Research question: To examine what aspects affect some consumers to avoid e-bikes and others to desire them. Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to see if e-bikes have a symbolic value. We aim to see if e-bikes is associated as an environmentally friendly product. We will examine stereotypes and brand avoidance. Further we will see what attributes consumers associate with typical users of e-bikes. Theory: To test our research question we chose our main theory of the matching process between self-image and typical user. Prior studies on e-bikes in areas as typical users and environment were analyzed. Previous studies on e-bikes were analyzed in areas such as environment and typical users. Methodology: A survey was made on two groups who are underrepresented in sales of ebikes. Students aged 21-30 and cycling enthusiasts. Results and conclusions: • We found that e-bikes have symbolic value. • Many respondents perceive e-bike users as environmentally friendly, comfortable and lazy. • E-bikes being perceived as environmentally friendly can be a pre-purchase indicator for students, but not for cycling enthusiasts • Different groups of students have conflicting user imagery, one group describe e-bikers as lazy, and another group describe e-bike users as healthy • The stereotype that e-bike users are old is not very frequent • Viewing e-bike users as lazy influences impacts the perceived value and are likely to lead to brand avoidance

Wie kann Lobbyingerfolg von Interessengruppen erklärt werden? Lange Zeit standen ausschließlich Ressourcen als Explanans für Lobbyingerfolg im Zentrum der theoretischen Auseinandersetzung. Später traten weitere unabhängige Variablen zur Erklärung von Lobbyingerfolg hinzu: Framing, Arenen, Issuetypen, Koalitionen und die politisch-ideologische Ausrichtung der Entscheidungsträger als intervenierende Variable. Die empirischen Beobachtungen am Beispiel der EU-Emissionspolitik zeigen, dass keine der genannten Variablen Lobbyingerfolg alleine erklären kann. Die Kongruenzanalyse wird belegen, dass die Erklärungs- und Prognosekraft der Variablen in den einzelnen Arenen variiert. Ressourcen sind ein guter Prädiktor für Lobbyingerfolg in der Arena der Kommission. In der Arena des Europäischen Parlaments ist vor allem das Lobbyingziel der einzelnen Interessengruppen entscheidend. In der Arena des Rats hängt der Lobbyingerfolg von einem komplexen Zusammenspiel aus Lobbyingziel, formellen Abstimmungsregeln und der Positionierung der Mitgliedstaaten ab, die wiederum von der Zusammensetzung der jeweiligen Regierungsexekutiven und der Ressourcenstärke einzelner Interessengruppen in den Mitgliedstaaten beeinflusst wird. In der Arena des Vermittlungsausschusses entscheidet die politisch-ideologische Position des Berichterstatters. Darüber hinaus kann gezeigt werden, dass sowohl in der Arena des Europäischen Parlaments als auch in der Arena des Rats bestimmte Framing-Strategien erfolgversprechend sind. Wohingegen die Zugehörigkeit eines Issues zu einem bestimmten Issuetypus von vornherein die Erfolgsaussichten mindert. Lobbyingerfolg am Ende des Mitentscheidungsverfahrens ist also das Resultat von Lobbyingerfolgen, die in den einzelnen Arenen auf unterschiedliche kausale Effekte zurückzuführen sind. Bemerkenswert ist, dass Lobbyingerfolg von einer Reihe von Faktoren abhängt, die von Interessengruppen selbst nicht unmittelbar beeinflussbar sind. / How can lobbying success of interest groups be explained? For a long time, solely resources were at the centre of the theoretical debate. Later, other independent variables were added to explain lobbying success: framing, arenas, types of issues, coalitions and the political-ideological position of decision-makers as an intervening variable. Empirical observations using the example of the EU emissions policy however show that none of the above variables can explain lobbying success alone. A congruence analysis demonstrates that the explanatory and predictive power of the variables varies in different arenas. Resources are a potent predictor of lobbying success in the arena of the Commission. In the arena of the European Parliament, it is the lobbying goal of stakeholders, which determines success. In the arena of the Council, lobbying success is the result of a complex interplay of lobbying goal, formal voting rules and the political position of the Member States. The political position of Member States, in turn, is influenced by the political-ideological composition of the government executive and the resources of individual stakeholders in the Member States. In the arena of the Conciliation Committee, the political and ideological position of the rapporteur is pivotal. In addition, it can be shown that both in the arena of the European Parliament and of the Council certain framing strategies support lobbying success. In contrast, the nature of an issue can diminish the chances of lobbying success right from the outset. Thus, lobbying success at the end of the co-decision procedure is the result of the combination of lobbying successes in the co-decision arenas, which are due to different causal effects. It is noteworthy that lobbying success depends on a number of factors, which cannot be directly influenced by interest groups themselves.

Diese Dissertation behandelt nicht-holomorphe Diese Dissertation behandelt nicht-holomorphe Eisensteinreihen und Dessins d''Enfants. Nicht-holomorphe Eisensteinreihen entstehen aus Untergruppen der Modulgruppe, indem man über alle Elemente der Gruppe modulo dem Stabilisator einer Spitze aufsummiert. Die zweite Struktur, Dessins d''Enfants, sind bipartite Graphen die in topologische Flächen eingebettet sind. Dessins d''Enfants stehen in Korrespondenz zu Belyi-Paaren und Untergruppen der Modulgruppe von endlichem Index. Deshalb bestehen zwischen Eisensteinreihen und Dessins d''Enfants Verbindungen und ein Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit ist es, Informationen und Wissen über das eine Objekt in das andere zu übertragen. Bezüglich Dessins d''Enfants beschäftigen wir uns mit Symmetrien. Wir waren in der Lage, Automorphismen von algebraischen Kurven im assoziierten Dessin, in der zugehörigen Untergruppe sowie insbesondere auf den Spitzen zu interpretieren. Außerdem beschreiben wir die Zusammenhänge zwischen Dessins für Untergruppen, dadurch können wir für zwei Untergruppen anhand ihres Dessins entscheiden, ob sie in einander enthalten sind. In Kombination mit hier erbrachten Resultaten zu den Hauptkongruenzuntergruppen führt dies zu einem implementierten Algorithmus, der prüft, ob eine Gruppe eine Kongruenzuntergruppe ist oder nicht. Auf der Seite der Eisensteinreihen untersucht dieser Text Streukonstanten, Greensche Funktionen und Kroneckergrenzformeln. In der Streumatrix fanden wir Symmetrien (für bestimmte Gruppen). Für Greensche Funktionen wurde eine Spurformel bewiesen. Wir zeigten, dass Eisensteinreihen eine Identität erfüllen, die wir Kroneckergrenzformel nennen; sie vergleicht den konstanten Term der Eisensteinreihe mit Funktionen, die von ausgezeichneten Modulformen kommen. Die Dissertation gipfelt in der Berechnung der Streukonstanten für die Untergruppen assoziiert zu den Fermatkurven, die fast alle Nichtkongruenzuntergruppen sind. / In this dissertation non-holomorphic Eisenstein series and Dessins d''Enfants are considered. Non-holomorphic Eisenstein series are created out of subgroups of the modular group by summing up over all elements modulo the stabilizer of a cusp. The second main object, Dessins d''Enfants, are bipartite graphs that are embedded into topological surfaces. There is a correspondence between Dessins D''Enfants, Belyi pairs and subgroups of the modular group of finite index. Therefore Eisenstein series and Dessins d''Enfants are related and a focus of this work is how to use the one to find information about the other. The main results concerning Dessins d''Enfants in this thesis are investigations of symmetries of Dessins. We have been able to interpret automorphisms of algebraic curves on the associated Dessin, the subgroups and in particular the set of cusps. Furthermore, we describe the relation of Dessins for subgroups. Therefore, with help of the Dessins we can decide if two subgroups are contained in each other. Together with our results on the Dessins for principal congruence subgroups this leads to an implemented algorithm that checks if a subgroup is a congruence subgroup or not. On the side of Eisenstein series we consider scattering constants, Green''s functions and Kronecker limit formulas. We found symmetries in the scattering matrix for certain groups. For Green''s functions we established a trace formula. We showed that Eisenstein series fulfill an identity we call Kronecker limit formula in which they are compared with functions coming from certain modular forms. Most of the work done in this thesis culminates in the calculation of the scattering constants for the subgroups associated to Fermat curves; most of these groups are non-congruence.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:58:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Lucia Pereira.pdf: 455051 bytes, checksum: a4d691e150067401086040b754f7e5b0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-10-19 / In order to address the problem Does the myths of the good teacher permeate the positioning of teachers in respect to the teaching practice? , this work aimed to understand the placement of teachers in basic education against the four myths of good teacher: 1) The good teacher is always ca4lm and balanced, invariably can control yourself, never loses his composure or show strong emotions; 2) The good teacher accepts all students from the same way, having no favorites; 3) The good teacher can create an environment that, while remaining quiet and calm, promote an exciting learning, stimulating and free; 4) the good teacher knows all the answers, having a higher wisdom to the students. Study participants were eleven teachers of basic education working in a private school located in the southern city of Sao Paulo. The option for a qualitative approach and the critical incidents as a resource for production information was chosen. Understanding critical incidents as "detailed description of a fact and the situation that gave rise to it in order to provide a basis for the participant to give an opinion, trial or decision making", were drawn up four incidents concerning in the four myths surveyed for presentation to the teachers. Based on their responses, were proposed categories of analysis, from which (we tried) to identify clues to the accession of the participants in each myth analyzed. Data analysis was conducted in light of the theoretical framework of Carl Rogers and Thomas Gordon. The results showed great support by the participants to the four myths surveyed, suggesting the importance of the issue to be considered in training programs for teachers / Com o intuito de responder ao problema os mitos do bom professor permeiam o posicionamento dos professores a respeito da prática docente? , este trabalho teve como objetivo compreender o posicionamento de professores do ensino básico frente a quatro mitos do bom professor: 1) o bom professor é sempre calmo e equilibrado, invariavelmente consegue controlar-se, nunca perde a compostura ou demonstra emoções fortes; 2) o bom professor aceita todos os alunos de igual maneira, não tendo favoritos; 3) o bom professor consegue criar um ambiente que, ao mesmo tempo em que permanece calmo e sossegado, favorece a aprendizagem excitante, estimulante e livre; 4) o bom professor conhece todas as respostas, possuindo uma sabedoria superior à dos alunos. Foram participantes do estudo onze professores de educação básica, atuantes em uma escola particular localizada na zona sul da cidade de São Paulo. Optou-se pela abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa e pelos incidentes críticos como recurso para produção de informações. Entendendo-se incidentes críticos como descrição detalhada de um fato e da situação que lhe deu origem, de forma a oferecer base para o participante emitir uma opinião, julgamento ou tomada de decisão , foram elaborados quatro incidentes, referentes aos quatro mitos pesquisados, para apresentação aos professores. Com base em suas respostas, foram propostas categorias de análise, a partir das quais se procurou identificar pistas da adesão dos participantes a cada mito analisado. A análise dos dados foi conduzida à luz do referencial teórico de Carl Rogers e Thomas Gordon. Os resultados indicaram grande adesão dos participantes aos quatro mitos pesquisados, sugerindo a importância da questão ser considerada nos programas de formação de professores

<p>The topic of this thesis is computation of Mass waveforms, and we consider a number of different cases: Congruence subgroups of the modular group and Dirichlet characters (chapter 1); congruence subgroups and general multiplier systems and real weight (chapter 2); and noncongruence subgroups (chapter 3). In each case we first discuss the necessary theoretical background. We then outline the algorithm and display some of the results obtained by it.</p>

The topic of this thesis is computation of Mass waveforms, and we consider a number of different cases: Congruence subgroups of the modular group and Dirichlet characters (chapter 1); congruence subgroups and general multiplier systems and real weight (chapter 2); and noncongruence subgroups (chapter 3). In each case we first discuss the necessary theoretical background. We then outline the algorithm and display some of the results obtained by it.

This thesis concerns methods of reduced complexity for electronic structure calculations.  When quantum chemistry methods are applied to large systems, it is important to optimally use computer resources and only store data and perform operations that contribute to the overall accuracy. At the same time, precarious approximations could jeopardize the reliability of the whole calculation.  In this thesis, the self-consistent field method is seen as a sequence of rotations of the occupied subspace. Errors coming from computational approximations are characterized as erroneous rotations of this subspace. This viewpoint is optimal in the sense that the occupied subspace uniquely defines the electron density. Errors should be measured by their impact on the overall accuracy instead of by their constituent parts. With this point of view, a mathematical framework for control of errors in Hartree-Fock/Kohn-Sham calculations is proposed.  A unifying framework is of particular importance when computational approximations are introduced to efficiently handle large systems. An important operation in Hartree-Fock/Kohn-Sham calculations is the calculation of the density matrix for a given Fock/Kohn-Sham matrix. In this thesis, density matrix purification is used to compute the density matrix with time and memory usage increasing only linearly with system size. The forward error of purification is analyzed and schemes to control the forward error are proposed. The presented purification methods are coupled with effective methods to compute interior eigenvalues of the Fock/Kohn-Sham matrix also proposed in this thesis.New methods for inverse factorizations of Hermitian positive definite matrices that can be used for congruence transformations of the Fock/Kohn-Sham and density matrices are suggested as well. Most of the methods above have been implemented in the Ergo quantum chemistry program. This program uses a hierarchic sparse matrix library, also presented in this thesis, which is parallelized for shared memory computer architectures. It is demonstrated that the Ergo program is able to perform linear scaling Hartree-Fock calculations. / QC 20100908

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Antecedents:Malgrat la importància oferta en la literatura, el concepte de congruència de valors és encara poc conegut. La literatura és ambigua i el tema és encara poc conegut. La congruència de valors es tracta a les àrees de gestió i psicologia relacionant-la amb diverses actituds cap al treball o cap als resultats empresarials. No obstant això, el procés que afecta a aquests resultats segueix sent molt polèmic. És a dir, no sabem exactament per què la congruència de valors produeix efectes en els resultats empresarials. Pregunta de recerca:Aquesta tesi intenta explicar l'efecte de la congruència de valors. És a dir, quin és la correlació o relació semicausal entre la congruència o incongruència de valors i determinades actituds laborals tals com la satisfacció laboral, compromís organitzacional, d'una banda, i de salut, tals com l'estrès laboral o la salut física, per l'altre. Enfocament teòric:Reconeixent el fet que les explicacions actuals sobre els efectes de la congruència dels valors són especulatives, fragmentades i de caràcter social, en aquesta tesi s'utilitza la teoria basada en l’autoconcepte com a teoria subjacent per comprovar empíricament el mecanisme de mediació de les variables de autoconcepte en la relació entre la congruència de valors i els resultats empresarials. S'afirma que aquest mecanisme individual és similar a l'efecte de mediació dels mecanismes socials tals com la confiança. Disseny:En aquesta tesi s'utilitza l'enfocament de tres papers relacionats. En el primer d'ells es fa una revisió de la literatura existent sobre congruència de valors i contextualitza la investigació des d'un marc global. El segon paper utilitza la teoria de l’autoconcepte per explicar els efectes de la congruència de valors en els resultats laborals relacionats amb l'actitud, tals com a salut mental (burnout) i una sèrie de resultats relacionats organitzativament com la propensió d'accidents i de les intencions de rotar. Les dades van ser recollides entre les infermeres que treballen en un gran hospital universitari a Catalunya. El tercer paper utilitza algunes de les variables derivades de la teoria de l'autoconcepte per provar empíricament la importància relativa i la configuració de mecanismes individuals i mecanismes socials com a mediadors entre la congruència de valors i una sèrie de resultats específics individuals, com la satisfacció en el treball, el compromís amb l'organització i l'esgotament. Aquest tercer estudi es va dur a terme en un hospital del nord-est de Xina. Resultats: El primer paper estableix les bases per a futurs estudis especificant les necessitats i les limitacions de treballs previs. En els dos estudis empírics, s'ha trobat que la teoria de l’autoconcepte es pot aplicar en el context de la comprensió del procés d'efectes de la congruència dels valors. En el segon paper, s'ha observat que, per a diferents tipus de valors, l'esgotament intervé de forma diferent entre els efectes de la incongruència de valors en els resultats. Quant al tercer paper, s'ha trobat que, per a diferents resultats, les variables de l’autoconcepte intervenen entre els efectes de la congruència dels valors de forma diferent, però s'ha constatat que la confiança en l'organització és un mediador social consistent. Això últim reforça el recent interès a utilitzar en major mesurada la construcció de la confiança en les investigacions sobre organitzacions. Això va resultar ser vàlid en el context xinès. Conclusions: Aquesta tesi sosté que l'estudi sobre la congruència de valors és molt important tant per als individus com per a les organitzacions. A pesar que els seus efectes directes o de mediació, això també afecta a resultats relacionats amb la salut de l'individu (és a dir, esgotament o la salut física), així com a resultats relacionats amb la salut de l'organització (el compromís, la propensió d'accidents,, la previsió de volum de negoci, i similars). / Antecedentes: A pesar de la importancia ofrecida en la literatura, el concepto de congruencia de valores es aún poco conocido. La literatura es ambigua y el tema es aún poco conocido. La congruencia de valores se trata en las áreas de gestión y psicología relacionándola con diversas actitudes hacia el trabajo o hacia los resultados empresariales. No obstante, el proceso que afecta a estos resultados sigue siendo muy polémico. Es decir, no sabemos exactamente por qué la congruencia de valores produce efectos en los resultados empresariales. Pregunta de investigación: Esta tesis intenta explicar el efecto de la congruencia de valores. Es decir, cuál es la correlación o relación semicausal entre la congruencia o incongruencia de valores y determinadas actitudes laborales tales como la satisfacción laboral, compromiso organizacional, por un lado, y de salud, tales como el estrés laboral o la salud física, por el otro. Enfoque teórico: Reconociendo el hecho de que las explicaciones actuales sobre los efectos de la congruencia de los valores son especulativas, fragmentadas y de carácter social, en esta tesis se utiliza la teoría basada en el autoconcepto como teoría subyacente para comprobar empíricamente el mecanismo de mediación de las variables de autoconcepto en la relación entre la congruencia de valores y los resultados empresariales. Se afirma que este mecanismo individual es similar a los efectos de mediación de los mecanismos sociales tales como la confianza. Diseño: En esta tesis se utiliza el enfoque de tres papers relacionados. En el primero de ellos se hace una revisión de la literatura existente sobre congruencia de valores y contextualiza la investigación desde un marco global. El segundo paper utiliza la teoría del autoconcepto para explicar los efectos de la congruencia de valores en los resultados laborales relacionados con la actitud, tales como salud mental (burnout) y una serie de resultados relacionados organizativamente como la propensión de accidentes y de las intenciones de rotar. Los datos fueron recogidos entre las enfermeras que trabajan en un gran hospital universitario en Cataluña. El tercer paper utiliza algunas de las variables derivadas de la teoría del auto-concepto para probar empíricamente la importancia relativa y la configuración de mecanismos individuales y mecanismos sociales como mediadores entre la congruencia de valores y una serie de resultados específicos individuales, como la satisfacción en el trabajo, el compromiso con la organización y el agotamiento. Este tercer estudio se llevó a cabo en un hospital del noreste de China. Resultados: El primer paper establece las bases para futuros estudios especificando las necesidades y las limitaciones de trabajos previos. En los dos estudios empíricos, se ha encontrado que la teoría del autoconcepto se puede aplicar en el contexto de la comprensión del proceso de efectos de la congruencia de los valores. En el segundo paper, se ha observado que, para diferentes tipos de valores, el agotamiento media de forma distinta entre los efectos de la incongruencia de valores en los resultados. En cuanto al tercer paper, se ha hallado que, para diferentes resultados, las variables del autoconcepto median entre los efectos de la congruencia de los valores de forma distinta, pero se ha constatado que la confianza en la organización es un mediador social consistente. Esto último refuerza el reciente interés en utilizar en mayor medida la construcción de la confianza en las investigaciones sobre organizaciones. Ello resultó ser válido en el contexto chino. Conclusión: Esta tesis sostiene que el estudio sobre la congruencia de valores es muy importante tanto para los individuos como para las organizaciones. A pesar de que sus efectos directos o de mediación, ello también afecta a resultados relacionados con la salud del individuo (es decir, agotamiento o la salud física), así como a resultados relacionados con la salud de la organización (el compromiso, la propensión de accidentes,, la previsión de volumen de negocio, y similares). / Background: Albeit the critical importance accorded in the literature to the concept of value congruence it is still poorly understood. The literature dealing with it is ambiguous and inconsistent. Value incongruence in the management and psychological disciplines, has been related to various job attitudes and other work related outcomes, but the process of which it affects the latter remains controversial. That is, we do not know exactly why value congruence (or value incongruence) is supposed to have these effects on the outcomes studied. Research question:This thesis is an attempt to understand the process of value congruence’s effect. That is to say: what are the correlational or semi causal relationships between value congruence and value incongruence on selected attitudinal outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment on one hand, and health outcomes, such as job burnout or physical health , on the other hand?. Theoretical approach:The underlying theory of “self-concept” has been used in its application to the construct of value congruence. More specifically, the mediating mechanism of self-concept variables on the relationship between value congruence and outcomes was empirically tested. Furthermore, the relative importance and the particular configuration of individualmechanism vssocial mechanism functioning simultaneously as mediatorshave been tested. . Design:This thesis uses three connected papers. The first paper is a comprehensive review of the literature on value congruence. Itintegrates value congruence research into a coherent framework.A clear agenda for research results from the conclusions reached in this first paper. The second paper inspired by the “self-concept theory”,tests the relationships between value congruence on specific outcomes such as mental health (burnout), physical health, and a host of organizationally related outcomes such as accident propensity and turnover intentions. Data was collected amongst nurses working in a large university hospital in Catalonia. The third paper also uses some variables derived from the self-concept theory to empirically test the relative importance and the particular configuration of individualmechanism and social mechanism functioning simultaneously as mediatorsbetween value congruence and a host of specific individual outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment and Burnout. This third study was carried out in a county hospital in northeast China. Method: The first paper is qualitative in nature. It synthesizes and classifies related definitions, models and measurement based on the literature. The second and the third papers are empirical studies based on cross-sectional pre validated surveys conducted in Spain and China in the health care settings. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed throughout different phases of the studies. Multiple regressiontechnique was employed to test the mediation effect. Results:The first study sets up the agenda for future research in specifying needs and limitations of previous research. In the two empirical papers, it has been found that self-concept theory can serve for understanding the effects of value congruence. More specifically the second paper shows that for different types of value incongruence, burnout mediatesin a differential manner the effects on the outcomes studied. Third paper, found that, for different outcomes, self-concept variables mediates the effects of value congruence differentially, but trust in the organization, a specific variable that was added in this study, was a consistent social mediator. The latter reinforces recent call to further use the construct of trust in organizational research. This was found to be valid in the Chinese context. Conclusion: The thesis argues that studying value congruence can be very important to both individuals and organizations. Regardless of its direct or mediating effects, it impacts outcomes connected with individual health (i.e. Burnout or physical health) and also outcomes connected with organizational health (commitment, accident propensity, turnover intention, and alike). The thesis also shows how important it is to identify various linkages and configurations between value congruence and outcomes while borrowing from the self-concept theory.

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