I dagens informationssamhälle blir konkurrensen allt hårdare och servicen gentemot kunden ett allt viktigare konkurrensmedel. Servicen som frontpersonal levererar gentemot kunderna blir extra viktig inom tjänsteföretag då det är en central del av verksamheten. För att frontpersonalen ska vilja göra ett så bra arbete som möjligt och agera serviceinriktat i interaktionen med kunderna är det då viktigt att de är motiverade. Handlingsfrihet är ett verktyg för att motivera sina anställda och innebär, ”Att ge anställda befogenhet att själva fatta beslut och agera efter eget huvud i problematiska situationer”. Det finns många studier som tyder på att handlingsfrihet hos frontpersonalen kan leda till ökad arbetstillfredsställelse som i sin tur kan leda till ökad motivation och bättre arbetsprestation.   Handlingsfrihet behöver dock inte nödvändigtvis leda till en mer motiverad frontpersonal som levererar en bättre service gentemot kunderna. Det är inte passande att ge alla i personalen handlingsfrihet eftersom inte alla vill axla det ansvar som följer med handlingsfriheten. En väl fungerande handlingsfrihet kan leda till ökad servicekvalitet gentemot kunden samtidigt som frontpersonalen upplever ett ökat förtroenden, välmående och motivation. Detta skulle då utgöra en yttre autonomt motiverande faktor vilket är när yttre motivationsfaktorer stämmer överens med individens egna värderingar och denne finner en inneboende glädje samt vilja i att utföra uppgifterna. Samtidigt kan en misslyckad handlingsfrihet även leda till stress och osäkerhet som i sin tur kan resultera i felaktiga beslut, försämrad servicekvalitet och en minskad motivation. Människor är olika och reagerar på olika sätt i olika situationer, vissa kanske stimuleras av ansvarstagande, ökat förtroende och utrymme för kreativitet och frihet i sitt handlingsutrymme samtidigt som andra kan vara intresserade av att ha tydliga riktlinjer för vad som ska göras oavsett situation. Utifrån ovanstående bakgrund har studien följande problemformulering:   Hur påverkar handlingsfrihet frontpersonalens upplevda yttre autonoma motivation inom tjänsteföretag?   Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en fördjupad kunskap om hur handlingsfrihet påverkar frontpersonalens yttre autonoma motivation samt att resultatet ska kunna användas av ledare inom främst tjänstesektorn.   Studien använder sig av en kvalitativ metod med en induktiv ansats som grund. För insamlandet av data har elva semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts och transkriberat där respondenterna utgörs av kundtjänstpersonal på de fem största bankerna.   Slutsatserna visar att handlingsfrihet kan leda till en ökad yttre autonom motivation. Om det ger en ökad yttre autonom motivation eller inte beror dock till stor del på individens egen inställning till handlingsfrihet. För att kunna avgöra om handlingsfrihet passar för individen kan ledaren identifiera det genom att analysera individernas personlighetsdrag. Detta då det finns ett tydligt samband där de respondenter med högre grad av personlighetsdragen tenderar att skapa en ökad yttre autonom motivation vid mycket handlingsfrihet medan de personer som med en lägre grad av personlighetsdragen istället tenderar att få en minskad motivation av handlingsfrihet.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka om det förelåg några skillnader i upplevelsen av inre arbetsmotivation och arbetstillfredsställelse bland tjänstemannakonsulter inom ett bemanningsföretag beroende på antal uppdrag. Syftet var även att undersöka om det förelåg någon interaktionseffekt mellan hur väl uppfyllda de inre motivationsbehoven var och antal uppdrag. Ytterligare ett syfte var att undersöka vilket motivationsbehov som predicerade generell arbetstillfredsställelse främst. Studien genomfördes inom ett bemanningsföretag i mellansverige, där 70 tjänstemannakonsulter deltog genom att besvara en webbenkät. Mätinstrumenten som användes var Basic Need of Satisfaction at work scale (BNS) och Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). BNS mätte de inre motivationsbehoven; autonomi, kompetens och samhörighet och MSQ mätte inre och yttre arbetstillfredsställelse. Resultatet visade en signifikant skillnad i upplevelse av de inre motivationsbehoven där kompetens och samhörighet skattades högre än autonomi. Resultatet visade även att autonomi predicerade generell arbetstillfredsställelse främst i gruppen med 1-3 uppdrag medan i gruppen med 4-12 uppdrag var det kompetens som predicerade generell arbetstillfredsställelse främst. / The purpose of the study was to examine whether there were any experience difference of intrinsic work motivation and work satisfaction among agency workers depending on the amount of assignments. The purpose was also to examine whether there was an interaction between the amounts of assignments and how well met the work motivations needs were and finally to examine which motivation needs that predicted general job satisfaction best in the groups. The study was conducted within an employment agency in Sweden, where 70 agency workers participated by answering an online questionnaire. The measuring instruments used were Basic Need of Satisfaction at work scale (BNS) and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). BNS measured the intrinsic motivation needs; autonomy, competence and relatedness while MSQ measured internal and external work satisfaction. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the experience of the intrinsic motivation needs; competence and relatedness was higher estimated than autonomy. The results also showed that autonomy was the best predictor of general job satisfaction in the group with 1-3 assignments while competence was the best predictor of general job satisfaction in the group with 4-12 assignments.

The historical method of precise orbit determination is a dynamic approach. However, with the improvement of GPS tracking data and associated tracking networks, two newer methods have been developed: reduced-dynamic and kinematic. In addition to orbit determination, alternative methods of gravity field recovery have been developed using kinematic orbits which do not rely on any force modeling. However, one significant drawback of kinematic orbits is that they lack any velocity or acceleration information. These have to be derived numerically. Based on the results of this thesis, the Savitzky-Golay filter, without using a remove-restore procedure, is recommended for deriving kinematic velocities of the GRACE mission. In addition, the numerical differentiation methods are tested to see how well accurately they represent the satellite's acceleration for all three orbit types. Finally, with the kinematic orbits properly reconstructed, the results can also be compared to dynamic and reduced-dynamic orbits through K-Band Ranging residuals. / text

In the red-eared slider turtle, Trachemys scripta, gonadal sex is determined by the incubation temperature during the mid-trimester of development; temperature effects can be overridden by exogenous ligands if they are administered during the temperature-sensitive period of development. How the physical signal of temperature is transduced into a biological signal that ultimately results in determining gonad sex is not known. My thesis research focuses on five candidate sex determining genes: cyp19a1 (aromatase), Forkhead box protein L2, R-spondin1, Doublesex mab3-related transcription factor 1, and Sex-determining Region on Y chromosome-box 9. The first three genes are markers of ovarian differentiation while the latter two genes are markers of testicular differentiation. Both in ovo (egg) and in vitro (gonadal explants) studies were conducted. Chapters 1 and 2 examine how exogenous steroid ligands interact with candidate genes as the gonads differentiate into testes or ovaries. Topical application of testosterone with aromatase inhibitor to eggs incubating at the female-producing temperature (31 ºC; FPT) suppresses expression of ovarian markers while increasing expression of testicular markers. Administration of 17β-estradiol (E2) to eggs incubating at a male-producing temperature (26 ºC; MPT) increases expression of ovarian markers while testicular markers are suppressed. This suggests that exogenous ligands modify gonadal trajectory by re-directing (suppression and activation) the expression of candidate genes. Chapter 3 identifies the gonad-specific promoter and the temperature-dependent DNA methylation signatures of the aromatase gene during gonadal differentiation. DNA methylation of the aromatase promoter is lowest at FPT relative to MPT. Exogenous E2 and certain polychlorinated biphenyls retain typical methylation patterns observed at MPT (Chapter 4). This suggests that despite the ability of exogenous ligands to alter the transcriptional profiles and gonad phenotypes, the MPT set the temperature typical epigenetic marks first at the beginning of TSP. Recruitment of modified histone proteins, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, at the aromatase promoter is FPT-specific during gonad determination. Temperature shift experiments suggest a lack of histone enrichment is due to MPT cue, but is not reversible by FPT. Preliminary analysis of modified histones by Next-generation sequencing shows high duplication levels across samples, leaving room for technical improvement in future study.

Although previous research has examined the relationship of teachers' school context to both teacher motivation and retention (Coladarci 1992; Hoy and Woolfolk 1993; Uline 2008; Skaalvik and Skaalvik 2010), very little research has looked at the role of teachers' professional development experiences to these outcome variables, nor has the role of motivation in the relationship between school contextual factors and teachers' professional commitment been examined. This study tested a model of teacher motivation that measures the relationships of teacher background variables, professional development experiences, and school climate to teacher self-determination and professional commitment. Teacher self-determination was hypothesized in this model to mediate the relationship between these teacher background and contextual variables to teachers' professional commitment. The fit of the model was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling, with a multiple group analysis employed to determine whether significant differences existed between public and charter school teacher participants. Results of this investigation revealed that with some modifications, the proposed model obtained good fit (using multiple fit indices) for both groups, with parameters allowed to vary freely. Due to possible differences between groups in measurement and structural model path coefficients, models for each group of teachers are interpreted separately. Implications of the final models as well as limitations of the study are discussed.

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The purpose of this research is to see if people’s motivation can be developed by the practice of the method focusing. The motivational constructs used to reflect the participants sense of motivation is; autonomy and competence. Autonomy is in this study derived from the theory of self-determination and is concerned with the participant’s degree of expressing their personal or autonomous desires, choices and goals (Skinner & Edge, 2002). Competence is in this study, a construct derived from Self-efficacy theory, and is concerned with the participants’ degree of using their capabilities effectively (Bandura, 1997). I have used qualitative methods; more specifically I have been inspired by phenomenology, to explore the common essences of the effects of focusing on their sense of motivation. I have interviewed three participants which have at least completed two levels of focusing. They are thus considered familiar with the essence of focusing, which practically means spending time or listening to a bodily felt issue, experience or problem (Gendlin, 1996). The raw data were analyzed by using a phenomenological reduction which resulted in four themes. The three themes that caught the essence of their experience of motivation were; “I focus on what I can do in my career,” “I am clearer about me in relationship with other people,” and “I want to do this.” The degree of their motivation was discussed with literature from Albert Bandura (1997, 2001), Edvard Deci and Richard Ryan (1985, 2002). The final theme representing their experience of focusing; “I can read what is going on,” was used together with relevant literature from Eugene Gendlin (1996, 2003) to gauge the effect of focusing, on the participants’ sense of motivation. The Findings in this study indicate that there is a positive effect from the practice of focusing on the participants’ motivation. The participants seem to use their competence and autonomy better. Focusing seem to contribute in terms of; higher levels of self-aiding thoughts and feelings, a stronger inward relationship and a stronger control in terms of overcoming negative states and perceived challenges. The participants seem more inclined to  act from personal or autonomous desires and goals and to use relevant competence effectively in social and occupational settings.