Factors affecting a woman's decision to leave an abusive relationship : the theory of planned behaviour /

The present study tested the appHcabiUty of Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behaviour (TPB), an extension of Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action (TRA), for the first time, in the context of abused women's decision to leave their abusive relationships. The TPB, as a means of predicting women's decision to leave their abusive partners' was drawn from Strube's (1988, 1991) proposed decision-making model based on the principle that the decision-making process is a rational, deliberative process, and regardless of outcome, was a result of a logical assessment of the available data. As a means of predicting those behaviours not under volitional control, Ajzen's (1985) TPB incorporated a measure of perceived behavioural control. Data were collected in two phases, ranging from 6 months to 1 year apart. It was hypothesized that, to the extent that an abused woman held positive attitudes, subjective norms conducive to leaving, and perceived control over leaving, she would form an intention to leave and thus, increase the likelihood of actually leaving her partner. Furthermore, it was expected that perceptions of control would predict leaving behaviour over and above attitude and subjective norm. In addition, severity and frequency of abuse were assessed, as were demographic variables. The TPB failed to account significantly for variability in either intentions or leaving behaviour. All of the variance was attributed to those variables associated with the theory of reasoned action, with social influence emerging as the strongest predictor of a woman's intentions. The poor performance of this model is attributed to measurement problems with aspects of attitude and perceived control, as well as a lack of power due to the small sample size. The insufficiency of perceived control to predict behaviour also suggests that, on the surface at least, other factors may be at work in this context. Implications of these results, and recommendations such as, the importance of obtaining representative samples, the inclusion of self-esteem and emotions as predictor variables in this model, a reevaluation of the target behaviovu" as nonvolitional, and longitudinal studies spanning a longer time period for future research within the context of decision-making are discussed.

A minor theory of the transit of materiality into discourse, Via Campesina.

In this thesis I explore how the material properties of plant seed enter the political discourses of the international peasant coalition the Via Campesina and coalition member the National Fanners Union of Canada (NFU), querying how this process might be employed as a resource for a transformative eco-social politics. I employ several post-structural theoretical constructs, configuring them together as a "minor theory". This minor theory provides the basis for a "minor" reading of three sets of Via Campesina and NFU texts. The aim of these readings is to track the movement of seed from a local agricultural concern to a transitive political one, across both the material and discursive registers. In surfacing the presence of the seed's physical properties in the three texts, I highlight the distinctions between the constraining seed of corporate industrial agriculture, and the social and agroecological opportunities resulting from what I call a "Seed Event".

Agrarian revolution in Central America : a comparison of Nicaragua and Honduras using Jeffery Paige's theory of Agrarian revolution

ABSTRACT In 1979 Nicaragua, under the Sandinistas, experienced a genuine, socialist, full scale, agrarian revolution. This thesis examines whether Jeffery Paige's theory of agrarian revolutions would have been successful in predicting this revolution and ln predicting non-revolution in the neighboring country of Honduras. The thesis begins by setting Paige's theory in the tradition of radical theories of revolution. It then derives four propositions from Paige's theory which suggest the patterns of export crops, land tenure changes and class configurations which are necessary for an agrarian and socialist revolution. These propositions are tested against evidence from the twentieth century histories of economic, social and political change in Nicaragua and Honduras. The thesis concludes that Paige's theory does help to explain the occurrence of agrarian revolution in Nicaragua and non-revolution in Honduras. A fifth proposition derived from Paige's theory proved less useful in explaining the specific areas within Nicaragua that were most receptive to Sandinista revolutionary activity.

Construing social dimensions of personality development: nurses as educators

A convenience sample of twenty registered nurses was recruited from two' general hospitals and two community college nursing schools. Kelly's (1955) Personal Construct Theory provided the theoretical framework to discover how nurses perceived themselves as educators. The nurses completed a self-administered Self-Perception Inventory (Soares, 1983) to determine their perception of self as nurse and ideal self as nurse. In an interview, each of the nurses constructed a rank-order repertory grid adapted from Kelly's (1955) Role Repertory Construct Test. Twelve constructs derived from the Self-Perception Inventory (Soares, 1983) were ranked according to a list of ten elements common to a teaching situation. Rank order correlations among the constructs were determined with Spearman's rho. Using a dependent samples t-test, significant differences were found between perceptions of current and ideal self for staff nurses. Significant differences were also found between nurse educators' perceptions of self and ideal self as nurse. No significant differences were determined in perceptions of self as nurse and ideal self as nurse between the staff nurse and nurse educator groups with an independent samples t-test. However, observations of single constructs revealed that although several constructs are shared between the groups in the perception of self in a teaching situation, both groups hold constructs that operate exclusively in their separate domains. The nature and strength of the relationships between the common and unique constructs are different for each group. Nurses I self-perceptions appear to be influenced by the historical development of nursing, role socialization during nursing education, social expectations and gender issues in the health care system.

A constructivist grounded theory of firefighter perceptions of stress, coping and the relationship to health

This qualitative research was a constructivist grounded theory designed to develop an understanding of how firefighters perceive and cope with stressful situations and the impact this has on their perceptions of health. This study was framed in a social ecological perspective with the community of firefighting providing the environment within which to explore stress and coping. Of particular concern here are the stressors associated with firefighting. Prior research with firefighters has often been epidemiological and statistical in nature, focusing on measures of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression (Baker & Williams, 2001 ; Brown et al., 2002; Murphy et al.,1999; Regehr et al., 2002; Regehr et al., 2003). Qualitative research examining the perception of stress among firefighters that includes personal stories allows firefighters the opportunity to describe what it is like to be met with physically and mentally challenging situations on a daily basis. Twelve in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with a brief questionnaire were conducted with firefighters from a Southern Ontario Fire Department. Four main themes emerged describing the persona of the firefighter, the stressors of firefighters, coping strategies of firefighters, and firefighters' perceptions of health. Stressors include requirements of the job, traumatic calls, tensions with co-workers, the struggle between the family at home and the family at work, political stressors with the City, and the inner struggle. Avoidance coping, approach coping, and gaining perspective emerged as the three coping styles of firefighters. Health was defined as including physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects. A model of the findings is provided that depicts the cyclical nature of the stress-coping-health relationship among firefighters.

Taenia solium transmission in a rural community in Honduras : an examination of risk factors and knowledge

Taenia soliurn taeniasis and cysticercosis are recognized as a major public health problem in Latin America. T. soliurn transmission not only affects the health of the individual, but also social and economic development, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. To determine prevalence rates, population knowledge and risk factors associated with transmission, an epidemiological study was undertaken in the rural community of Jalaca. Two standardized questionnaires were used to collect epidemiological and T. soli urn general knowledge data. Kato-Katz technique and an immunoblot assay (EITB) were used to determine taeniasis and seroprevalence, respectively. In total, 139 individuals belonging to 56 households participated in the study. Household characteristics were consistent with conditions of poverty of rural Honduras: 21.4% had no toilet or latrines, 19.6% had earthen floor, and 51.8% lacked indoor tap water. Pigs were raised in 46.4% of households, of which 70% allowed their pigs roaming freely. A human seroprevalence rate of 18.7% and a taeniasis prevalence rate of 2.4% were found. Only four persons answered correctly 2: 6 out of ten T. soliurn knowledge questions, for an average passing score of 2.9%. In general, a serious gap exists in knowledge regarding how humans acquire the infections, especially neurocysticercosis was identified. After regression analysis, the ability to recognize adult tapeworms and awareness of the clinical importance of taeniasis, were found to be significant risk factors for T. soliurn seropositivity. These results demonstrate a high level of transmission and a low level of kn~,wledge about Taenia soliurn in Jalaca. Consequently, intervention measures integrated with health education are necessary to decrease the burden caused by this parasite.

Examining sport commitment and intentions to participate in intramural sports : application of the Sport Commitment Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour in a campus recreational sport setting

Fifty-six percent of Canadians, 20 years of age and older, are inactive (Canadian Community Health Survey, 200012001). Research has indicated that one of the most dramatic declines in population physical activity occurs between adolescence and young adulthood (Melina, 2001; Stephens, Jacobs, & White, 1985), a time when individuals this age are entering or attending college or university. Colleges and universities have generally been seen as environments where physical activity and sport can be promoted and accommodated as a result of the available resources and facilities (Archer, Probert, & Gagne, 1987; Suminski, Petosa, Utter, & Zhang, 2002). Intramural sports, one of the most common campus recreational sports options available for post-secondary students, enable students to participate in activities that are suited for different levels of ability and interest (Lewis, Jones, Lamke, & Dunn, 1998). While intramural sports can positively affect the physical activity levels and sport participation rates of post-secondary students, their true value lies in their ability to encourage sport participation after school ends and during the post-school lives of graduates (Forrester, Ross, Geary, & Hall, 2007). This study used the Sport Commitment Model (Scanlan et aI., 1993a) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) with post secondary intramural volleyball participants in an effort to examine students' commitment to intramural sport and 1 intentions to participate in intramural sports. More specifically, the research objectives of this study were to: (1.) test the Sport Commitment Model with a sample of postsecondary intramural sport participants(2.) determine the utility of the sixth construct, social support, in explaining the sport commitment of post-secondary intramural sport participants; (3.) determine if there are any significant differences in the six constructs of IV the SCM and sport commitment between: gender, level of competition (competitive A vs. B), and number of different intramural sports played; (4.) determine if there are any significant differences between sport commitment levels and constructs from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intentions); (5.) determine the relationship between sport commitment and intention to continue participation in intramural volleyball, continue participating in intramurals and continuing participating in sport and physical activity after graduation; and (6.) determine if the level of sport commitment changes the relationship between the constructs from the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Of the 318 surveys distributed, there were 302 partiCipants who completed a usable survey from the sample of post-secondary intramural sport participants. There was a fairly even split of males and females; the average age of the students was twenty-one; 90% were undergraduate students; for approximately 25% of the students, volleyball was the only intramural sport they participated in at Brock and most were part of the volleyball competitive B division. Based on the post-secondary students responses, there are indications of intent to continue participation in sport and physical activity. The participation of the students is predominantly influenced by subjective norms, high sport commitment, and high sport enjoyment. This implies students expect, intend and want to 1 participate in intramurals in the future, they are very dedicated to playing on an intramural team and would be willing to do a lot to keep playing and students want to participate when they perceive their pursuits as enjoyable and fun, and it makes them happy. These are key areas that should be targeted and pursued by sport practitioners.

Mediated action, narratives of risk-taking, and identity formation in adolescents with a visual impairment

The purpose of this project was to discern the inherent tension present in narratives told by adolescents with a visual impairment as they attempted to make sense of their experiences, specifically those surrounding risk. Mediated action, based on the foundational work of Vygotsky and Bakhtin, was used as both a theoretical and methodological approach; it is the theory that there are two components that constitute any human action: the "agent," or the person who is doing the acting, and the "mediational means" that he or she is using to accomplish the action in question. Tension ensues as neither is able to fully explain human behaviour. Ten adolescents with a visual impairment participated in a narrative interview, revealing numerous counter-narratives surrounding risk-taking, including "experimentation undertaken using good judgment." Participants offered examples of how they engaged, appropriated, resisted and transformed the dominant narratives of disability and adolescence in their identity formation.

A Living Educational Theory of Knowledge Translation: Improving Practice, Influencing Learners, and Contributing to the Professional Knowledge Base

This paper captured our joint journey to create a living educational theory of knowledge translation (KT). The failure to translate research knowledge to practice is identified as a significant issue in the nursing profession. Our research story takes a critical view of KT related to the philosophical inconsistency between what is espoused in the knowledge related to the discipline of nursing and what is done in practice. Our inquiry revealed “us” as “living contradictions” as our practice was not aligned with our values. In this study, we specifically explored our unique personal KT process in order to understand the many challenges and barriers to KT we encountered in our professional practice as nurse educators. Our unique collaborative action research approach involved cycles of action, reflection, and revision which used our values as standards of judgment in an effort to practice authentically. Our data analysis revealed key elements of collaborative reflective dialogue that evoke multiple ways of knowing, inspire authenticity, and improve learning as the basis of improving practice related to KT. We validated our findings through personal and social validation procedures. Our contribution to a culture of inquiry allowed for co-construction of knowledge to reframe our understanding of KT as a holistic, active process which reflects the essence of who we are and what we do.

The social consequences of mild head injury and executive dysfunction /

Mild head injury (MHI) is a serious cause of neurological impairment as is evident by the substantial percentage (15%) of individuals who remain symptomatic at least 1-year following "mild" head trauma. However, there is a paucity of research investigating the social consequences following a MHI. The first objective of this study was to examine whether measures of executive functioning were predictive of specific forms of antisocial behaviour, such as reactive aggression, impulsive antisocial behaviour, behavioural disinhibition, and deficits in social awareness after controlling for the variance accounted for by sex differences. The second objective was to investigate whether a history of MHI was predictive of these same social consequences after controlling for both sex differences and executive functioning. Ninety university students participated in neuropsychological testing and filled out self-report questionnaires. Fifty-two percent of the sample self-reported experiencing a MHI. As expected, men were more reactively aggressive and antisocial than women. Furthermore, executive dysfunction predicted reactive aggression and impulsive antisocial behaviour after controlling for sex differences. Finally, as expected, MHI status predicted reactive aggression, impulsive antisocial behaviour, and behavioural disinhibition after controlling for sex and executive fimctioning. MHI status and executive functioning did not predict social awareness or sensitivity to reward or punishment. These results suggest that incurring a MHI has serious social consequences that mirror the neurobehavioural profile following severe cases of brain injury. Therefore, the social sequelae after MHI imply a continuum of behavioural deficits between MHI and more severe forms of brain injury.

Comprehensive school health, the social determinants of health, and the health status of children

As children are becoming increasingly inactive and obese, there is an urgent need for effective early prevention and intervention programs. One solution is a comprehensive school health (CSH) program, a health promotion initiative aimed at educating students about healthy behaviours and lifestyles, which also provides a link between the school, students, families, and the surrounding community. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between different components of CSH programs, as well as three determinants of health (gender, social support, socio-economic status), and physical activity, on the aerobic fitness and body mass index (BMI) of children. A newly developed and pilot-tested survey derived from Health Canada's fourpart CSH model (instruction, social support, support services, and a healthy physical environment) was sent to elementary school principals. Data on the gender, physical activity, parental education, and social support levels of students from these schools were gathered from a previous study. Multiple regression procedures were conducted to estimate the relationships between CSH components, the social determinants of health, physical activity, and BMI and aerobic fitness. Results showed that three CSH components were significantly associated with both BMI and aerobic fitness values in children, but accounted for less than 5% of the variance in both variables. Physical activity partially mediated the relationship between the significant CSH components, BMI, and particularly aerobic fitness. Furthermore, the social determinant and physical activity variables played independent roles in aerobic fitness values. No moderating effects of the social determinants were discovered.

Toward a grounded theory of trigger events and leadership development in early adulthood

The purpose of this research study was to develop a conceptual model through the use of a grounded theory approach, which explains how trigger events are related to leadership development. Trigger events are experience that cause developmental growth and may result in an increased ability to lead (Luthans and Avolio (2003). In this study, there were two phases of data collection. First participants completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), where their respective leadership developmental stage was measured. Second, participants were involved in two in-depth interviews where an understanding was reached as to how various trigger events have impacted their leadership development. From these data, a conceptual model was developed to explain the relationship between trigger events and leadership development. Participants described trigger events as being important developmental periods, during which time they grew as people and became more capable leaders.

Towards automated derivation in the theory of allegories

We provide an algorithm that automatically derives many provable theorems in the equational theory of allegories. This was accomplished by noticing properties of an existing decision algorithm that could be extended to provide a derivation in addition to a decision certificate. We also suggest improvements and corrections to previous research in order to motivate further work on a complete derivation mechanism. The results presented here are significant for those interested in relational theories, since we essentially have a subtheory where automatic proof-generation is possible. This is also relevant to program verification since relations are well-suited to describe the behaviour of computer programs. It is likely that extensions of the theory of allegories are also decidable and possibly suitable for further expansions of the algorithm presented here.

Social neuroendocrinology of competition

The relationship between testosterone concentrations and aggressive behaviour in studies of people has produced very inconsistent findings. However, one consistent fmding that has emerged is that competitive and aggressive interactions potentiate testosterone release in both human and non-human species. It has been argued that socially-induced alterations in testosterone concentrations may function to influence ongoing and/or future social behaviour. Nonetheless, few studies have empirically tested this hypothesis. The current series of experiments was designed to address the extent to which competitioninduced fluctuations in testosterone concentrations were associated with ongoing and/or subsequent social behaviour. In Study 1, men (n = 38) provided saliva samples prior to, and at the conclusion of, the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP). Although baseline testosterone concentrations were not related to aggressive behaviour, there was a positive correlation between change in testosterone and aggressive behaviour such that men who were most aggressive on the PSAP demonstrated the largest increase in testosterone concentrations. Furthermore, a rise in testosterone during the PSAP predicted willingness to choose a subsequent competitive task. In Study 2, men and women provided saliva samples prior to and after competing against a same-sex opponent on the Number Tracing Task (NTT). The outcome of the competition was rigged such that half of the individuals won most of the races, while the other half lost most of the races, thus experimentally creating a winner and loser in the laboratory. Following the competitive interaction, men and women played the PSAP with their same-sex partner. Results indicated that men selected the aggressive response (but not reward or protection responses), more frequently than women. For men assigned to the loss condition, an increase in testosterone concentrations in response to the NTT predicted subsequent aggressive behaviour. For men assigned to the win condition, an increase in testosterone concentrations in response to the NTT predicted subsequent aggressive behaviour, but only among those men who scored high on trait dominance. Change in testosterone and trait dominance did not predict aggressive behaviour in women. In Study 3, men provided saliva samples prior to, during, and at the end of the PSAP. They were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions that differed in the extent to which they were provoked and whether they received reward for behaving aggressively (i.e., stealing points). Results indicated that baseline testosterone concentrations did not correlate with aggression in any of the experimental conditions. Consistent with Study 1, there was a positive correlation between change in testosterone and aggressive behaviour among men who were provoked, but did not receive reward for aggression (i.e., reactive condition). Men who were provoked but did not receive reward for aggression enjoyed the task the most and were more likely to choose the competitive versus non-competitive task relative to men assigned to the other experimental conditions. Also, individual differences in aggressive behaviour among these men were positively correlated with the extent to which they enjoyed the task. Together, these studies indicate that testosterone dynamics within the context of competition influence subsequent competitive and aggressive behaviours in humans and that testosterone may be a marker of the intrinsically rewarding nature of costly aggressive behaviour.

Social development of primary aged children through a movement education program

Unique in Canada, is a university based movement program offered to children aged 1-12 which is diverse and inclusive in its design to foster healthy physical, cognitive, affective and social development. The purpose of this study is to investigate how children's involvement in a weekly movement education program influences their social development. The primary-aged children involved in this research are participants in the university based Saturday morning program, The Children's Movement Program (CMP), in which creative dance, educational gymnastics and developmental games are employed to enhance optimal development. The 15 participants were systematically observed for 8 weeks as they naturally engaged in the program's activities. Interviews were conducted with both children and their caregivers throughout the duration of the program. Particular attention was paid to the perceptions of caregivers regarding the advantages of a program based upon principles of movement education. Results indicate that participation in the program increases children's opportunity to interact socially and address ways in which program content, pedagogy and context encourage social development. A figure was developed with these components to assist teachers in creating inclusive and meaningful movement experiences. 'Content' is referred to as the material to be learned or the desired outcome for the learner. 'Pedagogy' refers to the process in which the student will engage and 'Context' refers to the environment in which the experience occurs (eg. skating rink with playground balls). It is recommended that each is thoroughly addressed individually for its potential in lesson design.