Grade 7-learners are continuously exposed to challenges that influence their developmental tasks and general social adaptation. Mastering these challenges sculpt the learners and will influence the ways in which learners develop to adults. Through developing and improving the emotional intelligence skills of learners, learners can be enabled to maintain a successful subsistence. Learners with adequate emotional intelligence will demonstrate effective functioning in many areas of life. The aim of this investigation was to determine what emotional intelligence is and how it relates to wellbeing in the early development of adolescents, the state of a certain Grade 7-learner group's emotional intelligence and the relation in terms of race and gender. In the study, 50 learners from the Grade 7-classes of four schools were selected randomly based on availability. The schools involved were Swartruggens Combined School, Swartruggens Primary, Koster Combined School and Koster Primary. The BarOn EQ-i:YV was conducted on the learners. The quantitative data was processed by the Northwest University's Statistical Consultation Services. Results indicate that, amongst other things, the girls in the study posses more adequate emotional intelligence and skills than the boys in the study. Black boys show the least adequate emotional intelligence and skills. Thus, race and gender play an important role in the development of emotional intelligence of the group of learners. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Syftet med studien var att testa om det fanns åldersgruppsskillnader, könsskillnader, samt om ålder och kön hade interaktionseffekter när det gäller emotionell intelligens  och autobiografiskt minne mellan manliga (n=106) och kvinnliga (n=231)studenter på Örebro Universitet är från 18 till 45 år(n=299). Data samlades via emotionell intelligensens enkätformulär Andrew m.fl. (2010) och Waldfogel (1948) autobiografiska minnens test. Det fanns inga könsskillnader och åldersgruppsskillnader i total emotionell intelligens, men det fanns interaktion mellan kön och ålder det vill säga att ålder och kön hade effekter på varandra. Det fanns könsskillnader i totala autobiografiska minnen då flera kvinnor rapporterade autobiografiska minnen än män, men det fanns inga åldersgruppsskillnader. Ålder och kön hade inte effekter på varandra när det gäller autobiografiska minnen.  Det fanns inga skillnader mellan grupperna som rapporterade låg, medel och hög autobiografiskt minne och emotionell intelligens. / The purpose of this study was to test whether there were age differences, gender differences, and if the age and gender had interaction effect on each other when it comes to groups’ emotional intelligence and autobiographical memories. The participants were male (n = 106), women (n = 231) students at Örebro University who were from 18 to 45 years (n = 299). The students responded to emotional intelligence, short version of the Andrew et al. (2010) and Waldfogel (1948) autobiographical memories test. There were no gender differences and age differences in overall emotional intelligence, but there was an interaction between gender and age meaning that gender and age had effects on each other when it comes to students' emotional intelligences. There were gender differences in the overall autobiographical memories meaning that women reported several autobiographical memories than men in the study, but there were no age differences. Age and gender had no effects on each other in terms of autobiographical memories. There were no differences in autobiographical memories among those who reported low, medium and high emotional intelligence. There were no differences in emotional intelligence between those who reported low, medium and high autobiographical memories.

Samhället uppmuntrar individer att se över sina hälsovanor för att öka välbefinnandet. Syftet var att undersöka om val av fysisk aktivitet hade effekt på den generella hälsan i ökat subjektivt välbefinnande samt om det fanns könsskillnader i dessa. Sextio män och kvinnor mellan 25-50 år valdes slumpmässigt ut från träningsanläggningar för att besvara the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) samt Swedish Core Affect Scale (SCAS). Resultatet visade på signifikant ökning av välbefinnande efter fysisk aktivitet samt inga könsskillnader. Dock fanns en signifikant interaktionseffekt mellan kön och fysisk aktivitet, de män som promenerade och kvinnor som konditionstränade hade högst välbefinnande och generell hälsa. Slutsatsen blev att välbefinnandet ökade oavsett kön efter fysisk aktivitet dock gav olika aktiviteter varierande ökningar mellan könen. / The society encourages individuals to promote their health habits in order to improve their well-being. The aim was to investigate the effect of different types of physical activity on experience of general health in well-being in men and woman. Sixty men and women in ages 25-50 years old were randomly chosen from training facilities to answer the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and Swedish Core Affect Scale (SCAS). The results showed a significant increase in positive well-being due to the practice of physical activity, but there were no gender difference. However, it was found a significant interaction effect of age and physical activity on health, the men who walked and women who conditioning trained showed highest well-being and general health. The conclusion was that the well-being increase regardless of sex after physical activity, however, different activities gave varying increases between the sexes.

Statistics show that boys perform better in mathematics tests than girls. In order to make a refined assessment of the magnitude of gender differences in mathematics performance, a study was made of one thousand 16+ mathematics scripts to find the precise topics on which girls and boys differ significantly in performance. These concepts were found to be concerned with scale or ratio, spatial problems, space-time relationships and probability questions. Differences were found in performance between girls and boys at each ten-percentile level through the ability range. A longitudinal study also revealed differences in mathematics 'performance through the years of secondary education. There is no convincing evidence that the discrepancy can be accounted for by innate or genetic reasons. Intervention programmes have been found to improve the performance of girls in the weak areas of spatial awareness, proportionality and problem solving. In addition, a study was made of gender attitudes towards mathematics. Ten secondary schools were surveyed and the results revealed a marked decrease in the attitudes of third and fourth form girls. During these difficult adolescent years girls and boys are susceptible to strong internal and external pressures. Corresponding differences were also found across the ability range. These social pressures are concerned with teacher influence, social interaction, type of grouping, sex stereotyping, choices, teaching materials and careers advice.

Ett stort förtroende för sin närmaste chef är inte alltid en självklarhet. Många olika faktorer påverkar vilket förtroende medarbetare inom en organisation känner för chefen, och denna studie har fokuserat på olika faktorer relaterade till kommunikation; uppföljning, uppskattning, feedback, tydlighet, meningsfullhet samt hantering av konflikter/relationer. Det kan också skilja sig åt mellan hur män och kvinnor värderar dessa faktorer, och att studera detta ingår också i syftet för denna undersökning. Tidigare forskning på området har visat på tydliga skillnader mellan hur kvinnor och män upplever och värderar kommunikation. Även denna studies resultat visar på att det finns kommunikativa skillnader mellan kvinnor och män, samt att de värderar faktorerna på olika sätt. Kvinnor känner sig nöjdare med den kommunikation de har, men korrelationen mellan förtroende och samtliga studerade kommunikationsfaktorervar starkare för män. Med hjälp av det socialpsykologiska perspektivet symbolisk interaktionism har undersökningens resultat analyserats och diskuterats. Generellt visar vår studie ett starkt samband mellan de studerade kommunikationsfaktorerna och förtroendet för närmaste chefen. Studien har en kvantitativ ansats och har utförts genom en enkätundersökning i en kommunorganisation där alla medarbetare getts möjligheten att värdera kommunikationen med den närmaste chefen samt deras tillit till denna. / Great confidence in their immediate manager is not always a given. Many factors can affect the confidence that the employees in an organization feel for the manager and this study focuses specifically on factors related to communication; follow-up, appreciation, feedback, clearness, meaningfulness and management of conflicts/relationships. It can also differ between how men and women evaluate these factors and how this is related to their trust for their manager. To study this is one part of the purpose of this examination. Previous research in this area has revealed differences between how men and women perceive and value communication. Similarly this study's results show that there are communication differences between men and women, and that they value the factors differently. Women are more satisfied with the communication they are having, but the correlation between trust and all of the studied communication factors was stronger among men. By using the social psychological theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism we have analyzed and discussed these results. In general ourstudy shows a correlation between all of the selected communication factors and their impact on trust in the immediate manager. The study has a quantitative approach that has been carried out through a questionnaire survey in a public organization where all employees have been given the opportunity to evaluate how they assess communication by the different factors as well as trust in their manager.

Work-Life Balance (WLB) is defined as the ability to manage both work-life and non-work life successfully. WLB can be evaluated by examining individual’s experience of Work-Family Conflict (WFC) and Family-Work Conflict (FWC), both of which can be assessed by a questionnaire developed by Netemeyer, Boles and McMurrian (1996). The aim of this study was to explore if responses to the questionnaire, the amount of time spent on studies, household chores and sick leave, were gender related or not, among civil-accountants students. The survey included 138 respondents (74 woman and 64 men). The results confirmed previous findings of a gender difference in WFC, but disconfirmed a gender difference in FWC. Additionally, women scored higher in all variables (the amount of time spent on studies, household chores and sick leaves). The result also showed a correlation between time spent on studies and the WFC and FWC, respectively. Finally the result showed a weak correlation between the number of sick days during the semester and WFC and FWC. Thus, results may suggest that gender socialization could be a contributing factor of the observed gender differences. / Work-Life Balance (WLB) definieras som förmågan att balansera arbetslivet och hemmalivet på ett framgångsrikt sätt. WLB kan utvärderas genom att undersöka individens upplevelse av Work-Family Conflict (WFC) och Family-Work Conflict (FWC), som båda mäts i Netemeyers, Boless och McMurrians (1996) enkät. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om det fanns några könsskillnader hos civilekonomsstudenter avseende WFC, FWC, tiden som spenderades på studier, på hushållsarbete samt sjukdagar per termin. Studien omfattade 138 respondenter (74 kvinnor och 64 män). Resultatet bekräftade tidigare upptäckt, att det fanns en könsskillnad i WFC, men motsatte att det skulle finnas en könsskillnad i FWC. Vidare framkom det att kvinnorna hade högre värden i samtliga variabler (antalet studietimmar per dag, hushållstimmar per dag och sjukdagar per termin). Resultatet visade även ett samband mellan antalet studietimmar per dag och WFC samt FWC. Slutligen visade resultatet en svag korrelation mellan sjukdagar per termin och WFC samt FWC. Möjligen kan köns- socialiseringen vara en bidragande faktor till de observerade könsskillnaderna.

Smoking related conditions kill approximately 5,000,000 people every year. There is evidence that smoking behaviour varies for men and women. Yet, determinants of smoking remain poorly understood, especially by gender. This Ph.D. thesis remediates this important gap in the literature, adopting a novel, transdisciplinary approach. The thesis was an epidemiological investigation of the joint and separate utility of sociodemographic factors, mental health and Social Cognitive Theory constructs as predictors of smoking for men and women. Participants were 3,502 residents of Queensland, Australia, taking part in a larger statewide population-based study investigating cancer risk knowledge and behaviours. The study consisted of a CATI telephone interview and a subsequent battery of self-report questionnaires. The thesis entailed four empirical studies. Study 1 (Chapter Two) investigated the utility of sociodemographic factors as predictors of smoking status by gender and by area by gender. Results revealed that sociodemographic variables were poor predictors of smoking status and that predictors of smoking differed by gender when analyses were conducted separately. Younger men and men involved in a relationship were more likely to be smokers, while younger women and women who were well educated were more likely to be smokers. Gender differences were also present when analyses were conducted by area by gender. In addition, smoking status for urban women was not significantly predicted by any of the employed sociodemographic variables. These results indicated that additional determinants of smoking, such as mental health, should be investigated. Study 2 (Chapter Three) was a psychometric evaluation of a tool utilized in the thesis to measure symptoms of anxiety and depression, the Kessler Scale of Non-Specific Psychological Distress, also known as the K-10. Results revealed that the K-10 is a psychometrically sound scale, ideal for measuring symptoms of anxiety and depression in the general population. It was also concluded that the K-10 is multidimensional, and that the best model for its factor structure is a first-order model composed by four first-order factors: nervousness, restlessness, negative affect and fatigue. Study 3 (Chapter Four) evaluated the discriminant utility of mental health variables measured with the K-10, separately and jointly with sociodemographic variables, in predicting group membership. The study investigated whether these variables could discriminate between ever-smokers and neversmokers, and among ever-smokers, between current smokers and former smokers by gender. This was intended to provide a glimpse into smoking initiation and smoking persistence. Analyses classified only a small percentage of smokers correctly. Nevertheless, results showed that psychological distress examined alone predicted smoking uptake among women. In contrast, smoking initiation for men was vi predicted by sociodemographic variables. In addition, persistent smoking for men was predicted by psychological distress while that for women it was predicted by sociodemographic factors. Study 4 (Chapter Five) investigated the utility of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) constructs as determinants of smoking. This last empirical study investigated whether the addition of self-efficacy and outcome expectancies to mental health and sociodemographic variables improved prediction of smoking behaviour. Study 4 examined the utility of three models as determinants of measures of smoking among current smokers (smokers who have never attempted to quit and those who attempted to quit and failed). Nicotine dependence, age of smoking initiation, number of cigarettes smoked per day and past quit attempt, as well as intention to quit were the measures of smoking investigated. Results indicated that the full social cognitive model (containing both self-efficacy and outcome expectancy) was the most robust model, although neither self-efficacy nor outcome expectancies as constructs were particularly strong predictors. Nevertheless, self-efficacy was generally better than outcome expectancies. Both self-efficacy and outcome expectancies predicted measures of smoking for men, while only self-efficacy predicted the same measures of smoking for women. None of the models predicted a quit attempt in the last year among males. For women, only decreased fatigue predicted a quit attempt in the last 12 months: In addition, analyses conducted to classify which smokers intended to quit smoking in the near future correctly classified only a small percentage of those who did intend to quit in the near future, but correctly classified most smokers who did not. Analyses investigating which quitting method was most popular among smokers revealed that “going cold turkey” was still the preferred quitting method of more than half of smokers who had attempted to quit in the past 12 months but failed. Less than 15% of those who “went cold turkey” had also employed a cessation aid. The thesis supports the hypothesis that determinants of smoking differ by gender. The role of psychological distress in smoking uptake among women and in smoking persistence among men warrant further investigation. Future research should also examine the effect of other types of selfefficacy upon smoking behaviour. Smoking prevention and/or cessation programs might be more effective if conducted for men and women separately, addressing the particular determinants of smoking for each gender.

Young workers are overrepresented in workplace accidents. The aim of this study was to provide the first research exploration of relatively inexperienced neophyte’s pre-work safety expectations, and their associations with expected risk and expected trust. A model of neophyte safety expectations was developed and tested linking accident exposure and work exposure to safety expectations, expectations of trust (in both co-workers and management) and expectations of risk. Results provided partial support for the model, suggesting that neophytes enter work with inflated safety expectations that do not match the reality of the job, and revealed marked gender differences in safety expectations. Implications and future recommendations are discussed.

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 29-34).

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Physical Education, Health, and Sport Studies, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-55).