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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 14, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-316).

Skills development is acquired by the beneficiaries that are sufficient for self-sustenance when the period of study expires. The outcomes of this study will help government with an indication of the success or failure of EPWP and ways of improving identified shortfalls and/or failures in the North West Office. It highlights problems of the current skills development by delineating the weaknesses and pitfalls. The relevant literature has l been visited and has served as a primary data that adds value to the dissertation. Collation of the relevant data is followed by a discussion of the employee perception of the impact of skills development implementation. The relative lack of research of impact skill development is the primary impetus of this study. The sample was drawn from The Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport in the North West Province office employees who were cooperative in the execution of the study. As a result of this, the research on the subject has moved beyond the limited confines of skills development to focus more on the impact of the skills development. Skills development is focused on standardisation and synchronisation of information as a result of improved organisational efficiency, but unfortunately problems with skills development can create challenges and dissatisfaction among the end users, resulting in failure to deliver the anticipated benefits. The findings of this study revealed that there is deficiency The Department's mandate with regard to Expanded Public Works Programme will ensure that the delivery of accessible services through integrated socially developmental and empowering processes can improve the quality of life of communities within the province by the way of community development programmes thus eradicating poverty and look at the conclusion and recommendations made in this dissertation. / Thesis (MBA) North-West Ubiversity, Mafikeng Campus, 2013

Published Article / In universities of technology there is much confusion regarding the concept cooperative education and related terminology. The aim of this article is to offer a conceptual alternative for cooperative education, based on findings from the literature, workshops conducted institutionally and nationally in universities of technology and supported by a PhD study conducted by the first author. The findings suggest an alternative approach towards the conceptual understanding of cooperative education and its associated components. In addition, the proposed conceptual framework provides a directive towards structural development and managing applicable learning types in a university of technology environment with regard to work-integrated learning and service learning.

Currently, the experience economy, as a new form of economy is developing and following the service economy. The experiential marketing is the product of experience economy and it is increasingly used by more and more enterprises. A good way of carrying out experiential marketing improves consumers’ user experience when they do shopping. Nevertheless, there are some issues regarding the existing marketing strategy that need to be looked into.The purpose of this thesis is to try to find out Chinese consumers’ attitudes towards experiential marketing. IKEA, a Swedish furniture retailer, has a large number of stores in China and IKEA is widely known for its experiential marketing. It seems appropriate for a case study on the Chinese consumers’ attitudes toward experiential marketing.The case study method has been chosen for doing this research, and the research is conducted from a consumers’ perspective. This thesis first introduces the background of this kind of marketing strategy and explains the basic theory of it and then, analyzed according to IKEA’s actual situation of implementing experiential marketing. How IKEA applies experiential marketing mode and makes full use of its characteristics is studied, especially from Chinese consumers’ perspective. The analysis is based on Chinese consumers who belong to different age groups.

Experiential avoidance (EA) is a process in which a person attempts to avoid, dismiss, or change experiences such as emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. EA is associated with a number of psychological disorders and is generally harmful to psychological well-being. Various studies have explored the role of EA as a mediator, while others have studied EA as a moderator. The current study aimed to further understand and broaden the knowledge of the role of EA in regard to trauma, substance abuse, aggression, and impulsivity by examining relationships between these variables with EA as a mediator and as a moderator. Experientially avoidant behaviors (i.e., substance abuse, aggression, and impulsivity) were related to higher levels of EA. EA was found to partially mediate the relationship between the number of traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as well as the relationship between substance abuse and PTSD. EA was also found to moderate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and aggression. Findings from the present study as well as its limitations and future directions for research are discussed.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jon D. Hunt / Design tools (the method of making a designer uses to conceptualize or communicate the assembly of an object) are not simply secondary instruments to communicate designs through, but are the primary media through which designers contemplate and process design problems. Designers should utilize tools, whether digital or analog, with an awareness of each tool’s limitations and advantages and the possibilities they provide to each step of the design process. The intent of this report is to study how site inspired making methods can be used to observe and reveal information about a site, and thus contribute to the site analysis phase of design. Site inspired making methods are developed in this report through an exploratory research process. Exploratory research is a qualitative method used to provide flexibility in developing knowledge about a topic. An exploratory process was chosen to allow my focuses to shift as I make and reflect so my findings arise as I conduct the studies, not just from an initial hypothesis. Through an exploratory research process of making and reflecting this report answers the question: How do various methods of making develop and document my understanding of the site? Exploratory methods of drawing and sculpting are used to observe and reveal site information, and develop site-inspired artistic works. The site is a small, wooded lot and cove of Tuttle Creek Lake located northwest of Manhattan, Kansas. The research process is divided into an investigation phase in which I explored initial drawing and sculpting methods and an application phase in which I created a sculpture and series of drawings inspired by the site. I documented site conditions through observational drawing; revealed patterns and textures by drawing with and on site materials; developed parametric studies of balancing sculptures; discovered crystallization patterns by splattering ink on a frozen lake; designed a balancing sculpture inspired by the motion of ice sheets and driftwood on water; and created frost drawings by applying ink to soaked and frozen watercolor paper. Each method revealed different site qualities and informed my understanding of the site.

Both the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) and the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) require counselor education programs to provide experiential training to group workers (CACREP, 2009; ASGW, 2000). However, no specific models are given to counselor educators to implement the experiential component. Only two research studies have examined the overall structure and type of instructor involvement commonly used in counselor training programs (Anderson & Price, 2001; Merta, Wolfgang, & McNeil, 1993). In addition, researchers have documented ethical concerns in the use of experiential training methods (Davenport, 2004; Furr & Barret, 2000; Riva & Korinek, 2004) including the role of dual relationships, confidentiality, and competency. Student experience of the experiential training is impacted by both the structure of the experiential group and the ethical pitfalls associated with each (Goodrich, 2008). Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the current models of group work and how the structure of these models impacted student attitudes toward ethical concerns of dual relationships, confidentiality, and competency and overall student experience. Members of the American Counseling Association (ACA) who had graduated with their master's degree in the past five years were asked to respond to the Survey of Student Attitudes and Instructor Participation in Experiential Groups online survey. The findings of this study suggested that the most common group work training model is to have a full-time faculty member both instruct the group work course and facilitate the experiential group. In addition, concern over ethical issues was found to be an important component in student's comfort level and belief that the experiential group was instrumental in their development as a group counselor. These results do not support the findings of Anderson and Price (2001) which suggested a growing trend of group work instructors not being both the facilitator of the experiential group and the instructor of the course. However, the findings do support previous research which indicated that ethical concerns do negatively impact student involvement in the experiential group (Davenport, 2004; Hall, Hall, Harris, Hay, Biddulph, & Duffy, 1999).

This inquiry reconstructs three Experiential Learning Events (ELE) as case studies through the use of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and narrative. The ELEs in the study included a total of 70 students and teachers in unique cultural formations. The sites of study included: the 2001 Intensive English Seminar (IES): Fiction to Film High School English Class, the 2014 NASA + Real World Matters Climate Change in the Classroom Workshop in New York City, and the 2016 Glenbard District 87 Mathematical Curiosity Adventure in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Each ELE allowed students and teachers to interact with a field (literature/film, science, and mathematics) “in the wild.” Narratives were analyzed using metaphor theory and Gendlin’s EXP scale to understand learners’ perceptions of ELEs in relation to our understandings of traditional schooling. The primary research questions included: What happens during and after experiential learning events? Specifically, What did people perceive? How did it happen? For whom? Why? Findings: While this inquiry was not designed to present any definitive answers, case studies and the metaphors related to them suggest ELE participants have richer experiences than they might in traditional settings. Narratives also suggest that a hallmark of ELEs is that they are more fluid in relation to the commonly fixed learning experiences found in traditional secondary school settings.

Due to the universal nature of stress, and its impact on physical health, it is important to understand how it is related to other psychological variables. The current study was undertaken in order to investigate whether an individual's cardiovascular reactivity to stress is impacted by their level of experiential avoidance, as measured by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II). Individuals who are experientially avoidant are more likely to attempt to escape or prevent certain experiences and make effort to change them or avoid the contexts in which they occur. Previous research has indicated that experiential avoidance is related to some measures of physiological stress. One hundred twenty-eight college students (ages 18-29) were administered a questionnaire that included measures of general stress, experiential avoidance, and depression. After completing the questionnaire, a baseline reading of cardiovascular activity was taken. After that baseline reading, research assistants administered the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a series of tasks designed to induce physiological stress that consists of an anticipation period, a speech, and a math task. Measurements of cardiovascular activity were taken throughout administration. It was hypothesized that increased experiential avoidance would predict higher blood pressure and heart rate both before engaging in the stress task. It was also hypothesized that increased experiential avoidance would predict higher cardiovascular reactivity during administration of the TSST. As was expected, higher experiential avoidance predicted higher baseline heart rate. This finding adds to the body of research that supports the connection between psychological constructs and physiological reactivity. However, experiential avoidance did not significantly predict baseline blood pressure or any measures of physiological reactivity during the TSST.