Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until June 1, 2014. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-97)

Thesis (M. Creative Technoglogies & Media)--Murdoch University, 2008. / Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Creative Technologies and Media. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-156).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-104). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--Texas State University--San Marcos, 2009. / Vita. Appendix: leaves [57]-63. Reproduction permission applies to print copy: Blanket permission granted per author to reproduce. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [64]-70).

Thesis--University of Wisconsin. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 426-435).

Thesis (M.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 24, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 1986. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-236). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2008. / Abstract only has been uploaded to OhioLINK. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-139)

Despite family business researchers having worked towards an understanding of how family businesses obtain success or achieve satisfaction, much confusion and debate on how to define success still exist in the field. It is suggested that defining success in terms of a family business is problematic because even family members themselves have varying perceptions of success. This confusion and debate has in recent years led to an increase in research concerning the meaning of success in the context of family businesses. Defining success is necessary, because if family businesses do not know what success means and what they are working towards, they will not know what decisions to make in order to be successful. Against this background, the primary objective of this study was to establish the perceptions of the concept of success among family business owners. For the purpose of this study, a mixed methodology was adopted because the data was collected using a qualitative method but analysed using a quantitative method. This study used a free word association test – which is a qualitative projective technique – to collect the data, which was then analysed by means of summative manifest content analysis which is a quantitative research method. Convenience sampling was used to identify small business owners to undergo the word association tests. By means of these tests, 811 words/phrases were generated by the 50 small non-family and 51 small family business owners who participated in the study. Theoretical, data, investigator and methodological triangulation was used to ensure the validity of the study whereas credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability and authenticity were applied to ensure its reliability. A coding framework was developed and several analyses were undertaken to summarise the data. The nature and position of the words/phrases recalled as well as the most frequently occurring words/phrases recalled were reported on. To determine whether significant differences exist between the different sample groups, Chi-square statistics were calculated to ascertain statistical significance and Craemer’s V statistics to establish practical significance. The findings of this study show that small non-family business owners mostly associate business success with non-financial indicators. These non-family business owners perceive a successful small business as one that is customer-focused, provides quality service and is characterised by discipline, drive and determination. Similarly, the findings show that the small family business owners participating in this study mostly associate family business success with words/phrases of a non-financial nature. The family business owners perceived a successful family business as one where, in addition to financial returns, discipline, drive and determination, as well as trust, honesty and hard work prevail. Even though both non-family and family business owner participants mostly recalled words/phrases of a non-financial nature, non-family business owners were mainly concerned with being customer-focused and proving quality, whereas family business owners focused more on values such as discipline, drive and determination as well as trust and honesty. Based on the perceptions of success among family business owners, a workable definition of “family business success” was formulated. Family business owners mainly perceive a successful family business as one where, in addition to financial returns, values such as discipline, drive and determination as well as trust, honesty and hard work prevail in the organisational culture of their businesses. Investigating the meaning of success in the field of family business has become a topic of growing interest. This study is one of the first in South Africa to adopt a qualitative dominant approach in attempting to overcome the lack of consensus, as well as to gain greater clarity regarding the way in which success is defined by family businesses. It is hoped that the results of this study will provide family business owners as well as practitioners and researchers in the field with a better understanding of what family business success entails. This understanding offers the potential to guide and improve goal-setting and strategic processes by family businesses, resulting in fewer family business failures and ultimately improving the South African economy.

Historically, legal records were the main focus of archival preservation, and archives served primarily as arsenals of law—instruments for control and management of the State. Today, archives have many different values and uses, and legal value is only one criterion considered during the archival appraisal process. It is an important criterion, though, since archivists have an obligation to preserve not only those documents needed to understand society and its culture, but also those required to protect the rights and interests of society, its institutions, its citizens, and its heirs. Unfortunately, little has been written in the archival literature about what constitutes documentary legal value nor how this value can be recognized and evaluated. This thesis draws on literature from archival science, sociology, records management, diplomatics, law, and jurisprudence in order to define legal value and to identify its components. Since the study focuses on North American archives, the legal literature consulted pertains to the English legal system and its particular manifestations in the United States and Canada. To begin with, the thesis examines the document-event relationship and the relationship of this unit to a society's juridical system. This analysis illustrates the functions that documents play in society, and aims to provide an understanding of the capacity of documents to protect society and to serve as legal evidence. It is then proposed that the presence of a relationship between a document and a juridical event (one in which the society's legal system has an interest) be considered the first component of legal value. Perhaps the most important and most useful of the documents having relevance to events with legal significance is the class identified in this thesis as "legal records," consisting of those documents that execute or constitute written evidence of acts and events which directly affect legal rights and duties. Exploring the first component further, the thesis makes a distinction between actual and potential legal value based on whether the relationship of the document to a juridical event is direct or indirect, and whether the event currently has juridical relevance. Determining the strength of potential legal value involves consideration of the second and third components of legal value, which are related to the use of documents as legal evidence. These two components are admissibility and weight (in the sense of a document's effectiveness as a representation of facts). External factors, such as retention regulations, may play a role in determining this aspect of legal value, and some of these factors are discussed. More often though, the archivist will need to search for indications of reliability and completeness in the documentary formation process and in the elements of form intrinsic to a type of document. The thesis identifies many of the internal factors that contribute to legal value and proposes some criteria and a methodology for appraisal of legal value. Appraisal of legal value is not a mysterious process. With the exception of some diplomatic analysis, much of the information and analysis needed to determine legal value is fundamental to any appraisal process. In a society governed by law in all its aspects, determining legal value is a central part of any archival appraisal. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate