<p>The aim of the study was to describe how anaesthetic nurses, within both advanced beginner and expert levels, experience their professional role as they perform a general anaesthetic.</p><p>The study had a descriptive design with a qualitative approach in which ten advanced beginners- and ten expert anaesthetic nurses from an operating theatre and an ambulatory surgical ward at a hospital located in the middle of Sweden, participated. All data was collected in an interview with semi-structured questions which focused on how the anaesthetic nurses experience their work. The data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The results are presented in categories and themes. The themes were formed from the categories. Themes for the advanced beginners were: <em>support develops self confidence that gives the feeling of satisfaction</em> and <em>lack of support impedes further development of independency and gives the feeling of insecurity</em>. Themes for the experts were: <em>experience and new challenges in a supported environment give satisfaction</em> and <em>lack of support and own insecurity give dissatisfaction</em>. The advanced beginners described their experiences in a more descriptive way, while the experts had more difficult to describe what they experienced. The advanced beginners wanted more support from their colleagues while the experts wanted to be more independent and were also more confident in their professional role.</p> / <p>Syftet med studien var att beskriva hur anestesisjuksköterskor på avancerad nybörjarnivå respektive expertnivå upplever sin yrkesroll vid generell anestesi. Studien hade en deskriptiv design med kvalitativ ansats där tio avancerade nybörjare respektive tio expert anestesisjuksköterskor, från en allmän operations avdelning och en dagkirurgisk avdelning vid ett Mellansvenskt sjukhus, deltog i studien. Data samlades in via halvstrukturerade intervjufrågor som inriktade sig på anestesisjuksköterskors upplevelser av sitt arbete. Data analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet redovisas utifrån kategorier som bildade olika teman. Teman som för avancerade nybörjare var <em>stöd utvecklar självförtroende som ger en känsla av tillfredställelse</em> samt <em>brist på stöd hindrar utvecklingen av självständighet och ger känsla av osäkerhet</em>. Teman för experterna var <em>erfarenhet och nya utmaningar i en stödjande miljö ger tillfredställelse</em> samt <em>bristande stöd och egen osäkerhet ger otillfredsställelse</em>. Avancerade nybörjarna beskrev sina upplevelser på ett mer beskrivande sätt medan experterna hade svårare att beskriva vad de upplevde. Avancerade nybörjarna ville ha mer stöd medan experterna ville vara mer självständiga och var mer trygg i sin yrkesroll.</p>

I dagens samhälle finns många organisationer som utfärdar standarder, och många som följer standarder. Det finns standarder för mycket, alltifrån produkter och produktionsprocesser till redovisning och företagsledning. Standarder är ett slags regler, men standariseringsorganisationer kan inte tvinga någon att följa dessa regler. Därför behöver de stor auktoritet för att övertyga andra om att följa just deras standarder. I den här boken diskuteras hur standardiseringsorganisationer arbetar för att bygga upp sin auktoritet. Två standardiseringsorganisationer presenteras: en kommitté inom International Organization for Standardization (ISO) samt International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). Den första organisationen skapar standarder för kvalitetsarbete, den andra standarder för redovisning. Inom båda dessa områden råder konkurrens - det finns ett flertal relger för såväl kvalitetsarbete som redovisning. Författaren visar vilka strategier just ISO och IASC använder sig av för att skapa auktoritet, och vilka organisatoriska problem dessa strategier ger upphov till. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2000</p>

本研究將我國獨立專家可能發揮之功能分為能夠認證交易係公平且無弊端之「消極認證功能」及能積極預測綜效並為市場排除不具綜效交易之「積極認證功能」，並藉由分析代理成本與獨立專家選擇之關聯性，以及獨立專家自我選擇與併購後綜效之關聯性，實證探討我國獨立專家制度之運作概況及其功能。 研究結果發現，衡量代理成本之公司及交易特性變數中，負債比率較高、外部大股東持股比率較低、機構投資人持股比率較低、併購溢價較高、主併與被併公司相對規模較接近時，公司聘僱高聲譽獨立專家的可能性較高，支持我國獨立專家可能具有降低代理成本之消極認證功能之論點。積極認證功能方面，本研究發現，以併購金額市佔率衡量獨立專家聲譽時，高聲譽獨立專家簽發評價報告之併購案，併購後市場佔有率成長幅度較高，支持我國獨立專家可能具有積極認證功能之論點，但僅限於市場綜效部分。 / This study tests whether the negative certification function and positive certification function are important service performed by independent experts in the M&A transaction. It conducts an empirical investigation of the choice of independent experts and the synergy in the M&A transaction. The result demonstrates that when the debt ratio is high, the percentage of stock owned by institutional owners and external shareholders is low, the premium is high, and the size of acquirer and target is similar, acquirer tends to hire a more prestigious independent expert. It confirms that the negative certification function exists. In addition, we find that when the reputation (measured by market share) of independent experts is high, the market synergy in the M&A may be higher than others. It is because of that the independent experts tend to protect their reputation by choosing their clients rigorously. Therefore, the positive certification function is also confirmed.

The aim of the study was to describe how anaesthetic nurses, within both advanced beginner and expert levels, experience their professional role as they perform a general anaesthetic. The study had a descriptive design with a qualitative approach in which ten advanced beginners- and ten expert anaesthetic nurses from an operating theatre and an ambulatory surgical ward at a hospital located in the middle of Sweden, participated. All data was collected in an interview with semi-structured questions which focused on how the anaesthetic nurses experience their work. The data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The results are presented in categories and themes. The themes were formed from the categories. Themes for the advanced beginners were: support develops self confidence that gives the feeling of satisfaction and lack of support impedes further development of independency and gives the feeling of insecurity. Themes for the experts were: experience and new challenges in a supported environment give satisfaction and lack of support and own insecurity give dissatisfaction. The advanced beginners described their experiences in a more descriptive way, while the experts had more difficult to describe what they experienced. The advanced beginners wanted more support from their colleagues while the experts wanted to be more independent and were also more confident in their professional role. / Syftet med studien var att beskriva hur anestesisjuksköterskor på avancerad nybörjarnivå respektive expertnivå upplever sin yrkesroll vid generell anestesi. Studien hade en deskriptiv design med kvalitativ ansats där tio avancerade nybörjare respektive tio expert anestesisjuksköterskor, från en allmän operations avdelning och en dagkirurgisk avdelning vid ett Mellansvenskt sjukhus, deltog i studien. Data samlades in via halvstrukturerade intervjufrågor som inriktade sig på anestesisjuksköterskors upplevelser av sitt arbete. Data analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet redovisas utifrån kategorier som bildade olika teman. Teman som för avancerade nybörjare var stöd utvecklar självförtroende som ger en känsla av tillfredställelse samt brist på stöd hindrar utvecklingen av självständighet och ger känsla av osäkerhet. Teman för experterna var erfarenhet och nya utmaningar i en stödjande miljö ger tillfredställelse samt bristande stöd och egen osäkerhet ger otillfredsställelse. Avancerade nybörjarna beskrev sina upplevelser på ett mer beskrivande sätt medan experterna hade svårare att beskriva vad de upplevde. Avancerade nybörjarna ville ha mer stöd medan experterna ville vara mer självständiga och var mer trygg i sin yrkesroll.

We now live in an era of experts on virtually everything, among which we have professional medical ethicists, who gained prominence in the late 60s due to dramatic advances in medical technology. Before then, medical ethics issues were not thought as separable from the warp and woof of the everyday life. Medical technology’s advancement cascades legions of moral problems in medicine and biomedical research. Series of innovative interventions in medicine raise throngs of ethical questions. In most cases that have to do with issues of life and death, there are perceived moral conflicts. Due to this swath of problematic issues that need solutions, some apologists favour medical ethics experts as fit for the job, while critics argue that no one has the knowledge or skill for dealing with moral quandaries because objective truth is not feasible in ethics and moral judgment is relative to cultures, beliefs and values. The necessity for medical ethicists to take active role in Medical Ethics Debates, either in Committees at the institutional level, or at any other decision-making mechanisms is justified in this thesis. In addition to this, the thesis also justifies medical ethicists’ role as expert consultants to clinicians and individuals alike This justification is based on complex moral problems accentuated by medical technology, which are far from being easily solved through mere appeal to individual reason, but rather by involving medical ethicists based on their specialized knowledge and high level understanding of research and practice. Although critics question the authority with which experts speak on these issues, nevertheless, the thesis unravels the roles, functions, significance and components of expert’s expertise that separate him/her from the crowd. Arguments are critically analysed and medical ethicists’ limits and professional flaws are addressed, with a view to establishing a virile foundation for the profession of medical ethics.

Choosing the right investment option by a fund manager or analyst is the first step that contributes to the overall performance of any portfolio of assets. The decision making process is complicated. Markowitz portfolio theory (1952, 1959) laid the theoretical foundations for asset selection and management. However the decision maker is influenced by parameters outside the realm of financial theory and mathematical models (French and French 1997; French 2001). The actual behavior of decision makers can deviate from this normative model. This can be due to the problem solving behavior of the human brain. Human problem solving theory began with the work of Newell and Simon (1972) and Simon (1978). They argue that the human memory is characterized by limitations in terms of processing capacities (Newell and Simon 1972). Given the amount of data the decision maker has to analyze, the process of asset selection is complicated and difficult. Besides the volume of data, the information items may provide information relating to the same aspect of the asset making some of the data set redundant. Besides that, some of information contained in the data set might provide contradictory signals about the performance or characteristics of the asset. Thus the information set available to a decision maker is large, multi-channeled (different data providing different information) and multi-dimensional (for example real estate assets have information pertaining to legal aspects, financial aspects, physical aspects etc.). The limitations in the decision maker’s processing capabilities and the characteristics of the information cues make the asset selection process exceedingly difficult. French (2001) in a study of fund managers from U.K finds that asset allocation uses two sets of hard information during the process, namely historic data and current market perceptions. The study also finds differences between exposure levels of the funds dictated by theory (as per portfolio theory) and actual decisions made by companies (true asset allocations of funds). Gallimore, Gray and Hansz (2000) find medium-sized and small companies’ investment decision making does not follow any normative model due to the diverse nature of property markets in the United Kingdom. Past literature in the field of decision making finds that an expert’s decision making behavior differs from that of a novice. (Bedard and Mock (1992), Bouwman (1984) and Jacoby et al. (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987)). The primary purpose of this study is to understand the impact of experience on the decision making behavior of investors and see if their behavior differs from that of inexperienced individuals. In a controlled experiment design, two groups of subjects are tested. One group is composed of experienced subjects (experts) represented by real estate professionals such as acquisition analysts, fund/portfolio managers or real estate investors (experienced individuals investing either their own money or a client’s money in real estate). The other group tested is composed of students, who are inexperienced subjects (novices). Both groups are asked to choose between two investment cases in two different cities. The two options offered are both class A office properties, institutional grade. Fifteen sets of data are given for each investment option. Data for the cases is sourced from investment management companies, involved in managing funds on behalf of institutional clients. Using a process tracing technique, each subject’s behavior is observed and recorded while making the investment choice. These observations will give us insight into the actual (descriptive) behavior of experienced real estate professionals and inexperienced novices. It will help in isolating the impact of experience on the decision making behavior of real estate investors. This study finds mixed evidence relating to the difference in the behavior of novices and experts. On the five aspects that the two groups are tested, evidence that their behavior differs in three has been uncovered. They are search pattern, number of steps and time on task. However, for the other two aspects, sequencing and cue utilization, no difference was found.

La thématique centrale de ce mémoire concerne l'Intelligence Artificielle appliquée au diagnostic Médical (IAM). Son orientation repose sur des concepts d'apprentissage automatique de décisions plus que de connaissances pré-définies et figées, d'adaptation à de nouvelles situations plus que de comportements répétitifs et stéréotypés. Au goulot d'étranglement que constitue la construction d'une base de connaissances déclaratives, les systèmes préconisés opposent une utilisation intensive des bases de cas, véritables prolongements sur support informatique de la mémoire à long terme du médecin, et conduisent à l'émergence de capacités classificatoires automatisées au moyen d'algorithmes appropriés.<br />L'entreprise consistant à programmer une machine afin qu'elle produise des raisonnements habituellement attendus d'un spécialiste met au premier plan quelques difficiles questions relatives au pourquoi et au comment de tels systèmes. Le constat sinon d'échec du moins d'immenses difficultés de mise en œuvre des systèmes à bases de connaissances déclaratives, ouvrent la porte à un retour en force de l'expérience et de la mémoire cumulée de l'activité décisionnelle du praticien au cours des mois et des années de pratique. Dans cette optique, l'expérience emmagasinée sous forme de bases de cas dans la mémoire de l'ordinateur prend le pas sur la connaissance figée et laborieusement élaborée dans une base de connaissances pour la construction d'un système d'IAM. Des systèmes hybrides — permettant d'associer des connaissances déclarées par le spécialiste et des connaissances apprises automatiquement — constituent en quelque sorte un idéal que l'on s'efforce d'atteindre, notamment dans notre projet ESPRIT-III : MIX.<br />L'introduction de ce mémoire tente de préciser ce passage de la représentation à l'émergence de connaissances qui consacre en quelque sorte l'immersion de l'IAM dans les sciences de la cognition (et qui correspond en gros à mon parcours de chercheur depuis une douzaine d'années). Divers aspects de la problématique générale de la construction de classifieurs y sont abordés et une présentation succincte des diverses approches de l'émergence est proposée (connexionnisme, algorithmique génétique, induction...) et illustrée par le projet COGNIMED.<br />Autour et parfois en marge de cette problématique centrale, s'ordonnent un certain nombre de travaux que j'ai pu conduire ces dernières années dans les domaines de la psychiatrie-psychologie, de l'analyse textuelle et de la "philosophie de l'esprit". Ces travaux sont également évoqués.<br /><br />Le mémoire est structuré en quatre parties principales et une annexe :<br />- Une partie introductive présentant de manière synthétique la thématique générale de recherche ainsi qu'un bref état de l'art du domaine dans lequel se placent mes travaux. La présentation des problèmes et des orientations de ce domaine sera appuyée par une bibliographie propre à l'introduction.<br />- La première partie est consacrée à la description des recherches qui ont été effectuées depuis une dizaine d'années. Outre la description des thèmes de recherche, cette partie inclut la présentation de quelques articles et résumés de travaux.<br />- La deuxième partie donne une liste complète et structurée des publications, communications, posters, etc.<br />- La troisième partie, orientée vers le futur, est consacrée aux projets imminents et aux perspectives de recherche et de développement à moyen terme.<br />- L'annexe présente l'activité d'encadrement d'étudiants de troisième cycle, directement liée aux activités d'enseignement et de recherche.

Reproduction de : Habilitation à diriger des recherches : Sciences physiques : Lille 1 : 2005. / Synthèse des travaux en français. Recueil de publications en anglais non reproduit dans la version électronique. N° d'ordre (Lille 1) : 430. Curriculum vitae. Titre provenant de la page de titre du document numérisé. Bibliogr. p. 83-88. Liste des publications et des communications.

Research have revealed that the accounting profession engage multi-disciplinary teams in the assurance of sustainability reports. However, how such teams are composed or the values that these teams bring to the assurance engagement process, and how reliance is established on the work performed by such teams has been left uncovered. This research sought to fill this gap, and hence, contributed to providing an understanding surrounding this issue. Semi-structured interviews with auditors from the Big Four Audit firms, engaged with performing sustainability assurance was conducted. The findings revealed that the engagement of multi-disciplinary teams, comprising both financial accountants and sustainability specialists from various disciplines, was necessary in ensuring quality assurance work performance. Firstly, the in-depth knowledge of sustainability subject matters possessed by the sustainability experts, enabled the questioning of the correctness of sustainability items reported by the clients. Secondly, sustainability experts were valuable in the planning stage of the engagement, in identifying client risk areas. Thirdly, sustainability expert involvement, enabled the winning of work contracts. Additionally, the engagement of multi-disciplinary teams was revealed to be valuable to the client firms. Firstly, the sustainability experts assisted clients in identifying the most valuable issues to report to their stakeholders. Secondly, due to the expert’s knowledge and experience, it enabled them to inform clients on high reporting levels. Finally, sustainability experts provided clients with valuable feedback that aids the improvement of the client processes, and the management of risks. The establishment of reliance on the work performed by the teams, requiring an accountant to signoff every engagement work performed by the team, as required by the applicable assurance standards, was partially supported by this study. Sustainability experts, who were non-accountants, was revealed to be engaged in this signing off ritual, hence, leaving room for the questioning of such assurance engagements signed off by sustainability experts.

Europos Sąjungos institucijose dažnai remiamasi valstybių narių deleguotų nacionalinių ekspertų patirtimi bei žiniomis. Tokiu būdu gerinami institucijų administraciniai gebėjimai, didinamas veiklos efektyvumas, o ekspertams suteikiama galimybė patobulinti darbo įgūdžius bei iš arčiau susipažinti su tarptautinėmis institucijomis. Delegavimu taip pat naudojamasi kaip priemone politiniams tinklams užmegzti ar sukurti savitą tiltą tarp Europos Sąjungos bei valstybių narių. Tačiau pastaruoju metu įžvelgiama vis daugiau delegavimo trūkumų, kadangi dažniausiai jis neatneša realios naudos nei ekspertus delegavusioms institucijoms, nei pačių deleguotųjų ekspertų karjerai. Maža to, užmegzti politiniai tinklai taip pat pasirodo esantys trumpalaikiai. Nacionaliniai ekspertai, siekiantys laikinai užimti pareigas Europos Sąjungos institucijose, turi atitikti griežtus reikalavimus bei laimėti nacionalinę nei priimančios institucijos organizuojamą atranką. Atrinktiems kandidatams visą delegavimo laikotarpį nacionalinis darbdavys moka atlyginimą, išsaugo tarnybinį statusą bei suteikia visas socialines garantijas. Tuo tarpu priimančioji institucija kompensuoja tik papildomas delegavimo išlaidas. Nepaisant to, eidami pareigas deleguotieji ekspertai privalo vadovautis tik Europos Sąjungos interesais ir jokiu būdu neprivilegijuoti nacionalinės institucijos ar valstybės. Galimų interesų konfliktų siekiama išvengti stipriai apribojant deleguotųjų nacionalinių ekspertų savarankišką veiklą... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The institutions of European Union offen use the experience and knowledge of seconded national experts. Thus executive abilities of institutions are improved, efficiency of work is increased and national experts get a better opportunity to upgrade their working skills as well as familiarize with the international institutions. The secondment is also used for building the political networks or a specific bridge between European Union and the member states. However, recently more and more weaknesses of secondment are being found. First of all, it does not necesarily guarantee expert‘s promotion or bring a benefit to national institutions either. Moreover, the political networks built by seconded national experts mostly are nondurable. The applicants for the secondment must meet the strict requirements and pass both national and european selections. The secondment lasts from six months to two years and can be renewed up to a total period not exceeding four years. All this period the national employer who sent the experts on the secondment continues to pay salary and guarantees their position and social security. Whereas EU institution pays only the additional expenses of secondment. Despite this, the seconded national experts have to be loyal to the EU institution under whose supervision they work and do not privilege their national employer or state. The possibility of clash of interests is decreased by restricting the discretion of the seconded national experts. The... [to full text]