Health behaviors tend to occur together. However, the research on what factors define and regulate their coexistence within individuals is still limited. There is also no established methodology to investigate regulation mechanisms of multiple health behaviours. The objectives of the study were to explore: 1) co-occurrence of multiple health behaviours (smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, and healthy eating) in a sample of Canadian university students; 2) the role of motivational (e.g., controlled, autonomous and intrinsic motivations), cognitive (e.g., health attitudes and health empowerment), and social contextual (e.g., family and friends) components in these regulation mechanisms; 3) the strengths and limitations of integrating variable-based and case-based methodological approaches to study the coexistence and regulation of multiple health behaviours. The research was based on the theoretical underpinnings of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and a critical realism paradigm. College students (N==238) from the University of Saskatchewan completed a survey in Study 1. Six participants, purposefully selected from the sample were interviewed in Study 2. The most frequent multiple health behaviour cluster was ‘alcohol drinking+physical activity+healthy eating’ (62%; n=143). The results of multiple regression analysis (Study 1) confirmed that intrinsic and autonomous motivations were the best predictors of the frequency of alcohol consumption, physical activity, and healthy eating. Interview analyses in Study 2 also suggested that multiple health behaviours were best self-regulated when motivations were harmonized with individuals’ cognitions and emotions, and supported by their social contexts. Such balance could be achieved by exercising more self-control, making up for one health behaviour via another, or avoiding cognitive dissonance by ‘splitting up’ a negative concept into positive and negative ones (e.g., occasional smoking to release stress versus harmful chain smoking). Both Study 1 and Study 2 results present motivation as a hierarchical structure and provide evidence that motivational regulations across multiple health behaviours are interrelated. The comparative analysis of Studies 1 and 2 demonstrates that the integration of two different methodological approaches and the consilience between their results added to the validity and generalizability of the common findings. Importantly, contradictions in findings highlighted limitations of each methodological approach and were discussed in terms of implications for their methodological refinement.

Consent for the research study was obtained from the divisional executive of the financial services division being researched and all ethical factors were clarified. All potential participants were engaged in a divisional communication session where participation was advised to be voluntary and anonymity and confidentiality was assured. The results of the study revealed that there was no statically significant relationship between intention to quit and organisational commitment but a statically significant relationship between organisational commitment and age, tenure, marital status and staff with dependants respectively were revealed. Further to that, a statistically significant relationship between intention to quit and age, tenure, marital status was also revealed. Therefore, based on the understanding gained, and the relationship it had with respect to the biographical factors used in the study, it presents organisations with the insight and opportunity to better retain staff. Clear understandings of the limitations of the findings presented are also discussed and additional recommendations for future research are also provided.

Darbo tikslas: Įvertinti asmens sveikatos priežiūros įstaigų pagrindinių žmogiškųjų išteklių būklę, pagrindžiant jų formavimo politikos pokyčių poreikį. Uždaviniai: Įvertinti Lietuvos gydytojų demografinę situaciją ir jų pasiskirstymo regioninius netolygumus, ištirti ligoninėse dirbančių gydytojų rizikos profilį susirgti lėtinėmis neinfekcinėmis ligomis, išanalizuoti ligoninėse dirbančių gydytojų dalyvavimo profilaktiniuose sveikatos patikrinimuose mastą. Tyrimo metodika. Siekiant įvertinti gydytojų demografinę situaciją ir jų regioninį pasiskirstymą, buvo atlikta iš Lietuvos sveikatos informacijos centro, Lietuvos statistikos departamento ir Valstybinės akreditavimo sveikatos priežiūros veiklai tarnybos prie Sveikatos apsaugos ministerijos gautų oficialių duomenų statistinė analizė. Gydytojų sveikatos būklės įvertinimui buvo pasirinkta po vieną ligoninę iš didmiesčio ir rajono (Vilniaus regione – Vilniaus miesto ir Ukmergės miesto ligonė, Kauno regione – Kauno miesto ir Marijampolės ligoninė). Visiems tose ligoninėse dirbantiems gydytojams buvo išdalintos anketos, suskirstytos į šešias dalis: I dalis – asmens duomenys ir darbinė veikla, II – pasitenkinimas darbu, III – klausimai apie sveikatą, IV – klausimai apie profilaktinius sveikatos patikrinimus, V – klausimai apie gyvenseną ir VI – nuomonė apie sveikatos priežiūrą. Dalyvauti tyrime buvo pakviesti visi tyrimo dieną dirbantys gydytojai. Anketinėje apklausoje dalyvavo 281 gydytojas (76 proc.). Sveikatos patikrinime... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study: To evaluate the main human resources’ status in the health care institutions in support of their policy-making need to change. Objectives: To evaluate demographic situation of Lithuanian physicians and regional inequalities in the distribution of physicians; to assess the risk profile of chronic noncommunicable diseases of hospital-employed physicians; to analyse participation of hospital-employed physicians in screening programmes. Material and methods. The official statistical data obtained from Lithuanian Health Information Centre, Lithuanian Department of Statistics and the State Health Care Accreditation Agency under the Ministry of Health were used for evaluation of demographic situation of physicians and their regional distribution. The assessment of health status of physicians was carried out in four randomly selected hospitals from Vilnius and Kaunas regions. Two hospitals were selected from Vilnius and Kaunas cities, one hospital - from Ukmergė municipality and one hospital - from Marijampolė municipality. The questionnaire, which was distributed to physicians, consisted from six parts: I - personal data, and working activities, II - job satisfaction, III – health status, IV - preventive health check-up, V – health behaviours, and VI - opinion of health care. All physicians who were working in the hospital on the day of survey were invited to participate. Questionnaires were filled in by 281 physicians (response rate was 76%), and 242 physicians... [to full text]

Executive coaching has been described as a multibillion dollar enterprise (Ennis, 2004) costing some organisations up to $15,000 (USD) a day (Berglas, 2002). Executive coaching has also been reported as the second fastest growth industry (Wasylyshyn, 2003). Despite these astounding figures, empirical executive coaching research is still limited, thus more randomised, controlled studies are required (Grant, 2005). There is a fundamental need for high quality research to demonstrate the effects of executive coaching and provide justification for the level of commitment expended. The current research program addressed this need through three studies which together provide empirical evidence as to the psychological and behavioural effects of executive coaching. In the first study, twenty-three leaders from a year long transformational leadership development program volunteered to participate in six sessions of executive coaching. The study examined the effects of executive coaching on leaders’ psychological states, specifically, their self-efficacy, developmental support, positive affect, openness to new behaviours and developmental planning. The study had an experimental design with random assignment of leaders to training and control groups which provided a rigorous basis to distinguish the effects of executive coaching from the effects of other leadership interventions in the program. Comparison of the training group (after six executive coaching sessions) with the control group (who had not received coaching) revealed that the training group reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy, developmental support, openness to new behaviours, and developmental planning compared with the control group. No significant effects were observed for positive affect. Further analysis, however, revealed that the significant differences between the training group and the control group were due to a decrease in the control group before they commenced executive coaching, rather than because the training group increased on the psychological measures after participating in executive coaching. It was proposed that this pattern of results occurred because the pre-coaching measures were obtained at the end of a two day training workshop, when the psychological measures may have already been relatively high. Thus, the effect of executive coaching was to sustain the impact of the workshop for the training group. A longitudinal analysis was also carried out in Study One to examine whether the effects of executive coaching on the psychological variables were sustained over time. The pattern of change was examined at three time points: time one, prior to the commencement of executive coaching, time two, after the completion of six coaching sessions, and time three, six months after the completion of the six coaching sessions. This analysis was also affected by the training group’s high precoaching measures, but when the analyses were restricted to the control group (n=6) – who by this stage had received executive coaching, significant change over time was observed on all of the study measures, which was sustained up to six months after the completion of regular coaching sessions. However, because the control group sample was small, these findings were tested again in Study Two. The primary aim of Study Two though was to evaluate effects of executive coaching on transformational leadership behaviour, measured with self, supervisor and team member ratings. Twenty-seven leaders participated in this study. In the first instance, an experimental design was used to investigate whether leaders in the training group, who had been exposed to executive coaching, received higher ratings in transformational leadership behaviour compared with leaders in the control group. In the second instance this study examined whether there was change in transformational behaviour over time, observed in the area that was the focus of leaders’ developmental efforts. Both approaches yielded similar findings in that the team member feedback identified significant improvement in leaders’ transformational leadership behaviour after executive coaching. There were no significant changes in leaders’ self or supervisor ratings after executive coaching. When the psychological effects of executive coaching were re-examined in Study Two, the expected differences were observed between the training and control groups. However, once again, the data from the training group failed to show the anticipated pattern of improvement over time. This failure was attributed to the small sample size and low statistical power. Consequently, a final analysis was conducted combining the data from leaders who participated in Study One and Study Two. This analysis measured change in leaders’ psychological states from pre-to post-executive coaching and confirmed that after executive coaching leaders experienced effects in the five psychological states measured. Thus, overall, the data from the two studies supported the psychological impact of executive coaching. In Study Three a qualitative approach was employed to triangulate the quantitative results from Study One and Study Two. Eight leaders were randomly identified from the Study One and Study Two samples, and interviews were carried out with these leaders, their supervisors, two team members and their coaches (a total of 40 interviews). The interview data confirmed the effect of executive coaching on the previously investigated psychological variables and also identified coaching as providing leaders with a sense of greater control. In terms of transformational leadership behaviours, all participants in the study identified improvements in leaders’ behaviour, particularly in communication, and the transformational leadership dimensions of intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and individualised consideration. One further aim of Study Three was to investigate the environmental conditions to determine the impact they had on the effectiveness of executive coaching. Constant change and high work load were most frequently identified as restricting participants’ ability to benefit from executive coaching. Overall, this program of research has demonstrated leadership development through executive coaching. The studies revealed that executive coaching positively enhanced the psychological states of self-efficacy, developmental support, positive affect, openness to new behaviours, and developmental planning. Impressively, the results also showed that executive coaching had sustained effects on some of the psychological states, and on team members’ perceptions of their leader’s transformational leadership behaviour. Practically, these findings justify the use of executive coaching in organisational settings. Theoretically, these outcomes augment the limited body of knowledge in this area.

Medical students experience elevated levels of psychological distress and they are reluctant to seek professional help for mental health problems. They are also reticent to notify authorities about colleagues experiencing psychological distress. Yet, young people are more likely to seek help from peers than from any other source and we know very little about the help that these peers provide to their distressed colleagues. The current research explored medical students’ approaches to colleagues experiencing psychological distress: firstly, to determine whether they notice the distress of colleagues; secondly, to explore what determines consideration to intervene and help colleagues; and thirdly, the range of helping behaviours provided. Comparisons were made with students from other professional tertiary disciplines. Students from all six years of an undergraduate medical course were compared with convenience samples from Psychology, Law and Mechanical Engineering at The University of Adelaide. Students were recruited for one of three studies which employed a variety of measures, including the Kessler Measure of Psychological Distress (K10), a Retrospective Helping Behaviour Instrument (RHBI) and a Hypothetical Helping Behaviour Instrument (HHBI). Psychological distress (as determined by the K10) among the disciplines surveyed (N = 949) was 4.4 times that of age-matched population normative data. Despite this high rate of distress, students consistently rated the distress of their colleagues as significantly lower than the colleagues’ own self ratings. All disciplines were equally inaccurate in detecting the distress of their colleagues. Analysis of hypothetical helping behaviours, in response to a vignette, indicated that medical students offered more help to non-medical students than they did to fellow medical students; however, the quality of help delivered to fellow medical students was superior. Non-medical students offered more help to medical students than they did to students from their own discipline, but the quality of help they offered did not change between the two disciplines. Analysis of the mixed method RHBI indicated that discipline had an effect on the types of help provided to distressed colleagues, the reasons for and for not helping a colleague, and general helping concerns. Three main types of help were provided: social support, academic assistance and therapeutic assistance. Medical students from Year 3 onwards offered a diverse array of helping behaviours, whilst law and mechanical engineering students primarily offered academic support. Help was considered more frequently than it was actually given and reasons for and against providing help were associated with belief or doubt about the benefit of helping, positive or detrimental effects for the helper, the closeness or lack of friendship with the helpee, and confidence to help. This research has improved our understanding of the mechanisms that produce helping behaviour. It has also provided a rich inventory of the type of help offered by the medical students and by other tertiary students. This knowledge is crucial in the development of effective approaches to assisting distressed students, particularly in regards to the theoretical and practical development of peer support programmes. Peer support programmes take into account young peoples’ preferences to speak to peers. Peer support programmes that build on the students’ existing behaviours and resources (those behaviours identified in this research) have an increased chance of acceptance and validity. Such programmes may offer a viable adjunct to formal support services and, more importantly, may have far reaching effects in breaking down the stigma of mental health problems within professions such as Medicine. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, 2009

Development literature has not accorded sufficient attention to culture as a positive aspect of development until recently. Hence, in terms of using culture as a protective mechanism against gender-based violence, not much has been investigated or reported, since most studies on gender-based violence have focused more on cultural influences as the cause or effect of violence against women. However, in the case of Papua New Guinea (PNG) culture has always been the focus in regards to genderbased violence, portrayed as the cause of violence against women. Occasionally sources state there are traditional customs or beliefs that protect women from violence, but further explanation is not provided. Hence, this research investigated the question, “How can culture address gender-based violence in contemporary, rural Papua New Guinea?” This study offers an opportunity to view PNG culture as a solution to a problem, instead of as merely a problem to be solved. To investigate how culture can be used positively as a strategy to address genderbased violence, a case study was conducted among the Sulamesi people of Mt Bosavi in the Southern highlands province of PNG. This research was conducted in a rural area because in general Papua New Guineans perceive people living in the villages as the ones living a traditional lifestyle, where established cultural norms and behaviours prevail. Using a qualitative research approach, the research investigated whether there were any traditional protective mechanisms in PNG used to address gender-based violence. This thesis concludes that through the identification of culture-driven protective mechanisms, it can be demonstrated that culture can be used as a strategy to address gender based violence. However, caution must be applied, since not all the protective mechanisms identified are desirable or constructive.

Medical students experience elevated levels of psychological distress and they are reluctant to seek professional help for mental health problems. They are also reticent to notify authorities about colleagues experiencing psychological distress. Yet, young people are more likely to seek help from peers than from any other source and we know very little about the help that these peers provide to their distressed colleagues. The current research explored medical students’ approaches to colleagues experiencing psychological distress: firstly, to determine whether they notice the distress of colleagues; secondly, to explore what determines consideration to intervene and help colleagues; and thirdly, the range of helping behaviours provided. Comparisons were made with students from other professional tertiary disciplines. Students from all six years of an undergraduate medical course were compared with convenience samples from Psychology, Law and Mechanical Engineering at The University of Adelaide. Students were recruited for one of three studies which employed a variety of measures, including the Kessler Measure of Psychological Distress (K10), a Retrospective Helping Behaviour Instrument (RHBI) and a Hypothetical Helping Behaviour Instrument (HHBI). Psychological distress (as determined by the K10) among the disciplines surveyed (N = 949) was 4.4 times that of age-matched population normative data. Despite this high rate of distress, students consistently rated the distress of their colleagues as significantly lower than the colleagues’ own self ratings. All disciplines were equally inaccurate in detecting the distress of their colleagues. Analysis of hypothetical helping behaviours, in response to a vignette, indicated that medical students offered more help to non-medical students than they did to fellow medical students; however, the quality of help delivered to fellow medical students was superior. Non-medical students offered more help to medical students than they did to students from their own discipline, but the quality of help they offered did not change between the two disciplines. Analysis of the mixed method RHBI indicated that discipline had an effect on the types of help provided to distressed colleagues, the reasons for and for not helping a colleague, and general helping concerns. Three main types of help were provided: social support, academic assistance and therapeutic assistance. Medical students from Year 3 onwards offered a diverse array of helping behaviours, whilst law and mechanical engineering students primarily offered academic support. Help was considered more frequently than it was actually given and reasons for and against providing help were associated with belief or doubt about the benefit of helping, positive or detrimental effects for the helper, the closeness or lack of friendship with the helpee, and confidence to help. This research has improved our understanding of the mechanisms that produce helping behaviour. It has also provided a rich inventory of the type of help offered by the medical students and by other tertiary students. This knowledge is crucial in the development of effective approaches to assisting distressed students, particularly in regards to the theoretical and practical development of peer support programmes. Peer support programmes take into account young peoples’ preferences to speak to peers. Peer support programmes that build on the students’ existing behaviours and resources (those behaviours identified in this research) have an increased chance of acceptance and validity. Such programmes may offer a viable adjunct to formal support services and, more importantly, may have far reaching effects in breaking down the stigma of mental health problems within professions such as Medicine. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, 2009

Ce travail de thèse en architecture se veut être une réponse à l’impasse conceptuelle dans laquelle se trouvent la plupart des recherches centrées sur les comportements de consommation d’énergie au logement, étudiés soit sous l’angle technique soit sous l’angle culturel, sans réussir à dresser une image complète des pratiques de consommation d’énergie. Elle repose sur une démarche de recherche inductive menée à partir de deux enquêtes de terrain, l’une auprès de vingt ménages habitant le parc social et l’autre chez six ménages du parc privé, qui ont conduit à une description ethnographique fine des pratiques domestiques. Celle-ci repose principalement sur la mise en place d’une méthodologie originale permettant de rendre lisibles les usages réels de l’énergie en fonction des activités qui ont lieu au domicile, en leur rendant leur contexte et leur dimension spatiale. Les résultats permettent de révéler un lien fort entre le rapport au logement qu’entretiennent les habitants (grâce à l’occupation des différents espaces et des ambiances mises en place, de la mise en scène du logement), et leur rapport à l’énergie (au travers de l’usage des différents appareils utilisant de l’énergie, du chauffage ou de l’aération), qui ne relève de facteurs financiers que dans des cas extrêmes. Les comportements de consommation alors observés prennent place dans le contexte de la construction d’un environnement rendu habitable et confortable par ses habitants, et donc dans une dimension très subjective du « bien habiter » et du « bien consommer ». / This architectural thesis is the reaction to the conceptual impasse found within most of the researches centred around behavioural patterns concerning energy consumption within housing, which is examined from either a technical or a cultural angle while failing to represent an overall view of energy consumption practices. The thesis is based on an inductive research approach following two surveys: with twenty households from the social housing sector and with six from the private housing sector, which generate a comprehensive ethnographic definition of domestic practices. This definition is predominantly based on a newly formulated methodology which provides insight into the real uses of energy with regards to domestic activities by applying a spacial quality to the context and dimension of such behaviours. The results reveals a strong link between the connection that the inhabitants have with their dwellings (resulting from their use of various spaces and their creation of particular environments, the staging of the home) and their relationship with energy (via the use of energy-based appliances, of heating and ventilation), rather than economic factors which are only relevent in extreme cases. Behaviours concerning consumption therefore take place within the context of a created environment made liveable and comfortable by its occupants and therefore a very subjective context with regards to «living well» and «consuming well».

La transition vers les énergies renouvelables implique deux types de préoccupations environnementales. Les combustibles fossiles sont épuisables et leur utilisation génère des externalités négatives à travers des dommages environnementaux irréversibles. En outre, il existe des possibilités de synergies entre les mesures d'efficacité énergétique et l’adoption de l'énergie renouvelable dans la mesure où les premières réduisent la demande d'énergie de sorte que la dernière puisse commencer à réduire les émissions futures de gaz à effet de serre. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est d'analyser la transition énergétique optimale dans un contexte de survenance certaine et incertaine d'une catastrophe environnementale et de déterminer les instruments incitatifs au niveau des ménages en vue de stimuler la transition énergétique.La thèse est composée de quatre chapitres qui traitent indépendamment des différentes questions de la transition énergétique. Le premier chapitre met l'accent sur la transition énergétique optimale impliquant des décisions à la fois sur l'adoption de l'énergie renouvelable et de l'investissement dans les technologies d'économie d'énergie, quand il y a un seuil de pollution certain qui déclenche une catastrophe environnementale. Le deuxième chapitre étudie la transition optimale vers les énergies renouvelables quand la survenance de la catastrophe environnementale est incertaine. Le troisième chapitre cherche à comprendre le comportement des ménages par rapport à leurs décisions d'adopter simultanément les énergies renouvelables et à investir dans l'efficacité énergétique. Finalement, le quatrième chapitre examine le rôle des réseaux intelligents dans l'intégration de l'énergie renouvelable intermittente afin de faciliter la transition énergétique. / The transition to renewable energy involves two kinds of environmental concerns. First, fossil fuels are exhaustible and second, their use generates negative externalities through irreversible environmental damage. Furthermore, there are possible synergies between energy efficiency measures and renewable energy adoption in the sense that the former reduces the energy demand so that the latter can begin to cut future greenhouse gases emissions. The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the optimal energy transition under certain and uncertain occurrence of environmental catastrophe and to determine incentive-based instruments at the household level in order to boost the energy transition. The dissertation consists of four chapters that independently present and discuss different issues of energy transition. The first chapter focuses on the optimal energy transition involving decisions about both renewable energy adoption and investment in energy saving technologies, when there is a certain pollution threshold that triggers the occurrence of environmental catastrophe. The second chapter investigates the optimal transition to renewable energy under uncertain occurrence of environmental catastrophe. The third chapter is devoted to understanding household behavior regarding energy transition. The fourth chapter explores the role of smart-grids in integrating intermittent renewable energy to facilitate the energy transition

Nous avons peu d’informations sur les interactions sociales des personnes démentes en institution et sur les effets des interventions psychosociales sur leurs interactions sociales, qui sont favorables à une bonne qualité de vie et à un bon fonctionnement cognitif. 56 résidents d’une maison de retraite vivant avec une démence ont été observés par vidéo, afin d’analyser leurs comportements sociaux et de valider une grille d’observation des interactions sociales : le Social Observation Residents Index (SOBRI). 36 résidents ont bénéficié d’une séance de stimulation psychosociale. Leurs scores au SOBRI ont été comparés à ceux d’un groupe contrôle. La validation du SOBRI met en évidence deux profils de comportements : interactions sociales avec les résidents et avec les soignants. Une séance de stimulation psychosociale favorise significativement les interactions sociales avec les soignants. Des tendances positives sont observées dans les deux groupes sur les interactions sociales entre les résidents. Les résidents vivant avec une démence interagissent spontanément entre eux et avec les soignants. La stimulation psychosociale favorise les interactions avec les soignants. Une stimulation, quelle que soit son intensité, stimule les interactions entre les résidents. Ces résultats doivent être confirmés dans l'objectif de développer des programmes favorisant l’inclusion sociale en institution. / We have little information about the nature of social interactions of people with dementia living in nursing homes and about effectiveness of psychosocial intervention on social interactions. We know that social interactions promote a good quality of life and a good cognitive functioning. 56 residents with dementia living in a nursing home were observed by video to analyse their social behaviours and to validate an observation grid of social interactions, the Social Observation Residents Index (SOBRI). 36 residents received a session of psychosocial stimulation. Their scores on the SOBRI were compared to those of a control group. The validation of the SOBRI highlighted two profiles of behaviours: social interactions with other residents and with care staff. One session of psychosocial stimulation promotes significantly social interactions with care staff. Positives trends are observed in both groups in terms of increase of social interactions with other residents. Residents with dementia interact spontaneously with other residents and with care staff. Psychosocial stimulation promotes social interactions with care staff. A stimulation, regardless its intensity, seems to stimulate social interactions between residents. Future studies are needed to confirm these trends and to develop programs promoting social inclusion in nursing homes.