This study considers the ability of the audit team to configurally process information, that is, to piece together information cues held by individual team members and recognize the underlying pattern in the information. It also examines how the hierarchical structure of the audit team impacts the team's ability to process information and affects the quality of decisions made by the team. The study also considers the ability of a specific audit procedure, the fraud brainstorming session required by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 99, to overcome barriers to communication and improve team judgments in subsequent tasks. I recruited 57 dyads (114 professional auditors) from public accounting firms to complete an experimental instrument, and employed a 2x2 between-groups ANOVA, manipulating team structure (peer versus hierarchical teams) and the level of the counterfactual prime (team brainstorming session versus individual strategic prompting). I find evidence of a relationship between team structure and judgment quality, but interestingly it is in the opposite direction predicted. Research from other domains suggests differences in status within the hierarchical team may hinder communication and lead to process losses. However, I find the opposite to be true in the accounting domain. When auditors are paired in hierarchical dyads, the senior auditor assumes a leadership role, taking greater interest in the content of his/her teammate's workpapers, asking more questions, and motivating the staff auditor to volunteer a greater amount of information, which results in a higher quality judgment. Thus, this study provides initial evidence that the hierarchical nature of the audit team does not lead to the process losses documented in other domains as the assumption of a leadership role by the senior auditor allows the team to overcome any challenges inherent in the hierarchical structure. This study also considers the ability of the SAS 99 fraud brainstorming session, serving as a counterfactual prime, to lead to improved decisions later in the audit process. As predicted, the brainstorming session conducted during the planning stage of the audit increases the amount and quality of communication during the testing phase and leads to better judgments. These results are of importance for accounting firms as they determine which audit team members are required to participate in the brainstorming session. While a novice auditor may not make significant contributions to the planning decisions made during the brainstorming session, my study finds there are benefits from staff auditors participating in the brainstorming session, over and above what they are able to contribute to the session itself. Participation of staff auditors in the brainstorming session strengthens communication and enhances team-level cognition in subsequent tasks, improving the ability of the audit team to detect fraud throughout the course of the audit. These findings may be relevant for other forms of teamwork, including management teams, audit committees, and interdepartmental taskforces. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the current thesis was to investigate the role of gaze direction, when making preference decisions. Previous research has reported a progressive gaze bias towards the preferred stimuli as participants near a decision, termed the gaze cascade effect (Shimojo, Simion, Shimojo & Scheir, 2003). The gaze cascade effect is strongest during the final 1500 msec prior to decision (Shimojo et al.). Previous eye-tracking research has displayed natural viewing biases towards the upper visual field. However, previous investigations have not investigated the impact of image placement on the gaze cascade effect. Study 1 investigated the impact of presenting stimuli vertically on the gaze cascade effect. Results indicated that natural scanning biases towards the upper visual field impacted the gaze cascade effect. The gaze cascade effect was reliably seen only when the preferred image was presented in the upper visual field. Using vertically paired stimuli study 2 investigated the impact of choice difficulty on the gaze cascade effect. Similar to study 1 the gaze cascade effect was only reliably seen when the preferred image was presented in the upper visual field. Additionally choice difficulty impacted the gaze cascade effect where easy decisions displayed a larger gaze cascade effect than hard decisions. Study 3 investigated if the gaze cascade effect is unique to preference decisions or present during all visual decisions. Judgments of concavity using perceptually ambiguous spheres were used and no gaze cascade effect was observed. Study 3 indicated that the gaze cascade effect is unique to preference decisions. Results of the current experiments indicate the gaze cascade effect is qualified by the spatial layout of the stimuli and choice difficulty. Results of the current experiments are consistent with previous eye-tracking research demonstrating biases towards the upper visual field and offering support for Prevics theory on how we interact in visual space.

The purpose of the current thesis was to investigate the role of gaze direction, when making preference decisions. Previous research has reported a progressive gaze bias towards the preferred stimuli as participants near a decision, termed the gaze cascade effect (Shimojo, Simion, Shimojo & Scheir, 2003). The gaze cascade effect is strongest during the final 1500 msec prior to decision (Shimojo et al.). Previous eye-tracking research has displayed natural viewing biases towards the upper visual field. However, previous investigations have not investigated the impact of image placement on the gaze cascade effect. Study 1 investigated the impact of presenting stimuli vertically on the gaze cascade effect. Results indicated that natural scanning biases towards the upper visual field impacted the gaze cascade effect. The gaze cascade effect was reliably seen only when the preferred image was presented in the upper visual field. Using vertically paired stimuli study 2 investigated the impact of choice difficulty on the gaze cascade effect. Similar to study 1 the gaze cascade effect was only reliably seen when the preferred image was presented in the upper visual field. Additionally choice difficulty impacted the gaze cascade effect where easy decisions displayed a larger gaze cascade effect than hard decisions. Study 3 investigated if the gaze cascade effect is unique to preference decisions or present during all visual decisions. Judgments of concavity using perceptually ambiguous spheres were used and no gaze cascade effect was observed. Study 3 indicated that the gaze cascade effect is unique to preference decisions. Results of the current experiments indicate the gaze cascade effect is qualified by the spatial layout of the stimuli and choice difficulty. Results of the current experiments are consistent with previous eye-tracking research demonstrating biases towards the upper visual field and offering support for Prevics theory on how we interact in visual space.

This study was carried out in the Banco Popular de Ahorro, in Santiago de Cuba. Duringthree years, different Profiles of Directive Competitions were made as well as a Unique or Generic Profile, adaptable to any executive of this or other organizations. Different con- ceptions of competitions were obtained and confirmed, such as simple, compound, basic, secondary, generic and specific competitions. Various experiences were confirmed, such as the importance of establishing their dimensions, contradictions and similarities between competitions and values, their possibility to focus on different organizational tasks, such as the improvement of the environment, the quality in the performance of top and intermediate management, technicians and workers, with the objective of improving the performance of the employees and the organization. / La investigación se desarrolló en el Banco Popular de Ahorro, en Santiago de Cuba, donde durante tres años se trabajó en la conformación de diversos Perfiles de Competencias Directivos y un Perfil Único o Genérico, adaptable a cualquier directivo de esta institución y otras organizaciones. Se obtuvieron y confirmaron diversas concepciones de competencias como las simples, compuestas, básicas, secundarias, genéricas y especificas, importantes y claves, y diversas experiencias como la importancia de establecer sus dimensiones, las contradicciones y similitudes entre competencias y valores, su posibilidad de enfocarse hacia diversas tareas organizacionales, como el mejoramiento del medio ambiente, la calidad del trabajo de mandos superiores, intermedios, técnicos y obreros, con el objetivo de perfeccionar la gestión del desempeño de los trabajadores y la organización.

Le bruit tonal d’interaction rotor-stator, généré par l’impact des sillages issus des pales d’un rotorsur la grille d’aubes d’un stator redresseur, contribue de manière déterminante au bruit d’origineaérodynamique des turbomachines axiales carénées, qui équipent une large part des systèmes de propulsionaéronautique et de conditionnement d’air. La prédiction du bruit par l’utilisation de simulationsnumériques demeure onéreuse, notamment dans les premières phases de conception lorsque de nombreusesconfigurations doivent être testées. Dans cette optique, l’approche analytique choisie dans cettethèse apporte une alternative tout à fait appropriée. Les modèles analytiques basés sur une fonctionde réponse aéroacoustique de profil isolé ne permettent pas de reproduire l’effet de grille engendrépar le nombre important d’aubes de stator. Inversement, de fortes approximations sont nécessairespour décliner les fonctions de réponse de grilles d’aubes existantes dans des configurations tridimensionnelles.Le formalisme proposé, basé sur la méthode de raccordement modal, permet d’introduiresimplement l’effet de grille dans une géométrie annulaire d’étage rotor-stator. Un modèle de réponse degrille rectilinéaire bidimensionnel est tout d’abord présenté pour la transmission d’ondes acoustiques àtravers le stator ainsi que pour la génération de bruit par l’impact de rafales hydrodynamiques. Dansce cadre, une analyse linéaire et non visqueuse est considérée, pour laquelle les modes acoustique ettourbillonnaire d’un gaz sont couplés par le biais des frontières rigides. Les perturbations de vitessesliées aux sillages sont modélisées comme des rafales convectées. Leur impact sur la grille de statorgénère des ondes acoustiques se propageant en amont, en aval ainsi que dans les espaces inter-aubesdu stator, vu comme un réseau périodique de guides d’ondes. Les sections de bords d’attaque et defuite des aubes sont considérées comme des interfaces sur lesquelles la continuité des fluctuations depression, de vitesse axiale et de vorticité est vérifiée. Un système d’équations est ainsi obtenu, puisrésolu par des projections sur les bases modales du conduit et des inversions matricielles. Le champacoustique rayonné est ainsi déterminé uniformément dans tout le domaine. Les résultats issus de cesmodélisations sont comparés à ceux des fonctions de réponse de grilles d’aubes rectilinéaires issues dela littérature, montrant un très bon accord avec les modèles basés sur la technique de Wiener-Hopf. Leformalisme est par la suite étendu aux grilles annulaires par l’ajout de fonctions de Bessel comme fonctionsde forme radiale exprimant les effets tridimensionnels. Finalement, une procédure est présentéepour rendre compte de l’hétérogénéité des aubes de stator, caractéristique des nouvelles architecturesde turbomachines. Cette méthodologie est basée sur l’emploi conjoint du principe du dipôle de bordd’attaque et de la fonction de réponse aéracoustique de la grille de stator à l’aide de la technique deraccordement modal. Le principe de dipôle de bord identifie le chargement instationnaire des aubesinduit par l’impact de rafales hydrodynamiques, calculé par le formalisme d’Amiet, avec la trace duchamp de pression acoustique produit par un dipôle placé au voisinage du bord de l’aube. Les prédictionsissues de ce modèle, appliqué dans un cadre bidimensionnel, sont ensuite comparées à des mesuresobtenues pendant la campagne d’essais du projet SEMAFOR. / The rotor-stator wake-interaction tonal noise, generated by the impingement of rotor wakes onoutlet guide vanes, plays a crucial role in the aerodynamic noise of axial-flow ducted fan stages. Thelatter are widely used in most aeronautic propulsion and air-conditioning systems. The noise predictionby means of numerical simulations remains expensive, especially at the preliminary design stage whennumerous configurations must be tested. In this respect, the analytical approach chosen in this thesisprovides a well suited alternative. The analytical modeling based on an isolated-airfoil response functioncan not reproduce the cascade effect introduced by the large number of stator vanes. Conversely, drasticapproximations are required to extend the current cascade response functions to three-dimensionalconfigurations. The proposed modeling based on the mode-matching technique simply introduces thecascade effect in an annular rotor-stator stage. A rectilinear cascade response function is firstly presentedto account for the acoustic transmission through the stator along with the wake-interaction noise.In this context, a linearized and non-viscous analysis is carried out, in which the acoustic and vorticalmodes of a gas are coupled at rigid physical boundaries. The velocity perturbations issued from thewakes are written as a sum of convected gusts. Their impingement on the cascade of vanes generatesacoustic waves propagating upstream, downstream of the cascade, as well as inside the inter-vane channelsof the stator, seen as a periodic array of bifurcated waveguides. The duct cross sections at theleading-edge and the trailing-edge of the vanes are seen as interfaces on which the continuity of thefluctuating pressure, axial velocity and vorticity is fulfilled. A system of linear equations is obtained,then solved by means of modal projections and matrix inversions. The acoustic field is then uniformlycalculated in the whole domain. Comparisons with rectilinear cascade response functions show a verygood agreement with predictions based on the Wiener-Hopf technique. The configuration of an annularcascade is addressed by introducing the Bessel functions as radial shape functions, expressing threedimensionaleffects. Finally, a procedure is presented to account for the heterogeneity of the statorvanes, typical of modern fan architectures. This approach is based on the combinaison of the leadingedgedipole principle and the cascade response function derived from the mode-matching technique.The edge-dipole principle identifies Amiet’s solution for the unsteady loading and the radiation of adipole approached very close to the edge of a half plane. The predictions provided by this modeling,applied in a two-dimensional configuration, are finaly compared to measurements performed in the testcampaign of the SEMAFOR project.