Master of Public Health / Department of Kinesiology / Brandon Irwin / Purpose: Face-to-face group dynamics-based (GDB) programs have been shown to be effective in promoting group cohesion and physical activity (PA). Recent evidence suggests that GDB principles can be successfully translated to web-based applications to impact group cohesion. The social nature of such applications allows for interactions to occur between friends and strangers alike, potentially moderating the effects of such GDB applications. Optimal group composition within GDB web applications has yet to be determined. The present study examines the moderating effects of group composition in a GDB application on group cohesion and PA. Methods: Participants (n = 166) were randomized into same-sex pairs and then randomly assigned to an experimental condition: stranger (no app), stranger (using app), friend (using app) or individual control. Participants in all conditions performed two sets of planking exercises. In between sets, those in partnered conditions interacted with their partner using a GDB social media app, where they participated in a series of team-building activities. The main dependent variables were group cohesion and physical activity, calculated as the total persistence during Block 2, controlling for Block 1 persistence. Results: Results indicate that the group integration dimensions of cohesion were higher in groups that used the application than those that did not (GI-T: p= .001; GI-S: p= .004). Friends that used the app reported greater cohesion across all dimensions than strangers that did the same (ATG-T: p= .006; ATG-S: p= .003; GI-T: p= .001; GI-S: p< .001). There was also a significant difference in PA (p=.004) between the two app-using conditions. However, there was no significant difference in PA between app using conditions and strangers that did not use the app (p= .495). Conclusions: Group cohesion can be enhanced through the use of an online GDB application. Using an online GDB application with a friend is associated with higher levels of cohesion. Further research is necessary to identify effective online GDB applications for impacting physical activity and cohesion in field settings.

No description available.

En väl fungerande grupp kan vara oerhört attraktivt att se på men det verkligt intressanta är att förstå hur gruppen tar sig till det stadiet där de fungerar tillsammans som en enhet och presterar bra. För att tillämpa metoder att nå dit finns tillvägagångssätt som Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) och en allmän strävan efter att erhålla en perfekt gruppdynamik. Studien ämnade undersöka om samspelet mellan SHRM och gruppdynamik ökar produktiviteten i en organisation inom hotell- och restaurangbranschen. Studien grundades på fem vetenskapliga artiklar som granskades, analyserades och sammanfattades. Analysen av artiklarna redovisades i resultatdelen i uppsatsen. Där behandlades bland annat studier om SHRM och att sammanhållning visat sig ha en positiv effekt på grupprestation. Från resultatet fördes en diskussion om huruvida det var gynnsamt för en organisation inom hotell- och restaurangbranschen att dra nytta av lärandet om hur individer fungerar ihop för att organisationen bättre ska kunna applicera detta för att tillgodose gästens behov och önskemål. Därefter presenterades slutsatsen att samspelet mellan SHRM och gruppdynamik kan öka produktiviteten på ett hotell eller i en restaurang. / B-uppsatser

The study in group dynamics will seek to determine the elements which constitute a group, the methods of group procedure, and the outcomes of the group process. This study seeks to determine how group dynamics can be applied to education.

Despite the variety of literature on ‘adaptation to technology’, the literature still witnesses a gap concerning the concept of adaptation especially about its multi-level nature. Recognizing the multilevel nature of IS adaptation, we rise the challenge of conducting an alternate template analysis of three cases of adaptation to IS in order to provide complementary explanations about the phenomenon. In order to expand the comprehension of the ‘adaptation’ concept, a multi-study dissertation model is adopted. The objective is to examine the adaptation concept on three different levels: the individual, the group level, and the organizational level. This thesis aims at 1) exploring the shaping of individual adaptive actions that knowledge workers engage towards technostress with a focus on the factors that influence their adaptation process; 2) examining the adaptive performance of a group facing an newlyimplemented technology based on the adaptive structuration theory (DeSanctis and Poole 1994) under which were puzzled the concepts of affordances (Leonardi 2011, Leonardi, Huysman et al. 2013) and the structure of usage (Burton-Jones and Straub Jr 2006, Burton-Jones and Gallivan 2007); 3) examining, through an organizational learning lens (Argyris and Schon 1978), the case of an organizational adaptation to environmental technological changes examined within a managerial cognition conceptual framework (Orlikowski and Gash 1994); (Bijker 1987, Bijker 1995). To answer the different research questions, the three studies adopt a qualitative approach falling within a critical realist perspective.

Diss. Linköping : Univ., 2003.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Univ., 2003.

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy in Community Psychology in the Department of Psychology University of Zululand, South Africa, 2011. / Stokvels are social groups usually formed randomly by people who share a common bond such as relatives, neighbours, colleagues in the workplace or friends with a purpose of financially saving together on a monthly basis. This study aimed to explore the group dynamics in stokvels and its implications on the members’ mental health and psychological well-being. In this qualitative study, a non probability sampling technique was used and the participants were selected by means of a snowball sampling. The sample consisted of eight middle aged women between the ages of 35 and 45 from the townships in KwaZulu Natal. The inclusion criteria being that they were stokvel participants for over five years. Data was gathered through the use of semi-structured interviews to elicit the spoken experiences and narratives by individual members. The data collected was then analyzed according to the aim and objectives of the study using grounded theory, particularly the Straussian approach. The results of the study suggested that the group dynamics of fight or flight response, trust versus mistrust and dependence versus independence appear to be experienced at polar opposites. The latter further infers the ambivalent behavior that members engage with a view to succeed within the stokvels’ environments. The results also identified three themes, which revealed the members’ mental health and their psychological well-being as experienced within the stokvel environment; the empowering dimension, pathological dimension and the resilience demonstration dimension. The findings of the research also highlight and further contribute towards the advancement of the communal concepts of “ubuntu” and “we”ness inherent in the stokvek names.

No description available.

The use of group dynamics principles such as group goal-setting, distinctiveness and cohesion has been the basis of a burgeoning area of physical activity (PA) promotion. Recent reviews of literature suggest that these interventions are robust and increase PA in a wide variety of populations. Still, a number of questions remain unanswered in the areas of theory development, intervention implementation, and translation of research into practice. This dissertation includes a series of manuscripts that focus on research, theory, and practice of group dynamics interventions intended to promote PA. Within research, a systematic review of literature explores group dynamics-based PA interventions in terms of generalizability (through RE-AIM evaluation) and the degree to which the interventions use research techniques that are more pragmatic (reflect typical practice) or more explanatory (testing under optimal conditions). This exploration is based on an initial review of 17 interventions that employ group dynamics strategies to increase PA, fitness, and/or adherence. The results suggest that this body of literature includes a range of pragmatic and explanatory trials, but still has gaps in reporting related to external validity. Embedded within the context of a PA promotion program for minority women, the second manuscript addresses a theory-based question—to what degree do group-interaction variables (cooperation, communication, and competition) differentially predict group cohesion over time. The results suggest that friendly competition is the strongest and most consistent predictor of different dimensions of group cohesion while task and socially related communication are consistent predictors of task and socially related cohesion, respectively. Two manuscripts are included in addressing the use of group dynamics principles within practice settings. The first practice manuscript details a small pilot study in which obese, limited income women successfully (p<0.05) limited gestational weight gain to the Institute of Medicine (2009) recommendation of 11-20 pounds. This study attempted to integrate a group dynamics approach into a group visit model for pregnant women. The quantitative findings were promising, but qualitative findings indicated a number of difficulties in implementation. The purpose of the final manuscript was to determine the attributes of the program agents consider when deciding to adopt a PA and fruit and vegetable promotion program and their understanding of key strategies related to group dynamics theory. Delivery agents were able to identify key underlying principles and propose adaptations that align with those principles. / Ph. D.