The aim of this study was to examine young people’s experiences of participation within the intervention Contact Person. Three questions were asked concerning young people’s experience of participation, aspects that promoted/limited the young people’s experience and the significance they attached to the intervention. The findings in this study are based on phenomenological interviews with five teenagers within the intervention Contact Person. The results were analyzed by using Hart’s Ladder of participation and Habermas’ perspective of life world and system. The main findings of this study suggest that a good relationship with their contact person is essential for the teenagers’ experience of participation whereas a bad relationship limits their experience. The relationship can be seen as a prerequisite for participation. Ingredients deemed important in relationships promoting participation were for instance trust, honesty and involvement. The intervention seemed to promote psychological processes and behavioral patterns. The theoretical analysis showed that all the participants, except one, had experiences of the highest rung on Hart’s Ladder of participation. The participants experienced high levels of participation when communication was based on a communicative rationality corresponding to their life world perspective. Conversely, the participants experienced low participation when confronted with the system and its instrumental rationality.

Organizational behavior literature has not typically viewed person-environment (PE) fit as an outcome of organizational change. Although organizations consider PE fit of their employees to be important to the success of both parties, the study of antecedents to individuals fit with their work environment has largely been restricted to the selection and socialization of newcomers. This study investigates effects of several change factors (e.g., the extent of change and how it was managed), as well as the cross-level interaction between the change factors and individual differences (e.g., motivational orientations) on PE fit of individuals who participated in various organizational changes. PE fit was evaluated along three dimensions (Person-Job, Person-Group, Person-Organization). Results show that change is a complex phenomenon and is best understood by interactions between the extent of change, characteristics of the change process, and differences in individuals motivational tendencies. Specifically, the study showed that the fairness of the change process was typically associated with PJ and PO fit, whereas management support for the change generally related to PJ and PG fit. In addition, limited support was found for hypothesized effects of motivational orientations. As expected, Mastery related positively with PE fit, while positive effects of Competitiveness (an externally cued Approach orientation) on PE fit depended on high levels of management support. Surprisingly, it was low Avoid individuals (not high) where the extent of change related negatively with aspects of PE fit. A discussion of the results, as well as limitations and implications of this study, is provided for consideration on future research in this area.

Kant’s idea of the person and its place within his so-called “Formula of Humanity” has taken on an important role in contemporary discussions of normative ethics. Yet, despite its popularity, confusion remains as to what Kant really means by person and personality in his exposition of the moral imperative. This confusion has led to the attribution of positions to Kant that he clearly does not hold. My concern in this thesis is to engage the texts of Kant’s moral philosophy in an effort to clarify his idea of person/personality. Accordingly, my concerns are primarily exegetical, though I do engage some contemporary trends in Kant scholarship and Kantian ethics. I have divided the thesis into three main sections, which comprise Sections II, III, IV. In Section II, I look to Kant’s precritical ethics, examining his initial discovery of the formal and material principles of morality and his interest in the role feeling plays in the moral life. Of particular interest is Kant’s first introduction of a connection between the feeling of respect for persons and moral duties. In Section III, I suggest that reading Kant’s critical moral philosophy in continuity with the precritical ethics brings into relief Kant’s move from popular morality to an analytic demonstration of the connection of the moral imperative to the will of a rational being. I argue that respecting Kant’s analytic move helps to prevent us from (i) conflating the idea of humanity and personality, which is commonly done in contemporary Kant scholarship and (ii) attributing a strict “two-world” ontology to Kant’s moral philosophy. Finally, in Section IV, I return to Kant’s conception of moral feeling as respect for persons, and I briefly discuss its motivating force in the fulfillment of the demands of morality. Together, these three sections display the importance of understanding Kant’s idea of personality for any project aiming to faithfully interpret his moral thought.

Research on person-organization fit suggests that a good fit between individual and organizational values results in positive outcomes for individual¡¦s behaviors and attitudes. If an organization has a ¡§strong culture¡¨ with a ¡§good fit¡¨, beliefs and behavior, it normally demonstrates a high level of corporate performance. Therefore, organizations attempt to influence their members, inspire individuals to think and to act in accordance with organizational interests by practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the ideology of practical management on person-organization fit and employee's effectiveness. Questionnaires, based on the interviewee data fields used and the key factors resulting from the original quantitative studies, were developed and tested in 2002. The subjects in the study were the realtors beyond one year experience in Taiwan¡¦s largest real estate agency company. A total of 484 questionnaires were distributed. Of which 341 were valid. Data collected from the questionnaires was analyzed using reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The results of the research were as follows: 1. There was a significant positive correlation between the ideology of practical management and person-organizational culture fit. 2. Perception model of the ideology of practical management had a significant positive influence on person-organizational culture fit. 3. No significant relationship between personal-organizational culture fit and employee's effectiveness. According to these findings, we propose suggestions for increasing cultural fit and reducing cultural differences between individual and organizational values.

In recent years, the IT industry in Taiwan has gradually shifted from hardware manufacturing to software design. At the same time, conflict between IT industry and MIS graduates exists: CISA (Information Service Industry Association of China, Taipei) still claims the immense shortage of IT workers no matter how high the unemployment rate is. However, MIS graduates don¡¦t get extraordinary pay due to this situation. There are two constructs used to describe the ¡§fit¡¨: person-job fit and person-organization fit. Based on the ¡§fit¡¨ concept, the purpose of this research is to find out the gap between IT manager and MIS graduate as well as other demographic variables such as sex, area and industry. According to the purposes of this research, we have discovered some important results: a. Fit between IT manager and MIS graduate¡GFreshmen of the new generation are originative¡Benergetic¡Boptimistic but less durable for frustrations. IT managers tend to expect newcomers follow work rules and norms. b. Fit between sex¡GGeneral speaking, male tends to accept work rules and norms and prefers the value of competition and result-orientation. Female has more preferences to fringe benefits and work environment and uphold originality and respect. c. Fit between areas¡GPeople living in the North Taiwan pay more attention on ¡ureward¡vand ¡ufriendship¡vin work and agree with the value of profession and human nature. Morals and traditions are highly emphasized in the South Taiwan. d. Fit between other demographic variables¡GFirst, MIS graduates of private universities place more importance on ¡ustability¡vand ¡uperformance¡vthan that of national universities. Second, IT managers under 40 years old have more willingness to offer higher reward conditions for Freshmen and more agreement with the value of ¡ucreative humanity¡v. Finally, people in software service industry think highly of ¡ureward¡vand the value of ¡ucreative humanity¡v¡B¡umorality¡vand ¡urespect¡v.

Uniqueness and complexity of military news usually enrich and enhance the significance of the news. Sometimes simple issues are even further elaborated to become negative turmoil and multiple matters. The navy, being in a rapidly changing and multiple-form society, has been expressed in different forms by media of different natures. Sometimes, the navy is even perceived with different ideologies according to descriptions of different media. Ways that the officers and men of the navy as well as the general public view the negative news of the military and the impacts are worth further attention. Hence, this research, based on applications and perspectives of the relevant mass communication theory, is performed by quantifying the questionnaires, and investigates the impact of negative news on officers and men of the navy as well as the third-person effect. In addition, the relationship between the third-person effect and supports of media control. This research has managed to derive four conclusions: The first finding is the verification of existence of ¡§the third-person effect¡¨, i.e. people generally think that the impact of negative naval news on others is greater than that of oneself. The second finding is that the greater the perception of the third-person effect by the interviewed officers and men of the navy, the greater is the willingness to be inclined to controlling the mass media so as to mitigate the negative effects of the negative news about the navy on the general public. The third important finding is that the variable, population, presents a certain degree of relevancy to the third-person effect. This result is the same as the results of other researches. With regard to the perception of the third-person effect by oneself, other officers and men and the general public, the rank, seniority, and education of the population variable present respective obvious relevancy. In particular, age level appears in the third-person effect on ¡§other officers and men¡¨ and ¡§the general public¡¨, showing that the age level has greater impact on the perception of the third-person effect by the navy officers and men. The last important finding is about the information source. Television is the main source of information for most of the navy officers and men. Internet has surpassed newspaper as the second source of information, which is slightly different when compared to the past researches. This finding is thus worth further investigation in future work.

Zugl.: München, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2009

Zugl.: Kiel, Univ., Diss., 2008/09

Huvudsyftet med denna uppsats är att analysera begreppet ekonomisk verksamhet i mervärdesskattehänseende och att utreda vid vilken grad av aktivitet en sådan verksamhet uppkommer samt vilka objektiva omständigheter som kännetecknar begreppet . Ekonomisk verksamhet är ett av de mest grundläggande begreppen inom mervärdesskatteområdet och mervärdesskattedirektivet. Begreppet är av väsentlig betydelse vid bedömningen av huruvida någon utgör en beskattningsbar person och ska vara underkastad mervärdesbeskattning. Definitionen återfinns i artikel 9 i mervärdesskattedirektivet. Med ekonomisk verksamhet  avses sådan verksamhet som bedrivs av en producent, en handlare eller en tjänsteleverantör. Här inbegrips både gruvdrift och jordbruksverksamhet samt verksamheter inom fria och därmed likställda yrken. Vidare definieras ekonomisk verksamhet som utnyttjande av materiella eller immateriella tillgångar i avsikt att fortlöpande vinna intäkter.  Begreppet infördes inom svensk rätt först år 2013 som en följd av Europeiska kommissionens fördragsbrottsförfarande mot Sverige som inleddes den 27 juni 2008. I samband med detta fick den svenska lagstiftningen samma lydelse som mervärdesskattedirektivet. Av praxis från Europeiska Unionens domstol framgår det att begreppet ekonomisk verksamhet ska ges en vid tolkning. Avsikten att bedriva en ekonomisk verksamhet ska styrkas med objektiva omständigheter. Det är upp till de nationella myndigheterna och domstolarna att i varje enskilt fall bedöma alla relevanta och objektiva fakta, såsom anskaffade tillgångar, ingångna avtal, antalet kunder och intäkternas belopp. Bedömningen ska göras oberoende av verksamhetens syfte och resultat. Vid bedömningen ska de svenska domstolarna utgå från mervärdesskattedirektivet och den rättspraxis från Europeiska Unionen som finns. Då förutsättningarna i de enskilda fallen sällan är de samma är den rättspraxis och direktiv från Europeiska Unionen som finns inte tillräckligt för att utgöra en grund som säkerställer att begreppet ekonomisk verksamhet tolkas enhetligt i medlemsstaterna.

The Baby-boom generation, a major contributor to an unprecedented increase in older-aged people, is known for its zest for life and autonomy. Boomers are predicted to enter nursing homes in record numbers with multiple chronic illnesses and person-centered health care expectations. The purpose of this work was to describe current chronic illness management practices in nursing homes focused on person-centered (resident-directed) care and involvement of residents in health-related decision-making and self-care activities. Four projects were undertaken to accomplish this objective: (1) a systematic review of the quantitative literature regarding the management of type 2 diabetes, an exemplar chronic illness; (2) a synthesis of the qualitative literature describing chronically ill, older-aged adults' perceptions of chronic illness care decision-making; (3) an ethnographic pilot study describing the meaning of having type 2 diabetes to nursing home residents; and (4) a qualitative descriptive study of secondary data describing nursing home stakeholder perceptions of opportunities for resident involvement in chronic illness decision-making and self-care activities. Wagner's Chronic Care Model, modified for the nursing home, was the sensitizing framework for this research. Twenty studies met criteria for the systematic review, which described a lack of adherence to clinical practice guidelines and rare inclusion of the resident and family in management practices. The synthesis of 7 qualitative studies revealed 4 themes: (1) Being recognized because I matter; (2) Awareness of importance; (3) Empower through connections and opportunities; and (4) Time is precious. Cognitively capable older-aged adults described benefits from involvement in health care decisions and harm from non-involvement. They perceived inadequate time spent with health care providers as a major determinant of involvement. The pilot ethnography included 3 residents. Findings revealed a perception of few diabetes management choices but many unspoken resident preferences. The qualitative descriptive secondary analysis study included 5 residents, 7 family members, 8 advanced practice registered nurses, 5 physicians, and 6 administrators. Stakeholders perceived many opportunities for resident involvement in decision-making and self-care, but described as many limitations. Findings indicated a shortage of health care providers and differing stakeholder ideas of purpose and goals restricted resident involvement. Clinical, research, and policy implications were discussed. / text