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

Students' lack of participation in higher-level mathematics courses is a pressing concern. In a small rural district in Alaska, many high school students elect to opt out of taking higher-level mathematics once the minimum requirement is reached. According to Bandura's self-efficacy construct, a learners' motivation is influenced by their self-beliefs and affect towards learning. Moreover, research on student learning experiences in mathematics suggests a gender difference, with girls preferring that less abstract conceptual knowledge be taught through hands-on activities. As mathematics instruction is traditionally taught through lecture and demonstration, both of which are preferences of the assimilator learning style, this study explored the role of learning styles in the lack of participation (particularly amongst girls) in higher-level mathematics. A mixed methods sequential explanatory design was used to explore the relationships among students' learning styles, participation in higher-level mathematics, and gender through a self-efficacy framework. Archival survey data were obtained for all high school students in the district (n = 63) and interviews were conducted with a subsample of students (n = 8) who volunteered to participate. Chi square analyses were performed on survey data to test for relationships between participation in higher-level mathematics, gender, and learning style. No significant relationships were found. Findings from the analysis of interview data indicated that students who opted not to take higher-level math had little knowledge of the importance of math as it relates to potential college and career options. A series of guidance lessons aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of math for future learning and potential career fields was created. This project study will promote social change by improving student awareness of, and achievement in, mathematics-related careers.

Federal, state and local laws entitle the public to have an active role in the transportation decision making process. However, it remains difficult to engage the public in the long range planning process. The laws requiring public involvement are intentionally vague and don’t prescribe specific approaches, so there is little consistency in public participation approaches and many state, regional, and local transportation agencies choose to do only what is necessary to meet minimum requirements (PBS&J, 2009). The purpose of this study is to examine public participation in transportation planning with specific focus on how the characteristics of public participation, the level of engagement, and deliberation affect the extent to which transportation planning decisions are reflective of public input received. A quantitatively driven mixed methods study was completed in three phases using secondary data, exclusively. Phase I included a review of each Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and a study of the public involvement procedures that were used to develop each MPO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). Phase II focused on the input that was gathered by each MPO for public participation activities conducted during the development of the MTP. In Phase III, the results of Phases I and II were used to conduct a cross tabulation analysis to determine if there was a relationship between the characteristics of public participation, the level of engagement of participation, and the use of deliberation, and the degree to which public input was reflected in the MTP. The findings of this study indicate support for literature based in levels of engagement and the use of deliberation. Despite the design of the participation plan, transportation decisions reflect public input more often when MPOs have broad outreach to the public, higher levels of engagement, and use deliberative public participation techniques. Implications for policy and practice, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

This thesis introduces and analyses a unique approach which involved iteratively engaging with stakeholders to generate a film about sea-level rise at a heritage site. The project used fine-scale remote sensing techniques, including airborne and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), to produce spatially accurate and realistic 3D digital visualisations of projected sea level rise at Cotehele Quay, a site on the River Tamar in Cornwall which is owned and managed by the National Trust. Area residents and stakeholders were involved in a series of focus groups which provided guidance on the integration of the spatial models into a short film. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge about how non-scientific audiences understand and interpret visual realism and spatial accuracy when engaged with the process of developing such a tool. Ultimately, the thesis proposes a new kind of visual realism based on this knowledge, known as ‘participatory realism’. The main output of this research was a film, ‘Changing Tides at Cotehele Quay’, which is presently being used by the National Trust as part of their wider communication toolkit. In addition to reflecting on the production of the film, the thesis makes the argument that at present TLS is not being proactively used to engage wider audiences. The research explored how TLS and other spatial data can be used in settings which are more public-facing; the thesis analyses the results of this innovative practice and interrogates the way in which people interacted and responded in the course of their participation.

This thesis focuses on the topic of active citizenship in democratic societies. An emphasis is placed on the clarification of the role of the citizen as an engaged participant in the political process at the local level. This issue is contextualized within the theory of democracy, which legitimacy is fulfilled by the citizen participation. The empirical part is devoted to the research of the citizen participation in the Dutch city of Utrecht, where the way of cooperation between citizens and public officers was investigated in the process of public policy making. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the form and the contribution of the civic participation in Utrecht. Keywords democracy, democracy at the local level, participatory democracy, citizen, participation, codecision, cooperation, relationship between the citizen and the politician, level of participation

Retirement homes provide a versatile facilities and services to their clients not only to secure the basic needs of seniors but also to offer an opportunity to satisfy their secondary needs for instance by participating on social events. Such involvement of seniors is beneficial for themselves and also for the whole society too. Theoretical part of my dissertation is focused on definition of the term participation, afterwards this term is put in relation to lives of seniors and their functioning in retirement homes. Next it also deals with recognizing the level of participation in an institution and what factors affect this level. Attention is directed on clients themselves during this process, how do they perceive participation, what barriers they see and on the other hand what opportunities motivate them to participate in social events. The main part of my work is dedicated to empirical research in the organization "Domov pro seniory Slunečnice" (Retirement Home Sunflower) where above mentioned topics are analy zed.