Bakgrund: Befolkningen blir allt äldre och ökad ålder medför funktionsnedsättningar som minskad muskelmassa och balans. Det påverkar gången negativt, men genom att träna funktionellt eller träna upp muskelstyrkan och balansen kan äldres gångförmåga förbättras. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur äldres gångförmåga, self-efficacy och eventuell oro inför att gå påverkas av två olika åttaveckors interventioner med träning inom kommunal verksamhet, samt hur följsamhet till träning påverkas av self-efficacy och eventuell oro. Metod: Studiedesignen är en experimentell design i form av pretest-posttest control group som är en form av RCT. Nitton deltagare ≥65 år rekryterades via konsekutivt urval. Testresultat från TUG, självvald gånghastighet och skattningar på oro och self-efficacy inför att gå samlades in. Resultat: Ingen signifikant skillnad (p>0,05) förekom mellan eller inom grupperna med avseende på testvariablerna. Korrelationsanalyserna visade på ingen, låga och moderata korrelationer, både positiva och negativa men inga signifikanta korrelationer observerades. Slutsats: Resultatet i studien kan inte generaliseras till en större population, men kan vara till grund för ytterligare studier med ett större stickprov som randomiseras utifrån populationen. Ytterligare studier krävs med syfte att undersöka om enbart gångträning är effektivt för att utveckla gångförmågan. / Background:  Since the population is aging the decrease in muscle function and balance impairments leads to increased disable. Which has a negative impact on walking ability, though through functional training, by training muscle strength and balance can enhance walking ability in elderly. Aim: The purpose of the study is to investigate how elderly people walking ability, self-efficacy and any anxiety about going, influenced by two different eight-week interventions within municipal operations, and how adherence to exercise is influenced by self-efficacy and anxiety. Method: The study design is an experimental variant of the pretest-posttest control group design. Nineteen participants’ ≥65 years recruited consecutively through selection. Test results from TUG, self-selected walking speed, and estimates on anxiety and self-efficacy before going was collected. Result: No significant difference (p>0, 05) occurred between or within groups for the test variables. The correlation analysis showed none, low, moderate correlation, both positive and negative but no significant correlations was observed. Conclusion: The results of the study can’t be generalized to a larger population, but can be the basis for further studies with a larger sample to be randomized on the basis of population.  More studies are needed to investigate if only walking exercise is effective for developing the walking ability.

Background. Obesity has been associated with a number of negative health consequences (e.g., hypertension/heart disease, type-2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and respiratory illnesses). Despite health communication campaigns to reduce overweight/obesity by encouraging lifestyle changes (e.g., eating healthier foods and exercising), the rates of overweight and obesity levels have continued to rise. Studies indicate that the rate of overweight and obesity in the U.S. is highest among Blacks. Messages targeted toward “Blacks” (African-Americans) in the United States treat this segment of the population as a homogenous group and fail to account for within-group cultural differences. Cultural values and beliefs related to food, physical activity, and ideal body size may contribute to overweight and obesity. Objective. This study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between African-American and Afro-Caribbean immigrant women living in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia, in terms of the role that culture and social environments play in forming obesity-related—food, physical activity, and body image—attitudes, values, and behaviors. Method. A social cognitive theory (SCT) framework informed the design of semi-structured interview guides. Study participants were comprised of 13 African-American women and 12 Afro-Caribbean women who recently immigrated to the United States from English-speaking countries. All participants were living in Atlanta, Georgia at the time of the study. They were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling and interviewed between October 5 and December 26, 2014. Data from audio-recorded in-depth interviews were transcribed and analyzed using textual analysis software package NVivo9. Results. African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants were similar in terms of some food-, physical activity- and body-image related attitudes and behaviors. Health-related concerns and matrilineal influence affected the food-related behaviors of both groups of participants. Physical activity and body image-related attitudes and behaviors of women in both groups were affected by the norms of their childhood and current social environments. Although a healthy physical activity lifestyle was important to women in both groups, not all women were consistently physically active. The study also revealed some differences between African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants. In general, the African-American women described the food-related norms of their childhood environments in negative terms and were more likely to have changed their food-related behaviors for health reasons. The Afro-Caribbean women described their childhood food-related norms in positive terms, and thus, strove to maintain healthy behaviors from their childhood. The norms of the current social environments of African-Americans, but the childhood social environments of Afro-Caribbean participants, influenced them more toward healthier food-, physical activity- and body image-related attitudes and behaviors. In terms of body ideals, Afro-Caribbean women typically identified a smaller “ideal body size” than African-American women. African-Americans from the South, or those with parents from the South tended to choose larger figures than women from the North. Conclusion. Consistent with other SCT studies, this study found attitudes and behaviors that were consistent with those modeled within the participants’ social environments. There are more cultural differences than similarities between African-American and Afro-Caribbean women. The similarities and differences revealed in this study have implications for the design of culturally relevant obesity-related messages.

Background. Obesity has been associated with a number of negative health consequences (e.g., hypertension/heart disease, type-2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and respiratory illnesses). Despite health communication campaigns to reduce overweight/obesity by encouraging lifestyle changes (e.g., eating healthier foods and exercising), the rates of overweight and obesity levels have continued to rise. Studies indicate that the rate of overweight and obesity in the U.S. is highest among Blacks. Messages targeted toward “Blacks” (African-Americans) in the United States treat this segment of the population as a homogenous group and fail to account for within-group cultural differences. Cultural values and beliefs related to food, physical activity, and ideal body size may contribute to overweight and obesity. Objective. This study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between African-American and Afro-Caribbean immigrant women living in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia, in terms of the role that culture and social environments play in forming obesity-related—food, physical activity, and body image—attitudes, values, and behaviors. Method. A social cognitive theory (SCT) framework informed the design of semi-structured interview guides. Study participants were comprised of 13 African-American women and 12 Afro-Caribbean women who recently immigrated to the United States from English-speaking countries. All participants were living in Atlanta, Georgia at the time of the study. They were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling and interviewed between October 5 and December 26, 2014. Data from audio-recorded in-depth interviews were transcribed and analyzed using textual analysis software package NVivo9. Results. African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants were similar in terms of some food-, physical activity- and body-image related attitudes and behaviors. Health-related concerns and matrilineal influence affected the food-related behaviors of both groups of participants. Physical activity and body image-related attitudes and behaviors of women in both groups were affected by the norms of their childhood and current social environments. Although a healthy physical activity lifestyle was important to women in both groups, not all women were consistently physically active. The study also revealed some differences between African-American and Afro-Caribbean participants. In general, the African-American women described the food-related norms of their childhood environments in negative terms and were more likely to have changed their food-related behaviors for health reasons. The Afro-Caribbean women described their childhood food-related norms in positive terms, and thus, strove to maintain healthy behaviors from their childhood. The norms of the current social environments of African-Americans, but the childhood social environments of Afro-Caribbean participants, influenced them more toward healthier food-, physical activity- and body image-related attitudes and behaviors. In terms of body ideals, Afro-Caribbean women typically identified a smaller “ideal body size” than African-American women. African-Americans from the South, or those with parents from the South tended to choose larger figures than women from the North. Conclusion. Consistent with other SCT studies, this study found attitudes and behaviors that were consistent with those modeled within the participants’ social environments. There are more cultural differences than similarities between African-American and Afro-Caribbean women. The similarities and differences revealed in this study have implications for the design of culturally relevant obesity-related messages.

This study aimed to measure teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Teacher self-efficacy refers to the belief teachers hold about their ability to affect student learning and has been shown to change teachers’ motivation, stress levels, and amount of given effort (Klassen, Tze, Betts, & Gordon, 2011). Numerous studies have dealt with the measurement of this construct and developed measures that assess teachers in different domains and populations; however, only one study (Ruble, Toland, Birdwhistell, McGrew, & Usher, 2013) has attempted to measure within the population of students with ASD. The purpose of the current study was to develop and pilot a new measure, the Teacher Self-Efficacy for Autism Scale (TSEAS), expand the construct to the target population, and provide sources of validity evidence. Results indicated that the TSEAS represented a unidimensional scale and latent correlation analyses suggested that the TSEAS has a positive correlation with a well-known teacher self-efficacy measure and has a low, positive correlation with a job satisfaction instrument. With continued refinement, the TSEAS can support others who wish to measure this construct and future application of the methods employed in building this scale can be applied to other scales with minor revisions.

This dissertation attempts to expand our understanding of the deficient self-regulation (DSR) of Internet use and media habit development. Drawing from a social cognitive perspective, DSR is described as lapses in effective self-control that are self-corrected over time. A shortcoming in this area of research is that factors relevant to the technology that may encourage the development of DSR or media habits are rarely, if ever, discussed. A large focus of existing research is instead narrowly placed on individual factors that motivate DSR and media habits. An extension is proposed to theory on DSR in this dissertation by examining the role played by novelty perceptions of technology. In the initial stages of technology use, when perceptions of novelty generally grow, perceived novelty is hypothesized to elicit a state of flow, which in turn diminishes the subfunctions of self-regulation and provokes DSR. The relationship between perceived novelty and flow is moderated by psychosocial problems, boredom proneness, and self-reactive outcome expectation. As perceived novelty of a technology decreases, it is presumed that self-control is restored given that flow no longer inhibits self-regulation. However, DSR and media habits are hypothesized to persist in later technology use if individuals experience psychosocial problems, boredom proneness, or high self-reactive outcome expectations. The manifestation of DSR in later stages of technology use increases the likelihood of forming media habits. The influence of novelty perceptions was evaluated on flow, DSR, and media habits at initial and later stages of technology use. The pretest demonstrated that a novelty frame successfully manipulated novelty perceptions of Second Life, the technology used in this experiment, in anticipated directions. In the main study, perceived novelty resulted in flow, which in turn predicted growth of DSR during initial stages of Second Life use. In the familiar stages of use, DSR led to the development of media habits over time; however, the relationship between novelty perceptions and DSR was not moderated by psychosocial problems, boredom proneness, or self-reactive outcome expectation. The findings of this investigation are discussed aside their implications for research, theory, and practice.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Royce Ann Collins / Nutrition educators traditionally rely on quantitative research to design interventions for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) audiences, such a low-income African American mothers. Such studies indicated the dietary behaviors of this population related to increased risk for chronic disease. Few studies explored the factors that potentially influenced the perceived self-efficacy and affected the dietary habits of SNAP learners. This study addressed the gap between quantitative research findings about the dietary habits of low-income African American mothers and their perceptions of factors influencing those behaviors. A qualitative bounded multi-site case study design was used to explore factors theoretically linked to social cognitive theory (SCT) that affected the dietary habits of low-income African American mothers. The theoretical framework rested on the interaction between SCT and critical race theory (CRT). The research sample included fifteen women, five from each of three public housing sites. The research design included semi-structured interviews supported by multiple data sources. A pilot study took place. Constant comparison was the technique used to analyze the semi-structured interviews and code the findings. The emergent themes aligned with the theoretical framework to answer the research questions. Triangulation helped to ensure the study’s quality. The findings supported the SCT premise that behavioral, personal, and environmental factors interacted reciprocally to influence dietary habits. The findings supported the CRT tenets that race, history, narratives, and interest convergence mattered and influenced dietary habits. The results had implications for adult educators designing effective nutrition programs for diverse learners.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Kristy L. Pederson-Archuleta / Martin Seay / This dissertation employed a psychological framework to investigate the saving behavior of older pre-retirees through three essays using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Understanding the connection between psychological characteristics and saving behavior is critical as this population attempts to bridge the retirement saving gap. Of these characteristics, financial self-efficacy beliefs (FSE) are theoretically vital to saving behavior. With the FSE beliefs of older adults weak and vulnerable to decline, more research is needed to understand how FSE beliefs affect saving behavior and how FSE beliefs can be supported. Essay one investigated the psychological characteristics associated with FSE beliefs according to the Meta-Theoretic Model of Motivation and Personality (3M). Using a sample of 2,070 pre-retirees aged 50 to 70, essay one revealed that FSE beliefs can be supported through the frequent experience of positive affect, reduced negative affect, a stronger perception of mastery, and a higher task orientation, holding all else constant. Essay two investigated the relationship between FSE beliefs and saving behavior (i.e., change in net worth from 2008 to 2012) through the Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation. Using a sample of 844 pre-retirees aged 50 to 70, results revealed that FSE beliefs are significantly and positively related to saving behavior, after controlling for the financial ability and motivation to save. Essay three employed a structural equation model to investigate an integrated psychological approach to saving behavior based upon the 3M. Using a sample of 1,370 pre-retired and partially retired adults aged 50 to 70, essay three revealed that FSE beliefs facilitated the connection between elemental traits (i.e., openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), compound traits (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, mastery, and task orientation), and saving behavior. Overall, significant evidence was generated supporting a psychological approach to the saving behavior of older pre-retirees. Financial and mental health professionals can utilize this framework to provide holistic retirement saving advice that acknowledges the psychological roots of behavior. Moreover, results established empirical support for the role FSE beliefs play in executing saving behavior. Lastly, results supported the importance of domain specific measurement for self-efficacy beliefs in future research.

O universo escolar é rico de sujeitos e, consequentemente, de comportamentos que tornam essa realidade um curioso objeto de pesquisa. O comportamento dos estudantes que se associa a seu desempenho escolar na disciplina de Física é um interessante agente de estudo. Desse modo, a presente pesquisa buscou compreender o quanto os comportamentos apresentados por alunos que demonstram um melhor desempenho na disciplina de Física estão associados a seus níveis de crenças de autoeficácia (BANDURA, 1986) e ao domínio das regras que estruturam o Contrato Didático (BROUSSEAU, 1986). Assim, por intermédio de uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa de estudo de caso, identificamos os níveis de crenças de autoeficácia de dois alunos do terceiro ano do Ensino Médio de uma escola pública do interior do Estado de São Paulo, que apresentam os melhores resultados de desempenho na disciplina de Física. Com o auxílio de um questionário de escala Likert, pudermos mensurar os elevados níveis de crenças de autoeficácia dos sujeitos participantes deste estudo. Além disso, fizemos uso de observações em sala de aula e de entrevistas semiestruturadas para identificar como suas crenças de autoeficácia atuam sobre seus comportamentos e também como esses sujeitos identificam e lidam com o Contrato Didático estabelecido. No decurso da análise das regras do Contrato Didático pudemos analisar como as crenças de autoeficácia influem na interpretação, condução e negociação dessas regras, bem como contribuem para o melhor desempenho dos alunos na disciplina de Física. Desse modo, o estudo nos possibilitou observar diferentes estratégias de aprendizagem, a fim de lidar com semelhantes regras do Contrato Didático que permitem a aproximação e o distanciamento desses alunos do saber físico. Tais perspectivas são reveladas em vista de uma busca constante dos sujeitos pela manutenção do Contrato Didático. O estudo demonstrou também que a motivação estabelecida pelos sujeitos para participar das dinâmicas fundamentadas pelo contrato está intimamente ligada aos seus níveis de crenças de autoeficácia que contribuem para o estabelecimento de estratégias de aprendizagem que permitem o alcance de um suposto sucesso escolar, ainda que este não esteja associado a uma maior aproximação do saber físico. Por fim, os estudantes demonstraram fazer uso de estratégias de aprendizagem relacionadas a seu antigo Contrato Didático, quando foram inseridos em uma situação didática denominada Atividade de Ruptura, na qual os alunos se encontravam em um contexto de estabelecimento de um novo Contrato Didático. O melhor desempenho dos alunos nestas circunstâncias de pesquisa está associado a estratégias de aprendizagem condicionadas a suas crenças de autoeficácia que orientam o comportamento dos sujeitos em vista de suas concepções sobre suas capacidades que estão associadas ao domínio das regras do Contrato Didático. / The universe is rich of individuals and, consequently, of behaviors, making them a curious object of research. The Physics course students behavior associated with their academic performance is an interesting issue to be studied. Thus, this research sought to understand how behaviors of students with a better performance in the Physics course are associated with their levels of self-efficacy beliefs (BANDURA, 1986) and the mastering of the rules which structure the Didactic Contract (BROUSSEAU, 1986). Therefore, through a qualitative case study research, we identified levels of self-efficacy beliefs of two students of the third year of high school in a public school in the State of São Paulo, who have achieved the best results in the Physics course.With the aid of a Likert scale questionnaire, we could measure high levels of self-efficacy beliefs of the participants in this study. In addition, we made use of classroom observations and semi-structured interviews to identify how their self-efficacy beliefs play a role in their behavior, and also how these guys identify and deal with the established Didactic Contract. In the course of the analysis of the Didactic Contract rules, we could analyze how self-efficacy beliefs influence the interpretation and negotiation of these rules, as well as contribute to the better performance of the students in the Physics course. The study enabled us to observe different learning strategies, in order to deal with similar rules of the Didactic Contract, which allows the approximation and distancing of these students from their knowledge of Physics. Such perspectives are revealed in a constant search of the individuals for maintaining the Didactic Contract. It also demonstrated that the motivation established by the individuals to participate in the dynamics based on the contract is closely linked to their levels of self-efficacy beliefs that contribute to the setting of learning strategies that enable the achievement of an alleged academic success, although this is not associated with theirknowledge of Physics. Finally, students have shown to make use of learning strategies related to their former Didactic Contract when they were inserted into a learning situation called Breaking Activity, in which students had toset a new Didactic Contract. The best academic performance under this research circumstances is associated with learning strategies that depend on self-efficacy beliefs that guide the individuals behavior in accordance with their conceptions of their own abilities associated with mastering the Didactic Contract rules.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo buscar, no discurso de Diogo Mainardi, regularidades que nos permitam reconhecer a construção de um modelo mental específico de representação do Presidente da República, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, e de integrantes do Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT). O corpus compreende três crônicas, publicadas na Revista VEJA no período entre junho de 2006 e janeiro de 2007, Alicerçamos nossos estudos na Teoria Sociocognitiva e na Análise Crítica do Discurso (ACD), a partir do que indica Teun van Dijk (1983; 1991; 2004; 2005). Nossa pesquisa concluiu que Mainardi, por meio de manipulação contextual e da atribuição de características socialmente desfavoráveis, como corrupção, incompetência, incapacidade crítica e apego à noção de povo/popular, cria um modelo mental negativo do Presidente Lula e de integrantes do PT. / The aim of this work is to identify, in the discourse of Diogo Mainardi, patterns that might allow us to recognize the construction of a specific mental model of representation of the President of the Federal Republic of Brazil, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, and of members of the Workers Party (PT). The corpus contains three chronicles published in the VEJA magazine, between June 2006 and January 2007. We based our studies on the principles of the Social Cognitive Theory and the Critical Discourse Analysis, as defined in the writings of Teun A. van Dijk (1983; 1991; 2004; 2005). Through our research, we come to the conclusion that Mainardi created a negative mental model of President Lula and of the members of PT, by using contextual manipulation and unfavorable social characteristics, such as corruption, incompetence, critical incapacity and attachment to the notion of people/popular.

Physical inactivity is one of the major public health problems of the 21st Century. In England it is reported that two thirds of adults ( > 16 yr) and one third of children ( < 16 yr) do not do sufficient physical activity to gain the health benefits that leading a physically active lifestyle has to offer. The benefits of physical activity and dangers of a sedentary lifestyle to health outcomes are well documented and numerous studies have investigated physical activity participation. Indeed, many interventions have been trialled to increase engagement in physical activity; however results are weak and generally do not correlate to sustained physical activity participation. Furthermore, much debate exists on how best to encourage both children and adults alike to engage in sufficient physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this research was to address this important research gap and to assess the physical activity levels and other factors for promoting engagement in physical activity of school aged children in Devon aged 7-15 years in order to assess the feasibility of using social marketing within the school setting to increase sustained physical activity participation. A mixed methods approach was adopted to gather data and consisted of both quantitative and qualitative methods, in two phases. The initial phase was quantitative in nature and utilised a self-report survey based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (Azjen, 1991) and social cognitive theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1977) to measure the participants’ physical activity levels; it also measured their beliefs and attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and self-efficacy pertaining to physical activity participation. The second phase utilised qualitative methods adopting the socio-ecological model (McLeroy et al., 1988) to identify opportunities to promote participation in physical activity in recognising the multiple factors (individual, social environment, physical environment and policy) that influence an individual’s behaviour. This phase consisted of a series of interviews with the students, teachers and head-teachers to enable the researcher to gain in depth information into physical activity patterns and beliefs. During phase two, ethnographic research was also conducted across a number of schools in Devon to complement and enhance the data collected in the survey. The results revealed that of the 1124 participants (‘students’) surveyed, 48% were not sufficiently active to meet the government guidelines. Males were 30% more active than females. Physical activity decreased with age (e.g. 15 yr olds on average taking part in 3 hours less activity than 7 yr olds). Lifestyle/recreational activities were the most regularly participated activities (e.g. walking – 52%, running – 31%, football – 29%, outdoor play – 28%). Moreover, attitudes, subjective norms and perceptions of behavioural control affected physical activity participation both in and out of the school setting. Self-efficacy also played a role in physical activity participation. The results of the thesis show that interview and ethnographic data produced a rich source of evidence. Physical activity provision within schools played a major role in students’ physical activity. Overwhelmingly the qualitative data revealed that students want greater choice in the physical activities they participate in and suggest that the focus of PE lessons should be on having fun and enjoyment rather than skills and rules. Transition from primary to secondary school affected physical activity participation and therefore experiences in schools, may affect children’s general views on physical activity which it is suggested may impact on physical activity participation beyond the school gates and also in adulthood. This thesis provides substantial evidence to support the link between the school environment and participation in physical activity in children and adolescents. More specifically it highlights a need to incorporate a ‘whole school approach’ to physical activity participation. This research has demonstrated that there is an urgent need to combine theory based physical activity research in schools with that of social marketing. Physical activity researchers and social marketers should combine their knowledge to bring together social marketing campaigns within schools to enhance the health and wellbeing of the whole school environment for both staff and students. An innovative school based social marketing campaign should encourage physical activity both within and outside the school environment and lead to sustained levels of physical activity participation across the life stages.