This study aimed at exploring the possible impact that habits, values and mindfulness can have on an athlete's achievement of success. It provided a thorough understanding of these three concepts and analysed the interrelationship they might have. By examining their interconnectedness, the study found that a triadic relationship exists among habits, values and mindfulness in the sport context. The fieldwork was conducted with athletes from various performance levels. Elite athletes were represented by athletes who have continuously performed exceptionally (having won medals at Olympics, Commonwealth Championships, World Cups or Continental Championships) on the international stage. These athletes formed part of the first phase of this study. Athletes performing on club-, provincial- and national level were the participants in the second phase of the study. The study found that athletes from the four performance levels experienced habits, values and mindfulness differently. Certain core habits and values were present among the different athlete populations. Elite athletes identified visualisation, simplicity, simulation training and pre-performance routines as crucial habits in their respective sports. The elite athletes indicated the importance of behavioural consistency and that they tend to behave in a manner that is consistent with their values and to hold themselves accountable to those values. Although there were similarities, the strength of similar habits differed among the athletes from the different levels of performance. In general, the three strongest habits among the four different performance levels, were the habits of responsiveness, discipline and resilience. The club-, provincial- and national athletes valued interpersonal relationships such as loyalty, commitment and respect for others, higher than values that are more inclined to assist in individual satisfaction and needs. Though the differences were not statistical significant, it might be interesting to note that the national athletes scored higher on values such as self-direction, universalism and benevolence. Club athletes scored higher on values such as hedonism and tradition. The role of mindfulness in the attainment of success received varied emphasis from the club-, provincial-, national- and elite athletes. The elite athletes identified mindfulness as a key element in the maintenance of a successful long-term sport career. The elite athletes linked mindfulness and visualisation with the understanding that the two concepts are interconnected and that mindfulness might be aided by the practice of visualisation. The club-, provincial- and national athletes identified a link between the habit of focusing and mindfulness, indicating that focusing assists them in heightening their awareness levels in situations. Athletes from the varying performance levels referred to mental skills concepts as habits. They distinguished between behavioural habits as well as mental skills habits. Correlation assessments were conducted to assess for links between habits, values and mindfulness. Twenty eight correlations were found between the assessed habits and values. Five correlations were found between values and mindfulness variables. Forty two correlations were found between habits and mindfulness variables. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to gather the data. The results indicated that the development of athletes on all levels of performance can be enhanced by being attentive to the habits, values and mindfulness levels of athletes. The recommendations provided by this study will provide options to enhance performance levels and possibly contribute to the holistic development of athletes in South Africa, Africa and the broader sport fraternity. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / DPhil / Unrestricted

Research findings have supported a relationship between psychological characteristics and optimal performance states, indicating that elite and successful sports participants are more motivated, committed, self-confident, focused and able to peak under pressure compared to non-elite and less successful participants. The reason for this is that a human being’s biomechanical and physiological harmonisation of movement is mediated by various aspects of psychological involvement. The psychological components of physical-skills execution in sport can be enhanced by the corrective application of mental-skills training. Personalised mental-skills training enables participants to understand their cognitions in order to allow a degree of flow in the coordination and execution of task-related skills through the various mood states of participation. A participant’s ability to control the mental and emotional aspects associated with competition not only facilitates task performance but also serves as a psychological keystone of self-belief and wellbeing. Sports psychology has recently directed its focus to identifying psychological skills relevant to different types of individual and team sports for the purpose of providing on-the-field psychological support. Investigations in South Africa, addressing the psychological constructs conducive to performance in cricket are limited, at both the professional and the amateur levels of competition. At this stage, there are no documented findings available in which the relationship between mental skills and skilled performance in cricket is addressed. Therefore, research questions for this study are formulated as: <ul><li> “Are there significant differences in the psychological background information on cricket players from different levels of cricket competition?” </li><li> “Is there a significant relationship between mental skills and the level of cricket player participation?” </li><li> “Is there a significant relationship between mental skills and the specialised roles played in cricket?” </li><li> “Is there is a significant relationship between mental skills and batting order in cricket?” </li></ul> The study was approached from a quantitative (descriptive) perspective since it was the perceptions and mental skills relative to cricket players’ levels of participation that were assessed. A questionnaire assessing the general perspectives on psychology of respondents, and three other standardised psychometric measures (Competitive Anxiety Inventory-2 [Martens et al., 1990]; The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 [Smith et al., 1995], and Bull’s Mental Skills Questionnaire [Bull et al., 1996]) with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ranging between 0.79 and 0.90, were used as research instruments. These Likert-type scale questionnaires were administered to 127 cricket players (30.7% Junior Academy; 53.6% Premier League/Senior Academy and 15.7% Senior Provincial players) to explore their general psychological background information and the mental skills differences between three progressive levels of cricket participation established and recognised by the Northerns Cricket Union (NCU) in the Pretoria Gauteng region of South Africa. Other aims were to investigate the relationship between mental skills and the different tasks (e.g. batting, bowling, wicket keeping) performed in cricket and as well as to investigate the relationship between mental skills and batting order. Overall results obtained from the respondents’ general psychological background information revealed that cricket players, regardless of level of participation, have insufficient exposure to, training in and knowledge of the psychological aspects associated with cricket performance. It is evident from the results that cricket players spent limited time on psychological-skills training and that they exercise only the physiological and skills-related aspects of the game. One-way analysis of variance (one-way Anova) indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the three levels of participating respondents in terms of their performance in the various mental-skills and coping-skills subscales. Analysis of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 subscales indicated no statistically significant differences in the cognitive and somatic anxiety scores between the three levels of participation. However, a statistically significant difference was found in terms of self-confidence in the senior provincial players whose scores were higher on this construct than those of the other two levels of cricket participants. A comparison of the performance of the various specialised roles in cricket on the mental skills questionnaire indicated that the all-rounders had significantly higher imagery ability and motivation scores than batsmen and bowlers. The various specialised roles showed a very similar outcome on the cognitive, somatic and state self-confidence levels. A significant difference in batting order was revealed in top-order batsmen scoring the highest on motivation and lower-order batsmen scoring the highest on coachability. No other mental-skills difference existed between the different groups of batting order. The conclusion was that, in essence, there are no mental-skills differences between cricket players from various levels of participation in the one-day cricket format. A definite psychological-skills profile did come to the fore, indicating that successful cricket participants, regardless of what level of competition they compete in, express high proficiencies in motivation, self-confidence, coachability, imagery ability, concentration ability and peaking under pressure. The study concludes with recommendations for expanding knowledge on the direction and intensity of mental skills in contributing to cricket performance. A more holistic view on the psychological differences between successful and less successful cricket participants at the same level of participation is recommended as well as a comparison between the mental skills of one-day and multiple-day cricket players. Sports psychologists and cricket coaches are also encouraged to collate their experience and expertise in developing and implementing individualised psychological-skills-training (PST) programmes to satisfy the players’ psychological needs when dealing with the performance demands of the game. Implications for further investigations are listed since there were several aspects that did not fall within the aims of this investigation. / Dissertation (Master of Arts)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

While repeated transgressive and regressive sea level cycles have shaped south Florida throughout geological history, modern rates of sea level rise pose a significant risk to the structure and function of the freshwater wetland ecosystems throughout the low-lying Everglades region. Current regionally corrected sea level projections for south Florida indicate a rise of 0.42m by 2050 and 1.15m by 2100, suggesting the salinization of previously freshwater areas of the Everglades is conceivable. As freshwater areas become increasingly exposed to saltwater they experience shifts in vegetation composition, soil microbial populations, plant productivity, and physical soil properties that ultimately result in a phenomenon called peat collapse. Recent work in the Everglades has sought to further explain the mechanisms of peat collapse, however the physical changes to the peat matrix induced by saltwater intrusion are still uncertain. Moreover, the combination of physical alterations to the peat matrix associated with peat collapse and shifts in wetland salinity regimes will also likely disrupt the current carbon gas dynamics of the Everglades. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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This study discusses the acceptance level of cryptocurrency in countries of the world. Study takes a deep dive on what does affect the acceptance level of cryptocurrency and what should be expected if same changes would to happen in countries income level, technological level, financial level, and education level. The study gives an overview of current up to date situation of cryptocurrency. In this research we have conducted a cross-sectional data analysis of cryptocurrency acceptance level for year 2021. Study is focused on both decentralized and centralized acceptance level thus why the research has treated both transactions volume on exchanges and Defi. The study found that countries with higher income could have higher acceptance level of cryptocurrency, but the effect is not that immense. Other factors such as education, financial access and internet access had an inconclusive effect on the acceptance level. The study also shows that there is no prove of that pervious qualitative research result upholds or have any systematic relation with quantitative research results.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 1980 / Monthly mean s e a - l e v e l p r e s s u r e ove r th e o c ea nic areas a d j a c e n t t o t h e Kepublic o f South A f r i c a i s an aly s e d . R ela t i o n s h i p s between t h e oceanic p r e s s u r e and r a i n f a l l over t h i s p a r t o f t h e c o n t i n e n t a re d i s c u s s e d . P r i n c i p a l compon e n ts a n a l y s i s is used t o d e r i v e u n c o r r e l a t e d f u n c t i o n s of th e o r i g i n a l p r e s s u r e v a r i a b l e s . Three major p r e s s u r e f i e l d s were i d e n t i f i e d , termed a g e n e r a l , a l o n g i t u d i n a l and a l a t i t u d i n a l p r e s s u r e f i e l d . The r e l a t i o n s h i p s between p r e s s u r e and r a i n f a l l a re a s s e s s e d by r e g r e s s i n g monthly r a i n f a l l on t h e p r i n c i p a l comnonent s c o r e s . R a i n f a l l in w in te r maxima a r e a s appears t o be d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o oceanic s e a - l e v e l p r e s s u r e s i t u a t i o n s , whereas the r e s t o f th e country shows an o u t - o f - s e a s o n r e l a t i o n s h i p between r a i n f a l l and p r e s s u r e over n o n - c o n t i n e n t a l a r e a s .

Doctor Educationis / This study explores the principles of form-focused tasks for Xhosa second language at tertiary level. The latest developments in second language acquisition and in pedagogy are reviewed. The study field of second language acquisition developed from within the confines of applied linguistics as the result of a search for more effective language teaching methodology. While acknowledging the fact that Universal Grammar plays a role in the acquisition of both a first and a second language, there is general agreement that there is a difference between the two processes. A prominent issue in current second language acquisition research is the degree of access that a learner has to Universal Grammar in the acquisition of a second language. Some salient features of Universal Grammar such as principles and parameter settings, markedness, transfer and fossilization are explored in this study. Different syllabus types are reviewed. Task-based syllabus types are described as a suitable syllabus type for the current paradigm. Input enhancement in terms of a focus on form is suggested as a way to achieve effective second language learning and teaching. Ways to adapt study materials according to the requirements of a task-based approach are explored.

<p>In the first chapter of this dissertation, I develop a new model of learning and level-k reasoning in games. My model frames attraction learning in the language of beliefs and extends it to include two important features. The first of these features is an implicit pattern recognition mechanism that learns the importance of contextual information, while the second is a nonlinear probability weighting function with an endogenous fixed point location. The resulting beliefs determine level-1 behavior in a larger level-k rule learning model. In keeping with the literature, I assume that rule learning occurs according to a reinforcement learning mechanism, but I improve the approximation of latent rule reinforcements to simulate the effect of rule exercise. A cognitive foundation for the full model is also provided by implementing it within the ACT-R cognitive architecture.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The second chapter investigates the extent to which human agents use level-k reasoning in repeated mixed strategy games. Towards this end, the Chapter 1 model is estimated using data from a novel experiment. The experiment consisted of two between-subject treatments: in one treatment, the information provided was sufficient to use any level of reasoning, while in the other treatment subjects were only provided with enough information to be level-1.  A random effects model is estimated using the data from both treatments to identify the model's belief learning parameters.  In the unrestricted treatment, I find that subjects learned to engage almost exclusively in level-1 reasoning. Simulations suggest that this result may be explained by the difficulty of exploiting a player who is level-1.</p>

BACKGROUND: Hypoalbuminemia (HA) is common in HF, however, its pathophysiology and clinical implications are poorly understood. While multiple studies have been published in the past decade investigating the role of serum albumin in HF, there is still no consensus on the prognostic value of this widely available measure. The objective of this study is to assess the prognostic role of albumin in heart failure (HF) patient. METHODS: Unrestricted searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane databases were performed. The results were screened for relevance and eligibility criteria. Relevant data were extracted and analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. The Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation test was utilized to evaluate for publication bias. RESULTS: A total of 48 studies examining 44,048 patients with HF were analyzed. HA was found in 32% (95% confidence interval [CI] 28.4%-37.4%) HF patients with marked heterogeneity (I2 = 98%). In 10 studies evaluating acute HF, in-hospital mortality was almost 4 times more likely in HA with an odds ratios (OR) of 3.77 (95% CI 1.96-7.23). HA was also associated with a significant increase in long-term mortality (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.36-1.64) especially at 1-year post-discharge (OR: 2.44; 95% CI: 2.05-2.91; I2 = 11%). Pooled area under the curve (AUC 0.73; 95% CI 0.67-0.78) was comparable to serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in predicting mortality in HF patients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that HA is associated with significantly higher in-hospital mortality as well as long-term mortality with a predictive accuracy comparable to that reported for serum BNP. These findings suggest that serum albumin may be useful in determining high-risk patients.

The effects of different levels of fluoride in drinking water on different parameters of femurs and incisors of female rats were studied. Rats and their offspring, before and after weaning, were used for the study. Mother rats received 0, 1 and 5 ppm fluoride in drinking water. After weaning, the offspring were given the following treatments: 0-0, 0-1, 0-5, 1-0, 1-1, 1-5, 5-0, 5-1 and 5-5; the first number indicating fluoride level of mother's water during mating, pregnancy and lactation and the second number indicating the fluoride level of water given to the offspring. Femurs and top and bottom incisors were collected from mother rats, 21 day old pups and 300g. body weight pups. Femurs were analysed for ash, calcium, phosphorus and fluoride content and breaking strength. Only fluoride analyses were done on incisors. Fluoride ion electrodes (Orion models 94-09 and 96-09) were used for fluoride analysis. Mother rats that received 1 and 5 ppm of fluoride showed on increase in fluoride content of teeth. There was no increase in the fluoride content of weanling rat teeth suggesting that there was no maternal transfer of fluoride to the offspring. A significant increase in fluoride content of femur and teeth of all the groups of 300g. offspring, that received 1 and 5 ppm of fluoride, was observed as compared to the control group (0-0). No significant differences in other femur parameters of 300 g. offspring were observed. Significant differences in fluoride content of femurs and incisors of 300g. rat offspring were found due to pre and post-weaning fluoride treatments. Combined pre and post-weaning fluoride administration resulted in higher fluoride content of femurs and incisors. At the levels used in this study, pre-weaning fluoride administration alone does not appear to affect the fluoride content of bone and teeth of the rat offspring, but fluoride, when given ofter weaning does contribute to the increased fluoride content of bone and teeth.