The numerous transdisciplinary research initiatives currently addressing a variety of complex social issues could benefit from a deeper understanding of the ways in which intellectually diverse groups work together to address problems. This research focused on a small group of investigators in a transdisciplinary institute as they sought to work collaboratively in the domain of infectious disease research. The unit's members described many challenges and successes that provided insights into the character and dynamics of transdisciplinary research, including how members developed a shared conceptual framework. The process proved enormously complex and was the product of long-term interactions among group members. Because participants were rooted in different disciplines and did not share professional trajectories, communication and understanding took extra effort, patience, and the development of a counterintuitive set of cognitive skills. Over time an integrated work process evolved within the group through a combination of strong interpersonal relationships, the mediating role of interactional expertise, and the development of shared boundary objects. Group members began working more closely with other team participants throughout the lifespan of projects. That experience over time allowed individuals to connect the details of their work together with the overarching goals and strategies of the group. This study employed the theory of trading zones to illustrate the ways researchers worked across boundaries to establish shared ideas, values, and goals. It developed and applied the concept of a transdisciplinary trading zone to describe the group's ability to coordinate its action despite both epistemic and communication barriers. Ultimately, the researchers studied sought a balance between being "productive," understood as providing practical tools to industry and government, and generating novel scientific solutions to complex research problems. The group's success in securing a shared research aspiration despite its member's disciplinary and professional differences resulted from an iterative process of interaction that included learning from failed attempts and a constant and persistent negotiation of goals and values among those involved. / Ph. D.

Telecommuting is a significant workplace innovation that allows an increasing portion of the work force to work from home or work at a location remote from the central workplace at least one-day a week. Previous studies (Bélanger, 1999; Pinsonneault & Boisvert, 2001; Potter, 2003) have outlined that the reasons for the growth of this phenomenon are found in its perceived benefits for both the telecommuter and their employer: improved productivity, organizational loyalty and belonging, job satisfaction, savings of office space, increased flexibility, improved employee morale and employee retention and attraction. Telecommuting literature has provided models and theories about telecommuting concentrating mainly on the telecommuter's experiences and perspective. However, the ramifications of this practice have a broad range of potential impacts not only on the telecommuter, but also other parties in the work unit. Despite the tremendous growth in telecommuting, relatively few empirical studies (Duxbury & Neufield, 1999; Golden, 2007; Watson-Fritz, Narasimhan, and Rhee, 1998) have directly examined the creeping affect and effect of the telecommuting challenges on others in the work unit. Few studies (Bailey & Kurland, 2002; Cooper & Kurland, 2002; Golden, 2007; McCloskey & Igbaria, 2003) have investigated it from the non-telecommuters' perspective and how it affects their work outcomes and their attitudes More importantly, no earlier studies were found that had ever investigated the effects of the telecommuting arrangement on the non-telecommuter from the organizational justice perspective, and how this affects the non-telecommuter's job satisfaction. This study empirically examined the affects and effects of telecommuting on non-telecommuters, and within that context, examined the extent to which organizational justice perspectives affected job satisfaction. Major findings of the study revealed that : (a) the accessibility of the telecommuter is key, even if they are working offsite, (b) job type/position plays an important role in the selection process or in some non-telecommuters' decision to opt out of telecommuting, (c) there was lack of awareness of a formal telecommuting policy or understanding of how the policy was applied, (d) selection procedures can be biased and unfair, and (e) some non-telecommuters experienced envy and jealousy, frustration, resentment, anxiety, unfairness and anger towards telecommuting colleagues. The results of the study also revealed that interpersonal/interactional, and distributive justice both explained the statistically significant variance in non-telecommuters' job satisfaction. However, interpersonal/interactional justice (which focuses on the quality of interpersonal treatment individuals receive) explained a stronger statistically significant variance in the job satisfaction of non-telecommuters. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether organizational practices' fairness (also known as organizational justice) and trustâ contribute to the enhancement of role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE), a form of proactive behavior. The sample consisted of 226 white-collar professionals in large and small organizations. Approximately 70% held a college degree. An a priori path model based on theoretical literature was generated to represent causal relationships among the variables. Two paths were explored: a) the relationship among procedural justice, trust in organization, and RBSE; and b) the relationship among interactional justice, trust in supervisor, and RBSE. Findings indicated a statistically significant relationship between procedural justice and trust in organization. The relationships between procedural justice and RBSE and trust in organization and RBSE were not significant. Interactional justice had a statistically significant relationship with trust in supervisor, but not with RBSE. The relationship between trust in supervisor and RBSE was not significant. Respondents expressed a strong trust in their organization, and a stronger trust in their immediate supervisor. The most important discovery in this study was the statistically significant relationship between education and RBSE. Individuals with graduate degrees reported the highest level of RBSE, followed by people with Bachelor's degrees. Globalization and technology are fueling demands for ever-increasing employee skills and higher levels of education. Organizations need highly educated, proactive individuals in order to be successful. Future research should continue to investigate variables and constructs that may enhance RBSE in the workplace. / Ph. D.

This thesis examines interactional dimensions of the 2008 U.S. presidential debates based on the conversation analytic concepts of sequence organization and turn management. Drawing on the video recordings of the three 2008 presidential debates, I investigate features of turn design and interactional strategies that candidates employ during the debates and compare stylistic differences between John McCain and Barack Obama. I first examine how candidates design their first-turn responses to the moderator’s question in terms of placement of two different actions, answer and attack. Secondly, I focus on design of the second-turn responses and examine how candidates show responsiveness to both the moderator’s question and the opponent’s prior turn by incorporating multiple actions (e.g., attack, defense, and answer) in their second turns. I also examine direct exchanges between McCain and Obama, particularly concerning their strategic use of the record and their interactional practices in claiming turns and managing overlapping talk in confrontation sequences. My analysis shows that some stylistic differences exist between McCain’s and Obama’s turns. I provide detailed description of how Obama makes a systematic transition from answer to attack in his first-turn responses, which is distinguished from McCain’s first turns in which attacks are inserted in his answer as relevant topics are brought up. My analysis of the second-turn responses shows that McCain frequently produces an attack at turn beginning or responds to an attack with a reciprocal attack before producing a defense, while Obama tends to produce a defense first and then move to an attack. Lastly, I discuss how both Obama and McCain manage their turns and use turn-taking techniques to avoid direct references to their own record and shift the focus of the talk to the opponent’s stance on a related issue. / text

This paper analyzes the nature of linguistic interactions between host communities and international tourists. The tourism-based context provides an excellent platform from which to describe the sociolinguistic influences that American tourists have had on Mexican communities. Specifically, the language use of local vendors in Puerto Peñasco/Rocky Point, Mexico, is described in terms of the various linguistic characteristics that constitute their particular dialect of English. Not only does this work emphasize the sociocultural foundation of language acquisition, it also illustrates the type of language that is learned in economically motivated situations. The results also emphasize how the growing ubiquity of (American) English in tourism contexts establishes distinct attitudes towards the United States and those who live there.

The development of communication technology has also created new structures, able to challenge the traditional power roles of the communicative process. Social media have become a fruitful arena of this change due to their users having the possibility to respond to the producers’ messages. Thus, the traditional lineal structure turns to an interactional one and consequently, the lines become blurred between the roles of the dominant and dominated as assumed by the senders/producers and the receivers respectively. Controversial issues shed light on this ‘battle for power’, such as the sustainability actions and reporting of Zara and H&M. These companies are the leaders of the fast fashion industry; one of the most ‘unsustainable’ fields. Through a critical discourse analysis of the posts that the companies launch on their Facebook-sponsored accounts as well as the comments related to sustainability that they obtain from their users, the communicative process occurring in social media can be assessed. The aim of this analysis is to provide an insight into how the communicative process between sender and receiver in social media creates public opinion and affects the development of sustainability discourse. It has been shown that users have found in social media a powerful tool to challenge the companies’ power: they can comment on the informative product in question. Also the users have taken the sustainability discourse as the required ‘object’ when questioning a product’s reliability. The latter is in some way another means with which to challenge the companies’ power.

ABSTRACT   Title: Gender Equality in Higher Education- Comparative study in Sweden and India Level: Final assignment for Master’s Degree in Business Administration Authors: Dhiviya Janoris and Paula Prela Supervisor: Maria Fregidou-Malama Examiner: Daniella Fjellström Date: May 2019   Aim: The aim of this study is to understand gender equality in higher education in two different countries, Sweden and India. Method: The study uses a qualitative study method and a constructivism approach. We conducted 11 semi-structured interviews and document experiences regarding gender equality. We had 6 interviews from the University of Gävle, Sweden and 5 interviews from Patrician College, India. Result and Conclusions: The results have shown that there is gender equality within the University of Gävle and Patrician college. However, there can be improvements made regarding the vertical and horizontal segregation in both universities. Additionally, when examining Patrician College on a macro level, it is shown that the parental leave policies and the gender wage gap has a large impact on gender equality. Suggestions for future study: It can be suggested that future study in this topic concentrate on to understand why there is a majority of male professors rather than female professors. Additionally, the reasons as to why there is a wider gender wage gap in India and poor parental leave policies should be examined. Contribution of the thesis: The theories are used to understand gender equality in different dimensions and its relationship with the different levels of the construct of gender as a social structure with the help of different theories.   Keywords: Gender Equality, Individual level, Interactional level, Macro level, University of Gävle, Patrician College.

Cette thèse a pour objet l'étude des modalités de transmission du savoir-être au jeune enfant inuit fréquentant les établissements préscolaires et médicaux. Dans le village de Kuujjuaq, le plus peuplé du Nunavik, plus de la moitié des enfants de moins de cinq ans sont inscrits dans les établissements préscolaires, tandis que tous les enfants fréquentent le service médical et l'anglais leur est familier. Les interactions verbales et non verbales sont décrites puis analysées en fonction de leur statut et de leurs effets sur le développement de l'enfant. Cette recherche qualitative s'appuie sur 150 heures d'observation dans les établissements préscolaires, près de 30 heures d'observation dans le milieu médical et sur la tenue de 30 entretiens. Les résultats de la recherche montrent que les interactions en milieu institutionnel, au sein duquel les langues parlées sont l'anglais et l'inuttitut, exercent une influence sur la transmission du savoir-être, aussi conditionnée par les circonstances de l'échange et les pratiques éducatives inuit. La thèse révèle également une conception de l'éducation fine et originale dans sa capacité à développer chez l'enfant l'autonomie et la solidarité. / The objective of this thesis is to study the way in which Inuit values are transmitted to young children attending to preschool and healthcare institutions. In Kuujjuaq, the most populated village in Nunavik, more than half of the children aged under five years are registered in preschool institutions, when all the children are under the care of health services and are familiar with English language. Verbal and non verbal communication practices are described and analyzed with the focus on the way they influence child development. This study is the result of a qualitative research based on 150 hours of observation in preschool institutions, about 30 hours of observation in healthcare institutions and 30 interviews. The findings of the research show that children exposure to public spaces, where English and Inuttitut languages are spoken, leads to a variety of influences on value transmission, also conditioned by interactional circumstances and Inuit childrearing practices. The thesis also reveals how Inuit concept of education contributes to the development of children sense of autonomy and solidarity.

A repetição representa, certamente, uma das marcas da língua falada, cuja relevância para a produção e a compreensão do texto falado é atestada por diversos estudos, concernentes à Análise da Conversação, que se voltam à observação de tal fenômeno, principalmente no que se refere a seus aspectos formais e funcionais. O presente trabalho pauta-se na tipologia funcional das repetições proposta por Luiz Antônio Marcuschi, um dos mais renomados estudiosos da conversação, para analisar os seus efeitos interacionais. Assim, a partir do arcabouço teórico fornecido pela Análise da Conversação e pela Sociolingüística Interacional, procuramos compreender a relação existente entre diferentes tipos de repetição e dois traços qualitativos que podem permear as interações verbais: a colaboração e o conflito. / Repetition is a trait of spoken language whose relevance, both for production and comprehension of the spoken text, is highlighted in a number of studies on Conversation Analysis concerned with observing this phenomenon, especially with reference to its formal and functional aspects. This current study focuses on the functional typology of repetition proposed by Luiz Antônio Marcuschi, one of the most renowned academics of conversation, to analyze its interactional effects. Through the theoretical framework provided by Conversation Analysis and Interactional Sociolinguistics, we seek to comprehend the relationship between different types of repetition and two qualitative traits which can permeate verbal interactions: collaboration and conflict.

How can the same object become split when viewed by different groups of observers? What is the relationship between conflict and consensus, and the ritual and the rational? I interrogate these questions through the case of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in Germanophone Europe and North America. I interviewed forty-five practitioners from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the US and Canada. These conversations were semi-structured and ethnographically inflected. I attempted to take the informant’s perspective earnestly and to read any available works by that author in advance of the interview. To gain a sense of how science differed when not immediately concerned with the treatment of patients, I included an assessment specialist and a social-personality psychologist. Non-expert practitioners, who had not published any books or articles on pathological narcissism, were included to test whether theory is solely alluring to the academician or if it holds sway over the psychotherapist on the street. These respondent pools were matched as closely as possible across the two contexts to facilitate comparison. Approximately six psychotherapeutic schools emerged as important amongst my respondents. After a brief introduction to the different psychotherapies, I begin with the native understandings of NPD or pathological narcissism. These definitions and the wide range of narcissistic patients seen pose the puzzle: How can these definitions be so disparate, and all ostensibly be concerned with NPD as a clinical or scientific object? My concern is less oratorical and more earthy: What precisely do practitioners do? Opening with assessment (Ch. 5), we find some common signs. Diagnostic procedures may employ different technological mixes, but ultimately all follow a single pattern. Chapter 6 addresses empathy and the therapeutic alliance. The notion of a minimal medical model underlying all treatment types I encountered was unearthed despite many methods’ active denial of the ‘medical model.’ The patient-practitioner boundary is, however, far from the final frontier. Conceptualisation helps to guide the ways in which clinicians interact with one another, and ultimately the broader science of psychopathology. Chapter 8 addresses the ways in which different classificatory schemes relate to one another, and how this helps to shape the science of narcissism. What ultimately emerges is a story of (1) the minor differences of narcissism and (2) the narcissism of minor differences. The narcissism (2) can be said to obscure the (1) minor differences. Competition is inherent in the process at multiple levels: between models for both students and patients (attention-space), and through scientific exchange and the effort to gain evidence for one’s theory. I suggest that science serves less to find the best description or explanation for pathological narcissism, and more to legitimate one’s conceptualisation. Evidence of this sort gives a theoretical school means to command more financial and attentional resources. Psychotherapeutic technology is, however, path dependent, limiting the distance between any two methods.