No description available.

The work environment in which South African employees have to function in is highly demanding, offering them little in terms of job security, but simultaneously expecting them to give more in terms of inter alia flexibility, competency, and effort. Tracking and addressing government employees' functioning in areas that could affect their wellness and consequent standard of service is essential. Job insecurity, affectivity, burnout and work engagement are specific focus areas in this research. It is important to use reliable and valid measuring instruments to measure these constructs. It appears that job insecurity may affect employees' levels of burnout and work engagement and that affectivity may also influence the stress outcome relationship. A lack of South African research exists regarding job insecurity and wellness of employees, hence the importance of this research. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, affectivity, burnout, and work engagement of employees (N = 297) in a government organisation. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Constructs were measured by means of the Job Insecurity Inventory (JII), the Affectometer 2 (AFM 2), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). The research method for each of the three articles consists of a brief literature review and an empirical study. Exploratory factor analyses, as well as Cronbach's alphas were computed to assess the reliability and validity of the OLBI, UWES and AFM 2. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the construct validity of the JII, while alpha coefficients were computed to assess the internal consistency of its scales. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data and Pearson product moment correlation coefficients, as well as regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between the constructs employed in this research. Structural equation modeling results confirmed the two-factor structure of the JII, consisting of an affective and cognitive dimension, although a one-factor model also resulted in a good, but not superior fit. Exploratory factor analyses of the OLBI resulted in a two-factor model of burnout, consisting of exhaustion disengagement and engagement subscale and the UWES resulted in a one-factor model of engagement. Exploratory factor analyses of the AFM 2 resulted in a two-factor model, consisting of a negative and positive affect scale. All scales used in this research demonstrated adequate internal consistencies. It was found that white participants experience higher levels of cognitive job insecurity and lower levels of engagement (OLBI) compared to black participants. Shorter tenure was associated with increased engagement (OLBI). It was furthermore found that participants who had been working in the organisation for less than one year and those who worked for two to five years demonstrated higher levels of positive affect compared to employees who had been working in the organisation for 11 years and longer. Regarding negative affect, it was established that participants with tenure less than one year presented lower negative affect levels compared to participants who had been employed in the organisation for longer. Job insecurity and burnout were found to be statistically significantly correlated. Cognitive and affective job insecurity demonstrated a practically significant relationship with work engagement. Positive and negative affectivity showed a practically significant correlation with both the affective and cognitive job insecurity scales and work engagement. Positive affectivity partially mediated the relationship between cognitive job insecurity and exhaustion disengagement. Furthermore, both positive and negative affectivity partially mediated the relationship between cognitive job insecurity and work engagement. Conclusions are made, limitations of the current research are discussed and recommendations for future research are put forward. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

The work environment in which South African employees have to function in is highly demanding, offering them little in terms of job security, but simultaneously expecting them to give more in terms of inter alia flexibility, competency, and effort. Tracking and addressing government employees' functioning in areas that could affect their wellness and consequent standard of service is essential. Job insecurity, affectivity, burnout and work engagement are specific focus areas in this research. It is important to use reliable and valid measuring instruments to measure these constructs. It appears that job insecurity may affect employees' levels of burnout and work engagement and that affectivity may also influence the stress outcome relationship. A lack of South African research exists regarding job insecurity and wellness of employees, hence the importance of this research. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, affectivity, burnout, and work engagement of employees (N = 297) in a government organisation. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Constructs were measured by means of the Job Insecurity Inventory (JII), the Affectometer 2 (AFM 2), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). The research method for each of the three articles consists of a brief literature review and an empirical study. Exploratory factor analyses, as well as Cronbach's alphas were computed to assess the reliability and validity of the OLBI, UWES and AFM 2. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the construct validity of the JII, while alpha coefficients were computed to assess the internal consistency of its scales. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data and Pearson product moment correlation coefficients, as well as regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between the constructs employed in this research. Structural equation modeling results confirmed the two-factor structure of the JII, consisting of an affective and cognitive dimension, although a one-factor model also resulted in a good, but not superior fit. Exploratory factor analyses of the OLBI resulted in a two-factor model of burnout, consisting of exhaustion disengagement and engagement subscale and the UWES resulted in a one-factor model of engagement. Exploratory factor analyses of the AFM 2 resulted in a two-factor model, consisting of a negative and positive affect scale. All scales used in this research demonstrated adequate internal consistencies. It was found that white participants experience higher levels of cognitive job insecurity and lower levels of engagement (OLBI) compared to black participants. Shorter tenure was associated with increased engagement (OLBI). It was furthermore found that participants who had been working in the organisation for less than one year and those who worked for two to five years demonstrated higher levels of positive affect compared to employees who had been working in the organisation for 11 years and longer. Regarding negative affect, it was established that participants with tenure less than one year presented lower negative affect levels compared to participants who had been employed in the organisation for longer. Job insecurity and burnout were found to be statistically significantly correlated. Cognitive and affective job insecurity demonstrated a practically significant relationship with work engagement. Positive and negative affectivity showed a practically significant correlation with both the affective and cognitive job insecurity scales and work engagement. Positive affectivity partially mediated the relationship between cognitive job insecurity and exhaustion disengagement. Furthermore, both positive and negative affectivity partially mediated the relationship between cognitive job insecurity and work engagement. Conclusions are made, limitations of the current research are discussed and recommendations for future research are put forward. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

The relationship of attributional style to anxiety and depression in children and adolescents has received little attention in comparison to studies conducted with adult populations. However, preliminary studies suggest that children and adolescents evidence similar attributional style patterns to those expressed by adults. This study further examines the relationship of anxiety and depression to attributional style to determine the utility and applicability of the adult model to children and adolescents. In addition, this study examines the accuracy of obtaining attributional style ratings using hypothetical events (i.e., questionnaire method) versus real-life events. Further, this study was designed to study the relationship of emotional measures of anxiety and depression (Le., Children's Depression Inventory and Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale) versus cognitive measures of anxiety and depression (Negative Affect Self-Statement Questionnaire). It was hypothesized that real life events (as measured by the Specific Life Events Schedule; SLES) would prove to be a concurrently valid measure of attributional style in relation to hypothetical events presented through a questionnaire method (as measured by the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire; CASQ). As well, it was predicted that real life events of the SLES would prove to be a more accurate measure of attributional style than hypothetical life events of the CASQ, in relation to achieved depression scores. Furthermore, it was predicted that certain indices of attributional style and negative self-statements would prove to be significant predictors of depression (as measured by the CDI) and anxiety scores (as measured by the RCMAS). / Master of Science

In the present study, the relationship between dispositional affectivity and job performance was investigated under the potential mediating effects of job satisfaction. The study was conducted in three phases. In Phase I, the scale development phase, an assistant evaluation form (AEF) was developed by collecting job analytic information from 35 Teaching Assistants (TAs) and critical incidents from 38 faculty members from a wide range of departments in Middle East Technical University (METU). In the second phase of the study, the pilot study, factor structure of the AEF was examined using principle component analyses. Pilot data were gathered from the faculty members working in different departments at METU. Results yielded two factors underlying the AEF. The first factor was named task performance, the second factor was named contextual performance. In the main study phase of the study, hypotheses were tested by gathering dispositional affectivity and job satisfaction data from 103 TAs, and performance evaluation data from 103 instructors whom the TAs had worked with during the previous semester. Results supported only the hypothesis stating that positive affectivity (PA) would predict job satisfaction. Results are discussed along with the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.

No description available.

‘Education’ is widely regarded as the primary agent of transformation towards ‘sustainable development (SD). In England, ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ (ESD) has been an established part of the National Curriculum, but in secondary schools, the subject of music, which seems to have great potential for helping in creating interest and awareness of SD to foster responsible behaviours, appears more often to be ignored. There is a growing enthusiasm for, and anecdotal recognition of, the benefits of using music in the teaching of SD issues to young people amongst educators and musicians. However, no in-depth ESD empirical research with regard to music education and few ESD good practices currently exist. To this end, the PhD, which examines the pedagogical potential of music in ESD and the role of music as a learning medium in the development of students’ capacities necessary for a more sustainable future, fills this research gap. An ethnographical intervention, informed by constructionist and symbolic interactionist approaches, is employed in this project. Sets of music-SD lessons in the lower stages of four secondary schools in London boroughs were analysed as case studies of how SD might be taught in music classrooms. Evidence suggested that it is feasible and beneficial to embed SD into the secondary music curriculum. The findings demonstrated that a transformative pedagogical approach in ESD was achieved by combining different methods for integration, including listening, composing and performing pieces of music, raps and songs on SD and creating and performing junk instruments, with a range of strategies of ESD, such as discussion, audio and visual activities, brainstorming and co-operative work, in a holistic process. For some students, compared with the traditional subjects for ESD, such as geography and science, the particular ways of learning SD within the musical context seemingly resulted in their higher level of enthusiastic, active, participative, affective and transformative learning, and thus positively affected the achievement of the outcomes of ESD, which was manifested in the development of their SD-related understandings, skills, attitudes and potential behaviours.

A instituição escolar depara-se com outras e novas demandas formativas, nesse cenário de transformações, também se percebe mudança significativa na atividade docente. Nesse sentido, é necessário administrar os conflitos e adversidades, o que ocasiona desgaste físico e afetivo. Nem sempre valorizada no trabalho pedagógico, a dimensão afetiva docente pode assumir múltiplos sentidos e diversos significados nas relações humanas - o que deve ser considerado na dinâmica das interações e a partir do contexto que se produzem e são produzidas, pois os acontecimentos da vida têm significados e sentidos diferentes para cada sujeito, que concebe o seu modo de ser-no-mundo. Nesse sentido, foi proposta pesquisa de caráter qualitativo, fundamentada na perspectiva histórico-cultural do desenvolvimento humano de Vigotski. Assim, a abordagem privilegiou a profundidade e o alcance das informações, o que permitiu não somente descrever, mas interpretar os dados, tendo a linguagem como um dos principais recursos para conhecer a essência dos fenômenos, em consonância com o conceito de promoção da saúde. Objetivou-se, então, analisar como os professores da Educação Básica compreendem sua afetividade em sala de aula e como a relacionam à sua saúde. Para tal, participaram 10 professores que, à época, lecionavam no 6º ano de uma escola pública do interior paulista. Como ferramenta para construção dos dados, foi adotada a entrevista narrativa; os dados foram submetidos à Análise Temática proposta por Braun e Clarke (2006), focalizando os aspectos expressados e palavras presentes no discurso (material linguístico), considerando o campo da subjetividade, das necessidades e motivos dos sujeitos, para dar luz à forma do processo de significação da afetividade dos professores e como a relacionam com a sua saúde. A análise do material resultou na organização de quatro temas: 1. Desafios da profissão: os afetos que afetam a sala de aula; 2. as relações na e para além da sala de aula: as semânticas dos vínculos; 3. as vicissitudes dos afetos do professor: do desejo à frustração, da satisfação ao desgosto; 4. os afetos que afetam a saúde do professor: o adoecimento e as estratégias de enfrentamento. Espera-se que, com os resultados deste estudo, surja um novo olhar para a experiência afetiva do professor, uma compreensão integral, buscando outro entendimento da concepção da afetividade e seus impactos na saúde do professor em sala de aula, não apenas atrelada à relação ensino-aprendizagem ou saúde-doença, mas suas explicitações e consequências como aspecto das interações em sala de aula, e do próprio trabalho docente / The school institution faces other and new formative demands, in this scenario of transformations, it is also noticed a significant change in the teaching activity. For this, it is necessary to manage the conflicts and adversities, which causes physical and affective exhaustion. Not always appreciated in the pedagogical work, the affective dimension of the teacher may assume multiple senses and different meanings in human relations. This dimension, therefore, must be considered in the dynamics of interactions, from the context that has been produced and produces, since the events of the life have different meanings and senses for each person, who conceives his/her way of being-in-the-world. In this sense, a qualitative research was proposed, based on the historical-cultural perspective of Vygotsky\'s human development. Thus, the approach privileged the depth and the scope of the information, which allowed not only to describe but to interpret the data, having the language as one of the main resources to understand the essence of the phenomena, in accordance with the concept of health promotion. The purpose of this study was to analyze how teachers of Basic Education understand their affectivity in the classroom and how they relate it to their health. For that, 10 teachers participated, who, at the time, was teaching in the 6th year of a public school in the interior of São Paulo. As a tool for data construction, the narrative interview was adopted; the data were submitted to the Thematic Analysis proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006), focusing on the expressed aspects and words present in the discourse (linguistic material), considering the field of subjectivity, the needs and motives of the subjects, to give light to the form of the process of teachers\' affectivity and how they relate it to their health. The analysis of the material resulted in the organization of four themes: 1. Challenges of the profession: the affects that affect the classroom; 2. relations in and beyond the classroom: the semantics of links; 3. the changes of the teacher\'s affections: from desire to frustration, from satisfaction to disgust; 4. The affects that affect the health of the teacher: illness and coping strategies. With the results of this study, it is hoped that a new perspective emerges for the teacher\'s affective experience. Then, this integral comprehension will seek another understanding of the conception of affectivity and its impacts on the health of the teacher in the classroom, not only linked to the relation teaching-learning or health-disease, but its explanations and consequences as aspect of the interactions in the classroom, and of the teaching work itself

Na psicologia do desenvolvimento tem-se realizado pesquisas que buscam investigar os processos desenvolvimentais em suas dimensões cognitivas, sociais e biológicas em todo o ciclo da vida. Nesse contexto o presente trabalho buscou evidenciar o papel da afetividade como dimensão fundamental no processo desenvolvimental do sujeito, através da investigação das implicações entre a formação de vínculos intersubjetivos na primeira infância e o desenvolvimento da afetividade humana à partir do legado da obra de Merleau-Ponty. À vista disso, a presente investigação baseou-se nos estudos de Merleau-Ponty sobre a psicologia do desenvolvimento infantil, nomeadamente o diálogo que o filósofo estabeleceu em seus trabalhos com Henri Wallon e com a perspectiva psicanalítica. Também foi a proposta deste trabalho, prolongar esse diálogo com produções mais recentes nessas áreas citadas. Neste sentido, encontramos na Fenomenologia da Percepção de Merleau-Ponty e nos trabalhos sobre a emersão da consciência em Rochat (2002) descrições sobre a experiência afetiva do recém-nato em que esta é representada por um o Si corporal sustentado por funções anônimas e por uma experiência de generalidade. O egocentrismo infantil, sobretudo nas considerações de Bimbenet (2002), é entendido nesse contexto como uma experiência de abertura radical da criança ao mundo, fundada em uma relação de Ineinander, ou seja, de inerência e de mutua penetração de corpos entendida como uma experiência de indistinção baseada em uma intercoporeidade. Essa circunstância manifestaria-se sobretudo, nas considerações apresentadas por Meltzoff e Gallager (1996), Wallon (1959) e Bimbenet (2011) no âmbito das imitações neonatais em que estas são apresentadas em seu caráter não funcionalista e de identificação em profundidade com o outro, expressando-se como a manifestação privilegiada de um descentramento originário. Nesse sentido chegou-se a proposição de que tais fenômenos seriam sustentados por uma mimesis, uma vez que esta expressaria uma relação de ser dentro de uma perspectiva ontológica em que a alteridade tem destaque. O conceito de prematuração é apresentado por Merleau-Ponty (1949-52/2010), Bimbenet (2002) e Lacan (1984) nesse contexto como a expressão de uma relação de um exterior constitutivo do interior em que a ênfase recai nas relações da criança com o adulto, nomeadamente com a mãe. A mimesis se expressaria nesse contexto em um investimento afetivo, que seria deflagrado através de um processo identificatório com o representante materno, que passaria a expressar uma condição narcísica e da formação de uma imagem corporal pela criança e a decorrente assunção desta enquanto sujeito portador de uma vida oficial / In developmental psychology research has been carried out to investigate developmental processes in their cognitive, social and biological dimensions throughout the life cycle. In this context, the present work sought to highlight the role of affectivity as a fundamental dimension in the developmental process of the subject, through the investigation of the implications between the formation of intersubjective bonds in early childhood and the development of human affectivity from the legacy of Merleau-Ponty\'s work . Thus, the present investigation was based on Merleau-Ponty\'s studies on the psychology of child development, namely the dialogue that the philosopher established in his works with Henri Wallon and with the psychoanalytic perspective. It was also the proposal of this work, to prolong this dialogue with more recent productions in these areas. In this sense, we find in the Phenomenology of the Perception of Merleau-Ponty and in the works on the emersion of consciousness in Rochat (2002) descriptions about the affective experience of the newborn in which it\'s represented by a bodily \"Self\" sustained by anonymous functions and by an experience of generality. The child egocentrism, especially in the considerations of Bimbenet (2002), is understood in this context as an experience of radical opening of the child to the world, founded on an Ineinander relation, that is, of inherency and mutual penetration of bodies, understood as an experience of indistinction based on an intercoporeity. This circumstance would be manifested mainly by Meltzoff and Gallager (1996), Wallon (1959) and Bimbenet (2011) considerations in the context of neonatal imitations in which they are presented in their non-functionalist character and in-depth identification to the other, expressing itself as the privileged manifestation of an original decentering. In this sense, it has been proposed that such phenomena would be supported by a \"mimesis\", since it would express a relation of being within an ontological perspective in which the otherness stands out. The concept of prematureness is presented by Merleau-Ponty (1949-52 / 2010), Bimbenet (2002) and Lacan (1984) in this context as the expression of a relation of an exterior which is constitutive of the interior and in which the emphasis falls on the relations of the child with the adult, especially with the mother. The \"mimesis\" would be expressed in this context as an affective investment, which would be triggered by an identification process with the maternal representative, which would begin to express a narcissistic condition and the formation of a corporal image by the child and the consequent assumption of this child as a subject who sustains an official life