Social support has been proven to play a major role in the well-being of an individual. Unfortunately, the conceptualisation of the construct is vague and many authors disagree about the various properties and dimensions of the construct. Seen from a health-related perspective, social support can be regarded as divided into two main spectrums, the main-effect model and the stress-buffering model. The main-effect model proposes that social support has a beneficial effect, whether or not an individual is under stress, while the stress-buffering model proposes that social support buffers an individual from potentially pathological influences. The construct is furthermore conceptualised as consisting of distinct structural, functional and perceptual dimensions. The aim of the research was to develop an instrument which would incorporate all three of these dimensions and could be proven valid and statistically reliable. A cross-sectional survey design was used. An availability sample of qualified educators in the North-West Province of South Africa was used. The Social Support Survey was developed as a measuring instrument and administered along with a biographical questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Contrary to expectation, factor analysis indicated that the four factors regarding the characteristics of the support, as well as the five factors regarding the types of support, were clustered around the source of support. This might be due to the Likert-scale matrix design of the questionnaire, which required participants to answer a wide range of questions regarding the type, importance, amount, adequacy and accessibility of support. By way of conclusion, recommendations were made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Intelligent decision systems have the potential to support and greatly amplify human decision-making across a number of industries and domains. However, despite the rapid improvement in the underlying capabilities of these “intelligent” systems, increasing their acceptance as decision aids in industry has remained a formidable challenge. If intelligent systems are to be successful, and their full impact on decision-making performance realized, a greater understanding of the factors that influence recommendation acceptance from intelligent machines is needed. Through an empirical experiment in the financial services industry, this study investigated the effects of perceived behavioral similarity (similarity state) on the dependent variables of recommendation acceptance, decision performance and decision efficiency under varying conditions of uncertainty (volatility state). It is hypothesized in this study that behavioral similarity as a design element will positively influence the acceptance rate of machine recommendations by human users. The level of uncertainty in the decision context is expected to moderate this relationship. In addition, an increase in recommendation acceptance should positively influence both decision performance and decision efficiency. The quantitative exploration of behavioral similarity as a design element revealed a number of key findings. Most importantly, behavioral similarity was found to positively influence the acceptance rate of machine recommendations. However, uncertainty did not moderate the level of recommendation acceptance as expected. The experiment also revealed that behavioral similarity positively influenced decision performance during periods of elevated uncertainty. This relationship was moderated based on the level of uncertainty in the decision context. The investigation of decision efficiency also revealed a statistically significant result. However, the results for decision efficiency were in the opposite direction of the hypothesized relationship. Interestingly, decisions made with the behaviorally similar decision aid were less efficient, based on length of time to make a decision, compared to decisions made with the low-similarity decision aid. The results of decision efficiency were stable across both levels of uncertainty in the decision context.

Social support has been proven to play a major role in the well-being of an individual. Unfortunately, the conceptualisation of the construct is vague and many authors disagree about the various properties and dimensions of the construct. Seen from a health-related perspective, social support can be regarded as divided into two main spectrums, the main-effect model and the stress-buffering model. The main-effect model proposes that social support has a beneficial effect, whether or not an individual is under stress, while the stress-buffering model proposes that social support buffers an individual from potentially pathological influences. The construct is furthermore conceptualised as consisting of distinct structural, functional and perceptual dimensions. The aim of the research was to develop an instrument which would incorporate all three of these dimensions and could be proven valid and statistically reliable. A cross-sectional survey design was used. An availability sample of qualified educators in the North-West Province of South Africa was used. The Social Support Survey was developed as a measuring instrument and administered along with a biographical questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Contrary to expectation, factor analysis indicated that the four factors regarding the characteristics of the support, as well as the five factors regarding the types of support, were clustered around the source of support. This might be due to the Likert-scale matrix design of the questionnaire, which required participants to answer a wide range of questions regarding the type, importance, amount, adequacy and accessibility of support. By way of conclusion, recommendations were made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disabling, chronic, multisystem autoimmune disease that occurs in women of childbearing years (15-40) and spans a lifetime. Little is known about the relevance that social support has in the context of mental health wellbeing for patients with SLE. Physicians may be an adequate source of support when it comes to SLE. Since there are arrays of triggers for depression, there is a need to understand the SLE experience to help with disease management. Objective: To examine the association of social support from a physician and the mental health wellbeing of SLE patients. Methods: We examined 652 SLE patients from the Georgians Organized Against Lupus (GOAL) cohort. Descriptive analysis was performed. Univariate analysis was performed to examine the associations of the main dependent variables (Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)) and each independent variable. Both, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between selected characteristics and main independent variables (emotional or social support and social support from a physician) with the categorized mental component score and PHQ9 depression score, individually and together. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals were used to determine statistical significance. Results: SLE patients who perceived having enough emotional/social support were found to have an overall better mental health status than the average American, and 64% less likely to be depressed compared to patients who did not have enough emotional/social support. Patients who were categorized as having social support from a physician were found to be in poorer mental health statuses, as measured by the MCS SF-12 and PHQ9 depression score. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that emotional or social support is associated with a better mental health well-being for SLE patients. SLE patients who have enough emotional or social support were found to have above normal general mental health and less depression. This study did not show any direct associations between physician social support and mental health wellbeing.

Övervikt och fetma är ett stort problem både globalt och nationellt och drabbar både vuxna och barn. Överviktiga barn löper risk för medicinska, psykiska och sociala problem. Föräldrar spelar en nyckelroll i barnets liv och utveckling men även i behandlingen av barn med övervikt. Syftet var att undersöka föräldrars upplevelser av att ha ett barn med övervikt. Ett annat syfte var att undersöka deras behov av support. Metoden som användes var en metasyntes. De sexton inkluderade artiklarna granskades och teman och kategorier extraherades. Av dem skapades centrala teman som sedan bildade sju nyckelteman. En syntetisering av resultatet presenterades: Föräldrar till överviktiga barn upplever osäkerhet i sitt handlande, skuld och skam, ensamhet samt rädsla och oro för barnets sociala utanförskap och ohälsa. Föräldrar önskar kunskap och stöd som stärker deras handlingskompetens och hjälper dem överkomma hinder och barriärer. Uppsatsen belyste komplexiteten det innebär att vara förälder åt ett barn med övervikt och kan ha klinisk betydelse för yrkesverksamma inom hälso- och sjukvården i mötet med familjer med överviktsproblematik. / Obesity is as a major problem both globally and nationally and concerns both adults and children. Overweight children is at risk for medical, psychological and social problems. Parents play a key role in the child's life and development but also in the treatment of children with overweight. The aim was to examine parents' experiences of having a child with overweight. Another aim was to examine their need for support. The method used was a metasynthesis. The sixteen included articles were reviewed and themes and categories was extracted. Central themes was created which then formed the seven key themes. A synthesis of the results was presented: Parents of overweight children experience uncertainty in their actions, guilt and shame, loneliness and fear and anxiety for the child's social exclusion and ill health. Parents wished for knowledge and support to strengthen their action competence and help them overcome obstacles and barriers. The degree project highlighted the complexity it means to be a parent to a child with obesity and may be of clinical importance for professionals in the health care system when meeting families with overweight problems.

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国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

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This project explores the challenges of managing in times of organisational stress. The New Zealand department of corrections is facing multiple pressures which are only set to increase including: financial strictures as government funding is being highly scrutinised, greater demand as inmate numbers increase, and reduced capabilities as many staff lack experience. A grounded theory in a case study setting (three prisons in Christchurch, New Zealand) was undertaken utilising repertory grid and semi-structured interviews to explore the ways in which managers cope during times of such stress. A total of 11 interviews were conducted. In the case, I considered what differentiates effective managers from those who appear less able to cope. It was found that effective managers are those who are able to build trust and respect with their constituents. When staff trust and respect their managers it is because they feel valued and perceive their manager to be on their side; they are then willing to reciprocate. Positive regard, demonstrations of support, and leading by example were found to be key factors leading to being perceived as being on the staff’s side. The links between trust, respect and performance along with the valuation of staff wellbeing were examined.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 1997. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.