Magister Commercii - MCom / The purpose of this research is to determine employee satisfaction towards union service delivery and the effect it might have on their motivation. For the purposes of the research, the term customer applies to all union members being serviced by the union and enjoying benefits of negotiations at a centralised or de-centralised level. More generally, trade unions and collective bargaining are seen to enhance the dignity of workers and their control of their working lives, hence the important role trade unions play within the workplace. Service deliveries from a trade union to its members are an important element of employee behaviour and motivation. The research will aim is to measure union members (customer) satisfaction of the service they receive from their union and the impact it possibly has on otivation. The hypothesis of the research is that if workers are satisfied by the service they receive from their trade union their motivational levels will also be high. Alternatively, if workers are dissatisfied by the service they receive from their trade union, their motivation will be low. A Biographical questionnaire, the Organizational Motivation Questionnaire (OMQ) and the Service Quality Questionnaire was administered to respondents to elicit responses on how the aspects of union service delivery impacts on their motivation in the workplace.  The results emanating from the current study indicate that there are statistically significant relationships between work content, payment, promotion, recognition, working conditions, benefits, personal, leadership/ supervision, general and work motivation and satisfaction in the technical department of a media organisation in the Western Cape. Furthermore, results show the nine independent variables (work content, payment, promotion, recognition, working conditions, benefits, personal, leadership/ supervision and general) significantly explained the variance in work motivation and service-delivery. The study also shows a statistically significant difference in motivation and job-satisfaction based on the biographical variables (gender, home language, marital status, age, race, job classification, education, qualifications, job grade and tenure). Multiple regression analysis revealed these variables significant explained the variance in job satisfaction and motivation. The results reveal some interesting insights into the relationship between union service delivery, motivation and job satisfaction amongst unionised workers in a media organisation in the Western Cape. Recommendations are made with respect to the management of this focal area of research. / South Africa

Chronic diseases are usually the result of complex interactions between various lifestyle factors, physiological processes and societal factors. While some of these factors are not modifiable, modification of several of these factors have, to a large extent, demonstrated preventative properties against the development or further development of various chronic diseases. Health-related behaviours are modifiable factors. Behaviour plays an important role in both the development and the management of chronic diseases. One way of investigating this role is to evaluate the impact of health-related behaviours on health. Positive health-related behaviours include eating a healthy diet, regularly engaging in physical exercise, having regular screenings and checkups, not smoking, moderate alcohol use, getting vaccinations and seat belt use. Negative health-related behaviours include eating an unhealthy diet, leading a sedentary life style, not having regular screenings and checkups, smoking, excessive alcohol use and irresponsible driving. Various models of health-related behaviour use social cognitive factors as proximal determinants of health-related behaviours. A social cognitive factor that has received little attention in relation to health-related behaviour, that is sense of coherence (SOC), was used in this study. Although personality factors tend to be only distally associated with health-related behaviour, they do however seem to contribute to a better understanding of these behaviours. Trait emotional intelligence (EI) as a lower order personality trait was used in this study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the relationships between SOC, trait EI and health-related behaviours. A cross-sectional, correlational research design was used. Participants were selected based on convenient and easy access. Participants completed an online questionnaire that consisted of a health behaviour survey as well as the short form of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. The health behaviour survey assessed some aspects of people's health-related behaviour, including diet, sleep and preventive behaviours, alcohol use, exercise and smoking. Health behaviour correlated significantly with both SOC and Trait EI. SOC and Trait EI were also significantly correlated. When controlling for a third variable, neither SOC nor trait EI correlated significantly with health behaviour. Although none of the predictors made significant contributions to the prediction of health behaviour, the basic regression model reached statistical significance. Trait EI made a significant contribution to the prediction of health behaviour in a more parsimonious regression model, which also reached statistical significance. / Dissertation (MA (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

La métacognition concerne à la fois les connaissances des individus sur leur fonctionnement cognitif et les processus qui permettent de les réguler (Koriat, 2007). Or, l’étude de la perception du temps a mis en évidence que de nombreux éléments peuvent provoquer des distorsions temporelles, notamment, par exemple, l’attention ou les feedbacks. L’objectif de ce travail est donc de proposer un modèle intégratif de la métacognition de la perception du temps ; autrement dit d’intégrer les données issues des recherches classiques sur la perception du temps au sein d’un modèle métacognitif (Nelson et Narens, 1990).Notre première question était de vérifier l’existence de connaissances sur la perception du temps, et en particulier sur les facteurs à l’origine de distorsions temporelles. Les 3 expériences de notre première étude nous ont conduit à créer et valider le Questionnaire Métacognitif sur le Temps (MQT). Ce dernier, constitué de 24 items, met en évidence l’existence de connaissances plus fiables pour soi (sous-échelle Soi, 12 items) que pour autrui (sous-échelle Autrui, 12 items), sur deux facteurs connus pour affecter la perception du temps : le facteur Emotion (4 items) et le facteur Attention (8 items).Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons étudié l’influence des processus métacognitifs sur les jugements temporels. Ainsi, nous nous sommes intéressées à l’influence du processus de Contrôle métacognitif sur la performance à deux tâches temporelles. Notre hypothèse était que les connaissances sur le temps permettaient de réguler les jugements temporels. Les résultats de nos deux études (Etude 2 et 3, respectivement composées de une et deux expériences) ont confirmé l’importance du processus de Contrôle dans le jugement temporel. Ainsi, la simple conscience du rôle de l’attention sur la perception du temps provoque une réduction de l’effet attentionnel généralement observé (Etude 2). De plus, les connaissances explicites, erronées, données aux individus, provoquent une réduction voire une disparition de l’effet émotionnel automatique de la colère sur les jugements temporels (Etude 3). Enfin, nous avons exploré le lien entre processus de Monitoring et jugements temporels. Notre quatrième étude a mis en évidence la capacité des individus à estimer précisément la justesse de leurs jugements temporels sous certaines conditions. En effet, il apparaît que les individus sont sensibles à la difficulté de la tâche et à la gamme de durée. Ces deux dimensions affectent à la fois les jugements temporels et les jugements de certitude.Dans l’ensemble, les résultats de ce travail soulignent l’importance qu’il y a à tenir compte des processus métacognitifs dans l’étude de la perception du temps. / Metacognition concerns both individuals' knowledge about their cognitive functioning and the processes that regulate them (Koriat, 2007). The study of the perception of time showed that many factors cause temporal distortions, including, for example, attention or feedback. The purpose of this work is thus to propose an integrative model of metacognition of time perception; i.e. to integrate data based on conventional research on the perception of time in a metacognitive model (Nelson and Narens 1990).Our first question was to verify the existence of knowledge about the perception of time, especially on the factors responsible for temporal distortions. The three experiments of our first study led us to create and validate the Metacognitive Questionnaire on Time (MQT). The latter consists of 24 items that highlights the existence of knowledge, more reliable for oneself (subscale Self, 12 items) than for others (subscale Others, 12 items), on two factors known to affect time perception: an Emotion Factor (4 items) and an Attention factor (8 items).Secondly, we studied the influence of metacognitive processes on temporal judgments. Thus, we are interested in the influence of metacognitive Control process on performances in two temporal tasks. Our hypothesis was that knowledge about time allowed regulating the temporal judgments. The results of our studies (Study 2 and 3, respectively composed of one and two experiments) confirmed the importance of the Control process on temporal judgments. Thus, mere awareness of the role of attention on perception of time causes a reduction of the attentional effect generally observed (Study 2). Moreover, explicit erroneous knowledge given to participants causes a reduction or even disappearance of automatic emotional effect of anger on the temporal judgments (Study 3). Finally, we have explored the link between Monitoring process and temporal judgments. Our fourth study demonstrated the ability of individuals to accurately estimate the accuracy of their temporal judgments under certain conditions. Indeed, it appears that individuals are sensitive to task difficulty and duration range. These two dimensions affect both temporal judgments and confidence level estimates.Overall, the results of this study emphasize the importance to take account of metacognitive processes in the study of the perception of time.

L'étude bibliographique des conséquences des troubles du développement de l'enfant sur la qualité de vie (QDV) de chacun de ses parents identifie de nombreux arguments en faveur d'un impact important mais montre l'insuffisance des connaissances actuelles en ce domaine et le manque d'outils d'évaluation validés en français. Pourtant le concept multidimensionnel de qualité de vie, dont l'usage est croissant, pourrait être particulièrement opérant pour déterminer les besoins des parents, principal support de l'enfant au développement troublé. Cette thèse décrit le processus de validation du Par-DD-qol, questionnaire d'auto-évaluation de l'altération de la qualité de vie parentale liée aux troubles de l'enfant. Le questionnaire (17 items) a été proposé aux 590 parents de 349 enfants avec troubles du développement du spectre autistique et non autistiques. Une approche complémentaire de la validité transnosographique a été effectuée auprès de 304 parents d'enfants sans troubles du développement et hospitalisés en pédiatrie. L'étude multitrait permet de déterminer 3 scores: total, adaptatif et émotionnel. Les résultats sont en faveur d'altérations plus importante de la QDV des parents d'enfants autistes comparativement à ceux d'enfants non-autistes et hospitalisés en pédiatrie. Ils montrent que ce questionnaire, court et utilisable en pratique clinique de routine, a de bonnes qualités psychométriques et peut permettre d'évaluer la qualité de vie de chacun des parents de façon indépendante. L'étude de sa validité de contenu, de la sensibilité au changement et d'une utilisation générique d'évaluation de la QDV parentale liée aux troubles de l'enfant demandent à être poursuivies. Les questions méthodologiques, le développement ultérieur possible, sont discutés ainsi que les implications pour la pratique clinique et le support des parents. / Parents are the main child support during development and have to cope with the developmental disorders of their child over the years. Most of them reported high levels of burden following their child’s diagnosis. The subjective, multidimensional concept of quality of life (Qol) could be operative to apprehend how the domains of parental life which have been impaired may decrease the parents' abilities to cope with the main needs of their child. However the widespread use of the Qol concept contrasts with the lack of validated tools and studies about this issue. Our aim was to validate the Par-DD-qol, a French questionnaire devised in order to assess the impairments of parental quality of life.The 17 item self rated questionnaire was completed by 590 parents of 349 children with developmental disorders (autistic and non autistic). An additional approach of the cross-diagnostic validity was made with 304 parents of children without developmental disorders and hospitalized in paediatrics. Three scores were identified: emotional score, adaptative score and global score. The main psychometric features are presented. This short questionnaire has good psychometric qualities and could be helpful in routine clinical care. It is not specific and could allow comparative studies..The study of the content validity, the responsiveness and cross-diagnostic validity needs further development. Methodological and therapeutic issues, implications for improvement of family support are discussed.

The diploma thesis focuses on the proposition, implementation and evaluation of marketing research of customer satisfaction at 'Big One Fitness'. It addresses the issue of customer satisfaction, services and a questionnaire as the method of questioning. It also analyses the starting position of the company within the competitive environment. Based on the findings of this research it suggests recommendations to enhance customer satisfaction.

Previous research highlights social cohesion and task cohesion, the individual attraction to the group and group interaction is widely debated. Much of the previous research is quantitative and conducted in mens sport. The purpose of the study is to gather information about young female team athletes and their attitude towards cohesion. The purpose is to explore the experiences of cohesion and also search which factors that the individuals experience as crucial to social cohesion and task cohesion in female team sports. The underlying theoretical framework of this study is based on a conceptual model developed by Carron et al. (1985). The study was based on eight interviews done on participants between 18 and 30 years. The interviews were conducted using a self-designed instrument that was created with inspiration from the validated Group Environment Questionnaire. The collected material was analyzed with a content analysis. The result reveals that female team athletes perceived cohesion as an important factor. A lot of attention was aimed at social cohesion and the participants need of inherency. But the participants emphasize that without task cohesion will group goals and purpose be absent. / Tidigare forskning belyser social sammanhållning och uppgiftsorienterad sammanhållning, där individens attraktion till gruppen och gruppinteraktion är omdebatterat. Mycket av den tidigare forskningen är kvantitativ och utförd inom herridrotten. Syftet med studien är att samla information kring unga damlags-idrottares upplevelser till sammanhållning samt undersöka faktorer som individen upplever avgörande för social sammanhållning och uppgiftsorienterad sammanhållning i lagidrott. Det teoretiska ramverk som ligger till grund för arbetet är en begreppsmodell utvecklad av Carron et al. (1985). Under studien genomfördes åtta intervjuer där deltagarna var mellan 18 och 30 år. Intervjuerna utfördes med hjälp av ett egendesignat frågeformulär som skapades med inspiration från mätinstrument Group Environment Questionnaire. Det insamlade materialet analyserades utifrån en innehållsanalys. I resultatet framkommer det att damlags-idrottare upplever sammanhållning som en viktig faktor. Mycket uppmärksamhet riktades mot social sammanhållning och deltagarnas behov av tillhörighet. Deltagarna poängterar dock att utan uppgiftsorienterad sammanhållning saknar gruppen mål och syfte.

The Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire (TFEQ) is an established instrument to assess eating behaviour. Analysis of the TFEQ-factor structure was based on selected, convenient and clinical samples so far. Aims of this study were (I) to analyse the factor structure of the German version of the TFEQ and (II)—based on the refined factor structure—to examine the association between eating behaviour and the body mass index (BMI) in a general population sample of 3,144 middle-aged and older participants (40–79 years) of the ongoing population based cohort study of the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE Health Study). The factor structure was examined in a split-half analysis with both explorative and confirmatory factor analysis. Associations between TFEQ-scores and BMI values were tested with multiple regression analyses controlled for age, gender, and education. We found a three factor solution for the TFEQ with an ‘uncontrolled eating’, a ‘cognitive restraint’ and an ‘emotional eating’ domain including 29 of the original 51 TFEQ-items. Scores of the ‘uncontrolled eating domain’ showed the strongest correlation with BMI values (partial r = 0.26). Subjects with scores above the median in both ‘uncontrolled eating’ and ‘emotional eating’ showed the highest BMI values (mean = 29.41 kg/m²), subjects with scores below the median in all three domains showed the lowest BMI values (mean = 25.68 kg/m²; F = 72.074, p<0.001). Our findings suggest that the TFEQ is suitable to identify subjects with specific patterns of eating behaviour that are associated with higher BMI values.

The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire is an internationally widely used instrument assessing different eating styles that may contribute to weight gain and overweight: emotional eating, external eating, and restraint. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the 30-item German version of the DEBQ including its measurement invariance across gender, age, and BMI-status in a representative German population sample. Furthermore, we examined the distribution of eating styles in the general population and provide population-based norms for DEBQ scales. A representative sample of the German general population (N = 2513, age > 14 years) was assessed with the German version of the DEBQ along with information on sociodemographic characteristics and body weight and height. The German version of the DEQB demonstrates good item characteristics and reliability (restraint: α = .92, emotional eating: α = .94, external eating: α = .89). The 3-factor structure of the DEBQ could be replicated in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and results of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses supported its metric and scalar measurement invariance across gender, age, and BMI-status. External eating was the most prevalent eating style in the German general population. Women scored higher on emotional and restrained eating scales than men, and overweight individuals scored higher in all three eating styles compared to normal weight individuals. Small differences across age were found for external eating. Norms were provided according to gender, age, and BMI-status. Our findings suggest that the German version of the DEBQ has good reliability and construct validity, and is suitable to reliably measure eating styles across age, gender, and BMI-status. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a considerable variation of eating styles across gender and BMI-status.

Studien syftar till att få en förståelse för Group Development Questionnaire (GDQ) som projektledningsverktyg, hur det kan användas för att utveckla team samt vad utvecklingen kan leda till hos teamen. För att besvara syftet har tre frågeställningar upprättats: Hur upplevs GDQ som verktyg? Vad underlättar användandet av GDQ vid utveckling av team? och Hur upplevs team som har utvecklats utifrån en GDQ-mätning? En kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer valdes för genomförandet av studien och bidrog till ett resultat med tre centrala teman: Det var väl inte så farligt, Klara, färdiga...Vilket håll ska vi åt? och Hur går det för oss?  Det var väl inte så farligt belyser vikten av information för att minska motstånd och skapa en trygghet och nyfikenhet i teamutvecklingsprocessen. Klara, färdiga... Vilket håll ska vi åt? lyfter att teamet är det centrala i teamutvecklingsprocessen och Hur går det för oss? beskriver vad teamutvecklingen med GDQ som instrument upplevs leda till hos teamen. Studiens slutsatser är att GDQ är ett bra verktyg för att skapa en insikt och medvetenhet hos teamet, men att utvecklingen sker när teamet tar tag i områdena som framkommer av GDQ-mätningen och aktivt arbetar med dem. Information, motivation och vilja hos teamet är grundläggande för att utvecklingen ska ske. Teamutvecklingen leder till mer högfungerande team, med bättre kommunikationsstrukturer och ett mer effektivt samarbete. / The purpose of this study is to get an understanding of the Group Development Questionnaire (GDQ) as an instrument for project management, how it can be used to develop teams and what the team development process may result in. To answer this, three research questions have been formulated: What is the experience of GDQ as an instrument? What facilitates the use of GDQ in the development of teams? and How are teams that have been developed using GDQ perceived? A qualitative method with semi-structured interviews was used in this study, which led to a result with three central themes: That wasn’t so bad, Ready, set... Which way are we going? and How are we doing?  That wasn’t so bad illustrates the importance of information to reduce resistance and create a feeling of safety and curiosity in the process of team development. Ready, set... Which way are we going? shows that the team is the center of the team development process and How are we doing? describes what the team development with GDQ as an instrument can lead to in teams. The conclusion of this study is that GDQ is an adequate instrument for creating a realization and awareness in teams, but the key to team development lies with the team using the information to actively work with their development. Information, communication and motivation are key elements for team development to take place. Team development using GDQ leads to higher functioning teams, with better communication structures and a more efficient collaboration.

Den psykiska ohälsan ökar stadigt i omvärlden, därav genomgår fler människor psykologiska behandlingar för att öka sitt välmående. Den tidigare forskningen har uppvisat att negativa effekter i samband med en psykologisk behandling existerar. Syftet med genomförandet av studien var att undersöka om det fanns negativa eller oönskade effekter hos personer som genomgått någon evidensbaserad psykologisk behandling samt att undersöka vilka de mest förekommande oönskade effekter var hos den rekryterade gruppen. Studien genomfördes genom en enkätstudie med totalt 63 deltagare (M = 33 år, SD = 8.4, åldersspann 20 - 57 år,67% kvinnor). Instrumentet som användes var The Negative Effects Questionnaire med 32 påståenden, vilka utgör en sex faktorsmodell (symptom, kvalitet, beroende, stigma, hopplöshet och misslyckande). Instrumentet mäter huruvida deltagarna upplevt att behandlingen lett till några negativa eller oönskade effekter. Resultatet på frågeställning A ”Vilka är de mestförekommande biverkningarna hos den rekryterade gruppen?” visar att den mest rapporterade negativa effekten var “känner du dig sorgsen”. Resultatet från frågeställningen B ”Finns det könsskillnader i medelvärden av faktorerna hos NEQ?” visar att kvinnor generellt rapporterat fler biverkningar jämfört med männen. Studien går i linje med tidigare forskning och svarar på samtliga frågeställningar. Studiens låga antal deltagare (N = 63), och dess bekvämlighetsurval gör att studien inte kan generalisera sitt resultat. Spridningen blir inte lika omfattande och representativ som den hade varit med en större urvalsgrupp. / Mental illness is steadily increasing in the world, because of which more people are undergoing psychological treatments to increase their well-being. Previous research has shown that negative effects in connection with a psychological treatment exist. The purpose of conducting the study was to investigate whether there were negative or unwanted effects inpeople who had undergone any evidence-based psychological treatment and to investigate what the most common unwanted effects were in the recruited group. The study was conducted through a questionnaire study with a total of 63 participants (M = 33 years, SD =8.4, age range 20 - 57 years, 67% women). The instrument used was The Negative Effects Questionnaire with 32 statements, which constitute a six-factor model (symptom, quality, dependence, stigma, hopelessness and failure). The instrument measures whether the participants experienced that the treatment led to some negative or unwanted effects. The result of question A shows that the most reported negative effect was "do you feel sad". The results from question B show that women generally reported more side effects compared to men. The study is in line with previous research and answers all questions. The study's low number of participants (N = 63), and its convenience selection means that the study can notgeneralize its results, the spread will not be as extensive and representative as it would have been with a larger sample group.