Research has shown that effective school leadership has a positive influence on school effectiveness and student achievement. Current reform efforts include teachers, both formally and informally, as leaders of schools. However, there are currently no widely-accepted measurements or models to assess both formal and informal teacher leadership in schools. The purpose of this study was to compare model fit for the four-factor model of teacher leadership to model fit for three alternative models. The four-factor model was developed during the second administration of the Teacher Leadership Inventory (TLI), and the three alternative models were developed from the results and recommendations from the confirmatory factor analysis of that administration. Teacher responses to the second administration of the TLI constituted the data set for this study. Participants included 421 teachers from 23 schools in three East Tennessee school districts. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for each of the measurement models under investigation, and model fit indices and parameter estimates of all four models were used for comparison. Model fit indices indicate better model fit for the four-factor model over both the two-factor and five-factor models but not over the three-factor model. However, further evaluation of both parameter estimates and prior research provide support for the acceptability of the four-factor model over the three-factor model.

Syftet var att undersöka aktivitetsnivå och måltidsvanor hos skolungdomar i årskurs 6-9 efter en intervention, och jämföra de uppnådda resultaten med en kontrollgrupp, samt jämföra mellan flickor och pojkar. Hallands Idrottsförbund startade med stöd av Region Halland ett projekt på en skola i Halland, för att öka den fysiska aktiviteten bland eleverna i samarbete med olika idrottsliga föreningar. Detta var en kvantitativ studie och enkäter användes som datainsamlingsmetod. Resultatet visade att den aktiva gruppen hade fler idrottslektioner i veckan än kontrollgruppen. Inga andra skillnader påvisades. Mellan flickor och pojkar sågs betydligt fler skillnader. Pojkar var genomgående mer fysisk aktiva än flickorna. Mer fokus bör därför läggas på att nå flickorna och öka utövandet av den fysiska aktiviteten. Förutsättningar behöver skapas för alla, men framför allt för de som är fysiskt inaktiva.

As guerras civis começaram a ser estudadas quantitativamente há poucos anos, com número de publicações crescente na área. Os determinantes do início de guerra civil foram paulatinamente desvendados por meio de pesquisa empírica. Alguns resultados são de que elas ocorrem geralmente em países de baixa renda; em países que são dependentes da exportação de produtos naturais; que obtiveram sua independência há poucos anos; que tiveram conflitos recentes; cujas populações apresentam características etno-lingüísticas ou religiosas um pouco heterogêneas e polarizadas; que têm a presença de um regime ao mesmo tempo com peculiaridades autoritárias e democráticas e que apresenta instabilidade política; em países que se encontram em terrenos de difícil acesso, como áreas montanhosas ou florestas densas; dentre outros. Embora essas guerras ocorram geralmente em zonas rurais e as massas participantes são formadas particularmente por camponeses, em busca de melhores e mais dignas condições de vida, mesmo que conduzidos por líderes urbanos e instruídos, a academia não deu a devida atenção empírica a essas questões até o momento, apesar de tratá-las, em parte, numa literatura mais antiga e qualitativa. A proposta desta tese é abordar assuntos de natureza agrária analisados empiricamente, com o intuito de incluir os fatores agrários no conjunto dos determinantes de guerras civis com os quais a literatura já trabalha. Foram abordados temas relevantes relacionados às questões agrárias para verificar se são determinantes de guerra civil. Entre eles, o papel da demografia rural e da concentração de terra, o nível de produtividade no campo, além do tipo de camponês. Ao final, foram encontrados resultados estatísticos relevantes que endossam os fatores agrários como parte do composto que levaria ao início da guerra civil. Mesmo que a concentração de terra não tenha sido efetivamente comprovada como determinante para que guerras civis ocorram, os outros três fatores agrários confirmaram-se como determinantes desse evento, em conjunto com os outros fatores que a literatura aborda. Não se podem ignorar fatores agrários na ocorrência de guerras civis se estas eclodem em zonas rurais, têm os camponeses como os principais participantes nas massas rebeldes, e suas adesões à luta armada originam-se das questões agrárias não resolvidas. / The quantitative study of civil wars started few years ago, with an increasing number of publications in that field. The determinants of civil wars? onset were built gradually by empirical research. Some of their results show that they occur in: poor and developing states; dependent natural resources export countries; young states; countries with recent conflicts, states with a small heterogeneous population, polarized or dominant; places where the political regime is hybrid and politically unstable; terrain of difficult access, with lots of mountains or dense forests; etc. Despite these wars occur at large in rural regions where the peasants are the main actors looking for a better and dignified life, even if their leaders are urban and educated individuals, the scholars did not deserve the appropriated empirical and quantitative attention to agrarian issues, as they do with other mentioned civil war determinants. This thesis proposal approaches the agrarian themes quantitatively, with the aim to include the agrarian indicator within the civil wars? determinants. The relevant questions whose will be dealt are: which kind of peasants participate in civil wars? Which tasks have the concentration of land, the rural demography, and the level of agricultural productivity to the civil war onset? At the end, the statistical results are relevant and they have confirmed the agrarian indicator as part of the determinants of civil wars? onset. Even if the concentration of land did not achieve the expected outcome, mainly because of data problems than due to variables? relationship, the other determinants were pertinent and suitable.

Community service learning, when integrated into the modules of academic learning programmes, has the potential to contribute to the value and effectiveness of learning by offering hands-on experience and placing the learners in real-life situations as part of their learning phase. Most of the research done on community service learning has investigated the benefits, outcomes and learning experiences of students engaged in service-learning programmes. As there is little or no research on students' attitudes to and perceptions of service learning before it is integrated into an academic programme, the purpose of this study was to determine teacher training students' attitudes to and perceptions of community service learning before it became integrated into their academic programmes. The research was quantitative in nature and followed a descriptive design, in which a survey employing a questionnaire as instrument was used for measuring the attitudes and perceptions of third-year teacher training students at the Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria. A purposeful or non-probability sampling strategy was used, yielding a sample size of 168 students (n=±168). The results of the study indicate that students with prior knowledge of and/or participation in a community service programme showed greater willingness to enrol for such a programme, especially if it would add value to their career development and bear credits. The conclusion is that teacher training students are career focused and need to know more about community service learning before such courses/modules are integrated into their curriculum, to ensure their positive participation and enhanced learning. Recommendations are made with the intention of providing information to academic staff, to assist them with the successful design and implementation of courses/modules which include community service learning and would be meaningful to the community and of value to the student. The recommendations are also intended to encourage students to participate more willingly in community service learning courses/modules. These recommendations include a discussion on a thorough introduction to the pedagogy before integrating it into their curriculum. / Dissertation (MEd (Education for Community Building))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / unrestricted

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of care proviided to children in group homes in San Bernardino County. In an effort to better understand the effetiveness of care, childcare workers were interviewed on their perceptions of the components of effective care for children in group homes.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Covid-19 pandemin har orsakat en hög belastning för hälso- och sjukvården. Den ökade arbetsbelastningen och de förändrade arbetsvillkoren kan leda till psykisk ohälsa samt stress hos sjuksköterskor. Pandemin har belyst vikten av att fokusera på konsekvenserna av denna akuta situation och hur det påverkat den psykiska hälsan samt stress hos sjukvårdspersonal som arbetat under pandemin. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka yrkesverksamma sjuksköterskors självskattade psykiska hälsa och stress under covid-19 pandemin. Metod: En kvantitativ enkätstudie har genomförts med tvärsnittsstudiedesign. Analys gjordes med hjälp av Kruskal-Wallis och Mann-Whitney U i dataprogrammet jamovie. Resultat: Det fanns ingen signifikant skillnad i upplevd ökad stress och psykisk ohälsa hos sjuksköterskor under covid-19 pandemin. Effektstorlek av hög, medel och låg spridning fanns. Konklusion: Utifrån Pares och Antonovskys teorier kan antas att hur sjuksköterskorna upplevt stress och sin psykiska hälsa under covid-19 pandemin är ett resultat av tidigare erfarenheter samt den omgivning de befinner sig i. För att kunna dra fler slutsatser om vilka faktorer som tycks fungera förebyggande mot psykisk ohälsa och stress krävs en mer djupgående analysering. / Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has placed a heavy burden on health care services. Increased workload and changed working conditions can lead to increased stress and decreased mental health among nurses. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of focusing on the consequences of this emergent situation and how it has affected health care workers mental health and stress during the pandemic. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate active nurses' self-rated mental health and stress during the covid-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted a quantitative cross-sectional study using a questionnaire. Analysis was done using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U in the computer program jamovie. Result: There was no significant difference in perceived increased stress and psychological impact among nurses during the covid-19 pandemic. Effect sizes of high, medium and low dispersion were found. Conclusion: Based on Pare’s and Antonovsky's theories it can be assumed that how the nurses experienced stress and their mental health during the covid-19 pandemic is a result of previous experiences and their surrounding environments. To be able to draw more conclusions about what factors seem to work preventative against mental illness and stress requires a more in-depth analysis.

Bakgrund: Enligt socialtjänstlagen (SFS 2001:453) har skolsköterskor en skyldighet att anmäla om de misstänker att ett barn far illa, anmäla till socialtjänst. Trots det sker underrapportering till socialtjänst från professionella i skolor. Skolsköterskor har en unik inblick i barns liv och kan ha en avgörande roll i huruvida en orosanmälan till socialtjänsten blir utfärdad. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka skolsköterskors erfarenheter av orosanmälningar och stöd vid ärenden med misstanke om att barn far illa. Metod: Studien hade en kvantitativ ansats med tvärsnittsdesign där data samlats in via en egenkonstruerad enkät. Resultat: Resultatet visade att skolsköterskorna inte anmälde alla elever som de misstänkte for illa till socialtjänsten. Skolsköterskorna hade erfarenhet av hot och våld vid orosanmälan, vilket medförde tveksamhet om anmälan till socialtjänst vid kommande tillfälle när de misstänkte att ett barn for illa. Skolsköterskorna efterfrågade ett förbättrat samarbete med socialtjänsten vid orosanmälan. De flesta skolsköterskorna upplevde att de hade såväl stöd av kollegor vid orosanmälan som ett gynnsamt arbetsklimat, vilket medförde att fler orosanmälningar utfärdades. Konklusion: För att motsvara kraven på anmälningsskyldigheten behöver skolsköterskor ett ökat stöd i att genomföra orosanmälningar, framför allt genom tätare samarbete med socialtjänst i fall där barn far illa. Dessutom har skolsköterskorna ett behov av utbildning inom området barn som far illa. / Background: According to the Social Services Act (SFS 2001:453), school nurses have an obligation to report to social services if they suspect that a child is being abused. Despite that, there´s still under-reporting from schools to social services. School nurses have a unique insight into children's lives and can have a decisive role in regard to whether a report of concern to social services is issued. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate school nurses' experiences of handling reports of concern and support in situations with suspicions of children being abused. Method: The study had a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design where data was collected via a self-constructed questionnaire. Results: The results showed that the school nurses did not report all students whom they suspected of being abused to social services. The school nurses had experience of threats and violence when reporting concerns, which led to doubts about reporting to social services in the future when they suspected that a child was being abused. The school nurses requested improved cooperation with social services when reporting concerns. Most of the school nurses felt that they had support from colleagues when reporting concerns as well as a favorable working climate, which led to more reports of concerns being issued. Conclusion: In order to meet the requirements of the reporting obligation, school nurses need increased support in carrying out reports of concern, especially from social services. In addition, the school nurses have a need for education concerning abused children.

Denna studies syfte är att kartlägga förekomsten av fysiska besvär hos tvärflöjtlärare på Sveriges kommunala musik- och kulturskolor samt deras kunskap om, användning av och undervisning om ergonomi och förebyggande av skador. De frågeställningar som tas upp i arbetet är hur vanligt förekommande det är med fysiska besvär bland tvärflöjtlärare, huruvida de har fått adekvat ergonomikunskap för den profession de utövar, om de arbetar med förebyggande åtgärder mot fysiska besvär och i vilken utsträckning de inkluderar ergonomi i sin undervisning. Studien är en kvantitativ surveyundersökning och den genomfördes i form av en webb-enkät. Resultatet visar att 49 % av de tillfrågade tvärflöjtlärarna lider av fysiska besvär som de kopplar till tvärflöjtspelet. Besvären sitter framförallt i axlar, nacke/hals och rygg. 60 % av tvärflöjtlärarna arbetar med förebyggande åtgärder mot fysiska besvär, varav de vanligaste vardagliga åtgärderna handlar om att ta regelbundna pauser under tvärflöjtspelet och att regelbundet utöva någon fysisk träningsform. De vanligaste ergonomiska momenten som lärare tar upp med sina elever är övningsrutiner, kropps- och instrumenthållning, stretch- och avslappningsövningar samt vikten av fysisk träning. Resultatet visar även att många tvärflöjtlärare skulle vilja eller behöva bättre kunskaper om ergonomi eftersom musikutbildningar generellt förbereder musiker dåligt på de kroppsliga utmaningar som yrkeslivet innebär. I slutdiskussionen poängteras även att sjukvården behöver få bättre kunskap om musikerskador för att dessa ska kunna förhindras och botas, och att musiklärares arbetsvillkor måste uppmärksammas för att antalet skador ska kunna minimeras. / The purpose of this study is to map the occurrence of physical ailments among flute teachers in Swedish community schools of music and art, as well as their knowledge of, their use of and their teaching in ergonomics and injury prevention. The questions raised are how commonly occurring physical ailments are among flute teachers, whether or not they have received adequate knowledge in ergonomics for the profession they practice, if they work with preventive measures against physical ailments and to what extent they include ergonomics in their teaching. The study is a quantitative survey in the form of a web questionnaire. The results show that 49 % of the surveyed flute teachers suffer from physical ailments, which they connect to flute playing. The problems are mainly located in the shoulders, the neck and the back. 60 % of the flute teachers work with preventive measures against physical ailments, of which the most common everyday actions are regular breaks during flute practice and physical exercise on a regular basis. The most common ergonomic factors that teachers communicate to their pupils are practice routines, body posture, instrumental grip, stretching and relaxation exercises and the importance of physical training. The results also show that many flute teachers would want or need better knowledge of ergonomics, because music education generally prepares musicians poorly for the physical challenges of the professional life. In the concluding discussion is emphasized that healthcare needs to be better informed of musicians’ injuries for these to be prevented and cured, and music teachers’ working conditions require attention to minimize the number of injuries.

Studien genomfördes med syftet att undersöka varför företag tenderar att vara nöjda med sin börsintroduktion trots att den varit underprissatt, vilket bidrar till flertalet negativa konsekvenser. Studien undersöker om underprissättningen kan bero på brist av värderingskompetens eller om företagen själva har incitament till att underprissätta sin börsintroduktion och har tagit hänsyn till handelsplatserna Aktietorget och First North under åren 2013 – 2015. Studien baseras på en kvantitativ metod och har genomförts med inhämtning av sekundärdata samt en enkätundersökning för att undersöka hur företagen resonerar inför en börsintroduktion. Enkätfrågorna har kopplats till befintlig teori samt övriga variabler som torde vara viktiga för företagen inför en börsintroduktion och har sedan analyserats med hjälp av uni-, bi- och multivariat analys. Slutsatsen är att den viktigaste variabeln för ett företag som står inför en börsintroduktion på Aktietorget eller First North är att säkerställa en fulltecknad emission. För att lyckas med det påvisar analysen att företag kan ha incitament till att underprissätta sin egen börsintroduktion. Vidare påvisar analysen att företagen inte strävar efter studiens nämnda incitamentsteorier i någon stor grad och att något signifikant samband mellan teorivariabler och initial avkastning inte finns för studiens respondenter. Författarna tolkar därför incitamentsteorierna som positiva sidoeffekter av att en underprissättning sker och inte som något företagen eftersträvar i första hand vid en börsintroduktion på Aktietorget och First North. / This study investigates why corporates tend to be satisfied with their IPO although it has been underpriced, which contributes to several negative consequences. The study investigates if this depends on the lack of valuation expertise or if the enterprises have incentives to underprice their own IPO. This study was conducted on the Swedish Stock Exchanges Aktietorget and First North during 2013 – 2015. This study takes a quantitative approach and was conducted by using secondary data and a survey to investigate which variables are the most important for an enterprise that is staging an IPO. The survey questions were linked to existing theory and other variables that should be important for an enterprise that is staging an IPO. The results was analyzed through a uni-, bi- and multivariate analysis. The study concludes that the most important variable for an enterprise that is staging an IPO on Aktietorget or First North, is to ensure a fully subscribed stock issue. To be able to ensure this, an enterprise could have incentives to underprice their own IPO. Furthermore, the study conclude that the enterprises does not strive for this study’s described incentive theories in any large extent, and that any significant relation between these variables and underpricing do not exist for this study’s respondents. The authors of this study therefore interprets these theories as positive side effects of an underpricing and not something enterprises that is facing an IPO strive for primarily on Aktietorget and First North.