This study employs competitive dynamics theory, upper echelon perspective, power perspective, and strategic human resource management perspective to examine how executives matter with organizational outcomes. It argues that CEO dominance and executive human resource management system will affect top management team social integration, and the latter will promote aggressive competitive behavior. It also explores the performance implications of aggressive competitive behavior. Finally, it endeavors in opening the black box between executive human resource management system and firm performance. Anonymous questionnaires were distributed to firm executives, and the unit of analysis is firm level. Analyses with structural equation modeling confirmed most of our hypothesized relationships. CEO dominance is found to be negatively associated, but teamwork-oriented executive human resource management system is found to be positively related, with top management social integration. Top management team social integration will facilitate aggressive competitive behavior, and action speed matters with firm performance significantly. Finally, top management social integration and aggressive competitive behavior partially mediate the relationship of executive human resource management system and firm performance. Although strategic leadership research is prevalent, only few studies investigated the psychometric characteristics of top management team, even fewer paid attention to the impact of CEO power dominance on top management team¡¦s interaction. At the same time, strategic human resource management studies also put very few efforts on the topics of competitive behavior and top managers, although these issues should be critical sources of an organization¡¦s competitive advantage. This study is initiated to fill in these research gaps. Implications and limitations are discussed.

This thesis tries to display the practice of forced migration experienced in East and Southeast Anatolia after 1980s in Turkey and its consequences through the lived experiences of internally displaced women and children. In the first phase, the historical background of the practice of forced migration, which continues ever since the Ottoman period and the Republican period as well, has been analyzed within the framework of implementations and laws on settlement. In the second phase, in-depth interviews were made with internally displaced women and children living in Diyarbakir and Istanbul and embarking upon the lived experience of internally displaced women and children before, during and after the flight, the issue of social integration with the &lsquo / host&rsquo / population was analyzed comparatively. What was claimed with this comparative analysis was the fact that there would be a significant difference on experiencing the consequences of forced migration and social integration among the internally displaced women and youngsters living in Diyarbakir, which is a metropolis Kurdish citizens are intense, and those living in Istanbul, where Kurdish citizens are relatively low in numbers. Consequently, through the information gathered with this study, the extent that internally displaced persons are socially integrated with the &lsquo / host&rsquo / populations was depicted and that whether the spatial difference had a significant effect on the issue of social integration was analyzed.

Public opinion polls sometimes overestimate the majority and underestimate the minority, such as Taipei and Kaohsiung Mayoral Election of 2006. On one hand the study is based on spiral of silence theory to analyze the phenomenon, and on the other it tries to explore the other factors that may affect the voters¡¦ willingness to express opinion in Taipei and Kaohsiung city. According to findings, social integration effect isn¡¦t a main factor to affect people¡¦s willingness to express opinion in Taipei and Kaohsiung city. On the contrary, people¡¦s level of interpersonal communication, political efficacy and education in Taipei and interpersonal communication, political participation, political confidence and political efficacy in Kaohsiung city are important factors to increase people¡¦s willingness to express opinion. In addition, the study uses interactive variables to go a step further to explore social integration effect. The results show that the spiral of silence effect supports voters¡¦ behavior in Kaohsiung city, but doesn¡¦t in Taipei city.

Diss. Stockholm : Univ., 2007.

Diss. Uppsala : Univ., 2008.

Masteropgave. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Despite a long history of providing open-door access to students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to attend college, community colleges have not been as effective in fostering student success. To counter this trend, early intervention programs have been developed to facilitate academic and social integration for first semester students to improve student success. However, there is much that is not known about the influence of orientation programs at community colleges as an intervention strategy. Therefore, this study examines the influence of one new student orientation on first semester student success. Grounded in frameworks developed by Astin (1984, 1993, 1999), Tinto (1975, 1993), and Bean and Metzner (1985), this study examines the ability of a new student orientation to academically and socially integrate students into the culture of the institution. The following research questions are posed: • Does new student orientation influence student retention; • Does new student orientation influence student success; • Does new student orientation influence student persistence; • Does new student orientation facilitate a student’s social integration into the institution? • Does new student orientation facilitate a student’s academic integration into the institution? The focus of this case study is a publicly supported, two-year, comprehensive community college that is part of a multiple college district located in a suburban area outside of a major city in Texas. Participants are students who attended a new student orientation session. Employing a mixed methods research approach, data is gathered on student success, retention, persistence, and through interviews. Findings demonstrate that there was no significant difference in first semester retention for students who participated in a new student orientation and for those who did not. However, students who participated in orientation were more likely to be successful in their first semester in college and much more likely to re-enroll for their second semester at the institution. New student orientation also facilitated students’ social and academic integration into the institution. This study concludes with recommendations for program improvement, recommendations for further research, and a discussion of implications for community college policy and practice in developing new student orientation programs. / text

This dissertation examines contemporary changes in relations and forms of urban governance by focusing on neighborhood associations in Tucson and analyzing their practices and experiences in the midst of an emerging trend that values collective action and direct democracy. This urban ethnography focuses on practices, strategies, and ideologies of neighborhood associations to discuss issues of representation, participation, and social integration. This dissertation is based on fieldwork conducted for a total of 24 months between 2005 and 2007. It combines participant observation and in-depth interviews with Tucson residents, members of neighborhood associations, and City and non-governmental organizations' officials.This work is presented in three main parts divided into several chapters. In the first part, I provide a general review of the development of concepts of governance and representative democracy in contemporary as well as earlier times. I aim to contextualize the work of neighborhood associations within a general movement towards more direct participatory democracy and argue that a new understanding of the transformations impacting the functioning of representative democracy is crucial to its preservation as a central institution of social integration.The second part of this dissertation presents an analysis of fieldwork data and argues that neighborhood associations are positioning themselves, at the local and global levels, as an important part of the emerging discourses and practices of civil society. Within this broad context, neighborhood associations engage in a variety of activities, pursue multiple strategies, and adopt very different ideologies. A central idea that results from this analysis is that neighborhood associations greatly value practices of direct democracy and strive to exercise greater control over processes of representative democracy in order to prevent its perceived deficiencies from thwarting their projects and corrupting their ideals.The third part extends the data analysis and provides a political and historical reconstruction of neighborhood associations and their cultural evolution as a continuation of the counterculture movement of the 1960s. I also argue that there is a powerful drive towards the global implementation and exercise of direct democratic processes. I draw on the example of Morocco's urban governance reforms and discuss its growing neighborhood associations to show the delicate and conflicted paths they tread between their engagement with the existing system of representative democracy and their attempts to step beyond the limitations of that system to carry out some of the ideals of building a direct and participatory urban democracy.

Darbe keliamas probleminis klausimas: kokios integracijos į darbo rinką problemos kyla vyrams, grįžusiems iš įkalinimo įstaigų ir kaip patys prisideda prie integracijos gerinimo. Darbo tikslas–išryškinti veiksnius trukdančius vyrams, grįžusiems iš įkalinimo įstaigų, integruotis į darbo rinką. Uždaviniai: 1. Teoriniame lygmenyje išryškinti socialinės rizikos grupės atstovų situaciją Lietuvos darbo rinkoje. 2. Išryškinti socialinės paramos teikiamos vyrams, grįžusiems iš įkalinimo įstaigų ypatumus. 3. Nustatyti veiksnius trukdančius vyrams, grįžusiems iš įkalinimo įstaigų, integruotis į darbo rinką. Darbo objektas –vyrų, grįžusių iš įkalinimo įstaigų, integracija į darbo rinką. Metodai: mokslin��s literatūros ir dokumentų analizė; kiekybinis tyrimas - apklausa raštu. Apklausoje raštu dalyvaus Kauno miesto viešųjų įstaigų klientai: Nakvynės namų, Lietuvos Carito, krikščioniškojo labdaros fondo „Tėvo namai“, Pataisos inspekcijos, Šančių – Panemunės PK, Darbo biržos ir socialinių reikalų skyriaus klientai. Tiriamųj�� populiacija ir imtis. Tyrime dalyvaus 99 vyrai, grįžę iš įkalinimo įstaigų. Išanalizavus vyrų, grįžusių iš įkalinimo įstaigų, integracijos į darbo rinką sunkumus galima teigti: o Didelę integracijos į darbo rinką problemą lemia vyrų, grįžusių iš įkalinimo įstaigų, darbo jėgos charakteristika: žemas išsilavinimo lygis, profesinis nepasirengimas, menka darbo motyvacija. o Vyrai, atlikdami laisvės atėmimo bausmę įkalinimo įstaigoje ir nedirbdami, praranda užimtumo bei... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In this work there is raised problematic question: what problems raise for men, who came back from imprisonment and how they themselves contribute to improvement of integration. The purpose of work- to highlight dificulties of integration to labour market of men, who came back from imprisonment institutions. Tasks: 1. To highlight in theoretical level the situation of social risk group’s representatives in labour market of Lithuania. 2. To highligh peculiarities of social assistance that is provided for men, who came back from custodial establishments. 3. To determine factors, limiting men’s, who came back from custodial establishments, integration to labour market. The object of work- integration of men, who came back from custodial establishments, to labour market. Methods: analysis of scientific literature and documents; quantitative reseach- written quiz.In written quiz there will participate clients of public entities of Kaunas: clients of Common lodging-house, Caritas of Lithuania, Christian welfare fund „Tėvo namai“, Reformatory inspectorates, Šančiai- Panemunė District PC, Jobcentre and department of social affairs. Population and scope of those surveyed. In this research there will take place 99 men, came back from custodial establishments. While analyzing men’s, who came back from custodial establishments, difficulties of integration to labour market, it is possible to state that: o The problem of integration to labour market is raised by workforce... [to full text]