Presence of the Dark Triad traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy in the workplace, especially among managers, has received increased attention due to the implications for organizations. One way to influence behavior in business organizations is through controlled interventions to change individual mind-sets. A review of the extant literature indicated that the relationship between Dark Triad traits and mind-set had not been sufficiently examined. A quantitative study was conducted to examine whether a manager's Dark Triad traits predict their mindset. To explore this relationship, a sample of 153 managers' responses was collected online. The Short Dark Triad measure was used to assess participants' Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy and the Implicit Theory Measure was used to assess mind-set. Regression showed that only Machiavellianism predicts mind-set, accounting for 7% of the variance in mind-set as the criterion variable. The findings indicate that the relationship between Dark Triad traits and mind-set is weaker than a review of the extant psychological literature might suggest. Additionally, this study found that the Dark Triad traits are significantly negatively correlated with manager age, which might provide a new direction for further research. Further research on how and why Dark Triad traits tend to decline with age is recommended. The present study suggests that a better understanding of the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and mind-set and the knowledge that controlled interventions aimed at promoting a growth mind-set are most likely not a useful tool to mitigate the level of Dark Triad psychological traits of managers in business organizations.

This thesis reviews and analyses the potential impact of maintenance on the fulfilment of Green Production Systems. Overall aim is to highlight how maintenance may contribute to decreasing the environmental impact of production. The thesis is based on the combination of literature studies and set of qualitative interviews conducted in selected companies. Three Swedish manufacturers were interviewed about their way of working, as well as their views on sustainability within operation management including maintenance. The results of the research explains why some organisations fail to recognize maintenance’s role to achieve sustainability, and how maintenance has been characterized in these organisations, namely by: short term pressures, reactive approach, neglecting hidden costs, lack of teamworking between production and maintenance departments, and low focus (hierarchical low status) on maintenance importance, resulting in lack of skilled labor available in organizations. In contrast, practices and strategies to succeed found to be based on the following: long term thinking, structured way of working, a proactive approach to maintenance, aiming to integrate core values into operational work, and establishing an environment which fosters continuous improvement and employee development. Same study identifies areas and "effects of poor maintenance" to be dealt with in the journey toward sustainable production, these are: economic, quality, processes wastes, emissions, resource consumption, safety and work environment related. It is therefore suggested that organizations may choose a proactive approach to maintenance that is best suited to their needs, which allows efficient production and long-term profitability, while considering safety and environmental aspects. Various concepts are available, but the organisation has to optimise on the combination of various practices. Following to the findings, a proposal is made that proactive culture should be integrated into daily work in a practical way such as Safety-Quality-Environment becomes everyone's responsibility. Sustainable perspective and sticking to best course of proactive measures are prioritized against short term pressures. To support this proposal a toolkit is developed that can be used at team/level continuous improvement programs, based on the PDCA model. Finally, the thesis emphasizes what benefits the optimum maintenance can provide on the fulfilment of competitive and resource-efficient production systems.

本研究では，実現可能な未来の自己像を構築することが自己制御を効果的に導くために重要であるという，自己制御モデルを提案し，モデルの妥当性ならびに実践的な応用への可能性について議論した。 / 博士(心理学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

Yes / This paper reports on a case study involving a strategic and innovative approach to creation of an in-house multifaceted digital engineering platform (the DEP) in overcoming a number of organisational problems at a multinational engineering company. The DEP was to be used strategically for simplifying the operational complexity and to create and appropriate new work-related mind-set and new organisational discourse to achieve homogenous working across the organisation, which is a huge challenge. The need for this system emerged from the need to resolve many organisational services related problems that carried phenomenal amount of processes, health and safety risks and to regulate, and, control the running of engineering project. Research data were collected using a longitudinal case study approach over a period of six months. In order to make sense of how the DEP helped the organisation, the study used certain elements of Extended Structuration Theory as a lens to assess the case study. This research discovered that the DEP succeeded in creating and appropriating work-related mind-set and organisational discourse. It also had real influence on working processes and employees at all levels while encouraging transparency, responsiveness, agility and accountability. It continues to help the organisation to govern, manage and maintain good standard of service but many barriers still remain.

Abstract Occupational safety in the construction industry has improved during the past few years with the help of target setting. Still, the accident frequency rate is doubled compared to other industrial sectors. The aim of this study is to clarify the mind-set of the actors in the building and construction trade towards occupational safety. Furthermore, identifying the factors affecting occupational accidents and the possibility of their prevention are investigated. There have been ample studies conducted on occupational safety and attitudes towards it, whereas research into construction safety perceptions has been scarce. The research is a Mixed Method Case Study in which the data consist of three cases. Case 1: Interviews of the workers (n=10) severely injured in falling from heights at the construction sites. Case 2: Interviews of construction professionals (n=20). Case 3: A two-phase (before and after) questionnaire to construction students in a HSEQ Training Park (Rudus) in Espoo (n=128) and in Northern Finland, Oulu (n=44). On the basis of this study it can be stated that the actors in the building and construction business consider occupational safety a matter of the utmost importance. On the other hand, while deemed desirable, workplace safety issues also create a great deal of cognitive dissonance. The mind-set for occupational safety is challenging. The actors in the construction industry demand investments in occupational safety but also flexibility. The conflicts are caused by the requirements for efficiency, high quality, and safety in construction, yet, for which there are, limited resources available. Safety measures are defied because of schedules, for instance, and risks may be ignored. Accidents are regarded as self-inflicted. According to the professionals, the construction business has been polarized into the companies that either pay attention to or neglect occupational safety and educated versus uneducated workers. Qualified workforce with a high standard of training is desired in the recruiting process. Investing in health and safety education is considered crucial at an early stage. Safety is realizing the importance of adopting effective health and safety management systems to eliminate work-related hazards and taking a positive approach to providing specialized training and education programs that improve the skills and experience of the workforce. Young people may lack an overall understanding of the dangers of their line of work. The injured workers assessed the risks through their subjective experiences. Although the reasons for occupational injuries are multi-causal in nature, employee mind-sets are often associated with exposure to worksite hazards. The visits to the HSEQ Training Parks improve the students’ understanding of occupational safety, and particularly those who had more experience in the building trade than their fellow students. However, first-year students and those less experienced became disconcerted and their uncertainty levels increased. The visits should consequently be target-oriented, well designed and carried out in a timely manner. The HSEQ Training Parks should utilize trauma survivors as experiential educators in providing valuable, practical information about workplace injuries and their prevention. / Tiivistelmä Työturvallisuus rakentamisessa on parantunut asetettujen tavoitteiden avulla, silti tapaturmataajuus on kaksinkertainen muihin teollisuusaloihin verrattuna. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, miten alan toimijat suhtautuvat työturvallisuuteen. Mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat tapaturmiin ja voidaanko niihin vaikuttaa? Työturvallisuutta ja asennetta on tutkittu, mutta suhtautumista työturvallisuuteen rakentamisessa ei. Tapaustutkimus (Case Study) sisältää kolme Tapausta, joita on lähestytty monimenetelmällä. Tutkimukseen haastateltiin putoamistapaturmissa vakavasti loukkaantuneita (n=10) ja alan asiantuntijoita (n=20). Lisäksi kerättiin kaksivaiheiset kyselyt opiskelijoilta Rudus (n=128) ja Pohjois-Suomen (n=44) Turvapuistoissa. Tutkimuksen perusteella voi todeta toimijoiden pitävän työturvallisuutta tärkeänä ja tavoiteltavana asiana. Suhtautuminen on kuitenkin ristiriitaista. Loukkaantuneiden mielestä työturvallisuus lähtee turvallisen työskentelyn mahdollistamisesta. Siihen tulee panostaa ja myös antaa mahdollisuus joustaa. Haasteita aiheuttavat vaatimukset tehokkaasta, laadukkaasta ja turvallisesta rakentamisesta, johon ei ole riittävästi resursseja. Turvallisuutta uhmataan mm. kiireen vuoksi, eikä riskeihin välttämättä puututa. Asiantuntijat kokevat turvallisuuden olevan yksilölähtöistä. He näkevät alan polarisoituneen turvallisuudesta huolehtiviin ja sitä laiminlyöviin yrityksiin sekä koulutettuihin ja kouluttamattomiin työntekijöihin. Alalle kaivataankin lisää pätevyyksiä. Turvallisuuskasvatukseen tulee panostaa yhä nuorempana, kuten aiemminkin on todettu. Turvallisuus on ymmärrystä ja suhtautuminen osa ammattitaitoa, mikä kehittyy kokemuksen myötä. Nuorilla ei ole kokonaisvaltaista ymmärrystä alan vaaroista. Vaikka tapaturmien syyt ovat multikausaalisia, on yksilön suhtautumisella suuri merkitys tapaturmiin. Turvapuistovierailut lisäsivät opiskelijoiden ymmärrystä työturvallisuudesta. Vierailuilla oli vaikutusta opiskelijoihin, joilla oli kokemusta rakentamisesta. Opintojen alussa olevia vierailu hämmensi ja lisäsi epävarmuutta. Turvapuistovierailun tulee olla tavoitteellinen, hyvin suunniteltu ja toteutettu – oikea-aikaisesti. Puistoissa tulee hyödyntää todellisia kokemuksia työtapaturmista ja loukkaantuneet ovat itse valmiita kertomaan kokemuksiaan ja toimimaan kokemusasiantuntijoina.

The background to this study lies in the discrepancy between the perceptions of international student mobility in the context of the internationalisation of higher education by the EU and universities on one hand and international students themselves in terms of their motivations to study abroad on the other hand. This is a comparative study based on three main case studies, of six universities in New Zealand, Oxford University in the UK and the Charles University in the Czech Republic. It explores the students’ experiences abroad in terms of their intercultural competence, the shaping of identities, the acquisition and transfer of knowledge, the possible forming of cosmopolitan mind-sets and empathy, perceptions of employability and their future mobility aspirations. This thesis also considers the barriers and ‘push and pull’ factors of mobility, perceptions of risk and uncertainty in regards to mobility and the role of serendipity in student mobility, which has been overlooked in the literature on mobility and migration. The theoretical framework of the study builds on social capital theory, Europeanisation and the ‘do-it-yourself biography’ theory. The nature of this topic, however, suggested the employment of the concepts of globalisation, transnationalism and consideration of other forms of capital, such as the total human capital, mobility capital and transnational identity capital. This is predominantly a qualitative, mixed-method and longitudinal research project, which uses surveys, case studies, interviews and the data collecting tool called grounded theory. It triangulates data to support and enhance the analytical validity of the thesis. This research concludes that student experiences abroad as well as the internationalisation efforts of universities and the EU would benefit from the introduction of education for global citizenship, which should focus on the intercultural competencies of students. The thesis suggests sociocultural elements for example the cosmopolitan mind-set can enhance the economic, academic and political rationales of internationalisation, such as employability.

The objectives, curriculum, pedagogy, teachers, and students are components of entrepreneurship education, perceived as challenges for its implementation and growth. Consequently, most research and discussions have focused on measures to improve them even though little is known about how they constrain entrepreneurship education. Not much is also known about any positive attributes they might have. This study sought to address this gap in literature by exploring the attributes of these educational components, and how they impacted on teaching and learning in a higher education institution in Ghana. Adopting the qualitative case study research approach, data was collected from two classroom sessions, 20 students, four teachers and a programme coordinator, using observation, focus groups and face to face interviews respectively. The study found the educational components had positive and negative attributes that impacted favourably and adversely on teacher decisions and behaviour, and on teaching and learning. The findings points to the need for a more holistic examination of the educational components by researchers and practitioners, to also focus on their merits, to help fashion out more effective and sustainable policies and strategies for entrepreneurship education. The study contribute to literature by shedding light on some merits of the educational components and how they enhance teaching and learning and support the aims of entrepreneurship education. Further research to replicate this study or aspects of it in other contexts and populations is recommended. / Educational Management and Leadership / Ph. D. (Education Management)