The 21'' century business environment can be described in terms of globalisation, intensified competitiveness on a global level, and ever-increasing customer expectations. In the changing nature of the world of work, with its increasing complexity, competition and accelerated pace, the issue of leadership development is critical. Executives are pressured to continuously improve their performance, skills and contribution to the organisation. In the mining industry, executives are experiencing ongoing skill shortage, increased job stress, increased job dissatisfaction and the need to redress social imbalances via affirmative action and accelerated career development. This highlights the need to find effective ways of developing executives. In South Africa more traditional forms of executive development, such as prescribed training programmes, courses and business schools are used. Training programmes, courses and business schools do not address specific individual needs but tend to be more generic in content. Over the course of the last 10 years, executive coaching, an oneon- one intervention with middle and senior managers for the purpose of improving or enhancing management skills has become widely adopted by the corporate community. Executive coaching is one of the fastest growing executive development processes in adult learning. Recent literature in the field of coaching purports the advantages of coaching such as increased performance, job satisfaction, team effectiveness, self awareness, decreased job stress, higher optimism and change management. The objectives of this study were to develop an executive coaching programme and to determine the effect of this programme on the general wellbeing, job characteristics, coping strategies, personality characteristics (both pervasive and situational), work-related wellness, as well as the performance of executives in the mining industry in South Africa. A longitudinal design was used. The participants (n = 29) consisted of General Managers, Mine Overseers and Production Managers from one area in a large mining company in South Africa. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R), the Job Characteristics Survey - Mining (JCM), the Learned Optimism Scale (LOS), the ituational Sense of Coherence Scale (SSOC), the Perceived Wellness Scale (PWS) and a 360" Performance Evaluation Measurement (PEM) were used. The results showed that the xecutive Coaching Programme developed for this study increased the general wellbeing, job characteristics, performance and coping strategies of the executives in the mining industry. The study also found an increase in the situational personality characteristics (situational sense of coherence and learned optimism) after the completion of the coaching programme. Furthermore, the results showed an increase in the positive affective evaluation of work (engagement) (vigour and professional efficacy), as well as a decrease in the negative affective evaluation of work (burnout) (exhaustion and cynicism). In terms of coping strategies passive coping decreased, while problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping increased. Interestingly, the findings showed an increase in pervasive personality characteristics and a decrease in absorption of executives after completion of the coaching programme. The qualitative results from the dairy study showed very positive reports in relation to the executives' experiences of the performance evaluation process and the executive coaching programme in relation to their development. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a debilitating anxiety disorder that can develop in the aftermath of a traumatic or life–threatening event involving extreme horror, intense fear or bodily harm. The disorder is typified by a symptom triad consisting of re–experiencing, hyperarousal and avoidance symptoms. Approximately 15–25% of trauma–exposed individuals go on to develop PTSD, depending on the nature and severity of the trauma. Although dysfunctional adaptive responses exist in multiple neurobiological pathways in the disorder, e.g. glutamate, GABA, glucocortocoids and serotonin, the noradrenergic system is particularly prominent and represents an important pharmacological target in attempts at preventing the development of PTSD posttrauma. However, current literature shows opposing and conflicting results regarding the effect of selective noradrenergic agents in memory processing, and the effect of modulation of selective noradrenergic receptors are spread over diverse protocols and paradigms of learning and fear also employing different strains of animals. Fear conditioning is a behavioural paradigm that uses associative learning to study the neural mechanisms underlying learning, memory and fear. It is useful in investigating the underpinnings of disorders associated with maladaptive fear responses. Performing fear conditioning experiments with the aim of applying it to an animal model of PTSD, and relating these behavioural responses to a defined neural mechanism, will assist both in the elucidation of the underlying pathology of the disease, as well as the development of more effective treatment. This project has set about to re–examine the diverse and complex role of noradrenergic receptors in the conditioned fear response with relevance to PTSD. To the best of my knowledge, this study represents the first attempt at studying a range of noradrenergic compounds with diverse actions and their ability to modify conditioned fear in a single animal model. This work thus introduces greater consistency and comparative relevance not currently available in the literature, and will also provide much needed pre–clinical evidence in support of treatment strategies targeting the noradrenergic system in the prevention of PTSD posttrauma. The first objective of this study was to set up and validate a passive avoidance fear conditioning protocol under our laboratory conditions using the Gemini Avoidance System. The noradrenergic system plays a prominent role in memory consolidation and fear conditioning, while administration of –adrenergic blockers, such as propranolol, have been shown to abolish learning and fear conditioning in both humans and animals. Propranolol has also demonstrated clinical value in preventing the progression of acute traumatic stress syndrome immediately posttrauma to full–blown PTSD. To confer predictive validity to our model, the centrally active –adrenergic antagonist, propranolol, and the non–centrally acting –adrenergic antagonist, nadolol, were administered to Wistar rats after passive avoidance fear conditioning training in the Gemini Avoidance System. Wistar rats were used because of their recognised enhanced sensitivity to stress. Evidence from this pilot study confirmed that propranolol 10 mg/kg significantly inhibits the consolidation of learned fear in rats, whereas nadolol is ineffective. This effectively validated our protocol and the apparatus for further application in this study and also confirmed the importance of a central mechanism of action for –adrenoceptor blockade in the possible application of these drugs in preventing the development of PTSD posttrauma. The second objective of this study was to investigate the role of 1–, 2–, 1–, and 2–receptors in a conditioned fear passive avoidance paradigm. This was done in order to investigate how selective pharmacological modulation of these receptors may modify the conditioned fear response, and whether any of these receptor systems might exert opposing effects in passive fear conditioning. Various centrally active noradrenergic agents were employed over a 3–tiered dose response design, including the 1–antagonist, prazosin, the 2–agonist, guanfacine, the 2–antagonist, yohimbine, the 1–antagonist, betaxolol and the 2–antagonist ICI 118551. The effect of post–exposure administration of these drugs on conditioned fear was compared to that of propranolol 10 mg/kg. Selected doses of betaxolol (10 mg/kg) and ICI 118551 (1 mg/kg) attenuated fear conditioning to an extent comparable to propranolol, as did prazosin (0.1 mg/kg). Yohimbine tended to boster fear learning at all doses tested, albeit not significantly, while guanfacine did not produce any significant effect on memory retention at any of the doses studied. This latter observation was surprising since yohimbine tended to bolster fear conditioning while earlier studies indicate that 2–agonism impairs conditioned fear. Concluding, this study has conferred validity to our passive avoidance model and has provided greater insight into the separate roles of noradrenergic receptors in contextual conditioned fear learning. The study has provided supportive evidence for a key role for both 1– and 2–antagonism, as well as 1–antagonism, in inhibiting fear memory consolidation and hence as viable secondary treatment options to prevent the development of PTSD posttrauma. However, further study is required to delineate the precise role of the 2–receptor in this regard. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Pharmacology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Thesis (M. of Military Art and Science)--U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2007. / "A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Military Art and Science, General Studies." Title from cover page of PDF file (viewed: May 29, 2008).

Thesis (Master of Military Studies)-Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2008. / Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on: Feb 11, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Världen globaliseras och urbaniseras i en allt högre takt vilket innebär utmaningar för framtida försvarsmakter. Försvarsmakterna kommer mer frekvent att få lösa militära operationer genom strid i bebyggelse (SIB). Denna undersöknings ansats är att pröva Alice Hills teori om framgångsfaktorer som analyserats fram ur krigshistoriens militära operationer i kontexten SIB. Hills argumenterar för en mängd framgångsfaktorer. Denna undersökning prövar faktorerna utbildningsståndpunkt/stridserfarenhet, tillgång till infanteriförband, nyttjande av indirekt bekämpning och tredje parts inverkan på operationer. Dessa faktorer prövas i en jämförande fallstudie av operationerna i Fallujah 2004 Operation Vigilant Resolve (misslyckad operation) och Operation Phantom Fury (framgångsrik operation) vilka båda ingick i Operation Iraqi Freedom. De källor som har nyttjats för att genomföra teoriprövningen är Vincent L. Foulks, ”The Battle for Fallujah: Occupation, Resistance and Stalemate in the War in Iraq” och Bing Wests ”No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah”. Resultatet av undersökningen stärker Hills teori om de fyra prövade framgångsfaktorerna. Fallstudien påvisar att ingående förband i Operation Vigilant Resolve (misslyckad operation) endast hade en grundlagd utbildningsståndpunkt i SIB samt att stora delar av förbanden saknade stridserfarenhet. Vidare påvisar undersökningen att det var låg numerär av infanteriförband och att mixen mellan infanteri och pansarförband medförde att infanteriförbanden inte kunde lösa uppgiften att skydda pansarförbanden i tillräcklig omfattning. I denna operation finns inget som bevisar att någon form att markgrupperad, indirekt bekämpning nyttjats. Tredje parts påverkan var stor givet förutsättningen att endast en mindre del av befolkning flytt staden Fallujah. Operation Phantom Fury påvisar det motsatta gentemot Operation Vigilant Resolve. Förbanden var bättre utbildade genom att de fått dra lärdom under genomförande under Operation Vigilant Resolve samt att de fått stridserfarenhet genom samma operation. Stor numerär av infanteri och en bättre mix av infanteri och pansarförband där infanteriet understöddes av pansarförbanden istället för tvärtom som var fallet vid Operation Vigilant Resolve. Operation nyttjade indirekt bekämpning i form av granatkastare och artilleri i stor omfattning. Den fjärde och sist prövande framgångsfaktorn, tredje parts inverkan på operationen påvisar att stora delar av staden Fallujah var utrymd vilket indirekt påverkar framförallt faktorn nyttjande av indirekt bekämpning. Sammanfattningsvis stärker denna teoriprövande fallstudie Hills förklaringskraft avseende de fyra utvalda framgångsfaktorerna. Detta ger en vetenskaplig grund att bygga framtidens förband kring där SIB kommer vara frekvent återkommande.

This study provides an orientation towards coping with stress management through salutogenic functioning. Six constructs, namely, sense of coherence, hardiness, self-efficacy, potency, learned resourcefulness and locus of control, were studied as it manifest amongst random sampled university administrative staff. The literature review focused on salutogenic functioning, coping and stress, integrated in the salutogenic personality profile. The results from the research revealed positive correlations between external locus of control and self-efficacy and meaningfulness, autonomy and self control, internal locus of control and meaningfulness, internal locus of control and meaningfulness, challenge and meaningfulness. Negative correlations existed between autonomy and self-efficacy and comprehensibility, potency and all locus of control dimensions, males and females differed in their self control and external control, black africans had the lowest score on external control, and there was no relationship between age and the constructs. Conclusions and recommendations were made regarding the optimisation of salutogenic functioning among university administrative staff. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:48:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 74611.pdf.jpg: 20731 bytes, checksum: 5e86170a141d515519731929d1f4822b (MD5) 74611.pdf: 2388952 bytes, checksum: 7e738f1e1fd329028554067a119933ad (MD5) 74611.pdf.txt: 863780 bytes, checksum: a3fcb3775dc6f2e0ce5107db3519725d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-03-09T00:00:00Z / Explorar as lições aprendidas na organização é uma tarefa relevante na gestão do conhecimento, pois a lição aprendida é um instrumento de conhecimento existencial, oriundo de experiência, positiva ou negativa, motivada durante a execução ou observação de fenômenos nas atividades e processos da organização, que, quando explicitado ou compartilhado, permite a elevação do conhecimento individual e, conseqüentemente, o aumento da inteligência organizacional. Estudos recentes e a literatura mostram que o compartilhamento e a transferência de conhecimento estão em estágio aquém dos resultados efetivos observados, mesmo com altos investimentos em projetos de gestão e em ferramentas de tecnologia de informação. Este trabalho estuda a gestão de Lições Aprendidas na organização sob uma perspectiva de como os mecanismos de compartilhamento e transferência de conhecimento podem promover uma gestão dinâmica de Lições Aprendidas, visando diminuir essa lacuna. Utiliza, como base conceitual, os ciclos de aprendizagem propostos por Stewhart e Kolb, por exemplo, empregados em processos de gestão de melhorias nas organizações. Também, foram estudados modelos de gestão de compartilhamento e transferência de conhecimento, de diversas fontes relevantes, tais como, Szulanski, Argyris e Dixon, a partir da análise dos seus fatores-chaves e do levantamento de mecanismos de comunicação, interpessoais e eletrônicos, aplicáveis ao contexto do estudo. O quadro teórico gerado serviu como protocolo para ser aplicado em pesquisa de campo, através do método de estudo de caso, em três empresas, indústrias brasileiras competitivas, tidas como sólidas, bem sucedidas, inovadoras e líderes em seus mercados de atuação, entre outros atributos que favorecem o escopo deste trabalho. Buscou-se identificar a replicação da teoria e o grau de suficiência e de eficiência dos mecanismos de “capilarização” das Lições Aprendidas – metáfora criada, no sentido de que, se a gestão das Lições Aprendidas for “capilar”, ou seja, conseguir chegar a todos os pontos da organização, aumenta-se o potencial de aproveitamento dos benefícios da exploração do conteúdo delas. Assim, se tem potencial para melhorar o desempenho da organização, objetivo chave da gestão do conhecimento. / Exploiting the organization's lessons learned is a relevant activity within knowledge management. Lessons learned are part of endemic knowledge instruments which originate from success or failure experience and are motivated during the deployment of tasks or phenomena observation in the activities or organizational processes, It can increase the individual's knowledge when shared or transformed into explicit knowledge which consequently contributes to enhance the organizational knowledge. Recent research and literature have shown that effective results from knowledge sharing and transferring are far beyond from what expected, especially in relation to returns on the high investments made in projects and information technology tools. The present work studies lessons learned in the organization through a perspective of knowledge transfer and sharing mechanisms in the context as how these can promote the dynamic management of lessons learned and thus bridging the result gap. The theoretical framework was developed based on learning cycles proposed by Stewhart and Kolb, for example, applied in continuous improvement processes in organizations. Furthermore, knowledge sharing and transfer models were studied, exploring a broad scope of relevant researchers, such as, Szulanski, Argyris and Dixon. The key success factors were analyzed and a list of relevant communication mechanisms was built, both for personal, face to face, and electronic ones, applicable to the study's scope. This theoretical framework served as a research protocol applied in a field case study in three Brazilian industrial enterprises, recognized as competitive, solid, successful, innovative and leading companies in their markets, among other attributes which contribute for the objectives of present study. Replication of the theoretical framework was sought, besides surveying the degree of "capillarity" of the lessons learned in the organization through observation of the sufficiency and efficiency of the sharing and transfer mechanisms deployed. The "capillarity" metaphor used in this context, refers to the extent of how the lessons learned reach every spot in the organization, increasing the potential use of the benefits carried by the knowledge held in them, creating possibilities for organizational improvement; a key role of knowledge management.

The research has worked towards the general aim of generating a synthesis of burnout in the nursing profession, and also towards coming to a synthesis of burnout in nursing from the perspective of the salutogenic paradigm. Existing knowledge from the literature has been consolidated and integrated, and 'new knowledge' of the phenomenological experience of the causes and symptoms of burnout and how nurses stay healthy, were presented. Firstly was discovered that burnout, over time is caused by various factors that are individual and personal and therefore not easily discovered by other than the phenomenological method, where the life world of each individual is described. Secondly, the study ofthe strengths that nurses exhibit in order to manage the tension and stress in their lives and not to succumb to illness, proved to be a sound and descriptive paradigm with great utilisation possibilities. Three answers to the salutogenic question, namely sense of coherence, hardiness and learned resourcefulness were presented in great detail. Thirdly, it was stated that the individual nurses and the nursing practice in general be made aware of: (1) the existence of burnout, (2) the contributing factors to burnout, (3) the various manifestations ofburnout at work and in the organisation, and (4) the coping strategies available to counter this problem in a positive and salutogenic manner. The phenomenological results of this research revealed a number of issues that have implications for both the prevention and treatment of burnout in nurses. The results especially established how nurses can operationalise their inherent salutogenic qualities. Specific salutogenic coping strategies emerged via the respondents. The research took a broad view of personality in health research. It studied the psychological processes underlying the observed connections between psychological variables and health outcomes. In order to study the operationalisation of these processes, a phenomenological, person-based approach was followed. They study focussed on health phenomena and the individual nurse was retained as the unit of analysis. This approach represented a movement away from a fragmented science, infatuated with technology and linked to a singular epistemology, towards a focus on the process and dynamics of personal experience. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Learning disabilities are a life-long problem for many individuals. Besides the adjustments all adolescents experience in life, learning disabled adolescents must contend with academic problems at school which have a drastic effect on their selfesteem. This becomes particularly evident when these pupils face the demands of the secondary school syllabus where they have to be able to concentrate, read for information, memorise facts, answer questions and solve problems, and write assignments. By the time learning disabled adolescents reach secondary school they have already experienced so much failure that they become passive towards their studies. Teaching these pupils metacognitive learning strategies covering these skills helps them to become more independent learners. Through executive training procedures they are assisted to become more involved in their studies, the promotion of better self-regulation and self-monitoring is fostered, and as their scores improve, so does their motivation and selfconcept / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Orthopedagogics)

Over the past two decades, India has become an international hub of cross-border surrogacy. The extreme economic and cultural differences between international couples seeking surrogacy and the surrogates themselves, clinics compromising health of surrogates for profit, the stigmatisation of surrogacy in India, and the constant surveillance of these women living in a ‘surrogate house’, have raised concerns regarding the potentially negative psychological impact of surrogacy on Indian surrogates. The primary aims of the thesis were (i) to conduct a longitudinal assessment of surrogates’ psychological problems (anxiety, depression and stress) from pregnancy until several months after relinquishing the baby to the intended parents, (ii) to examine the nature of the bond formed between surrogates and the unborn baby and establish whether this prenatal bond contributes to their psychological problems, and (iii) to explore the experiences of surrogates during and post-surrogacy. Fifty surrogates were compared with a matched group of 69 expectant mothers during pregnancy. Of these, 45 surrogates and 49 compairson group of mothers were followed up 4-6 months after the birth. All surrogates were hosting pregnancies for international intended parents and had at least one child of their own. Data were obtained using standardised questionnaires and in-depth interviews and were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Indian surrogates were found to be more depressed than the comparison group of mothers, both during pregnancy and after the birth. However, giving up the newborn did not appear to add to surrogates’ levels of depression. There were no differences between the surrogates and the expectant mothers in anxiety or stress during either phase of the study. The examination of risk factors for psychological problems among the surrogates showed that anticipation of stigma, experiences of social humiliation and receiving insufficient support during pregnancy were associated with higher levels of depression following the birth. With respect to bonding with the unborn child, surrogates experienced lower levels of emotional bonding (e.g. they interacted less, and wondered less about, the foetus), but exhibited higher levels of instrumental bonding (e.g. they adopted better eating habits and avoided unhealthy practices during pregnancy), than women who were carrying their own babies. Contrary to concerns, greater bonding with the unborn child was not associated with increased psychological problems post-relinquishment. All surrogates were able to give up the child. Meeting the intended parents after the birth positively contributed towards surrogates’ satisfaction with relinquishment whereas meeting the baby did not. The qualitative findings on surrogates’ experiences showed that the majority lacked basic medical information regarding surrogacy pregnancy; hid surrogacy from most people; felt positive and supported at the surrogate house; lived in uncertainty regarding whether or not they would be allowed to meet the intended parents and the baby; and did not actually get to meet them. These findings have important implications for policy and practice on surrogacy in the Global South.