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The aim of the study was to gain knowledge about the relationship between employee efforts and different reward areas. Further aim of the study was also to test hypotheses about the employee's experience at work in relation to factors such as gender, age and form of employment. The study was carried out with the support of Johannes Siegrist's effort- and reward model (1996). The study has been quantitative, with 119 employees within the organization answered questionnaires. The questionnaires used was developed by Siegrist (1996). The result showed that the majority of employees experience the effort at work as high and the various reward areas as high. The most rewarding reward for the result was the social reward. With the help of the study, we could conclude that a connection exists between the experienced efforts and some of the received reward within the organization.

The aim of this dissertation which is called "The employees reward systems in the selected company" was analysis of the system of the remuneration of employees in the selected company, proposal of changes and recommendation for improvement in leading of this specific area. My selected company has happened the company McDonald's s.r.o, specifically it is subsidiary in Tábor. The main source for the first part was analysis of specialized literature which was studied and its rightness was certified from more books. The main source for gathering data for practical part was internal material of the company. The main source was the website of the McDonald's which served for the characteristic, where was everything important. For the analysis and evaluation of the current situation was used open minded interview with the leader of the company, open minded interview with managers and open minded interview with the rest of the employees. In the practical part was written and described the system of financial and non financial remuneration of employees who work in the subsidiary in Tábor. The analysis of the wage system was made and thanks to it was calculated the example of weekly salary costs on the week's sales. Then it was made a questionnaire survey and its aim was gain opinions and find out a satisfaction of the employees with the system of the remuneration in the company. At the end there were written all results of the all analysis and proposal of changes in the specific area.

Syfte: Empowerment handlar om att stärka personalens motivation och arbetstillfredsställelse genom att bland annat delegera ansvar och att dela information inom företaget. Detta kan ske med hjälp av olika verktyg varav belöningssystem är ett av de mest effektivaste verktygen inom empowerment. Denna studie söker efter att belysa hur belöningssystem kan påverka personalens motivation i arbetet.   Metod: Studien har ett hermeneutiskt och socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Vi har använt oss utav en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med semistrukturerade intervjuer för att samla empirisk data. Den teoretiska referensramen består av sekundär data från tidigare forskning. Vår forskningsprocess utgår ifrån den teoretiska referensramen, vi söker efter logiska paralleller mellan teori och empirisk data.   Resultat & slutsats: Vårt resultat visar både likheter och motsägelser mellan befintlig teori och vår empiriska undersökning. Vårt empiriska resultat har stärkt antagandet om att belöningssystem stärker personalens motivation. Vårt resultat avviker dock från befintlig teori angående att icke-finansiella belöningssystem bäst främjar personalens motivation.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vi rekommenderar att undersöka hur företag kan använda sig av icke-finansiella belöningssystem för att bibehålla sin personal motiverad.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Vi bedömning är att andra studenter kan finna vårt resultat intressant för framtida studier med tanke på att vårt empiriska resultat har avvikit från befintlig teori. Vi anser även att resultatet kan vara intressant för en företagsledning. / Aim: Empowerment deals with increasing employee motivation and job satisfaction by delegating responsibility and sharing information within the organization. This can be done through various tools including reward systems, which is one of the most effective tools within empowerment. This study is searching for understanding around how reward systems can influence employee motivation.   Method: The study takes a hermeneutic and social constructionist perspective. We conducted a qualitative research strategy using semi-structured interviews to collect the empirical data. The theoretical framework consists of secondary data from researchers who have previously touched the subject. We sought logical parallels between the theory and the empirical data.   Result & Conclusions: Our study has found both similarities and differences between existing theory and our interpretation of the empirical data. Our empirical results have strengthened the assumption that reward systems reinforce staff motivation. However, our results differ from existing theory which discuss which reward systems best encourages increased motivation. According to the prevailing theory, should non-financial rewards motivate more than financial rewards.   Suggestions for future research: We recommend examining how companies can use non-financial reward systems and still keep their staff motivated.   Contribution of the thesis: we believe that other students may find this interesting for future studies as our empirical results differed from the existing theory. We also believe that the results can be interesting for an enterprise.   Key words: Empowerment, reward systems, motivation, total reward and decentralization.

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Pharmacotherapies for tobacco and alcohol cessation are only modestly successful, so it is important to better understand mechanisms underlying their use and abuse. The overarching goal of this research is to assess a6b2 subunit containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (a6b2*nAChR; *denotes possible assembly with other subunits) contributions to abuse-related effects of nicotine and alcohol. In the absence of a6b2*nAChR-selective agonists, a6b2*nAChR gain-of-function (a6L9’S) mice provide a tool for selective activation of a6b2*nAChRs. Using the a6L9’S mice together with nicotine doses sub-threshold for stimulation of native nAChRs, these studies tested the hypothesis that activation of a6b2*nAChRs is sufficient to promote neurochemical and behavioral effects relevant to nicotine addiction. Intracranial infusions of an a6b2*nAChR-selective antagonist further tested the neuroanatomical locus of a6b2*nAChR contributions to mesolimbic dopamine (DA) release and nicotine reward behavior. Our in vivo microdialysis and nicotine conditioned place preference (CPP) studies reveal that stimulation of a6b2*nAChRs on ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons, as well as on DA terminals in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell support nicotine reward. VTA a6b2*nAChR stimulation is required for elevated basal NAc DA levels in a6L9’S mice, who also show elevated nicotine CPP. These studies also showed elevated anxiety-like behavior in a6L9’S mice, but no change in a6 subunit null mutant (a6KO) mice to suggest that elevated cholinergic tone at a6b2*nAChRs promotes anxiety-like behavior. To better define the molecular make-up of a6b2*nAChRs supporting nicotine reward and anxiety-like behavior, these studies crossed a6L9’S to a4 subunit knockout mice to differentiate (non-a4)a6b2* and a4a6b2*nAChR contributions. (non-a4)a6b2*nAChRs appear to promote nicotine reward behavior, while the a6b2*nAChR subtype that regulates anxiety-like behavior depends on the anxiety assay. Finally, these studies developed a mouse model of oral operant ethanol (EtOH) self-administration and assessed EtOH reinforcement in a6 heterozygous (a6HET) and a6KO mice to characterize the role of a6b2*nAChRs in EtOH reinforcement. EtOH self-administration was similar to wild type mice in a6KO mice, but not a6HET mice, suggesting that expression of a6b2*nAChRs modulates EtOH reinforcement. Together, these preclinical studies implicate a6b2*nAChRs in various abuse-related effects of nicotine and alcohol, identifying this receptor as a potential therapeutic target for treatment of dependence.

The purpose of the present study was to further investigate the effects of frustration on the reward value of a goal object. Under the assumption that animals will learn to take the shortest path to a goal and that the reward value of an object will increase as effort increases, the following hypothesis was proposed: If rats are frustrated in the short path of a single choice maze (experimental group) then the experimental group's running time for the long path will be less than that of a control group not frustrated in the short path.

Impulsivity is a common and multifaceted personality trait that is characterized by the presence of heightened reward sensitivity, novelty seeking, lack of premeditation, and behavioural and emotional inhibition deficits (Leshem, 2016a). These behaviours are often associated with substance abuse, gambling disorders, obesity, abnormal time perception, and other psychological and neurological conditions (Bari & Robbins, 2013; Berlin & Rolls, 2004). Reward processing deficits have also been well documented, with many researchers finding an association between impulsivity and the inclination towards smaller, immediate, rewards over larger, delayed rewards (Petry, 2001). Additionally, a larger reward positivity amplitude – an event-related potential component associated with rewards and expectancy – was found for the immediate rewards, relative to delayed rewards in high impulsivity individuals (Cherniawsky & Holroyd, 2013; B. Schmidt, Holroyd, Debener, & Hewig, 2017). The purpose of this thesis was to replicate and extend previous findings, by having participants complete two tasks: delayed gratification and time estimation. In the time estimation task, participants estimated the length of one second. The first task, a replication, assesses subject’s preference for immediate rewards; moreover, the second task extended previous research and functioned as an additional way of assessing reward processing and examined participant’s ability to estimate time. Abnormal time perception in impulsive individuals is thought to contribute to atypical delay gratification behaviour (Wittmann & Paulus, 2008). Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded from participants during both tasks. Based on previous research on impulsivity (Cherniawsky & Holroyd, 2013; Coull, Cheng, & Meck, 2011; Holroyd & Krigolson, 2007; B. Schmidt et al., 2017), I predicted that impulsivity would affect performance on the time estimation task (which is novel in its use with impulsivity and EEG), and response times and reward positivity amplitudes on both tasks. Counter to my hypothesis, I found that response times and task performance were not affected by impulsivity levels. I also observed that the reward positivity was mediated by impulsivity in the delayed gratification task, but not in the time estimation tasks, suggesting that the tasks activate different neural pathways for reward processing. My results indicate that impulsivity can influence the amplitude of the reward positivity, but that different neural pathways are associated with distinct tasks. Further investigation into quantifiable measures of impulsivity and their effect on various reward processing tasks needs to be conducted. / Graduate / 2020-04-22

Estudos em neurociência aplicada ao exercício tem demonstrado que a gustação do carboidrato pode estimular áreas cerebrais de recompensa e postergar a exaustão em atletas humanos. O presente estudo tem por objetivo investigar o efeito do enxague oral com maltodextrina sobre o desempenho de cavalos em teste incremental de esforço máximo a campo. Sete equinos da raça Mangalarga Marchador foram avaliados após enxague oral com maltodextrina a 6,4% (teste C) e placebo (teste P). Tempo até a exaustão (TAE), frequência cardíaca, glicose e lactato plasmáticos, e a atividade plasmática de creatinoquinase foram avaliados durante e após os testes. O TAE do teste C foi em média 31 segundos superior ao P. O valor pico de lactato do teste C foi 5,97 mg/dl superior ao teste P. O enxague oral com maltodextrina aumentou a capacidade de resistência dos animais avaliados neste estudo / Ergogenic effect of carbohydrate mouth rinse has been widely described in human runner and cyclists. This effect seems to be mediated by the activation of brain areas related to reward and motivation. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of maltodextrin mouth rinse on field maximal exercise test. Seven MM breed horses were evaluated after mouth rinse with maltodextrin 6, 4% (test C) and placebo (test P). Time to exhaustion, heart rate, plasmatic glucose and lactate, and serum creatinokinase were measured during and after tests. Time to exhaustion of the test C was 31 second higher than test P. Plasmatic lactate peak was 5,97 mmol/l higher in test C. No differences were observed in glucose and CK levels. Maltodextrin mouth rinse improved performance in maximal field test

Prospective memory (PM) refers to memory for future intentions and involves several cognitive processes including memory, executive functions, and attention. PM has been studied extensively in clinical populations in which these cognitive processes are impaired but has only recently been studied in Huntington’s disease (HD), a neurodegenerative disease of the basal ganglia that is associated with neuropsychiatric, movement, and cognitive changes. The purpose of the present study was to further examine PM in HD, as well as investigate the influence of impulsivity on PM performance and whether a monetary incentive (either reward or loss) would improve PM performance. Results of the current study indicated that overall individuals with HD performed worse on a PM task compared to Controls. Control participants evidenced significantly better PM performance when they could have potentially lost money compared to a Neutral PM task. HD participants demonstrated a similar pattern of findings at a trending significance level. Impulsivity, as measured by the total score on the BIS-11, was not related to PM performance in either group. Controls scored significantly higher on a self-reported measure of prospective and retrospective memory (PRMQ) relative to HD participants with a trending association between the PRMQ and PM performance in Controls, but no association in HD participants. While there was a significant difference between groups on a recognition test of PM cues, there was no difference between groups on a free recall test of PM task instructions. These results build upon previous research that has found PM deficits in HD by investigating possible factors that may improve PM performance in this clinical population. Future research should investigate other motivational factors that may further increase PM performance in HD.