Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1983. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-179).

Prior research has shown that differences in human resource management (HRM) perception/practices do exist between nations. These differences have been attributed to variations in culture. The fundamental purpose of this study was to determine whether subcultures differing in location, religion, and ethnicity significantly affect perception/ practices of human resource management within a common national context (Indonesia). A secondary purpose of the current study was to compare with those found within Indonesia by the Best International Practices Consortium or Best Practices Project (BPP). Participants in the present study were 762 agri-business employees who were members of three distinctly separate subcultures within Indonesia; Sundanese/ Javanese, Balinese, and Minahasan. Data are obtained through the distribution of written questionnaires modeled after those employed by the BPP. Within each subculture, there were numerous disparities between current perceived practices and those desired by employees. This study also revealed several significant differences in HRM practices and perceptions across the three observed subcultures in the areas of hiring, training, performance appraisal, leadership, and communications. Participants reported differences in current and desired managerial styles across subcultures. However, within these groups, current management practices matched employee preferences. The overall findings of the present study differed from those of the BPP. These differences may be attributable to dissimilarities in the samples for the two studies’ samples. This study indicates that employee attitudes and perceptions of HRM practices do differ across cultural boundaries within a common national context. This discovery has wide implications for international companies which may be looking to establish overseas enterprises in countries with diverse cultural populations.

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions that the expatriates have on what personal characteristics a good expatriate should possess as well as their view on cross-cultural training (CCT). The study was conducted on two groups of expatriates from European companies – those who took part in some form of CCT when preparing for the assignment abroad and those who did not. The results show that some of the views are shared by both groups of the respondents. However, there are some difference in the way both groups think, which might depend on the fact that the two companies focus on different factors regarding the view on what features are important for an expatriate to have and how s/he should be prepared for the job. The three main conclusions of this study is that expatriates need to be motivated, willing and able to adjust and flexible to better acclimate themselves to new situations and environments; the family should be incorporated in the training to improve the chances of success; finally, CCT is perceived by the respondents as a good tool for expatriates going on assignment. This study can be seen as an introduction to more detailed studies on the effectiveness of CCT and decrease of expatriate failure.

In modern telecommunications, there is a need for quadrature oscillator exhibiting an accurate and stable phase relation. For example, identical two mutually coupled relaxation oscillator can generate identical quadrature signals, and have extremely accurate and stable phase relation. In this thesis, we propose a current cross-coupled relaxation oscillator with quadrature outputs. The oscillator consists of two identical current relaxation oscillators and a current comparator. The circuit takes the high frequency advantage of current mode circuit. Because of cross-coupled feedback, this oscillator have highly accurate ( <1¢X) and stable quadrature outputs. It is implemented by using TSMC 0.35£gm 2P4M CMOS technology.

An ability to manipulate the activity of a specific protein inside living cells offers exciting prospects for the study of protein function in vivo. Azobenzene derivatives introduced as intramolecular bridges have been demonstrated to reversibly photoregulate secondary structures and functions of peptides and proteins in vitro. My overall goal is to create a generally-applicable process for the reversible photocontrol of protein-protein interactions within the complex environment of a living cell. Results of studies toward this aim are presented. A blue-green absorbing (~480 nm) azobenzene derivative cross-linker was designed that reversibly controlled the helical content of attached peptides with a half-life of the cis state of ~50 ms. This rapid photoswitch may prove useful as a tool for probing dynamic processes in biochemical systems using light. The effect of cross-linker position (N-terminus, middle, C-terminus) on a photo-switchable 32-residue helical peptide was studied. Although the activation energies for thermal cis – trans relaxations were not the same, linker position did not affect the change in helix content. This work provides useful information for the effective photoregulation of much longer helices such as occur in coiled-coils. Fluorescently labeled, cross-linked, modified Fos/Jun peptides with and without cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) tags were prepared for the purpose of photocontrolling peptide-peptide interactions in vivo. One of the peptides showed a degree of photocontrol of helicity. Cell uptake of CPP-tagged peptides was demonstrated. However, overall peptide behavior was dominated by undesired aggregation. A simple reporter, a cross-linked peptide bearing an environmentally sensitive fluorophore at a key site, was designed for detecting photoswitching in vivo. Photoisomerization of the cross-linker caused changes in the local chemical environment and changes in fluorescence intensity of the environmentally sensitive dyes in vitro. However, no change in fluorescence was observed in the living systems we investigated. Conclusions and suggestions for further work aimed at achieving the overall goal stated above are discussed.

SAMMANFATTNING ___________________________________________________________________________ Titel: Produktplacering som kommunikationsverktyg- att kommunicera ett varumärke genom integration i ett naturligt sammanhang. Författare: Amanda Krantz och Charlotte Edman Handledare: Leif Rytting Kurs: Kandidatuppsats 15 hp i Företagsekonomi inriktning Marknadsföring, Turismprogrammet, Linnéuniversitetet, Höstterminen 2012. ___________________________________________________________________________ Syfte Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera produktplacering som kommunikationsverktyg genom att förklara och undersöka vilka karaktäristiska drag som kan hänföras till fenomenet, samt vilka möjligheter och begränsningar dessa kan ha för ett varumärke. Vidare vill vi undersöka närheten till andra verktyg i kommunikationsmixen, samt vilka möjligheter det finns till integration dem emellan. Avslutningsvis är vår ambition att undersöka vilken utveckling som kan skönjas avseende produktplacering. I närhet till syftet har vi valt att arbeta med forskningsfrågan;  Vilken funktion och inflytande har produktplacering som kommunikationsverktyg i processen att kommunicera ett varumärke? Metod I denna uppsats har vi valt att göra en kvalitativ studie, vilken kommit att anta en abduktiv karaktär. Metodvalet föll sig naturligt då ambitionen med uppsatsen varit att komma nära vårt problemområde och gå på djupet snarare än på bredden. Vår empiriska studie bygger på sex personliga intervjuer och en telefonintervju med personer som alla har en stark anknytning till vårt valda ämnesområde produktplacering. Slutsatser Vi har genom analys och slutsatsarbete identifierat att produktplacering som kommunikationsverktyg på många sätt skiljer sig från övrig marknadskommunikation, vilket i hög grad kan kopplas till dess icke-kommersiella karaktär. Vi har även funnit att trovärdighet är ett begrepp nära sammankopplat med produktplacering, samt möjligheten att skapa associationer gentemot ett varumärke. Tydligt framträdande är att produktplacering inte kan verka som en egen komponent i kommunikationsmixen, utan att det krävs en integration med övriga verktyg. Under studiens gång har vi dessutom kunnat urskilja en teknologisk utveckling samt en förändring hos olika medier, vilken vi anser ligger till grund för produktplaceringens framfart.

This thesis was an exploration of the relationship between the host cultural knowledge of newcomers and their behavioural and psychological adaptation to the host culture. Utilizing a theoretical and applied approach to this research, 160 international and landed immigrant students at the University of Saskatchewan completed a questionnaire examining their perceptions of Canadian values and social axioms. Values and social axioms are guiding principles and mediating beliefs, respectively, that individuals use to organize, understand and facilitate physical and social functionality within a culture (Schwartz, 1994; Leung et al., 2002). Despite the complexity of the research task, there was marginal support for the main hypothesis that the participants understanding of Canadian cultural knowledge was related to adaptation to a host culture, specifically psychological adaptation. Furthermore, the results indicate that the participants knowledge of Canadian values and social axioms was differentially related to psychological and behavioural adaption to Canada.

To address the issue of unnecessary functional group transformations in synthesis, the direct functionalization of carbon-hydrogen (C―H) bonds presents itself as an efficient and atom economical process. In particular, palladium(II)-catalyzed oxidative functionalization of arene C–H bonds were investigated to yield intermolecular and intramolecular arylations. Kinetic studies and characterization of bimetallic palladium(II) complexes led to the discovery of two other palladium(II)-catalyzed processes: arene hydroxylation and selective chlorination of anilides. Realizing the potential of biocatalysis and of transition-metal catalysis, we marriaged these two fundamentally different methods to access complex molecules in rapid and step economical ways and chose popular synthetic target, 6-deoxyerythronolide B to showcase the efficiency of these stereoselective reactions. To form the 14-membered lactone, we employed a transition-metal catalyzed ring-closing metathesis. Two different fragments were assembled via traditional and reliable aldols, oxidations and reductions, crotylations and protective group chemistry.

To address the issue of unnecessary functional group transformations in synthesis, the direct functionalization of carbon-hydrogen (C―H) bonds presents itself as an efficient and atom economical process. In particular, palladium(II)-catalyzed oxidative functionalization of arene C–H bonds were investigated to yield intermolecular and intramolecular arylations. Kinetic studies and characterization of bimetallic palladium(II) complexes led to the discovery of two other palladium(II)-catalyzed processes: arene hydroxylation and selective chlorination of anilides. Realizing the potential of biocatalysis and of transition-metal catalysis, we marriaged these two fundamentally different methods to access complex molecules in rapid and step economical ways and chose popular synthetic target, 6-deoxyerythronolide B to showcase the efficiency of these stereoselective reactions. To form the 14-membered lactone, we employed a transition-metal catalyzed ring-closing metathesis. Two different fragments were assembled via traditional and reliable aldols, oxidations and reductions, crotylations and protective group chemistry.