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Leadership is a social influence process that is necessary for the attainment of societal and organizational goals. Leadership is both conspicuous in its absence and mysterious in its presence — familiar and yet hard to define. Leadership happens within the power and authority structures of organizations. The body of research on the influence processes of leadership has focused on organizations with clear hierarchical lines of power and authority between boss, subordinate and peer.This dissertation was designed to study the influence processes of leadership within a religious denomination, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). As a Christian community, ECUSA is guided by the biblical model of servant leadership as it was made known in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. To compare the behavioral influence tactics used by lay and ordained leaders in ECUSA, 152 participants completed the Episcopal Leadership Questionnaire and the agent version of the Influence Behavior Questionnaire (Yukl, 2000). In addition to demographic and contextual variables, participants identified the frequency of use of 11 behavioral influence tactics with a designated target (boss, subordinate, peer, or other/hard to define). Almost one-fifth of the respondents could not classify their influence target according to hierarchical categories. The responses of 75 ordained and 77 lay leaders in ECUSA revealed few statistically significant differences between groups on the use of Yukl's 11 categories of behavioral influence tactics. Both groups used collaboration, consultation and rational persuasion most often. Inspirational appeals, ingratiation and legitimating tactics were used somewhat often. Apprising, coalition tactics, personal appeals, exchange were used infrequently by both groups. Pressure was almost never used as an influence tactic by either group. ANOVA and discriminant function analysis indicated a slight tendency for lay leaders to use collaboration, coalition tactics and exchange more often than ordained leaders. Men used legitimating tactics somewhat more often than women. Women used exchange tactics slightly more often than men. No statistically significant differences were observed in the use of influence tactics when age, type of ministry, education or technical/adaptive work perceptions were used as the categorical variable.This study supported previous research on the directional use of influence tactics, while suggesting possibilities for future research in non-hierarchical organizations. Results also suggested a relationship between leaders' perceptions of their sources of power in the organization and their use of influence tactics. The paucity of statistically significant findings based upon ordination status and the clear presence of a non-hierarchical category of influence target suggest that the explanatory construct of servant leadership plays a role in the power, authority and influence processes of ECUSA. / Ph. D.

The current study investigated the impact of a training program on a peer-to-peer intervention designed to increase the use of bicycle helmets on a large college campus. The training program was evaluated by the number of interactions a peer change agent--an individual who attempts to make a positive change in another person's behavior, had with bicyclists. The results suggest the training program may be effective in increasing change agent interactions for change agents who are already commitment to the intervention leading to more interactions per capita between committed trained change agents and bicyclists than untrained change agent and bicyclists. However, these results must be interpreted with caution due to small and unequal sample sizes. / Master of Science

Ever since Homer told the tales of magnificent men and called these men heroes, the siren song of heroic achievement has been impossible to resist. By consistently acting in a manner that is above the capacity of normal human beings, a hero becomes a model of emulation and inspiration for ordinary, lesser mortals. This thesis traces the development of normative models of heroic thought and action in the work of Homer, Plato and Rousseau. It argues that models of heroism have evolved according to changing conceptions of the political institutions that comprise a polis and, in turn, notions of citizenship. Homer establishes the heroic ideal and offers an image of Man as Hero. The Homeric hero is a man of transparent action who is never incapacitated because he acts upon his instincts. Unrestrained by doubt, he soars above humanity and performs deeds that assure him of everlasting fame and glory. The Homeric hero is a warrior-prince who lives in the absence of a polis. He rules his community as a patriarch who places his personal quest for glory above the dictates of the common good. The Homeric hero is consequently limited in his ability to act as a model of emulation for those who live in a polis. In an historical period that gave rise to the polis as a desirable and unavoidable aspect of human life, Plato remodels heroic ideals. Thus Plato's ideals of heroism could survive and prosper alongside political structures and institutions guided by the demands of the common good. The philosophical hero exalted in the Platonic dialogues gains true knowledge, which enables him to excel at all activities he undertakes. The philosopher is impelled to channel his vast superiority into the realm of political leadership. Plato recasts the Hero as Citizen, an elite citizen who rules for the benefit of all. Plato's model of heroism, like Homer's, is premised on an anti-egalitarian, hierarchical conception of human worth. In the Social Contract, Rousseau aims to reconcile modern ideals of human equality with Homeric and Platonic hierarchical notions of heroic excellence. The Social Contract attempts to make all citizens equally heroic by insisting that men can only excel when they all participate equally in political sovereignty. Failing to reconcile heroism and equality, however, Rousseau chooses heroism and reverts firstly to aristocratic political formulas before finally abandoning politics altogether as a positive force for humanity. His work nevertheless inspired both a lasting notion of human equality that shaped the modern political landscape and evoked the romantic modern notion of an isolated individual, as epitomised by Rousseau himself, heroically climbing the peaks of human achievement. Rousseau's model of individual heroism effectively completes the cycle and returns the notion of heroism to where it begun with Homer, Man as Hero. The concept of the heroism, traced through these theorists, shows it to be a changing terrain yet consistent in its allure. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of History and Politics, 2004.

Ever since Homer told the tales of magnificent men and called these men heroes, the siren song of heroic achievement has been impossible to resist. By consistently acting in a manner that is above the capacity of normal human beings, a hero becomes a model of emulation and inspiration for ordinary, lesser mortals. This thesis traces the development of normative models of heroic thought and action in the work of Homer, Plato and Rousseau. It argues that models of heroism have evolved according to changing conceptions of the political institutions that comprise a polis and, in turn, notions of citizenship. Homer establishes the heroic ideal and offers an image of Man as Hero. The Homeric hero is a man of transparent action who is never incapacitated because he acts upon his instincts. Unrestrained by doubt, he soars above humanity and performs deeds that assure him of everlasting fame and glory. The Homeric hero is a warrior-prince who lives in the absence of a polis. He rules his community as a patriarch who places his personal quest for glory above the dictates of the common good. The Homeric hero is consequently limited in his ability to act as a model of emulation for those who live in a polis. In an historical period that gave rise to the polis as a desirable and unavoidable aspect of human life, Plato remodels heroic ideals. Thus Plato's ideals of heroism could survive and prosper alongside political structures and institutions guided by the demands of the common good. The philosophical hero exalted in the Platonic dialogues gains true knowledge, which enables him to excel at all activities he undertakes. The philosopher is impelled to channel his vast superiority into the realm of political leadership. Plato recasts the Hero as Citizen, an elite citizen who rules for the benefit of all. Plato's model of heroism, like Homer's, is premised on an anti-egalitarian, hierarchical conception of human worth. In the Social Contract, Rousseau aims to reconcile modern ideals of human equality with Homeric and Platonic hierarchical notions of heroic excellence. The Social Contract attempts to make all citizens equally heroic by insisting that men can only excel when they all participate equally in political sovereignty. Failing to reconcile heroism and equality, however, Rousseau chooses heroism and reverts firstly to aristocratic political formulas before finally abandoning politics altogether as a positive force for humanity. His work nevertheless inspired both a lasting notion of human equality that shaped the modern political landscape and evoked the romantic modern notion of an isolated individual, as epitomised by Rousseau himself, heroically climbing the peaks of human achievement. Rousseau's model of individual heroism effectively completes the cycle and returns the notion of heroism to where it begun with Homer, Man as Hero. The concept of the heroism, traced through these theorists, shows it to be a changing terrain yet consistent in its allure. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of History and Politics, 2004.

This master thesis compares management accounting (MA) in China and Germany. It starts by analyzing the conceptual development over time. Afterwards, it categorizes the spread of the methods and explains conceptual differences in more detail. Subsequently, macroeconomic factors that have influenced the development of MA are described, evaluated, and future implications for the further development of MA are derived. For this purpose a traditional literature review is used. The MA practice in Germany is further disseminated than in China. Moreover, German management accountants are characterized as business partners while Chinese management accountants are perceived as analysts and inspectors. Other conceptual differences in terms of MA are the data source, the overall orientation, country-specific techniques, and the organizational structure. Most of the differences between German and Chinese MA can be allocated to political, economic, foreign, educational, academic, and cultural influences. The future implications for the further development depend on each factor individually.

This study aims to bring clarity to a discussion of whether the Chinese relationship with Africa can be regarded as an act of Neo-colonialism or if it contains Neo-colonial elements. As China has increasingly engaged with the continent giving extensive amounts of foreign aid and loans as well as intensifying their trade relations, the question arises whether or not this can be connected to Neo-colonial dynamics. This study will use a newly constructed framework with the help of the Neo-colonial theory, different definitions by scholars will be used to create the framework, and the basis for this analysis. The research approach is a qualitative design and the research design is a case study with a focus on China's engagement in Africa. This study finds that there are Neo-colonial elements in the processes of engagement exercised by China on the African continent in some of the variables used in the constructed theoretical framework. Lastly, this study argues that African states must be increasingly cautious when exporting raw materials and in letting private Chinese companies invest and buy shares in important African domestic sectors.

As an emerging group that wields its increasing influence through social media, social media influencers (SMIs) have continued to grow as a key component of firms’ digital marketing strategies. However, several aspects of SMIs merit attention: their personal characteristics, content features, and how they influence consumers’ decision-making as well as online engagement. By using the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model together with theories of social connection and social influence, this dissertation reveals the influence of SMIs on consumer behaviors in tourism and hospitality contexts by investigating travel SMIs’ influencing stimuli, mechanisms, and audience responses. Study 1 extracts topics from comments on posts created by two travel SMIs from different cultures; identifies these SMIs’ personal characteristics and content features; and uncovers how travel SMIs wield social connection, value-expressive influence, and informational influence from a cross-cultural perspective. Study 2 includes a pair of sub-studies that quantitatively examine travel SMIs’ marketing effectiveness and unveil associated mechanisms by focusing on social influence theory (i.e., value-expressive and informational influences). Topic modeling, netnographic analysis with social media data, and experimental designs are adopted to achieve all research objectives. Findings extend the understanding of travel SMIs’ influencing processes in consumers’ decision making/online engagement and provide practical implications for applying SMI marketing in tourism and hospitality. / Tourism and Sport

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Abstract Media and their content have been subject to research since the time of their origin. A lot of scientists deal with their influence on formation of a human and the society. The term media is being discussed very frequently nowadays. Sociologists, psychologists, politicians as well as journalists often write and speak about media in various contexts. Mass media play a unique and irreplaceable role in providing social coherence in the modern society; they support power allocation and social communication. Evaluation of mass media roles differ according to what these roles bring to individuals and to the society, because what we can evaluate from one view as desirable may be seen undesirable from another view. Mass media serve to maintenance and stability of democratic society and they support the existing power allocation. Most of everyday communication is interpersonal or in a group, which means that it is tightly fixed in the situational and cultural context. Our existence in the society is not only determined geographically, but mainly in the sense of cultural behaviour patterns and conventions and certain social relations. The aim of my thesis was: ``To analyze the influence of media and the Internet on formation of healthy lifestyle among secondary and tertiary students and to analyze all differences between secondary and tertiary students.{\crqq} The aim of the thesis has been met. Hypothesis 1: Media have stronger influence on secondary students than on tertiary students has not been confirmed. Hypothesis 2: Media have stronger influence on weight reduction in women at secondary schools than those at tertiary schools has been confirmed. Hypothesis 3: Secondary students read lifestyle magazines more than tertiary students has not been confirmed.