Little is known about the experiences of parental adjustment following the birth of a child with a facial birthmark due to a scarcity of literature. The literature within the fields of cleft lip and palate (CL/P) and cranio-facial abnormality (CFA) suggest that there are many factors involved in the process of parental adjustment. The aim of this project was to explore how parents adjust following the birth of their child with a facial birthmark. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 parents of children aged between birth and two years old. The data was analysed using a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach and a model of adjustment was co-constructed from the data. It appears that parents move through a process of adjustment, that begins with coping with the initial shock and uncertainty before moving on to understanding the birthmark and treatment options, making sense of the birthmark, developing coping strategies and adjusting to birthmark. This process is affected by the availability of resources and the extent of social challenges experienced by the parents. The findings of this study indicate that psychology should be routinely involved with the assessment of parental psycho-social well-being and psycho-social support should be promoted for these families. Furthermore, greater training about birthmarks for medical professionals is recommended.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

The aim of this study was to investigate possible relationships between psychological strengths, temperament and choice of coping strategy. The study was based on the assumption that a positive life orientation possibly has biological roots. Temperament was defined as a biological factor that influences a positive life orientation and psychological strength. Psychological strength was conceptualised as the presence of a sense of coherence and locus of control. Coping was defined as the choice of coping strategy. A secondary aim of this study was to determine if there are any gender differences between adolescents regarding psychological strengths, temperament and choice of coping strategy. Although there are telling indicators of the influence of temperament on negative life outcomes, the influence of temperament in positive life outcomes are not as clearly delineated. This is especially true regarding adolescents. Even though younger children and adults have been extensively studied regarding salutogenesis and temperament, few studies reported on adolescent salutogenesis and temperament. It was postulated that temperament would have a significant influence on a salutogenic view of life in adolescence and that this would in turn influence the typical ways in which adolescents cope or their choice of coping strategy. The research questions were concerned with the relationship between psychological strength measured as sense of coherence and locus of control, temperament and choice of coping strategy respectively, as well as the ways in which temperament could predict a salutogenic life orientation and ways of coping. A dearth was noted in the literature regarding salutogenesis, temperament and the developmental aspects related to salutogenesis in adolescence. Few studies include adolescents as participants and few concentrate on biologically based variables related to salutogenesis. Few studies report on positive outcomes specifically as it relates to temperament. Lastly a lack of integrative thought in psychology regarding divergent fields like biology and psychology and how it relates to salutogenic functioning, are in evidence. Research questions were explored in a sample of 141 pupils completing Grade 11 at two multi-racial schools in the east of Johannesburg. This sample was taken from a population of urban adolescents with average socio-economic status, completing public schooling in either English or Afrikaans. The average age of participants was 17 years. The sample consisted of 65.2% girls and 34.8% boys. The sample further consisted of 12.8% Black English speaking participants, 77.3% White Afrikaans speaking participants and 9.9% Coloured Afrikaans speaking participants. Four self-report measures were used to measure sense of coherence, temperament and choice of coping strategy. These were the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (Antonovsky, 1987), the Locus of Control Inventory (Schepers, 1999), the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (Zuckerman et al., 1993) and the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993). The Orientation to Life Questionnaire measures Comprehensibility, Manageability and Meaningfulness. The Locus of Control Inventory measures Internal locus of control, External locus of control and Autonomy. The Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire measures Impulsive sensation seeking, Neuroticism-anxiety, Aggression-hostility, Activity and Sociability. The Adolescent Coping Scale measures eighteen coping strategies. Four subscales were removed due to low levels of internal reliability. Choice of coping strategy was therefore only measured by fourteen of the original subscales which were Seek social support, Focus on solving the problem, Work hard and achieve, Worry, Invest in close friends, Wishful thinking, Tension reduction, Social action, Ignore the problem, Self-blame, Keep to self, Seek spiritual support, Seek professional help and Physical recreation. Data collected from the completed questionnaires were tested for normality of subscale distributions. T-tests for independent samples were used to determine whether adolescent boys and girls differed significantly on the mean test scores for sense of coherence, locus of control, choice of coping strategy and temperament. Pearson’s correlation analysis and canonical correlation analyses were conducted to ascertain whether there were any meaningful patterns of relationships between the two sets of variables, i.e. salutogenic functioning and temperament. Finally logistical regression analyses were used to predict salutogenic outcomes based on a set of independent temperament variables. Results indicated gender differences regarding psychological strengths, temperament and coping behaviour. Adolescent boys presented with higher levels of Comprehensibility and Manageability than girls. Adolescent girls generally displayed higher levels of Internal locus of control and Neuroticism-anxiety. They tended to make use of Social support, Worry, Tension reduction and Self-blame as coping strategies. There are strong relationships between the dimensions of psychological strength, temperament and choice of coping strategy. Certain temperament traits like Neuroticism-anxiety and Aggression-hostility contributed to low levels of coherence and external locus of control, as well as the use of dysfunctional coping strategies. Temperament traits like Activity and Sociability contributed to high coherence, Autonomy and a choice of adaptive coping strategies. These results indicate possible links between biological functioning and perception as well as coping behaviour. It may be concluded that there are links between psychological strengths like sense of coherence and locus of control, temperament and coping. The dynamics of the interaction between these variables are complex but becoming increasingly clear. Temperament traits contribute separately and in combination to perceptions of Comprehensibility, Manageability, Meaningfulness, control attributions and coping. It would therefore seem that constellations of traits exist that predict life orientation and behavioural outcomes. The ability to regulate emotion and attention, social adeptness and activity seem to be of particular importance in salutogenic perceptions and adaptive coping. The results of this study pertain to a particular sample of adolescents that cannot necessarily be generalised to other populations. It is recommended that this study should be replicated in more diverse samples especially from other cultures and communities. Care should be taken to develop and use measuring instruments applicable in a multi-cultural South African context and other indexes of biological functioning, salutogenesis and coping could be used. The findings of this study should be integrated to applicatory models when working with youths. / Professor Anita Stuart

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban Institute of technology, 2002. / Background: Low back pain is a common problem for which many conservative treatments are available. Spinal manipulation is considered one of the most effective of these treatments. Interferential therapy is widely used especially for pain control and often forms part of a treatment protocol. However, there is little clinical evidence to support this usage. Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of interferential current therapy as an adjunct to manipulation in the treatment of acute mechanical low back pain in terms of subjective and objective measures. Methods: Sixty subjects suffering from acute mechanical low back pain were recruited through advertising and randomly divided into two groups with thirty patients each. Group A received manipulation and interferential therapy and group B received manipulation only. Both groups received 4 treatments and a follow-up consultation over a 2 week period. Subjective measurements were taken using the Numerical Rating Scale - 101and revised Oswestry low back pain questionnaire. Objective measurements were taken using an algometer and an orthopaedic rating scale. All measurements were taken before treatment on the first, third and fifth consultations. Statistical inter-group analysis was completed using the two sample unpaired t-test and the Mann-Whitney U-test. Friedman's T test was used to evaluate the intra-group information. The null hypothesis was rejected at a = 0.05 level of significance. Results: Both treatment groups A and B achieved a significant improvement in pain and disability over the treatment period. However, no significant differences in terms of pain and disability could be found between the two groups at any stage during, or at the end of the treatment period. / M

Self-compassion has emerged as a relatively new construct in the psychological sciences, and brought with it potential as an additional psychological dimension of health and well-being (Neff, 2003a; Zessin, Dickhaüser, & Garbade, 2015). Neff's Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003b) is the most widely-used questionnaire to assess this construct, though has been challenged on the basis of its psychometric properties (Castilho, Pinto-Gouveia, & Duarte, 2015). Ongoing research continues to refute these concerns with the scale's psychometrics (Neff, 2016). To potentially grow the empirical support of the SCS as a meaningful aspect of psychological functioning, exploration of construct validity via multimethod approaches and predictive utility is indicated. The current study investigated self-compassion of recently-separated adults (N = 137) at study entry as assessed using the SCS, which were rated from multiple sources (self and observer) and obtained from multiple sources (in-laboratory and naturalistic environment). The study followed participants over an average of five months, collecting psychological distress measures at five visits, each one month apart. I found preliminary evidence that initial levels of observer-rated self-compassion predict later self-reported psychological functioning, replicating a prior finding in the literature (Sbarra, Smith, & Mehl, 2012), and may do so over and above one's own self-rated self-compassion. Predictive models indicated meaningful effects of particular psychological covariates, such as depression, attachment style, and self-esteem, which may play a role in the relationship between self-compassion and psychological functioning. This research expands current knowledge on self-compassion as a psychological construct and its potential as a protective factor against psychological maladjustment following a major life stressor.

M. Tech. / It has been noted in the literature that the sensory system consists of the visual, vestibular and somatosensory systems (Guyton and Hall, 1997; Arnold and Schmitz, 1998; Murphy, 2000; Nakata and Yabe, 2001; Magee, 2002 and Gatterman, 2004). In congruence with the above authors Katz (1996), Gatterman (2004) and Murphy (2000), Morningstar, Pettibon, Schlappi, Schlapp and Ireland (2005) further stated that the postural reflexes can be subcategorised as the following: visual righting reflex, labyrinthine righting reflexes, neck righting reflexes, body on head righting reflexes and body on body righting reflexes. Each of these neurological mechanisms plays a role in balance / equilibrium. Furthermore it has been shown that spinal manipulative therapy has an effect on neurological systems. Therefore it stands to reason that spinal manipulative therapy may have an effect on balance or equilibrium.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is an important cereal crop currently explored as a potential bio-energy crop due to its stress tolerance and ability to ferment soluble sugars. Physiological studies on sorghum varieties have demonstrated that part of drought tolerance is attributed to sugar accumulation in the sorghum stems. Despite the agronomic advantages of sorghum as a bio-energy crop, more research efforts towards the molecular elucidation of sorghum traits that confer drought tolerance are necessary. Particular focus on traits, which could potentially contribute to an efficient bio-energy production under environmental constraints, would be an added advantage. This study examined the role of sugar biosynthesis proteins in conferring tolerance to drought-induced hyperosmotic stress, and ultimately osmotic adjustment in sorghum varieties. Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench varieties (ICSB338, ICSB73, ICSV213 and S35) with different levels of drought tolerance, were grown under watered conditions until early anthesis after which, a 10-day water deficit period was introduced

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Orthopedagogics))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Orthopaedic Surgery / unrestricted

A dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic at Technikon Natal, 1998. / The absence oftested theory has resulted in the continued variation of treatment protocols in the treatment of mechanical low back pain. This study was designed to determine the relative effectiveness of specific passive mobilization versus spinal manipulation in the treatment of uncomplicated mechanical low back pain. It was hypothesized that both spinal manipulative therapy and specific passive mobilization would be effective, but that manipulation would be significantly more effective in terms of objective and subjective findings, over the same two week treatment period / M

The adaptation to a new country is a complex and stressful process that is compounded when changes in status and identity have to be made. This exploratory study examined the adaptation of international company transferee spouses when they decide to follow the transferee on overseas assignments. Research to date indicates that the spouses’ dissatisfaction with life abroad is the leading cause of transferees breaking contract and prematurely returning home. The causes of this dissatisfaction are still not clear and this study sought greater clarification, particularly examining the experiences of male as well as female trailing spouses. The study, thus, takes gender as a main variable to consider. It explores how gendered expectations inherent in the structures of society inflect and inform the decisions, attitudes, and behaviors that affect the adaptations of trailing spouses living in a foreign habitus. The study is based on eight months of ethnographic research in two culturally different locations, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Brussels, Belgium. Forty-two American international company transferee spouses were recruited (seven males and thirty-five females). The data analysis revolved around five main themes: (1) the comparison of male with female trailing spouses’ experiences, (2) the effect of location on spouses’ adaptation, (3) the communities that spouses integrate into, (4) variations in personal work and family histories, and (5) conditions of exit. The analysis engaged multiple theories regarding gender, sociological adaptation, and psychological adaptation. Results indicate that both socio-cultural and psychological factors affect adaptation and that gender matters very significantly, particularly along two axes: (1) gendered structures in our society create different reasons why males and females become trailing spouses, (2) the gendered social constructions of role expectations make the experience of being a trailing husband different from being a trailing wife. In addition spouses’ status as parents (or not) and their “readiness for change” were found to be important predictors of positive spousal adaptation. In contrast, significant ties with families in the home country and strong professional identity with career projections were important predictors of negative spousal adaptation.