<p>Under mina praktikperioder, VFU-perioder, ute på olika skolor har jag observerat att de flesta elever inte har tekniskt självförtroende om de redskap de använder i textilslöjden. Med tekniskt självförtroende menas att man har tillräckligt med teknisk kunskap så man kan hantera redskapet. Med detta arbete ville jag få en insikt i hur mycket teknisk undervisning eleverna får i samband med textilundervisningen. Jag tror att skolan inte är könsneutral utan spär på könsrollerna genom att inte ha så mycket teknisk undervisning i textilslöjden. Jag tror att många har ett könsbundet förhållningssätt till teknik som ett ämne för pojkar och textilslöjd som ett ämne för flickor. Det dåliga intresset för teknik, som många flickor har, skulle kanske kunna vändas till ett ökat intresse om det var mer teknisk undervisning i textilslöjden. Tekniken blir då en naturlig del vid hantering av de textila redskapen. Symaskinen är det redskap som valdes som utgångspunkt då det är ett av de redskap som används mycket i textilslöjden samt att det finns en symaskin i många hem.</p><p>Metod för att få svar på mina frågeställningar är enkät med öppna frågor. Enkäten skickades via e-post till textillärare, som ville besvara den efter en förfrågan på två e-postlistor för textillärare. 24 textillärare fick enkäten, men bara 16 svarade på den. Bortfallet kan bero på enkätens utformning med öppna frågor, som kan upplevas att den tar för mycket tid i anspråk.</p><p>I min litteraturstudie fann jag information om symaskinens historik och utveckling samt information om teknisk introduktion/presentation. Med hjälp av litteraturen får man en teknisk kunskap om hur man trär trådarna i symaskinen, samt justering av trådspänningen.</p><p>En sammanställning gjordes av de 16 svar som informanterna skickade mig via e-post. Sammanställningen bekräftar att många elever inte får tillräckligt med teknisk undervisning i textilundervisningen för att få ett tekniskt självförtroende för de textila redskapen. Hur mycket teknisk kunskap elever får skiljer mellan att få väldigt mycket teknisk kunskap om symaskinen, medans vissa elever får lite teknisk kunskap om alla redskap och andra får väldigt lite om symaskinen eller de redskap de använder.</p><p>Textilslöjden väljs, enligt informanterna, av pojkar bl.a. på grund av att det är tystare och lugnare än trä- och metallslöjden och informanterna uppfattar det som att det är vanligast att det är ”pojkflickor” som väljer trä- och metallslöjd.</p><p>Jag tror att det är viktigt att ge eleverna en teknisk undervisning så de får ett teknisk självförtroende, då inte alla enligt min undersökning får det. För sin egen självkänsla är det viktigt att ha teknisk kunskap om allt omkring oss i vår vardag. Om vi själva inte har teknisk kunskap utan låter några få ha den, så överlämnar vi makt åt dem och vi blir beroende av dem som har kunskaperna. Som lärare ska man, enligt kursplanen för slöjd, utveckla elevens kunskaper som ska ge handlingsberedskap för att klara av uppgifter i det dagliga livet samt att stärka elevens tilltro till den egna förmågan.</p>

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><strong>Date:</strong> May 2010</p><p><strong>Program:</strong> International Marketing (Master’s Program)</p><p><strong>Authors:</strong></p><p>Merve Ertekin                                                                 </p><p>Burcak Aydin                                                                  </p><p><strong>Tutor:</strong> Tobias Eltebrandt</p><p><strong>Title:</strong> The Impact of National Identity and Culture on Customer Perception of</p><p>Product Quality; <em>‘The case of mobile phones in Sweden and Turkey’</em></p><p><strong>Problem Statement:</strong> How may culture affect the ‘product quality perception’ of consumers?</p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong> What differences can be observed in ‘product quality perception’ of mobile phones in Sweden and Turkey?</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A quantitative research has been conducted by using both primary and secondary data. Primary data was gathered from distributing questionnaire to Swedish and Turkish university students and secondary data was collected from books, online resources and articles.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong>  The authors observed that culture and national identity have an inevitable impact on the product quality perception on customers. Comparison between Turkish and Swedish culture for the case of mobile phones’ quality perception indicated that dissimilar norms and values between cultures were defined quality perception differently.</p>

<p>Culture has covered several areas which related to human beings’ life, it was manifested in process of doing, value judge, communication manners, education issues, historical events, economic situation and so on in communities. So, the culture would impact the operation ways of a corporation. Through the prevalent theory of Hofstede’s culture division, we understood that Chinese culture has its characteristics which could be portrayed as long power distance, collectivism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. The Chinese enterprise has long been the epitome of the massive collective, where employees usually treated their organization as their family. Additionally, these large organizations and government related enterprises had a multitude of standardized procedures and regulations, numerous managerial levels, and promotions based on knowledge of and obedience to these procedures and policies, exemplifying the hierarchy culture (A.Ralson, Jane, H. Terpstra, Wang, C.Egri, 2006). And this study, we will review some literatures at first sector and get comprehensive insight of Chinese corporate culture, and discuss the relationship between corporate culture and innovation capability through interview with some corporations’ leaders in second sector. Through this work, we are trying to provide some successful experiences to Chinese corporations.</p> / <p>文化反映在人类生活中的很多方面，诸如做事情方式，沟通的礼节，教育，历史事件，经济状况等等方面。在很大方面，一个国家的文化会影响到企业的经营方式。通过当前比较流行的霍夫特德的文化区分理论，我们了解到中国的文化特点体现为比较长的权利距离，集体主义倾向，更男性化，强调风险规避以及考虑长期目标。因此，中国的企业也长期处在中国文化的影响中，表现起来就是中国的企业更强调集体文化，以及把企业当作家的思想。企业中存在许多的规章制度以及等级观念，员工的晋升与个人的成就和服从相关联。通过这篇文章，我们在一系列文献整理的基础上，更好的了解中国文化和中国企业文化，并进而讨论文化与创新之间的联系。并且最后我们将举出一些取得成功的中国本土企业的例子，并探讨他们成功的经验。</p>

<p>This thesis attempts to investigate if national culture still is a factor to consider for large multinational organizations when choosing a supplier, or if the global business environment due to globalization has become so standardized and homogenous that the influence of national culture differences has diminished. Existing academic literature is divided regarding this matter; some studies indicate that the influence of national culture on business relations is subtle while other argues that national culture differences may be a source for potential barriers and problems and therefore still an important factor to consider. The issue of globalization has also divided researchers, some argue that globalization has made it possible for a homogenous business culture to emerge while other argue that globalization is a myth and ‘global companies’ are in reality regional. Empirical information was collected through interviews at head offices from four large Swedish multinational companies and questions were asked to determine the importance of national culture when choosing a supplier, the influence national culture has on organizational culture and to what extent a homogenous business culture has emerged. The study’s findings identified little evidence to support the idea that cultural difference is a significant factor to consider when conducting business relations. None or very little consideration to national cultural differences was paid when choosing a supplier. However, consideration was sometimes taken to organizational culture, which findings indicate is partly influenced by national culture. The interviewed organizations were of the opinion that at high management level a ‘global culture’ has emerged, and therefore the ‘way of doing business’ has become more uniform. The conclusion, which turned into more of a tendency indication, made from this thesis were that although national cultural differences still exist and probably will do so for some time, the influence it has on ‘business-to-business’ relations between multinational organizations at high management levels has diminished due to the emergence of a more homogenous global business culture.</p>

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover nurse educators' perceptions about the culture of nursing and how they bring students into that culture. &lt;br&gt;Background: Although the extant literature addresses the process of socialization to the profession, literature exploring socialization as enculturation is scant. Nurse educators' perspectives on the culture of nursing needed further exploration, as their voice on this topic is relatively silent and they provide the first formal enculturation to the profession. Viewing nursing as a professional culture may more effectively enable faculty to clarify and explicate for students the values, behaviors, symbols, and beliefs inherent in the profession. &lt;br&gt;Methodology: This study was a focused ethnography, utilizing Leininger's Four Phases of Data Analysis. &lt;br&gt;Conclusion and Implications: Four main themes emerged from the data. These themes are the culture of nursing is multifaceted, multivalent and at times contradictory; multiple factors both internal and external to the culture influence the culture of nursing; nursing faculty believe that the right conditions facilitate the enculturation of students; navigating the subcultures (academia, service and organizational culture) is challenging for faculty. Theme One reflects faculty participants' views of the diverse characteristics and roles attributed to nurses and the absence of a composite, well-articulated characterization of the culture of nursing other than by value of caring. Theme Two reflects faculty participants' perceptions of the many internal and external factors that influence the culture of nursing. Theme Three captures faculty participants' strong beliefs about what was necessary to bring students into that culture. &lt;br&gt;Theme Four illustrates the many cultural negotiations required daily of faculty participants as they participate in multiple, and at times conflicting subcultures within the culture of nursing. This study has implications for the preparation of nurse educators, curriculum development in nursing education, the education-practice gap, and the role of nurse educators in shaping the culture of nursing. / School of Nursing / Nursing / PhD / Dissertation

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover nurse educators' perceptions about the culture of nursing and how they bring students into that culture. &lt;br&gt;Background: Although the extant literature addresses the process of socialization to the profession, literature exploring socialization as enculturation is scant. Nurse educators' perspectives on the culture of nursing needed further exploration, as their voice on this topic is relatively silent and they provide the first formal enculturation to the profession. Viewing nursing as a professional culture may more effectively enable faculty to clarify and explicate for students the values, behaviors, symbols, and beliefs inherent in the profession. &lt;br&gt;Methodology: This study was a focused ethnography, utilizing Leininger's Four Phases of Data Analysis. &lt;br&gt;Conclusion and Implications: Four main themes emerged from the data. These themes are the culture of nursing is multifaceted, multivalent and at times contradictory; multiple factors both internal and external to the culture influence the culture of nursing; nursing faculty believe that the right conditions facilitate the enculturation of students; navigating the subcultures (academia, service and organizational culture) is challenging for faculty. Theme One reflects faculty participants' views of the diverse characteristics and roles attributed to nurses and the absence of a composite, well-articulated characterization of the culture of nursing other than by value of caring. Theme Two reflects faculty participants' perceptions of the many internal and external factors that influence the culture of nursing. Theme Three captures faculty participants' strong beliefs about what was necessary to bring students into that culture. &lt;br&gt;Theme Four illustrates the many cultural negotiations required daily of faculty participants as they participate in multiple, and at times conflicting subcultures within the culture of nursing. This study has implications for the preparation of nurse educators, curriculum development in nursing education, the education-practice gap, and the role of nurse educators in shaping the culture of nursing. / School of Nursing / Nursing / PhD / Dissertation

This dissertation investigates how collectibles are made meaningful within collecting communities in order to better understand the intricate processes by which lead soldiers, toy trains, dolls, Dinkie cars, Star Wars figurines, and teddy bears come to be so enchanting for their collectors. An ethnography of toy collecting, including interviews with toy collectors, and observations at toy fairs and gatherings, this project contributes to debates on the use and role of material goods in practices of meaning making and social reproduction. In contrast to theories of material culture, this project aligns itself with consumer theories of the cultural constitution of objects. Emphasizing that object-centered analyses provide little insight on the value of collectibles, it advocates, instead, the centrality of perception and imaginative practice in the hold collectibles come to have over collectors. Drawing from consumer culturalists work on processes of identification; Bourdieus theory of consumption; Foucault on the archive; as well as Marxist inspired theories of the fetish, this project engages with nostalgic practice, the collectible market, judgments of authenticity, practices of ordering, as well as the complicated rules governing collecting. Working from collectors own stories, debates, contradictions, discussions and imaginative engagements this study uncovers that the mutability of the meanings assigned to collectibles is at the heart of collectors enchantment with their collectibles, and a central factor in how collecting becomes an eminently political activity. Collectors are not free to construct meanings for their collectibles at will but subject to community constraints, markets and battles of legitimacy. The various mystifications and social maneuverings present in their collecting practices imply that an objects value is the outcome of a careful mediation of both personal and wider cultural meanings. Mobilized to particular ends however tenuously held their meanings may be, material goods become powerful components to the wider cultural, social and economic fields in which they circulate. / Sociology

This study examines the motivations of participants in networked, large-scale content production and research a paradigm of distributed work magnified by the Internet. This has come to be called crowdsourcing. The approach taken in examining the crowdsourcing paradigm is of retrospection, with a study focused on observed examples and existing theories. Thirteen cases of existing crowdsourcing sites were selected for study, from a larger sample of 300. These cases were coded by their site properties and analyzed, identifying possible motivational mechanisms. Subsequent interviews with eight medium to heavy Internet users further explored these features, with an emphasis on ranking relative importance of various motivators. This study concludes with a series of recommendations on motivating crowds in such projects, emphasizing among others the importance of topical interest, ease of participation, and appeals to the individuals knowledge. In addition to base motivators, a number of support, or secondary, motivators are outlined.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 344-363). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 2005. / Appendices missing. "Quicktime and a TIFF decompresser are needed to see this picture" (p.217-239). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.