Mobbning på arbetsplatser är ett växande globalt problem som förekommer i alla yrkessektorer, men där kartläggningen av fenomenet fortfarande är relativt bristfällig. Syftet med studien var att undersöka skillnader i upplevd närvaro av vuxenmobbning på mansdominerade respektive kvinnodominerade arbetsplatser i en svensk kontext. Ett annat syfte var att undersöka om det fanns något samband mellan upplevelsen av arbetsklimatet, utifrån delaktighet/medbestämmande och negativ kommunikation. För att undersöka detta användes ett självskattningsformulär. Det använda instrumentet visade på en god intern konsistens. Deltagarna i undersökningen var 23 män och 5 kvinnor från två mansdominerade arbetsplatser inom ungdomsvården, samt 32 kvinnor och 2 män från två kvinnodominerade arbetsplatser inom äldrevården. För att analysera de insamlade data användes t-test. Resultatet visade att deltagarna från de mansdominerade arbetsplatserna upplevde att mer mobbning och mer negativ kommunikation förekom jämfört med deltagarnas upplevelser från de kvinnodominerade arbetsplatserna. Samtidigt visade resultaten att deltagarna från de kvinnodominerade arbetsplatserna upplevde större delaktighet och större möjligheter att påverka sin arbetssituation jämfört med deltagarna från de mansdominerade arbetsplatserna. Trots dessa resultat kunde det påvisas att deltagarna från de mansdominerade arbetsplatserna i studien skattade sina arbetsmiljöer som generellt mer positiva än dem på de kvinnodominerade arbetsplatserna. Ingen av dessa könsskillnader var statistiskt signifikant. Det fanns negativt medelstarkt samband mellan delaktighet/medbestämmande och negativ kommunikation, negativt medelstarkt samband mellan mobbning och delaktighet/medbestämmande samt ett positivt starkt samband mellan mobbning och negativ kommunikation. Samtliga samband var statistiskt signifikanta. Vi rekommenderar användningen av samma instrument i fortsatta studier avseende vuxenmobbning på olika arbetsplatser / Bullying behaviour at workplaces is seen as a growing global problem, albeit with little research that satisfactorily covers this phenomenon. The aim of the study was to examine differences in the perceived presence of adult bullying in male-dominated and female-dominated workplaces in a Swedish context. Another aim was to investigate whether there was any connection between the experience of the working environment, based on inclusion/participation and negative communication. To examine this, a self-assessment questionnaire was utilized on 23 men and five women within two male-dominated workplaces (juvenile detention care), and on 32 women and two men working in female-dominated workplaces (elderly care). The used instrument showed good internal consistency. In order to analyse the sampled data, an independent t-test was used. Results showed that participants from the male-dominated workplaces reported a higher 1 level of bullying behaviour and higher levels of negative communication styles being present in their work environment compared to participants from the female-dominated workplaces. Furthermore, participants from the female-dominated areas reported they felt more involved and experienced a higher degree of freedom to influence their work situation compared to participants from the male-dominated workplaces. Despite these differences participants from the male-dominated places reported their work environment as more positive overall than the participants working in female-dominated places. None of these sex-differences was statistically significant. There was a negative and moderate correlation between involvement/participation and negative communication, a negative moderate correlation between bullying and inclusion/co-determination and a positive strong relationship between bullying and negative communication. All correlations were statistically significant. We recommend using the same instrument in future studies on adult bullying at workplaces

The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of obesity and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) of girls in the age group 10-12 years of different race groups in the North-West Province. A second purpose was to determine if DCD status can be predicted effectively among 10-12 year old girls with regard to race, age, percentage body fat, body mass, length, body mass index and bent aim hang. Obesity is the cause of health risks, psychological consequences and improper development (Chantell et al., 1994:116; Marshall & Bouffard, 1994:1997; Treuth et al., 1997:1738). Children with DCD have poor motor abilities and experience problems regarding concentration and social abilities, all of which are necessary for successful schooling (Geuze & Borger, 1993:14; Piek & Edwards, 1997:55; Sugden & Chambers, 1998:139) According to research, the incidence of obesity among children has doubled over the last 20 years, and 10-30% of all children and adolescents can be classified as obese. Causes of obesity may be genetic but a lack of physical activity and an unbalanced diet can also contribute to obesity. Health risks, psycho-social risks and developmental disorders are all indicated in the literature to be consequences of obesity. The incidence of DCD is documented in the literature to be between 5% and 16%. It is also shown that it may be the cause of problems in daily living and at school, and some racial differences with regard to motor differences are indicated. It is also indicated that overweight and obese children are less mobile and that their motor achievement is poorer in movements where the shifting of body weight is required. All the subjects for this study (N=346) completed the Movement ABC (MABC) (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) to determine their DCD status. Fat percentage was determined from the subscapular and triceps skin folds according to the formula of Boileau et al. (1985:17-27), while a body mass index (BMI) (l/w2)above the 85th percentile was used as a criterion for overweight, and a BMI of above the 95th percentile for obesity. The Statistics for Windows computer package was used to determine descriptive statistics and significant differences between the groups. The results showed that the incidence of obesity and DCD were 4,93% and 59,78% respectively. 50% of the white girls, 72,73% of blacks, 0% of coloureds and 100% of Indian girls in the total group who were classified as DCD were also obese. The results indicated a higher relationship between obesity and DCD among the Indian and black girls compared to the white and coloured girls in the DCD group. Indian girls showed the highest incidence of obesity and coloured girls the least. The Indian and black girls also showed the highest incidence of DCD, while the percentages of DCD among all the race groups were higher than the levels indicated in the literature. The percentage of obesity found in the study was lower than in the literature, but higher percentages were found among the Indian and white girls, while all the obese Indian girls were also classified as suffering from DCD. With regard to the second aim of the study, no significant predictors for DCD could be found among the different body composition variables of bent arm hang, race and age, although some tendencies emerged. Results showed that the percentage fat was not a good predictor of DCD status in the group, but in the different racial groups its predictive value became higher. However, none of the variables could be considered good predictors of DCD status among girls, although it can be concluded that there are tendencies towards a relationship between obesity, DCD and race. Thus it is important for children with DCD and obesity (separate and in combination) to be identified and treated with intervention programs as early as possible, and it is essential to include physical activities as part of the treatment (Dussart, 1994:81; LeMure et al., 2000:336). The results of the study indicated that it is important to analyse the needs and characteristics of the different race groups in order to ensure the success of such programs. Indian girls especially should be encouraged to participate in physical activity programmes because of the high percentages of obesity found in the DCD group. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

The gender normative hypothesis of relational aggression and psychopathology states that relational aggression is more detrimental to boys than it is to girls because relational aggression is more normative in girls. In the present study, this hypothesis was tested in a large sample of 6-to-18-year-old children and this hypothesis was also extended to the domain of age norms. Specifically, it was tested whether relational aggression would also be most detrimental outside of the age in which it is most normative. The results showed some evidence supporting the gender normative hypothesis. Specifically, it was found that relationally aggressive boys suffered more internalizing and externalizing problems than non-relationally aggressive boys did. Relationally aggressive girls, however, suffered only more externalizing problems than non-relationally aggressive girls did. Results did not support the age normative hypothesis. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

The gender normative hypothesis of relational aggression and psychopathology states that relational aggression is more detrimental to boys than it is to girls because relational aggression is more normative in girls. In the present study, this hypothesis was tested in a large sample of 6-to-18-year-old children and this hypothesis was also extended to the domain of age norms. Specifically, it was tested whether relational aggression would also be most detrimental outside of the age in which it is most normative. The results showed some evidence supporting the gender normative hypothesis. Specifically, it was found that relationally aggressive boys suffered more internalizing and externalizing problems than non-relationally aggressive boys did. Relationally aggressive girls, however, suffered only more externalizing problems than non-relationally aggressive girls did. Results did not support the age normative hypothesis. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

Motivation är en betydelsefull kompontent för en individs utövande utav studier. Studien utgick ifrån motivationsteorin Self- determination theory. Syftet med studien var att redogöra för relationen mellan högskolestudenters demografiska faktorer och vilken typ av motivation som driver dem till att utöva studier, samt relationen mellan motivationstyperna. Med typ av motivation avses amotivation, inre samt yttre motivation. Studien bestod utav 102 studenter, varav 49 män och 53 kvinnor, från en högskola i mellersta Sverige som fick besvara enkäten The Academic Motivation Scale. Studiens resultat visade bland annat att kvinnliga studenter hade en högre nivå utav yttre motivation än manliga studenter. Resultatet visade inga könsskillnader inom inre motivation och amotivation. Resultatet påvisade även att studenter som hade en högre nivå utav yttre motivation samtidigt hade en högre nivå utav inre motivation. Förslag på framtida forskning inom området är att fokusera på studenter inom andra typer av utbildningar och utbildningsnivåer.

Human cardiovascular adaptations to microgravity include decreased plasma volume, exercise capacity, baroreflex function as well as decreased orthostatic tolerance upon return to a gravity environment. Several countermeasures have been proposed and tested, although currently none have been developed to prevent post-spaceflight orthostatic intolerance (OI). Artificial gravity (AG) generated by short-radius centrifugation (SRC) has been proposed as a countermeasure to OI as well as other cardiovascular alterations. Methods: Fifteen men and fourteen women underwent three weeks of daily (5 days a week) exposure to intermittent (1.0 to 2.5 Gz) artificial gravity on a 1.9m human powered centrifuge (HPC) at the NASA Ames Research Center. Half the subjects exercised (active) to power the HPC while half rode passively (passive). A combination head-up tilt (HUT) and lower body negative pressure (LBNP) test was used to determine orthostatic tolerance before and after training. Oscillatory LBNP (OLBNP) was used at seven frequencies (0.01 to 0.15 Hz) for two minutes each to assess the dynamic responses of the cardiovascular system to orthostatic stress, before and after AG training. Results: Training improved overall tolerance in the group of subjects by 13% (pandlt;0.05); men were more tolerant than were women (pandlt;0.05); and active subjects were more improved than passive subjects (pandlt;0.05). Mechanisms of improvement appear to be through decreased total peripheral resistance (TPR) and increased stroke volume after training, and increased responsiveness of TPR to fluid shifts (faster changes in TPR to changes in calfcircumference [CC] and OLBNP after training). There was no change in spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS, calculated by sequence method) or number of sequences per number of heart beats (NNS), although BRS analysis did indicate that stimulation to the cardiac baroreceptors during 1.0 Gz and 2.5 Gz centrifugation was no different than supine control and 70?? HUT, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that AG training improved tolerance through training of local mechanisms in the peripheral vasculature, or extrinsic control of peripheral vascular resistance, rather than through changes of autonomic control of heart rate.

A hypothetical causal link between ventilatory regulation of carbon dioxide anddevelopment of syncope during orthostatic challenges is reduction in arterial partialpressure of carbon dioxide and resultant reduction in cerebral blood flow. We performedtwo experiments to investigate the ventilatory sensitivity to carbon dioxide and factorsaffecting cerebral autoregulation (CA). We also studied the nonlinear phase couplingbetween cardio-respiratory parameters before syncope.For experiment one, in 30 healthy adults, we stimulated chemo and baro reflexesby breathing either room-air or room-air with 5 percent carbon dioxide in a pseudorandom binary sequence during supine and 70 degree head up tilt (HUT). Six subjectsdeveloped presyncope during tilt.To determine whether changes in ventilatory control contribute to the observeddecrease in PaCO2 during HUT, we assessed ventilatory dynamic sensitivity to changesin PaCO2 during supine and 70 degrees HUT. The sensitivity of the ventilatory controlsystem to perturbations in end tidal carbon dioxide increased during tilt.To investigate nonlinear phase coupling between cardio-respiratory parametersbefore syncope, bispectra were estimated and compared between presyncopal andnon-presyncopal subjects. Our results indicate that preceding presyncope, nonlinearphase coupling is altered by perturbations to baro and chemo reflexes.To investigate the effects of gender in CA, we selected 10 men and 10age-matched women and used spectral analysis to compare differences in CA betweenmen and women. Our results showed that gender-related differences in CA did exist andgender may need to be considered as a factor in investigating CA.To investigate the influence of induced hypocapnia on CA in absence ofventilatory variability, we performed experiment two in which subjects were randomlyassigned to a Control (under normocapnia) or Treatment (under hypocapnia) group. Bothgroups voluntarily controlled their breathing pattern yet two groups breathed in air withdifferent levels of carbon dioxide. Our results show that changes in mean blood pressureat middle cerebral artery level were less transferred into mean cerebral blood flow in theTreatment group than in the Control group, suggesting better CA under hypocapniarelative to under normocapnia.

No description available.

While there is a vast amount of research focusing on the importance of school connectedness for short-term outcomes related to alcohol use, few studies have looked at the longer-term consequences of poor school connectedness. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the gender-specific association between school connectedness (1966) and alcohol- related hospitalization in adulthood (1973-2007). Moreover, the role of adjustment problems in adolescence was examined. Logistic regression analysis was based on a cohort of Swedish children, born in 1953 in Stockholm, Sweden, including 6,269 males and 6,106 females. The results revealed a statistically significant relationship between having a lower level of school connectedness in childhood and an increased risk of hospitalization due to alcohol misuse in adulthood, among males. The findings for females were less conclusive. Controlling for socioeconomic background and adjustment problems in adolescence reduced the strength of the association but did not explain it. In sum, this study shows that school connectedness appear to have long-term consequences for alcohol-related diseases, but further research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind this finding.

The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of obesity and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) of girls in the age group 10-12 years of different race groups in the North-West Province. A second purpose was to determine if DCD status can be predicted effectively among 10-12 year old girls with regard to race, age, percentage body fat, body mass, length, body mass index and bent aim hang. Obesity is the cause of health risks, psychological consequences and improper development (Chantell et al., 1994:116; Marshall & Bouffard, 1994:1997; Treuth et al., 1997:1738). Children with DCD have poor motor abilities and experience problems regarding concentration and social abilities, all of which are necessary for successful schooling (Geuze & Borger, 1993:14; Piek & Edwards, 1997:55; Sugden & Chambers, 1998:139) According to research, the incidence of obesity among children has doubled over the last 20 years, and 10-30% of all children and adolescents can be classified as obese. Causes of obesity may be genetic but a lack of physical activity and an unbalanced diet can also contribute to obesity. Health risks, psycho-social risks and developmental disorders are all indicated in the literature to be consequences of obesity. The incidence of DCD is documented in the literature to be between 5% and 16%. It is also shown that it may be the cause of problems in daily living and at school, and some racial differences with regard to motor differences are indicated. It is also indicated that overweight and obese children are less mobile and that their motor achievement is poorer in movements where the shifting of body weight is required. All the subjects for this study (N=346) completed the Movement ABC (MABC) (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) to determine their DCD status. Fat percentage was determined from the subscapular and triceps skin folds according to the formula of Boileau et al. (1985:17-27), while a body mass index (BMI) (l/w2)above the 85th percentile was used as a criterion for overweight, and a BMI of above the 95th percentile for obesity. The Statistics for Windows computer package was used to determine descriptive statistics and significant differences between the groups. The results showed that the incidence of obesity and DCD were 4,93% and 59,78% respectively. 50% of the white girls, 72,73% of blacks, 0% of coloureds and 100% of Indian girls in the total group who were classified as DCD were also obese. The results indicated a higher relationship between obesity and DCD among the Indian and black girls compared to the white and coloured girls in the DCD group. Indian girls showed the highest incidence of obesity and coloured girls the least. The Indian and black girls also showed the highest incidence of DCD, while the percentages of DCD among all the race groups were higher than the levels indicated in the literature. The percentage of obesity found in the study was lower than in the literature, but higher percentages were found among the Indian and white girls, while all the obese Indian girls were also classified as suffering from DCD. With regard to the second aim of the study, no significant predictors for DCD could be found among the different body composition variables of bent arm hang, race and age, although some tendencies emerged. Results showed that the percentage fat was not a good predictor of DCD status in the group, but in the different racial groups its predictive value became higher. However, none of the variables could be considered good predictors of DCD status among girls, although it can be concluded that there are tendencies towards a relationship between obesity, DCD and race. Thus it is important for children with DCD and obesity (separate and in combination) to be identified and treated with intervention programs as early as possible, and it is essential to include physical activities as part of the treatment (Dussart, 1994:81; LeMure et al., 2000:336). The results of the study indicated that it is important to analyse the needs and characteristics of the different race groups in order to ensure the success of such programs. Indian girls especially should be encouraged to participate in physical activity programmes because of the high percentages of obesity found in the DCD group. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.