Syftet med studien är att få en förståelse för socialarbetares arbete med våldsutövare samt hur de beskriver och bemöter våldsutövare som målgrupp. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ inriktning där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes för att kunna besvara forskningens syfte. Det insamlade datamaterialet analyserades tematiskt och identifierade följande teman; våldsutövarens förutsättningar till förändring, utvecklingsområden i arbetet med våldsutövare, kartläggning av arbete med våldsutövare, nätverksarbete och riskfaktorer hos våldsutövaren. Resultatet analyserades i samband med tio vetenskapliga artiklar och fyra teoretiska ramverk; makt, handlingsutrymme, mentalisering och stigma. Det framträdande resultatet pekar på att våldsutövare uppvisar en bristande insikt och självreglering av känslor till våldet och att socialarbetarens bemötande blir väsentlig och avgörande för behandlingsarbetets utveckling. Utgångspunkten i arbetet grundar sig i våldsutövares enskilda problematiker som behöver beaktas där socialarbetaren anpassar arbetsmetoden efter den genom sina kunskaper och kompetenser. Utöver det har arbetet ett stort fokus på partnerkontakten med den våldsutsatta för att motivera och uppmuntra till stöd under våldsutövarens behandling. Det framgår även att socialarbetare samverkar med andra verksamheter som kan påträffa våldsutövare men att det behöver vidareutvecklas för att möjliggöra ett utökat kunskapsutbyte och uppfångande av våldsutövare. Vidare påvisar resultatet att tidigare utsatthet i barndomen är ett företrädande mönster hos flera våldsutövare. / The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of social workers intervention programs and how they approach perpetrators of intimate partner violence. The study is based on a qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews to answer the studies aim. The data gathered through interviews were thematically analysed where the following themes emerged; perpetrators prerequisites for change, intervention programs development areas, mapping the treatment, networking and the perpetrators risk factors. The results were analyzed by scientific articles and theoretical frameworks: power, room for maneuver, mentalization and stigma. Our findings from the data indicate that perpetrators have a lack of insight and emotional management to violence where the social workers approach becomes essential for perpetrators progress. The interventions programs foundation is based on the perpetrators individual problem areas where the social worker adapts the treatment utilizing their own knowledge and expertise. Intervention treatment places a large emphasis on partner contact to motivate and support them during the perpetrators treatment. There is a cooperation with other authorities that needs further development to enable an increased exchange of knowledge and extended reach of perpetrators. The results also show that previous exposure in childhood is a predominant pattern to perpetrators alongside other problems.

Many L2 students in Namibia are not adequately prepared for the academic demands of university courses, mainly because of poor reading skills in the L2. University students reading below their maturational levels, can mainly be attributed to their print-impoverished backgrounds, as reading is a skill that develops mainly through reading. Without any assistance, poor readers at university will continue to read poorly and as a result perform weaker in their academic courses compared to their peers who are better readers. The overall aim of this study is to explore the effects of a reading intervention program on a group of university students in Namibia. A quasiexperimental method with a control and an intervention group was employed. The effect of reading ability on academic performance was also investigated. In addition, through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the pre-literacy experiences of students, the differences between good and poor readers at university, their views about the reading intervention program as well as the attitudes and practices of university lecturers towards reading instruction at tertiary level were examined. / Linguistics / M.A. (with specialisation in Applied Linguistics)

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a psycho-educational intervention program could support traumatised people to increase their mental toughness. Mental toughness is a well proven phenomenon in sports psychology as well as in leadership in the corporate world. I wanted to apply the use of mental toughness in trauma. Literature was consulted to understand the phenomena of mental toughness and trauma respectively. The corresponding aspects of mental toughness and trauma were selected for the literature review and many similarities between mental toughness and trauma were discovered. The corresponding aspects included action taking, the importance of the “self”, facing negativity and adversity, the importance of support systems, flexibility and adjustment, dealing with guilt and self-blame, the role of self-talk, people’s perceptions, goal-setting, commitment, helplessness / learned helplessness and dealing with stress. I used the corresponding aspects to compile a psycho-educational intervention programme to support traumatised persons to develop increased mental toughness that will support them to better deal with trauma. A valid and reliable psychometric instrument, the MTQ48 (Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48), has been successfully used to determine people’s mental toughness in sports psychology and in corporate management, but has never been tested before in supporting traumatised people. An action research design was employed, where both qualitative as well as quantitative methods were used. This is also known as a mixed research design. Eight traumatised people took part in the research which was presented weekly, as individual sessions, over eight weeks. Data collection methods included questionnaires, observation and individual therapy. The results of the study indicated that seven of the eight participants’ overall mental toughness increased after the intervention program, and four of the eight participants’ mental toughness components increased. As an additional benefit, all respondents indicated that they could better deal and cope with their trauma after the intervention program. The conclusion could be drawn that the psycho-educational intervention program was successful in supporting the traumatised participants to increase their mental toughness. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

L’objectif de cette étude est de décrire et comprendre l’impact d’un programme de sport-étude mis sur pied pour les jeunes à risque sur la vie des participants. Le programme à l’étude a été mis sur pied à Montréal afin de maximiser l’intégration sociale de jeunes à risque de s’engager, ou étant déjà engagés dans un mode de vie déviant. Le programme mise sur les sports de combat comme levier d’intervention auprès de ces jeunes. Les participants sont invités à suivre une formation scolaire aux adultes en matinée et des entraînements en sports de combat en après-midi. L’objectif de ce programme est de les outiller pour qu’ils intègrent la société efficacement. Une méthodologie qualitative a été choisie afin de mener cette étude à terme. Une période d’observation participante et des entretiens semi-dirigés avec différents acteurs du programme ont permis de bien saisir la dynamique à l’intérieur de celui-ci et de déterminer quels sont les impacts de la participation au programme sur la vie des jeunes. Le programme génère des effets mixtes sur la vie des participants: 1) quelques uns y vivent des changements positifs, notamment par rapport à l’estime de soi et l’autodiscipline, 2) d’autres ne tirent pas de bénéfices particuliers de leur passage dans le programme et 3) certains développent un sentiment d’indifférence, d’apathie à la suite de leur passage dans le programme, notamment induit par la dynamique présente au sein de celui-ci. Il appert que le modèle logique du programme n’a pas été fidèlement respecté lors de sa mise en place. Un mauvais appariement entre la clientèle et le programme ainsi qu’une implantation déficiente du modèle logique sont à la base des effets pervers induits par celui-ci. / The aim of this study is to describe and understand the impact of a combat sports program on the life of at-risk youths. The program aims at socially reintegrating at-risk youths and was created by a school board in partnership with a combat sports gym. The typical day that participants experienced while on the program is divided into two blocs. In the morning, they attend school. In the afternoon, they train. The best way to understand how this program really works and to grasp its atmosphere is by attending the same training as they do. Accordingly, participant observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted with different actors of the program. Results suggest that the program has mixed effects on the lives of these at-risk youths: 1) some youths experience positive changes, particularly in terms of self-esteem and discipline, 2) others do not seem to benefit from the program, and 3) some develop indifference and apathy, caused by the environment in wich the program takes place. The fundamental assumptions underlying the program are, in theory, beneficial. However, negative effects ensue from the ineffective implementation of it.

Trotz motivierter Therapieversuche gelingt es vielen übergewichtigen Menschen nicht, ihre Bewegungs- und Ernährungsgewohnheiten nachhaltig zu verbessern und das Gewicht zu reduzieren bzw. zu stabilisieren. Es wird angenommen, dass ihnen ein gewisses Maß an Selbststeuerungsfähigkeit (Willensstärke) fehlt. Diese ist notwendig, um ein gefasstes Ziel über eine längere Zeit aufrechtzuerhalten und umzusetzen. Sie steht im Mittelpunkt eines neu konzipierten Selbststeuerungs-, Trainings- und Ernährungs- Programms mit Spaß und wird mittels einer Coaching-Methode individuell gefördert. Durch die Optimierung der mentalen Bedingungen, die das Verhalten determinieren, soll die Voraussetzung für eine dauerhafte Veränderung des Gesundheitsverhaltens geschaffen werden. In einer quasiexperimentellen Studie mit 39 Jugendlichen wurde die Wirksamkeit von S.T.E.P.S. empirisch überprüft. Zudem wurden die Teilnehmer anhand von Erfolgskriterien als Responder bzw. Non-Responder bestimmt und retrospektiv auf Unterschiede untersucht. Daraus wurden Prädiktoren für den Interventionserfolg abgeleitet. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf eine alters- und anwesenheitsabhängige Wirkung des Programms hin. 15-17 Jährige verbesserten signifikant ihre Selbststeuerungskompetenz und reduzierten den Körperfettanteil. Auch die regelmäßig teilnehmenden Jugendlichen optimierten ihre Selbststeuerung bedeutsam. Größtenteils blieben die Effekte nach 8 Monaten bestehen. Responder verfügten über eine signifikant bessere Ausgangslage in den mentalen Prozessen. Bei der Bekämpfung von Übergewicht spielen eine ausgeprägte Handlungsüberzeugung und der Umgang mit negativen Affekten eine entscheidende Rolle. Die Analysen zeigten, dass der BMI zur Abbildung von interventionsbedingten Veränderungen im Körperfettanteil ungeeignet zu sein scheint. Der Einbezug der Eltern und die verwendeten Messinstrumente bezüglich des Verhaltens wurden diskutiert. Letztere wiesen einen dringenden Forschungsbedarf hinsichtlich ihrer Validität auf. / Despite highly motivated attempts at changing their eating and activity habits the majority of overweight people fail to lose weight successfully and over the long term. It is assumed that they lack the willpower necessary to maintain and realize this specific goal and a newly developed intervention program for overweight people (S.T.E.P.S.) is designed to help them with this. Willpower is facilitated through individual coaching. By optimizing the mental conditions which determine an individual’s behaviour, the preconditions for changes to their health behaviour are provided. The efficacy of S.T.E.P.S. has been tested empirically within a quasi-experimental study of 39 adolescents. Based on certain success criteria, participants were defined as responders or non-responders and examined retrospectively for personal differences to deduce which interventions were successful. The efficacy of the program is dependent on the adolescent’s age and frequency of participation. 15-17 year old participants significantly improved their willpower ability and reduced their body fat where they participated in the program frequently. These effects also showed up eight months after finishing the intervention. Responders were disposed to better preconditions in their mental processes. Weight loss requires a high level of volitional self-confidence and being able to deal with negative affects. Analysis seems to show that the BMI is an inadaquate indicator of loss of body fat, based on this intervention. Inclusion of the adolescent’s parents in the program was discussed, as well as the methodological measuring instruments applied in this study. These, however, require further empirical research regarding their validity.

Objective: Researches which studied the relation of dietary greenhouse gas emissions with health outcomes are few, inconsistent and most of them are modelling studies which have not investigated empiric dietary emission patterns. In this study, we employ a posteriori data dimension reduction method, treelet transform, to identify dietary and diet related emission patterns concurrently. We aim to evaluate if these patterns are correlated, if they areassociated with diabetes and if emission patterns can be used as a proxy for dietary patterns for assessment of association with diabetes. Design: Food items from dietary questionnaire were aggregated to 34 food groups. GHGE was estimated by linking food intakes with life cycle assessment data on emission. Dietary and emission patterns were identified by employing treelet transform on food intake and corresponding greenhouse gas emission data. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to investigate associations between quintiles of dietary patterns and diabetes. Adjusted mean values of emission estimates were obtained for the identified dietary patterns. Adjusted proportions of diabetes across quintiles of emission patterns were computed. Setting: Västerbotten Intervention Program Subjects: women (n 38,118); men (n 36,042) between the age of 35 and 65 years Results: Four dietary and four corresponding emission patterns in women, five dietary and five corresponding emission patterns in men were identified. Moderate to strong correlations were observed between dietary and corresponding emission patterns. Prudent dietary pattern (PP) in women was inversely associated with dysglycemia [ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 0.82 (95% CI 0.69—0.97, Ptrend =0.003)]. PP in women was also inversely associated with diabetes [ORQ5 vs.Q1 = 0.37 (95% CI 0.17—0.78, Ptrend = 0.002)]. However, adherence to this dietary pattern was associated with higher dietary emission. Finally, none of the corresponding emission patterns, were associated with adjusted proportions of either dysglycemia or diabetes. Conclusion: Treelet transform produces correlated dietary and emission patterns which are sparse and easily interpretable. However, some differences in loading structures between dietary and emission patterns result in different conclusion regarding the association with diabetes, rendering the usage of emission patterns as proxies of dietary patterns inappropriate. Results from our study also show that healthy dietary patterns do not necessarily reduce greenhouse gas emission.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:17:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adriana Mesquita Ribeiro Luppi.pdf: 805284 bytes, checksum: 78888461552b8d933563f65c0d80e61e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-04 / Behavioral programs for professional guidance provide conditions so that the person learns to emit the choice behavior of your profession from the analysis of variable and the consequences of each professional option to be chosen. The aim of the present research was analyze the behavioral programs of professional guidance, developed and applied by Behavior Analysts, to identify their characteristics and objectives, beside pointing the difficulties found and reached result. For this analysis development were selected six publications which presented and described the intervention programs in professional guidance and had been planned according to Behavior Analysis. The material of analysis used criteria supported in principle of Behavior Analysis: a) clear formulation of objectives to be achieved; b) prerequisite survey; c) evaluation of previous repertoire; d) procedure planning of target behavior installation; e) respect to the rhythm of participant learning; f) planning of maintenance procedure of target behavior and g) planning of generalization procedure of target behavior. Through the result was possible to identify that, despite all the programs have present the effectiveness related to increase of repertoire of behaviors related to choice, most of them did not strictly follow the principles of Behavioral Analysis which must be applied to the planning of a Behavioral Intervention Program. These principles provided a basic structure for a planning program to ensure that the installed behavior could be kept out of the therapeutic environment and possibly get permanently integrated to the individual`s behavioral repertoire. Thus, this effectiveness presented immediately after completion of procedures cannot assure the installed behaviors to be kept after the program completion. Nevertheless, we can`t fail to consider that the proposed programs took an important step to help the youngsters choosing their career, indicating that a behavioral intervention program, planned according to the Behavior Analysis, is a feasible proposal which needs to be improved / O uso de programas comportamentais de orientação profissional proporciona condições para que o indivíduo aprenda a emitir o comportamento de escolha de sua profissão a partir da análise das prováveis variáveis que envolvem cada profissão e das consequências da opção profissional feita. O objetivo da presente pesquisa foi analisar programas comportamentais de orientação profissional, desenvolvidos e aplicados por analistas do comportamento, de modo a identificar suas características e objetivos, além de apontar dificuldades encontradas e resultados alcançados. Para a concretização desta análise foram selecionadas 6 publicações que apresentavam e descreviam os programas de intervenção em Orientação profissional e que tivessem sido planejados a partir da Análise do Comportamento. A análise do material utilizou critérios apoiados em princípios da Análise do Comportamento: a) formulação clara dos objetivos a serem alcançados; b) levantamento de pré-requisitos; c) avaliação de repertório prévio; d) planejamento do procedimento de instalação de comportamento-alvo; e) respeito ao ritmo de aprendizagem do participante; f) planejamento de procedimento de manutenção do comportamento instalado e g) planejamento de procedimento de generalização do comportamento instalado. Como resultado, foi possível identificar que, embora todos os programas tenham apresentado certa efetividade quanto à ampliação do repertório de comportamentos relacionados à escolha, a maioria deles não seguiu rigorosamente os princípios da Análise do Comportamento que devem ser empregados no planejamento de um programa de intervenção comportamental. Estes princípios forneceriam a estrutura básica do planejamento de um programa para garantir que os comportamentos instalados pudessem se manter fora do ambiente terapêutico e possivelmente integrarem de forma permanente o repertório de comportamentos do indivíduo. Assim, esta efetividade apresentada imediatamente após a finalização dos procedimentos não pode garantir que os comportamentos instalados se mantenham após a conclusão do programa. Entretanto, não se pode deixar de considerar que os programas propostos iniciaram um passo importante para ajudar os jovens a escolherem suas profissões, indicando que um programa de intervenção comportamental planejada a partir da Análise do Comportamento é uma proposta viável que precisa ser aprimorada

Objective The aim of this study firstly, was to translate and test the validity and reliability of two diabetes-specific self-efficacy instruments (the Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale; DMSES and the Perceived Therapeutic Efficacy Scale; PTES) in a Taiwanese population. The main aim of this study was then to develop an intervention based on self-efficacy theory that was appropriate for the Taiwanese population and to examine the effects of a self-efficacy enhancing intervention program (SEEIP). Background In Taiwan, the prevalence, mortality rate and healthcare cost of diabetes has dramatically increased. People with diabetes have low participation rates in performing self-care activities, with some two-thirds of diabetic patients not controlling their disease appropriately. Moreover, few studies in Taiwan have conducted randomised controlled trials or had improvement in patient self-care or self-management as their primary goal and no instruments that measure self-efficacy related to the management of diabetes (especially for outcome expectations) have yet been found and appropriately used to measure the effectiveness of self-management. Therefore, there is a particular need for research on self-efficacy enhancing intervention programs for people with type 2 diabetes. Design A convenience sample survey (n=230) was used in order to test the validity and reliability of C-DMSES and C-PTES in a Taiwanese population. Moreover, a randomised controlled trial (RCT) (n=145; the intervention group (72); the control group (73)) design was conducted in the main study with pre (baseline) and post-testing (undertaken at 3 months and 6 months following baseline collection). Intervention Both the control group and intervention group received the standard diabetic educational program in the outpatient clinic. The intervention group participants received the standard diabetic educational program and the following additional interventions: (1) viewed a 10-minute DVD (2) received a &quotDiabetes Self-Care" booklet (3) participated in four efficacy- enhancing counselling intervention sessions, and (4) participated in telephone follow-up. The self-efficacy model was adapted from Shortridge-Baggett & van der Bijl (1996). Diabetes self-management principles were used in program development and evaluation. Main outcome measures Instruments used in data collection included 1) Self-efficacy towards management of type 2 diabetes (as measured by the Chinese version of the Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale; C-DMSES and the Chinese version of the Perceived Therapeutic Efficacy Scale; C-PTES); 2) self management behavior (as measured by the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities; SDSCA); 3) health-related quality of life for diabetes (as measured by the Short Form-12; SF-12); 4) psychosocial well-being (as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS), Social Support Survey (SSS) tool and the Center for Epidemiology Studies Short Depression Scale; CES-D) and 5) health care utilisation (as measured by health care utilisation self report instrument). Data analysis Data were double-entered for verification using SPSS® statistical software. Study I: Descriptive statistics, regression analysis, Pearson's correlation, Cronbach's alpha-coefficients, factor analysis and Bland-Altman plots with 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were performed to evaluate validity and reliability of C-DMSES and C-PTES. Study II: Descriptive analysis was used to examine demographic variables and outcome variables. T-tests were used to analyse differences on continuous data between mean scores for the intervention and control groups. Categorical data were analysed using Chi-square statistics to test the significance of different proportions. To assess the group differences of dependent variable changes, repeated measures ANOVA/ ANCOVA were used. Results Study I: Convergent validity showed that C-DMSES correlated well with the validated measure of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) in measuring self-efficacy. Criterion-related validity showed that the C-DMSES was a significant predictor of the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) scores. Factor analysis supported the C-DMSES being composed of four subscales with good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=.77 to .93) and stability (ICC=.82). Similarly, significant criterion-related validity was demonstrated between the C-PTES and SDSCA scores. Convergent validity was confirmed as the C-PTES converged well with the GSE Scale in measuring self-efficacy. Construct validity of the C-PTES was confirmed through factor analysis and a single subscale formed. Internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha was .95 and the test-retest reliability (ICC) was .77 and a Bland-Altman plot showed 97% of the subjects were within 2 standard deviations of the mean. Study II: The 3- and 6-month benefits of the intervention over usual care were increases in self-efficacy, outcome expectation, self-care activities, and social support. However, the results of the health-related quality of life and depression scores indicated that the change over time was not different in the two groups. A smaller proportion of the participants significantly in the intervention group, had been hospitalised and visited the emergency room than participants who were in the control group at the 6-month period. However, health-related quality of life and depression were not significantly increased in the intervention group at the 3- and 6-month compared to the control group. Conclusion Results of Study I support the psychometric properties of C-DMSES and C-PTES in providing a measure for self-efficacy specific to persons with type 2 diabetes in Taiwan. The main study revealed that the SEEIP for type 2 diabetes based on self-efficacy theory was culturally acceptable to Taiwanese people with diabetes and that the SEEIP was effective in the self-management of people with type 2 diabetes.

In this work we focused on the application of physical activity, which aimed to reduce the negative impact of physical deprivation and associated functional and structural changes in the musculoskeletal system. The principal criterion was the diagnosis of the organ systems of the locomotor system, focusing on the muscular system. The subsequent application of appropriate forms of exercise intervention was designed to mitigate the effects of the aging process and functional changes in the body of the senior individual. Finally, we wanted to assess the impact of changes in body composition in its own self- sufficiency and independence of older people and the quality of life of older people in terms of physical and psychosocial aspects. The most significant is the loss of muscle mass, sarcopenia development, increase fat mass with frequent reductions in body weight. The focus of our work and its specific purpose is to clarify the influence of the applied physical interventions. To assess changes in body composition are needed for our work used the method of multi Bioanalysis. Results in body composition in older adults have been evaluated and intra-individual measured data were compared with the general senior population. Kinesiology testing shortened muscle groups was carried out repeatedly to reduce...

Many L2 students in Namibia are not adequately prepared for the academic demands of university courses, mainly because of poor reading skills in the L2. University students reading below their maturational levels, can mainly be attributed to their print-impoverished backgrounds, as reading is a skill that develops mainly through reading. Without any assistance, poor readers at university will continue to read poorly and as a result perform weaker in their academic courses compared to their peers who are better readers. The overall aim of this study is to explore the effects of a reading intervention program on a group of university students in Namibia. A quasiexperimental method with a control and an intervention group was employed. The effect of reading ability on academic performance was also investigated. In addition, through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the pre-literacy experiences of students, the differences between good and poor readers at university, their views about the reading intervention program as well as the attitudes and practices of university lecturers towards reading instruction at tertiary level were examined. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (with specialisation in Applied Linguistics)