The relevance of individuals' values to clinical situations is increasingly recognised in political and clinical contexts. Enhancing an individual's capacity to live consistently with their values is assumed to facilitate mental well-being and quality of life (QoL). However, little research has empirically investigated whether this focus is appropriate. This collection of studies will examine the relationship between values, well-being and QoL. "Valued living" is a core aim of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) but it has received little empirical attention. The values identified within ACT may not be equally applicable to all clinical populations. Encouraging value-consistent action is often assumed to be inappropriate to offender populations. Schwartz‟s universal model of human values is introduced to inform understanding of the relationship between values and well-being and whether mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) have similar values to a non-psychologically distressed comparison group. Method Study 1 investigated the relationship between values, quality of life (QoL), psychological distress and psychological inflexibility (cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance) amongst a sample from the non-clinical sample (N = 109) using an online survey. Study 2 compared a subsample from study 1 with MDOs detained in medium security (N = 15) on the same measures. Study 3 explored participants‟ beliefs about the origin and maintenance of meaningful values. Responses were coded according to ACT literature and analysed using content analysis. Results Amongst the non-clinical population, QoL was positively correlated with „valued living‟, and negatively correlated with psychological inflexibility and distress. Psychological distress and psychological inflexibility correlated positively with the Openness to Change value domain and conservatism correlated negatively with psychological distress. No other relationships were observed between psychological flexibility or distress and value domain in the non-clinical population. MDOs had higher rates of psychological distress and lower psychological flexibility and QoL than the non-distressed population; they also attributed less importance to the self-transcendence value domain and more to self-enhancement. Benevolence was ranked significantly lower by the MDO sample. Other large effect sizes were detected reflecting differences between the samples, but they were not statistically significant. Intrinsic reinforcement was considered an important factor that maintained values as meaningful to all participants. Self-report data suggests that there are similarities and differences to how each sample conceptualises values. Discussion A clinical focus on values appears to be justified. The addition of Schwartz‟s model provided insight into the values of MDOs. The clinical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed as are the strengths and limitations of the study.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common chronic illness thought to be originated and maintained by a combination of physiological, psychological and social factors. IBS is known to be associated with a high psychosocial impact on patients’ lives. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an emerging model of conceptualization and treatment that states that most suffering in chronic illness can be explained by a lack of psychological flexibility or acceptance to experience aversive bodily sensations, thoughts or emotions. ACT treatments target the increase of psychological flexibility as a key change for improvement in outcomes. Recent studies suggest that ACT could not only be an effective alternative treatment for IBS, as it might provide a valuable model of understanding of the relations between the different factors related to this condition and its outcomes. The first aim of the present research was to investigate the role of psychological flexibility in IBS, in particular, how acceptance relates to psychological, emotional and physical factors in this condition. The second aim was to investigate the effectiveness of an ACT based intervention in increasing psychological flexibility in IBS and thereby improving IBS Outcomes. These aims were addressed by conducting two related studies. In Study 1, a sample of 121 IBS patients attending a specialized gastroenterology clinic completed a series of self-report measures of psychological flexibility (acceptance), psychological factors known to be associated with IBS and IBS outcomes. Results indicated that higher levels of acceptance were generally associated with and predicted better levels of IBS biopsychosocial factors. Results also showed that acceptance mediated most of the relationships between IBS predictors and Outcomes. Also, psychometric analyses of a novel measure of IBS Acceptance (i.e. IBS Acceptance and Action Questionnaire) created for this study demonstrated that it had good reliability and validity. In Study 2, fifty six IBS patients enrolled in an intervention involving a one day ACT workshop and an ACT based self-help workbook. Thirty six participants provided follow-up data up to 6 months after the workshop. Results indicated that there were significant increases in acceptance and significant improvement in IBS outcomes between pre-treatment and follow-up. Further to that, analyses indicated that changes in IBS Outcomes occurred through changes in acceptance as hypothesized by the ACT model. These studies suggest that psychological flexibility processes are important in the understanding of IBS and that improvement in this condition may result from a more psychologically flexible stance to it. Although preliminary, these studies provide a basis for the further development and application of the ACT model of conceptualization and treatment in IBS.

Aim: Schema therapy is becoming an increasingly popular psychological model for working with individuals who have a variety of mental health and personality difficulties. The aim of this review is to look at the current evidence base for schema therapy and highlight directions for further research. Method: A systematic search of the literature was conducted up until January 2011. All studies that had clinically tested the efficacy of schema therapy as described by Jeffrey Young (Young, 1994; Young et al., 2003) were considered. These studies underwent detailed quality assessments based on Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN-50) culminating in twelve studies being included in the review. Results: The culminative message (both from the popularity of this model and the medium to large effect sizes) is of a theory which has already demonstrated clinically effective outcomes in a small number of studies and which would benefit from ongoing research and development with complex client groups. Recommendations: It is imperative that psychological practice be guided by high quality research that demonstrates efficacious, evidence based interventions. It is therefore recommended that researchers and clinicians working with schema therapy seek to build on these positive outcomes and further demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of this model through ongoing research.

With a focus on legitimacy, accountability, and protection equality, this thesis aims to investigate the impact of domestic institutions on the likelihood that peace succeeds in the aftermath of armed conflict. The argument is that the presence of such domestic institutions should facilitate the construction of a peaceful post-conflict environment by reducing commitment problems in the peacemaking process. A quantitative analysis is conducted on 82 peace agreements signed between governments and rebel groups during the time period 1989 to 2004. The findings suggest that the extent to which social groups within the state are protected equally by the government most significantly impacts the likelihood that peace prevails.

Purpose The purpose of the study is to explain what affect customers’ relationship commitment to non-profits organizations. Methodology This study employs the quantitative approach with the help of webbased survey. Findings Relationship commitment has two direct antecedents, namely trust and relationship benefits. Communication between organization and customers has an indirect effect on relationship commitment which is partially mediated by trust. The relationships between constructs are controlled by the length of the membership in the organization. Research limitations/implications The study has several managerial implications. Thus, the established associations between relationships constructs adopted from for-profit industries do not fully explain the drivers of customers’ relationship commitment in the non-profit sector. The special attention should be payed to establishing the successful two-ways communication with the customers in order to facilitate commitment. Theoretically-wise, the study re-examines the earlier established model in the new context and by doing so introduces the new model which is relevant for the context of customers of non-profit organizations. The study however has some limitation such as an application of convenience sample, a limited availability of the survey, a possible language barrier. Originality/value The study proposes the new model which explains commitment and its antecedents in the context of customers’ relationship with non-profit organizations. Keywords Commitment, non-profit organizations, relationship marketing, quantitative study

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration, Durban Institute of Technology, 2004. / This thesis describes and analyses the integration process of mergers and acquisitions, which is often blamed for the failure of such undertakings. It explains the status quo for internal branding in general and in the environment of mergers and acquisitions. The two aspects are integrated in such a manner as to develop an internal brand strategy that resolves many of the common integration problems. Since the traditional focus on branding is on the external environment rather than the internal environment, the objective of this thesis is to emphasise the employee rather than the customer. As the writer believes that through the development of internal brand awareness and loyalty, the net effect is that the overall effectiveness of the entire merged organisation will increase exponentially. In this thesis, a meta-analysis approach is utilised to develop theory, thus this study is exclusively a qualitative styled study. The strategy developed in this thesis is not a once off fix, but is a continuous process that must be maintained and implemented by the management and shareholders of the organisation to ensure the success of the brand and the new merged organisation. / M

Organizational commitment is most commonly defined as a measure of an employee's commitment to the company or larger organization. In a longitudinal study, the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire was administered to 123 first line manufacturing supervisors in a defense contracting firm. After a one year check, subjects were grouped into categories of voluntary and involuntary turnover. The results suggest that significant relationships exist among the variables of departmental commitment, turnover and tenure. However, the study failed to show any relationship between organizational commitment and turnover.

The growth of the aging population has warranted increased training and education to prepare professionals with the specific knowledge needed to best serve older adults. Gerontology, as an academic discipline, provides professionals with the conceptual knowledge and the skills necessary to address the complexities of working with a diverse aging population. Little research has been done of the characteristics of professionals both with and without formal education in gerontology that are working with the aging population. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of career motivation, job satisfaction, attitudes about aging, career commitment, and professional identity among those working with older adults. An exploration of the characteristics of gerontological professionals has implications for the development of best practice approaches in student and staff recruitment, retention, curriculum design, and training practices. Participants were recruited from volunteers invited from a convenience sample of approximately 7,000 members signed up to receive emails from the Department of Gerontology at a Southeastern University, and a snowball approach with the link to the survey being distributed by various organizations and institutions (e.g., assisted living facilities, Southern Gerontological Society, Therapeutic Recreation Association). Professionals’ age and job satisfaction significantly predicted professional identity. Participants’ career motivation, job satisfaction, and exposure to formal gerontological education (MSE) significantly predicted career commitment. Self-identified professional identity in aging groups did not moderate the relationship between MSE predictors and career commitment. However, aging anxiety mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and career commitment. Finally, age and higher perception of the value of teamwork predicted both level of professional identity and job satisfaction. This study sheds lights on perspectives of professionals working with older adults and highlights areas for future research and training with this population.

Cette thèse vise à étudier conjointement deux thèmes de recherche habituellement traités séparés par la littérature académique : les caractéristiques des directeurs généraux et l'engagement des employés au travail. La problématique peut se définir ainsi : quel est l'impact des caractéristiques des dirigeants sur leur engagement au travail ? ou autrement dit, comment les caractéristiques managériales influencent la nature et le degré d'implication des dirigeants au travail? Les dirigeants dans notre travail de recherche seront les dirigeants des banques au Liban : on va essayer de leur créer une typologie. / Organizational commitment has been studied comprehensively along with varied professional groups. The concept that commitment is essential for the apprehension of organizational and professional goals mainly in the Banking organizations has remained unexploited by researchers. The study of employee commitment should be important to Banking organizations receiving large amounts of community savings and playing an important role in the development of the economical sector as a whole.No previous studies have tackled the Lebanese bank managers’ subject in relevance to their organizational commitment and its relation with their biographical traits and their Job perforamance; therefore the study of organizational commitment will particularly be relevant to Lebanese bank managers, as those represent the leading power for the future of the Lebanese banking sector.

L’objet de cette thèse est de comprendre les manifestations de l’implication des étudiants et les mécanismes qui la favorisent. D’abord nous avons exposé les théories de la gouvernance (parties prenantes et responsabilité sociale), les différents modèles d’organisation des universités et la place de l’implication à l’Université. Ces bases théoriques nous ont permis de poser notre modèle. Ensuite, nous avons construit les concepts de notre modèle sur la base de 12 entretiens exploratoires, de recherche documentaire et d’observations ; et présenté le fonctionnement de l’université sénégalaise. Il apparait toutefois nécessaire pour l’université d’identifier les facteurs d’implication des étudiants pour mieux attirer ces derniers. Le recueil de données est principalement constitué d’une étude quantitative (n = 277, taux de retour 92%). Enfin, nous avons analysé les résultats et énuméré les perspectives managériales qui en découlent. Les aspects annexes, la qualité de l’enseignement, la participation dans les associations et les caractéristiques individuelles sont les éléments que la gouvernance des universités doit prendre en compte pour susciter l’implication des étudiants. / The purpose of this thesis is to understand the manifestations of the commitment of students and the mechanisms that favor it. First, we presented the theories of the governance (stakeholders and social responsibility), the different models of organization concerning universities as well as the place of commitment at the University. These theoretica foundations have enabled us to elaborate our research model. Second, we built the concepts of our research model on the basis of 12 exploratory interviews, documentary research and observations, and presented the functioning of the Senegalese University. It appears, however, necessary for the university to identify the factors of the commitment of students in order tobetter attract them. Data collection consists mainly on a quantitative study (n = 277, rate of response: 92%). Finally, we analyzed the results and enumerated the managerial perspectives. Annexes aspects, quality of education, participation in associations and individual characteristics are the elements that the university governance should take into account togenerate the commitment of students.