Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / This paper evaluated the relationship between the Chief Executive Officer’s gender and firm performance. This study was conducted by evaluating the differential effect of CEO’s gender and sales turnover, share price and net profit. The study was deemed necessary because related researches in South Africa did not address the relationship between gender and variables such as turnover, share price and net profit. Hence this research focuses on the evaluation of the differential effect between CEO's gender and the corporate turnover, share price and net profit. The methodological approach used in this study was the quantitative approach. Data were collected from the archives of Socially Responsible Investing Index companies in the JSE. The T-test of difference was applied for data analysis of sixteen (16) selected companies. Three specific objectives were examined as follows: (1) To evaluate the relationship between the CEO's gender and company turnover (2) To assess the relationship, the CEO's gender and share price (3) To examine the relationship between the CEO's gender and net profit. Findings from the statistical analysis revealed that there is no significant relationship between CEO gender and sales turnover. It was further identified that no relationship exists between CEO gender and share price. It was also discovered that there is no differential effect between CEO gender and net profit. Findings from statistical analysis revealed that P-Value was greater than 5 percent indicating that there was no significant relationship between CEO gender and sales turnover, share price and net profit. This means that within the companies examined, CEO gender had no influence on sales turnover, share price and net profit. Based on the findings above, women CEOs can perform as well as the men CEOs. Therefore, women should be afforded the CEO’s positions as their presence have no negative effect on firm performance. Key words: CEO gender, firm performance, sales turnover, share price, net profit, JSE listed companies, corporate profitability, shareholder value and gender stereotyping.

Standardized test data from a southern suburban elementary school showed lagging student scores behind those of students from similar settings. These scores suggested a disconnection between teachers' understanding of and practice in formative assessment. Bloom's revised taxonomy, backward design planning theory, and differentiated learning theory guided this study, which focused on how elementary teachers use formative strategies in the classroom to inform instruction. Data collected through face-to-face interviews from 10 teachers were transcribed and organized in codes and themes. Member checks were then used to ensure credibility of interpretations. The key results showed that these 10 teachers used many formative assessment strategies with their students, yet they were unfamiliar with backward design theory and did not use peer feedback or self-assessment as strategies. The proposed project focused on providing professional development in 3 modules addressing professional learning community norms, backward design theory unit planning, and strategies for peer feedback and student goal setting. This project may lead to positive social change by empowering teachers to design curriculum and assessment with authentic learning experiences and providing students with goal-setting strategies to become responsible for learning. The project's positive social change may lead to this school and district closing the identified achievement gap. It is recommended that further research on teacher perception of formative assessment should include more elementary and middle schools.

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of cognitive and emotional processes during the three reflective stages of the experiential learning cycle of experiential activities using written debriefings. The study examined three written debriefings from five senior-level undergraduate management students enrolled in a business management course. The debriefings consisted of four to five free-response questions modeled after Kolb’s experiential learning cycle: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The study triangulated results using two qualitative methods, a grounded theory analysis and a content analysis. In the grounded theory analysis, two process maps were developed from the debriefings. A learning process map identified four stages of learning: introduction, mental rehearsal, abstraction, and priming. A group process map identified four stages of group experiential activities: problem-solving, consensus building, reactions, and resolution. The group decision-making process was seen to follow four paths: agreement, teamwork, conflict or confusion. A possible moderating variable, prior group affiliation, affected the persistence of the groups in finding satisfactory solutions when encountering conflict, or confusion. Six themes emerged from the grounded analysis: iterative reflection, richness of connections, attachment of personal reactions, role of writing in debriefings, fluid group development, and the role of affiliation. In the content analysis, three raters coded the debriefings using seven variables: content, process, connections, context, affect, relevance, and intent. Growth was seen between the first half and second half of debriefings for all variables, and the presence and intensity of variables was highest for all variables except content during the last stage of the experiential learning cycle, active experimentation. The amount of content present in debriefings was highest during the third stage, abstract conceptualization. The results of this study may provide insight into the mental processes that occur in written reflection and help instructors design experiential learning debriefings.

在本研究中，研究者選擇讓個體在有限的時間中，處理兩件工作。其中一 件工作是個人工作；另外一件工作，是團體工作。研究的主要目的有二： 第一，膫解個體在資源有限情況下，對於團體工作及個人工作的努力分配 。第二，是想探討「團體人際親疏度」與「團體目標設定方式」二變項， 是否會影響個體在上述情況下的努力分配。本研究的受試為１２６名政大 女學生，三人一組。其中互相熟識（親密組）與互不相識（疏遠組）各佔 一半。在受試來到實驗室之後，研究者將兩組受試隨機分派到無團體目標 組、參與式團體目標設定組或指派式團體目標設定組中。研究採用２ｘ３ （人際親疏：親密、疏遠；目標設定：無目標、參與式、指派式）的二因 子實驗設計，分別計量受試在「五分鐘工作時間」及「各時段」的團體、 個人工作表現各佔所有工作表現的百分比，並以問卷測量受試對於實驗處 理的一些主觀知覺。研究的結果發現：（一）整體受試者對個人工作努力 比率要比團體工作來的高。（二）親密組受試在團體工作的努力比率要比 疏遠組高。（三）參與式團體目標設定組與指派式團體目標組受試者在團 體工作上的努力比率要比無目標組來的高。（四）參與式團體目標設定組 與指派式團體目標設定組受試者在團體工作的努力比率上並無差異。（五 ）團體目標設定與團體人際親疏之間並無交互作用。（六）各組受試者在 實驗過程中整體的反應趨勢及各時段的工作反應，會隨著進行的各階段有 所差異。最後本研究跟據實驗所得結果，討論研究結果的意義及啟示。 In this study, experimenter informed subjects to per- form two tasks at the same time; one was individual task, the other was group task. The purposes of this study were to (1) investigate how subjects distributed their limited effort between group tasks and indivi- dual tasks, and (2) investigate the effects of inter- personal relationship (familiar vs. unfamiliar) and goal setting condition (no group goal vs.assigned group goal vs. participated group goal) on effort distribu- tion between individual tasks and group tasks. It was found that (1) subjects distrubuted more efforts to in- dividual tasks than group tasks , and (2) familiar group subjects distributed more effort to group tasks than unfamiliar group subjects, and (3)assigned group goal and participated group goal subjects distributed more efforts to group tasks than no group goal subjects . The implication of these findings for goal setting theory and interpersonal theory was discussed.

「社會閒散」是一種當個人處於團體中，由於努力和結果之間的聯結不緊密，個人易躲過因偷懶所帶來的不好結果，也易失去因努力而應得的好結果，而引發的動機性損失。此種混水摸魚的現象無所不在的侵蝕團體績效，使得人力資源未能發揮最佳水準，導致生產力降低。本研究的主要目的，在於探討「指派式目標設定」、「參與式目標設定」及「指派式目標設定配合獎賞」三種傳統管理上常使用的激勵策略，對於減低「社會閒散」的效果。 　　本研究採實驗室研究法，以144位大學女生為受試，研究中採２（工作情境：個人組、團體組）Ｘ４（激勵策略：無激勵策略之控制組、指派式目標設定組、參與式目標設定組、指派式目標設定配合獎賞組）設計，分析各組受試在剪紙片作業上之工作表現。 　　研究結果顯示：在沒有使用激勵策略的控制組中，團體組受試的工作表現顯著低於個人組受試的工作表現，亦即確實發生了典型的社會閒散現象，而不論在加入指派式目標設定、參與式目標設定或指派式目標設定配合獎賞這三種激勵策略的狀況下，團體組受試的工作表現均和個人組受試的工作表現沒有顯著差異。顯見此三種激勵策略均可有效地減低社會閒散現象。唯可能因天花板效應，僅一般的「指派式目標設定」即已完全消除了社會閒散現象的發生，而導致在本研究中無法清楚比較出此三種激勵策略對減低社會閒散之效果的高低。研究者依研究結果做進一步討論，並對社會大眾及後續的研究提供建議。

A large body of evidence suggests physical activity is inversely associated with several cardio-metabolic risk factors among children and adolescents. Despite these health benefits, a majority of youth are not meeting the physical activity guidelines set forth by the USDHHS. Schools have been identified as an ideal vehicle for interventions; however, research evidence indicates school-based interventions are not effective at increasing outside of school physical activity. Goal setting may be a potential effective strategy for increasing physical activity among youth; however no previous studies have examined the effects of goal setting on cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity in middle school students. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of a S.M.A.R.T. goal setting and self-monitoring intervention on fitness and physical activity in middle school students. Two middle schools in Tallahassee, FL participated in this study. One school served as the intervention and the other served as a delayed intervention measurement only control. The students in the intervention school completed a one-time S.M.A.R.T. goal setting lesson. During the lesson, students were taught the definition of a goal, the importance of goal setting, and how to set S.M.A.R.T. goals. As part of the lesson, students completed a S.M.A.R.T. goal setting worksheet. The objectives of the worksheet activity were to teach students the concepts of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting and to apply this knowledge by creating personal fitness goals. Student fitness goals were entered into an interactive website that acted as a self-monitoring tool. Before and after the intervention, participating students completed a survey assessing student demographics, physical activity, and physical activity self-efficacy. Cardiorespiratory fitness levels, assessed by the PACER test, were also measured pre and post. Betweengroup differences in post-test scores, adjusted for baseline levels, were assessed for statistical significance using ANCOVA. Additional covariates included gender, race/ethnicity, grade level and weight status. After adjustment for baseline levels, students in the intervention school exhibited significantly higher PACER laps in comparison to the control school ((F[subscript (1,257)] = 58.0) p<0.0001)). The PACER scores in intervention school increased from 40.6 laps to 45.9 laps while the PACER scores in the comparison school decreased. There were no significant between-group differences for physical activity or self-efficacy Although these results require replication in larger studies using a group randomized study design and objective measures of physical activity, the results suggest that teaching students about S.M.A.R.T. goal setting may be a potentially effective strategy for increasing fitness in middle school students and worthy of further investigation / Graduation date: 2013

Syfte och frågeställningar: Denna studie har granskat begreppet mental tuffhet och dess roll i sporten baseboll. Syftet var att, genom en kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod, undersöka hur fyra unga svenska pitchers reflekterar över de egenskaper, färdigheter och verktyg associerade till mental tuffhet för att skapa en ökad förståelse i unga pitchers mentala förmåga. Detta genomförs som den första svenska idrottspsykologiska studien i sitt slag. Hur upplever unga basebollspelare olika aspekter av de innefattande egenskaper och färdigheter som omfattar mental tuffhet? Besitter unga basebollspelare som håller en jämn prestationsnivå under match även en högre grad av mental tuffhet? Metod: Studien består av en kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod där ett urval av fyra pitchers först statistiskt har observerats under match för att sen intervjuas med en semistrukturerad intervjumetod. Statistikinsamling genomfördes med syftet att kvantitativt granska deras prestation under match sett till lyckade och misslyckade kast. Efter varje match har testpersonerna intervjuats med utgångspunkt från matchens statistik samt fyra idrottspsykologiska teman; självförtroende, motivation, idrottspsykologiska verktyg och målsättning. Denna metodtriangulering har använts för att granska hur de hanterar mentalt tuffa situationer i match. Resultat: Ett antal faktorer framkom i studiens analys som relaterade till mental tuffhet: fysiska och mentala förberedelser, den fysiska förmågan, fokusering/refokusering, viljan att bli bättre samt att hantera motgång. Även ett antal påverkande faktorer framkom: utbildning, lagkamrater/omgivning, yttre krav och externa distraktioner. Slutsats: Generellt framkom mental tuffhet som ett brett och komplext begrepp kopplat till många olika idrottspsykologiska faktorer. Kopplingar mellan self-efficacy och mental tuffhet har gjorts då testpersonerna beskrev prestationsbaserade självförtroende i sin tro på sin egen fysiska och tekniska förmåga, samt motivation i sin fysiska utveckling. Det framkom även att resultatets påverkande faktorer spelade en stor roll i hur de senare kände mental tuffhet i match. Nyckelord: Baseboll, pitchers, mental tuffhet, self-efficacy, självförtroende, motivation, visualisering, självprat, målsättning

Self-paced study involves choosing items for (re)study and determining how much time will be allocated to those items so as to maximize later recall, making it a viable venue for examining whether there are age-related differences in metacognitive control. Two prominent models have been proposed to account for item selection and study time allocation behaviors during self-paced study. The Discrepancy Reduction Model (DRM; Dunlosky & Hertzog, 1998; Nelson & Leonesio, 1988) suggests individuals will always select and allocate the most time to items that have not yet been learned, whereas the Region of Proximal Learning model (RPL; Metcalfe, 2002) predicts individuals will select the easiest unknown items and will only later select and allocate time to the more difficult items if time constraints permit, thus making distinctions among unlearned items graded by difficulty. Two experiments were conducted to examine whether younger and older adults item selection and study time allocation behaviors would be more consistent with DRM or RPL model predictions. Across both experiments younger and older adults initially selected easier items for study, providing the first evidence to date that the RPL model would extend to older adults self-paced study of heterogeneously difficult Spanish-English vocabulary pairs. However, both younger and older adults allocated more time to difficult than easier items. The assignment of point values to items in Experiment 2 affected how likely participants were to pursue each of four experimenter-determined task goals that either stressed the number of words recalled, points earned, or both. Whether point values initially favored recall of easy or difficult items interacted with time constraints to influence the basis (objective versus subjective difficulty) and order of participants item selections (Experiment 2). However, younger adults were better able to effectively allocate their study time to achieve self-determined (Experiment 1) and experimenter-determined goals (Experiment 2), indicating age-related differences in metacognitive control despite younger and older adults having similar memory self-efficacy ratings and encoding strategy use behaviors.

We have chosen to focus on the meaning of long-term income support dependency regarding health, goal setting and motivation for the recipient of economical aid. We have chosen to use semi structurized interviews to achieve our goal of reaching the clients experience of long-term income support dependency. The study consists of interviews of six clients whose answers have been analyzed through appliance of Kielhofner´s Model of human occupation, Scheff´s Shame in self and society.    Our results show regarding, 1) the factor health that long-term income support dependency may elevate the risk of illness and less experienced options of possibilities to act. 2) regarding the factor goal setting, that goals may be inefficiently used during social work with long-term income support dependent clients and may result in a disorganized relationship between client and social worker in the sense of making the parties pull in opposite direction. 3) regarding the factor motivation, that long-term income support dependency and the living with the emotion of shame elevates the risk of maintaining a negative image of oneself that limits the willpower to assimilate new knowledge and/or skills. This also effects the clients belief in their own capacity to change their current negative situation. Which may impact the rate of success in motivational social work and the individuals own possibilities to live an independent life, free of income support. Throughout the study we have encountered the traces of shame as a social emotion and emphasize on the environments pressure for change and socialization.

Within the psychological literature two main approaches can be identified as influential factors in the increase of well-being, defined in this thesis as Hedonic (SWB) vs. Eudaimonic Well-Being (PWB). One of the key qualities of the human mind is its ability to think about and act upon the future. The first approach emphasises the role of psychological strengths related to the utilisation of foresight and planning in such a way as to influence the consequences of current actions. The second approach focuses on the function of basic personality traits in the setting of goals and mental functioning. To integrate these approaches, this thesis brings together two lines of research: future-orientation and personality traits. Two longitudinal studies investigate the predictive qualities of future-orientated constructs in relation to personality traits, while also focusing on their contribution to the setting and attainment of goals and the perception of well-being. In the first study two cognitive-motivational scales, Hope and Personal Growth Initiative (PGI), were administered to measure two hundred and sixty four participants’ future-orientation. The first aim of this study was to examine the distinctiveness of these two scales in predicting well-being. Results from factor analyses cast doubt on the uniqueness of Hope and PGI, while regression analyses demonstrate Hope to be the strongest, most significant predictor of PWB and SWB. A further aim of the study was to ascertain if future-orientation could account for additional variance in the prediction of well-being, after the influence of the Eysenck’s Personality traits have been controlled for. It was indicated that individuals’ Hope levels do account for residual variance in PWB and SWB. The last aim of the study was to determine if future-orientation could contribute to long-term goal attainment and well-being. The results indicate that participant’s Hope levels did not significantly contribute to long-term goal attainment, however it had a direct, significant effect on long-term PWB. The second study, utilising 117 participants, replicated prior findings that demonstrate Hope, instead of PGI, to be the strongest, most significant predictor of both PWB and SWB. The study also extents prior research by utilising the Big-Five traits in the prediction of PWB and SWB. Factor analyses results indicate Hope to share an underlying factor structure with Openness and Conscientiousness, while PGI share an underlying factor structure with Agreeableness. It was further indicated that participants’ Hope, but not PGI, accounts for residual variance in the prediction of PWB, after controlling for the Big-Five traits. Conversely, Hope and PGI did not account for any residual variance in the prediction of SWB, instead almost 60% of the variance can be attributed to the Big-Five personality traits. Extending the first study, the aim of the second study was to ascertain attainment through independent verification and not participant self-assessment. The results indicate that participants who demonstrate greater levels of Openness and PGI tend to set higher quantitative goals. Although not predictive of goal attainment, participants with greater Openness showed higher performance on the goals. Overall, the results question the distinctiveness of Hope and PGI in the prediction of well-being. It adds to our knowledge of how psychological strengths such as future-orientation can contribute variance to the prediction of well-being after basic personality traits have been controlled for. Finally the results also add to our understanding of how personality traits, as well as, Hope and PGI independently contribute to the setting of goals.