Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:52:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6158.pdf: 1353914 bytes, checksum: 0b7552d4d8812d5fa3c09ed45af7d121 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-01-30 / The evolution of the concept of hospital has provoked changes on the focus of the provision of health services and, consequently, on its management (STUMPF, 1996). As a result of these changes, it is important to understand the construction of the institutional arrangements of the medical organizations from the evolution of the concepts of Organizational Theory and, particularly, of the concepts of the new institutionalism. Machado-da-Silva and Gonçalves (1999) state that in parallel to the stage of institutionalization there is the need to consider the mechanisms of isomorphic change and the influence exerted by the environment. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms of change that compete for the isomorphism in two hospital organizations in the town of Taquaritinga-SP as well as identify the strategic responses that are undertaken by such organizations in the face of institutional pressures, from the constructs of DiMaggio and Powell (1983), in organizational level, and Oliver (1991). Questionnaires and interviews were used as data collection technique, characterized as qualitative-quantitative research. In order to understand the significant transformations that impact hospitals, a case study was carried out to evaluate the counterpoints and limitations of theoretical approaches in the structure of the organizations analyzed, comparing the results obtained, what contributed substantially to the description of the institutionalization of hospital practices focused. The mechanisms of isomorphism were established, which were present in different intensities in both organizations and was also noted the divergence between them related to strategies against such practices. Considering the limits of the survey, it was concluded that although there is no total homogeneity in the way both organizations studied behave in the face of changes, hospital practices are partially institutionalized. / A evolução do conceito de hospital tem provocado mudanças no foco da prestação dos serviços de saúde e, consequentemente, em sua gestão (STUMPF, 1996). Em decorrência dessas mudanças, é importante a compreensão da construção dos arranjos institucionais das organizações hospitalares a partir da evolução dos conceitos da Teoria Organizacional e, particularmente, dos conceitos do neoinstitucionalismo. Machado-da-Silva e Gonçalves (1999) afirmam que em paralelo à questão do estágio de institucionalização há necessidade de se considerar os mecanismos de mudança isomórfica e a influência exercida pelo ambiente. O objetivo deste trabalho consistiu em elucidar quais são os mecanismos de mudança que concorrem para o isomorfismo em duas organizações hospitalares do município de Taquaritinga-SP bem como identificar as respostas estratégicas que são empreendidas por tais organizações frente às pressões institucionais, a partir dos construtos de DiMaggio e Powell (1983), em nível organizacional, e Oliver (1991). Foram utilizados como técnica de coleta de dados questionários e entrevistas, caracterizando-se como pesquisa qualitativo-quantitativa. Para compreensão das significativas transformações que impactam os hospitais, foi realizado estudo de caso no intuito de avaliar os contrapontos e limitações das abordagens teóricas na estrutura das organizações analisadas, comparando-se os resultados obtidos, o que contribuiu substancialmente para a descrição da institucionalização das práticas hospitalares enfocadas. Foram equacionados os mecanismos de isomorfismo, que se fizeram presentes em intensidades diferentes em ambas as organizações e verificou-se também a divergência entre elas relacionada às estratégias frente a essas práticas. Considerando-se os limites da pesquisa, concluiu-se que embora não haja total homogeneidade na forma como ambas as organizações estudadas se comportam frente às mudanças, as práticas hospitalares apresentam-se semiinstitucionalizadas.

abstract: Research on government innovation has focused on identifying factors that contribute to higher levels of innovation adoption. Even though various factors have been tested as contributors to high levels of innovation adoption, the independent variables have been predominantly contextual and community characteristics. Previous empirical studies shed little light on chief executive officers' (CEOs) attitudes, values, and behavior. Result has also varied with the type of innovation examined. This research examined the effect of CEOs' attitudes and behaviors, and institutional motivations on the adoption of sustainability practices in their municipalities. First, this study explored the relationship between the adoption level of sustainability practices in local government and CEOs' entrepreneurial attitudes (i.e. risk taking, proactiveness, and innovativeness) and discovery skills (i.e. associating, questioning, experimenting, observing, and networking) that have not been examined in prior research on local government innovation. Second, the study explored the impact of organizational intention to change and isomorphic pressures (i.e., coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures) and the availability and limit of organizational resources on the early adoption of innovations in local governments. Third, the study examines how CEOs' entrepreneurial attitudes and discovery skills, and institutional motivations account for high and low sustaining levels of innovation over time by tracking how much their governments have adopted innovations from the past to the present. Lastly, this study explores their path effects CEOs' entrepreneurial attitudes, discovery skills, and isomorphic pressures on sustainability innovation adoption. This is an empirical study that draws on a survey research of 134 CEOs who have influence over innovation adoption in their local governments. For collecting data, the study identified 264 municipalities over 10,000 in population that have responded to four surveys on innovative practices conducted by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) in past eight years: the Reinventing local government survey (2003), E-government survey (2004), Strategic practice (2006), and the Sustainability survey (2010). This study combined the information about the adoption of innovations from four surveys with CEOs' responses in the current survey. Socio-economic data and information about variations in form of government were also included in the data set. This study sheds light on the discovery skills and institutional isomorphic pressures that influence the adoption of different types of innovations in local governments. This research contributes to a better understanding of the role of administrative leadership and organizational isomorphism in the dynamic of innovation adoption, which could lead to improvements in change management of organizations. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Public Administration 2013

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-23T14:33:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao de Diego Barcelos Rodrigues.pdf: 434389 bytes, checksum: 1deed45ceca5ef4fe6169aeed7e5e4d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-29 / Spectral Graph Theory (SGT) studies graph properties by graph representation matrix and its spectrum. A property from SGT, the eigencentrality, provides an important invariant to Graph Isomorphism Problem: if two graphs are isomorphic, they have proportional eigencentralities. However, this property can not be directly used for solving the Regular Graph Isomorphism Problem (RGIP), as every regular graph has the same eigencentralities. This work presents a strategy for solving the RGIP through the use of eigencentralities to prune the search tree and restricting the possibilities for mapping / A Teoria Espectral de Grafos (TEG) busca analisar propriedades dos grafos através de matrizes representativas de grafos e seus espectros. De uma propriedade proveniente da TEG, a autocentralidade, surge um importante invariante para o Problema de Isomorfismo de Grafos: se dois grafos são isomorfos então eles possuem autocentralidades proporcionais. Porém, esta propriedade não pode ser usada diretamente para resolução do Problema de Isomorfismo de Grafos Regulares (PIGR), pois todo grafo regular possui autocentralidades iguais. Este trabalho apresenta uma estratégia para resolver o PIGR através do uso das autocentralidades para podar a árvore de busca e restringir as possibilidades de mapeamento

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Esta dissertaÃÃo à baseada no artigo "Groups with a maximal irredundant 6-cover"de A. Abdollahi, M. J. Ataei, S. M. Jafarian Amiri, e A. Mohammadi Hassanabadi, onde caracterizam os grupos que admitem uma cobertura irredundante por seis subgrupos maximais com interseÃÃo livre de nÃcleo. Como uma aplicaÃÃo deste resultado caracterizamos os grupos que admitem uma cobertura por seis subgrupos prÃprios e nÃo admite cobertura com uma quantidade de membros menor que seis. Mostraremos tambÃm que o maior Ãndice|G : D| sobre todos os grupos G tendo uma cobertura irredundante por seis subgrupo prÃprios com interseÃÃo D à 36. / This dissertation is based on the article "Groups with a maximal irredundant 6-cover"of A. Abdollahi, MJ Ataei, SM Jafarian Amiri and A. Mohammadi Hassanabadi, which characterize groups with a maximal irredundante cover for six subgroups with core-free intersection. As an application of this result we characterize groups that admit a cover for six subgroups own and does not allow coverage an amount of less than six members. We will also show that the largest index |G : D| over all groups G having an irredundant cover for six subgroup with intersection D is 36.

Ladner’s theorem states that if P ≠ NP, then there are problems in NP that are neither in P nor NP-complete. Csp(Γ) is a class of problems containing many well-studied combinatorial problems in NP. Csp(Γ) problems are of the form: given a set of variables constrained by a set of constraints from the set of allowed constraints Γ, is there an assignment to the variables satisfying all constraints? A famous, and in the light of Ladner’s theorem, surprising conjecture states that there is a complexity dichotomy for Csp(Γ); that is, for any fixed finite Γ, the Csp(Γ) problem is either in P or NP-complete. In this thesis we focus on problems expressible in the Csp(Γ) framework with different computational goals, such as: counting the number of solutions, deciding whether two sets of constraints have the same set of solutions, deciding whether all minimal solutions of a set of constraints satisfies an additional constraint etc. By doing so, we capture a host of problems ranging from fundamental problems in nonmonotonic logics, such as abduction and circumscription, to problems regarding the equivalence of systems of linear equations. For several of these classes of problem, we are able to give complete complexity classifications and rule out the possibility of problems of intermediate complexity. For example, we prove that the inference problem in propositional variable circumscription, parameterized by the set of allowed constraints Γ, is either in P, coNP-complete, or ΠP/2-complete. As a by-product of these classifications, new tractable cases and hardness results for well-studied problems are discovered. The techniques we use to obtain these complexity classifications are to a large extent based on connections between algebraic clone theory and the complexity of Csp(Γ). We are able to extend these powerful algebraic techniques to several of the problems studied in this thesis. Hence, this thesis also contributes to the understanding of when these algebraic techniques are applicable and not.

Dans un contexte concurrentiel et réglementaire croissant des banques, face à une crise financière qui interroge les usages de l’argent, peut-on faire de la banque autrement ? Nous tentons de répondre à cette question en centrant notre analyse sur le cas de La Nef, petite coopérative de finance solidaire fondée sur un projet alternatif. La Nef, d’abord institution financière et disposant aujourd’hui d’un agrément bancaire, en 20 ans a grandi et s’est professionnalisée. Sa trajectoire est marquée par des formes d’isomorphismes que nous identifions et qui provoquent une hybridation de son modèle coopératif. Nous construisons et analysons l’installation des banquiers itinérants comme innovation organisationnelle dans le but de la réaffirmation du projet coopératif. En apportant de l’hétéromorphisme et de l’hetéropraxisme dans l’organisation, ces banquiers itinérants ancrent l’organisation dans son territoire et les enjeux de son développement. Cette expérimentation constitue-t-elle un processus de reconquête coopérative, et qu’en est-il de sa diffusion ? Nous avons participé et suivi les processus à l’œuvre dans le cadre d’une recherche intervention sur 5 ans. Notre cadre d’analyse s’inscrit dans une perspective néo institutionnaliste et articule isomorphisme, proximité et traduction. Nos résultats montrent que l’implantation des banquiers itinérants redynamise le tissu coopératif et le sociétariat et amène une croissance de l’activité. Elle entraine un rééquilibrage des phénomènes d’hybridation favorable au projet social et à l’activité économique. Le déploiement des Banquiers Itinérants est à l’œuvre et méritera d’être analysé dans les formes de son développement. / In a context of increasing competition and international regulation in the banking system, and facing a financial crisis which questions the uses of money, is another way of banking possible? We try to answer this question through the analysis of the case study of the Nef, a little solidarity-based finance cooperative based on an alternative project. The Nef, at first a financial institution which later in 2014 got a banking agreement, grew up over 20 years and professionalised. We identify the various types of isomorphism which marked its trajectory and cause a hybridisation of its cooperative model. We build up and analyse the set up of itinerant bankers as an organisational innovation, in order to reaffirm the cooperative project. As they bring heteromorphism and heteropraxy into the organisation, these itinerant bankers anchor the organisation in its territory and the stakes of its development. Is this experiment a process of cooperative recovery, and will it spread ? We took part and followed the undergoing processes within a 5 year intervention research. Our analysis focuses on isomorphism, proximity and translation in a neo-institutional perspective. Our results show that itinerant bankers set up revitalise the cooperative system and shareholder relations as well as a business growth. Thus the experience show a rebalancing in hybridisation phenomena favourable to the social project and stimulating economic activity. The deployment of itinerant bankers is recent, and will deserve to be studied in its forms of development.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the external factors that influence an organizations' business intelligence (BI) data collection strategy when mediated by BI attributes. In this dissertation, data warehousing strategies are used as the basis on which to frame the exploration of BI data collection strategies. The attributes include BI insightfulness, BI consistency, and the organizational transformation attribute of BI. The research population consisted of IT professionals and top level managers involved in developing and managing BI. Data was collected from a range of industries and organizations within the United States. An online survey was used to collect the data to empirically test the proposed relationships. Data was analyzed using partial least square path modeling (PLS). The results of this study suggest that there exists a positive relationship between institutional isomorphism and BI consistency. The results also indicate that there exists a positive relationship between BI consistency and BI comprehensive data collection strategy, and the organizational transformation attribute of BI and BI comprehensive data collection strategy. These findings provide a theoretical lens to better understand the motivators and the success factors related to collecting the huge amounts of data required for BI. This study also provides managers with a mental model on which to base decisions about the data required to accomplish their goals for BI.

This study investigates the effects of a participative-type management approach termed self-managed work teams (SMWTs) and work spillover into the family environment. The perspective of isomorphism by Aldous (1969), and Rapoport and Rapoport (1965), was used as a paradigm to examine both positive and negative effects of the work-family relationship. A total of 76 employees from the Department of Defense's Quality Division was used in the regression analysis, due to recent transitions into SMWTs. Results reported overwhelming support for the perspective of isomorphism: over 40% of the variation in positive work spillover was explained by SWMT characteristics. Communication with other teams was the single most important factor found to have a significant effect on positive work spillover.

Thesis advisor: Ana M. Martinez-Aleman / As online education continues to grow in the United States, few studies have investigated how faculty members perceive their instructional roles and their organizations to be changing as a result. This qualitative study is based on interviews with twenty-two faculty members from public and private non-profit institutions across the United States, and found that faculty members perceived the course design process, interactions with their students, and their own approach to teaching all changed substantially in the online context, typically in ways that inclined them to see these efforts as higher quality than their on ground teaching endeavors. Despite this, faculty members did not perceive that their departments or their institutions changed very much as a result of online education, and determined that institutional motivations for online education were consistent with typical market-aligned non-profit approaches to higher education in the United States (e.g., based on competition, student demand, and expanding institutional reach). Moreover, this market-aligned inclination identified by faculty members aligns well with Slaughter and Rhoades’ (2004) theory of academic capitalism. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Audit delay refers to the time from the end of the country or company’s financial year to the date of the audit report. The chances of delay of audit in the public sector are pervasive and as such the expectations of users of these audit reports may differ which could result in the quality and reliability of these audits within this sector to be questioned. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to explore the external and internal factors that cause audit delay and the aftermath they have on public sector audit quality. As for this study, its original value correlates with the espousal of the institutional theory from the perspective of public sector auditing. Considering the aim of this study, a qualitative research was preferred with the objective of gathering in-depth and enriched empirical data; hence, semi structured interviews were conducted with ten auditors of the top and middle management of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Liberia – General Auditing Commission. There are varying views regarding the findings of this study as the respondents disclose that the external factors that result to audit delays are caused by either the audited entity or other external parties and not the SAI; however, it is the responsibility of the SAI to work with the entity involved to ensure those factors do not impede the audit process to the extent it cannot be completed; whereas, internal factors which includes inadequate staff training, delay in the review and approval of the draft audit report by top management to the poor performance of auditors as a result of lack of knowledge and etcetera cause audit delays as well and the SAI is solely responsible for ensuring that they are resolved or lessened so as not to affect the timeliness of the reporting process. The study mentions several limitations. One of them is the lack of observation being conducted which would have provided first-hand information on factors that cause the delay of audits in the public sector.