Yes / After more than 3500 years of occupation in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, the many lake-dwellings’ around the Circum-Alpine region ‘suddenly’ came to an end. Throughout that period alternating phases of occupation and abandonment illustrate how resilient lacustrine populations were against change: cultural/environmental factors might have forced them to relocate temporarily, but they always returned to the lakes. So why were the lake-dwellings finally abandoned and what exactly happened towards the end of the Late Bronze Age that made the lake-dwellers change their way of life so drastically? The new research presented here draws upon the results of a four-year-long project dedicated to shedding light on this intriguing conundrum. Placing a particular emphasis upon the Bronze Age, a multidisciplinary team of researchers has studied the lake-dwelling phenomenon inside out, leaving no stones unturned, enabling identification of all possible interactive socio-economic and environmental factors that can be subsequently tested against each other to prove (or disprove) their validity. By re-fitting the various pieces of the jigsaw a plausible, but also rather unexpected, picture emerges. / Swiss National Science Foundation

Operations improvement methodologies have been adopted by manufacturing companies since the early 20th century. Japanese manufacturers were able to offer products of high quality and efficient production costs through systems such as Lean. Manufacturers in the West soon adopted systems of their own thereafter. Operations Excellence is a generic term used to describe such systems, and can be described as a management system delivering competitiveness through the continuous improvement of operational performance. This study provides a critical review of the implementation of an Operations Excellence program by examining the system adopted by a petrochemical company in South Africa. The review allowed the implementation shortcomings to be identified so that resolutions could be suggested, thus facilitating successful utilisation of the system. An evaluation of Operations Excellence programs utilised globally and at the case study organisation was carried out as part of a literature study. This research included the critical success factors and lessons learnt from the systems employed by others. Experimental field work was carried out to allow the critical evaluation of the implementation in the case study. The experimental method utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. The primary research instrument was a questionnaire designed to examine the degree in which critical success factors and Operations Excellence requirements were present in the organisation. The implementation shortcomings were successfully identified through the experimental work undertaken. These shortcomings, together with the review of the available literature on Operations Excellence, allowed for the proposition of recommendations with the objective of successful utilisation of Operations Excellence programs for large enterprises. / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Operations improvement methodologies have been adopted by manufacturing companies since the early 20th century. Japanese manufacturers were able to offer products of high quality and efficient production costs through systems such as Lean. Manufacturers in the West soon adopted systems of their own thereafter. Operations Excellence is a generic term used to describe such systems, and can be described as a management system delivering competitiveness through the continuous improvement of operational performance. This study provides a critical review of the implementation of an Operations Excellence program by examining the system adopted by a petrochemical company in South Africa. The review allowed the implementation shortcomings to be identified so that resolutions could be suggested, thus facilitating successful utilisation of the system. An evaluation of Operations Excellence programs utilised globally and at the case study organisation was carried out as part of a literature study. This research included the critical success factors and lessons learnt from the systems employed by others. Experimental field work was carried out to allow the critical evaluation of the implementation in the case study. The experimental method utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. The primary research instrument was a questionnaire designed to examine the degree in which critical success factors and Operations Excellence requirements were present in the organisation. The implementation shortcomings were successfully identified through the experimental work undertaken. These shortcomings, together with the review of the available literature on Operations Excellence, allowed for the proposition of recommendations with the objective of successful utilisation of Operations Excellence programs for large enterprises. / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Using a grounded theory approach, two case studies were carried out in large organisations which have recently implemented family-friendly policies. The studies asked whether or not cultural change has taken place as a result of the implementation of these policies. Using Shein's (1992) three level model and definition of culture, attention was focused on underlying assumptions or 'root' facets of organisational culture (and conceptual distinctions made between culture, image and identity). After establishing which facets are present and how they exist in combination with each other, shifts which have taken place as a direct or indirect result of the introduction of policies were identified. Especial interest was taken in the way the primacy of work was expressed through the ideal worker type and the extent to which this type has been replaced by the integrated worker type (Rapoport et al 2002), which acknowledges that family and other commitments are as legitimate as occupational demands. Both studies conclude that, as yet, there have been only slight adjustments in the construction of this ideal worker type and that employees do not make a permanent shift towards the integrated worker type but `toggle' between these two types. Explanations are developed for shifts in other cultural facets, such as the importance of autonomy, emphases on equality or individuation, sense of entitlement and attitudes to change. The utility of the notion of purposive cultural change is considered, given that high levels of anxiety are released when unconscious and shared mental structures are destabilised in such processes of organizational learning. The merits of a more evolutionary model are explored.

Undersökningens syfte är att få djupare förståelse och insikt i vilken uppgift musik- och kulturskolan har i samhället. Utifrån detta syfte är avsikten att få en inblick i vilka arbetsmetoder som används för att rekrytera, behålla och utveckla elever samt att få kunskap om olika faktorer som påverkar kursutbud och utveckling av skolan. Jag har i min undersökning gjort kvalitativa intervjuer med sex skolledare från olika musik- och kulturskolor i Sverige. Studien utgår från olika teorier om musik- och kulturskolans utveckling och förändring samt teorier om förändringar i skola och samhälle.    I resultatet visas att det finns flera olika förväntningar på musik- och kulturskolan vilka skiftar från skola till skola och från kommun till kommun. På några av de i studien medverkande skolorna finns det en tydlig politisk styrning, medan andra skolor nästan helt saknar en sådan styrning. De faktorer som mest framträdande påverkar musik- och kulturskolan är enligt min undersökning följande: vilka lärare som är anställda på skolan, vilka traditioner som ska upprätthållas, hur musik- och kulturskolan samarbetar med grundskolan och olika kulturella aktörer i kommunen, budget, elevtryck, hur rekryteringen ser ut och till viss del terminsavgiftens storlek.     Musik- och kulturskolans roll har förändrats under årens lopp, vilket bland annat innebär att de traditionella genrerna i större utsträckning har fått ge plats åt populärmusiken i undervisningen. Populärmusikens ökade plats i både samhället och musik- och kulturskolan har också inneburit att bland annat blåsinstrument har sjunkit mycket i popularitet.     En slutsats är att det är önskvärt att lärare inom musik- och kulturskolan både har spetskompetens samt en stor bredd, såväl genremässigt som musikaliskt, för att kunna följa eleven länge och erbjuda bästa möjliga undervisning. / The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding and insight into the role of the Community School of Music and Art in society. According to this view, the intention is to gain an insight into the working methods that are used to recruit, retain and develop students, as well as to acquire knowledge of the various factors affecting the rate of supply and development of the school. This examination contains qualitative interviews with six headmasters from different community schools of music and art in Sweden. The study is based on different theories of changes and developments within the community school of music and art. The study is also based on theories concerning cultural changes and changes in  society.     The result shows there are different expectations on community schools of music and art which vary from school to school and from municipality to municipality. Some of the schools participating in the study had an obvious political governance, while other schools almost entirely lacked such control. The factors that most affected the community schools of music and art in my survey were: the teachers that were employed at the school, which traditions were to be upheld, how the community school of music and art collaborated with schools and various cultural actors in the municipality, budget, the student population, how the school worked with recruitment and, to a certain extent, the tuition fee.     The role of the community school of music and art has changed over the years. This change has affected the traditional genres to a large extent and has created more space for popular music in the classroom. While popular music has emerged in both society and in the community school of music and art, the popularity of wind instruments has decreased greatly.     One conclusion from this examination is that it is desirable that the teachers of the community school of music and art both demonstrate excellence and a wide range, both from a genre and musical standpoint in order to guide and teach the student, and offer the best possible education.

Univerzita Karlova v Praze Filozofická fakulta katedra kulturologie DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCE Jana Velichová Volný čas jako fenomén dnešní doby Praha 2012 Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Ondřej Hubáček, Ph.D. 2 Abstrakt Leisure time is topical problem of the modern society, as well as a multidimensional phenomenon. It is associated with a number of other current issues that affect various areas of the life of the society. The thesis focuses on their identification, their historical development, and their reflection from the point of view of social sciences. It attempts to interpret them as socio-cultural phenomena. These problems manifest themselves in quite divergent areas, such as gender differences, influence of technology and the media on the society, economic behaviour of people, self- presentation, social activities, impact of new technology, dissemination of socially pathological phenomena, escapist functions of the media, creation and reproduction of social networks and social groups. The thesis applies an axiological and non- axiological approach to the examined phenomena. The solution of the topic is complemented with findings relating to the specified problems, which have been obtained through an empirical survery.

Blended learning is the term used for a course with online and on-campus components. Multiple different versions have proliferated across higher education during the past decade. As with any new learning modality there are many issues which need to be addressed when considering a move of an entire institution's curriculum in this direction. The problem identified for investigation was the phenomenon of transitional change of DeVry University's instructional modality from a traditional on-campus to a blended on-campus experience. The explanatory case study explored the phenomenon through two main factors including the impact of the change on the culture of the university and the change in time format for the courses. Eight themes were analyzed and addressed including course format changes, communicating the change, training faculty, common course shell, workload changes, cultural impacts, communication and evaluation of the transition. The university went from a traditional 15- to 8-week course format while making the transition to blended learning. Reasons given for this schedule change were investigated. When creating a large institutional change communication is a key factor and how the change was communicated to both faculty and students is explored. Training faculty for the new blended environment as well as the introduction to a common course shell for all courses is analyzed. The perceived workload of both faculty and students in the new blended learning environment in regard to faculty course load taught and student credit hours taken is considered. The impacts on culture were addressed during the transition including faculty, students and administration impacts. A comparison is given for communication between faculty and students in the new blended learning environment. The evaluation considered the hiatus of rolling out the common course shells to faculty and students is given as well as the planned assessment for the blended learning environment.

A cultura de um povo ou qualquer sociedade humana nunca é estática, pois está sempre sujeita a mudanças, fruto de influências endógenas e exógenas. Partindo desta premissa, pretendemos nesta tese analisar os processos de mudanças socioculturais ocorridos entre os nyungwe, a partir de fatores e contatos externos, ou seja, exógenos. Entre esses, elegemos apenas quatro que julgamos mais significativos, a saber, o sistema dos prazos, a invasão dos Nguni no vale de Zambeze, a guerra colonial e a guerra civil pósindependência. Partimos da hipótese de que em qualquer situação de contato entre culturas diferentes, produzem-se dois fenômenos que ora se conflitam, ora dialogam: a resistência e a ruptura. A resistência resultaria na continuidade da cultura tradicional de um povo, enquanto a ruptura resultaria na interpretação assimilativa dos aportes culturais estranhos. Em ambas as situações, a identidade dos nyungwe, enquanto categoria de autodefinição e heterodefinição, se manteve. / The culture of any human society is never static, for it\'s always subjected to changes as a result of exogenous and endogenous influences. Starting from these premises, we intend to analyze the socio-cultural changes that took place among nyungwe from external factors and contacts. Between these factors we elected only four which we found more significant. The prazos system, the nguni invasion in Zambezi valley, the colonial war as well as post independence civil war. We started from the hypothesis that in any situation of contacts between different cultures, this situation produces two phenomena that sometime get in conflict themselves, or get in dialogue: the resistance and the rupture. The resistance results from the people traditional continuity culture, while the rupture results from the assimilative interpretation of strange cultural elements. In both situation the identity of nyungwe people as self-definition category and hetero-definition remains.

This research investigates the relevance of professional subcultures in a climate of change at a large hospital in South-Western Sydney and addresses the question : 'How do changes associated with health reform impact upon cultural interdependence between professional identities?'. As a corollary, cultural interdependence between professional identities may have profound consequences for health reform and for hospital management. By exploring the two main ideas, Professional Sub-group culture and change, this research draws from existing theory in areas such as organisational culture and cultural change, professional identities and health reform. The thesis addresses three anthropological perspectives of cultural change. It addresses the integration perspective as a homogenous unity by analysing the organisation-wide key ideas (or myths) that make action possible, often espoused by senior management. It addresses the fragmentation perspective as a gathering of transient concerns, by acknowledging the ambiguity and anxiety associated with a state of constant flux. It analyses the differentiation perspective as a collection of subcultures and its commonalities and differences. The change discussed in the thesis was not of an archetypal nature. There was no transformation of the organisational business model at government level. However, at lower levels, actors in the organisation experienced jolts through decreed change from a small district level hospital to a large tertiary level trauma centre. This research re-evaluates the theory on professional identity by establishing to what extent environmental changes and organisational changes impact upon professional identity from three cultural perspectives. This research does this by first assessing the health care organisation for existence of occupational subcultures through survey. The research continues by investigating the relationships between occupational groups through focus group discussion and in-depth interviews. Participant observation is used to illustrate and reflect commonality and diversity. This combination of methods facilitates the analysis of change and professional identity / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Migration is one of life events that may change lifestyle, including new cultural norms, language and community systems as well as dietary patterns. Changing dietary patterns from traditional eating patterns to those typical of a western lifestyle has been associated with increased risk of disease. Furthermore, new food use patterns develop through the rejection of traditional and the acceptance of culturally new food habits. The purpose of this study is to identify the food habits and meal patterns of Koreans living in Australia, and any relationship between length of residence and change in eating habits. The method used for this research was a self reported questionnaire, administered in an interview and 3 day food records. One hundred adults living in the Korean community in Sydney were surveyed. The collected data were coded and analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 10. Descriptive analyses, for example mean and standard deviation, were carried out to determine the respondents’ attitudes toward food habits. The personal information data were also analysed by SPSS using frequency tables to describe the study sample. The results indicated that food habits had no significant differences dependent upon length of residence. Food habits were slightly affected by availability of income, occupation and religious beliefs. Food consumption frequency showed increased meat and dairy products. However, the consumption of rice and fish products decreased. / Master of Science (Hons)