Master's thesis - - State University of New York College at Cortland, 2009 - - Department of Kinesiology. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-7).

Research on athletes has shown that mental skills are an important component of being a successful athlete. The importance of these mental skills is seen in the number of athletes who have formally started training using mental skills training programmes (MST) according to the literature. The study of mental skills in South Africa lags behind other countries like USA, UK and Sweden. This particular study explored the use of mental skills by road running athletes. The study was conducted with six competitive marathon athletes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted as part of an elaborate qualitative methodology design. The data collected from these semi-structured interviews was analysed using thematic analysis. The results show that road running athletes use mental skills that include; mental rehearsal, planning, goal setting and self-talk. The athletes in this research showed the importance of mental skills and it is recommended that formal training in these mental skills will be highly beneficial not only to road running athletes but for all South African sports people in general

This thesis investigates the design and use of communication technologies to support long distance dating relationships (LDDRs). We focus on using co-located behaviours that hold special relational meaning as the metaphor behind the design of devices to mediate between separated partners. Social Presence is used as the main theoretical construct through which support for LDDRs is addressed. Social Presence is a phenomenological concept which refers to “the degree of salience of the other person in the interaction and the consequent salience of the interpersonal relationship” [Short et al., 1976, p. 65]. An additional concept, Closeness, is also brought in to the design problem to account for the supportive role of communication technologies between moments of synchronous contact. This thesis proposes three main arguments. The first is that individual acts of communication, through feelings of Social Presence, have an impact on a couple’s feelings of Closeness towards one another. We explore possible connections between Social Presence and Closeness through a diary study. The results of the diary study also establish that the selection of communication media impacts feelings of Social Presence. Our second argument is that a number of design facets, explored throughout the thesis, could enhance the design of communication technologies for LDDRs by increasing feelings of Social Presence. An analysis of current literature informs the development of seven prototype devices based on hand-holding, hugging, sharing notes and pillow talk. Two interview studies explore people’s reactions to these devices. The findings from these studies are integrated into a design space which describes some of the design decisions that should be considered when creating behaviour-based devices which aim to support LDDRs. Our third argument is that devices based on co-located behaviours support LDDRs through engendering high levels of SP. This is investigated through five case studies using the devices we previously developed, showing that three of our devices are associated with particularly high levels of SP. They also provide insights about the design space facets, as realised in the devices, through using the devices within couples’ existing communication routines. The thesis concludes with a discussion of how the results of these studies are of relevance to researchers interested in supporting long distance dating relationships. Our investigation into Social Presence provides two main contributions; firstly it offers an understanding of how various factors (including relationship type and distance) affect feelings of SP. Secondly, it demonstrates that increasing feelings of Social Presence can have a longer-term impact on LDDRs through increasing their feelings of Closeness towards one another. This suggests that SP is suitable concept to try and support through the design of communication technologies. In addition to informing our discussion of our design space, the case studies within this thesis highlight that devices based on co-located behaviours can help support LDDRs. Given the dearth of devices based on this metaphor, we suggest that other researchers may be interested in extending these findings by exploring other behavioural metaphors. The design space proposed within this thesis offers two main contributions. Firstly, designers can use the design space to foster innovation when creating new designs. Design spaces result in a descriptive and exploratory tool for designers creating new innovations. Secondly, the comprehensive consideration of the various dimensions, especially regarding our consideration of existing communication technologies, provides researchers with a novel design-centric view over the state of the art.

Based on Self-Determination Theory (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985a, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2002) this research focused on the motivation of ten elite Ethiopian male and female long distance runners. The semi-structured interview guide based on the SDT was transcribed verbatim and subjected to an inductive-deductive analysis approach based on the methodological guidance provided by Maykut & Morehouse (1994). Results revealed the integrated type of motivation to be the most evident among the runners. The data were organized into three broad categories that emerged through the interviews. The three categories are nationalism, economics and fame. Within each category there are themes or subcategories that emerged across various perceptions of the Ethiopian runners. The data revealed that among different types of motivation classified by the Self-Determination Theory (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985a, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2002) there are multiple social factors that influence Ethiopian runners as well.

Abstract The Chinese government has fulfilled the policy of ¡§revolution opening¡¨ since 1979, and it has taken ¡§outside economy¡¨ and ¡§region incline¡¨ course to fulfill the programming development with ¡§southern, middle, and western¡¨ three-route region. The Chinese government has given the programming development to keep the initiative in its own hands to attract foreign capital, technology, and enterprise management experiences. Such a development has made Chinese economy grow up rapidly, and set up a political economic environment of socialism which has been filled with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese government has carried out the policy of ¡§the ninth five-year national development program prospect goal suggestion¡¨ in 1996. The policy indicates that Shanghai is the nuclear window which can be the connection between China and the world and plans to build Shanghai to be the center of international economy, trade, finance and shipping. Thus, Shanghai has started a diversely development that can attract international enterprises¡¦ investment largely. In the demand of market institution, the process of being developed has faced a serious problem that is a lack of enough enterprise management elites. Education funds and resources, total amounts of high colleges and equipments have shown up the imbalance of the Chinese government. In order to achieve the goal of training professional elites, the Chinese government takes ¡§building nation with technology education¡¨ as a main policy and ¡§distance education¡¨ as a main artifice, and uses communication channel as network and television to train enterprise management elites of ¡§fast, effort-saving, excellent, and few amount¡¨ to make development of human resource in China, which can grow up with Chinese economy at the same time. ¡§Shanghai long-distance education group¡¨ belongs to Shanghai City Government. It is the first long-distance institute allowed by China National Council to set up with grouping. It expands Chinese education resources, merges Shanghai Television University, Shanghai Education TV Company, Shanghai Electric Education Institute, Shanghai Television Secondary Training School, and Shanghai Calculator Assessment Application Office to set up the large information platform, and uses the entire development of Shin-shi Harbor in Shanghai City to provide with the service of elites-training in all kinds of fields, and improve the competitive ability of internationalization after participating in WTO by the way. The thesis takes qualitative research of ¡§grounded theory¡¨ to combine with document probe, personal participation, deep interview, and induces the practical development situation of prospect, mission, goal, and strategy of research objects with ¡§open coding¡¨, ¡§axial coding¡¨, and ¡§selective coding¡¨. The thesis also probes deeply the regulation and market-opening policy of the Chinese government, the evaluation of putting in education market with enterprise resources, vertical and horizontal revolution of internal organization, motivation of learning, position of marketing, institution of competition, effect of internationalization, and potential of development, contrasts with the relationship between dependent and dependent variables to prove those issues near the real situation, and predicts the prospective trend. The thesis is practical and marketable. Besides probing China long-distance education of training enterprise management elites, the thesis also expects to provide Taiwan¡¦s enterprises with some related criterions of investing in China and economic competition and cooperation between Taiwan and China. Moreover, the thesis finds out Chinese electric learning and the market opportunity of electronic commerce. It will be good for integrating the resources between Taiwan and China and it will create a peaceful and prosperous environment.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed Jan. 28, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-24).

This thesis is an investigation of the characteristics and behaviour of loads of cattle that are unloaded for feed, water and rest at a rest station in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Truck drivers were surveyed as they arrived at the rest station and the cattle were observed as they were unloaded and reloaded to score animal handling (n=129). Behavioural observations were conducted on an additional 53 loads (87 pens) using counts of the number of animals lying, feeding and drinking. A majority of the loads (60.94%) were feeder calves (300-550kg). On average drivers were in transit for 28.2±5.0 hours before stopping and rested for 11.2±2.8 hours. These values are within the maximum and minimum allowed in the current Canadian regulations. Behaviour was not found to be associated with time in transit, but was instead found to be strongly associated with whether the entire truckload was grouped in a single pen. / Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food

No description available.

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

Thesis (Ph.D.) in History--University of Maine, 2007. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 285-299).