Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters’ Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Background: Motor learning theories indicate that training improves motor performance by reducing variability and increasing task control. Elastic tubing and tyre resistance training methods may allow for the development of control over the dynamics of spinal manipulation. This study thus aimed to determine whether training with elastic tubing and tyre resistance, in conjunction with the standard manipulative training at the Durban University of Technology, resulted in the development of control of the dynamics of manipulation compared to training with the standard training alone. Methods: A quantitative, prospective, experimental cohort design was used. Fifty-three participants were randomly allocated into tyre or elastic tubing resistance training intervention groups, or the control group. All groups continued with the standard manipulative training at the Durban University of Technology. The dynamics of manipulation were measured with the Dynadjust pre-, mid- and post-training. The SPSS was utilised to compute the parametric and non-parametric analyses. Results: The results showed no statistically significant differences over time for any of the measured dynamics of manipulation. None of the groups (excluding the control group for S-I manipulation) developed control of the relationships between the dynamics. Overall, there was no difference between the groups with regards to development of control of the dynamics. Conclusion: The results suggest that the additional training methods, should be carefully considered when employed over a short term. Study limitations include the sample size and the effect of outliers, therefore any firm conclusions drawn from this study are required to be interpreted with caution.

Within the university system, student organizations have historically had multiple positive influences on the students who choose to participate in them. This study looked at a particular banner organization in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky. Using the Social Change Model of Leadership Development theory as a backbone, a survey was created to evaluate the impact UK CAFE Ambassador Program has on its participants, as well as to identify avenues for improvement. This is a program that seeks to represent the college through recruitment and to develop student leaders through soft skill building. After surveying current and past ambassadors, there is overwhelming evidence that the UK CAFE Ambassador Program has positively impacted the students whether it was through skills building, networking, or college experience.

In Sweden, physics education is supposed to contribute to developing the stu-dent's experimental skill. After a physics course, students should be able to plan, execute and evaluate an experiment. In this study, seven physics teachers are interviewed about their reasoning considering assessment of experimental skills. The study aims to describe teachers' stories about their work with as-sessment of laboratory work. The results of the study show a spread of how teachers, according to them-selves, are dealing with the assessment of experiments. Some teachers work thoroughly with getting a basis to be able to assess all parts of the laboratory skill, while others leave some parts out. The most common assessment is of reports that students write after a laboratory assignment. It is also possible to see tendencies that the school teachers work at influences how teachers reason about assessment. / I Skolverkets ämnesplan för fysik står det att fysikundervisningen ska bidra till att utveckla elevens experimentella förmåga. Efter en fysikkurs ska eleven kunna planera, utföra och även utvärdera en laboration. I denna studie har sju fysiklärare på gymnasiet intervjuats om hur de resonerar kring bedömning av den experimentella förmågan. Undersökningen ämnar åt att redogöra lärares berättelser om hur de arbetar med bedömning av laborationer. Resultatet i studien visar en spridning över hur lärare enligt dem själva arbetar med bedömning av experiment. Vissa lärare arbetar noga med att få bedöm-ningsunderlag av alla delar i den laborativa förmågan medan någon lärare väl-jer bort vissa delar. Det som är gemensamt är att de allra flesta bedömer labo-rationsrapporter som eleverna skriver efter ett utfört experiment. Det går också att se tendenser till att skolan som läraren jobbar på har betydelse för hur lära-ren resonerar kring bedömning.

This thesis aimed to enhance understanding of the nature of knowledge bases possessed by elite sports performers which underpin perceptual-cognitive and decision making skills. Two main theories were considered; Active Control of Thought (ACT*) and Representational Redescription (RR). The purpose of Study 1 was to examine the anticipatory ability of elite and non-elite players in football and hockey. The results indicated that elite players in both sports were quicker and more accurate in their expectation of pass destination. Study 2 aimed to understand the extent to which knowledge is transferable. The results indicated that elite players’ knowledge is relatively domain specific although some elements of underlying task strategy may transfer. The objective of Study 3 was to explore the means by which elite and non-elite players in football and hockey identify and differentiate between possible decisions. Results showed elite players’ rationale was based on deeper theoretical principles whilst non-experts utilised relatively superficial information and naïve theories. Study 4 focussed on problem representations of elite and non-elite football players. Results revealed elite players’ representations were more pertinent, connected and articulated in a more effective manner. Overall, the findings from the current thesis provide advanced understanding of the knowledge bases responsible for perceptual-cognitive and decision making skill, and such understanding may assist attempts to enhance athletes’ performance and support future research.

本論文共計壹冊，全文約五萬字，分為五章十七節。第一章為導論，陳述研究動機、 目的、範圍及內容。第三章為文獻探討，陳述自動化定義，工作技能要項之構面、基 礎與次級工作技能之採討以及國外之相關實證研究。第三章為研究設計，陳述研究之 方法、架構、以及研究限制。第四章為研究結果陳述，詳細陳述本趼究之問卷分析以 及個案研究結果。第五章則為結論及建議事項。 本研穹主要為探討我國廠商之篡動化程度對於其所需之各類職務人員之工作技能要項 有何影響。故本研究將廠商依其自動化程度之高低分為兩群，其組織內之人員則分為 六類，採因素分析以及統計檢定方法以了解自動化程度對此六類人員工作技能要求之 差異性，此外為求獲得更為一般性之結論，並採個案訪問之方式，以了解一般產業之 看法及作為。

<p>Cracks in the Spirit of Community is a study of a Swedishtrade union in a period of change. Increasingly, traditionaltrade unions´ work based on collective solutions has comeinto question, and the customer perspective of trade unionactivities is becoming more prominent. At the same time, ageneration of mainstay trade union supporters at ourcountry´s workplaces are approaching retirement age. Howdo these - now ageing - children of Sweden´s"people´s home" hand over our society´s institutionsand pass on its traditions to a new generation? Is there a riskthat knowledge will be lost? And is anyone in the newgeneration ready to receive this knowledge?</p><p>A systematic and structured dialogue with participants fromSif, Sweden´s leading white collar union, helped developthis complex of problems. The work focused on the interactionbetween people to build up a community of understanding, whichwas at the core of earlier trade union tradition. Broadeningthe present pattern of action allows more long-term trends tobe traced. A disregard for matters of common concern, andunstated dissension, cause cracks in the spirit of community,cracks that undermine the power of collective action inpolitical matters. This dissertation poses complex questionsabout democracy, participation and common responsibility.</p><p>The case study was carried out as a series of dialogueseminars with a carefully-selected group of people from Sif.The dialogue seminar method was developed to bring to the foretacit knowledge in skills research. By focussing onvalue-based, shared human knowledge, the dissertation puts tothe test a new application of the dialogue seminar method. Thisstudy illustrates a shift from common interests to individualinterests. It points out general trends in the development ofour society - a trade union member, an employee and a citizenis often one and the same person.</p>

My dissertation follows a coherent theme on three important and interesting issues for the Korean labor market as follows: Chapter 1 using data from the 2008 Panel Survey of Employment for the Disabled (PSED) investigates gender wage differentials among the disabled. The selectivity corrected decomposition framework is employed to examine what factors - endowments, discrimination, and selectivity - account for the wage gap. The main results are as follows: (1) the gender wage gap among the disabled is sizable: (2) the wage gap is significantly attributable to discrimination: (3) the endowments factor plays an important role in explaining gender wage differentials, as well: and (4) the presence of selection effects raises the observed wage gap. Such evidence suggests that Korean disabled female workers are more likely to be disadvantaged than their male counterparts in terms of wages.Chapter 2 using the 2007 Korea Labor and Income Panel Survey (KLIPS) examines the impact on wages of skills-job mismatch between acquired and required English language proficiency in Korean workplaces. The main findings of this study reveal (1) job mismatch in terms of English language skills has a strong statistically significant impact on wages: (2) the returns to over-skilling are negative (the wage penalty), while the returns to under-skilling are positive (the wage premium): and (3) the wage penalty associated with over-skilling is stronger than the wage premium associated with under-skilling.Chapter 3 using the KLIPS data from 1998 through 2008 investigates the causal relationship between veteran status and post-service labor market outcomes by examining the wage experience of veterans and nonveterans. The major empirical findings can be summarized as follows: (1) contrary to the general perception, veteran status has a significant positive impact on wages after completion of military service, inducing a veteran wage premium: and (2) in terms of the veteran wage premium in subgroups based on educational attainment at the time of entry into military service, less-educated veterans have a greater wage premium relative to their nonveteran counterparts of similar backgrounds than is the case for more-educated veterans. It suggests that military service could be particularly important for less-educated veterans.

Magistro darbe analizuojami statistikos elementai matematinių gebėjimų diagnostikoje, išskirta pagrindinė darbo problema: ar olimpiados uždaviniai atitinka standartus? D. ir A. Kiseliovai teigia, jog matematika, kaip ir kalba, yra neatsiejama žmogaus gyvenimo dalis. Olimpiada yra aktuali dėl to, kad stiprina moksleivių valią, savarankiškumą, mąstymo lankstumą bei tikslumą, ryžtą nugalėti kliūtis. Tyrimo objektas – statistikos elementai matematinių gebėjimų diagnostikoje. Šio magistro darbo tikslas yra panaudoti statistikos elementus matematinių gebėjimų diagnostikoje. Tyrimo hipotezė, kad sprendžiant olimpiadinius uždavinius, svarbiausia yra loginis mąstymas ir žinios. Darbe iškelti penki uždaviniai, t. y. nagrinėjama įvairių Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių literatūra apie statistikos elementus, analizuojamos pagrindinės statistikos elementų sąvokos, nagrinėjami moksleivių matematiniai gebėjimai kaip didaktinės diagnostikos objektas, apibūdintas šalies ketvirtų klasių moksleivių matematikos mokėjimo lygmuo pagal pradinio ir pagrindinio ugdymo bendrąsias programas, išanalizuotos ketvirtos klasės, olimpiadinių uždavinių sąlygos ir sprendimai pradinio ir pagrindinio ugdymo bendrųjų programų kontekste ir pateikti rezultatai, rekomendacijos bei išvados. Buvo atliktas tyrimas Lietuvos mastu. Tyrimui atsitiktinai iš kiekvieno šalies miesto bei rajono atrinkti 354 ketvirtų klasių moksleivių olimpiadiniai darbai ir analizuojami. Atlikus tyrimą, hipotezė pasitvirtino, kad šie... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The thesis paper analyzes the elements of statistics in diagnostics of mathematical skills as well as the main problem of the paper whether the tasks of a Mathematics contest coincides with the standards of teaching has been distinguished. Mr. and Mrs. Kiseliovai affirm that Mathematics the same as the language is an inherent part of human being life. The contest of Mathematics is relevant as it reinforces students’ will, independence, flexibility and precision of thinking as well as ability to overcome different obstacles. The object of the research is the elements of statistics in diagnostics of mathematical skills. The aim of the thesis paper is to use the elements of the statistics in diagnostics of mathematical skills. The hypothesis of the research is logical thinking and knowledge when dealing with the tasks of the Mathematics contest. Five goals have been distinguished in the paper which analyze various literatures concerning the elements of statistics by Lithuanian and foreign authors and the main concepts of the elements of statistics. It also analyzes the mathematical skills of students as the object of didactic diagnostics. The paper describes the level of Mathematics knowledge of the primary school students according to Educational program, analyzes the Mathematical contest assignments in the context of Educational program of primary and basic school and provides its results, recommendations and conclusions. The research has been carried out throughout Lithuania... [to full text]

This thesis explores engagement in organizational politics among managers. There is increasing recognition that organizational politics are ubiquitous in organizational life and critically important in managerial roles. Drawing on micro perspectives in extant literature on organizational politics, this research attempts to better understand managerial engagement in politics by focusing not only on managers’ ability to engage in politics, but also on their willingness to do so. As such, the research examines what managerial political will and political skill entail, as well as how political will and skill develop. In doing so, special consideration is paid to gender, an aspect largely ignored in extant research on organizational politics. Adopting a qualitative exploratory approach, the empirical study consisted of semi-structured interviews with 38 managers (20 women and 18 men) in two global companies. The thesis makes four key theoretical contributions. First, it conceptualizes and identifies three dimensions political will, a previously neglected factor pertaining to managerial political engagement. Second, the study reconciles and refines the dimensionality of political skill, as related to existing models in field. Third, the thesis introduces a novel developmental perspective on political will and skill, proposing an initial model of political maturation. This model outlines three stages of political maturation by mapping out developmental patterns in managers’ political will and skill. The model also identifies triggers of political maturation. Finally, the thesis unpacks the role of gender in managers’ political will, skill and their maturation, demonstrating the importance of making gender visible and voiced when investigating managers’ engagement in organizational politics. In articulating these contributions, the study thoroughly accounts for the impact of organizational context on the political will, skill and maturation journey of male and female managers.

In a quasi-experimental field study, two posttraining interventions composed of relapse prevention (RP) strategies were compared and tested for the effects on participant transfer outcomes. Participant retention of training content, skill maintenance, use of relapse prevention strategies, and self-efficacy served as the dependent variables. Self-efficacy was also tested as a mediator between the experimental treatment levels and both participant skill maintenance and participant use of RP strategies. Participants (n = 39) included managers, directors, and supervisors from various departments within a multi-national telecommunications organization located in a large southern city. After participating in a four-hour leadership development training, two of the three groups participated in a 30-40 minute training where they received one of two RP interventions. One intervention included the steps of (1) identifying potential obstacles to positive training transfer, (2) predicting the first lapse to pretraining behavior, and (3) applying relevant coping strategies to thwart a lapse. The alternative RP intervention included the same steps in addition to a goal setting step. Descriminant descriptive analysis was used to test for group differences across the response variables and to identify on which variables the groups differed. Three separate regression equations were used to test for the mediating relationship of self-efficacy between the RP treatment levels and participant skill maintenance and participant use of RP strategies. Results indicated minimal, but non-statistically significant results between treatment levels and each of the response variables. Self-efficacy was not found to mediate the relationship between RP treatment level and participant skill maintenance or participant use of RP strategies, but did function as a strong predictor of both variables. Suggestions for future research include using additional motivational and efficacy variables to better explore group differences and including efficacy-inducing methods both in training design and as part of a transfer intervention to enhance training transfer. Further, specific suggestions concerning conceptual and psychometric refinement of the RP construct are discussed.