The aims of the present study were to investigate the relationship among preservice science teachers&rsquo / informal reasoning regarding nuclear power plant construction, epistemological beliefs and metacognitive awareness. Throughout 2010-2011 fall and spring semesters, a total of 674 pre-service science teachers participated in the study. Data were collected through Schommer&rsquo / s Epistemological Questionnaire, Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, and Open-ended Questionnaire Assessing Informal Reasoning regarding Nuclear Power Usage. MANOVA, correlational analysis, and stepwise multiple regression analyses were conducted. The analyses revealed that the differences between pre-service science teachers&rsquo / epistemological beliefs within the two decision making groups were not statistically significant. Besides, results of the bivariate correlation revealed that there were statistically significant correlation between pre-service science teachers&rsquo / total argument construction and all the dimensions of SEQ except omniscient authority. Also, there was a significant correlation between pre-service science teachers&rsquo / certain knowledge dimension of SEQ and their counterargument construction. Moreover, the differences between pre-service science teachers&rsquo / metacognitive awareness within the two decision making groups were not statistically significant. Results of the bivariate correlation revealed that there was a significant correlation between preservice science teachers&rsquo / metacognitive awareness and informal reasoning outcomes. Finally, stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that pre-service science teachers&rsquo / information management strategy was the only significant predictor for their rebuttal construction. Declarative knowledge was the best predictor of preservice science teachers&rsquo / counterargument construction while the second best predictor was certain knowledge for their counterargument construction. Finally declarative knowledge was the only significant predictor for the amount of preservice science teachers&rsquo / reasoning modes.

This thesis aims to analyze how the global and local relations are articulated within the economic field through trust relations in Mardin. These relations will be explained from actor&rsquo / s perspectives, with emphasis on the nature of the interaction, through are course to the social and institutional context in which these relations and the economic field are embedded. To this end, a qualitative study, has been conducted during the spring of 2010, using in-depth interviews with 24 entrepreneurs in grain production industry in the Mardin Organized Industrial District. The study analyzes trust relations by way of contextualizing them within the economic relations of entrepreneurs in Mardin. It describes how these entrepreneurs interact with existing institutional regulations and other actors in the field through trust relations at the local, national, and global markets. Trusts stemming from informal resources, such as from having a good family name or in being honest, provide sufficient grounds for doing business, where formal institutional regulations do not work. As such, entrepreneurs try to avoid doing business when they do not trust the formal institutional mechanisms and, at the same time, when they lack informal relations based on trust. Trust in this context demarcates with whom entrepreneurs do business and to which market they send their products. Streaming from shared experiences in the economic field, which in turn are shaped by informal relations, formal national institutional regulations, and neoliberal organization at the global context, mutual trust becomes a key factor in every facet of these interactions.

This thesis indicates that the relationship between the budgetary participation and managerial performance of Japanese companies in Taiwan is practical. If organizational performance is an intervening variable of budgetary participation and organizational commitment, it proves that the relationship budgetary participation and organizational commitment is positive and obvious. It also reveals that organizational commitment and managerial performance also have a positive relationship. In addition, budgetary participation can get an indirect influence to increase managerial performance by adding organizational commitment., The demonstrations show that the relationship between budgetary participation and managerial performance is negative, which is the same as the outcome of Sterdry (1960), Bryan & Locke (1967), Blumenfield & Leidly (1969) and Cherrington (1973). However, it is different from that of Argyris (1955), Brownell (1982), Brownell & McInnes (1986), Govindarajan (1986), Dunk (1990), Kren (1992). Therefore, the relationship between budgetary performance and managerial performance has not reached a consistent conclusion until now. In order to explain the inconsistent relationship between budgetary participation and managerial performance, the studies are based on the organizational commitment as an intervening variable. After the demonstrations, without dividing into groups, organizational commitment has an indirect influence between budgetary participation and managerial performance. However, by dividing into groups, it does not indicate the causation relationship except that of the group of Taiwanese managers to join the formal budgetary participation. According to different nations and different ways to join in a group by dividing into variable groups, with an advanced research, it reveals that the relevant coefficient of organizational commitment and managerial performance is positive for Japanese managers. Moreover, the relevant coefficient of the group of informal budgetary participation is much higher than that of the group of formal budgetary participation. Thus, it proves that Japanese managers prefer to the informal budgetary participation, which matches the assumption of studies. For Japanese companies, the pattern to make decisions depends on the agreement of each member, and the managers prefer to cooperate with them in private (NEMAWASHI). For Budgetary Participation, it is just formal. Although the relevant coefficient of budgetary participation and organizational commitment for Taiwanese managers shows the positive aspects, it is impossible to achieve the indirect affection to increase the managerial performance within the use of organizational commitment. It indicates that Taiwanese managers can¡¦t possess the power to make decisions in the Japanese companies. Though they join those formal meetings of budgetary participation, they still can¡¦t increase managerial performance without any incentives. Therefore, it is not ideal to establish the budge of each department in a company only to encourage them to join meetings. It is to reward them or to give them spiritual support that can increase the managerial performance. This research can provide Japanese companies in Taiwan with the most important references to design or implement the budgetary system in achieving the expected goal.

This study is intended to analyze Taiwan economic development from the perspectives of the New Institutional Economics, to introduce institution and institutional transfer into the historical analysis of Taiwan economic development, and to obtain the empirical significance of institution on economic development. Due to the Japanese colonized policy in Taiwan, and the economic theory of principle for the people by Dr. Sun, Yet-Sen after Taiwan Restoration, the analysis of this study in Taiwan economic development will be conducted before and after Taiwan Restoration. This study will focus on the history of economic development before and after Restoration, and the institutional establishment and its change, and will collect relevant data to analyze and evaluate the interrelation between economic development and institution, and comment the effect of institution and its performance. The findings of this study are: 1¡Bthe national theoretical analysis of The New Institutionalism: Before Restoration, the political aspect of institution was more violent than contractual; rather, after restoration, the political and economic aspects of institution has been transferred from violent to contractual . 2¡Bthe theoretical analysis of Property Rights of The New Institutionalism: Before Restoration, the main purpose of defining property rights was to predate land; after Restoration, the main purpose of establishing property rights system was to assure the security of private property rights to facilitate the development of productive activity. 3¡Bthe theoretical analysis of transactional costs of New Instutionalism: Before Restoration, the establishment of modernized institution was aimed at reducing the transactional costs of investing in the colony by Japanese capitalists, and predating more economic achievement from the colony. After Restoration, the establishment of economic institution was aimed at reducing the transactional costs generated by both transactional factors and human factors, and stabilizing the economic development. 4¡Bthe analysis from the perspective of practical aspects of New Institutionalism: Before Restoration a variety of political measures bas been done to assist Japanese capitalists; after Restoration, the endeavor of sustaining the neutrality of agents and promoting effectiveness of enforcement produced the cooperative behavior, subject to contract. 5¡Bthe theoretical analysis of institutional transfer: Before Restoration, the economic institutional change was imposed, while after Restoration it is also imposed initially, but lately 30 years, inductive.

No description available.

<p>In order to have some say and to scrutinise the government all member states of the EU today has established an institution within their national parliaments, the Committee of European Affairs. This institution, however, has very different rights and regulations depending on the country it is established in. This study uses two rather similar countries, Sweden and Denmark, and investigates what differences and similarities the two committees show.</p><p>By constructing a comparative case study of four units of analysis, the governments and committees of European Affairs in Sweden and Denmark, the formal and informal power relationship between government and committee in each country were studied in order to determine similarities and differences and whether the committee had an impact on the governments’ EU policies. Further they were compared, assessing whether the Danish Committee of European Affairs was more powerful than its Swedish counterpart because of its legal basis in an EU document.</p><p>The theoretical framework was built on empirical institutionalism and Lukes’ first and second dimension of power. The similarities and differences were accounted for and compared. In conclusion, the Danish Committee of European Affairs has more formal power than its Swedish counterpart but regarding informal power the Swedish Committee of European Affairs has a slight advantage. Both committees have an impact on the way their government handle negotiations with the EU.</p><p>Keywords: formal power, informal power, the Committee of European Affairs, Sweden, Denmark</p>

<p>The aim of this study is to investigate the situation in Romania concerning trafficking for sexual purposes. We look at what affect the European Union has had relating to this matter, in order to conclude what a membership implies on the fight against trafficking. A gender perspective is apparent throughout the essay and new institutionalism leads us to focus on the affect of the EU, both formally and informally. Questions to be answered revolves around the EU:s strategy against trafficking, recent trends and the implementation of the strategy in Romania, formally and informally. The study has the form of a case study and is conducted through a field study in Romania. A combination of methods is used, including personal interviews with organizations and qualitative text analysis. The results show that the EU has mainly had a formal affect on the measures against trafficking for sexual purposes in Romania, whilst having deficiencies in affecting norms and implementation. We conclude that it is difficult for the EU to make sure that the member states work with this issue sufficiently in practice.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-118). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in History." Includes bibliographical references (p. 244-255).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-118). Also available on the Internet.