In today’s globalised business environment, females are underrepresented in expatriate positions. The lower numbers of females in international assignments results from the glass-ceiling that is established within the organisational culture of MNCs. What happens however, when the organisational culture is renowned for diversity, a strong ethical code of conduct and operates in a female-focused industry? We have therefore decided to investigate: “How does the organisational culture of Alpha cosmetics affect the job satisfaction of female expatriates?” and “What are the challenges related to female expatriation?” The study will attempt to answer the research questions by exploring the themes of organisational culture, job satisfaction and female expatriation. A qualitative research method involving semi-structured interviews, with ten female expatriates working for Alpha Cosmetics, was conducted.  Based on our results, Alpha Cosmetics possesses a clan culture which is commonly associated with high levels of job satisfaction. That appears to be the case in the beginning, however, the dark side of the culture surfaces when the expatriate glass-ceiling is identified in the organisation. This ceiling makes females self-initiate their expatriation without receiving any of the organisational benefits accompanied with traditional expatriation. This situation signifies the negative impact of the organisational culture on the job satisfaction of female expatriates.

Field observations has shown that wind turbinesare especially exposed to lightning strikes. The probability forlightning strikes to offshore wind turbines has been analysed ina previous article. In this project the probability for upwardself-initiated lightning strikes to onshore wind turbines anda lightning protection tower was analysed. This was done bycollecting elevation data and recreating the site topographyin COMSOL Mutliphysics 5.5, and also by collecting weatherdata which were analysed in MATLAB. The probability for thecritical electrostatic field was then calculated and analysed. Theresult shows that the risk of lightning strike is correlated to thetopography and cloud height. / Fältobservationer har visat att vindkraftverk är särskilt utsatta för blixtar. En tidigare studie har analyserat sannolikheten för blixtar på vindkraftverk belägna ute till havs. I det här projektet analyserades sannolikheten för blixtar på vindkraftverk och en vädermast på land. Detta gjordes genom att samla väder och topografidata från de undersökta områdena, som sedan modellerades i COMSOL Multiphysics 5.5. Sannolikheten att ett kritiskt elektriskt fält uppstår beräknades med hjälp av MATLAB. Resultatet visar att risken för blixtar är korrelerat med topografin och molnhöjden. / Kandidatexjobb i elektroteknik 2020, KTH, Stockholm

Ce travail porte sur des aspects souvent oubliés de l'expatriation : les réactions des individus. A partir des théories du « coping » (faire face), et de la collecte de 559 questionnaires, les actions et cognitions des expatriés sont examinées au sein de trois essais – deux portants sur les facteurs qui affectent ces réactions, et le troisième sur leurs conséquences.Le premier essai étudie le soutien social organisationnel et révèle que le supérieur de l'expatrié possède une influence émotionnelle : son soutien facilite l'acceptation et la réinterprétation positive des difficultés auxquelles l'expatrié fait face. L’aide provenant des pairs a des conséquences plus instrumentales, favorisant la recherche d’informations et de conseils.Le second essai montre que différentes catégories d’expatriés réagissent différemment aux défis de l’expatriation : les femmes ont davantage recours à du soutien social, et ont plus de facilité à accepter leur expérience et à la voir de manière positive que les hommes. Les jeunes ont davantage de risque de consommer alcool et drogues que leurs aînés, et les expatriés ayant initiés eux-mêmes leur expatriation ont des réactions plus émotionnelles que les expatriés classiques. Enfin, dans un troisième travail l’influence des réactions des expatriés sur leur adaptation est examinée. Il en ressort notamment le rôle positif des réactions d’acceptation, ainsi que les risques à limiter ou arrêter ses efforts. / Some individuals enjoy their expatriation to the point of being reluctant to eve come back to their home country, but some experience terribly hard times. This research seeks to advance knowledge in the understanding of this variance by applying coping theory and methodologies. Three essays based on 559 questionnaires. Filled out by expatriates examine expatriate reactions. The first two aim to uncover antecedents of individual behavior ad cognitions abroad, while the third essay investigates the effectiveness of these reactions.The first essay focuses on the role of organizational social support and shows that supervisor’s influence is emotional, facilitating emotion-focused engagement coping reactions, such as acceptance or positive reappraisal, whereas peer support is more instrumental, easing the search for useful information and advice.The second essay focuses on expatriate categories that have been neglected for a long time in research: the self-initiated, female and young. This work shows that women use more social support and display more acceptance and positive reappraisal to face the problems of expatriation, the young are more at risk of drinking alcohol and taking drugs, and self-initiated expatriates have more emotional reactions than organizational ones.Finally, the third essay analyzes coping consequences. It notably shows that being able to realize and accept expatriation hardships (acceptance) facilitates adjustment. It also appears that giving up trying to solve the problems one is face with a dangerous reaction, jeopardizing professional and cross-cultural adjustment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of self-initiated professional development of English language teachers at English Language School of BaSkent University. Within this framework, teachers&amp / #8217 / attitudes towards their professional development, their perceptions of major professional development activities, and the factors that hinder change and growth in teachers were investigated. The data collection instrument used was a questionnaire administered to 110 English language teachers at BaSkent University. The questionnaire consisted of both open-ended and close-ended items and the data collected were analyzed descriptively to understand the general trends and differences among teachers. The data analysis revealed that the teachers agreed with most of the concepts that reflect the importance of professional development. In addition, they were aware of the importance of major professional development activities for their growth. However, peer observation and action research, which are developmental activities, were not favoured as much as the other activities. In addition, it was found that the teachers did not make use of the activities as much as they gave importance to. Furthermore, teachers showed significant differences in importance given to and making use of the activities by the background variables. Female teachers, young teachers and the teachers who do not have much experience seemed to give more importance to and actualize some of the professional development activities more than the other teachers. Meanwhile, it was also noted that the listed factors that hinder growth were all found important by the teachers. The most important impediments to growth were indicated as excessive workload, lack of self-motivation and lack of institutional support for professional development.

Globalization in the past few decades has been marked by increased mobility of highly skilled workers from one country to another. Even though self-initiated expatriation is a widespread phenomenon, it is a relatively under-researched phenomenon in the academic literature, especially in an organizational context. Existing literature shows that not all individuals are equally suited to embark on a new life in another country, and self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) could be particularly susceptible to failure since they have no support from a home organization. This study was designed to investigate the experiences of self-initiated professional expatriates and the effect it had on their work performance. The purpose was to understand how their organizational and social experience affected their cross-cultural adjustment process and in turn affected their individual work performance. The researcher used a qualitative method using semi-structured interviews, observations, and documents with ten self-initiated expatriates. This study contributed to the expanding literature on the experiences of self-initiated expatriates, specifically how different support systems affected cross-cultural adjustment and individual work performance.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第20961号 / 理博第4413号 / 新制||理||1633(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科生物科学専攻 / (主査)教授 中村 克樹, 准教授 宮地 重弘, 教授 友永 雅己 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

Denna studie diskuterar och problematiserar kring hur deltagare i en konstnärlig kurs involverar och delar med sig av personliga erfarenheter och intressen. Studien intresserar sig särskilt för olika sätt som kursdeltagare delar med sig på och vilka förhållanden och förutsättningar som upplevs påverka möjligheterna till detta. Studien bygger på en pragmatisk teoretisk grund och ser därför kommunikationen mellan individer och mellan individer och miljöer i olika sammanhang som det som skapar den gemensamma kunskapen och verkligheten. Till studiens teoretiska ramverk hör också ett relationellt perspektiv som visar på relationerna mellan människor som väsentligt för hur vi upplever och skapar identitet och kunskap. Studieobjektet är en nystartad folhögskolekurs och med hjälp av det teoretiska ramverket och kvalitativa intervjuer med kursdeltagare visar studiens resultat fram ett antal sätt och ett antal förhållanden som hänger samman med kursdeltagares delande av erfarenheter och intressen. En produktiv gemenskap i gruppen både skapas av och ger upphov till många och gränsöverkridande samtal mellan deltagarna som på detta sätt skapar ett gemensamt meningsfullt innehåll. Den produktiva gemenskapen i gruppen, det utbredda samtalen mellan deltagare och en tydlig frivillighet som genomsyrar kursen, som delvis kan antas härstamma ur själva skolformen folkhögskola, är de kategorier som sammanfattar studiens resultat.

La maladie de Parkinson (MP) est la deuxième maladie neurodégénérative la plus commune. Les symptômes principalement observés chez les patients atteints de la MP sont la rigidité, les tremblements, la bradykinésie et une instabilité posturale. Leur sévérité est souvent asymétrique. La cause principale de ces symptômes moteurs est la dégénérescence du circuit dopaminergique nigro-striatal qui mène à un débalancement d’activité du circuit cortico-striatal. Ce débalancement de circuits est le point essentiel de cette thèse. Dans les protocoles de recherche décrits ici, des patients atteints de la MP (avant et après une dose de levodopa) et des participants contrôles sains ont effectué des mouvements auto-initiés ou en réponse à des stimulis externes pendant que l’on mesurait leur activité cérébrale en imagerie par résonance magnétique fonctionnelle (IRMf). Dans cette thèse, nous abordons et mettons en évidence quatre (4) points principaux. En première partie (chapitre 2), nous présentons un recensement de la littérature sur les cicruits cortico-striataux et cortico-cérébelleux dans la MP. En utilisant des méthodes de neuroimagerie, des changements d’activité cérébrale et cérébelleuse ont été observés chez les patients atteints de la MP comparés aux participants sains. Même si les augmentations d’activité du cervelet ont souvent été attribuées à des mécanismes compensatoires, nos résultats suggèrent qu’elles sont plus probablement liées aux changements pathophysiologiques de la MP et à la perturbation du circuit cortico-cérébelleux. En général, nous suggérons (1) que le circuit cortico-cérébelleux est perturbé chez les patients atteints de la MP, et que les changements d’activité du cervelet sont liés à la pathophysiologie de la MP plutôt qu’à des mécanismes compensatoires. En deuxième partie (chapitre 3), nous discutons des effets de la levodopa sur les hausses et baisses d’activité observés chez les patients atteints de la MP, ainsi que sur l’activité du putamen pendant les mouvements d’origine interne et externe. De nombreuses études en neuroimagerie ont montré une baisse d’activité (hypo-activité) préfrontale liée à la déplétion de dopamine. En revanche, l’utilisation de tâches cognitives a montré des augmentations d’activité (hyper-activité) corticale chez les patients atteints de la MP comparés aux participants sains. Nous avons suggéré précédemment que ces hypo- et hyper-activités des régions préfrontales dépendent de l’implication du striatum. Dans cette thèse nous suggérons de plus (2) que la levodopa ne rétablit pas ces hyper-activations, mais plutôt qu’elles sont liées à la perturbation du circuit méso-cortical, et aussi possiblement associées à l’administration de médication dopaminergique à long terme. Nous montrons aussi (3) que la levodopa a un effet non-spécifique à la tâche sur l’activité du circuit cortico-striatal moteur, et qu’elle n’a pas d’effet sur l’activité du circuit cortico-striatal cognitif. Nous montrons enfin (chapitre 4) que la levodopa a un effet asymétrique sur les mouvements de la main droite et gauche. À peu près 50% des patients atteints de la MP démontrent une asymétrie des symptômes moteurs, et ceci persiste à travers la durée de la maladie. Nos résultats suggèrent (4) que la levodopa pourrait avoir un plus grand effet sur les patrons d’activations des mouvements de la main la plus affectée. / Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, mainly manifested by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability, and often an asymmetry of symptom severity of the left and right sides of the body. The depletion of dopamine of the nigrostriatal pathway is the primary cause of the motor symptoms observed in patients with PD, leading to an imbalance in basal-ganglia prefrontal circuits. In the protocols described here, patients with PD before and after levodopa administration and healthy participants performed self-initiated (SI) and externally triggered (ET) movements with the left and right hand during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In the chapters of this thesis, we argue and provide evidence for four main points. The first portion (chapter 2) provides a literature review on cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar circuit disruption in PD. Using neuroimaging techniques, changes in cerebral and cerebellar activity have been observed in patients with PD compared with healthy participants. Although increases in activity in the cerebellum have often been interpreted as compensatory mechanisms, we provide evidence that they are more likely to be related to pathophysiological changes of the disease, and the disruption of the cortico- cerebellar circuit. In general, we argue (1) is that activity in the cerebellum is linked to the pathophysiology of PD. In the second section (chapter 3) we discuss the effect of levodopa on the patterns of cortical hypo- and hyper-activity in PD, as well as the activity of the putamen in SI and ET movements. Many studies have shown cortical hypo-activity in relation to nigrostriatal dopamine depletion. In contrast, some cognitive studies have also identified increases in cortical activity in patients with PD as compared with healthy control participants. We have previously suggested that cortical hypo- and hyper-activations depend on striatal recruitment. In this thesis, we further show that hyper-activations in the prefrontal cortex are not reestablished with levodopa administration. We suggest (2) that they are rather associated with mesocortical dopamine circuit dysfunction, and perhaps linked with long- term dopaminergic medication administration. Furthermore, we show (3) that levodopa has a non-task specific effect on the motor cortico-striatal loop, but does not affect the cognitive cortico-striatal circuit. Finally (chapter 4), we show that the effect of levodopa on movements of the left and right hands is not symmetrical. Previous studies have shown that in about 50% of patients, one side of the body is more severely affected, and this asymmetry persists throughout the duration of the disease. Our results suggest (4) that levodopa may have stronger effects on the cerebral hemodynamic patterns related to the movements of the more affected hand than on those of the less affected hand.

La maladie de Parkinson (MP) est la deuxième maladie neurodégénérative la plus commune. Les symptômes principalement observés chez les patients atteints de la MP sont la rigidité, les tremblements, la bradykinésie et une instabilité posturale. Leur sévérité est souvent asymétrique. La cause principale de ces symptômes moteurs est la dégénérescence du circuit dopaminergique nigro-striatal qui mène à un débalancement d’activité du circuit cortico-striatal. Ce débalancement de circuits est le point essentiel de cette thèse. Dans les protocoles de recherche décrits ici, des patients atteints de la MP (avant et après une dose de levodopa) et des participants contrôles sains ont effectué des mouvements auto-initiés ou en réponse à des stimulis externes pendant que l’on mesurait leur activité cérébrale en imagerie par résonance magnétique fonctionnelle (IRMf). Dans cette thèse, nous abordons et mettons en évidence quatre (4) points principaux. En première partie (chapitre 2), nous présentons un recensement de la littérature sur les cicruits cortico-striataux et cortico-cérébelleux dans la MP. En utilisant des méthodes de neuroimagerie, des changements d’activité cérébrale et cérébelleuse ont été observés chez les patients atteints de la MP comparés aux participants sains. Même si les augmentations d’activité du cervelet ont souvent été attribuées à des mécanismes compensatoires, nos résultats suggèrent qu’elles sont plus probablement liées aux changements pathophysiologiques de la MP et à la perturbation du circuit cortico-cérébelleux. En général, nous suggérons (1) que le circuit cortico-cérébelleux est perturbé chez les patients atteints de la MP, et que les changements d’activité du cervelet sont liés à la pathophysiologie de la MP plutôt qu’à des mécanismes compensatoires. En deuxième partie (chapitre 3), nous discutons des effets de la levodopa sur les hausses et baisses d’activité observés chez les patients atteints de la MP, ainsi que sur l’activité du putamen pendant les mouvements d’origine interne et externe. De nombreuses études en neuroimagerie ont montré une baisse d’activité (hypo-activité) préfrontale liée à la déplétion de dopamine. En revanche, l’utilisation de tâches cognitives a montré des augmentations d’activité (hyper-activité) corticale chez les patients atteints de la MP comparés aux participants sains. Nous avons suggéré précédemment que ces hypo- et hyper-activités des régions préfrontales dépendent de l’implication du striatum. Dans cette thèse nous suggérons de plus (2) que la levodopa ne rétablit pas ces hyper-activations, mais plutôt qu’elles sont liées à la perturbation du circuit méso-cortical, et aussi possiblement associées à l’administration de médication dopaminergique à long terme. Nous montrons aussi (3) que la levodopa a un effet non-spécifique à la tâche sur l’activité du circuit cortico-striatal moteur, et qu’elle n’a pas d’effet sur l’activité du circuit cortico-striatal cognitif. Nous montrons enfin (chapitre 4) que la levodopa a un effet asymétrique sur les mouvements de la main droite et gauche. À peu près 50% des patients atteints de la MP démontrent une asymétrie des symptômes moteurs, et ceci persiste à travers la durée de la maladie. Nos résultats suggèrent (4) que la levodopa pourrait avoir un plus grand effet sur les patrons d’activations des mouvements de la main la plus affectée. / Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, mainly manifested by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability, and often an asymmetry of symptom severity of the left and right sides of the body. The depletion of dopamine of the nigrostriatal pathway is the primary cause of the motor symptoms observed in patients with PD, leading to an imbalance in basal-ganglia prefrontal circuits. In the protocols described here, patients with PD before and after levodopa administration and healthy participants performed self-initiated (SI) and externally triggered (ET) movements with the left and right hand during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In the chapters of this thesis, we argue and provide evidence for four main points. The first portion (chapter 2) provides a literature review on cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar circuit disruption in PD. Using neuroimaging techniques, changes in cerebral and cerebellar activity have been observed in patients with PD compared with healthy participants. Although increases in activity in the cerebellum have often been interpreted as compensatory mechanisms, we provide evidence that they are more likely to be related to pathophysiological changes of the disease, and the disruption of the cortico- cerebellar circuit. In general, we argue (1) is that activity in the cerebellum is linked to the pathophysiology of PD. In the second section (chapter 3) we discuss the effect of levodopa on the patterns of cortical hypo- and hyper-activity in PD, as well as the activity of the putamen in SI and ET movements. Many studies have shown cortical hypo-activity in relation to nigrostriatal dopamine depletion. In contrast, some cognitive studies have also identified increases in cortical activity in patients with PD as compared with healthy control participants. We have previously suggested that cortical hypo- and hyper-activations depend on striatal recruitment. In this thesis, we further show that hyper-activations in the prefrontal cortex are not reestablished with levodopa administration. We suggest (2) that they are rather associated with mesocortical dopamine circuit dysfunction, and perhaps linked with long- term dopaminergic medication administration. Furthermore, we show (3) that levodopa has a non-task specific effect on the motor cortico-striatal loop, but does not affect the cognitive cortico-striatal circuit. Finally (chapter 4), we show that the effect of levodopa on movements of the left and right hands is not symmetrical. Previous studies have shown that in about 50% of patients, one side of the body is more severely affected, and this asymmetry persists throughout the duration of the disease. Our results suggest (4) that levodopa may have stronger effects on the cerebral hemodynamic patterns related to the movements of the more affected hand than on those of the less affected hand.

Submitted by Alessandra Sabatelli (sabatellialessandra@gmail.com) on 2017-10-25T11:55:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS-Alessandra Sabatelli-FGVmodel PDF.pdf: 887264 bytes, checksum: 5a262b2f5466fa81f851d2326714879a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josineide da Silva Santos Locatelli (josineide.locatelli@fgv.br) on 2017-10-25T11:59:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS-Alessandra Sabatelli-FGVmodel PDF.pdf: 887264 bytes, checksum: 5a262b2f5466fa81f851d2326714879a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-25T12:22:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS-Alessandra Sabatelli-FGVmodel PDF.pdf: 887264 bytes, checksum: 5a262b2f5466fa81f851d2326714879a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017 / The goal of this dissertation is to expand our understanding about generation Y, more specifically, self-initiated expatriated (SIE) - people who spontaneously decide to go abroad and look for new challenges. Those people present a 'large but untapped pool of skilled international workforce' (Ceric & Crawford, 2016, p.137) with a high potential impact in terms of business and local growth. Therefore, the purpose was to analyse different personality traits and understand how they affect individuals in their job perspective. In order to respond to this question, a field study was conducted and data was collected from a convenience sample of 366 adults where the majority were postgraduate students with an average age of 25 years who have at least experienced studying abroad. The results of the conducted analysis can be summed up in the finding that it didn’t exist a significant connection between personality traits of Generation Y SIE’s and organizational characteristics. In praxis that means that companies do not appeal individuals with a certain personality of this sample by projecting a certain image and, therefore, an individual approach seems to be more appropriate than group targeting. / O objetivo desta dissertação é expandir o entendimento sobre a geração Y, mais especificamente, auto-iniciados expatriados (SIE) - pessoas que, espontaneamente, decidem ir no exterior e procurar novos desafios. Essas pessoas apresentam um 'grande grupo de mão- de-obra internacional qualificada' (Ceric & Crawford, 2016, p.137) com um alto impacto potencial em termos de crescimento comercial e local. Portanto, o objetivo é analisar diferentes traços de personalidade e entender como eles afetam os indivíduos na perspectiva de trabalho. Para responder a esta questão, realizou-se um estudo de campo e foram coletados dados de uma amostra de conveniência de 366 adultos, onde a maioria eram estudantes de pós-graduação com idade média de 25 anos que pelo menos tinha feito uma experiência estudando exterior. Os resultados da análise conduzida podem ser resumidos na descoberta de que não existe uma conexão significativa entre os traços de personalidade da Geração Y SIE e as características organizacionais. Na prática, isso significa que as empresas não apelam indivíduos com uma certa personalidade dessa amostra projetando uma determinada imagem e, portanto, uma abordagem individual parece ser mais apropriada do que a segmentação por grupo.