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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on the personal and professional lives of employees globally. Using extant literature on large-scale traumatic events and extraorganizational stressors as a foundation, this thesis explores the effect of supervisor support on the relationship between COVID-19 related fear and diminished employee mental health. Informed by the Social Support Buffering Hypothesis (Cohen & Wills, 1985) and the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping (Lazarus, 1990), and using time-lagged online questionnaire data from 2057 employees residing in Canada and the United States, this study finds a significant positive relationship between COVID-19 fear and poor mental health, such that higher COVID-19 fear was associated with poorer mental health. Results do not support the hypothesized buffering effect of supervisor support on the relationship between fear and poor mental health within the entire sample; however, further (post-hoc) analysis revealed disparate impacts of supervisor support on this relationship according to country of residence. Supervisor support significantly buffered the relationship between fear and poor mental health in the American but not Canadian sample, such that high levels of supervisor support attenuated the relationship between fear and poor mental health. These results have the potential to contribute to the leadership and mental health literature, inform future organizational preparedness, and suggest new, boundary spanning, areas of inquiry for management research.

The front-line homeless-sector workforce provides an essential service in an often emotionally-taxing environment that leads to high turnover. However, there has been limited research focused on front-line homeless sector workers or the supervisory support needed to mitigate the stressful nature of their work. A web-based survey of front-line homeless-sector workers (n=82) was conducted to compare the relative effects of transformational and supportive leadership on emotional exhaustion and turnover intention in front-line homeless sector workers. Established and validated measures were used for each of the variables in the study; the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire for transformational leadership, the Inventory of Supportive and Unsupportive Managerial Behaviours for supportive leadership, the Maslach Burnout Inventory for emotional exhaustion, and the TIS-6 Turnover Intention Scale for turnover intention. Correlational analysis and multivariate multiple regression were used to analyze the relative effects. It was found that although transformational leadership has a correlational association with emotional exhaustion, it does not have a significant association with turnover intention. It also does not have a predictive relationship with either emotional exhaustion or turnover intention in front-line homeless-sector workers. Supportive leadership, however, had significant correlational associations and significant predictive relationships with both emotional exhaustion and turnover intention in the respondents. Implications for homeless-serving agencies and for supervisory support for front-line homeless-sector workers are discussed. / Graduate

School leaders are increasingly being required to support students beyond academic metrics. The Covid-19 pandemic caused unanticipated closures in schools throughout the country forcing many students to an unfamiliar online environment. In the months that followed, anxiety and loneliness rose dramatically, requiring staff to re-think how to best support the social emotional needs of students. The purpose of this study was to identify how principals perceive their role in providing social emotional learning (SEL) support for all students in high-achieving schools (HAS) in both in-person and virtual learning environments. Using a phenomenological research design, principals from high achieving schools were interviewed to identify their perceived role in providing SEL for all students. This research suggests that relationships are essential in providing SEL in a meaningful way and principals rely on a variety of staff to ensure students are receiving SEL in traditional (in-person) and virtual environments. Principals expressed a deepened urgency for SEL needs due to the global pandemic of Covid-19. The role of the principals is uniquely positioned to support both the structural and interpersonal supports needed to develop SEL for all students. As the growing evidence supports the inclusion of SEL-related activities, principal and teacher preparation programs should include SEL training as part of the curriculum as part of pre-service training. Additionally, school divisions should provide in-service opportunities for those already in the field. The findings from this research underscore the important role that principals have in promoting a SEL-supportive culture. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are also shared. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify how principals perceive their role in providing SEL support for all students in high-achieving schools (HAS) in both in-person and virtual learning environments. Due to the widespread closure of in-person schooling across the country in the fall of 2020, school leaders have been forced to think differently on implementing support for the whole child. Using a phenomenological research design, principals from high achieving schools were interviewed to identify their perceived role in providing SEL for all students. A review of the literature shows SEL can be delivered at both the classroom and whole-school level and has academic, behavioral, and societal benefits. Findings showed that principals are uniquely positioned to develop SEL-supportive cultures by providing a common vision, structural supports, and opportunities to increase long-term relationships. Principals utilized a variety of people and places to provide SEL for all students, with a strong emphasis on building relationships. The capacity of both school leaders and teachers plays an important role in providing SEL with fidelity. Principal's expressed a deepened understanding of the urgency of SEL. In light of limited pre-service training at both the teacher and administrative level, additional professional development is needed in this area as schools seek to address the whole child.

Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att undersöka hur ungdomar upplever betydelsen av sina föräldrars engagemang för ungdomarnas eget välbefinnande. Hur tillgängliga upplever ungdomarna att deras föräldrar är; hur upplever ungdomarna deras samspel med föräldrarna och hur upplever ungdomarna det sociala stöd de får från sina föräldrar? I studien har åtta ungdomar intervjuats om hur de upplever sina föräldrars engagemang och samspel. Av intervjuerna har det bland annat framkommit att samtliga ungdomar ville spendera mer tid med sina föräldrar, att de ville ha möjligheten att prata med sina föräldrar om allt och att de gärna gjorde saker tillsammans. I diskussionen dras slutsatser att ungdomarna i denna studie upplevde att de mådde bättre om de hade möjligheten att pratar med sina föräldrar. Ungdomarna upplevde att bland annat gemensamma intressen, föräldrarnas involvering i ungdomarnas vardag och mängden tid de spenderade tillsammans byggde upp en trygg grund i deras relation och ungdomarna upplevde då att de kunde prata med sina föräldrar. / The aim of the study was to exam how youth experience the importance of their parent’s engagement on their own wellbeing. How available do the children experience that their parents are; how do the children experience their interaction with their parents and how do the children experience the social support they get from their parents? The youth in this study consisted of eight girls and boys that talked about how they experience their parent’s engagement and interaction. From the interviews it emerged that all of the adolescents wanted to spend more time together with their parents, that they wanted to have the chance to talk to their parents about everything and to do things together. The conclusion is that the youth in this study experienced that they felt better if they had the chance to talk to their parents. The youth experienced that inter alia common interests, the parent’s involvement in everyday life and the amount of time they spend together, established a safe base in their relationship and in which the youth perceived that they could talk to their parents.

To this point research on firms’ political behavior has contributed knowledge concerning large firms’ relationships and strategies with political actors and their surrounding environment. Less is known about small firms’ behavior towards political organizations. As a matter of fact, the fields of international marketing, international business and corporate political science have left the political behavior of small firms almost untouched. Therefore, extant literature assumes that small firms due to their resource constraints are passive receivers of political initiatives. About 99 percent of all firms within the European Union are small firms, and it is therefore questioned whether all these firms are passive receivers of political initiatives. The intention with this thesis is to challenge some assumptions regarding how small firms manage their relationships with political actors concerning EU related rules and regulations. Consequently, the study raises the overarching research question; how do small firms manage their political environment? Theoretically, the study takes a network perspective on business political interaction to examine both individual and/or collective political behavior of small firms. It develops a theoretical view constituted of knowledge, commitment and legitimacy. Methodologically, two sequential stages are followed: first an in-depth qualitative case study of three successful cases is presented and second, the in-depth understanding is broadened to a wider population of firms based on a quantitative survey. A central contribution of this thesis is to aid research on the political behavior of small firms. It is found that small firms, in contrast to prevailing assumptions, do possess political resources. They are not passive receivers of political initiatives. Instead, the findings show that small firms are active and can exercise influence. This, however, is shown to be dependent on the firm’s political commitment, political knowledge and competency and business-political legitimacy. It is also shown that small firms mobilize these critical resources not only directly, but also indirectly through various intermediating actors. Besides the theoretical contributions, these conclusions are important not just because of the managerial implications but also, and perhaps more importantly, for the policy implications that can be drawn from the study. Being exploratory and opening up the black box of small firm’s political behavior, the thesis ends with a number of future research directions.

Övervikt och fetma är ett folkhälsoproblem som ökar i en oroväckande takt både i Sverige och i många andra delar av världen. Fetma räknas som en sjukdom i sig, men är även en riskfaktor för andra icke smittsamma sjukdomar. Våra levnadsvanor grundläggs redan under barndomen och inverkar på hälsan resten av livet. Att satsa på förebyggande åtgärder i tidig ålder kan således vara viktigt för att minska risken att barn senare i livet drabbas av överviktsrelaterade sjukdomar. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka skolsköterskors och skolors erfarenheter av och förutsättningar för att arbeta med övervikt och fetma bland barn mellan sex och elva år. För att besvara syftet användes en kvalitativ metodansats. Totalt genomfördes sex enskilda semistrukturerade intervjuer med skolsköterskor. Intervjuerna analyserades med en manifest innehållsanalys. I resultatet framkom att övervikt och fetma är vanligt förekommande på skolorna. Övervikt och fetma anses vara ett viktigt, men också svårt, område för skolor att arbeta mot. Skolsköterskorna uppfattar flera hinder i sitt arbete, och önskar att de kunde göra mera för att hjälpa barn som drabbats. Skolsköterskorna har många idéer om hur de och skolorna skulle kunna arbeta förebyggande, men upplever en frustration över de bristande resurserna som ges till det. / Overweight and obesity is a public health problem that is increasing in an alarming rate both in Sweden and in many other parts of the world. Obesity is considered as a disease in itself, but is also a risk factor for other noncommunicable diseases. Our habits are established during childhood and have an impact on our health throughout our lives. Investing in preventive interventions at an early age may therefore be important for reducing the risk of children later in life suffer from obesity-related diseases. The aim of this study was to examine school nurses' and schools’ experiences of and presumptions for working with overweight and obesity among children at primary schools. A qualitative approach was chosen and a total of six individual semi-structured interviews with school nurses were conducted. The interviews were analysed with a manifest content analysis. The result showed that overweight and obesity are common in the primary schools. Overweight and obesity are considered an important, but also difficult, area for schools to work against. The school nurses perceive several obstacles in their work, and wish they could do more to help children who are affected. The school nurses have many ideas about how they and the schools could work preventive, but are frustrated over the lack of resources that are given to it.

Most patients with pancreatic cancer will present with metastatic or locally advanced disease. Unfortunately, most patients with localized disease will experience recurrence even after multimodality therapy. As such, pancreatic cancer patients arrive at a common endpoint where decisions pertaining to palliative care come to the forefront. This article summarizes surgical, endoscopic, and other palliative techniques for relief of obstructive jaundice, relief of duodenal or gastric outlet obstruction, and relief of pain due to invasion of the celiac plexus. It also introduces the utility of the palliative care triangle in clarifying a patient's and family's goals to guide decision making.

A positive psychosocial intervention comprised of high autonomy support, task-involvement, and caring was implemented in physical activity classes to examine its effects on college women’s basic psychological needs (i.e. autonomy, competence, relatedness), exercise regulations (i.e. external, introjected, identified, integrated, intrinsic) and social physique anxiety (SPA). We hypothesized that at the end of the semester, participants in the intervention group (N = 73) would report greater need satisfaction, more self-determined regulations and less SPA than participants in the non-intervention group (N = 60). At T1 and T2, both the intervention and non-intervention participants reported “agreeing” with experiencing an autonomy supportive, task-involving, and caring environment. Furthermore, both groups at T1 and T2 reported moderate SPA. No significant group differences were found at T1. At T2, significant group differences were observed in the intervention and non-intervention groups’ report of external regulation and intrinsic regulation. The results suggests that group exercise instructors are capable of creating a positive psychosocial environment to enhance students’ intrinsic motivation.