Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Motivation mechanisms'

Children’s participation in youth sport is ubiquitous in UK society, yet high levels of attrition are evident in adolescence (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2012a). This attrition has been credited, in part, to questionable coaching behaviours that derogate children’s experiences in youth sport. Using self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2002) as a guiding framework, the purpose of this thesis was to better understand the coach-related antecedents of children’s adherence and attrition in youth sport by examining the motivational processes that contribute to their engagement versus disaffection. In study one, children’s perceptions of autonomy, competence and relatedness, or psychological need satisfaction, were examined alongside in their tendency to exhibit high levels of cognitive and affective engagement. In study two, a mediation model was tested whereby coach autonomy support and control were hypothesised to exhibit positive indirect effects on children’s engagement and disaffection in youth sport respectively via both psychological need satisfaction and psychological need thwarting. In study three, the previous study was replicated and extended with three waves of data. The final study of this thesis examined the interaction of coach autonomy support and structure to extend the findings of the previous studies. Overall, the findings suggest that structure and autonomy support from coaches will help to safeguard children’s adherence to youth sport because they jointly facilitate psychological need satisfaction and engagement. In contrast, control from coaches is likely to lead to children’s attrition in youth sport since such provisions undermine the psychological needs and produce disaffection.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Cincinnati, 2007.
Advisor: John W. Bickle. Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Feb. 6, 2008). Keywords: motivation, dopamine, learning, neuroscience, neural networks, action theory, desire, intention, planning, emotion, pleasure, representation, psychosemantics. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Nearly half of all youths experience a mental health disorder at some point during childhood (Merikangas et al., 2010). Pediatric psychopathology is associated with a substantial amount of impairment in the school, social, and home domains, and such symptoms can have adverse impacts on subsequent development (Beauchaine & Hinshaw, 2013; Patel, Flisher, Hetrick, & McGorry, 2007). Fortunately, a number of medications have demonstrated efficacy in treating a number of mental health conditions (Martin, Scahill, & Kratochvil, 2010). Despite these demonstrated effects, treatment response is often incomplete, and the mechanisms by which pharmacotherapy lead to behavior change are not well understood. However, research in pediatric psychopharmacology has often not considered the role of psychosocial variables, despite their promise to explain much variance in psychiatric outcomes and the robust influence they have demonstrated in psychotherapy-based behavior change (e.g., Shirk & Karver, 2011). This study investigated the role of four psychosocial variables in treatment outcome in pediatric psychiatric practice: medication adherence, therapeutic alliance, motivation for behavior change, and expectancies for positive treatment outcome. Surprising patterns of effects were found, with psychosocial variables being associated with both decreases and increases in symptomology depending on the circumstance (e.g., externalizing behavior), and many inconsistencies were observed among these patterns. While psychosocial variables are often portrayed as having uniformly positive impacts on treatment, their role in pediatric psychiatry may not be as straightforward as is commonly depicted in other diseases and therapeutic approaches. In particular, the nature of their effects on outcome may vary across symptom presentations and intervention approaches. Based on these findings, recommendations for clinical practice and future research are discussed which affect all patients, researchers, and medical providers who participate in pediatric psychiatric treatment.

The primary goal of this thesis was the understanding of the cognitive and computational mechanisms of reward and effort guided processing and their change in depression and commonly used/putative treatments. In chapter 2, I developed a new paradigm that allowed me to examine the neural basis of concurrent learning about rewards and effort in a complex, naturalistic environment. Measuring brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging, I proposed a prefrontal cortical mechanism for overcoming behavioural biases generated by irrelevant reward features (Scholl et al., 2015). In chapter 3, I used this paradigm to measure the effects of prolonged administration of a commonly used antidepressant, a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, which has previously been hypothesized to enhance learning and neural plasticity. I found that it increased neural learning signals for both reward and effort in a widespread network of brain areas, suggesting a general learning enhancing effect (Scholl et al., under review). In chapter 4, I measured whether a putative novel treatment for depression, the partial NMDA agonist d-cycloserine, could also influence learning. While I found this not to be the case, it led to a marked improvement in how participants integrated the available information to make decisions (Scholl et al., 2014). In chapter 5, I tested how these different aspects of reward-guided behaviour, some of which were changed in my pharmacological manipulation, are related to changes in depression. We found that dysphoric participants did not differ from healthy controls in how quickly they learnt appetitive or aversive/effortful information. However, when making decisions they used this learnt information less than healthy controls to determine their decisions. Together, these studies revealed that complex decisions require additional cognitive and neural mechanisms that go beyond those seen in the simplest learning tasks. These diverse mechanisms can be computationally teased apart, rely on different neural systems and can thus be influenced separately. Lastly, we found that common treatments of depression did not necessarily target the same mechanisms affected by depression, suggesting potential new avenues for new treatments.

The research investigated the effects of strategic motivation, behaviours and social mechanisms on collaborative contracting performance. A conceptual framework was utilised to examine collaborative contracting, and a case study analysis was undertaken of four projects using data collected from interviews and a survey. Findings indicate the importance of deploying a mechanism of managing projects comprising shared goals and cooperation (social mechanisms); knowledge transfer and transaction cost (strategic motivation); commercial frameworks and structural specifications (behaviour mechanisms). Organisations entering into collaborative contracts that utilise and integrate the framework elements are more likely to achieve better overall performance.

Dissertation (Ph. D.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Psychology, 2005.
"December, 2005." Title from electronic dissertation title page (viewed 08/31/2006) Advisor, Robert G. Lord; Committee members, Steven R. Ash, Rosalie J. Hall, Paul E. Levy, Aaron M. Schmidt; Department Chair, Paul E. Levy; Dean of the College, Charles B. Monroe; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Apathy or lack of motivation is increasingly recognized to be a major factor affecting quality of life and prognosis in many neurological conditions. It is particularly prevalent in Parkinson's disease, impacting on every disease stage, including de novo cases, and has been reported to affect up to 70% of cases. Despite the pervasiveness of apathy, challenges remain in its detection, clinical assessment and treatment. Several lines of evidence have implicated fronto-striatal reward related neural pathways in the genesis of apathy but the precise processes remain to be fully explained. This thesis examines the potential mechanisms of apathy using Parkinson's disease as a model to study the condition. Novel oculomotor tasks that used eye movement and pupillary responses were developed to help assess if insensitivity to incentives could be an underlying component of apathy. This was examined in healthy young and elderly participants as well as in patients with Parkinson's disease. Patients were tested both ON and OFF their normal dopaminergic medication so that the effect of dopamine could be assessed and the association with apathy determined. This was also performed in a pharmacological study in young participants with the use of Haloperidol, a dopaminergic D2-selective antagonist. Insensitivity to rewards modulated by dopamine was regarded to be a contributory mechanism of apathy in Parkinson's disease and also applicable to general mechanisms of motivation in healthy populations.

The use of financial incentives mechanisms (FIMs) in Australian government large nonresidential building projects is seen as a way to improve project motivation and outcomes and reinforce long-term commitment between participants. Yet very little empirical research has been conducted into how FIMs should be applied in the context of construction projects and what determines their impact on motivation. The primary aim of this research was to identify the motivation drivers impacting on the achievement of FIM goals. This allowed for the formulation of recommendations to improve Australian government building procurement strategies, creating the potential for better project outcomes. The research involved four major case studies of large construction projects. Analysis of motivation drivers on each project was based on interviews with senior project participants, secondary documentation and site visits. Once the motivation drivers were identified, they were ranked by the weighted number of motivation indicators impacted, to give an indication of their relative importance. The results provide Australian government clients with key areas for policy direction. The findings indicate that the following motivation drivers (in order of impact) were more important than FIM design in achieving FIM goals: equitable contract risk allocation and management scope for future project opportunities with the client harmonious project relationships early contractor involvement in design stages value-driven tender selection processes. A consequence of ignoring these key procurement initiatives can be a less than ideal FIM goal performance, despite the nature of FIM design, including the strength of the reward on offer. FIMs have the potential to be a valuable addition to any project procurement strategy. Yet, the main message of this thesis is: If clients rely solely on financial incentives as the driver of motivation it will likely result in failure.

The use of financial incentives mechanisms (FIMs) in Australian government large nonresidential building projects is seen as a way to improve project motivation and outcomes and reinforce long-term commitment between participants. Yet very little empirical research has been conducted into how FIMs should be applied in the context of construction projects and what determines their impact on motivation. The primary aim of this research was to identify the motivation drivers impacting on the achievement of FIM goals. This allowed for the formulation of recommendations to improve Australian government building procurement strategies, creating the potential for better project outcomes. The research involved four major case studies of large construction projects. Analysis of motivation drivers on each project was based on interviews with senior project participants, secondary documentation and site visits. Once the motivation drivers were identified, they were ranked by the weighted number of motivation indicators impacted, to give an indication of their relative importance. The results provide Australian government clients with key areas for policy direction. The findings indicate that the following motivation drivers (in order of impact) were more important than FIM design in achieving FIM goals: equitable contract risk allocation and management scope for future project opportunities with the client harmonious project relationships early contractor involvement in design stages value-driven tender selection processes. A consequence of ignoring these key procurement initiatives can be a less than ideal FIM goal performance, despite the nature of FIM design, including the strength of the reward on offer. FIMs have the potential to be a valuable addition to any project procurement strategy. Yet, the main message of this thesis is: If clients rely solely on financial incentives as the driver of motivation it will likely result in failure.

This study examined academic motivation and basic psychological needs as predictors of suicidal risk (namely, depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors) in a sample of 348 college students. Results from regression analyses indicated that academic motivation was a significant predictor of suicidal risk. The inclusion of basic psychological needs significantly augmented the prediction model. The authors discuss implications for considering academic motivation and basic psychological needs in college counseling on the basis of the results.

Однією з найбільш актуальних проблем в Україні є те, що різні організації не на високому рівні використовують засоби підвищення мотивації персоналу, посилаючись лише на виплату заробітної плати, котру може отримати працівник за виконану роботу в кінцевому результаті.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Apr. 25, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Social Work." Discipline: Social Work; Department/School: Social Work.

Obesity and drug abuse share common neural circuitries including the mesocoticolimbic and striatal dopamine reward system. In the current study, a rat model of diet-induced obesity (DIO) was used to determine striatal dopamine function, impulsivity and motivation as neurobehavioral outcomes and predictors of obesity. For the outcome study, rats were randomly assigned a high-fat (HF) or a low-fat (LF) diet for 8 wk. Following the 8-wk HF-diet exposure, rats were segregated into obesity-prone and obesity-resistant groups based on maximum and minimum body weight gain, respectively, and neurobehavioral outcomes were evaluated. For the predictor study, neurobehavioral antecedents were evaluated prior to an 8-wk high-fat diet exposure and were correlated with subsequent body weight gain. Striatal D2 receptor density was determined by in vitro kinetic analysis of [3H]raclopride binding. DAT function was determined using in vitro kinetic analysis of [3H]dopamine uptake, methamphetamine-evoked [3H]dopamine overflow and no net flux in vivo microdialysis. DAT cell-surface expression was determined using biotinylation and Western blotting. Impulsivity and food-motivated behavior were determined using a delay discounting task and progressive ratio schedule for food-reinforcers, respectively. Relative to obesity-resistant, obesity-prone rats exhibited 18% greater body weight, 42% lower striatal D2 receptor density, 30% lower total DAT expression, 40% lower in vitro and in vivo DAT function, 45% greater extracellular dopamine concentration, and 2-fold greater methamphetamine-evoked [3H]dopamine overflow. Obesity-prone rats exhibited higher motivation for food, but were less impulsive relative to obesity-resistant rats. Neurobehavioral antecedents of DIO included greater motivation for high-fat reinforcers in rats subsequently shown to be obesity-prone relative to obesity-resistant. Impulsivity, DAT function and extracellular dopamine concentration did not predict the DIO-phenotype. Thus, motivation for food is linked to both initiation and maintenance of obesity. Importantly, obesity results in decreased striatal DAT function, which may underlie the maintenance of compulsive food intake in obesity.

Ce travail de thèse représente une tentative de rationalisation du lexique espagnol en accordant la priorité au signifiant. Inspiré notamment de Pierre Guiraud, nous y avons établi à la suite de Maurice Molho, Didier Bottineau, Georges Bohas ou Dennis Philps, que les mots peuvent ne référer que par la sollicitation d’une partie de leur forme, partie détectable structurellement. Nous avons pris en considération l’ensemble des capacités qualitatives (phones, formant, idéophones, graphèmes, segments) et quantitatives (duplications, répétitions, inversions, homophonies / homographies) de la forme des mots. Nous ne nous sommes donc pas limité à un support sémiologique particulier mais avons conçu le lexique, du fait de sa complexité, comme un organisme de signifiants / signifiés où chaque élément peut entrer en compte pour donner lieu à une motivation (interne ou externe). Nous avons nommé cet élément la saillance, car il s’agit d’une unité résultant d’une focalisation, d’un choix formel pour référer à telle ou telle idée. Nous avons également remarqué, notamment dans des cas d’« homonymie », que plusieurs parties pouvaient être sollicitées et que chacune permettait de renvoyer à un sens distinct. La consubstantialité du signe est donc, de notre point de vue, un principe sauf. La « synonymie » ainsi que la « polysémie » ne sont donc pas non plus des notions pertinentes car chaque terme renvoie d’une manière qui lui est propre à un sens donné. Enfin, nous avons proposé une application, avec des critères similaires, à des énoncés dit « poétiques » où plusieurs actualisations parfois insolites apparaissent mais toujours permises par le langage, par le signifiant
This thesis represents an attempt of rationalization of the Spanish lexicon giving priority to the signifier. Inspired in particular by Pierre Guiraud, we have established in the wake of Maurice Molho, Didier Bottineau, Georges Bohas or Dennis Philps, that the words can refer by the request of a portion of their shape, detectable structurally. We considered all the qualitative capacities (phones, submorphems, graphemes, segments) and quantitative (duplications, repetitions, reversals, homophonies / homographies) forms of words. We did not thus limited to a particular semiological support but conceived the lexicon, because of its complexity, as an organism of signifiers / signifieds where every element can be important to give rise to a motivation (internal or external). We named this element salience, because it is about a unity which results from a focus, from a formal choice to refer any particular idea. We also noted, especially in cases of "disambiguation", which many parties could be sought and each allowed to refer to a distinct meaning. The consubstantiality of the sign is thus, of our point of view, a pertinent principle. The "synonymy" as well as the "polysemy" are not therefore either relevant notions because every term sends back in a way which is appropriate for its to a given meaning. Finally, we proposed an application, with similar criteria, in "poetics" utterances where several unusual actualizations appear but always permitted by the language, the signifier

The present dissertation aims to investigate cognitive and motivational underpinnings of stereotype contents in differing contexts. This dissertation consisted of two related sections. In the first section, comparison was suggested as the cognitive process underlying the implicit competence and warmth attributions toward businesswomen and homemakers. Four studies using Go/No Go Association Task were conducted to investigate the comparison process. Findings of the studies indicated that comparison has a significant impact on implicit mixed stereotypes. Implicit mixed stereotypes were not observed when target groups and attributes were presented in non-comparative context (Study 1). However, implicit stereotype contents were obvious in comparative context (Study 2). Finally, implicit stereotype contents of homemakers and businesswomen were shaped in accordance to the part of the context that was comparative (i.e. group comparison in Study 3 and attribute comparison in Study4). In the second section of the dissertation, comparison process was related to individuals&rsquo
compensation tendency. Two studies were conducted to examine the compensation tendency in the framework of System Justification Theory. In the first study (Study 5), presentation order of the target groups was manipulated. By this way, participants were not aware of the second group. Findings indicated that participants tended to compensate their first ratings toward homemakers and businesswomen. Furthermore, ambivalent sexism moderated the compensation tendency. In the second study (Study 6), both groups were presented together. Neither order of presentation nor its interactions were significant. Findings of the studies were discussed in the light of relevant literature.

Online users struggle with different concerns whenever they use information systems. According to Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001), there are three important categories of concerns for online users: privacy concern, third party fraudulent behavior concern ("system security"), and online website fraudulent behavior concern ("security"). Kim, Sivasailam, and Rao (2004) proposed a similar categorization for web assurance dimensions. They argue that online websites are supposed to address users' privacy, security, and business integrity concerns to decrease user concerns. Although several researchers tried to answer how different factors affect these concerns and how these concerns affect users' behavior, there are so many ambiguities and contradictions in this area. This Essay I in this work develops a comprehensive map of the role of online privacy concern to identify related factors and categorize them through an in-depth literature review and conducting meta-analysis on online privacy concern. Although users have concerns about their privacy and security, there is still growth in the number of internet users and electronic commerce market share. One possible reason is that websites are applying assurance mechanisms to ensure the privacy of their users. Therefore, it could be an interesting research topic to investigate how privacy assurance mechanisms affect users concern and, consequently, their behavior in different concerns such as e-commerce and social networking sites. Different types of web assurance mechanisms are used by websites. The most prevalent among these assurance mechanisms include web assurance seals and assurance statements and privacy customization features. Essay II and III aims to address how these mechanisms influence e-commerce and social networking sites users' behavior. Essay II applies the procedural fairness theory by Lind and Tyler (1988) to explain how and why the web assurance mechanisms affect consumers' perceived risks. Essay III addresses the issue of self-disclosure on social networking sites. Applying protection motivation theory, this study aims to evaluate the effect of web assurance mechanisms on online privacy concern and self-disclosure behavior on the social networking sites.

Various molecular pathways in the brain shape our understanding of good and bad, as well as our motivation to seek and avoid such stimuli. This work evolves around how systemic inflammation causes aversion; and why general unpleasant states such as sickness, stress, pain and nausea are encoded by our brain as undesirable; and contrary to these questions, how drugs of abuse can subjugate the motivational neurocircuitry of the brain. A common feature of these various disease states is involvement of the motivational neurocircuitry - from mesolimbic to striatonigral pathways. Having an intact motivational system is what helps us evade negative outcomes and approach natural positive reinforcers, which is essential for our survival. During disease-states the motivational neurocircuitry may be overthrown by the molecular mechanisms that originally were meant to aid us. In study I, to investigate how inflammation is perceived as aversive, we used a behavioral test based on Pavlovian place conditioning with the aversive inflammatory stimulus E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Using a combination of cell-type specific gene deletions, pharmacology, and chemogenetics, we uncovered that systemic inflammation triggered aversion by MyD88-dependent activation of the brain endothelium followed by COX1-mediated cerebral prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis. Moreover, we showed that inflammation-induced PGE2 targeted EP1 receptors on striatal dopamine D1 receptor–expressing neurons and that this signaling sequence induced aversion through GABA-mediated inhibition of dopaminergic cells. Finally, inflammation-induced aversion was not an indirect consequence of fever or anorexia but constituted an independent inflammatory symptom triggered by a unique molecular mechanism. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that PGE2-mediated modulation of the dopaminergic circuitry is a key mechanism underlying inflammation-induced aversion. In study II, we investigate the role of peripheral IFN-γ in LPS induced conditioned place aversion by employing a strategy based on global and cell-type specific gene deletions, combined with measures of gene-expression. LPS induced IFN-ɣ expression in the blood, and deletion of IFN-ɣ or its receptor prevented conditioned place aversion (CPA) to LPS. LPS increased the expression of chemokine Cxcl10 in the striatum of normal mice. This induction was absent in mice lacking IFN-ɣ receptors or Myd88 in blood brain barrier endothelial cells. Furthermore, inflammation-induced aversion was blocked in mice lacking Cxcl10 or its receptor Cxcr3. Finally, mice with a selective deletion of the IFN-ɣ receptor in brain endothelial cells did not develop inflammation-induced aversion. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that circulating IFN-ɣ binding to receptors on brain endothelial cells which induces Cxcl10, is a central link in the signaling chain eliciting inflammation-induced aversion. In study III, we explored the role of melanocortin 4 receptors (MC4Rs) in aversive processing using genetically modified mice in CPA to various stimuli. In normal mice, robust aversions were induced by systemic inflammation, nausea, pain and kappa opioid receptor-induced dysphoria. In sharp contrast, mice lacking MC4Rs displayed preference towards most of the aversive stimuli, but were indifferent to pain. The unusual flip from aversion to reward in mice lacking MC4Rs was dopamine-dependent and associated with a change from decreased to increased activity of the dopamine system. The responses to aversive stimuli were normalized when MC4Rs were re-expressed on dopamine D1 receptor-expressing cells or in the striatum of mice otherwise lacking MC4Rs. Furthermore, activation of arcuate nucleus proopiomelanocortin neurons projecting to the ventral striatum increased the activity of striatal neurons in a MC4R-dependent manner and elicited aversion. Our findings demonstrate that melanocortin signaling through striatal MC4Rs is critical for assigning negative motivational valence to harmful stimuli. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine has been implied in reward learning and drug addiction. However, the role of cholinergic receptor subtypes in such processes remains elusive. In study IV we investigated the function of muscarinic M4Rs on dopamine D1R expressing neurons and acetylcholinergic neurons, using transgenic mice in various reward-enforced behaviors and in a “waiting”-impulsivity test. Mice lacking M4-receptors from D1-receptor expressing neurons exhibited an escalated reward seeking phenotype towards cocaine and natural reward, in Pavlovian conditioning and an operant self-administration task, respectively. In addition, the M4-D1RCre mice showed impaired waiting impulsivity in the 5-choice-serial-reaction-time-task. On the contrary, mice without M4Rs in acetylcholinergic neurons were unable to learn positive reinforcement to natural reward and cocaine, in an operant runway paradigm and in Pavlovian conditioning.  Immediate early gene expression mirrored the behavioral findings arising from M4R-D1R knockout, as cocaine induced cFos and FosB was significantly increased in the forebrain of M4-D1RCre mice, whereas it remained normal in the M4R-ChatCre mice. Our study illustrates that muscarinic M4Rs on specific neural populations, either cholinergic or D1R-expressing, are pivotal for learning processes related to both natural reward and drugs of abuse, with opposing functionality.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.
Katherine Willoughby, Committee Member ; Juan Rogers, Committee Member ; John Clayton Thomas, Committee Member ; Gregory B. Lewis, Committee Member ; Robert J. Eger, III, Committee Chair.

Young adults are most at-risk for the non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) and many of its associated negative consequences. Understanding this population’s motivations for use can help to inform efforts to reduce NMUPD. Past research has been limited in scope, consisting primarily of cross-sectional work with college students focusing on prescription stimulants. The current study researched how motivations for NMUPD changed over young adulthood using three waves of data from a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of 14,990 19 to 24 year olds in the Monitoring the Future study cohorts collected between 1976 to 2013. Prescription stimulants, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and opioids were investigated, along with sex and college attendance as potential moderators. Differences in NMUPD motivations for young adults who initiated NMUPD in high school versus in early young adulthood were studied. Additionally, motivation patterns of new users were investigated. Analyses indicated that both recreational and self-treatment motivations commonly were reported over time and across drug classes, with four to five popular motivations acknowledged in each class. In general, generalized estimated equations repeated measure analyses found that NMUPD motivations remained relatively stable across young adulthood, with some reductions for the motivations of experimentation and boredom, and an increase in select self-treatment motivations. Overall, men were more likely to endorse recreational motivations, while women were more likely to endorse self-treatment motivations, though this varied somewhat by prescription drug class. Young adults not enrolled in college courses were more likely to endorse using stimulants non-medically for different reasons than their peers who were enrolled. There also were differences in motivations based on if young adults initiated NMUPD in high school compared to when they were 19/20 years old. However, motivations were fairly consistent across young adult development regardless of when NMUPD was initiated. These data suggest that efforts aimed at preventing or reducing NMUPD in young adult populations should include targets to reduce both self-treatment and recreational motivations; may need to be tailored by prescription drug class, sex, and college attendance status; could start in high school; and can be used for new and continued users across young adulthood.

O presente estudo tem como objetivo investigar a integração do sistema motivacional com o sistema de adaptações responsável por definir a estratégia de ciclo de vida (CV) de um organismo. A estratégia de CV regula o modo como um organismo alocará sua energia, tempo e recursos ao longo de sua vida, influenciando o processo de desenvolvimento ontogenético e as tomadas de decisão realizadas todos os dias. Pelo íntimo relacionamento com o processo decisório, os sistemas motivacionais teriam co-evoluído com as estratégias de CV, tornando o processo de tomada de decisão mais eficiente, gerando respostas adaptativas. Esta tese é composta por 3 estudos, que investigam, através de uma estrutura experimental, a sensibilidade de nosso sistema motivacional a pistas ambientais evolutivamente relevantes e o consequente estabelecimento de padrões de respostas que estejam de acordo com as previsões da Teoria Evolucionista dos CV. Busca também investigar como as características individuais e ambientais podem influenciar a sensibilidade aos estímulos. A sensibilidade aos estímulos foi avaliada por instrumentos que medem a impulsividade através de escolhas entre recompensas de curto ou longo prazo (desconto do futuro), ou entre a possibilidade de ficar com a recompensa ou doá-la a outra pessoa (desconto social). No Estudo 1, investigamos como pistas de instabilidade ambiental, como fotos ou notícias sobre catástrofes naturais, ou notícias sobre crise econômica, influenciam a tomada de decisão frente à escolhas de desconto do futuro. Verificamos que as pessoas são sensíveis a condições de instabilidade ambiental e respondem de maneira adaptativa aos estímulos, tornando-se mais impulsivos. O status socioeconômico influenciou a sensibilidade aos estímulos. No Estudo 2, investigamos como pistas reprodutivas, como fotos sensuais, de pessoas bonitas, de pais cuidando de seus filhos e de bebês, influenciam a tomada de decisão frente a escolhas de desconto do futuro. Homens e mulheres foram sensíveis a estímulos sensuais do sexo oposto, tornando-se mais impulsivos, mas somente mulheres tiveram esta resposta frente a fotos de homens bonitos. Fotos de cuidado parental levaram mulheres a uma redução da impulsividade. A propensão dos sujeitos a relacionamentos de curto ou longo prazo e a percepção da disponibilidade de parceiros no ambiente modificaram a sensibilidade aos estímulos de origem sexual. No Estudo 3 investigamos como pistas de instabilidade ambiental influenciam a tomada de decisão frente a escolhas de desconto social. As pessoas foram sensíveis aos estímulos, apresentando comportamentos egoístas e altruístas dependendo do contexto que enfrentavam. As condições do ambiente de criação e o modo como os indivíduos formam vínculos afetivos, influenciaram a sensibilidade aos estímulos. A sensibilidade aos diferentes estímulos, levando a respostas adaptativas, como previsto pelas teorias evolucionistas, nos dão indicativos do processo de interação e possível integração entre sistemas motivacionais e sistema de adaptações responsável por definir a estratégia de CV
The present study aims to investigate the integration of the motivational system with the system of adaptations responsible for defining the strategy of life history (LH) of an organism. The LH strategy regulates how an organism allocates its energy, time and resources throughout its life, influencing the ontogenetic development process and every days decision making. Due to the close relationship with the decision-making process, the motivational systems would have co-evolved with the LH strategies, making the decision-making process more efficient, generating adaptive responses. This thesis consists of three studies, that investigates, through an experimental structure, the sensitivity of our motivational system to evolutionarily relevant environmental cues and the consequent establishment of patterns of responses consistent with the predictions of LH evolutionary theory. It also attemps to investigate how individual and environmental characteristics can influence the sensitivity to stimuli. The sensitivity to stimuli was assessed by impulsivity measuring instruments through choices between short or long term rewards (future discounting), or between the possibility to keep the reward or to give it to someone else (social discounting). In Study 1, we investigated how environmental instability cues, such as photos or news about natural disasters, or news about economic crisis, influence decision making in future discounting choices. We observed that people are sensitive to environmental instability conditions and adaptively respond to the stimulus by becoming more impulsive. The socioeconomic status influenced the stimuli sensitivity. In Study 2, we investigated how reproductive cues, such as photos of sexy people, of attractive people, of parents taking care of their children and babies, influence decision making in future discounting choices. Men and women were sensitive to sexy stimuli of the opposite sex, becoming more impulsive, but only women had this response looking pictures of attractive men. Parenting photos led women to an impulsivity reduction. The tendency of individuals to engage in short or long term romantic relationships and the perception of partner availability in the environment changed the sexual stimuli sensitivity. In Study 3 we investigated how environmental instability cues influence the decision making in social discounting choices. People were sensitive to stimuli, presenting selfish and altruistic behaviors depending on the context they faced. The childhood environment conditions and the way individuals form emotional bonds, influenced the stimuli sensitivity. The sensitivity to different stimuli, leading to adaptive responses, as predicted by evolutionary theories, give us indicatives of the interaction process and possible integration between motivational systems and adaptations systems responsible for defining LH strategy

Problems: The problem is that there is a lack of an academically reliable motivation theory originating from public organizations. However, there are motivation theories that have been tested on a variety of organizations. The fact that many public organizations have performance problems indicates that there is a need for a motivation theory which is applicable to public organization.

Purpose: The prime practical purpose is to compare the perceived conditions within the Chinese civil servant system with western theories of what constitutes satisfying work conditions. A further purpose is to suggest normative hypotheses about how these theories might be used to increase work satisfaction in the Chinese civil servant organization.

Methodology: To test our suggested motivation mechanism we conducted a survey using questionnaire and interview. Our research area is Ningbo and our case is a Ningbo Personnel Department.

Conclusions: The research showed that the modified motivation theories could be used in the Chinese public departments and our created motivation mechanism could be used to improve the working efficiency in Chinese public departments at least in advanced areas.

Автор надає переклад тексту українською мовою.
В доповіді обгрунтовується необхідність пошуку оціночних моделей і механізмів, що здійснювали б зв’язок із загальнодержавними та ринковими інститутами. Доцільним є розроблення мотиваційних механізмів дематеріалізаційних змін на рівні суб’єктів господарювання, які пов’язують мотивацію на мікрорівні з мотивацією на рівні національної економіки і забезпечують цільові трансформаційні зміни.
В докладе обосновывается необходимость поиска оценочных моделей и механизмов, которые осуществляли бы связь с общегосударственными и рыночными институтами. Целесообразным является разработка мотивационных механизмов дематериализационных изменений на уровне субъектов хозяйствования, которые связывают мотивацию на микроуровне с мотивацией на уровне национальной экономики и обеспечивают целевые трансформационные изменения.
The report is substantiated the need to find mechanisms and assessment models, which would liaise with national and market institutions. It is expedient to develop motivational mechanisms dematerialization changes in the level of economic entities that link the motivation at the micro level with motivation at the level of the national economy and provide targeted transformational change.
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L’implication des volontaires de santé communautaire, tels que les volontaires de la Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge, peut constituer un moyen approprié de s’attaquer au problème d’inégalités sociales et de santé. Pourtant, les connaissances manquent sur ce qui marche pour améliorer la performance des volontaires. Objectifs Comprendre comment, pourquoi, pour quels volontaires et dans quelles circonstances les stratégies organisationnelles mises en œuvre pour améliorer la performance des volontaires de santé communautaire marchent. Méthodes En raison de la complexité des programmes impliquant des volontaires de santé communautaire, nous avons adopté l’évaluation réaliste comme approche méthodologique et l’étude de cas comparative comme modèle d’étude. Dans un premier temps, des entretiens, une synthèse réaliste de la littérature ainsi qu’une revue des théories d’action qui sous-tendent ces programmes ont été réalisés pour développer le cadre théorique de l’évaluation. Ensuite, deux cas ont été sélectionnés sur Kampala, la capitale de l’Ouganda, ou la Société Nationale de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge Ougandaise développe des stratégies pour améliorer la performance des volontaires. Chaque cas correspond à une unité organisationnelle de la Société Nationale Ougandaise, responsable de la mise en place des programmes de santé au niveau d’un district du pays. Les méthodes de collecte de données ont inclus des entretiens individuels, des groupes de discussion, des observations, ainsi qu’une revue de documents. Un processus méthodologique de comparaison constante a été utilisé pour l’analyse des données. Résultats Les stratégies d’intervention, dont les pratiques managériales peuvent influencer positivement la performance lorsqu’elles favorisent la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques des volontaires (l’autonomie, la responsabilisation, la compétence et le lien social). Pour ce faire, les stratégies et leur mise en œuvre doivent s’adapter aux différentes formes de motivation des volontaires et à l’évolution de celles-ci pendant le volontariat. S’agissant du contexte, la reconnaissance communautaire et la reconnaissance organisationnelle sont deux facteurs clés qui interviennent dans la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques des volontaires. Discussion Cette recherche doctorale a des implications pour la Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de la Croix Rouge et du Croissant Rouge. Les résultats fournissent des informations utiles à l’action relative à la mise en place de programmes de volontaires de santé communautaire et l’approche évaluative a des implications générales en ce qui concerne la dynamique d’apprentissage organisationnel. Par ailleurs l’approche de l’évaluation réaliste a également contribué, à sa mesure, au développement du champ de l’évaluation de programme en santé. L’opérationnalisation des concepts de l’approche réaliste a été discutée et approfondie afin de contribuer au développement de cette approche
Context The recruitment of community health volunteers, such as the volunteers of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, is an established approach to improve the health of underserved communities. However, there is a dearth of evidence about what works to improve volunteers’ performance. Objectives To understand why, how, for which volunteers and under which circumstances intervention approaches to improve volunteers’ performance is more likely to be successful. Methods Given the complexity of the intervention under study, a realist evaluation as methodological approach and a case study as study design was adopted. Firstly, a realist review together with interviews with the main stakeholders and a review of the theories underlying community health volunteers programme have been conducted to develop the theoretical basis for the evaluation. Secondly for the case study, two contrasted cases have been then selected at district level in the capital of Uganda, where the Red Cross Society is implementing a community-based programme. A case is as a Red Cross unit run by a programme manager that operate around one governmental district structures. Data collection included document review, participant observation and interviews. The constant comparative method was used for the analysis. Results Intervention approaches that include supervision supportive of autonomy, skills and knowledge enhancement and that is adapted to the different sub-groups of volunteers, leads to satisfaction of the three key drivers of volunteer motivation: feelings of autonomy, of competence and of connectedness. This contributes to volunteers’ better performance. Enabling contextual conditions include the responsiveness of the organisation to community needs and recognition from the organisation and the community of the work of the volunteers. Discussion The findings will inform the management of community health volunteers and have implication for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies regrading organisational learning. It also contributed to building the field of programme evaluation in Health and led to methodological developments for doing realist evaluation

Antecedents:Malgrat la importància oferta en la literatura, el concepte de congruència de valors és encara poc conegut. La literatura és ambigua i el tema és encara poc conegut. La congruència de valors es tracta a les àrees de gestió i psicologia relacionant-la amb diverses actituds cap al treball o cap als resultats empresarials. No obstant això, el procés que afecta a aquests resultats segueix sent molt polèmic. És a dir, no sabem exactament per què la congruència de valors produeix efectes en els resultats empresarials. Pregunta de recerca:Aquesta tesi intenta explicar l'efecte de la congruència de valors. És a dir, quin és la correlació o relació semicausal entre la congruència o incongruència de valors i determinades actituds laborals tals com la satisfacció laboral, compromís organitzacional, d'una banda, i de salut, tals com l'estrès laboral o la salut física, per l'altre. Enfocament teòric:Reconeixent el fet que les explicacions actuals sobre els efectes de la congruència dels valors són especulatives, fragmentades i de caràcter social, en aquesta tesi s'utilitza la teoria basada en l’autoconcepte com a teoria subjacent per comprovar empíricament el mecanisme de mediació de les variables de autoconcepte en la relació entre la congruència de valors i els resultats empresarials. S'afirma que aquest mecanisme individual és similar a l'efecte de mediació dels mecanismes socials tals com la confiança. Disseny:En aquesta tesi s'utilitza l'enfocament de tres papers relacionats. En el primer d'ells es fa una revisió de la literatura existent sobre congruència de valors i contextualitza la investigació des d'un marc global. El segon paper utilitza la teoria de l’autoconcepte per explicar els efectes de la congruència de valors en els resultats laborals relacionats amb l'actitud, tals com a salut mental (burnout) i una sèrie de resultats relacionats organitzativament com la propensió d'accidents i de les intencions de rotar. Les dades van ser recollides entre les infermeres que treballen en un gran hospital universitari a Catalunya. El tercer paper utilitza algunes de les variables derivades de la teoria de l'autoconcepte per provar empíricament la importància relativa i la configuració de mecanismes individuals i mecanismes socials com a mediadors entre la congruència de valors i una sèrie de resultats específics individuals, com la satisfacció en el treball, el compromís amb l'organització i l'esgotament. Aquest tercer estudi es va dur a terme en un hospital del nord-est de Xina. Resultats: El primer paper estableix les bases per a futurs estudis especificant les necessitats i les limitacions de treballs previs. En els dos estudis empírics, s'ha trobat que la teoria de l’autoconcepte es pot aplicar en el context de la comprensió del procés d'efectes de la congruència dels valors. En el segon paper, s'ha observat que, per a diferents tipus de valors, l'esgotament intervé de forma diferent entre els efectes de la incongruència de valors en els resultats. Quant al tercer paper, s'ha trobat que, per a diferents resultats, les variables de l’autoconcepte intervenen entre els efectes de la congruència dels valors de forma diferent, però s'ha constatat que la confiança en l'organització és un mediador social consistent. Això últim reforça el recent interès a utilitzar en major mesurada la construcció de la confiança en les investigacions sobre organitzacions. Això va resultar ser vàlid en el context xinès. Conclusions: Aquesta tesi sosté que l'estudi sobre la congruència de valors és molt important tant per als individus com per a les organitzacions. A pesar que els seus efectes directes o de mediació, això també afecta a resultats relacionats amb la salut de l'individu (és a dir, esgotament o la salut física), així com a resultats relacionats amb la salut de l'organització (el compromís, la propensió d'accidents,, la previsió de volum de negoci, i similars).
Antecedentes: A pesar de la importancia ofrecida en la literatura, el concepto de congruencia de valores es aún poco conocido. La literatura es ambigua y el tema es aún poco conocido. La congruencia de valores se trata en las áreas de gestión y psicología relacionándola con diversas actitudes hacia el trabajo o hacia los resultados empresariales. No obstante, el proceso que afecta a estos resultados sigue siendo muy polémico. Es decir, no sabemos exactamente por qué la congruencia de valores produce efectos en los resultados empresariales. Pregunta de investigación: Esta tesis intenta explicar el efecto de la congruencia de valores. Es decir, cuál es la correlación o relación semicausal entre la congruencia o incongruencia de valores y determinadas actitudes laborales tales como la satisfacción laboral, compromiso organizacional, por un lado, y de salud, tales como el estrés laboral o la salud física, por el otro. Enfoque teórico: Reconociendo el hecho de que las explicaciones actuales sobre los efectos de la congruencia de los valores son especulativas, fragmentadas y de carácter social, en esta tesis se utiliza la teoría basada en el autoconcepto como teoría subyacente para comprobar empíricamente el mecanismo de mediación de las variables de autoconcepto en la relación entre la congruencia de valores y los resultados empresariales. Se afirma que este mecanismo individual es similar a los efectos de mediación de los mecanismos sociales tales como la confianza. Diseño: En esta tesis se utiliza el enfoque de tres papers relacionados. En el primero de ellos se hace una revisión de la literatura existente sobre congruencia de valores y contextualiza la investigación desde un marco global. El segundo paper utiliza la teoría del autoconcepto para explicar los efectos de la congruencia de valores en los resultados laborales relacionados con la actitud, tales como salud mental (burnout) y una serie de resultados relacionados organizativamente como la propensión de accidentes y de las intenciones de rotar. Los datos fueron recogidos entre las enfermeras que trabajan en un gran hospital universitario en Cataluña. El tercer paper utiliza algunas de las variables derivadas de la teoría del auto-concepto para probar empíricamente la importancia relativa y la configuración de mecanismos individuales y mecanismos sociales como mediadores entre la congruencia de valores y una serie de resultados específicos individuales, como la satisfacción en el trabajo, el compromiso con la organización y el agotamiento. Este tercer estudio se llevó a cabo en un hospital del noreste de China. Resultados: El primer paper establece las bases para futuros estudios especificando las necesidades y las limitaciones de trabajos previos. En los dos estudios empíricos, se ha encontrado que la teoría del autoconcepto se puede aplicar en el contexto de la comprensión del proceso de efectos de la congruencia de los valores. En el segundo paper, se ha observado que, para diferentes tipos de valores, el agotamiento media de forma distinta entre los efectos de la incongruencia de valores en los resultados. En cuanto al tercer paper, se ha hallado que, para diferentes resultados, las variables del autoconcepto median entre los efectos de la congruencia de los valores de forma distinta, pero se ha constatado que la confianza en la organización es un mediador social consistente. Esto último refuerza el reciente interés en utilizar en mayor medida la construcción de la confianza en las investigaciones sobre organizaciones. Ello resultó ser válido en el contexto chino. Conclusión: Esta tesis sostiene que el estudio sobre la congruencia de valores es muy importante tanto para los individuos como para las organizaciones. A pesar de que sus efectos directos o de mediación, ello también afecta a resultados relacionados con la salud del individuo (es decir, agotamiento o la salud física), así como a resultados relacionados con la salud de la organización (el compromiso, la propensión de accidentes,, la previsión de volumen de negocio, y similares).
Background: Albeit the critical importance accorded in the literature to the concept of value congruence it is still poorly understood. The literature dealing with it is ambiguous and inconsistent. Value incongruence in the management and psychological disciplines, has been related to various job attitudes and other work related outcomes, but the process of which it affects the latter remains controversial. That is, we do not know exactly why value congruence (or value incongruence) is supposed to have these effects on the outcomes studied. Research question:This thesis is an attempt to understand the process of value congruence’s effect. That is to say: what are the correlational or semi causal relationships between value congruence and value incongruence on selected attitudinal outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment on one hand, and health outcomes, such as job burnout or physical health , on the other hand?. Theoretical approach:The underlying theory of “self-concept” has been used in its application to the construct of value congruence. More specifically, the mediating mechanism of self-concept variables on the relationship between value congruence and outcomes was empirically tested. Furthermore, the relative importance and the particular configuration of individualmechanism vssocial mechanism functioning simultaneously as mediatorshave been tested. . Design:This thesis uses three connected papers. The first paper is a comprehensive review of the literature on value congruence. Itintegrates value congruence research into a coherent framework.A clear agenda for research results from the conclusions reached in this first paper. The second paper inspired by the “self-concept theory”,tests the relationships between value congruence on specific outcomes such as mental health (burnout), physical health, and a host of organizationally related outcomes such as accident propensity and turnover intentions. Data was collected amongst nurses working in a large university hospital in Catalonia. The third paper also uses some variables derived from the self-concept theory to empirically test the relative importance and the particular configuration of individualmechanism and social mechanism functioning simultaneously as mediatorsbetween value congruence and a host of specific individual outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment and Burnout. This third study was carried out in a county hospital in northeast China. Method: The first paper is qualitative in nature. It synthesizes and classifies related definitions, models and measurement based on the literature. The second and the third papers are empirical studies based on cross-sectional pre validated surveys conducted in Spain and China in the health care settings. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed throughout different phases of the studies. Multiple regressiontechnique was employed to test the mediation effect. Results:The first study sets up the agenda for future research in specifying needs and limitations of previous research. In the two empirical papers, it has been found that self-concept theory can serve for understanding the effects of value congruence. More specifically the second paper shows that for different types of value incongruence, burnout mediatesin a differential manner the effects on the outcomes studied. Third paper, found that, for different outcomes, self-concept variables mediates the effects of value congruence differentially, but trust in the organization, a specific variable that was added in this study, was a consistent social mediator. The latter reinforces recent call to further use the construct of trust in organizational research. This was found to be valid in the Chinese context. Conclusion: The thesis argues that studying value congruence can be very important to both individuals and organizations. Regardless of its direct or mediating effects, it impacts outcomes connected with individual health (i.e. Burnout or physical health) and also outcomes connected with organizational health (commitment, accident propensity, turnover intention, and alike). The thesis also shows how important it is to identify various linkages and configurations between value congruence and outcomes while borrowing from the self-concept theory.

Les données issues de la recherche en neurosciences permettent de considérer la dépression comme une affection invalidante générale, caractérisée par des déficits neurocognitifs et comportementaux, au delà des symptômes dépressifs cliniques définis dans les classifications nosographiques. Ces déficits coexistent à la phase aiguë d’un épisode dépressif caractérisé (EDC) et interfèrent dans la prise de décision et réalisation d’un comportement orienté vers un but, et la sensation d’effort associée. Ils semblent persister en période de rémission clinique, altérant la qualité de la réponse thérapeutique et fonctionnelle et aggravant à terme le pronostic du trouble. L’objectif de ce travail est d’identifier des marqueurs neurocognitifs objectivement mesurables en pratique clinique, et d’étudier leur association au pronostic d’un EDC, afin de mieux prédire les probabilités de rémission et d’optimiser les stratégies de prescription thérapeutique des patients. L’altération des processus neurocognitifs liés à la récompense constitue un premier marqueur de vulnérabilité du trouble dépressif : dans une étude explorant la production d’un effort moteur dans le but d’obtenir une récompense, les patients déprimés présentaient un déficit de production d’effort, à la différence des sujets sains. Ce trouble de la motivation par incitation - processus sous tendu en imagerie fonctionnelle chez le sujet sain par l’activation de circuits cortico-striataux ventraux -pourrait constituer une dimension spécifique de la maladie dépressive. Participant à l’altération des processus de prise de décision et d’action, ce déficit motivationnel est associé, et possiblement secondaire, à des déficits plus spécifiquement cognitifs que nous avons ensuite étudiés. Dans une étude explorant plusieurs fonctions cognitives chez des patients déprimés au sein d’une large cohorte, la présence d’un ralentissement psychomoteur séquellaire après 6 à 8 semaines de traitement – chez des patients pourtant en rémission clinique -, était positivement et de manière indépendante, significativement corrélée au nombre d’épisodes dépressifs passés, constituant ainsi un marqueur d’une sévérité « cumulative » du trouble dépressif. Enfin, dans une revue de la littérature sur le caractère progressivement évolutif des déficits cognitifs dans le trouble dépressif unipolaire, nous avons discuté l’existence d’un effet « neurotoxique » cérébral de l’accumulation d’EDC, à l’origine de troubles neurocognitifs et de conséquences sur le cours évolutif de la maladie (risque majoré de rémission clinique et/ou fonctionnelle partielle, de récurrence, d’évolution démentielle). Un des principaux intérêts de l’identification de marqueurs de vulnérabilité cliniques et cognitifs est de mettre en évidence leur rôle prédictif du cours évolutif d’un épisode -ou d’un trouble- dépressif. Dans une étude menée sur une cohorte de plus de 500 patients déprimés, une variable attentionnelle (d2 test d’attention) était capable de prédire l’évolution ultérieure vers la rémission complète (clinique et fonctionnelle) de façon significative, linéaire, et indépendante des autres variables et de représenter un marqueur-trait de la dépression, aisément utilisable en pratique clinique. D’autres marqueurs cognitifs (tels que les fonctions exécutives) ont montré une valeur prédictive élevée de la réponse thérapeutique, avec une précision proche de celle de marqueurs d’imagerie ou électrophysiologie, selon les résultats d’une méta-analyse récente, justifiant leur emploi dans le suivi des patients
Hese deficits coexist in the acute phase of a depressive episode and interfere with decision-making and goal-directed behaviors, and the associated feeling of effort. They appear to persist in periods of clinical remission, decreasing the quality of the therapeutic and functional response and lately worsening the prognosis of the disorder. The aim of this work is to identify objectively measurable neurocognitive markers in clinical practice, and to study their association with the prognosis of a depressive episode, in order to better predict remission and potentially to optimize therapeutic prescribing strategies for patients accordingly. The impairment of neurocognitive processes related to reward constitutes a first vulnerability marker for major depressive disorder (MDD): in a study assessing the production of motor effort in order to obtain a reward, depressed patients had a deficit in production of effort, unlike healthy subjects. Such deficit in incentive motivation - a process underpinned by the activation of ventral cortico-striatal circuits in healthy subjects - may constitute a specific dimension of MDD. It participates in the decision-making and action processes impairments and is associated with – and possibly a consequence of- more specifically cognitive deficits. In a study assessing several cognitive functions in a large cohort of depressed patients, the persistence of psychomotor retardation after 6 to 8 weeks of treatment - in patients considered as being in clinical remission - was positively and independently correlated with the number of past depressive episodes, thus constituting a marker of "cumulative" marker of past depressive episodes. Finally, in a literature review on the progressive evolution of cognitive deficits in MDD, we discussed the existence of a “neurotoxic” effect of the lifetime accumulation of depressive episodes on neurocognitive deficits and its consequences on disease prognosis (increased risk of incomplete functional/clinical remission, relapses, evolution towards dementia). One of the main interest in identifying clinical and cognitive markers of vulnerability is to highlight their capacity to predict the course of a depressive episode-or disorder. In a study based on a cohort of more than 500 depressed patients, a measurement of attention (d2 attention test) was able to significantly and independently predict the subsequent course towards complete remission (clinical and functional) and to constitute a trait -marker of depression, easy to use in clinical practice. Other cognitive markers (such as executive functions) have shown high predictive values for therapeutic response, comparable to those provided by imaging or electrophysiology markers, according to the results of a recent meta-analysis, that emphasizes the interest of using them in patient’s follow-up. Finally, in order to better assess the prognosis of depressive disorder, we have shown that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) diagnosis criteria - which nevertheless represents a specific depressive disorder with well-known physiopathology substrates (construction validity) - had a low predictive validity, prompting to consider this disorder as a temporary expression of a mood disorder, rather than a specific disorder. The identification of clinical tools measuring motivational and cognitive deficits in clinical routine and predicting the course of a depressive episode or disorder represents a major challenge in the improvement of personalized therapeutic management and the long-term prognosis in depressed patients

Green gamification är en metod som på senare tid använts för att uppmuntra miljövänliga beteenden hos människor. I takt med att ökande avfallsmängder väntas bli ett allt större problem är det av relevans att hitta lösningar för att uppmuntra miljövänliga beteenden. Denna studie har utförts som ett bidrag till forskningsprojektet Samverkan för ett spelifierat miljöhus 2021-2022. Studien undersöker hur spelmekanismerna topplistor, poäng, medaljer och streaks påverkar användarnas inre motivation till att källsortera när de tävlar mot bostadsområden i deras närhet. Genom att jämföra användarnas inställning till olika motivationsfaktorer före och efter intervention av spelifiering ger resultatet en indikation på att spelmekanismerna inte har en märkbar påverkan på användarnas inre motivation, och att vidare forskning inom området kan vara ett bidrag för att lösa problemet med ökande avfallsmängder.
Samverkan för ett spelifierat miljöhus 2021-2022

In this thesis I examine the tension that exists within a situation of increased geographical and social mobility between the processes which bring about supralocalism and the retention of traditional features within a linguistic variety. The notions of supra-localism and linguistic distinctiveness appear paradoxical, given that the mechanisms by which supra-localism occurs (namely, levelling and diffusion) typically involve the loss of regionally or socially distinctive features in favour of more widespread norms (Williams and Kerswill 1999, Milroy 2002b, Britain 2002c). However, "although levelling constitutes a pressure towards linguistic convergence, it does not follow that communities whose dialects undergo this process lose their linguistic distinctiveness" (Milroy 2002b:9). My aim is thus to illuminate whether (and if so, how) these two, seemingly incompatible outcomes of contact can co-exist with one another within a given speech community. The speech community chosen for investigation here is Morley, a suburb five miles south-west of Leeds, in the North of England. In this thesis I address the following research questions: I. In what ways are diffusion, levelling and retention of traditional dialect features observable within the same community? II. How does a community negotiate linguistic identity in the face of increased contact and perceived homogeneity? III. Which (if any) traditional features of the Morley variety are subject to levelling, and which are retained? IV. Which (if any) external features are diffusing into the Morley variety as a result of increased contact? V. How do the answers to the previous questions further inform our understanding of sociolinguistic variation and change? In so doing I make an original contribution to knowledge in the field of contactinduced processes of sociolinguistic change.

BACKGROUND: Research has established the positive link between physical activity and its impact on health among adults. Generally, as people get older, they are less likely to be active. Black women comprise 13% of the women in the US but constitute 52% of women who are inactive. Existing articles on exercise motivation among Black women have generally assessed sedentary individuals. Little research has examined the motivations to exercise among physically active Black women. METHODS: Guided by the regulators of the Self Determination Theory, the 56 item Motivations of Marathoners Scales for Triathletes (MOMS-T) was used to assess the motives of (N =121) midlife to older Black women (36+) and then transformed into a semi structured guide to interview (n =12) women to further understand their motives for participating in triathlons. RESULTS: Univariate and two way analysis reveals age as a predictor for the four regulators (external, introjection, integration and intrinsic) but BMI and distance are not. Integration demonstrated the highest mean. Qualitative results indicated that construct of self competition and receiving medals are important aspects of participation but are not measured in the survey. A new scale, triathlete lifestyle, should be considered within the MOMS-T. CONCLUSION: Findings were representative of the study population and comparable to previous studies. The survey transformation of the MOMS-T into an interview guide provided additional qualitative explanations of the survey answers demonstrating a secondary method of gathering data as important to provide further understanding about constructs not measured in the survey form of the MOMS-T.

This thesis contributes to the scholarship on policy diffusion in general, and on environmental policy diffusion in particular, by unpicking the drivers of different diffusion mechanisms. Its overarching aim is to investigate the motivational dynamics influencing environmental policymaking at the fuzzy, understudied, pre-legislative stage. The thesis comprises four standalone papers: The first paper (Chapter 2) examines policymakers’ motivations to engage with the climate change mitigation agenda based on a case study of Israeli climate change mitigation policy. It suggests that Israel’s engagement with the climate change mitigation agenda, displaying an evident pattern of diffusion by emulating developed countries, is significantly motivated by considerations of internal, rather than external, legitimacy, contrary to expectations. The second paper (Chapter 3) makes theoretical advancements in recognising issue attributes as explanatory factors for the different mechanisms of policy diffusion, addressing an acknowledged gap in the literature. The third paper (Chapter 4) is an empirical application of the issue attributes model introduced in Chapter 3; the concept is applied to three diffusion processes of environmental issues in Israel: climate change, air pollution, and waste, analysing the differences in the attributes of these three issues, and subsequently, the differences in diffusion mechanisms in practice. The fourth paper (Chapter 5) investigates GLOBE International, a previously unstudied network of legislators committed to advancing climate change legislation. Its main findings show that GLOBE facilitates a mechanism of policy and political learning, but perhaps more interestingly, generates network-enabled emotional energy and esprit de corps among its members, which has helped to motivate and sustain climate action by legislators. The thesis takes a qualitative, microlevel approach, utilising data from 64 interviews with policy actors from 21 countries, as well supporting textual sources, thus contributing to the qualitative knowledge base needed to support analytical aggregations on policy diffusion processes.

Declining youth physical activity levels and lack of aerobic fitness have been well documented with a corresponding rise in obesity levels and health issues. Based on Bandura's social cognitive theory, healthy physical activity levels and aerobic fitness are strongly connected to positive physical activity self-efficacy beliefs. This study examined whether student physical activity self-efficacy, motivation, and effort were different for the FitnessGram-® (FG) 1-Mile Run when compared to the 15-minute Aerobic Assessment Based on Improvement (AABI). A concurrent mixed method quasi-experimental approach measured 5th grade students' physical activity self-efficacy beliefs through a pretest and posttest survey while aerobic assessment scores provided data that measured and compared student performance. Percent improvement and t-test analytic procedures found significant differences between groups and genders. The FG group (n = 131) improved 1.49% while the AABI group (n = 209) improved 22.53%; furthermore, FG girls' percent improvement decreased to -7.56% and the AABI girls' percent improvement was above the average score at 24.21%. Qualitative data collected and coded from teachers' (n = 6) found no noticeable differences in student behaviors or preparation between the FG or AABI groups. A 3-day workshop was created to initiate change in aerobic fitness assessment. Assessing student aerobic fitness based on improvement theoretically builds physical activity self-efficacy beliefs, especially for girls. Positive physical activity self-efficacy beliefs motivate greater student participation and engagement in physical education, which improves aerobic fitness. Social implications from these results indicate that students would increase their physical activity self-efficacy by assessing aerobic fitness based on individual improvement.

Pediatric obesity is a major public health epidemic with serious physical and psychological consequences. Difficulty engaging families in treatment is a significant obstacle in addressing pediatric obesity, especially among underserved populations. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, person-centered communication style that has been shown to reduce attrition, increase attendance, and improve patient treatment adherence; however, little is known about the process of MI and how it improves treatment engagement. This study examined clinician and parent language in a pre-treatment MI session that increased initial engagement in a parent- focused pediatric obesity intervention (N= 81). Results showed that increased parent change talk, and preparatory language in particular, was positively related to the likelihood of initial attendance at baseline. Additionally, certain types of MI consistent clinician strategies were positively associated with parent change talk. Complex positive reflections were correlated with preparatory language and overall change talk, suggesting this might be a particularly important MI skill. Findings have implications for better understanding the process of MI and mechanisms through which MI can improve treatment engagement.

Chronic opioid and alcohol dependence are widespread problems with enormous associated individual and societal costs. The disruption of normal motivational processes is characteristic in addiction and studying the neurobiological mechanisms involved is key to helping develop treatments. This thesis has studied specific mechanisms in two different ways, firstly using neuroimaging and secondly by applying existing understanding to trial a novel treatment approach. The central role played by the mesolimbic dopaminergic system in the motivational system is well established, however compared to other drugs of abuse, it has been studied very little in opioid dependence. Two linked neuroimaging studies were conducted using llC-raclopride positron emission tomography, to better characterise the dopaminergic system. in opioid dependence. There was no detectable increase of striatal dopamine levels in opioid-dependent participants, to either expectation or delivery of a heroin related reward, and there was also no significant difference found in striatal dopamine D2/3 receptor availability compared with healthy controls. The lack of detectable changes contrasts with those seen in abstinent stimulant users. This may have been due to the impact of substitute medication and further research is needed to explore the neurobiological effects of different opioid substitutes.

Background Nearly a quarter of UK adults are obese representing a significant public health problem. Motivational interviewing (MI) may be effective in helping people to lose weight. Planning could be a mechanism of action which is related to outcome. The aim is to define the types of planning talk used by clients during an MI session and examine their relation to weight loss maintenance (WLM) outcomes. Also to examine the skills the therapist used prior to a client talking about planning. Methods To define planning talk a literature review was conducted and an expert group listened to recorded MI sessions. Thematic content analysis was used to identify the types of planning talk. Thematic analysis was used to identify the therapist skills prior to planning within 50 MI sessions. Associations between types of planning talk and WLM outcomes were analysed using logistic and linear regression. Results The development of the coding system found several types of plans/goals. The reliability was 86% and 75% agreement with the gold standard, for examples of plans/goals and the transcript respectively. Frequent planners lost on average 2.8 kgs (95% CI) and 1.2kg/m² (95% CI) more than those who were low planners (not statistically significant). Medium goal setters statistically significantly increased on average their weight (8.8kg) and BMI (3.5 kg/m²) compared to low goal setters. Therapist’s skills prior to planning were asking the client planning questions and exploring with the client their planning ideas in order to increase specificity. Conclusion The coding system can be used to code WLM data with acceptable reliability. A possible association between planning and a decrease in weight and BMI was demonstrated. Understanding how MI works could lead to improvements in the practice of MI by therapist, efficacy, focus research efforts and facilitate a better understanding of what helps people to change behaviours.

In response to the academic gaps in the existing literature, this research aims to investigate EM motives and techniques within the Egyptian context. This research is devoted to exploring the positive purpose of EM in terms of signalling a firm's value over the long-term to its outsiders, hence bringing advantages and future success to the firm, which will be reflected in the achievement of managerial long-term selfinterests and not short-term opportunistic self-interests. In order to serve the aims of the research, the New Institutional Sociology analytical framework and the interpretive approach are drawn on to explain the phenomena theoretically and empirically. Conducting semi~structured interviews and analysing official documents are two research methods used here for collecting primary and secondary data respectively. The research sample comprises thirty four individuals involved in EM, and is divided into four main categories, namely: firms' executives (service and industrial companies); auditors (big and small audit firms), users of financial reports (Le. financial analysts); and Stock Exchange regulators. The empirical results are consistent with the theoretical suggestions. Since this research has provided empirical evidence that firms' contexts and their unique circumstances have a significant influence on shaping executives' motives for managing a firm's financial image and on determining the mechanisms used for making such adjustments. The first part of the findings pertaining to the managerial motives reveals that, in the Egyptian context, there are two kinds of motivating factors: the first is the pressures or motives exerted by bodies that exist within a firm's external context, including: financial providers; EGX's listing rules and employees (coercive pressure); beating the prevailing level of profit (mimetic pressure); economic reform (economic pressure); and executives' characteristics, e.g. experiences and morals (normative pressures). The second is managerial self-interested motives, including: job security; managerial professional reputation; and cash bonus._ Importantly, the latter .motives can be served by complying with external motives or pressures. However, in Egypt, material suppliers and customers, and stock-based compensation plans have little or no motivating effect. The results also indicate the superiority of external motives over self-interested motives and of job market motives over monetary self~ interested motives. The findings further show the effect of the dominant type of ownership of a firm and of each firm's circumstances, such as their definition of the profit in its bonus managerial compensation scheme on managers' motives. Part two of the findings related to the EM mechanisms reports empirical evidence that each mechanism is effectively chosen in accordance with a firm's circumstances. In the Egyptian context, there are two rule~ based and unquestionable alternatives which can be used (in order to comply with the external requirements, i. e. pub lishing favourable FRs): accounting action mechanisms, including depreciation and inventory evaluation methods; and real economic activity mechanisms, including sale activities, advertising and R&D expenses, overproduction and sale of fixed assets. Importantly, empirical evidence shows that executives prefer to resort to a package of real business activities comprised of the most favoured mechanisms, including sale activities, followed by discretionary expenses. The reasons for the executives' preferences include: the real effect of using the mechanism on the firm 's profits and on its cash flows; the morality of using a particular mechanism; its ability not to attract scrutiny from outsiders; and its flexible use. The results additionally indicate a close association between better understanding EM motives and the accurate identification of the EM mechanisms that are preferred.

In a constant search for meaning we humans cannot stop interpreting the world we find around us (Kelly, 1955) and this act of interpretation in its turn affects the way we behave. And yet, in spite of the obvious importance of interpretation, researchers have tended to shy away from studying it. Interpretation itself is a paradoxical undertaking and is difficult to face up to, even though paradox is an intrinsic part of our human nature (Pinker, 2003). This act of evasion has negative consequences. Instead of acknowledging our interpretations as subjective and changeable, they are assimilated as ultimate and objective truths, thereby distorting our behaviours. The mechanism of human interpretation is based on two paradoxical premises: preference and attitude. In practice, interpretation tends to become contorted in futile attempts to relieve the inevitable tensions between these two premises. By examining aspects of philosophy, psychology and linguistics, this study argues that the tendency to substitute truth for subjective interpretation is persistent and damaging, but can in fact be resolved by applying the Janusian attitudinal mapping tool (Mostovicz, Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2008). The mapping tool looks specifically at one dimension of the paradox distortion - consciousness, and offers a conscious, purposeful and dynamic interpretative process to relieve the contortion. The study then explores the difficulties and the benefits of dealing with paradox in a conscious, purposeful, and dynamic way, noting that these are precisely the challenges that truth-substitution seeks to evade. As human purpose is dynamic by its nature, this study rejects traditional static research paradigms and instead proposes a Janusian paradigm. Similarly, traditional static tools of enquiry have been adapted to reflect individual motivations, taking into account the learnings from dynamic personal construct theory (Kelly, 1955; Hinkle, 1965). The study examines the mechanism of interpretation by investigating perceptions of diamonds as luxury’. The study defines the six facets and four layers of effective, paradoxical interpretation and then presents two distinct pathways of interpretation — Theta and Lambda — to describe how individuals use this interpretive framework to achieve different life purposes. For Thetas, that life purpose centres on the need for affiliation and belonging, whereas for Lambdas, it centres on the need for challenge and personal achievement. As the role of interpretation is paramount to meaningful existence, the knowledge-building meta-framework which this study proposes can be applied universally to any field of enquiry and has already provided both theoretical and applied benefits, expanding the range and relevance of human knowledge

The extent to which motivational mechanisms contribute to reward seeking processes is crucial to our understanding of certain abnormal behaviours, including addiction. Pavlovian conditioning endows reward-associated stimuli with the ability to modulate goal-directed actions for that same reward (Pavlovian-to-Instrumental transfer; PIT). Learning and motivational theories attempt to describe the processes by which stimuli in the environment acquire incentive properties, attract attention and drive reward-seeking behaviours and bear many resemblances, but there are also important differences. This thesis uses a general PIT model in humans to further our understanding of these discrepancies and investigates the effect mood has on these processes. Firstly, altering the value of the reward affected the rigor of instrumental performance, but the same changes in outcome value did not affect the expectancy of, attention to, or emotional reactivity to the cues suggesting that in Pavlovian learning, apart from the nature of outcomes, the value of outcomes is encoded such that changes in outcome value prevent transfer of a Pavlovian cue's incentive properties to alter goal-directed action. Secondly, the further papers assess the extent to which mood modulates this same action. When under negative mood a general reduction in motivation, driven by an attenuated sensitivity to the reward was observed, as well as a dissociation between aversive and appetitive outcomes. The remaining study explored whether mood altered Pavlovian learning and revealed that those under state negative mood take longer to express their knowledge explicitly and that those under positive mood showed altered attention and emotional responses towards the same stimuli. The approach used in this thesis shows the merits of both motivational and learning theories, and further demonstrates the link between mood and motivation. Additionally, a dissociation between punishment and reward prediction when under negative mood was demonstrated and builds upon this important distinction.

While Pokémon Go, Fitbit and other contemporary examples of gamification (game design in non-game contexts) highlight the potential for play to support behavioural change, negative responses in autonomy restrictive contexts challenge our understanding of how gamification works. This thesis explores the capacity for context to influence how gamification products are experienced across social marketing domains of health and the workplace. In particular, the negative influences of controlling rewards, punishment and social pressure are examined through the lens of Self Determination Theory to explain why similar gamification products provide different outcomes in different environments.

Involvement in physical activity (PA) and exercise behaviour is multifaceted and depends on bidirectional correlations between multiple factors; one avenue to increase the understanding of sustainable exercise behaviours would be to employ a motivational perspective. In this thesis, this was done by placing the primary focus on Self-determination theory (SDT) as a person-centred approach to study the motivational mechanisms believed to impact exercise behaviour based on the SDT process model. Study 1, conducted in a cross-sectional design, included 1,091 members of a web-based exercise service. Based on sophisticated mediation analysis, the results support the hypothesized associations between latent constructs and exercise behaviour in the related steps of the SDT process model. Moreover, moderating effects were discovered, demonstrating that these associations could differ in different subgroups based on gender and age. The results of Study 1 thereby represent a first indication that exercise intervention design might benefit from slightly different approaches when addressing different demographical groups like gender and age. Study 2 was conducted in a two-wave RCT design to test an SDT-informed intervention on 64 voluntary participants. Components of Motivational interviewing (MI), the Relapse prevention model (RPM) and Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) were used as practical application guidelines to deliver the intervention content. Results showed intervention effects on exercise level, exercise intensity and motivation quality as well as mediating effects of the RAI (Relative Autonomy Index; an index of the degree of self-determination), and identified regulation in relation to exercise behaviour. The experimental group also demonstrated significantly lower levels of extrinsic motivation than the control group post-intervention. Besides strong support for applying the basic tenets of SDT in the exercise domain, there are some main findings in this thesis. First of all, self-determined motivation was found to act as a mediating variable in the relationship between psychological need satisfaction and exercise, and these patterns of indirect effects differed across age and gender. This indicates that mechanisms in the SDT process model could vary (qualitatively) depending on subgroup, which carries potential implications for practice. Second, the results of Study 2 also provide evidence that the mediating mechanisms of the process model could be manipulated in an intervention, e.g. by creating need-supportive environments facilitating internalization and subsequent exercise behaviour. Furthermore, both studies demonstrated that identified regulation plays a prominent role in the motivational processes, supporting the significance of promoting internalization in activities like exercise. Finally, this thesis represents prospective value for the utility of employing a polytheoretical approach in exercise intervention design, more specifically regarding the prosperous outlooks in combining SDT with other theories and methods.
Motion och fysisk aktivitet är multifacetterade beteenden som påverkas av komplexa samband mellan en mängd olika faktorer och ett sätt öka förståelsen för mekanismerna bakom hållbara motionsbeteenden är att studera motivationsrelaterade förhållanden och förutsättningar. Denna licentiatavhandling har därför en personcentrerad ansats som baseras på en deskriptiv processmodell som ingår i Självbestämmandeteorin (Self-determination theory; SDT). I Studie 1 genomfördes en tvärsnittsstudie på 1091 medlemmar i en web-baserad motionstjänst och avancerade medieringsanalyser genererade stöd för de hypotetiska relationerna mellan latenta variabler och motionsbeteende i processmodellen. Analyserna visade även modereringseffekter genom att dessa relationer skilde sig åt mellan grupper baserade på kön och ålder. Resultaten representerar därmed en första indikation på att utformandet av motionsinterventioner eventuellt kan gynnas av att anpassas till olika demografiska grupper, t ex baserat på kön och ålder. I Studie 2 genomfördes en intervention på 64 frivilliga deltagare i form av en RCT-design med två mätpunkter. Det SDT-baserade innehållet i interventionen förmedlades med hjälp av praktiska riktlinjer från metoderna Motiverande samtal (MI), Återfallsprevention (RPM) och Kognitiv beteendeterapi (CBT). Resultaten visade interventionseffekter på motionsbeteenden (mängd och intensitet), samt medieringseffekter av RAI (Relative Autonomy Index; ett index på graden av självbestämmande) och identifierad reglering i relation till motionsbeteende. Experimentgruppen uppvisade även lägre nivåer av yttre motivation än kontrollgruppen efter interventionen. Båda studierna är därmed i linje med det växande empiriska stödet för applicering av SDT inom motionsområdet och bidrar på flera sätt till kunskapsutvecklingen om motivationsrelaterade mekanismer. Det främsta bidraget är att självbestämmande motivation visade sig fungera som en medierande variabel i relationen mellan tillfredsställelse av psykologiska basbehov och motionsbeteende och att dessa latenta effekter skilde sig åt utifrån deltagarnas kön och ålder. Detta pekar på att mekanismerna i processmodellen kan variera i olika grupper, vilket skulle kunna påverka eventuella praktiska implikationer för framtida interventionsdesign. Vidare indikerar resultaten i Studie 2 att medieringsmekanismerna i processmodellen är möjliga att manipulera i en intervention, exempelvis genom att skapa stödjande miljöer som främjar internalisering och därigenom efterföljande motionsbeteenden. Båda studierna visar även att identifierad reglering har en viktig funktion i motivationsprocessen, vilket understryker betydelsen av att främja internalisering i aktiviteter som motion. Slutligen finns det argument för värdet av att anta en poly-teoretisk ansats i skapandet av motionsinterventioner, framförallt genom att kombinera SDT med andra teorier och metoder.

In recent years, the UK higher education sector has seen notable policy changes with regard to how research is funded, disseminated and evaluated. Important amongst these changes is the emphasis that policy makers have placed on disseminating peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles via Open Access (OA) publishing routes e.g. OA journals or OA repositories. Through the Open Science agenda there have also been a number of initiatives to promote the dissemination of other types of output that have not traditionally been made publicly available via the scholarly communication system, such as data, workflows and methodologies. The UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 introduced social/economic impact of research as an evaluation measure. This has been a significant policy shift away from academic impact being the sole measure of impact and has arguably raised the profile of public engagement activities (although it should be noted that public engagement is not equivalent to social/economic impact, but is an important pathway to realising such impact). This exploratory study sought to investigate the extent to which these recent policy changes are aligned with researchers publication, dissemination and public engagement practices across different disciplines. Furthermore, it sought to identify the perceptions and attitudes of researchers towards the concept of social/economic impact. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach consisting of a questionnaire- based survey and semi-structured interviews with researchers from a broad range of disciplines across the physical, health, engineering, social sciences, and arts and humanities across fifteen UK universities. The work of Becher (1987) and Becher & Trowler (2001) on disciplinary classification was used as an explanatory framework to understand disciplinary differences. The study found evidence of a lack of awareness of the principle of OA by some researchers across all disciplines; and that researchers, in the main, are not sharing their research data, therefore only the few who are doing so are realising the benefits that have been championed in research funders policies. Moreover, the study uncovered that due to the increased emphasis of impact in research evaluation, conflicting goals between researchers and academic leaders exist. The study found that researchers, particularly from Applied and Interdisciplinary (as opposed to Pure) disciplinary groups felt that research outputs such as articles published in practitioner journals were most appropriate in targeting and making research more accessible to practitioners, than prestigious peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles. The thesis argues that there is still more to learn about what impact means to researchers and how it might be measured. The thesis makes an overall contribution to knowledge on a general level by providing greater understanding of how researchers have responded to the impact agenda . On a more specific level, the thesis identifies the effect of the impact agenda on academic autonomy, and situates this in different disciplinary contexts. It identifies that it is not only researchers from Pure disciplines who feel disadvantaged by the impact agenda , but also those from Interdisciplinary and Applied groups who feel an encroachment on their academic autonomy, particularly in selecting channels to disseminate their research and in selecting the relevant audiences they wish to engage with. Implications of the study s findings on researchers, higher education institutions and research funders are highlighted and recommendations to researchers, academic leaders and research funders are given.