Although the contribution of the small enterprise to a nation’s economy, job creation and innovation is well known, comparatively little is understood on how small firms behave strategically and how the more common patterns of strategic behaviour relate to different levels of organizational performance. The following thesis aims at mapping out the strategic behaviour of small firms in the small island state of Malta, and in relating the evident patterns of strategic behaviour to the performances of these firms. The thesis follows on the logic of understanding strategy as a dynamic phenomenon, one that can be viewed as pathways between identifiable life cycle states. It also views strategy as behaviour, part deliberate and part emergent, thus allowing for the inclusion of both external influences and internal decision making. To be able to achieve this dynamic viewpoint of strategy a particular research methodology had to be deployed, observing both the context and the consequences to a firm’s strategic actions, as well as the very actions and interactions themselves. A Grounded Theory method of enquiry was adopted for this purpose as it is ideal for observing patterns, the very theme of this thesis. The research in question has focused on small firms with up to 49 full time employees, in line with the E.U.’s definition of both micro and small firms, and in a broad range of industries in Malta. Results confirmed the predominance of five trajectories, or pathways, of small business strategic behaviour, each passing through a sequence of distinct life cycle states. For each pathway a unique performance situation was observed, resulting from the dynamic coalignment of the owner-manager’s entrepreneurial philosophy, the competitive behaviour adopted by the firm, and the competitive environment to the firm. Understanding which strategic pathway a small firm belongs to allows for a comprehensive insight into the firm’s competitive behaviour, and a prediction of the consequences to that behaviour. The audience to the research consists of government entities involved in policy construction, small firm owners and managers, and the academic community involved in research and policy design.

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that new and varied views of dementia surface when the concept of intersectionality is applied to dementia research; and that these perspectives pose challenges to our assumptions about what it is like to have dementia. Grounded theory research from a feminist and anti-oppression perspective was undertaken to explore the question of the relationships between older people‘s experiences of dementia and the intersections of gender, class, ‘race’, and ethnicity. During nine months of field research in Canada, interviews, participant observation, photography, and focus groups were undertaken with eight older people with dementia and their significant others. The participants ranged from multiply marginalized to multiply privileged on the basis of their ‘race’, ethnicity, gender, and class. The grounded theory arising from this research explains the complex nature of the relationships between the subjective experiences of older people living with dementia and the intersections of ethnicity, ‘race’, class, and gender. I argue that there is a connection between social location and lived experiences of dementia; and that these relationships can be observed across and within the categories of experiencing, othering, and theorising. Experiencing captures the diversity of older people’s experiences of dementia, which range from ‘not a big deal’ to ‘a nuisance’ to ‘hellish’: these views are associated with social location, with the multiply privileged older people holding the most negative views of dementia and the multiply marginalized older people dismissing the significance of dementia. Othering refers to the marginalisation to which people with dementia are subject: it is shown to be a marked feature of life with dementia and to be connected to social location, with the multiply privileged people being othered more often as a result of their dementia status; the more marginalised participants demonstrating resilience (as an acquired characteristic); and all being subject to both othering practices and enabling behaviours enacted by members of their social worlds, such as their significant others. The theorising category refers to people with dementia being active meaning makers who theorise about dementia: the outcome of this intellectual activity is shown to be related to social location, with the most privileged participants being the only ones to view dementia as a brain disease; and all others making strategic use of the normal aging theory to avoid marginalisation due to dementia. The result of the theorising done by older people with dementia is a dialectical theory of dementia that positions dementia as a bio-psycho-social phenomenon, disrupts the false dichotomy between normal and pathological, and integrates emic and etic perspectives on dementia.

Crime is rife in South Africa. Explanations abound for the high crime statistics, including the weakening of the family unit, the political history of South Africa, urbanisation and the fast growing urban neighbourhood, a weak criminal justice system and the abundant availability of firearms. In the quest to prevent crime, the private security industry has become a key performer in helping to deter and prevent crime and criminal activities. Yet there are no set criteria for selecting security officers against the backdrop of the high crime rates and a growing private security sector. Therefore the purpose was to develop a competency model for the selection of security officers for the safekeeping and protection of persons and property in the Thaba Tshwane area. I chose to do qualitative research using an interpretive approach in an attempt to understand the views of the participants concerning the work context and requirements of security officers. A grounded theory approach to the strategy of inquiry was employed as it was best suited to keeping the information that was gathered grounded in the participants’ own opinions. The focus of this research was on designing a competency model for security officers for selection purposes. Data were gathered through disciplinary records and open-ended structured interviews where the repertory grid and the behavioural event interview were applied.Eight subject matter experts, who included security officers, managers and a client working in the security industry, were used. The result of the study was a competency model of nine competencies and their definitions, which were grounded in the data and critical in functioning as an efficient security officer. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study aimed to understand how the identity of Manitobans with early malignancy is affected through diagnosis, decision making and treatment. Using grounded-theory methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 adult patients with early breast, colon, lung, prostate and gynecological cancers, before and after adjuvant treatment decision making. 15 adult friends and family members were also interviewed. Significant findings include: 1) After diagnosis, the “cancer identity” emerged as a new aspect of the patient’s identity; 2) Establishing a post-diagnosis routine was a significant source of distress for patients; 3) Ability to re-establish routine post-diagnosis may be enhanced by providing earlier notification of medical appointment times and information regarding how different treatment options will affect the patient’s identity. This study provides new insight into the experience of patients with malignancy in Manitoba. Additionally, it presents recommendations, based on the insights and concerns of its participants, for improving the cancer journey of Manitobans. / May 2017

Syftet med den här kvalitativa studien är att undersöka hur kvinnor berättar om kriminalitet och vägen ut ur kriminaliteten. Genom att synliggöra den mening och betydelse kvinnor lägger i kriminalitet och hur den betydelsen formas i interaktion med såväl umgänge i kriminella kretsar som möte med professionella kan studien bidra med ökad kunskap om kvinnors kriminalitet. Studien är baserad på intervjuer med fyra kvinnor som har lämnat en kriminell livsstil bakom sig. Studien är genomförd med den induktiva metoden grundad teori och har sin teoretiska hemvist i symbolisk interaktionism. De tre övergripande kategorierna som under analysen visade sig i kvinnornas berättelser: motiv, relationer och samhälle, blev huvudbyggstenarna i den teoriskiss som resultatet och analysen slutligen landade i. Den teori som bygger på studiens resultat visar att kvinnorna kunde lämna kriminaliteten bakom sig efter att en omtolkningsprocess startats samtidigt som det i de tre områdena motiv, relationer och samhälle fanns icke-kriminella alternativ, förutsättningar och behandlingar. Omtolkningsprocessen kunde starta hos kvinnorna själva eller initieras av professionella. Det visade sig i studien att kvinnors kriminalitet både underskattas och underbehandlas. Stödet behövde vara långsiktigt, riktat mot kriminaliteten samt vara utformat efter kvinnors specifika behov. Kvinnorna behövde sunda, kvinnliga relationer, uppleva ett positivt föräldraskap, utveckla icke-kriminella värderingar samt en få en god självbild och icke-kriminell identitet. Det sociala arbetets utmaning består i att bygga en behandlingsform som tar hänsyn till kvinnors behov utifrån de tre nivåerna motiv, relationer och samhälle samt att både starta en omtolkningsprocess och snabbt fånga upp de kvinnor som befinner sig i en omtolkningsprocess. / The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how women talk about crime and the ways they can get out of a criminal lifestyle. By highlighting the meaning women lay behind criminal actions and how those meanings are modified during interaction within both criminal circles and with the professional social workers this study can contribute to increased knowledge of women's criminality. The study is based on interviews with four women who have refrained from a criminal lifestyle. The study was conducted by the inductive method grounded theory and its theoretical resident is symbolic interactionism. During the analysis three main categories appeared in the women's stories: motives, relationships and society, and those categories became the main building blocks of the theory that the result and analysis finally landed in. The theory that is based on the results of the study showed that women could desist from crime if they experienced an internal modifying process while also being offered non-criminal options, conditions and treatments in the three areas of motives, relationships and society. The internal modifying process could be initiated by the women’s own thoughts or by a professional. It was found in the study that women's criminality are both underestimated and undertreated. The support needed to be long term, aimed specifically at crime and designed for the specific needs of women. The women were helped by experiencing healthy female relationships and positive parenting, by developing non-criminal values ​​and by developing a good self-image and non-criminal identity. The challenge for social work is to build a form of treatment that takes into account women's needs from the three levels motives, relationships and society and to both initiate a modifying process and quickly capture the women who are in in the midst of an internal modifying process.

Résumé : La schizophrénie est un trouble mental grave qui affecte toutes les facettes de la vie de la personne. En outre, le manque de soutien social est un problème important qui contribue à l’aggravation de la maladie, notamment en influençant négativement la capacité d’adaptation. Chez les personnes atteintes de schizophrénie, la capacité à utiliser des stratégies d’adaptation adéquates et efficaces est essentielle afin d’améliorer la santé, le bien-être et la prévention des rechutes. Cette recherche utilise la conception de l’adaptation de Roy (2009). De nombreuses études confirment la présence de difficultés d’adaptation chez ces personnes. De plus, le processus d’adaptation lui-même reste mal connu. La question de recherche était : Quel est le processus d’adaptation des personnes vivant avec la schizophrénie lorsque leur soutien social est limité ? Cette question sous-tendait deux objectifs : 1) décrire le processus d’adaptation des personnes atteintes de schizophrénie dans un contexte de soutien social limité et 2) contribuer au développement du modèle de Roy dans le contexte des troubles mentaux graves. Le devis de recherche était la théorisation ancrée constructiviste, auprès de 30 personnes vivant avec la schizophrénie. Les données étaient composées d’entrevues et de résultats de trois questionnaires qui ont contribué à décrire de façon plus détaillée le profil des participants. Les résultats sont une modélisation du processus d’adaptation nommée « les filtres dans le processus d’adaptation des personnes vivant avec la schizophrénie ». Cette modélisation met en lumière le fait que le potentiel d’adaptation des personnes vivant avec la schizophrénie est affecté à la fois par des éléments de l’environnement social et des éléments inhérents à la maladie elle-même. Ces éléments altèrent la possibilité et la capacité à utiliser des stratégies d’adaptation adéquates et efficaces. Ces résultats de recherche pourraient permettre d’améliorer l’évaluation des personnes atteintes de schizophrénie et de diminuer les « inconnues » dans l’effet des interventions, tout comme de favoriser les actions visant à lutter contre les conditions sociales qui nuisent à l’adaptation. / Abstract : Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that affects all human facets of life. In addition, the lack of social support is an important problem that contributes to the worsening of the disease by negatively influencing the capacity to adapt. For people with schizophrenia, ability to use appropriate and effective coping strategies is essential to improve health, well-being and preventing relapse. This research uses Roy’s adaptation model (2009). Numerous studies confirm the presence of adaptation problems for those persons. Furthermore, the adaptation process itself remains unclear. The research question was: what is the adaptation process of people with schizophrenia when social support is limited? This question underpinned two objectives: 1) describe the adaptation process of people with schizophrenia in a limited social support context and 2) contribute to the development of Roy’s adaptation model in severe mental disorders context. The research design was a constructivist grounded theory, with 30 people with schizophrenia. The data were consisted of interviews and results of three questionnaires that were helping to detail the participants profile. The results show a construct of an adaptation process called "the filters in the adaptation process of someone living with schizophrenia". This construct highlights the fact that the adaptation potential of people with schizophrenia is affected both by elements of the social environment and elements that are inherent to the disease itself. These elements affect the possibility and the ability to use appropriate and effective coping strategies. The research findings could facilitate the assessment of people with schizophrenia and reduce the unknowns in the impact of interventions, as well as fighting against social conditions that can interfere with their capacity to adapt.

The history of mankind has been plagued by an almost continuous chain of various armed conflicts - local, regional, national and global - that have caused horrendous damage to the social and physical fabric of cities. The tragedy of millions deprived by war still continues. This study sets out to understand the nature of reconstruction after war in the light of recent armed conflicts. It attempts to catalogue and discuss the tasks involved in the process of reconstruction planning by establishing a conceptual framework of the main issues in the reconstruction process. The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina is examined in detail and on the whole acts as the leit-motif of the whole dissertation and positions reconstruction in the broader context of sustainable development. The study is organized into two parts that constitute the doctoral aggregate dissertation – a combining of papers with an introductory monograph. In this case the introductory monograph is an extended one and there are six papers that follow. Both sections can be read on their own merits but also constitute one entity. The rebuilding of war-devastated countries and communities can be seen as a series of nonintegrated activities carried out (and often imposed) by international agencies and governments, serving political and other agendas. The result is that calamities of war are often accompanied by the calamities of reconstruction without any regard to sustainable development. The body of knowledge related to post-conflict reconstruction lacks a strong and cohesive theory. In order to better understand the process of reconstruction we present a qualitative inquiry based on the Grounded Theory Method developed originally by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (1967). This approach utilizes a complex conceptualization with empirical evidence to produce theoretical structure. The results of process have evolved into the development of a conceptual model, called SCOPE (Sustainable Communities in Post-conflict Environments). This study proposes both a structure within which to examine post-conflict reconstruction and provides an implementation method. We propose to use the SCOPE model as a set of strategy, policy and program recommendations to assist the international community and all relevant decision-makers to ensure that the destruction and carnage of war does not have to be followed by a disaster of post-conflict reconstruction. We also offer to provide a new foundation and paradigm on post-conflict reconstruction, which incorporates and integrates a number of approaches into a multidisciplinary and systems thinking manner in order to better understand the complexity and dependencies of issues at hand. We believe that such a systems approach could better be able to incorporate the complexities involved and would offer much better results than the approaches currently in use. The final section of this study returns to the fact that although it is probably impossible to produce universal answers, we desperately need to find commonalities amongst different postconflict reconstruction settings in order to better deal with the reconstruction planning in a more dynamic, proactive, and sustainable manner. / <p>QC 20111014</p>

Grounded theory was used to examine the social work perspective on English language learners (ELLs) entering special education. Fourteen interviews were conducted with 11 current school social workers from seven counties and cities in Virginia. The resulting theory is that the core variable, supporting ELLs, is the best attempt to resolve the main concern, the disconnect between the needs of ELLs and the resources available to them. This grounded theory suggests social workers and other school personnel can support ELLs and avoid an inappropriate referral to special education through: (1) culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment outside of the special education process, with particular attention to needs related to trauma and language acquisition; and (2) connection to available culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to meet the identified needs. Key findings are organized into eight dimensions: the school setting; the policy context; the needs of ELLs, engaging families of ELLs; community connections; the professional setting; the special education process; and the profession of social work. Implications include recommendations for policy change, changes to school social work practice, and changes in social work education. Further research includes testing the theory by examining the relationships between assessment, need, resource availability, and disproportional representation, as well as related areas of research such as the differences between high-ELL and low-ELL school divisions.

The purpose of this study was to determine the most significant factors that contributed to on-time undergraduate degree completion. On-time degree completion requires that a student complete all the requirements of their degree within 4.5 years or less. A grounded theory methodology was used to conduct the study. Narrative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Thirty former students who completed their undergraduate degree at Virginia Commonwealth University were recruited for this study. To be eligible for the study, participants had to have completed their undergraduate degree in 4.5 years or less and graduated between 2004 and 2011. The analysis of the narrative data determined that preparation for on-time completion begins in high school and continues throughout a student’s college career. First, high school students who develop ‘academic self-esteem’ by participating in an honors courses or an early college credit program in high school enter college with the belief, or personal vision, that they can complete their degree in 4 years. However, in cases where the student matriculates without ‘academic self-esteem’ directed and intensive institutional support is an effective proxy. Next, a student must be self-motivated or determined to complete on-time. They must have an inherent reason for wanting to reach that goal post. However, since the findings indicated that motivation can be internal, external, or both, institutional support can be used as effective tool to develop these qualities where needed. Third, if students are to complete their undergraduate degrees on-time, they must develop a personal plan for accomplishing that goal at the very beginning of their college careers. This plan should be incorporated into the student’s academic advising sessions and updated as they acquire the credits required for the completion of their degree. And finally, students should be strongly encouraged to engage in campus life by participating student clubs, organizations, and/or athletics. Participation in campus life encourages persistence and therefore supports on-time completion.

Title: Psychosocial consequences of traumatic brain injury. Their impact on the patient's family. Author: František Jira Institution: Cathedra of psychology FF UK in Prague Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Petr Kulišťák, Ph.D. Number of pages: 116 Key words: traumatic brain injury psychosocial consequences family focus group grounded theory The submitted diploma thesis deals with the psychsocial consequences (related to the life among people) of traumatic brain injury. The main theme of the diploma thesis is the impact of these effects on the patient's family. The work consists of a theoretical and an empirical part. The theoretical part is divided into four spheres - neuroanatomy and pathology, brain injury, psychosocial consequences and rehabilitation. In the empirical part the author use a qualitative research approach to deal with the impact of psychosocial consequences after the traumatic brain injury to the patient's family. The research took place in association Cerebrum and Ústřední vojenská nemocnice Praha, it was conducted by the method of focal groups. The method of grounded theory was used for the consequent analysis. The result is an understandable processing of the extensive topic of the psychosocial consequences for people after brain injury. The work provides the detailed view of typical...