Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: B, page: 4154. Adviser: Justin Kruger. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

The purpose of this study was to: (1) explore the type of relationships that exist for work and leisure for workers of a federal government department, and (2) examine the perceptions of workers believed to experience leisure at work. The study employed a phenomenological design in an attempt to understand people's perceptions and perspectives of a particular situation. Access to the population group was provided by a senior sponsor of the department, who had secured five workers to partake in the semi-structured interviews. The key results indicate that: (1) leisure tends to be experienced during work, (2) work offers a "leisure appeal", and (3) leisure appears to be a "state of mind" notion that is distinctly experienced from the obligations of structured work. The study provides insight regarding the work-leisure relationship for some public sectors workers; however, more research is needed in order to make generalizations.

M.A. / Through a literature survey in the domain of organisational development a trend away from hierarchically structured organisations is identified. This trend is consistent with the literature concerned with a systemic perspective in clinical psychology. Principles of systemic psychological theory are identified which provide valuable insights into the functioning of organisations. The theory and principles identified provide the basis for the practice of clinical psychology internationally. Clinical practice has provided valuable experience in work with systems. This experience, it is argued, should not be lost to industry. An icosahedral model is described which is shown to be consistent with systemic ideas in clinical psychology and with clinical experience in therapy with systems. It is argued that the model provides a suitable metaphor of network structure, which is consistent with calls in the literature for non-hierarchical organisational structure. The study reveals that clinical psychology is able to make a valuable contribution to industry.

D.Com. (Industrial Pyschology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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This is a descriptive study into how youth ice hockey coaches learn to coach. Based on Sfard's (1998) two metaphors of learning (acquisition and participation), this study aims to investigate formal training programs as well as informal experiences in which youth ice hockey coaches are involved with. This study also attempts to present how coaches use the Internet, which is currently a timely topic. Semi-structured interviews with 59 male youth competitive (A, AA, AAA) ice hockey coaches provided in-depth responses into a number of different learning experiences. The results of this study have made reference to seven learning contexts for youth ice hockey coaches including (a) coach education programs, (b) coaching clinics/seminars, (c) formal mentoring, (d) books/videotapes, (e) individual experience, (f) face-to-face interactions with coaches, and (g) the Internet. It is concluded that all seven learning contexts play an important role in the development of youth ice hockey coaches.

Deux experiences ont ete realisees dans le but d'explorer les comportements au volant des conducteurs jeunes et ages en contexte de simulation en reaction a des situations peu familieres et complexes. Lors de la premiere experience, nous avons explore la charge cognitive et le comportement des conducteurs jeunes et ages selon la complexite de l'environnement. Des conducteurs jeunes (25-35) et ages (65 et plus) ont complete un parcours simule a cinq reprises compose de portions simples (p.ex. conduite en ligne droite), complexes (p.ex. virage a gauche) et d'un evenement surprenant. L'analyse de la complexite de l'environnement a d'abord ete effectuee a partir d'evaluations objectives (tache secondaire pendant la simulation) ainsi qu'a partir d'evaluations subjectives de la charge mentale (NASA-TLX). Nous avons observe qu'un evenement necessitant le deploiement rapide de multiples manoeuvres a pour effet d'accroitre la charge cognitive et le taux de collision chez les conducteurs ages. Les analyses montrent egalement que les conducteurs ages impliques dans une collision optent pour une strategie de conduite nettement plus lente et sequentielle. Dans une seconde etude, 62 jeunes conducteurs et 62 conducteurs ages ont ete soumis a six nouveaux evenements surprenants sur l'une de deux plateformes de simulation (originale ou portable). Les evenements surprenants variaient selon la complexite des reponses requises, l'espace d'evitement, ainsi que les indices contextuels d'evitement, tout en maintenant une pression temporelle elevee. Les resultats confirment que le risque de collision est plus eleve chez les conducteurs ages et qu'il appert essentiellement attribuable a une sequentialisation des reactions. Cette strategie compensatoire s'observe lorsque la situation est complexe et peu familiere, lorsque la pression temporelle est elevee, et lorsque l'evenement ne peut etre anticipe. Les resultats sont interpretes sur la base des interpretations classiques du vieillissement cognitif (declin des fonctions executives et ralentissement) et de deux modeles de la conduite automobile (Michon, 1985 et Sheridan, 2004).

In order to understand better the relationship between personal and environmental variables as determinants of performance, the present study investigated relevant literature in the behavioral sciences on motivation, emotion, ability and performance. Maier's performance formula and Vroom's motivation equation were analyzed and re-interpreted, using the concepts of vector and scalar quantities and taking into consideration human limitations. It was demonstrated theoretically that Maier's performance formula does not account for the possibility that performance could decrease when a subject is highly motivated, although Young, McClelland and others have found that this is possible empirically. Emotion was postulated to be the cause of this phenomenon. Based on the theory of emotion as advanced by Leeper, Duffy and Young, and the theory of activation as formulated by Malmo, Hebb, Schlosberg and Lindsley, emotion was postulated as a possible moderator influencing the relationship between motivation and performance. Behavioral efficiency in work performance was assumed to be an inverted U-shaped function of emotion arousal. The motivation variable in the performance formula was based on the cognitive theory of motivation as postulated by Tolman and Lewis and subsequently modified by Vroom and Lawler and Porter. However, the concept of a reciprocating contractual relationship between performance and reward and the concept of a "multiple-discount" for the interactive relationship between valence and expectancy were incorporated into the cognitive theory of motivation. By using qualitative interactive tests and hypothetical values for the variables, the interactive relationship between expectancy and valence in determining motivation was found to be algebraic multiplicative and the interactive relationship among motivation components toward various incentive components were found to be vector additive. Further, the algebraic multiplicative operator was found to be most appropriate to describe the interaction among ability, motivation and behavioral efficiency as determinants of performance. It was concluded that the theoretical formula could be operationalized and that it could help managers to understand better the relationships between behavioral and economic variables so that scarce economic resources could be more efficiently utilized. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

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