Ph.D. / Computer Science and Electrical Engineering / We envision that next-generation spoken dialogue systems will be supporting a complex user goal and multiple parallel tasks, which requires the system and the user to jointly direct the flow of conversation. The problem, however, is that there lacks an effective model of directing the flow of conversation. This thesis research aims to develop such a model for next-generation spoken dialogue systems. We started with conventions actually used in human-human dialogue, which are natural for users to follow and probably also efficient in problem-solving. An annotation framework, DialogueView, was established to allow for the investigation of complex interaction in dialogue. A series of empirical studies on two corpora, the Trains and the MTD, were then conducted to understand people's initiative behavior of directing the conversation flow. We first examined people's initiative behavior in decomposing a complex goal into sub-goals and achieving each of them in the Trains domain. We found that initiative is subservient to discourse goal. We next examined people's initiative behavior in switching the conversation to a more urgent task. We found that conversants strive to switch tasks at a less disruptive place; but where they cannot, they exert additional effort to signal the task switching, such as increasing pitch. We finally examined people's behavior on initiative conflicts, where both conversants try to direct the conversation at the same time. We found that conversants try to avoid initiative conflicts; but when initiative conflicts occur, they are efficiently resolved with simple linguistic devices such as volume. Computer simulation experiments were also conducted to better understand the underlying benefits of using the human conventions. Our findings on human-human dialogues have important implication for building next-generation spoken dialogue systems by (1) guiding the system when to show initiative, and when to let the user show initiative; (2) guiding the system when and how to switch to a more urgent task, and to understand the user's switch; and (3) guiding the system how to resolve and repair initiative conflicts.

The developmental period of adolescence typically refers to the years between 13 and 19, and is associated with developmental tasks that help youth become young adults. The transition to adulthood is typically recognized by common adulthood benchmarks such as leaving home, finishing school, marriage, financial independence and having children. However, many young men and women attending college remain financially and emotionally dependent on their parents, as they have not entered the professional work ranks and are faced with the challenges of college. Increasingly, colleges and universities are becoming places to help teach young people to become prepared for the professional ranks and engaged with the world that surrounds them. However, very little research in higher education is focused on the developmental benefits associated with the college experience. The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of developmental supports for self-determination and initiative in a student leadership program. Throughout the youth development literature, self-determination and initiative are recognized as important internal capacities that aid young people as they transition to adulthood. These concepts provide the theoretical lens for a qualitative case study of a college leadership group. Data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews, observations, a year end focus group, and supplemented by a review of the organizational instruments and tools they develop. Findings from this study confirm past studies of youth development organizations and extend this work by applying it to the developmental period of emerging adulthood. For the leadership group under investigation, initiative and self-determination were supported primarily through the actions of peers within the group. The experience of student leaders often shaped how the group was led, and these leaders became an important source of support for the basic needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy within the group. The study covers a three-year period, and contrasts how peer leadership changed and impacted group functioning and performance over time. Practical implications of the study relate to the important role of faculty and graduate student advisors in training and monitoring student leaders before these individuals take a formal leadership role for these groups.

I dagens samhälle där vi förbrukar allt mer resurser har frågorna om hur vi ska göra för att få en hållbar utveckling blivit allt viktigare. Det finns ett stort intresse för dessa frågor och många ställer krav på företagen att ta ansvar för sin påverkan på samhället och att arbeta för en hållbar utveckling. Detta har lett till att många företag idag arbetar med och även redovisar hur de arbetar med ansvars- och hållbarhetsfrågor.  Regeringen har ställt kravet att alla statliga bolag från och med räkenskapsåret 2008 ska upprätta en hållbarhetsredovisning enligt Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). GRI är ett ramverk för hållbarhetsredovisning som kan användas som ett verktyg för att redovisa, utveckla och styra hålllbarhetsarbetet med. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om företag använder GRI som ett verktyg för att förbättra hållbarhetsarbetet samt hur företagen använder det. Studien genomfördes som en fallstudie där kvalitativ data samlades in genom intervjuer. Datainsamlingen bestod främst av intervjuer med de hållbarhetsansvarige på fyra företag i Stockholm. Genom studien kunde slutsatsen dras att de fyra undersökta företagen inte använder GRI som ett verktyg för att förbättra hållbarhetsarbetet i direkt mening. Däremot använder företagen GRI indirekt då ramverket behandlar områden som företagen redan har arbetat med. Hållbarhetsredovisningen används främst som ett renodlat redovisningsverktyg. En trolig förklaring till detta är att företagen redan hade väl utvecklade hållbarhetsarbeten samt att företagen såg svårigheter med att arbeta med GRI. En möjlig förklaring kunde även finnas i anledningarna till att företagen började använda GRI. Studien visade att företagen hade svårigheter med att urskilja vad som lett till en viss förändring, vilket gjorde det svårt för dem att veta om GRI var orsaken till den. En annan slutsats som kunde dras var att hållbarhetsredovisningen inte lett till många och stora konkreta förändringar i företagen. De förändringar som gick att urskilja var vissa förändringar i de interna rutinerna, ändrat fokus på hållbarhetsfrågorna och bättre struktur på hållbarhetsredovisningen. Genom studien kunde även slutsatsen dras att inget av företagen direkt använde indikatorerna som utgångspunkt för hållbarhetsarbetet. Samtliga företagen använde sig av olika styrtal och nyckeltal som de redan innan GRI tagit fram och arbetat med. En del av dessa var desamma som vissa indikatorer vilket innebar att indikatorerna indirekt blev en utgångspunkt i hållbarhetsarbetet. Slutligen kunde slutsatsen drag att företagen använder hållbarhetsredovisningen i andra former än som ett verktyg för att utforma hållbarhetsarbetet,  så som att lyfta hållbarhetsfrågorna på företaget.

China has been heavily investing in new energy. With the Chinese government encouragement as well as huge demand from domestic, a lot of MNCs set up subsidiaries in China to enter Chinese market. The new energy industry in China is under rapid and prosperous development. This study adopts qualitative approach, through interviewing with three new energy companies as well as secondary data collection to understand in such changing environment, how MNC¡¦s subsidiary in China can manage the dynamics and build up capability to achieve initiative is the objective this study attempt to understand. The findings show that under different strategies, exploitation and exploration, of developing dynamic capability in China, there will be corresponding HR, R&D, and marketing practices in subsidiary. And these practices will lead to different result of subsidiary initiatives - local and global initiative.

The Determinants of MNC Subsidiary¡¦s Autonomy and Initiative An Empirical Study of MNC Subsidiary in Taiwan Abstract The research focus of MNC subsidiary has been transferred from HQ perspective to transnational network perspective. Under network perspective, MNC subsidiary¡¦s role and function have been widely recognized. Some subsidiaries do not play a receptive role dictated from HQ, but leap to an international player or product mandate. Through fifty years economic development, the MNC Taiwan subsidiary¡¦s role has been changed. Therefore, it is worthy to study the MNC Taiwan subsidiary¡¦s behavior. This thesis focuses on the determinants of subsidiary¡¦s autonomy and initiative. We define the subsidiary autonomy as the level to which the HQ delegate and the subsidiary initiative as the result of subsidiary¡¦s autonomous innovation. The subsidiary autonomy demonstrates the subsidiary¡¦s ability to operate independently. The subsidiary initiative exhibits the subsidiary can contribute to the whole MNC. This research utilizes the HQ¡Xsubsidiary dyadic relationship characteristics, the level to which subsidiary¡¦s dependence on MNC, the subsidiary¡¦s resource and subsidiary¡¦s network characteristics as the explanatory variables to examine the effects on subsidiary¡¦s autonomy and initiative. The rationales of the hypotheses include procedure justice theory, resource dependence perspective, resource based view and MNC network perspective. This research uses survey to collect data. The population is the list of foreign enterprises in Taiwan published by Dun and Bradstreet, 2000. The subsidiaries belong to manufacturing industry and non-financial service industry. The subsidiaries are owned by foreign MNC. Its scale is above 30 people and its operation time must exceed one year. We use cluster analysis to formulate the subsidiary role, and use multi-regression and ANCOVA analysis to examine the effects of independent variables on subsidiary¡¦s autonomy and initiative. After analyzing 67 MNC¡¦s Taiwan subsidiaries, the results reveal that HQ¡¦s procedure justice, subsidiary¡¦s integration with MNC, the subsidiary¡¦s local responsiveness and subsidiary¡¦s relative capability have influence on subsidiary autonomy. In addation, HQ¡¦s procedure justice, subsidiary¡¦s dependence of knowledge resource on MNC, subsidiary¡¦s ownership structure, subsidiary¡¦s entrepreneurship level, subsidiary¡¦s relative capability, subsidiary¡¦s local responsiveness and subsidiary autonomy can affect the subsidiary initiative. These results assert that the subsidiary¡¦s role is highly influenced by its position in MNC network. Therefore this finding coincides with MNC network perspective. However, while examining the subsidiary¡¦s behavior, we still can¡¦t neglect the effects of HQ-subsidiary dyadic relationship and subsidiary¡¦s intrinsic characteristic, its resource. Therefore, these dissertation results respond to Birkinshaw¡¦s perspective. The subsidiary behavior is simultaneously influenced by HQ, subsidiary and local environment. Moreover, these research findings also correspond to the three subsidiary research stream, including HQ-subsidiary relationship, subsidiary role and subsidiary evolution. Finally, by conducting this research in Taiwan, this results also reply the researchers¡¦ attention on the MNC subsidiaries in the developing countries.

The developmental period of adolescence typically refers to the years between 13 and 19, and is associated with developmental tasks that help youth become young adults. The transition to adulthood is typically recognized by common adulthood benchmarks such as leaving home, finishing school, marriage, financial independence and having children. However, many young men and women attending college remain financially and emotionally dependent on their parents, as they have not entered the professional work ranks and are faced with the challenges of college. Increasingly, colleges and universities are becoming places to help teach young people to become prepared for the professional ranks and engaged with the world that surrounds them. However, very little research in higher education is focused on the developmental benefits associated with the college experience. The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of developmental supports for self-determination and initiative in a student leadership program. Throughout the youth development literature, self-determination and initiative are recognized as important internal capacities that aid young people as they transition to adulthood. These concepts provide the theoretical lens for a qualitative case study of a college leadership group. Data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews, observations, a year end focus group, and supplemented by a review of the organizational instruments and tools they develop. Findings from this study confirm past studies of youth development organizations and extend this work by applying it to the developmental period of emerging adulthood. For the leadership group under investigation, initiative and self-determination were supported primarily through the actions of peers within the group. The experience of student leaders often shaped how the group was led, and these leaders became an important source of support for the basic needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy within the group. The study covers a three-year period, and contrasts how peer leadership changed and impacted group functioning and performance over time. Practical implications of the study relate to the important role of faculty and graduate student advisors in training and monitoring student leaders before these individuals take a formal leadership role for these groups.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: Dept. of Public Policy and Administration. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 230-254.

This project assessed whether the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) focuses on providing true environmental indicator reporting within its framework. The analysis focused on environmental indicator data quality through observation of the data collection process for a sustainability report. Participants showed satisfaction with the requested data in regards to future comparability and transparency, concerns with data reliability and stakeholder concerns and significant concerns with data gathering systems. A review of 2007 reporting identified a low level of complete environmental indicator reporting and a low level of independent assurance. The study recommends significant enhancements at the GRI and governmental level. At the GRI level, the study recommends mandatory assurance of reports to receive GRI designation. At the governmental level, the study recommends mandatory corporate reporting for larger organizations to limit data quality issues and raise the overall sustainability performance of those organizations having the largest potential impact on sustainability.

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Education. / This thesis explores the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) within the educational system of Jordan. Educational systems worldwide are vigorously pursuing the integration of ICT as a means of staying abreast of the rapid technological changes associated with the knowledge-based economy, and the Jordanian education system is no exception, leading it to introduce several national initiatives in recent years. There has been considerable research undertaken into the impact of ICT upon society and upon educational systems, but such studies have been generally confined to Western contexts. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including Jordan, the little research which exists has been conducted for the most part by Western experts or international organisations. Moreover, in spite of massive spending on education by governments of the MENA region, there have been warnings of a serious and widening gap between current schooling outcomes and the skills required for effective participation in globalised workplaces. Therefore, the Jordanian education system has implemented two national projects, Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy (ERfKE), and the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI), which aim to equip the system and students with skills and knowledge to participate effectively in the new era. In examining the ways in which ICT integration has been planned and implemented in Jordan, the study investigated the roles of all three levels of the Jordanian education system: the central Ministry of Education, the regional directorates, and schools themselves. Research data were gathered using a mixed method approach, which combined the use of questionnaires and case studies. The study was conducted in two phases: in Phase1, two standard questionnaires were distributed to 120 teachers and 12 principals from the three regions of Jordan: North, Central, and South. Phase2 comprised two case studies involving two schools which were found to have optimal conditions for ICT integration compared with other schools in Jordan. The investigation in Phase2 included interviews, observations, site visits, and document analysis. The study identifies and explores three issues which are fundamental to the integration of ICT in the Jordanian education system. These are first, the geo-political location of Jordan in the Middle East, and the impact that turbulence in the region has upon education systems; second, the economic constraints experienced by Jordan as a developing country, which necessitate collaboration with private sector and international parties, and third, the internal and external complexity of factors which surround ICT integration initiatives.

Field Research Project (M.A.R.)--Cincinnati Christian University, 2009. / Includes abstract and vita. Bibliography: l. 26.