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This study examines the organisational culture of the Scottish Fire Service, and the political pressures for change emanating from the modernisation agenda of both the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments. Having completed a preliminary analysis of the Fire Service‟s culture, by examining the cultural history of the Scottish Fire Service and the process through which individuals are socialised into the Service, the study analyses the contemporary culture of the Service through research in three Scottish Fire Brigades. This research concludes that there is a clearly defined Fire Service culture, which is predicated on the operational task of fighting fire, based on strong teams and infused with masculinity at all levels. In these circumstances, the Service‟s cultural realities attempt to exclude women and are derisive in their regard for other more marginalised males. Following an analysis of Government driven imperatives for change, being applied to the Fire Service, it is further concluded that the resistance to change, evident within the cultural realities of the Service, can be defined as an attempt to defend one of the last bastions of male identification in the workplace.

When William Carew (1689–1744) and Reginald Pole-Carew (1753–1835) unexpectedly inherited the Antony estates in the southwest of England, each invested in material culture to create, maintain and justify his distinction as a landowning member of élite society. Discourses around the uses of visual and material culture throughout the eighteenth century are usually framed in contrast: either the ostentatious collections of the hereditary nobility which denoted rank, wealth and power, or the status-seeking “middling sorts” who used luxury goods to paper over social and cultural gaps. In the space between these two social groups were the Carews (and a great number of landed gentry like them) who built relatively unpretentious country houses and who commissioned, collected and displayed luxury goods as statements of an identity not based on declarations of affluence, prestige, or social mobility. Using original, unpublished, archival research and testing the findings against historical and contemporary studies, the interdisciplinary approaches in this thesis will analyse the Carews’ uses of luxury goods – in country-house building, landscaping and portraiture– to cultivate an identity commensurate with their aims. Unpacking a strategy of distinction for each of William Carew and Reginald Pole-Carew offers a new perspective on eighteenth-century conspicuous consumption. The findings assert that what the Carews commissioned, collected and displayed fills a gap in current scholarship and must be integrated into any comprehensive understanding of the uses of luxury goods throughout the century.

The study is located within a Scottish human service context, with human services being defined as predominantly work directly with people (service users; patients; volunteers; clients) across public and third sector settings. It draws on narratives from six distinct disciplines including social work, education, police, community learning and development, educational psychology and nursing. Whilst participants reflected on their journeys to becoming a professional, they explored how opportunities, both given and taken to lead throughout their careers, may have influenced their understanding and experience of professionalism, professional identity and leadership. Narratives frequently identified participants’ overwhelming desire to enter and remain within human service professions being driven by a social justice agenda, with an inherent desire to ‘make a difference’. Participants articulated how leadership opportunities had provided them with greater confidence and an ability to improve standards within their field, often from an early stage in their career. This in turn had often strengthened their sense of professional identity. Findings suggest participants made very strong connections between the concepts of professionalism and leadership, particularly when leadership was understood as distributed throughout the organisation. Distributed, dispersed, collaborative or ‘leadership at all levels’ are terms often used interchangeably to describe ‘a pooling of ideas and expertise to produce services and leadership energy that is greater than the sum of individual capabilities’ (Patterson, 2010:6). This type of leadership therefore, not only recognises the ability of people within non-traditional positions of power or who are not at the top of their organisational hierarchy, to become leaders, but also recognises the collaborative nature of such interactions. Based on the findings, a key recommendation suggests that within human service contexts, a re-conceptualisation of professionalism, which incorporates models of distributed leadership, should be adopted. This would have the capacity to unleash latent leadership potential within professionals who want to ‘make a difference’ and would be like ‘pushing on an open door’. It is further argued that such a consideration could support the development of leadership strategies in human services although the author cautions that organisational cultures can both promote or inhibit effectiveness and impact.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, November, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Peninsula Technikon, 2004. / Word processed copy. Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-77). Also available online.

The aim of the thesis is to analyze the organizational culture of the company SEAFOOD Ltd. and propose a set of measures which would contribute to strengthening the organizational culture of the company. Before starting the research the theoretical materials were investigated and hypotheses were set. The main theoretical basis in this thesis is the theory of E.H. Schein. During the work there were discussed as positive impacts of the organizational culture, as well as its restrictive side. In this work was also mentioned the issue of connection between the individual characteristics and qualities of the individual and his working career. After carrying out research, which consisted of writing surveys filled by company employees, guided interviews with some managers and observations, the conclusion about the current level, the problems and the strong sides of the organizational culture SEAFOOD Ltd. was made. After the conclusion there was suggested a set of actions which should lead to the strengthening of the organizational culture of the company and contribute to a higher level of identification of the company's employees with SEAFOOD Ltd.

Over the past decade, popular music in Iran has steadily gained recognition beyond its borders. The Western media has increasingly provided an idealised and romanticised view of music-making in the Iranian underground. These reports create an image of popular musicians united under the same political and social challenges, while struggling to be heard against an oppressive regime. Contrary to these often overly politicised accounts, the current Iranian youth generation continues to explore its identity through the creation of new hybridised forms of popular music. This dissertation utilises first-hand accounts of musicians and those involved in Iranian popular music to analyse the current state of popular music in Iran since 1979. By recognising the heterogeneity of the Iranian post-revolutionary pop world, this study distinguishes the individual voices and experiences that make up the dynamic and multifaceted popular music scene in young, urban Iran and the Iranian diaspora. Opening with a historical account of music’s fluctuating relationship with regime censorship, this dissertation illuminates the many contradictions of popular music practice in a controlled climate that are also embedded within youth identity. Dichotomies continually emerge during this discourse, including globalisation vs. localism, authentic vs. borrowed, and home vs. homeland. These themes are prolific throughout the discussions of the illegal underground music scene in Tehran, the complexities of music in exile, and the final discussion of the role of popular music in the 2009 presidential election and subsequent Green Movement. Popular music continues to serve as an outlet for pleasure and entertainment while simultaneously representing the diverse voices of the young generation of Iranians in the world, as they seek to assert their identity and establish a future of their own.

V této práci se zabývám firemní komunikací. Pro její plánování a rozvoj je třeba udržovat aktuální komunikační a informační strategii. Pro zjednodušení jsem systém firemní komunikace rozdělil na 4 subsystémy: Kultura, informační systém, komerční komunikace a firemní styl, z nichž každým se podrobně zabývám. Společným působením těchto čtyř disciplín vzniká unikátní identita organizace a toto jsou její základní kameny. Jedním ze způsobů, jak docílit silné identity, je budování promyšleného a stabilního firemního stylu. Firemní styl je úžeji vymezen jako vizuální tvář podniku, tzv. Corporate Design. Jeho základními elementy jsou: logotyp, barevnost a typografie. Přestože firmy si mohou být v těchto základních elementech podobné, odlišují se jejich aplikacemi na komunikační aktivity. Každá vizuální identita se stává unikátním otiskem složitého firemního organismu. Účelem aplikací není pouze marketingový úspěch či vizuální dokonalost; ten spočívá v jejich funkčnosti. Proto je při jejich tvorbě nutné respektovat daleko více kritérií.

This dissertation studies examples of social and cultural memory and identity manifested in the art of the southwest, present-day Sichuan province, during the Eastern Han dynasty. Through the study of the southwest's material culture, considered special for its distinct artistic style and content by scholars in the field of Chinese art, combined with analysis of early textual sources, it highlights a number of important findings associated with the region's social make-up, economic activities, burial practices, education and governance, all of which contributed to the formation of a distinct regional identity. The southwest's geographical isolation and its great distance from the Central Plains; the difficulties and dangers of road and river transport from all directions; its multi-ethnic make-up and the engrained cultural prejudice from the north, especially from the capital's governing elite and literati, were all factors that contributed to a sense of regional separation that manifested itself in a distinct material culture and is hinted at in early textual sources. The main sources of material culture examined in the dissertation are pictorial brick tiles and stone reliefs discovered in stone and brick chamber tombs; decorated stone sarcophagi placed in the region's cliff tombs; and commemorative and ancestral stelae erected for the governors of Shu and Ba commanderies. In its methodology, the dissertation employs Western theories on social and cultural memory and identity. It also bridges two fields of study, cultural and art history, which are often pursued separately due to their distinct specialisations. The dissertation's findings aim to contribute to our knowledge of the southwest and to the study of regional identity in early imperial China.