This study was commissioned to examine the applied leadership styles that foster organisational commitment and product quality commitment levels of two groups of employees working at two different business units of same private sector steel manufacturing company in Gauteng. The samples included 226 production employees from business unit ‘A’ and 190 production employees from population ‘B’. The combined sample of 416 included 83 managers and 333 low level employees. Leadership style data was collected through the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) from the managers and Organisational and Product Quality data was gathered through the Employee Questionnaire (EQ). The MLQ measured nine constructs of the Full Range Leadership Theory while the EQ measured four constructs of identification, affiliation, exchange and product quality commitment levels among lower level employees. A total of 416 questionnaires were distributed and 274 were received. The data was analysed statistically to define the leadership styles, the levels of organisational and product quality commitment and come up with correlations. It was found that transformational and transactional leadership styles were predominant at both business units. Laissez-faire style was also being used at business unit ‘A’. The leadership styles were found to be below the ideal levels for effective leadership. Leaders were perceived to be active managers and not leaders. The organisational and product quality commitment levels among employees were found to be marginal at both units. The top leadership styles and commitment levels trended the same and scored closely for both business units with small variations. The results were comparable. Positive correlations were found between identification commitment (0.305 for ‘A’ and 0.481 for ‘B’) and product quality commitment among employees. It was concluded from the correlations that the higher the levels of organisational commitment, the higher the levels of product quality commitment among employees. By statistical averages, it was concluded that higher levels of transformational leadership fosters higher levels of identification commitment and product quality commitment among employees. Demographics affected the way the respondents answered the questions. A leadership model complete with recommendations was proposed with the intention of increasing leadership effectiveness in order to positively impact and foster product quality commitment among employees. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Les expériences d'affiliation et de désaffiliation à des projets mobilisateurs sont multiples et variées. Là où l'engagement risque d'être le plus radical, c'est quand la dynamique psychospirituelle d'une personne l'incite à adhérer à un groupe qui fait vie commune autour d'un idéal religieux. Quand le projet échoue, l'ex-membre s'en trouve déstabilisé dans ses appuis psychospirituels et psychoreligieux. Cette thèse étudie comment les enjeux psychospirituels et religieux sont affectés par l'expérience d'affiliation et de désaffiliation d'une personne à une communauté nouvelle catholique. Dans un premier temps, à la suite d'une entrevue biographique, nous identifions la dynamique psychospirituelle de trois Sujets, définie selon le cadre théorique du Modèle des valeurs élaboré par le psychologue clinicien Yvon Saint-Arnaud. Ensuite, à l'aide d'un entretien portant sur l'expérience communautaire des Sujets, nous étudions les correspondances de cette dynamique dans l'expérience vécue. La méthode qualitative d'analyse des contenus de l'une et l'autre entrevue nous a permis de reconnaître et d'illustrer les similitudes de la dynamique. Après cette description, notre intérêt se porte sur l'évolution de la dynamique psychospirituelle des Sujets dans leur expérience d'affiliation et de désaffiliation, toujours à l'aide du Modèle des valeurs. En dernier lieu, la thèse ouvre sur une analyse interprétative de la transformation psychoreligieuse des Sujets croyants. Le regard posé sur cette dimension emprunte à la théologie en expérience la souplesse nécessaire pour s'adapter à ce qui nous échappe.

Introduction : Au Québec comme au Canada, de nombreux experts considèrent la prise en charge d’une clientèle en première ligne comme le cœur de la pratique de la médecine familiale. Pourtant, au Québec, les médecins de famille récemment en pratique consacrent en moyenne moins de temps à la prise en charge d’une clientèle que les plus expérimentés. Ceci est un enjeu dans le contexte actuel de pénurie d’effectifs médicaux en première ligne. L’objectif de l’étude est d’analyser les facteurs qui influencent les médecins de famille récemment en pratique à faire de la prise en charge d’une clientèle. Méthodologie : Un devis mixte séquentiel a été utilisé. En novembre 2013, une enquête fut menée via un questionnaire en ligne autoadministré auprès des médecins de famille détenant un poste (PREM) en Montérégie et ayant dix ans et moins de pratique. Ensuite, à l’hiver 2014, afin d’approfondir les principaux facteurs identifiés, dix entrevues individuelles en face à face ont été réalisées avec des médecins de famille ayant répondu au questionnaire et présentant des profils de prise en charge diversifiés. Résultats : Le taux de réponse a été de 32,2 % (n = 118) pour l’enquête et 44,3 % (n=39) des répondants se sont montrés intéressés aux entrevues. Les principaux facteurs facilitants à la prise en charge sont la relation médecin-patient, l’intérêt pour les activités cliniques de la prise en charge, les modèles de rôles positifs, la collaboration avec une infirmière et l’accès adéquat aux ressources, notamment en santé mentale. Les principales barrières sont les tâches administratives, l’intérêt pour une pratique polyvalente, l’expérience négative de la prise en charge lors de la formation, l’absence de sentiment de compétence en prise en charge, la lourdeur de la clientèle et le manque de support en début de pratique. Conclusion : Près d’un répondant sur trois consacrait moins de 25 % de leur temps à faire de la prise en charge. Des pistes de solutions sont donc proposées afin de rendre la prise en charge plus attrayante pour les médecins de famille récemment en pratique.

Researchers have long argued that ritual plays a crucial role in marking social identities and binding individuals together in a system of shared actions and beliefs. The psychological processes underlying how and why ritual promotes group bonding and influences in- and out-group biases have not yet been fully elucidated. The research presented in this thesis was designed to examine the social and cognitive developmental underpinnings of conventional/ ritualistic behavior. Because learning cultural conventions is essential for participation in group behavior and for signaling group membership and commitment, I propose that conventional/ ritualistic learning is motivated by a drive to affiliate. Experiment 1 investigated the affiliative nature of ritualistic learning by examining the effects of third-party ostracism on imitation of an instrumental versus ritual action sequence and prosocial behavior. Individuals who do not participate in shared group conventions often face the threat of ostracism from the group. Given that attempting re-inclusion is an established response to ostracism, I predicted that the threat of ostracism increases affiliative motivations and thus will increase imitative fidelity, especially in the context of conventional learning. Experiment 2 examined the effects of first-person ostracism in the context of in- and out-groups on children’s imitation of a ritualistic action sequence and pro-social behavior. I predicted that the experience of ostracism by an in-group versus an out-group has important implications for the construal of social exclusion and affiliative behavior. I hypothesized that children would be motivated to re-affiliate by imitating the model and acting pro-socially towards the group, especially when ostracized by in-group members. Based on the findings of this research and insight from anthropology, and social and developmental psychology, I will present a picture of how children acquire the conventions of their group and how these conventions influence social group cognition.

The issue of identity has generated a significant amount of research in recent years. In this literature review, the relationship between learner identity and accent is explored, specifically the learner’s cultural affiliation and identity and the link to his/her accent acquisition in a second or foreign language. Social networks, motivation, L1 use, socio-cultural knowledge, discrimination and power relations, and anxiety are all shown to affect parts of the learner’s cultural identity, which, in turn, may influence his/her accent in the L2. / text

La pratique sexuelle hors-mariage et récompensée à Marrakech est un phénomène socialement reconnu depuis la médiatisation du tourisme sexuel. L'étude menée interroge les risques encourus pour l'équilibre psychique, dans une société où la sexualité est agie et vécue de manière profondément différente de l'occident. L'analyse psychodynamique offre un accès aux enjeux qui se trouvent mis à l'épreuve dans ce recours. Ce travail se centre sur l'analyse d'un sujet « contextualisé » (Société-Islam-Sexualité) et les résultats cliniques obtenus grâce aux propos recueillis auprès de trente six femmes marocaines ayant ou ayant eu recours à la pratique sexuelle récompensée. L'interrogation des parcours existentiels met en évidence des croyances et des mythes qui viennent garantir un équilibre de vie, et cela dans le contexte islamique. Les aménagements défensifs viennent soutenir les liens et une représentation de soi, mais à quel coût

This report summarizes information on the prehistoric, historic, and ethnographic foundations for the cultural affiliation of burials and associated funerary objects from Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Casa Grande, Arizona. This study was commissioned by the National Park Service’s Applied Ethnography Program in Washington, D.C., to identify American Indian tribes potentially affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary objects from Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. This study is one of the responses by the National Park Service to the requirements stipulated in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. The report should provide sufficient criteria for determining potentially affiliated individuals and tribes to be contacted for future consultation. This research determined the following Native American ethnic groups are affiliated to the national monument: Akimel O'odham, Tohono O’Odham, Zuni, Hopi, and Maricopa.

This thesis examines the validity of polyvagal theory as a model of normal socio-emotional responding (Porges, 1995, 2001, 2003a). Polyvagal theory makes several claims, and to date many of its predictions lack empirical testing. In the current research, five main hypotheses stemming from polyvagal theory were identified and tested using healthy participants. The initial empirical study examined the influence of laboratory stressors on autonomic function. The findings revealed that social evaluative threat increases activation of the sympathetic nervous system more than a virtual reality maze, and that arousal remains elevated for longer during anticipation of social evaluative threat in comparison to recovery from social evaluative threat. The second study investigated the effects of emotion regulation strategies on autonomic function, and highlighted the effectiveness of two meditation practices in reducing defensive physiological arousal and increasing subjective positive emotion. These studies were followed with a set of studies designed to evaluate the effects of defensive physiological arousal on socio-emotional functioning, as a direct test of polyvagal theory. The first study examined the effects of a laboratory stressor on facial expressivity, revealing that social evaluative threat had little impact on expressive regulation. A second study investigated the effects of a laboratory stressor on emotional sensitivity and spontaneous facial mimicry. Some limited support was found for polyvagal theory, although neither emotional sensitivity nor facial mimicry was significantly affected by laboratory stress. A final empirical study investigated the effects of a laboratory stressor on affiliation tendencies. The laboratory stressor did not influence participants’ willingness to spend time with others, however the experiment did reveal significant relationships between markers of social safeness and affiliation. The overall conclusion of this thesis is that polyvagal may not be a representative model of socio-emotional functioning in healthy participants. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the validity of polyvagal theory as a universal model of socio-emotional responding.

<p>Although people frequently pursue multiple goals simultaneously, these goals often conflict with each other. For instance, consumers may have both a healthy eating goal and a goal to have an enjoyable eating experience. In this dissertation, I focus on two sources of enjoyment in eating experiences that may conflict with healthy eating: consuming tasty food (Essay 1) and affiliating with indulging dining companions (Essay 2). In both essays, I examine solutions and strategies that decrease the conflict between healthy eating and these aspects of enjoyment in the eating experience, thereby enabling consumers to resolve such goal conflicts.</p><p>Essay 1 focuses on the well-established conflict between having healthy food and having tasty food and introduces a novel product offering (“vice-virtue bundles”) that can help consumers simultaneously address both health and taste goals. Through several experiments, I demonstrate that consumers often choose vice-virtue bundles with small proportions (¼) of vice and that they view such bundles as healthier than but equally tasty as bundles with larger vice proportions, indicating that “healthier” does not always have to equal “less tasty.”</p><p>Essay 2 focuses on a conflict between healthy eating and affiliation with indulging dining companions. The first set of experiments provides evidence of this conflict and examine why it arises (Studies 1 to 3). Based on this conflict’s origins, the second set of experiments tests strategies that consumers can use to decrease the conflict between healthy eating and affiliation with an indulging dining companion (Studies 4 and 5), such that they can make healthy food choices while still being liked by an indulging dining companion. Thus, Essay 2 broadens the existing picture of goals that conflict with the healthy eating goal and, together with Essay 1, identifies solutions to such goal conflicts.</p> / Dissertation

The purpose of this study was to test whether the influence of after school activities upon school commitment and academic achievement among a sample of 146 African American adolescents was mediated by affiliation with prosocial peers. The study also examined whether risky peer affiliation mediated the effects of negative school experiences upon school commitment and academic achievement. Participants were recruited from middle schools within the greater metropolitan area of a mid-sized Mid-Atlantic city and a surrounding rural community. Participants completed a questionnaire with several measures. Academic achievement was measured by a one-item self report school of grades. School commitment was measured by the Commitment to School Measure. Prosocial peers was measured by the Teacher Checklist of Social Behavior. Risky peers was measured by the Peer Problem Behavior Scale. Participation in after school activities was measured by the Neighborhood Involvement Scale. Negative school experiences was measured by an item from the School Transition Stress Scale. An abbreviated version of Silverberg’s Parental Monitoring Scale was used to measure parental monitoring, a covariate. Hierarchical linear regression was used to test for direct and mediation relationships. Participation in after school activities predicted prosocial peer affiliation and was positively correlated with academic achievement and commitment to school. Prosocial peer affiliation predicted both academic achievement and school commitment. However, there was not a direct effect of after school activities upon academic achievement or school commitment. Negative school experiences predicted risky peer affiliation and was negatively correlated with academic achievement. However, there were no direct effects of negative school experiences upon academic achievement. Secondary analyses found that high levels of parental monitoring was predictive of low levels of risky peers, but did not predict prosocial peers. Findings showed some support for peer cluster theory although mediation hypotheses were not supported. One program implication is for program developers to consider cultivation of prosocial peer affiliations as a strategy to increase a possible wide range of positive individual youth outcomes, including attitudes toward school, positive student-teacher relationships and reduced problem behaviors. Further research is needed to identify factors that help explain how participation in after school activities can increase the likelihood of positive and prosocial peer affiliations.