As architects, we cannot resist the opportunity to build good houses on generous budgets to accommodate happy families. We could use this opportunity, however, to reconfigure the detached single-family house for a group of people that are not yet family, let alone happy. These are distressed times for a growing margin of society: seniors are lonely, young families struggle with little household help and middle-aged couples continue to pay large mortgages on their “empty nest” homes. We live in a society that copes. Seniors move into annexes of their children’s homes, two young families share daily chores, and middle-aged couples invest in a property with friends. It is happening all around us, and much can be done to provide the infrastructure to both accommodate and encourage the shift. This work builds the case for a house: a shared house for the emerging demographic of non-autonomous households that fall outside the conventions of the nuclear family. The project is a social experiment that investigates, probes and predicts the dynamics between 7-12 occupants who may be family, friend or stranger. It promises not only to test current proclivities, needs and desires for domesticity and privacy, but begs to be considered as an acceptable, and even preferable, way of living.

This essay is about exploring the rhetorical business negotiation process. The aim has been to find out how skilled salespeople stand out, and what rhetorical means they use to convince the other party. For this study, a qualitative research interview was applied and altogether five vendors in three different industries were interviewed. The fundamental theory of the essay is based on classical rhetoric. From that I have chosen the specific parts that I have found useful to discuss negotiation and sales processes. The results show that there is not a one single rhetorical approach that is essential to convince the other party. Instead, it is the combination of the rhetorical strategies that make the other party feel that the decision they make is good. The most prevalent and also the most favorable strategies that the sellers were using when they managed to convince the other party was: aptum, actio and active silence.

<p>Motivated by recent academic inquiry into the distinction between relational collectivism and group collectivism that characterize different cultures, I empirically investigate the differential effects of relational and group collectivism on social motivation across cultures. The present research contextualizes motivation in social interactions and illustrates the influences of different types of interaction partners on social motivation through self-construal. To unpackage the psychological process in which social motivation is elicited, I develop a two-step theoretical model: In the first step, I examine how different types of interaction partners activate the individual, relational and collective aspects of the self construal. The second step of my model investigates how the activated self-construal shapes individuals' social motivations toward their interaction partners.</p><p>Empirical studies were conducted in an individualist culture (US) and a collective culture (Singapore). Results from the studies identified both culturally specific and culturally universal patterns in self-construal activation. Interacting with a friend elicits relational self across both cultures. When interacting with a stranger, members of individualist cultures activated their collective and relational selves whereas members of collectivist cultures activated their individual self. Another interesting finding is that interacting with an ingroup member evokes the relational aspect of the self-construal in collectivist cultures, but it elicits the collective aspect of the self-construal in individualist cultures. An outgroup member evokes the collective aspect of the self-construal across both cultures. The studies also examined the link between the activated self-construal and its motivational consequence, and established the mediating effect of self-construal between interaction partner and social motivation. Applying the two-step model to both individualist and collectivist cultures, I demonstrate that individualist and collectivist cultures vary in the self-construal activation process in response to different types of interaction partners, but once certain aspect of the self is activated, it is likely to lead to the same social motivations across the two cultures.</p> / Dissertation

The conceptualization of leisure constraints is dependent on negotiating a hierarchy of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural leisure constraints. It has become a recognizable and distinct subfield within leisure studies. Research has shown that the leisure constraints should not be necessarily viewed as insurmountable obstacles. Individuals can negotiate constraints by applying an array of coping mechanisms. Recently, Iwasaki and Schneider (2003) and Schneider and Stanis (2007) proposed that constraints negotiation and coping with stress share much in common. Leisure constraints are considered elements of stress, whereas constraint negotiation appears to share commonalities with ways of coping with stress. The distinction between negotiation and coping is that negotiation is something people have engaged in prior to participating in the activity, whereas coping involves strategies people more typically engage in during active participation (in response to unwanted or unanticipated situations). Based on past literature, I constructed a constraints-coping model to extend our understanding of constraints negotiation by integrating an understanding of coping mechanisms into leisure constraints-negotiation models. In order to broaden the scope of a constraints-coping framework, I integrated additional social indicators (e.g., commitment, motivation, place attachment, and frequency of participation) into my hypothesized model. First, my testing of the constraints-coping model provided empirical support for Iwasaki and his colleagues' suggestion that coping strategies can be potentially integrated into models of constraints-negotiation processes. Second, I confirmed that the three types of onsite constraints continue to have relevance for active participants. The three types of constraining factors directly influence subsequent aspects of leisure engagement for recreationists already participating. Third, I confirmed that recreationists are more likely to cope with constraints by employing an array of problem-focused coping strategies, rather than to simply adjust cognitively. However, my findings illustrate that recreationists' coping responses vary in response to different types of constraints encountered (e.g., intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural). The experience of constraints did not universally result in the increased use of coping. Fourth, my results confirm that motivation is an immediate antecedent of constraints as well as a potential trigger for encouraging more problem-focused coping strategies. Last, four selected key variables (e.g., place attachment, commitment motivation, and frequency of participation) demonstrated different effects on influencing active participants' perceived constraints and subsequent coping strategies. Future investigations of coping strategies should continue to explore how active participants cope with onsite constraints based on a constraints-coping model in different settings.

The negotiation between the government of PRC and the government of Tibet in exile is a kind of ¡§Do more with less¡¨ and ¡§Asymmetric Power Structure¡¨. The government of Tibet in exile is in Dharamsala, northern India could not have long-term fight with PRC without its own land, forces and economic power. Although the ¡§total structure power¡¨ of the government of Tibet in exile is less than PRC, it uses the title of Dalai Lama who is the winner of Nobel Peace Prize to strengthen its power and internationalize the problem of Tibet successfully. Therefore, whole world take care of the problem of Tibet and give PRC the pressure of negotiating. In fact, the PRC¡¦s government could solve the problem of Tibet with the strong hand because of its greater aggregate national strength. However, in order to change PRC¡¦s international country image and lower the cost of governing Tibet, it begins to connect with the government of Tibet in exile and tries to solve the problem of Tibet by negotiating since 1979. On one hand PRC¡¦s government insists on tough attitude, on the other hand both sides have different opinions on ¡§Tibet Independence¡¨ and ¡§Tibet Autonomy¡¨, so the negotiation reaches a deadlock after negotiating 20 years. In chapter 1, besides describing my research motive, goals, limits, methods and etc, I also introduce the general concepts and some articles of negotiation. I discuss the PRC¡¦s strategy and style of debating in chapter 2. I introduce the background of Tibet¡¦s history, culture, religion, status, geography and the negotiation since 1950 in chapter 3. Chapter 4 and 5, I explain the deadlock between the government of PRC and the government of Tibet in exile and analysis strategies and attitudes of both sides. Chapter 6, I conclude the whole thesis and give some suggestions either on the negotiation between the government of PRC and the government of Tibet in exile or the negotiation between the government of PRC and the government of Republic of China (ROC).

Purchasing products from online e-stores is getting popular with the advance of Internet infrastructure and network security. At current stage, most e-stores resemble vending machines rather than real stores because they lack clerks to persuade prospects into buying products and to bargain with the customers for making a good deal. This research aims to design an easy-to-use and autonomous sales-agent, called Isa, to act as a virtual clerk in an e-store. A new approach is proposed to enable the agent to dynamically adopt different persuasion and negotiation strategies according to different characteristics of human buyers. Additionally, this approach enables a sales-agent to learn the best strategies without seller¡¦s instructions. Both laboratory and field experiments are conducted to assess Isa¡¦s performance. The experimental results reveal that Isa can improve a seller¡¦s surplus and increase a buyer¡¦s product evaluation, willingness to pay more money for the product, and satisfaction with visiting the s-store.

This thesis studies the representation of the Ottoman Orient in Eighteenth Century English Literature. The thesis argues that a comprehensive understanding of the representation of the Ottoman Orient in 18th century English literature requires a new perspective / thus investigates different aspects of the interaction between the Ottoman Orient and 18th century Europe. Said&#039 / s Orientalism discusses how European writers created a separate discourse to represent the Orient. The present thesis does not completely reject Said&#039 / s arguement / rather it argues that there was also a negotiating tendency which did not make radical distinction between the East and the West. Relying on 18th century pseudo-oriental letters, oriental tales and oriental travelogues the study tries to indicate that representation of the Ottoman Orient in 18th century English literature was different from the earlier centuries because developig critical and liberal spirit established a negotiation between the two worlds. The negotiation of the two worlds has been studied as a significant theme of the pseudo-oriental letters, oriental tales and oriental travelogues. The present study tried to indicate how the critical and inquisitive spirit of the age of Enlightenment interanimated Oreiental and European cultures.

ABSTRACT THE INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ROMANIA INTO THE EU: 1989 &ndash / 2007 Dogan, Basak Master of Science, Department of European Studies Supervisor : Assist. Prof. Dr. Oktay F. Tanrisever October 2007, 97 pages This thesis examines the political and socio economic transformation of Romania during its integration process into the European Union (EU) between 1989-2007. The thesis also explores the impact of the communist heritage on Romania&rsquo / s relations with the EU in the post-Communist period. The main objective of the thesis is to examine why EU rushed to accept Romania as a full member although Romania didnot fulfil all of the membership requirements of the EU until 2007. The main argument of this thesis is that the EU accepted Romania as a full member despite Romania&rsquo / s inability to meet all of the membership requirements of the EU can be explained EU&rsquo / s expectation that it would be easier to eradicate Romania&rsquo / s Communist heritage after Romania&rsquo / s EU membership. The thesis has six chapters, including Introduction and Conclusion chapters. Thesecond chapter explores the historical background of Romania. The third chapter examines Romania&rsquo / s EU integration process between 1989 and 1999 The fourth chapter analyzes Romania&rsquo / s negotiation process with the EU between 2000 and 2004. The fifth chapter discusses the EU&rsquo / s evaluation of the Romania&rsquo / s progress after the completion of Romania&rsquo / s negotiations with the EU. Keywords: Romania, EU, Conditionality, Negotiation, Post-Communist Transition

Multiagent systems (MAS) are systems consisting of several autonomous entities, called agents, which interact with each other to either further their own interests (competition) or in pursuit of a joint goal (cooperation). In systems composed of multiple autonomous agents, negotiation is a key form of interaction that enables groups of agents to arrive at a mutual agreement regarding some belief, goal or plan. The aim of this thesis is to develop a multiagent system that simulates the negotiation process between parties about sharing of cost overrun in international construction projects. The developed tool can be used to understand how the risks and associated costs are shared between parties under different scenarios related with the risk allocation clauses in the contract, objectives of parties and level of knowledge about actual sources of cost overrun. MAS can be utilized by decision-makers to predict potential outcomes of a negotiation process.

This thesis analyzes World Trade Organization Doha Round negotiation process and its implications for Turkey&rsquo / s relations with its neighbors. The thesis mainly focuses on two pillars of negotiating package, namely agricultural and non-agricultural products (NAMA) negotiations. Both segments of negotiations have different dimensions due to Turkey&rsquo / s regional and multilateral obligations. As a developing country, Turkey&rsquo / s position in agriculture is more in line with other developing countries / in NAMA however it defends more liberal policies because of its Customs Union with the EU. Results of Doha Round will affect not only Turkey but also Turkey&rsquo / s neighbors and these effects will be more dramatic in some of them. Chapter I is Introduction Chapter. Chapter II evaluates Doha Round in detail / Chapters III and IV examine agriculture and NAMA negotiations and their implications for Turkey. Chapter V evaluates other negotiation topics such as services, trade facilitation, environment and rules. Chapter VI analyzes Turkey&rsquo / s Customs Union with the EU and its bilateral trade arrangements. The last Chapter is the Conclusion.