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This project provides research and insight towards expanding the ETSU at Rome Program into a larger multidisciplinary study abroad program. The program's goal is to evolve from its presummer session with a one-course offering curriculum into a multidisciplinary, multicourse study abroad program for both the presummer session and entire summer session. Research and analysis have been conducted to discover best practices for study abroad programs in surrounding institutions. Additionally, in expansion upon existing efforts, this research helps seek out partnerships and collaborations within the institution and outside the institution. Professors from numerous departments throughout ETSU have been interviewed regarding their position and views of study abroad programs for students within their departments. Data have also been gathered to help better understand the potential and existing funding opportunities in a study abroad program. Additionally, other opportunities for growth and expansion and the challenges associated with these have been studied.

This thesis empirically tests whether university-related volunteer service, international experience, and service-learning have a positive moral impact on students and whether the peer reference group moderates this relationship. I use a measure of morality based on the recent work on values by Shalom Schwartz. A novel approach to measuring the social psychological phenomenon of the peer reference group is used in which the relative strength of the peer reference group is measured. The peer reference group was included in hypothesized models as a moderator between volunteer service, international experience, service-learning, and moral growth. Cross-sectional survey data of 633 engineering students was used, and most hypothesized relationships lacked statistical significance. However, university-related volunteer service has a positive and statistically significant relationship with morality. Post-hoc analysis gives some evidence that the peer group and individuals within the peer group may be the antecedent of how a student values volunteer service, international experience, and service-learning.

Globalization has created tremendous opportunities for organizations, but also created challenges due to cultural diversity, highlighting the importance of cross-cultural competencies in becoming successful nowadays. Cultural Intelligence (CQ) has emerged as an important concept describing the individual capabilities needed to effectively interact across cultures. Utilizing the theory of evolutionary personality psychology, several relationships are predicted between certain personality traits and factors of CQ. In addition, social learning theory is applied to explain the expected relationships between international experience and CQ. Thirdly, several hypotheses are developed to investigate if international experience strengthens the relationship between certain personality traits and elements of CQ. Based on a sample size of 197 employees from a financial services company, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses validate the theorized four-factor CQ model. The results, based on stepwise regression analyses, confirm the expected relationship between international experience and all factors of CQ, except BCQ. In addition, the results reveal several significant relationships between personality factors and CQ. Novel for the research on CQ is the confirmation of several significant correlations between “dark-side“ personality traits (which have been characterized as ineffective behaviours) and elements of CQ. This study also shows several moderating relationships, providing new insights and posing important questions for future research, contributing to the accumulating literature on CQ. In addition, the results of this study provide interesting suggestions for practice, emphasizing the importance of adapting Human Resources policies to recruit, enable and retain those employees who are likely to successfully grasp the opportunities that globalization offers. In order to achieve this, organizations should rely on a broad range of assessment and development tools, focussing on CQ, personality traits and previous international experience, when selecting and preparing individuals for cross-cultural careers.

BACKGROUND: Rapid changes in healthcare and science have enhanced the need for international educational experiences (IEE). Despite the importance of IEE in healthcare, there is a lack of literature in this area of research specifically relating to respiratory therapy. Therefore, it is important to assess the perceived impact of IEE in the United States on RT students in order to evaluate the need for developing international educational opportunities in the field of respiratory therapy. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess Saudi RT international students’ perception of the impact of IEE on their lives experiences. METHODS: Data were collected through a descriptive survey using a modified version of the international education survey (IES). The survey was emailed to all RT members of the Saudi Society for Respiratory Care (SSRC). Four main dimensions were assessed: Professional RT role, global understanding, personal development, and intellectual development. Excluded from the study were non-Saudi RTs and RTs with no IEE from the United States. RESULTS: Nineteen responses met the exclusion criteria of the study and were excluded. The total adjusted number of participants was sixty-two (n=62) out of (N=534) emailed surveys. The study response rate was 15.17%. Just over half of participants hold a graduate degree in RT while 48.4% hold an undergraduate degree in RT. Female participants accounted for 12.9% of all participants while male participants accounted for 87.1%. The study revealed that “professional RT role” was the most impacted area of IEE for RT undergraduate students (M 5.48, ± 1.4). The study showed that “global understanding” was the most impacted area of IEE for graduate RT students (M 5.4, SD of ± 0.84). The study findings showed that there is a moderately significant positive correlation between the duration of IEEs and the impact of RT professional role (r=0.426; p=0.001). Moreover, the study findings indicated that IEEs had a higher but insignificant influence on former international RT students’ perceptions of impact than current students. Conclusion: IEE had a large overall impact on participant’s lives experiences. The study findings support the value of promoting IEEs in the United States for RT students due to its perceived positive impact on internationalization of healthcare. Further studies with higher number of participants, different cultural backgrounds, and different IEE destinations is recommended.

This research aims towards gaining a deeper understanding in how a manager’s previous experience influence which foreign entry mode chosen by a Swedish SME, where the manager acts as the decision-maker. Interviews were held with managers from different Swedish firms in order to collect empirical data that thereafter were analysed. In order to get a deeper understanding as to how the experience influenced the choice of entry mode, a qualitative research were implicated. The theory is based upon a conceptual framework where the managers previous experience is divided into educational background, international experience and position tenure. Furthermore, the conceptual framework includes the Uppsala Model, which the thesis is based upon, and entry modes as this is where focus lays. From the conceptual framework, the empirical findings and analysis is structured as a combined chapter. Based on the theory, empirical findings and analysis, a conclusion is presented, with the aim of answering the research question and also to fill the research gap regarding how a manager’s previous experience influence the choice of entry mode for Swedish SMEs. That a manager’s previous experience influenced was understood, however, that international experience influenced the choice to a higher extent is presented. An additional main implication is how the manager could be placed in line with the Uppsala Model, where the choice of entry modes can vary and incrementally shift to another entry mode as a manager gain experiential knowledge.

The relevance of the research topic is determined by the importance of consulting services in the structure of the market economy at the present time. The need for tax advice is growing at a fast pace. The imperfection of tax legislation creates significant difficulties for both Russian and foreign companies operating in the domestic market. Therefore, tax advice is becoming increasingly important. This dissertation work consists of three main parts. The first part describes the theoretical foundations of tax advice, and discusses the experience of foreign countries. In the second section, we analyze the legal regulation of the tax advisory market, analyze the current state of the market for tax advisory services, and analyze the risks arising in the field of tax advisory. The third section formulates the main problems, their solutions, as well as prospects for the development and improvement of tax advisory services. / Актуальность темы научного исследования определяется важностью консалтинговых услуг в структуре рыночного хозяйства в настоящее время. Потребность в налоговом консультировании растет большим темпом. Несовершенство налогового законодательства создает значительные трудности, как для российских, так и для иностранных компаний, работающих на внутреннем рынке. Поэтому налоговое консультирование приобретает всё наибольшую актуальность. Данная диссертационная работа состоит из трех основных частей. В первой части описываются теоретические основы налогового консультирования, и рассматривается опыт зарубежных стран. Во втором разделе проводится анализ нормативно-правового регулирования рынка налогового консультирования, анализ современного состояния рынка услуг по налоговому консультированию, анализ рисков, возникающих в сфере налогового консультирования. В третьем разделе формулируются основные проблемы, пути их решения, а также перспективы развития и совершенствования услуг по налоговому консультирования.

Η διδασκαλία της τέχνης στο σχολείο συμβάλλει στην ολόπλευρη ανάπτυξη του παιδιού, καλλιεργώντας τη δημιουργικότητά του και ενθαρρύνοντας την κοινωνικοποίησή του. Με την αλλαγή του αναλυτικού προγράμματος και την εισαγωγή του ΔΕΠΠΣ στην εκπαίδευση, εισήχθησαν και τα βιβλία των εικαστικών στα σχολεία. Ωστόσο, στο Δημοτικό Σχολείο το μάθημα των εικαστικών δεν διδάσκεται όπως ορίζεται από το αναλυτικό πρόγραμμα και οι εκπαιδευτικοί αποφεύγουν τη διδασκαλία του μαθήματος. Στην παρούσα μελέτη προσπαθούμε να διερευνήσουμε τους λόγους και τα αίτια που οδηγούν τους δασκάλους στην αποφυγή ή την τροποποίηση της διδασκαλίας του μαθήματος των εικαστικών και να προσδιορίσουμε κατά πόσο το βιβλίο των εικαστικών αποτελεί ή όχι χρηστικό εργαλείο για το δάσκαλο και τι στήριξη χρειάζεται για να νιώσει ικανός να συμπεριλάβει δράσεις εικαστικών στο πρόγραμμά του. Στόχος μας είναι, αξιοποιώντας την έρευνα δράσης ως ερευνητικό εργαλείο, να εντοπίσουμε ποια είναι η σύγχρονη σχολική πραγματικότητα, εάν υπάρχει ανταπόκριση από τους μαθητές στο μάθημα των εικαστικών και τι έχουν να προτείνουν οι εικαστικοί εκπαιδευτικοί για το θέμα. Από την έρευνα προέκυψε ότι αν και το βιβλίο των εικαστικών είναι ένα χρήσιμο εργαλείο δουλειάς για τα δάσκαλο, εντούτοις αισθάνεται αβεβαιότητα και ανασφάλεια να διδάξει το μάθημα αποφεύγοντας να το χρησιμοποιήσει. Προτείνεται η επιμόρφωση των δασκάλων στη διδακτική των εικαστικών, η αξιοποίηση των εικαστικών εκπαιδευτικών στα σχολεία και η βελτίωση της υλικοτεχνικής υποδομής των σχολείων με τη δημιουργία εξοπλισμένων εικαστικών εργαστηρίων. / The teaching of art in schools contributes to the multifaceted development of the child, cultivating his/her creativity and encouraging his/her socialization. With the change in the curriculum and the introduction of the cross-thematic curriculum framework in education, art books were introduced in schools. However, in primary schools, art is not taught as specified by the curriculum and teachers avoid teaching it. In the present study, we are trying to investigate the reasons teachers are led to avoid or modify the teaching of art and to determine whether or not the art book is a useful tool as well as what kind of support teachers need to feel competent to include art activities in their program. Using action research as a research tool, our aim is to trace the current reality in schools, to determine students’ responses towards art as well as teachers’ feedback on this issue. The present research shows that although the art book is a useful tool for the teacher, he/she feels unsure and lacks self-efficacy to teach this lesson and thus avoids using it. Consequently, we recommend that teachers be trained in the teaching of art, that art teachers be utilized in schools and finally that well-equipped art labs be created.