The subject of this dissertation is the course of religious conversion and the process of decision-making when converts decide which church they want to join. The theoretical part of the dissertation describes three models of conversion process which are based on psychological research works. Further it deals with a church as a large group and a small group because relationships with other believers (which fulfil the person's need to belong to a group of people) are one of important factors which could persuade a convert to join a church. At the end of the theoretical part there are stated the results concerning the number of believers and members of Christian churches from the census held in the Czech Republic, and there is also described a specific relation of the Czech society to Christian churches. The other part of the dissertation describes the results of qualitative research among 20 converts. The aim of the research was to compare the conversion process of young people with the models described in the theoretical part and to find out reasons which led to their decision to join a particular church. The respondents were chosen from the Catholic Church, the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren and three pentecostal churches because the research also tried to find out if the reasons for...

Based on Self-Determination Theory (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985a, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2002) this research focused on the motivation of ten elite Ethiopian male and female long distance runners. The semi-structured interview guide based on the SDT was transcribed verbatim and subjected to an inductive-deductive analysis approach based on the methodological guidance provided by Maykut & Morehouse (1994). Results revealed the integrated type of motivation to be the most evident among the runners. The data were organized into three broad categories that emerged through the interviews. The three categories are nationalism, economics and fame. Within each category there are themes or subcategories that emerged across various perceptions of the Ethiopian runners. The data revealed that among different types of motivation classified by the Self-Determination Theory (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985a, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2002) there are multiple social factors that influence Ethiopian runners as well.

Sammanfattning Studiens syfte var att, med intervjuer, undersöka missbrukares upplevda motivationskällor (motiverande faktorer) för drogfrihet samt skillnader i motivationskällor för drogfrihet hos missbrukare som avslutat missbruket själva jämfört med dem som genomgått behandling. Resultatet visade att motivationskällan önskan av en förändring till ett bättre liv och tron på egna möjligheter att förändras var viktig för samtliga respondenter. Motivationskällan tron på den egna förmågan att kunna lyckas med ett avslut var särskilt viktig för dem som själva avslutade sitt missbruk och motivationskällan saknaden av och önskan att sluta såra människor i deras närhet för dem som slutade efter behandling. Studien visade också att missbrukarens tro på sin förmåga att lyckas avsluta ett missbruk samt nivån i personens upplevda motivation vid lyckade försök att avsluta ett drogberoende är viktiga faktorer för drogfriheten. / Abstract The aim was to investigate, with interviews, the motivational factors for drug soberness and differences in motivational factors between two groups of former addicts; those that ended their abuse by them self and those that ended after a treatment. The results indicated similar as well as different motivational factors for the two groups. It was also shown that the participants’ belief in their ability to successfully end their addiction and the level of motivation at the occasions of successful trials to end their addiction are important factors for soberness.

Problem: Motivation is the number one problem facing businesses today. It is essential for employers to recognize what motivates employees in order to improve productivity and ensure the success of the company (Wiley, 1997). Even though employee motivation is a well researched topic, most studies have particularly focused on small domestic companies. Opportunities within MNCs and small companies are significantly different. Qualitative methods in the field of management is very limited, which the article by Cassell, Symon, Buehring and Johnson (2006) supports.  Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to explore what motivates employees to work. Focus will be on employees working in multinational corporations in Sweden. In order to do so, we aim to identify key factors which have an impact on motivation at work. This study will contribute with a framework of motivational factors in a organization. It will also give an insight in employees’ attitudes towards motivation and what motivation means to them.  Methodology: This thesis will use a qualitative method. The study is based on an interpretivistic philosophy with an abductive research approach. In order to answer our research question, primary data is collected through interviews with a number of employees from multinational companies in Sweden. This research strategy enables us to make investigations about work motivation. Conclusions: After analyzing the motivational factors in our study, we can make the conclusion that motivation is highly personal and differs from individual to individual. Work motivation is also not consistent over time, meaning, the factor which motivates an individual today will most likely not be the same motivational factor a year from now. It is clear that personal circumstances will have an impact on employee motivation. Results reveal that employees who are in the same profession are similarly motivated and satisfied in their work.

The long-term success and survival of corporations depends on the stewardship of its organizational actors. With a special focus on leadership, this dissertation explores the various relational and motivational factors that affect stewardship behaviors in organizations. The central goals of this research are to theoretically develop the construct of stewardship, explore a set of possible antecedents, and empirically test these determinants to generate a descriptive behavioral science model of stewardship in organizations. I conceptualize stewardship as an outcome of leadership behaviors that place the long-term best interests of the stockholders and other stakeholders ahead of a leader's self-interest. Building upon the themes presented in the stewardship literature, such as identification and intrinsic motivation, and drawing from other research streams to include factors such as interpersonal and institutional trust and moral courage, I put forth a behavioral leadership model of stewardship. Within this model, I argue that issues of psychological ownership and power in the organizational context are central to stewardship concerns. Additionally, I present two empirical tests of the stewardship framework; the first is a field survey study, designed to explore the naturally occurring relationships between relevant constructs in the organization, and the second is a controlled experiment, designed to refine the test of these relationships. Together, the results from these studies suggest that motivational support and moral courage are central antecedents of stewardship. Specifically, relational and motivational support directly influence moral courage; relational support also influences moral courage indirectly through its joint effect with contextual support on motivational support. Counter to predictions, contextual support is found to have a direct negative influence on moral courage. The argument is made that contextually supportive leadership behaviors that foster a sense of belonging and organizational identification in followers may be responsible for a type of moral social loafing. The implications of this phenomenon are discussed. I conclude by discussing the implications if this research at the individual, organizational, and societal level, putting forth future avenues of study for stewardship research. / Dissertation

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Forskningen angående gryppdynamikens inverkan på högintensiv träning är liten, vilket skapar problem i samband med den ökade träningstrenden. Det har nu uppstått en ny arena att forska på. Genom experimentella studier studerades individers motivation samt prestation i olika försatta situationer. 10 deltagare utförde samtliga under sammanlagt tre tillfällen ett förutbestämt pass under olika förutsättningar (se bilaga 1). Studien innebär således tre likadana passutföranden.Genom intervjuer samt kartläggning av tider sammanställdes data vilken kom att beskriva samt förklara hur och varför deltagarnas prestationer kom att skifta. Resultatet kom att analyseras med hjälp av studiens teoretiska ramverk angående tävlingssituationer av Weinberg & Gould (2011) samt flertalet motivationsteorier. Studien visar tydliga samband på att prestation samt motivation ökar då deltagarna utför passen med medtävlande, samt i större grupper. Resultatet korrelerar kraftigt med tidigare studier samt forskning som finns angående ämnet gällande medtävlande samt draghjälp, samtidigt som utfallet särskiljer sig till viss del angående tidigare forskning om gruppens inverkan på prestationen.

Although previous studies have considered the factors affecting other certification exam outcomes, they have not examined those that are related to performance on the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) exam. In response to that need, this study specifically investigates technology and training factors that affect self-efficacy and self-set goals, and through them, influence PHR certification exam results. The target population for the study consisted of recent examinees who had taken a formal PHR examination preparation class or used another form of exam preparation training. The survey results were analyzed using partial least squares modeling techniques, and mediation effects were then tested. The results demonstrated that PHR training self-efficacy affected PHR exam self-efficacy and self-set goals. These factors then had an impact on PHR exam scores. Also, the results of task-technology fit were indirectly related to PHR training self-efficacy through a multiple mediation model that included the instructional factor of time on task and the technology factor of perceived usefulness. Surprisingly, time spent on practice exam questions was found to be negatively related to PHR certification exam scores. Finally, instructional feedback indirectly affected outcomes through its positive relationship to self-set goals. The results of the research should help training professionals and examinees in structuring PHR exam training and preparation activities. They also suggest avenues for improving outcomes in other similar types of training.

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Very limited research exists on middle class African American families doing math homework. The present study examines the real life experiences of African American families doing math homework, with special emphasis on emotional and motivational factors that contribute to African American homework practices. This study focuses on 3 African American middle class families, all in 1 elementary school, doing 4th grade math homework. Students in Grade 4 and their parents are interviewed to examine what math homework means to them and what they believe about math homework. In addition, two teachers are interviewed to provide their perspectives of the aforementioned subject matter. Both parent and child in each case study are interviewed using open-ended topics to examine the motivational and emotional factors of homework practices among the three families. The researcher observes the students’ homework experiences for about 1 hour. Documents from all families are collected to gain insight into the homework experiences. These case studies combine interviews, observations, documents, and data analysis to look closely at the homework experiences of these students. Major findings include atypical math homework practices in terms of Caucasian middle class norms: The families believed that math homework was challenging and a serious business matter. Therefore, they worked twice as hard with a sense of urgency and priority at completing math homework. The mothers approached math homework with a warm, yet firm demeanor by providing external motivation through pushing their daughters, who lacked interest in math homework.