Acquisitions represent a common modus operandi of firm growth. Notwithstanding their lasting popularity, the majority of deals are reported to be unsuccessful. Given their prevalence and practical relevance, acquisitions have attracted scholarly interest from diverse academic disciplines and traditions. Despite the extensive volume of the acquisition literature, some intriguing questions remain unanswered and some essential assumptions remain untested. This dissertation seeks to explore several of these unanswered questions: What determines “us versus them” type of thinking in acquisitions? What influences social preferences, willingness to learn and the type and degree of trust in acquisitions? What roles do culture, organizational identity and status play in this regard? Shall we expect differences to be problematic all the time? Could it be the case that cultural differences sometimes lead to positive perceptions and reactions among individuals involved in acquisitions?  Motivated by these questions and many others, this dissertation primarily looks at the human side of acquisitions, and, in so doing, it problematizes the sociocultural dynamics during the initial phases of the post-acquisition process. Building on theories of social-psychology and utilizing experimental designs, the dissertation consists of three theoretical and three empirical papers, which address the aforementioned questions. The theoretical arguments and the empirical findings reported in this dissertation suggest that status differences between acquiring and acquired firms have discernable effects on key sociocultural integration outcomes like trust, social preferences, organizational commitment and knowledge transfer. Taken together, the arguments raised and results reported in this dissertation point out the important, yet hitherto relatively neglected, role of status in acquisitions, and in other similar inter-organizational modes. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2012</p>

Denna studie handlar om de barn som tycker att skolan är väldigt lätt och om deras rätt att få stimuleras och utvecklas utifrån deras behov. Syftet med mitt arbete är att ta reda på hur pedagoger uppfattar dessa begåvade elever och hur de arbetar för att stötta dem på ett pedagogiskt utvecklande sätt. Efter att ha gått igenom relevant litteratur inom mitt område så använde jag mig av kvalitativa intervjuer för att få svar på mina frågeställningar och genomförde intervjuer med tre verksamma pedagoger. Mina slutsatser blev att begåvade barn inte är något som det pratas mycket om och att det kanske är lätt att det fokuseras för lite på denna elevgrupp. Mina respondenter hade svårt att skilja på begåvade och högpresterande barn men menade att ett begåvat barn är ett barn som lär sig väldigt snabbt utan några hinder. Alla mina intervjupersoner visade dock en medvetenhet kring vikten av att möta varje individ där hen befinner sig och de menade att man tillsammans med eleven måste finna vad just den eleven behöver arbeta med för att fortsätta utvecklas. Alla barn har rätt att stimuleras och tycka att skolan är viktig och lärorik. / This study is about the children who think that school is very easy and about their right to be stimulated and develop based on their needs. The purpose of my study is to find out how teachers perceive these gifted students and how they are working to support them in an educational developmental way. After going through the relevant literature in my field I used qualitative interviews to answer my questions and conducted interviews with three working teachers. My conclusions are that gifted children are not something that is discussed and it’s easy to forget to focus on this group of students. My respondents found it difficult to distinguish between gifted and high-performing pupils but said that a gifted child is a child who learns very quickly without any obstacles. All my interviewees, however, showed an awareness of the importance of meeting each individual on their level. They also said that they, together with the pupil, have to find out what that particular pupil needs to work on to continue to develop. All children have the right to be stimulated and to think that school is important and educational.

A particular interest of distance education researchers is the community of inquiry framework, which was developed for the purpose of taking a closer look at computer mediated communication in educational contexts (Garrison, Anderson, Archer, 2000). However, it is somewhat surprising that although the community of inquiry framework has been developed based on distance education contexts, it does not consider the complexities of the community’s global and local contexts, the potential linguistic demands of the teaching and learning contexts, and how power, agency, and identities are negotiated in these contexts. Through six cases of online instructors teaching in international contexts at the tertiary level, I explored the negotiation of teaching presence as viewed through the lens of cultural historical activity theory (Engeström, 1999, 2001). In this view, instructors are engaged in a dynamic process in which teaching presence is shaped through the mediating components of the activity system. This multi-case study employed cross case analysis drawing on data from interviews with students, program coordinators, and instructors, in addition to analyses of discussion forum transcripts, course documents, formative evaluations, student and instructor reflections, and researcher-participant observations. The linguistic challenges faced by both instructor and students for whom the language of instruction was a second or third language and instructors’ sociocultural identities, positioning, and conceptualization of the online interaction spaces were found to be important mediators in the negotiation of teaching presence.

While integrating to socio cultural environment such person’s features like ability to watch, analyze, interpret and estimate the qualities of motion, language (intonation), sound and view. This trains communication culture in various social situations. The improvement of body movements opens the opportunity to experience the joy which comes from educated, strong, healthy organism, it creates preconditions of person’s self expression and self realization. However in various spheres of life and work it is often being hidden behind the stream of words, not emphasizing the plastic opportunities of person’s body. In the activity of sports body movements can be described by cultural point of view, the not verbal motion of the body is modernized which has some aesthetic value. Improving human’s body movements will get socio cultural quality which could be expressed by the unity of peculiarities using them as the means of self expression in the socio cultural activity. That is why movement culture and their plastic (aesthetic) expression is one of the person’s problems of the cultural upbringing. The object of the investigation is the importance of the aesthetic movement to person’s socio cultural integration. The aim of the investigation is to reveal the importance of the adult’s body movements improving to their socio cultural integration. The hypothesis of the investigation is that improving of the body movements (in the aesthetic point of view) to the adult’s socio cultural... [to full text]

Bakalauro darbe nagrinėjama kūno kultūros ir sporto tyrimų gausi užsienio ir lietuvių literatūra, pristatomi sporto, kaip socialinio-kultūrinio reiškinio, istoriografijoje rezultatai, nagrinėjami istorikų, filosofų, žurnalistų, sporto darbuotojų, trenerių įvairaus pobūdžio darbai apie Lietuvos sportą kaip socialinį-kultūrinį reiškinį,jo svarbą asmens, visuomenės ir valstybės raidai. Tyrimo problema charakterizuojama klausimais: Kokie sporto, kaip sociakultūrinio reiškinio aspektai, išryškinami lietuvių istoriografijoje? Kokia jų atspindėjimo specifika? Kokie skirtumai ir panašumai dominuoja tarp užsienio ir lietuvių mokslinės literatūros? Tyrimo tikslas - išanalizuoti ir apibendrinti pagrindinius sporto, kaip socialinio-kultūrinio reiškinio, aspektus lietuvių istoriografijoje ir išaiškinti silpniausias tyrinėtojų veiklos puses, į kurias turėtų būti kreipiamos jų pastangos, taip pat nustatyti jų panašumus ir skirtumus su užsienio mokslininkų tyrimais. Tyrimo objektas - sporto kaip sociokultūrinio reiškinio istoriografija. Istoriografinė analizė parodė, kad užsienio mokslininkų tyrimų arealas pasirinkta tema yra kur kas platesnis ir išsamesnis. Pagal moksliškumo lygmenį visus iki šiol Lietuvoje atliktus tyrimus galima skirstyti į tris pagrindines grupes: darbai, analizuojantys teorinius sporto, kaip socialinio-kultūrinio reiškinio, aspektus, sporto istorijos publikacijos, istorikų ir kitų sričių mokslininkų darbuose, populiari mokslinė literatūra apie kūno kultūrą ir sportą... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the undergraduate work physical culture and sport research objects are analysed, the results of sport as sociocultural phenomenon in historiography are presented, various works about Lithuanian sport as sociocultural phenomenon of historians, philosophers, sport workers, trainers are analysed from the aspect of importance of sport in personal, social and state development. The problem of the research is characterized by the question: What aspects of sport as sociocultural phenomenon are emphasized in Lithuanian historiography, what is particularity of its reflection? What are the differences and similarities among the dominant foreign and Lithuanian scientific literature? The aim of the research is to analyse and summarise the main aspects of sport as sociocultural phenomenon in Lithuanian historiography and also to identify their similarities and differences in research with foreign scientists. The object is the survey of sport as sociocultural phenomenon in historiography. The historical analysis showed that the range of foreign scientific research on a topic are much broader and more detailed. By scientific level all the researches done to this moment in Lithuania can be divided into the three groups: works in which sport as sociocultural phenomenon is analysed in theoretical aspect, sport history publications, works of historians and scientists from other spheres on this topic, popular scientific literature on physical culture and sport. The problematic of researches... [to full text]

West-countries museums, which had represented the traditional, historical and national values, have transformed since 1980 extending the range and character of their activities. Such transformations in Lithuania started in 1990, after regaining Lithuania independence. The museums, along with representation of „high level“ culture, started to take part in the processes of contemporary and popular culture, and the range of their activities started to vary a lot. The needs of museum visitors became one of the main issue. Anyway, the issues of interaction and relationship between museums and community, the analysis of museums sociocultural activities still remain very important problem requiring deeper studies. This study investigates municipality museums sociocultural activities. The study focuses on conceptualization of such activities, the interaction between museums and regional communities which is understood by meeting sociocultural needs of the visitors. This research project includes four pats. First three parts presents literature analysis: the theoretical basis of museums sociocultural activities, museums-community relationship peculiarities and general museums policy in Lithuania in 1990 – 2004. The fourth part includes the investigation of museums sociocultural activities in community from the visitor’s point of view. The following museums were included in the study: Panevėžys country, Biržai, Kupiškis, Pasvalys and Rokiškis municipality museums. 136 visitors... [to full text]

Kaip buvo numatyta bakalauro darbo „Paauglystės vaizdavimas Algimanto Zurbos romanuose paaugliams“ (2010) išvadose, šiame darbe tęsiamas sovietmečiu populiaraus ir šiuo metu vis dar kuriančio rašytojo Algimanto Zurbos (g. 1942) kūrybos tyrinėjimas. Praplečiami Zurbos kūrybos sociokultūriniai aspektai, tyrinėjama rašytojo vieta lyginant sovietmečio ir šiandienos literatūros lauką ¬– taigi linkstama ne prie meninės kūrinių analizės, kuri buvo atlikta bakalauro darbe, o prie politinių, socialinių, kultūrinių kontekstų, nulėmusių Zurbos kūrybos savitumą. Šie sociokultūriniai Zurbos kūrybos tyrimai paremti žymiausio prancūzų sociologo Pierre‘o Bourdieu literatūros lauko teorija bei lietuvių literatūros sociologės Loretos Jakonytės darbais, kuriuose išsamiai aprašoma lietuvių literatūros lauko raida. Remiantis dr. Valdemaro Klumbio disertacija „Lietuvos kultūrinio elito elgsenos modeliai sovietmečiu“ (2009), analizuojami Zurbos santykiai su sovietmečio valdžios institucijomis, pabrėžiamas rašytojui būdingas išorinio prisitaikymo modelis, susijęs su viešai deklaruojama valdžiai palankia laikysena, bet ne ideologinės pasaulėžiūros perėmimu. Kontekstinė kūrinių analizė paremta prancūzų pragmatikos atstovo Dominique Maingueneau literatūros konteksto teorija bei prancūzo sociokritikos atstovo Pierre‘o Barberr‘o darbais. Pagrindiniai tyrinėjimų šaltiniai – Zurbos publicistika, skelbta įvairiuose periodiniuose leidiniuose bei autobiografija „Gal taip reikėjo“ (2012). Darbe siekiama... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / As it was foreseen in the BA paper “Paauglystės vaizdavimas Algimanto Zurbos romanuose”, this paper continues analysing Algimantas Zurba’s (b. 1942), who was popular during soviet times and is still creating nowadays, creation. The sociocultural aspects of Zurba’s creation were extended by analysing the place of the writer by comparing the field of soviet times’ and today’s literature – therefore it is tend not to the artistic analysis of works, which was done in the BA paper, but to political, social, cultural contexts that determined the peculiarity of Zurba’s creation. This sociocultural research of Zurba’s creative work is based on the most famous French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s literature field theory and Lithuanian literature sociologist Loreta Jakonytė’s works, in which the development of Lithuanian literature field is exhaustively described. In accordance with Dr. Valdemaras Klumbys’ thesis “Lietuvos kultūrinio elito elgsenos modeliai sovietmečiu” (2009), the relationships of Zurba and soviet government institutions are analysed; the emphasis is put on typical for the writer external adjustment model, which is related to publicly declared, favourable to the government, attitude, but not to ideological worldview support. Contextual analysis of works is based on the representative of French pragmatics Dominique Maingueneau’s literature context theory and on the representative of French socio-criticism Pierre Barberr’s works. The sources of the research are... [to full text]

We live in a society where the technology has an enormous role in our lives. The average age of using digital tools among Swedish people is down to a very young age. In the recent period of time there has been much debate about tablets and their use in preschools. The aim of this study is to examine the preschool teachers experiences and perceptions of tablet use and how the implementation of the tablets benefits the school activities. What is central to this research is not how kids use the tablet, but how educators are using the tablet device as supplement for children’s development. A qualitative method is used on this study in form of interviews. Results of the interviews showed that teacher who went on a further education in tablet use was more knowledgeable in tablet use then the teachers who didn’t went.

A sociocultural ontology forms the foundation for this grounded theory ethnography describing how teachers in a U.S. elementary school changed professional learning from a “training model” to a “situative model.” Findings answer the research question: How does the introduction of a situative model influence the process of teacher learning and professional development? A practitioner researcher stance and emic perspective facilitated an iterative analysis of 42 veteran teachers during the first-year implementation of a situative professional learning model called Teacher Communities of Learning (TCLs). Data collection included a repeated questionnaire, participant observations with field notes, and audio transcripts of TCL meetings. Formal and informal interviews provided opportunities for triangulation of data and theory development. ATLAS.ti assisted a constant comparative analysis process. Findings include a description of teachers’ participation in TCLs, influences on participation (e.g., roles, care, reflection), responses to TCLs among Suntree teachers, and shifts that occurred during the academic year as TCLs were introduced. The role of practitioner research in school and teacher change processes, the process of negotiation during situative learning, and differences in teachers’ roles and responses to TCLs are discussed. This research promotes a model for understanding how reflection and enaction account for teacher change and the importance of an ethic of care on formation of a professional community of learners.

Pagrindinis tyrimo tikslas – ištirti vaikų auklėjimo raidą šeimoje. Tyrimo tikslas atskleis kaip vaikų auklėjimas pakito šiandien. Problema – šeimos auklėjimo įtaka vaiko socioedukacijai reikšminga. Pasirinkti auklėjimo būdai, metodai, socioedukaciniai ir sociokultūriniai aspektai formuoja vaiko asmenybės pagrindą. Tyrimo objektas – paauglių tėvų požiūris į savo pačių ir savo vaikų auklėjimą. Uždaviniai: 1. Išanalizuoti vaikų auklėjimą, ugdymą, socializaciją šeimoje. 2. Ištirti vaikų auklėjimo ypatybes, būdus, metodus, socioedukacinius ir sociokultūrinius auklėjimo aspektus šeimoje. 3. Ištirti vaikų auklėjimo ypatybių, būdų, metodų, socioedukacinių ir sociokultūrinių auklėjimo aspektų šeimoje raidą ir pokyčius. 4. Įvertinti vaikų auklėjimo šeimoje pokyčius per pastaruosius dvidešimt metų. Tyrimo metodai: 1. Teorinės ir metodinės socialinės – psichologinės literatūros analizė; 2. Empirinio tyrimo atlikimas ir tyrimo duomenų statistinė analizė. Atlikta anketinė tėvų, auginančių paauglius, apklausa. Tyrime dalyvavo 110 Vilniaus miesto tėvų. Tyrimas atliktas 2011 m. kovo mėnesį. Buvo taikoma patogioji tiriamųjų atranka. Išvados: šiandien vaikų auklėjimas labiau demokratijos pagrindais grįstas, nei prieš dvidešimt metų. Šiais laikais tėvai mažiau naudoja smurto, o labiau įsiklauso į paauglio norus. / The main aim of this research is to analyze the development of children socioeducation in Lithuanian families and understand how the development of children socioeducation are changed in nowadays. The research problem: family is making strong influence to children development. The families pick out development patterns, methods, socioeducational and sociocultural aspects form the child’s personality basis. The research object: adolescences’ parents’ options about their parents and their education in family. Tasks: 1. To analyze children education and socialization in family. 2. To survey children education characteristics, patterns, methods, socioeducational and sociocultural aspects in family. 3. To survey development and alterations of children education characteristics, methods, socioeducational and sociocultural aspects in family. 4. To evaluate how changed children education in family during twenty years. Methods: The questionnaires were distributed among the parents at workplaces in Vilnius. 110 parents completed questionnaires. Results: Nowadays children education in family is more democracy then twenty years ago. Parents attempt to strike a balance between demanding that their children behave appropriately and responding to their children’s need.