The research study was conducted to investigate the effects of a performance appraisal system, rewards and self-efficacy beliefs in a utility company in South Africa. The study was motivated by the incessant challenges raised by employees against the way performance appraisal and rewards are conducted and awarded in the utility company. The scholarship that was consulted for this study included research articles, magazines, newspapers, company reports, books, citations from reputable sources and the Internet. These sources provided the arguments for and against the areas of a performance appraisal system, rewards and self-efficacy beliefs in the knowledge economy. A quantitative research methodology was used in this study where the questionnaire was the main data collection instrument. The quantitative research methodology was motivated by the nature and type of data collected, data collection instrument and the research paradigm. Data were collected from geographically dispersed locations and this would not have been possible to collect large volumes of data had an interview been used. The findings from the study were analysed and presented with the use of statistical packages. The findings were discussed and presented in chapter four of the study, where it was shown that performance appraisal systems were important in organisations as they create opportunities for the supervisor to know the weaknesses or strengths of his/her subordinates. Rewards were used as part of incentives to motivate employees to perform better. The study established that employees possessing high self-efficacy were bound to perform higher than those with low self-efficacy. The study established that there was a relationship between performance appraisals, rewards and self-efficacy. / MBA (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

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Forskning har visat att det finns ett samband mellan tron på den egna förmågan och upplevd stress. Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka sambandet mellan tron på den egna förmågan och upplevd stress i relation till tankar om framtida sysselsättning. Deltagarna var 59 elever vid två gymnasieskolor och 91 studenter vid en högskola varav 47 var män. En kvantitativ undersökning gjordes i form av enkätfrågor från The General Self-efficacy Scale, Perceived Stress Scale och en egenkonstruerad skala om framtida sysselsättning. Resultatet visade ett signifikant negativt samband mellan tron på den egna förmågan och upplevd stress. Regressionsanalysen visade att stress var den mest centrala variabeln för tankar om framtida sysselsättning. Resultatet stödjer tidigare forskning gällande sambandet mellan tron på den egna förmågan och upplevd stress. För framtida forskning skulle det vara intressant att undersöka tidigare erfarenheter av arbetsliv och arbetslöshet eller att ta med ytterligare en variabel, socioekonomisk bakgrund.

The health risks associated with sexual behaviour may be prevented by strengthening the individual's identity, self-esteem and the ability to handle relationships. Increase of the use of condoms among youth and young adults, 15 to 29 year olds, may reduce the spread of the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI); chlamydia. The project “love ambassadors” are situated at Mälardalen University and works according to “the peer-to-peer education”, which means that students educate other students. The theoretical perspective of this study is the “diffusion theory”, which involves the dissemination of knowledge and “Self-efficacy” which includes a self-belief of the individuals own ability to influence events that has effects on the individual's life. The purpose of this study was to investigate in which extent college students are testing for STI and HIV and furthermore, if there were gender differences. Moreover, the students were asked about if they considered any specific need for more knowledge about sexual health issues. The study was performed through a quantitative method, with a cross-sectional studydesign. Secondary data was used from a web-based survey, provided by the County council of Sörmland. Results revealed that the most sought knowledge among students regarding sexual health issues is about STI is infectious, and advises regarding relationships.   Keywords; college students, cross-sectional study, Love Ambassadors, self-efficacy, sexuality, STI. / De hälsorisker som kan förknippas med sexuellt beteende kan förebyggas genom att stärka individens identitet och självkänsla samt förmågan att hantera relationer till andra människor. Att öka kondomanvändningen bland unga och unga vuxna, 15 till 29 år, är ett sätt att minska smittspridningen av klamydia som är den vanligaste förekommande sexuellt överförbara infektionen (STI). Projektet Kärleksambassadörerna verkar på Mälardalens högskola och arbetar enligt metoden peer-to-peer education som innebär att studenter utbildar studenter. I denna studie beskrivs diffusionsteorin som handlar om spridningen av kunskap och self-efficacy som innebär tron på den egna förmågan att kunna påverka händelser som influerar individens liv. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka utsträckning av testningen av STI och hiv bland högskolestudenter och om det fanns könsskillnader samt vilken kunskap om sexuell hälsa som efterfrågas. Som metod valdes en kvantitativ ansats med en tvärsnittsdesign. Sekundär data användes från en webbaserad enkätstudie som tillhandahölls från Landstinget Sörmland. Resultatet visar att den mest efterfrågade kunskapen gällande sexuell hälsa bland studenterna gäller smittvägar för STI och hur man får en relation att fungera bra.      Nyckelord: högskolestudenter, Kärleksambassadörerna, self-efficacy, sexualitet, STI, tvärsnittsstudie.

Aims: Children who experience abuse and neglect prior to being fostered and/or adopted are a particularly vulnerable group within society and more research is required to better understand the outcomes for these young people. In relation to this population, this thesis had three aims: to review the impact of attachment based interventions, to evaluate the role of foster carer factors in the provision of quality placements and to assess foster carer and social worker agreement on ratings of placement quality. Methods: Aims are addressed separately in three journal articles. A systematic review of attachment based interventions is presented in journal article 1. The findings from a quantitative cross sectional study involving foster carers (n=91) and social workers (n=87) are presented in journal articles 2 and 3. Correlation and multiple regression analyses explore the relationship between foster carer self-efficacy, coping, attributions and placement quality. The weighted kappa statistic is used to explore the agreement between ratings of placement quality within foster carer/social worker dyads. Results: The systematic review indicated that there is some support for the positive impact of attachment based interventions, particularly with young children (0-6 years) in foster/adoptive care. There are significant limitations of the research in this area and further research is required to establish the efficacy of such interventions. Foster carer self-efficacy emerged as a significant predictor of placement quality. Due to a number of measurement and statistical issues, this finding requires replication. Agreement between foster carers and social workers regarding placement quality was slight to fair, indicating the presence of some discrepancies. Conclusions: The results are discussed in relation to previous research with this population of children/young people. Findings from the systematic review suggest the importance of further intervention studies and the results from the empirical study highlight possible areas for intervention, namely foster carer self-efficacy. A number of issues in relation to future research are raised, specifically the development of a standardized measure of placement quality and the impact of systemic issues, such as foster carer/social worker communication on children and young people’s outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to test the ability of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior and Shapero's model of the entrepreneurial event to predict entrepreneurial intent (EI) among Swedish university students. A conceptual framework was developed where attitude towards entrepreneurial behavior was constituted by perceived self-efficacy, perceived social norms, and independence and serves as a mediator for the EI.A comparison between three focus groups composed of non-business students, business students and participants from the 'Enterprising & Business Development' (EBD) program at Linnaeus University was undertaken. The results show all three studied variables are significant determinants of EI, which in turn is a precursor of the attitude toward entrepreneurial behaviour. However, evidence suggests a negative relationship between the perceived social norms and the EI among EBD and business students.This paper contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by testing how certain factors affect the EI of university students. Its originality arises from combining the two most significant models for EI and applying them to three groups with different prerequisites. Although the study is subject to some limitations, they can be overcome by further studies.

Bakgrund: Mjuka ryggortoser har länge använts som behandling för personer med ländryggssmärta. Det finns viss forskning som påvisar ortosens positiva effekt på både de fysiska och de psykologiska besvären. Det saknas dock studier på hur personerna själva upplever ortosbärandet vid fysisk aktivitet. Syfte: Att utifrån ett socialkognitivt perspektiv undersöka upplevelsen av användningen av mjuka ryggortoser vid fysisk aktivitet hos personer med ländryggssmärta. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ design med en induktiv ansats. Data samlades in via sex individuella intervjuer baserade på en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Sedan gjordes en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Den kvalitativa innehållsanalysen resulterade i fem kategorier som sedan skapade ett tema: Inre och yttre faktorer av användandet förändrar kvalitet och kvantitet på fysiska aktiviteter. Slutsats: Intervjupersonerna upplever inre faktorer och yttre faktorer av användandet av den mjuka ryggortosen vid fysisk aktivitet. Dessa faktorer påverkar kvaliteten och kvantiteten på fysiska aktiviteter enligt intervjupersonerna. De utför aktivitet på ett bättre sätt, under längre tid eller vid fler tillfällen än tidigare. Studiens resultatkan användas till att öka förståelsen för användandet av mjuka ryggortoser vid fysisk aktivitet hos personer med ländryggssmärta. Vidare bör fler studier göras för att öka förståelsen för användningen av mjuka ryggortoser. / Background: Soft lumbar orthosis have been used as a treatment for people with low back pain for many years. Some research has been positive for both physical and psychological effects of soft lumbar orthosis. However there is a lack of studies focusing on peoples’ own experience of using soft lumbar orthosis during physical activity. Aim: To, from a social cognitive theory perspective, investigate the experiences of soft lumbar orthosis during physical activity in persons with low back pain. Method: The study was made with a qualitative design with an inductive approach. The data was collected during six individual interviews based on a semi-structured guideline. A qualitative content analysis was then conducted. Result: The qualitative content analysis produced five categories which were made into one theme: Internal and external factors of the use has an impact on the quality and quantity of physical activities. Conclusions: The interviewed persons experience internal and external factors from the use of the soft lumbar orthosis during physical activity. These factors have an impact on the quality and quantity of physical activities. The activities are performed in a better way, during a longer period of time or in a more frequent way than before. The result of the study can help increase the understanding of the use of soft lumbar orthosis during physical activity for people with low back pain. Furthermore, it is suggested that future studies are made to provide more knowledge about the use of soft lumbar orthosis.

The goal of this project was to utilize social modeling, one of the antecedents of self-efficacy, to determine whether participants from The University of Texas Division of Housing and Food Service (DHFS) who chose to view a bilingual exercise role model video on YouTube increased exercise self-efficacy or exercise behaviors, compared to those who did not. The message from their coworkers featured in the video was simple: “If I can do this, you can, too,” and personal stories and success strategies were blended together to encourage and motivate viewers. The video compilation highlighted specific success strategies, in addition to employees sharing stories about what motivated them to change, or barriers they had to overcome in order to succeed. The video clip included both Spanish and English speakers, and the alternate language translation appeared as subtitles in all frames. Participants completed surveys prior to the launch of the role model video and again after four weeks (N = 113). Neutral promotional materials, both print and electronic, were disseminated to generate awareness about the video and to compare the relative effectiveness of different techniques. E-mails were associated with the greatest spikes; YouTube tabulated 210 unique views during the four weeks. Coworker word of mouth was the primary way participants heard about the video for those who watched (52.8%) and those who did not (33.6%). Despite concerns that participants would not watch the video, 46.9% of the participants did so. Most (88.7%) of those who watched the video were able to recall specific story details, indicating the use of YouTube as a delivery platform for health interventions is promising. Mastery of exercise was the strongest predictor of exercise-self efficacy and exercise; exercise self-efficacy did not emerge as a key predictor variable. There were no differences in exercise levels, exercise self-efficacy, social support, or collective efficacy between those who watched the video and those who did not. While the exercise role model video was well-conceived and developed, allowing participants to control exposure without associated exercise sessions was not sufficient to bring about a measurable change in efficacy beliefs or exercise behaviors. / text

<p>Syftet med uppsatsen var att utröna en inkubators psykologiska betydelse för studenter som startar företag. En kvalitativ undersökning bland nio företagsstartande studenter som tagit hjälp av inkubatorn Idélab gjordes för att identifiera psykologiska faktorer för att en student ska starta företag. Tidigare forskning har visat att self-efficacy kan ha betydelse. Tonvikt lades därför på entreprenöriell self-efficy med hjälp av en andra frågeställning; ”På vilket sätt påverkar Idélab sina studenters entreprenöriella self-efficacy?” Det framkom att <em>entreprenöriell self-efficacy</em>, <em>utbildning</em>, <em>stödjande miljö</em>, <em>känslan av att skapa sitt eget liv och framtid</em> samt <em>styrkan av att vara flera</em> var betydelsefulla faktorer för studenter som startar eget. Det framkom att Idélab troligen höjer sina studenters entreprenöriella self-efficacy med tre av Banduras fyra källor till self-efficacy.</p><p> </p>

The self-efficacy construct has been determined to be an effective method of stimulating desired eating behavior in diabetics and obese adults and exercise behaviors in pulmonary rehabilitation patients. Although the self-efficacy construct has been shown to mediate eating habits, practical classroom application of the construct has been rarely used in this area. A review of literature indicated that no studies have been reported on the effect of self-efficacy on food-related behaviors of children. The primary purpose of this research was to determine if, and to what extent, self-efficacy predicts changes in food choices of fifth-grade children. The effect of self-perceptions of competence on the nutrition knowledge of children after a nutrition education intervention program was also assessed. Forty-five fifth-grade children in two classrooms participated in this study. Their self-perception profile, food choices, nutrition knowledge, and food acceptance were measured both before and after the nutrition education unit. A 25 item nutrition knowledge questionnaire was also administered to the children before and after the nutrition education program. Change in knowledge in the cognitive domain was measured by differences in scores on the nutrition knowledge pretest and posttest. Students kept five-day food records for the school lunch items consumed. The fruit and vegetable intakes of the students were estimated from these food records. Chi-square analyses were performed on the data to determine the relationship between self-efficacy as the independent variable and change in food choices, and food acceptance and change in nutrition knowledge as the dependent variables. The 3 x 3 contingency tables indicated that there were no significant relationships between selfefficacy and change in food choices, food acceptance and nutrition knowledge. The findings provide limited support for the usefulness of the self-efficacy construct in understanding and predicting eating behavior change. It is recommended that further investigations of the predictive capability of the self-efficacy expectancy be conducted in children of this age group to better understand its relationship with food choices and implications for nutrition education for school children. / Graduation date: 1994