Disasters such as major floods and heat waves are taking an increasing toll on societies. Like other pressing policy issues, they are complex and cut across sectors, jurisdictions, and professional fields. Addressing these problems requires interorganizational collaboration between heterogeneous organizations and thus, interactions between representatives who may have different professional views and identities. Successful collaboration partly hinges on their capacity to integrate perspectives and develop sustainable working relationships despite differences. This thesis aimed to improve our understanding of the role played by professional differences in perspectives and identities in public-sector interorganizational collaboration. Three specific objectives were pursued in a multilevel approach: 1) To document the role of professional diversity for interorganizational collaboration when considered outside of sectoral or jurisdictional differences; 2) To investigate how salient differences in professional identity affect perceptions and reactions following task disagreement; and 3) To investigate the cognitive and relational pathways by which emotions, conflict perceptions, and information processing can predict decision quality and relationship quality following disagreement. Study 1 examined the experience of interorganizational collaboration in disaster management based on qualitative interviews with professional- and executive-level public servants from relevant Canadian federal organizations. Findings suggested that professional diversity was not by itself a salient issue. The most disempowering type of diversity was differences in mandates, especially when combined with differences in expertise or identities. Study 2 examined whether group composition based on professional identity was associated with differential perception of and reaction to disagreement during interorganizational problem solving. It was based on a small sample of experienced senior risk managers involved in a quasi-experimental simulation. In terms of disagreement perception, nonparametric analyses indicated that interprofessional teams reported more disagreement than homogeneous ones even if observed disagreement did not differ. In terms of reaction, disagreement showed consistent negative associations with reported measures of effectiveness, performance, and relationship quality in homogeneous teams. In contrast, these associations were either positive or nonsignificant in interprofessional teams. Study 3 experimentally tested in a disciplinary-defined university sample whether salient group professional composition affected how people perceived and reacted to a scripted task disagreement. Findings indicated that after experiencing the exact same task disagreement, participants in interprofessional teams were significantly more satisfied with their team than those in homogeneous teams. Path analyses supported the two hypothesized pathways linking emotion following disagreement to integrative decision making and satisfaction: a) a cognitive pathway whereby surprise predicted beneficial outcomes through increased reported task conflict and increased information processing and b) a relational pathway whereby negative emotions predicted detrimental outcomes through increased reported relationship conflict and decreased information processing. As a whole, the thesis improves our understanding of the cognitive and relational roles played by professional diversity in interorganizational collaboration. It provides evidence on the beneficial effects of salient diversity for group cohesion in the face of disagreement. It documents intervening cognitive and relational processes predicting performance and relational quality following task disagreement. Finally, it proposes research avenues whereby social psychology can be leveraged to support the adaptation of public-sector organizations to contemporary challenges in public policy.

Abstract Skin tone of an African American is a key primer for prejudicial attitudes among Whites, with darker skin tones eliciting more negative reactions. No previous studies have examined this phenomenon with African Americans as the evaluators. Social identity and social categorization theories, and Cross' theory of nigrescence, provided theoretical frameworks for this study. It was proposed that male African American observers' evaluations of another African American male may depend not only on the skin tone of the target (job candidate) and the quality of his credentials, but also on the observer's own skin tone and stage of racial identity. Using Harrison and Thomas' methodology with White observers, 136 self-identified African American males were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions that varied skin tone (light, medium, dark) of the male shown in a photo and the quality of the resume (lower, higher) presented with that job candidate. In addition, each participant was assessed for stage of racial identity and self reported skin tone. After viewing the photo and resume, participants evaluated the job candidate on hireability, trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness. There were no statistically significant findings. Outcomes suggested possible problems with the experimental materials that had been used previously with White observers. Further, there were problems with gaining adequate sample sizes for the person variables, suggesting a need for larger samples for future research. Despite the nonsignificant statistical findings, intraracial discrimination continues to be an important area for future study. Indeed, understanding intraracial social judgments related to skin tone among African Americans has as much social significance as understanding evaluations of African Americans by Whites and others.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group within the United States, and the present work studies the existence of intragroup biases within this community due to violations of prototypicality and the existence of colorism. The present work also explores identity denial as a possible mediator of the relationship between target prototypicality and negative social consequences. Especially, when presented with lighter-skin or darker-skin targets, Hispanic/Latinx individuals are more likely to see them as less likable, and less warm when compared to a prototypical target. There was no evidence to support that identity denial mediated this relationship. Additionally, this research extends previous literature on the content of stereotypes faced by individuals of differing skin colors and finds conflicting results using an intragroup sample. Unexpected results suggest prototypicality may trump phenotypic variations within this unique population.

Conflitos são fenômenos sociais que ocorrem em qualquer organização; entretanto, apresentam-se mais contundentes (e menos compreendidos) na dinâmica da empresa familiar, em função de efeitos psicodinâmicos exclusivos da interação entre família, gestão e propriedade. Paralelamente, conflitos são também particularmente salientes no contexto ambíguo e complexo das decisões estratégicas, especialmente em ambientes colegiados como os conselhos de administração e consultivos - o alto escalão diretivo das organizações, também considerados a \"caixa-preta\" da governança corporativa. Interseccionando as áreas, este estudo mensura o impacto de potenciais antecedentes das facetas cognitiva e afetiva dos conflitos intragrupais, assim como suas consequências em métricas do processo decisório estratégico (qualidade e adoção da decisão), no contexto particular de conselhos (administração ou consultivo) de empresas familiares brasileiras. Investigando 81 processos decisórios estratégicos em conselhos de 81 empresas familiares distintas, mediante estratégia metodológica survey, verifica-se que: i) o percentual de conselheiros independentes não influi na intensidade das discordâncias cognitivas; ii) enquanto que conselhos caracterizados por elevada \"confiança baseada em competência\" tendem a reduzir conflitos afetivos (pessoais), o percentual de familiares apresenta efeito contrário, elevando-os; iii) a qualidade das decisões estratégicas não é influenciada pelos conflitos cognitivos, mas sim pela faceta afetiva, cuja relação (estatisticamente significativa) apresenta sentido negativo. Implicações teóricas e práticas, assim como sugestões de pesquisa, são discutidas na conclusão. / Conflicts are social phenomena liable to occur in any organizational type; however, they´re more intense (and less understood) in the dynamics of family businesses, due to the unique psychodynamic effects of the interaction between family, management and property. At the same time, conflicts can also be particularly salient in the ambiguous and complex context of boards (the \"black box\" of corporate governance), by the intimate connection with strategic decisions. Intersecting the areas, this study identifies and measures the impact of antecedents and consequences of the cognitive and affective dimensions of intragroup conflicts in the strategic decision-making process (regarding the quality and adoption of strategic decisions), in the particular and favorable context of Brazilian family firms´ boards of directors. Investigating 81 decision-making processes in boards of 81 different family businesses, through survey, it is verified that: i) the percentage of independent directors does not influence the intensity of cognitive disagreements; ii) while boards characterized by high \"trust based on competence\" tend to reduce affective (personal) conflicts, the percentage of family members has an opposite effect, raising them; iii) the quality of strategic decisions is not influenced by the cognitive conflicts, but by the affective facet, presenting negative and significant relation. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as research suggestions, are discussed at the conclusion

This study examines a case of cooperation between banks, commerce, police and the municipality of Skövde, which in a project has the target to reduce the use of cash by 15 % in the city during 2011. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the importance of cooperation in which different actors come together to reach a common goal, such as speed or interfere with an ongoing change, while they must meet their own interests. In this study the case of cooperation has been studied by using a qualitative approach. The methods used in this study are participant observation and a group interview as well as personal interviews. The theories underlying the study revolve around the concepts of collaboration between organizations with similar interests, changes in society, conflict and resistance to change.

Phylogenetic tree inference is a very common method for visualising evolutionary relationships among species. This work focuses on explanation of mathematical theory behind molecular phylogenetics as well as design of a modified algorithm for phylogenetic tree inference based on intra-group analysis of nucleotide and amino acid sequences. Furthermore, it describes the object design and implementation of the proposed methods in Python language, as well as its integration into powerful bioinformatic portal. The proposed modified algorithmic solutions give better results comparing to standard methods, especially on the field of clustering of predefined groups. Finally, future work as well as an application of proposed methods to other fields of information technology are discussed.

Les origines du peuplement de l’île de Madagascar ne sont encore que partiellement explorées à l’heure actuelle. Différentes populations ont contribué au peuplement de l’île, de nombreuses théories sur les origines de ce peuplement ont émergé et varient grandement selon les sources consultées. Selon l’archéologie et l’anthropologie culturelle, l’arrivée des premiers peuples remonterait à deux millénaires avant notre ère et plusieurs strates de vagues migratoires venues d’Afrique et d’Asie se sont succédées. Pour une vision complète du peuplement de toute l’île, ce sont les études en linguistique et en génétique qui ont donné les meilleures pistes en s’orientant vers une origine à prédominance indonésienne plutôt qu’africaine. Il reste cependant à confronter ces données diverses à celles issues de l’approche phénotypique, qui est peu utilisée. Mon objectif est donc d’explorer cette hypothèse à partir des données craniométriques, et ainsi de tester les modèles de peuplement proposés grâce à d’autres approches. Cet échantillon malgache (N=207) a été subdivisé sur la base de diverses données (géographie, ethnies et affiliations linguistiques). Après des analyses intra-groupe et intergroupes, ce dernier a été comparé à d’autres données craniométriques personnelles et publiées (N=1184). Deux types d’approches statistiques (multivariées classiques et issues de l’approche de la génétique des populations ou RMET) ont été utilisées afin d’obtenir des paramètres diversifiés et complémentaires. Les résultats issus des deux approches tendent vers une origine mixte (Afrique et Asie), dont la prépondérance varie en fonction de la région et du sexe. En effet, les hommes malgaches ont une origine triple (sud de l’Asie du Sud-est, sud de l’Afrique et côtes sud-est africaines), alors que les femmes ont plutôt une origine double (Afrique et Asie) selon l’approche multivariée classique. D’après les analyses RMET, on note que les individus des régions du nord et de l’est de l’île se rapprochent des populations de Tanzanie et les Malgaches présentent des similarités avec les populations indiennes. De plus, on remarque que les Malgaches du groupe nord présentent par rapport aux autres groupes un degré d’hétérogénéité plus élevé (Fst). Ce phénomène est dû probablement à des apports de populations plus diverses dès le début du peuplement de l’île dans cette région. Cette étude, basée sur un petit échantillon, confirme néanmoins les thèses antérieures sur la diversité du peuplement malgache et de plus elle démontre que les composantes prédominantes (Afrique ou Asie) varient selon les régions et le sexe. / As of now, origins of the island of Madagascar’s settlement have only been partially investigated. Various populations inhabited the island, thus numerous theories about these origins were devised and explanations vary greatly from source to source. According to archaeology and cultural anthropology, its first settlers came around two millennia before Christ and many waves of migration from Africa and Asia followed in their path. Studies in linguistics and genetics best laid the way for a comprehensive overview of that settlement and pointed to a predominantly Indonesian origin as opposed to an African one. However, comparing these many findings with those obtained through the rarely used phenotypic approach has yet to be done. My goal is therefore to explore this question using craniometric data to test settlement patterns proposed by other fields. Our Malagasy sample (N=207) was subdivided according to various factors (geography, ethnicities and linguistic affiliations). After intragroup and intergroup-based analyses, the sample was compared to more craniometric data, personal and published (N=1184). Two types of statistical approaches (classic multivariate and originating from genetics populations approach, or RMET) were used to achieve diversified and complementary parameters. Results from both approaches support the conclusion that the origins are in fact mixed (Africa and Asia) and their preponderance, linked to region and gender. Indeed, Malagasy men have three sources (south of Southeast Asia, southern Africa and southeast African coast), while women have more of a double origin (Africa and Asia) according to the classic multivariate approach. RMET analyses show that individuals from the northern and the eastern regions of the island share traits with Tanzanian populations as well as similarities with Indian populations. Furthermore, Malagasy from the northern group exhibit higher heterogeneity than other groups (Fst). This phenomenon is likely due to the influx of various populations early in the settlement of the island. This study, based on a small sample, nevertheless confirms previous theses on the diversity of the Malagasy settlement and, in addition, shows that its predominant parts (Africa and Asia) vary according to region and gender.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:34:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EDUARLApg1_90.pdf: 536997 bytes, checksum: 2d88f4f2ed8086799deacdb951348683 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-23 / Resilience is a construct that refers to the ability of human beings to successfully face the adversities of life, overcome them and even be strengthened or changed by them. Fields of psychology research, such as Health Psychology, Positive Psychology and Positive Organizational Behavior, have considered the resilience as an important way to understand the positive and healthy aspects of human beings. This work aims to expand knowledge about the resilience and their relations with other constructs in the organizational context. For this, the objective of this research was to verify the predictive capacity of intragroup conflict (relationship and task), of social support at work (emotional, informational and instrumental) and of professional self-concept (health, realization, self-confidence and competence) on resilience (positive adaptation or acceptance of change, spirituality, resignation towards life, personal competence and persistence in the face of difficulty) of military police. The study included 133 military police officers of a battalion in the state of Sao Paulo, prevailing male subjects (97.7%), mean age 30 years (SD = 5.7). The following scales were used to measure the variables:Resilience Rating Scale reduced, Intragroup Conflict Scale, the Scale of Perceived Social Support at Work and Self-Concept Scale. The data were submitted to descriptive calculations and at analyses of multiple lineal regression standard. The results indicated that the model that grouped the antecedent variables (intragroup conflict, social support at work and professional selfconcept) significantly explained the variance of the dimensions of resilience: 30% of persistence in the face of difficulties, 29% of positive adaptation or acceptance of change, 28% of personal competence and 11% of spirituality. Variables that were statistically significant impact on persistence in the face of difficulties were emotional support at work, whose direction of the prediction was opposite, and confidence, whose direction of prediction was direct. Positive adaptation or acceptance of change was as inverse predictor the health and as direct predictor the self-confidence. The personal competence had a significant impact on the variable selfconfidence, wich was a direct predictor. Spirituality, in turn, had a single significant predictor, the variable realization, whose direction of prediction was direct. The results suggest that among the independent variables, the professional self-concept demonstrated greater explanatory power of the variance in resilience. In light of the theory of the area were discussed these findings. Finally,limitations and the suggestion a research agenda that confirm and expand the results of this research were presented. / A resiliência é um construto que remete à habilidade do ser humano de ter êxito frente às adversidades da vida, superá-las e inclusive, ser fortalecido ou transformado por elas. Campos de investigações da psicologia, como Psicologia da Saúde, Psicologia Positiva e Comportamento Organizacional Positivo, têm considerado a resiliência como uma importante via para a compreensão dos aspectos positivos e saudáveis dos indivíduos. Este trabalho pretendeu ampliar o conhecimento acerca da resiliência e suas relações com outros construtos no contexto organizacional. Para isto, definiu-se como objetivo geral deste estudo verificar a capacidade preditiva do conflito intragrupal (tarefa e relacionamento), do suporte social no trabalho (emocional, informacional e instrumental) e do autoconceito profissional (saúde, realização, autoconfiança e competência) sobre a resiliência (adaptação ou aceitação positiva de mudanças, espiritualidade, resignação diante da vida, competência pessoal e persistência diante das dificuldades) de policiais militares. Participaram do estudo 133 policiais militares de um batalhão do interior do estado de São Paulo, prevalecendo indivíduos do sexo masculino (97,7%), com idade média de 30 anos (DP= 5,7). Para a medida das variáveis foram utilizadas as seguintes escalas validadas: Escala de Avaliação de Resiliência reduzida, Escala de Conflitos Intragrupais, Escala de Percepção de Suporte Social no Trabalho e a Escala de Autoconceito Profissional. Os dados foram submetidos a cálculos descritivos e a análises de regressão linear múltipla padrão. Os resultados indicaram que o modelo que reunia as variáveis antecedentes (conflito intragrupal, suporte social no trabalho e autoconceito profissional) explicou significativamente a variância das dimensões da resiliência: 30% da persistência diante das dificuldades, 29% da adaptação ou aceitação positiva de mudanças, 28% da competência pessoal e 11% da espiritualidade. As variáveis que tiveram impacto estatisticamente importante sobre a persistência diante das dificuldades foram o suporte emocional no trabalho, cuja direção da predição foi inversa, e autoconfiança, cuja direção da predição foi direta. A adaptação ou aceitação positiva de mudanças teve como preditor inverso a variável saúde e como preditor direto a autoconfiança. A competência pessoal teve impacto significativo da variável autoconfiança, que se mostrou um preditor direto. A espiritualidade, por sua vez, teve um único preditor significante, a variável realização, cuja direção da predição foi direta. Os resultados sugerem que dentre as variáveis antecedentes, o autoconceito profissional evidenciou maior poder de explicação da variância da resiliência. À luz da literatura da área foram discutidos estes achados. Por fim, foram apresentadas as limitações e a proposta de uma agenda de pesquisa que contribua para confirmação e ampliação dos resultados desta investigação.

<p>Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group within the United States, and the present work studies the existence of intragroup biases within this community due to violations of prototypicality and the existence of colorism. The present work also explores identity denial as a possible mediator of the relationship between target prototypicality and negative social consequences. Specially, when presented with lighter-skin or darker-skin targets, Hispanic/Latinx individuals are more likely to see them as less likable, and less warm when compared to a prototypical target. There was no evidence to support that identity denial mediated this relationship. Additionally, this research extends previous literature on the content of stereotypes faced by individuals of differing skin colors and finds conflicting results using an intragroup sample. Unexpected results suggest prototypicality may trump phenotypic variations within this unique population.</p>

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