A large body of research has examined the appropriate time course of psychotherapy across a variety of therapeutic modalities. Research in the area of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has indicated the efficacy of single-session interventions in improving anxiety, depression, and even weight loss. These findings, though promising, are accompanied by the question of how much ACT is enough to make a statistically and clinically significant difference in symptoms. The present study sought to clarify this question among individuals with depression. Adults (N = 271) with elevated depressive symptoms were recruited via mass emails for a study comparing the relative effectiveness of time-variant single-session ACT interventions (90 minutes, 3 hours, 6 hours). Inclusion criteria included PHQ-8 score 10, no history of TBI, no current psychotherapy, and no medication changes in the past 60 days. Eligible participants completed a screening interview, which included modules from the M.I.N.I. Exclusion criteria included active suicidality, past or current mania, and past or current psychoses. If interested in participating (n=351), eligible participants could complete the baseline measure after enrolling in the study. Participants were randomized to a single-session 90-minute, 3-hour, or 6-hour group ACT intervention. About half (51.2%) of enrolled and randomized participants completed their assigned group intervention. Follow-up assessments were completed at 1-month and 3-months post-intervention with limited attrition. Longitudinal mixed-effects modeling was used to examine change over time and between conditions. Findings indicated that depressive symptoms and avoidance decreased over time, and social satisfaction increased over time. Differences between conditions and interactions between time and condition were not observed. Equivalency analyses revealed that the 3- and 6-hour groups were not within the margin of equivalence in terms of depressive symptoms. Mindfulness analyses revealed that at 3-month follow-up, the 3- and 6-hour groups reported higher mindfulness than the 90-minute group. The findings have public health implications in terms of reaching a larger number of patients with increased efficiency. Given the far greater patient demand than number of therapists available, increased access and efficiency are of great importance. The results also suggest that individuals with depression can make rapid, sustainable changes, and this is of critical importance clinically. Limitations included a homogenous sample of primarily white, highly educated females, and the lack of a no-treatment control group. The findings of the current study indicate that brief group ACT interventions can result in change in both processes (avoidance, mindfulness) and functioning (depressive symptoms, social satisfaction) months after the single-session intervention. Future research should examine the effectiveness of brief interventions with other symptomatology as compared to a no-treatment control or a more traditional course of psychotherapy.

A case study has been conducted on the College Counts program, a well-integrated service-learning program, to examine the experiential learning of 10 former participants. It was the objective of this investigation to view the learning of 10 college students, through the lens of transformational learning, as they reflect on their experiences as participants in the College Counts program. Transformational learning theory was used as a lens to determine if high school students have the ability to engage in transformative learning. Students reported in their own voices transformative learning in one or more of the following forms: increased cultural inclusiveness, commitment to social justice, and/or shift in personal perspective and choices. Results of the study suggested that Mezirow’s transformational learning theory should be expanded to include secondary students.

A single case study was used to examine internships at an (AACSB) accredited business school located at a Research 1 university in the southeastern United States. Internships are the dominant form of experiential learning used within the college under study and the “preferred method of business schools worldwide to give students practical experience and help them transition to the real world” (Kosnik, Tingle, Blanton, 2013, p. 616). The Grant University College of Business, pseudonym selected for this case, supports an internship and career services office that oversees nine internship courses representing six departments within the college. At minimum, each department is responsible for outlining their individual internship guidelines and requirements. The staff within the internship & career services office are primarily responsible for enforcing those guidelines, administering course content, and working with employers to promote meaningful internship experiences. The dean, associate dean for undergraduate programs, six administrators, six employers, and five students participated in this study. After three months of interviews, a focus group, and document reviews, data were analyzed to determine participant perception of internships and also to gain insight into future recommendations. This study was significant because it sought to address a gap in the literature on internships in undergraduate business education and to provide additional evidence that internships contribute to success in career, curriculum, and relationship development as evidenced by the in-depth analysis of a single case.

The intention of my thesis is to articulate how spiritualities, some in emergent secular expressions, as direct experiences of the sacred, may formatively shape and be actualised in new forms of democratic government as a self-organising phenomenon emerging in concert with evolutionary dynamics. I am attempting to apply experiential interconnectedness which is embodied in the best of human experience as a generative base and an organising dynamic to the evolution of democratic politics. The contribution to knowledge and understanding that my thesis brings is that the elucidation of experiences, inner processes and images which governing based on sacredness could incorporate. I expand the discussion on democracy to include the transformative and generative power of significant experiences. Consistent with democratic principles of inclusive equality, I devolve insights from the lives, thoughts and activities of ordinary people which are then analysed within relevant theoretical perspectives and related to emergent social trends. The focus of the research is on possibilities, transformation and empowerment available within a sacred cosmos, an interconnected and interactive reality. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis was generated from an action research project, the aim of which was to improve the learning process at the Polytechnic of Agriculture, University of Jember, East Java. The proposition argued is that the implementation of learner-centred approaches in a formal tertiary education setting will assist educators and learners to meet their needs. Further, the approaches will motivate participants in the learning process to be both self-responsible and self-directed learners. Participatory approaches were utilised to induce improvement in the Polytechnic's practices, student satisfaction and contributions to learning by the outside community. Participants included students, the Director, the Associate Director for Academic and Head of School. Information was also collected from outsiders. The outcomes from the project were: students were responsible for their own learning; staff were able to act as professional facilitators; and curriculum development. There are still some unresolved issues, and it was recommended that further research of effectiveness of learning approaches in formal tertiary education needs to be carried out. / Master of Science (Hons)

This thesis investigates two intertwined themes. The first concerns the development of a framework for understanding, and making appropriate use of, simulations and games as tools for learning. The second concerns the utilisation of the term PractitionerResearcher to reflect the unity of practice and research activity in creating 'working knowledge' (Symes 2000). These themes are intertwined in the sense that the route I take to understanding simulations and games is through the stance of a PractitionerResearcher. Conversely the thesis aims to draw out what it means to be a PractitionerResearcher through my engagement as a facilitator of simulations and games. I argue that the knowledge I generate as a PractitionerResearcher is utilitarian and pragmatic. Grounded in my practice as an adult educator it utilises theoretical perspectives chosen for immediate relevance rather than because of any claims to 'truth' or permanence. Understanding how this shapes and influences my practice was a complex, difficult process. Using an auto-ethnographic approach, Chapter 1 outlines the development of my 'working knowledge' as a PractitionerResearcher. It draws on selected personal experiences in my work as an adult educator using simulations and games for teaching and learning. While curiosity about historical facts initiated the research reported in Chapter 2, the chapter focuses on uses of historical precedent for generating greater understanding, and acceptance by participants, of simulations and games as teaching/learning strategies. It identifies a range of contributions - from war games, religious games, and children's play - to the structuring of modern educational simulations and games. Chapter 3 explores approaches to classifying simulations and games. Its development brought a gradual realisation of the futility of trying to establish a single definitive categorisation system for all simulations and games. Understanding how they can be arranged in a variety of different relationships provides a better insight into their general features and helps in making decisions about when and how to use specific activities. One outcome of the work for this chapter was the realisation of some simulations as 'open and infinite' in nature, and that XB - simulation of importance in my practice - is such a simulation. Chapter 4 uses concepts developed in the field of chaos theory to illustrate how certain simulations create messy but 'chaordic' (Hock 2002) rather than dis-orderly learning contexts. 'Chaos/chaotic' once meant only dis-order, 'messiness' and unpredictability. Twentieth century scientific discoveries illustrate that order is concealed within 'chaos' producing richly complex patterns when viewed from the right perspective. I argue that 'chaos' concepts can be usefully applied to open and infinite simulations to demonstrate how they are similarly 'chaordic'. XB (for eXperience Based learning) is an open, infinite chaordic simulation, and has been a driving force in my practice for six years. The case study in Chapter 5 introduces the 'world according to XB' and takes the reader 'inside' participants' experiences as the unfolding nature of their learning is revealed in the way they apply theories of organisational behaviour to immediate behaviours. Chapter 6 reflects on my experiences of facilitating XB, via a review of interactions with some past XB participants. The influence of such a learning process on my practice is analysed. The emotional impact of these interactions has brought a better understanding of my own practice, and the chapter considers the concept of 'dispassionate reflexivity' as an aid for the facilitator in such contexts. Chapter 7 examines the evolution and distinctive features of the PractitionerResearcher in more detail. As an educator, a consistent focus of my work has been simultaneously 'to know more' and 'to be able to do better' - and it is the interdependence of these that lies at the heart of what it means to be a PractitionerResearcher. It is my hope that this thesis offers a solution for practitioners wanting to combine 'research' and 'practice' into a practical and scientifically rigorous 'whole'. For such professionals the PractitionerResearcher model offers an integrated approach, combining and validating 'learning in action' and 'learning for action'.

This thesis is a study of outdoor education, in the deliberative tradition of curriculum inquiry. It examines the intentional generation and distribution of knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes through organised outdoor activities, both as a research interest, and as a critical perspective on outdoor education discourse. Eight separate but interrelated research projects, originally published in 11 refereed journal articles, develop and defend the thesis statement: The problem of determining what, if any, forms of outdoor experience should be educational priorities, and how those experiences should be distributed in communities and geographically – that is who goes where and does what – is inherently situational. The persistence of a universalist outdoor education discourse that fails to acknowledge or adequately account for social and geographic circumstances points to serious flaws in outdoor education research and theory, and impedes the development of more defensible outdoor education practices. The introduction explains how the eight projects cohere, and illustrates how they may be linked using the example of militaristic thinking in outdoor safety standards. Chapters 1 and 2 defend and elaborate a situationist approach to outdoor education, using the examples of outdoor education in Victoria (Australia), and universalist approaches to outdoor education in textbooks respectively. Chapters 3 and 4 expand on some epistemological implications of the thesis and examine, respectively, the cultural dimensions of outdoor experience, and the epistemology and ontology of local natural history. Chapters 5 and 6 apply a situationist epistemology to personal development based outdoor education. Traditions of outdoor education that draw on person-centred rather than situation-sensitive theories of behaviour are examined and critiqued. Alternatives to person-centred theories of outdoor education are discussed. Chapters 7 and 8 use situationist outdoor education to provide a critical reading of nature-based tourism. Chapters 9, 10, and 11 return to the theme of safety in the introduction and Chapter 1, and examine the safety implications of a situationist epistemology. Closing comments briefly draw together the conclusions of all of the chapters, and offer some directions for future outdoor education research.

<p>Nowadays we are in a very competitive market where products have all very sustainable competitive advantages. It is difficult to find the difference between products. Finding a new way to reach this advantage of differentiation from one to another is becoming the key issue for companies to survive in this context. Traditional marketing strategies focusing on price or quality are not anymore a long-term source of differentiation and competitive advantage. A way to reach differentiation is by means of a much stronger focus on the customer. Experiential marketing is this new way by making the customers living an experience through the creation of emotions. Experiential marketing has for goal to create emotions to the customer that lead to enjoy an experience for the consumer and affect his attitude and behavior. It is very useful as a differentiation strategy to sell utilitarian product from everyday life. However aesthetic products like art or luxury products created by the genius of artists and couturiers create emotions by themselves. So, we focused on the luxury goods field because we wanted to know if experiential marketing had an effect on consumers in this field even if luxury goods products already create emotions by themselves. Moreover, some people are more sensitive to emotions and aesthetic than others. We also wanted to know if experiential marketing had an impact on these people. Our paper tries to go further on this subject by comparing to types of store of the company Lancel (a luxury company of leather goods) one is using experiential marketing and the other is not.</p><p>For our research we first had to read scientific articles, books and previous studies on emotions and experiential marketing. Then, we developed three hypotheses which helped us to conduct our research and draw conclusions. Those hypotheses have been discussed by conducting a mixed research that is to say by combining a qualitative research with a quantitative one. In the quantitative research we compared the emotions felt and the purchase intention in the different stores of Lancel to see if the store which uses experiential marketing has better results. In the qualitative research we wanted to know the reasons why Lancel has developed this new concept of store. The quantitative research was conducted by administrating questionnaires in the different stores of Lancel. We had a deductive approach. The qualitative research, based on a descriptive approach, was carried out by creating structured interviews. The results we were enable to get thanks to these data, allowed us to draw conclusions regarding our research. In this paper, we compare emotions people feel in a store that uses experiential marketing and in a one which doesn‘t to see if there are differences in their attitude and behavior due to experiential marketing.</p>

Thesis (M.A. (Recreation Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Nowadays we are in a very competitive market where products have all very sustainable competitive advantages. It is difficult to find the difference between products. Finding a new way to reach this advantage of differentiation from one to another is becoming the key issue for companies to survive in this context. Traditional marketing strategies focusing on price or quality are not anymore a long-term source of differentiation and competitive advantage. A way to reach differentiation is by means of a much stronger focus on the customer. Experiential marketing is this new way by making the customers living an experience through the creation of emotions. Experiential marketing has for goal to create emotions to the customer that lead to enjoy an experience for the consumer and affect his attitude and behavior. It is very useful as a differentiation strategy to sell utilitarian product from everyday life. However aesthetic products like art or luxury products created by the genius of artists and couturiers create emotions by themselves. So, we focused on the luxury goods field because we wanted to know if experiential marketing had an effect on consumers in this field even if luxury goods products already create emotions by themselves. Moreover, some people are more sensitive to emotions and aesthetic than others. We also wanted to know if experiential marketing had an impact on these people. Our paper tries to go further on this subject by comparing to types of store of the company Lancel (a luxury company of leather goods) one is using experiential marketing and the other is not. For our research we first had to read scientific articles, books and previous studies on emotions and experiential marketing. Then, we developed three hypotheses which helped us to conduct our research and draw conclusions. Those hypotheses have been discussed by conducting a mixed research that is to say by combining a qualitative research with a quantitative one. In the quantitative research we compared the emotions felt and the purchase intention in the different stores of Lancel to see if the store which uses experiential marketing has better results. In the qualitative research we wanted to know the reasons why Lancel has developed this new concept of store. The quantitative research was conducted by administrating questionnaires in the different stores of Lancel. We had a deductive approach. The qualitative research, based on a descriptive approach, was carried out by creating structured interviews. The results we were enable to get thanks to these data, allowed us to draw conclusions regarding our research. In this paper, we compare emotions people feel in a store that uses experiential marketing and in a one which doesn‘t to see if there are differences in their attitude and behavior due to experiential marketing.