Contextual factors linked to behaviour problems in schools include leadership, organisational culture (within individual schools), and levels of teacher stress. Efforts to improve the school environment, reduce teacher stress, and improve student outcomes often have a singular focus on behaviour management policy. The aim of this research concerns the direction of effects from these variables, and offers an alternative perspective on the environment-behaviour equation. That is, while student misbehaviour is viewed as a 'producer' of teacher stress, it may also be perceived as a 'product'. An initial qualitative investigation (Study 1) invited behaviour management staff (N = 23) to participate in focus groups, where three questions were posed in relation to the overall research aims. Content analysis was performed on the transcribed focus group data, and revealed that the hypothesised direction of effect between the variables of interest appeared probable. Participants for the main studies (Studies 2 and 3) were teaching staff (N = 136), school administrators (N = 17) and students referred for behavioural problems (N = 1432) at seven Brisbane metropolitan schools. Teachers and school administrators completed both the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Organisational Culture Inventory, while teachers also completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Student data was collated from school records, and grouped according to categories of referral frequency per student. In Study 2, high referral rates were associated with transactional leadership, and the Oppositional aspect of Aggressive-Defensive culture. Low and medium referral rates were associated with transformational leadership and the Dependent, Approval, and Avoidant aspects of Passive-Defensive culture, and the Affiliative aspect of Constructive culture. Regression tests found further support for the proposed path model and the hypothesised direction of effects. Transactional leadership and the Passive-Defensive and Aggressive-Defensive culture types were most influential in prediction of referral rates for student misbehaviour. Unexpectedly, teacher stress was non-significant in explanation of referral rates for student misbehaviour. Study 3 examined hypothesised differences in perception between school administrators and teaching staff, according to the leadership and organisational culture dimensions. Both groups endorsed transformational leadership as the dominant style, although results differed by degree for each group. In terms of school culture, differences between groups were again evident, as teachers' perceptions of school culture were significantly more negative compared to school administrators. Overall, qualified support was found for the hypothesised direction of effects from school environment variables on referral rates for student misbehaviour. Leadership style and school culture emerged as most important for the student outcome variable, and may be important in consideration of school-based approaches to behaviour management. Additionally, teacher stress, while related to school leadership style and organisational culture, appeared to have no effect on student referral rates.

Bronfenbrenners Process-Person-Context-Time model was used to examine the relationships among the process of negative parenting, the person characteristics of child temperament and early aggressive behaviour and the contexts of family income (in)adequacy and maternal depression from infancy to school entry and their effects on the outcome of aggressive behaviour in boys at school entry. The sample included 361 boys in two-parent families who participated in the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Structural equation modeling was used with a repeated measures longitudinal design. The model explained 43% of the variance in boys aggressive behaviour at school age. The results indicated that, by preschool age, boys and mothers behaviours are well established, and that process, person, and context variables all influence the persistence of boys aggressive behaviour. The strength of the effects of these variables increased with their proximity to the developing child and decreased over time. By school age, concurrent effects were not significant. The addition of the contextual variables resulted in ill-fitting models. Modification indices suggested the ill fit was localized in modeling the persistence of maternal depression, and not in the relationship between maternal depression and the other variables in the model. Modification indices also suggested there may be reciprocal effects between boys aggressive behaviour and both negative parenting and maternal depression, but this was not tested. Future research using a cross-lagged panel design could clarify these relationships. This study contributes to a growing body of research on the development of aggressive behaviour in children and underscores the importance of examining the contribution of the multiple levels of process, person, context, and time to the development of aggressive behaviour. Findings of this study provide evidence that the effects of proximal processes and proximal contexts on the development of boys aggressive behaviour are strongest in infancy and toddlerhood, and their consequences extend through to school entry. Initiating prevention and intervention efforts in early childhood that provide parents-to-be and parents of young children with practical direction in ways to engage in positive and responsive interactions with their children would do more to reduce the development of aggressive behaviour in children than would later interventions aimed at changing entrenched behaviours in both parents and children.

Hur beter sig skärpiplärkor (Anthus petrosus) när de försvarar reviret mot en inkräktare under häckning? Eskalerar de aggressivitet olika eller har de en gemensam strategi? Påverkas beteendet av häckningsfas? Kan använd tid säga något om motivation att försvara revir? För att besvara dessa frågor placerades en burhållen artfrände av endera kön i etablerade revir. I studien mättes ägnad tid åt olika aggressiva beteenden, vilka hade klassats och graderats beroende av styrkan i hoten. Resultatet visade att alla hanar eskalerar aggression på ett likartat sätt och ägnade i medeltal lika lång tid åt olika nivåer. Individuella skillnader förekom dock då några individer eskalerade lite snabbare men det tolkades inte som ökad motivation att försvara revir. Tiden de ägnade åt de olika nivåerna varierade inte beroende av häckningsfas. / How do rock pipits (Anthus petrosus) behave when they defend a territory against an intruder during their breeding season? Do they escalate aggression differently, or do they have a common strategy? Does breeding phase influence the behavior? May used time tell something about the motivation to defend the territory? To answer these questions a caged conspecific of either sex were placed in established territories. In the study the time was measured of each different aggressive behavior, which had been classified into levels according to the intensity of the threat. The results showed that all males escalated aggression in the same way and devoted similar lengths of time to the different levels. Some individual differences occurred as a few individuals escalated somewhat rapidly, however, this was not interpreted as increased motivation to defend the territory. The time they devoted to different levels did not vary depending on breeding phase.

Not many children report relationships with friends that are both close and conflictual. There is a paucity of research examining the trajectory of children's relationship closeness and conflict together over time. This is unfortunate because contentious relationships are related to cardiovascular problems, at least in young adults and because the trajectories of these two aspects of children's relationship quality over time is not understood. Therefore, two longitudinal data sets with younger (mean age 7.5 years at Time 1; four data points over 2 years) and older (mean age 9.9 years at Time 1; two data points over 1 year) children were studied. In both cohorts, measures of friendship quality and peer nominations of liking/disliking as well as overt and relational (older cohort) aggression were completed. Children who reported relationships high in both closeness and conflict were generally satisfied with their friendships; they were not more likely to end their friendships than were children who reported different levels of closeness and conflict (younger cohort). Both boys' and girls' relationship closeness increased over time according to growth curve analyses. The relationships of girls who remained in the same friendship, and who therefore provided ratings on the same friend at each time point, tended to increase in closeness at a different rate over time than the relationships of girls who provided ratings on different friends (younger cohort). Children who reported relationships high in closeness and in conflict were not more aggressive over time than were children who reported different levels of relationship closeness and conflict. However, girls' closeness and overt aggression tracked each other (increased) over time (younger cohort). Girls who reported low social support and negative interactions in their friendships increased the most in overt aggression over time (older cohort). Aggressive and nonaggressive children generally reported similar friendship quality (both cohorts), but the friendship closeness of chronically aggressive boys decreased over time (younger cohort). There were negligible friendship quality differences amongst the sociometric groups. The discussion centers on friendship quality changes in children's continuing friendships, the potential dire effects of turbulent friendships and the friendships of aggressive as well as controversial children.

Not many children report relationships with friends that are both close and conflictual. There is a paucity of research examining the trajectory of children's relationship closeness and conflict together over time. This is unfortunate because contentious relationships are related to cardiovascular problems, at least in young adults and because the trajectories of these two aspects of children's relationship quality over time is not understood. Therefore, two longitudinal data sets with younger (mean age 7.5 years at Time 1; four data points over 2 years) and older (mean age 9.9 years at Time 1; two data points over 1 year) children were studied. In both cohorts, measures of friendship quality and peer nominations of liking/disliking as well as overt and relational (older cohort) aggression were completed. Children who reported relationships high in both closeness and conflict were generally satisfied with their friendships; they were not more likely to end their friendships than were children who reported different levels of closeness and conflict (younger cohort). Both boys' and girls' relationship closeness increased over time according to growth curve analyses. The relationships of girls who remained in the same friendship, and who therefore provided ratings on the same friend at each time point, tended to increase in closeness at a different rate over time than the relationships of girls who provided ratings on different friends (younger cohort). Children who reported relationships high in closeness and in conflict were not more aggressive over time than were children who reported different levels of relationship closeness and conflict. However, girls' closeness and overt aggression tracked each other (increased) over time (younger cohort). Girls who reported low social support and negative interactions in their friendships increased the most in overt aggression over time (older cohort). Aggressive and nonaggressive children generally reported similar friendship quality (both cohorts), but the friendship closeness of chronically aggressive boys decreased over time (younger cohort). There were negligible friendship quality differences amongst the sociometric groups. The discussion centers on friendship quality changes in children's continuing friendships, the potential dire effects of turbulent friendships and the friendships of aggressive as well as controversial children.

Social conflict is a part of everyday life, and it can be a potent stressor for both humans and other animals. In the laboratory, when two Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) compete for territory, a dominance hierarchy is quickly formed. Becoming subordinate is a significant stressor resulting in increased release of adrenocorticotropic hormone, β-endorphin, and cortisol. Defeated hamsters will also subsequently fail to display territorial aggression in future social encounters and will instead display increased submissive behavior, even in the presence of a smaller, non-aggressive intruder. This change in behavior is consistent and long-lasting and has been termed conditioned defeat (CD). Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) is an important neuropeptide in the control of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress. It is also involved in a number of behaviors such as anxiety, stress responding, food intake, learning, and memory. The widespread distribution of CRF, CRF-like peptides, and CRF receptors, particularly in brain sites related to anxiety, fear, and stress responses, suggests a role for CRF and CRF-like peptides in modulating emotional responses other than via HPA axis activity. It has also been shown that CRF may have a role in the acquisition and expression of CD. Non-specific and CRF type 2-specific CRF antagonists reduce the acquisition and expression of CD in male hamsters while injection of a CRF type 1-specific antagonist does not. Therefore, the goal of this dissertation was to investigate the role of CRF type 1 and 2 receptors in CD in hamsters and to identify neuroanatomical locations where CRF may be acting. It was found that non-specific or CRF type 1 receptor specific agonists enhance the expression, but not acquisition, of CD. Further, these agonists appear to enhance aggressive behavior in animals that were not previously defeated, suggesting a modulatory role for CRF type 1 receptors in agonistic behavior that depends on an animal’s previous social experience. Further, localization of CRF receptors was determined in hamster brain in sites thought important for CD and agonistic behavior, but changes in receptor binding following defeat were not observed. Implications of these results and future directions are discussed.

Multiple theories suggest that the early parent-child relationship plays an important role in development. Past research has shown linkages between parenting style and aggression as well as between language and aggression. Emerging evidence suggests that attachment security is an important predictor of language development. It was hypothesized that there would be an effect of parent-child relationship quality at 36 months on aggression at school entry via language ability at 54 months. To test this hypothesis, path analysis in M-Plus was used. Data for this study were collected as a part of the NICHD, Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,364). Mediation was tested with bootstrapped estimates of indirect effects. The results did not support the hypothesized m

Den här uppsatsen handlar om mobbing ur elevers perspektiv. Jag har valt att intervjua barn i åldrarna 8-12 år, och barnen kom från två olika grundskolor i mellan Sverige. Den litteratur som används är mestadels baserad på nordisk forskning. I studien redogörs för barnens uppfattning om vilka personligheter som mobbar och vilka som offren är. Hur ser barnen på fenomenet mobbing och hur kan lärare och elever, enligt dem, arbeta tillsammans för att förebygga mobbing i skolan. Vilka blir konsekvenserna för de som deltar i dessa handlingar och för dem som blir utsatta? I undersökningen redogörs det också för fem av de antimobbningsprogram som är vanligt förekommande i landets skolor. Studien visar att alla eleverna visste vad mobbing är för dem, att det kan vara fula ord, slag och sparkar. Eleverna tror att de som mobbar är arga eller ledsna av sig, och de som blir mobbade kan vara vilka ersoner som helst. Dessa barn som drabbats av mobbing kommer troligtvis drabbas av huvudvärk, magont, dåligt självförtroende, huvudvärk och magont. Dom vill inte gå till skolan, och i värsta fall får de självmordstankar. / This essay is about bullying from the students point of view. I`ve chosen to interview children between 8-12 years old, in two schools from the central part of Sweden. The main part of the literature I´ve used is based on Nordic researches. The study reads up on children`s perception of what personalities the bullies have and who their victims are. What is bullying for them, the children I interviewed, and how can we work together to prevent bullying in schools. What are the consequences for those who participate in these acts and for those who are being abused? The investigation also reads up on five of the most common bullying programs used in scholls around Sweden. The study shows that every one of the students knew what bullying is, that  it can be nasty words, punches and kicks. The students belive that those who bully are angry and sad, and those who are being subjected can be anyone. These children most likely will get low self esteem, headache and stomach problems. They don`t want to go to school, and in worse cases they´ll get suicidal thoughts.

Due to the rapid revolution in trading strategies, market environment is very different from the past, and the market intervention in national stock exchanges has been taken seriously again . However, very few studies discussed the rule-based trading suspension for individual stocks in the past, and most of them only focused on the impact of trading halt on market performance. For this reason, this study in addition to measures impact of market performance, another major analysis focuses on the differences between individual and institutional investors order behavior under different halt conditions. We try to understand whether the current halt mechanism achieves the purposes of reducing the information asymmetry and the abnormal volatility. The market performence empirical results show that transitory trading halt can reduce the overreaction of re-opening, but the halt of follow-up 5 minutes of the liquidity decreased, and volatility increased. Next, we find the individual investors order aggressive tend to be conservative in the period of suspension. In contrast, Institutional investor behavior will tend to be more positive with higher information asymmetry and will not be affected by the trading halt. Moreover, from follow-up 20 minutes individual-institutional transaction VWAP ratio, we find that the trading halt will improve the performance of individual investors transactions.

The sharpnose pufferfish Canthigaster valentini is widespread over the Indo-Pacific tropical coral-reef region. The social system contains territorial male, non-territorial male, and territorial female. Territorial male always occupy a fixed territory and own several territorial females forming a harem in its territory. Previous researches were concerned about field observations or laboratory tests for agonistic respondences towards self-mirror stimuli. Research on dyad interaction is rarely seen in literature. The first objective of this study focuses on the agonistic interactions between two individuals from different combinations of the abovementioned (i.e., male-male and female-female) social categories under a more spacious laboratory condition. Characteristics for intra-individual behavioral sequences were described and compared. Besides, attentions were also paid to the possible factors (e.g., sex, social status) controlling the major aggressive display (i.e., Circling). The second objective is to conduct research on the water spitting behavior of this species that I had discovered. Factors including body size, presence of food and depth of water were tested to see if any of them is the releasing factor for this behavior. The amount of information transmitted in an intra-individual behavior sequence for a male winner was highest, whereas that for a female winner was lowest. Except for Circling, FRD, FLD, and HD were the other major aggressive behaviors. The average number of aggressive behavior in an intra-individual behavior sequence and display time for male were higher than that for female. More attacks were launched in female pairs than in male pairs. For female pairs, attacks were performed by both contestants , whereas only the winners attacked its opponent in male pairs. Male tended to launch the first attack after the longest Circling but that situation did not hold for female. Circling , a agonistic behavior nor quantitatively described in other studies, can be classified into S-type and C-type. The probability of occurrences for these two types of circling were not significant different. Cycle number was higher in the early phase of an aggressive interaction in male pairs. And male spent more time in circling during an aggressive interaction. Under the experimental setting of this study, body length did not affect the outcomes of a aggressive contest. For male pairs, ratio of body high/body length played a role in determining the outcomes. Presence of food , water depth, and movement of objects above the holding aquarium were all releasing factors for the water spitting behavior and presence of food might be the most important one.