Šiame darbe nagrinėjama tikrovės (de)mitologizacija ir tapatybės paieškos Herkaus Kunčiaus romane „Ornamentas” (2002 m.), Kazio Sajos apsakymų rinkinyje „Nebaigtas Žmogus“ (2003 m.) ir Vidmantės Jasukaitytės romane „Kai mes buvome vilkai” (2007 m.). Minėti tekstai išleisti postsovietiniu laikotarpiu, gausiame permainų ir netikrumo. Analizei šie kūriniai pasirinkti todėl, jog šie autoriai – skirtingų kartų atstovai, todėl buvo įdomu apžvelgti, kaip jų kūryboje atskleistos individo tapatybės paieškos, kokius esminius dalykus jie akcentuoja, kaip mitologizuoja ar demitologizuoja tikrovę. Tekstai analizuojami taikant sociokritinį, mitopoetinį metodus ir postkolonializmo sąvokas. Šie metodai pasirinkti atsižvelgus į tekstuose vaizduojamą Lietuvos laikmetį – sovietinę ir postsovietinę Lietuvą. Analizuojant minėtus tekstus svarbus klausimas apie mito apraiškas šiuolaikiniame pasaulyje, jo santykį su šiuolaikiniu žmogumi ir jo gyvenimu. Šiandieninis mokslininkas stengiasi suprasti mitą, jį iššifruoti, nevertina jo kaip švento ir besąlygiškai teisingo pasakojimo. Išsiveržus iš mito jėgos atsiranda galimybė tikrajam švietimo procesui ir susidaryti tapatybei, atitinkamai specializavus mokslą, meną ir moralę. Literatūros tekstai pateikia skaitytojui pramanytus pasaulius, bet kartu ir demistifikuoja tikrovę, kurioje gyvena skaitytojas, išryškindami gyvenamos tikrovės mitologizuotą, fiktyvią prigimtį. Tikrovės transformacijos ir permainos literatūros tekstuose visuomet yra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This paper explores the attempts of contemporary Lithuanian prose writers to (de)mythologize reality and construct identity in (post)Soviet Lithuania as manifest in Herkus Kunčius' novel Ornament („Ornamentas“) (2002), Kazys Saja's short story collection Unfinished Man („Nebaigtas žmogus“) (2003), and Vidmantė Jasukaitytė's novel When We Were Wolfs („Kai mes buvome vilkai“) (2007). These texts were published in the post-Soviet period, marked by radical changes and a high degree of uncertainty. They have been chosen as the focus of this analysis because their authors belong to three different generations, which allows for a comparison of the different ways of representing an individual's search for identity as well as of mythologizing or demythologizing reality. The analysis is based on sociocritical and mythopoetic methods and also draws on relevant postcolonial concepts. These methods have been chosen with regard to the setting of the selected texts, namely, Lithuania in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. In the analysis of the selected texts, the aim is to foreground the significance of the myth in the contemporary world, particularly with regard to the contemporary individual and his/her life. A contemporary scholar seeks to understand and decipher the myth, as opposed to treating it as a sacred truthful story, to be taken for granted. Casting aside the sacred power of the myth allows for a real educational process as well as for a formation of identity if... [to full text]

BACKGROUND: Radical prostatectomy is the surgical procedure performed on men with clinically localized prostate cancer. In recent years, radical prostatectomy quality indicators have been recommended, but the feasibility and validity for many of these listed surgical quality indicators have yet to be examined. We tested the convergent construct validity of these quality indicators by assessing their associations with hospital volume, a variable repeatedly associated with the quality of surgical care, for prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy. OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess variations in quality indicators by hospital volume; and (2) To investigate whether certain explanatory variables account for some of the variation observed in Objective 1. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using medical chart review data that had already been collected as part of a parent study. The study population consisted of a stratified random sample of prostate cancer patients diagnosed between 1990 and 1998 in Ontario, who were treated by radical prostatectomy with curative intent within six months of diagnosis (n = 645). The feasibility of using this data to assess a number of quality indicators was explored, and where possible, variables were developed for analysis. Ultimately, detailed analyses were performed for the quality indicators: total blood transfusions of three units or greater, length of hospital stay, and use of non-nerve-sparing surgical technique. RESULTS: Even using high-quality chart data, it was not feasible to evaluate all of the quality indicators that were explored. For blood transfusions of three units or greater, length of hospital stay, and use of non-nerve-sparing surgical technique, worse outcomes were generally apparent with decreasing hospital volume, both before and after adjusting for the effect of explanatory variables. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated convergent construct validity for three quality indicators (blood transfusions, length of hospital stay, and non-nerve-sparing surgery). If their validity is further demonstrated in future studies, these indicators could be used for quality assessment and could provide feedback to surgeons, surgical department heads, hospital administrators, and quality councils by suggesting areas for quality improvement in surgical care, such that future outcomes can be optimized. / Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2007-08-23 17:53:33.166

There continues to be doubt regarding the validity of laboratory aggression paradigms. This paper provides an investigation of the construct validity of one prominent aggression task, the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), within a Multitrait Multimethod Matrix (MTMM) methodology. Participants consisted of 151 male undergraduate psychology students with a median age of 19 years old (M=19.45, SD = 2.03). Participants completed self-report and behavioral measures of aggression, impulsivity, and pro-social behavior which were analyzed using a Correlated Trait – Correlated Method Confirmatory Factor Analysis model. Results supported the construct validity of the MTMM model and the TAP. This study provides one of the only a priori tests of construct validity for the TAP and provides a basis for additional validation studies using this methodology.

Leadership has been studied from many angles. But in my study, I study leadership with metaphors, hoping to provide some new insights. With metaphors, I want to seek an answer what can leaders do to integrate themselves to lead better. In this time, leadership is no longer constrained within one domain. With rapid changes and merging among companies and industries, people expect leadership in a broader range of contexts and domains. I also want to find what leaders can do to manage their influence well, to get it across domains. I look into various fields including psychology, culture, leadership and others to gain knowledge. With the help of metaphor, I break the questions into answerable parts and start my research. As for methodology, I adopt systems approach. I conduct eight interviews with leaders from diversified backgrounds regarding age, gender, industry, position and family status. But one thing in common is that they are all highly engaged in multi-cultural or multi-domain interaction. By studying their experience, learning their past and their approach, I come up with eight patterns of influence from the interviews, showing their uniqueness in style and approach to integrate themselves and to convey influence beyond domains. In theoretical study, I further compare the patterns to locate the common parts and reveal the different parts. Then I introduce a concise frame and analyze further. Finally, by combining books, articles and analysis, I provide the advice on what leader can do to expand their influence. Finally, I suggest a few points for leaders to integrate themselves to be better leaders and seek their styles. Then, using their styles or patterns, develop and deliver their influence beyond domains.

Over the past few years, workers have been confronted with increasing pressures at work and at home. This is mainly the result of the growing number of dual-earner couples as well as changes and pressures in the nature of the workplace. Workers are challenged to manage multiple roles in both their work and home domains. Recently, a new measuring instrument was developed to measure work-home interaction, namely the Survey Work-Home Interaction - Nijmegen (SWING). This instrument measures both the direction of influence (work-to-home and home-to-work) and the quality of influence (negative vs. positive). The objectives of this study were firstly to determine the construct validity and reliability of the Survey Work-Home Interaction - Nijmegen (SWING), and secondly to determine the prevalence of work-home interaction in various demographic groups in the nursing environment. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Random samples (N = 363) were taken from hospital nursing staff in Johannesburg, Klerksdorp, Krugersdorp, Potchefstroom and Pretoria. The SWING and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Structural equation modelling (SEM), Cronbach alpha coefficients, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to reach the objectives. SEM showed that a four-factor model, which measures negative work-home interference, positive work-home interference, negative home-work interference and positive home-work interference, fitted the data best. Cronbach alpha coefficients showed that all four factors were reliable. Regarding the prevalence of work-home interaction among different demographic groups, the results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between demographic groups based on race, educational level, type of position, flexibility of arrangements at the workplace as well as between full-time and part-time work. Recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Business leaders are increasingly coming to recognise that there is more to business success than technical and cognitive competence. Personnel leadership is proving to be critical for business bottom-line achievements considering that most business outcomes are achieved through human capital. Emotional intelligence can be used to the advantage of organisations by developing an emotional intelligence audit. The objective of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) developed by Schutte, Malouff, Hall, Haggerty, Cooper, and Golden (1998) for employees in the mining industry in South Africa. The psychometric soundness of the EIS was tested. The general objective of the research was to standardise a psychometric instrument of emotional intelligence and determine the validity of the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (EIS) (Schutte, et al., 1998). A valid and reliable measure of emotional intelligence could be valuable in the organisation to identify specific EI needs that could be developed through the implementation of EI development programmes. In this context a standardised psychometric instrument of EI could be of use in organisations during the training and development of employees. A cross-sectional survey research method with an availability sample (N = 324) from employees in the mining industry was used. Exploratory factor analysis was used to confirm the construct equivalence of the EIS in different racial pups. The results supported a one-factor model of emotional intelligence. ANOVA analysis was conducted to determine the levels of emotional intelligence in terms of various demographic aspects such as gender, racial groups, language groups, and age groups. The results indicated that there are no significant differences between different demographics aspects and the level of emotional intelligence. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Charlotte Brontë’s problematising of first-person narrative foregrounds the fluidity of the concept of identity and insists on its constructed nature. Brontë uses specific narrative techniques in The Professor, Jane Eyre and Villette to achieve this foregrounding, which leads to a complex and sophisticated exploration of the individual’s relationship to society, and how this influences the way individuals construct their identity. Each of these novels presents a different example of such self-construction through the characterisation of the first person narrator. Brontë’s questioning of the stability of the self encourages readers to be aware of such constructs. In my first chapter, I look closely at how narrative authority is parcelled out in Brontë’s nineteenth-century society, and what influence the conferring or withholding of such authority has on the construction of a narrative self. The next three chapters are devoted to discussion of specific examples of narrative self-construction in Brontë’s first-person novels, how her protagonists deal with narrative authority, and the difficulties inherent in speaking or writing with such authority for nineteenth-century women in particular. Individuals construct a sense of their self through telling stories. Brontë’s fiction asks the question, if “Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life” is this tantamount to denying women the right to an arena for the construction of a self at all? What role do readers play in the construction of a narrative self for a writer? In the concluding chapter my aim is to open out my analysis of Brontë’s fiction by examining the idea of narrative as a place more generally for imaginative self-construction. I structure the chapter around J. Hillis Miller’s argument in On Literature that the role of reading and writing in this regard has irrevocably changed in the twenty-first century due to the influence and popularity of the on-line world.

Abstract: This dissertation investigates the syntax and also some aspects of the morphology of Tharifith Berber (such as, the inflectional classes of nouns and the Construct State) within the Distributed Morphology framework (Halle & Marantz 1993, et al.). One of its main objectives is to demonstrate how morphology could be brought within the range of syntax. This view becomes apparent when inflectional morphemes which project in the syntax are also used to derive words. Contrary to what has always been reported, that Berber is an unquestionable VSO language, I show that Tharifith has now shifted to a Topic-Initial configurational system. This claim is based on two pieces of evidence: (1) the SVO order is preferred over VSO, (2) when the object is a clitic both the verb and the clitic are required to be in the initial position of the clause. I propose an account arguing that the two alternations instantiate a Topic-fronting phenomenon, which requires the initial position of the clause to be filled with Topic. Of interest to word order is another property displayed by some WH- complex clauses which require Verb-First. A careful analysis of the structure of these clauses reveals that this is an instantiation of V-to-C movement, also known as the verb second phenomenon (V2). While the movement to the initial position in the main clause is argued to be motivated by Topic, I show that V2 is motivated by the feature Focus which needs to be checked in C. Due to the fact that this operation is sensitive to the phonological property of the complementiser, I make the claim that discourse features, at least in Berber, should be generated at PF. Despite the fact that the subject, object and dative clitics are often grouped under the ‘clitic – banner,’ I show that the first set displays the properties of agreement markers on the verb while the other two sets are claimed to be argument XPs. The approach takes an in-depth theoretical approach to the study of clitics. In a framework where syntax operates on purely formal features, and taking on board the view that clitics as arguments have the formal features required by the computation identical to the ones found with lexical NPs, it is argued that any other distinction between the two sets of arguments is made post-syntactically. Argument structure is then claimed to follow from a fairly small number of principles which govern their syntactic system. The study discusses the movement of clitics at length, and argues it to be phonological. Crucial to the analysis is the fact that this movement operation is not only dependent on the phonological property of clitics but is also dependent on the property of functional elements that host them. Evidence is provided which shows that only functional categories that are phonologically dependent can be hosts. I then conclude that cliticisation is in fact an attraction by the host, a process which occurs during the mapping of the syntactic output to phonology. I further argue that this type of PF merger which is claimed to generate the placement of clitics is constrained by an adjacency relation. Additional support to the claim that morphology should be subject to syntactic principles is found with valency. I show that the system, in many respects, treats the structure of verbs and clauses along the same line. Furthermore, the meaning which is traditionally claimed to be inherent to words is shown from the verbal system to follow from the syntactic structure the verbs project.

Alan Fox's unitarist ideology provided a useful categorisation of managerial perspectives on managing employees and the nature of organisation. However, it was an intuitive framework, developed as part of a reformist argument for a pluralist system of industrial relations. It was not based on a systematic, empirical study of managers and, while applied to research, there has been little testing of the construct. The primary research question addressed in this thesis is whether managers in contemporary SMEs exhibit unitarist characteristics. A number of subsidiary questions follow. The first set explores managers' attitudes towards managerial prerogative, conflict, collective workplace relations and trade unions. Analysis of the data produced 11 unitarist dimensions. The second addresses whether organisational and personal characteristics and managers' perceptions of the limitations on management are significant for SME managers' ideological frameworks. The third identifies whether consultative, participative and collective practices are employed in work organisations. The definition of managerial ideology, including both managers' beliefs and values and also their workplace behaviour and practices, led to testing the relationship between the unitarist dimensions and managerial practice, and managers' satisfaction with employees. Finally, the thesis investigated whether there were any significant links between managerial practices and managers' satisfaction with employee performance. The methodology included a mail survey of SME managers in Eastern Australia with 206 respondents, and an interview programme of 20 SME managers in Brisbane, Queensland. The significant findings of this research are, first, that consultative or participative managerial practices do not necessarily reflect a pluralist ideology or orientation. SME managers limit the scope of decisions for involving employees, and usually shopfloor employees, utilising practices that do not compromise managerial power or managerial prerogative. Second, organisational and personal characteristics are relatively unimportant contextual variables in management behaviour in SMEs, unless it was described as a family business. Third, this thesis provides an alternative to the conclusions of some industrial relations scholars that managers employ a mix of unitarist and pluralist strategies. The adoption of apparently pluralist management practices in consultation and employee participation are revealed in this research as being predominantly non-threatening to managerial prerogative and organisational power structures in workplaces in terms of who is involved or excluded, and about what matters employees are consulted or involved. The overall results of managers' attitudes to collective workplace arrangements and trade unions confirm a general unitarist orientation in Australian SMEs. Fourth, the evidence does not suggest any clear binding of values and beliefs with managerial behaviour. Underpinning normative perspectives on management is an underlying commitment to protecting managers' power in the work organisation. It is this fundamental political commitment that both guides and constrains strategic choice in managing employees in SMEs. Unitarist ideology is thus central to the norms of management, and goes to the core of managerial prerogative. Finally, the results indicated that SME managers in the study usually did not demonstrate strong attachments to their views on the issues presented to them.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 230-234).