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MAAS / Department of Development Studies / See the attached abstract below

Background: Physical activity (PA) seems to be important for long-term weight loss following bariatric surgery, however, studies provide evidence for insufficient PA levels in bariatric patients. Research found self-efficacy to be associated with PA and weight bias internalization, whose influence on mental and physical health has been shown in recent studies. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of general self-efficacy on PA, mediated by weight bias internalization. Setting: Consecutive multicenter registry study conducted in six German bariatric surgery centers. Methods: In N = 179 bariatric surgery candidates, general self-efficacy, weight bias internalization, and different intensities of PA were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the assumed mediational relationship. Results: After controlling for sociodemographic variables, weight bias internalization fully mediated the association between general self-efficacy and moderate-intense as well as vigorous-intense PA. Lower general self-efficacy predicted greater weight bias internalization, which in turn predicted lower levels of moderate-intense and vigorous-intense PA. Conclusions: The results suggest an influence of weight bias internalization on preoperative PA in bariatric surgery candidates. Subsequently, implementation of interventions addressing weight bias internalization in the usual treatment of bariatric surgery candidates might enhance patients’ preoperative PA, while longitudinal analyses are needed in order to further examine its predictive value on PA following bariatric surgery.

A variety of research has been done on why it is important to include local women in peace processes to gain a more sustainable peace. Despite this, there is a limited amount of information and research about women mediation networks and their aim to empower local women peacebuilders. This research explores how women mediation networks can support and empower women in conflict resolutions in relation to the Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. By using semi-structured interviews and literature analysis, a case study of the Swedish Women’s Mediation Network will be conducted. The analysis of the Swedish Women’s Mediation Network, reveals that the network mainly works with the representation of women and uses capacity-building to empower women in other regions. This research brings more awareness to the Women Mediation Networks and their mission to increase the number of women in peace processes.

1 Abstract Thesis deals with the implementation of elements of restorative justice in the Czech criminal law, especially in the prison system. The work identifies and analyzes the basic problems of the Czech prison system and their impacts on public policies in the Czech Republic, especially overcrowding of jails, and the way, how the state, and especially through the Probation and Mediation Service, solves this problem. This work analyzes, how successful is the implementation of alternative punishments, what tools the state has to reducing the number of people in prisons and how to reduce overcrowding in jails. In the work I also identify the role of the Probation and Mediation Service in the issue of alternative sanctions. In the work I also suggest, how to solve these problems.

OVERVIEW This study deals with the situation of mediation in the Czech Republic. Mediation began to develop as a modern field during the 1990s. With the adopting of Act No. 202/2012 Coll. on Mediation, partial definitions were give for what mediation is and for the conditions under which it can be provided. Nonetheless, the situation in mediation is still very complicated. The study therefore presents a unified overview of what mediation is, of the principles upon which it is based, and of how it is used in practice. It introduces the role of a mediator and of the demands that must be satisfied for the performance of mediation, and it describes how the professional standards and code of ethics for mediators are established. By comparing the profession of an attorney to that of a mediator on the basis of the identifying characteristics of an expert profession, it determines whether mediation is a separate profession or a method that is useful in other fields.

This contribution describes an experiment carried out by a team within the ReMath (Representing Mathematics with Digital Media) European Project (http://remath.cti.gr). Within this project six digital dynamic artefacts (DDAs) have been developed, thirteen experiments have been planned (Artigue & al., 2007) and carried out, analysis of the collected data are still in progress. In this contribution, we focus on the case of the Aplusix DDA (http://aplusix.imag.fr), from the point in which the designers deliver their product to the team in charge of planning the experiment, up to the point in which the artefact is experimented within the ReMath project.

<p>Driven by various benefits, such as authenticity, enjoyment, sustainability, socialization, and uniqueness, peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation has become an increasingly important socio-economic phenomenon. To study this emerging hospitality consumption format systematically and to enhance the understanding of consumers’ motivations, perceptions, and behavioral intentions in the P2P accommodation context, three projects were proposed and completed in this dissertation. These focused on the mechanisms underlying consumers’ perceptions and participation in the world of P2P accommodation. Project I provided a comprehensive overview of how diverse motivators can influence consumers’ satisfaction and loyalty toward P2P accommodation services, following the push and pull theoretical framework. By conducting a meta analysis, Project I revealed that improving push motivators (i.e., psychological and intrinsic motivators) is more important than pull motivators (i.e., cognitive and extrinsic motivators) in enhancing consumers’ satisfaction, re-patronage intentions, and the spreading of positive word-of-mouth interactions. Next, by employing the dual-process theory, Project II comprised a series of three studies to investigate how various types of online reviews (i.e., fact-based versus emotion-based; property-focused versus host-focused) can affect consumers’ consumption decisions pertaining to P2P accommodation. The findings revealed that fact-based reviews result in higher booking intentions due to enhanced trust in the P2P property/host. Moreover, it was found that female consumers exhibit higher booking intentions when they read host-focused reviews. Finally, drawing on the norm activation theory, Project III comprised an investigation into how consumers’ altruistic value versus egoistic value orientations impacted their consumption intentions of sustainable P2P accommodation. Furthermore, by employing both survey and experimental design studies, the underlying mechanism explaining the impacts of various consumption value orientations on behavioral intentions was explored, focusing on booking intentions and willingness-to-pay-more for sustainable green P2P accommodation. Bringing these findings together, this dissertation provides theoretical and practical implications from various perspectives with regard to how consumers’ motivators and perceptions lead to their participation in the P2P accommodation world.</p>

While there is an increasing focus within peace and conflict studies on how local contexts affect peacebuilding work, scholars have failed to investigate how local tools might promote local reconciliation processes. Simultaneously, the field of community mediation has exclusively been studied in contexts not directly related to armed conflicts. In this thesis, I bring these two fields together, addressing both these gaps by asking what effect community mediation has on local reconciliation. I argue that, by creating greater social cohesion and more vibrant communities, while legitimizing non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms, community mediation promotes the reconciliation process of its community. To address this question, I analyze the mediation conducted in Medellín, Colombia, by Juntas de Acción Comunal, which are local neighborhood committees. I conceptualize reconciliation by both discussing what reconciliation means at different levels of society and developing a set of everyday indicators collaboratively with a diverse array of people from Medellín. My analysis strongly supports my hypothesis, while offering it some nuance. I find that, while community mediation does promote local reconciliation, it can only do so in contexts of relative absence of violence.

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