This thesis comprises research that was undertaken between January 2000 and December 2004 into the organizational culture and identity of Fremantle Football Club, a professional sporting organization that competes in an elite national football competition, the Australian Football League. The thesis began with a review of the contemporary literature on the principal topic, organizational culture and identity. The literature was subsequently used to frame and explain the approach taken in the research, which was to explore culture and identity as distinguishable, inter-dependent concepts integral to the functioning of sports organizations. The justification for the need to explore their impact in professional sporting organizations, because of a gap in our knowledge, was also provided. The research was conducted as a single qualitative case study that enabled an in-depth investigation into how Fremantle Football Club's culture and identity were formed and how they influenced its structure, strategy, behaviour and performance. Significantly, the research covered the entire history of the club since its inception in 1994, revealing three distinct periods in which culture and identity were strongly influenced by the values and beliefs of the club's leaders, particularly the CEOs, as well as board members, senior management and coaches. The first period comprised a time of self-absorption with an inappropriate culture that saw it in frequent conflict with external stakeholders as on-field success eluded it. Despite establishing a strong and clearly defined identity, FFC's inward looking culture undermined its capacity to fully engage with its heavily regulated environment. Subsequently, the club became dysfunctional as little was provided by way of long term planning and direction. The second period was epitomised by a club that was heavily fractured by internal disagreements at different levels of its governance that undermined its performance and created a cultural vacuum into which it withdrew. Little progress was made as the club stagnated. Despite consolidating its identity, individualism took precedence over the collective good with scant regard for the direction or well being of the organization. The club emerged into the third period with new personnel at all levels of its leadership and management adopting a different approach to previous administrations. The club ii embarked on a journey of reconciliation with its governing agencies, and adopted an externally engaged perspective that provided the club's stakeholders with a strong sense of its future direction based on consultation and strategic planning. The results of the research show that organizational culture and identity are dynamic, fluid, systems that respond to the value and beliefs of senior leadership. Importantly for this and other sports organizations, the culture and identity are responsive to short term transformation belying previously held notions of cultural change as a long-term process. This was possible for two reasons. Firstly, because FFC was a small organization in terms of staff numbers, the dissemination of transforming values could be more easily achieved. Secondly, because it was a club with a short history, it was more amenable to transformation, with stakeholders using the dismissal of senior coaches as a catalyst for change. The results also show that organizational performance will flourish if both of the following two conditions are met. Firstly, culture and identity are fully aligned with each other and the organization's vision, which enables clearly defined and consistent strategies to emerge. Secondly, the aligned culture, identity and vision are consistent with the external environment enabling the club to fully engage with that environment.

Based on recently proposed definitions (e.g., Hall, 2004; Wang 2002), choking is defined as a critical deterioration in the execution of habitual processes as a result of an elevation in anxiety levels under perceived pressure. The self-focus model of choking (Baumeister, 1984; Beilock & Carr, 2001; Masters, 1992), distraction model of choking (Nideffer, 1992), and recently an integrated model of choking (Wang, 2002) have been proposed to explain choking. Predictors of choking are also relevant in terms of identifying choking-susceptible athletes. Thus, applied sport psychology techniques are important for assisting athletes in countering choking effects. The three interconnected studies in this dissertation were designed to further develop applied sport psychology techniques to predict and alleviate choking. The primary purpose of Study 1 was to investigate whether choking and nonchoking behaviour can be predicted using a battery of psychological inventories. Forty-six experienced netball players completed three psychological inventories and categorised as either choking-susceptible (CS) or choking-resistant (CR). Eight purposively sampled participants then completed a total of 180 netball shots each in a series of single-case A1- B-A2 designs, with the B phase as 'high-pressure' and the A phases as 'low-pressure'. Participants were interviewed upon completion of the netball shooting to investigate cognitions related to choking and non-choking behaviour. Results from Study 1 indicated that established psychological inventories, measuring trait anxiety (A-trait), self-consciousness (S-C), and coping styles, were accurate predictors of non-choking behaviour with the 4 CR athletes. The psychological inventories, however, were less accurate predictors of choking behaviour with the 4 CS athletes (predicting two out of four instances of choking). The 50% success rate is perhaps iii understandable given that even highly CS athletes are likely to experience choking infrequently. Using inductive content analysis, each participant's interview was analysed individually and a cross-case analysis was also included for the CS participants. The interview results indicated that the 2 CS participants who performed poorly under pressure used approach coping strategies, such as information seeking, to manage the pressure situation. Conversely, CR participants typically used avoidance coping strategies, such as blocking out the audience/camera, to cope with the pressure. Overall, the interview results corroborated the findings that the manipulated 'high-pressure' in the B phase resulted in increases in state anxiety (A-state). Furthermore, the interview added valuable detail about how participants responded in the A1-B-A2 phases that generally fitted with the responses from the initial battery of questionnaires. A key finding in Study 1 was that all participants differed substantially in their capacity to absorb competitive pressure and similarly their coping repertoire ranged greatly. Drawing on principles of Nideffer's (1992) distraction model and the qualitative results of Study 1, as foundations, Study 2 was designed to investigate whether a pre-shot routine (PSR) reduced choking effects. Five CS participants were purposively sampled (using the same inventories and selection criteria as Study 1), from 87 participants, to complete ten-pin bowling deliveries in a single-case A1-B1-A2-B2 design with the A phases as 'low-pressure,' and the B phases as 'high-pressure.' Five experienced tenpin bowlers completed at least 180 ten-pin bowling deliveries in a single-case A1-B1-A2-B2 design with the A phases as 'low-pressure,' and the B phases as 'high-pressure.' Three of these participants completed an additional 60 deliveries (totalling 240 deliveries) because they experienced a decrease in performance (i.e., experienced choking) in the B1 phase iv and were instructed to use the planned intervention (i.e., the PSR) prior to the B2 phase. The 3 participants that utilised the PSR improved accuracy in the B2 phase. The interviews, conducted after the 240 deliveries, indicated that choking effects were partially due to an increase in S-A and, in this regard, were similar to the results of Study 1. An increase in S-A coincided with increases in distraction or conscious processing of execution, and thus, provided qualitative support for both the self-focus model and the distraction model of choking. Participants also explained that performance improvements were a result of the PSR minimising S-A during the B2 phase. The reduction in S-A permitted other positive psychological outcomes to occur, including a decrease in the perception of pressure, decreased negative self-talk, increased concentration, and increased confidence. Thus, the PSR produced adaptive and relevant, task-focused attention. In Study 3, music was used as a dual-task intervention under pressure. Similar to Studies 1 and 2, I also re-examined cognitive processes and perceptions of pressure using in-depth interviews. Five purposively sampled CS participants (with selection criteria similar to those used in Studies 1 and 2), from 41 screened basketball players, performed basketball free throws in a single-case A1-B1-A2-B2 design similar to Study 2. Three participants showed evidence of choking by decreasing performance during the B1 phase. These participants were then instructed to listen to the lyrics of a song as an intervention prior to and during the B2 phase. These 3 participants either maintained or improved performance in the B2 phase. Similar to the qualitative results of Studies 1 and 2, participants explained that choking resulted from attention to the audience. Using the music intervention, in the B2 phase, resulted in decreased S-A, enabling participants to decrease explicit monitoring of execution and reducing general distractibility. The results of Study 3 extended the findings of Study 2 by identifying that specific interventions could facilitate performance or ameliorate choking. Based on the results of the three interconnected studies, and previous choking research, choking processes are relatively complex, and differ based on personality characteristics and coping strategies employed. Implications for theory, practitioners and future research on choking are also discussed.

Basketball is a sport with many complex demands that require a combination of fitness, skills, team tactics and strategies, and motivational aspects. However key areas that are likely to play an important role in a basketball player's success are muscular strength, fitness and body size. Methods of evaluating and developing these characteristics have been extensively tested in controlled research settings, but there is a dearth of research exploring the value of, and methods of improving, muscular strength, fitness and body size of basketball players within the demanding schedule of an elite junior development program. These were therefore explored in this thesis.

Community interventions are a recent development in the field of prevention. This study sought to address the current gap in this area, between scientific knowledge and community practice, through an understanding of practitioners’ experiences of implementation. A case study was undertaken to explore the context and complexity of implementation processes. Data was collected concurrently with the implementation of a community intervention located in rural Victoria, Australia, which aimed to reduce early school leaving. Implementers’ perspectives on a guide to best practice, developed from the academic literature, were sought. Concepts from systems theory and ecological approaches were combined to create a framework suitable for the analysis of the data. The intervention was viewed as an open system. Its progression from being a subsystem of the funded organization to a subsystem of both the funded organization and the community was examined. Factors such as meeting community needs and community members as program staff were found to facilitate community acceptance. The interactions within and between the subsystems of the intervention and the community were also explored. School retention rates were suggestive of some level of impact on school leaving. Additional positive outcomes were the facilitation and/or strengthening of links between community subsystems, and a perceived change within the funded organization. This thesis goes some way towards bridging the gap between science and practice in this field. Findings contribute to the debate regarding flexibility versus fidelity and a greater understanding of the unique challenges faced by rural interventions.

Recent decades have seen an expansion of the early intervention field, particularly with children who are deemed at risk of adverse outcomes due to socio-economic or other disadvantage. Early educational intervention has taken many forms, but those involving both the child and parent together have been shown to have the strongest effects. Additionally, intervention in the early years, enhancing the child’s ability to engage with formal schooling, has been found to have a lasting impact not just on the educational trajectory of the individual, but also on the life opportunities which become available. This thesis reports an investigation of the implementation of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program in a regional city in Victoria, Australia. Here, for the first time, this intensive, graduated, two-year program was delivered to a group of Australian-born families experiencing trans-generational poverty and educational disadvantage. The administering agency trained para-professionals from the community who undertook fortnightly home visits to instruct parents in a standard curriculum designed to enhance the learning readiness of their children. Parents, in turn, delivered the program in daily sessions to their children aged four and five. On alternate fortnights this instruction was provided at group meetings for parents. Following previous research, it was expected that HIPPY would result in positive outcomes in terms of cognitive and socio-emotional functioning for children. The experience of parents and staff were also explored as part of the process evaluation. Implementation issues were documented, and their relevance to program outcomes was considered. Analysis of complementary qualitative and quantitative data showed that children made substantial gains in several areas. Interviews with parents revealed that HIPPY was enjoyable and achievable, and contributed to children’s increased confidence, early learning, and familiarity with schoolwork. Formal psychological testing demonstrated clear gains for children in terms of their early school skills and socioemotional development, although results in the areas of general cognitive development, school readiness, and academic self-esteem were inconclusive. Process evaluation found that HIPPY was relevant and feasible in this population and highlighted several key aspects of program implementation. Findings are discussed in the light of international literature in the early intervention area, and implications for future practice and research are drawn out.

In this thesis, I investigated the influence of personality and situational variables on the experience of flow in order to enhance flow state in tennis competition. Based on propositions of the sport-specific flow model (Kimiecik & Stein, 1992), I conducted three interconnected studies. In Study 1, I examined the relationship between personality variables and flow. In Study 2, I tested the effect of the interaction between two key personality variables, trait sport confidence and action control, and key situational variables, self- and externally-paced tasks, on flow state and performance. Finally, in Study 3, I investigated the efficacy of an imagery intervention designed to enhance confidence and action control to increase flow state and self-paced and externally-paced performance in tennis competitions. The purpose of Study 1 was to investigate the influence of personality variables on dispositional flow and state flow in junior tennis players. I entered personality variables, which demonstrated moderate correlations with flow, into regression equations. Except for the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS), I entered the Action Control Scale-Sport (ACS-S), the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ), and the Trait Sport Confidence Inventory (TSCI) as predictor variables into stepwise multiple regression analyses with the Dispositional Flow Scale-2 (DFS- 2; N = 271) and the Flow State Scale-2 (FSS-2; N = 134), respectively, as criterion variables. The results showed that trait sport confidence was the strongest predictor of dispositional flow, accounting for 32.83% of the variance, and action control was the strongest predictor of state flow, explaining 15.52% of the iii variance. On a DFS-2 subscale level, confidence was the main predictor for challenge-skills balance and sense of control, whereas imagery use was the main predictor for clear goals, unambiguous feedback, concentration on the task at hand, and autotelic experience. In the FSS-2 regression analyses, action control was the strongest predictor for most of the entered criterion variables of state flow subscales, namely clear goals, unambiguous feedback, and sense of control. The purpose of Study 2 was to test the Kimiecik and Stein’s (1992) hypothesis that person and situation factors interplay in the generation of flow state. Based on the findings in the previous study, I chose examine interaction and main effects between two key personality characteristics, namely trait sport confidence and action control, and situational variables, such as a self-paced service task and an externally-paced groundstroke task, on flow state and performance in tennis. Following service and groundstroke performance, the participants, junior tennis players (N = 60) between 12 to 18 years, completed the FSS-2. Based on a median split on the TSCI, I assigned participants to groups of high or low confidence. I carried out a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA on flow state with high and low confidence as levels of the independent group factor and self-paced and externally-paced tasks as levels of the repeated measures factor. The results showed a significant main effect between groups of high and low confidence and flow, F(1, 58) = 6.82, p < .05, ç² = .11. The interaction for flow state was not significant, but revealed a moderate effect size, F(1, 58) = 2.64, ns, ç² = .04. I carried out similar ANOVAs on performance showing a significant main effect for performance. Participants demonstrated a greater accuracy in the groundstroke task than in the service task, showing a large effect size, F(1, 58) = 12.74, p < .001, ç² = .18. Analyses of interaction effects between high and low confidence and self- and externally-paced tasks on performance outcome showed a moderate effect size, but was not significant, F(1, 58) = 2.97, ns, ç² = .05. Following the same procedure for action control, I used a median split to divide participants into groups of action orientation and state orientation. There were no significant main or interaction effects between action- and state-oriented groups and flow. With regard to performance, a significant main effect was found for task type, with participants scoring higher on the groundstroke than the service task, and performance outcome, F(1, 58) = 12.13, p < .001, ç² = .17, indicating a large effect size. The purpose of Study 3 was to examine the effect of an imagery intervention on flow state and performance in tennis competition. The study included an A-B design with a baseline and post-intervention phase to evaluate the efficacy of imagery, using a standardised imagery script. I measured flow state and performance over a range of official ranking-list tournaments. I developed the imagery script based on findings of Study 1, taking into account correlational results between personality variables of action control, imagery use, and trait sport confidence and dimensions of flow. The script consisted of three parts, starting with a relaxation component, then imagery on self-paced performance of first and second serves, and, finally, imagery in externally-paced performance situations, including forehand and backhand groundstrokes. For the intervention, four male junior tennis players between 13 and 15 years of age worked with the imagery script three times a week for four consecutive weeks. Participants were of an advanced skill level, being ranked between 203 and 244 in the Australian Junior Ranking List at the beginning of the study. After the four-week intervention phase, all participants demonstrated an increase in service and groundstroke performance winners. In addition, participants increased their ranking-list position from beginning to end of the study between 24 and 145 positions. Visual inspection of the data revealed that three participants increased in state flow intensity across phases. In a social validation interview, which I conducted at the end of the study, three participants confirmed an increase in flow and confidence level after the intervention. Overall, results confirmed several propositions of Kimiecik and Stein’s (1992) sport-specific flow model. Firstly, dispositional personality variables, action control, imagery use, and trait sport confidence demonstrated a moderate relationship with flow. Secondly, significant and near-significant main and interaction effects were evident between situational and personal variables on the experience of flow state. Thirdly, an imagery intervention showed an increase in flow and performance. With regard to future research, I recommend the use of the flow model, as proposed by Kimiecik and Stein (1992), to further assess the influence of personality and situation characteristics and their interaction on flow. In addition, more studies on the flow-performance relationship would be fruitful to enhance theoretical understanding and to inform applied work.

To maintain consistently low riding-eights, many jockeys engage in repetitive cycles of rapid, short-term weight loss, termed "wasting". The physical and psychological effects of "wasting" are not well understood, although several recent studies suggest that, at least in the short-term, they may be numerous, and with any one of them having a potentially detrimental effect on both the health and riding performance of jockeys. The major aims of the research reported were to investigate the weight-management experiences of jockeys in Australia, and to examine a range of cognitive and other psychological effects of rapid weight loss in this professional athlete population. The methodological framework used to address these aims incorporated both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Four focused case studies illustrated that cognitive responses to weight fluctuations and competition were generally idiosyncratic, with variations within individuals across a range of cognitive functions and testing conditions. The exception to this finding was attentional processing speed, which appeared to be impaired in response to weight loss in most cases. Collectively, the results of the three studies indicate that the need for wasting, and the lack of safe and effective options to meet this need, continue to be pervasive and problematic facets of life for professional kockeys, in terms of their effects on psychological well-being and cognitive function.

This thesis explores the impact of emotional intelligence on frontline employee service performance in the casino industry. Emotional intelligence is a relatively recent psychological construct that has attracted substantial interest in both the popular literature and within academia. A major appeal of emotional intelligence lies in its possibility of contributing to a portion of the remaining variance in job performance that traditional cognitive intelligence leaves unexplained (Van Rooy & Viswesvaran, 2003). However, the predictive validity of emotional intelligence varies considerably and depends on the context, criterion of interest, and specific theory used (e.g. Emmerling & Goleman, 2003). Furthermore, as agreed by most personality psychologists, a new construct such as emotional intelligence needs to provide incremental validity over well-established constructs to be welcomed into the relevant field (Brackett & Mayer, 2003). With respect to job context and selected criteria, it has been claimed that there is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance in the case of roles which are associated with emotional labour, such as customer service (Daus & Ashkanasy, 2005). With regard to theory, various models have been proposed as a means of conceptualising the construct within the relevant literature. These models have been associated with a range of tests which purport to assess emotional intelligence and its predictive validity. In an attempt to emphasize the importance of the role of assessment in operationalising emotional intelligence, Petrides and Furnham (2001) have proposed the theory of trait EI, which is measured using a self-report test. These authors indicated that the theory encompasses behavioural tendencies and self-perceived abilities like a personality trait; therefore, its investigation should be primarily conducted within a personality framework (Petrides & Furnham, 2001; Petrides, Furnham & Frederickson, 2004). From the perspective of predictive validity, this thesis applies the concept of trait EI in the context of the casino high-end market (casino key accounts), and analyses its relationship with the service performance of casino service representatives for the high-end market (casino key account representatives). From the perspective of incremental validity, the thesis incorporates the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality factors as another independent variable to analyse the additional variance in the dependent variable explained by trait EI in predicting the service performance of casino key account representatives. This study also tests the mediating roles of customer orientation and adaptability in the context of hierarchical relationships of the influence of personality traits (trait EI and FFM) on service performance evaluation, based on the hierarchical model theory proposed by Brown, Mowen, Donavan & Licatal. (2002). The data used in this thesis were gathered from questionnaires, distributed within a VIP gaming room catering to casino high-end players in one of the world’s largest casinos located in Australasia. A sample of 152 usable employee responses was obtained. Multiple regression has been used to test the relevant hypotheses and Baron and Kenny’s (1986) method has been used to analyse the mediation. Through the use of the various statistical analyses, it was found that trait EI was positively related with the service performance of casino key account representatives. It also explained additional variance in the dependent variable – the service performance of casino key account representatives over and above the FFM of personality factors. Partial mediations of customer orientation and adaptability were also found between the basic personality traits and service performance of casino key account representatives. It indicates that indirect effects between the independent and dependent variables are enhanced by the incorporation of the various mediators. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the results, which includes comments on the implications of the findings, an evaluation of the limits of the current investigation, and some thoughts on possible future research.

The primary purpose of this case study on Divine Word University (DWU) is to explore the drivers that influence the organization to assume a particular model of organizing work and managing people in the pursuit of its goals. The key research questions therefore, focus on DWU culture, that is, the deeply embedded taken-for-granted basic assumptions whose influences are made visible in the organization’s behaviour and discourse. In particular, this thesis explores the behaviour and discourse associated with two aspects of the organization, the structure of decision-making and HR practices and processes. In exploring DWU culture, the study serves to explore the broader theme of university cultural emergence, embedding, cultural change, and organizational redefinition. Three ethnographic tools are used in the exploration: the semi-structured interview, documentary sources and observations. Having multiple data sources serves to triangulate the emerging cultural themes across the data sources. The data was collected over a period of six months. Documents were collected and observations made over the first five months. These serve to surface issues, concepts and themes around which interviews are conducted in the final month of data gathering. The findings show that the primary assumption defining DWU’s practices and which influences patterns of behaviour is the ideal of service linked to the missionary commitment to social advancement. This ideal has a profound impact on the culture of DWU. It provides the impetus for people to intervene to provide a service in a context where resource security is tenuous. Service in the context of this thesis is the ideal that serves as the impetus that motivates people, religious and altruistic oriented non-religious people, to render service for none or minimal material reward. This concept is contrasted with the concept of service associated with the university and taken as one of the tripartite knowledge functions. The findings also show that the outcome of the influence of service on DWU is that the behavioural expectations it promotes locate the university away from the behavioural expectations, as they are manifested in its decision-making structure and HR processes, of the collegial values-based organization. However, the findings also show that the distancing from the collegial cultural values and beliefs is nevertheless not a de-legitimization of the organization from the university field. In the contemporary context of organizational change that is allowing for the broadening of the university concept, emerging models of the university, such as DWU, occupy the contemporary end of the continuum of university models.

Little research has examined the effects of weight management on jockey’s wellbeing. However, there is a consensus that pervasive weight-loss practices (WLP) in the racing industry negatively impact on jockey’s physical, psychological and social wellbeing. The research reported herein examined the effects of the WLP used by flat-race jockeys on their physical, psychological and social wellbeing. In Study 1, 42 jockeys (10 women and 32 men) completed questionnaires examining eating behaviour, WLP and their physical, psychological and social effects of WLP. In Study 2, six male jockeys completed race day and non-race day assessments of WLP and mood and were interviewed about their experiences. In Study 3, eight jockeys (two women and six men); five family members (three wives and two fathers); and six industry professionals were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences of the lives of jockeys. Together the results of the studies showed that the WLP of jockeys have serious negative effects on their physiological, psychological and social wellbeing. Jockeys experience symptoms of life-threatening heat illness, negative mood, limited social interactions and strained relationships. Disordered eating behaviour was common and many jockeys reported symptoms consistent with DSM IV-TR disorders including Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Depression, General Anxiety Disorder and Social Phobia. Weight restriction symbolised a range of other restrictions that characterise jockeys’ lives. The term, Occupational Weight-Loss Disorder (OWLD) was coined to describe and explain the findings. Recommendations to reduce the harms documented included determining minimum weights, increasing time off, professional advice and profession suitability.