<p> A spinal cord injury (SCI) can be debilitating and research is necessary to examine how patients' quality of life (QOL) can be improved through both psychological and physical remedies. This study's central research question was: Does participation in surfing improve perceptions of quality oflife in an individual with spinal cord injury? By interviewing eight individuals with SCis, the researcher attempted to assess, by means of a qualitative semi-structured interviews, whether participation in surfing activities had a positive impact on the respondents' perceived QOL. Respondents experienced improved QOL as a result of their participation in surfing with the Life Rolls On foundation because they felt supported, independent, relaxed, and exhilarated. Their perceived QOL was improved by the benefits of making friends and feeling like part of a community. It was hypothesized that respondents would report psychological benefits from recreational post-injury physical activities. These findings indicate support for the hypothesis.</p>

<p> This action research study examined the impact of participation in an appreciative inquiry (AI) intervention on social service workers' level of compassion fatigue. Five workers plus two of their managers took part in the study. A 6-hour AI intervention was held and participants completed pre- and post-tests of the Professional Quality of Life Scale to measure their compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout. A focus group also was held to gather qualitative data about the impact of the intervention. Results indicated that the intervention was highly valuable for strengthening working relationships, underscoring the positives in otherwise emotionally difficult work, and learning how to avoid or reduce compassion fatigue. Based on these findings, periodic AI interventions are advised to reduce social service workers' compassion fatigue by sharing their experiences and focusing on the positive. Future research should eliminate the limitations of the present study by expanding the sample and gathering multiple forms of data.</p>

<p> This study sought to uncover the attributes of successful bicultural leaders. Findings suggested that any one of four acculturation strategies chosen by bicultural leaders depended on the intensity of the dominant spouse's alliance to their Country of Origin, their identity self-construal and opportunities to create supportive in-groups that made the bicultural individual the center of in-group connectivity. Integrated biculturals exhibit a tendency to create networks, where over time they become "central connectors" affording them unique positions of influence, knowledge transfer and power. This study posits that Network Centrality is a Bicultural Competence, recognized by its users as a pivotal antecedent to their success strategies. Educators may benefit from study findings that include participant suggested content specifically targeting new foreign born immigrants to help advance their achievements based on the study's findings of best practices and attributes of successful bicultural leaders.</p>

<p> There is a distinct possibility there may be many people of color who are in leadership positions or applying for leadership positions that believe racial stereotyping creates barriers for opportunity and can hinder one's chances for success. The purpose of this research is to explore strategies used by leaders of color to overcome the threat of racial stereotyping in the Las Vegas hospitality and gaming industry, as it pertains to barriers, opportunities, and success. There are four research questions the researcher explored through leadership, strategies, assimilation and performance. The sample size consisted of twelve leaders of color in the Las Vegas hospitality and gaming industry. Leaders of color were defined as African-American, males and females, and Hispanic-American, males and females. The researcher utilized qualitative interviews as the primary instrument and chose a semi-structured interview format. The researcher asked predetermined questions while still exercising the freedom to seek clarification with follow up and improvised questions. The twelve interviewees were asked seven questions relevant to the four research questions to provide an in-depth analysis. The results of this study concluded that leaders of color have cultivated strategies to overcome the threat of racial stereotyping in the workplace. Although each leader of color in this study had never officially chronicled a professional strategy that is in direct correlation with the threat of racial stereotyping, all of the leaders have been living by a subliminal game plan that is either reactive, proactive or both. The leaders of color in this study were given, and took advantage of the opportunity to disclose what works for him or her in respect to their existence, relationships, and motivation to overcome the threat of racial stereotyping in their respected workplaces.</p>

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University (Macquarie Graduate School of Management), 2006. / Bibliography: leaves 243-283. / Introduction -- Literature on entrepreneurship, self-regulation and decision making -- Literature on decision making by entrepreneurs -- Methodology -- Results -- Discussion of empirical findings. / This thesis explores the role of self-regulation in decision making by entrepreneurs. It builds on prior research which has focussed on the cognitive aspects of key decisions made by entrepreneurs. Among these key decisions are career choice, opportunity evaluation and opportunity exploitation. One area of this ongoing reearch program is the exploration of social congition and self-regulatory factors in decision making. Hower, this area is still in its infancy, significant gaps remain and there are no coherent theories about such phenomena in the field of entrepreneurship. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to theory development on these topics. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / viii, 283 leaves ill

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Tasmania, 1996. / Library has additional copy on CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-108).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-265). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (PH.D.)--Michigan State University. Social Work, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 11, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-173). Also issued in print.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1996. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 291-295).

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-117). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.