Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: This is a multidisciplinary investigation of stress in working males. The physiological aspect of the stress response is focused primarily on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; the health outcomes focus on cardiovascular risk and the psychological aspect focuses on both personality and state. Aims: To assess psychological and physiological measures of stress and determine if they are associated. To assess the effect of massage as a relaxation intervention on these measures. Abstract: Section 1 This study consisted of 16 working, stressed males. Certain measures of allostatic load were determined, on 2 occasions 1 week apart with appropriate control (serum cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEAs), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein) as well as perceived stress levels (State Anxiety, Profile of Mood (POMS), Job Satisfaction (JS), Symptoms of Stress (SYMP». Measurements of personality (Trait Anxiety and Hardiness, with subs cores Commitment, Control and Challenge) and anthropometric measurements were obtained. Repeatability was assessed and then data was averaged. Correlation analysis was done between baseline physiological and psychological parameters. (All r values reported in this abstract have P<0.05, unless otherwise stated). Section 2 11 of the 16 subjects then had 1 week of intensive massage (5 x Ihr each), after which a 3rd measurement was taken. Findings: Section 1 Certain personalities had differing perceptions of stress (Commitment correlated positively with Vigour, r= 0.59; and negatively with Fatigue and POMS, r= -0.51 and r= -0.54 respectively). Certain personalities influenced JS (Commitment correlated positively to JS, r= 0.55; Trait Anxiety correlated negatively to JS, r= -0.54). Certain personalities manifested stress physiologically (Control correlated negatively with CortisollDHEAs, r= -0.53). Increased perception of stress also resulted in an increased likelihood of experiencing physiological symptoms of stress (e.g. State Anxiety correlated with SYMP, r= 0.50). In contrast, lower perceived stress was associated with increased job satisfaction (POMS correlated with JS, r= -0.64; P<O.OI) and those who experienced more JS had decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) OS correlated negatively to LDL, r= -0.53). Physiological measures of CVD were also higher in subjects with antropometrically evaluated risk profiles. Section 2 Baseline variability of various parameters ranged form moderate to high (CV 4.4% to 73%). The intervention had no significant measured effect. 45% of subjects increased state-related stress. These subjects had had significant lower scores for Commitment (P<0.05). Conclusion: Section 1 Certain personality types are associated with decreased perception of stress, decreased stress symptomology and improved endocrine markers of allostatic load. Certain personality dispositions are associated with improved job satisfaction and decreased risk of CVD. These characteristics include e.g. high commitment, low anxiety and a sense of control i.e. all inherent predispositions. To improve sensitivity to intervention, 3 baseline samples should be considered in future studies. Section2 Contrary to what was hypothesized, massage had no effect. This is possibly due to the large daily variations in these variables and outside influences, which are necessarily a part of real-life as opposed to laboratory studies. Possibly I week of intensive relaxation therapy is insufficient and longer-term, lifestyle changing intervention is recommended for future studies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inleiding: Hierdie studie is 'n multi-dissiplinêre ondersoek na stres in werkende mans. Die fisiologiese aspek van die stresrespons fokus primêr op die hipotalamo-pituitêre-adrenale as, terwyl die gesondsheidsuitkomste op die kardiovaskulêre risiko, en die psigologiese aspek op beide persoonlikheid en status fokus. Doel: Om psigiese en fisiologiese parameters van stress te bepaal, en om vas te stelof hulle met mekaar korrelleer. Om die effek van massering, as ontspanningsterapie, op hierdie parameters te bepaal. Afdeling 1 Sestien gespanne, werkende mans het aan hierdie studie deelgeneem. Sekere parameters van allostatiese lading (serum kortisol, dehidroepiandrosteroon-sulfaat (DHEAs), totale cholesterol, lae digtheid- (LDL) en hoë digtheid lipoproteïene (HDL) is twee maal bepaal, met 'n tussenpose van een week, met gepaste kontrole. Terselfdertyd is subjektiewe ervaring van stres (Toestand Angs, Profiel van Gemoedstemming (POMS), Werksbevrediging (JS), Simptome van Stres (SYMP», metings van persoonlikheid (Trekangs en Hardiness, i.e. Gebondenheid, Beheer en Uitdaging) en antropometriese metings ook verkry. Herhaalbaarheid is getoets en daarna is die gemiddelde van hierdie twee basislyn bepalings gebruik. Korrelasie analises is gedoen tussen basislyn fisiologiese en psigiese parameters. (Alle r-waardes gerapporteer in hierdie samevatting het P< 0.05, behalwe waar anders aangedui.) Afdeling 2 Elf van die sestien proefpersone het 1 week van intensiewe masseerterapie (5 x 1 uur elk) ondergaan, waarna 'n derde meting geneem is. Resultate: Afdeling 1 Sekere persoonlikhede het verskillende ervarings van stres getoon (Toegewydheid het positief gekorreleer met lewenslus, r= 0.59; en negatief met uitputting en POMS, r= -0.51 en r= -0.54 onderskeidelik). Sekere persoonlikhede het werksbevrediging (JS) beïnvloed (Toegewydheid het positief gekorreleer met JS, r = 0.55; Trait anxiety het negatief gekorreleer met JS, r= -0.54). Sekere persoonlikhede het ook fisiologiese geneigdheid tot stres getoon (Beheer het negatief gekorreleer met CIDHEAs, r= -0.53). Verhoogde ervaring van stres het 'n verhoogde waarskynlikheid vir ervaring van fisiologiese simptome van stres tot gevolg gehad (bv. Toestand Angs het positief gekorreleer met SYMP, r= 0.50). In teenstelling, is laer ervaring van stres geassosieer met verhoogde werksbevrediging (POMS het positief gekorreleer met JS, r= -0.64; P<O.Ol). Die persone wat hoer werksbevrediging ervaar het, het 'n laer risiko om kardiovaskulêre siektes (eVD) op te doen (JS het negatief gekorreleer met LDL, r= -0.53). Fisiologiese mates van CVD was ook hoër in proefpersone met antropometries geëvalueerde risiko profiele. Afdeling 2 Die mate van variasie in die basislyn fisiologiese bepalings het gewissel van gemiddeld tot hoog (KV 4.4 % tot 73 %). Die ingreep het geen meetbare effek getoon nie. 45 % van proefpersone het verhoogde status-verwante stres gerapporteer. Hierdie proefpersone het betekenisvollaer waardes vir Toewyding gehad (P< 0.05). Gevolgtrekking: Afdeling 1 Sekere persoonlikheidstipes word geassosieer met verlaagde ervaring van stres, verlaagde voorkoms van simptome van stres en verbeterde endokriene merkers van allostatiese lading. Sekere persoonlikheidstrekke word geassosieer met verhoogde werksbevrediging en verlaagde risiko vir CVD. Hierdie karaktertrekke sluit hoë toegewydheid, lae angstigheid en die vermoë om beheer uit te oefen in, d.i. alle inherente karaktertrekke. Drie basislyn metings behoort in die toekoms oorweeg te word, om die sensitiwiteit vir die ingreep te verbeter. Afdeling 2 Teenoorgesteld aan die hipotese, het massering geen effek getoon nie. Dit kan moontlik as gevolg van die groot daaglike variasie in hierdie veranderlikes wees, asook buite-invloede, wat noodwendig 'n deel van regte-lewe studies is, in teenstelling met laboratoriumstudies. Een week van intensiewe ontspanningsterapie kon ook moontlik onvoldoende gewees het. Daarom word langer-termyn, leefstyl-veranderende ingrepe aanbeveel.

Studien undersökte sambandet mellan stress mindset (individens övertygelser om stress) och upplevd stress hos gymnasieungdomar. 122 deltagare i åldrarna 16-19 år deltog i studien genom att svara på ett elektroniskt formulär. Frågorna bestod av Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), som undersökte upplevd stress, och Stress Mindset Measure (SMM), som undersökte deltagarnas mindset om stress. Resultatet visade en signifikant negativ korrelation mellan stress mindset och upplevd stress. Detta gav stöd till forskningshypotesen att övertygelsen att stress är skadligt har ett signifikant samband med hög upplevd stress hos gymnasieungdomar. Praktiska implikationer och framtida forskning diskuteras.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agronomy / Allan K. Fritz / Heat and drought stress are two of the most significant abiotic stresses limiting wheat production in the Great Plains and worldwide. Introgression of novel tolerance genes from wild relatives is a strategy which presents promise. This study examined both heat and drought tolerance from the tetraploid species Aegilops geniculata (U[superscript g]U[superscript g]M[superscript g]M[superscript g]). Additional screening for heat tolerance was conducted with the US genome species Aegilops peregrina (Hack) and Aegilops kotschyi (Boiss). A comprehensive screening system for drought tolerance was also constructed to evaluate wheat and its wild relatives. Previous reports suggested that Ae. geniculata accession TA2899 was moderately tolerant to heat stress. It had also previously been used to develop a full set of wheat-Ae. geniculata chromosome addition lines in a Chinese Spring background. To identify the chromosome(s) carrying the heat tolerance, all addition lines, as well as wheat check genotypes, were screened for post-anthesis heat tolerance in two growth chamber experiments. No chromosome addition lines were significantly different (p<0.05) from Chinese Spring, and none were found to have superior performance to the positive check cultivars. Forty-five accessions of Ae. peregrina and its close relative, Ae. kotschyi were screened in a post-anthesis heat experiment. A follow-up experiment compared the genotypes in a split-plot temperature treatment with heat and optimal growth chambers. Many accessions were similar to the control genotypes for grain fill duration, and some exceeded the wheat controls for relative chlorophyll index values on Day 12 and Day 16. TA1889 and TA1904, both Ae. peregrina accessions originating from Israel, had a higher grain fill duration across experiments than the best wheat control, and warrant further investigation. Previous reports suggested drought tolerance in Ae. geniculata. After preliminary screenings, six genotypes were selected for advanced screening and compared with three wheat cultivars. The advanced greenhouse screening system was conducted in 152cm tall PVC growth tubes. The experiment measured multiple plant responses, and had a datalogging system automatically collecting water content and matric potential of the growth media. Multiple accessions warranted further investigation, and showed potentially different modes of drought tolerance, with varying levels of stomatal resistance, biomass, and osmotic adjustment.

M.A. / The literature indicates that journalists who experience work related traumatic situations, are at risk for the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Teegen & Grotwinkel, 2001). Moreover, some journalists who develop this disorder do so after covering a relatively minor traumatic story (Castle, 2001). Certain temperament traits have been implicated as vulnerabilities to the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in police officers (Henning, 1999). Few research studies have investigated temperament and sense of coherence as mediating factors for occupational stress in journalists exposed to trauma. The aim of the present study was to address this dearth by investigating whether there are statistically significant differences in the experience of trauma, temperament traits and sense of coherence of journalists with varied responses to occupational stress and trauma. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised was used to divide journalists into three groups, namely those with minor reactions to trauma (n=10), moderate reactions (n=24) and severe reactions of clinical importance (n=16). The first group of hypotheses posed in the study pertains to group differences and postulates that the three groups will have statistically significant differences regarding trauma exposure. The second group of hypotheses deals with group differences and postulates that the three groups of journalists will differ regarding certain temperament dimensions. The third group of hypotheses formulated for the study proposes group differences regarding sense of coherence. Analysis of Variance followed by the Scheffé post hoc multiple comparisons technique indicated statistically significant differences between the three groups regarding experience of trauma as measured by the Trauma Questionnaire; certain temperament-personality traits as measured by the Personality Assessment Inventory and the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire; and sense of coherence as measured by The Sense of Coherence Questionnaire. The study revealed that the group with severe reactions to stress and trauma had been exposed to intense trauma involving people and that they report significant emotional reactions to the trauma. The Personality Assessment Inventory indicated that the severe reactions group has temperament profiles characterised by somatic complaints, anxiety, depression, paranoia, borderline features, aggression, suicidal ideation, stress and treatment rejection. This group also showed greater neuroticism-anxiety and aggression-hostility prone temperament types than the other two groups as well as lower comprehensibility and manageability as indicated by the Sense of Coherence Scale. The results of the present study exhibit support that there are various factors that could have an impact on how journalists deal with the traumatic stories they cover and what their personal outcomes are after covering these stories. Journalists who develop severe PTSD have different perceptions of the trauma, temperament profiles and sense of coherence that impact on their ways of coping with the traumatic situations they face daily. Criticism of the study deals mainly with gender, age, race and the subjects' pre-testing history, which were not controlled for. Another possible shortcoming of the research is that the journalists were sourced from main stream publications as well as community papers. This might have had an impact on the amount and type of trauma the journalists were exposed to. It would have been preferable to include a greater number of participants in the study to more efficiently address the many variables. Lastly, pre-trauma temperament traits were not controlled for, due to the complexity and ethical complications involved in the subject matter. It is recommended that age, gender, race, pre-testing history and pre-trauma traits is controlled. This will however require a large sample of journalists, which was not available for the present study. It would also be beneficial to compare frequency and type of trauma exposure, PTSD and temperament in a comparative study where community journalists are compared with main stream journalists. Lastly, the development of South African measures for temperament, PTSD and trauma would be highly advantageous to this field of research.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Agricultural production is one of the most important sectors which provide food for the growing world population which is estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, thus there is a need to produce more food. Climate change, on the other hand, is negatively affecting major global crops such as maize, sorghum, wheat and barley. Environmental factors such as salinity, drought, high temperatures and pathogens affect plant production by oxidatively damaging the physiological processes in plants, leading to plant death. Poor irrigation used to combat drought result in salinasation, which is estimated to affect 50% of arable land by 2050. Plants have developed several mechanisms that protect them against stress and these include overexpression of stress responsive genes and altered signal transduction to change the expression of stress responsive genes, among others. Cyclic 3’5’ guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), a second messenger that is synthesised by guanylyl cyclase (GC), transmit signals to various cellular functions in plants during plant development, growth and response to abiotic and biotic stresses. Arabidopsis thaliana nitric oxide guanylyl cyclase 1 (AtNOGC1) is a guanylyl cyclase which upon activation by nitric oxide (NO) leads to the production of more cGMP. Cyclic GMP further activates protein kinases, ion gated channels and phosphodiesterase which mediate response to various stresses. In this project the role of AtNOGC1 was investigated in response to abiotic and biotic stresses through analysis of its evolutionary relationships, promoter, gene expression and functional analysis via the viability assays in Escherichia coli (E.coli). Phylogenetic tree, exon-intron structure and conserved motifs were analysed using the Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA V.7), Gene Structure Display Server 2.0 (GSDS 2.0), and Multiple Expectation Maximisation for Motif Elicitation (MEME) tools respectively. AtNOGC1’s gene expression was analysed by the Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Reaction (qRT-PCR), whereas functional analysis was carried out using the cell viability (liquid and spot) assays to determine its ability to confer stress tolerance to E. coli.

A dissertation submitted to the school of psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts (industrial psychology), by coursework. / Despite the potentially devastating effect that stress may have on the performance and productivity of the workforce (Greenblo,1992), few South African companies have thoroughly looked at and studied the various aspects of stress. By doing this, they should then be able to develop and implement effective stress reduction programmes, The aim of the present study, therefore, was to identify some of the causes, outcomes, and moderators of stress, which could then be used as the basis for developing stress reduction programmes. Some stressor-outcome relationships (such as job satisfaction, self-esteem, propensity to leave the organisation, and health) were looked at, after which the possible moderating effect of certain variables (gender, personality, coping style, job pressure, and organisational support) were considered. The study adopted a cross-sectional design and the data was collected using both quantitative and qualitative means. The sample consisted of 290 managers all of whom belong to one of the country's largest financial institutions, and work in one of'the various branches in and around the Gauteng region. Correlations, t-tests, anovas and a content analysis were used to evaluate the stressor-outcome relationships. In addition to these statistical analyses, moderated multiple linear regressions were conducted in order to test for any moderating variables. Overall, most of the stressor-outcome relationships were found to be significant, but the number of actual moderating variables was shown to be rather minimal. Inaddition. the information which was derived from the content analysis served to add some insight into the sometimes contradictory findings, An in-depth look at the findings of the present study can be found in the discussion section, where possible reasons and explanation for the result- are presented. Theoretical and practical implications of the study, together With the limitations, are offered. Following this, some important guidelines and suggestions for future research are considered. / AC2017

Thesis advisor: Robert J. Starratt / This qualitative case study focused on what the researcher learned as a participant-observer during the planning and implementation stages of the Stress Reduction Committee's work to examine and address an academic stress problem at Jewel-on-the-Hill High School. The observations illuminated the various perspectives individuals carried on the naming of the stress problem, how they overcame challenges in the work, the new learnings they developed, and the results the initiative created. The study examined the scope and complexity of the stress issue, the importance of distributed leadership and coordinated school change, and the challenges of shifting the culture of a school. Five instruments were utilized to collect data in this ethnographic descriptive case study: pre-intervention interviews, participant reflective journaling, results of the Stress Reduction Committee, researcher reflective journaling, and post-intervention interviews. The researcher collected data over the course of a fourteen-month period. Findings were many, and included how there existed differences and consistencies both within the sample and between subsamples. The influence of time on the initiative and the study produced additional findings. Themes developed across each of the first three research questions (the naming of the stress problem, the challenges the committee faced, and the new learnings of the committee). The role and actions taken by the participant-observer as he led the stress initiative provided additional findings. Implications for practice included advice for school leaders in taking on a school culture initiative, such as how to best lead a representative committee and how to organize the fruitful outputs of the group. Advice was also provided to parents and to students on how to best cope with academic stress and increase their locus of control over their life situation. Limitations of this study included potential leadership bias due to the researcher's role as principal of the school. Other limitations included site, time, and instrumentation biases. The researcher made efforts to control for biases in order to increase the validity and reliability of the study. The dissertation concluded with the lessons learned by the participant-observer in regards to his own leadership capacity. The study and initiative led to substantial professional growth for the researcher. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration.

<p>I och med att stress är ett aktuellt ämne ville vi med detta examensarbete ta reda på vad som gör barn stressade. Eftersom vi är blivande lärare ville vi fokusera på negativ stress för barn i skolan. Vårt syfte med denna undersökning var att ta reda på vad några barn uppfattar som stress och vad som gör dem stressade i skolan. Vi valde att ha fyra återkommande temarubriker i vårt arbete: sociala relationer, schemaläggning, lektionsupplägg och den fysiska miljön för att lättare kunna koppla ihop litteratur med resultatet av vår undersökning. Vi har tagit del av litteratur för att ta reda på orsaker och konsekvenser av stress hos framförallt barn. För att täcka av våra teman valde vi att använda oss av en halvstrukturerad intervjuform där vi framförallt utgick ifrån barnens svar, men även hade förberett oss med förslag på egna frågor. Vi genomförde en kvalitativ undersökning där vi intervjuade åtta stycken barn. Vårt resultat bygger på dessa åtta barns individuella upplevelser av stress. Våra slutsatser är att det är tankar på och inför något, störande ljud och ämnesundervisning som är mest stressande för dessa barn i skolan. Utifrån detta har vi i vår slutdiskussion försökt se vad man kan göra för att minska den negativa stressen i skolan och skapa en god lärandemiljö.</p>

I och med att stress är ett aktuellt ämne ville vi med detta examensarbete ta reda på vad som gör barn stressade. Eftersom vi är blivande lärare ville vi fokusera på negativ stress för barn i skolan. Vårt syfte med denna undersökning var att ta reda på vad några barn uppfattar som stress och vad som gör dem stressade i skolan. Vi valde att ha fyra återkommande temarubriker i vårt arbete: sociala relationer, schemaläggning, lektionsupplägg och den fysiska miljön för att lättare kunna koppla ihop litteratur med resultatet av vår undersökning. Vi har tagit del av litteratur för att ta reda på orsaker och konsekvenser av stress hos framförallt barn. För att täcka av våra teman valde vi att använda oss av en halvstrukturerad intervjuform där vi framförallt utgick ifrån barnens svar, men även hade förberett oss med förslag på egna frågor. Vi genomförde en kvalitativ undersökning där vi intervjuade åtta stycken barn. Vårt resultat bygger på dessa åtta barns individuella upplevelser av stress. Våra slutsatser är att det är tankar på och inför något, störande ljud och ämnesundervisning som är mest stressande för dessa barn i skolan. Utifrån detta har vi i vår slutdiskussion försökt se vad man kan göra för att minska den negativa stressen i skolan och skapa en god lärandemiljö.

Do person by situation effects influence physiological stress response? Despite being relatively uncontested since being theorized nearly 80 years ago, the fight-or-flight model of stress response has suffered criticism for its one-size-fits-all approach in light of the historical gender bias in the literature. In contrast, the tend-and-befriend model of stress response argues that females are driven to care for their offspring (tend) and band together with others (befriend) in response to stress. Despite evidence suggesting the importance individual differences in the effect of affiliation and social support on stress, past research has generally overlooked markers of individual difference and personality. The major aim of this dissertation was to identify and examine potential person by situation effects on stress physiology, illuminating under what conditions and for whom affiliation and social support may buffer against the stress response and aid recovery in the wake of a stressor. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the role of individual difference factors of gender and personality (i.e., person effects) and the availability of affiliation with a similar other (study 1) or a trusted friend (study 2) compared with no available affiliation (i.e., social situation effects) on stress response and recovery. Study 1 revealed that availability of affiliation with a similar other did not have a protective influence on stress physiology in general. However, personality (openness to experience) and gender together, along with availability of affiliation, were important predictors of stress physiology over time. Study 2 indicated that the availability of affiliation with a trusted friend had a protective effect on stress physiology across each time point. Further, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience each appear to be important predictors of the influence of availability of affiliation with a close friend on stress physiology over time. In sum, this dissertation found evidence of person by situation effects on stress physiology across two studies. In both studies, the effect of the availability of affiliation differed based on individual difference factors of personality, not on gender. As such, tend-and-befriend may be better conceptualized not as a uniquely female response, but rather a stress response that depends on individual difference characteristics of personality. Further, future stress response models and research should consider personality as an important marker of individual difference in physiological stress response. / text