategies in the teaching of history in upper secondary school. Based on a flexible grounded theory, life history and theories of pedagogical content knowledge, seven experienced history teachers have been interviewed about their conceptions of history teaching. Development of insights into history teaching and the formation of knowledge can be described as involving both a refinement of practice and more revolutionary turning points. These insights emphasize that good knowledge of the subject is central for legitimacy and creativity. History teaching in Sweden is described as increasingly international and contem-porary, and focussed on students’ learning from various points of view. Varied teaching is stressed with the teacher in centre and also being able to take the role of arranger. Of importance is also the handling of teaching in history as a foundation course as well as an advanced or specialized course. Influences from other subjects have had a diverse impact at the same time as personal interests and experiences, as well as external influences, have been important for the development of strategies. History teachers’ teaching strategies may be described in terms of 1) multiperspectivity, where different points of view and interpretations of history are central; 2) narrative history, where through both major and minor stories, a chronological structure and animation of the subject of history are strived after; 3) social scientific history, which uses history to explain contemporary society through making comparisons and seeking general patterns; and 4) an eclectic strategy, which strives after varieties of an individualised teaching of history by allowing students to make their ways into history in diverse ways. The experienced history teachers’ narratives make evident how the subject of history can be transformed, they demonstrate different conceivable ways of teaching history and reveal its complexity. The teachers’ narratives show how, through their strategies in interaction with their insights in history teaching, they have created an overview and structure in the complex reality of teaching history. The teachers’ insights and strategies constitute a practice based contribution to a more experience informed practice and research on the teaching of history.

Working mothers face various challenges today, one of which is to be a mother, wife,caretaker and employee all at the same time. Fulfilling these challenging and sometimes demanding roles can contribute to role overload and conflict, which can have a negative impact on organisational effectiveness, as well as the overall wellbeing of the working mother. This dissertation outlines the relationship between personality dimensions, sense of coherence and the coping styles of working mothers from a salutogenic perspective. The Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ), Orientations to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) and the Coping Orientations to the Problems Experienced (COPE) Questionnaire were used to measure the relationship between personality dimensions, sense of coherence and the coping styles of working mothers. The study was conducted with 102 working mothers representing different ethnic groups and occupational levels in different occupational fields and organisations. A theoretical relationship was established. The empirical investigation provided evidence of such a relationship and it seems that coping styles can be predicted from considering personality dimensions and sense of coherence. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans with summaries in Afrikaans and English / The child in his middle childhood years are confronted with physical, emotional, psychological and intellectual demands. The support from his parents enables him to make changes by using them as male and female role models. With a physically absent father the child has to face his absence and learn to handle it. The aim of this study was to investigate the child in the middle childhood’s experience of a physically absent father. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen respondents within the middle childhood years with the aim to explore their perceptions, experiences and how they manage with a physically absent father. The data collected during the empirical study was analyzed and compared with existing literature as a control mechanism. The study was completed with conclusions and recommendations that could be of value during an intervention with children in the middle childhood years experiencing a physically absent father. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Spelterapie)

The diploma thesis is called Social Events as an impulse to study social work. The thesis consists of two parts. The first part is theoretical and the second part is research. The theoretical part tries to map the personality of social workers and their motives for the study. The second part is research, where I tried to find out the motivation to study social work.

Till följd av NPM (New public management) och de ökade kraven på produktivitet och effektivitet har sjuksköterskors arbetssituation försämrats alltmer under de senaste decennierna. Det har resulterat i en försämrad hälsa hos sjuksköterskorna och många sjuksköterskor har valt att lämna yrket. Det har bland annat genererat brist på erfarna sjuksköterskor på akutvårdsavdelningarna som bedrivs dygnet runt i regionerna och detta anser Socialstyrelsen utgöra ett hot mot patientsäkerheten. Ett bra verksamhetsnära ledarskap, i regionerna benämns dessa som första linjens chefer, är en betydande faktor för sjuksköterskors hälsa och vilja att stanna kvar på sin arbetsplats. Det är därför av intresse att undersöka vilka ledaregenskaper som krävs för att erfarna sjuksköterskor skall arbeta kvar på vårdavdelningar som är öppna dygnet runt. Syftet med studien är att utröna vad som är viktiga hörnstenar i det hälsofrämjande ledarskapet för att bibehålla erfarna sjuksköterskor i dygnet runt verksamhet. Som metod användes semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med en induktiv ansats, åtta intervjuer utfördes totalt. Råmaterialet analyserades med hjälp av innehållsanalys och meningsbärande enheter, koder, kategorier och teman identifierades. Resultatet utmynnade i tre teman: individuellt stöd, teamarbete och kommunikation. Informanterna lyfte bland annat individanpassade scheman, kompetensutveckling och temaarbete som viktiga aspekter för att kvarstanna på arbetsplatsen. Ett salutogent förhållningssätt och specifika hälsofrämjande ledarskapsegenskaper är grunderna för att bibehålla erfarna sjuksköterskor i verksamheter som bedrivs dygnet runt. Cheferna i en dygnet runt-verksamhet bör besitta följande förmågor: rak och tydlig kommunikation, förmåga att skapa tillit, vara lyhörda, kunna entusiasmera, prestigelöshet, vara drivna och målfokuserade samt inneha ett coachande förhållningssätt. Definition av erfarna sjuksköterskor, se sida 7 under Metod. / As a result of NPM (New public management) and the increased demands on productivity and efficiency, the work situation of nurses has deteriorated more and more in recent decades. This has resulted in a deterioration in the health of the nurses and a number of staff have chosen to leave the profession. Among other things, it has generated a shortage of experienced nurses in the Swedish emergency departments with twenty-four seven operations in the regions, and the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare considers this to be a threat to patient safety. A leadership with the adjacent connection to the ward and the staff, are referred to as first-line managers in the Swedish regions. These mangers are significant factors for nurses' health and willingness to stay in their workplace. It is therefore of interest to investigate what leadership qualities are required for experienced1 nurses to continue working in wards that are open twenty-four seven. The purpose of the study is to find out what are important cornerstones in the health promoting leadership in order to retain experienced nurses in twenty-four seven operations. As a method, semi-structured qualitative interviews with an inductive approach were used, eight interviews were performed. The raw material was analyzed using content analysis and meaningful units, codes, categories and themes were identified. The result resulted in three themes: individual support, teamwork and communication. The informants highlighted, among other things, individualized schedules, skills development and team work as important aspects for staying in the workplace. The result was that specific health promoting leadership qualities and a salutogenic approach are the foundations for retaining experienced nurses in twenty-four seven operations. The managers in a twenty-four seven operations should possess the following abilities: straight forward and clear communication, the ability to create trust, be responsive, be able to enthuse, lack prestige, be driven and goal focused and have a coaching attitude. For a definition of experienced nurses, see page 7 under Method.