Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph.D.). / Written for the Dept. of Psychiatry. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/01/11). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [208]-225).

Work is a natural part of human life. Such is the phenomenon of death. This study investigate the relevancy of death within the context of the workplace. The goal of this study is to explore to what extent an bereaved employee is a troubled employee within the context of Employee Assistance Programs. The first objective is to conceptualize the death of a spouse and work performance. Secondly to launch an empirical investigation of the impact of the death of a spouse on the work performance of the bereaved employee. This study used a qualitative research mythology. The phenomenology research strategy helped to understand the meaning that the respondents gave to their experience of returning to the workplace after the death of their spouse. The population of this study were all working persons in the North West Province who lost a spouse through death. The sample consists of all working persons in Klerksdorp who lost a spouse through death. The criteria for the sample were persons within the age of 30 and 60 years who work full time that lost their spouse through death during April 2003 and April 2005 and don’t stand in a remarriage yet. A semi-structured questionnaire is used to guide the 10 one-to-one interviews as a data collection method. To analyze the data, classification is used to identify four general themes. The findings of the study show that every aspect of human life is affected by the death of a spouse. The bereaved employee can be a troubled employee, yet the South African workplace is not prepared to deal with death and it’s consequences. / Dissertation (MSD (Employee Assistance Programmes))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis investigation was to determine the responsiveness and validity of a previously developed evaluative instrument (QL-SP), purported to measure quality of life in spouses of patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction. The 26 questions of the index address emotional concerns, functional limitations, sleep disturbances, and lifestyle changes; they are categorized into the Emotional Function Dimension (EFD) , and the Physical and Social Function Dimension (PSFD). Subjects (n=39) completed the QL-SP and a battery of established questionnaires during home visitations, 1-2 weeks after the patient member of the pair had been discharged from the hospital, and 8 weeks later. Predicted associations were derived according to standardized consensus methods suggesting how changes in the QL-SP dimensions should correlate with changes in the other indexes. Scores on the QL-SP between admission to the study and the second visit were improved for both the emotional function (t = 5.56, p < 0.001), and physical and social function (t = 6.11, p < 0.001) dimensions. The agreement between predicted and observed relationships, as measured statistically by a Kappa with Cicchetti weights, was significant (Kw = 0.43, p = 0.0012). The QL-SP appears to be a responsive and valid measure of quality of life in spouses of MI patients related to their partner's illness. It may be useful in clinical practice as a routine periodic assessment throughout the post-MI convalescent period, and as an evaluation tool for intervention strategies. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

The present study used a linear mixed model analytic approach to assess the association between a combined respondent and spousal exercise score and cognitive outcomes of older adult respondents drawn from a nationally representative dataset, The Health and Retirement Study. Informed by the Scaffolding Theory of Aging and Cognition (STAC), the present study sought to understand the role of both an individual and their spouse's aerobic physical activity in an individual's cognitive outcomes and trajectories. Utilizing longitudinal survey data collected across twelve years (N=3,189), the combined exercise status of a married couple was found to be a significant predictor of cognitive outcomes; when an interaction between time and couple exercise status was included in the model, this was also found to be a significant predictor of four specific cognitive outcomes. The highest cognitive benefit was identified among individuals where both they and their partner participated in the recommended amount of aerobic physical activity, suggesting an additive effect. These findings and their implications are discussed further. / Master of Science / The present study explores how the combined exercise behaviors of a married older adult couple may predict the cognitive outcomes of one partner. Data was analyzed across twelve years and included married individuals between the ages of 65 and 95. Findings showed that the combined couple exercise status predicted outcomes in cognitive function of the respondent. Additionally, the interaction between time and the couple exercise status significantly predicted cognitive outcomes. The addition of a spouse's aerobic physical activity was beneficial to the cognitive outcomes of their partner. The cognitive benefit was highest among couples where both partners participated in aerobic physical activity. These findings and their implications are discussed further.

A comparative review of statistical summary results of the Survey of Army Families demonstrated that there is a gap in the research on the emotional experiences of civilian military wives who do not participate in the Family Readiness Group (FRG). The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to supplement the limited amount of scholarly research on the emotional experiences of civilian military wives and their lack of participation in the FRG during the deployment cycle. The theoretical framework of this study explored the military family syndrome through application of the double ABCX model in examining this phenomenon. The foundational research question inquired about the deployment-related emotional experiences of civilian military wives who do not participate in a FRG. Phenomenological interviews with 5 civilian military wives narrowed the gap in research as their specific experiences with the FRG of their soldier's unit were analyzed and coded to identify different categories and themes. Study results suggested that familiarity with the deployment cycle was a crucial determinant in how civilian military wives experience the deployment cycle and perceive the use of the FRG as a source of support. The perceived detached communication and engagement of the FRG organization and its leaders were also found to be contributing factors to civilian military spouse participation. The implications of these findings for positive social change are to inform FRG leadership of the importance of addressing the needs of new and seasoned civilian military wives to foster a more favorable perception of the organization and to promote the potential participation of new members.

Mainland Chinese spouses to come to Taiwan's immigration system and management research and counseling After many years of separation between Taiwan and mainland China due to historical factors and the war, in November 2, 1987, the government allowed Taiwan people to visit their relatives in mainland China. The people on both sides are closer than ever because the factors such as the same language and the geographically proximity. To handle the related affairs, in 1981, section 11 of the Constitution was amended and gave the power to specify the "Regulations Governing Relations Between the People of Taiwan Area and the Mainland." Article 17 of the law supports elements that regulate the immigration of mainland Chinese spouses who come to Taiwan system. With the number of cross-strait marriages frequent exchanges between the two sides, so far nearly 290,000 pairs have registered. The implementation of the immigration system from 1992 to 2004 for Mainland Chinese spouses to come to Taiwan, as amended by section 17 of the regulations, substantial revisions started to take place and the entire system then began to undergo major changes. Of this study was to first explore the evolution of process for mainland Chinese spouses to come to Taiwan since the immigration system from 1992 to 2004 by analyzing the three dimensions of the mainland to Taiwan immigration system content and characteristics - evolution in the process, system, counseling and management. Furthermore, to understand the differences between different systems, and the impact of mainland spouses counseling, and how to take care of such a large number of these mainland spouses living in Taiwan. Finally, to conclude with recommendations to improve the system so that mainland spouses .

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Jeffrey Zacharakis / In this study, the researcher explored the effects of a formal education and leadership development program (LDP), Command Team Spouse Development Program–Brigade Level (CTSDP-BDE), given to spouses of senior military service members (command team spouses) in preparation for brigade-level command team roles and environments. This study employed a nonexperimental, embedded, concurrent, mixed-methods approach to answer the overarching research question: “Can formal educational programs influence life effectiveness for adult participants, assuming informal leadership roles?” Findings from quantitative data indicated that the CTSDP-BDE course influences life effectiveness in participant personal and social abilities and beliefs and organizational skills as defined by scales in the Review of Personal Effectiveness and Locus of Control (ROPELOC) instrument for command team spouses who assume informal leadership roles. No change occurred for Active Involvement or participants’ measures of locus of control (internal and external) because of attending the program. Findings from qualitative data supported quantitative findings, and raise and provide deeper insight into the CTSDP-BDE and spousal education within the United States Army (U.S. Army). Additionally, the researcher demonstrated that formal educational programs could positively influence the informal leadership capabilities of adults. In this study, the researcher used research participants from the CTSDP-BDE, who were housed at the U.S. Army’s School for Command Preparation located in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Command team spouse participants (n=40) completed both presurveys and postsurveys over the course of a 7-month data collection period. Likewise, the researcher conducted follow-up, qualitative interviews (n=10) to further investigate the effects of the CTSDP-BDE program.