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Ett stort fokus som växt fram i dagens mångkulturella samhälle är kulturens betydelse inom organisationer samt hur denna kan användas som ett verktyg för styrning av anställda. Efter att det inom organisationer skett ett skifte från byråkratisk och hierarkisk kontroll till en normativ kontroll är det nu styrning av individers föreställningar och värderingar som står i fokus. Detta är en utgångspunkt för studien vars syfte är att undersöka anställdas upplevelse av kulturen inom en organisation i försäkringsbranschen. Ytterligare önskas belysa vilken påverkan kulturen inom organisationen har på de anställdas värderingar och beteenden. En etnografisk ansats har tillämpats på studien, vilket innebär att individers uppfattningar om hur de tänker och handlar i deras omgivning är centrala. Studien har genomförts på försäkringsbolaget If som är verksamt i nio länder och har en ledande marknadsposition i Norden. För att erhålla material om kulturens styrande aspekter har tio semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomförts med anställda från If. Ur resultatet framkom att de anställda har en bild över hur man ska vara för att passa in i kulturen samt på vilket sätt de reglerar sina värderingar och beteenden för att överstämma med organisationskulturen. Vår slutsats är att kulturen inom If har en styrande funktion av de anställdas ”inre” då den formar riktlinjer för hur de anställda ska vara samt får dem att reglera sitt beteende i önskvärd riktning. Kulturen har ett inflytande på olika nivåer då den styr över vilka värderingar, egenskaper och beteenden som anses vara lämpliga respektive olämpliga. Från detta går det att urskilja en komplex bild av kulturens styrande aspekter.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis advisor: Mary Ann Glynn / I examine the process of evolution for theoretical constructs in the field of organizational scholarship, leveraging the sociology of knowledge literature and empirical studies of construct development to focus my research. Prior studies suggest several key factors operating in the process--actor-oriented components, including the characteristics and strategies of scholarly actors, and situationally-oriented components of historical context and word meanings. No study, however, has assessed these factors in interaction over time. I address this gap through a historical study based primarily on archival data regarding construct usage in journal articles and scholarly books. Specifically, I explore the evolution of "cooperation" and "purpose" in organizational scholarship from 1938 through 2005. My findings contribute to elaboration of the theory of construct evolution proposed by Hirsch & Levin (1999), as I observe that a construct developing largely within a single disciplinary paradigm is marked by narrowing rather than expansion of meaning in the course of increased operationalization. Further, I find that an interdisciplinary context of evolution multiplies not just meanings but also the language used for a construct. I also document how antecedent conditions of meaning for the words "cooperation" and "purpose," as well as elements of historical context, affect the evolution process. In addition, my study extends the observations of Barley & Kunda (1992) regarding a cyclical dichotomy between rational and normative paradigms in managerial discourse, as I observe this pattern contributing to the fragmentation of language and meanings in the constructs studied. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Organization Studies.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Ellen Condliffe Lagemann. Dissertation Committee: Douglas Sloan. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-194).

Dr. Christiaan Neethling Barnard (Barnard) was a world renowned surgeon who made medical history when he performed the world’s first human heart transplant. Barnard was celebrated by some for his courage and contribution in advancing the field of cardiothoracic surgery, while others believed that the technique of human heart transplantation was not his own. Barnard became known for his controversial lifestyle, and acquired a reputation as a playboy. He died in 2001 at the age of 78, following an asthma attack. The aim of the current study was to explore and describe the personality development of Barnard, by applying Alfred Adler’s theory of Individual Psychology to the context of his lived life. The study used a single case study research design, and purposive sampling was used to select the subject. This selection was made on the basis of the researcher’s interest in Barnard’s life history and his immense contribution to medical science. Data sampled was qualitative, and was collected from primary and secondary data sources. Collected data was analysed in accordance with Alexander’s model of data analysis. The findings of the study indicated that Barnard’s life was in many respects aligned with Adler’s theory and that his striving for significance was largely influenced by his social environment as well as the cultural context in which he lived.

Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2012

泊松分佈(Poisson distribution)是一經常被配適於稀有事件建模的機率分配，其應用領域相當的廣泛，如生物，商業，品質控制等。其中許多的應用均為兩群體均數的比較，如欲檢測一新的處理是否較原本的處理俱優越性(superiority)，或者欲驗證一新的方法相較於舊的方法是否俱有不劣性(non-inferiority)。因此，此研究的目標為發展假設檢定的方法，用於比較兩獨立的泊松樣本是否有優越性及不劣性。一般探討假設檢定方法時，均因干擾參數的出現而導致理論探討及計算上的困難。為因應此困境，本研究由簡入繁，亦即先探討相等式的虛無假設(the null hypothesis of equality)，繼而，再推展至非優越性的虛無假設(the null hypothesis of non-superiority)，最後將這些探究的假設檢定方法應用至檢定不劣性並驗證這些方法的適用性。 兩種Wald 檢定統計量是本研究主要的研究興趣。對應於這兩種檢定統計量的近似的假設檢定法，是利用其極限分配為常態分配的特性而衍生的。此研究裡，可推導得到近似的檢定法的檢定力函數及欲達成某一檢定力水平時所需的樣本數公式。並依據此檢定力函數檢驗此檢定法的有效性(validity)及不偏性(unbiasedness)。並且推廣一連續修正的方法至任何的樣本數組合。另外一方面，此研究亦介紹並推廣兩種p-值的正確(exact)檢定法。其中一種為信賴區間p值檢定法(Berger和Boss, 1994), 另一種為估計的p值檢定法(Krishnamoorthy和Thomson, 2004)。一般正確檢定法較需要繁瑣的計算，故此研究將提出某些步驟以降低計算的負擔。就信賴區間p值檢定法而言，其首要工作為縮減求算p值的範圍，並驗證所使用的檢定統計量是否滿足Barnard凸面(convexity)的條件。若此統計量符合凸面convexity的條件，且在Poisson 的問題上，則此正確的信賴區間p值將出現在屬於虛無假設的參數空間的邊界上。然而，對於估計的p值檢定法而言，因在虛無假設的參數空間上求得Poisson均數的最大概似估計值，並不簡單及無法直接求得，故在此研就，將以一Poisson均數的點估計值代替。對於正確的假設檢定方法，此研究亦提出一個欲達成某一檢定力水平時所需的樣本數的步驟。 此研究將透過一個廣大的數值分析來驗證之前所提出的假設檢定方法。其中，可發現這些近似的假設檢定法之間的差異會受到兩群體之樣本數之比率的影響，而連續性的修正於某些情況下確實能夠使型I誤差較能夠受到控制。另外，當樣本數不夠多時，正確的假設檢定法是較近似的假設檢定法適當，尤其在型I誤差的控制上更是明顯。最後，此研究所提出的假設檢定方法將實際應用於一組乳癌治療的資料。 / The Poisson distribution is a well-known suitable model for modeling a rare events in variety fields such as biology, commerce, quality control, and so on. Many applications involve comparisons of two treatment groups and focus on showing the superiority of the new treatment to the conventional one, or the non-inferiority of the experimental implement to the standard implement upon the cost consideration. We aim to develop statistical tests for testing the superiority and non-inferiority by two independent random samples from Poisson distributions. In developing these tests, both computational and theoretical difficulties arise from presence of nuisance parameters. In this study, we first consider the problems with the null hypothesis of equality for simplicity. The problems are extended to have a regular null hypothesis of non-superiority next. Subsequently, the proposed methods are further investigated in establishing the non-inferiority. Two types of Wald test statistics are of our main research interest. The correspondent asymptotic testing procedures are developed by using the normal limiting distribution. In our study, the asymptotic distribution of the test statistics are derived. The asymptotic power functions and the sample size formula are further obtained. Given the power functions, we justify the validity and unbiasedness of the tests. The adequate continuity correction term for these tests is also found to reduce inflation of the type I error rate. On the other hand, the exact testing procedures based on two exact $p$-values, the confidence-interval $p$-value (Berger and Boos (1994)), and the estimated $p$-value (Krishnamoorthy and Thomson (2004)), are also applied in our study. It is known that an exact testing procedure tends to involve complex computations. In this thesis, several strategies are proposed to lessen the computational burden. For the confidence-interval $p$-value, a truncated confidence set is used to narrow the area for finding the $p$-value. Further, the test statistic is verify whether they fulfill the property of convexity. It is shown that under the convexity the exact $p$-value occurs somewhere of the boundary of the null parameter space. On the other hand, for the estimated $p$-value, a simpler point estimate is applied instead of the use of the restricted maximum likelihood estimators, which are less straightforward in this problem. The estimated $p$-value is shown to provide a conservative conclusion. The calculations of the sample sizes required by using the two exact tests are discussed. Intensive numerical studies show that the performances of the asymptotic tests depend on the fraction of the two sample sizes and the continuity correction can be useful in some cases to reduce the inflation of the type I error rate. However, with small samples, the two exact tests are more adequate in the sense of having a well-controlled type I error rate. A data set of breast cancer patients is analyzed by the proposed methods for illustration.

Thesis (MA (Industrial Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The primary objective of the study was to describe Professor Christiaan Barnard’s career development according to the theoretical model formulated by Greenhaus, Callanan and Godshalk (2000). The research design implemented in the study is a exploratory-descriptive psychobiographical case-study that followed an idiographic-morphogenic research strategy and used qualitative data to present a coherent narrative of Barnard’s career development. During the study biographical and autobiographical data pertaining to Barnard’s career development were collected and analysed. Barnard was selected as psychobiographical subject through a purposive sampling strategy. Barnard was regarded as an appropriate subject for the study because of his extraordinary and pioneering contributions in the context of organ transplants. The study used qualitative data and included both primary (autobiographical material) and secondary data (biographical material). The data collection and data analyses were based on an approach suggested by Yin (2003). This approach uses a theoretical model to determine the relevance of data as well as the nature of data that would facilitate the achievement of the research objective. It is implemented by posing specific questions to the data. The data analysis procedure was based on the approach suggested by Huberman and Miles (1994). Their approach comprises three phases, namely data-reduction, data-display, and conclusion drawing or verification. The researcher ensured ethical standards throughout the study by obtaining Barnard’s consent to conduct the study. The researcher treated personal information with respect, empathy, thoughtfulness and prudence. Only data available in the public domain (published biographical and autobiographical material) were considered during the data analysis phase. Lastly, the researcher attempted to interpret data in a responsible and transparent manner. The analysis of Barnard’s career development according to the theoretical model of Greenhaus et al. (2000) demonstrated the value of the model to accurately describe and interpret the career development of extraordinary individuals.