The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship among student civic knowledge scores and several different variables each at the student, classroom/school, and national levels using the IEA CIVED study international data set collected in 1999 from 27 countries. The student level predictors included two elements of socioeconomic status (a student's parental education, their home literacy level measured by the number of books at home), student's perception of an open classroom climate, student aspiration of obtaining higher education, and other variables that were identified as relevant to the dependent variable in the literature. The classroom/school level predictors included teacher's degree in civics, in-service training, teaching confidence, and school safety in addition to the compositional variable created as the classroom/school averages by aggregating the student level variables. Then I investigated whether instructional methods focusing on the student activities the teacher employed in the classroom and an open classroom climate were associated after accounting for the above student and school level background variables. National level variables such as GNP, GINI index, democratic system, public education expenditure, and etc. as well as compositional variables obtained by aggregating the classroom/school variables were also added to the model to investigate if they were associated with students' civic knowledge scores and whether they could explain between nations variability. The study used a three-level hierarchical linear model to analyze the data, with number of students, N=56,579, number of classrooms/schools, J=3443, and number of countries, K=27. Some of the key findings was that there were significant variations of civics knowledge among nations, and significant variations of civic knowledge scores between school and within nations, no statistically significant association between teacher's practice and civics knowledge scores, however the student perception of an open classroom climate was significant at all 3 levels. These findings were interpreted in terms of policies and practices that could be implemented to improve students' civic knowledge. / Ph. D.

Health and well-being of older adults has become a worldwide public health concern and has been attracting increasing attention from scholars across the globe. But little is known about the health of the Chinese elderly. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) --Pilot, a pilot survey in 2008 in two provinces of China, Gansu and Zhejiang, this dissertation examines the association between social capital at both the individual- and community- levels and three health outcomes among older adults in China. A series of multi-level models were estimated using SAS 9.2. Statistical results indicate that such individual-level social capital variables as perceived help and support in the future, help from others, and birthplace significantly impacted health among older Chinese adults. When examining the relationship between community-level social capital and health, this study confirms the significant association between community-level social capital and good health independent of individual-level predictors. This study also indicates that the impact of gender and rural-urban Hukou status interacts with the province of residence. The results were discussed in terms of cultural legacy in the Chinese cultural setting, the current social dynamics related to old age support, health-related government reforms, and various disparities across different regions and across different social groups in China.

The "digital library" (DL) is a communication technology that has the potential to improve communication by removing temporal and geographic barriers and by introducing interactivity. This research focused on the adoption of digital libraries for electronic theses and dissertations (ETD-DL) at universities worldwide. ETD-DLs provide a means for universities to learn about implementing digital libraries in a networked environment.This research used diffusion of innovation theory to explore what has influenced ETD-DL adoption among Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) member universities. Communication channels were categorized as being either interpersonal or mediated. The perceived importance of these channels was assessed both within and between organizations. Although ETD-DL adoption is an organizational level decision it has implications for both the university and members of the university community. In some cases, these outcomes may be in conflict; for example, what is best for the organization may result in complications for an individual. Therefore the perceived importance of two innovation attributes, relative advantage and compatibility, were examined at both the collective and individual level.This study employed a web-based survey to collect data from the 133 universities in 26 countries that were NDLTD members in December 2002. Respondents were members of the university's "ETD Committee" and represented academic administrators, faculty, librarians, and computer systemsspecialists. Surveys were received from 95 respondents representing 65 universities in 14 countries. Twenty-one of these universities were outside the United States. Universities were from countries with a wide range of economic development.Results provide insights into university attitudes towards a technological innovation for knowledge dissemination. For example, results suggest that interpersonal channels of communication are more important than mediated channels within the organization. Additionally, interpersonal channels are more important for communication within the organization than between organizations. However, mediated channels of communication are more important for those universities that have decided to adopt the ETD-DL but have not yet implemented the union catalog or self-archiving options. There were also significant differences in the importance attributed to these channels by individuals in different jobs. The results also suggest strategies that could encourage development of digital libraries within a social system.

In this chapter, the author draws on a historical case study of the Australian wine industry to explore variations in collective agency. The inductively derived process model illustrates the emergence of a new profession of scientific win- emaking, which unfolds in three phases. Each phase is characterized by a dis- tinct form of agency: distributed agency during the earliest phase, coordinated agency during later phases, and orchestrated agency during consolidation. In addition to exploring the temporal shifts in agency, the study includes a detailed analysis of the early stages of distributed agency, examining how col- lective agency is achieved in the absence of shared intentions.

Healthcare is an organizational field that has undergone profound change in the last few decades, an era characterized by market reform. Healthcare production has revealed both economic and quality problems in past eras, and reporting on these problems can be seen to have contributed to pressures for social reform. Yet, the move toward more market-oriented governance structures and design solutions also reflects a wider isomorphic institutional tendency for organizing social order.The conceptual frame work of this study takes a pessimistic stance on whether the market reform has achieved the intended goals with respect to advancing organizational quality performance. The framework draws on institutional theory and complementary collective action notions in organization theory concerned with boundedly rational decision-making to reason that healthcare evidences certain contextual characteristics that are not a good fit with the market enterprise model of organizing organizations. Specifically, hazards to the efficient market thesis were considered to include uncertain outcomes, a high degree of technical and coordination complexity, and the need to account for intertemporal process transformations of significant duration.A longitudinal design was used to test efficient market thesis propositions. Inpatient administrative data was used to develop two latent hospital quality performance variables, a Mortality quality indicator and an Errors quality indicator. The two latent variables were derived from three selected AHRQ patient safety indicators and an inpatient mortality rate. The measurement model was validated as evidencing significant systematic between-hospital variation. Audited survey data, along with inpatient discharge data was used to develop hospital economic performance variables and process control variables.A set of predictive supply-and-demand models were used to test: 1) whether there is evidence of any trend in quality performance, and how market competition relates to observations of improvement; 2) whether quality cost more; and, 3) whether preferences for better quality outcomes related to hospital economic performance. A hierarchical linear model growth-curve design was employed to assess the predicted relationships and to account for unmeasured organizational dependent relations determinant of hospital quality performance. The unaccounted for systematic between-hospital variance was taken to estimate an "unspecified" hospital-specific institutional effect, independent of material-resource factors. The measurement model results for each of the quality indicators selected evidenced construct validity for patient-level risk-adjustment. Each quality indicator demonstrated a significant systematic between-group variance component in all of the four years studied. The two latent hospital quality performance variables also demonstrated systematic between-hospital variance in growth trajectories in the linear growth-curve model.The predictive models evidenced no significant growth rate trend for either of the quality indicators, indicating the competitive bar on quality performance was unaffected during this period of market reform. Neither was there any evidence that pricing mechanism were able to price the utility of better outcomes, as higher quality did not cost more. Neither was there evidence that consumer preferences for better quality related to better hospital economic performance, as measured by hospital operating margins.

A major criticism of the environmental behavior literature is the nearly exclusive focus on the role of attitudes and individual-level characteristics. Despite this concentration on individual-level causes, variation in environmental behavior remains. As individual behavior becomes an increasingly significant source of pollution, a better understanding of the influences individual behavior is critical to addressing environmental degradation. This research re-directs the focus on individual-level influences on environmental behaviors by building models examining the varying dimensions of environmental behaviors as influenced by community characteristics. This is accomplished by testing a series of hypotheses under the auspices of two theoretical frameworks: the neoclassical economic theory and a social contextual model of environmental actions. Using individual-level data from the 1993 and 2000 General Social Survey and MSA data from the U.S. Census and the Environmental Protection Agency, I estimate two-level hierarchical models for three environmentally sensitive behaviors (environmentally sensitive food consumption, environmentally sensitive automobile use, and environmental activism). Multi-level analyses yield models revealing significant associations between MSA measures and individual environmental behaviors. Objective environmental conditions, region of MSA and MSA education level are significantly associated with environmentally sensitive food consumption behaviors, environmentally sensitive automobile use, and environmental activism behaviors, though their influence assumes diverse forms. Among the community measures, MSA education level is the primary social process that produces change in all environmental behaviors. In each of the models, MSA education level exhibits effects on all three behavioral measures and significant cross-level effects on automobile use behaviors. Living in a well educated MSA, particularly in the West or Northeast suggests higher environmental participation. Region of MSA is also a characteristic that must be considered when evaluating environmental behaviors, particularly for those living in the West and Northeast. Theoretical conclusions suggest that individual environmental behavior decision making is not simply a market exchange, but social forces are at work in the individual decision-making process.

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Cette recherche sur articles a pour objectif de mieux comprendre l’impact du climat diversité, considéré comme un climat organisationnel, sur la performance individuelle des salariés. Nous mobilisons ici le cadre conceptuel de Kopelman et al. (1990).Le concept de climat diversité a cependant été critiqué pour ses défaillances conceptuelles et méthodologiques. Nous réalisons dans un premier article une revue de littérature approfondie (Nombre d’études analysées = 62), et proposons une reconstruction du climat diversité en trois dimensions : l’intentionnalité, la programmation et la pratique. Nous nous appuyons pour ce faire sur le cadre conceptuel de HRM system structure d’Arthur et Boyles (2007) et les diversity management system components de Kulik (2014).Dans un deuxième article, nous opérationnalisons le climat diversité tel que reconceptualisé, en développant et validant une échelle de mesure en 11 items au niveau organisationnel. Nous avons mené pour ce faire trois études (N = 150 ; N = 398 ; Nunité = 11, Nindividuel = 221) qui nous ont permis de valider les propriétés psychométriques de l’échelle en termes de fiabilité et de validité convergente, discriminante, nomologique et prédictive.Enfin, dans un troisième article nous testons nos hypothèses de recherche grâce à une dernière étude (Nunité = 34 ; Nindividuel = 509). Nos résultats montrent que le climat diversité organisationnel influence positivement la performance individuelle, et que la satisfaction au travail et l’engagement organisationnel affectif sont des médiateurs de cette relation. La médiation de l’engagement organisationnel normatif n’est pas concluante.Notre recherche a une contribution significative sur le plan conceptuel et méthodologique, en proposant une approche structurelle innovante et une mesure pour l’étude du climat diversité, par-delà les paradigmes dominants du management de la diversité. Elle offre de plus une forte contribution managériale, en proposant une taxonomie des climats diversité dans les organisations et en ouvrant plusieurs voies aux praticiens pour le développer. / This research aims to better understand the impact of diversity climate, as an organizational climate, on individual employee performance. We use the conceptual framework of Kopelman et al. (1990).However, the concept of diversity climate has been criticized for its conceptual and methodological shortcomings. In a first article, we produce an in-depth literature review (number of studies analyzed = 62), and we propose a reconstruction of diversity climate in three dimensions: intentionality, programming and praxis. We rely on Arthur and Boyles (2007)’s HRM system structure and on Kulik (2014)'s diversity management system components conceptual frameworks.In a second article, we operationalize diversity climate as reconceptualized, developing and validating an 11-item measurement scale at the organizational level. To proceed, we conducted three studies (N=150; N=398; NUnit =11, Nindividual =221) that allowed us to validate the psychometric properties of the scale in terms of reliability and convergent, discriminant, nomological and predictive validity.Finally, in a third article we test our research hypotheses with a final study (Nunit =34; Nindividual =509). Our results show that organizational diversity climate positively influences individual employee performance, and that job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment mediate this relationship. Mediation of normative organizational commitment is inconclusive.Our research has a significant contribution conceptually and methodologically, since it proposes an innovative structural approach and a measure for the study of diversity climate, beyond the dominant paradigms of diversity management. It also offers a strong managerial contribution, providing a taxonomy for diversity climates in organizations and opening up several avenues for practitioners to develop it.

<p>The main purpose of this thesis is to examine how different welfare and production regimes may have structured individuals’ work orientations into cross-national patterns by the late 1990s and early 2000s. Three different aspects of work orientations are considered in the three studies. Study 1: Welfare Regimes, Production Regimes and Employment Commitment: A Multi-level analysis of Twelve OECD countries. Since the introduction of the first social insurance schemes, questions have been raised regarding the trade-off between the adequacy and equity of benefits, and their effects on individuals’ work orientations. This study examines the role of both welfare and production regime institutions for explaining cross-national patterns in individuals’ employment commitment across twelve OECD-countries in the late 1990s. Results from multi-level analyses show firstly how employment commitment is stronger within more generous welfare regimes as well as within more extensively coordinated production regimes. Secondly, institutions are found to be more important for structuring the attitudes of persons with less stable labour market attachment. Thirdly, for men, there are clear positive cross-level interaction effects between institutional structures and individuals’ socio-economic status, whereas institutions matter more equally regardless of socio-economic status for women. In relation to the concerns with the allegedly negative unintended consequences of welfare regime institutions for creating distortions, these seem to be unwarranted with regards to employment commitment. To the contrary, there appears to be a ‘paradox of employment commitment’: clearly earnings-related benefits of more generous welfare regimes appear to generate stronger commitment to take part in paid work.</p><p>Study 2: Unemployment Insurance and Work Values in Twenty-Three Welfare States. This study addresses the question of whether extended ‘social rights’, specifically in the form of unemployment insurance, is undermining people’s willingness to perform their ‘social duties’ in the form of productive work. Multi-level analyses is used to evaluate how three aspects of institutional design may explain cross-national patterns of work values across twenty-three industrialized countries in 2000. There is a consistent tendency for a positive relationship between more traditional work values with higher generosity of benefit levels as well as more demanding eligibility conditions. To the contrary, a negative relationship is found in relation to duration periods. The strength and significance of these relationships however differ across the three value dimensions studied. Firstly, the clearest pattern is found in relation to how work is valued as a ‘duty towards society’, where all institutional effects are significant. Secondly, in relation to valuations of how ‘unemployed persons should accept job offers or lose their benefits’, the positive effects of the eligibility factor are non-significant, and the negative duration effects are only significant among working men. Thirdly, in relation to how work is not valued as a ‘free choice’, institutional effects are only significant when working women within the sixteen ‘older’ welfare states are compared. The effects of economic development are inconsistent across value dimensions and in the opposite direction expected from modernization theory; more traditional work values are found to be stronger in countries with higher levels of economic development. Study 3: Continued Work or Retirement? Preferred Exit-age in Western European countries. The combination of greying populations, decreasing fertility rates and a marked trend in falling retirement age is profoundly challenging the sharing of resources and supporting responsibilities between generations in the developed world. Previous studies on earlier exit-trends have focused mainly on supply-side incentives and generally conclude that people will exit given available retirement options. Substantial cross-national variations in exit-ages however remain unexplained. This suggests that also normative factors such as attitudes to work and retirement might be of importance. Through multi-level analyses, this study evaluates how welfare regime generosity, as well as production regime coordination explains cross-national patterns of retirement preferences across twelve Western European countries. Analysis firstly shows how both men and women on average prefer to retire at 58 years, meaning on average approximately 7 or 5.5 years before statutory retirement age in the case of men and women respectively. Contrary to what is expected from previous research on supply-side factors, preferences for relatively later retirement is found within more generous welfare regimes and also within more extensively coordinated production regimes. For women, however, institutional effects do not remain once substantial cross-national differences in women’s statutory retirement ages are taken into account.</p>