The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of small group communication, investigate to what extent small groups communicate within their minibusiness areas within a mining group. The communication role and the influence it has within an organisation, and what structure it takes within the bigger scheme of the organization were also investigated. Many people and organisations form small groups to perform certain jobs, but they do not have a clear understanding of what constitutes a group, essentially what is it that a group can and cannot do. Small groups are always present and employees are always members of one or more small groups. Establishing a precise definition of a small group that is generally accepted by everyone has proven to be a challenge as most scholars come up with different interpretations and definitions of small group communication. A quantitative research method was used for this study as it was deemed suitable for this type of research, but one of the shortcomings of this method is that the data obtained through this method of research is not suitable for generalisations to any population. It is therefore emphasized that it is not the objective of this research to generalise the results of the study, but that it is applicable to the small group communication within the mining group investigated. The sample and data collected were small. A total of 150 questionnaires were sent to two De Beers' mines, Venetia Mine in Limpopo Province and Voorspoed Mine in the Free State Province, requesting employees via their supervisors and line managers to participate in the small group communications survey. The survey revolved mainly around the company's overview of its Continuous Business Improvement (CBI) business system which involved small group initiatives and communication. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of small group communication, investigate to what extent small groups communicate within their minibusiness areas within a mining group. The communication role and the influence it has within an organisation, and what structure it takes within the bigger scheme of the organization were also investigated. Many people and organisations form small groups to perform certain jobs, but they do not have a clear understanding of what constitutes a group, essentially what is it that a group can and cannot do. Small groups are always present and employees are always members of one or more small groups. Establishing a precise definition of a small group that is generally accepted by everyone has proven to be a challenge as most scholars come up with different interpretations and definitions of small group communication. A quantitative research method was used for this study as it was deemed suitable for this type of research, but one of the shortcomings of this method is that the data obtained through this method of research is not suitable for generalisations to any population. It is therefore emphasized that it is not the objective of this research to generalise the results of the study, but that it is applicable to the small group communication within the mining group investigated. The sample and data collected were small. A total of 150 questionnaires were sent to two De Beers' mines, Venetia Mine in Limpopo Province and Voorspoed Mine in the Free State Province, requesting employees via their supervisors and line managers to participate in the small group communications survey. The survey revolved mainly around the company's overview of its Continuous Business Improvement (CBI) business system which involved small group initiatives and communication. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Social connections are the main determinant of a person’s quality and quantity of resources. A person uses social connections to access or use resources; the stronger and more extensive the social network, the greater the resources (i.e. social capital). Connections in social networks allow us to access and use social capital to achieve instrumental or expressive goals. Conversely, a lack of connection is central to many challenges in building social capital. Therefore, social connection is a beneficial concept to examine for those at risk of inadequate social capital. This research explores the experiences of part-time professors and their peer connections at the University of Ottawa. It discusses whether a lack of connection exists and how it may affect the social capital of part-time professors. Twelve part-time faculty members were purposively sampled and interviewed about their experience of being a part-time teacher at the University. One participant asked to be removed from the study. Participants were chosen on the basis that they had worked as a part-time teacher at the institution for five years or fewer. Using Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological approach for collecting and analyzing data and Creswell’s (2007) approach for establishing validity, several thematic patterns were exhibited among part-time professors in relation to social capital and the barriers that they face. In conclusion, inadequate social capital among part-time professors may have problematic implications for students, the department, and the University as a whole.

The diploma thesis is focused on internal communication in a selected company. The first part of the thesis defines the concept of communication, its function and division. It characterizes internal communication and problem communication in company. This knowledge is further used in the practical part, which is supplemented by an introduction and description of the company. The analytical part examines employee satisfaction with internal communication. Based on the theoretical and analytical part of the work, real recommendations are proposed to improve the level of communication in selected company.

Att komma till ett helt nytt land har en del konsekvenser för immigranter, speciellt när immigranterna från Mellanöstern kommer till Europa. Skillnaden mellan dessa två områden är många men först och främst är det språket och kulturen; därefter kommer andra skillnader som immigranter upptäcker när de börjar socialisera sig i det nya landet. Studien syftar till att skapa djupare förståelse för hur individer från Mellanöstern socialiseras i det svenska samhället samt att undersöka hur socialisationen påverkar individernas identitet genom att leva med dubbla kulturer. Studien undersöker även immigranternas svårigheter när det gäller språk och socialisation i det nya landet. Immigranternas upplevelser analyseras och studeras med hjälp av följande socialpsykologiska teorier; symbolisk interaktionism (spegeljaget), acculturation, social identitet och bikulturell identitet. Tio stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med immigranterna från tre olika länder i Mellanöstern (Syrien, Libanon och Irak). Immigranterna som deltar i studien har bott minst fem år i Sverige. Datan som samlats in har analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys. Resultatet visar att språket är en viktig del för att immigranterna ska kunna integreras i samhället, Även kroppspråk har varit till hjälp när språket saknades. Det framkom även att modersmålsanvändning alltid har utgjort en form av trygghet och känts naturligt för respondenterna. Respondenterna identifierar sig olika med kulturerna. Vidare visar resultat att umgänge med familjen eller personer med samma bakgrund skapar en identitetstrygghet. / Moving to a whole new country has some consequences for immigrants, especially when immigrants from the Middle East come to Europe. There are many differences between these two areas but first and foremost it is the language and the culture; other differences that immigrants discover emerge as they begin to socialize in the new country. The study aims, on the one hand, to create a deeper understanding of how individuals from the Middle East are socialized in Swedish society and, on the other, to investigate how socialization affects individuals’ identity when living with dual cultures. The study also examines the immigrants’ difficulties with regards to language and socialization in the new country. Immigrants’ experiences are analyzed andstudied using the following social psychological theories: symbolic interactionism (mirrorself), acculturation, social identity, and bicultural identity. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with immigrants from three different countries in the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon and Iraq). The immigrants participating in the study have lived in Sweden for at least five years. The data collected has been analyzed using thematic analysis. The results show that language is an important issue for immigrants to be able to interact in society. Furthermore, the use of body language has been helpful when the language was lacking. It also emerged that mother-tongue use has always made immigrants feel safe and natural for the respondents. The respondents identify differently with the cultures. In addition, results show that being with the family or people with the same background creates an identity that feels safe.

Submitted by Cássia Santos (cassia.bcufg@gmail.com) on 2016-06-06T12:22:04Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Renata Rodrigues de Oliveira Garcia - 2016.pdf: 7162982 bytes, checksum: 5dc748e00eb45d53c0cd1cd7e2734154 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-06-06T15:28:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Renata Rodrigues de Oliveira Garcia - 2016.pdf: 7162982 bytes, checksum: 5dc748e00eb45d53c0cd1cd7e2734154 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-06T15:28:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Renata Rodrigues de Oliveira Garcia - 2016.pdf: 7162982 bytes, checksum: 5dc748e00eb45d53c0cd1cd7e2734154 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-18 / A dissertation includes scientific paper mode. The first article entitled, "Deafness, family and health: experience report" aimed to describe the personal experience lived by the author in the family context. It is a qualitative research, and a reporting experience type, carried out based on the description of personal experience, which consists of real-life stories. In this case, the focus is my life as a daughter, deafness in a family context that valued the oral rehabilitation, believing in a biomedical approach, disregarding the social and cultural aspects of deaf people. The results show that prior to the enactment of the Act No. 10.436 and Decree No. 5.626 of Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), my family found difficult to accept Sign Language (SL), in consequence, it created barriers in communication and inferiority feelings. The acceptance promoted improvement in personal and professional life. The concept of deaf people must be accompanied by recognition and acceptance of the linguistic values of the deaf community and SL. In the second article, entitled "Quality of life of deaf people who communicate by Sign Language in the family environment" it aimed to characterize the Quality of Life (QOL) of deaf people with regard to aspects as discrimination, autonomy and inclusion. In addition, it aimed to compare, on a family environment, the Quality of Life related to health (QOLRH) of deaf people and their listeners siblings, with regard to physical, psychological, social relationships and environment. It is a cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative study carried out with 194 participants, which were the deaf people and their listeners siblings residing in Brazil and abroad. The inclusion criteria were: age 18 years old; families who have deaf and hearing children; the deaf family member have to use the SL as means of communication; deaf and their siblings listeners from different regions of Brazil where they reside; deaf and siblings listeners who signed the Informed Consent (IC) in person or by sending the acceptance to participate in the survey by email. The deaf participants answered to questionnaires on QOL in Libras version. Among listeners siblings, questionnaires in Portuguese version were used on the same site. The results were: greater prevalence of female sex, divorced, with active working life and childless. Regarding to the earned income, 44% (deaf) had income up to a thousand and five hundred reais and 44.7% had income of more than a thousand and five hundred reais. The comparison of QOL among the deaf and their siblings listeners by WHOQOL-Bref/Libras showed that listeners had better scores in all areas, however, the physical domain was the one that showed a significant difference statistically (p = 0.033). The assessment of QOL of the deaf participants at WHOQOL- Dis/Libras showed better scores in Inclusion domain (72.5 ± 13.8). We conclude that in family environment, relations between siblings do not always occur harmoniously. The access to SL as the first language of deaf people should be guaranteed to all deaf people, and family require an adequate guidance about deaf culture and the SL. We verified the contribution of the study and how important it is to have questionnaires in Libras to evaluate the QOLRH of deaf people. / Dissertação inclui a modalidade artigo cientifico. O primeiro artigo intitulado: “Surdez, família e saúde: relato de vivência” teve o objetivo de descrever a experiência pessoal vivenciada pela autora no contexto familiar. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, do tipo relato de vivência, realizada com base na descrição da experiência pessoal, a qual consiste em relatos da vida real. No caso em questão, o foco é minha vida como filha, a surdez num contexto familiar que valorizava a reabilitação oral, acreditando numa abordagem biomédica, desconsiderando os aspectos sociais e culturais dos surdos. Os resultados mostram que antes da promulgação da Lei nº 10.436 e Decreto nº 5.626 da Língua Brasileira de Sinais (Libras), a minha família tinha dificuldades de aceitar a Língua de Sinais (LS), gerando entraves na comunicação e sentimentos de inferioridade. A aceitação promoveu melhora na vida pessoal e profissional. O conceito da pessoa surda, deve estar acompanhado de reconhecimento e aceitação dos valores linguísticos da comunidade surda e da LS. No segundo artigo, intitulado: “Qualidade de vida dos surdos que se comunicam pela Língua de Sinais no ambiente familiar” objetivou caracterizar a Qualidade de Vida (QV) dos surdos no que se refere aos aspectos discriminação, autonomia e inclusão e comparar, em um ambiente familiar, a Qualidade de Vida relacionada à Saúde (QVRS) de pessoas surdas e seus irmãos ouvintes, no que se refere aos aspectos físico, psicológico, relações sociais e meio-ambiente. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, descritivo e quantitativo com 194 participantes surdos e irmãos ouvintes que residem no Brasil e no exterior. Os critérios de inclusão foram: 18 anos de idade; famílias que tem filhos surdos e filhos ouvintes; os surdos, membro da família, tem que utilizar a LS como meio de comunicação; surdos e seus irmãos ouvintes de diferentes regiões do Brasil onde eles residem; surdos e irmãos ouvintes que assinaram o Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido (TCLE) presencialmente ou enviando o aceite em participar da pesquisa por e-mail. Os participantes surdos responderam os questionários de QV na versão em Libras. Entre os irmãos ouvintes, utilizou-se os questionários na versão em português no mesmo portal. Os resultados foram: maior prevalência do sexo feminino, divorciados (as), com vida laboral ativa e sem filhos. Em relação à renda salarial, 44% (surdos) apresentaram renda até mil e quinhentos reais e 44,7% apresentaram renda acima de mil e quinhentos reais. A comparação da QV entre os surdos e seus irmãos ouvintes pelo WHOQOL-Bref/Libras mostrou que os ouvintes apresentaram escores melhores em todos os domínios, porém, o domínio físico foi o que obteve diferença estatisticamente significativa (p=0,033). A avaliação da QV dos participantes surdos pelo WHOQOL-Dis/Libras apresentou melhor escore no domínio Inclusão (72,5 ±13,8). Conclui-se que no ambiente familiar, as relações entre os irmãos nem sempre ocorrem de modo harmonioso. O acesso à LS como primeira língua das pessoas surdas deve ser garantido a todos os surdos, necessitando a família de uma orientação adequada sobre cultura surda e a LS. Verificamos a contribuição do estudo e o quanto é importante ter questionários em Libras para avaliar a QVRS de pessoas surdas.

This thesis is devoted to internal communications in the holding company PNS. The theoretical part is focused on explaining concepts: communication, internal communication and its tools, methods and barriers. The practical part is focused on the holding PNS and through an anonymous survey analyzes the internal communication and employee views on methods of communication. Based on the results obtained from the survey then evaluate the use of communication tools, efficiency of communication tools and employee satisfaction. The conclusion summarizes the results and proposed some recommendations that could lead to improving the current level of internal communication in the company.

This diploma thesis focuses on the problem of information behavior in the process of providing medical and health information. Research focuses on identifying information barriers. Research was implemented in several specialized workplaces: Homolka Hospital Library, National Medical Library, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine: Scientific Medical Library, Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education: Department of Scientific Information and Bulovka Hospital Library. The following part is my own research listing the reference workstations and utilizing the information about the problem provided by the local employees. The information was gathered during monitored interviews. The thesis also introduces basic theoretical concepts of the area of information behavior, which are related to the topic. The final part is the evaluation of the results from the collection of information. The components are suggestions for changes to improve.

The aim of this work is to identify the most common communication errors in terms of transactional analysis taken from selected levels of management of medical facility, which undermine the social interaction at work, and analyse their causes and impact on the behaviour and experience of parties involved. Part of the work is a set of recommendations for the prevention and elimination of these barriers. For these goals to be met, I have developed questionnaires, particularly for top management, and especially for middle management, where the respondents assess themselves on how often they face barriers in the workplace and the impact of these barriers on their behaviour and experience. Their responses are processed in charts by allocation criteria. Communication theories and the barriers related to the identified data give an idea of how the top management of this medical facility (and possibly at other medical facilities of similar size and structure) should communicate with senior consultants with care. The contribution of this work should be to improve communication and achieve not only greater satisfaction for all employees, but also increase productivity during business hours. For this to transpire, it is first necessary to increase communication, especially the knowledge of effective communication, then accept their mistakes and make a constant effort to eliminate them. Some important basic concepts in communication, transactional, barriers of communication and removing communication barriers are clarified in the theoretical part. The practical part is focused on the environment of unnamed hospital. The most commonly met crossed transactions in the workplace and their impact on the behaviour and experience are shown and described there.

This thesis deals with communication barriers and their impact on the results of the work process and group climate. It explains the concept of communication, elements of communication process and the basic division of communication, verbal communication, nonverbal communication, effective communication and its elements, requirements for effective communication, communication with managers, managerial communication strategy, the specifics of communication in health care management and internal communication. The thesis further analyzes communication barriers from the perspective of different authors, which is crucial for the practical part, where the results of questionnaire-compiled charts reflecting the different communication barriers from different angles are used. Two sets of questionnaires were developed: one for senior staff and one for subordinates. The group examined was a closed working group in one hospital in the Czech Republic. In the discussion section, results of the research are evaluated and recommendations for the prevention and elimination of the communication barriers are given. The main aim of this work was improvement of communication between employees at all levels and between all levels, increasing the efficiency of manpower and making the working environment more attractive, thus increasing the satisfaction of all employees of this working group.