Both revenues and earnings of diversified firms are increasingly being reported, to the government and the public, on a subentity basis. Adequate criterial foundations do not exist to permit the effective general prescription of specific segment delineations, nor is it known whether such criterial assists can be usefully developed.Demands for segmentation in financial reports are currently intense. Actual reporting practices are largely nonstandardized as to either the definition of segments employed or, the disclosure modes used to present them. Neither conceptual nor theoretical supports are now adequate in guidance to the forms and levels of segmentation activity now required. Prerequisite to effective development of such supports is an-adequate understanding of the corporate diversification phenomenon itself. This dissertation project investigates and analyzes the nature of corporate diversification, as manifested in (1) its historical evolution; (2) general comprehensions of the phenomenon, as evidenced in published opinions and conceptual reasoning schemes of both authoritative experts and lay investors; and (3) formal research by others. Additionally, the results of these investigations and analyses are developed into conceptual schemes and theoretical frameworks, at moderate levels of abstraction.

Today, organisations are increasingly using project-based activities, as projects can aid organisations to deal with unique and complicated assignments, as well as achieving strategic and operational goals. Two extensive project management methodologies exist, those being Traditional Project Management and Agile Project Management. Agile methods trademark change, adaptability, and flexibility, and are today used across industries and business, as the characteristics of the methodology make it suitable in today’s dynamic business environment. Even though projects are increasingly being used, it is inconsistent with the remarkably low project success rates found. It has been found that only 30 per cent of projects are successful within the technology field. Consequently, this stress the need to understand the inconsistencies found as well as generating suggestions for how to improve them. It is arguable that the inconsistencies may be caused by the difficulty to define project success. Researchers argue that the definition of project success is difficult to pinpoint as it varies depending on both individual perspectives and situational factors such as the organisation and the project type. It is also questionable whether or not appropriate methods have been used to evaluate the success of a project, and that the use of inappropriate methods may have contributed to the low success rates. Researchers argue that the traditional way of evaluating project success, by adhering to schedule, cost, and scope, is outdated and incomplete, and some have therefore developed new models that they consider more accurate for evaluating project success. One of these researchers is Highsmith, one of the founders of the Agile Manifesto. Highsmith has developed the Agile Triangle to better correspond to the agile trademarks of change, adaptability, and flexibility when evaluating success on agile projects. This study aimed to contribute with new insights into theoretical and practical aspects of agile project success by studying agile project success from a project manager perspective. This thesis also aimed to generate an understanding of project managers’ perception of the Agile Triangle as a success criterion. We interviewed seven Swedish project managers who have all worked with agile projects. After thoroughly analysing the results we could create a definition of agile project success as well as develop an Agile Project Success Criteria Model, representing the view of Swedish project managers. Agile project success was defined as a project that generates value in a sustainable manner. The agile project success criteria found important within this study are: Value, Team Success, Quality, Business Benefits, and Constraints. It was also found that Flexibility, even though it should not be included as a success criterion itself, is still a key ingredient when using Agile Project Management methodologies, as it affects all important success criteria. These findings highlight the insufficiency of the Agile Triangle as a success criterion, as Team Success and Business Benefits, criteria additional to those within the Agile Triangle, were found important. It was also found that the project managers question the practical applicability of the Agile Triangle and consider it to be similar to the Iron Triangle.

Le projet s’addresse à la résignification kantienne du concept de “metaphysique”, à partir de l’évolution de la notion d’ontologie dans les Vorlesungen über Metaphysik contenues dans le volume XXVIII de l’Akademie Ausgabe. Á la base de la recherche on entende mettre en relation Kant entre la tradition logique du siècle 17º et 18º, pour comprendre la façon dans laquelle Kant (peut) se confront avec la terminologie de la tradition, et en particulier avec la médiation de Wolff et Baumgarten de la metaphysique leibnizienne.An (peut) traiter de passer d’une conception de la metaphysique de façon deductive capable de rendre la raison de la réalité sur la base de principes qui s’imposent à celle-là, sans en être des déscrivés, à une conception inductive, dans laquelle est par l’examen de la réalité même qu’on peut en tirer les lois.Les Leçons semblent le lieu dans laquelle l’ontologie plus émerge comme instrument de cette résignification, qui voit intéressés: approche méthodologique, autonomie de la raison et l’absolue urgence d’une exigence normative. / The aim of the project is to study the new meaning gained by the concept of “metaphysics” through the evolution of the notion of ontology in the Vorlesungen über Metaphysik, placed in the XXVIII volume of the Akademie Ausgabe. As foundation of the research, we want to put into relationship Kant and the logical tradition of the 17º and 18º century, in order to understand the way in which Kant confronts himself with the technical terms of the tradition, in particular with the mediation of the leibnizian metaphysics represented by Wolff and Baumgarten. Here there is a step from a deductive conception of metaphysics to an inductive one. While the first can explain the reality starting from principles imposed on it, in the last the laws of reality are gained through an analysis of the reality the same.The lessons seem to be the place in which the ontology emerges in the best and clearest way as the instrument to get the new meaning of the metaphysics, we are target to: here we find a methodological approach, the autonomy of reason and the absolute urgency of a normative exigency.

(EN) Evaluation is an inextricable part of perceiving artworks and therefore it is necessary to study it. Evaluation is always an evaluation of something, it presupposes certain knowledge and idea of what is being evaluated. Evaluation presupposes conceptualization. If we want to say something about art or better of our experience of it and want to be understood and believed, we will need to study our conceptual equipment we use. This paper offers a conceptual minimum, being important, almost inevitable for the evaluation of art. All encounters with art are connected to the consideration of authorship. Concept of the author seems to be with the concept of art more then adherent. Nowadays authorship flounders between complete sovereignty and dissolution. There are theories of artworks, that leave or even protest against the connection between art and author. Art has a long tradition, but the contemporary notio of art is relatively young and conceptually very much laden. On the one side there is ignorance of its character, on the other there are tendencies to fix it forever. Man understanding art as an expression, perceives, looks for meaning and evaluates differently, then the one understands art as an institutinally given status. The manners of thinking art are decisive. The concept of art depends...

The concept of investment in international agreements on the protection of investments Resumé This thesis analyses the notion of investment in the context of international investment law. The thesis is composed of six chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the international investment law, including its sources, specific features and goals. The second chapter provides an economic definition of the notion of investment. The author distinguishes between foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment and analyses their commonalities and differences. The third chapter deals with the basic types of definition of investment contained in international agreements on promotion and protection of foreign investments. These are the asset-based definition and enterprise-based definition. The fourth chapter examines the interaction between the economical and legal definition of investment. The fifth chapter explores the concept of investment in the context of the ICSID Convention. The authors analysed the negotiating history of the treaty as well as the case law of ICSID tribunals. The author indentified two basic approaches to the interpretation of the notion of investment. Whereas the subjective approach leaves the definition of the term investment to the sources of consent (notably...

The subject of this thesis is The Romance of Ferrara which includes the majority of prosaic work of Giorgio Bassani, one of the most outstanding Italian writers of 20th century. The introduction shows historical and social context of the period in which Bassani grew up and that gave rise to his life philosophy. Without this experience he would never have become a writer and his moral obligation to take down all the truth is based on this fact. The jewish origin of Bassani plays also an important role in his oeuvre; the judaism includes a sense of exceptionality and marginalisation at the same time. This ambivalent feeling is characteristic for majority of Bassani's heroes. The central part of the thesis outlines the thematic and stylistic site of The Romance of Ferrara. We will map even the relationship between the narrator and the author himself, between fiction and reality. The last two chapters concern Ferrara, symbology of the space (vertical and horizontal as well) and the location of characters on the stage of this microcosmos. We will follow characters on their way through Ferrara and will study which role different places are playing within the Bassani's work.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The term "security" has always been vague in terms of its definition. After the end of the Cold War, however, this vagueness increased as new paradigms emerged. Those studying security need a better understanding of the term "security" to deal with complex issues within the broadly understood discipline of security studies. This thesis describes the uncertain nature of security by analyzing: (1) various definitions of security and some of the terms directly related to it in different contexts; and (2) the empirical meaning of security by examining threats as indicators of "insecurity," based on the different characters of threats, and levels of analysis from the field of international relations. The thesis argues that regardless of the vague meaning of the term "security," empirically its parameters are quite certain and definable by the specification of threats as indicators of insecurity. This clarification of the meaning of security studies, in turn, makes it easier for scholars and policy-makers to deal with this increasingly important sphere of human life. / Captain, Polish Army

All bona fide professions have affiliated professional organizations, ethical standards or a code of ethics, and an accrediting and sanctioning body that deals with preparation, credentialing, and licensure, and pride in one's profession (Gale & Austin, 2003; Remley & Herlihy, 2010). As school counseling continues to evolve, school counselors have struggled to define and maintain their role. This may be due, in part, to the social desirability an individual has to belong to dominant group in the school setting (Tajfel, 1986). School counselors may draw esteem from their professional membership. This concept, called collective self-esteem, denotes those aspects of identity that are related to membership in social groups and the respective value that one places on one's membership (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between collective self-esteem and professional identity. The findings of this study indicated that collective self-esteem was relatively stable and remained moderately high across several demographic variables related to professional identity. Collective self-esteem remained relatively consistent across level of practice, professional background, years of total experience and years of experience at the current school, and area of practice. Further, collective self-esteem remained moderately high for those who were affiliated with a counseling organization and those who were not. Results also suggested that collective self-esteem is constant regardless of variations in credentialing, chosen code of ethics, role definition (educator first or counselor first), and professional pride. Results indicated that collective self-esteem remained moderately high across several demographic areas and variables related to professional identity. Further, a significant positive correlation was found between pride in the profession and collective self-esteem was shown. Additionally, a small, significant negative correlation was garnered between those participants who viewed themselves as a counselor first and held an LPC or equivalent. Further, a significant relationship was found between those participants who defined their role as a counselor first and chose the NBCC Code of Ethics as their primary code of ethics and those participants who held the counselor first position and chose the ASCA Ethical Code as their primary code of ethics.

No description available.

The aim of this paper was to elucidate representations of how homelessness and interventions against homelessness is perceived in a Swedish municipality from socialconstructivistic perspective. The questions it aimed to answer were: How is homelessness represented in the municipality by participants of the local housing market and public and non-profit sectors? How can representations of homelessness from the participants be deconstructed and understood? Homelessness has been considered a social problem since the middle of the 18th century. The ways to explain why homelessness exists and how to rectify and define homelessness has been in continuously transformation in different extensions since then. Even so, some of these explanations, definitions and actions has returned or possess similarities across time. The used method of this paper was case study in order to concentrate on the municipality specifically. The analyzed material consisted of qualitative, semistructured interviews with seven participants. Public documents were also reviewed from the social service center in the municipality and reports from the county administrative board to understand the representations in its context. The participants that attended on interviews was one participant from a non-profit- organisation, one from the local housing market and five municipalityworkers. We found that some of the participants had both similarities and discrepancies in their representations but all of the participants had tendency to construct additional categories to deal with homeless persons divergent needs.