Sammanfattning Titel: Organisationsidentitet och ranking. En kvalitativ studie om hur uppfattningen av kommuners organisationsidentitet förändras av ranking. Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Alexandra Eriksson och Annica Bylund Handledare: Niklas Bomark Datum: 2021 - Januari Syfte: Studiens syfte är att öka förståelsen för hur uppfattningen om organisationens identitet förändras när organisationen utsätts för flera rankningar och hur det förändrar uppfattningen av den sociala identiteten. Metod: Studien har sin utgångspunkt i den hermeneutiska vetenskapstraditionen och tillämpar en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi. Insamling av studiens empiriska data har skett genom totalt sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med medlemmar inom sex olika kommuner. Vår empiriska data tolkades och analyserades tematiskt för att se likheter och skillnader mellan data och den teoretiska referensramen. Resultat och slutsats: Vår studie ökar förståelsen för hur kommuner hanterar att utsättas för olika rankningar där det framkommer att de inte längre lägger lika stor vikt vid dessa. Istället ser de mer till SKR:s Öppna jämförelser som de anser är mer vetenskapligt baserade. Kommuner lägger inte heller någon vikt vid skillnader mellan olika rankingar eftersom dem har flera verksamhetsområden som utsätts för rankingar som mäter olika aspekter av organisationen. Uppfattningen om organisationsidentiteten och den sociala identiteten förändras inte på en styrelsenivå inom kommunen av rankingar. Detta eftersom de besitter tillräckligt med information om organisationens egenskaper och kan därför bestrida resultaten från rankingarna. Det är mer troligt att uppfattningen förändras längre ut i verksamheten där medlemmarna inte har samma helhetsbild. Studiens bidrag: Studien bidrar med en kombination av tidigare forskning om ranking, organisationsidentitet och social identitet. Den lyfter även fram kommunernas syn på ranking som tidigare inte representerats av forskningen. Studien belyser även hur kommuner kan hantera ranking för att motverka negativa förändringar av uppfattningen om organisationens identitet och därmed den sociala identiteten. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Baserat på studiens resultat är det första förslaget att utföra en studie där flera nivåer inom kommunen reflekteras. Det kan ge en djupare förståelse för hur uppfattningen om organisationens identitet och den sociala identiteten förändras av rankningar och visa om det skiljer sig åt mellan medlemmar på en styrelsenivå och de längre ut i verksamheten. Det andra förslaget är att jämföra kommuner med andra organisationer för att undersöka om det är generellt förekommande att rankning inte längre orsakar reaktivitet eller förändringar i uppfattningen om organisationens identitet eller social identitet. För att göra denna form av studie djupare föreslår vi även att studien inkluderar företag både inom och utanför Sverige för att se om förekomsten av reaktivitet och förändrad uppfattning är beroende av landets kultur. Nyckelord: “ranking”, “multipla rankingar”, “organisationsidentitet”, “social identitet”, “sociala jämförelser”. / Abstract Title: Organizational identity and ranking. A qualitative study of how the perception of municipalities' organizational identity is changed by rankings. Level: Final assignment for bachelor’s degree in business administration. Authors: Alexandra Eriksson and Annica Bylund Supervisor: Niklas Bomark Date: 2021 – January Aim: The aim of the study is to increase the understanding of how the perception of the organization's identity changes when the organization is exposed to several rankings and how it changes the perception of the social identity. Method: The study is grounded in the hermeneutic science tradition and uses a qualitative research strategy. Gathering of empirical data has been conducted through six semi structured interviews with members from six different municipalities. Our empirical data was interpreted and analysed thematically to uncover similarities and differences between data and the theoretical reference frame. Conclusion: Our study increases the understanding of how municipalities manage to be exposed to different rankings where it appears that they no longer attach as much importance to these. Instead, they look more at SKR's Open Comparisons, which they believe are more scientifically based. Municipalities also do not attach any importance to differences between different rankings because they have several areas of activity that are exposed to rankings that measure different aspects of the organization. The perception of the organizational identity and the social identity does not change at a board level within the municipality by rankings. This is because they possess enough information about the organization's characteristics and can therefore dispute the results of the rankings. It is more likely that the perception changes further out in the business where the members do not have the same overall picture. Contribution: The study contributes with a combination of previous research on ranking, organizational identity, and social identity. It also highlights the municipalities' views on rankings that have not previously been represented by research. The study also sheds light on how municipalities can handle rankings to counteract negative changes in the perception of the organization's identity and thus the social identity. Suggestions for further research: Based on the results of the study, the first proposal is to carry out a study in which several levels within the municipality are reflected. It can provide a deeper understanding of how perceptions of the organization's identity and social identity are changed by rankings and show whether there are differences between members at a board level and those further out in the organization. The second proposal is to compare municipalities with other organizations to investigate whether it is a general phenomenon that ranking no longer causes reactivity or changes in the perception of the organization's identity or social identity. To make this form of study deeper, we also suggest that the study includes companies both within and outside of Sweden to see if the presence of reactivity and changed perception is dependent on the country's culture. Keywords: “ranking”, “multiple rankings”, ”organizational identity”, ”social identity”, “social comparison”.

The purpose of this study was to determine which types of student application information, as well as demographic information obtained through a questionnaire after matriculation, best predicted later academic performance in an international English-medium university in Japan, and to examine the "big picture" of how cognitive and non-cognitive variables interact over time in accounting for student success in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program and in the regular university program. The study was divided into three parts that separately examined student application information, university entrance examinations, and the larger picture of student success. In the first part of the study, a hierarchical multiple regression was employed to determine the extent to which a variety of variables derived from application information predicted grade point average (GPA) in the EAP program, as well as first-year GPA and final GPA in the regular university program. The independent variables examined in the main regression analysis were: high school grade point average (HSGPA); ITP TOEFL scores obtained in April of the students' first year at the university; and hensachi rankings of the students' high schools. Results indicated that HSGPA was a consistently significant predictor of all levels of university GPA. ITP TOEFL scores significantly predicted EAP GPA, and <italic>hensachi / CITE/Language Arts

The purpose of the project was to develop a rubric to assess whether a selected group of college websites, chosen to represent most of what is available to students, meet the requirements necessary for students to make an informed college choice. The project was undertaken as a way to determine if these sites, individually or as a whole, present enough information for students to make a choice that correctly aligns with their college aspirations.

In South Africa, over-the-counter (OTC) bond options may be used in order to either hedge or speculate. However, since 2001, this market deteriorated significantly. The current research assessed the role of the local bond option market, reasons for the deterioration of the South African OTC bond option market, and how this bond option market could possibly be restored as a primary hedging instrument. The opinions of individuals operating in this market were obtained using a questionnaire. In the opinion of the respondents, wide bid–offer spreads, regulatory interferences and poor participation within this market caused market deterioration. The market could be restored as a hedging instrument if effective market integration exists, interbank trading regularly takes place, liquidity was enhanced, transparency increased and investor knowledge improved. Future research could focus on regulatory transformation, the types of derivatives used for hedging, and an assessment of appropriate continuous professional development interventions for investors. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Thesis (PhD (Curriculum Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organisational culture and external quality assurance in higher education have both drawn significant attention to their promise of greater organisational effectiveness and efficiency and enhanced, improved higher education respectively. In recent years, these constructs have been linked by an assumption that an organisational culture that is amenable to change would be more receptive to the introduction of formal external quality‐assurance structures, systems and instruments, as these are aimed at effective and efficient higher education practices, processes and outcomes. However, this assumption has not been sufficiently tested given that there are significant philosophical, conceptual and methodological controversies and contestations surrounding both constructs. While the organisational culture literature has been littered with a proliferation of paradigms and, albeit, fragmented theories, there has been a paucity of theory building in the corresponding literature on quality in higher education in general and on the impact of external quality assurance on institutions specifically. A qualitative case study was conducted at a newly merged university of technology to investigate two taken‐for‐granted assumptions: first, that organisational cultures are homogenous, unitary and centred around shared values and could therefore easily be manipulated (usually from the top by management), and second, that the introduction of external quality assurance is an unproblematic technology that will be accepted without question by higher education institutions as it was premised upon the laudable aim of improving the quality of those institutions. A conceptual four‐perspective framework was developed to critically evaluate the literature and provide the basis for the threedimensional model used in analysing the findings. The research generated several key conclusions that appear to challenge commonly held and articulated positions with regard to organisational culture and external quality assurance. First, organisational culture should be considered as being more ephemeral than concrete, multidimensional than singular, characterised simultaneously by conflict, consensus and indifference and in a constant state of flux. Second, external quality assurance is not necessarily a value‐free and neutral exercise aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning, as promised in its early conceptualisation and implementation. Third, multiple cultures may exist simultaneously, interact with and influence each other constantly and of course determine interactions within the organisation and the nature of engagement with externally originated initiatives. Fourth, external quality assurance has purposes that go beyond its often morally just and public‐good motives as it tacitly and overtly acts as an agent of control, empowerment and transformation and simultaneously as an agent of the state, though not necessarily to the same extent. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisatoriese kultuur en eksterne gehalteversekering in hoër onderwys het albei die aandag in groot mate gevestig op hulle belofte van groter organisatoriese doeltreffendheid en doelmatigheid en gevorderde, verbeterde hoër onderwys onderskeidelik. In die afgelope paar jaar is hierdie konstrukte byeengebring deur ʼn veronderstelling dat ʼn organisatoriese kultuur wat vatbaar is vir verandering, meer ontvanklik sal wees vir die invoer van formele eksterne strukture, stelsels en instrumente vir gehalteversekering, aangesien dit op doeltreffende en doelmatige praktyke, prosesse en uitkomste vir en van hoër onderwys gerig is. Hierdie aanname is egter nie voldoende getoets nie gegee die feit dat daar aansienlike filosofiese, konseptuele en metodologiese strydvrae en twispunte ten opsigte van albei konstrukte bestaan. Terwyl literatuur oor organisatoriese kultuur deur ʼn magdom paradigmas en weliswaar gefragmenteerde teorieë oorweldig is, was teoriebou in die ooreenstemmende literatuur oor gehalte in hoër onderwys in die algemeen en oor die impak van eksterne gehalteversekering op instellings in die besonder redelik skaars. ʼn Kwalitatiewe gevallestudie is onderneem by ʼn universiteit van tegnologie wat onlangs saamgesmelt het om twee aannames wat as vanselfsprekend aanvaar is, te ondersoek: eerstens, dat organisatoriese kulture homogeen, unitêr en óm gedeelde waardes gesentreer is en dat dit dus maklik gemanipuleer kan word (gewoonlik van bo af deur die bestuur), en tweedens, dat die invoer van eksterne gehalteversekering ʼn onproblematiese tegnologie is wat sonder teenspraak deur hoëronderwysinstellings aanvaar sal word, aangesien dit op die prysenswaardige oogmerk van verbetering van die gehalte van daardie instellings gegrond is. ʼn Konseptuele raamwerk bestaande uit vier perspektiewe is ontwikkel vir die kritiese evaluering van die literatuur en dit verskaf die grondslag vir die driedimensionele model wat vir die analise van die bevindings gebruik is. Die navorsing het verskeie belangrike gevolgtrekkings na vore laat kom wat algemeen geldende en duidelik bepaalde posisies ten opsigte van organisatoriese kultuur en eksterne gehalteversekering blyk uit te daag. Eerstens moet organisatoriese kultuur beskou word as efemeries eerder as konkreet, multidimensioneel eerder as enkelvoudig, terwyl dit gelyktydig deur konflik, konsensus en onverskilligheid gekenmerk word en in ʼn gedurige toestand van wisseling verkeer. Tweedens is eksterne gehalteversekering nie noodwendig, soos in die vroeë konseptualisering en implementering belowe, ʼn waardevrye en neutrale oefening gemik op verbetering van die gehalte van onderrig en leer nie. Derdens kan veelvuldige kulture gelyktydig bestaan, met mekaar in interaksie tree en mekaar voortdurend beïnvloed en natuurlik interaksies binne die organisasie en die aard van betrokkenheid by inisiatiewe wat ekstern ontstaan, bepaal. Vierdens het eksterne gehalteversekering oogmerke wat veel verder strek as die motiewe daarvan wat dikwels moreel geregverdig en vir die openbare beswil is aangesien dit stilswyend en op overte wyse optree as ʼn agent vir beheer, bemagtiging en transformasie en tegelyk as ʼn agent van die regering, alhoewel nie noodwendig tot dieselfde mate nie.

Title: Dependence of the position of teams in the FIFA rankings on the achievements in top tournaments Objectives: The aim of this work is determining dependency team standings in the FIFA rankings on the achievements in top tournaments. This is the World Cup in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Methods: In my thesis I used a method of regression and correlation analysis, correlation coefficient and regression straight line. Results: All results are presented in the analytical part of the work. It was found dependency between the observed data and an increasing trend. The biggest dependence was at the World Cup 2014, which reached high levels. The smallest was at the World Cup 1998 and 2002, where the results reached below average. Keywords: Football, FIFA, FIFA World rankings, FIFA World Cup, correlation analysis, regression analysis, correlation coefficient, regression straight line

Diploma thesis is entitled, "Collective Evaluation of Quality of Movie and Serial Production of Czech-Slovak Movie Database on http://www.csfd.cz". The main focus of this thesis is on the aggregated evaluation study of quality of movies in several internet movie databases, primarily in CSFD and IMDb. The study also defines these internet databases in the context of social discourse, briefly informs about the history of these databases, and introduces the reader into their functioning. Additionally concerning the quality of movies, databases represent the main authority, and sorting of the movies according to their 'colour' in CSFD is considered a form of agenda-setting. This study discusses the issues of quality, through analysis in an attempt to determine the quality of movies on the database. Much of the thesis discussion revolves around the author's research, which was carried out from September 2011 till the end of March 2012. Unfortunately, because of the extent of diploma thesis and the methodology used in the research, it was not possible to analyze serial production in more detail.

This dissertation consists of three essays: essay 1, Underwriting Use of Credit Information and Firm Performance ‐ An Empirical Study of Texas Property‐Liability Insurers, essay 2, Prediction of Ratings in Property‐Liability Industry when The Organizational Form Is Endogenous, and essay 3, A Discussion of Parsimonious Methods Predicting Insurance Companies Ratings. The purpose of the first essay is to investigate the influence of underwriting use of credit information on variation in insurers’ underwriting performance. Specifically, this study addresses the following two research questions: first, what firm‐level characteristics are associated with the insurers’ decision to use credit information in underwriting? second, is there a relationship between the use of credit information and variation in insurers’ underwriting performance? The empirical results indicate that larger insurance companies, companies having more business in personal auto insurance, and those with greater use of reinsurance are more likely to use credit information in underwriting. More importantly, the results indicate that use of credit information is associated with lower variation in underwriting performance, consistent with the hypothesis that use of credit information enables insurers to better predict their losses. The purpose of the second essay is to resolve the inconsistent relationship between the organizational forms (i.e., stock versus mutual insurers) and insurers’ financial strength ratings. Specifically, this study takes into account the potential endogenous nature of organizational forms to investigate the influence of organizational forms on insurers’ financial strength ratings. The empirical results from the models employed indicate that the stock dummy variable is indeed a significant predictor of insurers’ ratings and that the relationship between the stock dummy and insurers’ financial strength ratings is not affected after the endogenous nature of organizational forms is considered. However, such relationship flips to be negative when additional rating predictors are included into the models. The purpose of the third essay is to investigate whether a logistic model is consistent in its predictions within one data set and compare the predictability and classificatory performance between the regression with a set of financial variables and the regression with principal components derived from this set of financial variables. The empirical results indicate that the models’ predictability is consistent within one data set which includes two different groups of observations. Also, the findings suggest that the principal components regression as a parsimonious model achieves the similar accuracy of estimation and fit while providing clearer interpretation of the role of the significant predictors.

In South Africa, over-the-counter (OTC) bond options may be used in order to either hedge or speculate. However, since 2001, this market deteriorated significantly. The current research assessed the role of the local bond option market, reasons for the deterioration of the South African OTC bond option market, and how this bond option market could possibly be restored as a primary hedging instrument. The opinions of individuals operating in this market were obtained using a questionnaire. In the opinion of the respondents, wide bid–offer spreads, regulatory interferences and poor participation within this market caused market deterioration. The market could be restored as a hedging instrument if effective market integration exists, interbank trading regularly takes place, liquidity was enhanced, transparency increased and investor knowledge improved. Future research could focus on regulatory transformation, the types of derivatives used for hedging, and an assessment of appropriate continuous professional development interventions for investors. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Com a ampla utilização da web nos dias atuais e também com o seu crescimento constante, a tarefa de classificação automática de sítios web têm adquirido importância crescente, pois em diversas ocasiões é necessário bloquear o acesso a sítios específicos, como por exemplo no caso do acesso a sítios de conteúdo adulto em escolas elementares e secundárias. Na literatura diferentes trabalhos têm surgido propondo novos métodos de classificação de sítios, com o objetivo de aumentar o índice de páginas corretamente categorizadas. Este trabalho tem por objetivo contribuir com os métodos atuais de classificação através de comparações de quatro aspectos envolvidos no processo de classificação: algoritmos de classificação, dimensionalidade (número de atributos considerados), métricas de avaliação de atributos e seleção de atributos textuais e estruturais presentes nas páginas web. Utiliza-se o modelo vetorial para o tratamento de textos e uma abordagem de aprendizagem de máquina clássica considerando a tarefa de classificação. Diversas métricas são utilizadas para fazer a seleção dos termos mais relevantes, e algoritmos de classificação de diferentes paradigmas são comparados: probabilista (Naıve Bayes), árvores de decisão (C4.5), aprendizado baseado em instâncias (KNN - K vizinhos mais próximos) e Máquinas de Vetores de Suporte (SVM). Os experimentos foram realizados em um conjunto de dados contendo sítios de dois idiomas, Português e Inglês. Os resultados demonstram que é possível obter um classificador com bons índices de acerto utilizando apenas as informações do texto ˆancora dos hyperlinks. Nos experimentos o classificador baseado nessas informações atingiu uma Medida-F de 99.59%. / With the wide use of the web nowadays, also with its constant growth, task of automatic classification of websites has gained increasing importance. In many occasions it is necessary to block access to specific sites, such as in the case of access to adult content sites in elementary and secondary schools. In the literature different studies has appeared proposing new methods for classification of sites, with the goal of increasing the rate of pages correctly categorized. This work aims to contribute to the current methods of classification by comparing four aspects involved in the classification process: classification algorithms, dimensionality (amount of selected attributes), attributes evaluation metrics and selection of textual and structural attributes present in webpages. We use the vector model to treat text and an machine learning classical approach according to the classification task. Several metrics are used to make the selection of the most relevant terms, and classification algorithms from different paradigms are compared: probabilistic (Na¨ıve Bayes), decision tree (C4.5), instance-based learning (KNN - K-Nearest Neighbor) and support vector machine (SVM). The experiments were performed on a dataset containing two languages, English and Portuguese. The results show that it is possible to obtain a classifier with good success indexes using only the information from the anchor text in hyperlinks, in the experiments the classifier based on this information achieved 99.59% F-measure.