The present experiment was an attempt to study to joint effects of stimulus component meaningfulness, positional cues, and overlearning upon cue selection in recall and, additionally, to test the stimulus component independence hypothesis advanced by Wichawut and Martin (1970).

Note this dissertation is in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Practical Theology / This dissertation seeks to comprehend and respond to deterioration in what is considered to be a very significant foundation of human flourishing—a sense of vigour, vitality, purpose and meaningfulness at work. The term flourishing in the workplace is offered both in the sense that work satisfies a person’s economic needs (fair pay and job security) and in the sense that it satisfies a person’s deeper sense of vocation, of Spirit- led calling. This dissertation responds to the concern that the postmodern workplace, for a number of reasons, inhibits a person's ability to flourish. Yet, this dissertation will argue, there is a deep thirst for meaningfulness in our daily endeavour. We are settling for less. From the research conducted, this dissertation develops an approach to practices of leadership that bring about deep purpose to be derived from our work. Further, this dissertation develops an approach for ministry that might facilitate these Spirit-led practices. The premise is that leadership that is self-centred must be transformed into leadership that is other-centered. Leadership is conceived as critical to the nurturing of human flourishing, ultimately affecting our behaviours beyond the workplace. There are two dimensions to the qualitative research designed for this dissertation, as described by the questionnaires completed by research respondents. The first is to seek an unaided broad response to questions regarding peoples’ sense of purpose, self-esteem, value, and self-actualization. The second is to seek an understanding of the degree to which such responses are shaped by a person's sense of faith. Beyond these dimensions, the research explores the extent to which respondents engage with a minister or spiritual counsellor. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of stimulus meaningfulness and position on the cue selection of elementary school children in verbal paired-associate learning.

No description available.

Lärare vill bli stöttade och sedda Tjugo lärares tankar om skolledarskap Sharon Elhanati Berlin   Studien tar avspark i den komplexa vardagsverklighet skolledare och lärare verkar i och avser att belysa vilka aspekter av skolledarskapet som ges betydelse när lärare beskriver sina förutsättningar för att uppleva meningsfullhet i arbetet.  Det empiriska underlaget utgörs av skriftliga berättelser samt intervjuer. Totalt medverkade 20 lärare. Studien är upplagd som en tematisk analys med en kvalitativ ansats. Analysen av lärarnas berättelser resulterade i ett antal skolledarskapsaspekter med betydelse för lärarna. Dessa aspekter kodades i fem teman som gavs betydelse: (1) att känna stöd, (2) att känna sig sedd, (3) att känna förtroende, (4) betydelsen av struktur samt (5) kompetens hos ledaren. Att känna stöd gavs betydelse av flest lärare, vilket kan antas bero på att skolledarstöd i synnerhet blir viktigt när läraruppdraget försvåras av den osäkerhet som genomgripande förändringar i skolan genererar. Studien bidrar med kunskap om vad som är viktigt för lärare i relation till sina ledare. Studien synliggör vidare ett behov av att sätta skolledarskapet på agendan ifråga om vad som egentligen ligger i uppdraget och aktualiserar en diskussion om på vilket sätt skolledaren kan skapa förutsättningar för att stötta lärarna på bästa tänkbara sätt. / Teachers want to be supported and acknowledged The thoughts of twenty teachers about school leadership      Sharon Elhanati Berlin   The study finds its beginning in the complexity of the everyday reality school leaders and teachers work in, and aims to illustrate which aspects of leadership are given significance when teachers describe their prerequisites to experience meaningfulness in their work. The empiric basis consists of written stories and interviews. In total, 20 teachers participated. The study is arranged as a thematic analysis with a qualitative research approach. The analysis of the stories resulted in clarifying a number of leadership aspects which hold significance for the teachers. These aspects were sorted into five main themes: (1) to feel/have support, (2) to feel acknowledged, (3) to feel trusted, (4) significance of structure and (5) leadership competence. To feel/have support was given significance by most teachers. The reason for this is assumed to be the high importance of leadership when the teaching assignment is made difficult/unclear due to insecurity generated by overall change in the school. This study offers new insights to what is important to teachers in relation to their school leaders. The study reveals a need to put school leadership on the agenda regarding what lies within the assignment and brings to date the query of how school leaders can create prerequisites to give the best possible support to the teachers.       Keywords: teachers, aspects of leadership, school leaders, meaningfulness, support

Bakgrund: Amyotrofisk lateralskleros, ALS, är en degenerativ förlamningssjukdom som inte går att bota. Det motoriska systemet bryts ned och leder till muskelsvaghet och begränsad rörlighet. Personer med ALS är medvetna om vad som händer runtomkring dem, men kan inte alltid förmedla sig med tal eller genom kroppsspråk då dessa funktioner kan ha gått förlorade. Syfte: Att beskriva personers upplevelser av att leva med ALS. Metod: En litteraturöversikt genomfördes. Litteraturöversikten bygger på tio vetenskapliga artiklar som alla analyserats med Fribergs femstegsmodell. Resultat: Att möta förluster, Att vara beroende av hjälp och Att finna ett betydelsefullt liv är de tre temana som presenteras i resultatet och beskriver personers upplevelse av att leva med ALS. Slutsats: Att leva med ALS innebär upplevelser av kroppsliga förluster, förlust av identiteten och förlust av framtiden. Att vara aktiv och leva i nuet kan göra det möjligt att finna mening i livet. Det är därför viktigt att det skapas möjligheter till ett aktivt liv.

South African education is faced with a wide array of problems, ranging from a shortage of educators (Xaba, 2011), to poor governance, poor performance, educators experiencing a negative organisational climate, and low morale (Jackson & Rothmann, 2006; Mentz, 2007). Modisaotsile (2012) further found that these educators experience a lack of overall commitment and focus. As it is known that experiencing more meaning in ones’ personal life and working environment leads to both positive health and work outcomes (Day & Rottinghaus, 2003; Harris & Thoresen, 2003; Lent, 2004; Steger, Frazer, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006), this study aims to make a contribution to the South African education sector by addressing means to improving meaning. This research could potentially help the South African education system by identifying factors that increase meaning in work; thus, helping to attract and retain good educators. In addition, the study aims to contribute to the literature by distinguishing meaning from other positive psychology concepts and to provide a clearer overall understanding thereof. Meaning in work in this study refers to the meaning, significance and/or purpose individuals derive from their work. Meaningful work should be seen as the umbrella term which covers a whole range of constructs including, meaningfulness, and the meaning of work (Steger, Pickering, Shin, & Dik, 2009). A qualitative design with a phenomenological strategy was used to uncover perceptions from the convenience sample (n=20) of secondary school educators. Semi-structured, one-to-one interviews with open-ended questions were used to collect the data from participants. Participants were also asked to diarise experiences relating to meaning for the following five working days after the interview, in order to support, strengthen, and validate the interviews’ results. The research findings were that meaning is seen by participants in this study as purpose and significance. Main antecedents were related to the transfer of knowledge and making a positive difference; whereas having positive, trusting relationships with learners, colleagues and parents, as well as feedback which was also important. Mechanisms to create meaning included effort and conscientiousness, as well as preparation as the most prominent mechanisms. Outcomes included happiness and meaningfulness and work engagement. This research study contributes to existing literature on meaning by giving a clear conceptualisation of the concept. Other contributions include a clear differentiation between meaning and meaningfulness, and that the meaning educators experience in their work might be linked to their specific context and key roles as educators. / MA (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

The face of the workplace has changed dramatically over the past decade and most organisations have to survive in a fiercely competitive global economy. The impact of the changing world of work is most evident in changes in the psychological contract (agreement) between employees and organisations. Employees are expected to give more in terms of time, effort, skills and flexibility, whereas they receive less in terms of career opportunities, lifetime employment and job security. It is in view of the above work complexities that employee engagement has become a focus area. in particular, to understand the mediating effects of certain psychological conditions in relation to work engagement. "Why do some employees stay engaged at work, even whilst being challenged with consistent change and greater job insecurity and why do others' disengage at work?" The objective of this study was to investigate the mediating effects of three psychological conditions, namely psychological meaningfulness, psychological safety, and psychological availability on employees' work engagement. A survey research design was used with a questionnaire as data-gathering instrument. Stratified random samples (N=171) were taken from employees of a multinational oil company. The Work Engagement Scale and the Work Experiences Scale were administered. Descriptive statistics (e.g. means and standard deviations) were used to analyse the data. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationships between the variables. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the effects of the variables in this study. The results confirmed that psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability were significant predictors of work engagement. Meaningfulness displayed the strongest positive relation with engagement. The relation of work role fit with engagement was fully mediated by the psychological condition of meaningfulness. Cognitive, emotional and physical resources had the strongest effect on psychological availability. Feelings of self- consciousness impacted on psychological availability, implying that someone who is less self-conscious is psychologically more available to engage at work. It was therefore confirmed that psychological meaningfulness fully mediated the effects of work role fit on engagement and psychological availability fully mediated the effects of resources and self-consciousness on engagement. Limitations in the research are identified and recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

The investigation examined the effects of formal and semantic intralist stimulus similarity (ISS) on transfer of stimulus differentiations in the A-B, A-C paradigm.

O presente estudo teve por objetivo identificar a felicidade e o significado atribuídos pelos profissionais da Educação do estado de São Paulo a diferentes domínios da vida. Para isso, esclarecemos através de uma revisão bibliográfica como a felicidade tem sido algo do interesse humano ao longo do tempo. Ressaltamos que o conceito de felicidade difere de acordo com o idioma, cultura e possui uma pluralidade de termos associados em pesquisas. Em um resgate histórico demonstramos que a felicidade consta como um ideal desde as primeiras civilizações ocidentais, recebeu ênfase entre os filósofos gregos, percorreu os séculos, impactou a economia e a criação dos seus índices nas últimas décadas e enseja atualmente o debate no campo da psicologia. A partir disso, abordamos o movimento da Psicologia Positiva, suas origens, propostas, evolução no cenário nacional, equívocos iniciais e desdobramentos do construto de bem-estar. No avanço desses estudos, duas concepções se destacaram: o Bem-Estar Subjetivo e o Bem-Estar Psicológico, alicerçadas nos conceitos filosóficos de hedonia e eudaimonia. Nesse sentido, expomos as propostas emergentes que propõem uma aproximação entre essas linhas filosóficos e uma articulação teórico-metodológica que ofereça uma perspectiva complexa sobre a felicidade. Este estudo se propõe, através de uma revisão temática sobre felicidade e uma compreensão de sua articulação com as concepções de hedonia e eudaimonia, avaliar os níveis de felicidade e significado em diferentes domínios da vida atribuídos pelos profissionais da Educação do estado de São Paulo. Nesse intuito utilizamos uma amostra de 2021 sujeitos, na faixa etária entre 20 e 70 anos, que participaram do processo seletivo para o curso de Especialização em Ética, Valores e Cidadania na Escola realizado pela Universidade de São Paulo. O instrumento utilizado foi o Eudaimonic Hedonic Happiness Inventory (EHHI), formado por perguntas abertas e escalas para a avaliação do nível de felicidade e significado em onze diferentes domínios da vida. Os dados foram coletados presencialmente nas cidades de São Paulo, São Carlos, Ribeirão Preto e Campinas em agosto de 2013. Os resultados mostraram que a família, a saúde e o crescimento pessoal são os domínios da vida com mais evidência em felicidade e significado. Foi possível também perceber que professores próximos ao final da carreira são mais felizes e que os mais jovens possuem menos significado na vida. Por fim, os resultados de significado apresentaram um poder de explicação de 20% do nível de felicidade. Consideramos que a compreensão de como esses profissionais atribuem felicidade e significado aos diversos domínios da vida traz a possibilidade do direcionamento de propostas que visem à promoção de felicidade e bem-estar docente. / The current study aimed at identifying the happiness and meaningfulness attributed to different life domains by professionals of Education of the State of São Paulo. In order to do that, we clarified, through a bibliographical review, how happiness has been something of human interest over time. We emphasized that the concept of happiness differs according to language, culture and it has a plurality of associated terms in research. In a historical review, we have shown that happiness has been an ideal pursued since the earliest Western civilizations, received emphasis by the Greek philosophers, it has gone through the centuries, impacted the economy and the creation of its indexes in the last decades and it currently led to debate in the field of psychology. From this point, we approached the Positive Psychology movement, its origins, proposals, evolution in the national scenario, initial misconceptions and the unfolding of the well-being construct. As these studies advanced, two conceptions stand out: Subjective Well-Being and Psychological Well-Being, based on the philosophical concepts of hedonia and eudaimonia. In this sense, we presented the emerging proposals that set out an approximation between these philosophical lines and a theoretical-methodological articulation that offers a complex perspective on happiness. By means of a theme review on happiness and an understanding of its articulation with the conceptions of hedonia and eudaimonia, this study proposes evaluating the levels of happiness and meaningfulness in different life domains, which were ranked by professionals of the State of São Paulo. To this end, we used a sample of 2.021 individuals between the ages of twenty and seventy, who participated in the selection process for the Specialization Course in Ethics, Values and Citizenship in School conducted by the University of São Paulo. The instrument used was the Eudaimonic Hedonic Happiness Inventory (EHHI), devised by open questions and scales for assessing the level of happiness and meaning in eleven different life domains. The data were collected in person in the cities of São Paulo, São Carlos, Ribeirão Preto and Campinas in August 2013. The results showed that family, health and personal growth are the life domains with more evidence of happiness and meaningfulness. It was also possible to perceive that teachers who were at the end of their careers are happier and younger ones have less meaning in life. Finally, the results of meaningfulness presented a power of explanation of 20% of the level of happiness. We believe that the understanding of how these professionals attribute happiness and meaning to the various life domains brings the possibility of directing proposals that aim to promote happiness and teachers\' well-being.