Buildings make it possible for people to work together in organizations. In organization studies research, the physical aspects of organizations have been neglected in favor of intangible aspects (Gagliardi, 1996; Strati, 1999). Much of the research in management and organizational studies about physical workplaces concentrates on the instrumental aspects of offices, such as the relationship between open-plan offices and employee attitudes and behaviors (e.g. Hatch, 1987; Oldham, 1988), but it does not address the aesthetic aspects of offices. The physical workplace is part of the field of organizational aesthetics, which encompasses a range of topics and theoretical approaches, from aesthetics as a way of knowing organizations to the arts and related industries. This study explored the importance of aesthetics--beauty or its lack--in the day-to-day lives of people in organizations by exploring individuals' meanings of and experiences of their offices. At the same time, it examined the relationship between aesthetics and instrumentality of the physical workplace. How do office aesthetics matter in the way that work gets done in an organization? This study used Q-methodology (Brown, 1980; Stephenson, 1953) to explore individuals' experiences of their physical workplaces. Aesthetics and instrumentality were connected through site selection. Sites were chosen based on their combination of good/bad aesthetics and good/limited functionality. Twenty-one participants in four locations were interviewed about their offices--what they liked and disliked, and why. From the interviews, a Q-sample of statements was developed, and 19 participants sorted them into a normal distribution from "most like my opinions of my office" to "most unlike my opinions of my office." The sorts were factor analyzed and interpreted using statement content, demographic characteristics of participants, and information about the organizations and participants that was learned through the interviews. The resulting four factors gave four different perspectives on office aesthetics. One group of participants loved their work and saw their offices as an avenue of self-expression, an extension of themselves. Another group experienced considerable emotional distress because their offices did not reflect the quality of their organizations' work. For a third group, functionality was primary. For the last group, the office stood in for the organization as a whole-- their feelings about their workspaces mirrored their feelings about their organization.

abstract: Code-switching, a bilingual language phenomenon, which may be defined as the concurrent use of two or more languages by fluent speakers is frequently misunderstood and stigmatized. Given that the majority of the world's population is bilingual rather than monolingual, the study of code-switching provides a fundamental window into human cognition and the systematic structural outcomes of language contact. Intra-sentential code-switching is said to systematically occur, constrained by the lexicons of each respective language. In order to access information about the acceptability of certain switches, linguists often elicit grammaticality judgments from bilingual informants. In current linguistic research, grammaticality judgment tasks are often scrutinized on account of the lack of stability of responses to individual sentences. Although this claim is largely motivated by research on monolingual strings under a variety of variable conditions, the stability of code-switched grammaticality judgment data given by bilingual informants has yet to be systematically investigated. By comparing grammaticality judgment data from 3 groups of German-English bilinguals, Group A (N=50), Group B (N=34), and Group C (N=40), this thesis investigates the stability of grammaticality judgments in code-switching over time, as well as a potential difference in judgments between judgment data for spoken and written code-switching stimuli. Using a web-based survey, informants were asked to give ratings of each code-switched token. The results were computed and findings from a correlated groups t test attest to the stability of code-switched judgment data over time with a p value of .271 and to the validity of the methodologies currently in place. Furthermore, results from the study also indicated that no statistically significant difference was found between spoken and written judgment data as computed with an independent groups t test resulting in a p value of .186, contributing a valuable fact to the body of data collection practices in research in bilingualism. Results from this study indicate that there are significant differences attributable to language dominance for specific token types, which were calculated using an ANOVA test. However, when using group composite scores of all tokens, the ANOVA measure returned a non-significant score of .234, suggesting that bilinguals with differing language dominances rank in a similar manner. The findings from this study hope to help clarify current practices in code-switching research. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. German 2011

The diploma thesis is focused on using methods of multiple criteria decision making, in this case about business accounts. In theoretical part is described the banking systém of Czech republic, then methods of multiple criteria evaluation.The basic aim of this work was to evaluate the order of business accounts in terms of advantageousness, which are offered by banks on the banking market in the Czech republic. The sectional aim of this work is to get known with the problems of optimal choice of business accounts for a certain group of consumers, which in this case are small businesses. Before choosing a new business account it is always necessary to carefully explore banking market and its offers of business accounts. The important part of this thesis is that the certain client has to consider his preferences before we use quantitative methods. In this diploma thesis has also done a survey about the evaluation of business accounts. Then there are compared results of using methods of multiple criteria evaluation of the survey and model client. In conclusion, the results are described in the order of banking products from the best to the worst business account.

abstract: Time metric is an important consideration for all longitudinal models because it can influence the interpretation of estimates, parameter estimate accuracy, and model convergence in longitudinal models with latent variables. Currently, the literature on latent difference score (LDS) models does not discuss the importance of time metric. Furthermore, there is little research using simulations to investigate LDS models. This study examined the influence of time metric on model estimation, interpretation, parameter estimate accuracy, and convergence in LDS models using empirical simulations. Results indicated that for a time structure with a true time metric where participants had different starting points and unequally spaced intervals, LDS models fit with a restructured and less informative time metric resulted in biased parameter estimates. However, models examined using the true time metric were less likely to converge than models using the restructured time metric, likely due to missing data. Where participants had different starting points but equally spaced intervals, LDS models fit with a restructured time metric resulted in biased estimates of intercept means, but all other parameter estimates were unbiased, and models examined using the true time metric had less convergence than the restructured time metric as well due to missing data. The findings of this study support prior research on time metric in longitudinal models, and further research should examine these findings under alternative conditions. The importance of these findings for substantive researchers is discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2016

Submitted by Irene Nascimento (irene.kessia@ufpe.br) on 2017-04-26T19:30:27Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) JOSÉ MADSON MEDEIROS SOUZA.pdf: 960993 bytes, checksum: 744dc3a4320572806ee5c13596c6574d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-26T19:30:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) JOSÉ MADSON MEDEIROS SOUZA.pdf: 960993 bytes, checksum: 744dc3a4320572806ee5c13596c6574d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-08 / Problema relacionados a saúde mental estão entre as principais causas de morbidade no mundo, também provocando um grande número de afastamentos do trabalho. No Brasil, o ministério da saúde admite que cerca de 3% da população sofre com algum transtorno mental severo e persistente e eles são responsáveis por 3,593 anos de vida saudável perdida. O presente estudo tem por objetivo avaliar o impacto de um Serviço de pronto atendimento nas internações psiquiátricas no Estado da Paraíba. Foi utilizado o estimador diferenças-em-diferenças para captar o impacto do Serviço, no período que compreende os anos de 2000 e 2012, utilizando os elementos da Rede de Atenção Psicossocial, PIB e População como controle. Verificou-se que o programa foi efetivo, tendo seu resultado mais robusto quando comparado com os municípios da região metropolitana, com uma redução de 24,3% da média das internações psiquiátricas para os municípios tratados. O programa ainda mostrou-se mais eficiente em transtornos esquizofrênicos, em homens e na população entre 20 e 59 anos de idade. Também apresentou como resultado uma elevação do tempo de permanência na internação psiquiátrica para os municípios tratados e um aumento no custo médio das internações. O Serviço mostrou-se eficiente, contribuindo com a redução das internações psiquiátricas, revelando aspectos à cerca do tempo de permanência e custo total que poderão subsidiar o processo de tomada de decisões dos gestores das políticas de saúde. / Problems related to mental health are among the main causes of morbidity in the world, also causing a large number of sick leave. In Brazil, the Ministry of Health admits that about 3% of the population suffers from some persistent, severe mental disorder, and they are responsible for 3.593 healthy life years lost. This study aims to assess the impact of an emergency room service on psychiatric hospitalizations in the state of Paraiba. A difference-in-differences (DD) estimator was utilized to capture the impact of the service during the period comprising the years 2000 and 2012, using the elements of the Psychosocial Care Network (Rede de Atenção Psicossocial), GDP and population as a control. It was found that the program was effective, having its most robust result when compared with the municipalities of the metropolitan area, with a reduction of 24.3% of the average of psychiatric hospitalizations for the treated municipalities. The program also proved to be more efficient in schizophrenic disorders, in men and in the population between the ages of 20 and 59. It also presented as a result an increase in the length of psychiatric hospitalization stay for the treated municipalities and an increase in the average cost of hospitalizations. The service confirmed its effectiveness in contributing to the reduction of psychiatric hospitalizations, revealing aspects about the length of stay and total cost that can subsidize the process of decision making of managers of health policies.

Cette thèse décrit et analyse les liens entre les inégalités sociales de compétences à 15 ans et l’organisation du système éducatif. C’est en en investiguant les données de PISA 2000 à 2009 d’une vingtaine de pays européens que j’étudie la manière dont les caractéristiques institutionnelles des systèmes d’enseignement affectent l’ampleur et la structure des inégalités sociales de compétences en fin de scolarité obligatoire. La variété des configurations institutionnelles en Europe et une importante réforme du système éducatif polonais au début des années 2000 permettent d’analyser comment l’organisation du système éducatif module les effets de l’origine sociale de l’élève et de la composition sociale de l’établissement sur les compétences de l’élève. Mes analyses multiniveaux tendent à montrer que les politiques éducatives favorisant la différenciation du système éducatif et de son réseau d’établissements sont associées à de plus fortes inégalités sociales de compétences, essentiellement dues à l’amplification de l’effet de la composition sociale de l’établissement. La hausse des inégalités de compétences qui s’observe en France au cours de la décennie 2000 est analysée à l’aune des changements dans la composition des cohortes d’élèves et dans leurs conditions de scolarisation. Les analyses de décomposition quantile suggèrent que l’augmentation de la part d’élèves en difficulté découle moins de modifications dans la population d’élèves que d’une détérioration du fonctionnement du système éducatif et de l’engagement des élèves dans les apprentissages. / This research describes and analyses the links between social inequalities in skills and the organization of the education system. Investigating data from PISA 2000 to 2009 of more than twenty European countries, I study how institutional characteristics of education systems affect the magnitude and the structure of social inequalities at the end of compulsory schooling. The variety of institutional configurations in Europe as well as an important reform of the Polish education system allows to analyse how the organization of the educational system shapes the effects of student’s social origin and school social composition on student’s skills. Multilevel analyses tend to show that educational policies that foster school differentiation are associated with higher social inequalities in skills, mainly because of a greater school composition effect. The rise in skills inequalities across the 2000 decade in France is analyzed with regards to changes in the composition of the student population and in their schooling conditions. Results of the quantile decomposition suggest that the increasing share of low-achieving students stems less from changes in the student intake than to an impaired functioning of the education system and a lower learning engagement among students.

This study empirically investigates the dynamics and outcomes of leader-member conflict. It validates the values of cooperative conflict and damages of competitive conflict between leaders and employees, testing the effectiveness and universality of Deutsch's (1973) cooperation and competition theory. By bridging leadership and conflict management literature, it also identifies the role of transformational leadership in managing conflict effectively. Specifically, transformational leadership induces cooperative conflict and undermines competitive conflict between leaders and employees, which in turn increases task performance and leader effectiveness. A total of 112 interviews were conducted in mainland China from 2010 to 2011. Results of structural equation modeling and other analyses support the proposed model that transformational leadership affects conflict management approaches (cooperative conflict management, competitive conflict management) that in turn influence outcomes (task performance, leader effectiveness). Our findings suggest practical implications that leaders and employees can benefit from well-managed conflict, and that leaders can use transformational values and skills to handle conflict successfully in organizations.

Daicel Safety Systems Americas, INC has traditionally utilized various methods to manage project completions including the Critical Path Method (CPM). Though these methods have led to successful project completions, they often come with adverse effects. Due to the amount of literature and advancement in the project management discipline, alternative options such as Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) have gained popularity. CCPM seeks to perfect the CPM approach by recognizing resource constraints and the critical chains dependency on them while safeguarding completion dates with buffers. CCPM offers project managers an option to remove resource inefficiency and stalling while meeting deadlines. The goal of the thesis was to address the validity of CCPM to complete a Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) for a product line addition. The submission was timely due to risk management purposes and manufacturing flexibility. Because of past project history with CPM and the need to advance into a more reliable method, the results of the CCPM approach were heavily analyzed. The project outcome indicated that CCPM offers a viable solution to timely target schedule completions.

In this thesis, the aim is to investigate whether a pairs trading strategy on Swedish stocks can generate a higher risk-adjusted return compared to a buy-and-hold strategy on a benchmark index. The benchmark index is the OMX Stockholm Benchmark-index (OMXSBPI), which is an index that should reflect the Swedish market in general. With a statistical focus, a trading algorithm is built which is then evaluated on data between the years 2018 to 2021. The statistical concepts this thesis is based on are stationarity and cointegration and it is the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test that forms the basis for being able to test these concepts. The risk-adjusted return for the strategy is evaluated using the popular measure Sharpe ratio, which is then compared to the Sharpe ratio for the OMXSBPI-index. The results obtained in this study can not confirm that the pairs trading strategy is better than a buy-and-hold strategy on the OMXSBPI-index in terms of risk-adjusted return. One indication, however, is that the strategy seems to perform better in conditions when the market is declining. In 2018, the index went down by 7.7060 while the strategy went up by 7.5100 percent. As it is data for only one year, it is not possible to determine whether it is due to chance or a potential edge of the strategy.

No description available.