The research problem that this study sought to address stemmed from a lack of knowledge about South African organizations and a dearth of empirical, quantitative research into organizations, organization structure and organization climate in this country. Five research hypotheses were formulated to address this problem and its attendant subpriJblems. A comprehensive review of the related literature and research was c~trried out and Organization Theory was traced to its earliest beginnings. A number of schools hased on Max Weber's bureaucratic ideal type were described and contrasted. Much attention was paid to the work of the Aston group m the United Kingdom and to their efforts to operationalize Weberian concepts and to incorporate them into a replicable body of quantitative research. Points of departure were re-examined and some new twists to Systems Theory and Structural Functionalism were considered. It was established that the demographic characteristics of both the sample and the population were similar enough for the results of this study to be generalised to the population with some degree of confidence. Much care was taken to test and validate each of the scales that comprised the questionnaire, and item analyses and factor analyses were carried out for every variable and group of variables. The measures developed in other parts of the world and by other researchers performed very well in a South African setting - as did the measures developed specifically for this study. Statistical associations and causal relationships between the various sets of variables, both at the sector level and at individual industry subgroup level, were sought by means of multiple regression analyses. Broad support was found for a 'culture-free hypothesis' that there are a number of stable relationships between organizations and their context; and these relationships will be constant in direction and strength regardless of differences in structures, or in contexts of structures between societies. Importantly, there were also a number of significant differences between this study and the findings of other studies which reflected South Africa's unique blend of developed and developing cultures and value systems. These differences provide fertile ground for future research in the field of Organization Theory. / Business Management / DBL

In the light of recent findings regarding age and cumulative language exposure in the domain of Second Language Acquisition, the present study examines how starting age and linguistic input influences Swedish learners of French in a formal instructional setting. In contrast to natural settings, research suggests that a younger starting age in formal settings does not result in more advanced long-term competences in the target language. For the benefits associated with a younger age to be triggered, significant amounts of rich linguistic input need to be obtained by the learner on a daily basis. To test the validity of these findings, two groups with different starting ages were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their age and language contact as well as to perform a grammar and vocabulary test. A correlation analysis showed that an older starting age did in fact have a statistically significant relationship with higher test results and that the participants who reported having more frequent self-regulatory habits of studying French also performed better than the ones with little to no extracurricular exposure. However, a regression analysis did not manage to confirm these correlations and did instead find that other variables such as motivation and which group the participants belonged to have a much stronger significance than mere starting age and the amount of received input.

With natural disasters occurring with more frequency and severity, understanding how to facilitate survivors’ resilience and recovery is becoming increasingly important. The Camp Fire in California, which started on November 8, 2018, was one of the most destructive wildfires in recorded history in terms of loss of life and damage to property. Aid from many types of entities (e.g., non-profits, governments, and for-profits) at various levels (e.g., local, state, and federal) was available to survivors, but perhaps the most influential source of support was Disaster Facebook Groups. In the month after the Camp Fire, around 50 Camp Fire Facebook Groups (CFFGs) were created, with over 100 CFFGs existing over the course of recovery. CFFGs are Facebook Groups with the goal of helping Camp Fire survivors. The support exchanged in CFFGs was immense and ranged from financial assistance to emotional support to community building. <br><br>This dissertation offers a mixed-method, event-specific case study of the use and utility of Disaster Facebook Groups after the Camp Fire. I examined how CFFGs offered unique and valuable spaces for connection that allowed members to engage in resilience organizing and disaster response and recovery. To conduct this case study, after engaging in observations of the Groups for over two years, I interviewed 25 administrators of CFFGs and distributed a survey in the Groups that was completed by survivors of the Camp Fire who were members of at least one CFFG during their recovery. I used network perspectives and the Communication Theory of Resilience (Buzzanell, 2010, 2019) as lenses through which administrators’ and survivors’ experiences with CFFGs was understood. I also analyzed the two datasets using multiple and mixed methods but primarily thematic analysis and path modeling. <br><br>The analyses for this case study are presented in four studies. The first two studies provide an understanding of the spaces for connection offered by CFFGs (i.e., characterizing the CFFGs and describing the spaces for connection as both helpful and hurtful), while the last two studies examine the use and utility of CFFGs (i.e., explaining the evolution of activity in CFFGs and investigating the connectivity and social support in CFFGs). <br><br>Across the four studies, I explored three central arguments, which are the primary contributions of this dissertation. First, I advocated for incorporating network thinking into resilience theorizing. With the findings of this dissertation, I extend the Communication Theory of Resilience by offering “managing communication networks” as a refinement of its fourth process of resilience (i.e., using and maintaining communication networks). Managing communication networks addresses the active strategies people use to manage their communication networks, including expanding, contracting, maintaining, and using their communication networks, as they endure and overcome hardship. I also forward the argument that people’s resilience is encompassed by their social networks, meaning their social network can be passively implicated by their resilience or actively involved in their resilience, but can also initiate resilience on their behalf.<br><br>Second, I contended Disaster Facebook Groups offer unique and valuable spaces for connection that facilitate resilience organizing and disaster response for at least five reasons. I argued that Disaster Facebook Groups empower emergent organizing; privilege local knowledge; are convenient; lack anonymity which adds authenticity; and allow for individualization. The findings of this dissertation provide evidence of how these reasons converged in CFFGs to enable members to exchange support that was not, and could not be, available elsewhere.<br><br>Third, I hypothesized that the use of Disaster Facebook Groups would predict the utility of Disaster Facebook Groups, resilience, and recovery for survivors. I tested two models that use different variables to represent the use and utility of CFFGs and recovery from the Camp Fire. The first model investigated how activity in CFFGs influenced the perceived helpfulness of CFFGs and how both the activity in and perceived helpfulness of CFFGs influenced the extent of recovery for survivors. I used retrospective data about five time points across survivors’ first two years of recovery and found the model was most explanative up to one month after the Fire. The second model assessed how various indicators of connectivity in CFFGs impacted received social support (i.e., informational, emotional, and tangible support), resilience, and satisfaction with recovery for survivors. The intensity of survivors’ connections to CFFGs, when they joined their first CFFG, and how many Facebook Friends they gained from their participation in CFFGs were the most predictive indicators of connectivity. From the Groups, survivors reported receiving informational support more than emotional support and emotional support more than tangible support.<br><br>I put the findings of the four studies, as well as the three central arguments, in conversation with each other in the discussion section, focusing on theory, practice, and methodology. Regarding theory, I contribute network thinking to resilience theorizing: I underscore resilience as an inherently networked process; I acknowledge expanding and contracting communication networks as sub-processes of resilience that complement but are distinctly different from using and maintaining communication networks; and I forward “managing communication networks” as a refinement and extension of the Communication Theory of Resilience’s fourth process of resilience (i.e., using and maintaining communication networks). Related to practice, I call for the continuation of conversations around Disaster Facebook Groups as unique and valuable spaces for connection, particularly regarding the five reasons I established. I also give suggestions for practice related to the use and utility of Disaster Facebook Groups for disaster response and recovery. For methodological considerations, I discuss the importance of forming relationships with participants when engaging in research about online communities and natural disasters and call to question the translation of findings about social media across platforms and the role of neoliberalism in resilience and disaster research and practice. Despite its limitations, this dissertation makes meaningful contributions to theory, practice, and methodology, while offering fruitful directions for future research. This mixed-method, event-specific case study brings attention to the influential citizen-driven disaster response in Facebook Groups after the Camp Fire. <br>

Insider trading has long been a controversial phenomenon in the financial world. Several studies have been conducted in the area where the studies have shown ambiguous results. In 2016, Finansipektionen amended the Insider Trading Act, namely that insiders need to report an insider transction within three days. Insiders ability to generate abnormal returns is considered to be in conflict with market efficiency.  This study examines insiders ability to generate abnormal returns on the First North Growth Market during the year 2020, where the sample consists of 47 observations. An eventstudy has been used to investigate the market reaction from the publication of insider trading. Multiple regression analysis has been applied to examine whether there is any difference in the abnormal return based on the position of the insider, the transactionsize of the insider tradingsize and the gender. The hypothesis tests have been answered with the help of a one-sided t-test and multiple regression analysis. A quantitative method and deductive approach have been used in the study where the researcher derived hypotheses based on previous research as well as theories such as the effective markethypothesis, the random-walk theory, the signalinghypothesis, behaviorbased financing and herdbehavior. This study shows that insiders generate abnormal returns during a short-term event window, but that there is no significant difference in the abnormal returns based on the insider’s position, transactionsize and gender. / Insynshandel har länge varit ett omdiskuterat fenomen inom finansvärlden. Flera studier har avlagts inom området som visat på tvetydiga resultat. År 2016 ändrade Finansinspektionen lagen om insynshandel, nämligen att insynspersoner behöver rapportera en insynstransaktion inom tre dagar. Insynspersoners möjlighet till att generera abnormal avkastning anses gå i strid mot marknadseffektiviteten. Denna studie undersöker insynspersoners möjlighet till att generera abnormal avkastning på First North Growth Market under året 2020 där urvalet består av 47 observationer. En eventstudie har använts för att undersöka marknadsreaktionen vid publiceringen av insynshandel. Multipel regressionsanalys har tillämpats för att undersöka ifall det finns någon skillnad i den abnormala avkastningen baserad på befattningen på insynspersonen, transaktionsstorleken av insynshandeln och kön. Hypotesprövningarna har besvarats med hjälp av ett ensidigt t-test samt multipel regressionsanalys. En kvantitativ metod och deduktiv ansats har använts i studien där forskaren härlett hypoteser utifrån tidigare forskning samt teorier som den effektiva marknadshypotesen, random-walk teorin, signaleringshypotesen, beteendebaserad finansiering och flockbeteende. Denna studie visar att insynspersoner genererar abnormal avkastning under ett kortsiktigt eventfönster men att det inte existerar någon signifikant skillnad på den abnormala avkastningen baserat på befattningen av insynspersonen, transaktionsstorleken och kön.

言語変化の原因については、比較言語学や言語地理学双方の立場から、様々な議論がなされてきたが、この問題に対し、変化の原因と変化の結果という関係を多変量的に捉えて知見を得る方法は、十分な議論があるとはいえない。そこで本研究では、これまでの言語変化の議論を踏まえつつ、具体的な事例について、系統推定や重回帰分析、対応分析といった数理的な手法を用いて多変量的な分析を行い、言語変化の原因や原因別の変化の特徴を明らかにした。 / 博士(文化情報学) / Doctor of Culture and Information Science / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

Extensive research has documented the relationship between listening to certain genres of music and negative effects on social behavior such as aggressive and antisocial behavior. The present study explored whether there are genres of music associated with altruism. Altruistic behavior is defined as behavior that is consistently more caring, helpful, considerate of other's feelings, and self- sacrificing. These behaviors promote our ability to thrive as a community. Yet, few studies have addressed the relationship between music and altruism. Data was collected from 608 college students who completed a self-report altruism scale, music preference measure, the Marlowe Crowne social desirability scale, and a demographic information form in order to see if there is a relationship between choice of music and altruism. A multiple hierarchal regression analysis found music genre choice accounted for 15.9 percent of variance in self-reported altruism. Significant, positive correlations emerged also between altruism and several music genres including alternative, country, classical, and emo.