The hospitality and tourism industry is an increasingly important part of the New Zealand economy, contributing almost nine percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2008. One of the key concerns regarding this part of the economy is the impact of a tight labour market and intense skill shortages on its ability to maximise returns from tourists. Labour turnover rates have been extremely high in the hospitality sector over the past few years and this has contributed to the intense labour market pressures affecting this industry. Hotels have suffered particularly high turnover rates in the past few years and exit interviews have been one of the tools that Human Resource Managers used to try and gain data about employee reasons for leaving. This study looks at exit interviews as a source of data on the causes of labour turnover in two New Zealand hotel chains. The aim of this study was to analyse hotel exit interview data in order to identify significant patterns that might illuminate the causes and potential moderating factors of labour turnover in New Zealand hotels. In addition, the study aimed to analyse the processes used to gather exit interview data in order to evaluate the efficacy of exit interviews and see if any practical recommendations could be made regarding the use of exit interviews to address labour turnover. A qualititative, triangulated research methodology was applied in order to analyse the data generated from over 4500 exit interviews, from 17 hotels, in two New Zealand hotel brands. The interviews cover six years of exit interview gathering. In addition, in depth semi-structured interviews with six hotel Human Resource Managers were used to gain insight into the practice and perceptions around exit interviews. The study found that despite considerable application of time and resources, hotels gain very little benefit from the exit interview process. Several issues are identified as bringing the efficacy of exit interviews into question, including power imbalance between interviewees and interviewers, language and cultural concerns, and the impact of psychological contract breaches on the employment relationship. In addition, the study found that even when opportunities for organisational improvement did arise from exit interviews, little or no action was taken by the hotels in question. The study concludes that there is insufficient benefit to the hotels given the costs of exit interviews and suggests that other forms of employee feedback, such as engagement surveys may be more efficacious in addressing labour turnover.

This thesis explores Landmark Education, an American personal development company which claims to transform lives for the better. The purpose of this work is to analyse the pros and cons of various participants and professionals connected with Landmark Education. This work has been carried out as a piece of investigative journalism and reflects the principles of this field. Chapter one addresses contemporary criticisms of Landmark and outlines the main points of the investigation which will be analysed and debated in chapter three. Chapter two gives a historical background to the self-help and personal development realm that Landmark belongs to. This chapter is more informative in tone and provides an indepth discussion on est, the company to precede Landmark. Chapter three is the investigative component of this thesis and contains interviews of Landmark supporters and critics. These include former and current participants of Landmark Education, as well as professionals of clinical psychology and the personal coaching fields. This chapter primarily addresses issues connected with critical claims that Landmark is a cult. The thesis is accompanied by a supporting exegesis which outlines the relevant theoretical, historical, critical and design contexts and also seeks to defend both the applied research methodology and theoretical base.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, page: 3014. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-43).

Diss. (sammanfattning) Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 341-347). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.Ed.(Educational Psychology)--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Vita. "May 2005" Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MA (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis describes a qualitative investigation of the creative writing processes of successful publishing authors in the South African context. Four successful South African authors of fiction were interviewed with the intention of garnering current, local insights into the creative writing process in order to nuance this field of knowledge and to challenge reductive, undynamic ways of thinking about it. What these creative writers say about their writing processes is discussed in the context of previous empirical research on the writing process and the creative process in the related fields of composition studies and psychology. The resulting theoretical paradigm for the study was a flexible, recursive cognitive process model of the writing process within the context of a particular domain and field, in opposition to a stage model of writing or models of writing that are devoid of social and affective context. Interviews with Margie Orford, Imraan Coovadia, Lesley Beake and John van de Ruit investigated how expert creative writers work in the South African context and explored contributing factors to the writing process, from initial inspiration or origination of ideas through to submission of completed manuscripts for publication. The creative writers in question are experienced authors who have published more than once as the intention was to discover what successful or established authors of literary fiction do, with an eye to making a contribution to current international attempts at theorising the field of creative writing. The results of this research indicated clear support for most of the combined underlying theories and hypotheses discussed in the literature study, with an indication of some areas that required further refining and research, such as the impact of situational variables on the writing process. Finally some suggestions are made as to how the theoretical models might be improved through combination and comparison with one another and with more extensive empirical research, and some of the implications of this research for creative writing pedagogy and the development of novice writers are explored. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis beskryf ’n kwalitatiewe ondersoek van die kreatiewe skryfprosesse van suksesvolle gepubliseerde outeurs in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Onderhoude is met vier suksesvolle fiksieskrywers gevoer met die doel om hedendaagse, plaaslike insig in die kreatiewe skryfproses te verkry ten einde hierdie kennisgebied te nuanseer en reduserende, ondinamiese denke daaroor aan te veg. Hierdie kreatiewe skrywers se beskrywing van hul skryfproses word bespreek teen die agtergrond van vorige empiriese navorsing oor die skryfproses en die kreatiewe proses in die verwante gebiede van stylstudies en sielkunde. Die teoretiese paradigma vir die studie wat hieruit gespruit het, was ’n buigsame, rekursiewe kognitiewe prosesmodel van die skryfproses in die konteks van ’n spesifieke domein en gebied, in teenstelling met ’n faseskryfmodel of skryfmodelle sonder enige maatskaplike en affektiewe konteks. Deur middel van onderhoude met Margie Orford, Imraan Coovadia, Lesley Beake en John van de Ruit is ondersoek hoe ervare kreatiewe skrywers in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks werk, en faktore wat tot die skryfproses bydra, is ondersoek. Sodanige proses strek van aanvanklike inspirasie of die oorsprong van idees tot die inlewering van voltooide manuskripte vir publikasie. Die betrokke kreatiewe skrywers is bedrewe outeurs wat reeds meer as een keer gepubliseer het, aangesien die voorneme was om uit te vind hoe suksesvolle of gevestigde outeurs te werk gaan met die oog daarop om ’n bydrae te maak tot huidige internasionale pogings om die gebied van kreatiewe skryfwerk te teoretiseer. Die resultate van hierdie studie toon duidelike ondersteuning vir die meeste van die gekombineerde onderliggende teorieë en hipoteses wat in die literatuurstudie bespreek is, alhoewel daar ’n aanduiding is dat sommige gebiede verdere verfyning en navorsing verg, byvoorbeeld die impak van situasionele veranderlikes op die skryfproses. Laastens word enkele aanbevelings gemaak oor hoe die teoretiese modelle verbeter kan word deur kombinasie en vergelyking met ander modelle en deur meer omvattende empiriese navorsing, en die implikasies van hierdie navorsing vir die pedagogie van kreatiewe skryfwerk en die ontwikkeling van amateurskrywers word ook ondersoek.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster that occurred in March of 2011 has not only strongly affected the environment and economy in Japan; it has also impacted the social and psychological well-being of the people of Fukushima Prefecture. Radiation stigma was a problem for the survivors of the A-bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and those with mental health issues have occasionally been subject to discrimination and inadequate treatment. These appear to be similar issues facing those affected in Fukushima, according to news articles covering the nuclear disaster. In interviews conducted with Japanese citizens, it appears that although mental health problems do exist among those affected, mental health discrimination was not reported to be a problem. Some reported specific examples of radiation stigma, and many interviewees revealed that marriage discrimination could certainly become a problem in the future, particularly for women exposed to radiation.

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished