Cette étude vise à examiner les liens entre la personnalité des mères et le tempérament de leur enfant, en tenant compte de onze traits de personnalité chez la mère et cinq dimensions tempéramentales chez l’enfant. Plus spécifiquement, elle vise à vérifier si les relations entre les deux construits varient en fonction des traits de personnalité et des dimensions du tempérament considérées, et si le sexe de l’enfant et le niveau de risque psychosocial influencent ou modèrent les liens existants. Soixante-treize (73) dyades mère-enfant dont les mères étaient âgées d’au moins 18 ans au moment de la prise de mesure, ont été évaluées. Alors que leurs enfants étaient âgés de 30-36 mois, les mères ont rempli à domicile un questionnaire portant sur le tempérament de l’enfant. Approximativement deux semaines plus tard, les mères ont rempli en laboratoire un questionnaire informatisé portant sur la personnalité maternelle. Les résultats obtenus montrent d’abord que les liens entre nos deux concepts sont spécifiques à certains traits de personnalité et à certaines dimensions du tempérament, mais pas à d’autres. Par ailleurs, la direction et la force des relations existant entre nos deux concepts varient parfois selon le sexe de l’enfant. Toutefois, le niveau de risque psychosocial auquel sont exposées les dyades mère-enfant n’exerce pas d’effet significatif sur ces relations.

Cette thèse par articles s'inscrit dans un courant de recherche en psychopathologie dont l'hypothèse fondamentale est que les traits de la personnalité sont sous-jacents aux troubles mentaux et à l'adaptation psychosociale. Dans le premier article, 48 délinquants persistants sont comparés à 48 adolescents qui ne manifestent pas de comportements antisociaux (CA) significatifs. Les analyses multivariées identifient deux facettes relatives à l'impulsivité (Impulsivité et Recherche d'excitation) et une suggérant de la rigidité cognitive (Valeurs) comme fortement caractéristiques des délinquants persistants. Ces facettes différencient ces groupes au-delà de l'intelligence verbale et de la supervision parentale. Le second article porte sur un échantillon de 82 adolescents ayant un historique de CA graves. Les corrélations observées entre les facettes du modèle à cinq facteurs (MCF) et les symptômes du trouble de la personnalité antisociale (TPA) sont similaires à celles des autres études, bien que certaines différences surgissent. Une analyse multivariée révèle qu'une propension aux conflits interpersonnels (facette Compliance) et un haut niveau d'énergie (facette Activité) sont les caractéristiques de la personnalité associées au TPA. La facette Compliance prédit 9% de variance unique des CA mesurés deux ans plus tard (n = 46), au-delà des symptômes du TPA et des CA antérieurs. Le troisième article propose une recension des écrits sur le rôle des traits de la personnalité dans l'intervention psychologique. Il appert que les traits sont utiles à l'évaluation du client, permettent d'offrir une intervention plus adaptée au client, et influencent l'alliance thérapeutique, le contre-transfert et l'adhésion au traitement.Cette thèse montre que certaines facettes de la personnalité distinguent les délinquants de leurs pairs de la population générale, mais que d'autres facettes sont associées au TPA et à la persistance des CA. Enfin, elle soutient l'importance d'évaluer les traits des clientèles en contexte d'intervention.

Weed seed contaminants in agricultural products from China in recent years have the potential for introducing new invasive plant species. Seeds of 169 weedy species from 39 families were collected from Chinese farmlands. Fifty-eight of these that are currently absent in Canada were evaluated. Two weed risk assessment (WRA) models (modified WRA+ secondary screen tool and weed elsewhere+ modified WRA+ secondary screen tool) rejected all invasive plant species and showed similar accuracy in non-invasvie plant species prediction based on 140 existing alien plant species in Canada, yet the second WRA model took significantly less time to conduct the evaluation. Fifty-five potential invasive species with various negative impacts in Chinese farmlands were rejected to enter Canada by the “weed elsewhere+ modified WRA+ secondary screen tool” model, including eight species that cause significant damage to Chinese farmlands. However, Anemone rivularis and Silene jenisseensis, which have no negative impacts in China, were also rejected. Seed germination characteristics among 18 Chinese weedy species were found with base temperatures for germination (Tb) varying from -2.5°C to 10.9°C, thermal time requirements to reach 50% germination (θ_50) ranging from 23.7 to 209.2℃*Day, and different optimal temperatures for germination, which may facilitate these species to cause different degrees of negative impacts in Canadian prairie provinces. An alien species would have a higher competitive advantage in resource uptake and space occupation than its congeneric with advantageous seed germination characteristics; otherwise it will be less competitive than its congeneric. In addition, plant functional traits that promote invasiveness would make an alien species more invasive. In conclusion, the “weed elsewhere+ modified WRA+ secondary screen tool” model is a fast and highly accurate way to screen out potential invasive species from Chinese environments, and is applicable to other environments with modification. Seed germination characteristics can be used to predict seasonal dynamics of weed seedling populations. The comparison of seed germination characteristics and other plant functional traits between alien plant and its congeneric weed from native areas provides a new way to evaluate the invasive potential of alien plant species.

Stroke is the 2nd leading cause of death in the UK and worldwide. 150,000 people have a stroke each year in the UK (ischaemic stroke being the most common) and a significant proportion of NHS resources go towards the treatment of these individuals (~£2.8 billion). Twin and family history studies have shown that having affected relatives makes you between 30 and 76% more likely to suffer a stroke, suggesting that there is a genetic component to the disease. So far, no genes have been convincingly associated with stroke. Intermediate traits may be useful tools for identifying genetic factors in complex disease. For stroke, two commonly used intermediate traits are carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), which both show high heritabilities. These traits have both been studied widely for associations with many candidate gene polymorphisms. In this thesis I systematically reviewed the literature for all genetic association studies of these two traits. Where particular associations have been studied in large numbers I meta-analysed the available data, developing novel methods for meta-analysis of genetic association data. I found there was substantial heterogeneity and small study bias in the literature and most polymorphisms have still been studied in too small numbers to make accurate conclusions. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε is the only polymorphism which shows a consistent association with CIMT, even when only the largest studies are analysed (MD 8μm (95% CI 6 to 11) between E4 and E3, and E3 and E2). No polymorphism has shown a convincing association with WMHs and interestingly APOE appears unlikely to be associated with this trait. This is consistent with previous work that shows that APOE is associated with large artery but not small artery stroke. Taking this hypothesis I attempted to investigate the association of APOE comparing patients who have had a large artery stroke with those who have had a small artery stroke in the Edinburgh Stroke Study cohort. However, genotyping of this polymorphism failed and I present investigatory analyses of problems from the genotyping laboratory.

Avsikten med studien var att undersöka om bedömningen av olika egenskaper hos avsändaren till ett mejl kan relateras till mottagarens kön, avsändarens kön och mejlets valens. I föreliggande studie är avsändaren av mejlet en fiktiv chef och mottagarna av mejlet är deltagarna i studien. Datainsamling genomfördes med en enkät vilken distribuerades i pappersform till 100 studenter på en högskola i Mellansverige. Insamlad data analyserades sedan med SPSS med sex upprepade ANOVA. Enligt de signifikanta huvudeffekter som observerades framkom det att mejlets valens var den variabel som hade störst påverkan på deltagarnas bedömning av avsändarens egenskaper. Vidare observerades det att avsändarens kön endast påverkade deltagarnas bedömning av avsändarens egenskaper gällande maskulinitet/femininitet. Vidare könseffekter som observerades var att deltagarnas kön i interaktion med mejlets valens i viss mån påverkade bedömningen av egenskaperna hos avsändaren. Noterbart i interaktionseffekterna var att kvinnor var mer polariserade än män i sina bedömningar av avsändarens egenskaper både vad gällde mejlen med positiv och negativ valens. / The purpose of the study was to investigate whether participant's assessment of different personality traits of the sender of an email may be related to the participant's sex, the sender's sex and the valence of the email. In the present study the sender of the email is a fictional manager and the recipients of the email are the participants in the study. Data collection was performed by using a questionnaire that was distributed in paper form to 100 students at a university in central Sweden. The data was analyzed with SPSS with six repeated ANOVA. The result showed that it is the valence of the email that had the greatest importance for the assessment of the selected personality traits of the sender. It was observed that the sender's sex only affected the participants' assessment of the sender’s characteristics regarding masculinity/femininity. Other sex effect that was observed in the study was that the sex of the participants in interaction with the valence of the email to some extent affected the assessment of personality traits of the sender. Worth to mention is that in the interaction effect women were more polarized in their assessments of the manager's personality traits than men both as regards emails with positive and negative valence.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to, from an employees’ perspective, study how to define leadership and how a good leader is characterised in terms of traits, charisma and efficiency. Method: This study was made by using a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews and has been collected through chain sampling. Theoretical framework: The basis of this study is theories that provide different definitions of leadership, traits required for leaders and also what efficiency, effective leadership and charismatic leaders means according to different researchers. Empiricism: Data for this study has been collected through seventeen interviews with people in varied positions. One of them was performed via mail and the remaining eye-to-eye. The age of the respondents varies as well as knowledge and experience of leadership, since all of them have or have had leaders and some of them are or have been leaders. Conclusion: The employees’ definition of leadership is based on traits and personality and show that there is a common link between good, effective and charismatic leadership. However, from the employees’ perspective it is not possible to find a clear equal sign between the three concepts.

Differences between females and males in computer use have long been a concern. Over the past twenty years, the accessibility gap has closed and women’s use of the technology has equaled and in some cases surpassed men’s computer use. However, differences in patterns of use still remain. This study looked at underlying factors that may be involved in maintaining differences in use. Specifically, this study focused on differences in gender and gender role personality traits as they relate to microcomputer playfulness. Gender role personality traits are defined as the acceptance of stereotypic gender descriptors as applying to oneself according to the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). The PAQ provides participants with ratings on the expressive (feminine) and instrumental (masculine) scales. The relationship between the scales yields the gender role personality traits expressive (high expressive, low instrumental), instrumental (low expressive, high instrumental), androgynous (high on both), or undifferentiated (low on both). Microcomputer playfulness or computer playfulness is defined as the tendency to be “spontaneous, inventive and imaginative when interacting with a personal computer.” It is measured by responses on the Computer Playfulness Scale. This study found that computer playfulness varied depending upon setting with participants being most playful when using a computer at home and least playful when using a computer at work. Those who score in the androgynous range of the PAQ also scored higher on the CPS than those who scored in the undifferentiated range. Finally, this study found that males tended to score higher in computer playfulness than females. Participants were also interviewed about their experiences of gender role personality traits and computer playfulness. Discussion of these results and suggestions for further research are included. / text

Parmi les processus qui contribuent à la diversité des histoires de vie, la dispersion est probablement le plus impliqué dans la persistance et l'évolution des espèces. Elle permet de se soustraire à la compétition et aux conditions de vie défavorables, de maintenir la connectivité entre des unités géographiquement isolées, et de déplacer et d'étendre l'aire de distribution par exploration de nouveaux habitats. A ce titre, les anguilles sont parmi les animaux les plus remarquables en terme de capacité de dispersion de leurs larves. Ces leptocéphales peuvent en effet parcourir de plusieurs centaines à plusieurs milliers de kilomètres jusqu'à atteindre les aires de croissance côtières, estuariennes ou dulcicoles, d'où les adultes s'échappent pour rejoindre les zones de pontes océaniques tropicales, se reproduire et mourir. Cette boucle de migration est supposée avoir d'abord eu lieu en milieu tropical et s'être progressivement élargie jusqu'aux habitats tempérés pour la croissance. Ce travail de thèse a examiné les capacités de dispersion larvaire des anguilles au travers de l'étude des traits d'histoire de vie (e. g. durée de vie larvaire, métabolisme), et leur contribution à l'évolution du genre dont la radiation s'est faite au cours de l'expansion géographique. Trois espèces ont été particulièrement étudiées : l'anguille tropicale mozambicaine A. mossambica, la plus ancienne, se distribue uniquement dans le sud-ouest de l'Océan Indien; l'anguille tropicale A. marmorata la plus récente, possède la plus vaste aire de répartition et est la plus fortement structurée; l'anguille tempérée Européenne A. anguilla, la plus récente, réalise les plus grandes dispersions. La plasticité des traits de vie, en réponse aux variations de l'environnement, est supposée avoir généré la diversité d'histoires de vie larvaire observée à l'échelle spécifique. Néanmoins, l'élasticité intra-spécifique de la dispersion a montré des limites qui ont possiblement ségrégé spatialement et/ou temporellement des boucles de migration, probablement à l'origine de nouvelles espèces. La grande diversité des histoires de vie a permis de mettre en évidence un fort potentiel de résilience des larves d'anguilles face aux changements de leur environnement. Il est proposé que ce potentiel ait pu promouvoir la persistance des espèces, particulièrement les espèces tempérées, lors des changements climatiques et océaniques passés. Néanmoins, la réactivité de la plasticité des traits de vie, dépendante de la proportion prise par le déterminisme génétique, est questionnée au regard de la soudaineté du changement global annoncé.

<p>A severe burn is a trauma fraught with stress and pain and may change the entire course of life. This thesis focuses on care utilisation, care experiences and patient satisfaction after a severe burn.</p><p>The patients studied were treated at the Burn Unit at Uppsala University Hospital between 1980 and 2006. Burn-related health was examined using the Burn Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B), personality traits with the Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP), psychological symptoms using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS), symptoms of posttraumatic stress with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and satisfaction with care using the Patient Satisfaction-Results and Quality (PS-RESKVA) questionnaire.</p><p>Those utilising care years after injury reported poorer functioning on three of the BSHS-B subscales. Personality traits had a greater impact on care utilisation than injury severity.</p><p>Social desirability was lower among care utilisers and was associated with burn-related health aspects.</p><p>The participants reported a low level of negative care experiences, the most common of which was Powerlessness.</p><p>Most patients were satisfied with care, more with quality of contact with the nursing staff, and less with treatment information. Multiple regressions showed that the BSHS-B Interpersonal relationships subscale was an independent variable related to all measured aspects of patient satisfaction. The highest adjusted R² was 0.25.</p><p>In a prospective assessment with multiple regression analyses, Age and Education, the personality traits of Stress susceptibility, Trait irritability, Detachment and Social desirability, in addition to the post-traumatic stress symptoms Intrusion and Hyperarousal, were predictors of satisfaction with care. The highest adjusted R² was 0.19.</p><p>The thesis has pointed out that interpersonal factors are related to care utilisation as well as satisfaction with care. However, satisfaction with care was only moderately associated with health and individual characteristics, which may imply that the care itself is of major importance.</p>

Whether the stated goal of a program is to improve health, reduce crime, or to increase standard of living, the ultimate goal of social programs is to improve overall quality of life. An adequate measure of this outcome would help determine whether achievement of these more specific goals (e.g., health, education) really leads to improvements in overall life quality, and would allow trade-offs to be made in terms of funding across programs. However, an understanding of the determinants of life quality (i.e., the mechanism by which a program did or did not have its intended effect) is also essential to program evaluation and the design of future programs.This study constitutes the analysis of an existing dataset of individual traits, life circumstances, satisfaction with a list of 30 life domains, and overall quality of life for 193 healthy elders to test a hypothesized model of the determinants of life quality. As expected, domain satisfaction appears to be a function of life circumstances. Individuals' traits (e.g., age, sex, personality) modify this relationship, but neither they, nor respondents' reports of domain importance, appear to have any direct effect on quality of life. Instead, domain satisfactions alone are the most proximal determinants of overall quality of life. It also appears that individuals respond differently in terms of overall quality of life to reductions in satisfaction with certain domains than to increases. These findings should be evaluated further as they could affect the design of future successful programs. Because individuals' traits and individuals' ratings of domain importance seem to have no effect on the relationship between domain satisfaction and overall quality of life, it may not be essential to measure these in future studies. Finally, although the data on life domains available to this study were sufficient to generate these results, the first step in the development of adequate measures of overall quality of life and of domain satisfactions will be the construction of a comprehensive, fully-representative list of the life domains that comprise life as a whole.