This study investigated predictors for training transfer and their relationship with work related effectiveness measures of the group based awareness training The More To Life Weekend. The purposes of the study were to: (1) establish and test predictors for effective training transfer, (2) identify and test constructs for work-related effectiveness, and (3) provide direction for the design of an evaluation study. This study was conducted with past participants of the training, in a cross-sectional design using self-report surveys, and data was analysed using regression analyses. Instruments for measuring controlled and autonomous motivation to attend the training, the perceived utility of the training, utilisation of post-training support opportunities and the degree of on-going practice were developed for the study. The results indicate that perceived training utility is an important predictor for transfer. Controlled motivation to attend the training is showing the expected nil-relationship, while autonomous motivation is showing a relationship with transfer without reaching statistical significance. The results confirm a significant positive relationship between on-going practice of the trained techniques with positive psychological capital, whereas the relationship with a one-dimensional measure of mindful attention awareness did not reach levels of statistical significance. Utilisation of post-training support and on-going practice were confirmed as mediators between perceived training utility and the effectiveness measures of mindful awareness and positive psychological capital. Recommendations are made for using a multi-dimensional measurement of mindful awareness and the design of a future evaluation study on this training programme.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been successfully adopted in South Africa in line with international trends. A number of international scholars found that EIA offers distinct advantages to a proposed project (Bartik, 1988; Porter & van der Linde, 1995; Annandale & Taplin, 2003). The widespread successful adoption of EIA could be an indication that the benefits of conducting EIAs outweigh the potential economic loss due to delays and costs related to the EIA. However, there are negative perceptions about EIA and its influence on development. But the question is whether South African engineers are experiencing these benefits at project level? South African civil engineers are faced with the legislative requirements of EIAs on a daily basis. Through a survey of professionally registered civil engineers this research examined the merits that EIA has for civil engineers. It was found that EIA helps engineers to ensure that they have all the legal aspects of the development in place before the development starts. Furthermore EIA creates the opportunity for the engineers to design out the most significant adverse environmental impacts. It was found that since the implementation of EIA engineers are observing a shift towards more environmentally sound design alternatives. Therefore, if the EIA process is influencing engineers to review their designs from an environmental point of view, it could significantly minimise environmental impacts. According to engineers it was found that, EIA is assisting them in taking all the potential impacts of a new development into account during the design process. The engineering design normally determines the true environmental impact of a development. According to the respondents, the majority were aware of projects where the design was changed as a result of potential impacts highlighted by the EIA. It was found that for the majority of the respondents the environmental review of the design was a key component of the design process. According to the engineers that took part in the survey, they were aware of projects where the EIA improved the sustainability of the design by effecting a change to the design or to the construction materials. Since the implementation of EIA they have become more aware of, not only the life cycle, but also the sustainability of the development. EIA is therefore creating awareness about sustainability in the engineering fraternity. The engineers experienced EIA as a useful tool for improving the sustainability of the design. However, it was found that EIA also caused a significant delay in the majority of the projects where the respondents were involved. The delays were sometimes so severe that it jeopardised the economic feasibility of the projects in question. According to the respondents, the delays are mainly due to slow decision making by the competent authority. Due to this slow decision making process, the engineers blame the competent authority if they start with the construction of the project before authorisation. However, in spite of these delays, the engineers are still of the opinion that EIA is doing more good to the environment than harm to the economy. It was found that what the majority of the engineers knew about the EIA process was what they had learned from their own experience. They agreed that there was very little focus on environmental sustainability during their undergraduate studies and that EIA training during their undergraduate study would have been useful. But in spite of this, the majority of respondents did not complete any environmental short courses or post graduate studies. It was found that EIA does in fact have a positive influence on the work of civil engineers and that they experience these benefits at project level. The engineers have a positive attitude towards EIA and it is increasingly influencing their work positively. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been successfully adopted in South Africa in line with international trends. A number of international scholars found that EIA offers distinct advantages to a proposed project (Bartik, 1988; Porter & van der Linde, 1995; Annandale & Taplin, 2003). The widespread successful adoption of EIA could be an indication that the benefits of conducting EIAs outweigh the potential economic loss due to delays and costs related to the EIA. However, there are negative perceptions about EIA and its influence on development. But the question is whether South African engineers are experiencing these benefits at project level? South African civil engineers are faced with the legislative requirements of EIAs on a daily basis. Through a survey of professionally registered civil engineers this research examined the merits that EIA has for civil engineers. It was found that EIA helps engineers to ensure that they have all the legal aspects of the development in place before the development starts. Furthermore EIA creates the opportunity for the engineers to design out the most significant adverse environmental impacts. It was found that since the implementation of EIA engineers are observing a shift towards more environmentally sound design alternatives. Therefore, if the EIA process is influencing engineers to review their designs from an environmental point of view, it could significantly minimise environmental impacts. According to engineers it was found that, EIA is assisting them in taking all the potential impacts of a new development into account during the design process. The engineering design normally determines the true environmental impact of a development. According to the respondents, the majority were aware of projects where the design was changed as a result of potential impacts highlighted by the EIA. It was found that for the majority of the respondents the environmental review of the design was a key component of the design process. According to the engineers that took part in the survey, they were aware of projects where the EIA improved the sustainability of the design by effecting a change to the design or to the construction materials. Since the implementation of EIA they have become more aware of, not only the life cycle, but also the sustainability of the development. EIA is therefore creating awareness about sustainability in the engineering fraternity. The engineers experienced EIA as a useful tool for improving the sustainability of the design. However, it was found that EIA also caused a significant delay in the majority of the projects where the respondents were involved. The delays were sometimes so severe that it jeopardised the economic feasibility of the projects in question. According to the respondents, the delays are mainly due to slow decision making by the competent authority. Due to this slow decision making process, the engineers blame the competent authority if they start with the construction of the project before authorisation. However, in spite of these delays, the engineers are still of the opinion that EIA is doing more good to the environment than harm to the economy. It was found that what the majority of the engineers knew about the EIA process was what they had learned from their own experience. They agreed that there was very little focus on environmental sustainability during their undergraduate studies and that EIA training during their undergraduate study would have been useful. But in spite of this, the majority of respondents did not complete any environmental short courses or post graduate studies. It was found that EIA does in fact have a positive influence on the work of civil engineers and that they experience these benefits at project level. The engineers have a positive attitude towards EIA and it is increasingly influencing their work positively. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Each year, the market place is becoming increasingly globalized and the role of the Internet has been crucial to this phenomenon. Marketers therefore are required to be current on the latest trends. The Internet can be used as a communication tool from the marketers and it is an ever changing medium. At first, most companies were only present through their website, whereas nowadays companies have a greater online presence through Social Media. This study aimed at finding out how Social Media presence can influence Brand Awareness and Trust in Business to Business (B2B) companies. It was based on a research model with two hypotheses. A survey was conducted among Swedish B2B companies within the Ljungby municipality. The survey resulted in 68 complete and usable responses, averaging a response rate of 65%. Using a linear regression, the results of hypotheses testing suggest that the usage of Social Media influences Trust; however it does not influence Brand Awareness. This indicates that companies that are concerned about the level of Trustworthiness within their company should have a Social Media presence, especially on Facebook since it was the most common among companies.

Maintaining an awareness of collaborators' actions is critical during collaborative work, including during collaborative visualization activities. Particularly when collaborators are located at a distance, it is important to know what everyone is working on in order to avoid duplication of effort, share relevant results in a timely manner and build upon each other's results. Can a person's brushing actions provide an indication of their queries and interests in a data set? Can these actions be revealed to a collaborator without substantially disrupting their own independent work? I designed a study to answer these questions in the context of distributed collaborative visualization of tabular data. Participants in my study worked independently to answer questions about a tabular data set, while simultaneously viewing brushing actions of a fictitious collaborator, shown directly within a shared workspace. I compared three methods of presenting the collaborator's actions: brushing & linking (i.e. highlighting exactly what the collaborator would see), selection (i.e. showing only a selected item), and persistent selection (i.e. showing only selected items but having them persist for some time). My results demonstrated that persistent selection enabled some awareness of the collaborator's activities while causing minimal interference with independent work. Other techniques were less effective at providing awareness, and brushing & linking caused substantial interference. These findings suggest promise for the idea of exploiting natural brushing actions to provide awareness in collaborative work. / Graduate / 0984 / amirhos.hajiz@gmail.com

College serves as a venue for development, where one aim is to produce autonomous students. In this process of developing towards autonomy difficulty and challenges occurs, and thus some students choose to seek counselling. Based on this it has been desirable to gain a deeper understanding of how college students experience this process. Hence, the research question of this thesis is: How do college students who seek counselling experience their development towards autonomy? This thesis is conducted by using Q methodology. 14 college students who have been to counselling participated in this research. Based on the research question the participants sorted 36 statements in accordance with their recognition of themselves in them, from least like me to most like me. The statements were produced with the help of Fisher’s balanced block design. The research design includes theory about self-efficacy, self-awareness in a developmental perspective, and the counselling relation. Based on an analysis of the participants’ Q sorts, a four-factor solution appeared. The factors represent different viewpoints existing among the college students who seek counselling, related to the development towards autonomy. These were further interpreted and given names. Factor 1: Others make me feel strong, but I do not do what is required to succeed. Factor 2: All the expectations make me lack a feeling of control. Factor 3: I take responsibility for personal development, but not necessarily in school. Factor 4: Although I work hard I need others to believe in me. The factors were discussed in relation to theory. What emerged was an understanding that the factors represent different points along the journey towards autonomy. At the same time, all of the students also have a tendency to prevent themselves from full potential of development. An increased self-awareness is believed to be necessary to overcome this, which can be attained with the help of counselling.

The phenomenon of human globalisation has led to the creation of a new social world, one which is characterised by its cultural diversity. Health services constitute one of the most fundamental of social organisations, so with this change, has come a need for nurses to provide relevant and appropriate care to the multiplicity of peoples who now live in contemporary social communities. Providing appropriate nursing care today is demanding new skills of nurses and to ensure that they can meet this demand, new knowledge and understanding is required. To do this well, constitutes one of the greatest contemporary challenges facing nursing. The aim of this study was to identify and analyse the theories and models of nursing that hold authority on and guide cross-cultural care giving in nursing. The thesis underlying this study was to respond to the question - when nurses have had access to cultural care theory and its related literature for some 30 years, why has this not, as yet, had a significant impact on nursing? The intent being to explore the genesis and development of the knowledge used to underpin cross-cultural care in nursing and by doing so assist nurses to better understand, in the fullest sense, the meanings that are being created and conveyed. To achieve this, a qualitative methodology was employed to make possible the description and interpretation of existing theory with a critical approach being taken towards that text. Understanding and unmasking the theory revealed both overt and covert beliefs and ideas intrinsic to the discourse, which have the potential to shape and configure nurses’ attitudes, opinions and perspectives. This research has considered, explored and analysed contemporary theories of cross-cultural nursing to provide clarification and enhance the capacity of nurses to gain a fuller understanding of cross-cultural care. It offers new insights into the viewpoints being advanced and opens up fresh possibilities for the development of a deeper understanding of Western scholarship on culture in nursing. The findings also identify areas for continued inquiry, which if focused upon and developed into the future, could contribute to improvements in nursing and greater understanding of the complex domain of cross-cultural care.

The phenomenon of human globalisation has led to the creation of a new social world, one which is characterised by its cultural diversity. Health services constitute one of the most fundamental of social organisations, so with this change, has come a need for nurses to provide relevant and appropriate care to the multiplicity of peoples who now live in contemporary social communities. Providing appropriate nursing care today is demanding new skills of nurses and to ensure that they can meet this demand, new knowledge and understanding is required. To do this well, constitutes one of the greatest contemporary challenges facing nursing. The aim of this study was to identify and analyse the theories and models of nursing that hold authority on and guide cross-cultural care giving in nursing. The thesis underlying this study was to respond to the question - when nurses have had access to cultural care theory and its related literature for some 30 years, why has this not, as yet, had a significant impact on nursing? The intent being to explore the genesis and development of the knowledge used to underpin cross-cultural care in nursing and by doing so assist nurses to better understand, in the fullest sense, the meanings that are being created and conveyed. To achieve this, a qualitative methodology was employed to make possible the description and interpretation of existing theory with a critical approach being taken towards that text. Understanding and unmasking the theory revealed both overt and covert beliefs and ideas intrinsic to the discourse, which have the potential to shape and configure nurses’ attitudes, opinions and perspectives. This research has considered, explored and analysed contemporary theories of cross-cultural nursing to provide clarification and enhance the capacity of nurses to gain a fuller understanding of cross-cultural care. It offers new insights into the viewpoints being advanced and opens up fresh possibilities for the development of a deeper understanding of Western scholarship on culture in nursing. The findings also identify areas for continued inquiry, which if focused upon and developed into the future, could contribute to improvements in nursing and greater understanding of the complex domain of cross-cultural care.

This study aims to determine whether the attitudes of students (and therefore future employers) towards people with physical disabilities can be modified by exposing them to the needs of disabled people, or whether perceptions of the needs of the disabled are too entrenched for education to effect any change. It also evaluates whether attitudinal changes are enduring and therefore continue to influence students’ responses to the disabled after a period of time has elapsed. Respondents were students on the Diploma of Hospitality Management at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), enrolled on an Accommodation Operations paper. A compulsory assessment for this paper was a group assignment that considered facilities offered by accommodation providers for guests with disabilities. Respondents were surveyed before (n = 54) and after (n = 24) the assignment to determine any attitude and knowledge changes. Both surveys were undertaken at the end of lectures. The surveys were distributed in class, so the number of respondents relates to the number of students in class during the particular lecture selected for survey distribution. Respondents were then invited to join a focus group to explore their feelings and opinions about disabled people. Another focus group was undertaken with students who had completed the disability assignment the previous year. The focus group was to assess whether or not the awareness of disability issues was still apparent after a period of time had elapsed. These findings would then prove whether or not exposure to such issues still influenced respondents’ attitudes. The second survey responses and comments made during the subsequent focus groups conclude that awareness of disability issues may be heightened with exposure to barriers, both physical and attitudinal, that are experienced by people with impairments. Understanding of disability issues is the first step in the removal of barriers and will help lead to the creation of a more inclusive environment for staff and guests in the hospitality industry. An inclusive environment is particularly desirable as more hotels are required in response to increases in tourist numbers. With increased visitors’ arrivals, it is reasonable to expect that tourists will have varying abilities, and therefore, modification of facilities to suit their needs will benefit a large number of people. The research also concludes that the knowledge gained in the assignment was still influential after the conclusion of the assignment. Students who have studied issues for people with impairments, as future managers, will have the knowledge and understanding to provide a more inclusive environment for guests that meets both social and legal obligations. Such an environment will be beneficial to both guests and potential employees with physical disabilities.

This study aims to determine whether the attitudes of students (and therefore future employers) towards people with physical disabilities can be modified by exposing them to the needs of disabled people, or whether perceptions of the needs of the disabled are too entrenched for education to effect any change. It also evaluates whether attitudinal changes are enduring and therefore continue to influence students’ responses to the disabled after a period of time has elapsed. Respondents were students on the Diploma of Hospitality Management at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), enrolled on an Accommodation Operations paper. A compulsory assessment for this paper was a group assignment that considered facilities offered by accommodation providers for guests with disabilities. Respondents were surveyed before (n = 54) and after (n = 24) the assignment to determine any attitude and knowledge changes. Both surveys were undertaken at the end of lectures. The surveys were distributed in class, so the number of respondents relates to the number of students in class during the particular lecture selected for survey distribution. Respondents were then invited to join a focus group to explore their feelings and opinions about disabled people. Another focus group was undertaken with students who had completed the disability assignment the previous year. The focus group was to assess whether or not the awareness of disability issues was still apparent after a period of time had elapsed. These findings would then prove whether or not exposure to such issues still influenced respondents’ attitudes. The second survey responses and comments made during the subsequent focus groups conclude that awareness of disability issues may be heightened with exposure to barriers, both physical and attitudinal, that are experienced by people with impairments. Understanding of disability issues is the first step in the removal of barriers and will help lead to the creation of a more inclusive environment for staff and guests in the hospitality industry. An inclusive environment is particularly desirable as more hotels are required in response to increases in tourist numbers. With increased visitors’ arrivals, it is reasonable to expect that tourists will have varying abilities, and therefore, modification of facilities to suit their needs will benefit a large number of people. The research also concludes that the knowledge gained in the assignment was still influential after the conclusion of the assignment. Students who have studied issues for people with impairments, as future managers, will have the knowledge and understanding to provide a more inclusive environment for guests that meets both social and legal obligations. Such an environment will be beneficial to both guests and potential employees with physical disabilities.