The increased attention to multinational companies¡¦ (MNC) sustainability in both academic and practitioner realms has raised an important question of why more and more firms behave in a socially responsible manner, especially in today¡¦s global economy. Drawing upon RBV and institutional theory incorporating theoretical insights from international business and stakeholder or CSR-related theories, this research was conducted in an attempt to offer a systematic analysis on antecedents and consequences of MNC subsidiaries¡¦ sustainability conducts. Combining the results of preliminary qualitative and empirical quantitative studies, this research identified the internal factors within MNC and external institutional factors outside of MNC that influence subsidiary¡¦ resources and capabilities developments for sustainable developments, and that in turn collectively contribute to MNC¡¦s sustainability in modern complex, dynamic global economy. With the sample of 114 MNCs¡¦ subsidiaries, this research used SEM (structural equation modeling) technique to test an integrated framework addressing how the diverse stakeholder demands and institutional pressures facing MNCs can be managed through internal mechanisms and processes to gain sustainable competitive advantages. Findings of this research offered better explanation for the widely debated relationships between CSR and firm performance from CSR theorists. Furthermore, by integrating RBV and institutional theory, this research theoretically and empirically demonstrated the way MNCs develop firm-specific advantages and country-specific advantages through their proactive CSR management conducted by subsidiaries, and hence provided theoretical and practical insights in international management.

This paper proposes to explain how different players unite to change the negative image of their city, Dresden, caused by nationalistic political movements like Pegida. The first part of this research contains a literature revue on three main topics: The network theories, the territories and the project management. The goal is to get an overview on that concepts and to better understand them. In a second part, we will try to understand how their collaboration could help to make the territory dynamic, through the interviews of four stakeholders of the project "F?te de la musique meets Europe". To achieve this, we will analyze the factors that pushed them to invest in the project and try to target the shared vision they developed, but also examine the issues, the difficulties and the contribution of networking and project management.

Vol. 1 : Parcours de géographe : entre engagement professionnel et militant, un parcours fortement ancré dans la société - Vol. 2 : Le temps libre des enfants et des jeunes à l'épreuve des contextes territoriaux : les pratiques sociales, l'offre de services, les politiques locales - Vol. 3 : Recueil de productions : d'une géographie de la population à une géographie sociale.

<p> </p> <p>     The purpose of this study was to explore the rural schooling experience of ten high school students attending a small high school located in a rural county in Indiana regarding college and postsecondary aspirations. Specifically, do they have a positive, negative, or neutral view of college? Who or what is influencing their perceptions, values, and beliefs regarding college? Also, this study focused on rural Indiana, providing a Middle America “rural focus” because it is not prevalent in the literature. This qualitative single case study used a sociocultural framework and utilized information gathered from student personal essays, and semi-structured focus group interviews, which provided insights into how rural students perceive college. In addition to the student perspectives, the high school principal and college and career guidance counselor were also interviewed to provide context regarding the culture of the school, community, family involvement, and socioeconomic metrics and how these factors influence the educational and occupational aspirations of students at the site school. Each interview was recorded, transcribed, and coded for data analysis. The data were analyzed using open coding as articulated by Given (2008) as well as the eight-step focus coding process articulated by Tesch (1990) to identify emergent themes. Six themes emerged as providing perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs regarding college as well as the sociocultural and habitus influences concerning educational and occupational aspirations: (1) schooling experience; (2) juxtaposition of postsecondary education; (3) college is expensive; (4) guidance counselor- too many hats and limited resources; (5) influences of educational and occupational aspirations; (6) athletics – more than an extracurricular activity. Results showed the significance of the secondary schooling experience and the juxtaposition of postsecondary education, specifically concerning skilled trade occupations, especially for male students. The cost of college was discerning for the students as well as the burden of paying for college. Attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs differed based on perceived academic ability and gender. This study offers insights into the cultural role of the family, school, and community regarding postsecondary aspirations and how to increase postsecondary matriculation rate of rural youth. </p>

The struggle for the customer has become a priority for the fashion industriesconsidering that it is the customers’ willing to shop that guarantees theircontinuous survival on today’s competitive market. To keep the customer happyand satisfied, should be their priority as this leads to an economic advantagesince the customer becomes the companies strongest allay with help of the socalled “word of mouth” effect. The positive response is then transmitted fromthe customer, acting as a spokes- person for the company. It is therefore in thecompany’s interest to investigate and find out the actual attitudes and opinionsso that the company may become more customer oriented and competitive.Zara and H &amp; M are today two big fashion industries with similar products,price friendly and accessible fashion clothes. They act on the same market andtheir latest annual reports place the two companies as leaders in their business.By performing a quality and quantity interview investigation with the abovementioned companies customers I will display the actual attitudes and opinionsof these customers in Gothenburg and Madrid with the purpose to answer thereports question may an H &amp; M customer and Zara customer be the samecustomer?The results of the investigation show that there are some general similarities anddifferences among the areas, price and design. Zara customers see the companyas “middle class” and “sophisticated” while H &amp; M customers think of thecompany’s garments as “cheap” and “youthful”.The answer to this reports lead question with the analyzing of the empiricalmaterial and information reveals that there is a better possibility that a Zaracustomer is an H &amp; M customer and vice versa but it’s very unlikely that a Zaracustomer with high financial mien shops in H &amp; M in Madrid, this mayalthough be the case in Gothenburg. / <p>Program: Textilekonomutbildningen</p><p>Uppsatsnivå: C</p>

Šiandien tautinio auklėjimo problema yra gana aktuali. Vis labiau plintant kosmopolitinėms idėjoms, šeima ima nutautėti, o maišantis tautoms, praranda ir savo tautinį identitetą. Nežiūrint to, kad švietimą reglamentuojančiuose dokumentuose tautinis auklėjimas deklaruojamas kaip prioritetinė kryptis, tačiau taip vadinamas „pilietiškumas“ formuoja priešingas nuostatas toms tautiškumo idėjoms, kurios buvo puoselėjamos tarpukario Lietuvoje ar deklaruojamas pirmaisiais nepriklausomybės atgavimo metais. Todėl svarbu, kad vaikų darželyje būtų siekiama nuo pat mažens ugdyti tautinės savimonės jausmą, etninę dorovę, pagarbą tradicijai. Tai turi atsispinėti ugdymo turinyje etnokultūrą integruojant į visas ugdymo sritis. Tyrimo tikslas: ištirti tautinio ugdymo perspektyvą ikimokyklioniame ugdyme. Uždaviniai: • Išsiaiškinti tinkamų sąlygų sudarymą tautiškumui ugdyti. • Atskleisti vaikų tautinio ugdymo aspektus įvairių veiklų metu. • Išsiaiškinti svarbiausius veiksnius, kurie įtakoja tautinės asmenybės ugdymą vaikų darželyje ir šeimoje. • Išsiaiškinti pedagogų ir tėvų požiūrį į tautinį auklėjimą ir perspektyvą. Tyrimo problema – veiksniai, lemiantys tautinio ugdymo sėkmę, perspektyvas. Tyrimo metodai: anketavimas: statistinių duomenų lyginamoji analizė. Tyrimo dalyviai: Marijampolės apskrities X lopšelių – darželių 50 pedagogų ir 50 tėvų. Tyrimo duomenys apdoroti Microsoft Excel programa. Tyrimas parodė, kad darželio ir šeimos aplinka, ugdymo bazė, bendruomenės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Today nation education problem is pretty urgent thing. More and more spreading cosmopolitical ideas, because of that family starts to forget her national culture. When nations is shuffling nation loses speech and national identity. Heute ist das Problem der Nationalerziehung ganz aktuell. Kosmopolitische Ideen verbreiten sich immer mehr, und die Familie verliert allmählich ihre Nationalität, die Völker vermischen sich und verlieren ihre nationale Identität. Ungeachtet dessen, dass die Nationalerziehung in den bildungsreglamentierenden Dokumenten als eine Prioritätsrichtung erklärt wird, formiert jedoch die sogenannte „Bürgerlichkeit“ entgegengesetzte Vorurteile den Nationalideen, die in Litauen der Zwischenkriegszeit gepflegt oder in den ersten Jahren der nationalen Unabhängigkeit erklärt wurden. Deswegen ist es wichtig, im Kindergarten von klein an das Gefühl des nationalen Bewusstseins, Ethnosittlichkeit, Traditionenrespekt zu erziehen. Das muss sich im Bildungsinhalt wiederspiegeln, während die Ethnokultur in alle Bildungsbereiche integriert wird. Ziel der Forschung: Perspektive der Nationalerziehung in der Vorschlbildung zu erforschen. Aufgaben: Erklärung der passenden Bedingungen für die Nationalerziehung. Erklärung der Aspekte der Nationalerziehung der Kinder während verschiedener Tätigkeit. Erklärung der wichtigsten Faktoren, die die Erziehung der nationalen Persönlichket im Kindergarten und in... [to full text] / Heute ist das Problem der Nationalerziehung ganz aktuell. Kosmopolitische Ideen verbreiten sich immer mehr, und die Familie verliert allmählich ihre Nationalität, die Völker vermischen sich und verlieren ihre nationale Identität. Ungeachtet dessen, dass die Nationalerziehung in den bildungsreglamentierenden Dokumenten als eine Prioritätsrichtung erklärt wird, formiert jedoch die sogenannte „Bürgerlichkeit“ entgegengesetzte Vorurteile den Nationalideen, die in Litauen der Zwischenkriegszeit gepflegt oder in den ersten Jahren der nationalen Unabhängigkeit erklärt wurden. Deswegen ist es wichtig, im Kindergarten von klein an das Gefühl des nationalen Bewusstseins, Ethnosittlichkeit, Traditionenrespekt zu erziehen. Das muss sich im Bildungsinhalt wiederspiegeln, während die Ethnokultur in alle Bildungsbereiche integriert wird. Ziel der Forschung: Perspektive der Nationalerziehung in der Vorschlbildung zu erforschen. Aufgaben: Erklärung der passenden Bedingungen für die Nationalerziehung. Erklärung der Aspekte der Nationalerziehung der Kinder während verschiedener Tätigkeit. Erklärung der wichtigsten Faktoren, die die Erziehung der nationalen Persönlichket im Kindergarten und in der Familie beeinflussen. Erklärung der Meinung der Pädagogen und Eltern über die Nationalerziehung und die Perspektive. Das Problem der Forschung – Faktoren, die für den Erfolg und Perspektiven der Nationalerziehung... [der volle Text, siehe weiter]

Abstract Since 2010, the National Agency for Education has had an intention to improve teaching and learning in schools by introducing collaborative structures. In order to develop a learning school organisation, with the aim that all students are able to reach their educational goals, shared responsibility and common learning is advocated. The study focuses on a school´s implementation of teaching learning communities (TLC) based on teachers´ engagement in systematic collaborative work. The theoretical framework is based on social- culture perspectives. The aim of the study is to explore important conditions as well as success factors which can be related to a TLC work. The analyses are based on nine interviews and findings indicate that challenging factors are; the importance of leadership, a democratic collaborative structure and the teachers´ attitudes towards professional learning. The success factors indicate that a collaborative teaching learning is possible by challenging each other’s ideas and practices, a development of professional language, increased self-esteem and the improvement of teacher´s relations and new perspectives according to teaching and pupil´s learning. The study indicates that a demanding factor for a well-performing teaching learning community is based on a well-organized leadership. Leaders ought to be aware of how democratic processes might threaten collaborative work and how a successful leadership is formed.

Syftet med min uppsats är att undersöka vad några elever i årskurs 9 har för kunskap om kursplanen i fysik, samt hur de uppfattar att denna kunskap påverkar deras lärande. Undersökningen består av sex kvalitativa elevintervjuer. En slutsats som framkommit i undersökningen är att om elever delges kunskap om vad kursplanen är och dess syfte kan det användas som ett verktyg till att höja motivationen och på så sätt även gynna lärandeprocessen. Men kursplanen är endast en liten del i vad som kan påverka lärandet i den formativa bedömningen. Även svårigheter i att förstå och göra skillnad på begrepp så som kursplan, kunskapskrav och centralt innehåll framkommer. I det sociokulturella perspektivet kan kursplanen och kommunikationen om den samma ses som en resurs och ett verktyg i lärandeprocessen. / The purpose of my study is to evaluate what knowledge some Swedish fifteen year old students’ in 9 th grade had about the syllabus in physics, and how they perceive that the knowledge affects their learning process. The method, six qualitative interviews which is used in the evaluation, is chosen by the principles which can be found in studies of social science. One of the conclusions drawn from the study is that if students communicated knowledge about what the syllabus is and its purpose, it could be used as an artefact in the socio-cultural perspective of learning to improve motivation and increase the learning process. Over all, the syllabus is a very small part in what impacts the learning process in the formative assessment. Even difficulties in understanding concepts and the differences in concepts as syllabus, knowledge requirements and the content of importance has appeal in the process. In the perspective of social culture, communication of the syllabus can be seen as a resource in the learning processes.

The military recently recognized the importance of taking sociocultural factors into consideration. Therefore, Human Social Culture Behavior (HSCB) modeling has been getting much attention in current and future operational requirements to successfully understand the effects of social and cultural factors on human behavior. There are different kinds of modeling approaches to the data that are being used in this field and so far none of them has been widely accepted. HSCB modeling needs the capability to represent complex, ill-defined, and imprecise concepts, and soft computing modeling can deal with these concepts. There is currently no study on the use of any computational methodology for representing the relationship between adverse events and infrastructure development investments in an active war theater. This study investigates the relationship between adverse events and infrastructure development projects in an active war theater using soft computing techniques including fuzzy inference systems (FIS), artificial neural networks (ANNs), and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) that directly benefits from their accuracy in prediction applications. Fourteen developmental and economic improvement project types were selected based on allocated budget values and a number of projects at different time periods, urban and rural population density, and total adverse event numbers at previous month selected as independent variables. A total of four outputs reflecting the adverse events in terms of the number of people killed, wounded, hijacked, and total number of adverse events has been estimated. For each model, the data was grouped for training and testing as follows: years between 2004 and 2009 (for training purpose) and year 2010 (for testing). Ninety-six different models were developed and investigated for Afghanistan iv and the country was divided into seven regions for analysis purposes. Performance of each model was investigated and compared to all other models with the calculated mean absolute error (MAE) values and the prediction accuracy within ±1 error range (difference between actual and predicted value). Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the effects of input values on dependent variables and to rank the top ten input parameters in order of importance. According to the the results obtained, it was concluded that the ANNs, FIS, and ANFIS are useful modeling techniques for predicting the number of adverse events based on historical development or economic projects’ data. When the model accuracy was calculated based on the MAE for each of the models, the ANN had better predictive accuracy than FIS and ANFIS models in general as demonstrated by experimental results. The percentages of prediction accuracy with values found within ±1 error range around 90%. The sensitivity analysis results show that the importance of economic development projects varies based on the regions, population density, and occurrence of adverse events in Afghanistan. For the purpose of allocating resources and development of regions, the results can be summarized by examining the relationship between adverse events and infrastructure development in an active war theater; emphasis was on predicting the occurrence of events and assessing the potential impact of regional infrastructure development efforts on reducing number of such events.

Résumé : Dans le secteur médical, la nanovectorisation ciblée (NVC) est susceptible de lever de nombreux verrous technologiques en matière de traitements médicaux. L’absence d’une démarche axée sur les impacts possibles, l’acceptation et l’acceptabilité de la NVC pourrait toutefois conduire à un manque d’adéquation entre les applications développées et les besoins et valeurs des utilisateurs, freinant ultimement leur déploiement. Sur la base d’un modèle interdisciplinaire d’analyse d’impact et d’acceptabilité, les variables de perception des impacts, d’acceptation d’acceptabilité ont été opérationnalisées et étudiées au regard de la nature du nanovecteur, du contexte d’usage clinique et de la culture disciplinaire et sociale des répondants. L’exploration des impacts perçus, mobilisés et pondérés sur un ensemble d’enjeux éthiques, économiques, environnementaux, légaux et sociaux (E[indice supérieur 3]LS) a permis d’établir un premier portrait de l’acceptabilité de cette application. Une approche descriptive-exploratoire fondée sur un devis mixte avec triangulation séquentielle des données a été employée. Les données ont été collectées en deux phases, d’abord par le biais d’un questionnaire en ligne (n=214), puis par des entrevues individuelles semi-dirigées (n=22). Une recension des scientifiques actifs du secteur des technologies émergentes œuvrant en sciences naturelles et ingénierie ainsi qu’en sciences humaines et sociales a permis de former l’échantillon final composé de chercheurs Français et Québécois. L’opérationnalisation du cadre de référence a permis de montrer l’importance de distinguer le dispositif et les usages lors de la formulation du jugement d’acceptabilité, relevant parallèlement une influence du contexte d’usage sur l’acceptabilité des applications de NVC. Des variations disciplinaires et sociales quant aux jugements d’acceptabilité ont aussi été soulevées, soulignant des sensibilités culturelles relativement aux éléments mobilisés dans le jugement d’acceptabilité. Ces distinctions relatives à la manière d’appréhender la NVC invitent à dépasser les approches traditionnelles d’acceptation technologiques et à converger vers une approche d’acceptabilité axée sur les impacts perçus et valorisés relativement à un ensemble d’enjeux E[indice supérieur 3]LS. Les résultats des deux phases de l’étude ont aussi montré que l’opérationnalisation du cadre théorique de référence était adéquate pour arriver à cette fin. Ultimement, afin de prendre en compte et de comprendre l’étendue possible des impacts perçus et valorisés dans le jugement d’acceptabilité de l’ensemble des acteurs concernés par les nouvelles applications nanomédicales, l’élaboration de ces applications bénéficierait à employer une telle approche et à l’intégrer aux processus de développement technologique. / Abstract : In many medical fields, nanocarrier-based targeted drug-delivery (TDD) is likely to remove many technical obstacles regarding treatment. The lack of an approach based on variables such as potential impacts, acceptance, and acceptability could however lead to a mismatch between TDD applications being developed and users’ needs and values; this mismatch could ultimately hold back their deployment. Based on an interdisciplinary approach for the analysis of impact and acceptability of emerging technologies, three main concepts of a new theoretical framework—perceived impacts, acceptance, and acceptability—have been operationalized. This operationalisation has been studied in the light of several variables, namely the nature of the nanocarrier, the clinical context of use, and the disciplinary and social culture of the respondents. An exploration of the impacts perceived, mobilized and weighted, based on a set of ethical, economic, environmental, legal and social (E[superscript 3]LS) issues allowed to establish a first portrait of the acceptability of this application. A descriptive-exploratory approach based on a mixed-methods design with sequential data triangulation was used. The data were collected in two phases, first through an online questionnaire (n = 214), and then through semi-structured individual interviews (n = 22). The final sample was composed of French and French-Canadian researchers involved in themes related to emerging technologies, all from natural sciences and engineering or from humanities and social sciences. The operationalisation of the theoretical framework highlighted the importance of distinguishing the device and the uses when formulating the acceptability judgment, revealing also the influence of the context of use on the acceptability of TDD applications. Disciplinary and social variations related to acceptability judgments were also raised, highlighting possible cultural sensitivities regarding elements mobilized in those acceptability judgments. These distinctions on how are apprehended TDD applications invite to go beyond traditional approaches of technology acceptance and to converge toward approaches of acceptability; those approaches also need to integrate how impacts on E[superscript 3]LS issues are perceived and weighted. The results of both phases of the study also showed that the operationalization of the theoretical framework was adequate to achieve that end. Ultimately, in order to figure and to understand the broad spectrum of possible impacts that may be perceived and valued in the acceptability judgment of stakeholders affected by the development of new nanomedical applications as TDD, the development process of those applications could benefit from integrating this approach.