The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and severity of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs in a sample of 12-year-old South African school children using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI), and to assess the relationship between malocclusion and certain socio-demographic variables. The sample comprised 6142, 12-year-old children attending school in seven of the nine provinces of South Africa. For each subject the standard demographic information such as gender, population group, location type and employment status of the parents were collected, after which an intra-oral examination for occlusal status using the DAI was performed. The results showed that 47.7 per cent of the children in the sample presented with good occlusion or minor malocclusion, just over 52.1 per cent presented with identifiable malocclusion, a DAI score larger than 26. Of these, 21.2 per cent had definite malocclusion, 14.12 per cent had severe malocclusion and 16.89 per cent had very severe or handicapping malocclusion. Malocclusion as defined in this study was found to be significantly associated with the different provinces, the different population groups in South Africa, gender and dentition stage, but not with the location type or the employment status of parents. The results of the individual variables showed that anterior maxillary and mandibular irregularity occurred in more than 50 per cent of the sample. More than 40 per cent of the children examined showed signs of crowding. Spacing in the incisal segments occurred in almost 28 per cent of the sample and maxillary midline diastema was present in 16.66 per cent of the sample. At the age of 12 years, Black children, showed a higher prevalence of maxillary midline diastema, larger than 2mm, than their White, Coloured and Asian counterparts. A maxillary midline diastema, larger than 2mm, was more prevalent in 12-year-old females than in males. Thirty one per cent of the sample had an increased overjet larger than 3mm and a severe overjet of 6mm or more occurred in only 2.18 per cent of the sample. More Black 12-year-old children presented with an edge-to-edge anterior relationship and significantly less Black children had an increased overjet. Mandibular overjet affected only 10.43 per cent of the sample and was more prevalent in the late mixed dentition stage than in the early permanent dentition stage. Anterior openbite occurred in 7.7 per cent of the sample and ranged from 1mm to 8mm. Almost 44 per cent of the sample had a antero-posterior molar relation discrepancy. The results of this study indicated a high prevalence of malocclusion in 12-year-old South African children. The findings provide reliable base-line data regarding the prevalence, distribution and severity of malocclusion as well as useful epidemiological data on the orthodontic treatment needs of 12-year-old children in selected rural and urban areas in South Africa. The inclusion of occlusal traits as part of the index provided an opportunity to assess several occlusal characteristics in 12-year-old South African children, separately. / Thesis (MChD (Orthodontics))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Orthodontics / unrestricted

Previous research on investor preferences focused mainly on the relationship between socio-demographic variables and risk tolerance. This study extends the research in this area by focusing on three aspects of investor preferences: risk tolerance, time horizon, and estate intentions. The objective is to provide a more comprehensive model of investor preferences, including both psychological and attitudinal variables. This study addresses the following: Are socio-demographic variables sufficient to predict investor preferences? Is there a difference between males and females? How much additional variance is explained by including political ideology, positive psychology attitudes, and pro-social attitudes? Are these attitudinal variables simply additive or are they interactive? Data were collected from MBA students and senior undergraduate students in a major research university in South Florida. A scale was developed to measure estate intentions, a construct that has never been examined in management studies. The findings supported the expectation that psychological variables would be positively correlated with the dependent variables. However, I expected that pro-social attitudes would be a moderator variable, and this expectation was not realized. This dissertation contributes to the investor preferences field in several ways. First, it demonstrates the importance of psychological and attitudinal variables in explaining investor preferences. I also found differences between males and females regarding risk tolerance. This study can provide financial advisers with a deeper understanding of the importance of psychological and attitudinal variables in determining investor behavior. Finally, the results of this study augment and expand stakeholder theory. This study brings the investor into the stakeholder model, enhancing the descriptive, explanatory, and predictive capabilities of stakeholder theory. Future research could replicate this study using real investors in different locations for cultural variation, or using a panel of respondents for a longitudinal study.

Tyrimo tikslas - įvertinti vaikų su klausos negalia brandumą mokyklai, su tuo susijusius socialinius-demografinius veiksnius ir sąsajas su mokymosi sėkme pirmoje klasėje. Tyrime dalyvavo 16 iš maždaug 24 parengiamosios ir pirmos klasės mokinių iš trijų kurčiųjų ir neprigirdinčiųjų ugdymo centrų Lietuvoje: 10 parengiamosios ir 6 pirmos klasės mokiniai. Jų amžiaus vidurkis - 7,5 metų. 11 vaikų buvo kurti, 5 - neprigirdintys; 11 vaikų tėvai taip pat turi klausos sutrikimus, 5 - tėvai girdintys; 11 vaikų gerai kalba gestų kalba, 5 - prastai; visi vaikai lankė ikimokyklines įstaigas. Tiriamieji dalyvavo dviejų sesijų individualiuose brandumo mokyklai vertinimuose, kurių metu buvo vertinamas intelektinis brandumas (intelektinis lygis pagal Raven spalvotųjų progresuojančių matricų testą, dėmesingumas, žodinė ir vaizdinė trumpalaikė atmintis, matematinis suvokimas), fizinis pasirengimas ir socialinis-emocinis brandumas pagal Galių ir sunkumų klausimyną. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad vaikų su klausos negalia intelektiniam brandumui didėjant, jų rezultatai kitose vertinamose pasirengimo mokyklai srityse taip pat gerėja, ypač vaikų žodinė atmintis, dėmesingumas, fizinis ir socialinis-emocinis brandumas. Klausos negalią turinčių tėvų vaikai, turintys klausos sutrikimų, yra nežymiai geriau pasirengę mokyklai nei girdinčių tėvų vaikai, turintys klausos sutrikimų. Gerai gestų kalba kalbantys vaikai pasižymi aukštesniu intelektiniu, matematiniu ir fiziniu brandumu, dėmesingumu ir geresniais... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the study was to assess school readiness of hearing impaired children, its relationship with socio-demographic factors and coherence with successful learning in the first grade. In this research participated 16 children from about 24 who are studying in 5 deaf and hard of hearing educational centres: 10 was preschoolers and 6 first grade students. Age average: 7.5 years. In this group was: 11 deaf and 5 hard of hearing pupils, 11 children whose parents were hearing impaired and 5 whose parents hearing, 11 children who are good sign language users and 5 who poorly can speak it. All of pupils attended kindergartens. Children participated in two individual assessments of readiness for school in intellectual maturity (intellectual level according to Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices test, attentiveness, verbal and visual short-term memory, mathematical comprehension), physical readiness and social-emotional maturity according to teachers' Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results of the study showed that hearing impaired children' increased intellectual maturity is coherent with better results in all other readiness for school areas, especially verbal memory, attentiveness, physical and social-emotional maturity. Children whose parents are hearing impaired are a bit better at readiness for school than children whose parents are hearing. Children who are good at sign language achieved better results in intellectual maturity, mathematical comprehension... [to full text]

To date, the greatest success in predicting recreational travel patterns has been made by the Systems Theory Model. However, discrepancies still occur primarily due to the lack of accurate and extensive information on the socio-demographic variables that influence recreational travel. The research verified the assumption that socio-demographic variables warrant consideration in a recreational model. The analysis indicates specifically the types of socio-demographic variables that influence the various types of recreational travel. Due to a small sample size the results are not directly applicable to the model, however, they establish the types of socio-demographic variables that warrant consideration in a large sample survey. / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

O ingresso na universidade impõe inúmeros desafios ao estudante e pesquisas indicam que estudantes mais habilidosos socialmente podem ter menor propensão a apresentar problemas de saúde mental, provavelmente por terem maior habilidade para lidar com esses desafios. Nessa interface o desempenho acadêmico dos universitários também ganha destaque na literatura da área. Observa-se uma tendência a identificação de uma relação positiva entre repertório socialmente habilidoso, bom desempenho acadêmico e saúde mental dos universitários, embora poucas pesquisas empíricas embasem tal afirmação Nesse contexto se insere a proposta deste estudo, como desdobramento de um amplo estudo desenvolvido junto a alunos de graduação. Objetiva-se verificar se as habilidades sociais e as condições de saúde mental de estudantes universitários dos anos iniciais da graduação são preditoras do desempenho acadêmico dos mesmos no início e ao final da graduação, bem como verificar as possíveis associações entre as variáveis mencionadas. Propõe-se um delineamento comparativo, correlacional e preditivo e a inclusão da variável desempenho acadêmico dos graduandos, não avaliada no estudo amplo. Foram participantes deste estudo 305 estudantes universitários, de ambos os sexos e de diferentes cursos de graduação da UNESPBauru, que foram avaliados quando cursavam até um semestre anterior ao meio do curso, caracterizando início da graduação. Esses participantes, após os devidos procedimentos éticos, responderam em sala de aula, a um conjunto de instrumentos apresentados em um caderno contendo instruções específicas para cada um deles, a saber: Questionário de Avaliação de Habilidades Sociais, Comportamentos e Contextos para Universitários (QHC universitários), Versão reduzida do Inventário de Fobia Social (Mini SPIN), Inventário de Depressão de Beck (BDI) e Inventário de Habilidades Sociais (IHS Del Prette). E, posteriormente, responderam individualmente a Entrevista Clínica Estruturada para o DSM-IV (SCID) conduzida por telefone. Realizou-se a coleta dos dados sobre o desempenho acadêmico dos universitários, junto à secretaria da universidade, registrando as informações referentes às notas de início do curso e se os participantes concluíram ou não a graduação no tempo especificado pelas grades curriculares dos cursos. Foram selecionadas para o modelo de regressão logística binária para as análises do desempenho acadêmico do início e final da graduação as variáveis que apresentaram nível de significância de p<0,1 nas análises univariadas. As variáveis IHS-autocontrole da agressividade em situações aversivas (F5) e saúde mental foram as variáveis incluídas na análise do início da graduação e se mantiveram como preditoras. Em relação ao final da graduação foram incluídas as variáveis QHC comunicação e afeto, QHC falar em público e apresentar seminários, QHC comunicação e afeto e QHC potencialidades para grupos diferenciados pelos escores de ansiedade, IHS escore total, IHS autoafirmação da expressão de sentimentos negativos, IHS autoexposição a desconhecidos e situações novas, sexo, ano do curso, área e desempenho acadêmico inicial, mantendo-se como preditoras: sexo feminino, estar matriculado em anos mais avançados, por ocasião da avaliação do início do curso, cursar área de humanas e ter desempenho acadêmico inicial na média ou acima da média. Tais dados sugerem desdobramentos para os campos da psicologia, da educação e para as políticas públicas. / Getting into college poses many challenges for students. Research in the field shows that more socially skillful students are less likely to present with mental problems, probably because they have better skills in coping with these challenges. In this aspect academic performance also plays an important role in the field literature. A tendency is seen that points to a positive relationship between good social skills, good academic performance and mental health in university students, although little empiric research bears out this statement. That is the goal of this project, a spin-off of a study carried out among undergraduate students. Our aim is to assess whether mental health and social skills of university students in the first years of an undergraduate course predict their academic performance during and at the end of the course as well as to assess possible associations between the variables under study. We propose a correlational and predictive analysis and the inclusion of the undergraduate students academic performance variable, not assessed in the in-depth study. 305 students of both genders and of different undergraduate courses of UNESP-Bauru were assessed when they were still in a semester before half of the course, which corresponds to the beginning of the undergraduate course. These subjects, after undergoing ethical procedures, answered in the classroom a set of questionnaires shown them in a notebook containing specific instructions for each one of them, which were: Questionnaire on Assessing University Students Behavior and Lifestyles (QAUSBL), reduced version of the Social Phobia Inventory (Mini SPIN), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Social Skills Inventory (SKI - Del Prette). Later they individually answered a structured clinical telephone interview for DSN-IV (SCID). Data concerning students academic performance were collected at the university deans office, including grades at the beginning of the course as well as whether students graduated within the period specified by the school\'s timetable. For the model of binary logistic regression to analyze academic performance at the beginning and end of undergraduate studies, the variables with a significance level of p<0 in univariate analyses were selected. The variables IHC-self-control of aggressiveness in adverse situations (F5) and mental health were the variables included in the analysis at the beginning of undergraduate studies and were kept as predictive. At the end of the course, communication and affection QAUSBL, speaking in public and presenting seminars QAUSBL and potentialities for groups differentiated by anxiety scores QAUSBL, total score SKI, self-affirmation of expressing negative feelings SKI, self-exposal to strangers and new situations, sex, course year, field and initial academic performance SKI. The predictive factors were: feminine sex, being enrolled in higher years during the evaluation that took place at the beginning of the course, attending human science courses and to showing an initial academic performance on average or above average. Such data suggest unfolding into the fields of psychology, education and public policies.

Tourism activities set in coastal and marine environments have evolved far beyond the traditional passive leisure experiences of the classic resort holiday. While the traditional beach holiday remains a contemporary mass tourism phenomenon. Marine tourism now extends far beyond beach activities to a wide spread spectrum of activities including scuba diving with over 20 million certified divers worldwide. The tourism product carries both the characteristics of the service product and the characteristics unique to the tourism industry, which makes the tourism product different from physical/ tangible goods. Therefore tourism destinations involve a multiple of industries (e.g. hospitality, transportation, entertainment) that contribute through their value-added activities to the overall competitive position in the marketplace. Tourism value can be seen as a combination of a product’s (destination’s) perceived quality and associated price which a visitor will summarize as the value received. Value in tourism has been seen as a definite option to improve a destination’s competitive edge. Tourism development is about adding value in a way that is consistent with market demand. As tourism value is created within the destination it holds various benefits including that destinations will achieve high market growth and hence become more competitive due to successful value-added programmes. Destinations are winning competitive battles by careful analysis and response to the core values and needs of the segmented travel marketplace. This study was based on four distinct value dimensions developed by Sweeney and Soutar (2001:211) that are termed emotional, social, quality/ performance and price/ value for money. Sweeney and Soutar’s model (2001:211) was examined to determine its appropriateness for an intangible product in the service sector namely scuba diving. Two modifications to Sweeney and Soutar’s model (2001:211) were required for this study. The modifications which were used in this study included perceived risk value which was introduced by Hall, Robertson and Shaw (2001:350) and epistemic value developed by Sheth, Norman and Gross (1991:160). The primary goal of this dissertation was to determine the perceived value of scuba diving tourists at a marine destination. A literature study was undertaken to contextualise Marine Tourism and perceived value since a review of existing literature on perceived value provides insight as to why the value concept is so crucial for the success of marketing researchers. Thereafter an empirical study was undertaken to obtain relevant data for analysis. A nonprobability sampling method namely convenience sampling was used to conduct the survey due to the absence of a structured list of divers visiting Sodwana Bay during this time. A destination-based survey was undertaken at Sodwana Bay from the 29th of March to the 8th of April 2012. Five hundred (500) self-administered surveys where distributed by field workers among scuba divers who were available and willing to complete the questionnaire. Of the 500 questionnaires distributed a total of 402 were completed and could be used for collation of data. Microsoft™ Office™ Excel 2007 was used to capture the data, which was then statistically analysed and processed by means of descriptive statistics using the SPSS 20.0 programme. More specifically, factor analysis and ANOVAs were done to analyse the value created. In order to achieve the goal, the study was divided into two articles. Article 1 aimed to determine the perceived value of a tourism experience, in this case for the scuba diving tourists at a marine destination, namely Sodwana Bay. Results revealed that the demographic profile of the scuba divers, are middle aged Afrikaans speaking men who are well educated, earn a high income, and originate from Gauteng. To examine the factors underlying the value scale, a principle axis factor analysis with oblique rotation (direct oblimin) was undertaken. The twenty-two factor aspects yielded five factors with eigen values greater than 1.0. These factors explained 64% of the variance and were labelled: ‘Emotional value’, ‘Functional value’, ‘Social value’, ‘Perceived risk value’ and ‘Epistemic value’. Twenty-one aspects had loadings of over 0.418, with only one item having a factor loading of 0.251. With the highest mean (3.43) Epistemic value revealed that respondents consider curiosity, acquiring knowledge, providing novelty and broadening knowledge as key in a valued experience. Reliability (Cronbach’s α) was computed to verify the internal consistency of aspects with each factor. All factors with a Cronbach Alpha above 0.63 were deemed acceptable for the purposes of this exploratory study. Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (p<0.001) and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure sampling adequacy (KMO) was 0.874, which are acceptable for the purpose of this study. Article 2 aimed to determine the factors which influence perceived tourism values of scuba divers at a marine destination, namely Sodwana Bay. To achieve this, ANOVAs were developed and correlations were drawn between age, gender, province, income, level of education, marital status, number of times dived, number of nights stayed in the area, travel group size and media (including, websites, shows, friends, radio, T.V., magazines, previous visits and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter). Correlations were discovered between language, province, marital status, income and media (including, websites, shows, friends, radio, T.V., Magazines, Previous visits and Social Networks such as Facebook and Twitter). The perceived values which were rated highest in each case were emotional value, perceived risk value and perceived functional value. Since this is the first study of its kind in South Africa, it can benefit marine destinations all across the country. The perceived values which were rated highest in both articles should be of high priority in marketing efforts for marine destinations, especially where scuba diving activities are taking place. Assessing and understanding these values will help scuba diving destinations to gain a competitive advantage and provide a more tailor-made product which will improve the value experienced. It is recommended that this study is repeated at other diving sites and also various other tourism products to determine difference and/or similarities between tourism values. Marketing strategies can be utilized through the identification of these and various other values which will improve current marketing efforts. / Thesis (MA (Tourism Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Tourism activities set in coastal and marine environments have evolved far beyond the traditional passive leisure experiences of the classic resort holiday. While the traditional beach holiday remains a contemporary mass tourism phenomenon. Marine tourism now extends far beyond beach activities to a wide spread spectrum of activities including scuba diving with over 20 million certified divers worldwide. The tourism product carries both the characteristics of the service product and the characteristics unique to the tourism industry, which makes the tourism product different from physical/ tangible goods. Therefore tourism destinations involve a multiple of industries (e.g. hospitality, transportation, entertainment) that contribute through their value-added activities to the overall competitive position in the marketplace. Tourism value can be seen as a combination of a product’s (destination’s) perceived quality and associated price which a visitor will summarize as the value received. Value in tourism has been seen as a definite option to improve a destination’s competitive edge. Tourism development is about adding value in a way that is consistent with market demand. As tourism value is created within the destination it holds various benefits including that destinations will achieve high market growth and hence become more competitive due to successful value-added programmes. Destinations are winning competitive battles by careful analysis and response to the core values and needs of the segmented travel marketplace. This study was based on four distinct value dimensions developed by Sweeney and Soutar (2001:211) that are termed emotional, social, quality/ performance and price/ value for money. Sweeney and Soutar’s model (2001:211) was examined to determine its appropriateness for an intangible product in the service sector namely scuba diving. Two modifications to Sweeney and Soutar’s model (2001:211) were required for this study. The modifications which were used in this study included perceived risk value which was introduced by Hall, Robertson and Shaw (2001:350) and epistemic value developed by Sheth, Norman and Gross (1991:160). The primary goal of this dissertation was to determine the perceived value of scuba diving tourists at a marine destination. A literature study was undertaken to contextualise Marine Tourism and perceived value since a review of existing literature on perceived value provides insight as to why the value concept is so crucial for the success of marketing researchers. Thereafter an empirical study was undertaken to obtain relevant data for analysis. A nonprobability sampling method namely convenience sampling was used to conduct the survey due to the absence of a structured list of divers visiting Sodwana Bay during this time. A destination-based survey was undertaken at Sodwana Bay from the 29th of March to the 8th of April 2012. Five hundred (500) self-administered surveys where distributed by field workers among scuba divers who were available and willing to complete the questionnaire. Of the 500 questionnaires distributed a total of 402 were completed and could be used for collation of data. Microsoft™ Office™ Excel 2007 was used to capture the data, which was then statistically analysed and processed by means of descriptive statistics using the SPSS 20.0 programme. More specifically, factor analysis and ANOVAs were done to analyse the value created. In order to achieve the goal, the study was divided into two articles. Article 1 aimed to determine the perceived value of a tourism experience, in this case for the scuba diving tourists at a marine destination, namely Sodwana Bay. Results revealed that the demographic profile of the scuba divers, are middle aged Afrikaans speaking men who are well educated, earn a high income, and originate from Gauteng. To examine the factors underlying the value scale, a principle axis factor analysis with oblique rotation (direct oblimin) was undertaken. The twenty-two factor aspects yielded five factors with eigen values greater than 1.0. These factors explained 64% of the variance and were labelled: ‘Emotional value’, ‘Functional value’, ‘Social value’, ‘Perceived risk value’ and ‘Epistemic value’. Twenty-one aspects had loadings of over 0.418, with only one item having a factor loading of 0.251. With the highest mean (3.43) Epistemic value revealed that respondents consider curiosity, acquiring knowledge, providing novelty and broadening knowledge as key in a valued experience. Reliability (Cronbach’s α) was computed to verify the internal consistency of aspects with each factor. All factors with a Cronbach Alpha above 0.63 were deemed acceptable for the purposes of this exploratory study. Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (p<0.001) and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure sampling adequacy (KMO) was 0.874, which are acceptable for the purpose of this study. Article 2 aimed to determine the factors which influence perceived tourism values of scuba divers at a marine destination, namely Sodwana Bay. To achieve this, ANOVAs were developed and correlations were drawn between age, gender, province, income, level of education, marital status, number of times dived, number of nights stayed in the area, travel group size and media (including, websites, shows, friends, radio, T.V., magazines, previous visits and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter). Correlations were discovered between language, province, marital status, income and media (including, websites, shows, friends, radio, T.V., Magazines, Previous visits and Social Networks such as Facebook and Twitter). The perceived values which were rated highest in each case were emotional value, perceived risk value and perceived functional value. Since this is the first study of its kind in South Africa, it can benefit marine destinations all across the country. The perceived values which were rated highest in both articles should be of high priority in marketing efforts for marine destinations, especially where scuba diving activities are taking place. Assessing and understanding these values will help scuba diving destinations to gain a competitive advantage and provide a more tailor-made product which will improve the value experienced. It is recommended that this study is repeated at other diving sites and also various other tourism products to determine difference and/or similarities between tourism values. Marketing strategies can be utilized through the identification of these and various other values which will improve current marketing efforts. / Thesis (MA (Tourism Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

O ingresso na universidade impõe inúmeros desafios ao estudante e pesquisas indicam que estudantes mais habilidosos socialmente podem ter menor propensão a apresentar problemas de saúde mental, provavelmente por terem maior habilidade para lidar com esses desafios. Nessa interface o desempenho acadêmico dos universitários também ganha destaque na literatura da área. Observa-se uma tendência a identificação de uma relação positiva entre repertório socialmente habilidoso, bom desempenho acadêmico e saúde mental dos universitários, embora poucas pesquisas empíricas embasem tal afirmação Nesse contexto se insere a proposta deste estudo, como desdobramento de um amplo estudo desenvolvido junto a alunos de graduação. Objetiva-se verificar se as habilidades sociais e as condições de saúde mental de estudantes universitários dos anos iniciais da graduação são preditoras do desempenho acadêmico dos mesmos no início e ao final da graduação, bem como verificar as possíveis associações entre as variáveis mencionadas. Propõe-se um delineamento comparativo, correlacional e preditivo e a inclusão da variável desempenho acadêmico dos graduandos, não avaliada no estudo amplo. Foram participantes deste estudo 305 estudantes universitários, de ambos os sexos e de diferentes cursos de graduação da UNESPBauru, que foram avaliados quando cursavam até um semestre anterior ao meio do curso, caracterizando início da graduação. Esses participantes, após os devidos procedimentos éticos, responderam em sala de aula, a um conjunto de instrumentos apresentados em um caderno contendo instruções específicas para cada um deles, a saber: Questionário de Avaliação de Habilidades Sociais, Comportamentos e Contextos para Universitários (QHC universitários), Versão reduzida do Inventário de Fobia Social (Mini SPIN), Inventário de Depressão de Beck (BDI) e Inventário de Habilidades Sociais (IHS Del Prette). E, posteriormente, responderam individualmente a Entrevista Clínica Estruturada para o DSM-IV (SCID) conduzida por telefone. Realizou-se a coleta dos dados sobre o desempenho acadêmico dos universitários, junto à secretaria da universidade, registrando as informações referentes às notas de início do curso e se os participantes concluíram ou não a graduação no tempo especificado pelas grades curriculares dos cursos. Foram selecionadas para o modelo de regressão logística binária para as análises do desempenho acadêmico do início e final da graduação as variáveis que apresentaram nível de significância de p<0,1 nas análises univariadas. As variáveis IHS-autocontrole da agressividade em situações aversivas (F5) e saúde mental foram as variáveis incluídas na análise do início da graduação e se mantiveram como preditoras. Em relação ao final da graduação foram incluídas as variáveis QHC comunicação e afeto, QHC falar em público e apresentar seminários, QHC comunicação e afeto e QHC potencialidades para grupos diferenciados pelos escores de ansiedade, IHS escore total, IHS autoafirmação da expressão de sentimentos negativos, IHS autoexposição a desconhecidos e situações novas, sexo, ano do curso, área e desempenho acadêmico inicial, mantendo-se como preditoras: sexo feminino, estar matriculado em anos mais avançados, por ocasião da avaliação do início do curso, cursar área de humanas e ter desempenho acadêmico inicial na média ou acima da média. Tais dados sugerem desdobramentos para os campos da psicologia, da educação e para as políticas públicas. / Getting into college poses many challenges for students. Research in the field shows that more socially skillful students are less likely to present with mental problems, probably because they have better skills in coping with these challenges. In this aspect academic performance also plays an important role in the field literature. A tendency is seen that points to a positive relationship between good social skills, good academic performance and mental health in university students, although little empiric research bears out this statement. That is the goal of this project, a spin-off of a study carried out among undergraduate students. Our aim is to assess whether mental health and social skills of university students in the first years of an undergraduate course predict their academic performance during and at the end of the course as well as to assess possible associations between the variables under study. We propose a correlational and predictive analysis and the inclusion of the undergraduate students academic performance variable, not assessed in the in-depth study. 305 students of both genders and of different undergraduate courses of UNESP-Bauru were assessed when they were still in a semester before half of the course, which corresponds to the beginning of the undergraduate course. These subjects, after undergoing ethical procedures, answered in the classroom a set of questionnaires shown them in a notebook containing specific instructions for each one of them, which were: Questionnaire on Assessing University Students Behavior and Lifestyles (QAUSBL), reduced version of the Social Phobia Inventory (Mini SPIN), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Social Skills Inventory (SKI - Del Prette). Later they individually answered a structured clinical telephone interview for DSN-IV (SCID). Data concerning students academic performance were collected at the university deans office, including grades at the beginning of the course as well as whether students graduated within the period specified by the school\'s timetable. For the model of binary logistic regression to analyze academic performance at the beginning and end of undergraduate studies, the variables with a significance level of p<0 in univariate analyses were selected. The variables IHC-self-control of aggressiveness in adverse situations (F5) and mental health were the variables included in the analysis at the beginning of undergraduate studies and were kept as predictive. At the end of the course, communication and affection QAUSBL, speaking in public and presenting seminars QAUSBL and potentialities for groups differentiated by anxiety scores QAUSBL, total score SKI, self-affirmation of expressing negative feelings SKI, self-exposal to strangers and new situations, sex, course year, field and initial academic performance SKI. The predictive factors were: feminine sex, being enrolled in higher years during the evaluation that took place at the beginning of the course, attending human science courses and to showing an initial academic performance on average or above average. Such data suggest unfolding into the fields of psychology, education and public policies.

The objectives of the research were to examine the relationship between organizational commitment, career adaptability and retention factors within the retail sector in the Western Cape and to determine whether the demographical variables (age, gender, race, marital status, tenure and job level) influence an employees’ decision to stay with or to leave the organisation. A cross-sectional quantitative, correlational research approach was followed wherein a nonprobability convenience sampling (N=224) of permanent customer service employees of a reputable retail store in the Western Cape was used. The data were collected by means of Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ by Meyer & Allen, 1997), Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS by Savickas & Porfeli, 2012) and Retention Factor Measurement Scale (RFMS by Döckel, 2003). Correlational analysis revealded that statistical significant and positive relationships exist between organisational commitment, career adaptability and retention factors. A stepwise regression analysis indicated that organisational commitment and career adaptability significantly and positively predict retention factors. Tests for mean differences revealed that some differences do exists in organisational commitment, career adaptability and retention factors in terms of demographical variables (age, gender, race, marital status, tenure and job level). Recommendations are suggested for use by human resource managers and practitioners in terms of retention strategies and practices, specifically within the retail sector / Human Resource Management / M. Com. (Human Resource Management)

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