The purpose of this study was to determine if two elements of self-conception, environment and biology, influenced trait and dyadic measures of empathy.

Alzheimers sjukdom är den vanligaste demenssjukdomen och är en av Sveriges största folksjukdomar. Sjukdomen medför kognitiva försämringar som under sjukdomsförloppet kan försämras påtagligt, vilket kan ställa höga krav på anhöriga som vårdar personer med Alzheimer sjukdom. Syfte: Att öka och fördjupa kunskapen om anhörigas upplevelser av att vårda personer med Alzheimers sjukdom i hemmet. Metod: En litteraturstudie där 11 kvalitativa artiklar granskades och analyserades. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i tre huvudkategorier: Anhörigas positiva upplevelser av att vårda, anhörigas negativa upplevelser av att vårda samt behovet av stöd och information. Slutsats: En person med Alzheimers kräver mycket hjälp och tillsyn. Anhöriga upplevde förändrade roller samt svårigheter i omvårdnaden samt behov av stöd. Sjuksköterskor kan ge information, utbildning och stöd för att öka möjligheterna för anhöriga att hantera omvårdnaden samt klara av det dagliga livet bättre. / Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and is one of Sweden's most common diseases. The disease causes cognitive declines during the disease progression, which can markedly get worse, this puts very high demands on caregivers who’s caring for people with Alzheimer's disease. Aim: To increase and deepen the knowledge of caregivers experiences when caring for people with Alzheimer's disease at home. Method: A literature study where 11 of qualitative articles were reviewed and analyzed. Results: The analysis resulted in three main categories: Caregivers positive experiences of caring, caregivers negative experiences of caring and the need for support and information. Conclusion: A person with Alzheimer's requires a lot of help and supervision. Caregivers experienced changing roles and difficulties in the nursing care and the support needs. Nurses can provide information, training and support to increase the opportunities for families to manage the care and cope with daily life better.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Fragestellung, ob die Frühgeburtlichkeit eine Auswirkung auf den Spracherwerb im ersten Lebensjahr hat. Insbesondere wurde der Frage nachgegangen, ob sich die Verarbeitung der rhythmisch-prosodischen Eigenschaften von Sprache im ersten Lebensjahr und deren weitere Ausnutzung für die Entwicklung des Lexikons bei sehr untergewichtigen Deutsch lernenden Frühgeborenen im Vergleich zu Reifgeborenen unterscheidet. Die besondere Spracherwerbssituation Frühgeborener liefert weitere Erkenntnisse bezüglich der Frage, inwieweit der frühe Spracherwerb durch prädeterminierte reifungsbedingte Mechanismen und Abläufe bestimmt wird und inwieweit dessen Verlauf und die relevanten Erwerbsmechanismen durch individuelle erfahrungsabhängige Faktoren beeinflusst werden. Damit liefern die Ergebnisse auch einen weiteren Beitrag zur Nature-Nurture-Diskussion. / This research addresses the question if and how premature birth effects language acquisition during the first year of life. In particular the study focus on whether prosodic processing of language and the utilization of this knowledge for the acquisition of the lexicon during the fist year of life differs between German learning very low birth weight infants and term born infants. The specific exposure and postnatal situation of premature infants provide insights on the determination of early language acquisition and processes, and on the determination of language acquisition and its relevant mechanisms by individual experience. The results contribute to the nature-nurture discussion.

This study examined people’s attitudes towards killing bugs and their bug-killing behaviour in the context of nature vs. nurture explanations of bug killing. Previous research shows that exposure to genetic (i.e., nature) explanations could have undesirable effects on people’s attitudes and behaviour, compared to the exposure to experiential(i.e., nurture) explanations. Genetic explanations for killing may affect attitudes towards killing and killing behaviour, because they suggest that killing behaviour is predetermined or programmed by nature. Such explanations may also be used by individuals to overcome guilt and dissonance from prior killing or killing in which they are about to participate. This study tested the idea that exposure to genetic explanations for bug killing would lead people to view killing bugs as more morally acceptable, as well as lead them to kill more bugs. A sample of university students was randomly assigned into three conditions, in which they read either genetic or experiential explanations for why people kill bugs or read a neutral passage. The study utilised a procedure in which participants were led to believe that they were killing bugs (although in actuality no bugs were killed), to observe their killing behaviour in a self-paced killing task. Half of the participants were also asked to kill a bug prior to the self-paced killing task. Results showed that participants who read genetic explanations viewed bug killing as more morally acceptable, compared to participants who read experiential explanations, and this occurred particularly among those who engaged in the prior killing task. However, no similar effects emerged for the number of bugs killed, though there was a positive correlation between the moral acceptance of bug killing and the number of bugs killed. Implications of genetic explanations with respect to aggression and killing are discussed.

Paper 1: Evidence suggests that Nurture Groups (NGs) are effective in helping children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. NGs recognise the importance of parental involvement and research reveals positive social and emotional outcomes for children when NGs collaborate with parents as respected partners. An implicit power imbalance between NG staff and parents can challenge parental collaboration. This aim of this paper is to explore processes when consistent nurturing principles are being developed between a NG, schools and home. This qualitative study was conducted in a NG in the south west of England and included 3 NG staff, 4 parents, 4 children and a school teacher. An action-research model enabled consultation meetings and VIG to be introduced as an intervention to develop consistent practices. Semi-structured interviews, consultation meetings and a research diary collected data and an interpretative approach was adopted to explore processes, experiences and perceptions shared by participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse and interpret the data and produce a set of themes. The importance of effective communication, building of relationships and sharing of practice/ collaboration were identified as significant themes when developing partnership working between settings. VIG enhanced parents’ and the teacher’s communication skills and concurred with a partnership model based on empowerment, solutions and respect. Recommendations for practice include the development of personalised, informal and formal communication systems between settings. VIG can also be used effectively within NGs to develop consistent nurturing practices between settings. In addition, consideration is given to how VIG can be applied to practice more globally and how local authorities can support this process. Abstract: Paper 2 Evidence suggests that Nurture Groups (NGs) are effective in helping children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The importance of parental involvement is recognised within NGs and research reveals positive social and emotional outcomes for children when NGs collaborate with parents as respected partners. An implicit power imbalance between NG staff and parents can challenge parental collaboration. This aim of this paper is to evaluate outcomes when nurturing principles are consistent between a NG, schools and home. A mixed methodology design with interpretative and scientific approaches was employed in an area NG in the south west of England. An action-research model enabled consultation meetings and Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) to be introduced as an intervention to develop consistent practices for the experimental group. Quantitative outcomes from Boxall Profiles and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) are compared pre- and post-intervention for an experimental group (4 children and 4 parents) and a control group (4 children). Three NG staff also volunteered as participants. Qualitative measures (observation records, semi-structured interviews (SSIs), consultation meetings and VIG clips) measured outcomes for the experimental group. Data from the Boxall Profiles, SDQs, VIG clips and observations was analysed descriptively. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse emergent themes from the SSIs and consultation meetings. The results revealed the experimental group made greater gains post-intervention as measured by the SDQ and the control group made greater gains post-intervention as measured by the Boxall Profile. The majority of results for individual experimental group children revealed positive social and emotional outcomes post-intervention. It is difficult to draw conclusions when outcomes between the experimental and control group were compared. The majority of measures identified positive social, emotional and behavioural outcomes for experimental group children when parents and schools work collaboratively with NGs. VIG and sharing of practices helped to modify how parents and teachers understood, managed, communicated and related to children. Recommendations for practice discuss the development of personalised, informal and formal communication systems between settings while ensuring minimal anxiety for children. VIG can be used effectively within NGs to develop consistent nurturing practices between settings. Consideration is given to how VIG can be applied more broadly and how local authorities can support this process.

The current study examined the effects of kangaroo care on breastfeeding practices, infant stress reactivity, and biobehavioral measures of mother-infant bonding across the first 3 months postpartum. Additionally, the role of breastfeeding in infant cortical maturation in the frontal lobe was examined. Thirty two mother-infant dyads participated in the current study; 16 mother-infant dyads were randomly assigned to the kangaroo care group and 17 mother-infant dyads were assigned to the control group. Mothers in the kangaroo care group received training on proper kangaroo care procedures by a trained administrator during the first 1-2 weeks postpartum. Mothers in the kangaroo care group were asked to use the kangaroo care procedure for 1 hour per day for 6 weeks. Maternal perceptions of fetal attachment, mood, feeding intentions, and urinary oxytocin measurements were assessed prenatally. At a newborn visit, infant neurobehavioral functioning and urinary oxytocin measurements were assessed. Maternal mood and feeding practices were also assessed at the newborn visit. At 3 months postpartum, mother-infant dyads were assessed on urinary oxytocin measurements. Mother-infant dyads were recorded during a play session and feeding session. Infant baseline EEG recordings were taken over a 5 minute period. Infant cortisol measurements were collected from infant saliva before and after a mild behavioral stressor, an infant arm restraint procedure. Maternal perceptions of postpartum bonding, mood, infant temperament, and feeding practices were also assessed. Results indicate that kangaroo care produced medium to large effects on cortisol reactivity, dyadic bonding, and breastfeeding practices if kangaroo care was practiced for the recommended amount of time. Kangaroo care produced medium to large effects on oxytocin levels in motherinfant dyads regardless of use. Cortical measures of infant frontal activity indicated that all infants in the samples displayed functional maturity of the frontal lobe. Kangaroo care can be used a viable, low-cost tactile procedure that can be implemented after birth to aid in breastfeeding practices, mother-infant bonding, and lower infant stress reactivity. Infants in the study who received at least one breastfeeding session displayed advanced patterns of frontal activation. Further study is needed to determine if peripheral oxytocin measurements are 1) reliable and 2) are indicative of dyadic bonding behaviors. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The first chapter of this thesis consists in a critical review of the literature on cardiac and cardiac-related autonomic activity, and infant development. Empirical findings are presented on mechanisms of interaction between heart rate and the autonomic nervous system; their relationship with infant development; their genetic and environmental influences; their gender effects; and related quantification issues. / This is followed by a study of 322 5-month-old twin pairs that investigated the genetic and environmental influences on sleeping heart rate and cardiac-related autonomic activity, as indexed by spectral analysis of heart rate variability and response to postural change. The postural change elicited only minor changes in cardiovascular activity, perhaps due to immaturity of the baroreflex. As a result, analyses focused on supine cardiovascular activity. Multivariate genetic modeling indicated that individual differences in sleeping HR and high frequency HR variability were determined by unique environmental and distinct additive genetic factors. These variables, along with low frequency HR variability, were also affected by overlapping familial environmental influences. Familial influences on individual differences in high frequency HR variability were more pronounced for baby girls than boys. Estimates of relative low and high frequency HR variability were determined by common (familial) and unique environmental factors; familial influences on these estimates of HR variability did not overlap with familial influences on sleeping HR. / A second study using the same twin sample is then presented. Its objectives were to investigate the indices of genetic and environmental etiology of individual differences in five month-old twins' HR reactivity and to evaluate the possible overlap, if any, between the familial influences on HR in states of sleep and reactivity. Multivariate genetic modeling showed that the total variance of individual differences was decomposed in the following manner: Sleeping and awake HR were under the influence of shared additive genetic factors; sleeping HR also shared common environmental influences with the absolute power spectrum values; and absolute high frequency power additionally had phenotype-specific additive genetic factors influencing its expression. Relative power spectrum values were under the influence of phenotype-specific common environmental factors. / Overall, these results suggest the presence of important familial (genetic and environmental) influences on heart rate and cardiac-related autonomic activity at five months of age: There is an absence of overlap of these (familial) additive genetic influences but the presence of a partial overlap of the (familial) environmental influences.

This case study was based on a programme that followed the Nurture Group concept in a Secondary School in New Zealand. The Success at School (SAS) programme was based within the school complex and consisted of a home classroom where students were provided with both an academic and social/ life skills programme. The nine selected students were all failing academically and socially within the Year 9 cohort. Academically, all students made some small gains in their literacy and numeracy skills and also on task behaviour. Socially, small gains were made by most students in their positive interactions with others and in decreasing their absences, suspensions, referrals from class and lateness to school. Eight of the nine students indicated an attachment/ trust relationship with their teacher and/ or teacher aide. However it is not clear if the small gains that were made by most of the students can be directly attributed to the Nurture Group concept. The small group size, 1:1 teaching, individualised learning programmes and the introduction of a social skills programme may also have contributed to the small academic and social gains the students made. This case study provides an insight into the adaptation of a United Kingdom (UK) primary school Nurture Group model to a New Zealand secondary school setting.

This study examined people’s attitudes towards killing bugs and their bug-killing behaviour in the context of nature vs. nurture explanations of bug killing. Previous research shows that exposure to genetic (i.e., nature) explanations could have undesirable effects on people’s attitudes and behaviour, compared to the exposure to experiential(i.e., nurture) explanations. Genetic explanations for killing may affect attitudes towards killing and killing behaviour, because they suggest that killing behaviour is predetermined or programmed by nature. Such explanations may also be used by individuals to overcome guilt and dissonance from prior killing or killing in which they are about to participate. This study tested the idea that exposure to genetic explanations for bug killing would lead people to view killing bugs as more morally acceptable, as well as lead them to kill more bugs. A sample of university students was randomly assigned into three conditions, in which they read either genetic or experiential explanations for why people kill bugs or read a neutral passage. The study utilised a procedure in which participants were led to believe that they were killing bugs (although in actuality no bugs were killed), to observe their killing behaviour in a self-paced killing task. Half of the participants were also asked to kill a bug prior to the self-paced killing task. Results showed that participants who read genetic explanations viewed bug killing as more morally acceptable, compared to participants who read experiential explanations, and this occurred particularly among those who engaged in the prior killing task. However, no similar effects emerged for the number of bugs killed, though there was a positive correlation between the moral acceptance of bug killing and the number of bugs killed. Implications of genetic explanations with respect to aggression and killing are discussed.

Thesis (PhD. (Applied Science))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Summaries in Afrikaans and English.