Zugl.: Bielefeld, Univ., Diss., 2008

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Psychology, August 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-220). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Economics, Jun. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-104). Also available on the Internet.

Zugl.: Bielefeld, Univ., Diss., 2000

Conscientiousness-related personality traits are relevant predictors of many outcomes in achievement domains outside sport. They have also been associated with several outcomes in sport, however, their relative role on athletes’ deliberate practice (DP) and other criteria of expertise development has not been investigated. The overall aim of this dissertation was to examine the role of conscientiousness-related traits on sport expertise development. It had six specific purposes: (a) to examine the structural validity of conscientiousness-related measures; (b) to understand whether athletes’ DP amounts, skill level, and other criteria of expertise development could be predicted by these measures; (c) to identify the best personality predictor and combination of predictors that explained the maximal variance in different criteria of expertise development; (d) to examine whether grit facets predicted athletes’ practice engagement across a demanding sport season; (e) to explore coaches’ perspectives on the behavioural indicators of conscientious, gritty, and self-controlled athletes in training; and (f) to explore coaches’ views about how these personality traits may impact athletes’ quantity and quality of practice and development toward higher skill levels. The dissertation used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, wherein Phase 1 (Articles 1, 2, and 3) quantitatively pursued purposes (a) to (c), Phase 2 (Article 4) addressed (d), and Phase 3 (Article 5) qualitatively addressed (e) and (f). Article 1 tested the factor structure of the Brief Self-Control Scale in sport and showed distinct associations between self-control variables and (a) sport-specific practice amounts, (b) engagement in various practice contexts, and (c) threats to commitment to one’s sport, in a diverse sport sample. Article 2 conducted factor analyses of the Grit Scale in sport and examined a full latent variable model showing associations between grit variables and several criteria of expertise development. In particular, perseverance of effort associated with athletes’ weekly amounts of DP, engagement in different practice contexts, and skill level, while consistency of interests associated with athletes’ commitment to their sport. Article 3 comprised two studies. In Study 1, path analyses were used to assess the role of conscientiousness on criteria of expertise development. At the broad level, conscientiousness predicted athletes’ engagement in practice contexts and commitment to their sport; at the facet-level, achievement-striving was the best predictor of athletes’ weekly DP and engagement in practice contexts. The systematic test of the role of self-control (Article 1), grit (Article 2), and conscientiousness (Article 3, Study1) for key criteria of expertise development culminated with Study 2 of Article 3, which reported comparative analyses of the predictive ability of self-control, grit, and conscientiousness facets—which had shown to be significant predictors when assessed separately—for the criterion measures of sport expertise. Study 2 showed that (a) perseverance of effort was the best predictor of athletes’ weekly DP, engagement in mandatory practice, and the only predictor of higher skill level, (b) achievement-striving best predicted athletes’ engagement in optional practice, and (c) consistency of interests best predicted athletes’ commitment to their sport. Article 4 tested whether athletes’ self-reported levels of grit (broad and facets) were longitudinally associated with their coach-reported practice engagement throughout one sport season. Perseverance of effort was the grit variable most related to indicators of practice engagement, the only variable related to overall practice engagement across three time points, and the only variable marginally associated with athletes’ stability of practice engagement over time. Article 5 explored coaches’ views about the behavioural indicators of athletes’ conscientiousness, grit, and self-control in the daily training environment and how these traits impacted athletes’ training and development. Coaches described (a) conscientious athletes as systematic and detail-oriented, highly considerate of others, and highly engaged in self-regulation; (b) gritty athletes as those who persevere despite adversity and work hard in practice; and (c) self-controlled athletes as those who control impulses, resist temptations, and delay gratification. Coaches believe grit, conscientiousness, and self-control play important roles on athletes’ development toward higher skill levels, but results generally highlighted the preponderance of perseverance of effort. Potential mechanisms (e.g., conscientiousness—self-regulation—practice quality and conscientiousness—self-regulation—skill level) were highlighted to help explain the personality-expertise link found in Phases 1 and 2. This dissertation contributed to the literature on sport expertise by parsimoniously identifying conscientiousness-related personality traits that were associated with measures of athletes’ practice quantity, quality, and stability, commitment to sport, and higher skill level. Although several facets (i.e., perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, achievement-striving, self-discipline, and dutifulness) showed associations with practice and performance-related outcomes, this dissertation generally highlighted the role of grit facets. In particular, while perseverance of effort was the best predictor of athletes’ amounts of DP, the only grit variable associated with quality practice engagement over time, and the only predictor of higher skill level, consistency of interests was the best predictor of commitment variables. Furthermore, results based on coaches’ descriptions (a) provided behavioural indicators of conscientiousness-related traits that serve as reference points for practitioners aiming to help athletes develop desirable traits, (b) suggested that gritty athletes ‘work hard’ and conscientious athletes ‘work smart’, and (c) proposed mechanisms to explain the personality-expertise link found in the quantitative studies. Taken together, the results of this dissertation suggest that the tendency to persevere despite adversity and mindfully use self-regulated processes seems to be a powerful predisposition for athletes’ development toward expert levels of performance.

This thesis explored two main research questions, firstly investigating whether musical expertise offers a performance advantage in working memory for sequences of tones that vary in pitch, and secondly whether any advantage of musical expertise may be present in older as well as younger individuals. Previous research on working memory for tone sequences has reported that articulatory suppression interferes with temporary storage of verbal but not with tone sequences (Koelsch et al, 2009), suggesting a “tonal loop” within a musician’s working memory (Schulze, Zysset, Mueller, Friederici, & Koelsch, 2011) that complements the phonological loop for verbal material in musicians and non-musicians alike (e.g., Baddeley, 1986; 1992). The five experiments reported here explored detection of a pitch change between pairs of tone sequences with or without concurrent articulatory suppression or singing suppression. In Experiment 1, with pairs of auditory tonal (in a musical key) sequences to be compared, singing suppression impaired non-musicians significantly more than musicians, although both groups showed an impairment, whereas only non-musicians were affected by verbal articulatory suppression. In Experiment 2, conducted only with musicians who could read music, the first sequence of each pair was presented visually and the second sequence for comparison was presented aurally. Musicians were again impaired by singing suppression but not by articulatory suppression. For Experiment 3, for auditory atonal (no musical key) pairs of sequences, non-musicians performed at floor, and musicians were again significantly more impaired by singing suppression than by articulatory suppression. In contrast, for Experiment 4, only with musicians who could read music, for visually presented atonal sequences each followed by an auditory atonal sequence for comparison, musicians were significantly more impaired by articulatory suppression than singing suppression. These results suggest that for tonal sequences, musicians use their musical training and experience, coupled with subvocalised singing, but for atonal sequences, additional strategies involving phonological rehearsal may be used. Non-musicians may also rely on musical experience and subvocal singing for tonal sequences but seem to be unable to do so for atonal sequences. Results are consistent with the use by both musicians and non-musicians of a tonal loop for the rehearsal of tone sequences, which develops with musical training and may be used in addition to subvocal rehearsal. Previous research has suggested musical expertise may offer some protection against cognitive ageing (Hanna-Pladdy & MacKay, 2011; Amer, Kalender, Hasher, Trehub, & Wong, 2013). Experiment 5 in this thesis explored whether a lifetime of musical training and experience may offer the same advantages in old age for retaining tone sequences that had been found in Experiments 1 and 3 for younger musicians. This experiment also considered whether any advantage for older musicians on this task could be explained by the proposed “bilingual advantage” (e.g., Bialystok, Craik, Klein & Viswanathan, 2004), and what other aspects of cognition might be associated with tone sequence memory performance. A test battery was utilised with 74 older adults (60-80 years of age) to assess the influence of musical and language expertise, and cognitive abilities (attention, working memory capacity, self-reported prospective and retrospective memory) on the music-related pitch sequence comparison task from Experiments 1 and 3. Working memory capacity was found to predict individual differences in the ability to detect pitch changes between pairs of tone sequences, regardless of musical experience. Older musicians performed more poorly on the pitch change detection task overall than the younger musicians in the earlier experiments, but their performance on the task was significantly better than for age-matched non-musically trained peers who were close to floor for both tonal and atonal sequences, suggesting some benefit from a lifetime of musical experience.

abstract: Corporations in biomedicine hold significant power and influence, in both political and personal spheres. The decisions these companies make about ethics are critically important, as they help determine what products are developed, how they are developed, how they are promoted, and potentially even how they are regulated. In the last fifteen years, for-profit private companies have been assembling bioethics committees to help resolve dilemmas that require informed deliberation about ethical, legal, scientific, and economic considerations. Private sector bioethics committees represent an important innovation in the governance of emerging technologies, with corporations taking a lead role in deciding what is ethically appropriate or problematic. And yet, we know very little about these committees, including their structures, memberships, mandates, authority, and impact. Drawing on an extensive literature review and qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with executives, scientists and board members, this dissertation provides an in-depth analysis of the Ethics and Public Policy Board at SmithKline Beecham, the Ethics Advisory Board at Advanced Cell Technology, and the Bioethics Committee at Eli Lilly and offers insights about how ideas of bioethics and governance are currently imagined and enacted within corporations. The SmithKline Beecham board was the first private sector bioethics committee; its mandate was to explore, in a comprehensive and balanced analysis, the ethics of macro trends in science and technology. The Advanced Cell Technology board was created to be like a watchdog for the company, to prevent them from making major errors. The Eli Lilly board is different than the others in that it is made up mostly of internal employees and does research ethics consultations within the company. These private sector bioethics committees evaluate and construct new boundaries between their private interests and the public values they claim to promote. Findings from this dissertation show that criticisms of private sector bioethics that focus narrowly on financial conflicts of interest and a lack of transparency obscure analysis of the ideas about governance (about expertise, credibility and authority) that emerge from these structures and hamper serious debate about the possible impacts of moving ethical deliberation from the public to the private sector. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Biology 2012

This research, situated at the intersection of sociology, science and technology studies and police studies, provides the first sociological account of Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) training in England and Wales. Focusing on the acquisition and everyday enactment of CSI expertise, this qualitative, ethnographic investigation asks (1) what are the roles, practices and expertise of the CSI and (2) how is the CSI’s expertise developed in training and enacted in everyday work. These questions are explored through participant observation at the main training centre for UK CSIs, observation at crime scenes, interviews with trainees during and after their training and visual methods. By unpicking the visible and invisible components of CSI work, I analyse how CSIs are trained to document crime scenes and explore the practices of transforming a potentially relevant object from these locations into artefacts that meet the requirements of courtroom scrutiny. I demonstrate how CSIs engage actively and reflexively with the requirements of different conceptions of objectivity and the changing demands placed on them. They continually and performatively negotiate and delimit multiple boundaries, from the very literal in demarcating a crime scene to claiming their position within the investigative hierarchy in each interaction. Unlike other discussions of boundary work, for the CSI this is iterative, requires constant effort and is embedded in their routine practice. Within police environments, the CSI has scope for such boundary work. In the courtroom, however, crime scene investigation is narrowly defined. This thesis develops our understanding of the CSI and crime scene investigation as a practice. It stresses the significance of taking this actor seriously in any account of forensic science and investigative practices. By viewing the CSI as simply an evidence collector, or not considering her work at all, the expertise and pivotal role of this actor in the meaningful and efficient use of science in policing is blackboxed. My detailed qualitative analysis of the CSI’s role, work and specialist expertise contributes a necessary account of a key actor in the police and criminal justice system.

Submitted by Josélia Rabêlo (oliveira_joselia@hotmail.com) on 2017-03-30T14:27:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 VF2 POS Banca Versao Final Defesa FGV 2017.pdf: 1264401 bytes, checksum: a7a0bc68508df7f0a776b8d201f02960 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2017-03-30T14:33:09Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 VF2 POS Banca Versao Final Defesa FGV 2017.pdf: 1264401 bytes, checksum: a7a0bc68508df7f0a776b8d201f02960 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-30T14:37:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 VF2 POS Banca Versao Final Defesa FGV 2017.pdf: 1264401 bytes, checksum: a7a0bc68508df7f0a776b8d201f02960 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-02 / The objective of this research was to analyze how customers and suppliers create value by exchanging expertise in B2B relations, in knowledge intensive services. To better understand the relationship of these variables, an exploratory research strategy was adopted, because it allows analyzing the phenomenon through different perspectives - clients, suppliers and interaction between them. Field research was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 was used to deepen understanding about the topic of interest in diverse contexts. Nine interviews were conducted with managers of different types of knowledge intensive services – Human Resource Consultancy, Software and Engineering and Architecture. The results showed that complexity, customization and strategic relevance of the solution motivates the customer to participate in the co-production. The results of co-production are optimized when customers and suppliers interact and share their expertise throughout the phases of diagnosis and execution of the solution. Interaction between customer and supplier, and technical and business expertise sharing positively influence the client's perception of value. Customer participation in the co-production has positive effects on both economic and relationship value. Finally, it was observed that customers perceive the solution broadly including functional and also relational benefits of the solution. Phase 2 of the research was aimed at companies belonging to the architecture segment. It was adopted, as a research strategy, the study of multiple cases. Five cases of interaction between company and its client were conducted. Twenty semi-structured interviews were carried out, eight managers of the supplier companies and 12 client managers of these companies. In addition, secondary data on the participating companies were collected and field notes were taken. The results showed that the way in which customers and suppliers combine and complement business and technical expertise influences the coproduced results and the perceived value of the offer.This second phase has also revealed that coproduction is most effective when customers are more experienced, have business expertise, communicate their expectations and share this business expertise with their suppliers. The results suggest that the perception of economic value creation is more present when services are more complex, especially when the solution requires technical expertise exchange between clients and suppliers. The perception of economic and relationship value is more present when the solution requires technical and business expertise complementarity between clients and suppliers. The results also showed that expertise exchange between clients and suppliers depend on boundary spanners skills and capacities on both to achieve better results in service production. Some boundary spanners skills and capacities favor coproduction: encouraging the interaction of the external contact agent with the company and stakeholders, frequency of contact during the coproduction, engagement and motivation to participate in the solution, communication, flexibility, acceptance of suggestions and comments and negotiation. / O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar como clientes e fornecedores criam valor pela troca de expertise nas relações B2B, nos serviços intensivos em conhecimento. Para analisar o fenômeno por diferentes perspectivas - clientes, fornecedores e interação entre eles; foi utilizada a pesquisa exploratória, em duas fases de pesquisa. Na fase 1 foram realizadas nove entrevistas com gestores de empresas fornecedoras e clientes de consultoria de RH, software e tecnologia de informação e arquitetura e engenharia. ¬¬¬O propósito foi aprofundar o entendimento dos construtos pesquisados e avaliar qual dos serviços seria mais apropriado a ser explorado na segunda fase da pesquisa. Os resultados desta fase mostram que complexidade, customização e relevância estratégica da solução motivam o cliente a participar da coprodução. Os resultados da coprodução são otimizados quando clientes e fornecedores interagem e compartilham expertise nas fases de diagnóstico e execução da solução. A interação e a troca de expertise técnica e de negócios entre fornecedor e cliente favorecem a coprodução. A participação do cliente na coprodução e a troca de expertise com o fornecedor têm impacto positivo tanto para o valor econômico como de relacionamento. Por fim, observou-se que clientes percebem a solução considerando tanto os benefícios funcionais quanto relacionais com seus fornecedores. A Fase 2 da pesquisa teve como escopo as empresas pertencentes ao segmento de arquitetura. Adotou-se como estratégia de investigação o estudo de casos múltiplos. Cinco casos de interação entre empresa e seus cliente foram pesquisados. Foram realizadas vinte entrevistas semiestruturadas com oito gestores das empresas fornecedores e 12 gestores clientes dessas empresas. Também, foram coletados dados secundários sobre as empresas e foram registradas notas de campo. Os resultados evidenciaram que a maneira com que clientes e fornecedores combinam e complementam expertises técnicas e de negócios na solução influencia os resultados coproduzidos e a percepção de valor da oferta. A coprodução é mais efetiva, quando os clientes são mais experientes e têm expertise sobre seu negócio, comunicam suas expectativas e compartilham essa expertise de negócio com seus fornecedores. Os resultados também sugerem que a percepção de criação de valor econômico é mais presente quando os serviços são mais complexos, especialmente quando a solução demanda troca de expertise técnica entre clientes e fornecedores. A percepção de criação de valor tanto econômico quanto de relacionamento é mais presente quando a solução demanda complementaridade de expertises técnicas e de negócio entre clientes e fornecedores. Os resultados revelam que a troca de expertise entre empresa e cliente depende das habilidades e capacidades desse agente de contato de cada parte da relação para alcançar melhores resultados na coprodução do serviço. Certas habilidades e as capacidades dos boundary spanners favorecem a coprodução: incentivo a interação do agente de contato externo à empresa e stakeholders, frequência de contato durante a coprodução, engajamento e motivação em participar da solução, comunicação, flexibilidade, aceitação de sugestões e críticas e negociação.

Conception singulière au sein du domaine juridique, l’expertise en finances publiques qualifie une situation particulière. Elle désigne l’expression de compétences d’une entité sollicitée par une autorité juridiquement compétente pour prendre une décision financière. Les connaissances spécifiques dont l’expert sera le titulaire prendront la forme d’un avis qui vise à apporter tous les éléments utiles à cette autorité pour une prise de décision en toute connaissance de cause. Le recours à l’expertise sera conçu comme un moyen que l’État pourra mobiliser pour anticiper et s’adapter au risque financier. Ce dernier, rendu plus prégnant depuis la crise financière et celle de la dette des États de la zone euro, menace ces entités souveraines d’une part, par leur dépendance envers leur environnement extérieur pour se financer et d’autre part, par les contraintes liées à l’appartenance à une zone monétaire. Le recours à l’expertise apparaît donc comme un moyen pour l’État de pouvoir anticiper et prévenir efficacement les risques en adaptant son action aux préconisations de l’expert. Le risque financier quelle que soit la forme qu’il prendra, sera le véritable fait générateur et la véritable focale qui justifiera le recours à l’expertise. En ce sens, cette perception du risque structurera non seulement le recours à l’expertise mais également les formes que celui-ci prendra. Focalisé autour de deux acceptions contemporaines du risque financier – la soutenabilité des finances publiques et leur transparence – l’expertise ne sera pas qu’un phénomène marginal mais au contraire un véritable mouvement de fond accompagnant la prise de décision financière. Elle se révélera particulièrement adaptative, multipliant ses niveaux d’interventions et les pratiques employées. Cette présence et cet accompagnement dans la prise de décision financière ne seront pas sans conséquences sur la structure institutionnelle elle-même. Devenue indispensable à l’équilibre institutionnel, l’expertise influera plus profondément sur la structure institutionnelle en devenant une véritable technique normative à l’impact mesuré. / Sometimes seen as a unusual tool in the legal field, expertise in public finance is only used in some specific situations. It refers to the skills of someone who has been requested by a legally competent authority to make a financial decision. The expert's own specific knowledge takes the form of an assessment which aims at bringing forward all the elements necessary for informed decision making. The Government is thus able to draw on this expertise in order to anticipate and adapt to the financial risk. By becoming even more tangible since the financial crisis and the eurozone's debt, the latter threatens these sovereign authorities not only because their own funding depends on the external environment, but also owing to the constraints induced by the fact that they are tied to their eurozone membership. The use of expertise can therefore be seen as a effective way for the State to ward off and prevent risks as it can adjust its action according to the expert's recommendations. Whatever form it takes, the financial risk is the operative event and the main focus justifying the use of expertise. The resort to an expert and the form this service takes subsequently depends on one's perception of the risk. Based on two contemporary definitions of the financial risk, i.e. sustainability and transparency of public finances, the expertise is not a single marginal element, but rather a real structural movement that informs and guides the financial decision. It will prove particularly adaptative, varying its many levels of action and the techniques employed. The use of expertise, and the follow-up that it ensures, is not without consequences on the structure of the institution itself. Having become essential to the institutional balance, the expertise even more deeply influences the institutional structure by becoming a real normative technique with a properly measured impact.