The epaulets of male Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) function in both intersexual and intrasexual contexts, but there is little evidence that they covary with reproductive success in this well-studied species. We used path analysis of male/territory traits, mating success, and reproductive success of unmanipulated males to estimate current directional selection. Territory size had a positive effect on number of within-pair mates. Number of extra-pair mates had a positive effect on number of extra-pair fledglings, and number of within-pair and extra-pair fledglings had positive effects on total number of fledglings. We also reddened epaulets of free-living territorial males to determine whether manipulated and control males differ in territorial behavior, mating success, or reproductive success. Compared with control males, males with reddened epaulets incurred elevated rates of trespassing and territorial challenges, lost their territories more often, and were unable to produce extra-pair offspring. Despite these differences, however, the realized reproductive success of experimental and control males did not differ significantly, perhaps because males with reddened epaulets devoted more time to anti-predator vigilance and were more aggressive toward a simulated predator than were control males. An apparent lack of current sexual selection on epaulet color may be a form of counter-balancing sexual selection in which male aggression against redder epaulets opposes female preference for redder epaulets, or it might be the result of males compensating for lost extra-pair fertilizations by increasing their parental care.

It is well known that animals can exert strong selective pressures on plant traits. However, studies on the evolutionary consequences of plant–animal interactions have mainly focused on understanding how these interactions shape trait means, while overlooking its potential direct effect on the variability among structures within a plant (e.g. flowers and fruits). The degree of within-plant variability can have strong fitness effects but few studies have evaluated its role as a potential target of selection. Here we reanalysed data on Ipomoea wolcottiana stigma–anther distance to test alternate mechanisms driving selection on the mean as well as on intra-individual variance in 2 years. We found strong negative selection acting on intra-individual variation but not on mean stigma–anther distance, suggesting independent direct selection on the latter. Our result suggests that intra-individual variance has the potential to be an important target of selection in nature, and that ignoring it could lead to the wrong characterisation of the selection regime. We highlight the need for future studies to consider patterns of selection on the mean as well as on intra-individual variance if we want to understand the full extent of plant–animal interactions as an evolutionary force in nature.

Because of the newly implemented law regarding the UN Convention on the rights of children this study aimed to examine how young people in sport organizations experience their role in the democratic processes in their sports. This was done by interviewing children between the ages 15-18 by asking them about their experiences and opinions concerning the democracy they encounter in their regular teams, as well as the democracy provided by their organization’s board. The conclusion of this study is that children experience the democracy in their teams as rather good but also that they do not necessarily feel involved in the organization's democratic processes. The conclusion furthermore includes that none of the participants shared their opinion with the board or attended their organization’s annual meetings, since they did not feel invited. Despite this the children expressed an overall satisfaction with the amount of democracy they are involved in. This is a law that Swedish sport organizations supposedly have followed since 2009 but we found in this study that regarding the UN Convention on the rights of children a lot of the organizations seems to not fully follow it to a satisfying degree.

Den här studien handlar om att undersöka hur förskollärare uppfattade den första tiden som anställd förskollärare. Mer specifikt undersöks hur förskollärare beskriver den första verksamma tiden samt vilka utmaningar de stött på under den första tiden. Studien undersöker även vilka förutsättningar förskollärare anser vara nödvändiga för att hantera första tidens arbetsrelaterade utmaningar och dess orsaker. Studien utgörs av sju kvalitativa intervjuer med förskollärare som varit verksamma i 1-4 år efter examen. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av praktikarkitekturens teori och fokuserar på de faktorer som kan påverka den första tiden som verksam, såsom mentorsprogram, stöd från kollegor och rektor samt det kollegiala lärandet. Utifrån den tidigare forskningen som gjorts på området visar den att första tiden som verksam präglades av stress, höga krav och utmaningar. Resultatet i vår studie uppmärksammar vikten av stöd i olika former för att hantera första tidens utmaningar. Den typ av stöd som förskollärare ansåg vara viktigt under den första tiden var stöd i form av mentorskap, stöd från kollegor och rektor samt nätverksträffar med andra förskollärare. Faktorer som kan komma att påverka den första tiden i arbetslivet är bland annat bristande kunskaper från utbildningen, brister i det kollegiala lärandet samt resursbrist i form av vikarier. Viktiga slutsatser av studien är att förskollärarna upplevde den första tiden som tuff. Det stöd som förskollärarna fick, gjorde det möjligt för dem att utföra sitt arbete på bästa sätt. / The aim of this study has been to investigate how preschool teachers experienced their first time within the profession. We have chosen to look into how preschool teachers describe the first time as newly graduated teachers and what challenges they have faced. Finally, we have investigated which conditions the preschool teachers consider necessary to handle the challenges. The study consists of seven qualitative interviews with preschool teachers who have been working for 1-5 years after their graduation. The result has been analyzed with the help of the theory of practical architecture and we have reached some factors that can affect the first time in the profession. The factors were mentorship, support from colleagues and principle and the collegial learning. Based on the previous research that has been made on the area, it shows that the first time in the profession was embossed by stress, high demands and challenges. The result in the study paid attention to the importance of support in different forms to handle challenges during the initial time in the profession. The support that emerged from our result and the things that newly graduated preschool teacher’s considered important was mentorship, support from colleagues and principal and also network meetings with other preschool teachers. Factors that may affect the first time within the profession may for instance be lack of knowledge from their education, deficiency in collegial learning and lack of resources in the form of substitute personnel. The important conclusion of the study is that the preschool teacher’s experienced the first time as tough. The support that the preschool teacher’s received, made it possible to conduct their work in the best way possible.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第19163号 / 経博第517号 / 新制||経||274(附属図書館) / 32155 / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 神事 直人, 教授 柴田 章久, 教授 佐々木 啓明 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

Tidsbudgetering är ett styrverktyg som används inom revision för att planera och budgetera revisionen. Detta har i tidigare forskning haft ett kritiskt perspektiv och belystunderrapportering av tid. Den ökade kommersialismen har resulterat i snävare budgetar, samtidigt som kraven på att ett effektivt och kvalitativt arbete utförs kvarstår. Negativa effekter har uppstått för anställdas fortlevnad inom branschen, specifikt för att behålla kvinnor inom yrket. Uppsatsens syfte är att öka kunskapen om revisorsassistenters förståelse om tidsstyrning och rådande strukturer inom revision. Tio intervjuer har genomförts där fem kvinnliga respektive fem manliga revisorsassistenter har tillfrågats vilket utgör vår empiri. Uppsatsens resultat uppmärksammar en förmildrande effekt i en informell struktur utanför hierarkin som förekom hos revisionsbyråerna. I denna struktur upplevde de anställda en lättsamhet att prata med vem som helst, oavsett rang i hierarkin. Vidare skapades en tydlig genomgående lagkänsla mellan alla nivåer, som betonades vara en nyckel till att snabbt kunna lösa problem och lära av varandra för att kunna hålla sig inom tidsbudgeten. Framför allt minskades den upplevda tidspressen, som orsakades av tidsbudgetens utformande. Upplevelsen av förutsättningarna att avancera inom revision skilde sig inte åt i den utsträckning som på förhand målats upp. Trots det kunde en varsamhet utläsas hos de kvinnliga revisorsassitenterna. Detta eftersom deras framtidstro inom revisionsyrket oftast kolliderade med viljan att skaffa familj, som medförde en känsla av att ett val behöver göras. Det är något som kan liknas vid tidigare studiers redogörelse för kvinnors vision om framtiden inom revisionsyrket. Detta kan samtidigt visa att förutsättningarna upplevs mer jämlika. Underrapportering av tid upplevs genomgående som något negativt. Fenomenet förekommer i mindre utsträckning av både manliga och kvinnliga respondenter. Det finns förväntningar och en press att leverera som leder till att revisorsassistenter känner att tiden inte räcker till. Utöver detta upplevs en otillräcklighet att inte lyckas prestera lika bra som alla andra, vilket gör att underrapportering av tid förekommer. / Time budgeting is a management tool used in auditing to plan and budget the audit. In previous research, this has had a critical perspective and highlighted underreporting of time. The increased commercialism has resulted in tighter budgets, while the demands for efficient and qualitative work to be carried out remain. Negative effects have occurred for employee retention within the sector, specifically for retaining women in the profession. The purpose of this essay is to increase knowledge of auditing assistants' understanding of time management and the prevailing structures within auditing. Ten interviews have been conducted where five female and five male audit assistants have been inquired, which constitutes our empirical data. The paper's results draw attention to a mitigating effect in the form of an informal structure outside of the prevailing hierarchy that occurred at the audit firms. In this structure, employees experienced an ease of talking to anyone, regardless of rank in the hierarchy. Furthermore, a clear overall sense of a team was created between all levels. Which was emphasized as a key to being able to quickly solve problems and learn from each other in order to stay within the time budget. Above all, the perceived time pressure, which was caused by the design of the time budget, was reduced. The experience of the conditions to advance in auditing did not differ to the extent that was previously presented. Despite that, a caution could be interpreted by the female auditing assistants. This is because their imagined future within the auditing profession often collided with the desire to start a family, which entailed a feeling that a choice needed to be made. This can be compared to previous studies' account of women's vision of the future within the auditing profession. At the same time, this can show that the conditions are perceived to be more equal. Underreporting of time is consistently perceived as something negative. The phenomenon occurs to a lesser extent in both male and female respondents. There are expectations and a pressure to deliver that lead to auditing assistants feeling that the time was not enough. In addition to this, there is a perceived insufficiency of not being able to perform as well as everyone else, which entails that underreporting of time occurs.

The problem of this study is whether between-channel redundancy in an instructional audio-visual message enhances immediate recall of information more than within—channel redundancy. A secondary purpose was to compare three forms of between—channel redundancy! audio—video, audio—video—caption, and audio-caption with one form of within-channel redundancy: video-caption. These comparisons were designed to demonstrate which form of redundancy had a higher association with recall of information. The subjects were administered the Kentucky Comprehensive Listening Inventory to measure listening skills, and the Receiver Apprehension Inventory to identify subjects who experienced significantly high apprehension as receivers of information. Then the subjects were randomly divided into four treatment groups and shown an eight minute newscast. All four groups were presented the same instructional message, but the mode of presentation differed depending upon the treatment group. After viewing the instructional program each member of each group was given a forty item multiple-choice retention inventory based on the information presented in the newscast. The data were presented in terms of correct responses on the Kentucky Comprehensive Listening Inventory and the forty item retention inventory. Discriminate analysis was used to determine which items from the multiple-choice retention inventory accounted for the most variance. Thirteen items were found to account for the greatest amount of variance. Reliability estimates were calculated for all four story categories and for the forty items collectively. All reliability estimates were acceptable.

Research has consistently shown a positive association between the therapeutic alliance and family therapy outcome. Theory and preliminary research suggest that parent and adolescent agreement on the presenting problem would be a significant predictor of the therapeutic alliance in family therapy. This study used de-identified data from the Marriage and Family Therapy Practice Research Network. The presenting problem was assessed at the first session, and agreement in presenting problems was determined by matching the responses between the parents and adolescents. The within-system alliance item of the Intersession Alliance Measures-Family (IAM-F), assessed at the fourth session, was used to measure the therapeutic alliance. Adolescent sex and perception of who was responsible for the struggles that brought the family to therapy were included as control variables in the multivariate analysis. Results of the regression analysis indicated that agreement on the presenting problem was significantly predictive of the adolescents' report of the therapeutic alliance. Agreement on the presenting problem was not predictive of the parents' report of the therapeutic alliance. These findings reinforce the importance of addressing perceptions of the presenting problem and quickly establishing agreement between family members in order to enhance the development of the therapeutic alliance for adolescents. Limitations and directions for further research are discussed.

No description available.

Ostlänken är en del av den enskilt största investeringen för svensk infrastruktur i modern tid, en ny dubbelspårig höghastighetsjärnväg mellan Järna och Linköping. Den kommer tillföra ny kapacitet i järnvägssystemet och frigöra belastning på befintliga banor och på det sättet förstora regionen. Swecos uppgift är att leverera en tids- och ekonomiskt effektiv lösning som samtidigt är både säker, miljömässigt- och socialt hållbar. I det arbetet är Swecos organisation indelad i bland annat de tre blocken plan, miljö och teknik som vart och ett är ansvariga för att utveckla järnvägsplan, miljökonsekvensbeskrivning respektive systemhandlingar. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur kommunikationen och kunskapsutbytet mellan kompetensområdena som ingår under blocken miljö och teknik upplevs och förs i praktiken. Ett vidare syfte är att sätta studiens resultat i relation till Swecos interna projektmål och styrdokument för kommunikation och erfarenhetsåterföring, för att vidare kunna synliggöra styrkor och förbättringsområden vad avser kommunikationen inom uppdraget Ostlänken. Insamlat material från enkätundersökning, intervjuer och fokussamtal har sammanställts med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att användningen av kommunikationsmedel varierar inom uppdraget. Många upplever ett stort informationsflöde, bland annat i form av många möten. Det finns ett upplevt kunskapsglapp både mellan blocken, men också mellan de olika teknikområdena där det ibland är svårt att se varandras behov och förutsättningar. Med stöd av teorier inom det organisationspedagogiska området, visar studien vikten av att ta ansvar för det egna lärandet i form av aktivt lyssnande och reflektion över sina egna referensramar i förhållande till andras. Men också för andras lärande i form av hur man väljer att uttrycka sig och dela med sig av relevant information. Några av de områden som skulle kunna gynna organisationens utveckling är tydliga och detaljerade mötesagendor, mentorskap för att orientera nyanställda i uppdraget och främja kunskapsåterföring, återkommande tillfällen för reflektion kring arbetsgången samt arbete för att frångå invanda mönster gällande samtalsutrymme. Studien visar vidare att uppfyllelsen av den målbild som anläggningen har, kräver en strävan hos varje individ att bli expert på själva uppdraget samt att varje teknikområde får ta plats i beslutsprocesser. Genom att inte betrakta lärande som en naturlig del av arbetsgången, utan enbart sträva efter framfart i form av produktivitet, finns det på längre sikt risk för att detta sker på bekostnad av organisationens utveckling. / The project Ostlänken is part of the single largest investment for Swedish infrastructure in modern times, a new double track high-speed railway between Järna and Linköping. It will provide new capacity to the railway system and off load existing traffic and thus enlarge the region. Sweco's task is to deliver a time- and economically efficient solution that is both secure, environmentally- and socially sustainable. To achieve this, Sweco's organization is divided into the three areas plan, environment and technology. Each of which is responsible for developing railway plans, environmental impact assessment and system documents. The purpose of the study is to analyze how communication and knowledge exchange between the areas environment and technology are experienced and put into practice. A further aim is to put the results of the study in relation to Sweco's internal project- and control documents for communication and knowledge and experience transfer, in order to further visualize strengths and improvement areas in terms of communication within the assignment Ostlänken. Collected material from a questionnaire survey, interviews and focus discussions has been compiled using a thematic analysis. The results showed that the use of communication means varies within the assignment. Many people experience a large flow of information, partly as a result of the high meeting frequency. There is an experienced knowledge gap between the main areas, but also between the different technical areas of expertise where it is sometimes hard to see each other's needs and prerequisites. Based on theories from organizational pedagogy, the study shows the importance of taking responsibility for the individual learning in the forms of active listening and reflection on ones frame of reference and how it relates to others. But also the importance of taking responsibility for others' learning in terms of how to express one self and sharing relevant information. Some of the areas that could benefit the organization's development are clear and detailed meeting agendas, mentoring to orient new employees in the project, recurrent opportunities for reflection on the workflow and continuous work to make sure that the word is evenly distributed at meetings. The study further shows that to fulfill the overall project objectives, individual endeavor is required in order to become an expert in the project itself, and also that each area of expertise may take place in decision-making processes. By not considering learning as a natural part of the workflow, but merely striving for progress in terms of productivity, there is a risk that this will happen at the expense of the organization's development in the longer term.