Problem The purpose of this study was to identify, implement, and evaluate a program of counseling intervention which could be described as preventative or developmental as opposed to remedial. An important consideration was the possibility of intervening with the student, the student's primary or associational groups, or the institutional groups that influence his behavior. A program of freshman orientation and career articulation was identified through institutional research, a review of literature, and the work of a student steering committee. Method An experimental population of 100 and a control population of 100 were selected from the 1971-72 entering freshman class at Weber State College. The experimental subjects were assigned to small groups (9-15) with a group leader. The experimental groups were then processed through a set of behaviorally defined steps with the goal of personalizing orientation and enabling them to determine a feasible career choice. A programmed rational decision-making model was used as the mode for articulating the career choice and establishing long-range plans for achieving that goal. This model required participation throughout this quarter. The control subjects were processed through the traditional large group, auditorium orientation. This treatment consists of three sessions of some three to four hours in length. Various administrators present information on WSC policies and practices followed by a tour of the campus. Main Findings The experimental small group process was preferred much more than the large group process and allowed students to feel that their individual needs were better met. Students in this experimental group also reported their treatment to be much more "helpful", "useful", and "informative." The time spent with experimental subjects exceeded the time spent with control subjects by 3 to 1, yet the experimental subjects indicated that the time spent was "about right" while control subjects reported their presentations were "too long". Experimental subjects reported that they were better informed about college services and policies than were control subjects. Attitudes of general satisfaction with the college as a whole were not significantly improved by the experimental treatment. Experimental subjects reported substantial gains over the control subjects in deciding a major or confirming previous plans and attributed these gains to their small group work with the decision-making model. After the experimental subjects were processed through the decision model they reported that they were more certain of their choice of major than were the control subjects. At the end of two quarters no statistically significant differences were determined about retention of subjects although approximately 16% more of the experimental subjects were still enrolled. Conclusions The review of literature presented a generally dismal picture as to the potential good to be derived from any orientation program. It was indicated that at best it may serve as a public relations function. To the contrary, the data and experience from this study indicate that orientation may be much more meaningful to participants than previous evidence would indicate. Indeed, it is believed that the introduction of career selection through a rational, sound, and logical process probably strikes at the heart of what orientation could and possibly should be about.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the relationships between perceived feminine role orientation and positive self-concept, as measured by scores attained on the Inventory of Feminine Values (IFV), and the Total Positive Self Scale of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS). Three objectives were established. First, to gather current information on women's realistic and ideal self-perceptions of their feminine roles, and determine whether these are liberal, traditional, or neutral in orientation. Second, to determine if there are significant differences in self-concept as measured by the TSCS among women who see themselves as either traditional, liberal or neutral in perceived feminine role. Third, to determine if differences in self-concept as measured by the TSCS are related to discrepancies between Real Self and Ideal Self scores on the IFV. Both instruments and a demographic questionnaire were completed by 87 undergraduate and graduate women at Utah State University. It was found that women in the sample as a whole saw themselves as neutral in perceived feminine role orientation, on both the Real Self and Ideal Self forms of the IFV. The mean attained on Form A (Real Self) was 4.011, while the Form B (Ideal Self) mean was 2.931. There was no significant difference between these two scores. An analysis of variance test was done to determine if there was a significant difference in positive self-concept for women who saw their feminine roles as liberal, those who saw their roles as traditional, and those who had a neutral role orientation. There was no significant difference. All three groups had Total Positive Self scores (TSCS) above the norm mean. The Pearson product-moment correlation technique was used to ascertain the degree of relationship between perceived feminine role orientation and positive self-concept. It yielded a coefficient of -.11, which did not reach significance. The Pearson product-moment correlation technique was used to determine the relationship between discrepancies in Forms A and B scores (IFV) and positive self-concept, as measured by scores on the Total Positive Self Scale of the TSCS. A coefficient of -.319 was obtained, significant at the 1% level. This verified the hypothesis as stated, evidencing that as the difference between scores attained on Forms A and B increases, positive self-concept decreases. Results were discussed in terms of the significance of the findings, mainly, that regardless of how a woman sees herself, as either traditional, neutral, or liberal in feminine role, she may have high or low self-concept. However, the more congruent she is in her realistic self-perception and in her idealistic self-perception, the higher her positive self-concept will be. Recommendations for future research were suggested. Among these were recommendations that research be undertaken with women who are not primarily college students; measures of other variables, as anxiety, be used in future research in conjunction with the IFV to explore relationships between perceived feminine role and other variables, as anxiety; and, research be undertaken to investigate whether there is a significant positive correlation between self-directedness on the IFV and graduate school attendance in a randomly selected sample of university students.

Texture in crystalline materials, i.e. preferred orientation (PO), is of interest in terms of texture-property relationships and also in X-ray diffraction science because PO can cause serious systematic errors in quantitative phase analysis using diffraction data. The single- parameter, pole-density distribution function (PDDF), proposed by March (1932) to represent PO in diffraction analysis, is used widely it Rietveld pattern-fitting following a suggestion by Dollase (1986). While the March model is an excellent descriptor of PO for gibbsite [AI(OH)3] x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) data (O'Connor, Li and Sitepu, 1991), the model has proved to be deficient for Rietveld modelling with molybdite [Mo03], calcite [CaCO3] and kaolinite [A12O3.2SiO2.2H2O] XRPD data (Sitepu, 1991; O'Connor, Li and Sitepu, 1992; and Sitepu, O'Connor and Li, 1996). Therefore, the March model should not be regarded as a general-purpose PDDF descriptor.This study has examined the validity of the March model using XRPD and neutron powder diffraction (NPD) instruments operated, respectively, by the Curtin Materials Research Group in Perth and by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation at the HIFAR reactor facility at Lucas Heights near Sydney. Extensive suites of XRPD and NPD data were measured for uniaxially-pressed powders of molybdite and calcite, for which the compression was systematically varied. It is clear from the various Rietveld refinements that the March model becomes increasingly unsatisfactory as the uniaxial pressure (and, therefore, the level of PO) increases.The March model has been tested with a physical relationship developed by the author which links the March r-parameter to the uniaxial pressure via the powder bulk modulus, B. The agreement between the results obtained from directly measured values of B and from Rietveld analysis with the March model are ++ / promising in terms of deducing the powder bulk modulus from the March r-parameter.An additional test of the March model was made with NPD data for specimens mounted, first, parallel to the instrument rotation axis and, then, normal to the axis. The results have provided some further indication that the March model is deficient for the materials considered in the study.During the course of the study, it was found that there are distinct differences between the direction of the near-surface texture in calcite, as measured by XRPD, and bulk texture characterised by NPD. The NPD-derived textures appear to be correct descriptions for the bulk material in uniaxially-pressed powders, whereas the XRPD textures are heavily influenced by the pressing procedure.An additional outcome of the NPD work has been the discovery, made jointly with Dr Brett Hunter of ANSTO, that the popular LHPM Rietveld code did not allow for inclusion of PO contributions from symmetry-equivalent reflections. Revision of the code by Dr Hunter showed that there is substantial bias in Rietveld-March r-parameters if these reflections are not factored correctly into the calculations.Finally, examination of pole-figure data has underlined the extent to which the March model oversimplifies the true distributions. It is concluded that spherical harmonics modelling should be used rather than the March model as a general PO modelling tool.

This deductive-hypothetico research addressed a literature void on the research problem: Impact of Shifts in Strategic Othodoxy on International Enterprise Performance. This study hypothesised: H11: Strategic orientation correlates with superior international performance; H12: Global strategy contributes to superior performance internationally; and, H13: Skills in strategy execution lead to superiior performance internationally. Three hundred and nine variables in three hypotheses were tested with data collected from a 'small,' but highly relevant sample. Ninety-two variables were positively correlated while 217 were negative. Due to the large number of variables for each hypothesis, no hypothesis was fully supported or rejected. Eleven models for superior international performance have been scientifically developed from data analyses. Models are designed to aid robust international franchising stategy development by strategists at varying continuum of international expertise. Significant serendipitous findings include: nullification of conventional wisdom that the larger the sample size, the higher the reliability the research findings; lateral instead of dedicated strategies can be more effective, in this instance, marketing strategy had no positive correlation with dependent marketing variables but correlated positively with financial variables; and, cost of Australian international franchising operations was determined. A cross sectional research in 2007 will degrade with passage of time. Environmental dynamics will affect its relevance. This study concerns Australian international franchisors, hence generalizability outside this dimension may not be appropriate. Contribution of this research to knowledge is significant: outcomes filled a literature void in relation to the research problem; findings of positively correlated variables help franchising strategists develop strategies that achieve superior performance, whereas negatively correlated variables help avoid costly mistakes; and, the research refuted previous postulations that fundamentals of western management were flawed. Culminating from this research, a window of opportunities has been created for further research in various areas such as varying types or research; methodologies; sectoral and geographical variations; and changes in research scope and width.

Abstract The past few decades has seen increasing agreement identifying approach and avoidance systems as central concepts in the understanding of human behaviour and personality (Carver, 2005; Carver & Scheier, 2000; Elliot, 1999, 2005). The central focus of this thesis lies in exploring the approach system. The approach system focuses on managing appetitive behaviour and represents a general sensitivity to rewarding stimuli. This system is thought to be accompanied by behavioural tendencies towards such rewarding stimuli and consequently, positive outcomes (e.g., Gable, Reis, & Elliot, 2003). This thesis will examine the approach system as portrayed firstly via the Behavioural Approach System (BAS) as part of one of the most recent and influential personality theories; Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST; Gray, 1982; Gray & Mc Naughton, 1996; Pickering & Gray, 1999) and secondly, by means of the social cognitive model of goal orientation (Diefendorff & Mehta, 2007; Dweck, 1996; Elliot & Church, 1997). The two constructs of approach goal orientations which will be chiefly discussed in this thesis are mastery approach orientation and performance approach orientation. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate these three approach constructs in interaction with situational cues and in the prediction of everyday life outcomes. Work context is an important example of everyday life situation; therefore, this thesis aims to investigate the interaction between the three approach constructs and rewarding climates (situational cues) in the prediction of work outcomes. This thesis therefore contains two parts; the first part will investigate the Behavioural Approach System (BAS) and the second part will investigate performance approach and mastery approach orientations. The first part contains two chapters -two self contained papers- and the second part contains three chapters -three self contained papersix Each paper form it’s own individual chapter. In each chapter, the controversies and ambiguities in theoretical and practical implications involved in the construct will be discussed. In addition, major findings as well as limitations and practical implications will be discussed at the end of each chapter. Following as introduction is a brief review of each chapter.

La Radiothérapie Conformationnelle par Modulation d'Intensité (RCMI) est aujourd'hui reconnue comme une technique de référence permettant d'augmenter le contrôle local de la tumeur tout en réduisant la dose reçue par les organes à risques avoisinants. Cependant, son développement est freiné par l'étape de préparation du traitement du patient qui nécessite une charge de travail considérable. Dans le but d'augmenter l'efficience de la mise en œuvre d'un traitement, deux axes de travail ont été déterminés.<br />Le premier axe concernait l'optimisation automatique des incidences des faisceaux. Nous avons pour cela mis en œuvre un algorithme (le simplexe) qui a été intégré dans le système de planification de traitement. Il permet, à partir des objectifs dosimétriques fixés par l'utilisateur, de déterminer automatiquement les incidences de faisceaux optimales : irradiant suffisamment le volume cible tout en épargnant les organes à risques avoisinants. En plus d'un gain en temps, les résultats du simplexe ont montré – sur trois patients atteints d'un cancer de l'oropharynx – un gain en qualité par rapport à une sélection manuelle des faisceaux. En effet, pour une couverture du volume cible équivalente voire meilleure, il permet de réduire la dose reçue par les organes à risques.<br />Le second axe concernait l'optimisation des contrôles pré-traitement. Nous avons pour cela utilisé une méthode industrielle : la Maîtrise Statistique des Processus (MSP) afin d'analyser rétrospectivement les résultats des contrôles de la dose absolue effectués avec la chambre d'ionisation au Centre Alexis Vautrin (CAV). Cette étude a montré l'intérêt de la MSP pour renforcer la sécurité des traitements grâce à la mise en place de cartes de contrôle. Elle a également montré que notre processus de délivrance de la dose était stable et statistiquement capable pour les traitements de la prostate, ce qui implique qu'une réduction du nombre de contrôles peut être envisagée pour ce type de traitement au CAV.

<p>The purpose of the study was two fold: a) to develop and to test the Perceived Health & Exercise Participation Profile (PH&EPP); b) to examine the relationship between exercisers’ perceived health, goal orientation, physical self perception and exercise satisfaction. The sample consists of 126 exercisers (43 Male, 83 Female with mean age 35.6 ± 9). The study included a new questionnaire - the Perceived Health & Exercise Participation Profile (PH&EPP) and three other instruments: 1) Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP); 2)Task & Ego orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ); and 3) Rosenberg's Self-Esteem (RSE) Scale. The data were analyzed through SPSS 13.0 using Alpha coefficient, test-rest reliability, bivariate correlation and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Cronbach’s Alpha was satisfied </p><p>( .70) at 5 of 6 subscales. The test-retest reliability reached to significant level (ranging from .43 to .76) for all subscales. The majority of PH&EPP’s subscales reached to significant correlations except Health and Exercise as Life Values. The Satisfaction with Health and Exercise Participation reached to significant correlations with all PSPP’s subscales, Task goal orientation, and RSE except Ego goal orientation. The Perception of Exercisers obtained significant correlations at 3 of 5 PSPP’s subscales. Exercisers indicated more task goal orientation than ego goal orientation. The results are discussed from the point of view of the Perceived Health and Sport/Exercise Participation model.</p>

<p>Both positive and negative effects of exercise participation on health are shown in the literature. However, exercisers’ perceived health is still unexplored from this two-line influence perspective. The Perceived Health and Sport/Exercise Participation model (PHS/EP) served as theoretical framework for the study that aimed at testing the Perceived Health and Exercise Participation Profile (PHEPP) Questionnaire and examining factors involved in exercisers’ tendencies towards healthy versus unhealthy exercise participation and their association with perceived health, exercise satisfaction, goal orientation, self-esteem and physical self-perception. A package of four instruments was completed by 148 exercisers. The healthy tendency of exercise participation represented in the PHS/EP model was supported by the results obtained, whereas the unhealthy tendency needs further investigation and some related changes in the PHEPP questionnaire. Regression analyses confirmed some relationships between the PHS/EP model and established concepts such as goal orientation, self-esteem and physical self-perception dimensions. The results are discussed with reference to previous research and the PHS/EP model.</p>

<p>Det totalt kundorienterade företaget finns med största sannolikhet inte i verkligheten. Kanske finns det totalt kundorienterade företaget inte ens i teorin då det är svårt att veta exakt hur alla kunder värderar olika kundorienterade satsningar.</p><p>Även om man söker kriterierna för det totalt kundorienterade företaget ser man olika behov och önskemål beroende på var man letar och vilken typ av kund man undersöker. En kund reagerar positivt på delar som andra kunder kan reagera negativt på.</p>

<p><p><strong>Research Questions:</strong> Environmental consideration has influenced managerial decisions and has required from firms to develop an organizational culture that focus on the environmental issues. Despite the importance of adopting a business philosophy that take into account the ecological concerns few studies have examined the relationship between market orientation and environmental practices. This thesis contributes to fill this gap by addressing the following questions: 1) Does the introduction of the environmental facilities help firms towards green innovation? 2) Is Green marketing strategy of firms positively associated with the augment in performance? 3) Does green marketing communication affect positively corporate image?</p><p><strong>Research Objectives:</strong> My aim is to investigate if firms´ green strategy can encourage innovation; enhance corporate reputation and increase overall performance.</p><p><strong>Research approach and methodology:</strong> The assesment of companies green initiatives and the effects on their performance have been achieved through the content of annual and sustainability reports as well as interviews with business managers.</p><p><strong>Findings:</strong> The investigation indicates that when implementing an effective green strategy firms will improve their managerial and organizational performance and such improvements can contribute positively to their financial outcome. The better use of the resources via the introduction of the environmental facilities by firms indeed can help them towards green innovation. Add to that, communicating environmental practices also seems to be an important tool to enhance brand reputation. Thus this study agrees with some authors who affirm that integrating environmental issues into business activities firms´ can increase efficiency and competitiveness while reducing environmental impact.</p><p><strong>Concluding remarks:</strong> The core lesson learned from this scientic work is that the response of the firms in prioritizing the implementation of eco-friendly practices is linked with their perception of current environmental trends. The most firms reinvent themselves by adopting more reuse, recycle, reduce, re-design, green training, green marketing, etc more eco-oriented they seems to be.</p></p>