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Brand crisis could threaten a company with declining public trust and decreased brand reputation (Greyser, 2009). When confronting with a crisis, the organization should respond immediately and properly so that the crisis can be stopped from escalate into a catastrophe (Davies and Walters, 1998). Crisis type can be divided into the victim, the accident or the intentional clusters according to perceived responsibilities the company should shoulder. Based on these factors, the company should select the most appropriate response strategy or a combination of different response strategies to address the crisis situation. In other words, a match between crisis type and response strategy is effective for companies to survive crisis situations (Cheong and Morrison, 2008). Food-related crisis tend to become rampant in recent years and require more in-depth studies. In the face of a food-related crisis, the affected company are compelled to communicate with both internal and external stakeholders, including employees, stockholders, retailers, suppliers and consumers to manage and survive the crisis (Massey, 2001). There are four options for companies in a product-harm crisis to choose from: denying the defect, involuntary recall, voluntary recall and improvement campaign (Souiden and Pons, 2009). This study took the issue of Blue Bell ice cream recalls as an example of product-harm crisis for case analysis and proposed three different kinds of strategies or hypotheses based on the Image Repair Theory (Benoit and Pang, 2008) covering the denial, evasion of responsibility, reducing offensiveness of events, corrective action and mortification aspects.

Doctor of Philosophy / This thesis studies the relationship between subjective experience and social environment during recovery from alcoholism in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). As a result of participation in AA meetings, many alcoholics undergo healing transformations involving a sense of acceptance of themselves, others and the world. In early sobriety these experiences often remove an alcoholic’s desire to drink. Outside AA, however, alcoholics frequently experience subjective unravelling – a sense of conflict with themselves, others and the world. For many, this subjective state is associated with actual or potential craving for a drink. Regular participation in AA meetings alleviates these states. This thesis construes the relationship between subjective experience and immediate social environment in terms of ‘experiential stakes of relevance’. This conceptual category can be used to characterise both the structural properties of the social environment and the key attributes of the subjective experience of agents within this environment. Listening to stories at AA meetings results for many alcoholics in a radical change in ‘experiential stakes of relevance’. It is argued that the process of spontaneous re-connection with one’s past experiences during AA meetings is akin to the process of mobilisation of embodied dispositions as theorised by Bourdieu. Transformation in AA takes place in the space of a mere one and a half hours and involves processes of intensification of experience. These are analysed in terms of Bourdieu’s notion of ‘illusio’ and Chion’s notion of ‘rendu’. The healing experiences of acceptance presuppose a social environment free of interpersonal conflict. This thesis argues that the need to structurally eliminate conflict between alcoholics has turned AA into a social field which is sustained by the very healing subjective experiences that it facilitates. In the process, AA has developed structural elements which can best be understood as mechanisms inverting the social logic of competitive fields. The fieldwork entailed a detailed ethnographic study of one particular group of Alcoholics Anonymous in Sydney’s Lower North Shore as well as familiarisation with the more general culture of AA in Sydney. Methods of investigation included participant observations at AA meetings and interviews with a number of sober alcoholics in AA.

Through the lens of the social identity approach (Haslam, 2004; Hogg & Terry, 2001) and in particular, the subjective group dynamics (SGD) model (Abrams, Randsley de Moura, Hutchison, & Viki, 2005) and an organisational justice perspective (Tyler & Blader, 2003), the current program of research set out to explore, in two phases, how anti-norm leaders can mitigate negative responses by their group members when they wish to lead their group towards the prescriptive norms of an outgroup. The first phase of the research, comprising three pilot tests, and Study 1, Study 2a and 2b investigated how anti-norm leaders were judged by ingroup members, and two possible moderators of this effect. Study 1 aimed to replicate the basic findings of Abrams et al. (2008) and explore whether group members’ evaluations of normative and deviant leaders would be moderated by the leaders’ method of gaining leadership (appointed vs. elected). Study 2a and 2b examined whether group members’ evaluations of normative and anti-norm leaders were moderated by the relationship of the ingroup to the authority who appointed the leader. The second phase of the research, comprising three pilot tests and Studies 3, 4 and 5, moved to consider what could help anti-norm leaders gain positive evaluations from members of their group in an organisational context. Drawing on the group engagement model (Tyler & Blader, 2003), the traditional leadership literature (Hollander, 1958; Hollander & Julian, 1970), and relevant literature from the social identity approach (Hornsey, 2005; Morton, Postmes, & Jetten, 2007) the second phase aimed to examine whether perceived respect from the leader could help the anti-norm leader to gain more positive evaluations from their group members. Study 3 replicated the design of Studies 2a and 2b in a pseudo-organisational scenario with perceived respect from the leader as an additional measured variable. Study 4 explored the impact of the informal quality of treatment (IQT) received by the ingroup members from the leader on perceptions of the anti-norm leader. In addition, the proposed mediating effect of perceived respect from the leader was examined. Study 5 examined whether respect for the group’s history by the leader would diminish the negative responses of group members to an anti-norm leader. Across the six pilot studies and six main studies, and consistent with the SGD model (Abrams et al., 2005; Abrams et al., 2008), normative leaders were consistently endorsed more, or evaluated more positively, than anti-norm leaders. Across the different testing contexts, incumbent anti-norm leaders were derogated regardless whether they were appointed or elected or whether the outgroup who appointed them had an incompatible or irrelevant relationship with the ingroup. Further, whilst showing high IQT to group members helped anti-norm leaders obtain similar evaluations as to those obtained by low IQT normative leaders, exhibiting high levels of respect for group history failed to help anti-norm leaders mitigate negative evaluations from their group members. These findings suggest that, in line Abrams et al. (2008), once an individual becomes a leader, group members do not take into consideration how that leader came to be or where they came from in evaluations. Instead, group members seem to focus on what the leader does, or can do, for the group. Whilst respect at the group, and particularly at the individual, level can have a limited impact on evaluations, it would seem that little that the leader can do on their own will moderate the negative evaluations of them that stem from the fact that their position fundamentally undermines the validity of prescriptive ingroup norms. As such, and consistent with SGD literature (Abrams et al., 2005; Abrams et al., 2008), the findings of the current program of research demonstrate the overwhelmingly robust motivation of group members to derogate anti-norm leaders who undermine prescriptive ingroup norms. For leaders faced with the challenging task of leading their ingroup towards the prescriptive norms of an outgroup, the findings of the current program of research suggest that, consistent with the group engagement model (Tyler & Blader, 2003) bolstering respect for group members through enacting both informal and formal procedures may be somewhat effective. Alternatively, and to carry the black sheep analogy dominant in this line of research further, the anti-norm leader may simply constitute the proverbial ‘sacrificial lamb’ – that is rejected and unpopular among the people he or she is supposed to lead.

L'objectif de ces travaux était de tester la capacité d'une simulation numérique à prédire la vision subjective, dans différents conditions d'aberrations comparables aux optiques multifocales. Nous avons tout d'abord qualifié la vision subjective par la profondeur de champ, définie comme la zone de vision considérée comme acceptable par les sujets. Le calcul de critères de qualité d'image (i.e. simulation numérique) ne permettait pas de prédire la profondeur de champ (r² < 0.35). Le calcul d'images simulées, qui, contrairement aux critères de qualité d'image, demandait une réponse des sujets, a permis de démontrer que le modèle d'œil permettait de rendre compte de l'optique, mais pas de l'acceptabilité d'une cible par les sujets. Face au manque de finesse de la prédiction de ce critère de vision subjective, nous avons évalué la qualité de vision de façon continue : les sujets avaient pour tâche de noter des images sur une échelle de gradation. Les sujets notaient ainsi leur vision à différentes proximités et dans différentes conditions d'aberration. La prédiction de la vision subjective par ce critère était plus précise (r² = 0.92). Cependant, cette corrélation tendait à diminuer pour les qualités d'image très faibles. Il semblerait donc que la prédiction de la vision subjective passerait par l'utilisation de différents critères de qualité d'image, permettant de qualifier aussi bien une bonne qu'une mauvaise qualité de vision.

<p>Dette studiet undersøkte om det finnes en positiv relasjon mellom korsang og det subjektive velbefinnendet. I undersøkelsen deltok 84 sangere fra 5 kor på både avansert og amatørnivå. Deltagerne fylte i et Mood Adjective Checklist-skjema (MACL: L. Sjöberg, E. Svensson & L.-O. Persson, 1979) før og etter korøvelsen på to forskjellige korøvelser. Resultatene indikerte at korsang påvirket deltagerne signifikant i form av økt velbefinnende, og at sangere mellom 32 og 51 år hadde den største økningen i grad av velbefinnende før og etter korøvelse. Det fantes derimot ingen signifikant forskjell i velbefinnende mellom amatørkor og avansert kor. Resultatene står som et bidrag til tidligere forskning innenfor området, men kan på grunn av det lave deltagerantallet ikke anses være generaliserbart.</p>

Here we search for the curve which has the smallest integral of the square of curvature, while passing through two given points with given orientation. This is the true shape of a spline used in lofting. In computer-aided design, curves have been sought which maximize "smoothness". The curve discussed here is the one arising in this way from a commonly used measure of smoothness. The human visual system may use such a curve when it constructs a subjective contour.

To date there are no studies focusing on the relationship between subjective social status (SSS) and weight perceptions among young people. This study aims to fill this gap in current available literature by examining associations between youth’s family SSS and individual SSS with their gender, race, body mass index (BMI), and weight perceptions. Questionnaires and BMI data were collected from 1,171 youth participating in the 2008 Global Finals of Destination ImagiNation (DI) hosted by the University of Tennessee. Participants ranged in ages 11 to 18 years. Regression analyses indicated that gender, race and individual SSS were significant predictors of BMI. Gender was the only significant predictor of underweight perceptions, while gender, race, and individual SSS were predictors of overweight perceptions. Results for outcomes based on two grade levels, middle school and high school, are also discussed. Findings have implications of gender and racial differences for BMI and weight perception status. Lastly, individual SSS within the school community was a significant predictor of both BMI and overweight perception.

An increased openness and rapidity of the media has resulted in more comprehensive coverage of organizations and their behavior. Additionally increased customer awareness of corporate ethical behavior has led to higher customer demands and expectations resulting in added pressure on companies. Corporate social responsibility has by researchers been identified as the solution to these increased expectations. There are various types of CSR activities and this study focuses on the concept of Fair Trade. A literature review examining the existing research within the field was performed to identify a research gap that assisted in establishing the purpose of the study. The purpose of this study is to assess how practicing CSR strategies at Coop influence subjective performance, and if these are deliberate or emergent. Three research questions were formulated to answer the purpose. The study tests a research model that has not yet been tested in practice, namely the 3C-SR model. The study has been conducted through a case study in the form of in-depth interviews and content analysis. The study was carried out through five interviews with employees from the Swedish grocery chain Coop. Organization-wide needs for well-developed communication, consistency and clear goals regarding CSR and Fair Trade were recognized. Practical managerial implications have been concluded based on these findings. Additionally, a suggestion for developing the existing research model is presented. The study reveals that Fair Trade is not practiced entirely in accordance with the 3C-SR model. Potentiality was identified concerning the subjective assessment, hence the subjective performance was not ultimate. The study further concluded that despite deliberate features, the corporate strategy was highly emergent.