Résumé de la thèse : ce travail porte sur la notion d'espace symétrique symplectique extrinsèque. Ces espaces sont des espaces symétriques symplectiques dont la structure est induite par le plongement dans variété symplectique ambiante munie d'une connexion. Par analogie à la théorie standard des espaces symétriques, nous démontrons un théorème d'équivalence entre les espaces symétriques symplectiques extrinsèques d'une variété qui est elle-même un espace symétrique symplectique. La définition d'un espace symétrique symplectique extrinsèque fait intervenir l'existence d'affinités globales de la variété ambiante, les ``symétries extrinsèques', qui induisent la structure symétrique de la sous-variété ; ceci mène à poser une question du type : quelles sont les variétés possédant ``beaucoup' de ces affinités~? Une question précise ainsi qu'une réponse sont fournies dans un contexte où la variété ambiante est seulement supposée munie d'une structure symplectique et d'une connexion symplectiques. Nous considérons également le cas où ces symétries commutent avec un champ $K$ d'endomorphismes symplectiques fixé de la variété, de carré $pmId$. Nous définissons une notion de courbure sectionnelle pour plans $K$-stables et montrons que les espaces à $K$-courbure sectionnelle constantes sont localement symétriques de type Ricci. Par suite nous étudions les espaces symétriques symplectiques extrinsèques dans un espace vectoriel symplectique. Nous montrons par exemple qu'un tel espace, s'ils est de dimension deux, est forcément intrinsèquement plat (c.-à-d. à courbure intrinsèque nulle), mais que son image n'est pas forcément un plan affin de l'espace vectoriel ambiant. Nous décrivons en fait explicitement tous les espaces symétriques symplectiques extrinsèques, dans un espace vectoriel, dont la courbure intrinsèque s'annule identiquement. Nous décrivons également une famille d'exemples d'espaces extrinsèques, dont nous montrons qu'elle fournit la totalité des espaces extrinsèques de codimension $2$, dans un espace vectoriel. Enfin, nous décrivons quelques exemples d'espaces symétriques symplectiques extrinsèques qui sont totalement géodésiques, dans un espace de type Ricci particulier.

The present study investigated the effects of reward structure and environmental conditions (i.e., context) on integrated motivation for an accounting task using 101 undergraduate accounting students. A computer-simulated task in which students were asked to estimate allowance for doubtful accounts was used to create and manipulate reward structure (i.e., performance-contingent vs. task-contingent) and context (i.e., self-determined vs. controlled). It was hypothesized that a self-determined context would create greater motivation than a controlled context when motivation was measured by response intensity, response persistence, integrated response intensity, and integrated response persistence. An ordinal interaction was also hypothesized such that in a self-determined context, performance-contingent rewards would create more motivation than task-contingent rewards, and in a controlled context, performance-contingent rewards would create less motivation than task-contingent rewards. Results indicated that response intensity, as measured by time on task, did not support the hypothesized main effect or the ordinal interaction; however, when self-reported effort was used as a measure of response intensity, support for both hypotheses was found. Similarly, when response persistence was measured by time on task, support for the hypotheses was not found; however, when number of problems worked during the free choice period was used to assess response persistence, hypothesized effects were supported. For integrated response intensity and persistence, support for the hypotheses was not found. / Ph. D.

Motivated employees contribute to the wellbeing of the employee as well as the success of the company. Each and every person is motivated differently and at a different level. One of the biggest challenges for an organisation is to find out how it can motivate employees to ensure job satisfaction and improve employee efficiency and productivity. The objective of this study is to determine how employees of a retirement fund company in Centurion, Gauteng believe they are motivated and how the company is performing in meeting the expectation for motivation of the employees. A comprehensive literature study was done to investigate the theories on motivation. A structured questionnaire was compiled based on the factors of motivation identified in the literature study by the author in collaboration with the Statistical Consultation Service of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. Data was captured by the researcher and analysed with the assistance of the Statistical Consultation Services. Based on the results of the data analysis, it is recommended that managers focus on areas identified as important motivators by the employees to improve overall motivation in the workplace. The results also improve the understanding of the managers as to how their employees want to be motivated and how they are currently performing to those expectations. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Motivated employees contribute to the wellbeing of the employee as well as the success of the company. Each and every person is motivated differently and at a different level. One of the biggest challenges for an organisation is to find out how it can motivate employees to ensure job satisfaction and improve employee efficiency and productivity. The objective of this study is to determine how employees of a retirement fund company in Centurion, Gauteng believe they are motivated and how the company is performing in meeting the expectation for motivation of the employees. A comprehensive literature study was done to investigate the theories on motivation. A structured questionnaire was compiled based on the factors of motivation identified in the literature study by the author in collaboration with the Statistical Consultation Service of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. Data was captured by the researcher and analysed with the assistance of the Statistical Consultation Services. Based on the results of the data analysis, it is recommended that managers focus on areas identified as important motivators by the employees to improve overall motivation in the workplace. The results also improve the understanding of the managers as to how their employees want to be motivated and how they are currently performing to those expectations. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study examines the career choices of MBA students in Saudi Arabia. Despite the government’s efforts in reducing unemployment by encouraging young Saudis, including managers, to work in the private sector, the number of jobless educated Saudis is on the rise. The public sector seems to be more attractive despite its limited job opportunities. While most career choice theories are concerned with personal choices, this study aims to address the underlying reasons for the preference towards the public sector by investigating the influence of institutional factors (Saudization, Wasta, social status, parental obedience, and religion) and personal motivational factors (intrinsic and extrinsic). Convenience sampling was employed and, overall, 273 Saudi MBA students (157 males and 116 females) responded to self-administered questionnaires. Data was analysed and the research hypotheses were tested by using descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression and independent samples t-tests. Findings showed that Wasta (networks), parental obedience (family), Islamic religion and extrinsic factors were significant predictors of the career choices of Saudi MBA students, with a preference towards work in the public sector. Saudization (i.e. replacing foreign workers with Saudis), social status, and intrinsic factors did not significantly predict the career choices. Cultural cognitive factors (parental obedience and religion) were found to be the strongest predictors within the institutional dimension compared to the normative factors (Wasta and social status) and the regulative factor (Saudization). Female participants considered Wasta, parental obedience and intrinsic motivations more important in their career choices compared to their male counterparts. The findings suggest that the career choices of Saudi MBA students are not determined solely by the individuals’ personal needs and that one should take into account the wider social and cultural factors which are more influential in non-Western contexts such as Saudi Arabia. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are of interest to researchers, policymakers and employers in public and private organisations in Saudi Arabia. Keywords: Career choice, Saudization, Wasta, religion, intrinsic and extrinsic, Saudi Arabia, MBA students, gender.

The present study makes use of several assumptions. It was considered that the cultural heritage of a group can be classified into two broad categories: the intrinsic culture, which includes the basic cultural traits and constitutes the core of a group's identity, and the extrinsic culture which includes the more peripheral traits. Assimilation takes place when the basic cultural traits are lost or substituted by others under conditions of culture contact. It was assumed that in order to understand the process of assimilation of a particular group of second-generation immigrants in a particular country, the basic cultural background of their parents must be taken into account. Further, it was assumed that the adults of the minority among whom the child is growing up must be placed into their historical context and their experiences as members of a particular time have to be taken into consideration. Finally, it was considered that unless the second-generation immigrants. are studies as members of a particular social network, the understanding of their course of assimilation will be incomplete. The group chosen for this research was the Ukrainian minority in Britain. Since the Ukrainians have been a minority nation in their own country without, however, losing their ethnic identity, some basic factors of their political and social history are provided as a possible explanation for this phenomenon. In addition, a summary of the social and psychological effects of the Second World War on the Ukrainian group is provided. Some of the basic social problems encountered by Ukrainians in their initial years in Britain, and their way of coping with them are described. The contemporary social structure and the distinctive Ukrainian way of organizing their ethnic life is discussed in detail. Particular attention is given to the institutions designed to promote the retention of ethnicity among young Ukrainians. Further, the extent to whtch second-generation Ukrainians adhere to their basic ethnic patterns of behaviour and the extent to which they identify themselves with their group, was stud~d inasample of children and adolescents. In addition, several hypotheses regarding the factors which promote the retention of ethnicity were tested. Among the factors found to be significantly associated with the retention of ethnicity are the following: absence of intermarriage with the natives, provision of an ethnically meaningful environment in the family, and organized ethnic education and recreation. Finally, parent-child relations, attitudes towards the ethnic group, and attitudes towards the majority were explored and studied in relation to the factors responsible for the retention of an ethnic identity.

The Purbeck Review of Schools, initiated by Dorset County Council in 2008, resulted in the closure of the middle school in Swanage, leaving the town bereft of secondary education by July 2013. A community-led group, Education Swanage, founded a new school in the town, which opened in September 2013 as a free school, with a humanscale ethos. Although there was controversy about free schools at the time, there is no research to date about how personal values influence the founding of such a school. This research answers the question how did values influence the founding of The Swanage School? This inductive research was informed by literature on the conceptualization of ‘values’ and the ‘sacred’ and delimited by theoretical insights from practical theology, living theory and human-scale education. The action research strategy, set within a paradigm of praxis, addressed how values influenced action in founding the school. Semistructured interviews, an online survey and a validation group were used to discover how values influenced practice. The data revealed a variety of interpretations of the term ‘values’, which were most commonly alluded to as being central in guiding and informing everyday interaction in the world and relating to how humans respond to others whilst also being a reflection of personal identity. The research identified areas of practice where the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic values was influential when operating in contradiction and congruence to affect change. Analysis of the findings enabled conclusions and propositions to be developed, which focused on how values influenced the process of moving from contradiction to congruence in order to enact change. Values were a significant influence in the founding of The Swanage School. When values were contradicted they acted as standards of judgement and formed the basis of conversations which led to problems being solved and decisions being made. Concepts from the wider literature and the field of practical theology provided insight into how values can be defined and how their influence on action can be interpreted as an encounter with the sacred. The conclusion of this study and its contribution to knowledge is the explanation of how values influenced the founding of The Swanage School in the form of a living educational theory.

This study investigated the perceived locus of causality of motivation in high school football players. The Sports Motivation Scale (SMS) was used to study seven motivation subscales (IM to know, IM to accomplish, IM stimulation, EM identified, EM introjected, EM external and Amotivation) with respect to motivation among high school football players. This indicated that IM to know, IM to accomplish, EM identified and EM introjected were the best predictors of the participants? perceived locus of causality of motivation. The results indicate that when using perceived locus of causality for motivation, position played could be predicted 62 percent of the time. The study also speculates on ways in which communication could be used to affect motivation.

Denna kvalitativa motivationsstudie utfördes på åtta svenska toppsäljare och utgick i från Vallerands hierarkiska modell om inre och yttre motivation (1997) och även från Czikszentmihalyis teori om flow (1990). Syftet med studien var att ta reda på vilka motivationsfaktorer som förenar toppsäljare. Toppsäljarna intervjuades enskilt genom en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. En tematisk analys utfördes på utskrifterna från intervjuerna och analysen undersöktes utifrån tre huvudkategorier: inre motivation, yttre motivation, och flow. Resultatet visade att toppsäljarna hade en stark inre drivkraft att utvecklas, att nå egna mål och uppnå positiva känslotillstånd av själva utförandet. Den yttre motivationen skiljde sig mellan toppsäljarna, då vissa drevs mer av yttre stimuli såsom pengar och beröm än andra. Resultatet visade att toppsäljarnas drivs till största delen av inre motivationsfaktorer, då de var starkt framträdande hos samtliga. Det är därmed viktigt att skapa en arbetsmiljö- och situation som främjar säljarnas möjlighet att sätta egna mål och autonomi.

Youth sports today often mimic professional versions of the sport. Combined with the competitive nature of society, youth sports have become a place where there are few winners and numerous losers. Additionally, many youth sport programs lack the fun, playful elements that used to be prevalent in informal sports. This study uses conjoint analysis to examine parents’ and children’s preferences for coaching methods (intervals, stroke drills, relays, and challenges), hedonic social activities (fun games, parties, and social events), and extrinsic rewards (best time ribbons, place ribbons, and participation ribbons) in a youth swim team program. The conjoint analysis offers insight about which coaching methods, hedonic social activities, and extrinsic rewards are preferred and acceptable to parents and children. Parents and children had similar preferences with their main desire being for the child to learn how to swim. Results indicate that parents and children are socialized into a belief of what sports programs should encompass and that current youth swim team programs are not serving all children. / text